http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&ncid=816&e=4&u=/ap/20040312/ap_o
n_re_us/bush_protest_suspension
CLEVELAND - A state maintenance worker was suspended after he displayed a sign with the word "traitor" on a snowplow while helping provide security for President Bush (news - web sites)'s motorcade, the Ohio Department of Transportation said.
Michael Gerstenslager was asked to park a snowplow on an entrance ramp
to block access to a highway that the president's motorcade used to go from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport into downtown Cleveland on
Wednesday.
A state trooper in the president's motorcade saw the sign and reported it to the state's transportation department, ODOT spokeswoman Lora
Hummer said.
Gerstenslager is suspended with pay while the department investigates, Hummer said. She said she couldn't identify the potential violations or penalties until the investigation is complete. Discipline can range from a verbal warning to dismissal.
A disciplinary hearing will occur next week, Hummer said.
Gerstenslager, who does not have a listed telephone number, could not be
reached for comment. A message was left Friday for Peter Wray, a spokesman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union
that represents Gerstenslager.