Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 9

almanac 2 agriculture8 Statesman-Journal, Monday, August 23, 1982 Jury is still out on East Salem's new justice court He savs 90 Dercent of those hauled into By CATHY BECKHAM Of the Stateamaa-Jeuraal Ask the Marion County commissioners why they expanded the county's justice court system into East Salem, and two of them will tell you it was a matter of convenience. The third commissioner and some court officials aren't so sure, but no one is pressing the point. Privately, several local judges wonder if the commissioners weren't more interested in funneling money into county coffers than in establishing a court closer to east county residents. Publicly, the judges refuse to comment, one of them explaining, "It's too much of a political football to make a statement about." In a May letter, Dennis Bromka, director of the Oregon Commission on the Judicial Branch, accused the county of circumventing the intent of statewide takeover of dis passed by the Legislature in mid-1981. The counties now receive all of the fine revenue from lawbreakers cited into district court by sheriff's deputies, but half will go to the state after the takeover.

JUSTICE COURTS, an alternative to district court for traffic cases and other minor violations, will remain under county control. All revenue from deputies' justice court citations will continue to go to the county. The new court was established in March as an extension of the Stayton Justice Court. It convenes on Fridays in a rented building at 575 Lancaster Drive SE. Previously, east county residents accused of minor violations had to drive to district court in downtown Salem or justice court in Stayton, said County Commissioner Randy Franke.

Now they have a court in their own neighborhood, he said. Franke said justice courts can take some of the pressure off the district court docket BESIDES, HE SAID, justice is better trict and circuit courts. He threatened an appeal to the Legislature if the county refused to back off. HOWEVER, Bromka has since changed his mind. Terming his letter "premature," he said he was satisfied the county acted in good faith.

County commissioner Harry Carson, who voted against the justice court move, said his two fellow commissioners broke faith with the state. It violates a gentlemen's agreement, he said. "We ask the state to take over operation of the courts, and then we turn around and set this one up." But Carson, due to step down Dec. 31, considers it a dead issue. It's the imposition of fines for minor offenses, primarily traffic violations, that enables the justice court system to pay its way and earn a little money for the county The state takes over administration of district and circuit courts Jan.

1 under a bill served. He said Justice of the Peace David E. Heard, who presides over the Stay-tonEast Salem court, is tough on rural crimes like poaching. "Cases like that occur frequently, yet they don't have a high priority in district court because of the volume of cases that have to be tried," Franke said. State police and sheriff's deputies routinely cite a person accused of such violations to the court nearest the defendant's home.

Heard is willing to preside over those cases and is quick and fair, Franke said. Heard said he tries 125 to 130 cases each Friday, which works out to about four minutes a case. District Judge Greg West said four minutes is enough time to hear a minor violation. SINCE THE COURT opened earlier this year, Heard, who is not an attorney, has presided over 2,194 traffic infractions and 144 other cases eligible for district court. His monthly salary is $1,200.

court are there for traffic or misdemeanor citations. Ninety percent of those cases, he said, can be handled easily with "a little public service work or a minor fine." It costs a total of $108,000 to fund the justice courts in Woodburn, Stayton and Salem, said county fiscal officer Ken Roudybush. He said the district court budget is $358,000, not including clerk costs. Rent at the Lancaster court is $400 a month. Heard has one full-time clerk and volunteer help.

THE MOVE BY the commissioners to support the justice court system flies in the face of a national trend to do away with justice courts. The trend is in response to complaints by judges and lawyers that justices of the peace lack training in the law. Heard says he is fighting that image. He said he has set up conferences and training sessions to bring Oregon's 40 justices of the peace up to date on matters of law. Also linked to Good case Suicide victim was suspect m- Eyerly disappearance By ANDY McIVOR Of the Statesman-Journal A man who apparently hung Saturday had been questioned 1 JL mmwk or answer any more questions about the case until today, after he consults with his staff and "irons things out." HE ADDED, however, that Wilson's apparent suicide does not necessarily stymie his investigation.

"The case just doesn't go to hell, There's still a lot to be done." 1 Steve Eyerly, Sherry's father, said Hingston told him Saturday night that Sherry knew Darrell Wilson. "We have been told that he had met her," he said. And Laverne Good, Danielle's mother, said Wilson had met Danielle. One of Laverne's older daughters, Dawn, 24, is married to Darnell's brother, Steve, Laverne Good said. Wilson and the child had met in chance encounters at both families' homes, Laverne Good said.

The Goods said they have had no contact with police since Saturday's apparent suicide. "As far as I know, Stateoman-Joumal phots by Rob Cooper to link this man with Sherry, we can't really make the connection at all," he said. Although Wilson lived in an apartment behind the main house, the side door of the main house was left open for him so he could do his laundry, police said. He was found hanging with a rope from a stairway leading to the basement of the main house. BAKER TOLD police Wilson had lived with her and her daughters moving when they moved for several years and was "like a son to her." Contacted Sunday at her home, Baker and several of Wilson's friends said they did not want to comment on his death.

Wilson's father, George F. Wilson of Hillsboro, also said he did not want to comment. The senior Wilson is a good friend of Edwin Good's because both were Oregon corrections officers together, Edwin Good said. While investigating the apparent suicide, police found an uncooked breakfast of potatoes, eggs and butter on Wilson's stove in his apartment. There was no suicide note, they said.

On a bench next to the body, police said, they found Wilson's coffee cup, with about an inch of coffee left in it and a book entitled "Life Comes From Life." Officers seized the book as evidence. IN THEIR report, officers listed Wilson's employer as Oregon Fruit Growers. Hingston said Wilson was a truck driver, though he didn't know for whom. Wilson's personal vehicle was a lime-green pickup truck, the description of a vehicle being sought in the Eyerly case, Hingston said. earlier that day about Sherry Eyer-ly's disappearance, police said Sunday.

Darrell Jay Wilson, 30, was found dead about 3:30 p.m., hanging by the neck in the basement of 1945 4th Ave. NE, police said. His landlord, Sally L. Baker, who lives at the same address, discovered the body, officers said. Wilson knew both Eyerly and 9-year-old Danielle Good, who is also missing, relatives of the two missing girls said.

Although police have been saying the disappearances are apparently unrelated, the cases have attracted considerable public interest in Salem. POLICE HAVE maintained that their leads in the cases have met dead ends. Sgt. Will Hingston of the Marion County Sheriff's Department, who is investigating the disappearance of the 18-year-old Eyerly, said Sunday he had talked to Wilson, a truck driver, for about five minutes about 9 Saturday. Hingston said he questioned Wilson about Eyerly's disappearance, but during the conversation did not accuse him of abducting her.

When asked if Wilson could be regarded as a suspect in the Eyerly case, Hingston replied, "Yes." The detective has been investigating Eyerly's disappearance since her Domino's Pizza delivery car was found July 4, abandoned on a rural road in South Salem. Hingston said he preferred not to STATE QUEEN Miss Oregon, Laura Ann Miss Oregon in July, Matthys has appeared at nu-Matthys, poses with guests at an American Can- merous events as Oregon's hostess. She is prepar-cer Society luncheon in Portland. Since becoming tag tor September's Miss USA pageant New Miss Oregon reigns over busy summer schedule (there is) no involvement with our (case)," Edwin Good, Danielle's father, said. His daughter disappeared from her bedroom during the early morning of July 31.

DAWN WILSON works under Steve Eyerly's wife, Linda, at Block tax service, where Linda is assistant manager of the Salem district, Steve Eyerly said. "Somewhere in that triangle, Darrell Wilson met Sherry," he said. Except for a passing mention at his wife's workplace, "we never even heard the name He could have met her on various occasions that we wouldn't be aware of." Steve Eyerly stressed that he was trying not to jump to conclusions about the latest developments. "Unless there's some physical evidence By ANN PORTAL Of the Statesman-Journal PORTLAND Laura Matthys, Miss Oregon, was waiting to have her picture taken after an American Cancer Society appearance. Some Cancer Society award winners decided they wanted her in their picture, too, and drew her in front of the camera.

Matthys, taller than most people in the crowded room, posed, smiled, then started to walk away only to be pulled back for more photos. She laughed, slipped her arms behind the new group waiting in front of the camera, and smiled again. A third group asked her to also be in their picture. "Yes, it's hectic sometimes," she said a little while later, sitting in the lobby of the Portland can get frustrating but I do have free time." mmmmmmmmm is lower than the other," she said. "I always thought I walked fine!" After dinner, she reads national news magazines, watches the evening news and gets ready for the in-, terview segment of the pageant.

Two nights a week, various people come to give her trial interviews on current events seven minutes each, three per night. "Boy, if I took a political. science exam right now, I'd breeze through it," she said. Matthys said she and Mike Maki planned her training schedule early in the summer, but it hasn't been followed strictly. She was supposed to stop running because she was told her legs were getting too muscular.

"I did quit running for a while, but I just couldn't do it," Matthys said. "You really need something." Matthys' biggest change for the. national competition is a new hair style, which aaaaaaaBaaaanaf surprised her as much as any Senor group's battle cry. 'I bet Bill can help us' times want to I please the beach let's hear it! one. Matthys agreed to have her 1 hair trimmed in front of television cameras on the show AM Northwest.

She expected to lose a couple of inches of her long brown hair. BUT SHE LOST A lot more, and now has a shoulder-length hair style that requires two hours That free time is hard to detect in a summer routine meant to prepare her for the Miss America pageant in early September. The 21-year-old Matthys, from Salem, is spending the summer in Seaside, at the home of Mike Maki, president of the Miss Oregon competition. His Helen, acts as Miss Oregon's official chaperone. "There's when you say, 'Can just go to for a EDITOR'S NOTE: Each week, (be Statesman-Journal honors an "win" volunteer nominated by Us readers and selected by a Volunteer Services panel of Judges.

By KAY APLEY Of the Statesman-Journal Bill Eichbaum, 75, has been volunteering for about six months at the Council on Aging. He averages more than 20 hours per week as a "pure volunteer in that he asks for no reimbursement for his time or gasoline mileage," said the letter nominating him. The council provides a van for people over age 99 of preparation before appear-, ances. aeaBBBBBsmaBBBBi Besides getting ready for Miss America, Matthys still fulfills her Miss Oregon duties, as time permits. A Portland advertising firm sets up the major appearances, and she schedules the local ones herself.

Matthys leaves for Atlantic City, NJ. on Sept. 4, where the Miss America pageant runs Sept. 8-11. Then she goes to New York for a week-long vacation.

hi who need transnortation to i I nutrition programs, stores and to business, doctor and dentist appointments. "Ordinarily, we must have 48 hours notice to schedule a ride on one of our vans," said the writer, "but in times of medical emergency or when a person is unable to board a van for medical reasons such as arthritis or hip injury, we do have a very small pool of volunteer drivers who provide tholr nwn autri and time. Eichbaum, a native Californian, retired 12 years ago as an electrical engineer with the U. S. Department of Interior, based in Sacramento.

He and his wife and daughter moved to Salem on retirement because "It's such a beautiful place," he said. Over the years, his love of painting has kept him busy he works in both oils and acrylic on landscapes and portraits. His wife of 45 years, Sarah Rose, died last year. Their daughter, he said, "is about to graduate from Portland State University in archaeology and is joining a convent, the Order of St. Francis, the first of next year.

"After my wife died, I couldn't stand being alone all the time," he said, so the Senior Center sent me to the Council on Aging. They said, 'would you mind I said, 'I don't mind at all -anything to It's helping crippled people and the elderly some are over 100 years old." Eichbaum took his daughter on a trip to Europe in June and July "and it about did me in," he said, smiling. "When I got home, the doctor told me to rest up until I felt able to get back to volunteering. "I enjoy it," he said, adding that In the process he has "found out every bit of Salem and Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. "I drive both men and women, but there are more women who need help than men.

After I got back from Europe, several called me," he said, Niil rloaa, ay hrtter or fern tvalUMo at the aowepapef of-' flea, may at ataled VaraMeer, P.O. Bm IMS, Uhm RM Her parents and brother, Chuck, will be in the audi-; ence at Atlantic City. Her plans will change if she's crowned Miss America. And she seems ready for that possibility. "If you get Miss America, you stay back East for an entire year," she said.

"There's no way 1 would turn down anything like that." The pageant winner receives a $20,000 scholarship and, can expect to earn $80,000 for speaking engage-: ments during her reign, Matthys said. Getting ready for the Miss America competition has re- quired some sacrifices on Matthys' part no vacation, no movies and few visits with her parents, Joyce and Ken Matthys of Salem. "THERE'S TIMES," she said, "when you want to say, 'Can I please just go to the beach for a Her boyfriend, Bill McShane, a former Oregon State University basketball player, comes from Portland to see her every couple of weeks. Matthys' day usually begins with the morning news and a newspaper. The Miss America competition includes an interview that will test her knowledge of current events.

After breakfast, she spends a couple of hours practicing her rifle twirling routine for the talent competition. In the afternoon, she and Helen Makl go to Astoria for fittings, where Betty Narkus is making Matthys a new wardrobe to wear in the pageant. Each Miss America competitor receives a $1,000 wardrobe fund. For Matthys, that fund is In addition to Miss Oregon prizes that Include a $1,000 wardrobe from J.C. Penney, clothing from Jantzen, a $2,00 mink coat and jewelry.

Other afternoons, the women go to swimsult fittings In Portland, where Jantzen is making two suits for Matthys one for public beaches, the other for the competition. MATTHYS ALSO practices her walks and turns in the afternoons. "I have flat feet, my ankles turn in, and one shoulder BILL EICHBAUM 1 IK BCIlUlttl 9III9 ai UIIIU1 MMU iu iiei bum aaiu, uv- ranaa sru la nurtlno hprnolf throush rollece. She nlans to use the $1,250 scholarship she won in the Miss Oregon pageant at Western Oregon State College. Matthvs will be a senior majoring in special educa tion this fall.

"Mr. Eichbaum is one of our faithful drivers, unusual in that he is available on short notice and has seldom had to tell us Thanks to Bill, we have been able to provide transportation service to persons we could not otherwise help," said the letter. "There have been so many times when we have turned to his help, It is almost as if 'I'll bet Bill could help us' has become our battle cry. With more people like him, we would have no problems procuring volunteer help for every call we get," said the writer. BUI Matuiys saiu sne hisu eniercu uic wiiupcmiuu Just for the experience.

"I don't know where else I would get the knowledge I'm getting see the people I'm seeing," sne said. "I'm having a good time so far as Miss Oregon 1 I iA ...111 a. II ifXN Moaunsa. tan I Know it win gei even ucuci.