Board hit again
with legal action
See Page 4
Oregon daily
emera
Wednesday, October 10, 1984
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 86, Number 29
Blood bank seeks campus donors
Photo by Sbu-Shing Chen
The Lane Memorial Blood Bank's campus blood drive continues through 4 p.m. today, in Room
167 of the EMU.
Fourth tax relief measure in six years
awaits decision by Oregon taxpayers
By Stasia Scarborough
Of the Emerald
Tax relief. As a ballot measure, it’s an issue that
just won't go away.
When Oregonians vote on Ballot Measure 2 in
November, it will be the fourth time since 1978
they have been asked to reform their tax system
with a constitutional amendment rolling back
property tax assessments.
Though property tax measures have failed three
times, they were defeated by narrow margins.
The call for tax reform has obviously struck a
sympathetic nerve with a significant number of
Oregon voters.
The Oregon Taxpayers. Union, with 12,000
dues-paying members throughout the state, has
sponsored the last three property tax measures,
which they say were designed to cut government
waste and make the local governments more
responsive to citizens.
One dissatisfaction indicated by voters is the
way government does business, and the fact that
some school districts have held as many as six
elections in order to come up with a levy accep
table to voters, says Rick Bornemann, a
spokesperson for the union.
“They treat us like customers in a used car
lot,” Bornemann says. “It's a very expensive
dickering process. All we’re asking is for them to
be honest with us in the first place.”
But the heart of the measure is property tax
relief. The initative measure provides the reduc
tion of levied property taxes to 1.5 percent of the
1981 assessed property values, or to the amount
Continued on Page 6
By Jolayne Houtz
Of the Emerald
People are out for blood on
campus — 150 units of it.
That’s the goal for the Lane
Memorial Blood Bank during its
last day on campus today, try
ing to recruit new donors.
Blood donations are in Room
167 of the EMU today from 10
a m. to 4 p.m. on either an ap
pointment or drop-in basis, ac
cording to Linda King, chair of
the University Blood Donor
Club.
Donors must be between the
ages of 17 and 70 and in good
health. It is important to eat a
low-fat meal two hours prior to
donating, King says.
Drawing the blood takes less
than 10 minutes, but donors
should allow close to an hour
for registration, medical screen
ing and relaxing after the
donation.
“We’ve been really pleased
with the wonderful cooperation
from student groups (Student
University Relations Council
and Panhellenic) who have
helped us and also with the peo
ple who are taking time to
donate their blood,” King says.
The University blood drive is
a 2-year-old program of the
Lane Memorial Blood Bank.
The drive is conducted each
term in an effort to supply Lane
County’s five hospitals with
blood.
The Blood Bank is the only
source of blood for the
hospitals, as other plasma
centers ship their blood to other
states or overseas, says Jane
Mink, Blood Bank donor
recruiter.
The donated blood is stored at
the Blood Bank, where it goes
out almost immediately to serve
community needs.
Current prices for blood range
between $15 for certain com
ponents to approximately $45
for whole blood, Mink says.
University donors have the
option of giving blood to the
University Donor Club for use
in emergencies for faculty, staff
or students.
A recent example involved
meeting the blood needs of in
jured University wrestling team
members.
And last year, 10 patients
received 43 credits from the
University Blood Donor Club
that resulted in a savings of
$645 for these patients.
The 20-year-old club has
never refused a request from a
University student, employee,
family member, survivor or
retiree for blood donations.
Another choice is the Blood
Assurance Plan, where the
donor and immediate family
members are covered for all
blood needs for one year after
the donations.
"It's been a little hard
because of the amount of il
lness. The numbers are down in
terms of potential donors, but I
guess it’s just a matter of keep
ing new ones coming in,” Mink
says.
“We’re trying to get donors to
concentrate on the patient need,
no on, ‘Oh, it hurts!’ ” Mink
says.
"We’re thankful for the
response of Lane County
residents. It’s meant that at no
time in our 24-year history have
we had to delay anyone’s
surgery — and that’s something
we can all be proud of,” Mink
says.
Hosticka predicts Measure Two holocaust
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Kmrrald
Ballot Measure 2 will have an
apocalyptic effect on Oregon
politics, as people struggle for a
share of the reduced govern
ment revenues, state Rep. Carl
Hosticka said Monday.
Hosticka, a University pro
fessor of public affairs, is runn
ing for re-election from south
Eugene's District 40. He is
challenged by Republican
Mitch Hammerstad.
“Think of the atmosphere of
the Legislature if 2 passes,”
Hosticka said at a meeting of the
Lane Demo Forum at the
Bavarian Restaurant. Measure 2
will reduce local government
revenue by approximately $1.3
billion, about one-third, he
said.
Though many will look to the
Legislature to act quickly to
solve the revenue problem,
Hosticka believes the spirit of
cooperation will evaporate as
legislators concentrate on help
ing their own districts.
Hosticka said the prospect
reminds him of the television
movie "The Day After,” which
portrayed the after effects of a
nuclear attack.
"We will see roving bands
picking among the rubble trying
to eke out what meager ex
istence they can find,” he said.
Even if legislators do decide
to work together, they will be
faced with the problem of
deciding how and when to res
pond to the crisis, he said.
"There are respected people
in the Legislature who feel that
it may be necessary to let voters
experience the aftermath of
Measure 2 before a substitute is
offered to them,*' he said.
But last years proposed solu
tions for tax reform don’t apply
this year. The proposed sales
tax would have provided pro
perty tax relief, but Measure 2
already accomplishes this, he
said.
Hosticka supports a sales tax
to fund schools, while reserving
property tax revenues for fun
ding services such as sewers,
police and fire protection.
If the measure doesn't pass,
the Legislature will still be fac
ed with the problem of balanc
ing the budget, while still fin
ding the money to fund higher
education, comparable worth,
and other programs, he said.
The Oregon Constitution re
quires a balanced budget.
Hosticka criticized some
members of the Legislature for
"hypocrisy,” saying they were
willing to vote for programs,
but not to vote for tax increases
to fund those programs.
For Hosticka, the priorities
for the 1985 Legislature are ob
vious. "They are money, money
and money, in that order,” he
said.
But there are still other issues
that need attent on, he said.
Hosticka said he favored a
moratorium on building
hydroelectric power plants on
Oregon rivers. There is a glut of
electricity in the state, he said,
and the plants interfere with the
breeding of salmon.
"Fishing is a multi-million
dollar industry and it’s in trou
ble,” he said. He recommended
zoning of rivers to insure
breeding areas for fish.
Carl Hosticka
Photo by Michael Clapp