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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1987)
Candidates make bid for ASUO president See Pages 4 & 5 Oregon Daily Emerald Wednesday, April 1, 1987 Eugene. Oregon Volume 88, Number 92 Eugene, county voters approve airport bonds, jail operations funding Springfield voters narrowly defeat PIIP By Janet Paulson Of the Kmerald Eugene voters approved by a wide margin a measure authorizing the sale of general obligation bonds to fund expan sion of Mahlon Sweet airport in Tues day’s special election. Measure 51, which authorizes the city to sell up to $5.83 million in bonds, was approved by a vote of 11,716 to 8,213 with all 68 precincts reporting. Mayor Brian Obie expressed his pleasure at the success of the bond measure to a handful of people gathered at the County Elections Board late Tuesday. “Expansion of the airport is one step in the revitalization process, but the road is a long one. I'm looking forward to healthy growth in the community,” he said. The mayor stressed the necessity of citizen support in promoting economic growth in the community. Richard Greene, a business owner in Eugene and an opponent of the airport bond, said the vote was close enough to reflect the split in the community about the issue. “The closeness of the vote indicates a deep division in opinion about the ap propriateness of the issue," he said. City officials plan to repay the bonds with funding sources that include profit from airport operations, new airport related revenue, funds available from the growth factor in the general fund work ing capital and funds available from the reallocation of the capital improvements budget. The Eugene City Council expressed their intent at a meeting several weeks ago not to increase property taxes to repay the bonds. Lane County voters approved a three year operating levy that will provide operating funds for additional correc tions facilities. Voters in November ap proved a bond sale to provide construc tion money for the additional facilities but voted down the tax-based measure that would have provided funds for operations of the new facilities. The levy passed by a margin of 22,292 to 15,279 with all precincts reporting. The countywide serial levy will in crease property taxes by about 42 cents Turn to Vote, Page 6A Left in remembrance Currently on display outside Room 167 EMU. these items were left at the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica that visited Eugene briefly last fall. The items were collected by workers from the l^ane County Historical Museum. Photo by John Giustina Ex-professor sentenced, given maximum jail term By Michael Rivers Of Um Emerald A former University professor was sentenced to 20 years in prison March 17 for convictions last summer on first degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse charges involving a 5-year-old girl. Stephen Craig Reynolds, 49, taught religious studies at the University until September 1986. Lane County Circuit Judge Pierre Van Rysselberghe merged the two convictions for purposes of sentencing and ordered Reynolds to serve at least 10 years of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The 20-year term was the maximum available under Oregon law after the convictions were merged. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Frank Papagni relied on the testimony of a woman who allegedly had been sexually harassed by Reynolds and a letter from the state Mental Health Division. The woman, Bethany Joanne Lambert, testified about a June 1980 incident at Washburn Park on the comer of 21st Avenue and Agate Street. According to Lambert, she had dozed off while sunbathing and awoke when she felt so meone’s fingers probing up her shorts. When she looked to see who it was, she saw a man walking quickly away, she said. Lambert, who was working as a cashier at the University Bookstore at the time, identified Reynolds as the culprit several weeks later when he came into the bookstore to cash a check. “I recognized him instantly,” she said at the hearing. ”1 started shaking. .. later I looked at his check (to determine his name), and I also saw his faculty card.” Lambert didn’t report the incident to the police because she didn’t think it would do any good, she said. However, at the urging of a friend, she did report the incident to the Rape Crisis Network, which reported the incident to the police although an investigation apparently was never made. Turn to Reynolds, Page 8A New IRS rules on taxable income may force GTFs to tighten belts By Jackie Barry Of the hmerald New IRS rules governing student grant and fellowship money may mean some students will pay taxes in 1987 on the money they receive. Graduate teaching fellows who work at the University probably will be affected most by these new rules, according to Phyllis Keech, a taxpayer service specialist for Portland's IRS office. “I think they definitely will be hit the hardest,” she said. GTFs earn money for teaching and research work performed toward their degree in addition to free full-time tuition. Until 1987, if a student was required to per form services as a condition of his or her degree program, any wages earned weren’t taxed. Keech said. Some GTFs already report having taxes deducted from their monthly paychecks. Mike Scherz, a full-time researcher in the graduate chemistry program, had $140 withheld from his usual paycheck of $714.20, Scherz ex pects the withheld amount to drop to $00 per month after his wife, who holds a British passport, becomes registered as a resident alien. "It’s the difference between making it and not making it.” Scherz said. About 150 University graduate students have “suddenly become taxed who wouldn’t have been taxed before,” said Shirley Menaker, the dean of the University’s graduate school. GTFs receive stipends ranging from $3,551 to $8,393, depending on how many hours they work and at what level they’re employed, Menaker said. GTFs at the higher end of the pay spectrum will be most likely to be taxed, she said. Menaker said tuition benefits, called remis sions, also may be taxed beginning Jan. 1, 1988. University GTFs receive tuition remissions of $722.50 for any term in which they’re employed. Menaker said. This is the basic graduate school tuition rate. Some GTFs also receive a “summer sandwich’’ remission if they’ve signed a renewal contract for a second year of employment, she said. University GTFs won’t have these remissions taxed in 1987, as GTFs at some other universities across the country will, because remissions are part of an employee benefit package administered similarly to all classes of employees. Menaker said. Other University employees may study at $11 per undergraduate credit hour. The standard tui tion rate for a full-time undergraduate student is about $495.50 for 12 to 21 credits. But unless the tax code for 1988 is amended, anyone receiving tuition remissions will have to report them as income, Menaker said. She noted people from the graduate school are working with legislators to lobby for an amendment to next year’s tax code so tuition remissions won't be taxed. If graduate students begin paying taxes on $11,000 to $12,000 in combined new income in 1988, Scherz said, “A lot of people will have to leave school.” Grant money used to pay for “qualifying tui tion, fees and related (school) expenses," won’t have to be reported and won’t be taxable, Keech said. In addition, the standard deduction will be higher than in past years, she said. But scholarship and fellowship money granted after Aug. 16. 1986, which is left over after required school expenses are paid should be reported as gross income on the standard 1040 Turn to Tax, Page 8A
