Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1976)
Vol 66 Single Copy 15c SANOY. OREGON THURSDAY, SEPT. 9, 1976 No. 37 Water bond election, library discussed by council The Sandy City Council Tuesday ap proved a 20-year amortization period for the proposed 115 million water bond which will go before city voters Sept. 28 The council also considered a 30-year amortization on the bond which would have cost an additional »840,300 in interest. Proceeds from the bond will be used to construct new and enlarge the existing water supply It will also allow con struction of distribution and storage facilities for the city to acquire real property needed to accomplish these improvements. Helton and council members expressed satisfaction with the 20-year amortization period " I believe with the figures projected here we will have a very good chance of passing the bond," Mayor Melvin Haneberg told the council A detailed cost analysis of the proposed bond will be published by the Post before the election The council also directed Helton to make a study of the cost per patron of the Sandy City Library for purposes of determining if the city would consider charging a user fee for out of city library users. At present, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego and Estacada have a user's fee for out of city library patrons. The council also heard from city engineers M artin Boatright and Prank Borden on the progress of Local Improvement Districts (L ID )N o . 2 and 4 L ID No. 2 involves the McCormick Ave. area and L ID No 4 involves »he city parking district. Borden told the council that work on L ID No. 2 is in progress and preparation is being made for the installation of sewer lines and storm drains. Borden also said the city has received all of the right ot ways necessary for L ID No. 2 with some modifications. The council was told that the surveys on L ID No 4 have been completed and that legal documents for that L ID are being prepared In other business, a continuation of a conditional use permit was granted for property owned by A.A. Brewster. The one-year permit allows zoning to go from C-2 (commercial) to R-2 (residential high density). The property is located behind Cedar Plaza. Recycling life Bloodmobile to be in Hoodland I The push V IC H Y JOHNSON <rta an assist frv t gymnsstics coach John Stump on th uneven bar« during recent practice Gymnastic-«, in It* maiden season a t a mterschvtastic sport at Sandv Union High School, hold* off from it* season opener while the other fa ll sports at SUHS start this week. See page 1» for sports. (Post photo) Service costs drive up bills Luxury vacation cheaper than stay at hospital It's far cheaper to stay at any luxury hotel in Oregon than at any hospital in the state. But there are good reasons for most of the costs facing hospitalized patients, despite the size of the bill, according to a financial and statistical profile just published by the state Health Facilities Cost Review Commission. Two East Multnomah County hospitals ended up in between the high and low cost extremes cited in the report's survey of average daily costs The typical Oregon hospital patient's daily bill in 1875 was »152.71. which was the median bill for 75 general acute care hospitals The daily bill ranged from a high of »217.25 for St. Vincent Hospital in Portland to a low of »80 02 for Rinehart Memorial Hospital in Wheeler The average daily bill at Gresham Community Hospital was »128.28. which places it near the lower end of the price spectrum At Woodland Park Hospital, the average bill was »182 09, which is nearer the upper end of the average coot survey. The total patient bill per hospital ad mission, which varies with length of patient stay, ranged from a high of »1.685 43 at Emanuel Hospital In Portland, with an average patient stay of 8 1 days, to a low of »427 89 in Wallowa Memorial hospital. Enterprise, where the average patient stay was 5.1 days Gresham Community Hospital at »762.72 for an average patient stay of 6.0days was Just off the median bill of »758.40 for an average patient stay of 5 0 days at Western Lane Hospital in Florence Woodland Park Hospital had an average patient bill of »1.088 83 for an average pa tient stay of 6.0 days. The average total bill of an Oregon hospital patient increased from »695 56 in fiscal 1872 to »1,013.31 in 1875. up »317.75 or more than 46 per cent in the three-year period The average daily bill advanced at a lesser rate, increasing from »114.58 in fiscal 1872 to »161 87 in 1875, up more than 41 per cent in the same period Gross patient revenues for Oregon’s acute care general hospitals increased from »211,258,000 in fiscal 1972 to »340,741,178 in 1875, up »128.483,178 or 61.3 per cent in this three-year period. Hospital expense trends are forecast for the next year in the report for 14 acute care hospitals, representing 2,264 of 8,342 total hospital beds, for June and July 1876 Salaries, the most substantial portion of hospital expenses, are forecast ro remain at 53 per cent of hospital expenses The daily salary cost of such hospitals is estimated to increase »11 06 or 10.38 per cent per patient day, essentially one-half of the »22.17 per day total operating ex pense increase. Employe benefits are increasing at a greater rate than salaries and are estimated to be »15 06. up 14 6 per cent, per day in the next year Utilities, insurance and interest are not a large portion of total hospital expense but are expected to in crease in the next year at higher r>t« *-1 6 56 P*r cent, 48 73 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, to add a total of »4 per patient day to hospital operating cost. The hospital insurance bill, which in cludes malpractice and liability in surance, continues to climb from »2 36 per day to »3 51 per day, adding »1 15 to such daily cost over the next year The average daily service rate or "room" rate in 78 Oregon hospitals for the 12 months ending July 31,1876 increased to » 3 28. up »10 43 or »12.58 per cent from the July 31,1975 average of »82.86. The amount and rate of increase are less than the previous year’s increase which showed the July 31, 1875 average "room - rate at »70 30 increasing to »82 86, up »12.56 or 17.87 percent. The average "room" rate ranged from a high of »106.36 for the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center teachii^ hospital 4 in Portland to a low of »52.00 in Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise. The reasons for the high hospital costs are several, according to the cost review commission. Routine hospital charges include: General nursing services-registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurses’ aides, orderlies and transportation or derlies. Housekeeping-maids, janitors and laundry. Maintenance—a ir conditioning, heating, plumbing, painting. electrical, biomedical, environmental, engineering, technical and crafts skilled personnel General administration—admissions, records, and corrtmunication personnel, medical records specialists, social service and spiritual assistants, administrative and volunteer services Dietery—dietician, special diets, per sonal meal delivery, a hospital bill usually includes the average cost of three meals a day Recycling life. That's what Pattie Griffin calls the blood donor program slated at the Hoodland Women's Club tomorrow from 3 to 8 p.m. Hoodland business and civic groups will be providing transportation and time for their employes to participate in the program and Mrs Griffin said other volunteers are needed It takes about 15 minutes to donate Wood, according to Mrs Griffin, president of the Hoodland Women’s Club "And if you can't donate blood, you can donate time," she noted. Mrs Griffin said those wishing to donate the life-giving fluid are urged to sign for an appointment to expedite their donations. She pledged that the Blood- mobile would be available until the last donor came if more time is needed. Appointments may be made by calling 622- 4653 or 622 3288 on Friday The Bloodmobile is part of a Red Cross program which helps collect the 425 pints needed daily to supply the needs of the Pacific Northwest blood progrem. Since only blood given voluntarily is used in this service, blood must be provided from people in the community served by the program. "In other w ords-the healthy com- Beth Blunt, president of the Firwood Neighbors, said the group will discuss the impact of regionalism versus citizen In volvement in the land use planning effort Firwood Neighbors also plan to have pfv\+».cu«e dor.ors that the entire process is relatively painless. And Mrs. Griffin stressed the vital need for the blood. “ We never know when our own loved ones might be in need " Nurses will be available to discuss what medical backgrounds would disqualify an individual from giving blood. Those who have had hepatitis, cancer or heart disease may not donate. Those with a recent cold, bout with the flu or a sore throat shouldn't donate either. Other medical disqualifies include having hay fever or allergy symptoms the day of donations or having diabetes not controlled by diet alone. Mrs Griffin said an individual may donate blood every eight weeks, or six times in a calendar year. She said donations may be made after eating a normal meal. Water bond subject of information meeting A public information meeting con cerning Sandy's proposed »1.5 million water bond has been planned for 7 p m Wednesday, Sept 15. in the Sandy Elementary School library? City council member Jim Duff will be available at the Sandy Chamber of Commerce sponsored meeting to answer questions concerning the bond issue The Chamber also plans to sponsor another informational meet on Sept. 22. The public is invited to attend the meetings The water bond election will be held Sept. 28. Direct election of MSD board recommended by Tri-County group The direct election of board members of the Metropolitan Service District (MSD) is one of several short range alternatives approved by the Tri-County Local Government Commission. Under the commission's proposal. MSD would also take over the planning func tions currently under the direction of the Columbia Region Association of Gover nments (CRAG). The fact that board members of the MSD and CRAG are not now directly elected by voters in the Tri-County area is one of the most frequent criticisms of both agencies The Tri-County Commission is studying methods of reorganizing and improving local government in the tri-county area under a grant awarded in December 1975 At the present time, the MSD is Firwood Neighbors to hear Day Sept. 16 F o rm e r Land Conservation and Developm ent Commission (L C D C ), Chairman, L B. Day and Portland at tomey Steve Schell will address the Fir- wood Neighbors at 7:30 p.m. Sept 16 at Firwood School Schell, former vice-chairman of LCDC, was the attorney for Jeanette Baker in the Beker decision hearings involving a landmark land use planning case. munity serves the community in need," said Mrs. Gnffin. Anyone between the ages of 17-65 may donate blood, although 17-year-oids must have p aren tal consent. Other requirements include weighing at least 110 pounds and being in good health. A brief medical check-up will be given to prospective donors and a snack will be given after the donation is completed. Red Cross officials assure faint hearted representatives of Tri County Commission as guest at their October general meeting Day resigned as chairman of LCDC earlier this year Before his appointment to that position, he was secretary- treasurer and head aministrative officer for Teamster l-ocal 670 and director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. He has also served as Northwest regional director for the U S Department of the Interior in Portland. Day attended the U niversity of Nebraska and was graduated from Willamette University. He received an honorary P h D . in civil law from Wills matte University in 1875 governed by city and county elected of ficials appointed to the MSD board by their respective local governing bodies. The M SD serves M ultnom ah, Clackamas and Washington counties in mattters of area-wide impact, such as solid waste disposal or the Portland Zoo. The Tri-County Commission proposes that some or all of the MSD board be directly elected by constituents. Several local reorganization alter natives were outlined by the commission at a recent League of Women Voters meeting The 65-member commission is seeking comments and suggestions on the alter natives from the public, according to chairman Ronald Cease and Vice- chairman Carl Halvorson Under the proposal to directly elect MSD board members, matters taken up by the MSD would continue to be area-wide in nature The MSD would be renamed to be called the Tri-County Council. There would be three general programs under the direction of the Tri-County Council: planning, physical and human services and support services The plannning function would absorb the services now provided by the Columbia Region Association of Government* Physical and human services would include those functions c u rre n tly authorized for the MSD and any new .'unctions the commission might recom mend. such as water supply or major cultural or recreational facilities. "Making members of the policy making board directly elected by the voters would ba a major step toward achieving a more visible and accountable governing mechanism at the area-wide level,” said Tri-County Commission Chairman Cease. "And it would help enhance our ability to more efficiently and effectively address the area-wide problems of transportation, land use, air, water and solid waste by improving the coordination needed to make the various parts of governmental system work more harmoniously with less duplication." Although commission members say they recognize that there is no final solution, they propose, as a long-range alternative, a more simplified two-tier government for the metropolitan community. Four file for council spots Four Sandy residents have filed for three available city council position*, according to Sandy Q ty Manager Paul Helton Mayor Melvin Haneberg w ill run unopposed in a bid for reelection to the mayor's post Running for the council seats are in cumbents Warren Decker and Jim Duff Bruce Cook and Joseph Ackers are also vying for the council seats. The terms of councihnen Warren Decker, Jim Duff and Joseph Youngbluth will expire at the end of this year. Youngbluth has decided against running for re-election in the Nov. »vote
