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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1979)
Vol. 69 No. 42 The Sandy Post Riverbank project mired in stalemate by DAN DILLON Like the Sandy River at this time of year, a streambank protection project along its banks is in a lull. The Oregon Division of State Lands gave its go-ahead for seven people who live along the river combined with the Soil Conservation Service, to install the protection under the Em ergency Watershed Protection Act. That decision came Sept. 25. The matter went to the Division after a July 27 ruling by Delbert Weaver, hearings officer for Clackamas County, that the project was acceptable. Doug and Floy Sandy appealed that decision and the case went to the state. Because of the lapse in time, ap proximately two months, the funds for the project have been returned to the federal governm ent. The seven residents had until Sept. 15 to spend the money or it would revert to the government, according to Ed Olmsted of the SCS. Dwight Baum, one of the residents who applied for the protection, said he would w rite to Oregon Senators Mark Hatfield and Bob Packwood, Gov. Vic A tiyeh and local representatives soliciting an extension on the funds. ‘ We were quite upset about the delay,’’ he said. “ I think they figured if they stalled, there would be less chance of appeal,*’ he said. Sandy, who opposed the project, said the app lica tion went in as an emergency before the county. The delay in the Division's decision left him w ith questions about the whole proceeding. “ If it was a question of emergency, how w ill they exist through this winter?” Sandy opposed the project because he was worried that construction of jetties would redirect the river to his bank and that the jetties would be an eyesore. The decision said, “ Aesthetics are not a primary issue for consideration under the removal-fill law.” The decision said, “ No evidence was received to support (Sandy’s) position that the structures would damage their property through erosion.” Sandy says Gamblers eye jackpot with citizen group now that the state can’t prove other wise. Social gambling in Oregon has met with mixed emotions and before Sandy welcomes it with open arms, the City Council wants to take a deeper look. A city staff report, prepared at council’s request suggested “ if the council is considering seriously the adoption of an ordinance that they appoint an active citizen's committee.” So, Monday night, that is what the council did. The Oregon statute on gambling allows cities to authorize social gam bling within their own communities, as long as it is a social game and the “ house” does not have an interest in the game or derive income from it. The city staff reported that its in dications were th a t license fees required to pay for extra police protection would exceed any reasonable fee that could be charged. Councilm an Vern R ichards con curred. “ I t ’s a value judgement as to what problems I believe it w ill bring in ," he said, “ The police are un derstaffed and undermanned now.” Richards voted against the formation of a citizens committee to study the issue. “ I would rather see it dropped al together before the city wastes any tim e,” he said. Mayor Ruth Loundree agreed the police have all they can handle but advocated the creation of the com mittee and asked each council member to nominate two Sandy residents to serve. He said that he does not oppose the use of riprap for streambank preser vation, but feels jetties are un necessary. “ I w ill always be against the jetties. I ’ll have to fight it to the very end.” This is the second flare-up between residents along the river, near Serban and Marsh Roads. The earlier con troversy arose around a proposed gravel operation Sandy applied for. It included crushing and removal. A group of area residents, led by many who live on Marsh Road, suc cessfully blocked his venture. That is a point of bewilderment for Sandy. “ These are the same people who used the argument about ‘pristine waterways’ ” Now, he says, they want to alter those same waterways with the jetties. Stan Hamilton, waterway manager for the Division of State Lands, says he believes Sandy’s erosion concerns are unfounded. “ In very, very few cases” have jetties caused erosion to the op posite bank, he said. “ We have several cases where jetties have done the job quite nicely.” It is the policy of the Division of State Lands to authorize structural protec tion only in instances where other methods, such as bank sloping and revegetation, w ill not work properly, according to the decision. “ I t is our opinion th a t s tru c tu ra l means of protection are appropriate in this in stance because of the homes and residential property involved. “ It is also our opinion that jetties and deflectors are the most effective and appropriate means of providing bank protection to the subject area.” The report concluded its opinion, “ Bank line and in-stream d isrup tio n w ill be m in im a l” Sandy has 60 days to appeal the State Lands' decision. He is unsure what steps he w ill take until he knows if the project w ill be funded in the spring. One thing he is sure of, “ I have certain rights and I intend to exercise them.” Single Copy 20* Photo by Mark Floyd At first glance, it would appear that the entrance requirements for joining the Gackamas County Sheriff’s Department have gone to the dogs. But there’s no badge for this bow-wow; he’s just a stray picked up by one of the department's deputies who was answering an emergency call. Councilm an Bruce Cook, who originally requested the study, pointed out “ inconsistencies” in the report. He said the statements that revenue raised from gambling would not pay for added police was an “ individual judgement.” Increased problems for the police to handle was only speculation, Cook continued. “ We should not cloud the issue with individual judgments,” he said. Under present conditions in Sandy, nonprofit organizations are entitled to conduct some social gambling ac tiv itie s . “ P e rm ittin g a b la ckjack- poker operation in businesses and clubs is quite a different m atter,” the city report said. Shopping center okayed; questions unanswered by DAN DILLON The Sandy City Council gave its conceptual approval to the proposed $3.5 m illion shopping center Monday night, but not without introducing a new question and leaving others unan swered. The center, to be located on Highway 26 across from Industrial Park, is being developed by Mercury Development, Inc. Both the Planning Commission and Design Review Board had reviewed and recommended to the city council the approval. Some considerations raised by the Design Review Board went by without consideration. center, which might potentially be zoned for commercial use. That point was not addressed. Dennis Petrequin, a planner for STRAAM Engineers, is c u rre n tly working on an updated comprehensive plan for Sandy. With that in mind, he is concerned about the future zoning of commercial lands. The lane at that location w ill be used prim arily as an access point for delivery trucks and w ill not support increased tra ffic to the property behind the proposed center. As a member of the DRB, he ex pressed concern that there be enough access at the west end of the proposed 111,000-square-foot center fo r easy passage to other land, behind the Drainage was another concern raised at the earlier meetings. It is the feeling of at least one city staff member that the water w ill form a waterfall over the back end of the lot, if the subject is not addressed before final approval. The problem is not one of neglect on the council’s part. Neither discussion point was entered into the motion ap proving the concept at the Planning Commission or Design Review Board meetings. A new question raised at Monday night’s meeting was one of signage. According to H.M Gaunt, project manager, the c ity ’s current ordinance governing sign size would be prohibitive for some m ajor tenants of the center. He cited Pay I^ess as one tenant who occupies space at other Mercury centers. Its signs are ap proximately 190 square feet. The current ordinance would not allow a sign that big. A sign Review Committee is studying the ordinance for revision, but one councilman ex pressed concern that the ordinance was being re w ritte n to entice new businesses at the expense of the established ones. Warren Decker said he didn’t think the city should show favoritism. Tom Day, building official, said the revision began prior to Mercury’s application. The Sign Review Committee w ill meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers to discuss the ordinance. With final conceptual approval from the city council, Mercury w ill now draw final plans based on m ajor tennants’ requirements. Gaunt told The Post that two or three “ majors” w ill be enlisted and the process w ill take two to three months before the structural drawings are prepared. McMahan named to vacant principal’s position by BRAD I^ B R IE Two Sandy Union High School ad m in is tra to rs and a teacher were promoted Monday night as the school board restructured the administrative system in the wake of Principal Bill MacFarlane’s resignation Young vice principal John McMahan was elevated to the d istrict’s second highest post as principal and SUHS veteran Dennis Crow was promoted to assistant principal Crow had also been vice principal. Sandy high school teacher Dick Harrison was promoted to his first administrative post when he was named director of student services. MacFarlane resigned his position Oct. 1, due to illness, after seven years as principal. The school board was faced with the prospect of either hiring an outside principal or restructuring the ad m inistrative system with current staff members. Superintendent Jack Peters recommended to the board that it elevate the three staff members. It would be unwise to hire an outsider as principal now, he told the board, because all that would be available would be administrators who weren't hired for September. “ Applicants who couldn’t get jobs in September are all that's le ft," he said. Peters gave the board four options to choose from. The other two were hire one of the Sandy vice principals as principal and go outside for a vice principal or continue as the system was with no principal and the staff working extra hard. It did not take the board members long to make up their minds as the other three options were never really Dennis tro w considered. It took the board less than 30 minutes to act on Peter’s recom mendations. The action passed 4-1 with Wayne Johnson voting no. Johnson objected to changing a system that was working well. “ I don’t really find fault with the way we’re working now,” he said. “ My experience is you don’t mess with something that is going good.” The other members liked the new John McMahan structure. “ It looks workable and streamlined. I think i t ’ll do the job,” Earl Meier said. Pete G riffin said, “ I kinda like the structure, it’s better than we had.” “ It does meet to my approval; it looks beautiful,” Paul Tucker said. “ I like the structure and the wage schedule,’ ’ chairw om an G inny Brewster said. “ Right now, one person on the staff is making $8 per day more than the vice principal and does not have the same responsibility. The new schedule makes the salaries more fa ir.” McMahan, 33, has been «a vice principal at SUHS since July. He was a pupil personnel coordinator at Madison High School for one year prior to coming to Sandy and before that he spent six years at the Metropolitan le a rn ing Center, an alternative school. He has also been a teacher and coun selor in the Ix>s Angeles school district. McMahan w ill make $29,500 per year and be required to work 240 days a year. He received an approximate $4,000 raise. MacFarlane finished at Sandy making $29,600 Duties of the young adm inistrator include the total operation of the school and possibly some evaluation duties. Crow, 37, came to SUHS in 1964 right out of college. He became department chairman of language arts in 1969 and adm inistrative assistant in 1977. He was named vice principal in July. The assistant principal w ill make $27,o00 for a 230-day year. His raise amounts to a p p ro x im a te ly $2,000. Duties include control of curriculum , public relations and staff evaluations. Harrison, 52, was the work ex perience co ordin ato r before the promotion. He came to SUHS six years ago in vocational guidance. Before that he as a graduate from the Oregon State University graduate school. He spent 26 years in the service. Harrison w ill be in charge of scheduling and attendance. He w ill be paid on the administrative scale but the exact amount is yet to be determined. He w ill have to work 210 days a year. All three are on administrative probation and were given one-year contracts. Their pay is retroactive to Oct. 1 and w ill end on June 10, when they w ill be evaluated. Inside the Post Inside Business............ Inside the C hurch........ Editorials. Letters . . . . Menus, Keeping Posted Area N e w s .................... Around the C o u n ty ___ People............................ Home and Garden........ Television Directory .. Sports. Recreation . . . . Football Program ........ ........ Page 3, Section I ........ Page I, Section I ........ Page 6. Section I ........ Page 7, Section I . . . . Page I. Section II . . . . Page 2. Section II . . . . Page 3, Section II . . . . Page 8. Section II Pages 11-16, Section II . Pages 1-6, Section II I Pages 3-4, Section II I
