Dialogue Student president welcomes in new year Fellow Students, Happy New Year and welcome back to school! It’s great to have you all back. For the new students—you’re welcome too, and please feel at home on campus. Your stu­ dent Government has exciting things for you all winter term. First, I would like to em­ phasize a few plans on an issue that is of importance to all of us—the serial levy election. This is what the whole college depends on, and it should be on the minds of everyone. Even if you are leaving school you should be considering those who will come in future years. It has been said over and over that if all the students voted we would never have a problem passing a levy. This time let’s do it! Student Government is putting together an Election Committee of concerned students to brainstorm and en­ force some ideas we can do as a group to pass the levy on March 27. The first meeting of this committee will be on January 18 at 2 p.m. in CC 101.1 encourage as many peo­ ple as possible to attend. For the rest of January we have several of our usual events coming up. We will keep you up-to-date in subse­ quent newsletters and through other campus publicity. On January 24 there will be a movie in the Fireside Lounge, “Fat City.” “The Outsiders” will be shown in the Fireside Lounge on January 27. Both shows will play at 10 a.m. and be repeated at 1 p.m. Our first “Family Night” movie of the term, “Annie,” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on January 20. We also have a mini-program comedy show on January 18 at noon. I would like to appeal to all students for your coopera­ tion on two things. First, our once-a-term blood drive will take place on February 7. The second item is about the newly upholstered furniture in the mall. Some students are com­ Letters to the editor Park sale represents mismanagement To the Editor, The Deep Creek Park sale represents another example of the county commissioners’ mismanagement of the assets and best interests of the people of Clackamas County. These elected officials are going to sell off public land at a price that would make a prudent in­ vestor blush with embarrass­ ment. The land plus valuable timber are being sold for $5,300 per acre. Most citizens woud be very happy to find just land at that price, let alone a windfall of valuable timber. This isn’t all the problem though. This money raised from the sale is to be used to support the remaining inade­ quate parks system in Clackamas County. The kicker is that the purchaser has agreed to pay off the modest debt from the timber revenues in five years or less. What hap­ pens to our park system when we no longer receive payments from the sale of Deep Creek Park? Sell another park? I would certainly not want my investments handled by Clackamas County’s com­ missioners ! Sounds like a sure- fire way to end up bankrupt. Obviously, the commis­ sioners have turned a deaf ear to the residents (so what’s new) in, the area of the park, not to mention the Estacada City Council in coming to this decision to sell off the public’s resource. Just when we thought we had gotten rid of James Watt, he shows up here in the form of Clackamas County com­ missioners. Sincerely, Richard Weiss Print article draws criticism, concern To the Editor, I am writing in response to Marco Procaccini’s article “Disarmament Needed Now.” I am not complaining about the story itself. My main resentment concerns the point made about the 12,000 Air Traffic Controllers (ATC’s) being fired for “disagreeing with the government.” First off, their contract clause specifically stated that there would be no striking, and if there was one, then those striking would be fired. Second, and certainly not least, are the circumstances surrounding the strike. The controllers chose to go on strike the instant that around 200 planes were in transit na­ tionwide. Most of the planes were carrying an invaluable cargo—innocent lives! This left airport personnel (what there was left of them) Wednesday, January 11, 1984 to scramble together replace­ ment ATC’s to. get those planes and their irreplaceable cargoes safely on the ground. The ex-ATC’s were probably hoping for a serious accident to happen in their absence; this they would have used as a bargaining chip in dealing with the government. The govern­ ment, of course, acted quite rationally in response to this action. I definitely feel the ex- ATC’s got what they deserved. They were lucky that no one was seriously injured because of their self-centered stupidity. Otherwise, their punishment would have been more severe than losing their jobs! I have one question, Mr. Procaccini, seeing as how you sympathize with the ex-ATCs’ cause. Do you agree, as they did, that human life has upon it a price tag? I certainly hope not! I think the ATC strike of 1981 can best be remembered as one of the most blatant disregards for human life this nation, or any other nation, has ever experienced. Chester Kleinhans plaining about not being able to smoke in CC Mall. Our reason for this is to prevent cigarette holes and misuse of the furniture due to past ex­ periences. We need to cooperate to keep the fur­ niture tidy and the mall area too. This term student govern­ ment is going to try a couple new things. We hope these new programs will be here to stay. The first of these is a campus tour program. This would enable visitors and new students to get familiar with our campus and with what is available. However, this is still in the planning stages and any ideas from students are ap­ preciated. The other new pro­ gram is a dinner theatre. For $6 you can attend a dinner plus watch a live theatre per­ formance by a professional group. Tickets will be sold in advance and seats will be reserved. Make a date on February 23. . Finally, you are all invited to our annual Ski-Bowl with Mt. Hood, Chemeketa, and Portland Community Colleges on February 6. Once again, welcome back! Sincerely, John Sagoe ASG President Lobdell’s rate increase repudiates voters’ will To the Editor Former Public Utility Commissioner Lobdell’s grant of a rate increase to PGE and PP&L to pay for abandoned power plant projects is a travesty and a repudiation of the will of the Oregon voters. This rate increase, which will amount to over $100 million, is to pay for the utilities’ abandoned invest­ ment in two unneeded and ex­ pensive nuclear power plants incurred before passage of Ballot Measure 9 in 1978. As Executive Director of Orego­ nians for Utility Reform, .the sponsor of Ballot Measure 9,1 know that our exact purpose was to prevent these cnarges from being passed on to utility ratepayers, a position which was ratified by 69 percent of the voters. This unfortunate decision has confirmed my worst fears that the process of utility regulation in Oregon is break­ ing down. The public utility commissioner, appointed and accountable to the governor, no longer is representing the public’s interest as he is re­ quired by Oregon law to do. Further, we do not have an in­ dependently funded consumer advocate in rate case pro­ ceedings as Wisconsin does with it’s highly effective Citizens Utility Board. To enforce the will of the voters’ decision in 1978, I ex­ pect to join shortly the lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Safe Power to overturn this wrong and unnecessary rate increase. While the utility companies have a pocket as deep as your utility bill to protect their rate increases, we as consumer ad­ vocates do not. Therefore we must now appeal publicly for your support. The Ballot Measure 9 Defense Fund has been form­ ed to support our attorney in the upcoming court fight which could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Please send your support to the Ballot Measure 9 Defense Fund, Box 863, Clackamas, Oregon 97015. Sincerely, Dave McTeague Denny Smith’s town meetings a farce voted my beliefs.” Is it Smith’s belief that poor Congressman Denny women must die if unable to Smith’s town hall meetings are afford an abortion? Such an a sham and a farce. Recently extremist position surely Smith voted to cut off all demands a better answer from Medicaid funding of abortions our congressman, especially at for poor women whose lives one of his town hall meetings are clearly endangered if paid for by the taxpayers for pregnancy is continued. the express purpose of answer­ When asked directly, ing questions from consti­ Smith refused to explain his tuents. vote! His only answer was “I Whether you are pro- To the Editor, choice or anti-abortion it seems eminently reasonable to afford poor women (and there are many) the right to an abor­ tion in a situation where a woman’s life is threatened. Sincerely, Naomi Angier, President Clackamas County N.O.W., (National Organization for Women! Page 3