| Oregon update |
Today Tuesday Wednesday
High: 69 High: 70 High: 78
Low: 46 Low: 48 Low: 53
Precip: 0% Precip: 0% Precip: 20%
IN BRIEF
Mount Hood resort seeks
snow-making system
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. —
After a dry winter that made for a
disappointing ski season, the own
ers of the Mount Hood Meadows ski
resort are asking the federal govern
ment for permission to build a
snow-making system.
If approved, the resort would be
come the second in Oregon to have
such a system, after Central Oregon’s
Mount Bachelor.
The proposal will be reviewed by
the U.S. Forest Service and the Ore
gon Water Resources Department.
The resort’s operators want
permission to take water from an
existing well and pump as much as
449 gallons per minute from the
East Fork of the Hood River and
turn it into snow.
The ski area has also asked to
build a million-gallon steel storage
tank above ground that would be
29 feet high and 78 feet in diameter.
The resort intends to bury
2.65 miles of steel pipe that could feed
as many as 45 hydrants where snow
blowing guns could be attached,
enough to blow snow across more
than 30 acres at lower elevations.
But conservationists are objecting
to the proposal, saying the Forest
Service is limiting the public’s abili
ty to investigate because it’s trying
to fast-track the project so it can be
built this summer.
The Friends of Mt. Hood group is
asking for increased scrutiny under
the National Environmental Policy
Act, which would give the group
30 days to review a final order and
appeal the decision if it saw fit.
Any decisions could also be de
layed while biologists look at poten
tial effects on endangered spotted
owl habitat, said Doug Jones, the
Forest Service project manager.
Debate over water rights could also
bog down the proposal.
Supporters urge passage
of mental health bill
SALEM — Dozens of supporters of
a proposal to require medical insurers
to cover the costs incurred by treat
ment for mental illness pleaded with
members of the Oregon House to sup
port the plan during a recent hearing.
The proposal is the latest in a
string of similar bills that have been
introduced over the years to require
insurance coverage for treating
mental disorders.
But unlike those previous bills, this
plan, Senate Bill 1, has passed one
chamber, winning Senate backing in
March on a 23-6 vote.
Still, the Republican-controlled
House has been reluctant to take up
mental-health parity proposals on
account of objections by businesses
to the increased cost of fulfilling in
surance coverage mandates.
Portland resident Vincent Salvi
urged House members to consider
the bill at a hearing this week, say
ing the trauma of discovering that
his son was afflicted with a schizo
affective disorder was heightened
by the fact that treatment costs
quickly exceeded what insurance
would pay.
Salvi said he and his wife ended up
dipping into their retirement savings
and taking out a second mortgage to
pay for their son’s treatment.
“Very few people can make those
types of financial commitments,”
he said.
Even so, Rep. Billy Dalto, R
Salem, said the bill needed more
work on such issues as designing
coverage standards and mitigating
business concerns about rising in
surance costs.
Twenty-three states have already
passed or are considering legislation
requiring private insurers to provide as
much coverage for mental-health treat
ments as they do for physical medical
care. Washington’s Legislature passed
such a bill this year.
Many businesses, which share the
costs of insurance with their employ
ees, have opposed such efforts. The
National Federation of Independent
Business, Associated Oregon Indus
tries and insurance companies are
among those lobbying against the
Oregon bill.
Student ID bill expected
to win House approval
SALEM — A bill allowing Oregon’s
public universities to contract with a
private company to issue student-body
cards is on its way to the House floor.
Under the legislation, sensitive per
sonal information such as Social Secu
rity numbers would be protected.
The bill is expected to get full
House approval and be signed into
law by the governor.
HigherOne, a private financial serv
ices company based in Connecticut,
has contracted with Southern Oregon
University and Portland State Univer
sity to issue the cards.
Students who receive financial aid
can activate a debit card to access
funds from a private checking account.
The card looks like a MasterCard and
uses a 10-digit account number.
Some students were upset the con
tract with HigherOne called for de
tailed information, including name,
gender, date of birth, and most impor
tantly, Social Security numbers.
But John Wykoff, executive director
of the Oregon Student Association,
said the Social Security number is only
required if the student chooses to use
HigherOne’s checking service.
Both Portland State University and
Southern Oregon University amended
their contracts, making it clear the
company would not have access to
Social Security numbers.
Students have a different comfort
level now about giving out sensitive
personal information, Wykoff said. He
called the bill “a first good step” in pro
tecting students from identity theft
The Senate passed the bill April 26.
Two hikers injured in
North Sister avalanche
BEND — An avalanche in the Cen
tral Oregon Cascades injured two hik
ers Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
The victims were plucked from the
10,085-foot North Sister by Black
hawk helicopters sent by the Oregon
National Guard. The hikers were tak
en to St. Charles Medical Center
Bend, where they were being treated
for injuries considered critical, said
Kay Fristad, a Guard spokeswoman.
A hospital spokeswoman said she
had no information about the hikers.
One Blackhawk helicopter re
trieved a 40-year-old woman from
about the 8,000-foot mark, Fristad
said, adding that a second helicopter
got a man who is about the same age.
A Deschutes County dispatcher
said the avalanche struck at about
1 p.m.
— The Associated Press
Oregon Ballroom Dance Club presents:
c)n (d%ah ^Uerona
A Formal Masquerade Ball
Date: Friday, May 27tli
Time: Le**on at 7:30, Dancing 8:30-11:30
Location: EMU Ballroom
Cost: $8 atudent*, $10 community
Price include* foxtrot/waltz leason*
by Tim Bennet from Portland
For more information, call 346-6025
or go to ballroom.uoregon.edu
Say thank you.
Throughout your college career there have
always been people who believed in you. On
June 11, show them how thankful you are by
presenting them with the Stole of Gratitude.
The Stole of Gratitude is worn
during the graduation ceremony
and presented afterward to:
■ Your favorite professor or GTF
• Your parent or guardian
■ Anyone who has given you support
Available now at the UO Bookstore
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
895 E 13th Ave. ■ 346-4331 ■ UOBookstore.com
BOOKSTORE
022407
Sj
asuo
womens
center
director Candidate
‘Presentation
Today
12:00-1:00pm
Women’s Center Lounge
Suite 3, EMU
Lunch Provided
Please join the Women’s
Center in welcoming our first
Director candidate
Jennifer Siecienski
Jennifer will present to
students on her vision for the
Women’s Center. The
presentation will be followed
by a Q/A session.
For more information, call
346-4095
Keep MUSIC in your life at the
WEtmM university of Oregon.
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
University of Oregon
Do you like music? Broaden your knowledge by taking a music class,
or join one of more than 20 performing ensembles. School of Music
classes and ensembles are for all students, not just music majors.
Register NOW for fall term!
Fall Music Classes
Open to All Students
Those with an asterisk (*) satisfy Arts & Letters
or Multicultural requirements.
• Understanding Music* • Rock History*
• Survey of Music History* • Jazz History*
• Music in World Cultures*
• Class Piano • Class Voice • Tabla Class
• Guitar Classes: Classical, Jazz, Blues, Funk
Join a Performing Group
More than 20 ensembles are open to all
students. Auditions and placements are
September 21-25 at the School of Music.
QUESTIONS?
Call 346-1164 or 346-3761.
music.uoregon.edu