County comments
A uto production
accounts fo r ’surge'
Sue Lafky, Editor
Caroline Duff, O ffice Manager
Jim Fugelstad. Advertising Manager
by Bill Sanderson
Published w eekly Thursdoy» by The Outlook Publishing C o . Boa 68
Sondy Oregon 97055 Se<ond doss po t tog« poid ot Sondy Oregon
The complexities of our
economic system bear strange
fruit in the un-looked for and
unw an ted side effects of
“ tin k e r in g ”
w ith
the
668 5548
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
In M ultnom ah and Clockomos
Counties per y e a r ............................. *5 00
In Northwest ond Pocilic Coos» States
outside Oregon per y e o r .................*7.00
Servicemen ony oddress.................*5.00
In O regon outside Multnomoh ond
Clockomas Counties per yeor
*6 00
member
»Ni
Page 2
ER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
Sandy Post, Sandy. Oregon
Outside Northwest ond Pacific Coast
stotes per yeor ................................ *9 00
Represented Notionolly by
U S SUBURBAN PRESS INC
No. 16
UN
W|
Thurs.. April 21, 1977
Election Results: A Mixed Bag
You can read in national magazines
how “angry taxpayers” are “up in
arms” over tax increases and how
special levies “are being voted down
in droves.”
That just isn’t the case here in
Oregon. Final results from Tuesday’s
balloting remain to be tabulated, but
there just wasn’t massive resistance
to school and municipal levies.
Here in our area, Mt. Hood Com
munity College lost again. So did
Reynolds (by two votes), Gresham
Union High and Corbett. But
Gresham Grade won easily, likewise
Fire District 10, Centennial (the latter
by three votes), Sandy Elementary,
Orient, Bull Run, Oregon City,
Parkrose, Lake Oswego, etc.
Voters obviously were in a mood to
pick and choose but just as obviously
were not in a mood to reject
everything that smacked of tax in
creases.
Mt Hood Community College
continues to have its problems,
losing its fifth straight money issue
over two years. Further deep cuts
seem inevitable.
Recounts may be called in some of
the elections . . .Reynolds loser by 2
votes, Centennial winner by 3, etc. A
further spate of elections this spring
must be scheduled by those districts
who were defeated Tuesday.
There may be some “angry tax
payers” in our area, but that sort of
feeling certainly isn’t universal. A lot
of people obviously feel the schools
and municipalities are doing a good
job and are willing to increase their
taxes as a result
Those Extra Costs
We’ve been hearing a lot lately
about “ mandated costs”, costs
assessed against a government entity
through legislative action.
The legislature decides, for in
stance, that every county should have
a grunion inspector. No money is
provided to fund the new office but the
counties have to obey the law and
provide one. This is a “ mandated”
cost (mandated by the legislature).
An excellent example of just how
expensive these costs can be was
outlined in a staff memo from MHCC
Pres. Stephen Nicholson this week.
The Public Employees Retirement
System (State of Oregon) has raised
employer contributions by 1.30 per
cent on each as of July 1, 1978, 1979
and 1980. This eventually will boost
the College’s current 7.6 per cent con
tribution to 12.81 per cent on July 1,
1981.
It means MHCC will have to in
crease its present retirement con
tribution of $561,250 per annum to
$931,233.
What else does this mean?
Funding for 357 less full-time
equivalent students for one. Or to put
it another way, nine of the College’s
fourteen departments have budgets of
less than $506,000. Which department
should MHCC eliminate to take care
of the retirement program mandated
by the state?
Local governments have com-,
plained bitterly about these kinds of
uninvited costs. We can understand
why. If the legislature wants to im
pose new burdens, perhaps they
should provide the money to pay the
freight.
' They Just Don't Believe
We listened to a radio talk show
Monday evening just after Pres.
Carter’s message on energy con
servation.
Not a single caller, not one,
believed the energy shortage was
real.
All felt it was contrived,
manufactured or just not true.
Some of the reasons were weird,
others made sense.
One caller said that as long as the
government allowed illegal aliens to
enter the country by the thousands
and thousands, he couldn’t believe
there was any shortage.
Another relied on the law of supply
and demand. Service stations have all
the gas they want, there isn’t any
shortage anywhere. “If the problem
is so bad,” he asked rhetorically,
“ why doesn’t the government start
cutting back on supplies? ”
In the face of such almost total
public disbelief in any crisis, Carter
may have a very tough time selling
his energy program. We happen to
believe what he says, that we’re
running very, very short of energy.
But thus far at least, the ad
ministration hasn’t convinced the
taxpayers.
A Call for Order
We hope that the April 25 school
board meeting will be more orderly
and have less of a zoo atmosphere
than some of the past few meetings
have had.
The controversy involving the
school board has gone beyond issues
at hand—many personality conflicts
are involved and The Post staff does
not believe it is the purpose of the
newspaper to nurture such conflicts.
Issues should be brought up in the
open—at public meetings. We dislike
unsubstantiated
rumors floating
around the community.
Last week we wrote about a session
which, at least during one portion,
disintegrated into a minor fiasco. The
board chairman and a district patron
were yelling; other members of the
audience were chiming in.
We think patrons have a right to
come to meetings and state their
opinion. This is a public forum and we
like to see patrons who take a con
structive interest in the district and
its students.
We do not appreciate members of
the audience muttering, talking back
and forth and generally speaking out
«
of turn like several did at the last
meeting. We also think the board
should retain a tighter control on
meeting order and insist on the use of
parliamentary procedure at all times.
Last week we reported that Phil
Sober and Board Chairman Charles
Marsh got into a shouting match after
Sober stood up to make a point at the
meeting. Sober had been trying to get
the chairman’s attention for some
time. But Sober was clearly out of
order when he spoke, in our opinion.
Don’t get us wrong—he had a right to
make his comments—just not at that
time.
Sober has told us that our indirect
quote that he said the board would
have to physically throw him out of
the meeting was inaccurate.
We believe Sober, however, when
he said we should have attributed that
one statement to another man, whom
we haven’t identified. We apologize to
Sober. But if people would wait until
they’re recognized by the chairman
before speaking, their chances of
being
m isquoted
would
be
dramatically reduced. (SAL)
They want a 'running' shot
letters to the editor
Staff likes visits
To the Editor:
The teachers of Sandy Union
High School are good teachers
dedicated to providing the best
possible education to each
student that they have in or out
of class, contrary to the article
appearing in last week’s Sandy
Post, suggesting that teachers
are put out by citizenry visiting
the classrooms.
We believe that part of the
best possible education is
p a re n t-te a c h e r
com
munication;
we
therefore,
encourage parents to become
involved in their school and its
a c tiv itie s by v is itin g the
teacher’s classrooms, not just
one a year but often.
We also encourage patrons of
the school who have no children
or have no children in school
now and the school board to
visit the classroom to become
acquainted w ith the staff and
the quality education being
offered.
W e also support the visitor’s
procedure.
Paul Montgomery
Sandy Education Association
(SRA i
Sandy Union High School
Thanks
To the Editor:
The Boring P .T.A . would like
to extend their thanks to the
area’s businesses and in
dividuals who donated prizes,
supplies, and a d v e rtis in g
space.
Your contributions
along
with the enthusiasm of our
Boring students helped make
our Annual Carnival a beauti
ful success.
Clarice Moss
P.T.A . Secretary
Visiter?
To the Editor:
I am a p p a lle d by the
statements of Supt. DeMarsh
and SUHS Board Chairm an
Marsh, as reported in The
Sandy Post April 14. As a p ar
ent, I rejoice in Mrs. Brew
ster’s dedication and initiative.
I consider M r. DeM arsh and
M r.
M a rs h ’s
b eh av io r
irre s p o n s ib le
and
ungen-
tlemanly.
I t is disturbing that an
elected representative of the
public should be considered a
“visitor.” As a taxpayer, I con
sider her part of the school
It is also disturbing to realize
that the adm inistration and
personnel of the school, and the
board chairman, not only do not
appreciate a selfless hard
working board mem ber, but
actually seem to resent her
I feel strongly that we need
more board members with
M rs
Brew ster’s dedication,
and would therefore like to
recommend for Board Position
2 Pete G riffen, who w ill be a
Stolen auto
gets wrecked
An automobile stolen from a
Sandy re sid en t ended up
wrecked on the outskirts of
Gresham last Wednesday.
A 1963 Buick belonging to
Dan Greer, Bluff Road, was
taken from G reer's home and
was involved in a high-speed
chase, ended by the d riv e r’s
wreck on Highway 26 near
Gresham. Oregon State Police
apprehended a Juvenile in
connection with the theft.
SUHS budget
hearing May 9
The Sandy High School Budget Com
mittee Monday night finished work on a
proposed 63,138,903 buget for the 1977-78
fiscal year.
A public hearing on the budget, which is
due togo before voters June 28, w ill be held
Monday, M ay 9, a t 8 p.m. in the high school
resource library.
The proposed budget is up from this
ye ar’s total of $2,787,481.
SUHS Business M anager W illard Boring
said even though the total proposed budget
to higher than last year, the levy will be
“ T h at should be good news for voters,”
he said.
The proposed levy for 1977-78 to
$1,597,016—down from this ye ar’s levy of
$1,707,541.
The reason for the reduction in the
proposed levy to the addition of more
revenue from state sources, as well as
extra income from tuition students from
the Redland district
the 1977-78 financial resources w ill
amount to $1,1*7,470, said Boring. Thia
year the district received a total of
9M9.57O from sources such as the State
of Oregon and Redland tuition.
Copies of the proposed budget document
m ay be inspected or obtained between the
hours of 9:30 s.m . and 4 p m . at the high
school administration office.
hard working and responsible
member
I hope that the
arrogant behavior of the ad
ministration w ill not deter
other qualified people from
seeking board membership.
Dorothy C Bruns
P.O. Box 57
Sandy, 97055
Editor's note: This letter was
received after the publication
of the pre-election edition of
The Post.
machinery.
Econom ists
of
nation al
stature have never been among
m y fa v o rite people, and
especially those who have
attained that preem.nence by
attaching themselves to one
p a rtic u la r sector of the
economy — a
relationship
suggesting the peculiar aliance
of the armed hunter and lus
little beagle dog
The short-legged mutt cannot
catch rabbits with his loud
bayir« and the hunter cannot
frighten them into running with
his silent gun But the part
nership—hah!—that’s a dif
ferent matter, and the rabbit
always loses
And now, Dear Rabbit, er,
that is. “ Reader” here is how
one of those “side-effects of
tinkering with our wonderful
p e r pet ual-m ot ion-economic-
money-machine Just happened
to pop up last week.
In January and February the
word got out that something
lik e >6 b illio n would be
available to the American
public through the ISO tax
credit, work programs and
various other cash credits or
handouts— (they
mean
the
same, they only have different
names).
Am ong the ve ry sm art
operators who could see the
woods behind the trees in such
a situation were the automobile
manufacturers,
sadly
won
dering what they were going to
do with hundreds of expensive
plants tooled up fo r the
production of big, expensive
and gas-guzzling cars.
In the same row of seats at
the g o v e rn m e n t's banquet
ta b le — (o r m oney trough,
according to how hard you have
been hit lately) sit the great
energy producers, hungrily
licking their lips over what
could well become another
opportunity for another rip-off
based on their nationally known
economist’s appraisal of the
situation
Came the end of M arch and
then the day in April when the
economic score card for March
would be totaled. What a
surprise?
P ro d uctio n
fo r
M arch ,
buoyed up by the expectation of
the so o n -to -b e -av aila b le 6
billion plus was up almost 1.5
per cent, the highest monthly
Jump in the last nineteen
months!
T hat would have been great
for everyone except for one
thing
Much of that rise in national
production was caused by a
great forw ard surge in the
n u m b er
of
autom obiles
produced, and an unusually
large per cent of them were big,
expensive and gas-guzzling
ones!
So now we have an indication
of an up-turn in the economy
which ushers in a greater
consumption of our scarce
energy supplies, which will
contribute to a greater scarcity
of gasoline supplies, which will
cause a n o th e r reason for
raising the price of TH A T
power source, which w ill cause
another down turn in national
production.
W ell, run, little rabbit, run,
and I do hope you won't get shot
from behind with a great big
brand new car Just as the next
little beagles of inflation are
baying fo r an ab so lutely
necessary raise In energy
prices
School superintendent says:
Growth seen as challenge
Last of s series.
by Sue Lafky,
Sandy Post editor
Sandy Supt. Clark Lund said
he isn't looking at the projected
g ro w th
of
the
Sandy
Elem entary School district as a
crisis situation.
“ I see this as p art of the day-
to-day process,” he said.
Growth can lead to a crisis
situation in a school dtotcict,
but Lund doesn’t see that
happening In Sandy.
_jhe superintendent said he is
approaching
the
projected
steady increase in the student
papulation in a m atter of fact,
problem solving manner.
Sandy’s growth, which to
expected
to
In c re ase
moderately during the next five
years, w ill probably be one of
the m ain topics of the Sandy
E le m e n ta ry School B oard
meetings in the next few
months, Lund said.
In a study done by the Field
Training and Service Bureau
from the University of Oregon
College of Education, alter
natives were noted such as
building a new facility in the
Kelso area, going to neigh
borhood
schools
and
reorganizing grade structure in
district buildings.
The study team noted both
long and short-range options
for the district, and pointed out
that both the Firwood and
Interm ediate
Buildings are
now being used a t m ore than
100 per cent capacity.
Copies of the study team's
report are available a t the
d is tric t
o ffice
of
Sandy
Elem entary District.
Lund said the board w ill be
considering options besides the
ones listed in the bureau’s
study.
The Sandy district staff to
currently doing cost projec
tions on a year-round school
program sim ilar to the one now
in effect in the Gresham
Elem entary School District.
Izind said the board has
indicated a desire to narrow
down the options to one or two
alternatives, and working with
architects on those proposals.
“ By giving the architects the
information, they can give us
an estimated price tag," Lund
said The growth of the Sandy
district could be influenced by a
number of factors, including
future energy availability and
trends in the development of
industry and housing In the
area.
The bureau, in making the
study, in d icate d th a t the
greatest
growth
will
be the prim ary grades
within the Kelso area The
Lund said the district will
population growth will be
want to gain citizen input on the
slowest in the Sandy Ridge and
proposed alternatives.
Dover area, the study team
“ When the board narrows
noted.
down the viable alternatives,
Lund said the growth of the
we w ill actively pursue com
community was slowed during
munity response to the in
the last energy crisis in 1974.
formation. We w ant to know
There
weren’t as many
what the mood of the com
people moving out to the rural
munity to going to be in
areas due to a shortage of gas,
w eigh ing
one
a lte rn a tiv e
Lund said. “ That was reflected
against the other.“
in school enrollments.”
A slide show featuring the
The greatest growth year on
district’s growth and alter
record was In 1971, with 100
natives tor growth to available
students added to the district
from the elem entary school
o ver the previous year's
district
enrollment. In 1972 there wan
“ I w ill be taking the slide
an increase of 18 students,
program wherever I can find
followed by an increase of 43
interested groups," Lund said.
students in 1973 and only one
student in 1974.
There was an increase of 52
students in 1975, bringing the
total district population to
1,372.
This year, the enrollment is
a t 1,455—an increase of 56
The annual Welches School
students over the previous
year. Next year, the University kindergarten registration or
ha*
been
of Oregon study team projects “ R o u n d -U p ”
that there will be 1,506 students scheduled for Tuesday, April
in the four Sandy schools 26, at 10:30 a m . in the school
(F irw o o d ,
Sandy
Ridge, library.
Pat-ents are invited to bring
Interm ediate
and
Upper
their kindergarten age children
G rad e).
Moat of the growth will be in to this inform ational meeting
Round-up
slated
r H O tii
.0
Uj
O
oc
3
UJ
z
&
SHOW
5 Times Larger Then Lett Yeerl
Assembly Hall
MEMORIAL COLISEUM
April 28 ■ May 1
Thurs., April 28 ..................... 8pm-10pm
Frl., April 29-Sun., May 1.........Noon-10pm
A d u lts.................................................. $2 50
Juniors (6 15)....................................... $1 00
Children (Under 6 ) ............................ Free
I O' unbelievable low show pures read the Apn
ZK’ ti Portland O'eqnnian
Hep,nr Clinir.1
• Demonstrations • Seminars • Display
I 3
X
s m
CZ)