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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1978)
Editorial and Opinion What other editors say Police Chief Offers Easy Parking Solutions Sandy Police Chief Fred Punzel has offered some parking solution proposals that make good sense. Many, of course, look at the crowded streets of downtown Sandy and figure that any plans to alleviate the parking problems must includes money to acquire previous downtown lands for a parking lot. Meanwhile, the city’s two parking com m ittees do nothing, awaiting some direction from city council. And council has indicated that funds are lacking, so the parking committees should search for funds for a municipal parking lot. The police chief, on the other hand, said at a recent Sandy Area M erchants’ meeting that the parking problem could be greatly reduced at no significant city ex pense. Simply start enforcing the two-hour parking limit signs posted downtown, he suggests, and con vert side streets between Proctor and Pioneer to one-way grids with diagonal parking. The diagonal parking could provide more spaces, he said, but ERA Proponents score one victory the state on Proctor and Pioneer Boulevards must remain parallel p ark in g , acco rd in g to s ta te regulations, governing state high ways. Punzel advocates a one-year pilot project in which one police officer would ticket anyone parking longer than two hours in the downtown core area (excluding Bluff Road, Pleasant Street and Hood Street). Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment sorely needed a victory, and the House Judiciary Committee gave them one of sorts with their narrow 19 to 15 vote. What the committee did was to approve a resolution to extend by three years and three months the deadline for ratifying the proposed 27th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex. The battle is far from won, however. The ERA forces still must convince the full House and the Senate, and indications are this may not be easy, particularly in the Senate. But after a string of recent defeats in state legislatures, the Judiciary Committee vote may give ERA sup porters the boost needed to regain their campaign’s lost momentum. The three-year extension, although less than the seven years ERA proponents had sought, nevertheless ought to provide sufficient time for getting the approval of the three more states needed for ratification. One parking officer — available through CETA at no city expense for one year — could be hired to handle the entire beat from Bluff Road to Ten Eyck in a two-hour sweep. Punzel also advocates closing off Revenue Avenue — which he co n sid ers a congested alleyway—between Pioneer and Proctor for new use as a parking area. This could give the city as many as 20 new parking spaces. Some of these inexpensive solutions have been presented already to Sandy City Council without action, and we’d like to know why. v.B. Stumble Softly And Carry An Embarrassing Staff Without a concerted push by supporters, however, the three-year extension could backfire and provide op ponents with a new op p o rtu n ity to convince Whatever Happened to the U.S. Dollar? We certainly claim no expertise in the field of economic theory, but we don’t like the shape of the world’s currency. Specifically, we’re concerned about the plummeting value of the U S. dollar. It dropped drastically again this week on the European money m arkets and also as regards the Japanese yen. There seems a strong possibility the dollar soon is to lose its place as foundation of the free world’s money m arket. Arab oil states apparently are seeking to use other currencies as well as the dollar as a base for money exchange. We all know what inflation has done to the dollar at home. Even w orse th in g s a re happening overseas. Travelers have watched the constantly eroding value of the dollar cut short their vacations or even necessitate frantic telegram s home for more money. Economic journals blame the dollar’s plight on the inability of the C arter administration to get any sort of an energy package through Congress. So long as the United States allows a massive trade deficit, so long will the dollar plunge. The deficit, of course, prim arily is due to purchases of Arab oil and Japanese cars, televisions, radios, cam eras, etc. The stability of the whole world depends upon the stability of the U.S. dollar. That’s why we’re worried. Letters to the editor The forest is changed < ______ To the Editor: The old man toiled up the logging road which followed steeply the canyon of Alder Creek His dog trudged beside him with a faltering gait. Time was when the young hound leaped ahead of his master with eager bounds while sniffing at every scent along the trail. And the man, much younger then, took longer strides The forest trail was then carpeted w ith soft f ir needles, while both the man and the dog tread silently through an aisle in the w oods overshadowed by towering firs. Even at high noon only sparse patches of sunlight filtered through the dense foliage overhead and fell upon the dim. winding trail. , , .............. But now it was all changed. Almost as far as the eye could see the pointed spires of the evergreens rose upon the distant horizon. The loggers were moving swiftly through the forest. Where after a few years the alder and maple trees had taken root to erase an ugly scar in the wilderness, they now had been cut away by whining saws and hauled to the mill. Man has at last found use for every forest product. The old man and his dog did not journey far up the trail for the dog was winded, as was the old man, and he had no wish to look upon the hands of chance and change in the wilderness A spring had once oozed ■ — > < My children are coming today. They mean well, but they worry. They think I should have a railing in the hall, a telephone in the kitchen. They want someone to come in when I take a bath. They really don’t like my living along. Help me to be grateful for their concern. And help them understand that I havetodo what lean as long as I can. They’re right when they say there are risks I might fall. I might leave the stove on. But there is no challenge, no possibility of triumph, no real aliveness without risk. When they were young and climbed trees and rode bicycles and went away to camp, I was terrified But I let them go; because to hold them would have hurt them. Now our roles are reversed. Help them see. Keep me from being grim or stubborn about it. But don’t let me let them smother me. — from a member of the Wilmington Senior Center He recalled the end of the trail up Wildcat Mountain. The moon often rose as some gigantic orb silhouetted against the dark outline of firs. It seemed much larger than when, high in the sky, it shed a pale light over the brooding forest. Taxpayer Revolt Aims at the U.S. Congress The children are coming, * the children are coming from the hillside where ferns grew in the eternal shade. It now spilled a pool of brack- wish water where the thirsty hound eagerly lapped the water. The old man could wait. But perhaps he recalled it with a third eye When one was young and every goose a swan. J Richard Cunningham 521 NE 117th Portland. Ore. 97220 legislatures to rescind their ratifications — as three already have done. The Judiciary Committee rightly rejected a proposal to allow states to rescind their approval of E R A ; the legality of such rescindings has been questioned. Thus, with a new Gallup Poll showing a m ajority of Americans — 58 to 31 percent — favoring the ERA, it is incumbent upon supporters to step up their lobbying The poll also indicated Americans are more evenly divided — 43 to 40 percent — on whether to extend the ratification deadline. Sup porters obviously w ill need to focus their heaviest artillery on the extension issue, since it seems doubtful that they can reach their goal by March 22. ERA proponents ought to remind lawmakers that until the 18th Amendment, there was no deadline for ratifying amendments, and Congress began imposing lim its then only to keep proposals no longer relevant from floating around endlessly There can be little doubt that the need to constitutionally ensure equal rights for both sexes remains very much a live and relevant issue in 1978 — as it w ill three years hence. — Christian Science Monitor i --- Salem scene State Senate President Jason Boe w as rig h t when he told Congressmen last week that they are the real target of the much- publicized tax revolt. p ro p e rty tax es because the initiative procedures gives them that opportunity. Boe told a congressional hearing the “ first bullet’’ in the campaign hit local government; the second struck state government. But there just isn’t any way you can get at the federal government. You can’t say “ No” to withholding or social security or any of the countless hidden taxes which in crease the price of everything “ But the federal government is the ultim ate targ et,’’ he said, “ and the third bullet is already on its way to Washington. Unless you act — and act quickly — the voters will take the m atter completely out of your hands.’’ Given the choice, the average taxpayer much rather would spend money on schools and parks and local government than pour it into the federal maw. Again, however, there’s no way to get at federal spending. The school place “ No.” But someone, someday, will find a way. T hat’s why Jason Boe’s warning to Congress is particularly appropriate. The time will come. voters are turning down levies because that’s one where they still can say, They’re putting a limit on Von Braschler. General Manager John Kline. Editor Caroline Duff, Office Manager Mark Floyd, Staff Reporter Kaye Barton, staff reporter Fubbthed weekly Thurtdoyf by Th« Outlook Publishing Co Bo» 68 Sondy Oregon 8 7 0 5 5 Second dos» po ttag e poid o» Sondy Oregon 668 5548 SUBSCRIPTION RATES In M ultnom ah and O o ckom ot Counties per yeor »7 00 Servicemen any address #7 00 In Oregon o v ft'd e M u'tnom eh ond Clackomas Counties per yeor t8 00 M fM B Í» Assoc,etiort 2 O u ’ s.de N o rth w e s t a n d Poc.»« Coost sto’es per yeor s N ew spaper Poge in Northwest ond Pacific Coos’ Stotet outside Oregon per yeor $9 gg i Sondy Post. Sondy Oregon 97055 t i l 00 tepresented Not.enoBy by U 5 SUB'JPBAN PPfSS INC No 31 Aug J. ” 71 Hot issues suggests high voter count (E d 's note: Salem Scene is a legislative rep ort from the capital provided to w eekly newspapers by Jack Z im m e rm a n of A ssociated Oregon Ind ustries.) Anyone who figures Oregonians won’t turn out to vote during this fall's general election may be in for a surprise Despite statistics in dicating declining voter activity in recent elections, more than a few observers look for the trend to be reversed on Nov 7. And their reasons include such diverse subjects as abortion, capital punish ment, property taxes, utility b ills, land use planning, license plates and false teeth. That’s nght. Oregon voters this November w ill be presented with a ballot box opportunity to influence a variety of issues ranging literally from the cradle to the grave ----- with par ticular emphasis on those two proverbial human certainties, death and taxes In addition to the every other-year opportunity to elect a variety of state of ficials. delegates to Congress and state Legislators, voters w ill find a total of 10 statewide measures on their ballots Two were placed there by the Legislature during the 1977 regular session, one was a legislative act refe rre d by petition signers and the remaining »even achieved ballot status by garnering sufficient signatures of registered voters on initiati ve petitions With eight of the ten measures winning spots on the b allot by v irtu e of petition campaigns, one would suspect those issues face the ballot test with built- in voter interest. And one, Ballot Measure 6 that would lim it property taxes in a manner sim ilar to Califor nia’s Propostion 13. attracted more than 200,000 petition signers----- three times the number required and perhaps nearly one-fourth of all ballots that w ill be cast for measures in the up coming election But while the property tax limitation measure has at tracted the most public at tention ----- and still must survive at least one legal challenge----- the remaining seven that made the ballot via the petition route seem likely to generate addtional voter appeal as election time nears. Ballot Measures 1 and 2 — — referred by lawmakers — — deal with the system used to elect appellate judges and leg isla tive a ffirm a tio n of Executive appointments, respectively They are issues that generated lots of in terest among law m akers during the 1977 session but are not sexy enough to overly excite your run-of-the-mill voter Measure No. 3 ----- referred by petition ----- would double motor behicle license and registration fees A considerable number of voters upset by risin g gasoline prices likely w ill hop in their cars and drive to their polling places to have a say on this one Measure 4 is designed to make it easier to form People's U tility Districts It and Measure 9 ----- that would lim it u tility rate bases by e lim in a tin g costs of generating fa c ilitie s u n til they are in u se -----w ill also a ttra c t voters concerned about utility bills. Measure 5 would permit denturists to fit false teeth in healthy mouths Probably the hottest issue for senior citizens during the last legislative session, this one is guaranteed to boost the turnout of both dentists and their older patients. Measure 7 would reinstate the death penalty for persons convicted of certain types of murder Given the temper of the times and public outrage in response to bloody escapades by two convicted felons recently, this one is bound to swell the total vote count. Measure 8 would prohibit the state from paying for abortions It alone is enough to attract a sizeable number of otherw ise complacent voters. And Measure 10 ----- designed to retu rn goal making authority for land use planning to the Legislature----- is expected to generate votes among those concerned with the long-controversial Land C o n s e r v a tio n and Development Commission By themselves, each measure would attract a certain amount of interest Together, they could create a turnout that owuld indeed reverse the alarming trend toward voter apathy the SOVEREIGN STATE of AFFAIRS S N A TIO N A t HEALTH INSURANCE THE N O ONE POLITICAL ISSUE’ SURE .. y A *» INFLATION INSURANCE NATIONAL HAPPINE! INSURANCE Sec. of State Norma Paulus, Oregon's chief elections official, notes the May 1977 special election that defeated the so-called safety net plan for school finance only drew 27.7 percent of the state's voters A November special election the same year dealing with w ater development loan funds and development of non-nuclear energy sources only attracted 18.5 percent. This year's p rim a ry election had a 12 percent turnout, lowest in three decades Just what motivates voters to exercise their right to influence those who govern them has long perplexed social scientists. That per p le x ity w ill increase if there's a small turnout at Oregon polls in November But at this stage of the game, the smart money just has to be influencing odds fa voring a dem onstration sustaining fa ith in p a r ticipatory government at the ballot box. BOYD & WOOD G O S H ' C A N WE INSURE EVERYTHING’ CERTAINLY \
