Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 17

IN THE Statesman JoumaVStatesmanJoumal.com INSIDE Mid-Valley: Two Santiam High School seniors got decked out in duct tape for their prom. 3C Editorial: Hold the Bush administration accountable for prisoner abuse in Iraq. 6C OCALbTATE SECTION Thursday, May 13, 2004 Local: Mary Irby-Jones, (503) 399-6862, mirbyjonesStatesmanJournal.com State: Richard R. Aguirre, (503) 399-6739, raguirTeStatesmanJournal.com Willamette to comfe degrees Sunday one I wouldn't change for the world." Thome is one of 434 students graduating Graduation schedule Willamette University students will graduate Sunday. The Atkinson Graduate School of Management ceremony Is at 9 a.m.

at Hudson Hall in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. Fifty-two degrees will be awarded by the School of Management. The College of Law commencement is at 1 1 :30 Mf a.m. on the Quad. It will award 116 law degrees and two master's degrees.

The College of Liberal Arts and School of Education commencement is at 3:30 p.m. on the Quad. Seventy degrees will be awarded by the School of Education; 434 undergraduates will receive degrees from the College of Liberal Arts. Burton ing Rainbow," a program he has hosted since 1983. "Reading Rainbow" is among the most-watched children's television series in U.S.

schools. Burton also is known for his role as sightless Lt. Geordi LaForge from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" series and for his 1977 role as Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries "Roots." In addition to speaking, Burton will receive an SlEILLMETTE75C LeVar Burton will send students on their way in the world inspiring and encouraging them to reach for their dreams. "LeVar Burton was selected by students of Willamette University in recognition of his ongoing contribution to children's literacy through his national public television and the 'Reading Rainbow' program," said Janis Nichols of Willamette University. Burton has won 18 Emmy Awards for "Read The largest class in the school's history, 668, will get diplomas.

BY BETH CASPER Statesman Journal Joanna Thome, 22, has mixed feelings about graduating from Willamette University on Sunday. On one hand, she is excited about teaching English in China for a semester this fall. But she already knows she is going to miss the uni- trom the Arts at lege of Willamette University. Including graduate students, 668 people will receive degrees, the largest class in the school's 162-year history. Commencement speaker velopmentally," said the Whidbey Island, native.

"It's definitely been an amazing experience versity culture. "It's been a wonderful experience academically, socially, emotionally and de- Mid-Valley woman inducted into whistlers hall of fame 4 seek county clerk position One or two of the candidates will make it onto November's ballot. BY CARA ROBERTS MUREZ Statesman Journal When longtime Marion County Clerk Al Davidson retired in March, he took with him years of experience and a history of innovative elections improvements. Marion County voters have just six days left to exercise A 7 lV' nfe if w- iMimm I. miii.1 ma i ii mi hum i grim mi Inside their right to vote in the May primary and take the first step toward filling that PRIMARY: Marion County Commissioner Sam Brentano faces a GOP challenger.

SC Three-car accident kills two Two people were killed Wednesday in a three-car crash on Highway 22 about two miles east of the Highway 18 junction. A westbound Chevrolet pickup driven by David Covach, 19, of Sheridan crossed the center line and collided with an eastbound Toyota pickup carrying a Lebanon couple about 5 p.m. The Chevrolet then hit an eastbound Toyota Camry, said Lt. Dale Rutledge of the Oregon State Police. Covach died while being flown to a Corval-lis hospital.

The driver of the Toyota pickup, Donald Strobel, 75, of Lebanon, died at the scene. His wife, Gertrude Strobel, 75, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis with unknown injuries. The driver of the Toyota Camry, Thomas Holden, 59, of San Ramon, was taken to Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville with unknown injuries. The highway was closed for more than two hours. INVOLVEMENT LOW FOR MAIL PRIMARY Voter participation in Tuesday's by-mail primary is running at the relatively slow pace of the 2002 primary and behind the voting rate in the primary in 2000, the most recent presidential election year.

As of a week before the May 18 primary, county election offices had received ballots from 17 percent of the state's 1.85 million registered voters. In the 2000 presidential election year, ballots had been received from 20 percent of voters a week before Oregon's primary. Participation in that election likely was boosted by several measures, including a proposed 5-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase that voters crushed. There are no statewide measures on Tuesday's ballot. 2 FIREFIGHTERS OUT OF HOSPITAL Two Salem firefighters injured in an ambulance crash Monday have been released from the hospital.

Andy Grimmer, 29, and Willard Bauscher, 35, are expected to make full recoveries, deputy fire marshal Bill Holm-strom said. They were injured when the ambulance they were in veered off the road into a large tree and flipped on its side at Union and Liberty streets NE. A preliminary investigation indicated that Grimmer lost consciousness at the time of the crash, Holmstrom said. ARMY AVIATION OPEN HOUSE SET The public is invited to an open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Salem.

Military aircraft and rescue equipment will be on display. Visitors also will get a chance to see aerial demonstrations by a Firehawk helicopter and the Oregon Military Air Rescue Team. The helicopter will demonstrate firefight-ing and rescue techniques The support facility is at 1921 Turner Road SE. Statesman Journal staff reports ACCURACY WATCH The Statesman Journal is committed to accuracy in all of its news and feature reports. If you see something that requires a correction or a clarification, please call (503) 399-6773.

4 THOMAS PATTERSON Statesman Journal A HAPPY TUNE: Patty Ediger, who lives on a farm near Dayton, recently was named to the International Whistlers Convention Hall of Fame. "Some people think it's silly, but it really is an art," she said. Whistling more than Dixie Patty Ediger has been competing as a whistler since 1977, collecting 32 trophies and plaques. She is the 21st person to receive the Hall of Fame Award, the art's highest. Before him, Elmo Tanner recorded a No.

1 hit with the Heartaches and imitated birds for Disney movies, and Crosby could pucker with the best of them. Ronalde and Tanner also are HallofFamers. Ediger thinks the art of whistling is making a comeback thanks to performers such as Steve Herbst, who tours the country. She has been competing since 1977, collecting 32 trophies and plaques. Other highlights in her career include winning three first-place SE1WSTLER75C her age.

Allen de Hart, one of the organizers of the convention held annually in Louisburg, N.C., compared it to a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys or Emmys. "It's public recognition for a person who has spent a long time in a professional way enhancing the value of the art they perform," de Hart said. Whistling has become something of a lost art, although many have and still do perform professionally. Ronnie Ronalde, referred to as the Pavarotti of whistling, toured earlier this month in Sydney, Australia. Honoree Patty Ediger has been puckering up for more than 25 years.

BY CAPI LYNN Statesman Journal A local grandmother has something in common with the late Bing Crosby. She is a member of the International Whistlers Convention Hall of Fame. "I still can't believe it," said Patty Ediger, who lives on a farm 14 miles northwest of Salem. Ediger is the 21st person and the seventh woman to receive the hole. Four candidates a Salem pharmacist, a Keiz-er contractor, a computer consultant and a legislative aide want to be the next county clerk.

If anyone gets a majority 50 percent plus one vote in the primary, that person will be the only one on the November ballot for the nonpartisan position. If no one gets a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance. Candidate Bill Burgess said he plans to uphold two fundamental rights for people in Marion County if elected: the right to vote and the right of property ownership. Burgess, a Salem pharmacist who has a degree in public administration, wants to improve access for Spanish-speaking voters by having bilingual customer service employees in clerk offices. He said he wants to improve voter turnout by removing barriers to voting and registration.

Cumulative campaign contributions for Burgess through May 2 were $4,554.40. Campaign expenditures were $4,174.40. Clarke Coburn said he wants to be county clerk so he can investigate budgeting in the clerk's office, streamline work and ensure the purity of each ballot and election. He wants to promote voter registration and election participation by visiting schools and civic groups. Hall of Fame Award.

A plaque soon will hang above the piano in her living room next to others she has accumulated during a 27-year whistling career. "This is the highest award you can get in the art," said Ediger, who has been whistling since she was she declined to reveal Ward 7 race is Salem's most expensive Thev are running for the What's next Completed ballots for Oregon's May 18 primary election must arrive In the 22 si for his campaign. That includes $5,196 he earlier raised for an aborted run for a seat on the Marion County Commission. About $2,250 of the money DeHart has raised in his council race comes from people connected with developers and real estate firms. Those contributors include home builder Daniel couniy inifc 'f' elections UK v.

liJtafeiii Kelley DeHart More than $15,000 has been raised to fill the seat Anna Braun vacated. BY DENNIS THOMPSON JR. Statesman Journal The race for the Ward 7 seat on the Salem City Council has become the most expensive campaign for office in the city. Candidates Marcia Kel- seat vacated by councilor Anna Braun, who resigned in March to take a full-time job with the state. The council has held off appointing a successor to Braun until after the May 18 primary.

Whoever wins the nonpartisan primary likely will be appointed to the council early, instead of waiting until next year to take office. DeHart has raised $9,684 offices by 8 p.m. Election Day. Postmarks do not count. If you have questions about your ballot, call the state Elections Division's toll-free voter information line at (866) ORE-VOTE during business hours.

ley and Brent DeHart have raked in more than $15,500 for their campaigns, with DeHart taking a significant lead in fund raising. SEE CLERK BC SEE WARD 7 BC pt mtmt- Report: Delays allowed fire to spread Online acres, the review found. The 2002 fire season was the worst in 50 years. Wildfires burned 7 million acres and cost $1.6 billion to put out. The Biscuit fire was the biggest, burning nearly 500,000 acres in southwestern Oregon, primarily on the Siskiyou National Forest and costing $150 million to extinguish.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reviewed the initial efforts to fight the Biscuit fire at the request of U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, and U.S. Rep. Greg Experienced teams were busy elsewhere when the Biscuit fire hit.

BY JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press GRANTS PASS -A government review of the initial fight to stop the massive 2002 Biscuit fire found that delays in marshaling firefighting forces, mostly because of other fires burning around the West, allowed the blaze to grow to nearly 500,000 acres. DeFazio criticized the Bush administration for chronically underfunding efforts to fight wildfires, forcing the Forest Service to dip into other accounts, such as recreation and fire prevention, when they run out of money, and disbanding the national fleet of 33 heavy air tankers. "If there is a supplemental (budget) for the war (in Iraq), hopefully they could tack on a supplement for firefighting and other emergency sorts of situations," DeFazio said. GAO REPORT ABOUT THE BISCUIT FIRE: www.gao.govnew.items d04426.pdf "These delays were primarily due to the severe fire season; there were many higher-priority fires within and outside the region," according to the report by the General Accounting Office released Wednesday. When highly experienced teams arrived, the fire had grown from a few hundred acres to almost 200,000 In i i An i -1 The Associated Press tile BLAZE: Fire rages through a wooded area as the Biscuit fire burns near O'Brien in 2002.

A review found that there were delays in rounding up firefighters. i.