UPDATE April 6, 1999
The trucks and cars have been moved to temporary storage
where they are safe for the time being. The item below
will be revised as soon as I find that "round to-it". In
the meanwhile, it is maintained here for the contact
information.
See Sheila's chronology updates for the ongoing saga.
Steve Washam
sew@valint.net
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Please help an older lady in distress.
Sheila Smith of Canyonville, Oregon has a March 17, 1999
deadline to get her vehicles moved. The judge has said
that it doesn't matter now whether she can get them running
or not, she has to give them up. She has been convicted of
having "inoperable" vehicles on her property and now she
must pay the cost. After the vehicles are towed away and
disposed of as "junk", a lien -- with accruing interest --
will be placed on her property for the tow charges. Never
mind that these vehicles are neither "junk" nor
"abandoned." Fines and jail time are possible too if she
doesn't quickly get in line and hand over her property.
As I began writing this Sheila said she was not doing well,
having a bout of narcolepsy. She had been trying to unpack
her many possessions from the box van which is soon to be
seized by the City. But she was too tired and "fuzzy," as
she put it, to go on working, or doing much else.
Four vehicles -- a 65 Ford 1 1/2 ton flat bed, a 63 Chevy
box van, and two Dodge Challengers -- are slated to be
towed. At least one of the Challengers may have been moved
to temporary safety by now. But the bigger rigs are
definitely a problem.
This is what they need as far as we know:
Sheila writes:
John Henry, the flat bed, has a tired engine, but he
just needs a master cylinder and battery, and, now,
some coaxing to start. My husband last started him
right before he died.
The box van, Lenny, just needs a battery, and coaxing.
He also started right before my husband died. His
engine is tired also, but not as much as John Henry's.
But I simply haven't been able to get them started, no
money for batteries, for one thing, and my neighbor,
who has been helping, hasn't had the time to work on
all of them. And, also, I think he's been a bit
discouraged, we'd get something running, and it would
be sabotaged. Like the pick up. It was running, then
we found water in the oil, and it was hard for me to
find the money to get the oil, but I did, and changed
it. Now it won't start. . .
Sheila has been asking for help and wants her contact
information made available on the net.
Sheila Smith
PO Box 530
Canyonville, OR 97417
541-839-4085
sheila@tymewyse.com
Some people might have holiday plans for March 17, which is
"St. Patrick's Day." It will be a hard day for Sheila
though. What are you doing that day? Are you in a
position to buy a truck? Help repair one to make it
saleable? Have storage space in the area? This lady needs
some help.
If you don't know what this is about see
for lots of ugly details.
Oh -- Sheila wasn't asking for THIS kind of help. That's
my idea. Sheila wants the car theft racket in Canyonville
stopped before any more innocent poor folks get robbed.
You can read about other victims on the web page above, as
well as other ideas about how to stop the injustice.
Please pass this message along to someone who might care.
Thanks for listening.
Steve Washam
sew@valint.net
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Sheila is making the following request to encourage a
legal heavyweight into the fray. Sheila wrote:
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 00:09:26 -080o
From: sheila
[except from end of longer post]
William Perry Pendley, president and chief legal
officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation, has an
awesome success rate in combating civil and property
rights abuses. He's argued, and won, before the US
Supreme Court. He's filed suits against public
officials, including the President of the United
States. He also filed an appeal of a $75.00 fine, so
he hasn't lost touch with 'the little people.' I'm
asking him to help us. I'm asking you to help persuade
him to take this case.
Send an e-mail to him at
pendley@mslf.net
Just say, "Save the old ladies' cars! Take the case!"
Help finance the case! Stick a five dollar bill in an
envelope (even an old one - scratch off the old
address) and mail it to:
Mountain States Legal Foundation
707 Seventeenth Street
Suite 3030 Denver, CO 80202
Even a single dollar bill will help! But, please, send
those e-mails!
Because we either stop this or they will be encouraged
to go after, not just helpless little old ladies, but
the rest of us.
And if you have any suggestions, or ideas, or comments,
please e-mail me. Warm fuzzy cyber hugs are welcome
too. Because I'm not scared, I'm TERRIFIED!!!
Sheila Smith
541-839-4085
PO Box 530
Canyonville, OR 97417
-- end of Sheila's mail --
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Other ideas:
You might want to contact the Canyonville City Hall and ask
why they are treating a poor old lady this way.
Canyonville City Hall
Tel: 541-839-4258
Fax: 541-839-4680
Mayor: Gloria McGinnis
City Administrator: Larry Andrew
You could ask for a copy of Canyonville Municipal Code
Chapter 8.24 as amended by Ordinance No. 547 (12/21/98) so
you can see for yourself if it is really as bad as people
say it is.
Carol Roberts, the Justice of the Peace who convicted
Sheila and ordered four vehicles moved -- even if she can
get them running -- divides her time between the
Canyonville and Riddle (541-832-2101) courts.
Canyonville Justice Court
Tel: 541-839-4389
Fax: 541-839-4318
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Does anybody know how it is possible for an Oregon city to
evade the provisions of this law:
Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 819
Destroyed, Totaled, Abandoned and Stolen Vehicles; Vehicle
Identification Numbers
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PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE!