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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1981)
SANDY (Ore.) POST Thur»., Jan. ft, 19rt (Sac 1) The Sandy Post Editorial & Opini Von Braschler. P ublisher C a ro lin e D u ff O ffic e M a n a g e r M a rk Floyd Editor Dan D illo n N ews Editor High school charges rate answers Sandy High School has come under attack by parents and church members who cite school problems with drinking, drugs, discipline, teacher perform ance and study habits. We don’t know whether the charges are true or representative, but the allegations themselves are serious enough to warrant a study into the matter. Some concerned parents apparently have taken their youths out of Sandy High and enrolled them in private schools. Some ot those parents with affiliation with Hoodland Lutheran Church and new interest in a Lutheran private school met with Sandy High principal John McMahan earlier this week Drinking is w idespread, one parent maintained, with bottles in many school lockers. Drinking and marijuana use are not treated seriously by school officials, with one-dav suspensions typical punishment, one parent charged. The Lutheran parents also cited possible m isbehavior by high school instructors, including sexual contact with students and drinking on a class outing. Drinking has become so prevalent at Sandy High, one parent charged, that some non drinking students don’t participate in school events like dances and games to avoid peer pressure. The distraught parents were critical of the school’s academic level, too. citing scholastic aptitude test scores, low rate of college after graduation and low marks permitted for athletes. Put into perspective, these charges come from a sm aller number of parents of students and former students. Even if true, their charges only im plicate some teachers and condemn some incidents. The high school has, after all, taken corrective measures under new principal McMahan to deal with drug and drink problems facing most public schools today. To its credit, the administration has cleaned up Hood Street, banned easy exits at games and dances to drink and sponsored drug seminars. New policies have given students more individualized counseling and reduced absenteeism. McMahan says the “ bad’ students represent a small m inority and that staft impropriety — while possible certainly would be in ra re incidents. He encouraged the Lutheran parents to present their charges before the school board for policy decisions and more public input. “ Everyone has got to get involved.’’ McMahan said. “ It goes beyond shooting at me. It could be your child, and one day we’ll be dealing with you.’' We agree with McMahan. Public input is needed here, and the school board might help bring focus on the problems — real or distorted — by appointing a study commission of professionals and parents to investigate the charges. (VB) Legislator’s report: Energy saving options loom by WAYNE FAWBLSH Dist. 56 Representative A number of im portant things are hap pening in Oregon’s energy picture One of the goals during this legislative session w ill be to accelerate conservation and alternate energy use by individuals These are the best sources of new energy or the least amount of money in the shortest amount of time. By that, I mean that it costs less to con serve energy, and by conserving energy, we free up power for other uses. Conservation also works in the shortest tim e frame of a ll methods of energy production. Weatherizing your home w ill save you an average of 4,000 kilowatts a year T hat’s 4,000 kilow atts that can be used by new energy or new homes, and i t ’s an im mediate gain On the other hand, if you wanted to produce usable energy from a coal or nuclear plant, you’d w ait from 5-12 years for the planning and building stages to be completed These are the basic reasons why people were so interested in conservation and alternative energy sources An in te re s tin g c o n tra d ic tio n has developed down here with o ir inform ation sources. The Oregon A lternative Energy Commission appointed by Governor Atiyeh reports that we can produce a ll of our new power needs between now and the year 2000, if we actively promote conservation and alternative energy sources However, the last Department of Energy forecase differs considerably from that. It forecasts a shortage by 1990 equal to one large coal plant. Somewhere in between those two projections lies the truth During the coming months, it w ill be im portant to look for developments in energy programs, because they may affect you directly. The governor’s suggested energy program would provide people who choose to weatherize their homes with a fla t financial incentive of $700. Also, we re probably going to increase the tax savings for investing in alternative energy sources, such as passive solar heating and w indm ills Other suggested bills may affect you directly in other ways. One bill proposes that electric u tilitie s be prohibited from hooking up space-heating customers — persons who would heat their new homes with electricity, if natural gas were available. This is because natural gas is a much more efficient source then electricity. There also has been some discussion about requiring that before a home can be sold that it meet weatherization standards. This is what we call a mandated program, where after a five- or seven-year program you would be required to weatherize your home before you sold it. This is a fa irly controversial method We know it would produce a great deal of energy, making it possible to delay ad ditional expensive coal plants But at the same time, we don’t know if it ’s fa ir to require people to weatherize One last thing hanging over everyone’s head in the energy field is the effect of the Northwest Power Bill over the energy conservation projects in Oregon. As you know, Oregon leads the country in moving into conservation and alternative sources The power b ill requires that p rio rity be given to making power available through conservation and alternative sources, and a great deal of money — some $2 billion — is available to get that type of project started These are the issues that face us on the energy picture. If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns, be sure to contact my office Use the toll-free number, ¡-80b-452-7813 and ask for Extention 88794 Or w rite me in Room 11488. State Capitol, Salem 97310 Check off tax dollars for parties f Wall Street report: Even tarnished, gold bright investment NEW YORK — Andre Sharon makes an odd kind of gold bug. He says gold is “ unquestionably and substantially overvalued on fundamentals” — even after the steep tumble its price has taken in the last year He describes the metal as a ‘ sterile” investment, meaning it yields no dividends or interest — and thus carries an unseen “ opportunity cost” as compared with other possible uses of your money. And he suspects gold’s price is more likely to decline than increase over the next few months Nonetheless, Sharon, who over sees international investments for Drexel Burnham Lambert (and is one of the most respected gold- watchers in the business), thinks you ought to own a little gold right now. Letters to the editor: O ur elected re p re se n tatives have become slaves to big money interest groups who dictate government policy! In the last decade the candidates who spent the most almost always won The bulk of political contributions come from special interest groups and big businesses who can make m illions by in flu e n c in g g o ve rn m en t “Should we give him enough to make him healthy or just enough to keep him alive? policies. The candidates who are w illing to work for them get their financial assistance and usually win the* elections The dollar check-off was c re a te d to help free politic ians from dependence on big money contributors who expect favors. It is a chance for the little guy to Aiake a real difference It does not cost a thing. Simply check off a dollar on your income tax for the political party of your choice —- either one They both need help Nothing is added to your ta x, and the IRS autom atically donates a dollar for you la rry a n n Willis Oregon’s Democratic National ( onumtteewoman Indeed, he tells me that he remains “ more firm ly convinced than ever” that “ some gold-related exposure legitim ately belongs in v irtu a lly all well-diversified port folios, both institutional and in dividual ” At the root of Sharon’s approach is a belief that the prim ary forces propelling gold prices are political rather than economic or financial, and that these forces — while neither “ predictable nor quan tifia b le ” — can be expected, over tim e, to cause the price to trend upward. He is scarcely a blind partisan of the m e ta l; in S eptem ber, he recommended profit-taking in South African mining shares, which had ru n up s h a rp ly , and advised reducing gold investments from 16 percent to 12 percent of one’s non- U.S investments. Of that portion, two-thirds would be invested directly in bullion and the rest in gold stocks, t Among the South African shares, he totally eliminated a ll short-life and most interm ediate-life mines, favoring such long-life, low-leveraged mines as East Driefontein, Western Deep I^ v e l and Vaal Reefs, in the belief that their yields would remain high even at a lower price for gold.) In his basic economic analysis, Sharon seems to come out as negative on gold as the most virulent bullion-hater. In fact, he regards the metal as overvalued, by traditional standards, at any price above $300 an ounce And he thinks the downward pressures w ill intensify in what he sees as “ the current worldwide disinflationary context,” as inflation rates tend to lessen around the globe H istorically, the investment and speculative demand for gold relates not so much to the absolute level of inflation as to changes in the rate in inflation And while such rates re m a in u n s a tis fa c to rily high, Sharon says, investors perceive a future slackening of inflation in the West generally and in the U.S. particularly. Such a perception hurts gold two ways: It reduces the psychological fears that lead to buying panics, and it enhances the return available on alternative financial assets. In recent months, U.S. non-gold in vestors have been earning returns that handsomely beat inflation. Also working against higher gold prices, Sharon says, are slackening industrial demand ( notably for gold jewelry, whose price has become prohibitive for many prospective buyers», less speculation (sales of South A frica ’s Krugerrand coins dropped by 50 percent in the first half of 19801 and the pressures restraining oil-price increases (an economic slowdown in the West, combined with surplus headaches for OPEC). But there’s another side to the story, too, and Sharon points to factors he thinks w ill boost gold in the long run - including diminished supply ( he estimates a “ steep drop” worldwide), global political worries (n o ta b ly “ the ascendancy of Russian im perialism ” ) and what he regards as “ the de-facto remonetization of gold,” w ith in dividuals and governments around the world accumulating the metal to hedge against currency weaknesses and revolutionary upheaval. In short, then, while a near-term financial appraisal may not be bullish for gold, Sharon is convinced that the m etal’s increasing world wide use as protection against p o te n tia l chaos suggests the probability of strong demand for it over the longer haul By keeping gold investments now to a relatively small proportion of one’s holdings, Sharon thinks i t ’s possible to maintain, in effect, an “ insurance” policy — while also allowing for the possibility that a U.S m ilita ry and economic revival under ITesident Reagan would send the gold price into a more prolonged decline. “ In that case,” he notes w ryly, "presum ably the bulk of the portfolio would be* performing satisfactorily.” (e) 1981 MeNaught Syndicate, Inc.) Salem scene: Quiet Klamath by JACK ZIMM ERMAN Associated Oregon industries Ear from being the most fla m boyant member of the Oregon Assembly, Fred Heard nevertheless has a tta in e d the pinnacle of legislative power. The Klam ath Falls Democrat was elected Senate president when the current session convened Jan. 12. The transition from an upper chamber ruled for eight years by Jason Boe to a laxly directed by a relatively unassuming Heard has been less than tranquil The new Senate p re s id e n t’s reac tion to pundits anil political detractors however, provides in sight for those tracing his rise to politic al prominence Even during the 1979 session, when Heard began laying ground work for his ascension, he remained unflappable Though many ob servers were* Laying considerable odds some other Democrat would achieve the catbird seat throughout the interim and even after last November’s election. Heard pulled It off Because he delayed announcing Senate committee chairmen and memberships until after session's start, the* new leader steadily rose in the dubious prominence established by spec illa tive news reports In fact, whether F red Heard would indeed become Senate president and what he would do if he achieved that goal were pre-session commentaries ranking close* to importarne with the Governor’s budget and the attendant faltering economy. In a cham ber dom inated traditionally by elders, 40-year-old Heard's attainm ent has earned him something of a reputation as a le g is la tiv e u p s ta rt. He drew criticism for expanding his staff, increasing tlx* number of Senate c-ommittees, changing some of their names, pushing to enlarge Ways & Means and remodeling his former office in the Senate wing rather than moving to quarters occupied by Boe How unlikely the sobriquet of parvenu fits the deceptively boyish Heard is perhaps revealed in his response to a member of the Attorney General’s staff, who wanted to know why he changed the name of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee to Justice Committee “ Because,” he said simply, “ I liave trouble pronouncing that oilier word with braces on my teeth ” In a more naturally analytical vein, the* Senate president patiently and methodically recites logical reasons for the c hanges he’s made Dividing la b o r, Business and Consumer A ffairs Committee into a la b o r Committee and a Business and Consumer A ffairs Committee makes a lot of sense when one considers the volume of legislative proposals involving all three sub jects I'he same reasoning is put forth for establishment of a new panel dealing with insurance, banking and retirem ent It simply means more bills w ill receive due consideration during hearings, Heard reasons, and the human nature tendency to con centrate on sexier issues at the expense of drier subjects w ill be blunted. All of Heard's reorganizational moves may not be* without political considerations The three-term senator anil two-term member of the* House of Representatives is a consummate political person H is p arents w ere Dewey Republicans and encouraged his political interests since his first awareness of the process in grade school. He quite naturally became chairman of an Eisenhower youth grixip arxl ran unsuccessfully for Klamath County clerk at the* age of 24 Ills eventual switch to Democratic registration a move he maintains has enabled him to operate in a more co n fo rta b le p h ilosophical a t mosphere - was prompted by disenchantment with Goldwater Republicans In 1968 Heard shocked his former GOP compatriots by edging the wealthy veteran lawmaker. George FlitcTaft. out of his House- seat by alxrtil 21M) votes He was nominated by both parties for re-election two years later and served as minority whip that session in the- lower chamber As his second House term drew near it's conclusion, tlx- descendant of Oregon homesteaders turned educator and politician once more startled the opposition by turning out of o ffic e another h ig h ly respected Republican, form er Sen (iordon McKay. Heard’s critics tend to overlook the fact he served at Jason Roe's knee for three sessions as m ajority leader of the Senate. Quite naturally, his political acumen in creased. Seasoned Salem watchers also point out that announcing committee memberships from the rostrum following the- president’s election is a Senate tradition, w ith tlx- ex ception, perhaps, of Ways& Means Further, one need not delve too deeply into Senate journals to learn that chamber for many years had a total of 35 standing committees one chairmanship apiece for each memlx-r and five more leftover. Inheriting the Senate president’s traditional octagonal desk may have surprised many observers It all seems part of a well-conceived plan to the Heard fa m ily, including equally astute wife, Adair, 11-year- old Frederick and the seven-year- old twins. Robin ami Heather. When it comes to that issue of adding another memlx-r from each chamber to tlx- present seven- person-each Ways & Means Com mittee. you have to consider there’s an eight-sided ik-sk in Fred Heard's office (E D IT . NOTE: Jack Zimmerman writes a column for Associated Oregon Industries, a state lobbying group His opinions do not ix-ccssarily reflect those of The Post. |
