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Meanwhile...
On Monday, October 9, 1992 I received a call from a frightened and distraught young lady who said her mother was Edith Clark who works at Narconon. She told the usual horror stories about her mother not being paid on time, if ever. Long hours of overtime at no pay. Unpaid bonuses, etc.
She said there were several non-Scientologist employees there all of whom were wanting to leave, but couldn't because they had no money and no way to get out. She relayed other stories as well, but they were all second hand, about "trainees" at Narconon wading waist deep in the sewer lagoon raking sewage out so it would appear to be working properly; about bad food and vermin infestation; about child abuse and neglect....
I suggested she visit with Brent Van Meter at the Health Department, and she said she had already talked with him. When I talked with Van Meter later, he confirmed her story, but said his inspectors probably wouldn't find anything wrong unless they caught them in the act. He said he was thinking of applying for a special appropriation to keep an inspector on the site permanently.
On Tuesday, October
27, Edith Clark, Jean Chance, Mr. and Mrs. Gene McCormick, their niece
Carol Shumate, and another man not associated with Narconon called me
- interrupted a phone call with an emergency message, in fact - wanting
to come to the office and tell their stories. It was the day after Narconon
was issued their Health Department license.
I stalled them off until the next day, and then set up an interview for them with Channel 5, Channel 9, and McNutt of the Daily Oklahoman.
On Wednesday afternoon, they arrived and confirmed everything Clark's daughter had told me the week before. They had been allowed to leave as soon as the license was in place. They think they quit, but it appears to be a concerted effort by Scientology to starve them out. All of them agreed that Narconon was moving in more and more Scientology staff people to take their places.
McNutt's story in the Thursday, October 29, 1992 Daily Oklahoma tells part of their story.