August 22,2001
Prison Visitors Complain About Drug Detector
Critics say the scanner may be detecting tiny particles unknowingly picked up from sources such as contaminated currency
(A P) — Som e visitors to the
Federal C orrectional Institution in
Sheridan say they aren ’t allow ed
to visit prisoners because a sensi
tive scanner there detects drug
traces they pick up inadvertently.
C ritics say the ion scanner de
tects tiny quantities o f drug resi
due from currency, taxi seats or
other sources.
M cM innville resident Linda
Tayloe w as turned aw ay several
w eeks ago after she tested posi
tive during a trip to visit her hus
band.
Tw o hours later, she said, a
u r in a ly s is sh e r e q u e s te d at
M cM innville’s W illamette Valley
M edical C en ter show ed no sign
o f drugs in her system.
“ I told them I’m drug-free, so I
questioned them about it,” Tayloe
said. "T hey w ere real snotty."
Ion tracking devices are widely
used in U .S. airports and a grow
ing num ber o f prisons to test for
chem icals found in explosives and
illegal drugs.
Sheridan started using the d e
vice in 1999.
Prison spokesm an Randsom
A li said that 75 to 100 visitors are
scanned each w eek, and the m a
chine typically reports about one
We believe there are enormous
logical flaws in this system. //
—Fritz Mulhauser, a staffer at the American Civil Liberties Unions
National Capital Area Office in Washington, O.C.
positive reading.
"B asically, if w e get a hit on the
machine, you ca n ’t com e in to visit
that day,” Ali said. "The majority o f
drugs are brought in through —
guess w here — the visiting room.
T hat’s w hy w e'use it.”
H e said the m achine has w ith-
St. Johns Theatre Pub
Gets Liquor License
T he O regon L iquor C ontrol
C om m ission has approved a
liquor license for St. Johns The
atre Pub, located at 8704 N.
Lombard.
T h e 4 1 8 -s e a t th e a te r in
dow ntow n St. Johns is being
revam ped by A ngela N akvasil
and A ndrea H ansen and will
operate from 4 p.ra. to midnight,
M onday through Friday, and
11 a m. to m idnight, Saturday
and Sunday.
N akvasil is the daughter o f
current ow n er and operator
C harlesN akvasil.
T he theater has no bar or
lounge, but N akvasil and H ansen
are installing long benches in the
theater for patrons to drink beer or
w ine w hile w atching films. M i
nors w ill be allow ed in the theater
until 7:30 p.m ., w hen alcohol ser
vice begins.
T he P o rtla n d P o lice B u reau
had g iv e n an u n fav o rab le rec
o m m e n d a tio n fo r th e th eater,
b ec au se o ffic ia ls felt the area
w as sa tu ra te d w ith liq u o r o u t
lets. Six lic e n se d alco h o l p re
m ises are w ith in a b lo c k o f the
th e ate r an d a sta te liq u o r store
is w ithin tw o blocks. In letters to
the O L C C , several residents said
th ey fav o red th e th e a te r’s al
co h o l serv ice.
C o m m issio n e rs issu ed the
lim ited o n -p re m ise s sales li
cen se w ith a le tte r ca u tio n in g
th at th e th e a te r m u st o p erate
as pro p o sed , w ith p ro h ib itio n s
a g a i n s t l o i t e r i n g , p u b lic
d ru n k en n e ss an d h ard liq u o r
sales, plus a d d itio n a l se c u
rity lig h tin g , k ee p in g an in c i
dent log, and co o p eratio n w ith
p ó lice an d n eig h b o rs.
In other action, the O LCC
approved a new liquor license
for A lberta Street Public H ouse
at N ortheast 10,h and A lberta.
Announcing
stood legal challenges elsew here,
although he could not cite a spe
cific case.
“W e believe there are enor
mous logical flaw s in this sys
tem ,” said Fritz M ulhauser, a
stafferat the Am erican Civil Liber
ties U nions N ational Capital A rea
O ffice in W ashington, D.C.
C ritics say the scanner m ay be
detecting tiny particles unknow
ingly picked up from sources such
as contam inated currency.
In 1997, an FBI chem ist, Tom
Jourdan, told the British journal
“N ew S cientist” that drug users
can transfer traces o f cocaine to
the currency they use. M uch o f
the n atio n ’s currency could be
co ntam inated w ith residue from
cocaine as a result.
T he A C L U ’s M ulhauser said
the $45,000 ion tracker is used
increasingly in the federal prison
system , w hich oversees 126,778
inm ates in 100 prisons. He said it
is being used to a lesser extent in
state prisons.
T h e sc a n n e r has p ro m p ted
com plaints to A C L U affiliates all
around the country, he said.
O regon C o rrectio n s D epart
ment spokesw om an Perrin Damon
said the state has considered us
ing ion trackers but c a n ’t justify
the cost.
H ie state prison system con
ducted random drug tests on more
than 500 inm ates last year, she
said, and less than one-third o f
one percent tested positive for
drugs.
Police Review Director Named
Portland C ity A u d ito r G ary
B lackm er has nam ed R ichard
Rosenthal, a prosecutor w ith the
Los A n g eles C o u n ty D istrict
A ttorney’s O ffice, the new direc
tor o f the Independent Police Re
view Board.
Rosenthal m ost recently coor
dinated the investigation o f po
lice officers in the R am part Scan
dal in Los A ngeles. D uring his 15
years as a prosecutor, he also
prosecuted felony and m ajor fraud
cases.
The Ram part Scandal centered
on an anti-gang unit in the Los
A n g e le s P o lic e D e p a rtm e n t.
LA PD officers alleged that other
officers illegally arrested people,
m anufactured evidence, testified
falsely at trial and in som e in
stances beat and shot people.
A s a resu lt, a n u m b er o fo ffic -
ers w ere p ro se c u te d an d co n
v icted , an d m ore than 100 crim i
nal co n v ictio n s w ere o v ertu rn ed
b ec au se p ro se c u to rs lo st faith
in the c re d ib ility o f th e ir p o lice
w itn e sse s. R o s e n th a l c o o rd i
n ated th e R a m p a rt rela ted in-
Assault Suspect Arrested
Roy T hom pson, a V ancouver
assault suspect, w as taken into
custody T hursday after
911 received anonym ous tip o f
his w hereabouts.
D e te c tiv e s fro m th e C la rk
C ounty Inter-A gency G ang Task
Force along w ith V ancouver Po
lice located T hom pson in the house
w here the o rig in al assau lt o c
curred.
H e was arrested w ithout inci
dent and b o o k ed at the C lark
C ounty Jail.
Still w anted in the case is Brent
W. Luyster; also know n as “B J.”,
20 years o f age.
L uyster is described as a w hite
m ale, five feet eleven inches tall,
approxim ately 155 pounds, with
green eyes. He has short brown
hair and m ultiple tattoos on both
arm s. The tattoos include sw asti
kas and the w ords “W hite Pride”.
I f you have any know ledge o f his
w hereabouts, call 911.
v estig a tio n s, w o rk in g clo sely
w ith th e I n t e r n a l A f f a i r s
D ivision.
D u rin g his 15 y ears as a p ro s
ec u to r, R o sen th a l said he nev er
m et M ark K ro ek er, P o rtla n d ’s
P olice C hief. K roeker rose to the
rank o f D ep u ty C h ie f in the Los
A n g eles P o lice D ep artm en t, b e
fo re re tirin g se v e ra l y ea rs ago.
Rosenthal graduated from the
Boalt H all School o f Law at the
U niversity o f C alifornia, B erke
ley. Fie w ill begin his duties on
Oct. 1.
Man Wanted
for Escape,
Breaking
Parole
the continuation of the
“Y- we C are ”
R o b e rt D avis S te v e n s o n
A fter -S chool P rogram
Serving Grades 3, 4, 5
brought to you by the Northside YMCA
H e l p in g
in cooporation with:
We ’re Here... We Care
For information please contact the Northside YMCA
503.288.3355
hands and
W A R M H E A R TS TAKE
T H E C H IL L O U T .
No one likes to feel cold
and alone.
That's why hundreds of
PGE volunteers will help
make this winter a little
warmer for neighbors
in need.
In Take the Chill Out events
this fall, through the Portland
nonprofit Community
Energy Project, PGE employ
ees will help weatherize the
homes of low-income seniors
and people with disabilities.
It's an opportunity for
us to connect with the
community... and that's a
nice warm feeling.
The Com m unity Energy Project needs volunteers.
If you would like to help, or if you know someone who
may qualify fo r assistance, call 503-284-6827.
\ MC \
V e build strong kids.
strong lam ilics, siron« communities.
P o rtla n d G arw ral Electric
W W W .P O R T L A N D G E N E R A L .C O M
Portland Police Bureau In
vestigators, in cooperation with
C rim e Stoppers, are asking for
your help in locating and appre
h e n d in g
R o b e rt
D a v is
Stevenson, a m an w anted for
escape and breaking parole.
Stevenson is a 29-year-old
white male with a date ofbirth o f
July 7,1972. He is described as
6 foot 2 inches tall, weighing 255
pounds, with brow n hair and
brown eyes. Stevenson has sev
eral tattoos including the letters
*RS” on his left forearm, “C A N
C E R ” on his right forearm, and a
crab on his right arm.
Stevenson should be con
sidered arm ed and dangerous.
C rim e Stoppers is offering a
cash rew ard o f up to $ 1,000 for
inform ation, reported to C rim e
Stoppers, w hich leads to an ar
rest in this case or any unsolved
felony crim e, and you can re
m ain anonym ous. C all Crim e
Stoppers at 503-823-HELP.
Teacher Pleads Not Guilty
A 31-year old Vancouver middle
school teacher, Kelly Michele Seidl,
arraigned downtown, pleaded not
guilty to a range o f charges including
sodomy, sex abuse, and contributing
the sexual delinquent y o f a minor.
Seidl resigned at the endoflast year
from G aiser M iddle S chool in
Vancouver, where she had been a
social studies and language teacher.
Her alleged victim is a 14-yearold
girl who attends a Vancouver high
school. Investigators got a search war
rant to seize Seidl’s computer and
apparently found about 200 e-mail
messages she and the girl had ex
changed.
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