Section
SANDY, OREGON THURSDAY APRIL 2 1981
Area News
People
Home & Garden
Features
Water testing methods
prove to he inaccurate
• • •* ’
The Don Obrist quarry in Brightwood has been the scene of recent controversy
Staff photo
For quarry operation license
County approves Obrist application
hv TERRI BADER
Post Correspondent
Despite the effo rts of several
Woodland residents, Don Obrist has
received an operating permit for his
Brightwood quarry
Obrist was awarded the permit after
a hearing of the Clackamas County
Planning Commission last Thursday
The permit w ill allow Obrist to con
tinue his operations as before with one
exception He received permission to
add one more pond to his quarry
There were a few objections to the
Obrist permit Local resident Bob
Decker began the controversy with a
letter to The Sandy Post in the March 5
edition Decker alleged that the opera
tion of the quarry caused ‘excessive
noise levels associated with blasting
which involves vibrations that shake
your house, increased truck traffic
which has parents with children con
cerned about safety on the roads ”
Other concerns were the operation of
a rock crusher, pollution of surface-fed
spring wells, road deterioration and
erosion.
Several other residents then spoke
out, both pro and con, about the situa
Many people spoke out in favor of
Obrist and his quarry operations,
countering Decker's charges Ed Burke
stated that the average daily haul was
just five to 40 truckloads and that
operations are monitored by the
Department of Environmental Quality
The weeks following the original
Decker letter have been filled with con
tro v e rs y and debate
But the
< lackamas County Planning Commis
sion has ended the debate until the per
mit renewal comes up again.
tion
A meeting was scheduled for “ con
cerned citizens of Brightwood” to ex
press views on the problems Not
enough support was drummed up,
however, to change the mind of the
plar.mng commission
Scientists have tested two standard
medium or nutritive growing environ
methods used to monitor public water
ment and incubated for 24 hours to
supplies and found both of them
allow them to grow into colonies to be
seriously flawed
identified.
That could mean that people in some
With the fermentación tube techni
parts of the country are drinking water que. water is placed in a test tube cn-
which may not conform with the federal
taining nutrients and incubated for one
Safe Drinking Water Act.
to two days. The contents are then
The tests were conducted by Oregon
tested for gases produced by various
State University researchers
coliforms.
“ Most communities have good water
The prim ary problem with both
treatment systems and no problems,
methods is that the culture mediums do
but there are marginal systems in
not allow some coliforms to grow pro
Oregon and other states where the perly The OSU study was initiated
potential for a health hazard exists,”
after reports of disease problems in
said project director Ramon Seidler.
parts of the country had been traced to
"Our study suggests operators may not areas shown to have been tested safe.
even know if consumers are getting un
The researchers developed an off the
safe water.”
shelf solution and hope to carry their
Seidler and the other researchers had
work further They have identified in
their two year study funded as part of a gredients for culture mediums which
larger project supported by a $124,000 help coliforms grow better They have
grant from the US. Environmental
also obtained a two-year grant of some
Protection Agency’s Office of Drinking
$115,000 from the National Science
Water Research
Foundation which w ill allow them to
The two techniques commonly used use their acquired knowledge of col
to monitor disease hazards in public
iforms to devise an effective way of
water are the membrane filte r and monitoring drinking water, treated
fermentation tube methods, Seidler sewage water and other public waters.
said
Coliforms, which are present in the
Both are considered effective by the intestines of warm-blooded animals,
EPA. the agency charged with enforc are transported into surface water by
ing the country's six-year-old Safe animal feces. They are normally not
Drinking Act The law requires that the harmful
level of bacterial "hazard indicator"
However, if coliforms are in water,
organisms, or coliforms, in public
organisms which cause typhoid, diar
water be monitored and not exceed one rhea, hepatitisand other illnesses may
coliform per 100 m ililiters of water as a be able to survive there also Monitor
monthly average.
ing coliform levels as a potential
Approximately 50 percent of the hazard indicator is cheaper and easier
public water treatment plants in the than monitoring all of the organisms in
U S. use the membrane filte r system;
the water
the other half uses the fermentation
The OSU scientists are contacting
tube method Some plants do their own researchers across the U S. and ar
testing and others have the work done ranging for them to test the accuracy of
by commercial laboratories.
the standard coliform monitoring
"These are long standing, very basic methods with contaminated water in
methods of monitoring water quality
their aareas
taught in m ic ro b io lo g y courses
Seidler said that many small com
throughout the world,” Seidler said
munities in the Pacific Northwest use
“ We tested them in Oregon and they unfiltered surface water which are pro
failed to perform " Coliforms were ne to “ false negative" tests, that is, pro
detected in just 20 percent of con ne to passing the standard monitoring
taminated water supplies tested at tests but failing when a more effective
various western Oregon sites in the culture medium is used
OSU experiments.
Seidler estimated that five percent of
In using the membrane filte r techni the country's public water supplies are
que, water is passed through a filte r to "m arginal" in safety and that most
trap coliforms The organisms are then water borne disease problems occur in
placed in a dish containing a culture
those areas.
Hoodland happenings
Classes begin for Welches Community School spring term
Thursday,
Thursday, April 2
A senior citizens lunch, sponsored by
Loaves and Fishes, will be held at the
Welches School library beginning at
11.30 a rn Transportation and further
information is available by calling
622 3331.
The Mountain Players w ill hold a
rehearsal at 7:30 p m at the Wemme
Lions Club
Friday, April 3
There w ill be no school today at
Welches because of a Teacher Work
DayConference Day
Saturday, April 1
The Mountain Music Society w ill pre
sent Carol Ann Wheeler, the first
woman national fiddling champion, at 8
p m in the Hoodland Women's Club
Call Will Frank 622 3130, for more in-
formation
.Monday, April •
A senior
c it iz
e n * liiiw
h
r by
A senior
citizens
lunch,
sponsored
Loaves and Fishes, w ill be held at the
Welches School library beginning at
11.30 a m Call 622-3331 for further in
formation or transportation
Aerobic Dance class w ill begin at 5 30
p m at the Welches School gym The
class is sponsored by Mt Hood Com
munity College Community Education
Classes and led by Becky Hawley. To
register, call 622 3397 There is a small
fee for the class
Welches Community School w ill spon
sor a one time only class called “ First
Aid for Choking " The free class w ill be
held at 7 p m. in the Welches School
library and concentrate on helping par
ticipants learn to remove airway
obstructions
Five consecutive daily sessions, in
cluding films, talks and group discus
sions w ill highlight the “ Five Day Plan
to Stop Smoking." presented by the
Seventh Day Adventists. Pastor Terry
Vull and Winton Bunnell, M I) , will
lead the project which begins tonight at
7:30 p.m in room 13 of Welches School
A fee w ill lie charged
Tuesday, April 7
Mt H(xxl Community College will
hold a day long workshop devoted to the
future planning and development of
Welches Community School in coopera
tion with the college The workshop will
be held at the Red Lion Inn at
Bowman's from 9 a m to 3 p m in the
Green Tee room Call Reva Cox,
622-3397, for more information
The Hoodland Chamber of Commerce
will hold its monthly board meeting at
11:30 a m at the Red Lion inn at
Bowman’s.
The Hoodland Women's Club will hold
its April meeting today at noon at the
Red Lion Inn at Bowman's A fashion
show and luncheon w ill be included in
the activities Styles from the Red Lion
Sportique shop w ill be modeled by
Women’s Club members For reserva
tions, call Julie Gross, 622 3916, or
Renee Knapp, 622 4671.
The second meeting of the Five Day
Plan to Stop Smoking class will be held
from 7:30 to 9 p m , in room 13 of
Welches School
The following classes will begin
tonight at Welches Community School:
Regulation Basketball, 6 p m in the
Welches gym. Diet and Exercise. 6
pm in the library; Story Telling for
children ages 3 to 6, 7 p m in the
library, Boat Building. 7 p m in room
20, Bike Maintenance, 7 p m in room
12; and Regulation Volleyball, 7:30
pm in the gym To register, call
622 3397.
The Mountain Players w ill hold a
rehearsal at 7:30 p m at the Wemme
Lions Club
Wednesday. April 8
Welches Community School Tiny Tots
The Mt. Hood Lions Club w ill hold a
group w ill meet from 10 a m to noon.
general meeting at the club building in
The group is designed for mothers with
Wemme at H p m The Lions Ladies
babies or toddlers and allows them to
Auxilliary w ill meet at 8 p m in the
spend a morning with their neighbors
rear of the building
while their children develop play skills
Call Louise Hoyt. 622 3752. for informa
Thursday, April 9
tion and meeting location
A senior citizens lunch, sponsored by
W elches C o m m u n ity School's
Loaves and Fishes, w ill be held at the
Aerobic Dance class w ill be held from
Welches School library beginning at
5:30 to 7 p m in the Welches School
11:30 a m Transportation and further
gym
information is available by calling
The third meeting of the Five Day
622 3331.
Plan to Stop Smoking w ill be held from
The Mt Hood Pre-School Co-Op will
7:30 to 9 p m in room 13 of Welches
present an art show and open house at
School
the Hoodland Women's Club from 3:30
The Mountain Music Society will hold
to 8 p.m. Artwork from the pre school
a Contra Dance at the Hoodland
w ill be on display in the main room of
Women's Club on Salmon River Road
the building and refreshments will be
beginning at 8 p m Fred Brueing will
served The open house is free.
call the steps at the dance, which is for
Registration forms for the 1981 82 pre
children and adults Tickets are
school year w ill be available.
available at the door. Call Will Frank,
622-3130. for further information
<( nntinued on Page 4 1
and
hy TOM FITTI \RTV
For The Post
Portland society made the drive out the new highway to
take part in the ceremonies
The principal speech was given by Frank Branch Riley,
It s easy to see how the Vista House was named Perched
one of Portland's best known lecturers
on a basalt c liff 725 feet above the Columbia River, the
A strange mix of dignitaries attended the festivities, in
stone structure offers sweeping views of the gorge
cluding H L Pittock. president of the Vista House Associa
( row n Point seems a natural place to pause on the scenic
tion and builder of the Pittock Mansion, several survivors
< olumbia River Highway, offering a refreshing break and a
of the Whitman massacre, veterans of the Grand Army of
chance to drink in the gorge's beauty So thought Samuel
the Republic; the 443rd Squadron under Commander Lt
U ncaster, the engineer who designed and built the Colum
Richard Ageton. and the Royal Rosanans, complete with
bia River Highway
their white suits
Others also found the view breathtaking "A t Crown
The ceremony concluded with a pageant called “ The
Point there is to be had a wonderful view down the rive r.”
Wilson Flag "
said early day geologist Ira Williams in the 1928 "History of
Columbia River Valley" by Fred Ixx-kley “ . The Colum
It capitalized on an earlier dedication at the Vista House
bia« si proxim ity is so deceptive that it would seem a stone
site One of two ceremonies dedicating the Columbia River
vigorously tossed would land in its waters ”
Highway was held there on the afternoon of June 7, 1916
Lancaster first proposed building the Vista House in 1915
The usual congratulatory speeches were made, rose petals
as the highway was nearing completion He intended the
were spread over the site and loganberry juice was drunk in
stone structure to serve as a memorial to pioneers, an
deference to Prohibition At 5 p m President Woodrow
observation building and a public comfort station
WiIson, sitting in his White House office, touched an electric
“One is in a far more favorable position at Crown Point to
button which unfurled a flag at Crown Point Cannons fired
study the region on both sides of the river than at any other
a 48 gun salute That same flag was used in the Vista House
place reached by the highway." Williams wrote.
dedication almost two years later
The same enthusiasm U ncaster put into the highway
Uncaster had one more vison for the Vista House, one
carried over to the Vista House project He even furnished
that he never realized In 1924 he tried, unsuccessfully, to
plaps for the building's interior decoration
have the "Oregon Pony," the first locomotive in the Nor
Multnomah County built the three story stucture between
thwest. placed next to the Vista House
1916 and 1918 A private group called the Vista House
Portland and Multnomah County donated the building to
Association also contributed money
the state in 1938 for use as a state park Until this month the
The many sided domed building was located on the top of
interior of the structure was leased to a concessionaire for a
Crown Point at a loop in the highway where the road circled
gift ship
the point and began its descent to Latourell Falls
This summer the US Forest Service, in cooperation with
May 5. 1918, was the date set for the dedication of the
the state parks division, w ill operate the Vista House as a
Vista House A rrowd of well wishers and members of
public information and interpretive center
i
,e
j
. J
.k
This
history
1918 photograph shows f rown Point'« Vista under rm s tru rtio n
•
s
.-.W