11-Year-Old Won’t Have To Pay Bill

An 11-year-old Corvallis girl may not have to give up her savings account after all to pay her mother’s electricity bill.

Pacific Power said Tuesday it would refuse to accept the $50 seized from Audra Gordon to pay the overdue bill.

Audra’s mother, Suzanne Gordon, ran up the power bill and other debts, including extensive medical bills, after being injured on the job. The girl’s account, which she holds jointly with her mother, was seized by a collection agency armed with a court order.

Pacific Power spokesman Gary Donnelly said the utility requested that no portion of the girl’s seized savings be applied toward the $126 power bill.

Donnelly said the Creditors Collection Service of Albany seized the girl’s money.

A collection agency representative, who declined to be named, said Suzanne Gordon will have to go to court to get the girl’s money back.

“The collection agency doesn’t decide,” the representative said. “It’s the court.”