Seen a Rogue on the loose? Get in touch with our Roguemeister: JOHN SCHRAG jschrag@wweek.com (503) 243-2122 FAX: (503) 243-1115 Our Rogue-o-meter tells us that the folks in charge of Delta Airlines need to be grounded. Late last month, Delta fired Yasuko Ishikawa, a Beaverton flight attendant, after reviewing the results of a random drug test. Did Ishikawa, a seven-year employee, test positive? No. She tested "diluted." As first reported by KXL Radio's Dawn Phillips last week, Delta officials told Ishikawa she was being fired because they suspected she tampered with her urine test. They apparently came to that conclusion because her sample was so diluted that it was outside the normal test results. As Phillips reported, there are a couple of reasons to doubt that conclusion. First, Ishikawa was watched during the entire test. Second, flight attendants, like many frequent flyers, drink massive quantities of water to ward off the dehydration that quickly occurs inside airline cabins. Ishikawa, who weighs 90 pounds dripping wet, estimates that she guzzles five liters of water during a typical two-hour domestic flight. In fact, Ishikawa's attorneys told Phillips that for a variety of reasons, up to 2 percent of the population may have normal, untampered urine that fails to meet test standards. Ishikawa, who has passed Delta's tests before, offered to be retested. But Delta officials, who declined to talk to Phillips, refused Ishikawa's offer. Ironically, if Ishikawa had tested positive, she would have been better off: She would have had a chance to appeal whatever discipline the airline imposed on her. Ronald Monroe, an assistant chief of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (above left) is reportedly among the finalists for Portland's top cop spot. Another leading prospect, Colorado Springs Police Chief Lorne Kramer (right), dropped out of the running last week. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published November 23, 1999