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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1982)
Section SANDY OREGON THURSDAY MARCH 4 1982 The Srfnfly Post Area News People Home & Garden Features County board approves slope amendment by MICHAEL P. JONES Poet Correspondent The Clackamas County Board of County Commissiners recently ap proved an amendment to the County Zoning and Development Ordinance that allows development on slopes in excess of 35 percent The amendment came about after the Mt. Hood Natural Resources Coalition successfully argued against a hydroelectric project proposed for Minikahda Creek, just off of Lolo Pass Road in Zigzag, which went before the commissioners on Jan 6 for an appeal. At that hearing Developer Paul Sanders of Zigzag argued that the Oct. 29 ruling of a Clackamas County hearings officer, who denied the pro ject because it would be developed on slopes prohibited by the current or dinance. was wrong He a rg u e d th a t slopes a re necessary for the generation of hydro-power Lynn F ra n k , director of the Department of Energy, agreed and urged the commissioners to change the ordinance, which she calied, in a letter read at the hearing, "an unreasonable obstacle to the develop ment of such facilities” as Sanders . The commissioners voted against the p ro je c t fe a rin g th a t the C o a litio n 's a tto r n e y , E d w a rd Sullivan of Portland, would file a lawsuit since the action would have violated the county ordinance. However, they requested that the planning staff draft an amendment to the ordinance, which would allow hydropower facilities on steep slopes. The amendment to the ordinance drafted by the planning staff, Canby man makes 7 in county clerk race The field in the race for Clackamas County Clerk grew to seven last Thursday when a Canby man an nounced his intention to seek the post. Douglas Wayne Poppen, 33, ex ecutive director at Parrott Creek Ranch, announced that he will seek the job his father. George D. Poppen, currently holds The elder Poppen announced he will retire for health reasons at the end of his current term While name fam iliarity may be helpful. Doug Poppen is running on his record—not his father’s. “ I recognize my own experiences and qualifications,” he said. “ I ’m certainly not running on his name." Poppen has been employed at P ar rott Creek Ranch for the past six and one-half years He worked as a counselor and administrative direc tor before assuming his current role. His responsibilities have included management of an $800,000 annual budget and 30 full-time employees “ I have been informed by a t torneys. businessmen and citizens of Clackamas County that they view the clerk's office to be an extremely effi cient and well run office,” Poppen Douglas Poppen said " I pledge to continue such service to the citizens of Clackamas County and to be readily accessible to the public. I would continue the practice of giving courteous service to everyone.” Poppen and his wife, Nikki, have two children, Jeffrey and Kelly. however, went beyond allowing just hydro facilities on such slopes The amendment submitted to the com missioners for approval allows any development, such as horn esites and r e s id e n tia l p ro je c ts as co n dominiums to be built on these slopes According to the Mt Hood Com munity Plan adopted in December of 1976. the purpose of including "hillside classification of land is to identify areas which not only present problems for development but also, due to excessive slopes, constitute a major source of erosion ” The plan states that slopes in ex cess of 25 percent are not suitable for development The amendment would allow developments on slopes ten percent greater than this, if the development site meets certain engineering standards. The plan characterizes these slope areas as being "shallow and unstable soils, outcroppings of rock and forest cover.” It also referred to them as being ‘‘an im portant watershed area ” “ These areas are generally un- suited for d evelopm ent, since development usually causes major erosion by in c re a s in g ru n o ff velocity," states the plan “ Major engineering problems are encountered with road construction, sitings of buildings and performance of subsurface disposal systems ” At the Feb 22 hearing Beth Baker, secretary-treasurer of the Rhododen dron Neighborhood Group, told the commissioners that her association opposes the relaxation of the zoning an d d e v e lo p m e n t o rd in a n c e “ because of the potential effect on those at the lower slope elevations who could end up with not only mud drainage slides descending on them, but also septic contents.” She said that this has happened elsewhere, especially in California. M arilyn Leslie, representing the E n v iro n m e n ta l C o m m itte e On Suitability, agreed and said that the 35 percent amendment would create environmental hazards because of the instability of slopes She said that most of these steep areas would be along streambeds on which the hillsides, if disturbed, would cause erosion problems for the area's waterways. Leslie told the commissioners that the Mt. Hood Community Plan m akes m o re th a n a d e q u a te allowance for development in the The commissioners voted two to one to approve the amendment Com missioners Schumacher and Ralph Groener voted for the ordinance change, with Commissioner Stan Skoko casting the dissenting vote Boring nurse given trip to Hawaii by GWEN BOGH Post Correspondent Thanks to emergency room doc tors and nurses, Pat Swisher of Boring, a night nurse, recently en joyed a trip to Hawaii. Swisher has been working the late shift, from l p.m to 7 a m., at the Portland Adventist Medical Center since 1962 She had been a beds id'; nurse for two years, and was asked to fill in on occasion in the emergency room. Soon after that the job she worked on a temporary basis turn ed into a full-time career The years have not been easy for S w isher. She’s ra is e d th ree children while working nights She said she managed to find spare hours for sleep, but it was quite a challenge “ I ’m very adaptable with my sleeping habits," she said. For day sleepers a ringing telephone can be annoying, so most disconnect it. Swisher didn't. She said, “ I can take great delight in listening to it ring ” The irregular hours didn’t seem to bother Swisher when the children were growing up. She was glad that she could work while they were sleeping, and be home with them while they were awake. Last year Swisher’s husband died of a heart attack It was a dif ficult period in her life Two of her children lived at home at the time. She said they helped her through the crisis Swisher recalls a dream her hus band had of going to Hawaii. While he was unable to go for himself, the dream materialized for her. A surprise birthday party in November is marked as one of Swisher’s most memorable days. The usual cake and decorations punctuated the event, but as she received gifts of sun-tanning lotion and visors, as well as other outdoor items, she began to question the in tentions of the party givers. She asked, “ What do you guys want me to do, start jogging?” Then, as she flipped through n book featuring palm trees and poetry, she knew her friends were up to something. At the end of the book she found tickets to Hawaii and a check for $250 She said, " I looked to see if they had gotten me a return ticket.” and other well known spots She said she enjoyed snorkling the most. "W e were more in terested in the beach," she added The weather on Oahu was "most ly nice,” Swisher said It was only cloudy three or four days of the two week trip They stayed in a condominium, and rented a car the first week The next week they used a friend's car "It's a fantastically relaxed way o* living.” Swisher said. Asked why her associates her a trip to Hawaii, Swisher jokingly, " It was kind of a spiracy ” She added, though, " It because of the friends I around me." The emergency room doctors purchased the tickets and the nurses collected the $250 spending money Swisher left for Hawaii Jan 5. “ I enjoyed it much more than 1 thought I would,” she said. “ I never expected to go.” She made the trip with two woman friends, and they visited the Arizona Memorial, Punch Bowl 8 mg. "tar”, 0.7 mg. nicotine av. pet cigarette by FTC method Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health area, and that there is not a need to open up any more land for develop ment By opening up the slopes, she claimed that condominiums could then be constructed Commissioner Robert Schumacher disagreed, claiming that the county's guidelines for slope development are strict enough, and that it would be n e x t to im p o s s ib le fo r such developments to occur Carolyn Smith of the Coalition also opposed the amendment and re quested that the commissioners wait to make a decision. gave said, con was have Dr Tim Evens said, "She has a capacity for selflessness and is always thinking of the other per son. She’s one of those people that comes across as sort of a monu ment." B ack a t w o rk now w ith memories of her trip fresh in mind, Swisher can’t help rem em ber those who made it possible—her friends at Portland Adventist.
