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Cremations in state face tracking system Abuses like those in the Georgia case are unlikely here, say local directors By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Reports of dozens of corpses decomposing outside a Noble, Ga., crematorium - bodies that relatives thought had been cremated - may have some Rogue Valley residents wondering whether such a thing could happen here. Local funeral home owners say no. "It's probably just a matter of a loose system," said Nick Preboski, owner of Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives. Because of Oregon's elaborate system of checks and balances in place for 17 years, he said, the Georgia incident couldn't happen here. But a comparable incident once did. In 1984, police responded to a complaint of a foul odor coming from the Pacific Mortuary in Lincoln City on the Central Oregon Coast. "It was very, very similar to the Georgia case," said Gail Kimberling, managing editor of Lincoln City's The News Guard. Mortuary owner Dale Omsberg was arrested after 16 bodies in various stages of decay were discovered in the basement. He was charged with 60 counts of theft and abuse of corpses. Later, more than 30 bodies were found in a mass grave in a cemetery owned by Omsberg. After pleading guilty, Omsberg spent 23 days in jail, was ordered to pay restitution, and lost his funeral license for five years, according to Kimberling. "I remember it was pretty nasty stuff," she said. "Nobody was untouched." In response to public outcry, the Oregon Senate in 1985 adopted a bill that tightened regulations for crematoriums. "It was after that that the whole I.D. tagging came into play," said Tim Simonsen, director at Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home. Now, he said, there's a stringent tracking system involving more paperwork and attachment of a traceable stainless steel tag that stays with the body through the process. Furnaces are equipped with monitors that record temperature and the duration of each cremation. Facilities are inspected frequently and rigidly by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board and Department of Environmental Quality. Simonsen, who handles about 120 cremations a year, said there has never been a crematorium scandal in the Rogue Valley, but he gets a lot of questions from concerned family members. He said he often explains the state regulations to the family, and he invites people to be present for the cremation process. In Jackson County, there are four crematoriums: Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home at 1811 Ashland St. in Ashland; Perl Funeral Home at 2100 Siskiyou Blvd. in Medford; a facility used by Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives and Abbey Funeral at 550 Business Park Drive in Medford; and a crematorium at 2201 N. Phoenix Road used by Hillcrest Mortuary, Conger-Morris Funeral Directors, Memory Gardens Mortuary and Central Valley Cremation and Funeral Care. Simonsen said that even with increased regulations, clients must take a leap of faith. "When it's all said and done, that family's going to have to trust the funeral director," he said. Preboski agreed, adding that the cremation process is one of life's risks. "When you walk into a restaurant, there's an element of trust that everyone in the kitchen is washing their hands," he said. Jill Briskey and Pam Sieg contributed to this report. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.