Feared crowd fails to visit Yosemite Park
YOSEM1TE NATIONAL
PARK. ClaIif. (AP) — A feared
influx of c.ars and people failed
to inundate Yosemite National
Park over the Memorial Day
weekend.
Hoping to avoid the traffic
jams and crammed parking lots
of a week earlier. Yosemite offi
cials warned that they would
shut entrances if too many peo
ple descended on the park dur
ing the three-day weekend.
They didn't have to.
"It's nice, it's really nice."
park spokeswoman Detai Drake
said Sunday "There are a lot of
people, but it's not like it was a
week ago when we were grid
locked at 10 a m."
Delays of up to five hours
were predicted in television
announcements, newspapers
and on highway signs
"The word obviously got out
that we only had so much
space." said Kris Fister. another
park service spokeswoman
"People heeded the advice we
gave them."
lust a week before, tourists
without reservations were
forced to wait up to three hours
as all the park's entrances were
temporarily closed.
Park officials blamed the clo
sures on heavy winter snowfall
which blocked access to two
major roads within Yosemite
and forced tourists into a small
er portion of the park's wilder
ness. The heavy winter precipi
lation — following a nix-year
drought — also has rejuvenated
wildlife and waterfalls, attract
ing more sightseers
A week ago business was
thriving for Ray Standley. own
er of the Fish Camp General
Store near Yosemite Expecting
even more tourists for the
Memorial Day weekend, he
stocked up. But on Sunday sales
were slow, only about half of
last year when a record 73.5R5
people and 25.3R7 cars entered
the park during the holiday
weekend.
"I've had days in the middle
of the week better than the day
I had yesterday." he said "You
stock up heavy for this and then
you get shot down Iitf's just say
it costs."
Standlev said the park service
may have too sternly warned
visitors to stay away
If you're thinking of coming
up to Yosemite and you knew
you had to wait that long, 1 don't
think you'd come." he said "I
do believe they «ould strike a
happy medium A five-hour
wait is one heck of a long time "
Those who did make the trek
were happy they came
"The worry was whether the
park would t>e able to keep peo
ple away, and they've done it
dramatically," said visitor Scott
Harms of Danville
"It's gorgeous — the rivers are
gorgeous." said Rae Sullivan of
Los Angeles
Officials question tough drug laws
(AP) — Eighteen-year-old
Mike Aguirre is serving 51
months in federal prison for sell
ing small amounts of the drug
LSD, on offense that might hove
drawn probation and a short
term in jail if the case had been
prosecuted in state court.
Some lawyers and judges are
questioning tough sentencing
guidelines for federal drug con
victions, saying the government
may be wasting money by lock
ing up people for minor crimes.
"Are we winning the war on
drugs, or are we spending the
treasury to satisfy some political
program?” asked U.S. District
Judge James Redden of Portland
Last February. Aguirre, of
Central Point, was homeless,
moving from one friend's house
to the next, delivering pizzas
and trying to stay in school.
Eventually he landed in the
home of a fellow track team
member, Steve Thomson, whose
parents were very helpful,
Aguirre says.
"I had no place to live,"
Aguirre said of Dan and Judy
Thomson. "They would feed me
and help me out with things."
But last February, the couple
were arrested for dealing in
LSD. Aguirre was charged in the
same federal case for selling
small amounts of the illegal hal
lucinogen
Aguirre was sent to prison (or
51 months under a complex set
of federal rule* aimed at getting
tough on drug crimes
Even though Congress is con
sidering changes in federal
prison sentencing guidelines,
critics say the revisions don't go
far enough.
"1 think we're wasting an
enormous amount of money."
said Redden. "I think we've
tried this approach long enough
to at least convince me we're
going down the wrong track "
In its "The State of Criminal
Justice" report in February, the
American Bar Association noted
that violent crime is increasing
while drug use is decreasing
nationwide. Yet federal efforts
are itu musingly focused on pun
ishing drug crimes, the report
noted.
The number of drug offenders
in federal prison has more than
doubled since 1‘tHl Currently,
almost 60 percent of the prison
inmates are serving time for
drug violations, according to the
Federal Bureau of Prisons.
In 1991, the federal govern
ment spent $10.8 billion annual
ly for drug law enforcement.
Meanwhile, the federal expendi
ture was $1.4 billion for drug
abuse prevention and $1.7 bil
lion for drug treatment, ai c ord
ing to U S. Department of Jus
tic*.
Some critics say the sentenc
ing guidelines are merely a
political tool for Congress
"A whole lot of this is based
on politics — which political
party can seem to he the tough
est on crime to placate the pub
lic,'' says Nkechi Tatfa, legisla
tive counsel for the American
Civil Liberties Union in Wash
ington, DC "1 really feel the
whole public debate on crime
needs to shift."
Taifa says the law should pro
vide more prevention and treat
ment programs and conserve
expensive prison beds for vio
lent offenders
Hut supporters of the lough
sentencing guidelines say they
reduce crime.
The number of rnethampbeta
mine laboratories operating in
the state has declined since the
guidelines were adopted So
have drug-related crimes like
burglaries and bank robberies,
says Assistant U S Attorney
Harry Sholdahl, chief of the
criminal division for the district
of Oregon.
The guidelines also have met
other goals that led Congress to
establish them, Shelduhl says,
including a "truth in sentenc
ing" policy that prevents early
parole.
Campsites
will be busy
this summer
(AIM — Solitude will lie
hard to come by this Slimmer
at public campgrounds
throughout Oregon
"It’s a madhouse," said
Richard Wilde, a spokesman
for the Oregon State I’arks
Division "I would say it's
going to lie another very busy
summer The major thing is
to plan ahead "
Although finding a spot at
one of tile division's fit)
campgrounds may he diffi
cult, a Willamette National
Forest spokesman says
there's usually an open site
somewhere in the forest's H:t
campgrounds
"I would certainly say it's
going to be an average or (let
ter year, unless the weather
continues to he dreary all
summer." said Kandy Dun
liar, recreation staff officer for
the Willamette National For
est
Of the 50 state camp
grounds. 11) accept reserva
tions and are rapidly becom
ing hooked for tile summer
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