STEVE LAW
Statesman Journal
March 25, 2007
The llamas and filbert trees are gone near West Salem High School, to be replaced by 700 new homes.
Lisa Nair scans those buildable lots in her neighborhood and worries what they portend for her daughter's school. "You see these homes going in, and there's no school being built to provide classrooms for these kids," she said.
Nair and other West Salem parents have one remedy: put a fee on every new home going in.
Salem and other cities and counties across Oregon levy "system development charges" on new homes and other construction to pay for roads, parks, sewers and water systems that serve the new homes. But state law bans local governments from charging development fees for schools, in part because of the lobbying clout of the home-building industry.
In high-growth areas such as West Salem and South Salem, many residents think that's unfair, especially as they see droves of newcomers cause crowding in neighborhood schools.
Senate Bill 366, introduced this session and referred to the Finance and Revenue Committee, would allow school districts to set an impact fee, or system development charge, on new homes or lots. It does not require that fees be set or say how much they would be.
It's crucial to site schools close to where students live, said Heitsch, a co-leader of the school district's Facilities Task Force. More parents can attend teacher conferences. Students can attend after-school activities and devote more time to homework instead of riding buses. The school becomes a stronger center of community life.
Development fees could give school districts the financial means to set aside land, rather than wait for voters to OK a bond measure, Heitsch said.
Senate Bill 366 would require that development fees be spent only to meet the demands of new growth. The money could not be spent merely to replace an aging facility.
Homebuilders and allied industry groups have long opposed school development fees because they raise the price of a new house or cut into their profits.
Salem already charges nearly $12,000 per house for development fees. So far this year, the average West Salem home is selling for $293,550, according to the Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service. In South Salem, it's $323,339.
Homebuilders are quick to point out that development fees would cover only about 25 percent of the cost of a new school, by some estimates. And some school officials worry that voters will be less prone to support school bond measures if there are school development fees, figuring that those should cover the costs.
Bond measures are the traditional way that school districts pay for new classrooms, but they've gotten much tougher to pass in elections since Oregon voters approved the Measure 47 property tax initiative in 1996.
Eleven other states allow development fees for schools, and eight other states have an alternative mechanism, Hepper said. The group senses that the time is ripe to erase Oregon's ban on school development fees, with so many bond measures going down and Democrats back in control of the Legislature.
Berger said local communities should "step up" and pay for school construction, rather than trying to raise the price of homes by tacking on more development fees. Loosening the double-majority requirement will enable local taxpayers to do more of their share, she said.
Although legislative committees have begun hearings on development fees, the real action is going on behind the scenes in negotiations with homebuilders, Stand for Children and other forces.
Hepper argues that development fees could help the housing industry and parents.
"The benefit for both," he said, "is you buy a house and sell a house in a school district that has good schools."
slaw@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6615
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Americans Want to See All Illegal Immigrants Deported
Editorial Page
March 28, 2007
In your "Winners and Losers" section (March 16), one comment stood out to me. It questions our government's immigration priority, suggesting that we should deport illegal aliens first who are in prison, then move on to people who pose no threat -- defined as those who have no criminal record.
Whoever made this statement is ignorant of our immigration policies. We already consistently deport aliens after they have served their time. Actually we should insist their home country require them to serve out the remainder of their time or bill their country of origin for the cost of incarceration.
Currently, Homeland Security is focusing with interior enforcement on three classes of illegal aliens beyond those not already incarcerated. One, those who have a previous deportation order and have not complied; two, those who are criminal aliens; and three, the most egregious workplace offenders, where whole businesses are given over to criminal activity.
Along the way, Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes across illegal aliens who have no arrest warrant or have committed no other known crime. They still are obligated to apprehend them, and the American people are wanting this done at least until we get control over this problem.
-- Clark T. Seeley, Woodburn
March 28, 2007
In your "Winners and Losers" section (March 16), one comment stood out to me. It questions our government's immigration priority, suggesting that we should deport illegal aliens first who are in prison, then move on to people who pose no threat -- defined as those who have no criminal record.
Whoever made this statement is ignorant of our immigration policies. We already consistently deport aliens after they have served their time. Actually we should insist their home country require them to serve out the remainder of their time or bill their country of origin for the cost of incarceration.
Currently, Homeland Security is focusing with interior enforcement on three classes of illegal aliens beyond those not already incarcerated. One, those who have a previous deportation order and have not complied; two, those who are criminal aliens; and three, the most egregious workplace offenders, where whole businesses are given over to criminal activity.
Along the way, Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes across illegal aliens who have no arrest warrant or have committed no other known crime. They still are obligated to apprehend them, and the American people are wanting this done at least until we get control over this problem.
-- Clark T. Seeley, Woodburn
Salem-Based Sunwest Faces Suit by Residents
MICHAEL ROSE
Statesman Journal
March 29, 2007
Residents of a Sheridan assisted living facility have hauled Sunwest Management Inc. into court, accusing the Salem senior housing manager of charging for services it doesn’t provide.
The litigation threatens Sunwest with a class-action lawsuit, which could potentially have several thousand plaintiffs. Fifty residential facilities in Oregon operated by Sunwest, including those in Keizer, Stayton, Monmouth, and Woodburn, are named in a lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
At the heart of the dispute: allegations that Sunwest’s standard admission agreement misled residents about the number of staff available to provide daily care, such as help with medication.
Sunwest understaffed assisted living homes and “made a considered decision to promote profit at the expense of their contractual and legal obligations to residents,” according to the lawsuit.
Sunwest issued a statement calling the lawsuit “frivolous and inaccurate.”
The lawsuit demands that Sunwest stop the alleged unlawful trade practices. It seeks an unspecified amount of restitution, attorney fees, and other relief from the court.
The lawsuit needs to be certified as a class action before it advances.
The cost to live in the Sunwest facility starts at about $1,500 a month, the attorney said.
While residents are sometimes encouraged to pay for more services, the facility doesn’t add more or better trained staff to provide additional care, Stebner said.
In court papers, the plaintiffs’ allege staff ratios described in admission agreements counted all staff members “even those who were not employed to or qualified to act as caregivers.”
Sunwest manages retirement, assisted living and memory-care communities. The senior housing owner and operator has about 180 facilities nationwide. Among the many Sunwest facilities named in the lawsuit suit:
In January, Sunwest settled three lawsuits that accused it of ignoring staffing problems at its Meadowlark Assisted Living facility in Yreka, Calif. The California suits alleged staffing issues contributed to residents suffering serious, and sometimes, fatal injuries from falls. Terms prevented attorneys from discussing details of the settlements.
Stebner, the same attorney who filed the recent lawsuit in Oregon, also represented families in the Meadowlark cases.
mrose@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6657
Statesman Journal
March 29, 2007
Residents of a Sheridan assisted living facility have hauled Sunwest Management Inc. into court, accusing the Salem senior housing manager of charging for services it doesn’t provide.
The litigation threatens Sunwest with a class-action lawsuit, which could potentially have several thousand plaintiffs. Fifty residential facilities in Oregon operated by Sunwest, including those in Keizer, Stayton, Monmouth, and Woodburn, are named in a lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
At the heart of the dispute: allegations that Sunwest’s standard admission agreement misled residents about the number of staff available to provide daily care, such as help with medication.
Sunwest understaffed assisted living homes and “made a considered decision to promote profit at the expense of their contractual and legal obligations to residents,” according to the lawsuit.
Sunwest issued a statement calling the lawsuit “frivolous and inaccurate.”
The lawsuit demands that Sunwest stop the alleged unlawful trade practices. It seeks an unspecified amount of restitution, attorney fees, and other relief from the court.
The lawsuit needs to be certified as a class action before it advances.
The cost to live in the Sunwest facility starts at about $1,500 a month, the attorney said.
While residents are sometimes encouraged to pay for more services, the facility doesn’t add more or better trained staff to provide additional care, Stebner said.
In court papers, the plaintiffs’ allege staff ratios described in admission agreements counted all staff members “even those who were not employed to or qualified to act as caregivers.”
Sunwest manages retirement, assisted living and memory-care communities. The senior housing owner and operator has about 180 facilities nationwide. Among the many Sunwest facilities named in the lawsuit suit:
In January, Sunwest settled three lawsuits that accused it of ignoring staffing problems at its Meadowlark Assisted Living facility in Yreka, Calif. The California suits alleged staffing issues contributed to residents suffering serious, and sometimes, fatal injuries from falls. Terms prevented attorneys from discussing details of the settlements.
Stebner, the same attorney who filed the recent lawsuit in Oregon, also represented families in the Meadowlark cases.
mrose@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6657
Some Speak Against New Measure 37 Compromise
PETER WONG
Statesman Journal
March 31, 2007
When it comes to the Legislature's latest plan to fix flaws in Oregon's land-use compensation law, both sides in the controversy over a proposed subdivision in the hills south of Salem are agreed.
They don't like it.
The plan -- which two lawmakers and a deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ted Kulongoski disclosed Thursday night -- would clear the way for smaller developments but limit or bar big ones.
The law, which voters passed as Measure 37 in 2004, requires government either to pay landowners or waive rules when those rules result in reduced property values. Thousands of claims were filed before a Dec. 5 deadline, and landowners can go to court to seek compensation if governments cannot resolve them within six months.
The latest plan still has to be put in the form of a bill by the committee before it goes to votes in each chamber.
It would clear the way for pre-1994 landowners to proceed with houses on up to three sites, a maximum of three on one open site, and guarantee most claimants at least one site.
Some landowners could develop up to 10 sites, and a maximum of 30 homes, if they can demonstrate their property-value losses, adjusted for previous tax breaks.
"Actually, I think it's worse than the governor's original proposal in some ways," Hines said. "We are not real happy with the idea of 10 sites being allowed because it's still going to create a ring of subdivisions around us.
Under either option, development would be limited or barred on high-value farmland and in areas with limited groundwater supplies.
High-value farmland is defined under a 1993 law by soil quality and agricultural production. Macpherson said it's intended to protect Oregon's best farmland in the Willamette and Hood River valleys, including vineyards and orchards.
Laack said those conditions in the latest plan amount to a pretext for government to do nothing for landowners filing claims.
pwong@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6745
Statesman Journal
March 31, 2007
When it comes to the Legislature's latest plan to fix flaws in Oregon's land-use compensation law, both sides in the controversy over a proposed subdivision in the hills south of Salem are agreed.
They don't like it.
The plan -- which two lawmakers and a deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ted Kulongoski disclosed Thursday night -- would clear the way for smaller developments but limit or bar big ones.
The law, which voters passed as Measure 37 in 2004, requires government either to pay landowners or waive rules when those rules result in reduced property values. Thousands of claims were filed before a Dec. 5 deadline, and landowners can go to court to seek compensation if governments cannot resolve them within six months.
The latest plan still has to be put in the form of a bill by the committee before it goes to votes in each chamber.
It would clear the way for pre-1994 landowners to proceed with houses on up to three sites, a maximum of three on one open site, and guarantee most claimants at least one site.
Some landowners could develop up to 10 sites, and a maximum of 30 homes, if they can demonstrate their property-value losses, adjusted for previous tax breaks.
"Actually, I think it's worse than the governor's original proposal in some ways," Hines said. "We are not real happy with the idea of 10 sites being allowed because it's still going to create a ring of subdivisions around us.
Under either option, development would be limited or barred on high-value farmland and in areas with limited groundwater supplies.
High-value farmland is defined under a 1993 law by soil quality and agricultural production. Macpherson said it's intended to protect Oregon's best farmland in the Willamette and Hood River valleys, including vineyards and orchards.
Laack said those conditions in the latest plan amount to a pretext for government to do nothing for landowners filing claims.
pwong@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6745
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Summary of News Events this Week by Mark Young
Most Recommended Stories
Sun. March 18, 2007
1. Powwow brings past to present
2. Oregon needs U.S. to reform immigration
3. Winthrop could present major challenge for Ducks
4. 781 vehicles were stolen in Salem in 2006
5. Robinson: What Barack Obama has to tell us
6. Libby verdict part of partisan witch hunt, 'process crime'
To view these articles link onto the Statesman Journal link provided in this Blog.
The issue of deporting foreign-born criminals should be a priority for the U.S. immigration service. With the number of criminal immigrants in the Oregon penal system between 6 and 8 percent of the total prison population this burden on the taxpaying citizens of Oregon is unwarranted. The financial resources spent on detaining these individuals could be better spent elsewhere! However, caution should be used that innocent immigrants are not caught up in this action. As stated in this article U.S. born citizens are more likely to commit crimes than foreign born citizens by a wide margin. The goods and services that migrant workers provide
to Oregon and the U.S. in general, are enormous and help to keep our economy working. Too often immigrants are not given the proper credit for their contributions to our society. It is the cultural diversity of America that remains as one of our strongest heritages.
Sociology 348:
Two urban issues that I will cover this semester are urban/suburban planning and socially excluded groups. In particular, how federal and state policies affect a cities development(eminent domain, zoning, etc.)by controlling any future construction. As to socially excluded groups, I will report on how these groups (homeless, ethnic minorities, disaffected youth, etc.) are affected by legislation and various economic factors(employment, immigration status, etc.) within our society.
Sun. March 18, 2007
1. Powwow brings past to present
2. Oregon needs U.S. to reform immigration
3. Winthrop could present major challenge for Ducks
4. 781 vehicles were stolen in Salem in 2006
5. Robinson: What Barack Obama has to tell us
6. Libby verdict part of partisan witch hunt, 'process crime'
To view these articles link onto the Statesman Journal link provided in this Blog.
The issue of deporting foreign-born criminals should be a priority for the U.S. immigration service. With the number of criminal immigrants in the Oregon penal system between 6 and 8 percent of the total prison population this burden on the taxpaying citizens of Oregon is unwarranted. The financial resources spent on detaining these individuals could be better spent elsewhere! However, caution should be used that innocent immigrants are not caught up in this action. As stated in this article U.S. born citizens are more likely to commit crimes than foreign born citizens by a wide margin. The goods and services that migrant workers provide
to Oregon and the U.S. in general, are enormous and help to keep our economy working. Too often immigrants are not given the proper credit for their contributions to our society. It is the cultural diversity of America that remains as one of our strongest heritages.
Sociology 348:
Two urban issues that I will cover this semester are urban/suburban planning and socially excluded groups. In particular, how federal and state policies affect a cities development(eminent domain, zoning, etc.)by controlling any future construction. As to socially excluded groups, I will report on how these groups (homeless, ethnic minorities, disaffected youth, etc.) are affected by legislation and various economic factors(employment, immigration status, etc.) within our society.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Deportation Efforts Snare More Noncriminals
THELMA GUERRERO
Statesman Journal
March 15, 2007
Rogelio Corona-Cuevas, a Mexican national, killed two members of a family in a 2003 drunken-driving collision north of Salem. Despite the illegal immigrant's five-year-long record of drunken driving and probation violations, he was never sent back to his home country.
Carlos Bernard Dennis, a Jamaican, broke into a Salem apartment, robbed the home and cut the occupant with a knife. The undocumented immigrant previously had been detained for driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident. He slipped through the cracks, however, remaining in the United States and committing another crime.
Deporting foreign-born criminals is supposed to be a priority for the U.S. immigration system, second only to national security.
However, a review of recent data shows that some criminal aliens have remained in the United States even after they have completed their sentences, while taxpayer money is used to nab people who are in the country illegally but who have no criminal record.
In the past 10 years, the number of criminal aliens doing time in Oregon prisons has fluctuated between 6 percent and 8 percent of the total prison population.
The numbers do not sit well with critics who say that keeping foreign-born criminals locked up in the state's prisons burdens taxpayers with the millions of dollars it costs to house them.
Some people want the heat turned up on the federal government to deport these inmates as soon as they walk out of prison doors.
Border-control advocates say that would help reduce the number of people who enter the country illegally and would curb the number of repeat offenders.
"It would send the message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable," said Salem resident Ken Evans, a government-relations specialist and former lobbyist.
Immigrant-rights advocates counter by pointing out that U.S.-born people commit more crimes than immigrants.
A 2006 Harvard University study supports their position, concluding that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are 45 percent less likely than Americans to commit crimes.
Paying for inmates
On Jan. 1, the total inmate population in the state's 13 prisons was 13,292, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Foreign-born aliens accounted for 1,007, or about 8 percent, of the total prison population. Eighty percent of those were Mexican citizens. Some are repeat offenders.
Last year, the corrections department charged the federal government $32.5 million, the state's cost to house 1,722 foreign-born criminals lodged in state prisons between July 2004 and June 2005.
As of this week, Oregon's 2006 federal reimbursement had not been received or determined, DOC officials said.
Through its State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, the federal government reimburses state and local governments the cost to keep undocumented criminals locked up. But federal reimbursement often comes up short, leaving states and counties to foot the full bill.
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice found that states with high immigrant populations typically receive only 25 percent of the cost to house criminal aliens in prisons. States with smaller immigrant populations such as Oregon receive less than that amount.
Evans offered a possible solution to the problem.
"We should have the inmates' countries of origin pay for their incarceration," he said.
Oregon rules
Oregon state law prohibits law enforcement officials from checking the immigration status of a person arrested for a crime, resulting in law enforcement officials' not turning over suspected illegal immigrants to immigration agents.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections has the task of holding criminal aliens in prison.
That helps ensure "that the appropriate punishment given by an Oregon judge to individuals deemed as criminal aliens is served to completion," said DOC director Max Williams.
Statesman Journal
March 15, 2007
Rogelio Corona-Cuevas, a Mexican national, killed two members of a family in a 2003 drunken-driving collision north of Salem. Despite the illegal immigrant's five-year-long record of drunken driving and probation violations, he was never sent back to his home country.
Carlos Bernard Dennis, a Jamaican, broke into a Salem apartment, robbed the home and cut the occupant with a knife. The undocumented immigrant previously had been detained for driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident. He slipped through the cracks, however, remaining in the United States and committing another crime.
Deporting foreign-born criminals is supposed to be a priority for the U.S. immigration system, second only to national security.
However, a review of recent data shows that some criminal aliens have remained in the United States even after they have completed their sentences, while taxpayer money is used to nab people who are in the country illegally but who have no criminal record.
In the past 10 years, the number of criminal aliens doing time in Oregon prisons has fluctuated between 6 percent and 8 percent of the total prison population.
The numbers do not sit well with critics who say that keeping foreign-born criminals locked up in the state's prisons burdens taxpayers with the millions of dollars it costs to house them.
Some people want the heat turned up on the federal government to deport these inmates as soon as they walk out of prison doors.
Border-control advocates say that would help reduce the number of people who enter the country illegally and would curb the number of repeat offenders.
"It would send the message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable," said Salem resident Ken Evans, a government-relations specialist and former lobbyist.
Immigrant-rights advocates counter by pointing out that U.S.-born people commit more crimes than immigrants.
A 2006 Harvard University study supports their position, concluding that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are 45 percent less likely than Americans to commit crimes.
Paying for inmates
On Jan. 1, the total inmate population in the state's 13 prisons was 13,292, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Foreign-born aliens accounted for 1,007, or about 8 percent, of the total prison population. Eighty percent of those were Mexican citizens. Some are repeat offenders.
Last year, the corrections department charged the federal government $32.5 million, the state's cost to house 1,722 foreign-born criminals lodged in state prisons between July 2004 and June 2005.
As of this week, Oregon's 2006 federal reimbursement had not been received or determined, DOC officials said.
Through its State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, the federal government reimburses state and local governments the cost to keep undocumented criminals locked up. But federal reimbursement often comes up short, leaving states and counties to foot the full bill.
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice found that states with high immigrant populations typically receive only 25 percent of the cost to house criminal aliens in prisons. States with smaller immigrant populations such as Oregon receive less than that amount.
Evans offered a possible solution to the problem.
"We should have the inmates' countries of origin pay for their incarceration," he said.
Oregon rules
Oregon state law prohibits law enforcement officials from checking the immigration status of a person arrested for a crime, resulting in law enforcement officials' not turning over suspected illegal immigrants to immigration agents.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections has the task of holding criminal aliens in prison.
That helps ensure "that the appropriate punishment given by an Oregon judge to individuals deemed as criminal aliens is served to completion," said DOC director Max Williams.
Developer, Neighbors Appeal Land-Use Ruling
BETH CASPER
Statesman Journal
March 17, 2007
Property owners with approval -- under one of the first Measure 37 claims in Marion County -- to build on 217 acres in the hills south of Salem won't break ground anytime soon.
Both the owners and neighbors near the proposed subdivision have appealed the county planning commission's decision, which reduced the number of lots from 43 to 28.
LeRoy Laack, one of the property owners, said he is frustrated with the interference by government -- partly because the delay is costly. He said the process has cost thousands of dollars.
"I am very much opposed to too much regulation from any municipality," he said. "The thing that has made America a great country is people have a say in what they do."
Neighbors around the proposed development worry mainly about the new wells affecting existing groundwater supplies. They also are frustrated by the county's decision because they have spent close to $20,000 fighting the development.
"It seems to me the cost should be on the developers," neighbor Laurel Hines said. "They should have to explore the resources before they allow the new use."
The new development is on land zoned exclusively for farm use. But Laack and another one of the four owners qualified for the development under Measure 37, which requires local governments to pay for value reductions caused by land-use regulations or waive the regulations.
After three packed hearings, the county planning commissioners approved the subdivision as long as the landowner reconfigured the parcels so that there are no more than 28 lots of at least five acres each, and one 80-acre lot. The owners originally proposed 43 lots.
Owners also have to review the area's available groundwater. A review is a less intense effort because it considers existing wellwater data and does not require scientists to collect new data.
bcasper@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6994
Statesman Journal
March 17, 2007
Property owners with approval -- under one of the first Measure 37 claims in Marion County -- to build on 217 acres in the hills south of Salem won't break ground anytime soon.
Both the owners and neighbors near the proposed subdivision have appealed the county planning commission's decision, which reduced the number of lots from 43 to 28.
LeRoy Laack, one of the property owners, said he is frustrated with the interference by government -- partly because the delay is costly. He said the process has cost thousands of dollars.
"I am very much opposed to too much regulation from any municipality," he said. "The thing that has made America a great country is people have a say in what they do."
Neighbors around the proposed development worry mainly about the new wells affecting existing groundwater supplies. They also are frustrated by the county's decision because they have spent close to $20,000 fighting the development.
"It seems to me the cost should be on the developers," neighbor Laurel Hines said. "They should have to explore the resources before they allow the new use."
The new development is on land zoned exclusively for farm use. But Laack and another one of the four owners qualified for the development under Measure 37, which requires local governments to pay for value reductions caused by land-use regulations or waive the regulations.
After three packed hearings, the county planning commissioners approved the subdivision as long as the landowner reconfigured the parcels so that there are no more than 28 lots of at least five acres each, and one 80-acre lot. The owners originally proposed 43 lots.
Owners also have to review the area's available groundwater. A review is a less intense effort because it considers existing wellwater data and does not require scientists to collect new data.
bcasper@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6994
Meth Suspect's Son Hopes She Gets Treatment
BY RUTH LIAO
Statesman Journal
March 17, 2007
The 17 children taken into protective custody during a series of a drug-related arrests in Salem this week have been placed in stable care, officials said Friday.
Salem police arrested 12 adults in meth busts during a 14-hour investigation beginning Wednesday. Children from four households and ranging in age from one month to 17 years were taken into state care following those arrested.
One of those 17 is Angel Cervantes-Shull, 17, who is staying with an older sister. Angel said he wants his mother to receive treatment -- not go to prison.
"I guess this is the only way I can get my prayers answered," Angel said of his mother, Evyette Mayla Shull, 51. "I just don't want my mom to be gone for a long time."
Shull was arrested on charges that included possession and delivery of methamphetamine, first-degree child neglect and endangering the welfare of a child.
Angel described his mother as a sweet, caring parent who struggled to raise his siblings on Social Security and food stamps. When her kids needed something, she went without, Angel said.
Angel, who will turn 18 in July, has been talking with local radio stations and television stations in an attempt to tell his mother's story since her arrest.
Police also accuse Shull of sending Angel's 15-year-old brother to deliver drugs.
Angel's younger brother remained in foster care Friday. It was not clear whether charges were pending against him. Angel said his brother is shy and introverted and not the type to use drugs.
"It sucks to see my brother suffer for the mistakes my mom did," Angel said.
Angel said his mother suffered chronic pain and illness. He said she occasionally smoked meth, but he never saw her smoke in front of him. Angel said he recently suspected his mother was using meth when she needed to get dentures.
Shull has previous second-degree theft charges from Aumsville and Salem. Angel said she shoplifted household items that she needed for him and his brother -- toiletries such as shampoo, and razors so that Angel could shave.
"She put everyone before herself," Angel said.
Angel, who said he works seasonally with his father at Fordyce Farm, said he knows his mom committed a crime. Angel said he's glad -- in a way -- that his mother was caught so she could get help.
"I just want for her to get help and get healthy," Angel said. "That's all I want for my mom."
rliao@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6941
Statesman Journal
March 17, 2007
The 17 children taken into protective custody during a series of a drug-related arrests in Salem this week have been placed in stable care, officials said Friday.
Salem police arrested 12 adults in meth busts during a 14-hour investigation beginning Wednesday. Children from four households and ranging in age from one month to 17 years were taken into state care following those arrested.
One of those 17 is Angel Cervantes-Shull, 17, who is staying with an older sister. Angel said he wants his mother to receive treatment -- not go to prison.
"I guess this is the only way I can get my prayers answered," Angel said of his mother, Evyette Mayla Shull, 51. "I just don't want my mom to be gone for a long time."
Shull was arrested on charges that included possession and delivery of methamphetamine, first-degree child neglect and endangering the welfare of a child.
Angel described his mother as a sweet, caring parent who struggled to raise his siblings on Social Security and food stamps. When her kids needed something, she went without, Angel said.
Angel, who will turn 18 in July, has been talking with local radio stations and television stations in an attempt to tell his mother's story since her arrest.
Police also accuse Shull of sending Angel's 15-year-old brother to deliver drugs.
Angel's younger brother remained in foster care Friday. It was not clear whether charges were pending against him. Angel said his brother is shy and introverted and not the type to use drugs.
"It sucks to see my brother suffer for the mistakes my mom did," Angel said.
Angel said his mother suffered chronic pain and illness. He said she occasionally smoked meth, but he never saw her smoke in front of him. Angel said he recently suspected his mother was using meth when she needed to get dentures.
Shull has previous second-degree theft charges from Aumsville and Salem. Angel said she shoplifted household items that she needed for him and his brother -- toiletries such as shampoo, and razors so that Angel could shave.
"She put everyone before herself," Angel said.
Angel, who said he works seasonally with his father at Fordyce Farm, said he knows his mom committed a crime. Angel said he's glad -- in a way -- that his mother was caught so she could get help.
"I just want for her to get help and get healthy," Angel said. "That's all I want for my mom."
rliao@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6941
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Summary of News Events this Week by Mark Young
Most Recommended Stories
Sun. March 11, 2007
1. Field burning ban would improve quality of health in Oregon
2. The censorship of science undermines democracy
3. Salem police could use vacant buildings to add jail space
4. Despite Castro's best intentions, racism lingers in Cuba
These articles can be accessed by using the Statesman Journal link found in the "links" section of this Blog.
The article "Hispanic Workers Lead U.S. Job Growth" had the greatest relevance to this weeks reading. In particular, I direct you to the last paragraph, which stated that while the median weekly earnings increased for Hispanic workers in general, the earnings of "foreign-born Hispanic workers" actually decreased in 2006. Chapter seven of our text describes the exploitation of workers in third world countries. Yet here, in the richest country in the world it is much the same. As long as the employers of these undocumented workers continue to break the law by exploiting this slave labor, America is no better than the least of them. We have are own "third world" citizens living right here!
Sun. March 11, 2007
1. Field burning ban would improve quality of health in Oregon
2. The censorship of science undermines democracy
3. Salem police could use vacant buildings to add jail space
4. Despite Castro's best intentions, racism lingers in Cuba
These articles can be accessed by using the Statesman Journal link found in the "links" section of this Blog.
The article "Hispanic Workers Lead U.S. Job Growth" had the greatest relevance to this weeks reading. In particular, I direct you to the last paragraph, which stated that while the median weekly earnings increased for Hispanic workers in general, the earnings of "foreign-born Hispanic workers" actually decreased in 2006. Chapter seven of our text describes the exploitation of workers in third world countries. Yet here, in the richest country in the world it is much the same. As long as the employers of these undocumented workers continue to break the law by exploiting this slave labor, America is no better than the least of them. We have are own "third world" citizens living right here!
Hispanic Worker's Lead U.S. Job Growth
THELMA GUERRERO
Statesman Journal
March 11, 2007
Hispanics make up 13.6 percent of the U.S. employment population but accounted for 36.7 percent of the 2006 U.S. job growth, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
The construction industry was a key source of jobs for Hispanics, despite a slump in the housing market. Hispanic workers landed two out of three new construction jobs in 2006, Pew analysts said.
Most of those jobs were in the West and South, which is consistent with the overall distribution of the Hispanic work force, according to the Pew fact sheet.
"That puts Oregon in a category that's above the national average of new jobs being landed by Hispanics," said Art Ayre, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department.
In Oregon, Hispanics increased their grip in construction occupations from 12.5 percent in 2002 to 14 percent in 2005, officials at the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that in recent years about two-thirds of the rise in the employment of recently arrived Hispanics was due to authorized migration.
The median weekly earnings of Hispanic workers increased from $420 to $428 between 2005 and 2006, the fact sheet found. The median weekly earnings of foreign-born Hispanic workers fell from $400 to $388 in 2006.
tguerrero@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6815
Statesman Journal
March 11, 2007
Hispanics make up 13.6 percent of the U.S. employment population but accounted for 36.7 percent of the 2006 U.S. job growth, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
The construction industry was a key source of jobs for Hispanics, despite a slump in the housing market. Hispanic workers landed two out of three new construction jobs in 2006, Pew analysts said.
Most of those jobs were in the West and South, which is consistent with the overall distribution of the Hispanic work force, according to the Pew fact sheet.
"That puts Oregon in a category that's above the national average of new jobs being landed by Hispanics," said Art Ayre, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department.
In Oregon, Hispanics increased their grip in construction occupations from 12.5 percent in 2002 to 14 percent in 2005, officials at the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that in recent years about two-thirds of the rise in the employment of recently arrived Hispanics was due to authorized migration.
The median weekly earnings of Hispanic workers increased from $420 to $428 between 2005 and 2006, the fact sheet found. The median weekly earnings of foreign-born Hispanic workers fell from $400 to $388 in 2006.
tguerrero@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6815
Friday, March 9, 2007
Overprotecting Kids is Dangerous in the Long Run!
March 9, 2007
"Save the children" is the battle cry we hear from many legislators who sponsor bills such as SB 49. Should we legislatively be discouraging an activity that brings children and families together in a fun, wholesome and recreational activity?
What about horseback riding? Should we make a law prohibiting Hanna and Conner from riding a 1,500-pound, unpredictable mass of potential injury and death?
The gravest concern I have about this type of bill is this: Should we, as a society, be mitigating any and all the risk we can to our children? When does the overprotection of our children become a detriment to them later as adults? We protect, protect and overprotect some more; then, our children turn 18 and they get the cold hard boot of reality.
At that time, we expect them to know how to take appropriate risk in the college classroom, in business, in a profession or in a trade. Thank goodness for the soldiers, farmers, police, firefighters, business owners, entrepreneurs, mothers and fathers who teach their children that "risk" is an essential part of "life."
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let's not go down that path.
-- Alex Olsen, Keizer
"Save the children" is the battle cry we hear from many legislators who sponsor bills such as SB 49. Should we legislatively be discouraging an activity that brings children and families together in a fun, wholesome and recreational activity?
What about horseback riding? Should we make a law prohibiting Hanna and Conner from riding a 1,500-pound, unpredictable mass of potential injury and death?
The gravest concern I have about this type of bill is this: Should we, as a society, be mitigating any and all the risk we can to our children? When does the overprotection of our children become a detriment to them later as adults? We protect, protect and overprotect some more; then, our children turn 18 and they get the cold hard boot of reality.
At that time, we expect them to know how to take appropriate risk in the college classroom, in business, in a profession or in a trade. Thank goodness for the soldiers, farmers, police, firefighters, business owners, entrepreneurs, mothers and fathers who teach their children that "risk" is an essential part of "life."
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let's not go down that path.
-- Alex Olsen, Keizer
The End of Logging Subsides?
By Jeff Barnard
the Associated Press
March 9, 2007
TALENT — The end of a little-known federal subsidy that funneled millions of dollars to rural counties to compensate them for restrictions on logging is forcing communities in the West to close libraries, reduce police patrols and put off road repairs.
“We’re building libraries in Iraq and we are not funding libraries in Jackson County,” Dana Rayburn grumbled as she looked for a book for her first-grader in the brand-new Talent branch library, one of 15 in Oregon’s Jackson County now slated to close.
For generations, revenue from the cutting of timber in national forests allowed many rural counties in the West to build roads and schools and cover other expenses. The money enabled some counties to keep their property taxes extraordinarily low.
In the 1990s, though, restrictions aimed at protecting spotted owls, salmon and other wildlife led to severe cutbacks in logging, and Congress authorized subsidies to timber communities to cushion the blow.
Now, those subsidies are coming to an end. Late last year, Congress refused to renew the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which has paid out $2.9 billion over the past six years to 700 counties in 39 states. The last checks are going out this month.
To make up for the lost revenue, Lane County, home to the University of Oregon, has instituted an income tax. And three other counties in Oregon’s rugged timber country have put property tax increases on their May ballots.
But rural Oregon has a reputation for hating taxes and is not afraid to vote down increases even for such things as schools and libraries.
“We wouldn’t need these taxes if we went back to sustainable logging,” she said. Because of logging cutbacks, “the social and economic welfare of people I know in the past 20 some years has gone straight downhill. I’ve seen people have to go on welfare. The drinking starts. The divorces.”
The federal government has been sharing timber revenue with rural counties for nearly a century, under an arrangement worked out by President Theodore Roosevelt to gain their support for the creation of national forests.
National forest timber production hit highs of more than 12 billion board feet a year in the late 1960s and late 1980s, but plummeted 80 percent to 2.3 billion last year, in part because large swaths of the woods have been declared off-limits for environmental reasons. Last year’s harvest brought in just $221 million.
To make up for the downturn, Congress started giving Northwest timber communities subsidies in the 1990s to tide them over while they came up with new sources of revenue. After that expired, Congress passed the Secure Schools Act, which spread the safety net to all counties with national forests.
the Associated Press
March 9, 2007
TALENT — The end of a little-known federal subsidy that funneled millions of dollars to rural counties to compensate them for restrictions on logging is forcing communities in the West to close libraries, reduce police patrols and put off road repairs.
“We’re building libraries in Iraq and we are not funding libraries in Jackson County,” Dana Rayburn grumbled as she looked for a book for her first-grader in the brand-new Talent branch library, one of 15 in Oregon’s Jackson County now slated to close.
For generations, revenue from the cutting of timber in national forests allowed many rural counties in the West to build roads and schools and cover other expenses. The money enabled some counties to keep their property taxes extraordinarily low.
In the 1990s, though, restrictions aimed at protecting spotted owls, salmon and other wildlife led to severe cutbacks in logging, and Congress authorized subsidies to timber communities to cushion the blow.
Now, those subsidies are coming to an end. Late last year, Congress refused to renew the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which has paid out $2.9 billion over the past six years to 700 counties in 39 states. The last checks are going out this month.
To make up for the lost revenue, Lane County, home to the University of Oregon, has instituted an income tax. And three other counties in Oregon’s rugged timber country have put property tax increases on their May ballots.
But rural Oregon has a reputation for hating taxes and is not afraid to vote down increases even for such things as schools and libraries.
“We wouldn’t need these taxes if we went back to sustainable logging,” she said. Because of logging cutbacks, “the social and economic welfare of people I know in the past 20 some years has gone straight downhill. I’ve seen people have to go on welfare. The drinking starts. The divorces.”
The federal government has been sharing timber revenue with rural counties for nearly a century, under an arrangement worked out by President Theodore Roosevelt to gain their support for the creation of national forests.
National forest timber production hit highs of more than 12 billion board feet a year in the late 1960s and late 1980s, but plummeted 80 percent to 2.3 billion last year, in part because large swaths of the woods have been declared off-limits for environmental reasons. Last year’s harvest brought in just $221 million.
To make up for the downturn, Congress started giving Northwest timber communities subsidies in the 1990s to tide them over while they came up with new sources of revenue. After that expired, Congress passed the Secure Schools Act, which spread the safety net to all counties with national forests.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Summary of News Events this Week by Mark Young
Most Recommended Stories
Sat. March 3, 2007
1. Target bad drivers, not older drivers
2. Air service will stay if it's used
3. Lawmakers won't fight illegal immigration
4. Sharing their stories to help others
5. Men, women serving in war deserve respect
6. Letters show parents divided about ex-teacher
7. More must be done to protect ocean
8. The Rant
9. Group elects new board member
10. Mercury and health connection isn't 'complicated'
These articles can be accessed by using the Statesman Journal link found in the "link" section of this blog.
"Disabled Residents Rally For Awareness"
Virginia Hill is another example of individuals who find themselves "socially excluded" from many things that average citizens take for granted. While she is "Mentally Impaired" this disability has not stopped her from trying to improve her life.
Virginia's steadfastness for better education and employment opportunities for the disabled is something to be admired. Too often in our society, physical or mental impairments leave individuals ostracized from the so called "normal" life that most of us enjoy.I hope that our legislators will give the issues that Virgina and others are bringing to the table their full attention. These citizens deserve their voices to be heard and to be treated with dignity and respect.
For more information on Virginia Hill see news article posted on this blog.
Sincerely, Mark J. Young
Sat. March 3, 2007
1. Target bad drivers, not older drivers
2. Air service will stay if it's used
3. Lawmakers won't fight illegal immigration
4. Sharing their stories to help others
5. Men, women serving in war deserve respect
6. Letters show parents divided about ex-teacher
7. More must be done to protect ocean
8. The Rant
9. Group elects new board member
10. Mercury and health connection isn't 'complicated'
These articles can be accessed by using the Statesman Journal link found in the "link" section of this blog.
"Disabled Residents Rally For Awareness"
Virginia Hill is another example of individuals who find themselves "socially excluded" from many things that average citizens take for granted. While she is "Mentally Impaired" this disability has not stopped her from trying to improve her life.
Virginia's steadfastness for better education and employment opportunities for the disabled is something to be admired. Too often in our society, physical or mental impairments leave individuals ostracized from the so called "normal" life that most of us enjoy.I hope that our legislators will give the issues that Virgina and others are bringing to the table their full attention. These citizens deserve their voices to be heard and to be treated with dignity and respect.
For more information on Virginia Hill see news article posted on this blog.
Sincerely, Mark J. Young
Bill To Help Mobile-Home Owners Stirs Debate
STEVE LAW
Statesman Journal
March 3, 2007
Mobile-home owners and landlords sat side by side Friday to present their joint approach to aid Oregonians displaced by mobile home park closures.
Lawmakers were so keen to see both sides compromise that 79 of 90 House and Senate members co-sponsored the coalition's proposal, House Bill 2735.
But the first hearing Friday before the House Consumer Protection Committee showed there's still significant opposition, despite 18 months' work to forge a compromise.
The Manufactured Housing Landlord/Tenant Coalition proposal would provide cash payments of $5,000 to $9,000 for mobile home owners forced from their parks. It would extend a $10,000 tax credit and enable more people to qualify. Home owners, whose homes plummet in value once a closure is announced, could leave their homes on site without having to pay thousands of dollars in disposal fees
Sixty-five mobile home parks have closed in Oregon since 1990, said Rep. Jerry Krummel, R-Wilsonville, but 31 of the closures occurred in just the past two years.
As a result, no other bill before the 2007 Legislature has so many co-sponsors, said Krummel, who has championed mobile home owner concerns the past two legislative sessions.
"This is a problem that's not going to go away," said Greg Harmon, the president of Commonwealth Real Estate Services, a major landlord and coalition member. The compromise bill "is the most generous and comprehensive mobile home park closure bill in the United States," he said.
But some mobile home owners say the bill doesn't go far enough.
Ashley Taylor, who lives in an older mobile home park in Silverton called Stardust Village, said the bill won't fully compensate her and her neighbors' losses if the park closes.
"I believe that we should get better compensation," Taylor said. "A lot of these people, if they lose their home, they've got nothing; $5,000 would take them nowhere."
Peter Ferris, a Waldport mobile-home owner, said what is needed is money to help owners buy the land underneath their homes.
State Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, the House committee chairman, said he hopes to produce some relief for displaced mobile home owners. "I don't think that we've got a comprehensive solution to this problem yet," Holvey said. That will take more than just this bill, he said.
"I do pray that they can come to some conclusion," Taylor said, "because newer parks than ours have closed and it hurts thousands and thousands of people that have nowhere else to go."
slaw@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6615
Statesman Journal
March 3, 2007
Mobile-home owners and landlords sat side by side Friday to present their joint approach to aid Oregonians displaced by mobile home park closures.
Lawmakers were so keen to see both sides compromise that 79 of 90 House and Senate members co-sponsored the coalition's proposal, House Bill 2735.
But the first hearing Friday before the House Consumer Protection Committee showed there's still significant opposition, despite 18 months' work to forge a compromise.
The Manufactured Housing Landlord/Tenant Coalition proposal would provide cash payments of $5,000 to $9,000 for mobile home owners forced from their parks. It would extend a $10,000 tax credit and enable more people to qualify. Home owners, whose homes plummet in value once a closure is announced, could leave their homes on site without having to pay thousands of dollars in disposal fees
Sixty-five mobile home parks have closed in Oregon since 1990, said Rep. Jerry Krummel, R-Wilsonville, but 31 of the closures occurred in just the past two years.
As a result, no other bill before the 2007 Legislature has so many co-sponsors, said Krummel, who has championed mobile home owner concerns the past two legislative sessions.
"This is a problem that's not going to go away," said Greg Harmon, the president of Commonwealth Real Estate Services, a major landlord and coalition member. The compromise bill "is the most generous and comprehensive mobile home park closure bill in the United States," he said.
But some mobile home owners say the bill doesn't go far enough.
Ashley Taylor, who lives in an older mobile home park in Silverton called Stardust Village, said the bill won't fully compensate her and her neighbors' losses if the park closes.
"I believe that we should get better compensation," Taylor said. "A lot of these people, if they lose their home, they've got nothing; $5,000 would take them nowhere."
Peter Ferris, a Waldport mobile-home owner, said what is needed is money to help owners buy the land underneath their homes.
State Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, the House committee chairman, said he hopes to produce some relief for displaced mobile home owners. "I don't think that we've got a comprehensive solution to this problem yet," Holvey said. That will take more than just this bill, he said.
"I do pray that they can come to some conclusion," Taylor said, "because newer parks than ours have closed and it hurts thousands and thousands of people that have nowhere else to go."
slaw@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6615
Disabled Residents Rally for Awareness
THELMA GUERRERO
Statesman Journal
March 3, 2007
Most days are a joy for Virginia Hill. Other days, it's a struggle to get past labels and other challenges she encounters in the community.
"I want to learn to read better," Hill, 26, said recently while taking a break from her job at Mount Angel Training Center. "But when I talked to different colleges about taking a reading class, they told me they didn't offer that for people like me."
So Hill, a 2002 graduate of Woodburn High School, decided to become a self-advocate for her disability, mental retardation.
On Friday, she and other people like her who rely on state social programs such as developmental services, foster care and mental-health services shared their stories during a rally on the steps of the state Capitol.
They were there to tell lawmakers that they are capable of making independent decisions, living on their own and to demand their voices be included in public policies that affect their lives.
"It's really important for self-advocates to tell their stories because it gives them a sense of empowerment," said Shelley Joyce, a spokeswoman for Victory Alliance, the organizer of Friday's rally
The presence of lawmakers at Friday's rally is an indication that attitudes among some policymakers are gradually shifting, advocates say.
State representatives Brian Clem, D-Salem, and Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, spoke about measures they're sponsoring aimed at improving access to education, employment and transportation for the developmentally disabled.
Clinically, developmental disability refers to any lifetime handicapping condition that occurs before age 18 that significantly impairs learning, language skills, mobility and the ability for some to live independently. It includes mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and neurological disorders.
Decades ago, services for the developmentally disabled were concentrated in state-run institutions. Today, many disabled people are able to live on their own, attend school and hold jobs.
Self-advocates, such as Hill, say that far more people deemed developmentally disabled can assume a level of responsibility for decisions than is generally thought.
After being labeled mentally retarded, Hill attended special-education classes throughout school. She lived with her grandmother until several years ago, when the elderly woman passed away.
"I am independent," she said in abbreviated statements. "I don't feel different. I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."
tguerrero@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-681
Statesman Journal
March 3, 2007
Most days are a joy for Virginia Hill. Other days, it's a struggle to get past labels and other challenges she encounters in the community.
"I want to learn to read better," Hill, 26, said recently while taking a break from her job at Mount Angel Training Center. "But when I talked to different colleges about taking a reading class, they told me they didn't offer that for people like me."
So Hill, a 2002 graduate of Woodburn High School, decided to become a self-advocate for her disability, mental retardation.
On Friday, she and other people like her who rely on state social programs such as developmental services, foster care and mental-health services shared their stories during a rally on the steps of the state Capitol.
They were there to tell lawmakers that they are capable of making independent decisions, living on their own and to demand their voices be included in public policies that affect their lives.
"It's really important for self-advocates to tell their stories because it gives them a sense of empowerment," said Shelley Joyce, a spokeswoman for Victory Alliance, the organizer of Friday's rally
The presence of lawmakers at Friday's rally is an indication that attitudes among some policymakers are gradually shifting, advocates say.
State representatives Brian Clem, D-Salem, and Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, spoke about measures they're sponsoring aimed at improving access to education, employment and transportation for the developmentally disabled.
Clinically, developmental disability refers to any lifetime handicapping condition that occurs before age 18 that significantly impairs learning, language skills, mobility and the ability for some to live independently. It includes mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and neurological disorders.
Decades ago, services for the developmentally disabled were concentrated in state-run institutions. Today, many disabled people are able to live on their own, attend school and hold jobs.
Self-advocates, such as Hill, say that far more people deemed developmentally disabled can assume a level of responsibility for decisions than is generally thought.
After being labeled mentally retarded, Hill attended special-education classes throughout school. She lived with her grandmother until several years ago, when the elderly woman passed away.
"I am independent," she said in abbreviated statements. "I don't feel different. I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."
tguerrero@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-681
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