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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1981)
Section SANDY OREGON THURSDAY OCTOBER 29 The Sàndy Post 1981 Area News People Home & Garden Features Firewood bill aimed at reducing illegal cutting b> M IC H A E L P. JONES Post Correspondent Persons cu ttin g firew ood a fte r Nov 1 can look fo rw a rd to m ore red tape and scru tin y, due to a b ill passed this ses sion by the Oregon Le gislature Reason fo r its passage is tim b e r thievery House B ill 3022 requires the hauler of firew ood to possess a signed p e rm it docum enting where a person's firew ood was cut if transported over Oregon roads P ublic wood cu ttin g p e rm its, which are already rq u ire d for public land, w ill suffice if the wood is cut on N ational Forest land However, if the wood comes from p riv a te land, the p e rm it m ust include the follow ing in fo rm a tio n to be valid the date of the p e rm it, the name, address and telephone num ber of the landowner gra n tin g the p e rm it, and the s ignature of both the landow ner and the hauler The p e rm it must also specify the type of wood to be cut and a de scrip tion < the tax lot id e n tifica tio n number» of die land the firew ood was taken from A ccording to John M cC o rm ick, a special agent w ith the U S Forest Ser v ic e , w h o is s t a tio n e d a t th e sup ervisor's o ffice at the M t Hood N.i tion al F orest, ille g a l firew ood cuttin g has run ram p an t, tioth on public and p riv a te land James Forney, of the C rim in a l D iv i sion of the Oregon State Police, agrees, but is o p tim is tic that the new b ill w ill allow his office to a, least begin to deal w ith the problem s caused by the thefts " A t least you have som ething now that gives you som eplace to go ," said F orney "Y o u m ay no, stop it. but it (the b ill* gives you a s ta rtin g point Forney said that in recent years his o ffice has been handling m ore and m ore com plains from tim b e r com panic's. as w ell as from p riv a te Ian downers, who have had trees cut down and sold fo r firewo<xf Beginning Nov I. if haulers are stop ped. they w ill have to produce a pe rm it If not. they could f>e lined up to 2500. im prisoner! up to six m onths, or both M cC orm ick said tha, the Fores, Ser vice is now a ctive ly persuing prosecu tior. of tim b e r theives He said that on N ational Fores, land they have become "s o overw helm ed by the ille g a l cu ttin g of firew ood for co m m e ricia l use that th e y a re li t e r a lly fo rc e d to do som ething " M cC orm ick said that this ye a r there are four to five tim es as m any people il le ga lly cu ttin g firew ood, and that the U S Attorney's office is cooperating fu lly He said that citatio ns and felony convictions are being handed out. w ith hope's of c u rta ilin g the problem M cC orm ick said that the tim b e r thieves are getting sm a rte r and q u icke r in th e ir cu ttin g a c tiv itie s He said that this has posed a problem , especially when coupled w ith the la c tth a t the Fores, Service has had to cut back on m anpower He said that it has affected th e ir a b ility to cover , he isolated areas that the thieves w ork ou, of M cC orm ick did say that the m an power problem is slow ly being equaliz ed by the Fores, S ervice’s aggressive a ttitu d e tow ards the vio lato rs, as w ell as th e ir stepped up weekend pa tro ls "L e g a lly you only have to prove a theft of over $1<M> to get a felony c o n vic tion for cu ttin g ille g a lly in the N ational F o re s t." said M cC orm ick, "b u t usually we wan, to go higher to ge, a g(xxl pro secution ” He said tha t it usually takes .300 board fee, to m ake up a cord of wood Ille g a lly cut. this cord of u ix x f could cos, violators up to 1100 per thousand board fee, Bu, if the w ixxl is cut ille g a lly in a tim b e r sale area, they can be charged as m uch as $1.7,Ml to S I.800 per thousand board fee, "N a tu ra lly , if you cu, a cord of w ixxl out of an expensive tim b e r sale.” said M cC orm ick, " it doesn't take much to d riv e the cost up " M cC orm ick said the Forest Service is eva lu ating each case separately, and is looking a, " w illfu l trespass" com pared w ith "innocent trespass” in m aking a decision about how to proceed against the cu tte r He said that if the cu tte r has a sm all pickup, a sm a ll chain saw and sim ple tools, and it is th e ir firs , offense and they are not a com m e rcial cu tte r, they w ill only be charged "d ou ble the stum - page " Photo* by Scoli Newton Above, J im H a th a w a y c a rr ie s a p u m p k in in fro m the fie ld at I'o n ey's F a r m M a r k e t. \ t r ig h t. S haw n B e rry is shown c a r r y in g th e p u m p k in he se lected Both a re firs t g ra d e rs at K elso School. "However, if it's a two ton truck with cables and a winch, and a five man crew." said McCormick, "they will be charged triple stumpage "A g(xxl organized crew of five or six can take out six to eight cords of wood in two hours If you've go, some good cutter working, and people splitting, loading and stacking it doesn’t take much time to get in and get out of the woods.** He said tha, the timber thieves are well organized, and tha, before they head out into the forests with their crew and equipment, that they usually send ou, a sedan "to scout locations '* He said tha, log decks and down timber are the primary targets "Commercial cutters illegally cut ting in the National Forests are remov ing the volume of wood make available to the public." said McCormick "Too many people are coming back empty handed after spending money for gas to drive all the way into the mountains, only to find the area has been picked over by illegal cutters " McCormick said that the Forest Ser vice is soliciting cooperation from the public to "remove these illegal cutters from the forests.’* He said tha, something must be done soon because the number of illegal cutters is steadily increasing "There are over 280 telephone numbers in the Portland metropolitan area that are advertising firewood for sale." McCormick said "A good por tion of these are selling illegal wood With the supply being siphoned off by these cutters, it's going to hurt everyone in the end.” McCormick praised the various timber companies and loggers for their cooperation He said that by them being in the w ( mx ! s as much as they are. tha, they are the best source of leads. He said that they have been assisting his office in identifying illegal cutters Robin Wiley, the fores, coordinator with the Estacada Ranger District, said that there is no way of knowing how many people are illegally cutting, nor how much wood was being cut illegally But he did say that if they did it long enough, the Forest Service would sure ly find out Wiley said that this past fall over 10,000 new free use firewood permits were issued by his district In one weekend, over 2,500 were issued He said that although the patrols and added security measures should help to eliminate some of the illegal cutters, that the problem would not be reduced until the firs, snow falls Until that time, he said that illegal cutting would most likely continue, along with other problems associated with firewood cutting, such as traffic jams, fist fights and personal injury ac cidents. "The traffic jams start around five o’clock in the morning." Wiley said. " I, stays bumper to bumper until around two in the afternoon The next weekend it starts all over again The rainshine doesn’t stop them either, just slows them up It isn’t until the snow flies that they stop cutting '* Mountain Players plan to show the community a good time by SCOTT NEWTON It's the people, both on the mountain and in the Mountain Players, that makes theater worthwhile for Dave Ligatich. who directs, and plays one of the leading male roles, in the upcoming Neil Simon comedy "Barefoot in the Park” "T here’s no cliquishness here," Ligatich said "Everybody’s just here to have fun. and that's what they do They have fun " If somebody misses a line, it's part of the show They love it They eat tha, up because everybody’s just here to have fun Nobody's here to critique a show "When people walk ou, the door they have a smile on their face They have something to talk about ” Marge Brown, who plays the widow ed mother, goes so far as to say it was through the Mountain Players tha, she gained acceptance in the community She said, "You know, th ere’s something funny about this mountain I'm one of the oldest members here I've been here for almost 18 years, and it’s only been in the last five years that, 'they accept you. finally * "Once they accept you, look out, you know, if anyone bothers a mountain person "They’re supportive, but it's a closed group, and neat people, very unusual Staff phot<■ C o n n ie l.ig a lir h . M a rg e B ro u n and D a t e l.ig a lir h I But you have to put out an effort to ge, to know them. "And I really didn't until about six years ago, when I got into this And now, I know a lot of people on the moun tain I mean, they're so supportive ’’ And though everyone understands when someone blows a line, members of the Mountain Players interviewed last week said tha, they are interested in producing more professional shows They spent $500 on new make up recently, and would like to do as much as they can toward updating the Lions Club building in Wemme as they can I^ex Secomb, president of the Moun tain Players, said, "The Mountain Players built this ” She raised a hand, indicating the Lions Club building She pointed out that the Lions Club, the Lions Auxiliary, the Women's Club and the Mountain Players all overlap, to a degree "We'd come and work on this place till 12. 1 o'clock at night." she said We want to keep things here going, Ligatich added And how did the Mountain Players get started? "At Zigzag Inn. we were all sitting at the bar, as usual," Secomb said, laughing "This was just years ago "And. we got to talking about theater, and all of a sudden lx>is (Boget) says. Well, let's start us something like that ’ "She was actually an instigator and an organizer She instigated, she organized, and you did all the work That's how she did things " Boget, also the founder of the Women's Club, died four years ago in September "She was a fantastic person,'* Secomb said. Secomb, who is the head waitress at the Zigzag Inn and has worked there for 18 years, said that it is the diversity of the people involved that makes the group what it is. "This is what makes the mountain players," she said " It ’s all fun It's a community thing. "We have great response, really.’’ Ligatich plays the part of Paul, a somewhat stuffy lawyer that hasn’t got the knack of living that his wife, Corie, does Corie is played by Connie Ligatich. Dave's wife. Brown plays Corie s mother, Mrs Banks, who eventually falls for Victor Velasco, one of a number of eccentrics living in Paul and Corie Bratter's New York City apartment building Velasco is played by Darrell Eblen, which is not a name unfamiliar to San dy people. He's played Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof,” and Judd in "Oklahoma *’ "He's the best to come out of the San dy area that I've ever seen," Ligatich said "He's excellent He can play any part and bring it off.’’ Hank Dalpaz, who has been involved with the Mountain Players for some time, will play the part of the delivery man Craig Duro, who has had some professional experience, will play the part of the telephone repairman Ligatich feels that Brown is a natural "(It's» just a certain smile, the way she says a line She always has the in sight to see how a line should be said "It's something like a quick smile, or a little laugh at the end of a line, that just takes the audience and cracks them up It isn't that the line that cracks them up, it's the expression, or the way she delivers the line "The audience, the entire audience, just falls in love with her It's perfect.’* "Every minute he's lying,’’ jokes Brown about Ligatich's praise. "The doctor sketch I was proud of, and "God's Favorite.*’ Just say numerous other horrible things," she instructed this reporter. " I prefer to forget I've totally forgotten them ’’ She later adds. "I'm on stage on time, let's put it that way "Dave is a good director," she con tinued. "and these people I'm working with now are very excited They really are " I ’m most proud of this one." Asked if she gets nervous perform ing, she said, "No, not anymore I used to get so nervous, but I was telling Dave, now I ’ve got direction. " I am nervous about doing my part, keeping up with these guys, because they’re good They are "Yeah, I'm nervous about holding up my end ’’ Ligatich said that the nervousness that goes with putting on a play should be minimized somewhat because "Barefoot in the Park" is a play they’re comfortable with " I t ’s so lifelike and believable Every one of the characters fit. The camaraderie is excellent. People end up coming out of the show calling each other their stage names You can get in to it that much " It's fairly obvious that Ligatich. who is recreation director at Red Lion, just gets into theater He was involved with the Mountain Players before high school At Sandy Union High School he participated in drama, and worked as a drama aide for almost two years after graduating Many of the college classes he’s taken have been drama related, and he also tries to attend as many workshops as he can. There are M Mountain Players members, but Ligatich would like even more to become involved, and pointed out that they could utilize any number of different skills. "There's always room for somebody to do something Always." "Barefoot in the Park" will be per formed Nov. 20 and 21, and Dec 12, at the Lions Club building in Wemme Tickets, which will be on sale soon, will be 22 75 for adults. 22 for youngsters 14 and up. and free to those under 14 Nov 20 will be family night Nov 21 and Dec 12 will be cabaret nights, with drinks being served For additional information, contact Ligatich at home at 822 M i l between 5 and 7 p m
