Communique
Tri-met improvements:
Right idea, wrong area
Well Tri-met s done It to us again. The
next (un) fare hike will take effect in June
of '82. This was decided weeks ago, but
now the lone mass transit system in the
area has recently come to the conclusion
that they need new buses.
Okay, okay, buses, just like any other
type of transportation are prone to break
down every now and then. Being driven for
long periods of time will wear out any vehi
cle.
But, will new buses mean better ser
vice? The buses should be more depen
dable on the schedules already mapped
out, but that doesn’t mean much better
service to areas such as Molalla. Molalla
is one area Tri-met doesn’t give much at
tention. Currently, there are only five
buses traveling from the College to
Molalla in a single day, with the last one
leaving the College at 6:26 p.m. This
doesn’t allow students who live in Molalla,
the opportunity to take evening classes or
activities unless they have another form of
transportation.
As for getting from Molalla to the Col
lege, the earliest bus arrives at 7:10 a.m.
which should be fine with most people.
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But again there are only five buses that
make the trip from Molalla to the College
in one day.
The Associated Student Government.
is attempting to improve Tri-met service
for the students. One of the goals decided
upon at the recent ASG retreat is to get Tri
met to run buses down to Clairmont and to
get better service to Molalla.
In regard to the additional stop at
Clairmont, ASG President Sam Crosby
said, “It is a long way to Clairmont and
this would help handicapped students.” it.
would be a big aid to other students as
well.
ASG will also make an attempt to
secure lower rates for students. This is
something everyone can use. Tri-met can’t
seem to figure out why their ridership
keeps decreasing. Every time the fares are
increased, the ridership goes down, and
every time the ridership goes down the
fares go up.
New buses or not, ridershlpv on Tri
met will not go up until fares go down, and
better service is given to areas that need
It.
OC Mayor indifferent to public interest
I was a little upset last Fri
day. I stormed and ranted and
raved around in the student
publications trailer for a good
half an hour yelling at anyone
or thing that would listen. I was
By Duffy
Coffman
take it anymore!”, and I think
it’s important that you know
why.
As a photographer for the
Print, I had been assigned to
photograph a debate between
Oregon City Commissioner
Jim Johnson and Oregon City
Mayor Don Anderson. The
debate was held Friday at noon
in the Fireside Lounge and
presented the opposing opi
nions on Ballot Measure No.
51,
which .
concerns
Metropolitan Service District’s
proposed Resource Recovery
plant, a garbage incinérateur.
An almost fuedal con
troversy has enshrouded
measure No. 51, with pro
ponents and opponents
screaming “foul” at one
another.
Proponents state that ap
proving measure 51 gives the
public the right to vote on
whether or not to allow the
plant to be constructed in
Oregon City.
Opponents claim that 51
hinders the democratic pro
cess, because it prevents the
Oregon City commission from
acting on behalf of the public in
the decision. Witnessing the
debate, I watched and listened
as Anderson and Johnson bat
tled back and forth.
Johnson spoke heatedly
of dangerous toxic emissions.
stall
THE PRINT, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers
Association, aims to be a fair and impartial journalistic medium
covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opi
nions expressed in THE PRINT do not necessarily reflect those of
the College administration, faculty v Associated Student Govern
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office: Trailer B; telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309 or 310
editor: Rick Obritschkewltsch
news editor: J. Dana Haynes; arts editor: Tina Riggs
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photo editor: Duane Hlersche; copy editor: Mike Rose
staff writers: Kristi Blackman, Alison Hull
Thomas A. Rhodes, Tracy Teigland, Darla Weinberger
staff photographers: Duffy Coffman, Jay Graham
cartoonists: Jim Adams, J. Dana Haynes
business manager: Joan Seely
typesetter: Pennle Keefer; graphics: Lynn Griffith
advisor: Dana Splelmann
of steam explosions, of cost
overruns, of sooty particulate
pollution, and of disregard for
the public welfare and public
opinion against the plant by the
mayor and his fellow city com
missioners.
Mayor Anderson spoke
calmly of lower property taxes,
increased tax revenue, assured
environmental quality, of more
jobs, and that the city commis
sioners had acted in the best in
terests of the public by approv
ing construction of the plant.
About three quarters of
the way through the debate,, I
suddenly realized that here was
the city, mayor, a publicly
elected official, debating
against a ballot measure that
would simply allow the public
he represents to have the right
to vote on an issue that they
had expressed enough concern
over to successfully petition for
an initiative ballot measure.
True, the petition was led
by Johnson, but as an elected
representative of the public,
that is his job: If the public ex
presses strong enough interest
in an issue to petition for a
ballot measure and get it, then
the public, above all other con
siderations, ought to be listen
ed to.
There should be no need
for debate of this issue. Who
cares if the city commission
says that it is acting in the best
interest of the people of
Oregon City should be able to
act in their own best interest if
they want; and without any in
terference from their city
government.
^Measure 51 does not ter
minate construction of the
plant, it would amend the city
charter so that approved of con
struction of the plant would be
determined by a vote of the
general public.
That is absolutely all it
does,
x
Well almost.
It does force further study
of the project and much further
disclosure of information about
the plant to the public, and it
takes the power of approval
out of the hands of the city
commissioners and puts it into
the hand of us common folk.
I fail to see anything wrong
with that, but four of the five ci
ty commissiones—Don Ander
son, Ed Allick, Joan Cartales,
and Ron Thom do. They are all
in opposition to measure 51,
and I can’t help but wonder
why?
At the debate I asked
Mayor Anderson why he, as a
public" elected servant, oppos
ed measure 51 when there
seemed to me to be such strong
support of it. He replied that he
wasn’t in opposition to the peo
ple’s right to vote on the gar
bage plant, he just wanted tp-
point out some misinformation
about the recovery plant--that
was being used by proponents
of measure 51, specifically
Johnson.
Bullshit! I noticed Mayor
Anderson’s name is on a full
page ad in the November 2 edi
tion. of the “Enterprise
Courier.” The ad states in big,
black type: “We support
Resource Recovery and will
Vote No on 51 tomorrow. I
don’t know about you, but that
sounds like opposition to me,
and that is opposition to public
opinion and public desire.to
have a choice in the matter!
People wanting to havl
choice in an issue, people hi
ing the right to vote orr
issue, elected government
ficials supporting and bei
responsive to public opin
and desires, is the democr
process in action.
Even if measure j
passes, the Resource Recov
Plant could still be approvi
but it would be up to pul
choice. Yet we have o
mayor and three city comii
sioners who don’t seem tow
the public to have a choice th
have an interest 4n making.;
There are some 14,(
people who live within Oree
City’s limits, thousands m
who live just outside thi
limits as well as the residents
West Linn and Gladstone.
All of these people1
have to live with the plant, n
it’s benefits or suffer
damage. If they want it, th
vote it in. If they don’t II
vote it out, but either way'
public has the choice. 1
masses deciding for I
masses, majority rule, is
democratic process, and I
one would like to know wb
the hell four people get!
deciding that the public doe
need the right to vote on
issue of this importance.
That is not democra
^JthaM^aristocrac^^^^,
Due to Veteran’s Day next Wednesday, The Print will be
taking a holiday with you. We will return to the stands the
following Wednesday in an expanded edition.______ *
Clackamas Community Colici