The World from Coos Bay, Oregon • 5

Thursday, June 20, 2002, THE ORLD, Coos Bay, Ore. Page A5 News of the West Lane County sues over asbestos incident no special measures, but later learned it was 37 percent, Leslie said. "Kielty relied on Lane County to tell him all that it knew about the hazard," Leslie said. "The county did not do this. Had Lane County told Kielty that the roof contained this very high level of asbestos, Kielty would never have agreed to do the work." Leslie said Kielty specified in its bid that power washing would be used to remove the moss.

EUGENE (AP) Lane County has filed suit against a contractor that knocked asbestos from a roof while removing moss from a public works building in Florence. The $232,000 suit against Morris P. Kielty General Contractor Inc. was filed in Lane County Circuit Court. According to the lawsuit, the contract stated that the roof panels contained asbestos and specified that the moss should be removed with chemical treatment.

gency response in the days after the incident and one for longer-term cleanup work. The work began in September and was completed in November, he said. The lawsuit said the incident cost the county more than $250,000. Kielty's attorney, Lann Leslie, said Wednesday that county officials misled his client about the asbestos content of the roofing material. The company thought the content was less than 1 percent, which requires Instead, the lawsuit said, Kielty used a pressure washer to remove the moss a process that sent asbestos material from the roof panels.

Dale Wendt, support services manager for the Lane County Public Works Department, said the asbestos fibers spread into the trees and onto the ground around the buildings. Wendt said the county had to hire two environmental contractors, one for an emer Appeals court blocks Oregon judge's order on mentally ill inmates Council supports making deal to bring NHL team to Portland high-profile baseball boosters on whether landing a hockey franchise at the Rose Garden would hurt the region's chances of getting a Major League Baseball team. Lynn Lashbrook, a sports agent with the Oregon Baseball Campaign, said he's confident the region has room for both hockey and baseball. But Steve Kanter, president of the Portland 66 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A federal appeals court has tentatively blocked a federal judge's order demanding that Oregon officials promptly send all mentally ill inmates unfit to stand trial to the Oregon State Hospital. The 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of the case but on June 13 set aside an order from a lower court judge and set oral arguments for September. Last month, U.S. District Judge Owen Panner ruled that Oregon was violating the rights of mentally ill inmates by making them wait in county jails for weeks or months before getting a transfer to the state hospital for psychiatric care. The Oregon Advocacy Center and the Metropolitan Public Defenders Service in Multnomah County sued the state in March on behalf of 1 1 mentally ill inmates, saying the state hospital was not meeting its legal obligation to treat them within a week of being found unfit to stand trial. Panner found that inmates wait an average of 30 days and that one waited as long as 166 days.

Panner said the delays were inhumane, and hampered their rights to effective legal representation and their ability to defend themselves. In its appeal, the state said forcing the Salem hospital to accept patients regardless of whether a bed is available risks the health and safety of patients and hospital staff. In addition, the state argued that the plan would disrupt the therapeutic environment. The case is Oregon Advocacy Center v. Mink, 02-35530.

We think its time to send a message to pro hockey that Portland is ready. Rob Mawson Association for Portland Progress PORTLAND (AP) Down two members, the city council on Wednesday had to postpone its vote on whether to provide incentives to lure a National Hockey League team. Despite the delay, the council made it clear that it will support a package requested by Portland Trail Blazers' executives. Under the proposed deal, for the first 10 years after a team moved to Portland, the team owner would get up to half of the city's parking and ticket revenue for hockey if an independent reviewer concluded that the franchise had a pre-tax loss. The city currently gets 6 percent of ticket sales at the Rose Garden plus all parking revenue from two garages built with public money as part of the Rose Quarter development from 1992 to 1995.

The city estimates that pro hockey would draw 14,000 fans a game to 45 home games, paying $13 for parking and $45 apiece for tickets. Under those assumptions, hockey would boost city revenues by $2.3 million a year, leaving the city with $1.15 million if the team took half of it to cover losses. If the pro team pushed out the Portland Winter Hawks, the city's major-junior hockey franchise, the city would lose $250,000, for a net gain of $900,000. Hockey boosters said Portland's long support of hockey dating back to the Portland Rosebuds, the first, U.S. squad to play for the Stanley Cup in 1915 shows the region's hunger for hockey.

The deal has "really no downside," said Rob Mawson of the Association for Portland Progress, a downtown business group. "We think it's time to send a message to pro hockey that Portland is ready." The council heard differing views from two 99 Salem man sues abbey claiming abuse by priest Obituaries Obituaries are paid announcements. Information is provided by mortuaries and family members. Contact mortuaries for information. Margaret S.

Mentch At her request, no services will be held for Margaret S. Mentch, 90, of Coquille. She asked that those who knew her celebrate her life, not grieve her death. Cremation rites have been held. She was bom Nov.

28, 1911, in Scotland. She died June 16, 2002, in Coquille. Margaret opened an antique store in California in 1964. She moved Windermere Antiques to Oregon in 1973. She is survived by her daughter, daughter-in-law, a sister, two grandsons, three great-grandsons and three nieces.

Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson's Bay Area Mortuary, 267-4216. Fay Ocheltree Private family services for Fay Ocheltree, 84, of Myrtle Point, ill be held at a later date. He was born Oct. 11, 1917, in North Bend, to Oliver Cleveland and Sarah Lillian (McCoy) Ocheltree. He died June 17, 2002, in Coos Bay.

Fay grew up in the Coos County area. He married Wynona Brown on July 5, 1940, in Vancouver, and they settled in Myrtle Point. Following a two-year stint in the U.S. Navy, the couple returned to the Myrtle Point area, remaining until the mid '50s, when they moved to Grants Pass. In the late '60s, they returned to Myrtle Point, where Fay was employed at a number of area lumber and plywood mills.

Fay was an avid dahlia and rose gardener. Visitors from many states stopped to admire and photograph his yard on Railroad Avenue. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Fay Jr. and Nancy Ocheltree of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; daughters and son-in-law, Sandy Miller of Sumner, Sheila Schuster of Hood River and Susan and Gary Stephens of Bainbridge Island, nine grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren: and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Wynona Ocheltree.

Arrangements are under the direction of Myrtle Grove Funeral Service, 396-3158. Service Notices Robert L. Griffith 76, of Coos Bay, died June 17, 2002, in Coos Bay. A celebration of his life and memory ill be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 21, at Coos Bay Chapel, Seventh and Anderson.

The Rev. Frank Potmesil, of the Bay Area Christian Fellowship, will officiate. Viewing will be from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

on Friday, at Coos Bay Chapel. Cremation will be at Ocean View Memory Gardens Crematory in Coos Bay. Arrangements are under the direction of Coos Bay Chapel, 267-3131. Ryan Sweet 28, of North Bend, died June 17, 2002, in North Bend. A memorial gathering will be held at 11 a.m.

on Saturday, June 22, at Cape Arago State Park gazebo. Arrangements are under the direction of North Bend Chapel, 756-0440. Death Notices Robert T. Rogers 77, of North Bend, died June 18, 2002, in North Bend. Arrangements are pending with North Bend Chapel, 756-0440.

Baseball Group, told the council that "We can't be all things to all people." Fan support for multiple sports is there, he said, but corporate support is less certain. "Whether we can support three teams or not may be a question," Kanter said. "We certainly can support two." Mayor Vera Katz introduced the ordinance. Commissioners Jim Francesconi and Dan Saltzman said they also support it, though Saltzman called the proposal largely a symbolic gesture. "This puts our name on the list as a city that wants a team," he said after the meeting.

"There are some cities that couldn't care less." SALEM (AP) A Salem man who says he was sexually abused by a priest nearly 40 years ago at a Catholic school has filed a $2 million lawsuit against a clergyman and the Mount Angel Abbey. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a man identified as R.J.K., alleges that he was abused at least six times in 1964 by a priest identified as "Father Cosmos." "Father Cosmos" is the plaintiffs, recqllection of the priest' name. It isn't known if that is a first nanie, last name or even a true name Tie was-IS -years old and was attending the Mount Angel Seminary Preparatory School, according to the suit. The complaint says "Father Cosmos" was a teacher and priest at the school. Because of the abuse, the plain tiff suffers from physical and emotional pain, dysfunction, alcoholism, drug abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the suit.

The plaintiff is married, has two children and has worked as a cook, said his lawyer, Dan Gatti of Salem. Rita Kester, a spokeswoman at the abbey, had no comment. "We obviously haven't seen this complaint, jq I really comment on it, other than as soon 'as1 we see ftrwe'lfstarf nivestigat- said. The lawsuit brings to five the number of priests accused in pending civil complaints of decades-old sexual abuse at the prep school. The school closed in 1979, after operating for nearly a century.

Activists claim protected land damaged by offroad vehicles McGrew Trail: Suit alleges drivers damaged historic route, spread disease. begins just west of O'Brien and ends at Sourdough Camp. The Forest Service last weekend issued a special-use permit allowing members of the Pacific Northwest Four-wheel Drive Association to drive over the trail as part of an annual Father's Day event the association has held for 21 years. The plaintiffs want an environmental analysis completed before any more motorized vehicles are used to use the trail. They are concerned about trail damage and the possibility that the vehicles are spreading a root fungus that kills Port Orford cedar.

"The McGrew Trail was never engineered for motorized vehicles," said Joe Serres, co-director of Friends of Living Oregon Waters. "The ramifications of this could be significant. This issue is not going away." The McGrew Trail is one of 57 rivers or river segments in Oregon that are protected as wild and scenic. In addition to FLOW, the plaintiffs include the Oregon Natural Resources Council, Siskiyou Regional Education Project and Grants Pass resident and environmental activist Barbara Ullian. Tom Link, acting district ranger, said agency employees monitor the off-road activity.

"We check to make sure they meet the terms of the permit," he said. "We feel what we are doing is adequate. We do monitor it." Serres said the Smith River is a vital watershed for steelhead and salmon, making it too fragile for such excursions. "Our lawsuit is designed to address the broader issue of four-wheel drive vehicles in wild river areas," Serres said. "This analysis is required by law.

That's what we need to get this issue resolved." Statistics show teen driving law works SALEM (AP) A recent study shows that the state's 2-year-old teen driving law has significantly reduced the number of young drivers involved in accidents that result in death or injury, state officials said Wednesday. The law requires teen-agers to receive formal driver training plus 50 hours of supervised driving time before getting their license. To get a license, they must have a learner's permit for six months. For one year, newly licensed teen-age drivers can't drive at night and the number of passengers allowed in cars driven by teen-agers is limited. In 1998, before the law, 1,196.

16-year-old drivers were driving when someone was killed or injured, said Troy Costales, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. In 2000, that number was 898 a nearly 25 percent drop and the next year the number dropped another 10 percent to 810. i. O'BRIEN (AP) Environmental activists are suing the U.S. Forest Service to stop the use of motorized vehicles on a historic trail in the Siskiyou National Forest.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Medford by an alliance of environmental groups, alleges that the Forest Service has failed to protect the 16-mile McGrew Trail used by American Indians and pioneer wagons. The trail is near the Smith River, which is protected under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Ruts from wagon wheels can still be seen along the trail, which Smelly, ugly leaf-eating beetle invading Crook County (Ii If eating wasps, one type that attacks the eggs and another that attacks the larvae. The wasps can significantly limit the spraying. In other areas, the wasps have reduced the beetle population by 70 percent and dropped yield losses to less than 1 percent, he said.

"Wheat is low enough as it is," he said. "(The cost) is not a huge amount, but every little bit hurts." In addition to money spent on pesticides, Crook County farmers won't be able to ship grass or cereal products to California unless they meet quarantine requirements. Along with pesticides, Bohle said the extension office plans on battling the bugs with some beetle- the translucent cuticle, making infested fields look frosted. If the beetles get bad enough, Bohle said, they could reduce the yield of a field by up to 80 percent. "They are easy to kill," said Brad Santucci, a Crook County farmer.

Santucci and other farmers have begun spraying to kill the beetle. The spray costs about 1 5 per acre a cost Santucci said most farmers weren't expecting. It first landed in Oregon in 1999 but gave Central Oregon a limited reprieve. However, news of the pest's arrival came this month after a farmer noticed his fields looked unhealthy, Bohle said. The beetles haven't shown up in Deschutes or Jefferson counties, but Bohle expects they will soon.

The adults eat completely through the leaves of the plants. The larvae eat long strips of tissue and leave DIAMYD SPEC IALIST PRINEVILLE (AP) Crook County's newest enemy is plug-ugly, smells bad and is disgusting to boot. Less than a quarter-inch long, the cereal leaf beetle has orange legs and sometimes wears a "backpack" of fecal matter and mucus. Here's the good part: It's easy to kill. It feeds on grasses and cereal crops, and is threatening to cost local farmers a bundle by restricting the transport of grass and cereal crops to California.

"We've been expecting them here," said Mylcn Bohle, a forage, pasture and cereals specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service in Crook County. "And now they are here with a vengeance." Crook County is the 15th county in Oregon to report the beetle, which originated in Asia. Enwwment and Wedding Rings $AHUm of Certified Diamonds AimSTK RESTYUM I CUSTM MMN RING SIZING, REPAIRS, AJWUISALS RAMS WYfiiNT orariuyiaminurayun Call II Ik toll- Licensed Accredited tm today! Excellent Job Placement Eugene Campus Modem Equipment I i-goo-u7n-7fi2 Student Loans Housino Portland Cimpui SIMPLIFIED CREMATION The Bay Area's Only Locally Owned Operated Funeral Home. IDOUG HANAN. G.

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