Eugene homeowner’s dream ruined by drug residues
(AP) — Torn Wil
son's mobile home
overlook* a lush val
ley.
NORTHWEST
II S <1 OeaUt 11III
plat e lo live. but
Wilson has movnd out His home, he dis
covered, was contaminated by drug
residue because it was used ns n n
methamphetamme factory before he
Irought it.
"It's like living in n treehouso," Wil
son says. "It's real hard to walk away from
it. and that's what I have to do."
Wilson is one of hundreds of Oregoni
ans who have unknowingly lived in homes
used earlier for the manufacture of
met ham phet am i ne. authorities say.
After Wilson signed the real estate con
tract. lie found out from authorities that
Ins home was contaminated by residues
from the operation of n methamphetamino
laboratory four years earlier
Wilson said he can't afford to pay the
several thousand dollars it would i ost to
meet state health standards for < leaning
up the mobile home
So after living there one-and a hall years.
Wilson, an insuranc e c laim adjuster, has
left for a job in Portland
Kd Wilson, the state Department of Envi
ronmental Quality's emergency response
pro tec t manager, said hundreds of people
likely an; in the same position
lie has a list, dating line k to 19H7, of
about (»75 bouses dial Ins office helped
< lean up after they were raided
Oregon State Polic e sav those houses
represent just a frac tion of the numbers
involved in methamphetamine manufac
turing sinue the mid 1 HMDs when metham
phetamine cooks invaded Oregon
"I think that it would tie safe to assume
that we only get a small jwn enlage of those
meth labs.’’ said Detective Jeff Howard of
the Oregon State Polit e drug enforcement
section.
Someone shopping for a new home like
ly wouldn't know a partic ular house had
Ims-ii used to manufacture drugs. Kd Wil
son and Howard sav
Since 1990. state law has required the
i leonup cif methamphetamine labs
Mack (.aim, who heads the- State Health
Division's (Clandestine I>rug I-nb (Cleanup
Program, lias ( (implied a list (it 102 hoiis
es used to make the drug since then About
70 percent of those homes have been
issued certificates of cleanliness, he said.
Mis list is available to realtors, but that
still leaves a large number of unidentified
former drug homes
Many home shoppers, Tom Wilson said,
won't recognize the smell of the drug
residue — and they won't check the list of
residences used ns drug fac tories
"When I trough! it, it had been vacant
for eight months and the window was
open. It had a dirty bathroom smell, and I
lust thought they had little boys," he said
"I didn't connei t it with any hazard."
Me thoroughly cleaned the master Iratli
room after he purchased the house in
Novetnlier but the smell didn't go
away Me said that's when he started to
suspect a problem
Me soon found a police report showing
the house had been raided and nine peo
pie arrested in November 1MH7 on accu
sations of manufni luring and distributing
met ham phetam tnes.
Tom Wilson paid a private company for
tests that revealed his house is contami
nated with lead and mercury, the residues
of methamphetamine production
Government agent o-s have put Wilson's
house on a list of those that require clean
ing Ik?fort* they are i.eiiified fit for human
habitation.
Wilson sa\s it will cost about $9,000
to c lean the house and several thousand
dollars more to replat* items such as car
peting and drapes
Me is suing the seller of the house and
the realtor to recover costs.
Tom Wilson said he was forced out of
the mobile home In-cause of headaches and
bouts of dizziness he attributes to the
chemical residue. The symptoms went
away when he traveled out of town on
business, he said.
Authorities disagree on how dangerous
the drug residues are. In serious cases,
some people c ould develop kidney and
liver damage, and children could suffer
learning disabilities from long-term expo
sure. Gano said.
"The long-term health hazards come out
20 years down the road." Howard said. "I
wouldn't buy a house, under any circum
stances. that had hud moth c ooked in it "
School finance bill not as helpful as expected
We cant say what the Legislature will do.
God knows what the Legislature will do.’
Sen Frank Roberts
SAI.KM (A«’) The Legisla
ture's si hool financing dispute
moved n slop i loser to ending
Month's ns lim Senate's hudget
panel approved .t bill adding $4H
million to the Mouse passed ver
sion.
Hut there's a catch
(list Sit) million, of the ini tease
is actually in the lull
The other S tH million amounts
to a footnote saving lawmakers
will obtain that money from any
increased revenue That could
come from income lax collec
tions. lottery proceeds or other
sources.
The Senate Wavs and Means
C-ommiltee voted H-2 to send the
bill to the full Senate after par
tisan wrangling over the footnote
(Democrats turned aside a
Knpuhlu an attempt to add word
mg to say the Senate and I louse
would reduce state agency bud
gets by enough to ensure that the
_ .- _ . a
$:iH million will be l**fi over for
schools
Tim latest school finance bill
was worked out last week by Sen
ate Democrats and Republicans
Mouse Speaker lairry t jimplw»ll.
K-Euuane, has said be expods the
revised measure will win Mouse
approval
The bill totals Si ,17 billion in
state s< bool supjtort fur the JRtll
05 fis< al period. That's $552 mil
lion less than in the current two
year budget period and StiH
million less than proposed by
Gov Barbara Roberts
An earlier bill passed by the
Mouse was a one-year budget If
extended to both years of the
i oimiig budget period, it would
o ^
have rut mourn for m hoots by
$600 million below the current
level.
John Marshall. lobbyist for the
Oregon School Hoards Associa
tion. said the group was gratified
that the Senate version of the bill
ap|»eared headed for approval.
"We're obviously extremely
pleased that at least one body of
the Legislature would recognize
the cuts proposed are indeed
drastic." Marshall said.
Hut he said schools still face
a growing problem as the Mea
sure 5 property tax limit drains
more money from the state bud
get The assoc lution recently
announced it would begin a sig
nature-gathering drive to plate a
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international
stival 9
international student
America day • April 27
Table Display, Information Booth and
Video Presentation 9 a.m. - 3 a.m.
Countries represented include Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,
Peru and Venezuela
Picture Exhibition on Peru 9 a.m. - S.p.m.
Slide show on Peruvian Culture
4 p.m. - 5 p.ra.
Visiting Peruvian Journalist
of a major newspaper \
all events aic held at the emu. free admission to ^
all events, tor information, call: 346-4387
3
<
1
5 percent s.ii«<s lax for schools on
the November 1094 ballot.
Th<* Republican plan to reduce
other agem v budgets was reject
ed after Sen. Frank Huberts said
the Senate c an 't bind itself or the
House to vote in any particular
manner
"We can’t say what the Legis
lature will do. God knows what
the legislature will do." the Port
land Democrat said
Sen Leon Hannon of Ashland
argued against the proposal by
his fellow Republicans, saying it
was a waste of time.
"lat's not play charades here
and say. ’Read my lips.'" he said.
But Sen. Stan Bunn, R-Dayton.
said the proposal was merely an
effort to make an informal bud
get agreement more binding.
"I've heard five different
understandings of what the agree
ment is." he said "It < an’t stand
on a handshake alone."
PAPERS
Continued from Page 1A
den t o
Boston University lias
introduced a letter signed by
King in 1964 in which he
named the university where
ho earned his doctorate as the
repository of his papers.
The letter said BU would
receive full ownership of the
papers upon King's death
The university’s lawyers
also played the jury a tape
recording of a news fonfer
ence at which King spoke of
giving the papers to BU.
Dr. Howard Gotlieb, the
university’s director of spe
i lal collet.lions, testified that
while Mrs. King has repeat
edly asked for the return of
the papers, King himself
never made such o request
King died without a will.
DIM
SUM
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Sweet and Sour Pork
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t
Asian Pacific American Student Union
prenent t»
Through Our dyes
To Your Kars
Ar* Our Word*
A panel diacuaaion foeualnq on
the Amen American inauea of:
• STEREOTYPES AND MODEL M1 MORITY MYTH
• MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP ISSUE AND GLASS CEILING
• ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT (HATE CRIMES)
• ASIAN AMERICAN IDENTITY IN NHITE AMERICA
Mcdnesdoy, April 28, 1993
6:30-8:30 p.m. In the Maple Rckxti
843 E 13th *343-6613