Albany Democrat-Herald from Albany, Oregon • 3

ALBANY (OA.I DEMOCRAT-HERALD. THURSDAY, SEPT. 3. 1302 3 ALBANYF.aD-V ALLEY i by spec a ires ceo in theft from a Lebanon woman 'Ha ws) very convincing I'vo ttud'dd thb cuy for about a vvsck now, end I'm z. i Ay; By WARSLYN MONTOOMCRY Albany Dmoorat-Heratd A eyear-old man known In two states for his smooth ways with women is In tail in Beaverton, accused of conning a Lebanon woman out of $1,573 in cash.

Police believe there may be other women in Albany and Salem who have not yet reported their losses to the man. Jerome David Method was arrested Tuesday after Lebanon police learned he was In the Beaverton area. Lebanon Detective Tim Shanks had been looking for Method, who used several other names, for more than a week. Police plan to charge him with theft by deception. The Lebanon woman first called police on Aug.

25, Shanks said. She said she had met man named Shawn Pelton through a "friendship" advertisement tn the Salem Statesman-Journal and had gone on a few dates with him. According to Shanks, Pelton told the woman he worked as a consultant to home builders and remodcllers, and that he could get her a new mobile home for less than the wholesale cost if she would let him handle the paperwork. "He was very convincing." Shanks said. "I've studied this guy for about a week now, and I'm Impressed." The woman gave Pelton (1,875 in cash on Aug.

7 as a partial down payment. Pelton told her he was ordering the mobile home that day. The woman met Pelton a few limes after that and last talked to him by phone Aug. 19. She learned later that no mobile home had been ordered under her name or Pelton's, Shanks said.

After Shanks heard the story, he began looking for Pelton. Shanks contacted police in Beaverton and learned that he was living there but was apparently calling himself something else. "We were coming up with other names Gene Pelton. Charles Granger and other aliases," Shanks said. On Tuesday, Shanks went to Beaverton.

City police there spotted Pelton about 10 a.m. driving a yellow Cadillac with Washington plates. The man told police his name was Shawn Dorfmeier and had identification for that name, Bf hasso mr.ifja Albany Domocnt MeraU Ttledpe Wih Chang Albany hot fcepn im torrtii tircea from Nigeria buried about 23 yean jj. The operation rTC ispartof acontl- mur.g cleanup at the liaacre MUImburg plant site the federal Superfund pro- i gram to track and remove poten- tial'y hazardous Tom wasle. Nton The barrels turned up under a former gravel pit krarp as Schmidt Lake, emptied last year of thousands of tom of waste sludge that was taken to north-central Oregon for disposal in 1991.

Tom Nelson, Wan Chang's vice president for environmental control and technology, estimated Wednesday that about steel barrels containing 1 Nigerian lircon sand had been buried under Schmidt Lake in the early lOs. Their exact location was spotted with a magnetic survey. Nelson said excavations of the bottom of the pit started about a month ago and, he hoped, would be finished by Sept 15. Then the waste will have to be fully analyzed and a decision made where to put it The amount of thorium naturally present in the sandy ore makes it radioactive. Nelson said the reddish-brown material gives off radiation at the rate of 3,000 microrads per hour, compared to a safety standard for unrestricted worker exposure of no more than 57 microrads per hour.

A cleanup crew of five has been working with the material, taking turns and wearing dosimeters to measure their exposure to the radiation. Nelson guessed that between 2,500 and 4,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris, Including the rusted remains of barrels and broken wooden pallets, has been excavated so far. The site also yielded metal shavings, still partially buried on Wednesday. What they are has not yet been determined, Nelson said. The material is being piled on a specially built asphalt apron to avoid any drainage in case it rains.

It is being tested for its chemical composition. If it becomes classified as radioactive waste, it likely would be taken for disposal to the Hanford reservation in Washington state. If it's determined to qualify as hazardous waste, it would have to be disposed of at Arlington in eastern Oregon. Nelson had no estimate yet of the cost of either alternative. Wan Chang has been hit with slow sales lately as government contracts for zirconium the metal that is its main product have fallen off because of cuts in the defense budget.

Wah Chang had imported the Nigerian ore in the lTTOs but then found it could not be easily used. The Dlant Tkn Shank barton Polk Shanks said. Police searched the Cadillac and found six briefcases and a large footlocker. They found his true name in the footlocker, Shanks said. Checking Method's name, police found he was wanted in Colorado on multiple charges of theft, forgery, criminal impersonation and deception goirtf back to 1990.

Colorado police said Method disappeared from there In 1991. The FBI has also been looking for Method on a warrant for flight to avoid prosecution, Shanks said. "He's what 1 classify as a scam artist," Shanks said this morning. "He would wine and dine usually older women, sometimes several at a time, gain their trust, convince them to work with him in a business venture, then leave with their money. "One woman in Denver lost over $100,000 to this guy," he said.

Shanks said Method "favors the western look," and is known for wearing expensive cowboy boots. He is weighs about 175, wean glasses and has dyed his hair red. Colorado officials said he walked with an affected limp, claiming he had been wounded in Vietnam. "He has a very pleasant personality, but I never did get one thing that I could actually believe him on," Shanks said. "I talked to him for approximately an hour and he lied to me continually.

His story changed many times." Shanks said he believes Method may have left other victims behind in Albany, Salem, the Portland metropolitan area, and in Federal Way and Tacoma, Wash. Shanks encouraged anyone with information about Method to contact local police. oyer the weekend and has been taken off a respirator but remains In Intensive care, club leader Jean Coyle said Wednesday. Michelle, 16, who was driving, and another passenger, Ramona Hesseltine, 16, of Albany, were treated at Albany General for minor injuries. Coyle said the Reeves family has some medical insurance but limited Income.

Members of the 4 II club wanted to raise money to help them with living expenses while the teens recover. Michelle and Matthew have been members of Living with Livestock club for six years. They raise Santa Ger-trudis beef cattle and this year raised market sheep also. i i-t A-Ko--- 1 the time and he reiterated Wednesday that he and other Wah Chang officials had known about the zircon sand burial all along and would have started the cleanup anyway as soon Schmidt Lake was empty and dry, under the Superfund program. None of the test wells around Schmidt Joey, 491 3786.

LOCC to bo cSossd All Linn Benton Community College main campus offices and Extended Learning Centers wiU be closed Friday, Sept. 4, and on Monday, Sept. 7 for the Labor Day holiday. Offices also wiU be closed on Sept. 16 and 17 for staff inservice training.

Reception for ertlst A reception for Eugene artist Margaret Stark Kemp is scheduled from 7 to 10 m. Friday, Sept. 4, at the Schubert Gallery, 103 Main St Albany. A Sure air b.i work in front end collusions, but only a saldy licit can protect you from side and rear end collisions, ho buckle up And youll cover all the angles. 1 1 If A lift I -i4ntt .4 mm -m 4, rK immtjm mm Benefit car wash planned for injured 4-H members turn Mk naMbXvJ The partial excavation at former gravel pit known as Schmidt Lake.

Lake has ever shown any trace of seepage from the buried zircon sand, Nelson said. In his January deposition Nelson said that when it was done, the burial of the unused zircon ore on the site was legal and didn't require a written permit Kemp's works are being featured at the gallery through Sept. 29 In a show titled "Largely Landscape." Regular gallery hours are II a.m. to 6 m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Members of the Living With Livestock II Gub will hold a car wash from 10 a.m. to 5 m. Sunday at Arby's, 910 Geary St Albany, to raise money to the family of two club members who were injured in a car accident Aug. 27. Michelle and Matthew Reeves of Albany were on their way to a club meeting in Lebanon that afternoon when their car went off Highway 20 and struck a culvert Matthew, 14, suffered serious head injuries in the accident He underwent surgery at Albany General Hospital and was transferred later to Salem Hospital.

He regained consciousness A 'ii, 4 'trf h. Tfe New; Social Behavioral Sciences Major Annus! bock panned In Lebanon LEBANON The annual Friends of the Library Book Sale will be held next week at the former Lebanon Boys Girls Club, 375 S. Sixth Lebanon. The sale will be from 8:30 a m. to m.

on Thursday, Sept. 10, and 10 a.m. to 4 m. on Saturday, Sept 11 The cost is 50 cents for hardback books and 25 cents for paperback books. Proceeds will be used to purchase items for the library.

Anyone wanting to donate books for the sale should bring them to the Lebanon Public Library, G6 Second St Voter rcstetretion plnnsd ct LEBANON The League of Women Voters, the American Association of IBM uses ore from Australia instead Dennis Williams, a former fire chief at Wah Chang, talked to company officials of the buried Nigerian sand in 1991 and, in January 1902, testified about it in a deposition in an unrelated lawsuit Nelson said in another deposition at Retired Persons and the Wal Mart store will team up Sept 12 and 19 to register voters. Registration booths will be open from 9 am. to p.m., said Maxine Gassner. the president of the Lebanon AARP chapter. National Voter Registration Drive week runs Sept 12 19.

Area South Svt Cept. 13 picnic Oregonians from South Dakota are invited to a "South Dakotans in-Oregon" ficnic at 1 jj m. Sunday, Sept. 13, at imber Linn Park, Two sheltered areas in the park have been reserved, so the picnic will take place even if it rains. Those attending should bring a potluck dish to share and their own utensils.

For more information call Marv and Geri. 915C2, or Percy and fi It i Ellsworth Albany )mniy Jr Linn-Benton Linfield Bachelor's Degree Program Informational Open House Tuesday, September 8, p.m. Linn-Benton CC Takcna Hall Lobby i in i Bachelor's Degrees In; Management, Liberal Studies, Business Information Systems, International Business, and Social tc Behavioral Sciences Certificate In 1 luman Resource Management Evening and Weekend Classes at Linn-Benton Community College Call your local advisor Carolyn Banks at 967-61C3 Congratulations! To Instant Replay Sports Quality Used Sports Outdoor Equipment on opening their business at 331 Second Avenue SW, Downtown Albany. Lease handled by Randy Tripp LINFIELD COLLEGE 926-1521 Second fa. 4.