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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1981)
I "1 uo BOOKSTORE 13th & Kincaid Mon-Fn 8 15-5 30 Sat 10 00-5 30 Sinn Boom NMS1I Suoptos —I mi I -J N i One day film developing service / CEDAR HEALTH SPA Announcing New Hours 8 Wfeirlpo*! SI OFF «j mf mmr u ttli tkij *d 117 Monroe -a V, MARCH AND RALLY Saturday, Nov. 7 Assemble: 11 a m. 12th & Hilyard Endorsed by the following faculty: Vat Burnt. Sociology* William Cadbury, Film Studies Edwin Coleman, English Steve Deutsch. Lerc Robert Jackson, Romance Languages Ben Johnson, Sociology David Milton, Sociology Cheyney Ryan. Philosophy Ellen Setter. Film Studies Al Szymanski, Sociology Nat Telch, English David Wellman, Sociology Richard Young, Psychology Don Van Houten, Sociology Alan Wolfe, Chinese & Japanese Dave Curtand, Romance Languages Raymond Bim. History TJk. Brady, Jr., History Roger Chickering, History Joseph Esherick, History Jack Maddex, History R.G. Lang, History George Sheridan, History FIGHT BACK Against the Reagan Cuts I_r $ buncino checks § ome Eugene businesses aren't bouncing back from the effects of a poor economy but more and more of their customers checks are A new state law which allows victims to collect greater sums from the bad check writer went into effect Monday and may help alleviate the problem In September alone the Eugene Police Department handled more than $20,000 worth of bad checks says Detective Tom Hooker of the EPD s fraud detail The fraud detai; a two-man operation comprised of Hooker and Detective D A Norenberg has statistics for almost 700 bad checks totaling more than $158 000 that have been passed since January Norenberg says he expects those statistics to top $225 000 by the end of the year Four years ago when Norenberg began working the fraud detail for the police department he says those yearly figures added up to about $65 000 Norenberg and Hooker estimate that their statistics represent only 20-25 percent of the bad checks passed in Eugene Their detail has only enough time and manpower to take cases in which the check writer passed bad checks totaling S200 or more The remainder of reported bad checks are kept on file until the $200 amount is reached Hooke' says The merchants are realiy getting taken he says Somehmes the merchants eat bad cnecks rather than go through the hassles of reporting them Hooker says However those stores don't pay the tab he says John Q Citizen pays it " A ^ough Norenberg says the poor economy has something to do with it Hooker hesitates to blame ai' bad check writing on the economy Paper crime — ft s increasing he says People are finding out how easy it is Bad check writing has a snowballing effect on people. Hooker says They 'll write one or two here, one or two there our telephone starts to ring and sooner or later they hit that ($200) mark " The culprits are mostly amateurs — "people trying to make a fast buck, trying to beat the system," he says Those people write bad checks for items such as athletic or stereo equipment, clothing jewelry groceries or travel fares - luxuries Hooker calls the items "They usually get caught Often, when they do get caught they re surprised at the severity of the consequences. Hooker says Passing bad checks is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a maximum one-year jail sentence and or a $1 000 fine Hooker says The Eugene Police Department fraud detail has an arrest record of approximately 77 percent Norenberg says Of that number about 50 percent are prosecuted in court He attributes the high percentages mainly to easy access to hard evidence — the bad checks themselves In a recent case at the University, a student took three checks from her sorority sister and purchased clothing with them. Hooker says "She s basically an honest girl he says The opportunity was there but now there s no way she can walk by that sorority with her head up ” Another case involved a mail worker who allegedly stole checks from one of the University residence halls mail rooms Eugene police brought him back from Illinois to face more than 40 charges That case is being tried now Hooker says I don't know how long he thought he could get by with ft, but he didn t Stories by Marian Green Graphic by Max DeRungs ‘Now let me get this straight. You want to pay for $250 worth of bubble yumm with this check from the Peoples Piggy Bank. .. University traces most bad checks Bad check writing isn’t limited to just businesses in Eugene — the University business office handles more than its share of bad paper While the Eugene Police Department reports tens of thousands of bad checks being passed yearly in the city, the University business affairs office processes more than 1,000 returned checks a year, says Mikal Hoffman, a business office employee The business office successfully collects from most of the students who pass bad paper because students aren't allowed to register the following term unless they make good on any unpaid funds, Hoffman says. If the office can’t collect that way, it has a couple of options. One is taking the student to small claims court. “Small claims is very effective,” says Donald Thomas, the office s assistant business manager. He says about three-fourths of the cases taken to small claims court are ruled in favor of the University. If the office still can't collect, they may resort to a revision of a state law that went into effect Monday, allowing businesses and victims to collect civil damages from the check bouncer Under the amendment, persons convicted of negotiating bad checks are “civilly liable” to the injured party for an amount equal to $100 or three time the check s amount, not to exceed $500 more than the check s value However, the victim is required to make a written demand 10 days prior to taking action. William Me Laughlin, director of business affairs, says the business office will use the new amendment with discretion. “We'll treat each case on its own merits,” Me Laughlin says. “We’re going to give them a chance to make it right.” The University business office has received bad checks ranging from 50 cents to $2,000, Hoffman says. And although the office levies a $7.50 charge on each returned check, Hoffman says that fine doesn't cover the paperwork cost to process the bad paper. “It’s just a lot of extra work that nobody really needs,” he says. It takes one full-time person to process the paperwork. During the last fiscal year, 483 bad checks — or almost half — came from the EMU Main Desk alone, he says. Students can cash checks at the Main Desk for up to $10 by showing their student identification card. If a student's check is returned, the Main Desk revokes the student’s check-cashing privileges for the remainder of the fiscal year, or until the student shows the Main Desk a letter from his or her bank indicating a mistake. “A lot of times, it's a hassle because a lot of times it isn’t their (the students’) fault. But there’s no other way we can do it,” says Debby Martin, who works at the Main Desk. Thomas says students with financial problems can obtain short-term loans from the University Financial Aid Office. Ski Tahoe With Us! -December 27 thru January 3 •Classic trip! 7 days/6 nights in Lake Tahoe. Beautiful Condominium lodging (double occupancy), fine food (New York steaks, prime rib. etc.), transportation and 5-days ski-lift tickets included in price! •Classic skiing! Squaw Valley USA. Alpine Meadows. Northstar at Tahoe. Homewood. Ski Incline. Lift tickets for all five areas included! •Classic price! $495 Price includes transportation, lodging, food and ski-lift tickets Tour limited to 13 persons. Reservations close Nov. 23. • For more information, write: Darren Berg Tours, Inc. Skiing charter specialists PO Box 11325 Eugene. OR 97401-3525 ICC * MC-144726 j V. Dance This Weekend at Duffy’s to ROCK BAND 280081 231 Due to contractual obligations, these four musicians are forced to perform under the generic name, Rock Band", for legal protection However, each well-known member has payed his dues with the Northwest s hottest touring rock'n'roll bands Duffy’s Corner 13th & Alder 174 East P* t oad way 342*33^6
