Page A2
FEB. 24, 1999
<Elje Portland <Sbs*twr
Reopening of Hawthorne
Bridge Delayed
T he reopening o f the H aw thorne
B ridge w ill b e d elay ed th ree -to -six
w eeks, p rim a rily d u e to u n fo re ­
seen cu sto m w o rk , se v ere w in te r
w e a th e r
and
c o rro s io n ,
M ultnom ah C o u n ty o ffic ia ls said.
T he 8 9 -y ea r o ld W illa m e tte R iv er
b rid g e w as c lo se d M arch 3 1 ,1 9 9 8
for a y ea r-lo n g p ain tin g , d eck re ­
p la ce m en t an d re n o v a tio n p ro ject.
In recen t m o n th s, se v eral facto rs
h ave co m b in ed to put th e p ro jec t
b eh in d sc h e d u le fo r its targ et re ­
o p en in g d ate o f M arch 31, 1999.
P ro ject le ad e rs say the b rid g e w ill
reo p en b e tw e e n A p ril 25 an d M ay
16. T h e re o p e n in g w ill b e a n ­
n o u n ced in M arch w h en a firm
d ate can b e d eterm in e d .
A cc o rd in g to p ro je c t m a n a g e r
Jo h n L in d e n th al, a p rim a ry ca u se
fo r th e d elay is cu sto m w o rk re ­
q u ired on S pan 6, th e w e ste rn m o st
b rid g e span, w h ic h c o n n e cts w ith
an o n -ra m p ab o v e N a ito P a rk ­
w ay. D etails o f p rev io u s rem o d e ls
to th is se ctio n in th e 1930’s an d
1 9 5 0 ’s w e re n o t d o c u m e n te d ,
fo rc in g e n g in e e rs to d esig n c u s­
tom re p a irs on th e spot.
T h e ex ten t o f co rro sio n to steel
m e m b e rs b en e ath th e d eck w as
also u n k n o w n until th e o ld d eck ,
in sta lle d in 1945, w as rem o v ed .
C o rro s io n w as w o rs e th a n e x ­
p ec te d , req u irin g m o re steel to b e
rep la ce d .
T h is w in te r’s se v ere w ea th er
has also b een a factor. P o rtla n d ’s
rainfall this season, m easu red from
O c to b e r 1, is 4 0 % ab o v e norm al
(3 0 .7 in c h es c o m p a re d to 2 1.9
in c h es). W ind an d rain m ak e it
m o re d iffic u lt to p ain t, w eld and
d o o th e r p ro jec t tasks.
T h e d elay w ill n o t cau se the
$21.8 m illio n p ro jec t to go o v er
b u d g et, said L in d en th al. W hile the
d elay w ill be in c o n v en ie n t, h e e m ­
p h a siz e d that th e ad d itio n a l re ­
pairs w ill help prevent future bridge
c lo sin g s, save tax d o lla rs an d e n ­
su re p u b lic safety. " I f w e m ake
th e s e im p r o v e m e n ts n o w , w e
w o n ’t n ee d to m a k e th em la te r,”
he said. T h e th ree -w e ek w in d o w
fo recast fo r th e re o p e n in g date
w ill allo w fo r an y a d d itio n a l c u s­
tom re p a irs th at m ay b e n eed ed ,
L in d en th al said.
W hen th e b rid g e d o e s re o p e n , i t
w ill b e a festiv e o cc asio n . M ore
th an 25 o rg a n iz a tio n s a re w o rk in g
to g e th er to p lan a g ran d reo p e n in g
ce le b ra tio n fo r th e p u b lic o n the
S atu rd ay b e fo re th e b rid g e re ­
o p en s. A ll o f P o rtlan d w ill b e in ­
v ited to to u r th e p ro jec t b e fo re it
reo p en s to traffic an d learn ab o u t
o th e r im p ro v e m e n ts in th e n earb y
area, su c h as th e fu tu re E ast B ank
E sp la n ad e Park. T h e H aw th o rn e
B o u lev a rd B u sin ess A sso c iatio n
has ad o p ted th e b rid g e re o p e n in g
as its m a jo r ev e n t o f th e y e a r to
h e lp v is ito r s “ r e d is c o v e r ” th e
H aw th o rn e D istrict. O rg an izatio n s
o r in d iv id u als w ish in g to g et in ­
v o lv ed in the re o p e n in g c e le b ra ­
tion sh o u ld co n tact M ich ael P ullen
investigation and other om budsm an
skills.
T he orien tatio n w ill begin on
Thursday, February 2 5 in Oregon City.
A s certified Om budsm en, the vol­
unteers serve as advocates for the
residents, by identifying to resolve
th o se
Com plaints. The typical problem
om budm en addresses cover a broad
range, and often include residents
C are; residents’ rights, such as
privacy, respect and dignity; and
quality o f life concerns such as ap­
propriate
A ctivities an d m eals.
V olunteers also m ay choose to
jo in the Resident A ssociate Program,
w hich focuses on visiting isolated or
L onely resid en ts.
For m ore inform ation about the
program or to learn to get involved,
contact K athy W alter at 1-800-522-
2602.
Workers’ Compensation
Reform... Reducing on the
Job Injuries and Deaths
B y S enator G ene D erfler
Reforms to O regon’s W orkers'
Com pensation System, made in 1990,
have resulted in benefits to seriously
injured worker increasing three to four
hundred percent. Focus has shifted
so that w hen a w orker is injured the
emphasis is on getting the w orker
healthy and returning them to their job
as soon as they are well. Injured w ork­
ers. like other workers, have families
they must support. Returning them to
their job and their full earning poten­
tial is vital.
Today, benefits for seriously in­
jured workers have significantly in­
creased and, the need for w orkers to
hire attorneys has greatly dim inished
To illustrate this, let’s look at an
actual case back in 1989. That year, a
saw operator lost a thumb and a finger
in an on the job accident. He was
awarded $ 19,488 for the resulting per­
m anent disability. H ad the incident
happened ten years later, his com pen­
sation w ould have been $61,018.
W orkers are not the only ones who
have benefited. Businesses have seen
a significant reduction in the rates
charged to them by insurers. For in­
stance, in 1990 a logging com pany
with a payroll o f $ 100,000 would have
had w orkers’ compensation insurance
premiums o f$ 4 1,390. By 1998.premi­
um s to that com pany fell to $21,690.
However, the reforms we have en­
acted are scheduled to expire this year.
The legislative reform s have also
m eant more focus on prevention o f on
the jo b injuries.
Since 1990. Oregon has seen a 26%
decline in on the job injuries, and most
importantly fatalities from on the job
accidents have fallen 55%.
A nd this is good news.
patients.The study covered one year,
from January 1,1998 to December 31,
1998 No prescriptions were wTitten under
the Act in 1997. Some o f the findings:
I wenty- three persons received pre­
scriptions oflethal medications; 15 died
after taking the medications. Six died
from their illnesses, and two were alive
asofJanuary 1,1999. Physician-assisted
suicide accounted for 5 o f every 10,000
deaths in Oregon.
The average age o f the 15 persons
who took lethal medication w as 69 years,
l ight were male and all were white. Thir­
teen had cancer Seven were from the
Portland metnipolitan area. Twelve had
graduated from high school.
■Physician-assisted suicide was not
disproportionately chosen by terminally
ill patients who were poor, uneducated,
uninsured, fearful of the financial conse­
quences oftheir illnesses, or who lacked
end o f life care.
The primary factor distinguishing
persons in Oregon who chose physi­
cian-assisted suicide related to the im­
portance o f autonomy and personal
control.
Portland Police and other law en ­
forcement agencies, in cooperation
with C rim e Stoppers, are asking for
your help in locating and apprehend­
ing Daniel Lucan M itchell. A Felony
Arrest W arrant, charging M itchell
with Rape In The Second D egree, is
on file in M ultnom ah County. The
warrant, w hich is extraditable nation­
wide, has bail set at $ 175,000 1n addi­
tion, Portland Police Bureau Robbery
Detectives w ant to question M itchell
in connection w ith yet undisclosed
investigations.
Daniel Lucan Mitchell is a 19-year-
old w hite m ale, w ith a date o fb irth o f
October31,1979. H e is approximately
5’ 10” tall and 165 pounds, with brown
hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his left
hand. A liases include D avid Lucas
The lethal medications prescribed to
patients were similar. For patients who
took lethal medications the average time
to unconsciousness was five minutes,
and ranged from three to20minutes. The
average time to death was 26 minutes,
and ranged from 15 minutes to 11.5
hours.
Physicians who took part in physi­
cian-assisted suicide represented mul­
tiple specialties and a wide range o f ages
and years-in-practice. Interviews with
participating physicians revealed that
for some, the process exacted a large
emotional toll.
“The Health Division is legally re­
quired to collect information regarding
compliance with the Act, and to make
that information available on an annual
basis,” Hedgerg said. "Our reporting
role is a neutral one. It is critical that we
have accurate data so that informed
ethical, legal, and medical decisions can
be made.”
The lull report will beavailable on the
w o rld w id e
w eb
at
h ttp ://
www.ohd.hr.state.or.us cdpe chs, pas-
pas.htm
S m i t h a n d
“ N ig h ts h a d o w "
Mitchell.
Crim e Stoppers
is offering a cash
re w a rd o f up to
$ 1,000 for informa­
tio n , re p o rte d to
C rim e S to p p e rs,
w hich leads to an
arrest in this case or
any
u n s o lv e d
felony crim e, and
you need not give
your name. C all ei­
ther the V ancouver
Police D epartm ent
at(360)696-8116,or
Crim e Stoppers at
(503)823-HELP
Multnomah County
Sheriff s Office
Large Meth Lab Found In
Burned House
W h e re : 17706S. E. M cK inely
W h a t: L arge M eth am p h et­
am ine lab
W h e n : F ebruary 17,1999
M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty S h e r i f f s
D eputies co n firm ed that a large
meth lab was being operated at 17706
S.W . M cK inely.
T he resid en ce b u rn ed on the
night o f F eb ru ary 17, 1999. N eig h ­
bors saw th ree m en run from the
resid en ce ju s t as the fire b ro k e out.
G resham F ire in itially resp o n d ed to
the 91 le a li.
W hen the fire w as put out, the
M ultnom ah C o u n ty S h e r if f s O f­
fic e w as c a lle d to th e s c e n e .
M ultnom ah C o u n ty A n im al Con-
This year, with strong bi-partisan
support, the State Senate said ‘yes! ’
to continuing the good news o f w ork­
ers’ com pensation reform.
I hope you will jo in the effort by
calling your state representative en­
couraging continued support (and a
yes vote) for reducing on the job inju­
ries and deaths.
If you have questions or w ant to
express your support o f reforms that
are truly making a difference, please
call meat 1-800-332-2313.
State Senator G ene Derfler is the
Majority Leader in the Oregon Senate.
He also serves as chair o f the Senate
Public Affairs Com mittee, which is
dealing with this issue. Senator Derfler
is from the Salem area and represents
the com munities of: Salem, Stayton,
Aumsville, Turner, Jefferson, and Sub­
limity. Hecan be reached at theCapitol
in Salem at (503)986-1950
Oregon’s Death With Dignity
Act: First Year’s Experience
The Oregon Health Division released
its report on the first year ’ s experience o f
persons participating in the Death With
Dignity A c t The findings from this re­
port are also published in this w eek’s
New England Journal ofMedicine.
“Our findings revealed that finances
and fear o f pain did not appear to be
critical considerations in the choice o f
physician-assisted suicide. Instead,
persons who chose physician-assisted
suicide were primarily concerned about
personal autonomy and control over
the manner in which they died.'' said Dr
Katrina Hedberg, medical epidemiolo­
gist at the Health Division and an author
o f the report.Epidemiologists at the
Health Division collected information
on the persons who received prescrip­
tions for lethal medications Ihey also
conducted a comparison study between
the group that chose physician-assisted
suicide, and took their lethal medica­
tions, with a second group that died from
similar illnesses but did not receive pre­
scriptions for lethal medication Inter­
views were conducted with the physi­
cians who treated both groups o f
Wanted Subject
at 7 3 6 -6 8 0 4 .
Advocates Sought to Serve
Long Term Care Residents
V olunteer advocate and investi­
gators are needed to serve as om ­
budsm en for residents o f nursing
homes,
Residential care facilities, assisted
living facilities and adult foster care
fecilities.
A nd adults foster care hom es. The
office o f the Long Term Care O m ­
budsm an w ill tram the volunteers on
The aging process, com m unica­
tion skills, problem -solving skills,
POLICE NEWS
trol took tw o m astiffs, very large
dogs, from the residence.
T he M ultnom ah C ounty N arco t­
ics u n it secured the area overnight
and ob tain ed a search w arrant for
the house and o u ter buildings. T o ­
day, S h e riff s N arcotics and HazM at
dep u ties search ed the hom e. D ep u ­
ties found approxim ately:
•Two, five-gallon cans filled with
em pty psu ed o ep h ed rin e bottles
•Twelve cases o f psuedoephedrine
•Four pounds o f red phosphorus
•One hundred pounds o f iodine
•Forty-tw o pounds o f potassium
hydroxide
•O ne h u n d re d fifty g a llo n s o f
h y d r o c h lo r id e g as
My bus needs to
run more often.
•Tw o h u n d re d p lu s g a llo n s o f
m e th an o l
N u m e ro u s p ie c e s o f c h e m is ­
try la b g la s s w a re
In a d d itio n to th e d ru g e v i­
d e n c e , d e p u t ie s s e iz e d th r e e
s e m i-a u to m a tic h a n d g u n s , an d a
sa w e d o f f s h o tg u n . O n e o f th e
h a n d g u n s w as s to le n .
S h e r i f f s d e p u tie s a re a tte m p t­
ing to lo c a te o n e id e n tif ie d s u s ­
p e c t an d b e lie v e th a t a t le a s t tw o
o th e rs w ill b e id e n tif ie d an d a r ­
r e s te d .
A n y o n e w ith a n y in f o rm a tio n
a b o u t th e in d iv id u a ls in v o lv e d
ca n c a ll in v e s tig a to r s a t 2 5 1 -
2510.
My bus stop needs
a posted schedule.
My bus stop
needs a shelter.
______ ________ __ _______ Calling All Riders
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
Tri-Met is hoping to make im provem ents to some existing bus routes. And w e d like
to hear what you w ould do if you w ere in charge We invite you to attend any of our
op en houses listed below. If you're unable to attend and still want to share your
thoughts, call us at 238-5806, fax us 239-6469 or visit our w ebsite (www.tri-met.org».
February 22, 1999
February 23, 1999
February 25. 1999
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Tigard High Schixil
Lecture Hall
9000 SVt Durham Road
Tigard. OR 9722-»
7:00pm - 9:00pm
St. John's Episcopal Church
Parish Hall
2036 SE Jefferson
Milwaukie, OR 97222
7:00pm - 9:00pm
NF. Workforce Training Ctr.
Building 2. Rtxim 112
5600 NE 42nd
Portland. OR 97218
March 1, 1999
March 2, 1999
March 3, 1999
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Garden Home Recreation Ctr.
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Gresham City Hall
Council Chambers
1333 NW Eastman Pkwy.
Gresham. OR 97030
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Portland Building
Rixtm C
1120 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Rixim B
7475 SW ( )lsen Road
Portland. OR 97223
TRI-MET
238-RIDE
mrm-MU
How we g e t th e r e m a t te r s