See section II
fo r a festival
wrap-up
Voi 71
No 29
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««M M M H aN M M U M
The Sandy Post
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Chemical
identified
as ‘phenol’
SECTION I
Keeping Posted
Inside Business
Senior Center News
Obituaries
Editorials, letters
Sports. Recreation
2
3
4
5
6
7-8
SEC TION II
Area News
Hood land Happenings
Around the County
About People
Classified Advertising
1
2
2
3
9-12
SECTION III
Television Directory Inside Tab
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by DAN DII.I.ON
Administrators at Sandy Union High
School are playing a waiting game
while the Oregon Legislature finalizes
how it will spend state money
As a result, the school's board of
directors will wait until its Aug 10
meeting to finalize a new B' ballot pro
posal for the Sept 15 special election
In the interim, the district 's projected
shortfall of approximately $235,000 in
state funding could be eliminated if a
plan in the Legislature is OK'd The
Grannell Plan, introduced by Rep
William Grannell, D Coos Bay, would
put $77 million back into basic school
support
“ In which case, the 'B ballot could go
back to wha, it was
the bus and
renovations," said Superintendent Jack
Peters The district had placed a B'
ballot proposal before the voters June
30 which included monies to make up
for the projected shortfall, along with
the bus and renovations It was
defeated by voters, 905-614
Peters told the school board Monday
evening that if the Grannell Plan is ap
proved by the Legislature, “ we ll be
awfully close to our basic school sup
port for last year." But, he added, " I
just have no way ol predicting what the
Legislature w ill do."
The Grannell Plan has been passed
by the House ami awaits Senate ap
proval.
Board member Bob Boring is con
Geologists
study Hood
just in case
Index
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Single Copy 20‘
SUHS administrators
await state decision
The chemical in three five-gallon bar
rels found last Monday afternoon along
Highway 26 was identified as “ phenol",
a strong, corrosive poison. It is com
monly called carbolic acid
Sandy Eire Chief Boh Rathke said the
chemical is "highly toxic." He said ex
posure to the chemical over eight
square inches of skin could In* fatal
"The big danger," Rathke said, "is
some kid coming along and getting into
it
Phenol is an industrial solvent that is
used as an antiseptic.
About 2 p.m last Monday, a crew
from the State Highway Department
found three barrels, labeled “ poison,"
in the ditch next to Highway 26 near
Langensand Road The Envrionmental
Protection Agency was notified and a
special team from Multnomah County
and Eire District No 10 responded to
the scene
The special team spent about 90
minutes at the scene transferring the
chemical into transportable containers
Any eruption of Mount Hood would
likely send floods and mudslides down
the peak's slopes into the Sandy River
and other streams.
The U S Geological Survey hopes to
determine just how great the flooding
and mudslides may be
The federal agency last week t)egan a
study of the 11,245 foot peak and two
California peaks as part of a volcanic
hazards assessment
Scientists are measuring the depth of
snow and ice on the mountain's glaciers
and snowfields by bouncing electronic
signals off the rock underneath The
data will help determine the volume of
floods and mudslides
Studies are also being conducted on
Mount Shasta and Mount lessen in
California Permanent markers are be
ing placed on each mountain The
distance between the markers will
measured annually by laser beam to
determine if the mountains are swell
ing
Although scientists expect little
change in the measurements, any
significant increase would result in a
more intensive monitoring program
A series of earthquakes on Mount
Hood last July prompted a hazard
watch for the dormant volcano Similar
quakes preceded the eruption of
Washington state's Mount St Helens
Although many of the Mount Hood
quakes were later a ttrib u te d to
dynamite blasts. federal and state
agencies have since prepared disaster
plans for the mountain
Mount Hood's last major eruption oc
curred Sept 21,1865 A soldier standing
guard at For, Vancouver reported see
ing the peak enveloped in smoke and
flame
However, in August 1921, a number of
people witnessed hot sand pouring from
a crevice below Crater Rock Sulfur
smoke is commonly seen coming from
fumaroles on the mountain
... . .
cerned what the school district will do it
the Grannell Plan docsn t pass and
Monday evening he voted against
renovations to Pop Rannow St tdititn
and drainage near the field
" I think we should take an aw tul long
look at spending $7(1,(MM) here," he said
“ when we might possibly need it in
some area if this other money doesn't
come through We re not set on our total
financial picture and that bothers me "
The renovation and drainage project
will cost $74.650
Board member Gary Cleland pointed
out, "We've been waiting live years for
this We re going to be scrambling
every year for bucks "
Wayne Johnson, w hile seconding Bor
mg s concerns, pointed out that the
stadium is not jus, an athletic facility
but serves as a teaching station and
community facility
The spending was approved 4 1
The board learned that one invest
men, made is paying of, Librarian Jan
Luelling told the board that the new
library security system works Last
year, the library suffered $1,913 in lost
books, compared to nearly $9,(MM, the
previous year
Most of the loss, she said, occurred
Indore the system was installed during
the year.
Peters declared a "one month
amnesty" during which all SUHS
library books may In* returned with no
questions asked
Annual breakfast flies
this Sunday at airport
Piloto by flan Dillon
The sounds of the big hands of the 1940’s filled Meinig Park Sunday afternoon under sunny skies helping bring the Sandy
Mountain Festival to a shining conclusion.
Planes from eastern Oregon to the
coast w ill have Sandy as their destina
tion this Sunday, July 19, when the San
dy Kiwanis Club hosts its 24th annual
Ely-In Breakfast at Rich's Airport
The annual fundraiser will lx* held at
the airport, three miles northeast of
Sandy on ()ral Hull Road, from 7 a m to
I p m.
Along with the traditional breakfast
of pancakes, ham ami and eggs, the
elub has lined up a numtier of added at
tractions
Airplane rides will be offered to the
public for a fee The hangar where the
breakfast is served will also lions«
some live musical entertainment And
a display of antique automobiles <
planned
Money raised will go to support tin
Crippled Children's Camp on Mount
Hood
The cost for the event w ill be $3 50 foi
adults and $2 for children Tickets u n
available from and Sandy Kiwanis Club
member prior to the breakfast tor those
who don't like to stand in line
The breakfast annually draws more
than 2,000 hungry patrons to Johnny
Johnson's airport
Hydro-electric project divides mountain residents
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Post Correspondent
The Clackamas County hearings of
ficer will receive testimony tonight. Ju
ly 16. on a plan to build a small-scale
hydro-electric project on Hoodland's
Boulder Creek
The meeting w ill be at 7 p m at 902
Abernethy Rd in Oregon City
The application for a conditional use
permit for the project was made by
Steve Sweitzer. a Hoodland resident
who owns approximately 160 acres on
Country Club Drive The land was clear
cu, last summer and Sweitzer is seek
ing to construct "u tility facilities
necessary for public service for the pur
pose of generating and transmitting
power for public use or sale ”
“ If we can pu, in these little plants,
you wouldn't need nuclear or coal-
powered plants." Sweitzer said “ En
vironmentalists, somewhere down the
line, are going to have to make the
same decision I had to make whether
to build more nuclear plants or small
scale hydro plants."
Sw eitzer, rep re sen ting SS In
vestments, may have some hurdles to
c le a r before g a in in g a p p ro v a l,
however The county planning staff
recommended Monday tha, the project
be denied because there wasn't a need
demonstrated for additional public ser
vice
Sweitzer disagreed, citing the rising
cost of power and potential blackout
threats
Much of the controversy revolves
around the impact such construction
would have on the environment (ieorge
Sheets, chairman of Environmental
Committee on Suitability <EC'OS>. has
concerns for the project not only
because of the diversion structure, bu,
because of the wildlife tha, utilize the
area for feeding
"You have large tracts of land tha,
have been clear cu, and we have no
guarantee tha, the area won', lx*
developed," Sheets said “ How do we
know the clear cut area w ill be
replanted?”
Sweitzer responded to the charges,
saying that he would replant the clear
cut area and put in a fish ladder, if that
is wha, the Eish and Wildlife Depart
ment desired
An environmental assessment study
by Consultants Northwest claimed tha,
any passage of fish above the diversion
structure would lx* “ questionable"
after construction The report stated
that the structure would extend two to
three lee, above th«- bottom of the pre
sen, stream channel, which could
seriously curtail the movement of fish
above the pom,
The report added, however, tha,
because of the steepness of the channel.
limited food supply and other factors,
no fish habitats were known to exist
above the proposed site
Sheets questioned the reliability of
the environmental assessment because
there was no mention of the existing im
pact caused by erosion of the logged off
area forcing silt into the stream
A question also arose over whether
the proposed plant would increase the
turbidity of the stream Sweitzer denied
the allegation and received support
from Tom White, western states coor
dinator of a national hydro power study
for the US Army Corps of Engineers
“ I, should no, cause any concern with
turbidity," White said "And it should,
in fact, eliminate any erosion problem
with the streambank "
Under existing laws, the proposed
plant would only operate six months an
nually, from Dec 1 to June 1
Despite opposition from ECUS and
the initial negative recommendation
from the planning staff, Sweitzer said
he isn't about to give up the battle
"I'm going to take this one to the
end," he vowed
Rhododendron sewage spill sparks investigation
A Rhododendron creek this week
became the focal point of Clackamas
County officials as residents complain
ed of sewage in its waters
The creek flows from the Zigzag
Mountains through Rhodendron on the
north side of Highway 26 and eventually
winds up in the Zigzag River
One source, close to County officials,
indicated that the sewage problem was
no, a result of a leaking septic system,
bu, was caused by a pumper truck
which “ both sprayed sewage on adja
cent property, as well as pumped
directly into the ditch."
Dave Phillips, in charge of the Code
of Compliance for Environmental Ser
vices, said if something could be done
his office would do so But, he stressed,
after sewage was dumped into a
stream, there is is little his office can
do,
Phillips said his office would in
vestigate the matter before holding a
pumper truck or private septic sstem
responsible, bu, added that he was
aware of the Mount Hood area's pas,
sewage problems
According to Bob Johnson, sanitarian
with the Clackamas County Health
Department, on a regular inspection of
restaurants in the area April 6. he notic
ed "a foul odor coming from the ditch"
in Rhododendron.
He said that he dye-tested the septic
system of the Mount Hood Dairy Queen
April 20 to determine if it was responsi
ble After checking the results of the
tes, April 21 and 23. Johnson said the
leakage was not coming from the eating
establishment
He added tha, even though the odor is
noticeable behind the restaurant, "the
strong odor was not coming from their
toilet or their septic system,"
Johnson said the establishment had
been singled ou, because it had a
backed up handsink at the time and
have had past problems with its septic
system
He said more tracking is needed to
determine where the problem is coming
from but, because the source isn't
known and is probably a private septic
system or pumper truck, there is
nothing more his office can do
John Borge, an environm ental
specialist with the Clackamas County
Soils Department, indicated that the
area had a history of problems and this
week’s could be the accumulation of
previous years
Borge said that in the past, an im
practical “ perk test" was the accepted
way to identify ste suitable for septic
systems, but allowed seepage into
rivers and streams
"They used to pour water into a hole
and tim e it to see how long it took to
seep down through the soil," he said
"People used to be concerned that
sewage jus, wen, away, no, where it
wen, Today we are concerned w ith just
the opposite "
Phillips said the County has had fre
quent problems with illegal dumpings
by truck operators and cautioned peo
pie dealing with unlicensed septic
pumpers because they are cheaper
than licensed pumpers
"These pumpers can't legally dispose
into a legitimate sewage treatment
fa cility," he said " I f people didn't hire
them, these trucks would no, have
anything to dump "
Because of the distance the pumpers
must travel, they charge greater for
transportation to treatment plants
"People expect urban services and
urban prices in a rural area, bu, they
don t realize that it just doesn t work
that way," he said