May 19, 199<
ÿtarUanô (Dhaeruer
Page A3
pregón Tracks
Immigration Fraud
Michigan Teens Charged
in Shooting Plot
Bv GERALPA MILLER_____________
A tto rn ey G en e ra l H ardy M yers
today alerted rec en t im m ig ran ts to
the U nites S tates o f p o ssib le im ­
m ig r a tio n s e r v ic e s f ra u d a n d
w arned p ro v id ers o f s e rv ic es th a t
th e O regon D ep a rtm en t o f Ju stic e
w ould n o t to le ra te any illeg a l a c ­
tiv ities. M y ers and U .S. R e p re­
sen tativ e E arl B lu m en a u er, T h ird
D istrict, P ortlan d , jo in e d m em bers
o f the A tto rn ey G e n e ra l’s Im m i­
g ration S erv ices F rau d T ask F orce
a t a P o rtlan d new s c o n fe re n c e on
im m ig ratio n se rv ic es fraud.
“ Im m igration law is extrem ely
complex and constantly changing,”
Myers said. “People should only seek
assistance from attorneys or individu­
als and organizations accredited by
the Board o f Immigration Appeals.
In an effort to provide O regon
im m igrants w ith the best tools to
recognize bad im m igration advice,
the D epartm ent o f Justice form ed a
task force o f com m unity organiza­
tions and political leaders in 1998.
D uring the past 12 m onths, the
group supplied M yers’ consum er
protection section w ith inform ation
concerning businesses and individu­
als as w ell as toproviding rep resen ­
tative o f the B oard o f Im m igration
A ppeals (B IA ). T he jo in t efforts
resulted in the filing o f four settle­
m ent agreem ents.
N am ed in a A ssu ran ce o f V o l­
untary C om pliance filed tod ay in
the M arion C ounty C o u rt H ouse
are D iana and Jam es S hanks o f
Salem , ow ners o f D ia n a ’s T ra n sla ­
tion, a busin ess w hich p rim arily
e n g a g e d in t r a n s l a t i o n a n d
in te ro p eratio n se rv ic es b u t also
services b u t also assiste d clients
w ith the co m p letio n o f im m ig ra­
tion form s. T he S hanks, w ho adm it
no law v io latio n s, agreed to co m ­
ply w ith the U nlaw ful T rad e P ra c­
tices A ct and state and federal im ­
m ig ratio n -related law s and to p ro ­
vide $1,124 in restitu tio n to six
consum ers.
U n d er th e term s
mv S hanks also -
o f the * aaautunvv,
assurance, the
agreed to give w ritten notification
to all clients stating that D ian a”
T ranslations is not qualified to give
im m igrants ad vice and identifying
p roper sources o f im m igration ad ­
vice and identifying proper sources
o f im m igration advice. T he Salon
C om pany w ill pay $2,000 to the
D epartm en t o f Justice consum er
protection and ed ucation account.
Tw o C lackam as C ounty b u si­
nesses providing im m igration ser­
v ic e s , P u e r ta s A b ie r ta s P a ra
A m erica (O pen D oors to A m erica)
and its su ccessor, A m istad, have
b een volun tarily dissolved as part
o f agreem ents signed w ith the D e­
partm en t o f Justice.
B efore closing its doors, Puertas
A biertas provided im m igration ser­
vices for several m onths w ithout
bein g accred ited by the BIA and
w ithout assistan ce o f an attorney.
O w ners Paul D ean N icholas and
G eraldo G u tierrez, b oth o f O regon
C ity, agreed to provide m ore than
$7,000 in restitu tio n to 21 cu sto m ­
ers and w ill pay $ 1,500 to the D e­
partm en t o f Justice.
F orm er em ployees o f Puertas
Abiertas, attorney Dale Stache o f
B eaverton and Cynthia H ofer o f
Canby, a notary public, established
A mistad, w hich closed its doors after
operating for only three months. The
com pany advertised as a full service
im m igration assistance organization
w hen, in fact, the business simply
provided adm inistrative services to
Stache, a sole practitioner o f im m i­
gration law. Both Hofer agreed to
not violate the law in the future and
H ofer paid $ 1,000 to the D epartment
o f Justice. Stache paid $300 and
agreed to end all business connec­
tions w ith Amistad.
Other task force accomplishments
include the D epartm ent o f Justice
adoption o f an adm inistrative rule,
w hich prohibits the m isrepresenta­
tion o f pow er and authority by notary
publics; the establishm ent o f the At­
torney
G eneral’s
Spanish — language
j
*
—
consum er; the establishm ent o f the
A ttorney G enerals Spanish language
consum er hotline; and the publica­
tion o f im m igration services fraud
brochures printed in six languages,
including English, Spanish, Russian,
V ietnam ese, M andarin C hinese and
Serbo Croatian.
The brochure urges immigrants to
think
for -------
immi
uiuuv twice before paying —
gration advice and remind those seek-
ing information to do the following,
Determine if the advice giver is an
attomeyoranaccreditedrepresentative
o f the board o f Immigration Appeals.
Always ask to see the credentials
R eq u est an o ffic ia l n o tice o f
rep resen tatio n o r a w ritten retain er
agreem ent.
Be sure to discuss any possible
risks involved before subm itting pa­
pers to the im m igration and N atural­
ization Services (INS).
M e m b e rs o f th e A tto r n e y
G en e ra l’s task force include: T he
M exican C on su late o f O regon, O r­
egon housing and A sso ciated S er­
vices, C om m unity A ction A gency
o f Y am hill county, C atholic C h a ri­
ties, O regon Law C enter, Inc., Im ­
m ig ra tio n C o u n se lin g S erv ice s,
SO A R , C entro de Servicios P ara
C a m p e sin o s (P C U N ), L u th e ra n
F am ily S ervices, IC S (St. L uke
C ath o lic C hurch o f W oodburn),
C om m ission o f H ispanic A ffairs,
a n d a t to r n e y s - a t- la w R o b e rt
D onaldson, A lan G allagher, D ick
G insburg, and D ennis M cC affrey.
State and federal officials repre­
sented on the task force include gov
em or John K itzhaber, U.S. Senator
Gordan Smith. U.S. Representative
Earl Blum enauer and State Senator
Susan Castillo.
F or more inform ation on im m i­
gration services fraud, consum ers
may call the A ttorney G eneral ’ s con­
sum er hotline at (503) 378-4320 or
(503) 229-5576 (Portland only) or
write Financial Fraud/Consum er Pro-
tection, 1162 C ourt Street, N.E., Sa
lem, Oregon 97310
us Driver Had History
of Pot Use
» y ALAN SAYRE
_______________
' T»« A ssocutid P m ss
N E W O R L E A N S (A P ) — T he
driver o f c h a rte r bus that cra sh ed
an M o th e r ’s D a y , k il l i n g 22
people, had b een fired tw ic e in the
last d ecade fo r m a riju an a u se and
tested p o sitiv e for the d rug sh o rtly
after the d ea d ly w reck , fed eral in ­
v estig ato rs said.
C u sto m B us C h a rte rs d riv e r
F rank B ed ell, 4 6 , lo st b u s d riv in g
jobs in 1989 and 1996 a fte r te sts
show ed he had u se d m a riju a n a ,
the N ational T ra n sp o rtatio n S afety
B oard sa id T h ursday.
A federal in v e stig a to r also c o n ­
firm ed th a t B ed ell, w ho has c o n ­
gestive h eart d isease, k id n e y p ro b ­
lem s and d ia b e te s, te ste d p o sitiv e
for m a riju an a w h en he w as h o sp i­
talized S unday after the bus veered
o f f a h ig h w ay and p lu n g e d dow n
an em bankm ent.
It was not clear how long before
the crash B edell m ight have sm oked
m arijuana o r w hether the drug co n ­
tributed to the accident, said N T SB
investigator K en Suydam .
“It’s another piece o f the puzzle we
have to put together,” Suydam said.
B edell te ste d p o sitiv e fo r m a ri­
ju a n a w h ile em p lo y ed as a c ity bus
d riv er in N ew O rlean s an d in su b ­
urban Je fferso n P arish.
< S o m etim e a fte r b e in g h ire d in
N ew O rle a n s in 1976, B e d ell w as
given a d ru g te st b e c a u s e he had
been a b s e n t fo r w o rk fo r eig h t
days, S u y d am said . A fte r te stin g
p o s itiv e fo r m a riju a n a , B e d e ll
sp e n t se v e ra l m o n th s a tte n d in g
c la sse s in an e m p lo y e e a s sista n c e
pro g ram .
♦ B ut he later tested p ositive again
fo r the drug and w as fired in M arch
4 9 8 9 , S uydam said.
• In 1992, B edell w as h ire d as a
¿ r iv e r fo r su b u rb a n b u se s. H e
Tailed a m a riju a n a d ru g te st the
¿ e x t y ear, S uydam said . B edell
¿ p e n t tw o m o n th s in a d ru g reh a­
b ilita tio n pro g ram , b u t te ste d p o si­
t i v e ag ain fo r th e d ru g in 1996 and
‘w as te rm in a te d a w eek later.
X Authorities previously said he tested
:positive for cocaine in 1997 after ap­
w ith in an 18-m onth period. W hat
plying for a job with Greyhound.
B ut B edell p assed at least three else co u ld we h av e d o n e?”
S uydam said in v estig ato rs also
d ru g tests w h ile w o rk in g for C u s­
fo
cu
sed T h u rsd ay on a rep o rt that
tom B us C h a rters, the com pany
th a t p ro v id e d th e b u s fo r th e B ed ell ch eck ed in to a h o sp ital
M o th e r’s D ay gam bling excursion em erg en cy room 12 h ours before
S u n d a y ’s crash for treatm en t o f
to a M ississip p i casino.
C u s to m p r e s i d e n t D o n n a d eh y d ra tio n an d ex trem ely low
B e g o v ic h s a id in a s ta te m e n t b lo o d pressure.
T h e cau se o f the crash has yet
T h u rsd ay th a t she w as sh o ck ed to
learn B edell tested p o sitiv e for to be d eterm in ed . B edell rem ains
in a h o sp ital and is u n av ailab le for
m ariju an a afte r th e crash.
“O f cou rse, C ustom had no w ay com m ent.
B e d ell’s m edical history has not
o f k now in g F ra n k ’s drug usage at
b
een
lin k ed to the accid en t by the
any tim e ,” B eg o v ich said. “Frank
N
T
S
B
in v estig ato rs. H ow ever, in­
B edell passed his p re-em ploym ent
v
estig
ato
rs say the case show s gaps
drug te st, th e c ity ’s drug test, a
in the system to m ake sure bus
police b ack g ro u n d check and three
d riv ers are m e d ica lly sound.
s u b s e q u e n t ra n d o m d ru g te s ts
O Tw
A m o c ia t id
hm
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) —
Four boys have been charged with
plotting a shooting at their middle
school similar to the April rampage at
Colorado’s Columbine High School.
Justin Schnepp and Jedaiah Zinzo,
both 14, w ere charged as adults
Thursday with conspiracy to com m it
murder for allegedly planning to kill
classmates at their 560-student Hol-
iand W o o d sM id d leS ch o o l.T h etw o
remained in custody Saturday on
$ 100,000 bail each.
The two others, ages 12 and 13,
have been charged as juveniles with
the same crime. They also rem ained
in custody on Saturday.
“ They plan n ed to com m it ... a
slaughter and m assacre o f H olland
W oods students,” said M ary K elly,
a St. C lair C o u n ty assistant pros­
ecutor. She said the plot "h ad been
in the planning and in the m aking
for o ver a w eek.”
The fourwere arrested on Wednes­
day and Thursday at their homes.
P ro se c u to rs a lle g e th e teen s
planned to top the death toll o f the
April 20 m assacre at Columbine,
where Eric H am s and Dylan Klebold
killed 12 students and a teacher be­
fore com m itting suicide.
The d istric t’s 12,000 students
w ere told to stay hom e from its 21
cam puses after a bom b was discov­
ered near the Holland W oods cam ­
pus on Thursday night. A janitor
found the device shortly after par­
ents and school officials met there to
discuss the b o y s’ alleged plot.
The bom b, w hich police say is not
connected to the alleged plan, was
disarm ed by state police before be­
ing shipped to a Bureau o f Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms lab for analy­
sis. said V era Fedorak, an agency
spokeswoman.
The bo y s’ alleged plans w ere dis­
covered after a 14-year-old girl told
police she overheard them talking
about an elaborate killing spree. She
told police she overheard som e o f
the boys saying they w anted to kill all
the school’s “preps,” the popular
clique o f students.
The girl told police the M ichigan
boys said their plan was to go on a
shooting spree in a gym assem bly
and detonate a bomb afterward. A u­
thorities have declined to specify
other evidence that led to the charges.
School officials canceled w eek­
end sports events and w ere conduct­
ing school-by-school inspections
before planning to announce Sunday
whether classes will be held this week.
Medical Examiner Describes Gunshots
A STO R IA , O R E G O N — T he
sta te ’s form er m ed ical e x a m in e r
has taken the stan d in th e d o u b le
m urder trial o f B radley P rice. Price
w as w ith co n v icte d “ th rill k ill”
trigger-m an Jesse Me A llister w hen
h e m u rd ered a P o rtlan d co u p le on
th e b each fo r no apparent reason.
Y esterd ay , D o cto r L arry L ew m an
d escrib ed the effects o f the close-
ran g e g u n sh o ts that k illed the tw o
v ic tim s . H e s a y s o n e v ic tim ,
Oregon To Take
Kosovar Refugees
PORTLAND, OREGON —
Charitable groups are preparing to
welcome K osovar refugees that are
on their w ay to Portland. A spokes-
woman for Catholic C harities says
they’re hoping Portland area resi­
dents with relatives that m ight have
In-Home Child-
Care Faces
Inspections
fled Kosovo will make themselves
know n so they can be matched with
in c o m in g
re fu g e e s.
C e c e lia
Buresovich (bur-REE-so-vich) says
as many as 60 refugees could be here
by summer. She says families will be
housed together.
Silo Fire Threatens Town
THE DALLES, OREGON — A
north-central Oregon grain silo is now
about a third o f its height after going up
in flames. The silo fire forced people
out ofThe Dalles downtown area, even
threatening to spread to nearby Inter­
state-84. The Dalles City Manager
B ro o k e G oza, had her head “ d ow n
in the sa n d ," w hen the b u lle t w ent
th ro u g h her head. P rice is accu sed
o f h o ld in g G oza w h ile M c A llister
shot her. P rice is ex p ected to te s ­
tify in his d efen se M onday.
Nolan Young says officials feared em­
bers from the burning silo would land
on buildings in the downtown area, and
ordered the evacuation. But Young
says the silo collapsed without tipping
over, preventing the fire from igniting
more buildings.
SA L E M , O R E G O N — S tate o f­
ficials m ay start ch eck in g up on
p eo p le w ho p ro v id e c h ild -c a re in
th eir hom es. O reg o n is o ne o f six
states w ith o u t au th o rized u n a n ­
n o u n ced in sp ectio n s. A b ill to re ­
q u ire su ch in sp e ctio n s m ad e it
th ro u g h the sta te ’s H ouse o f R e p ­
re s e n ta tiv e s ea sily . B u t C a n b y
R epresentative K urt S ch rad er says
p are n ts are still resp o n sib le for
k n o w in g the kind o f p lace th e y ’re
sen d in g th eir ch ild ren for d ay -care
Nike
Group Wants City To Signs Star
Control Utilities
A Portland environmental group says
that recentpower-company mergers and
deregulation are moving decisions about
utility services further away from cus­
tomers. The Center for Environmental
Equity wants the city ofPortland to take
overpower lines and trans formers within
city-limits and is drafting a ballot mea­
sure on the issue. Center spokesman
Larry Tuttle says people in the North­
west are “going to lose out" on control­
ling their electric utility future unless
they "assert all possible opportunities
to take local control now.
Portland Officer
Added To Memorial
Portland Police O fficer Colleen
Waibel will be among 312 names
added to the National Law Enforce­
ment Officers Memorial in Washing-
ton, D-C tomorrow. She was killed on
January 27th, 1998 as she took part in
a marijuana drug bust. Tw o other
N ike has signed T ennessee b a s­
ketb all sensation C ham ique (she-
m eek) H oldsclaw to a big tim e en ­
dorsem ent contract. H er agent says
it is a five-year deal and by far the
largest ev er for a fem ale athlete.
N ike says it has an agreem ent w ith
her that includes a “head to toe
deal and they are thrilled to have
her w earing the sw oosh. T he sig n ­
ing com es at a tim e w hen m ost
athletic firm s are backing aw ay
from big endorsem ent agreem ents.
officers were wounded. M emorial of­
ficials say o f the 312 being added to
the growing list, 156 died in 1998 and
156 earlier. Sixty-three were shot to
d e a th .. including Waibel 48 died in
car wrecks and the rest in an assort­
ment o f accidents.
It was to o close to th e tra n s fo rm e r on the utility
pole. A fire just waiting to happen, it would have to be
moved. Not a problem if the hawk's nest from which it
hung was emptv. But the hawks circling above told Monte
that w asn't likely.
Monte Garrett is a staff biologist for Pacific Power. Part
of his job is to prevent hawks, eagles and other raptors
from being harm ed by power lines.
Pacific Power service personnel working near
Sunnyside, Washington spotted a problem nest and
called Monte.
Good thing. The nest was in great peril It would have
to be raised awav from the transformer.
n
Here's Your Ticket to I
News That's
Important to You
It’s in
Cbe ^o rtla n b
(Hbscrucr
Monte rode the bucket u p to take a closer look. As he
neared the nest, the hawks dropped out of their circling
formation and dived right toward him. He felt the brush
of their wings as they buzzed past. "This is going to be
more complicated than it looks," thought Monte.
Twice as complicated, actually. The nest held two
fuzzy white young hawks, their helpless, tiny bodies
dwarfed by oversized feet and beaks. Great care would
need to be taken to avoid stressing the fledglings and to
keep the adult hawks from abandoning them.
As the w ind furiously whipped the crane-mounted
bucket against the pole, the hawks stepped up their
dive-bomb attacks.
The adults had left
some food in the nest for
the babies, so to ease their
distress, Monte fed them.
Then, he gentlv lifted the
fledglings from the nest and covered them with his |acket.
Now the service people worked quickly, moving the
nest to a nesting platform and fastening the platform to
the pole They, too, had to contend with the forceful wind
and angry hawks.
Moments later, with the nest raised to a safe height,
Monte returned the voung birds to the care of their
parents. Danger averted. Hawk family, safe.
The moss dangled dangerously.
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