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. |