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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1987)
I‘Dawgs’ roll over for the Ducks See Pages 7 and 10 Oregon Daily Emerald Monday. April 6. 1987 Eugene. Oregon Volume 88, Number 95 Parents discuss strike possibility to clarify issues By Janet Paulson Of thi* Kmcrald About 150 Eugene School District parents met on Sunday with representatives of the teacher’s union and the school district to discuss issues in the pending teachers' strike. The Edison Elementary School Parent Advisory Council sponsored the forum, held at the Central Presbyterian Church, to inform parents about issues involved with the con tract negotiations. Brooke Belcher, principal organizer of the Edison school parent group, explained the purpose of the forum was to in form and to clarify contract issues, not to solve the problems. "We are all directly affected by this strike. It means a lot to all of us." she said. The panel consisted of three representatives each from the Eugene Education Association and the Eugene School Board who responded to questions from parents. Each group also made an initial 10-minute presentation identifying and describing the issues in the con tract negotiations. Edison parent Ted Heid brief ly explained the state’s collec tive bargaining laws and the process public employees must go through prior to striking. After the initial remarks, each side was given two minutes to respond to each question. In his opening remarks, panel member and EEA President Ray Gross explained the union’s decision to strike. “Would you c: o n t r i b u t e $5,000 toward the education of your child? Teachers made that contribution in lOHit." he said. In 1983, Eugene teachers took a 4 percent salary rollback in response to a school district re quest. The district is in the best financial condition in years and is in a position to offer more to the teachers. Gross explained. School board member Karen Hemmingsen said there were two categories of issues to be resolved in the contract negotia tions: financial and language. The financial issues include salary and insurance benefits. "The board has to think of the long-range financial stability of the district and how taxes will be affected,” she said. "The board has a commitment not to raise taxes for another year." The language issues under consideration concern the district’s current policy of only listing open positions locally until the middle of August and the question of promotions. The school board wants to in crease the allowable date to post teacher openings from mid August to Aug. 1, but the KKA believes a change is un it ecessary beca use EE A members could be locked out of desirable positions. Another parent’s group, the Citizens to Keep Schools Open (via a settlement), collected signatures from local residents Sunday afternoon in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel, where negotiating teams were meeting. The group maintains an im partial position and is concern ed that bargaining efforts con tinue. By mid-afternoon about 150 people had signed a peti tion. written on yellow legal Turn to Strike, Page 4 I'holo by Shu-Shin# ( hru Nicole Hippenhammer performs Sunday evening at the third annual Indonesian Niyht, sponsored by the Indonesian Student Association. Around 300 pt*ople attended the event. No answer given in attempted bombing By Jackie Barry Of Ihr f iner.ild An Oregon State University employee ar rested for planting a bomb in the school’s com puter center will return to work today after two months paid suspension. OSIJ officials suspended Albany resident William A. Myers. 4:t, after his Feb. t> arrest for first degree attempted arson. OSU security of ficers made the arrest after a bomb squad disarm ed a bomb housed in a briefcase that Myers admit ted carrying into tin; center that morning. The briefcase also sported a monogram consisting of Myers’ initials. law enforcement officials received five or six anonymous phone cal's Feb. »> that directed them to tin; bomb-laden briefcase, informed them Myers had carried it into the building and then directed them to a transmitter inside a car registered to Myers. The transmitter was set to the same frequency as the bomb. Wally Johnson. OSlJ’s director of informa tion, confirmed school officials made tin? deci sion to ask Myers to come back to his job and after consulting with the state attorney general and tin; Benton County district attorney and because of his exceptional work. Although Myers was arrested two months ago, he’s never been formally charged in connec tion with the bombing. The Benton County district attorney's office will not confirm nor deny whether Myers is still a suspect. However, Johnson said the Oregon State Daily Barometer quoted District Attorney Peter Sand rock as saying “no charges have been filed against anyone.” Myers still maintains his innocence and says he has a theory about who really planted the bomb and why that person would trv to make it look like he'd done it. Myers has told the district attorney’s office about his theory hut won't discuss it in public, he said. "It wouldn't be fair to engage in public guesswork" because it might damage innocent parties, he said. "My arrest could’ve been thought over more carefully, and possibly it wouldn't have happened ”. Myers told officials he’d been asked to carry the briefcase into the computer center by a woman with a broken hoot heel. After Myers' ar rest. his co-workers found an umnonogrammed briefcase next to Myers’ desk that they identified as the one they’d seen him use in the past. Myers said he ”feel(s) real good" to lx; asked hack to work but he’d “feel even better” if a grand jury or the district attorney would puhlical ly clear him. He said he talked to numerous reporters Thursday who were “gritting their teeth because the DA won’t confirm or deny" his innocence Photo by John Curtis Hirons Drug Store at 185 E. 18th destroyed in a early Saturday morning fire. Hirons destroyed by fire 11 irons Drug Store. 185 K. lHth Ave., was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning, according to Eugene police. Damage was estimated at $1 million, including $400,000 ior the :t()-vear-old building and $500,000 to $600,000 tor tile contents. 1 be cause of the fire lias not been determined. Eire and police officials received the call at 12:00 a m. from a unit of the Eugene Police Department, according to Marry Ilowarth, a communications specialist for the KIM) 1 be officer noticed tlit; flames when be passed by on 18th Avenue, Ilowarth said. The store was half consumed by flames by 12:10 am., be said. “There could have been a working fire in the back of the store for quite a while,” Ilowarth said. "We had the entire Eugene fire department on it (the fire).” The fire was controlled at 2:21 a.m. The Safeway grocery store adjacent to Miron's received less than minimal damage, from the blaze, according to assistant manager Duane Hedland. The Safeway store was closed for about seven hours during the fire and reopened at 6:45 a.m. after health inspectors determined that selected food products had received no damage, Hedland said. John Mirons, who ownes the 18th Avenue store, also owns another Mirons on Franklin Boulevard.
