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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>Subject:</B> USA: Update on
LightRail Shock Situation in Portland Area<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
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<P>The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon: <BR><BR>TriMet eases guide dog shock
problems<BR>MAX - The agency puts capacitor boxes on the east and<BR>checks the
west frequently<BR>Thursday, April 10, 2008<BR>JOHN SNELL<BR>The Oregonian
Staff<BR><BR>The problem of guide dogs receiving electric shocks on<BR>light
rail tracks has spread to the east side, TriMet<BR>officials say.<BR><BR>Guide
dogs for the blind have occasionally been<BR>shocked when stepping on MAX tracks
since 2000.<BR><BR>TriMet was never able to determine why but figured
the<BR>problem was limited to west-side tracks and only after<BR>it
rained.<BR><BR>That belief was abandoned in February, when three dogs<BR>in
training received minor shocks at two stations in<BR>Gresham.<BR><BR>Teaching a
dog to work as a guide costs about $50,000<BR>per animal, said Patricia Kepler,
past president of<BR>Guide Dog Users of Oregon.<BR><BR>Three years ago, TriMet
installed capacitors near<BR>three west-side train platforms to absorb
errant<BR>electricity that was shocking the dogs.<BR><BR>But on Jan. 29 it
discovered that the problem was<BR>back, at least at the Elmonica/Southwest
170th Avenue<BR>MAX station, said Mary Fetsch, spokeswoman for
the<BR>transportation agency.<BR><BR>A few days later, TriMet was told by Kepler
that her<BR>dog, a 5-year-old German shepherd named Reuben, also<BR>was shocked
at the Elmonica MAX Station.<BR><BR>TriMet changed the capacitors and decided to
check<BR>them weekly, rather than monthly, to make sure they're<BR>still
working.<BR><BR>About the same time, TriMet was told of problems at<BR>the
Cleveland Avenue Station in Gresham.<BR><BR>"It's not the kind of shock that
would cause physical<BR>damage," said Brad Hibbard , director of training
at<BR>the Boring-based Guide Dogs for the Blind. "This<BR>is similar to having a
really big shock of static<BR>electricity.<WBR>"<BR><BR>Hibbard said three dogs
in training were shocked when<BR>they were taken to Gresham by their trainers to
ride<BR>light rail.<BR><BR>Capacitor boxes went in last month at the
Gresham<BR>Central Transit Station at Northeast Eighth Street and<BR>Kelly
Avenue and the Cleveland Avenue Station at<BR>Northeast Eighth Street and
Cleveland Avenue.<BR><BR>TriMet Systems Engineer Kai Looijenga said they
were<BR>installed as a precaution.<BR><BR>Hibbard said none of the dogs shocked
while training<BR>on the east side have shown lasting effects. No dog<BR>that's
being used by a blind person has been shocked<BR>on the east side, he
added.<BR><BR>John Snell: 503-294-5949; <A
href="mailto:johnsnell%40news.oregonian.com">johnsnell@news.<WBR>oregonian.<WBR>com</A><BR><BR>Find
this story at: <BR><A
href="http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1207790719293780.xml&coll=7">http://www.oregonli<WBR>ve.com/metrowest<WBR>/oregonian/<WBR>index.ssf?<WBR>/base/metro_<WBR>west_news/<WBR>1207790719293780<WBR>.xml&coll=<WBR>7</A><BR><BR>____________<WBR>_________<WBR>_________<WBR>_________<WBR>_________<WBR>__<BR>Do
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