Longview Daily News from Longview, Washington • 13

Records C2 Lotteries C2 Classified C4 Northwest C8 SECTION Thursday, February 3, 1994 The Daily News Judge refuses to halt CR pool fund vote Tuesday Bill would keep some in jail during appeals By Pauline Bains The Daily New! CASTLE ROCK A judge has turned down the request of a former City Council candidate to stop Tuesday's vote on whether to use money designated for a swimming pool for street repairs instead. But a lawsuit Lee Kandu initiated along with her injunction request could still affect how the funds are spent. Acting as her own attorney, Kandu filed both Monday in Cowlitz County Superior Court. The next day Judge Milton Cox refused to approve her request to speed up a hearing on the injunction petition before the election, effectively denying her request. Although Kandu said she still hasn't given up, a court clerk said this morning it appears unlikely a second petition would succeed in blocking the vote.

In her lawsuit, Kandu contends city officials held an illegal special meeting when they passed a resolution to put the passed at the council's regular meeting Dec. 13. But because an "emergency" must be declared for a measure to appear on a special election ballot, the Cowlitz County auditor questioned whether the resolution was acceptable, said lead election deputy Kris Swanson. She added the auditor suggested the city reword its proposal to indicate the nature of the "emergency," then resubmit it. The modification was made at a special meeting Dec.

16. But Kandu contends proper written notice of that meeting was not provided, making it illegal under the state's Open Public Meetings Act. Kleine said he considers adequate notice was given and noted a Daily News reporter was present. An emergency exists, he said, because the city has applied for road improvement grants requiring matching funds. Jewel of downtown yvs x7 it t.

question of the pool money on the ballot. Consequently, she says, the resolution should be declared void and the election canceled. She is also asking the court to assess a civil penalty of $100 the maximum allowed against each of the officials who attended the meeting. Kandu, who this fall unsuccessfully ran against incumbent councilman Howard Mason, said she filed suit because she saw no other way of making the council recognize it broke the law. If members had acknowledged 'We did this.

We're sorry. We'll be more aware of the rules in the future, I probably would not have filed the suit," Kandu said. "But the attitude there was, 'We don't have to obey the City attorney Tom O'Neill said he believes the lawsuit is "without grounds," but declined to further discuss the case. In December, the council agreed to ask voters if they wanted to use money designated to renovate the city's old high-speed rail corridor from Eugene to Vancouver, British Columbia, tripling the number of passenger trains. The city has talked with a local terminal agent for Greyhound, Cascade Trailways and RAZ bus lines about relocating from Longview to the train depot, creating a bus-train transfer point.

"One thing Greyhound wanted was to get its depots much closer to the freeway. If they have five-minute stops instead of 15 minutes at each depot, they take an hour off the trip from Seattle to Portland," said Ron Kyllo, owner of Longview Bus Services on Washington Way, where 16 intercity buses a day now stop. "If you had a good facility that people were happy with, you could increase Amtrak and bus service by 25 percent," site at Barlow Point, rural land just northwest of the area's riverfront industries. The council voted 5-2 Thursday night to submit a prison proposal to the state, despite overwhelming opposition from residents at the Thursday meeting. A city-appointed citizens' committee supported a prison, and Warner said he's not certain speakers last week represent a complete cross-section of the public opinion.

"I don't think, really, what I saw at the City Council meeting is much dif Store owner victim The owner of a Longview store was the victim of a carjacking Wednesday evening when a man with a sawed-off shotgun confronted her at the business, took her car and was able to elude police. Berdell Nelson, owner of Big Bird Surplus at 1165 15th Longview, was confronted by the man in the parking lot of the store just before 11:30 p.m. According to a store employee, Nelson had returned to the business to pick up a few things when she was confronted by the man, who took her yellow 1988 Mustang convertible. The car has a pool for road improvements instead. The funds $100,000 plus interest came from a bond issue passed in 1987 before the council decided upgrading the existing pool wasn't feasible.

But voters turned down three requests for additional money for a new facility, Councilman John Kleine said the city can't apply the $100,000 elsewhere without citizens' approval. Kandu, said she's angry the council failed to hold a forum so residents could offer proposals for other projects. She said she thinks council members long ago decided they wanted the road improvements "and that's why they have not been supportive about putting a new pool in Castle Rock." Kleine said the council has backed construction of a pool. But since that's impossible because of the repeated bond failures, members felt street renovations would be a worthwhile use for the existing money. The resolution to place the pool money question before voters was originally he said.

One of the city's top priorities is encouraging Mount St. Helens visitors to transfer from Amtrak to tour buses. The most dramatic changes include: A clock tower, probably built on a base of tubular steel. A wheelchair lift could be built inside the tower to help disabled people reach track level. Excavation under the existing depot to create a new floor of street-level retail space for a restaurant, travel agency, boutique shops or other services.

"We're trying to make this a focal point of downtown. We're thinking things like that would attract people to the depot," Gregory said. An on-site ticket agency. Taxi and bus stands. Bricks or other ornamental street ferent from what I've heard at several Eastern Washington communities that have gone forward," Warner said.

The Department of Corrections considers public acceptance an important criterion for prison siting, and Longview does plan a public advisory vote this spring. Warner said a "no" vote wouldn't necessarily thwart siting plans. "I think we'd look to the council to make a decision as to whether they still want to go forward," he said. "If there's slightly more opposition, maybe we of carjacking license plate that says BIG BIRD. Longview police said the vehicle was then spotted by a state trooper on Talley Way.

The driver turned onto Tennant Way and took the Third Avenue exit, heading north on Seventh Avenue before stopping behind a nursing home and fleeing on foot. He was described in the as being about Meet, 8-inches tall with a slender build. He was wearing a ski mask and plaid shirt at the time of the carjacking. No more information was available from Longview police today. By JillRaben The Daily Newt OLYMPIA When Rene Jackson's 11-year-old daughter told her a secret she had been hiding for three years that her grandfather raped and sexually abused her she thought it couldn't get any worse.

Jackson watched as her stepfather, Richard L. Vernon, a lifetime resident of Kelso, was tried, convicted and sentenced to 114 months in prison for first-degree rape and first-degree child molestation. But for Jackson, the worst was not over. Exactly one year and 30 days since the guilty -verdict, Jackson must fight to send her stepfather to jail. Vernon served only six days of his sentence because he posted $25,000 bail and filed an appeal.

The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that could help keep convicted sex offenders and violent criminals in prison throughout the appeals process. HB 2679, sponsored by Rep. Betty Sue Morris, D-Vancouver, was written with the Vernon case in mind. "My response to this is simple it shouldn't happen," Morris said. "I want to erase any doubt in the law," she said.

"If someone is convicted of rape or another horrible crime, they should have to begin their sentences." The current law gives judges the option, under certain conditions, to defer prison sentences for convicted criminals who appeal their cases. If convicted criminals pose a threat to their community, are likely to leave town or cause unreasonable trauma to their victim, the judge can require them to serve time during the appeals process. Under Morris' bill, convicted sex offenders and violent criminals would be jailed throughout their appeal without condition. But the bill would serve more as a guideline for judges than a directive. Legislators can create laws to keep convicted criminals in prison through appeals, but it is not in their jurisdiction to enforce them.

Judges can refer to state laws as parameters for punishment, but they ultimately make the decision. In this case, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Milton Cox released Vernon during his appeal process. "We feel like the victims," Jackson said. "If he wants to appeal, let him, but let him do it from the comfort of his cell, in prison." The appeals process can take as long as two years, but Jackson's daughter can't wait that long. "We just want time to heal, but instead we live in fear for our children," she said.

"We can't leave our home, or go to the store without the possibility of him being there," Jackson said. Another blow came to the Jackson family when Vernon's appeal was denied in November 1993, but he remains a free man. The Court of Appeals denied his appeal but hasn't yet processed the ruling that would lead to his incarceration. Crimes covered under Morris' bill are first-degree murder, homicide by abuse, assault, kidnapping, rape, assault of a child, any sex offense, and the attempt to commit any of these offenses. Rep.

Randy Dorn, D-Olympia, has a similar bill in the House Judiciary Committee, but with less bite than Morris and a broader scope of crimes. Both bills are scheduled to be voted on in committee on Friday. Riley returns to Olympia OLYMPIA Rep. Mike Riley, D-Longview, spent his first day back in Olympia Wednesday since undergoing a third operation for brain cancer. The 52-year-old Longview Democrat returned to the House floor in good spirits.

"I'm feeling great, eating well, but still have to take it easy," Riley said. Riley is back in Longview today and Friday, but will return to Olympia on Monday for a full day on the floor of the House of Representatives. Riley's tumor was discovered last August. Since then he's undergone surgery once at the Mayo Clinic and twice at the University of Washington Medical Center. The last surgery, in January, was highly successful, said his neurosurgeon at the UW Medical Center, Dr.

Mitchel Berger. Berger found that the several weeks of radiation treatments Riley received last year were effective. Berger told Riley the radiation killed the root of the malignant tumor and that he was able to remove all of it during the six-hour operation without damaging healthy tissue. Riley won't say he's been cured of cancer. "But I feel like I've beaten it so far," he said.

LEGISLATURE 1 '94 An artist's drawing shows the proposed new Kelso Amtrak depot near the upper left corner. The downtown depot would also become a bus transfer station. Remodeled Kelso depot could open next summer By Michael Lindblom The Daily Newt Construction should start this fall to transform Kelso's gloomy old train depot into the jewel of downtown. City officials say they've gathered state grants for $800,000 of the $1.3 million project, and they expect more state and federal money to fund the rest. "We would like to be open for business July 1, 1995.

We might be dreaming, but that's our plan," said Public Works Director Bob Gregory. Kelso's depot has been a passenger terminal for its entire 83-year life. Amtrak trains now make three northbound stops and three southbound stops there a day, and probably will add another run soon. Long-term plans include a regional Longview one of 12 communities seeking new materials to beautify nearby intersections. Burlington Northern Railroad will deed the depot to Kelso free, and move its roadmaster's office out, Gregory said.

Kelso would pay for upkeep out of the rents it collects from retailers, Amtrak or a ticket agent. Some bus and train stations attract transients and petty criminals, but Gregory and Kyllo think such problems can be prevented in Kelso. "If it's well lit, well maintained, and the policy from very beginning is no loitering, and it will not be tolerated, people will understand that," Kyllo said. Gregory said the city expects to receive more detailed designs by the end of this month. state prison need to do more public education work with the community.

Or, we may get a small turnout of (voting) people," he said. Longview's location near Interstate 5 in Southwest Washington, which has little prison space, is an asset, said Warner. About half the 700 prison jobs would be for corrections officers, who earn an average $25,000 a year in wages and $10,000 more in medical and retirement benefits, said Warner. There are 90 different job categories. Education-reform foes launch initiative drive SALEM (AP) Foes of Oregon's school reform law today launched an initiative petition campaign to repeal it, saying the new education system strays too far from basic academics.

Advocates of scrapping the law have until July 8 to collect the 67,000 signatures needed to put a repeal measure on the November general election ballot. The reform law would move the school system away from grades and credit hours to preparation for careers. Longview has become one of 12 communities vying for a new $160 million state prison. The cities of Goldendale, Connell, Ephrata, Mattawa, Grandview, Lind, Tonasket and Brewster in Eastern Washington also applied, along with Darrington, Clallam Bay and Grays Harbor County in Western Washington as of Wednesday, said Bernie Warner, a state Department of Corrections official. The deadline to submit applications was Monday.

Longview's City Council suggested a Victim identified A young man who died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound Tuesday morning has been identified as 19-year-old Jason Myrlt Stockard of Longview. Stockard was pronounced dead at about 9:30 a.m. after emergency workers could not revive him. The shooting, in which Stockard suffered a fatal abdominal wound, happened at a home west of Clatskanie, in the 2300 block of River Ranch Drive, a private housing development. Stockard, who was raised and educated in Longview, had been staying at the River Ranch Drive home for about two months..