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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1981)
dailf'emerald Vol. 82, No. 104 I Eugene, Oregon 97403 Thursday, February 19,1981 Too hot to handle A University science laboratory con taminated with radioactive material from a spill Tuesday may be decon taminated by Friday, says University health physicist Edward Bailey. But decontamination doesn’t guar antee the room will be re-opened, Bailey says. After the room is decon taminated, radioactive levels may still be higher than regulations allow, and a new floor may have to be laid, he says. ‘ Cleaning up a contaminated room isn't like washing your clothes. ” Bailey says he isn't sure how exten sive the decontamination process will be or what materials he will need. “Soap and water may be all I need, but I just don’t know. ” Decontamination will be more dif ficult because the liquid sprayed out across the room. "If this was just a spill it'd be easier to clean up. It's the worst type of cleaning situation." Reagan calls for cuts from most corners WASHINGTON (AP) - Pres. Reagan urged Congress on Wednesday night to “act forcefully, and now,” to cut $41 billion in spending and enact tax reduc tions worth $1,500 to a middle-income family of four over the next three years. To the applause of a politically divided Congress, Reagan proposed the most drastic set of budget cuts ever recom mended by a president, saying they were necessary to reverse the course of a government "somewhat out of control.” Reagan said his proposal, if enacted in full, would halve the inflation rate, create 3 million new jobs and balance the federal budget by 1984 Reagan’s "program for economic recovery” would put the government upon an untested path leading away from spending and regulatory trends that date back almost 50 years to Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. “There is nothing wrong with America that we can't fix,” he declared. Reagan needs congressional approval for almost all his proposals. Republicans, predictably, said they will push for quick action; Democrats, who control the House, promised close scrutiny, but nothing more. Senate Democratic Leader Robert Byrd said his colleagues would support a tax cut, but not Reagan's proposal. "This is an inflationary tax cut,” Byrd said The president was greeted by a prolonged standing ovation from Con gress, his Cabinet, his wife Nancy and spectators who watched from the House galleries. His speech was interrupted 14 times by applause, when he mentioned budget cuts and also when he promised to boost defense spending. There was only silence when Reagan pledged to save major social programs from the budget knife. Reagan’s far-reaching fiscal program is designed to trim the functions of government and stimulate business growth. In declaring war on the costs and purposes of federal regulations, he said: “The taxing power of government must be used to provide revenues for legitimate government purposes. It must not be used to regulate the economy or bring about social change ” Nonetheless, he vowed, the nation s poor can “rest assured that the social safety net of programs they depend on’’ will not be cut. Legislative rounaup Pot paraphernalia hearings ignite debate By GREG WASSON Of the Emerald SALEM — Marijuana and alcohol fan ciers found their tastes debated at the Oregon Legislature Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee held public hearings on three bills restricting the sale of devices used to consume marijuana. Two bills, HB 2422 and HB 2585, would prohibit the sale of para phernalia to youth under 18 and the third, HB 2535, would outlaw sale of the gadgets to anyone. The main sponsor of the third bill, Rep. Max Rijken, D-Newport, told the commit tee that by outlawing the paraphernalia, the Legislature would curb drug use. He then listed a series of problems that could be attributed to drugs. “Violent crime by juveniles, a number of rapes, and so on and so on — all drug related,” Rijken said "We have statistics — I don't have the statistics with me, but we all know that so many of these criminal activities are caused by drug abuse, and the use of narcotics." However, Lew Ward of Oregonians Coordinating to Prevent Drug Abuse charged that Rijken's condemnation was too broad Rijken didn’t differentiate between varied drugs and marijuana can’t be medically classified as a narco tic, Ward said. Further, Ward said the claim that pot use leads to crime is simply untrue. "We have (a report) which was done by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by then-Pres. Nixon," Ward said. "And that report concluded that there was no rela tionship between marijuana and the commission of crime other than using marijuana." HB 2422, sponsored at the request of Ward's group, also allows licensed adults to grow three marijuana plants for personal use. The committee took no action on any of the bills and will hold a work session that is as yet unscheduled. Earlier in the day, the Senate Business and Consumer Affairs Committee heard testimony on SB 342, which would require warning labels on all hard liquor sold in the state. Sen. Keith Burbidge, D-Salem, himself a reformed alcoholic, spoke against the idea. ‘‘Some people are able to use alcohol in moderation over a whole lifetime and not have it become injurious to their health," he said. ‘‘I don’t like to see an additional financial burden placed on any industry at this time." But the proponent of the legislation, Sen. Rod Monore, D-Portland, coun tered that the labels would be beneficial. "By warning of the dangers, we'd be doing the people of Oregon a service, and filling a glaring gap in our warning policies,” he said. “It's been shown that similar warning labels on cigarettes and cigarette ads have increased people’s awarness of the dangers and, we have to assume, affected behavior." Meanwhile, the legislative field-burn ing war is entering its second decade. Last month it appeared Eugene had won the latest battle when Gov. Vic Atiyeh appointed a Stayton doctor to the field burning advisory committee. The doctor, Thomas Sims, has serious reservations about the health aspects of field burning. Wednesday, Atiyeh announced that Sims had resigned, blaming pressures from growers in the Stayton area. Sen L B Day, R-Salem, whose consti tuency includes many field burners, was gleeful. According to Day, the search now should be resumed for a member with an open mind.
