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Parking program isn't disabled OSP volunteers will continue to monitor lots in Southern Oregon, checking spaces for violations From staff and wire reports Despite financial problems faced in the Portland area, an Oregon State Police program will continue to monitor the use of disabled parking sports in Southern Oregon. OSP Lt. Dan Durbin, who oversees the program for the Central Point office, said that the program remains viable locally and will see no changes. In the program, Durbin said, about 25 volunteers, most of them senior citizens, patrol private property looking for handicapped parking violations in the Rogue Valley area. The volunteers ticket the offending vehicles, Durbin said, with the fines collected going into the OSP's general fund. The decade-long program that relied on volunteers has been suspended in the Portland area due to lack of funding. "It's an unfortunate deal, but the reality is we only have resources for so much," said Sgt. Craig George, who coordinated Portland-area volunteers. The program was stopped earlier this week because there was not enough money and personnel to oversee, assist, equip and train the volunteers, he said. The program began in 1992 and has had chapters around the state. Until Tuesday, about 25 volunteers in Portland and Gresham patrolled privately owned parking lots at malls, hospitals and apartment complexes where city parking enforcement officers lack jurisdiction. The volunteers have generated about $300,000 a year in fines. All the money has gone into the state's general fund, George said. State police paid for volunteers' cell phones - which until recently had been donated - and for staffing to train the volunteers. George said he and others in his office, which has lost troopers in recent years, had racked up 1,800 hours working on the program or responding to volunteers' calls for assistance in the past six months. "They have done a tremendous job of enforcement and are a valuable asset," George said. "But it's also been a drain on our agency." Stan Harmon, a former Portland police officer who was paralyzed by a sniper's bullet in 1997, had supervised many of the volunteers. "There's no more ticket-writing as of yesterday," he said Wednesday. "I had to call 25 or 26 people and let them know they've got to turn in their phones and the whole works." About six volunteers staff the Salem contingent and will stay on the job, Oregon State Police Lt. Ethan Wilson said. Other chapters in the state may also continue to operate. Harmon said he understands the need to trim back, especially in the face of a $720 million state budget shortfall. But he said a decrease in enforcement will mean an increase in abuses. "I know what it's like because I'm in a wheelchair," he said. "I've had to wait three hours for a parking space. I've had people (who use the spaces illegally) call me names and say, 'Go home old man' and things like that. I think we're going to be back to that in no time flat." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.