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