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Commission passes on Neff inquiry Ethics panel cites lack of evidence BY DANI DODGE The state ethics commission declined Friday to investigate Dawn Neff -- a Medford airport whistle blower -- who came to the commission's attention during an investigation of three administrators at the airport. The commission expects to report on its investigation of the three airport administrators June 2. "We have dismissed on Dawn Neff," said Patrick Hearn, the executive director of the Government Standards and Practices Commission. "Basically, there was no evidence to show she did anything wrong." Neff was a secretary at the airport for five years until she quit in August 1999. Investigators who are looking into possible ethics violations at the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport opened an investigation on Neff after they learned she ordered some items from ABC Distributing -- a catalog of gifts and crafts -- while at the airport. But after an initial review, the commission found Neff had paid for the items herself and did not use her position in an unethical way, Hearn said. "The preliminary review led us to believe there was not cause to investigate," Hearn said. It was Neff's complaints to the county that first triggered an internal audit of the airport. Neff alleged that airport Director Bern Case helped his wife operate an industry-related business on county time, that airport employees were paid for hours they didn't work, that maintenance crews fixed pipes at Case's home, and that another manager was allowed to use limited hangar space for personal belongings. The county audit concluded a "pattern of poor judgments" on the part of management that included sloppy payroll accounting, questionable use of staff for personal projects and misuse of public property. After a story on the audit was published in the Mail Tribune, Carl Worden, an Eagle Point financial consultant and spokesman for the Southern Oregon Militia, mailed the audit and the Mail Tribune story to the ethics commission. Worden said he requested the ethics investigation because he is convinced county officials didn't take the audit seriously enough and should have fired Case, who was named the Oregon airport executive of the year by his peers. After an initial review, the ethics panel directed staff investigators to take an even closer look at Case and two assistant managers, Craig Baldwin and Robert Russell. Hearn said the investigation is ongoing. Worden said it's a travesty that Neff's ethics were questioned. "Somebody at the airport probably made that a big deal about ABC distributing (even though) no other part of the investigation involving the airport had anything to do with ABC distributing," Worden said. "That was just a cheap shot." Neff said she was surprised when she became the target of a probe but wasn't worried. She said she's purchased a number of items from ABC Distributing including candles, cookbooks, and a porcelain lamp showing Jesus crossing a bridge. But she always paid for the items. "I knew the charges had no merit and this proves that," Neff said. "I think the Government Standards and Practices Commission did a fine job." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA