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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1981)
The Sandy Post Von Braschler. Publisher Caroline Duff, Office Manager Editorial & Opinion Mork Floyd, Editor Dan Dillon. News Editor SANDY, OREGON, THURSDAY APRIL 30, 1981 SUHS budget defeat could hurt all ( ritic a l times call for concerned boosters to ra lly round their school. Sandy High School faces just such a c ritic a l test before voters May 19. At stake is the right of students here to a very basic education. The levy ballot covers just the cost of operating and m aintaining existing necessary programs at the school. There are no frills in the May 19 “ A ” ballot that asks D istrict 2 school patrons for an estimated $3.77 per Sl.ooo assessed value. T ha t’s 41 cents less than the 1980-81 school levy (exclusive of levies for bonded indebtedness). Even if approved, that meager amount likely w ill be insufficient, since the school has lost at least $238,00 in state basic school sup port. A school budget com mittee w ill reconvene 7:30p.m ., May 1, at San dy High to ponder how the school w ill make up the unexpected short fa ll in outside funding. The public meeting is a “ m ust” for all who care about the future of Sandy High Disregarding the pending short fa ll in state support, the d is tric t’s A ballot levies $1.8 m illio n out side Oregon’s constitutional lim ita tion for operating expenses during fiscal 1981-81. If this measure is approved. $2.1 m illio n of taxes levied w ill be financed p a rtia lly by the state in cluding a $296,088 tax base. At least th a t’s the way school budgeters saw the picture back in November, a more promising tim e Now things look less certain. J o pass this c ritic a l budget — in sufficient though local funding may prove concerned boosters are organizing a telephone campaign and series of neighborhood coffee klatches for presentations. The concern is enuine when one views the school or com m unity at large, because the success of this budget levy well could affect the whole com m unity. Fiscally responsible Sandy High School can’t go forever without voter approval of a budget. Without guaranteed funds, in fact, the school likely would have to shut down around November. Don’t count on certain state aid during this fiscally tight year in Oregon politics. A fter all, the state already has withdrawn planned money lo r basic school support. So consider the consequences of a possible school closure with 162 staff members onto unemployment here. The m a jo rity of them live in the d istrict, with the rest so close that unemployment could have a heavy im pact on an already lim p ing economy. It would be even more tragic to see 1.200 students aimlessly w alk ing the streets, because they they were denied a state-guaranteed right to a basic education. T ha t’s a right w ritten into the state constitution and something that d istrict taxpayers all have en joyed. Why shut the door to basic education now? (VID by T4ARGULIES ©N8I SUBURBAN F IM ’RES government off f o r t i UkUfrhEH Guest editorial: The Eagle s landed & looks grounded W II.I.IA M B. V A II. Of Estacada Some Oregon bills downright silly A lot of bizarre bills have surfac ed this session in Salem, and a San dy Chamber of Commerce group It a recent Salem briefing heard a lot of them. Purpose of the legislative brief ing was for the Chamber delegation to prep on business-related bills for possible support or opposition by the general membership The Chamber has gone on record against a proposed state law that v irtu a lly would make it illegal fo ra business to close shop here without prior notice and against a proposed state ban on smoking in public buildings and work areas (except in designated areas). Besides Senate B ill 370 Indoor Clean A ir Act and Senator Ted Kulongoski’s Plant Closure B ill, the local chamber anticipates w r it ten opposition to a House b ill in the E nergy Com m ittee to prohibit com m ercial lighting October December. Yes, to save energy, proponents urge a ban on outdoor SOMEHOW I FIGURED I'D FEEL DIFFERENT WITH THE business lights at Christmas time. But here’s the capper for laughs, according to one chamber traveler to Salem: One proposed bill would em power the governor to appoint guards to protect parking spots designated for handicapped per sons. Imagine a crippled little , old lady who tries to stop an angry guy with a buzz in his ears. I t ’s their turf, after all, so the law must be enforc ed Perhaps the state could issue stun guns’ ’ fo r handicapped guards to drop interlopers in their tracks. But then there’s the cost of the munitions and the level of dosage to be regulated. A classic case of what happens when an im m ovable object meets an o b je c tin g im m o b ile , c o m pliments of Big Brother. Come on, Salem. L e t’s get serious. <VB> only to be rejected by them when th e ir leaders a re deposed or need for us te rm in a te s What of our own people who would be b e tte r served w ith those d o lla rs ’’ What about our m ilita r y that would be strong er, if we were not fin a n c ia l ly bled fro m the ve ry heart of our cou ntry? The g lea m ing trip o d s settled into the lu n a r dust W ith calm c la r ity the words of brave men reached from beyond ou r imaginations to in fo rm the w o rld , "T h e E agle has la n d e d ," R em em ber the pride the pride in ourselves and our a b ility as Am ericans? S o m e tim e sin ce the n in the cha rtless canyons of tim e , the k n u rl ed talons of the A m e rica n eagle dug into a w eathered lim b on a high and pre cario us ledge This tim e there was no one the re to record this h is to ric event that again, the eagle has landed The sym bol of freedom that has been kept a lo ft by the w inds of courage, the streng th and p rid e has com e to rest A fte r two centuries of unbelievable flig h t the endurance of the eagle has ebbed It seems to have run its course, brought down by the arro w s of indecision o f leaders and overburdened by a maze of endless obligations We have watched A m e rica con tin u a lly back down when confronted t»> m a jo r o r even m in o r powers, We have stood like a po w e rfu l yet pa thetic gian t, unable to act know ing we are rig h t, sim p ly fo r fe a r of w hat other nations m ig ht th in k of us We have atte m p te d to buy frien ds and form alliances, showering them w ith m ilita r y and econom ic support, O ur senses have been dulled by this ongoing fru s tra tio n We p re fe r to tu rn aw ay fro m these seem ingly unsolvable d ile m m a s and preoccupy o u rs e lv e s , s e e kin g fu n , c o n v e niences and m a te ria l possessions leaving ou r fate in the hands of a few w ithout a thought fo r our fu tu re These problem s have clouded the keen vision of the eagle that is essen tia l fo r s u rv iv a l In a d dition, we are pressured by dem ands of an ever gro w in g governm ent that is too cum bersom e to be e ffe ctive and too expensive to run In it s b lin d c o n c e rn fo r b u re a u cra tic pe rpe tu atio n, it clings to the self consum ing philosophy that m ore governm ent is be tte r governm ent. The governm ent of the people, by the people and fo r the people is ra p id ly becom ing a m yth fro m an era gone by Each day brings w ith it the gre a te r feeling of our citizens that we have a governm ent versus the people and a stystem that has turned a deaf ear to needs of the peo ple it was intended to serve. This, too. has left the eagle void of a c le a r sense of directio n T his loss of in d ivid u a l freedom has crushed the cre a tive s p irit that long ago sent the eagle into flig h t on c u r re n ts th a t in s p ire d hopes and cu lm ina ted in the rea liza tion of dream s. We must be sw ift, if we are to reca pture the dream before the m e m o ry of the dream is gone and w ith it the winds of reaw akening and enlightenm ent that once again can send the eagle spring ing fro m its lo f ty pinacle on the same outstretched w ings of courage, strength and pride that gave b irth to this great nation. Salem scene: Public testimony in Salem is tricky by JAC K Z IM M E R M A N Associated Oregon Ind ustries group of the u n fit, appointed by the u n w illin g to do the un A considerable lx»dy of A m e rica n hum or tends to d ispa rage decision m a kin g by co m m ittee Nonetheless - o r perhaps Legislative Report from the State Capital because it contains a spark F XCLUSIVE to Oregon’s Weekly Newspa of tru th - the com m itte e pers from Associated CYegon Industries system is inherent to our le g is la tiv e process leaders n e a rly alw ays p e r The Oregon A ssem bly is often is successful m it fellow la w m a ke rs and no exception E veryone knows the one other elected o ffice holde rs to The c u rre n t L e g is la tu re in about a co m m itte e being a speak firs t Such testim on y Salem is d ivid e d in to 35 com o fte n is p r e c e d e d by m ittees. depending upon how a n im a ble ba ntering or b a rb you count b u d g e t-w ritin g ed jibes between those testi- Jo in t Ways & Means This ly in g and those there m a in ly session there a re 17 c o m m it to listen This ritu a l takes te e s in th e H o u s e o f tim e and doesn't sit w e ll w ith R epresentatives and 18 m o rd in a ry citizens, who m ay the Senate have tra v e lle d considerable T e s t im o n y b e fo re a distance at no sm all per- The last few issues of the le g is la t iv e c o m m itte e - s o n a l in c o n v e n ie n c e to Sandy Post have provided a w h ile a convience to the te stify. firs t ra te de scrip tion of the p u blic - often is not fo r the Good co m m itte e leader S a n d y E le m e n ta r y “ B ' ‘ fa in t of heart la w m a k e rs ship makes e ve ry e ffo rt to ballot contents It should he a re people and some have p e rm it such testim ony. obvious to everyone that this m ore patience than others Being told tha t tim e that is a "n o f r ill s " ba llo t The C o m m itte e leaders also are day has exp ire d means some ballot contains support ac- people, and some a re m ore witnesses w ill not re tu rn tiv itie s necessary to m ain adept at ru n n in g a m eeting The in e x p e rie n c e d also ta in an atm osp he re con than others, should be w a ry of testim ony ducive to learn ing . F o r the average citize n, if they are less than ade As we check the lis t, we te s tify in g before some co m quately prepared to su rvive w ill fin d tha t the ele m e n ta ry m ittees can be try in g , to say cross-exam ination by c o m school p ro gra m s found on the least Since the re are two m itte e m em bers W hile m ost the defeated " B ” ballot are sides to m ost questions, i t ’s la w m ake rs a re courteous to c ru c ia l to the w e ll being of possible that tim e expires a fa u lt, m any are skille d in our c h ild re n Just as the con before both pros and cons the a rt of self e xp re ssio n and crete foundation is the most have a chance to speak have a decided advantage im p o rta n t asp ect of the Then th e re a re th e when it comes to cou ntering s tru c tu ra l in te g rity of any courtesies in the c o m m itte e the opinion of others bu ild in g, the years a student procedure that also tend to The c o m m itte e process - spends in ele m e n ta ry school d is c o u ra g e th e n e o p h yte w h ile con stituted to pro vid e de term in e to a la rge extent citize n who aches to provide in fo rm a tio n on w h ich d e ci his or her accom plishm ent in t e s t im o n y C o m m it te e sions can be m ade — most h ig h s c h o o l, v o c a tio n a l n c e s s a r y . I t ' s lik e w is e described as a group of three tha t succeeds only when m em b er is sic and other ab sent. Absenteeism is lik e ly the sharpest thorn in the Oregon A ssem b ly's com m itte e bush — p a rtic u la rly when one con siders the num ber of com m ittees involved and fre quency of m eetings 1 hen again, such decision m aking is d e m ocra tic T his fact prom oted a veteran p ro fessional lobbyist to re m a rk d u rin g the citizen swam ped 1971 session that dem ocracy c e r t a i n l y fo u ls u p th e le g isla tive process Decision m aking by com m ittee most lik e ly is favored because of the be lie f that tw o or m ore heads are better than one On the other hand, what about too m any cooks and what they do to the soup’’ Letters to the editor: Grade school rates support school and college Those of us who have been in volve d in fillin g e n try-le ve l positions know firs t hand the d iffic u lty in fin d in g enough young people q u a lifie d in technical and co m m u n ica tion skills . Because our nation is lock ed in an econom ic contest w ith Japan and the Com m on M a rke t countries — as w e ll as even m ore serious con fro n ta tio n s w ith the Soviet Union in the Persian G u lf and ou r own hem isphere, it needs hundreds of thousands of w e ll q u a lifie d young peo ple each y e a r to f ill jobs in business, in d u stry, g o ve rn m ent and the m ilita r y I f w e w a n t a s tr o n g A m e rica w ith a healthy, fu ll e m p lo y m e n t econom y c a p a b le of m e e tin g challenges both at home and abroad, we cannot a ffo rd to let o u r schools s lip in to decay F o r th e w e ll-b e in g o f everyone in our co m m u n ity , le t's pass the " B " ba llo t in the next election H arold H a yw ard Sandy I-E TT E R S P O L IC Y : The Post asks th a t all le tte rs to the e d ito r be typed double-spaced and signed. Deadline is noon. Tuesday, N tters should he accurate, free of libelous re m a rks and ,n good ta s te . T h is new spaper a tte m p ts to publish a ll letters It receives and m ay ed it m a te ria l lig h tly to conform to guidelines M a xim u m length 1« » o words.
