Sandy post., April 21, 1975, Image 1

Scout training helped
Fire ravages home; four youths escape
Boy Seoul training and cool headedneas
helped four youths escape the second story
of their blazing home at 735 SE Koberts in
Gresham early Saturday morning, ac­
cording tocity Eire Marshall Bob Eisele
The home is owned by Mrs Bonny
McDaniel It is believed to lie a total loss
The boys, taken to Gresham Community
Hospital for treatment, were released
later the same morning
The lire, its cause being investigated,
was discovered at 5:47 a m. The four
yisiths were in an upstairs bedroom, and
fire below trapped them uway from the
stairs leading to safety.
The elder youth. Gregory Lair, 20, hud
the boys crawl on their hands and knees
through the smoked-filled rooms toward a
window as (lie flames spread upwurd. He
then knotted liedsheets together to make a
rope, secured it and let it drop to the
Troutdale
budget
decreases
T R O U T D A L E A I t . 465.307 annual
budget was adupted Thursday by the city
budget committee
In a condition attached to the motion of
adoption, the city council was given
discretion over one-half of one percent of
the budget total ,17,000) covering a
number of small items and personnel
salaries suggested at the hearing
The 1975-76 Troutdale budget reflects a
decrease of *617,94« from last year's
*2.263.247 budget.
This year’s budget figure is within the
allowed 6 per cent limitation, eliminating
the necessity of a city-wide budget elec
tion
Included in the budget totals were funds
for completion of a new public works
building, purchase of a police car. repair
of Harlow Street from 5th to 8th streets and
adjustment of city employes salaries to a
median range based on salaries of
municipal employes in other communities
The *6uo.ooo decrease this fiscal year is
credited prim arily to decreases in the
special assessment funds for water system
facilities and expansion of city water and
sewer lines
A final budget hearing will beset later in
the spring
ballot request
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge
Pat Dooley ruled Thursday against a court'
order to put Sam Bacon's name on the
hallo! for Orient School Board
Due to a mixup in Clackamas County,
Bacon's petition did not reach Multnomah
County by the deadline.
"H e was unfortunate in getting tangled
in the bureaucratic administration of
Clackamas County, but it is the can­
didate's responsibility to submit the
petition by the deadline," Dooley told The
Outlook Friday “ It did not appear to me
anything could be done about it from a
legal standpoint "
Bacon said he will continue with his
write-in campaign, but expressed concern
because of the somewhat complex
procedure of write-in voting in Clackamas
County, which requires a separate piece of
paper
In Multnomah County, the name is
written right on the ballot, he said.
Gresham Eire Department equipment
arrived at the scene in time to save the
rear part of the older home from being
totally destroyed. The front half was
completely gutted and the roof was burned
away—the area where the youths were
sleeping.
Satidy
G reat Way To The Mt. H ood Playground
Vol. 65
Single Copy I 5*
SANDY, OREGON, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 1975
No. 17
Sandy Senior Center
included in aging plan
Sandy residents interested in Clackamas
County plans for the aged during the 1975-
76 fiscal year should stop by the Sandy
Senior Center
public meetings to discuss the 1975-76
aging plan
Included in the proposed *145,000
program are funds to support aging offices
and services in Washington and
Clackamas counties and part-time senior
aides in each of five areas of Columbia
County.
Sandy Senior Center would also receive
funds under the program.
A hearing on the plan is scheduled for
Thursday, May 1, in the Barlow H all board
room at Clackamas Community College,
19600 S. Molalla Ave., Oregon City.
Copies of the proposed plan are
available at the Sandy Senior Center, at
CRAG offices in Portland and In Room 12
ol the Clackamas County Courthouse,
Oregon City.
The Columbia Region Association of
Governments (CRAG) is the area agency
on aging for Clackamas, Columbia and
Washington counties CRAG is holding
Gresham business tax
falling short of old one
The City of Gresham's venture into a
new business license tax thus far has been
spectacularly unsuccessful.
*
Judge denies
It appeared that nothing was saved from
the burning structure Mrs McDaniel was
not home at the time, reports note
ground As he hastened down, he fell and
sprained his bark, Chiel Eisele said
Lair then helped the other three, Carl
Bankford. and Ken and Kevin Lankford,
slide down the makeshift rope They
sufferer! some smoke inhalation, but
because of what they learned earlier in
their lives through Boy Scout experience,
they were saved from a far more serious
fate. Chief Eisele said The three younger
Imys were between six and nine years old
>
-•*
*■ *
< * ■*
City Manager Bob McWilliams reported
that the new tax. enacted earlier this year
when Multnomah County made a stab for
local revenues, thus far has produced only
about *13,000 in revenue
This opposed to *52,000 which was
budgeted for business licenses under the
old ordinance
The new tax calls for 1W per cent of the
net income (before taxes) of any business
inside city limits McWilliams conceded
that many firms had not filed by the April
15 deadline but he's still wary that budget
problems are looming
Some confusion over the date for filing
has arisen because Multnomah County
gave those businesses which operate on a
fiscal year (as opposed to a calendar year)
extra time. However. McWilliams sail all
local businesses should have their fee paid
by April 30
There is a minimum license of *25.
Multnomah County's tax would have
been levied on all businesses within the
county had not incorporated cities within
the county (Gresham, Troutdale. Portland
etc) enacted their own licenses Taxes
paid by firms located in cities thus go to
the city treasury rather than to Mult­
nomah County.
Troutdale also established an April 15
deadline for Its version of the business tax
but has been lenient in granting ex­
tensions.
• -
Prelim inary figures indicate the new tax
might add more revenue to city coffers
than the former flat-fee business license,
according to B etty Bergstrom , city
recorder.
The reason is that more businesses, such
as farms and realtor firms, are covered
under the new ordinance .
Chief complaint so far is the complexity
of the tax forms. Mrs. Bergstrom notes the
Troutdale ordinance provides two methods
by which the tax may be paid: either 1.5
per cent on net profit or 17 per cent of 1 per
cent of grass sales
Nit. Hood
to mark
anniversary
The latter method is generally much
easier to figure, she said, though on the
average it might coat businesses a bit
more.
However, Mrs Bergstrom has figured
all business taxes turned in this far using
both methods and in no instance would the
difference in taxes paid have been more
than *2 to *6. she said
Wood Village and Fairview have also
adopted business tax ordinances based on
Multnomah County's system Forms have
not yet been mailed to businesses, but city
recorders in both towns hope they will be
in the mail this week
Students
spruce up
Oral Hull
ftTUDKNTK A C T IV IT IE S cmincll at Mt. Hood Cam-
munily College recruited more than 25 student* to work
on spring yard work at Oral Hull Park near Sandy.
Among pruners, clippers, weeders and spaders were Kay
Myers, Lenora W illiamson and Gail Voge.
(Outlook photo)
-
I
Mt. Hood C om m unity College is
throwing a birthday party this week
And it lasts all week
The occasion is the ninth year of the
college and to mark the celebration,
numerous activities are planned, including
Student Heritage Day Thursday and
Charter Day Friday.
A business division open house and two
conferences highlight this year’s ob­
servance The division will be open to the
public Thursday from noon to7 p m .
Ten business machine companies will
dem onstrate equipment and several
student exhibits are planned
Friday, well known business figure
Jerry P ratt will give the opening address
of a small business conference. To be
covered during the morning gathering for
area business people include retail m er­
chandising. purchasing, inventory control
and budgeting
"L a n d and Housing D evelopm ent
Problem s in the 1970's" conference
Saturday will bring together state and
local o fficials, developers, builders
planners and m arketin g specialists
Interested community members are also
invited to participate in the a U-day confab.
Thursday is Student Heritage Day and a
majority of the activities are planned for
that afternoon
Beginning at 11:30 a m a barbeque will
start the day off by the lake. A band will
play in the mall just prior to noon when a
general assembly will feature college
president D r E arl L. Klapstein and
student leaders who will make several
presentations.
Entertainment and a wide variety of
games follow until 2 p m by the lake
At 8 p m . a pops concert has been
scheduled for the college theater
The business division will be open to
public tours Friday from 10a m to2p m
Hob Anderson, astronomy instructor has
three planetarium show set for Friday at
2:30. 4 30 and 6:30 p m . Concluding the
day's activities is a baseball match with
the Saints taking on Clackamas Com­
munity College at 7:30 p m.
Movies showing this weekend include
‘ The Godfather in the college theatre
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m and the
children's matinee "L ittle Women" is set
for I p m Saturday.
ALIENS R E S ID IN G In the Lulled States legally are
required la carry identification cards. These are a
handful! of forgeries picked up by immigration official*
In Oregon. Most forgeries are easy to spot, says Tom
Casey, crim inal Investigator for the Immigration service
(Outlook photo)
Illegal aliens:
a big problem
getting bigger
by Bob Martinson
news editor
Late last month. 279 illegal aliens were
taken into custody in Oregon then tran­
sported to Mexico, their native country.
The mass arrest didn't put a dent in the
massive illegal alien population of Oregon,
according to Tom Casey, a criminal in­
vestigator for the L’.S. Immigration and
Naturalisation Service.
Casey was involved in the arrests of 80
illegal aliens working in the Hood River
area, then in another operation where 106
aliens were taken into custody at West
Foods in Salem
Several illegal aliens in that case were
union members At least one of those
arrested had food stamps in his
possession.
Casey, a Gresham resident, can rattle
off likely places where illegal aliens are
employed in Gresham. Troutdale. Sandy,
Mt Hood and the Boring-Damascus area
Yet there is virtually nothing he can do
about it.
It is not illegal to hire an alien who is in
this country illegally. And the immigration
service doesn't have nearly enough funds
to take all of them into custody and
transport them out of the country
Transporting illegal aliens often doesn't
do much good anyway under current laws,
explains Alber Conversano Jr., head of the
Oregon district of the immigration ser­
vice.
Since it is not against the law to hire an
illegal alien, those transported to Mexico
are often anxious to slip back into this
country to go to work again, Conversano
explained
Im migration officials can find their
work an exercise in frustration.
"There have been instances where
illegals were taken into custody in Por
tland, transported to Mexico and then
were back in Portland a week-and-a-half
later." Casey said.
In some cases, illegal aliens are arrested
and then released because there is no
money to hold them in jail or transport
them.
"We made good arrests on four illegal
aliens w orking at a restaurant in
Gresham," Casey explained
"We gave them each a letter saying they
were here illegally and please return
home There was no money available to
send them ”
Like the inflation rate, the population of
illegal aliens in Oregon has been spiraling
the last couple years.
Next week tkls newspaper will follow
Tom Casey oa Ma reanris as a criminal
Investigator with the L'.S. Immigration
and N a ta ra liia tlo a Service. He w ill
dlacmt the crime problem associated with
the illegal alien pepnlatien.
Conversano estimates there are 30,000
illegal aliens living in Oregon About 8,000
of them between Salem and the Columbia
River in the Willamette Valley
The illegal alien problem is something
new to Oregon. Conversano said
Just a couple years back the illegal
aliens who slipped across the border in
California usually stayed in California to
work. But California has reached the
saturation point. Conversano said, and
illegal aliens who continue to come must
travel farther north to find work
The impact of illegal aliens on the
economy is substantial Not only do they
take jobs that could go to citizens, but mo6t
pay little or no income taxes; many who
are out of work have managed to receive
unemployment benefits; and many have
also managed to obtain welfare assistance
and food stamps. Casey said
In addition, most of the money earned by
illegal aliens is sent to their families out of
the country. Casey said, which creates a
tremendous drain of dollars. This, in turn,
has a negative impact on the country's
balance of payments.
"Illegal aliens send a billion dollars out
of the country a year," Conversano said.
Adds Casey, " If you take an illegal alien
into custody, he usually has little or no
money on him. But he'll have a sheaf of
money order receipts for money he has
mailed home to relatives.”
In Los Angeles one school supervisor
estimates that seven city schools could be
closed if all illegal aliens in the city were
transported hack to Mexico, Conversano
said.
Contrary to the opinions of many people,
illegal aliens aren't just taking jobs that no
one else wants. Conversano said.
While many do work long hours at low
pay in rugged manual labor, such as on
farms, many also hold jobs in retail
businesses, lum ber m ills, m anufac­
turing—the list is endless, he explained
And they make good wages
The reason’
They work hard. Conversano said
"They're not interested in benefits or
vacations or time off—they're here to
make money to support a fam ily in
M exico”
Employers don't have to worry about an
illegal alien not showing up for work or
being sick too often, Conversano ex­
plained
And the reason illegal aliens are flocking
to this country, moat of them from Mexico,
is also easily explained, he said.
If the economic situation is bad here, it's
even worse south of the border, Con­
versano said. Often the highest e x ­
pectation of a 17-year-old in Mexico is to
get into this country illegally and find a
job. he said
" I t ’s the type of situation where you
don't have any villains. Conversano said.
/P a g * 8