The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2011
Page 5
Senior computer users need to learn how to stay safe and avoid scammers
by Jason Alderman (www.prac
ticalmoneyskills.com)
Senior citizens are now the
fastest-growing segment of
new Internet users, as they’ve
discovered email and other on-
line conveniences.
Since even the most tech-
savvy among us sometimes fall
prey to online scammers, if
your parents or grandparents
have recently taken the online
plunge, here are some safety
tips you can share:
Update security software.
Make sure their computers
have anti-virus and anti-spy-
ware software and show them
how to update it regularly.
Even the best software isn’t
100 percent foolproof, so teach
State investigator and two former
Chiefs refute Kay’s statements
From page 4
second opinion (the K9 evalua-
tion), saying this was a DPSST
“request to be re-evaluated.”
Kay said he used the word
“request” in error. His subse-
quent statement belies his prior
statement, “…I was in a hurry to
get the evaluation to Teresa
(sic) King in a timely fashion.”
King replied, “There was no
need to get the evaluation to
me since I had not requested
it.”
8) Kay misrepresented to
DPSST that he was submitting
a “complete evaluation” (the K9
evaluation) when in fact he di-
rected the evaluator to not in-
clude instances in which he or
the dog failed.
Kay responded that he did
not instruct the evaluator to
omit anything from the evalua-
tion. Kay sent an email saying,
“I am forwarding a complete
evaluation of myself and my
dog Krueger as you requested.”
King goes on to say, “in plain
language that means the evalu-
ation was complete, it was not;
failures were omitted.”
9) Kay signed a K9 Lease
Agreement with the City of Ver-
nonia, when he knew or should
have known the dog did not
meet certification requirements.
Kay said Krueger is certified
through ACCJT after the dog,
“passed an approved annual
testing process set fourth (sic)
by Webb…of…ACCJT.” Webb
stated he had issued certifica-
tion on one occasion, in No-
vember 2010, at Kay’s request.
10) Kay was dishonest with
former Chief of Police Mathew
Workman by way of omission
and misrepresentation on his
employment application, when
Kay explained the circum-
stances of his “yes” answer re-
garding the reason for a re-
straining order against him in
Newport.
Kay said he was not dishon-
est with Workman regarding
this, Workman refutes that.
11) This arose during the
course of the investigation and
was added to the original is-
sues: Kay was dishonest in his
pre-employment questionnaire,
by way of omission, deception,
misrepresentation or falsifica-
tion when he answered, “no” to
questions on that questionnaire
relating to whether he had been
the suspect in a police investi-
gation, charged with a crime,
detained or questioned by law
enforcement and been under
investigation by law enforce-
ment for any alleged violation of
the law. Presuming that the
1998 domestic violence crimi-
nal investigation in which Kay
was a suspect, was ques-
tioned, was under investigation
as the suspect. Additionally, as
a suspect in a subsequent 2001
investigation for violation of a
restraining order, Kay was a
suspect, was questioned, and
was convicted of Contempt of
Court and placed on probation
pending satisfaction of court-
mandated sanction. Those
would all have required an affir-
mative answer to the pre-em-
ployment questions.
The DPSST certification rev-
ocation process allows Kay to
appeal their decision, which he
has done, and has requested a
contested case hearing. The in-
vestigation will now go to full
board, which will review the
findings and issue its decision.
If Kay still contests the revo-
cation, his final appeal is to the
Oregon Court of Appeals. In
this case, if the City of Vernon-
ia does not terminate his em-
ployment in the meantime, he
could continue on the city’s
payroll for perhaps another
year. During this time, he would
continue on administrative
leave.
them how to anticipate and
ward off annoying – or criminal
– behavior. For example:
• Open or download informa-
tion only from trusted sites you
went to yourself. Don’t assume
a link contained in an email,
even from a friend, will take you
to a legitimate website.
• Don’t click on pop-up win-
dows or banners.
• Common email scams that
target seniors include offers for
discounted drugs, low-cost in-
surance, and supposed warn-
ings from the IRS – which nev-
er contacts taxpayers by email.
• Financial institutions never
email customers asking for ver-
ification of account or password
information.
• If shopping online, look for
safety symbols such as a pad-
lock icon in the browser’s sta-
tus bar, an “s” after “http” in the
URL address, or the words “Se-
cure Sockets Layer” (SSL) or
“Transport Layer Security”
(TLS). These are signs of a se-
cure page for transmitting per-
sonal information.
These tricks are used to in-
fect your computer with viruses
or to install spyware that
records your keystrokes to ob-
tain confidential information.
Use strong passwords.
Easy-to-crack passwords in-
clude simple numeric se-
quences and names of pets,
spouses and children. For more
secure passwords:
• Use at least seven charac-
ters with a mixture of upper and
lower-case letters, numbers
and symbols.
• Use unique passwords for
each account in case one gets
compromised.
Small improvement
in County jobless
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate was 10.5 percent in April
essentially unchanged from the
previous month (10.8%) but
was lower than the year before
(12.4%). The rate was above
the statewide rate (9.6%) and
the national rate (9.0%). Total
employment climbed by 169 to
22,113 and the number of un-
employed people dropped by
194 to 2,600. Total employment
this April was 539 more than
one year before and there were
580 fewer people unemployed
this year.
• Change passwords fre-
quently.
Never post sensitive infor-
mation unless you initiated the
contact. This includes numbers
for credit cards, bank accounts,
Social Security and Medicare,
driver’s license, address/phone
and full birthdate.
See Use on page ?
Blue House now
opens early to
serve breakfast
Blue House Café now
serves breakfast Tuesday
through Saturday from 7:00
a.m. and Sunday from 8:00
a.m., with healthy, tasty break-
fast selections until 11:00 a.m.
You’ll find choices that range
from fancy oatmeal to French
toast to crépes and even a full
platter with two eggs, hash
browns, Canadian bacon (or
spicy links) and toast.
Blue House Café always
uses the best and freshest in-
gredients, organic and locally
produced whenever possible.
They are located at 919 Bridge
St, Vernonia. Call 503-429-
4350 for orders to go.