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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 1982)
Vol. 72 No 22 SANDY OR FC . f l N The youngest rider led iheni dll Saturday, as 5-year-old Nikki Johnson, inset, raised the most money in pledges for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the bike-a-thon under sunny T M IlQ tn A V Illfc iC 1 io a o Hlioliih by Dan (First in a series., Property tax rates in Oregon jumped more than 20 percent from 1981 to 1982. according to the Oregon Taxpayers Association P ro p e rty ta xe s le v ie d in Clackamas County jumped a whopp ing 30.1 percent, while assessed valuations jumped 13 percent Officials at the Clackamas County Assessor's office say they have had more challenges to assessments this year than any year in the past. To combat the rising tax rates, a number of initiative petitions have sprung up around the state seeking to lim it property taxes One of the more drastic of those, circulated by the Oregon Taxpayers Association, would lim it the amount collectable to 1 4 percent of the assessed valuation and roll back assessments to July 1, 1979-80 tax year. While some agencies may be able to meet such cutbacks with increased fees or outside aid, some agencies re ly totally on property tax for their livelihood. One of those is the Sandy Fire District. Sandy Fire Chief Bob Rathke doesn't like to ta lk about the possibility of the 1 percent lim ita tion until it is closer to reality, but the threat that such an initiative raises is real to the district. "The worst possible case” is a VI percent reduction in the district *> budget, he said, and a reduction in the amount of services the district provides. By law, the fire district is required to go to a patron s house only when there is a fire Medical and first aid calls are left up to the discretion of in dividual fire districts "Except for going to your house and putting out your fire, the other things we re just not going to be able to do,” he said. Sandy's board has seen fit to pro vide the, medical services and the public response has been overwhelm ing Currently, Rathke said, 64 per cent of the d is tric t’s runs are medical-related remaining an all-volunteer unit, im proved training for volunteers and " I f you’re talking about reducing runs, that’s something you have to public education Those commitments have paid off. look a t,” he said. "As I read (the in Rathke is proud of the district's itia tive ), this is what it would mean, but until the attorney general issues training program, calling it one the an opinion, everything is such a best in the state. A h yd ra n t guess. maintenance program and good tur nouts for alarms have all had their “ I do», t l.ke to go overboard.” That couki leave medical and first- effect on local residents’ pocketbooks already aid attention on a "pay for services” basis. State statute currently pro Sandy’s fire insurance rating is a 5. hibits fire districts from such prac That means the city enjoys the best tices. residential rating it can get. Lower The rollback to the 1979-80 tax year ratings apply only to the commercial would have a drastic effect of the sector local fire department. That year, the With the reduced budget, one district's budget jumped from ap possibility is an affect on the fire in proximately $250,000 to some $500,000 surance rating, Rathke said as the district began implementation "Public education things would of its comprehensive plan. definitely be affected," he said, The district passed a six-year tax eliminating inspections and work in base and Rathke anticipates the fire safety education in local schools district w ill be able to accomplish that. The money that is tied up in the tax (Next week: The effect of a I i2 base and the comprehensive are percent property tax limitation on ci geared for long term commitments. ty services.) Postal service takes plan to council The Sandy City Council gets its first chance to voice an opinion on the United States Postal Service's plan to relocate its Sandy operation The Postal Service w ill ask the council to approve its conditional use permit at a meeting this Monday, June 7, at 7:30 p m at Sandy City Hall. Last Thursday, the local Design Review Board gave its conceptual approval for the building to be built at 17590 Wolf Drive, behind Scenic F ruit company Since the Postal Service made its intentions known the council has not had an opportunity to speak out on the relocation City staff sent a list of requests for the federal agency to consider in its site selection, but the council had no official word in the matter, other than endorsing the idea May 5, the Sandy Planning Com mission recommended the new post office be located at the Wolf Drive D illo n skies at Mountain Shadow Estates, near Kelso School. Doug Hooper, in the background above pushing his bicycle, finished the 20-mile maximum, despite a tire blowout in his l»th mile Tax limiting initiatives stir concern by DAN DILLON Single Copy 25« site. That action came after two sites were presented fo r co n sid era tion—the other being near Tupper Park Michael McKeel, who submitted the Tupper Park site, has indicated to city officials that he w ill hold off on his conditional use perm it request until final action is completed on the Wolf Drive site. Thursday, the Design Review Board approved the site plan and structure with the stipulation that its recommendation is for earth-tone brick facing on three sides and con tinuous lap cedar siding on the north side, with the alternative of con tinuous lap cedar siding on all four sides The cedar w ill be stained an earth tone compatible w ith the brick’s color Postal Service officials w ill submit the landscaping lan at a later date The Board stipulated that it was to be adequately landscaped with buffer ing where appropriate. Lawsuit hits developer over sales practices by MICHAEL P. JONES Post Correspondent A m ultiple-plaintiff suit has been filed against American Guaranty Life Insurance Company and Welches developer Carl Bright ’’ho suit eh.'<rges that misrepresentations were made about sewer assessments .‘ hat pertained to land sales at Rippling River in Welches Fiv< lu-viduah and two Oregon corporations filed the $7l(i,(*?9 94 suit alleging that American Guaranty and Bright w illfu lly misrepresented facts about the Hoodland Service D istrict's sewer tieatment plant while selling lots at Rippling River prior to 1980, which "constitute violations of the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices A ct." Bright was subsequently appointed to the Hoodland Service D istrict’s budget committee in 1980 by the Clackamas County Board of Commis sioners. The plaintiffs allege that Bright told prospective buyers that lots in the subdivision "would not be subject to assessment for the sanitary sewer system or the cost of constructing the sewer treatment plant and sewer lines except for a sewer connection charge.” The suit, which was fijed in circuit court in Multnomah County on Feb. 12, 1981, says the plaintiffs were furnished with a copy of the sub division’s Public Report which had been filed with the Oregon Real Estate Division. That action is required by state law The report, dated March 28, 1978, "contains representations that... American Guaranty would pay in cash the cost of all on-site im provements, except that lots served by sewers would be subject to a ’connection fee The plaintiffs charge that Bright and American Guaranty "w illfu lly failed to disclose” that American Guaranty did not intend to pay the full cost of constructing the sewer syste They also claim that the company had no intentions of paying the federal share in the event a federal grant was not obtained to pay a por tion of the construction cost A fter “failure to disclose these facts,” according to the complaint, coupled with the representations in the Public Report and statements by Bright, which "were false and misleading." each of the plaintiffs purchased single-family residential lots at Rippling River. The suit alleges that the plaintiffs "did not learn of the falsity of the defendants' representations’ until June 1980 when they were notified by the service district that their lots were being assessed for the new sewer facilities A Oct. 11 tria l date has been set. Spokesmen for American Guaranty, president James Anderson and company attorney Milfred Ford, were unavailable for comment Sandy firm gears up for solar panels by DAN DILLON Harnessing the sun s energy to aid the wood products industry is about to give a shot in the arm to the local economy. Employees at North Amer can Dry Kiln A Energy Systems. Inc. are gearing up for the day when they will see production begin again in the old Timberline Trailer building in San dy's Industrial Park Index SECTION I Keeping Posted ....... 2 Senior Center News 2 School Lunch Menus 5 Obituaries ............................... 5 Editorials. Letters 6 Sports Recreation 7-8 SECTION II Area News Hoodland Happenings........ About People 1 2 7 SECTION III Classified Ads Inside Tab TV Revue ............... Inside Tab I The company, a wholly-owned sub sidiary of Globe Machine of Tacoma. Wash., expects to begin some manufacturing within 60 days, accor ding to sales manager Dusty Allison. " I t ’s our intent to produce high quality dry kilns, solar-powered kilns, and energy systems, such as boilers and combustion systems,” Allison said Eight people have been at North American Dry Kiln in engineering and sales for the past six months "w arm ing up the tire s," Allison said, during the legal entanglement left when the building’s former occupant, Hildebrand North America, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept 11, 1981 Hildebrand had set up shop in San dy Industrial Park in February 1981, for production of lumber drying kilns, wood waste burners, fo r maldehyde treatment chambers and microprocessor control systems The firm employed approximately 100 persons at the time it shut its doors in late August. Allison anticipates that the firm w ill employ 25-50 employees when production begins. The company is in the research- and-engineering stage, looking at the solar panels and a method to harness wave power on the open seas to bring electricity to Third World nations. Recently, engineers at the plant have been experimenting with solar panels, p rim a rily for industrial use, that could have a dramatic effect on the wood processing industry. The solar panel testing has includ ed copper tubing and a rubber mat finish called Sola Rol With the black rubber mat finish, the firm found a 25 percent gain in efficiency over the copper tubing design The next step should see an even greater jum p in efficiency. North A m erican Dry K iln A Energy Systems w ill begin tests shortly with four inch Pyrex tubing. "The latest state of the a rt,” accor ding to works manager Dean Arnold, w ill be self-tracking as it follows the sun, thanks to a highly polished aluminum backing that w ill heat the tubing While it is the most expensive alternative, Arnold said, "the return is going to far outweigh the cost ” “ We’d like to offer the solar panel concept to the industrial sector, as well as the private sector,” Allison said. The concept w ill be mainly heat producing this time, rather than generating storable energy. Please turn to Page 3. Ptioto by Dan Dillon Sales manager Dusty Allison, chief engineer Clark Hofmann and works manager Dean Arnold inspect a solar panel that they hope can be adapted for use with kilns in the lumber industry. Thr trio hopes to have production underway in the next two months at North American Dry Kiln A Energy Systems, Inc. in Sandy’s Industrial Park.
