Voi. 71 No. 3
Bird dogs
Book
worms
Basketball
page I, sec. II
page 2, Sec. II
page 1, Sec. Ill
The
SANDY, OREGON THURSDAY, JAN. 15, 1981
»USPS481 1801
Single Copy 20'
Building department
continues to prosper
by DAN DILLON
While communities throughout the
United States sing the blues about the
apparent paralysis of the construction
industry, Sandy has maintained an
even keel — gradually growing in its
monthly valuations.
One possible answer to the seeming
steadiness is the current swing to
smaller, more affordable homes by
local contractors.
“ One thing that has happened,” said
Sandy Building Official Tom Day
earlier this week, “ is that the guys who
were building splits and tn-leveLs are
building smaller houses.”
Those smaller houses, in the $50,000
to $55,000 price range, are easier to
finance and the current trend shows it.
D uring December, 32 perm its were
issued; five building, four plumbing,
two miscellaneous, seven mechanical,
three water and sewer, and eight plan
reviews for the state Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Although this represents a slowdown
for the first tim e since the national
economy slumped. Day said he knows
of 30 to 40 buildings going rig h t now in
Sandy.
“ The high cost of money for housing
has stopped building except for Farm
Home or Veterans, but commercial w ill
probably keep going,” he said in a
monthly Building Department report.
As of Jan. 2, the city had a valuation
on new buildings of more than $3.2
m illio n at the halfway m ark in the
fiscal year. “ Our income through the
Building Department at the fiscal
halfway point is $138,935.12, for all
perm its including water and sewer and
system development charge,” the
monthly report said.
Day said that the amount collected
exceeded what was anticipated. But
that is getting to almost be expected at
the Building Department.
He said that although the city tries to
be conservative in its estimates of what
revenue w ill be generated, “ the
Building Department has never cost the
taxpayers one cent.”
“ A ll in all, it has been a very good
year," Day said in the report.
Portland man accused
of Boring homodde
A 19-year-old Portland man has been
charged w ith the murder Saturday
night of a Sam Barlow High School
counselor who was shot to death at the
Boring home of his form er wife.
Thomas Johnson, 42, of Troutdale,
died instantly when he was struck once
in the chest by a bullet fired from a
rifle , according to the Multnomah
County medical examiner
Johnson was shot about 8 p.m.
Saturday at the home of his form er
wife, Lou Ann, at 10170 Eastmont Drive
in Boring, according to Ross Cravens,
Clackamas County's chief deputy
d istrict attorney.
Arrested at the home in connection
w ith the shooting and accused of
m urder was Michael John Hendrix, 19,
of Portland. He was being held without
bail in the Clackamas County J a il in
Oregon City.
Cravens said Johnson went to visit his
form er wife about 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
Cravens alleged that Hendrix, who
reportedly worked at the same store
w ith Mrs. Johnson, was at Mrs.
Johnson's home.
Two persons witnessed the shooting,
he said. The rifle used in the shooting
did not belong to the Johnson
household.
No other details were being released
by the Clackamas County sh e riffs
office or d istrict attorney’s office,
pending completion of a police in
vestigation
Johnson was employed by Sam
Barlow High School in 1972 as a fu ll
tim e
counselor
and
head
boys
basketball coach. He was the counselor
for some 350 seniors this year, having
counseled the same group of students
since the beginning of their freshman
year 3 4 years ago.
“ There’s such a feeling of loss,
especially among the seniors,*' said
Barlow P rincipal Bob Taylor. He
described students’ and staff reactions
to Johnson’s death as ranging from
shock and disbelief to “ compassion”
for Johnson’s fam ily. Johnson's two
oldest daughters attend Barlow, he
said.
Jack Gleason, a U S. History teacher
at Barlow who worked with Johnson to
develop a college and career counseling
program at the school, said he was
“ shocked greatly . . . I think we an are.
I t hasn't really quite hit us.”
“ I had a great deal of respect for
T om ," said Gleason. “ I remember he
always had the tim e to talk to
you . . . especially to students. He was
a very caring, open individual.”
Jim Babson, a counselor for Barlow's
freshman class, said Johnson's death
was “ a terrible irony, really. He’d
spent most of his life tryin g to help
people. . . he was a real
com
passionate guy. It doesn't seem just,
somehow.”
Johnson came to Barlow from
Knappa, a small community near
Astoria, where he had been a full-tim e
counselor and head basketball coach at
the high school. He also taught social
studies and counseled at Glide and
Gaston High Schools and at Medera
High School in California.
He is survived by his four daughters,
Linda, Kathy, Gayden and K risty.
No funeral arrangements have been
made because of the police in
vestigation
Photo by Uan Dillon
With the unseasonal sunny weather, Kelso School blocked off the parking lot during recess and created a roller skating rin k. Even an occasional sit-down, like first
grader Walter D illard's, doesn't cast a shadow over the good time.
ESD cuts would hamper local services
The superintendent of Clackamas
County Education Service D istrict
(ESDI has prepared a $6.2 m illion
proposed levy for 1981-82 and a pretty
gloomy budget message fo r the
D is tric t’s budget committee.
The gloom in that message could spill
over into services at both Sandy Union
High School and the Sandy Elem entary
School D istrict if the ESD levy is
rejected by voters at the M arch 31
election.
According to Bob Bums, the
superintendent of ESD, the D is tric t’s
“ future is in a state of uncertainty.
Since 1977, their responsibilities have
burgeoned while during that same
period
of tim e
their
financing
capabilities have deteriorated.”
The ESD w ill ask for approval of a
$6,228,274 levy that would provide
stable funding fo r the ESD through
1985 If the levy fails, the ESD w ill be
thrown back on last year’s levy plus the
6 percent increase allowed by law.
A t SUHS, the defeat would mean “our
whole operation would have to shore
up,” said Superintendent Jack Peters.
“ We think ESD is an essential arm of
our school d is tric t.”
He said the district gets a
“ tremendous service” from the ESD
film lib ra ry on a daily basis, and
Deadline for plan appeals draws near
by DAN DILLON
The city of Sandy has set a deadline
for appeals by landowners who feel
they did not get a fa ir opportunity to
address the city before their property
was rezoned with the adoption of the
updated zoning ordinance.
This is not to say that the city is re
opening the ordinance fo r public
scrutiny, City Planner Don Wilson said,
but rather, it is bringing the document
back fo r some minor fine tuning.”
The city w ill review any appeal that
is received before Feb. IS, if the land-
owner feels the zoning was changed
without his getting a proper chance to
testify during the adoption process
From then on, the plan w ill be reviewed
only on an amendment basis which
requires the appellant to pay a fee.
Since the adoption of the city's u p
dated zoning ordinance, the city staff
has received several form al and in
form al requests for changes in the
zoning of particular
parcels or
amendments to the text of the zoning
ordinance itself, according to Wilson
The approach of the staff has been to
accumulate the requests and bring
them before the Sandy Planning
Commission at one tim e A t its Jan. 7
meeting, the commission decided to
hold public hearings at its Feb. 4 and
March 4 meetings to handle the various
requests
A t the February meeting, the com
mission w ill hold a public hearing on a
zone change and comprehensive plan
change request from V.J. Keating of
Baker who owns the site of the previous
M t Hood Anim al Clinic at 37820 High
way 26. He wishes to change the
property's zone form high density
residential back to general com
mercial.
A m odification of the home oc
cupation provisions of the zoning or
dinance w ill also be considered B illie
McNutt, who operates a hypnosis
center at her home, 38336 Hood Street,
requested a small identification sign
which is not perm itted under the
present standards
The commission w ill also consider a
zone change for properties between
Pioneer Boulevard and McCormick
Drive.
These properties offer good op
portunities for commercial develop
ment for frontage on Pioneer, ac
cording to Wilson The area also has
unique problems due to the topography
and dual frontage onto McCormick
Drive.
Potential for conflict arises if the
properties north of McCormick Drive
develop under the present zoning
standards
City Attorney Jack Hammond is
expected Feb 4 to offer his in
terpretation of the c ity ’s zero side-yard
standards to see if the ordinance allows
each half of a duplex to be sold
separately, splitting an 8.000-square-
foot lot into tw ........ «.».».ips
As currently applied, the c ity ’s zero-
side yard development standards offer
no bonus in density, in that the
technique may not be used to decrease
average lot size or increase density.
pointed out that services including
career education and classes for the
trainable m entally retarded would be
curtailed.
The d istrict also uses the date
processing service through ESD.
"W e certainly appreciate the ser
vices they bring to a small school
d is tric t,” Peters said.
A t its Monday night meeting the
SUHS School Board passed resolutions
authorizing the ESD to continue
providng special services fo r the high
school such as instruction for mentally
retardeddevelopmentally
disabled
students, student assessment, services
for
handicapped
students
and
educational media services.
"W e are now at a point where we’ve
cut every comer, rounded every rough
edge, streamlined every program and
gone after every grant to provide
services,” Russ Nelson, of ESD told
The Post. “ There ain’t nothing else to
do — we’U have to cut programs or pass
a levy.”
Failure means the proposed levy
would have to be reduced by $3,086,856
or nearly half. Most of that reduction —
$2,620,935 — would come from the
Handicapped Child Fund which is in
tended to help county school districts
cope w ith the rapid increases in new
programs and rising costs in special
education.
I f the levy fails, the ESD w ill have to
cut staff and services as well as the
Handicapped Child Fund to stay w ithin
last year’s levy plus the 6 percent
growth factor, Burns said. Cuts w ill be
based on a prio rity study completed
last month by the Superintendent’s
Council. The council is a group made up
of superintendents from nine of the 28
school districts in Clackamas County
served by the ESD. Peters serves on the
council.
The cut list for both personnel and
programs w ill be finalized during the
first two weeks of January, according
to Bums. It w ill go to the ESD Board at
the February meeting along with the
proposed budget.
"We hope we won’t have to institute
the staff and program reductions,"
Bums said. "However, if the levy
doesn’t pass in March, we w ill have to
be ready with a plan to live within the
budget we w ill be allowed.”
He added tlia t the school districts in
Clackamas County served by the ESD
are involved in the planning wherever
possible
Law project aids local seniors
The possibility of facing a large bill
has tra d itio n a lly been a deterrent to
persons in need of legal advice.
I f the problem turns out to be in
consequential, they are faced with a b ill
for consultation. I f they don’t seek the
advice and later wish they would have,
the problem ends up being com
pounded
For senior citizens living on a fixed
income, the possibility of a b ill for a
half hour of a lawyer’s tim e is
prohibitive.
But that needn’t be the case anymore.
The Clackamas County Senior I^ w
Project, begun through the Clackamas
County Area Agency on Aging, offers
an alternative.
Once a month at the Sandy Senior
Center, an area attorney offers a free
half hour of consultation to any senior
member of the community.
The philosophy of the program, ac
cording to Sandra Potter, Community
Services director, realizes that many
seniors do not know when they need
legal advice. It understands that they
are a fraid if they approach an attorney,
they may be strapped with legal fees
Thus, it gives the senior citizen an
opportunity to get his or her legal
m atters straightened out
Subsequently, they may be able to
save additional money when they get
into the actual legal matters as a result
of th e ir free prelim inary consultation.
Sandy attorney John Pefley is one of
five area lawyers who have volunteered
time and he is sold on the project. “ I
believe community service is im
portant in the legal profession,” he
said, “ and you meet a lot of interesting
people.”
Generally, three things bring the
seniors in fo r consultation, Pefley said.
W ills and estate reviews, real estate
problems and landlord-tenant problems
make up the bulk of the inquiries.
"T h is provides an opportunity so they
know they get a half hour of a law yer’s
tim e without getting nicked,” he said.
" I f they do need a w ill, then I charge
my standard rate Rut a lot of people's
papers are in order and they get some
peace of mind finding that out.”
One case that is an outgrowth of the
Senior l,aw Project involves the Sandy
Golden Age Club
The group, founded in 1970 to give
help and assistance to senior citizens
and to further interest in the com
munity in m atters relating to senior
citizens, is tryin g to change its non
profit status. Faced with trying to cut
the bureaucratic red tape, they haven’t
even been able to get the Internal
Revenue Service to send them an ap
plication for the change Pefley has
gone to bat to help them out
C urrently,
the
group’s
status
prevents donors from claim ing tax
deductions on their donations A change
in status would allow that to happen
Pefley said, the directors and himself
approach the task of changing with
"high hopes, but a level of skepticism.”
The Senior I-aw Project began in
September, 1980 with all Clackamas
County senior centers participating A
part-time coordinator lined up the
volunteer attorneys and helped each
center establish an
operational
framework.
The service is available ui Sandy on
the first Thursday of each month To
make an appointment to consult w ith an
attorney, call the center, 668-5569.
Index
SECTION 1
E ditorials, le tte rs
6
Senior (Center N e w s ....... .........7
.........7
Keeping Pouted
8
School Menus
SECTION I I
Area News
.........1
Around the County
.........2
Classified
................ . 9-13
Home and Garden
. . . 14
SECTION 111
Sports. Recreation
Television D irectory
....... 1-3
..u
1