Page A3
May 26, 1999
^Jortlanò CObaeri 1er
Mom Convicted of
Starving Her Boy
By BETH G A R D IN E R ______________
© T he A ssoc ia t e d P ress
(NEW YO RK (A P) — A young
m other who blam ed b re a st-fe e d
ing problem s for the d eath o f her
em aciated 2-m onth-old son w ept
as she was co nvicted o f crim in ally
n eg lig en t hom icide
T abitha W alrond, 21, faces up to
four years in prison w hen she is
s e n te n c e d . S he w as a c q u itte d
W ednesday o f the m ore serious
charge o f manslaughter, which could
have brought her a 15-year sentence.
P rosecutors said Ms W alrond
starved 2-m onth-old T yler in 1997
to spite his father, w ho left her
sh o rtly afte r she got preg n an t —
or, at the very least, ignored signs
th a t the baby w as starving.
T he d efense said she w as a d o t
ing m other w ho d id n ’t realize that
her surgically reduced breasts w ere
failin g to n ourish her child. D e
fense attorney S usan T ip o g rap h
said T y ler m ay have suffered from
an adrenal gland d iso rd er — not
m alnutrition.
B u t a u to p s y p h o to g r a p h s
show ed the boy w as em aciated ,
h av in g d ro p p ed from his b irth
w eig h t o f nearly 8 p o u n d s to about
5 pounds.
“ 1 think a child o f that size, with
skin folds creasing over the legs and
the arms, would have been hard to
not notice,” ju ro r A nthony Bosco,
24, said outside the courthouse
Ms. W alrond te stifie d that she
never n o ticed T y le r’s w eig h t loss.
She said she took n a tu ra l-c h ild
birth classes, w ent to n ig h t school
to finish high school b efo re T yler
w as b o m and ch o se to b reast-feed
becau se d o cto rs an d fam ily told
her “b reast is b e st.”
A ll th o s e
a c tio n s ,
M s.
T ip o g ra p h sa id , d e m o n s tr a te d
m o th e r ly lo v e . S h e s a id M s.
W alrond b ro u g h t T y ler to a clin ic
for a ch eck u p but w as tu rn ed aw ay
b ecau se she d id not h av e a M ed ic
aid card for him.
Ms. W alrond sobbed on the w it
ness stand as she d escrib ed how
she found T yler looking lifeless
and foam ing at th e m o u th and
rushed him to the hospital in a taxi.
“ I s a id ‘F a s te r , f a s te r ! ...
S o m e th i n g ’s w ro n g w ith m y
b ab y !” ’ she said. “ H e left m e, he
died in the cab. I felt him le av e .”
Hate Crimes E ÜI
Fails in Texas
By M IC H A E L HOLMES_____________
© T he A ssociated P ress
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas law
makers have abandoned a hate crimes
bill designed to protect homosexuals,
with Democrats blaming Gov. George
W. Bush for its failure and accusing
the Republican presidential prospect
o f showing no leadership.
The bill named for James Byrd
Jr., the black man dragged to death
behind a pickup truck in East Texas,
had the backing o f President Clinton
and Democratic presidential candi
date Bill Bradley.
It w ould have toughened the
state's hate crim es law by increasing
the crim inal penalties. It would also
w ould have specifically included
homosexuals for the first time.
Asked repeatedly about the bill.
Bush has said only: “ I will look at the
bill when it makes it to my desk, if it
makes it to my desk.”
Sen. Rodney Ellis, a H ouston
Democrat, suggested that presidential
politics is playing a role, with the sexual
orientation provision a sticking point.
“ Since our governor is a leading
presidential hopeful, the eyes o f the
world are on T exas," Ellis said. “ E v
erything we do now takes on na
tional im plications.”
The bill sailed through the Demo-
cratic-co n tro lled H ouse but lan
guished for weeks in a com m ittee o f
the R epublican-controlled Senate. It
was abandoned late Friday, a day
after two failed attem pts by Demo
crats to force a full Senate vote. The
Legislature adjourns M ay 31.
“Jam es Byrd Jr. is probably turn
ing in his grave tonight,” said Sen.
Royce West, a Dallas Democrat. “He
cannot rest, and we should not rest,
until Byrd and his family can bring
closure to this issue.”
B u sh sp o k e sw o m a n K aren
Hughes said the governor’s office
offered ideas in an effort to break the
stalemate, but critics w eren’t con
vinced o f his support.
“He wants the world to believe that
he is a ‘compassionate conservative. ’
We want the world to know that his
compassion does not extend to all the
citizens o f Texas,” said the Rev.
Michael Piazza o f D allas’ Cathedral
o f Hope, which claims the world’s
largest homosexual congregation.
Dianne Hardy-Garcia, executive
director o f the Lesbian and Gay
Rights Lobby o f Texas, attacked
Bush’s neutrality. “His unconscio
nable, immoral lack o f leadership on
this issue is both tragic and exasper
ating,” she said.
School Attack Is Troubling
President, First Lady to Visit Columbine, Colo.
B y
SANDRA SOBIERAJ
© T he A ssociated P ress
With blood spilled today at yet an
other American high school, President
Clinton urged Congress to press for
ward with gun control legislation and
asked all Americans to * ’come together
in the face o f these events to protect our
children from violence. ’ ’
M om ents b efo re leaving for
Littleton, Colo., where 12 students and
a teacher were killed a month ago, the
president said, ‘ 'The news this morning
o f another school shooting... in subur
ban Atlanta is deeply troubling to me as
it is to all Americans. ’ ’
’’This incident again should under
score how profoundly important it is
that all Americans come together in the
face o f these events to protect our chil
dren from violence,” he said.
W ith the Senate debating gun con
trol legislation 20 blocks away from
the su n -d a p p le d R o se G a rd e n ,
Clinton referred to the debate and
said A m erican m ust ‘'press ahead
again with the national cam paign.”
Clinton, who traveled a year ago to
Oregon and another high school rav
aged by gunfire, was headed with his
wife, Hillary, to meet with victims’
relatives at Littleton's W orld Roman
Catholic Church. The church is about
three miles from Columbine and the
place where counselors worked with
survivors after the shooting.
T he president, L ockhart said,
wants to ‘ 'articulate how the country
shares the g rief o f the Littleton stu
dents and the Littleton community,
and highlight the rem arkable resil
ience o f these students and o f this
com m unity.”
Randy Lapp said his 16-year-old
son, Joshua, who escaped from the
Columbine library, will attend the meet
ing. But he is not sure ifthevisitwillhelp
Joshua recover.
Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was
killed, said he was looking forward to
meeting with Clinton. Mauser has criti
cized the National Rifle Association, and
formed a gun-control group called Sane
Alternatives to the Firearms Epidemic.
‘ ’Certainly we’ll talk aboutmy son,”
Mauser said. He also plans to give the
presidentsome written questions, which
he declined to specify
"W e’re hoping it will help the heal
ing process,” she said.
Six Georgia High School
Students Shot
15-Year-Old Sophomore Taken Into Custody
By JAMES PILCHER
© T he A ssociated P ress
CONYERS, Ga. - A student with
two guns opened fire at his high school
today, shooting six schoolmates ex
actly one month after the Colorado
massacre, authorities said. The sus
pect tearfully surrendered after put
ting a gun into his own mouth.
T he m ost se rio u sly w oun d ed
stu d en t w as listed as sta b le after
surgery for a g u n sh o t w o u n d to the
intestines.
Hours after today’s shooting, the
U S. Senate approved a D em ocratic
proposal - with Vice President A1
G ore casting a tie-breaking vote - to
place fresh restrictions on gun trans
actions. The proposal w ould require
mandatory background checks for
all transactions at gun show s and for
anyone seeking to reclaim a weapon
at a pawn shop.
The suspect w as d escrib ed as a
15-year-old sophom ore at H eritage
H igh School w ho acco rd in g to a
friend had recently b roken up with
his girlfriend. T he gunm an had two
w eapons, a ,22-caliber rifle and a
.22-caliber revolver, D istric t A t
torney R ichard R ead said.
*’I looked to m y left an d saw
this guy in fro n t o f the g irls b ath
ro o m ,” said Je ssie M cC u m b er, a
15-year-old freshm an. " H e s ta rte d
running sidew ays and sh o o tin g his
g u n a t n o p a r ti c u la r p e r s o n .
E v ery o n e’s scream in g , ‘O h, my
G od, h e ’s got a g u n !” ’
The shootings happened about
7:55 a.m ., or about 20 m in u tes b e
fore classes w ere to b eg in in this
m iddle-class suburb 20 m iles east
o f A tlanta. T oday was the final day
o f classes for seniors at H eritage
" I th o u g h t it w as firecrack ers
until I saw the kids ru n n in g tow ard
m e ,” m ath teacher T ony G ray said
S enior Joe W atts said the g u n
m an d ropped the rifle as he fled.
O nce o u tsid e, he p u lled o u t a re
volver, dro p p ed to his k nees and
put it in his m outh, W atts said.
A n assistant principal em braced
the gunm an, w ho began cry in g and
s a id , " O h , m y G o d , I ’m so
sc a re d ,” W atts said.
It w as " c o m p le te p an d e m o
nium ,” senior M ichael R am os said.
N athaniel D eeter, 15, said the
gunm an had broken up w ith his
g irlfrien d three days ago an d since
then had told D eeter, " I h av e no
reason to live an y m o re .”
" I told him he w as c ra z y ,”
D eeter said. " I tho u g h t he w as
ju s t feeling so rry for h im s e lf b e
cause a lot o f kids feel like th a t.”
C hris D unn, a so p h o m o re and
friend o f the su sp ect, said he had
seen guns at his frie n d ’s hom e but
nev er heard him m ention plans to
shoot any o n e at school. H e did
notice the b o y ’s g rades had been
falling. " H e w a sn ’t even trying
anym ore, w hich I w as kind o f co n
cern ed a b o u t,” D unn said.
The most seriously wounded, a
15-year-old girl. was airli fled to Grady
Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where
she underwent surgery for a shot that
had pierced her intestines. The hospi
tal gave no detail on her condition
other than that it was stable. The oth
ers injured had superficial wounds:
Three were held for observation at
Rockdale Hospital in Conyers and
two were treated and released.
S tudents g ath ered o u tsid e the
school on a track a fte r the sh o o t
ing, then b eg an b o ard in g buses to
head hom e. C lasses w ere can celed
for the rest o f the w eek, b ut school
officials said g rad u a tio n w ould go
on as sch ed u led M ay 28.
On April 20, two students with
guns and bombs killed 13 people be
fore taking their own lives at Colum
bine High School in Littleton, Colo.
P resid en t C lin to n w as p rep ar
ing to leave for L ittleto n today
w hen he rec eiv e d n ew s o f the
R o ck d ale C o u n ty shooting. The
new s " i s deeply tro u b lin g to me,
as it is to all A m ericans. W e thank
G od th a t the in ju ries to the stu
dents do not seem to be life-th reat
e n in g ,” C lin to n said.
M ichael Shoels, the father o f
Littleton victim Isaiah Shoels, ex
pressed dismay.
" I have said sin ce this th in g
happened that they b etter b ew are
becau se i t ’s going to h appen ag ain
and a g a in ,” Shoels said.
Heritage High, which has about
1,300 students, has no metal detectors
but does employ a campus policeman
and has surveillance cameras.
The injured were identified as:
15-year-old Stephanie Laster, in
stable condition at Grady M emorial
Hospital; Brian Bamhardt, 16, Jason
Cheek, 17, and Cania Collins, 15, all
adm itted to Rockdale Hospital for
evaluation with superficial wounds;
and Drake Hoy and Ryan Rosa, both
18, treated and released.
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Diabetes & High Blood Pressure: What
Every Person with Diabetes Needs to Know
Saturday, June 5,1999
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center
2801 N.Gantenbein, Portland
Lorenzen Conference Center Auditorium
FREE—Preregistration is required.
Call (503) 335-3500 to register.
Many people with diabetes have high blood pressure.
Even mild elevations in blood pressure can increase the
risk of heart disease, stroke, and eye and kidney disease.
Please join David Wakeling, DO, Julie Goodwin, PA-C, MBS, CDE,
Chris Blem, PharmD, and Melissa Jacobson, RD, as they discuss:
V what is it? what do the numbers mean?
V how to lower blood pressure
V diabetes & high blood pressure:
V role of the diet
special risks & considerations
v medications
FREE blood pressure screening will follow the program.
Refreshments will be served.
Health System
This program is co-sponsored by Legacy Diabetes Services and Legacy Heart Institute.
Icgaci Health System include» Fnunuel Hospital & Health Center. Good Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center M endian P irk Hospital. Mount Hood Medical
Center Visiting Nurse Asstx'iation and CareMark Managed Healthcare Northwest PPL) ©1999
Please Don’t Feed The Fish!
Fish need clean
water too.
You can keep
pollution out of
our waterways.
COME AND JOIN IN THE FUNI!
Open House and Community
Appreciation Celebration
Together we can
make a difference!
(Street Party—shuttle buses to program sites)
O n June 4, 1999 V olunteers o f
A m erica O regon is having an old
fashioned “ street party” to celebrate
the successful com pletion o f the
second year o f their 5-year strate
gic plan and to thank volunteers,
donors, and com m unity partners,
for their continued support. From 9
am until 4 pm , SE 6*. (betw een SE
A lder and W ashington) will be alive
w ith live m usic, food, beverage,
guest M C ’s giveaw ays, and m uch.
m uch m ore. A dding to the ex cite
m ent w ill b e a silent auction o f a
late m odel car. Shuttle b uses, leav
ing every half-hour, wtll offer trans
portation to program facilities and
offer attendees a chance to m eet
their sta ff and learn m ore about
their program s
Everything is Free to the public.
And everyone is welcome. For more
information call Ron Sumner at 503-
230-1 125.
M HM R aM
M IM I
>
Call 823-5610
the Regional Coalition for Clean Riven and Streams
• Clarkama« County W atrr Envtnmment Servh t r • Gladstone • Happy Valley • l.akf Dswrgo • Milwaukie • Oak Lodge Sanitary Dlslrti t
• Girgon City • Rlvergnrve • Went Unn • VMbmMUe • City of Gresham flnvlnmmenUl SetMt t » • City of Portland Environmental Services
• Multnomah County • Multnomah Drainage IMslrttTa • Port of Portland • Oregon Department of Tranaportatfcm • I nlArd Sewrragr \g e n o
<*
A
NM
K in k * .
k k
theRegtonal
Coalliionfor
Clean Rivers
and Stream s