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
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