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 u-u.siicaL'nativtk.tiSLiLtkiiacacHiiatyiliU'uictdLtU 52.00 OFF Converse Shoes Sunglasses • Pipes $1.00 OFF Posters 24 Pk ISI Whip Cream Charges StO 99 Lazar's Bazar Cards & Gifts 57 W Broadway Downtown Mall S87-OI39 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«. . • MJ-J88J • oui CAMPUS SHOE REPAIR * f Women's Duck Boots $AA95 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