Section
SANDY, OREGON, THURSDAY. FEB 19, 1981
The S^nây Post
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Agencies pool resources to upgrade Highway 26
The Hoodland Chamber of Commerce
has long been active in promoting
highway improvements on the moun
tain, but a meeting held last Friday at
Timberline lxidge may expand thut role
and include other public and private en
tities in the campaign.
The interagency meeting was called
by the Hoodland Chamber’s Highway
C o m m itte e , w ith K e ith P e trie ,
manager of Multorpor Ski Bowl, serv
ing as chairman
A tte n d in g the m ee ting w ere
representatives of the Bend, Madras,
Sandy and North Clackamas Chambers
of Commerce; of the Warm Springs In
dian Reservation; of United Grocers;
of the U.S. Forest Service; of Systems
99, a trucking firm , and of the Oregon
Department of Transportation.
Petrie said numerous other agencies
expressed interest in the project by let
ter and may attend a second meeting
planned for mid-spring when more in
formation about the area’s highway
system w ill be available
“ Right now we’re an ad hoc commit
tee,’’ Petrie said “ We’re just in the
talking stage.” But the group is ready
to take a more active stance in the
future to work for highway im
provements, if that is what their studies
indicate is needed
“ Basically, this is a group from the
private sector which feels it might have
to take the leadership in getting the
highways improved,” Petrie explained.
“ We realize that with the new ad
ministration, highway funding on the
federal and state levels may be more
restricted,” Petrie said. “ If we want
any highway improvements made, it
may be up to ua to prove our case ”
The businessman said,“ I hate to call
it a political action committee, but that
may be just what it boils down to.”
Many areas around the state need
highway improvements, he said, but
“ we don’t see that much money coming
down the pike now It may depend on
which community makes the best
case ”
The businesses and agencies ap
proached about the project were those
who rely heavily on trucking and
tourism Petrie said their hopes for
Highway 26 are “ to bring it up to the
standard where it can handle not only
our existing level of traffic but what we
know is coming due to growth.”
Some growth predictions for the Mt.
Hood corridor forecast a population of
20,000 within a decade, compared to ap
proximately 6,000 residents at present.
Petrie said the group had not defined
target areas of concern on the highway;
he said that step would be taken later,
after the various agencies and business
decided whether to undertake the pro
ject.
The next step is to await the results of
a study undertaken by the Portland
engineering firm CH2M, retained by
the Mt Hood Recreation Association to
analyze highway data “ from the view
point of the private sector,” Petrie said.
“ That cduld be different than the way
the top government agencies might
look at it," he continued. Enough of
those data should be available to allow
the group to make some decisions at a
meeting in late March or early April,
The Hoodland Chamber has worked
to achieve several highway im
provements within its service area, in
cluding left turn lanes off Highway 26 at
Welches Road and Salmon River Road,
and a brake check and runaway truck
ramp near Government Camp
P e trie said th a t fu rth e r im
provements could be “ vital to us.” He
explained that the U.S. Forest Service
has considered restricting all further
development on the mountain until the
highway capacity is increased
‘'Highway 26 is the major highway
over the Cascades in terms of use, both
re c re a tio n a l
and c o m m e rc ia l
trucking,” he said
One of the assignments given during
last Friday’s meeting was to Donna
Cormer, who attended from the Bend
Chamber of Commerce She was asked
to contact the eastern Oregon region of
the state Highway Department to find
out "what is on the boards for improve
ment over there,” Petrie said
One significant factor in future
highway use is the increased use of tr i
ple trailers by the trucking industry
because of the high cost of fuel, Petrie
pointed out. The impact of the larger
rigs w ill have to be analyzed, he said.
Highway 26 is not the only road to be
targeted by the group, however. The
businessman said Highway 35, from
Hood River to the Mt. Hood summit,
and Highway 212, which connects In
terstate 205 with Highway 26, will also
be studied
Petrie said the state presently has a
six -y e a r plan fo r highw ay im
provements, with widening of Highway
26 from the Brightwood Junction to
Zigzag scheduled for 1984
He said the highway deparment plans
to w ait u n til a fte r the current
legislative session ( “ when they know
what funds they have to work with.” ) to
reevaluate the plan
At that time the department will ask
for public input, Petrie said. “ That’s
probably when we'll make our first
push,” he predicted. “ We ll also ask
them to go clear to Rhododendron with
the four lane ”
Petrie said that would be the most
economical approach, since cutting the
four-lane highway off at Zigzag would
leave a mile between the two com
munities with two-lane roadway.
"They'll just have to come back later
and widen that one mile,” he said.
Petrie referred to a similar group in
southwestern Oregon which was “ pret
ty successful” in achieving highway
improvements. “ As always, it’s the
squeaky wheel that gets the grease,” he
said.
Welches School
problems near
a solution
Some of the construction problems
with Welches School’s new addition ap
pear to be nearing solutions, according
to reports given the board by architect
Richard Gessford during last Thursday
night's regular board meeting.
Gessford reported that the building
had been “ turned back over to the con
tractor” after a prolonged work stop
page while alleged construction defi
ciencies were investigated
Among the problems analyzed was a
finish on the concrete floors which an
independent engineer hired by the
board called “ the worst I ’ve seen.”
Gessford said during last week’s
meeting that a latex concrete product
had been tested which he and the con
tractor, Glynbrook Construction of
Salem, found satisfactory.
The product is pumped onto the
uneven floors in a liquid state, Gessford
explained, rather than the semi-solid
state in which concrete is poured This
produces a level surface much more
easily.
After the latex material was poured,
“ we put it a straight-edge on it, and it
looked like a pancake,” Gessford said.
“ I t ’s a fine product.”
Gessford expressed enthusiasm
about the solution presented by the pro
duct and praised its strength and
superior bonding properties
Solutions to other problems with the
new building are now being discussed
only in executive sessions of the board,
which are not open to the public and
about which reporters cannot write.
This is necessary, board members
explain, because of the possibility of
future litigation when the time comes to
determine liability for repairs and cor
rections.
During last week’s meeting, Ed
Burke, a constituent who attended the
meeting, urged the board to consider
ways to relieve District Superintendent
Ken Blackburn of most of the pressure
resulting from the building project
Burke asked the board if it is proper
for the school administrator to have to
get involved in the building program
“ I t ’s been the perception in the com
munity that this might have been a pro
blem,” he said
Board chairman Don Thornberg
pointed out that Blackburn would
ultimately oversee the building after
completion But Burke objected, "The
construction of that albatross over
th ere has g otten in c re a s in g ly
complex.”
He suggested that the school board
direct Fred Carlson, the project super
visor, to route all his reports and in
quiries through the board chairman
The board approved a one-year con
tract with district teachers involving a
10 percent increase in salaries, and
adopted a revised policy to deal with
handicapped students
The building of a
Greenhouse
It may not be the best looking greenhouse in the world
and it would probably make a professional builder cringe,
but the newly constructed building on the Sandy High pro
perty has a lot of thins going for it.
For one thing, it was built and designed by teacher Les
Geren and his horticulture class. It will also provide the
school with a 100-foot indoor classroom and laboratory. It
is actually a fairly sturdy structure and, since it isn’t
cemented into the ground, it doesn’t have to pass code.
But most important, the price was right.
Many of the materials were on hand and the labor,
Geren’s class, certainly didn’t cost much. In fact, the
whole project was budgeted for about $600, where the ac
tual market price of such a building would run into the
thousands.
It took two or three weeks to construct, first laying the
foundation boards, then setting up the overhead supports.
Foul weather postponed a few of the workdays, but not
many. You have to be hardy to take a Geren class.
Fair weather was needed for the last step, however,
which was laying in the plastic cover. Most of that was ac
complished Tuesday.
Heaters have been installed and the greenhouse is near
ly ready for use It will provide a large, handy place for
SUHS classes to grow plants and expand the students' lear
ning
And the construction of the greenhouse was an education
in itsef.
SUHS students put on the
finishing touches of their new
gr eenouse, hanging plastic
(top). One of the first steps
was to weld the support
frames into shape (above).
The inside of the greenhouse
(left) sagged in the morning,
but was pulled taut by Monday
afternoon. Teacher and pro
ject coordinator L e i (ieren
(fa r left) reaches for nails.
Officials seek
information on
bank incident
A Molotov cocktail, thrown at the
Clackamas County Bank in Wemme
during the weekend, caused little
damage, according to Hoodland Fire
Chief Don Arm introut.
Authorities are seeking information
on the incident, however
“ We feel it happened sometime dur
mg the weekend.” Armintrout said
“ The bank was closed Monday, so it
could have been then They threw it at a
window, but it was plate glass and
didn't break *' There was some damage
to the window siding and the wall
Anyone with information regarding
the incident is urged to call the
Hoodland Fire Department at 622 3256
or deputy Ray M iller of the Clackamas
County S h e riff's D epartm ent at
665 8444