■ •
The Srfntìy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Von Braschler, Publisher
Caroline Dull, Office Monoger
Don Dillon, Editor
Scott Newton, News Editor
SANDY. OREGON THURSDAY, APRIL 29 1982
Personally speaking:
The ‘good earth’ isn’t what it was
Speak out on new east postal site
Residents unhappy with a Mc
Cormick Street site selection for a
new post office in Sandy should
raise their voices at a city hearing
7:30 p.m. Wednesday or forever
hold their tongues.
The Postal Service Real Estate
Division has weeded a list of ex
pansion sites here to the Scenic
F ruit property, finding accep
table sites downtown lacking
Many Sandy people—including
city hall, have opposed any site
outside the core business area.
They cite walking problems for
senior citizens, driving problems
and erosion of the core area the ci
ty seeks to strengthen in its com
prehensive plan.
“ The future location needs to
have good access to arterials and
must have some proxim ity to the
business community,” according
to the c ity ’s planning bible.
“ Because of the a c tiv ity
generated by a local post office,”
says the document, “ the siting of
this facility w ill have a tremen
dous impact on the c ity .”
It might be argued that the
Scenic F ru it property causes tra f
fic problems at the edge of town
where Highway 26 tra ffic speeds
increase. In its favor, that site
already has a tra ffic light and is
handily located on the main street
of town Yet, there are bound to be
tra ffic snarls, as cars enter and
exit the highway at the Wolf Drive
and
M c C o rm ic k
S tre e t
37,600-square foot site.
M any re s id e n ts m a in ta in
former church ground at Pleasant
Street and Strauss Avenue would
be a better location, although a bit
costlier.
What makes the proposed half-
mile move **ast hard to accept, of
course, is the lack of door-to-door
mail delivery in town. The city
has gone through hoops to qualify
as a first-class city for in-town
delivery, but waits its turn.
So everyone downtown must
trudge to the post office. The trips
especially m ust pain senior
citizens and mom and pop store
proprietors who find time spent
commuting to the post office cost
ly bites in their busy days.
Sandy City Council and ad
m inistrative staff have met with
postal representatives from the
outset to express the c ity ’s
outspoken preference for a core
area site.
Now the Council, quiet as they
mul the site proposal, perch in
perfect position to pull the string.
T h a t’ s
w hy
p u b lic
testimony—spoken May 5 at city
hall or given in w riting to the city
planner—is important. Council
approval would be required for a
conditional use permit for the new
postal site.
Realistically, the
Postal Service was restricted as
to suitable sites available close to
downtown.
C ity h a ll’ s o th e r o b lig a
tion beyond that to residents in
the
c o m p re h e n s iv e
plan
pact—calls for cooperation with
other responsible government
agencies where appropriate
Ask the superinendent:
Open campus explained
by JO H N PK TK R M
Sandy Union High Superlnlrndrnt
Qurallon Why doesn’t Sandy Union High
School have a cloaed campus'*
Answer: Sandy Union High School la a
cloaed campus Each student at Sandy
Union High School la assigned seven
claaaea every uay In addition, each stu
dent has a thirty < 30» minute lunch period
During thia lunch time our young men and
women are allowed to leave the school
grounds, either to eat at home or a place of
their chmming downtown They must he in
classes other than during this lunch time
Because we have over 1.200 students, the
lunch time la divided into three secuona
final lunch 10 44 to 11 14 a m ; second
lunch I I M to 12 04 p m ; third lunch 13 34
to 12 54 p m , with about 400 students in
each section
Unless a student has special permission
and parental approval to leave school at
other times than the lunch period, heahr
must he in an aaaigned class Therefore,
with the eaception of lunch time, all of our
students are either in class or away from
the school without permission
If anyone has a question about a young
man or woman seen during school hours
please call the school 4 M M II, estenslon
wtiee How does Sandy Union High
oof's program of studies compere with
1 of other schools’
>«er The Mate of Oregon minimum re
remanta for graduation are 21 credits
r a i l students in handy Union High
must earn 34 credits and must be
died in such subjects as English,
mce. m athem atics, health U 1
history, civics, government, personal
fin a n c e , p h y s ic a l e d u c a tio n and
economics In addition to these areas, San
dy Union High School offers programs for
vocational, general studies and college
hound students
Hecently, w~ have published study
guide* for all our claaaea These were
displayed at a national convention in Los
Angeles and since have been requested by
many schools and organizations across the
country
A national teacher a organization will in
elude our English study guide in its annual
collection A microfilm company wants to
photograph all of our study guides for ex-
ch an g e w ith o th e r achoola. Both
franslron Hhode Island, and Phoenix
public achoola have requested copies of our
materials for their districts
N O T E QwestlMis far D r. P eter* aboaM be
sddreated U> Tbe bandy Post P<> B«» * *
bandy. OR S7SSS He w ill answer all gaes
i in Ibis c a te n a
Beautiful spring blossoms on
our pear tree at The Post last
week told me it was time to
reconsider planting a garden
Tree blossoms and early wild
flowers always inspire me to get
down on my knees in dirt again,
although sometimes I wonder
why I bother.
In Sandy rich, red earth greets
the gardener with promise of of
good things to come. Realtor Phil
Jonsrud once noted this red com
ponent in local soil could make
the material ideal for use in
manufacturing bricks here Un
fortunately, I tried a gard en -n ot
bricks Now I know the dif
ference A person can make a
brick, but only God can create a
plant at a place and time of His
own choosing.
I learned this lesson, toiling in
the good earth at Brightwood
where gardens appear futile on
mudflows. Mud and sand stack
the deck against the backyard
farm er, but only a fool would ad
mit defeat amid such rustic
wooded splendor Or so 1 thought,
with my spirits raised by the sun,
wind and air gently caressing the
trees.
Well, the broccoli took until Oc
tober. when I managed a few str
ingy chews before frost took it all.
The tomatoes never did change
from green to red Luckily I
wasn’t staking my winter sur
vival on preserves. Oh. those
hearty boysenberry bushes from
the nursery withered away, too
I noted that only wild salmon
berry, blackberry, blueberry and
huckleberry bushes thrived So I
abandoned the “ co n tro lled "
garden and replaced the rows of
vegetables and flowers with
by VON BRASC HLER
raspberry, strawberry, azalea
and rose bushes Occasionally I
water, but that's about it.
Yet planting fills a person with
such fascination, 1 pondered on
my knees in the dirt one last time
I held up to sunlight the lifeless
roots of one withered plant, dirt
still clinging in its frozen grasp
I was puzzled hy a question that
took a long time foi - ng. It was
as though the sun prompted the
notion, but then slowed my sun
baked head from coping with it I
sat transfixed a long while,
before a gut-level feeling took
control of my legs I dialed my
mother out of state to relate my
weird sensation on my knees in
the dirt
An almost psychic woman with
a practical approach to life,
mother seemed to hear the ques
tion before it was stated Her ex
planation came almost as quick
ly.
My family always had been
farmers, she reminded me The
good earth was in my blood, in
my genes Was it possible that I
was remembering generations of
farmers before me1
Then I re m e m b e re d the
photographs in the attic They
were old fam ily snapshots that
showed grizzled faces of weather
worn early farmers who wrestled
the good earth to eek out a living.
Sometimes the sun, wind and
cold rain were kind to them, as
they made it debt-free through
the year with a bountiful harvest
in the storage sheds in hope of
good prices Sometimes nature
fooled them The sun raised their
hopes, as it raised their crop tall
for bountiful harvest.
Then the winds would come, or
th e in s ec ts w o u ld co m e.
Sometimes a sudden hailstorm
destroyed their dreams and mon
ths of work in one day. The
harvest already was spent in
their minds, yet now they must
replant with limited expectations
but just as much hope
Generations to come will feel
these mixed emotions less and
less, as the good earth gives way
to residential developments,
shopping centers, ind u strial
parks, high-rir» buddings, golden
arches and conci „ roads to con
nect them
Architects note standardized
designs are making our cities
look alike, while natural land con
tours for hundreds of years defin
ed physical personalities of each
town and valley Now Portland’s
waterway looks the same as
dozens of other cities with its con
crete overpass superstructure
d o m in a tin g the lan d s ca p e .
Skyscrapers in Portland look like
skyscrapers in other major cities
from offshore
Berryfields and valleys that
once destmguished this area now
have given way to planned
developments similar to towns
throughout the nation Standar
dized architecture matches stan
dardized planning to make
everything similar.
Historians who note each
civilization describes itself with
its architecture might note our
civilization peaked 60 years ago.
At least that's the feeling you get
wandering old parts of Portland
or other cities with grand old
buildings rotting away. These
were the fancy big brick and
quality hardwood buildings that
c r a fts m e n
and
g a m b lin g
pioneers built to last a hundred
years Perhaps they thought of
im m o rtality when they built
them. When these visionaries
died, however, their buildings
died with them It costs too much
to remodel or heat them now
Today small-minded builders
mass produce boxes to live in and
concrete rivers to navigate in
planned communities designed to
harness the sun and shield us
from the rain and wind This feel
ing pervades that people can
manipulate the atmosphere and
control their environment to con
trol their destiny
But cheaply made roads in
dense planned developments give
way to time and weather The
roof leaks, and the garden won’t
grow
It's enough to make you respect
nature and water its wild flowers
and bushes
Letters to the editor
Fat taxes, fat government spur mail
Nix high tax
In response to your April
22 editorial about John
Thompson, Senate Dist. 14
candidate, 1 wish to reply.
There are a great many
of us out here who feel u
real need for new “ faceless
names" to send to the
legislature We are fed up
with the expertise our
g re a t
e x p e rie n c e d
lawmakers in Salem have.
It took real imagination
and brilliance to balance
the budget by raising our
taxes'
As for John Thompson
“ inciting the mob,’’ we the
‘ mob’’ were incited when
we re c e iv e d our tax
assessm en ts
If John
Thompson can add fuel to
the fire, more power to
him!
It's time our country
elects some people who
can“ arouse the public ’’
Lincoln said in his IM1
inaugural address “ This
country, with its institu
tions. belongs to the people
who inhabit it Whenever
they »hall grow weary of
the existing government,
they can exercise their con
stitutional right of amen
ding it, or their revolu
tionary right to dismember
or overthrow it.”
Would you presume to
call Lincoln's speech “anti
g overn m en t p o litic s ? ”
Next week will you attack
Jean Roberts, candidate
for Senate Dist 14, for her
excellent letter to the
editor April 22** She. too. is
against higher taxes and
more regulations'
Think about It We, the
people. ARE n vu>t <ig. and
we have the right, too In
closing. I would like to
Hate (to defer all suapi
cion* that I am a life long
Democrat and cannot vote
for John Thompson in the
primary
However, 1 do defend his
right to run for office, as a
new face, and also his right
to speak out against higher
taxes
Pic Erickson
Welches
EC DC scorned
I want it understood that
I in no way attacked or ex
pressed anger a t Vic
A tiy e h at the re c e n t
Chamber of Commerce
meeting I did, in a good
humored way. express to
him the frustration and
helplessness that many
land owners feel with the
many rules and regulations
handed down by a faceless
and untouchable board,
LCDC
For you who were not
there I related the follow
m gtoGov Aityeh "Under
Old English law when a
person transferred his pro
perty to another he gave
him a bundle of sticks
which represented the
rights that went with the
p ro p e rty
T h is
la t e r
became know as the Bun
die of Rights and the rights
of quiet enjoyment of one’s
p r o p e r ty .’ ’
After saying this, I gave
Gov Atiyeh a bundle of
sticks, asking him, “ Please
deliver these to the LCDC
Board, as they have taken
moat of my property rights
and might as well have my
sticks too ”
For further clarification
two of the rights I have
become more recently con
cemed with are the right
that a person may give pro
perty to his children that
w ill be buildable and
usable in tbe future, and
the down zoning of proper •
ty without specific notice or
an effort to let the property
owner know this is happen
ing
The S en ior C itize n s
Apartments we recently
built would not be feasible
under the ¡wwly adopted
plan, as the Cknsity has
been severely decreased I
was never given individual
notice that this was hap
pening
For these reasons plus
many more subjective and
ambigious situations by
LCDC I am working hard to
have an initiative giving
citizens the opportunity to
lim it their powers It would
also cut out this pass the
buck" situation that these
land decisions are the fault
of someone else.
As Gov Atiyeh asked
me: “ Are the things you’re
concerned about the fault
of LCDC or some local
government agency?’’ 1
called the county anti told
them that it was all their
fa u lt- not L C D C -an d they
d idn't agree w ith that
statement at all But If
L C D C 's
p ow ers
a re
limited, at least we wiU be
able to figure out who is
responsible for the laws we
must live under
If you would like a peti
tion to sign or would like to
carry one. please call me at
668-6286
Ginny Brewster
Sandy
Trim fat govt.
"Trim m ing the F a t" in
the C lackam as County
Commissioners office en
compasses m o re than
reducing social services,
etc. Despite a budget
deficit of 1175.000. the com
missioners approved a
weight loss program at the
cost of a p p ro x im a te ly
157.000 to trim fat off coun
ty officials who evidently
are eating too high on the
hog at the public’s expense.
Proponents rationalize
that the program might
p rev en t a p o litic ia n 's
demise while in office,
thereby saving tbe county a
costly widow pension If an
official is indifferent to
county problems and uses
public funds for personal
privileges, he already is
dead at the polls, as far as
my vote goes
1 understand the wife of
one of our commissioners
has lost 96 pounds or. the
program, thanks to her
husband's elected office I
don't care if she wears a
petite size 10 or is bursting
tbe seams of a size 244
dress That is her problem,
not the county's
Perhaps the board of
commissioners should in
stitute a policy the m ilitary
has used successfully:
Reduce or be discharged
from service
It might
teach them to diet without
county assistance, if they
want to continue in public
service
It is time the public
demanded the weight loss
program be discontinued.
It is an extravagant and un
conscionable act of misus
ing county funds
Donna E Pyle
Wilsonville
Fair’s fair
I would like to report an
oversight in the a rtitle that
reported the Democratic
candidate’s F a ir held at the
Sandy Masonic Tem ple
April 18 and reported in the
April 22 edition of the Post
On the whole, your repor
ting of the F a ir was good
However, two candidates
present were not mention
ed: Lane County Commis
sioner Jerry Rust, who is
the most viable candidate
fo r
the
D e m o c r a tic
nomination for Governor of
Oregon and who came up
from Eugene to meet the
local people, and former
C la c k a m a s
C o u nty
Surveyor John Keeley, who
is again running for the
same office
In reference to candidate
Rust—since he has not had
the ballot box and media
exposure on the same scale
as some of the other can
didates for Governor, he
may not get the nomination
May 18 However, he is a
man to watch I, for one,
see a great future in higher
political offices for this
able man
Margaret Ann Fielding
Brightwood
Post cited
Recently my wife and
myself purchased a home
in Sandy and picked up a
copy of the Post We fell in
love with the community
here several months ago
and decided that when we
bought our first home this
was where we wanted it to
be
I just felt compelled to
write and offer my con
gratulations on what is one
of the best community
newspapers I have ever
seen Form erly I was the
ad v e rtis in g a r tis t and
editorial cartoonist for ‘be
Hillboro Argus Presently I
am one of the advertising
artists and cartoonist at
The Oregonian and Jour
n a l, so I am alw ays
s c r u tin iz in g
any
newspaper I can get my
hands on
Normally in a communi
ty this size the newspaper
tends to be a bit rag
ged either on the editorial
side, advertising side or the
way the newspaper looks
graphically However, the
Post reeks (if that is the
proper word) of profes
sionalism The look and
content of your newspaper
belies the size of the com
munity it
Once again, I wanted to
congratulate you on a very
fine effort From my first
impression, it’s an effort
that serves its community
well, w h ic h -s fte r all—to
the prim ary function of oar
business
Dan Adams
Sandy
Vote, parents!
I am disappointed at the
results of the recent Sandy
Elementary budget levy
election The outcome was
especially disturbing in
light of the fact that, accor
ding to a recent review of
county voting records, a
la rg e
p e rc e n ta g e
of
parents with school-aged
children are not even
registered to vote
Who is responsible for
th e e d u c a tio n of the
c h ild re n , if not th e ir
parents? If all parents
registered and voted in the
interest of their children,
the budget could easily
pass It was defeated by ap
proximately one hundred
votes
We should all realize
that, even during these dif
ficult times, the children
are the most important in
vestment in the future.
Amy Craig
Sandy
School aided
I would like to thank all
the school board members
of Bull Run School District
45 for their concern for the
education of all children
who attend public in the
Bull Run area.
I a n a w a re of the
amount of time that to re
quired of school board
members and public com
ment to which they are sub
jected I am thankful that
there are people who are
willing to stand up for what
they believe.
Public education cu r
rently is the target of much
public criticism . Public
education to the only tax
over which citizens have
the a b ility to exercise
direct control. Education to
one discipline that has as
many approaches a t there
are people in the world and
therefore can be subjected
to an infinite amount of
criticism
My thanks and prayers to
Jack Layton, Jim Boiler
man, Karen Rodina, Ron
J a n ts
an d
M a r c ia
Hazelwood for their con
c e rn
ab o u t
our
c h i l d r e n —A m e r i c a ' s
Al