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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
The Sandy Post Editorial & Opinion Dan D illon. Editor Scott N ew ton, N ews Editor Von Broschier, P ublisher C a ro lin e Duff. O ffic e M a n a g e r SANDY. OREGON THURSDAY AUGUST 27 1981 Boys’ concern for elderly exemplary Folks who feel kids today are spoiled and rotten to the core couldn’t live around here. Sure, we have our share of juvenile vandalism and petty crime But that’s just a small number of misguided youth By and large, our kids are great. They volunteer to pick up trash, win regional tournaments and bring home honor in national skills com petition. That distinction surfaced again recently when local Boy Scouts cleared brush for senior citizens in Boring. The youth assisted area senior citizens by putting numbers on their mailboxes. That task often included clearing a path from the home to the mailbox and from the mailbox to the road. So the Boring post office profited by the public spirited teens, too. The goal for the boys was a com munity service project worthy of points toward an Eagle Scout rating. Toward that aim the boys took extra steps. Some elderly residents, including one 84-year-old lady in the country, enjoyed thorough yard cleaning at the hands of the eager Scouts. The boys didn’t stop at the mailbox, but cleared all brush around the yard The community can be proud of such youth and learn from their spirited example of neighborly con cern. (VB) Business persons should speak out The city manager has encourag ed Sandy business persons to share in setting the course and speed for upcoming urban developm ent. That’s a good move and timely, too. After all, Sandy faces almost cer tain ten-fold grow th in the next few years or so the city’s Comprehen sive Plan suggests. Recently the city manager and c ity p la n n e r b rie fe d Sandy Chamber of Commerce on the state of the city, its immediate plans, its dreams for the future and unclear horizon. Some blanks need to be filled in by planners who live and work here with a stake in Sandy, and so the city adm inistrators vow ed to return periodically to com municate with business leaders on their grounds. Should the city allow more le niency in conditional use permits in the commercial and industrial zones, if safety is the main restric tion and a bolstered economy the town’s main concern? Should the city allow gravel or oiled parking lots, instead of paved? If so, should they be per mitted for public use or only private use? The sewage treatment system may need expansion in the next few years, but is business willing to spearhead the drive for continued commercialization and residential growth? More immediately, the present system might be able to carry the growing sewer load only with pur chase of a used tanker truck to spread liquid sludge on wet fields and other temporary solutions for $(»(),2(M1. Is business willing to sup port the expense for the sake of continued building and commercial growth here? These are just a few of the many urban growth problems that fog Sandy’s economic future. They are problems awaiting the best solu tions this community collectively can raise. Toward that end, the harmonious dialogue of city hall and the business district is helpful. After all, it's a cooperative ven ture. < VB > Salem scene: Tax cut may aid poor state by JACK Z IM M K K M A N Associated Oregon Industries After more than a year of pessimistic revenue forecasts, an element of cautious optimism has been injected It comes from those responsible fo r balancing state government's income and outgo The problem rises from inflation and high interest rates, which have depressed home building activity and wreaked havoc on Oregon’s wood products industry The dilemma has been compounded by the state’s major reliance on income taxes to produce funds to pay for operation of government A fter years of comfortable surplus funds generated by expanding economy and pro gressive tax rates, the current recession seriously has impaired the state's a b ility to pay for existing government with dwindling revenue The revenue shotage was detected some 18 months ago and caused budget-cutting special legislative session last August The situation persisted through last winter into spring and summer, severely complicating the 61st Legislative Assembly's budget deliberations throughout the record long regular session that ended finally Aug 2 As recent as last week, Gov Vic Atiyeh's economic advisors s till were forecasting a continuation of the slump, perhaps through I9H2 Their prognostications only reinforced intent of both the governor and legislature to reconvene in special session to consider futher budget-cutting or tax increases in a few months Meanwhile in the nation's capitol. Con gress was m ulling Pres Ronald Reagan's proposal to cu, federal income taxes Although the program was not enacted until Oregon lawmakers adjourned, a few in dividuals began to ponder effects of those cuts on Oregon s economy One of those individuals was Kenneth Self, immediate past chairman of the site s Economic Development Commission He asked Economic lievelopment Department economists to analyze the situation That analysis is foundation for cautious op tim ism The Reagan tax-cut proposal, of course, is designed to refuel the economy by creating more discretionary income for savings and capital investment 1’tilizing ntmnal figures attempted to forecast Oregon s share of the nationwide impact Assuming what Oregonians w ill save in federal income tax w ill in turn be taxed by the state, the study estimated an increase of some 170 m illion for the state's general fund during the next three years Letters to the editor: ‘Progress ’ stirs mountain folk Sweitzer ‘w rong’ In r e b u t ta l to M rs Sweitzer’s letter to the editor last week. I would like to c la rify some m isconcep tions The group is called M ountain Area C o rrid o r Citizens (MACC) It is not a secret organization, nor are we a bunch of radical en vironmentalists We are residents of the mountain, who enjoy living here and are concerned with the future of this area Good thing, too, because the con cern of Mrs Sweitzer and her friends seems to have« ended years ago I even question how much of it was concern for the perservation of the area then If they played such a big part in the development of a cohesive c o m p re h e n s iv e land use plan for the area, it must have been with dollar signs in their eyes I don't call four proposed hydro projects ( the proposed T il lie urn Spur, T illic u m Woods, Brightwood Glen and Alderwood developments) or the incorporation of Welches into a city slow and in telligent growth I t ’s called mass urbanization of one of the m o st u n iq u e and beautiful areas in the nor- thwet Now in the area of tax dollars The money spent for the public hearings is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousands Mr Sweitzer w ill have to ob tain from the Small Energy Loan C om m ittee I t ’s a federal loan made up of tax dollars So we, the public, w ill lx* paying for the construction of Mr Sweitzer’s hydro pro ject, so he can profit from the sale of energy The citizens of this com m unity can play a big part in what goes on up here, but it takes some involvem ent T he c o u n ty has demonstrated in the past that if citizens do not attend public hearings to oppose these projects, they w ill be approved It would be sad to see the mountain fall into the hands of a few developers who want to make the moun tain one of the largest resort areas in the world Development w ill happen, but le t’s see it slow and con trolled The mountain should remain an area where our children can grow up to en joy the quality of life we now enjoy Jim A Kim Tinker Brightwood Condos ‘ugly’ Phooey on you, M r Bright Your lights may go out. W'e mountain people don’t want your ugly condos We don’t want your phoney- baloney people up here. They think just because they spend a few bucks at your ugly places, they own the roads Our next issue: Get the speed down to 20 on Welches Rod Our kids run, walk and bicycle around here. They have to go to the drugstore to get their ice cream We don’t drive them from here to there We re against your light yo u ’re try in g to get at Welches and Highway 26 No, it may go up to conve nience your guests. But somehow we mountain peo pie w ill get it down You have plans for a city. Go put it someplace else We o n ly need p o lic e assistance sometimes. Our mountain boys do one heck of a job We re running the freaks off. It's going to be safe for our children, dogs and women to walk where they want. L e a v e th e r iv e r bed along though you could add to your rive r front Ha I'm anxious to see your units at the first real big flood we get up here 1968’’ Took our bridge out Your landscaping w ill be a mess in a very few years Tot» closely planted Should plant ivy It w ill cover all in a few years Take your city plans and leave us alone. W e're w a tch in g every move you make on your lands. Shirley Hanson Welches Personal observation: Legislative Report from the State Capital E XC L U S I VE to Oregon's Weekly Newspa pers trom Associated Oregon Industries The total benefit to Oregon’s economy oer the three-year period would come to a stag genng $1 4 billion One would expect.that sort of news to ex cite those who have been struggling with the state's budgetary problems for the last 18 months This has not been the case for several reasons The Economic Development study while it does point the way for a more optim istic outlook by necessity is based on a number of assumptions that are less than strictly reliable. It assum es, fo r in sta n ce , c e rta in m ultipliers of financial impact based on what individuals w ill do with dollars no longer destined for the federal treasury These and other assumptions are apparent in the study, and its results are dependent upon favorable public response The study was completed even before the tax cut was enacted fully, and that makes its accuracy even more questionable Nonetheless, E x e c u tiv e D e p a rtm e nt D ire c to r Robert S m ith indicates his economists are examining the study and w ill announce their findings w ithin a couple of weeks Legislative revenue staff also are aware of the study and have questions about state federal tax relationship While he doesn't deny potential for economic stim ulation with Reagan's tax-cut program, Smith believes the Economic Developmet study involves some technical problems and also questions its assump tions He appears more inclined to believe economic effects of the cut in federal taxes may take longer than three years to significantly influence the Oregon economy W h a te ve r the o utcom e. E conom ic Development's form er commission ch a ir man is on the right track, when it comes to implementing what President Reagan's plan intends He is focusing on the positive at a time when negativism seems to have taken over If it doesn't do anything else, the plan should help Oregonians understand role* they can play restore economic v ita lity Family car more ‘mule’ than machine? The streak of red from the passing car made my mind flash backward The car was a red 1970 Ford Maverick on the corner of Bluff R oad and H ig h w a y 26. The flashback was to 1973 in Ketchikan, Alaska, where I last saw the streak ing red roadster some eight years earlier The car had survived two wars in its tw o -y e a r A laskan o u tin g Somehow I never expected to see it roll again especially after I sold it to a little , old man who hadn't shifted a gear since his last Ford built in the '30s The little Maverick just didn’t like the frig id north It dragged its heels like a mule, prefering to be kicked or pulled than grudgingly move fo r ward One icy January m orning it wouldn't start Refused I was get ting late for work at the daily paper in town at the bottom of the hill There perched at the top was the converted barn where I lived It once housed dairy cattle on a pioneer homestead I slept cold in the old c re a m e ry My m u le -h e a d e d Maverick seemed happy up there Finally the motor growled and sputtered in gutteral baritone It stopped I pumped it again We pro ceed down the icy hill It stopped right in the middle! Straight ahead at the bend in the h ill loomed the community dump site A sudden drop off I shoved my mule into first gear and popped the clutched to restart the motor It started, but the steering wheel was locked in one position pointed dow n into the abyss of snow-covered trash Somehow it stopped just in time A fter all. that's what a mule is best at The freeze up. a mechanic told me later, wasn't due just to cold It was a built in flaw at conception when by VON BRASCHLER, Motorist my mule headed Maverick stum bl ed out of the stable with other cows and Pintos Yes. it could be fixed, g ive n tim e and m oney. T h is mechanic said he could ju ry rig anything, but said he wouldn't be held responsible for my safety. He got along fine with my car with that attitude In fact, every tim e I ’d pass his garage, the car seemed to die Somehow it looked happier parked restfully in his lot. w aiting for his slow attention It may have mated w ith a Colt once or twice there Its funny g rill smiled shrewd iy But all good things must come to an end. and soon it was back at the homestead, balking at the snowy h ill It told me it could make it up without strapping chains to it, if I'd just make it fast and painless So I backed up to get a good run at it It balked at that same bend in the h ill I dug in and spun deeper in the snow, unable to go either up or down I tried too late to mount chains With a shovel in hand. I dug my little M averick's hooves free But a line up of equally daring hilltop dwellers told me to give up the marathon in sloppy, cold snow Wet and miserable. I backed the freed car down the h ill, zig zagging out of control around the dump to the highway below There I parked my c a r, u n til the state snowplow discovered it beneath its blanket the next morning The crease made by the snowplow in the Maverick's behind was more than a kick in the rear It allowed water to fill both the trunk and the backseat Bailing and boots became necessities for backseat passengers The trunk, however, became a source of odd amusement A fter g iv ing up on control of its water level p a rticu la rly in the wheel well I used it as an aquarium Most people don’t believe this But con sider how hardy goldfish are And cold water seems to encourage their growth. The black moor was a favorite It really could shock peo pie. when I'd asked them to look at something in my trunk Fun as the Maverick became as a relic of battle, I knew in my heart it couldn t survive relocation “ down south in the states." So when I left Alaska, I left the mule-headed Maverick behind As a parting joke on it, however, I tried to sell it though a newspaper ad for top Blue Book price Believe it or not, a semi mobile elderly gent called on the phone to verify the year, make, miles and price He said his banker needed the info to make him a loan He didn't ask to see the car Soon thereafter, the banker called to verify this inform ation He didn’t ask to see the car. either Without ever looking at the car, the old man plopped down the high price He asked if it ran alright After paying the money, we walk ed to the car together He liked it! But then he admitted not driving a stick-shift, since his last Ford That was a Model A When he ground into first gear and took off, I just knew I ’d never see that stubborn car again It bucked like crazy, and he took off down the highway all the way in first gear He must have hit 40 mph in first gear In fact, no one I talked to ever saw him make it into second or any higher ■speeds. So how could I see that trunk- creased, red 1970 Maverick with stick shift and plaid seats eight years later on a street in Sandy, headed for Gresham’ Should I alert someone there’ Course it w ill take a while to arrive, if it s still stuck stubbornly in first gear and sloshing water in the hold. (EDIT. N O TE: You probably have a tale to tell about a car in your past If so. drop us a line We d like to hear from readers )
