Vol 72 No 2
SANDY OREGON THURSDAY JANUARY 14 1982
( I S P S 4XI-IMO)
Single Copy 25’
Revenue shortfalls snarl budget plans
by DAN DILLON
The Sandy Elementary D istrict
plans to present district patrons with
the smallest budget jump in several
years, yet decreases in revenue w ill
force a greater increase in taxes
That comes despite more than
1277,000 which has already been
pared from the 1982-83 proposal by
the the district Budget Committee
“ Every dollar (the budget com m it
tee) reduced is a tax dollar,'*
Superintendent Clark Lund said
Tuesday.
The biggest cut came in teachers'
salaries and related fixed charges
Some $142,000 were cut from that
facet after the November 1981 Con
sumer Price Index was released
According to the teachers' agree
ment, their raise for this year of the
contract is the CPI minus 1 percent
When the budget proposal was
prepared, indications were that the
CPI would be higher than it turned
out to be. so the excess was
eliminated
Other cuts made by the budget
committee included $10.692 from a
modified sports program (only Cedar
Ridge students would now par
ticipate); Talented and Gifted pro
gram, $37,946, a new bus, $28.500. an
extra driver, $8.803, and the level of
teacher s aide service, $18.000
Eor awhile, the budgeters con
sidered discontiuing the hot lunch
program, in favor of a m ilk program
That idea was finally defeated
Yet, the total savings could not o ff
set the loss of revenues
Those losses came from a lower
cash carryover this year, lower earn
ings on temporary investments and
state Basic School Support.
“ Basically, we've used almost all
of our cash carryover just to make
this year's operation go," Lund said
As a result, this year there w ill be up
p ro x im a te ly $196,000 less cash
available
The loss from tem porary in
vestments was caused by a new
policy of d is trib u tio n of state
revenues As the state attempts to
salve its economic woes, it realigned
its method of money distribution
from quarterly to monthly
That eliminated investing leftover
money after the monthly bills were
paid in short-term investments
The school district has earned as
much as $175,000 a year by doing this.
Lund estimates the district w ill now
only be able to raise about half that
amount.
The state Basic School Support w ill
not increase approximately $200,000
a year as it has in the past either.
“ That hurts,'* Lund said
As the district shifts to meet those
economic responsibilities, u n fo r
tunately the shift goes to the property
tas payers This year, the district's
tax jum p could be almost 30 percent
for a total budget of $5 4 million.
Unless something is done at the
state level, Lund fears that this
budgeting difficulty could become
the trend, rather than the exception.
“ I envision some drastic political
action,’’ he said, “ drastic political
action being tax levy limitations
"Most districts are facing the same
thing we are ." he said ‘ With that be
ing a statewide problem, there is
much more likelihood of one of these
property tax limitatons occurring ”
Because public education is re
quired by state constitution, the state
Legislature is going to have to come
up with some innovative means of
helping local taxing districts, but
that move probably won’t come when
the special session convenes later
this year.
But, Lund is convinced, it w ill have
to come sometime soon
“ I think we re going to see the
Legislature looking at ‘How can we
bail out local property tax payers,” ’
Lund said “ I think they have to ."
Photo by Michael P Jones
This Brightwood home, built in the 1940s, was destroyed early Tuesday morning when flumes swept through the log structure.
Early-morning blaze destroys historic home
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Post Correspondent
An early-morning fire gutted an historic Brightwood home
Tuesday, near the Salmon River Bridge just off Highway 26.
The Sherwood House on East Cannon Street, which served
as a landmark and tourist attraction for many years, was
completely destroyed after it was totally engulfed in flames
when Hoodland Rural Eire Department crews arrived on the
scene after a 3 30 a m alarm.
Three engines, two tankers were used to bring the fire
under control within 40 minutes after a rriva l at the scene, ac
cording to Hoodland Eire Chief Don Arm introut He said that
it took another three hours to completely extinguish the
flames.
The house, owned by Ted and Gertrude Johnson of
Portland, was valued at approximately $112.000
Beverly Stonebrook, a next door neighbor, said she had a
feelig something was wrong all day Sunday She said that at
one time she went to the house and looked in the windows to
see if there was anything unusual
"M y gut feeling was that something was wrong,”
Stonebrook said. "Above the house, in the trees, was what
looked like fog or smoke.”
She said that she figured it had to be smoke coming from the
home's chimney because someone had been in the house
earlier in the day
Stonebrook checked the house twice more Sunday, using
binoculars, before she went to bed, she said
Dorothy Kemper, the Johnsons' daughter, said an Oregon
State Police trooper driving west on Highway 26, also noticed
something unusual and described the fog that seemed to hang
in the trees above the house
Mrs Johnson called the fire "a very unfortunate loss,"
because of the structures rustic architectural design and uni
que furnishings
The house was built in the 1940s by the Sherwood fam ily as a
replica of a sim ilar home on the Oregon Coast Kemper said
the coastal home served as an office and residence for
managers of some beach cottages
The home in Brightwood, according to Kemper, was design
ed by the eldest Sherwood, a Portland educator. His son built
the house to his father's specifications
The finished product featured hardwood floors, a staircase
with naturally curbed poles for its railing and a heavy wood-
plank door
The' house was built of seasoned tamarack logs from the
Bend area
The house also featured a 1.000-squa re-foot living room
which was decorated with old guns, skins of cougars, bobcats
and a large tim ber wolf, and stuffed owls All were lost in the
blaze.
Also destroyed was a 3- by 15-foot oak table which was
brought around Cape Horn more than 100 years ago
Armintrout said the blaze probably started two or more
hours before his department was notified It is still under in
vestigation.
He said that it would be a few days before the cause could be
established
Commissioners deny Minikahda hydro project
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Post Correspondent
The Clackamas County Com mis
sioners last week denied the appeal
to an earlier decision which stopped
construction of a hydroelectric pro
ject on Minikahda Creek in the Ixdo
Pass area.
l^ast Wednesday, Paul M Sanders,
of Zigzag, appealed the hearings of
fic e r's decision that his m in i-
hydroelectrict project conflicted with
C lackam as County ordinances
Sanders had already been granted a
loan from the state Energy Loan Pro
gram on the stipulation that the coun
ty approve his permit
The hearings officer had denied the
permit, citing ordinances which pro
hibit construction on slopes greater
than 35 percent
Sanders told the county commis
sioners that it is unfair to deny the
perm it based on slope, because
microhydro projects need the slopes
to help move the water fast enough to
generate electricity
Ron Stangel, of the county planning
department, told the commissioners
that his staff considered the average
slope to be less than 35 percent and
did not feel the application violated
the intent county’s comprehensive
plan or zoning ordinances
Sanders contended that the “ open
space review " in the ordinance pro
vides for a staff review of the project
in order to resolve conflicts between
development standards and develop
ment and open space resources In
this case, he said, the conflict is
slope
C om m issioner Ralph Groener
agreed and said that because voters
Sandy clerk assaulted in robbery try
A Sandy store clerk was assaulted
by two men early Sunday morning
when he attempted to stop an ap
parent theft of beer at a local grocery
«tore
Chu Yul Choi. 26, was attacked out
side J im ’s Big Apple Grocery. 38636
Proctor Blvd , at 2 52 a m after he
followed two customers outside after
they had reportedly taken a ha If case
of beer from the store.
Choi was taken by Alpine Am
bulance to Gresham Community
Hospital where he was treated for a
concussion after he was beaten in the
head by blunt instruments He was
released Tuesday
Arrested and charged with first-
degree robbery, first degree assault
and carrying a dangerous weapon
with intent to use were Steven I^ee
James, 18. of Sandy, and William
James Willis, 20, also of Sandy
Investigation into the incident is
continuing
Sandy police issued a number of
citations for driving under the in
fluence of intoxicants over the New
Years' weekend.
M arkitta (xMiise Mantei, 30. of Bor
ing. was cited Jan. I at 12:15 a m for
DUII after she was stopped near the
intersection of Pioneer Boulevard
and Scales Avenue
Dennis O rville Bennett, 25. of Bor
ing. was cited for D U II and driving
with a suspended license after he was
stopped near the intersection of Proc-
tor Boulevard and Shelley Avenue at
2 45 a m.
Danny Britton. 30, of Sandy was
also cited New Years Day for D UII,
after he was stopped near the in
tersection of H ighw ay 26 and
Highway 211 at 3:48 a m
Jeffrey Wayne Collins, 19. of San
dy, was arrested and taken into
c u s to d y on a w a r r a n t fro m
Clackamas County on a parole viola
tion last Friday
Monday, Robery Oleny Gilliland,
54, of Sandy, was cited and released
for D UII after the vehicle he was
driving collided with a parked car
near the intersection of Proctor
Boulevard and Scales Avenue at
12:20 a m
had approved small energy project
development, it is necessary for the
planning staff to address this in the
comprehensive plan as well as in the
zoning ordinances so these projects
may proceed
Henry Markus, Oregon Depart
ment of Energy land-use specialist,
told the commissioners that he is con
cerned that the county's only preclu
sion to hydroelectric projects was the
35-percent-slope criterion
A proposed amendment to the or
dinance regarding slop«* is scheduled
to go before the Clackamas County
Planning Commission later this
month.
A tto rn e y E d w a rd S u lliv a n ,
representing the Mt Hood Water
Resources Coalition which oppos«*d
the project, argued that existing
county ordinances p ro h ib it the
Minikahda project and that until the
ordinance is amended, the proposal
is a dead issue He moved fora
dismissal of the appea1, based on the
earlier hearings officer decision
Commissioner Robert Schumacher
concurred and formalized a motion
and added. " M r Sanders be given
leave to file for that conditional use
without change" if the slope amend
ment is approved
Groener said he concurred with
Schumacher's motion only because
he felt the Coalition would file a
lawsuit He said he is concerned that
"obstructionists" w ill defeat sim ilar
energy projects like the Minikahda
proposal
Carolyn Smith, of Rhododendron, a
Coalition member, disagrees She
said in a recent interview that a com
prehensive study of streams in the
Mt Hood area must lx* done to see
which is suitable for hydro develop
ment and what kinds of problems
would be encountered
“ We were not disputing the fact
that hydro may be an important
energy component, but that there
were a lot of unanswer«*d qu«*stions
regarding cost-efficiency, proved
need and effects of stream diversin
and erosion," Smith said
"Even the county admits that there
are problems associat«*«! with it and
ideally we should have a comprehen
sive plan just for hydros," she added
Commissioner Stan Skoko . said
Tuesday, “When a project affect one
property owner only, and he wants to
develop a mini-hydro on his own
land, that's OK
"But when other people are
adversely affected, i t ’s a no-no," he
said
Skoko said that if by disturbing the
soil and if the laying of the penstalk
line would disturb others, the project
should be denied He said a good pro
ject would bother no one -either
above or below the system.
“ We must not forget about the
comprehensive plan," Skoko said,
"ju st for the sake of somebody's
poeketbook "
SUHS moves
forward with
arts center
by SCOTT NEWTON
The Sandy Union High School
Board of E ducation in stru cte d
Richard Gessford and Associates, a r
chitects for proposed renovations
and the performing arts center, to
keep working on the project.
However, they postponed the
March 30 election indefinitely
“ With the economy the way it is
right now, and until we figure out our
budget for next year, I think we ought
to put it on the back burner," said
Pete G riffin, board chairman, e bout
the $3.5 m illion arts center project
Board Member Gary Cleland
agreed, “ M r Chairman, I ’m going to
make a motion. I would like to see us
table this thing indefinitely until
economic conditions get better
“ I agree with Richard (Gessford),
I hate to lose the momentum we have
going, but if the economic conditions
turn around. I'm sure we can get that
momentum back very quickly."
Board Member Robert Boring
seconded the motion, agreeing that it
would be difficult to get the public to
approve of a performing arts center
at this time, but adding that he would
regret not continuing with the pro
ject.
Cleland said that he does not ex
pect the economy to turn around until
the spring of 1983 About putting a
serial levy before the public, he said,
“ I think it ’s absolutely suicide."
Board Member Wayne Johnson
took a different stance.
“ This board is charged with the
responsibility of providing students
with classroom space," he said.
" I f we do not provide those kinds of
spaces, and if we're providing a
space that is, (as) Dr. Peters pointed
out, deteriorating daily, how soon
does that become a hazard?
"Maybe it won't. I don't know at
this point. But what if we determine
tomorrow that it is a hazard” And we
close up three or four classrooms
because we can not use the building9
Then what’ll we do?"
Johnson was referring to a crack in
the wall of the agriculture room that
“ has suddenly been growing " There
is also a crack in the shop area
“ We’ve got some real problems,
and we have to look at them,”
Johnson continued “ I don't think we
can just shove this thing on the back
burner and forget it."
Gessford pointed out another pro
blem in postponing the project.
“ Historically, in the last 20 years,
( b u ild in g ) h a s n 't g o tte n any
cheaper," he said “ And I don’t
suspect i t ’s going to turn around and
get cheaper the next 12 or 14, or 24
months.”
“ Sometimes I wonder if this per
forming arts complex should have a
different name," Paul Tucker, board
member, said
“ I don’t know if that would work or
not. It doesn't bother me, but some
people don't like the performing arts.
“ But anyway, that's just a thought.
I won’t charge you anything for it,”
he joked,
The board voted 3-2 against
Cleland’s motion to table the project
indefinitely, with Cleland and G riffin
voting yes and Boring. Johnson and
Tucker voting no
Gessford was instructed to con-
tinue working on the project under
terms of a $10,000 contract with the
board
In other business, Dennis Crow,
assistant prin cip a l, discussed a
survey sent to 440 parents The
return rate was 47.3 percent.
Almost 50 percent said that they
support the goal of a focus on general
education Thirty-seven percent said
that they favor a goal with a focus on
vocational education, and 16 percent
said they favor a goal with a focus on
college preparatory work
Index
SECTION I
Keeping Posted ................. 3
Senior Center News ............ 3
Inside the Church
5
Obituaries
...................... 5
School Lunch Menus
5
Editorials, Letters ............ 6
Sports and Recreation ... 7-8
SECTION II
Area News ............................ 1
Around the County ............ 2
Hoodland H appenings........ 2
Home and Garden
........ 9
Classified Advertising
10-12
SECTION III
TV Revue............... Inside Tab