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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