Measure 5 results finally hitting home Unless you've been living under a rock, for the past three years, it should be obvious to the most thickhead ed of citizens that Measure 5 was a really dumb idea. In typical Oregon voter fashion, those wonderful citi zens who approved the property-tax slashing, budget trashing amendment in 1990 were looking at the short term gains — less money out of the pocket. And public school and local services funding? Heck and gaowillick ors. them thar politicians in Salem will come up with somethin'. That vision showed not only a kind but a totally unwarranted faith in state government. Three years later - surprise, surprise, surprise - the state hasn't made up the budgetary shortfalls. Those pesky doomsayors who said such unrealistic things like "schools will close" and "the economy will go under" are now lining treated as minor prophets. Here's just a sampling of local schools and programs nailed by Measure 5 constraints: Eugene School District, faced with a $0.9 million bud get deficit, slashed 116 jobs - 7H of them tear hors. For those of you with children in the district, you can expect your kids to be in larger classes. Bigger classes and few er instructional aides (another budget casualty) mean less personalized teaching. It doesn't take a mental genius to see the s< hooh hild run are going to suffer. In Eugene, class sizes will go up to 27 per room in the lower grades; even higher in the middle and high schools. Any teacher will tell you the more students in a class, the harder it is to put out infor mation. lixtrncurricular a< tivities' Both hero and in Spring field. the programs that made school a little more palat able (music, sports, etc.) were among the first things to go. Whoa reading, writing and arithmetic are hard enough to fund, recreation just doesn't fit in the plan. With the public now finally feeling the pinch of Mea sure 5. perhaps something can be done. The legislature stonewalled itself into a corner during the 1993 session, coming up with little to improve the pre< arious budget situation, hloctod officials have now had two cracks at fixing the situation: it's up to the general public to take control. The options are limited. Where a sales tax just three years ago would have been an anathema to Oregon vot ers. the viability of such a plan has recently gained mer it. Would a sales tax - approved by the voters and with iron-clad statutes preventing mucking about by legisla tors - be such a terrible thing? It can only be hoped a Measure 5-hardened electorate will make the right decision. Oregon Daily PO 001 31to fUGtKf ORfGO* 9?403 T f'.o Oregon D;tr> ( nvr.,1KJ 1 putrbahod OaTy Monday tin . *>'■ * ' ■ I.». doling the *chDO *ea< and tueadar and Tnuitday doing me by the Oregon Dun f meiaid Put)l**nmg Co Inc a! the Un,v*r*»ty 0< Oregon Eugene (>egon the eyewater* independently o* 'he Unrvervty unto on*at So-v J00 o* the [ /•) Memorial l*vo' and ia a mwnbm o* the As*oc Pi I*-,-* The Emerald ra private property The untawtrj remora! c* ute ot pataca *a ptoaec-.t.*>rti by law Editor Cat Watactt Photo Eddot Anthony I otoey Aaeoctate Editor* Ed Caraor Martm I vfwr S >t C ww Ntght Editor- Pat Moyen General Manager Jody Hot Advertising Director Man Waite. Production Manager M* hde Hoaa Advertlatng: I tetime Be Heathe'Ch.iaon Jeremy Maaon Van v O'Bryan It Ang* W isthenn P«|i. dinosaurs gel loose: high-priced odors Ivecome human Happv Meals Don'I lei anyone tell you Spiel berg doesn't know cinematic symbolism M> favorite part ol the mov le was w atching a sloarv law yer get chomped while silt, on a toilet. Sort of a one-scene State ol the Union. As an entertainment option, the movie is lop notch, but in all the hoopla and commotion, it's easy to forget that Spieltierg's lat est i arries a serious theme S< ieutists just should not ns re ate dinosaurs. Very, very Iwd Given that, from the home offu t* iii Eugene, Oregon. Imre's lire lop-10 reasons scientists should just leave tire dinosaurs where they are: 10. Research would draw fund ing away from valuable row belches-causing-ozone-depletion study. 9. Lovable Barney character looks like a wussy compared to a raptor. H. Ditto-size breath mint as large as a bulldozer tire. 7. Godzilla vs T-Kex match on pay-per-view 6. Big risk of BETA activists Iks oimng hors d'oeurves V T-Kex would want own star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. 4. Troubled kids sent to "Kup tor Summer (jimp." 3. New Fox show about young dinosaurs dealing with social problems called Dina 90210 Novelty ol Flinlstones t ar toons rendered pointless And the number one reason why scientists shouldn 't r»s rente dinosaurs. I. Three words, big. big doo doo, II just isn't worth it folks Oh sure, there would be some entries in the plus column. A T Kev watchdog would he a sure fire deterrent to door-to-door salesmen, and a Milkbone Dino Hiscuit could double as a flota tion device during u crisis. Hut the risks are just too much. Scientists have more important tilings to figure out, such as Bill Clinton's family tree {stranger and stranger forks all the time) and the secret of Storm Kennedy’s appeal. While I'm on the subject of summer movies, let's talk about some of the other Hollywood offerings: Cliffhanger — Rambo on ice. IjQSt Action Hero — subtitled "Amie s Search For Keen More Money." Life With Mikes' Michael ) Fox gets upstaged ill the cute and cuddly department Hot Shots Part Deux — as il the first wasn’t bad enough. Super Mario Hint hers — the let s-see how-gullible !ho-Amer ican-movie-pu Id ic-actually is release of the summer It's not that I have gotten more cynical in my old age. though live-plus years at the University would blunt the enthusiasm of Mr Rogers Movies are too slic k, and cultured, featuring high speed special effects and big pecs Where's a classic when you need one, like Plan 9 From Out er Space? Don Peters is a columnist for the Emerald. If 1 ttEPW*OfO0*U)RU$ IWHIM.MICWW G0®0^i*u5 vomt> GCHWfmw. mmwidvii*"***"11