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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 1979)
Vol. 69 No. 40 SANDY, OREGON. THURSDAY. OCT. 4, 1979 «USPS 481-180) Single Copy 20 Court order forces Alder Creek water shutdown by BRAD LABRIE Alder Creek area residents had their water cut off Monday night by court order and it was not known by Wednesday morning when the Alder Creek Water Co. would turn Its water back on. - • ' ' V . Seventy fa m ilie s and two local restaurants are affected by the cut-off. The Forest Inn and Iv y Bear restaurants at Alder Creek have been closed since Monday and are not ex pected to open until today at the earliest. A tanker truck from Clackamas County has been aiding w ater customers since Tuesday. Operator and owner of Alder Creek Water Co., Gerald “ Red” Bennett, shut off the system about 9 p.m. Monday under county circuit court order. He was told by the court to have certain improvements done to the system by Oct. 1 or to shut it down. Water was turned back on Tuesday but that situation may be only tem porary because the turn-on was not court authorized Bennett said a ■ • . .1 * r- ■ Gold bug spins his web w . 4 ', ' & v This inquisitive little creature was captured inspecting his nest io the early morning, searching for any fellow insects who might have strayed into his web. Photo by I)an D illon Commission halts Sandy annexation by DAN DILLON Expansion to the south of Sandy may be halted until the city has a recognized comprehensive plan. At its Sept. 20 meeting, the Portland Metropolitan Area Boundary Com mission denied two annexations that had been previously okayed by the Sandy City Council. Properties owned by Robert Yoder and Lonnie Higgins near Langensand Road, were turned dowr by the boundary commission because it is not interested in proceeding with any annexations in that area until the revised comprehensive plan is com pleted That w ill occur around Jan. 1, 1980. The boundary commission also saw a problem with the continued use of pumping stations for sewage removal. The Yoder property is a 19-acre parcel located between Dubarko Road and Langensand Road. It was denied annexation because it did not meet state Land Conservation and Develop ment Commission goals. LCDC has made a policy of denying annexations until all urbanizable land is utilized within a recognized Jurisdiction. Yoder had sought the annexation to develop a mobile home park or single fam ily residential sub-division. There was “ considerable citizen opposition to the Yoder annexation from residents living on SE 395th,” according to Don Wilson, city planner That opposition stemmed from reports that Yoder was considering a mobile home park, Wilson said The second parcel, owned by Higgins, is between Langensand Road and Meinig Avenue. That tract was denied annexation because utilities and services would not be im m e d ia te ly availab le . The property is not developed for urban uses Councilman Vem Richards said, at Monday night's council meeting, “ The denial of annexation is a denial for Sandy to grow.” Councilman Bruce Cook seconded Richards' feelings “ We don't have control over property. We should have the control so we can grow in an orderly fashion.” That control, however, can not come until the city has finalized its com prehensive plan. The consensus of the boundary com mission was that the two annexations would be prem ature. In fo rm a l discussions during the hearings showed the commission considered annexation applications prior to determining an urban growth boundary is “ passing the buck” and placing land-use decisions on the commission’s shoulders, ac cording to Wilson. City staff attempted to show the annexations were in accordance with LCDC guidelines. Because both properties would require some pump ing of sewage, the c ity ’s argument was weakened from the standpoint of the “ orderly, efficient and economical” provision of urban services. The commission was also concerned that there was property which had been previously annexed, but was not yet developed. According to Wilson, four conclusions can be drawn from the commission’s action and “ by reading between the lines.” Annexation proposals prior to the adoption of the comprehensive plan w ill meet with close scrutiny and w ill “ probably be denied ” Planning and construction of the Tickle Creek sewer trunk line should be accelerated if the city wishes to place a high growth priority on the basin. Mountain fire protection eyed Fire protection in Government Camp may become a reality soon. Without any protection now, the situation is “ an ashes-to-ashes type thing,” according to Don Armintrout, Hoodland fire chief. At its Monday night meeting, the Hoodland F ire D is tric t Board of Directors w ill study the situation and later this year may recommend that Government Camp be annexed into the district. Residents of Government Camp have asked the boundary commission for permission to form their own fire district. However, because of a lack of expertise in firefighting techniques, the commission expressed a desire that the community be annexed. There are some “ logistical problems in serving Governm ent Camp, ” A rm in tro u t said. The steep h ill leading to the mountain community and the winter snows are obstacles. Yet, Arm introut said, “ I don’t think it ’s anything we can’t overcome with time, study and money.” U.S. Highway 26 climbs at a six percent grade between Zig Zag, where the Hoodland district is headquartered, and Government Camp. During a house fire in Government Camp last April, the district needed 21 minutes to cover the 12 miles. “ The people would have to accept it if they have to snowshoe into their houses at certain times of the year, then we aren’t going to be able to drive up to them, ” “ Arm introut said. The snow levels often rise to eight to 10 feet. The Hoodland district stopped its Governm ent Camp coverage in February 1978 “ The board felt if Government Camp was ever going to get is act together, it wasn’t going to help to have us going up there,” he said. Arm introut said the Summit Fire Station has been committed by the U.S. Forest Service as a sub-station for the district, should the community be annexed resident might have turned the water on. Bennett told The Post on Monday that his attorney, Brian O’Brien of Portland, had asked the county district attorney’s office for a 10-day stay on the order but was turned down. Rick Estes, owner of the Forest Inn restaurant, had anticipated the Monday cut-off date and planned to close his business until at least Wednesday, Oct. 3, according to Rick G riffith, chef at the restaurant. Estes was away on a hunting trip and was not available for comment. “ We knew for sure that we would be closed until at least Wednesday but we are hopeful that we can be open on T h u rsd a y,” G r iffith said. Estes’ lawyer, Stan Adams of Gresham, has been handling the water matter for the restaurant. However, Adams told The Post Tuesday that he has not been given any specific instructions by Estes on getting the water supply back on. According to Bennett, Judge Dale Jacobs, jurist for the case, had told O’Brien that the Alder Creek residents could sue for an injunction to keep the water system open. Adams acknowledged that O’Brien had told him the same thing about the injunction but he said he had not heard the judge say it himself. “ I don’t know if Jacobs said that or not,” Adams said. “ I was not at the hearing and O’Brien told me about it later. “ I have no specific plans (on the m atter) at this tim e,” he concluded. According to Bennett, a group of residents could sue for an injunction and the judge would have the water system turned back on. Some residents in the Alder Creek area held a meeting on the water situation last night at the Ivy Bear restaurant. The owner of Ivy Bear. Whit Ledford, was not available tor comment. Ledford was the one who called for the meeting. Adams said he would attend the meeting. “ When it gets to the bottom line, we’ve had the support of the people,” Bennett said of the water system. He said that some of the water users got a petition going two or three years ago and helped get on the state health department for being on his back. There have been no reported illnesses from the Alder Creek users. The circuit court has ordered Bennett to submit improvement plans to the court but Bennett claims that it would cost him $40,000 to complete the plans and that plans wouldn’t help anyway, Bennett insists. Besides the trouble from the circuit court, Bennett is busy preparing for defense in a federal suit which starts in two weeks. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is behind that suit. “ The whole thing is slanted,” Bennett claims of the EPA suit. He charges that the EPA is lying about his water system among other things. C om plaints from A lder Creek custom ers are “ damn near non existent,” he says. EPA charges that Bennett is in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the federal agency is threatening fines of $5,000 per day for exceeding the allowable con taminant level. Bennett said the fines amount to about $12 million. Bennett has been told by health of ficials at different times that he can either improve his system or sell out. The water operator, who lives in Portland, said that he would be willing to sell to his customers if a m ajority wanted to buy. “ My position is that I would never oppose what they wanted,” he said. “ I believe in eminent domain. If a simple m ajority wanted to buy the system, 1 would cooperate every way possible.” He said he would sell the operation at a cost of $700 per customer. However, if the EPA is satisfied with the sale of ownership and does not require any improvements on the system with the new owners, Bennett said “ my attorney w ill sue the hell out of them.” When asked if any outsiders had made any offers for the system, Ben nett asked, “ Who wants to buy all that trouble?” Bidding opens Oct. 15 for Mt. Hood Stables The Small Business Administration hopes the continuing saga of the defunct Mt. Hood Stables comes to an end when the federal agency opens bids Oct. 15 for the property. The SBA acquired the 10-acre site when the previous owner defaulted on a loan. The agency then sold the site on contract, but the contract purchaser also defaulted, said R.A. Cook, SBA loan officer. The contract purchaser was dealing with General Telephone Co. who wanted to buy the site if it could get a conditional-use permit to allow tl\e vacant stable to be used for the company’s support operations. Clackamas County commissioners rejected the request, but later said GTE could have a rehearing on Jan. 7 if the property is not purchased before then. “ We’re going to try to sell it,” Cook said. “ Hopefully we can come up with someone who meets the county criteria and who can successfully operate it as an animal operation.” Cook said the agency isn't going to sell the site, which is located on the west side of U.S. Highway 26 about four miles southeast of Gresham, for a low price just to get rid of it. “ We want to get all or most of our money.” He said the agency has about $600,000 invested in the property. He said he’s sent bid forms to about 20 persons who expressed interest in the site. However, one person interested in the site is upset with the short notice he received about the sale. Eugene Clark, 25 SE 162nd Ave., said he received notice of the sale on Sept. 28. “ We can’t put our act together in that short of a tim e,” Clark said. The plans he and his partners have for the site require five or six months to pull everything together. “ We’ve been waiting for more than a year for them to tell us they’d sell to us.” “ We’re probably the only people who can put it together as it is with no zone changes,” Clark said. Inside the Post Keeping Hosted.................................. Inside Business...................................... School Menus........................................... Editorials, L e tte r s ................................ Area N e w s ............................................... MacFarlane reported at OSU The Sandy Post has learned that Sandy Union High School principal Bill MacFarlane, who has been on sick leave with undisclosed ailments since May, is currently working or studying at Oregon State University while under contract with the local high school district. SUHS Superintendent Jack Peters said he had no comment on the matter. He referred the matter to the school district's attorney, Don Bowerman, who was not available for comment. It has been confirmed that Mac Farlane, an Oregon City resident, has been working part time this week in the OSU School of Education. He is working fo r the departm ent dean, Sylvia Tucker. It is not clear whether the position is paid r r not. N either Tucker nor M acFarlane would return The Post calls Monday and Tuesday Monday, the depart m ent's secretary, who id e n tifie d Around the C o u n ty ................................ People........................................................ Home and G a rd e n .................................. Television D ir e c to r y ............................ herself as Peg, said MacFarlane was working for Tucker as a part-time teaching assistant. She said teaching assistants are paid at OSU However, Tuesday, she said she wasn’t sure if MacFarlane was a teaching assistant or a research assistant. Some research assistants are not paid, she added One source said his duties included recruitment, theory and practicum, student teaching and supervising Sports, Recreation .............................. Football P ro g ra m .................................. VOLLEYBALL tournam ent this Saturday at SUHS features six team s rated in the state top ten in class AAA and AA. Round Robin play begins at 9 a m. Finals are scheduled for 5 p.m. NATIONAL 4-H Week begins Sunday. See page 1, Section II.
