Errant tree
kills power
for wide area
\ tree, accidentally fallen across
Portland General Electric Co power
lines Monday evening, knocked out
electrical service to the Sandy, Boring,
Brightwood and Welches areas for
more than an hour in some localities.
According to Bob Kallen, PGE Sandy
district manager, 6,(MM) to 8, (MW persons
were affected by the outage He said the
Sandy area was without power for ap
p ro x im a te ly 45 m in u te s, w h ile
residents of the Brightwood and
Welches areas waited more than an
hour for the lights to come back on
Kallen said the outage was caused
when a resident of the Compton Road
area, east of Heidi's Swiss Village, ac
cidentally fell a tree across a PGE
transmission line knocking out the
feeder for the area at about 7:55 pm
He said that PGE has authority to fine
the individual
A two-man crew on duty was able to
isolate the outage as much as possible,
the PGE official said, but a second crew
was needed to restore a local feeder in
the immediate vicinity.
The biggest problem caused by the
outage, other than individual inconve
niences, was the elimination of traffic
signals on Highway 26 in Sandy
Local police market! the hazardous
intersections with flares to caution
motorists
City studies community school options
by DAN D IL LO N
W hile plans move ahead for grant ap
plications to save the Sandy Communi
ty School, city officials are studying
ways to assimilate as much of its pro
gram into the city's Recreation Depart
ment as it can
The Community School fell victim
with several other Sandy Elementary
School District programs at the June 30
special election Now Jan Reynolds,
w ho served as coordinator, is seeking a
means of keeping the school alive Both
private and public funding sources are
being explored
"Since the fall program wouldn't
start until the end of September, we
have a little time to watch the grant
funding approach," City Manager
Roger Jordan said this week He said
the city w ill try to pick up as many
recreational aspects of the curriculum
as possible
"Those elemenLs of education, the
college w ill be asked to pick up," he
said.
The Community School had been
governed in a unique tri agency aggree
ment The Elementary School District,
the city of Sandy and Mount Hood Com
munity College all participated in the
school’s direction and funding
However, with only the c ity ’s portion,
about $4,(MM) remains after it under
wrote the summer program after July
1, the school cannot survive without out
side funding The Elementary School
District would have contributed $14,300
M HCC’s c o n trib u tio n was ad
ministrative and fiscal management,
according to Jordan
"In terms of recreation, our foremost
commitment is to the athletic activities
we have been sponsoring the last few
years," said Sandra Potter Marquardt,
community services director "Com
munity Services might be available for
some comm unity school-style ac
tivités.”
During the nine years of its existence,
the Sandy Community School provided
a wide array of activities It was the
springboard for such ongoing projects
as the Sandy Community Players, the
Silver Threads program and the Sandy
Country Market
Classes ranging from macramé to
fiscal management and soap making to
solar greenhouse construction were in
itiated and taught through the school by
volunteers
Reynolds told The Post, " I see Com
munity School as ail ultimate facilitator
and an ultimate resource center The
possibilities are endless "
The new city Recreation Coordinator
Bill Knight Weiler spent five months as
interim coordinator of Sandy Com
munity School last summer and is
aware of what the city can and cannot
do to fill the school's gap
"Our emphasis w ill mostly tie on the
organized sports leagues," he said,
"w ith quality officials "
Summer tennis classes will begin
next week and the Recreation Depart
men, w ill sponsor three nature hikes for
the whole family to sites like Ramona
Ealls and Still Creek Trail The half day
hikes w ill be led by a qualified
naturalist and focus on natural history,
wild edibles and enjoyment of the out
doors
Knight Weiler said the Recreation
Department will I k * picking up some ol
the programs which were ottered
through the Community School suih as
aerobic dancing and wrestling tor kids
tiu, resources are limited
Approximately $4.(MMi remains in the
city's budgeted allocation for Sandy
Community School for fiscal 1981 82
There are two options for those funds,
according to Jordan
The city may ye, enter into another
cooperative agreement to operate the
school if funding can be found If fun
ding is no, forthcoming, Jordan said he
will recommend to the City Council that
the city integrate the money into the
Recreation Department and pick up
what programming it can
County goofs
on A ballot
appropriation
Clackamas County o fficials are
discovering the county might not tie as
fiscally fit as they thought it was
Clackamas County may be forced to
place a special tax levy on the
September ballot just to raise some
$365,000 in revenues that voters have
technically approved
The state contends that $365, (MW of the
county's $2 million A levy, approved by
voters last November, should not have
been included in the A levy and so is not
eligible for its homeowners' property
tax relief program
To raise that portion of the levy,
which was part of a package to fund
county justice services, the county may
have to submit a new levy, according to
Carole Berggren. county budget
analyst.
The county is first trying another op
tion, however Rep Ed Lindquist,
D Gladstone, was scheduled to present
an amendment to the House Revenue
Committee over the weekend which
would clarify the formula under which
the A levy was calculated
The amendment is attached to House
Bill 2175, a "dead" bill which will only
serve as a vehicle for the amendment
If passed by the Legislature, it would
allow the county to levy the full $2
million of its levy
The problem began last September
when the county was forced to calculate
the amount of its A levy using its own
population estimates, Berggren said
The size of an A levy is based on a for
mula using population and inflation fac
tors
Before placing the levy on the ballot,
the county conferred with the state
Department of Revenue and the at
torney general's office, both of which
gave their approval, she said
Then the county received its official
population inflation indicator from the
Depart met of Revenue in December
and "ours didn't exactly coincide." she
said "They said that we had placed too
much on the A levy
Clackamas is not the only county ex
periencing roblems Polk County of
ficials underestimated the possible size
of their A levy Berggren said
However, while Clackamas officials
are being told they can't levy the
$365.000 without voters approving the
elimination of state tax relief, Polk of
ficials are being told they may levy the
entire amoung of their A levy, despite
the fact voters approved a smaller
amount, she said
"We re seeing a lot of inconsisten
cies," she said
1 oder new districting, approved by the Oregon Legislature, Sandy will find itself in a local House
district (23) with Estacada, Canby and the Hoodland area, rather than the former sprawling district
which included Hood River and The Dalles. The Senate district (14) finds Sandy in the northern end of a
ribbon-shaped district which extends from the outskirts of Springfield to .Mount Hood. The new districts,
particularly the House district, are expected to strengthen Northern Clackamas County's voice in
Salem.
Dam proposal generates heated issue
by MR II \ E L I*. JONES
Post Correspondent
A decision w ill be delivered Aug 3 by
the Clackamas County hearings officer
on a proposed hydro electric project for
the Boulder Creek area
Steven Sweitzer, of Hoodland's S.S.
Investments, seeks a conditional use
permit for the hydro project which he
says he would operate six months a
year on his property
He faced a group of protesting pro
perty owners who live on Country Club
Drive, just below the proposed project.
They were organized by the En
vironmental Committee on Suitability
(ECOS) and represented by land-use
a tto rn ey Ed S u lliva n, who also
represented the Sierra Club
According to Sweitzer, projects like
his could offset the construction of
nuclear and coal-fired plants, and help
prevent future blackouts He said
Portland General Electric has agreed
to purchase the plant's energy for the
next 30 years
He contended that the location is in
"a decent place that would not hurt
anyone "
However, the suitability of the loca
tion was questioned by hearings officer
Ken Stewart as concerns such as ero
sion. urbanization and protection of fish
habitats were raised
Eish biologist Jay Massey, Depart
ment of Eish and Wildlife, questioned
the project's environmental assess
men, prepared by the Redmond firm .
Consultants Northwest, Inc
He disagreed with the assessment's
conclusion that no fish habitats were
"known to exist above the proposed
powerhouse site approximately 2,(MM)
feet upstream from the mouth ”
He said. "Boulder Creek provides
good habitat for anadromous fish
(winter steelhead) throughout the year
from the mouth upstream two miles
The creek also provides good habitat
for resident trout from the mouth
upstream for approxim ately five
miles.”
He added that the assessment’s con
tention that insufficient algae, "the
main food supply for fish," was wrong
"The main food supply of salmonids
(salmon, steelhead and trout) is
aquatic insects, not algae,'* Massey
said.
He said the Department would re
quire fish passage facilities to protect
upstream and migrating fish That
would involve a fish ladder over the
diversion dam and screens to prevent
downstream migrants from entering
the pipeline
EROSION PROBLEM
James J. Kirk, attorney and con
sulting biologist, stressed that even a
fish ladder would not eliminate all the
problems
He said there was a potential for "im
poundment,” Despite the fact that fish
would eventually be able to find their
way out of the structure, it would make
them more susceptible to predators
such as Kingfishers, Blue Herons and
bears
Kirk claimed that erosion from the
construction of the facility and access
road, and from 160 clear-cut acres
above the stream could cause serious
damage to the creek He said that over
the years sediments from erosion would
affect steelhead spawning areas by
covering gravel beds and coating eggs
He added that the gills of the fish
might be covered with the coating,
placing them under stress and making
them "more susceptible to diseases "
John McMahan, an area property
owner, complained that erosion is
already coming from the, logged off
hillside and filling his pond with silt He
added that the eroding hillside has
changed the course of the spring from
w hich he gets his drinking water
" It's a fragile facility, the land we
live on,” said McMahan "A dam is a
death threat to the fish."
Attorney Sullivan criticized that the
project is growing He said that the
original project application, filed April
30, said that 38 cubic fee, of water per
second would be diverted to generate
1,240 theoretical horsepower That, he
said, was amended June 19 and 22 addi
tional cubic fee, of water per second
were added, increasing the generation
to 1,957 theoretical horsepower.
He told the hearings officer that the
permit should be denied because the
characteristics of the site havMiot been
proven suitable and ,h«* project con
flicts with the goals and policies of the
Clackamas County Plan
"There are several reasons for deny
ing this application," said Sullivan
"There has been unrefuted evidence to
the effect on fish and w ildlife which w as
glossed over by the applicant."
He disagreed that the project would
prevent the construction of nuclear
power plants He said that power com
panies would be delayed only "10
minutes" by such a contribution to the
energy pool.
He charged th a t the p ro je c t
"facilitates an urban use in a rural
area The plan, will only make fish
meal through the turbines," he said
The hearings officer's decision was
postponed to allow a site visit and tune
for PGE and the Bonneville Power Ad
ministration to submit letters showing
their support and documenting the need
for such a facility.
The Aug 3 decision w ill lx* at 9 a m
at the Clackamas County Environmen
tai Services Building in Oregon City
(See related story on page 3. section
I.)
Rhododendron spill source identified
The Clackamas County Environmen
tai Services' code compliance division
this week confirmed the sewage spill in
a small creek that flows through
Rhododendron and eventually empties
into the Zigzag River
According to Dave Phillips, in charge
of code compliance complaints, an in
spector from his office located "a very
small sewage seep" behind the Alpine
Hut Restaurant July 17.
Phillips said the case w ill be turned
over to the Health Division which will
conduct a dye test of the restaurant's
septic system to confirm w hether or no,
the problem originates in that system
"A ll we are prepared to say, at this
time, is that there is what appears to be
sewage seeping out of the ground
behind the Alpine Hut," he said "Only
a test of the system w ill confirm it and
then we will proceed from there."
Phillips did not believe that the latest
spill could have been the result of a
deliberate dumping by a pumper truck
" I have a lot of confidence in Hal
Wilson's (the County inspector who
found the seepage» ability to track
down a problem If he's looked at one
septic system, he's lookiHl at 10,000,”
Phillips said " I ’m confident the pro
blem w ill fie solved shortly."
He said residents should not be con
cerned about the brownish liquid in the
creek Phillips said it is actually iron
oxidized water
State police investigating fatality
Oregon State Police are investigating
the possibility that a woman who was
run over on Highway 26 east of Sandy
last Friday night was deliberately lying
in the road at the time of the accident
Patricia Ann Owen, 35, of Sandy died
after she was run over by two vehicles
traveling westbound on the highway at
about 10 30 p m., police said
The first vehicle stopp'd but a second
one, a tractor-trailer truck, ran over
the body a few seconds later, stopped
momentarily, and continued on. accor
ding to witnesses.
Police determined that Owen was on
the ground when she was first struck
because of the type of damage to the
car that hit her first, police said
Witnesses at the scene said that the
truck ran over the body within six or
eight seconds after the firs, vehicle
They were drawn to the scene after
hearing screeching brakes
Owen had been living at the Pioneer
Motel since July 8 The accident occur
red adjacent to the motel
Oregon State Police are continuing
their search for the truck that hit the
victim but did no, remain on the scene
Victors
Visitors
page 7, section I
page I, section II
C