6—SANDY (Ore.) POST Thur»., Jen 8. 1981 (Sec. 1)
The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Von Braschler, Publisher
Caroline Duff. Office Manager
Mark Floyd, Editor
Dan Dillon, News Editor
City’s parking lot woe reversible
The City of Sandy’s recent court
loss in the Heritage Square parking
lot debate over assessment rate
could mean a big loss to all
community residents. Stuck with
half the bill in a project with many
cost overruns, the city may have to
forego
much
needed
road
im provem ents on North Bluff
Road, Revenue Avenue and Hood
Street this year.
On the other hand, the city could
turn a problem into an advantage.
The city is faced with certain need
to create street revenue funds to
recoup
the
$45,000
loss.
Consequently, the city may find this
time ideal to sell the community on
advantages of regulated one-hour
or two-hour parking with fines for
violators.
Parking meters are too expensive
to provide an immediate bail-out
Save I
and probably drastic to curb what
little parking problem presently
faces Sandy.
A traffic control officer with
chalk to m ark tires of cars,
however, might provide a simple
and economical means for the city
to curb an emerging problem. After
all, Sandy has a steady 10 percent
growth factor, and traffic on
Highway 26 through town certainly
will grow more congested.
Presently, some smaller businesses
downtown fail to meet ordinance
standards for adequate off-street
parking.
Some forward city planning is
needed We’ve seen the problems
created when the city has to
backstep and cover its own tracks,
as in LID 4 at Heritage Square.
(VBI
1 gifted student program Wall Street report:
To trim its budget, Sandy High
School may ax its special program
for able and gifted children Many
p a re n ts alread y have voiced
opposition to that cut, and we
heartily agree.
Today’s schools already are
turning out enough m ediocre
stu d en ts. Blam e com pulsory
education and an instructional
pace slow enough to keep
y e ste rd a y ’s farm hand
from
becoming today’s dropout.
Of course, universal education is
a democratic right, and perhaps a
social good
Wouldn’t it be nice, though, to
think that somewhere in a tiny
comer of today’s giant education
factory could be found another
Einstein or Edison?
Some 27 of Sandy High’s best
students presently are involved in
the school’s able and gifted
program at an expense to the
district’s general fund of only
$6,200. At its inception, the three-
year-old local program enjoyed
federal grant funding.
The district’s budget committee
Ja n . 9 will ev alu ate
the
administration’s proposed $14,338
local allocation to continue the
program That doesn’t sound like
much for a quality program in a
$4.6 million district budget. School
patrons who agree are urged to
speak at the 7 p.m. Friday budget
hearing. (VB)
Salem scene:
Feds owe state for Civil War
by JACK ZIMMERMAN
Associated Oregon Industries
With a proposed state budget described as
the leanest in decades, it’s safe to assume
Oregon lawmakers w ill explore every
source of available revenue when they
convene in Salem Jan. 12.
One of those sources might be $1.3 million
or more the state contends the federal
government has owed us for more than a
century.
I t ’s called the Civil War debt in the capitol
city and involves an original bill of $390,000
sent to Washington, D.C., following the war
between the states. The money was sepnt
recruiting and maintaining a local m ilitia
that protected settlers from hostile Indians
while federal troops battled Southerners.
The fact the debt remains unpaid was
discovered during the 1977 session of the
Oregon Legislature by Cecil Edwards,
former Secretary of the Senate, who was
commissioned to do historical research
Edwards reported the Legislature had
been dunning the federal government off
and on over the years and the 59th Assembly
gave it a shot again four years ago.
Actually, you don’t just send the federal
government a bill in the usual sense of the
word. The legislature enacts a memorial,
requesting action by the U.S. Congress.
Edwards discovered Oregon lawmakers
had
twice
previously
memorialized
Congress, and the U.S Senate had passed
legislation regarding payment three times
prior to 1933
Senate Joint Memorial 18, passed by the
legislature in 1977, asked Congress to enact
legislation permitting the state to ad
judicate its claim before the U.S. Court of
Claims which had previously refused to
exercise jurisdiction
This SJM 18 did prompt federal
legislation. But it failed passage by the last
Congress. Edwards and others in Salem
believe the time may be ripe to try the same
tactic this session because Oregon's
Congressional delegation — particularly our
two Senators — has achieved additional
clout in the new Congress
When a new memorial is considered this
session, it w ill specify the original claim —
supported by vouchers and affidavits — was
approved by then-Sec of War Robert Lin
coln and the Board of War Claims
Examiners. It likely w ill point out similar
claims for reimbursement were submitted
by other states and a total of $44,725,072.38
had been paid by the federal government as
of March 15, 1892
What it won’t explain is the fascinating
story behind the debt and political cir
cumstances that may have contributed to
federal resistance to satisfy the claim
Oregon was a tender two years old when the
Civil War began and sentiment among its
50,000-odd residents was far from uniformly
in favor of the Northern cause, according to
historian Edwards
Oregon Gov. John Whiteaker was said to
Legislative Report from the State Capital
EXCLUSIVE to Oregon's Weekly Newspa
pers from Associated Oregon Industries
be sympathetic to secession and when the
call came for Oregonians to serve in the
Federal Army, he responded with the local
m ilitia alternative.
President Lincoln bought the idea. He
recalled seasoned peace-keeping federal
troops to fight the South and permitted the
state to recruit cavalry and infantry from
among settlers. Their job ostensibly was to
show-the-flag while first-line troops were
away and keep the Indians from molesting
travelers
along the
Oregon
Trail.
Provisioning two regiments and providing
cavalry mounts caused the expenditures for
which the state has never been reimbursed
The Oregon m ilitia under Col. George
Curry is credited with sustaining the
westward movement during one of its most
critical periods Had Indians succeeded in
blocking the Oregon Trail, development of
the Pacific Northwest would have been
postponed many years.
At the time, everything east of The Dalles
was considered questionable territory.
Colonel Curry's strategy was to saturate the
state and surrounding territories with
Bluecoats, preventing hostile natives from
learning federal troops had pulled out The
m ilitia ranged far and wide, through win
ter's cold and summer’s heat. It fought then-
necessary battles and suffered casualties.
Its commander was distinguished in
m ilitary annals as the first to conduct winter
campaigns against Indians when they were
most vulnerable
Militiamen themselves served at no small
sacrifice. There were fortunes to be made in
the new land and they put off seeking same
while earning $5 a month keeping the peace.
Many members are now recalled as
noteworthy citizens during the state’s early
development The poetry of one — Joaquin
M iller — has become immortal
It is recorded that young Captain M iller
let a band of 45 militiamen against an enemy
force of perhaps 300 during the Harney
Valley campaign of ’64.
The 1977 legislature, spuming temptation
to seek payment of the debt with com
pounded interest approaching $45 million,
sought a modest $1.3 million described as
equivalent dollars to those expended more
than a century before
The 1981 legislature will probably follow a
similar course - although the temptation
will be great, considering present needs and
rates of both inflation and interest, to go for
more
Resolutions for world leaders
Well, it’s New Year’s Resolutions
time again, and since I learned long
ago that it's lots more fun to make
them for other people than for
yourself, here are some suggestions
for resolutions that might make 1981
happier for us all:
YOUR
FRIENDLY
NEIGH
BORHOOD CONGRESSMAN — ‘Tis
the season to be wary. For better
luck in 1981: Beward of Arabs
bearing scams. And resolve to:
Remember it’s less felonious to
give than to receive.
RONALD REAGAN — America is
happily discovering what a pleasant
fellow its President-elect is. But if
Reagan is truly going to make a
difference to the economy, he’s
going to have to turn a mite
irritable. Indeed, the surest sign that
he is making meaningful reductions
in government spending w ill be if he
is denounced nationwide as a
heartless wretch who is guaran
teeing that blood w ill run in the
streets. That could mean that some
entrenched Washington interests
actually
are
being
pinched.
Therefore, one of the best 1981
resolutions for Aimable Ron would
be to:
Make a few enemies.
DONALD REGAN — The name’s
almost the same, and so is the in
terest. Our new Treasury Secretary-
designate succeeds G. William
M iller, whose chief distinction is
that he made an unbroken series of
therefore, kindly resolve now to:
Take the credit vou deserve.
Louis Rukeyser
roseate, inaccurate forecasts about
the U.S. economy. As chairman of
M errill Lynch, Regan was officially
bullish on America; at the Treasury,
he should resolve to:
Cut the bull..
AYATULLAH KHOMEINI -
Enough already, you silly and
dangerous old man. Keep this up,
and you guarantee only more
bloodshed
and
the
further
destruction of your nation. In 1981,
for all our sakes, please resolve to:
Wake up and let go.
PAUL VOLCKER - The most
powerful men in America right now
might well be the chairmen of the
Rederal Reserve Board. Jimmy
Carter doesn’t much care about the
economy any more, and Reagan
hasn't arrived. In the interregnum
(or “ inter-Reagan,” if you w ill),
Volcker has his chance to squeeze
the money supply even if it does
cause a spectacular bulge in interest
rates. Thanks, Paul, we needed that
— and if you really stick to your guns
now, both interest rates and inflation
w ill be notably lower in a few
months hence. In 1981, however, it
w ill be okay to:
Be a little less interest-ing.
LEE IACOCCA — It was great fun
but it was just one of those things.
I Ask Frank to hum a few bars while
you take it.) In 1981, why not resolve
to:
Ask not what your country can do
for you, ask what you can do for your
country.
THE U.S. CONSUMER - You
were the hero of the economy, and
for a while there they tried to make
you out the bum. Not only did your
continued spending keep us out of
serious recession, but you wisely
started cutting back on debt before
things got rough. The stupid controls
Washington
slapped
on
your
borrowing last spring lasted just
long enough to make things worse
than they had to be. In 1981,
THE
DEPARTMENTS
OF
ENERGY AND EDUCATION —
Wasn’t it a lot of laughs while it
lasted9 Over at Energy, you got to
spend billions of dollars without
actually finding any energy or
solving any significant problem with
the energy we already have.
Meanwhile, over at Education, you
got to be a whole new department —
just what the country really needed
— while the old Health, Education
and Welfare became Health and
Human Services (thereby con
firming the suspicion that most of
Washington is concerned with
inhuman services). I t ’s been grand,
gang, and now for your final trick,
please resolve in 1981 to:
Disanpear.
THE STOCK MARKET - As Babe
Ruth once said in justifying being
paid more than the President, you
had a better year than he did. But
while most market averages set new
alltime highs, the most famous of all
— the Dow Jones industrials —'
continued to meet psychological
barriers around 1,000 (as they have
since 1966). To prove to the world
that a better day is dawning, why not
resolve in 1981 to:
Wave bye-bye at last to 1,000 —
and keep on looking up.
The Innocent Bystander:
‘Grow fat’ diet revealed
I t ’s just as I long suspected: All
too
many
Americans
are
dangerously underweight.
A plethora of recent studies in
dicates we lucky few who are 10 to 20
percent over those grim insurance
company charts in our doctors’
offices w ill happily outlive the gaunt
and scrawny Cheryl Tiegses of our
society. Indeed, the insurance
companies are even now revising
those charts upward.
“ Oh, no!” I can hear you cry.
“ Must I go on yet another one of the
crash weight-gain diets9”
Cheer up, friend. Help is at hand.
All you need do is purchase my
latest book. Eat and Grow Fat —
The Sensible Way to Put on 20 Easy
Pounds.
Tantalizing
excerpts
follow:
THINK FAT — It takes more than
willpower to gain those wanted extra
pounds. You must change your
attitude toward food Don’t think of
it as simply fuel to keep your body
going Instead, keep telling yourself
that eating is a pleasurable ex-
bv ART HOPPE
perience. Try your best to relish
every bite. If others can do it, so can
you.
AVOID TEMPTATION — Don’t
worry about offending the well-
meaning hostess who offers you a
tray of raw cauliflower at a cocktail
party. Simply say politely, “ Sorry,
I ’m on a diet,” and take a hot cheese
puff instead. In the end, she’ll
respect you for your grit and
determination.
SET A GOAL — By giving yourself
little rewards along the way, you
w ill come to actually enjoy your
diet. For example, when you’ve
gained those five pounds, go out and
treat yourself to a Lane Bryant
designer muumuu
FOLLOW
THE
RULES
—
Generally speaking, avoid anything
green except key lime pie and eat
anything white but raw cauliflower.
This isn’t as difficult as it sounds
Many dieters find that in no time
they hardly miss raw cauliflower at
all
USE YOUR IMAGINATION —
There’s no reason, diet food has to be
dull. For example, pour a fifth of
bourbon into the potatoes au g rat in.
This w ill not only add precious
calories, but w ill impart a mellow
glow to your dining experience.
EXERCISE — If you must
exercise, try to do so within
reasonable limits. Keep in mind that
for every three sets of tennis you
play you’ll have to eat an eight-inch
wedge of cheesecake. It is possible,
however, to at least hold your own if
you can remember to munch on a
chocolate eclair while jogging
PUSH YOURSELF — When you
feel fu ll keep on going! You’ll be
amazed at how much more you can
gulp down if you really try. And
when you let out your belt buckle
another notch and see that all-new
you in the m irror, the struggle will
suddenly seem worthwhile.
Well, there’s no question but that I
have a bestseller on my hands
Unfortunately, no publisher will
touch it right now. For some reason,
they say who needs a book entitled
Eat and Grow Fat right after the
holidays?
Letters to the editor:
Reader urges support for Reagan cuts
Hopefully the taxpaying
citizens of this country will
back Reagan this coming
four-year term The minute
he starts cutting money Irom
any group we’ll hear a bloody
scream from coast to coast!
But remember, you don’t
improve the efficiency of a
bunch of bureaucrats by a
bequest of more and more
money Only be reducing
their funds can one get their
attention.
trough'
I t ’s time those buffoons in
the federal legislature took a
hard look at the tax monster
the liberals wish to per
petuate. Unless there's a
turn-around, our government
only will beget more tax
monsters They could take
every dime the taxpayer
makes in this country, and it
wouldn't be enough to satisfy
those who dip into the public
Can
we
blame
the
belligerency of the people
who pay the bills (taxes)?
Their pursuit of happiness is
being threatened by higher
taxes Who w ill be left for the
liberals to bleed, if more and
more people lose their Jobs
The unemployed need relief,
and — bingo — the govern
ment needs more tax money
Come on! Let’s get off the
merry-go-round. Less govern
ment, more Jobs is the
answer A person cannot be
guaranteed a utopian life.
Just help the helpless,
provide a job for the am
bitious and provide ab
solutely nothing for those
who prefer to leech off the
rest of us.
Ralph A Sandercock J r
MOOSE Allgeier Rd
Sandy
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