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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1982)
The Slfnäy Post Editorial & Opinion Von Braschler. Publisher Caroline Duff Office Manager Don Dillon. Editor Scott Newton. News Editor SANDY OREGON THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1982 Reagan crusade like class warfare Recent moves by the Reagan Administration may make it more costly for the general population to communicate by phone or mail, and we think that's a crime. The new administration dogged giant AT&T, until the giant monopoly agreed in anti trust litigation to divest itself of 22 local phone companies nationwide Ap parently, Ma Bell was subsidizing local phone service costs with revenue from more lucrative pockets including long-distance service, anyway. The net result is that new local ownership, without such subsidy, might need to charge you more to call across town. Also last week came the an nouncem ent th a t P re sid e n t Reagan had overruled Postal Ser vice recommendation to continue subsidy for many second-class permit holders. Hurt are the na tion’s smaller newspapers that send the hometown news to neighbors each week. Originally, the mailing sub sidies for newspapers meant government support of dissemina tion of general news. It was thought on Constitutional grounds that the American public should be informed by a vigorous, free press. Newspapers won’t be hurt so much as the masses. Nor will the phone company be hurt so much as the genera] public. We’re talk ing about little people who find a $9 phone bill stiff enough now, and even a $9 annual subscription to a paper like The Post tough to pay. It almost seems like class war fare, the way the Reagan Ad ministration is taking wild aim. But what could we little people ex pect of a president who tries to sta rv e Polish w orkers in an economic boycott meant to teach Russian aggressors there a lesson? Testimony ( ould fix danger bridge Letters to the editor: The county traffic safety direc tor and sh eriff’s office say widespread trouble with accident- prone Salmon River Bridge near Brightwood is news to them. It’s not news to many motorists who have lost control of their vehicles that veer wildly to the left when starting up the bridge eastbound on Highway 26 during icing. There’s no government file to warn officials of bridge danger at almost any speed. Police Traffic Safety Commission and Division of Highways simply don’t keep record on “near-collisions” at specific locations, where no in juries or substantial property damage occurs. Apparently many motorists have lost control of the wheel at the dangerous bridge, but none have reported it. The Post has learned of many minor accidents at the bridge that fit this descrip tion. Clackamas Co. Traffic Safety Director Patsy Faulkner said her nine-member advisory commis sion would be interested in check ing into the matter. Local com mission member is Gresham Police Sgt. Kent Leary of Boring. She said that formal complaint to the regional traffic engineer also might prompt a site engineering study. Sometimes, she notes, regrading of a tricky stretch of road can render a danger spot harmless. The Post urges area motorists who have experienced “near collisions” there to write or call Regional Traffic Engineer Ron Failmezger. His address at Divi sion of Highways is 9200 SE M cL oughlin B o u lev ard , Milwaukie 97222. His phone number is 653-3100. Your testimony could save a life next time that little bridge freezes over. Let utility cut bad trees by JACK TRAVIS nl Sandy The result of ' danger trees'* falling on power lines has caused most of the power outages experienced so far this fall and winter A "danger tree" is defined as any tree or large clump of brush that could fall on power lines The fall could be caused by old age, disease, wind, snow, ice or being hit by a motor vehicle Inspection of "danger trees" should be done by experienced foresters Power companies should have such persons on their staff or contract for the service It is not pleasant to have power cut off from one hour to aix days, as Clackamas County residents have experienced during three of the last four winters It is inconve nient. dangerous to our health and expen sive when food is lost, because the deep freeze and refrigerator are not operating Using temporary heating and cooking alternatives is bothersome and expensive To those of use who rely on wells for water and livestock use. there is little we can do except hope and pray power will be restored quickly People should not have to su f'-r prolonged power interruption Portlrnd General Electric annually pays a half million dollars in premiums to in surunce companies to cover the c o m p an y in restoring power The half million comes out of our power bills W'wld it not tie better for the power com panies and the general public to work together to drastically cut the coat of in suranre necessary’ The power t timpano** soften their losses through insurance, but the user gel* nothing to »often his inconve nience ami probable los* of food during an outage To remedy this cause of potential outages, the general public must make a choice between interrupted power and trees Whose responsibility is it to guarantee tress will not cause an outage’ The main distribution lines are the responsibility of the power company The lines into homes and businesses from streets and roads should be the responsibility of property Bonneville Power Administration is «rtUrtzed for having excessively cleared ngjitsof way Yet in the last btg wind storm (hM season with thousands of Street crime, new politics scorned Koreans kinder? crime, but the near death of a man for 12 cans of beer is too horrible to con template Dolores Yarbrough Sandy Let’s say something in favor of Chu Yul Choi, whose family tries to ac commodate the shopping community of Sandy Choi was a policeman in Korea By very nature of this office, he was accorded Are we going to have respect and courtesy from citezens there In this coun another two years of Au- try, his family wants to Coin’ I hope not' Do Oregonians tru ly abide by our laws They are, however, harrasaed watch his voting record in relationship to his pro and humiliated If Choi had allowed mises’ If Oregon voters (criminal suspects, to take would do this, one would be a half-case of beer (from surprised to find that Jim's Big Apple), he'd be sometimes Les AuCoin*’ newsletters don’t coincide in trouble with the law CNo dispensing alcoholic with his voting record If seems now this liberal beverages after l a m ’ ) legislator all of a sudden In his attempt to coincide has become conservative. with city and state oi One should read his last di nances, he asked for the n e w s le tte r to O regon beer to be ret urnet! For his voters Do I detect shades conscientious behavior he of conservatism’ It seem was clubeed from behind so 1 wonder just how and nearly killed fiscally conservative he In these hard times of will continue to be, if he rampant unemployment, gets elected again Could it we might expect some be that he would revert to AuCoin changing? his old ways, after he has What’s your excuse this another two years wrapped time? up’ Hniinm Robert J Haueter Let’s take a look at his re Pacific Northwest Agen cent vote on building U S. cies Naval vessels, where the Portland House voted overwhelm ingly in favor of HR 3464 to provide that these vessels would not be built in foreign shipyards The vote Dear Oregonians. was 366 for with 21 opposed, Thank you for your in and guess who voted with terest in helping balance the 21 against’ l^es AuCoin the state budget (Could it be we have no Since my call for a shipyards in Oregon and special legislative session, Washington, not to mention I have received over 3,000 California?) le tte r s fro m O regon Even (Rep Ron, Wyden citizens expressing their voted in favor of this bill to feelings about my proposed not build our U S fighting state budget W hether vessels in fo re ig n highly critical or very sup shipyards My hat's off to portive, most of the letters you. Wyden, our junior offered constructive sug legislator from Orgon gestions Wyden also is liberal, but not so liberal as to send I would like to respond to A m e ric a n shipb u ild in g each letter individually, jobs to foreign countries, as but because of the large AuCoin voted to do number of letters received, I ’ve never been able to I find that time and dollars get a straight answer to are too short Therefore, I numerous letters out of Les have chosen, with your AuCoin yet Come on, Les understanding, to respond Governor thanks through this and Oregon newspapers other As you probably know by now. I have propoed to the Oregon Legislature a plan to balance the state's budget p rim a r ily w ith budget cuts along with various revenue measures, The only tax increase I have proposed is a small in crease in the beer and wine tax (4 cents on a six pack of beer; 13 cents on a bottle of wine). I believe my approach to this problem is the best one for Oregon during a time of economic recession I do not believe it is the time to cut property tax relief to pay for state programs Again, thank you for tak ing the time to give me your comments about our state budget problems Your ideas, concerns and support helped, as I made my decisons regarding these critical issues Vic Atiyeh Governor Personally speaking: We shot every Nazi in Missoula I couldn't begin to guess how many Nazis and Japanese died in the hack yards of Missoula din ing the early lWOs Heated battles waged for hours on end as our neighborhood bat talion worked to eradicate the im aginary horde which threatened the very life's blood of our com munity, 20 years after a couple of residents out of power because of fallen atomic bombs and thousands of danger trees, Bonneville had only a few American soldiers had been trees fall on their thousands of miles of spent accomplishing the same lines throughout Oregon, Washington, thing in World War II. Idaho and parts of Montana and Utah We were celluloid soldiers There were no power failures Basic training was massive Power companies are interested in good doses of "Combat" and "12 public relations They avoid making an O 'c lo c k H ig h ” E x te n d e d issue of asking to cut down "danger maneuvers were a trip to the trees * In order to insure constant power Wilma Theater for "The Longest service, the companies must ask land D a y " and " T h e Guns of owners to approve requests to remove Navarone " "danger trees ’’ On the other hand, the The bleary-eyed hours of property owner should cooperate by allow ■ preparation showed, too, in our mg "danger trees" to be removed uncanny ability to liberate an en Responsibility for "danger trees' on the tire alleyway in a m atter of power user » own property from the street >»econ<t» and the fact that no one or road to the house is tlie land owner's If in our group ranked below cap^ he riorsn t want trees to be cut, he should tain pay to have the line put underground No garbage can was safe from Why can’t the power companies put their our incendiary devices which lines umtergrouml ’ It is being done in new were actually over sized rocks subdivisions for short service lines Put thrown with a lot of screaming ting transmission lines underground and carrying on. however, coats up to seven times the coat We were a special lot. armed of overhead lines Technobigy basn I t»een with some of the finest weapons developed yet to put high voltage lines M attel's arm am ent company underground fur any distance. could produce exploding hand Property owners please ask or allow grenades and machine guns that power companies to cut on your property kept their firepower as long as We would have fewer power outages Ute caps stayed dry Power companies report that customers We were also equipped with tell service men to cut sny tree during bloodcurdling yeUs that could winter lor power restoration During times kill the weak livered enemy at 50 when the wind Isn't blowing and snow and paces, because we w e re ice aren't piling up ts when service men specially trained have moat time to cut "danger trees ’’ Despite the heat of summer, (NO TE Jack Travis is a retired Bon there was no room for soldiers in neville Power Administration official who swimming suite in that m an’s a r my s p ecia lized in rig h t of way matters > Guest editorial by DAN DILLON Wear a swimming suit to war and you automatically became a jungle scout, sacrificing your flesh against the cherries and plums that were munitions when the caps for the grenades got wet War waged throughout the neighborhoods of M issoula unhindered for a couple y e an un til word came that other soldiers, • advisors' actually, were falling in a little. Southeast Asian land where no one yelled, "Bang, bang When one casualty was the older brother of a fellow comba ta n t we r e t ir e d w a r and discovered baseball However, there were only so many infield flies that could bounce out of our mitts, so many O-for whatever hatting percen tages, and so many banishments to centerfieid where only the strongest Pee Wee leaguers could loft the ball, before television'* new fare started to look more a t tractive "The Man From U N C L E " and " I Spy" became de rigueur The movies' James Bond was nobody's fool and the comics’ Dick Tracy taught us, "The na tion that controls magnetism will control the universe.” Yes, James Bond was nobody's fool One look at the exotic places he v is ite d and the la te s t sophisticated weaponry he had at his disposal indicated that he was one person whose lead should he followed We became celluloid spys Bond, however, hung out with too many bikini-clad hotsy toteies and. in those days before the great hormonal tidal wave, tor turing spies who threatened the very existence of our right to tor lure spies seemed a lot more sen sible And we could torture spies The Chinese water torture and ham boo shoots under the fingernails were sissy stuff Any spy we caught in our neighborhood was going to find himself with his socks soaked in the lawn mower’s gasoline, walk mg across hot charcoal briquets Our enemies ended up being smarter than we were or else they didn't hang around our neighborhood too much, because we never caught one to try out our tortures on T re n c h -c o a te d sh ad o w * became our new enemy and we turned to the latest weaponry a t tache cases. The deluxe model could fire rounds in to u n suspecting nemeses without opening the case, genuine plastic bullets aim ed knee high flew out Just by squeezing the handle. Should it fall into enemy hands, a carefully-placed cap triggered the exploding device if they a t tempted to open it without the key There were still problems with keeping caps dry, but as super agents we seldom worried about keeping our attaches in safe hands What we did have trouble with was our attention span Before you could say Iliya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo, we men from U.N.C.L E were spies who went back into the cold. After our retirement. G I Joe and then Star Wars action figures became the rage among school aged hoys Our gang passed them up Besides, it seemed, something is probably lost in the translation if you let dolls do your fighting for you The tidal wave was beginning and interests shifted. It's been a long time since those days in the Montana D M Z fighting the Nazis and, later, the Cold War It's been a long time since I ’d thought about booby- trapping the neighbors' gate so it would slam shut and catch their kid by the ankle So it was like a post card from an old friend when, the day before Christmas I was sitting on my friend’s front steps, waiting for a ride to the airport and saw two young soldiers hiding behind a Buick across the street Soon, I saw the plastic barrel of a machine gun pop up over a fence The gate slid open and the little trooper marched into a near deafening volley of "hang, bang, bang ’* As soon as I saw it, I knew Just like some old soldiers and spies I remember, their caps were pro bably wet
