Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1985)
Giving back K^iFto the game. Hvlsee p.B Oregon daily emerald Tuesday, March 5, 1985 Eugene, Oregon Volume 86, Number 112 Stolen skins found in trash Curator says theft proves need for improved storage By Diana Elliott Of the Emerald An anonymous caller tipped off police to the whereabouts of four animal skins that were discovered missing from a storage room on Feb. 25, said Sgt. Chuck Tilby of the Eugene Police Department. The skins, valued at $10,000, had been stolen from a building at 1652 Columbia St. where they were tem porarily being stored by the University Museum of Natural History, the owner of the relics, according to the police report. Campus Security received an anonymous phone call at 7 p.m. Sunday alerting the office that the skins were in a trash dumpster located in an alley at 326 Main St. in Springfield, Tilby said. Both Eugene and Springfield police departments responded to the call and found the four skins un damaged and wrapped in plastic bags. Tilby said. ‘‘We are much relieved,” said Herbert Wisner, a museum curator. ‘‘The publicity (about the missing skins) did the trick.” he said. An African lioness fur rug is one of the items that has been recovered. Mounted on a brown fabric lining, it is 125 inches long, including the tail and 88 inches wide. Its worth is estimated at $3,500. Another fur is an Asian Indian Bengal tiger valued at $8,400. The bright reddish-tan skin is crossed with black stripes and measures 130 inches long and 84 inches wide, accor ding to the police report. Also recovered were two zebra skins, Tilby said. Police have no suspects in the case, but are follow ing up on some leads, Tilby said. Police believe the publicity about the missing furs prompted the culprit to give up the skins, he said. "I want to express my appreciation to the culprit for returning the skins in good condition and not chucking them into the woods.” Wisner said. Wisner hopes this incident will prompt concern in to the matter of museum storage. “The museum is in dire straights as far as storage,” said Wisner. “But the museum isn’t the only depart ment in need of storage space. Everybody needs more'',” he says. Photo by Karen Stallwood Sgt. Chuck Tilby of the Eugene Police Department shows four University-owned skins that were recovered Sunday. ASUO groups will stage fair About 25 ASUO student groups will “peddle their wares” today as part of the annual ASUO Program Fair, an ASUO Executive-sponsored event, designed to get students involved in the more than 70 campus programs available to them. The fair, being held in Room 167 EMU from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will include live entertain ment, says Mike West, fair coordinator and ASUO program director. Past fairs have been successful. West says, but this year’s event should attract even more students because of the entertainment addition. Live acts will include the University Mar ching Band’s own Green Garter Band, performing from 11:30 a.m. to noon; the comedy-juggling act Out 2 Lunch, performing from noon to 12:30 p.m.; and the University Song and Dance Team, which will stage a dance skit to piano music from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The main thrust of the event, however, is to educate students on the activities of the different participating groups and to recruit new members. West says. “Historically, the intent has been to inform the students of the varied student programs,” West says. Representatives will be on hand from such organizations as the Greek system, the Survival Center, Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, Student Campaign for Disarmament, Black Student Union, Student University Affairs Board, ASUO and others, he says. For students to get involved in student pro grams they must take the initiative, but part of the enthusiasm must come from the programs’ pro motions, West says. The fair provides the vehicle for students who may be interested but aren’t in volved yet, he adds. “This way we’re reaching out to them in stead of having them seek us out,” he says. “It (the fair) will give students a chance to see how the ASUO spends its money on programs, whether or not students participate in those programs.” The event is free. For more information, con tact the ASUO at 686-3724. Callers win in long-distance rate competition By Ke- \rmstrong Of the Kmerald Telephone customers are among the first to experience the benefits of the battle for leadership of the telephone in dustry, since the myriad of phone companies have rushed to cash in on the now open long-distance market — a result of last year’s break-up of the Bell System. The communication king is far from being crowned, but four hopefuls are standing tall in Eugene, offering both in-state and out-of-state, home, long distance services. They are American Telephone & Telegraph Co., American Net work/SaveNet Inc., Sprint Telephone Service, and Proto Call Corp. Ever since Jan. 1, 1984, when the U.S. District Court decided to divest AT&T of the power it had in the long-distance market, other companies have moved in, attempting to offer customers new, cheaper alternatives. AmNet and SaveNet Inc. have merged and offer customers what they see as a major plus: after the first minute of a telephone call, they charge in six-second increments, rather than rounding rates to the nearest minute, as most com panies do. If the call terminates within 11 seconds, there is no charge. This saves callers from having to pay when they dial wrong numbers. AmNet/SaveNet Inc. extends its services to several western states. Mark Provost, Eugene’s sales manager for AmNet/SaveNet Inc., says profits have improved since the companies merged, with next year’s billing total predicted to reach $50 million. Provost adds that AmNet/SaveNet is second only to AT&T, in terms of gross bill ing, and it will be expanding service into Canada and other American cities this year. Sprint, a long-distance ser vice based out of Burlingame, Calif., has been in operation for 15 years. Sprint has been around the longest of all the companies except for AT&T, says Michael Kerras, Sprint’s (Graphic by Michael Duncan Oregon account manager in Portland. Kerras says Sprint’s assets are its volume discounts and its ownership of the entire produc tion system for transmitting a call from one place to another, which enables Sprint to charge competitive rates. “We don’t lease lines for our service like many other com panies do,” Kerras says. “This makes our only competition AT&T and MCI (a company that does not operate in Oregon).” Kerras says Sprint initiated volume discounts. Every time a phone bill exceeds $20 the customer receives a discount that is retroactive to the beginn ing of the month. The discount rate grows as the bill gets larger. Continued on Page 5