Southwestern Company:
Opportunity or misfortune?
See Spectrum Magazine
Oregon Daily
Emerald
Thursday. May 21, 1987
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 88. Number 128
Beauty Cum Laude
I)arsi Mall at lha Delta /.ala sorority (left) was crowned Miss Creek in
the second-annual Miss Creek University of Oregon Scholarship Pageant
before a crowd of more than 700 people in McArthur Court on
Wednesday.
Also present are Kadona Howard of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority
(center) and Erin Hogan of the kappa Alpha Iheta sorority (right).
Photo by Shu-Shing Chen
Student Activities Bill clears
House; faces governor next
By PHw Meier
IH I Hr
Students of Oregon's public univer
sities and colleges may ultimately pay
lower foes as a result of a bill overwhelm
ingly passed by the Oregon Mouse of
Representatives on Tuesday.
known its the Student Activities Bill.
Senate Bill 400 mav provide tile lblivet
sitv with an extra $40,000 a year lor stu
dent activities The measure is spon
sored bv Iho Oregon Student l.obby ami
was passed by the House 52-6
SB40O grunts students the interest
from student incidental fees they must
pay eat h term Iti support athletii -> ami
university servit es and programs I his
interest is currently deposited into the
State General Fund.
Rep Ron Fat Im*. D-Kugene. said the
bill w ill provide students ol the Oregon
Slate Sy stein an extra $440,000 a vear tor
I Be support ot activities This should
help reduce tees for students. Fat tins
said.
''This should prolwhls tend lc> redo* <•
tees .is morn monos ssill In- available hi
students.'’ Hop Carl llosliiku, 1)
Kugooo. said
Both Hostteka and Eachus said they
believe that Gov. Noil Goldschmidt will
not have any problems with the hill
Legislative
issues
However. Sherry Oeser, director of tin*
Oregon Student . said slit'does not
shunt Ih.it confidence, having httard
minors that Goldschmidt has difficulties
with the hill Oeser will meet the gover
nor's staff members to discuss the issue
on Thursday.
Turn to Bill, Page I
Research Park forum canceled
as planning falls behind schedule
By Andrew LaMar
Of I Hr ICiMOTrtld
Planning of the Riverfront Research
Park has fallen ta-lund schedule and has
yet to answer vital questions alatut (lit
terenl phases of development. said (lathy
Hriner of the Eugene Development
Department on Wednesday.
Planning also fails to show how the
different phases will work together,
liriner said
Hriner made her comments at the
Riverfront Research Park (loinmission s
monthly meeting
As a result, the third public forum that
was to la; held tonight has been cancel
ed. The forum will la; delayed until lulv
.it tin- earliest Hrim-r said
The third forum will be hold so
(Iniversity studunts and faculty member!
could Rive the commission fond back on
the master site plan that will define what
the park will look like. Hrinor said. The
master site plan cannot tie completed un
til the development department decides
where the different phases of develop
ment will he located, she said.
The commission discussed possible
dates for the third forum. Commission
members expressed concern about
whether a summer forum would tie fair
to students interested in the pro|ect who
Turn to Researc h, PdRe 3
Task force reveals plan to upgrade workers compensation
By Will Holbert
Uf I hr Mnvrald
Three members of a task force
formed by Gov. Neil
Goldschmidt to study Oregon's
worker compensation system
revealed their plans to overhaul
tin? system at a public hearing
Wednesday night.
Oregon Secretary of State Bar
bara Roberts, Stanton Long,
director of the state's Commerce
department, and Ted
Kulongoski. commissioner of
the state's Insurance Division,
outlined seven recommenda
tions they will make to
Goldschmidt for improving
workers' compensation in the
state.
"It is a system in terrible need
of repair," Roberts said.
Goldschmidt formed the task
force two weeks after his elec
tion to the Governor’s office last
November.
The task force recommended
the following changes:
• More emphasis would be
put into preventing injury on
the job. According to a sum
mary of the recommendations.
Oregon ranks in the top 10
states for the number of ac
cidents for its papulation. The
Accident Prevention Division of
the Workers’ Compensation
Department would be revitaliz
ed. and given authority to im
pose larger fines upon
employers who violate safety
codes.
• The vocational rehabilita
tion programs that attempt to
help injured workers return to
the job market will lie upgrad
ed, and incentives will lie of
fered to employers who hire in
jured workers. According to
Roberts, 67 percent of injured
workers nevor return to the job
market. A Preferred Employ
ment Fund would reward those
who hire injured workers by
paying for the workers' in
surance for two years.
• Increased auditing would
cut down on medical costs.
Roberts blamed much of the
problem on health care practi
tioners who profit from
prescribing unnecessary
treatments Thu statu would
punish professionals who abuse
the system by taking away their
right to work on patients under
the system for two or three
years.
• Several measures would go
into effect that limit ad
ministrative cost and streamline
the process by doing away with
certain litigation procedures.
Sannions would be imposed
upon attorneys who bring up
"frivolous" appeals in compen
sation cases. Also, claims
would be closed within five
years, instead of staying open
indefinitely.
• (Compensation for mental
stress claims would be limited
Claims of this nature are
"threatening to overburden the
entire system." Roberts said
• Private insurance carriers
would come under increased
regulation from the Insurance
Division.
Roberts, the chairperson of
the task force, said she hopes
the recommendations will be
incorporated into a bill and
WwHu by |imn Marks
Ted Kulongoaki (left) and Stanton l ong (right) listen to Oregon
Secretary of State Barbara Roberts outline plana to improve
Oregon's workers' compensation system.
passed during the present
legislative session. There is a
current bill In the legislature
dealing with workers' compen
sation, but Roberts doesn’t
believe that it goes far enough
in alleviating the system’s
problems