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M an S entenced
for C hurch T hreats
A man plead guilty Aug. 7 to charges of
i * V threatening to bomb Vancouver’s Metro
politan Community Church of the Gentle
Shepherd and to kill its pastor in May.
Washington State Superior Court Judge
Roger Bennett asked Casey Gene Piersol about
the telephone calls, saying that the Rev. Dianne
Shaw’s deposition “claims you knowingly
threatened to bomb the church” and that “you
threatened to injure Dianne Shaw” and “put her
in fear.” He admitted the calls had been made
from his home hut insisted he didn’t remember
making any of them because he was entertain
ing friends and was drunk.
“1 don’t even know this person,” Piersol
said. “I’d been drinking. I don’t remember
anything.”
Prosecutor Kurt M. Rylander reminded the
court that the arresting officer had stated,
“Casey admitted he made the threat but claimed
to he drunk and is disabled because he has a bul
let in his brain." The attorney brought up sever
al instances of the defendant’s previous interac
tions with the justice system, including threats
similar to those made against the church and
Shaw.
Piersol was sentenced to 150 days’ incarcera
tion, of which 77 had been served; was ordered
to serve two years on probation; and was fined
$500 to benefit the Crime Victims’ Fund as well
$110 for court costs. He will be released from jail
by Sept. 24.
“It was hard to rehear [the transcript of the
tapes] and it was very disturbing to hear him
deny that he did it,” Shaw said. “I don’t believe
he got the message at all. I don’t believe he
Ï0 & M 2
reach
Landlord Gary Nelson expressed shock that
the business community isn’t more involved in
the advisory group. “It really does affect them to
a great extent," he said.
The group decided to compile a survey
assessing community needs before taking any
further action. The next meeting will start
7 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Pettygrove Room at Port
land City Hall, 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave.
N ational H ealth R eport
R anks P ortland N o . 1
new report ranks Portland No. 1 among
the nations 100 largest cities in meeting
key Healthy People 2000 goals. T he Rose City
tied with San Jose, Calif.
Portland or its suburbs met or exceeded six of
the seven Healthy People goals examined: low
birth weight, infant mortality, AID S, syphilis,
tuberculosis and homicide. The city’s low birth
weight rate, 5.4 percent, was the nation’s lowest
in 1999.
“This achievement is not just about health
care; it is a reflection of the lifestyle of our entire
community,” said Lillian Shirley, Multnomah
County Health Department director. “It
includes issues of housing, urban planning and
alternative transportation along with more con
ventional awareness of healthy diet, exercise
and preventative care.”
According to Shirley, her agency has a histo
ry of developing successful and innovative pro
grams by emphasizing prevention and promot
ing healthy behavior. A communitywide effort
to reduce the rates of HIV and sexually trans
mitted diseases sought the involvement of law
A
Melinda Marie Jette, Burnside Triangle Advisory Group co-chairwoman, brainstorms ideas Aug. 8
understood that when you do that, there are
consequences.”
The term “hate crime” never was used in
court, but Shaw is clear Piersol’s threat was
motivated by hatred of sexual minorities. “You
drop a hate crime like a pebble into the water,”
she said, “and it just keeps circling out and out
and out forever.”
Shaw added in a statement: “W hen we gath
er for worship and any other activities, we find
ourselves looking out the windows when some
one walks by. Before, we did not pay any atten
tion to people going by outside our doors and
windows.... Now all that has changed.”
................. .......... .... . mu..................................
T he P rotest T hat W asn ’ t
rumored uprising never materialized when
the Burnside Triangle Advisory Group met
Aug. 8. According to the Portland Tribune,
“evangelical groups” and “Christian conserva
tives” were planning to protest the committee,
which makes recommendations about the
downtown gay district s redevelopment.
A lthough police officers and security
guards remained on alert about the potential
demonstration, no naysayers showed up. In
fact, only seven people came altogether—
media included.
A
Continued on Page 8
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