Section
SANDY. OREGON THURSDAY. JUNE 3 1982
The S^ndy Post
Area News
People
Home & Garden
F eatures
Man indicted, 497,000 board feet stolen
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Post Correspondent
A federal grand jury has indicted a
former Sleepy Hollow resident for
stealing 497.000 board feet of timber
from federal lands near Brightwood
and Zigzag
Tim McCoy Henderson. 4«. of
Gresham, is accused of three counts
of theft of government property and
four counts of damaging federal pro
perty by conducting unauthorized
logging operations
The logging operations allegedly
occurred on sites along Lolo Pass
Road and South Boulder Creek, and
were conducted under the auspices of
Henderson and his wife Darlene s
company. Henderson Forest Pro
ducts.
The initial investigation against
Henderson began in September 1980
after Joel Holtrop. a forester with the
U S Forest Service stationed at the
Zigzag Ranger District, received
complaints from residents living
along Lolo Pass Road.
Holtrop said residents were con
cerned with a logging operation that
Henderson was conducting on
private land in the area, which they
believed was in violation of the
state s forest standards and prac
tices act
He said they were also concerned
because of the site's close proxim ity
to the National Forest boundary
Upon visiting the site Holtrop said
he discovered that Henderson had
logged public land administered by
the Forest Service. The National
Forest land was next to land he logg
ed legally
Kathy Willis who. along with her
husband Phil, owns the “ Cold Spr
ings Homestead.“ which is located a
half mile from the logging operation,
said that residents had complained
for some time before action was
taken
She said it got to the point where
“ people w ere th re a te n in g to
sabotage the logging equipment just
to put a stop to it.“
Later, after Federal Bureau of In
vestigation, Forest Service and
Clackamas County sheriff vehicles
were seen in the area, she said people
believed the logging operation would
finally cease, but quickly learned
otherwise.
“ We thought that he'd be stopped,“
said Willis, “ but the very next day he
was s till logging '*
John McCormick, a special agent
with the Mt Hood National Forest,
said during the course of the in
vestigation of the Lolo Pass incident
another illegal logging operation of
Henderson's was discovered on South
Boulder Creek, near Brightwood.
At this site it was discovered that
Henderson had ille g a lly logged
tim ber from lands administered by
the Bureau of Land Management and
Clackamas County, as well as from
land owned by Rogers Construction
Company of Portland.
It is alleged that Henderson logged
the South Boulder site
between
November 1979 and m id-April 1980,
months before he began harvesting
in the Lolo Pass area
In the indictment handed down on
May 12, Henderson is charged with
entering into a tim ber-harvestir
contract with Cascade Timber Com
pany of Tacoma. Wash., in which he
was to be paid $150 per 1000 board
feet of exportable Douglas A ir, which
was to be logged from an L-shaped
parcel of private property along
South Boulder Creek This parcel
abuts both public and other private
lands
Part of this parcel Henderson had
just recently purchased from Colum-
bia Tree Farm The other portion
was owned by Cascade Timber Com
pany
The in d ic tm e n t alleges that
Henderson la te r expanded his
harvesting operations onto the other
parcels of land
Henderson is charged with stealing
327,000 board feet of timber from
BLM land adjacent to Boulder Creek.
At the Lolo Pass site it is alleged
Organizer explains goals of m ountain group
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Pont Correspondent
In an interview last week Wes Post,
one of the organizers of the Sane
Economic Development Association,
attempted to clarify some of the con
fusion surrounding the newly-formed
group
Post said SEDA was formed two
weeks ago in response to the
Clackamas County planning staff's
proposal to “ down zone" properties
outside of the urban growth boun
dary
He said in some cases this meant
property that was currently zoned for
one house per two or five acres, was
re zoned one per 20 or one per 40
acres.
The Hood Hideaway development
along Salmon River Road near
Welches, said Post, is a good exam
ple of the impact of the “ down zon
ing.”
He said half the development,
which has already been sold, is zoned
one unit per two acres. If the “ down
zoning" is approved by the planning
commission and the board of county
commissioners in the coming hear
ings, the remaining land w ill ba zon
ed one unit per 20 acres
Post said he feels the proposed
“ down zoning" is a violation of the
rights of people who had purchased
property He said this why SEDA was
formed, to fight for people's rights
and make them aware of what was
happening to their land.
“ We a re not d e v e lo p m e n t
oriented," said Post. “ What we’re
concerned about is fairness.
"People who bought property
should be allowed to do what they
originally intended when they bought
it,” said Post.
Post praised the 1976 Mt. Hood
Community Plan, which he called “ a
guideline for the rest of the state,
which didn't have a comprehensive
plan.”
He said during the years the plan
was being drawn up the people w ork
Developer displeased with
Mt. Hood plan’s down zoning
by MICHAEL P. JONES
Post Correspondent
The Clackamas County planning
staff attempted to make a few last
minute clarifications in the proposed
revisions of the Mt Hood community
plan Thursday evening prior to the
changes going before the public at
three scheduled hearings.
Assistant Planning Director Ardis
Stevenson told the small group of
residents in attendance at this final
citizens informational meeting the
proposed changes in the plan were
the result of a directive made by the
s ta te L and C o n se rv a tio n and
D e v e lo p m e n t C o m m is s io n on
December 4.
She said that a fte r the E n
vironmental Committee On Suitabili
ty took issue with the county’s pro
posed development of the Cedar
Ridge area, a yet undeveloped
600 acre wooded section of the
Hoodland Service D istrict that they
claim includes wetlands, they were
directed to go back and look at the
area
The planning staff is to determine
if the wetlands do exist, and if so,
they are to determine how to protect
the area.
In addition, Stevenson said LCDC
directed the county to identify lands
outside of the Hoodland Service
D istrict that were not zoned for
agricultural and forest uses and
write an exception for each in
dividual parcel
Stevenson said that in 1979 when
the staff zoned the area, she feels the
designations “ best reflected the 1976
Mt Hood Plan “
She said LCDC disagreed and feels
the 1976 plan did not adequately
reflect the rural zoning intended, and
that is the reason certain parcels had
to be re zoned from one unit per five
acres to either one per 20 or one per
40 acres
Planning Director Dominic Man
cini said if property owners are con
cerned with the staff's proposed
"down zoning" of their land, they
must present exceptions to the
designations as well as “ compelling
reasons and facts" for a change at
the coming hearings
Mancini said it w ill be up to the pro
perty owner to present the burden of
proof as to why their land should not
be down zoned for agriculture or
forest uses, and to show that it is
already committed for other uses
To prove such commitment they
must show such things as the existing
use of their land, as well as the use of
adjacent properties, and show that
they are not related to agriculture or
forestry They must show that public
services, such as public water and
sewers are available, and that the
characteristics of the area reflect a
non-farm, non-forest use.
The proposed down zoning, said
Mancini, would protect wetlands out
side the designated urban areas of
the service district,
He said although the county does
not have to identify specific wetland
sites, as in the Cedar Ridge area, that
they would be adequately protected
by both the zoning and development
ordinances as well as the new down
zoning.
Carl Bright, the developer of Rippl
ing River, saying that he represents
a number of people through the Sane
Econmic Development Organization,
blamed the re-zoning on ECOS and
its wetlands arguement.
“ Is everyone under water up
here,” asked Bright. “ Is there that
much wetland up here? I t ’s a joke.”
Bright said that the proposed down
zoning would effect about 900 in
dividual parcels that were zoned one
unit per five acres in the 1976 plan.
That plan had taken a number of
years of citizen involvement to draft.
“ The ink had hardly dried on the
document and here we are again,"
said Bright.
“ Is this LCDC’s recommendation
that we go back and review this
because ECOS told them to,” asked
Bright. “ Is this how we got here?"
Please turn to Page 7.
ed “ hand in glove” with both the
county planning department and Cor
nell, Howard, Mayes and Merry field,
a private planning firm hired to
assist with the Mt. Hood plan.
The staff condensed the 1976 plan
down to 12 pages, and claim the Mt.
Hood corridor is covered by the coun
ty ’s comprehensive plan. Post said
that this is “ a big m istake."
“ This local area is unique,” said
Post. “ They (the planning staff)
can’t put a blanket over it like
Oregon City and Canby.”
Post cites both t.ie condensing of
the plan and the state Land Conser
vation and Development demands on
the county as being the cause of the
proposed "down zoning.”
The LCDC instructed the county in
December to provide better land-use
zoning in order to protects lands out
side the service district that should
be designated for agricultural or
forest uses.
Post said that the Mt. Hood cor
rid o r is more of a residential-
recreational area than a tim ber area
and that the zoning should reflect
this.
He also said the county’s zoning ef
forts to place most of the develop
ment into one area is a mistake
because it only increases the density
in the corridor.
Post said people against high-
density proposal should be against
the down zoning proposed by the
county.
SEDA, said Post, cu2rently has on
ly a nucleus of members, who com
prise an organizing committee. Neil
Sullivan of Welches is the organiza
tion’s secretary-treasurer, and he is
also chairperson.
Currently SEDA has about 20
potential members with 10 to 12
already committed to join, said Post.
He said that non-profit and incor
poration papers were filed Monday,
May 24, by the group's land-use at
torney, Diane Spies of Portland
Post said that one of SEDA’s first
priorities is to gain an extension of
time from the county, before the pro
poses revisions of the area’s plans
are presented at the public hearings
scheduled for June 14 and July 7.
SEDA's attorney has sent a letter
to the commissioners requesting a
six-month extension so a thorough
analysis of the re-zoned land in the
corridor can be studied.
The county has not yet responded
to the group's request.
“ We need more tim e ," said Post,
“ because we keep uncovering more
and more people who are being af
fected (by the down zoning) and are
not aware of it.”
Post said SEDA is creating an
awareness among property owners
in the corridor “ that their rights are
being taken away from them.”
SEDA, said Post, w ill provide an
alternative to the county’s proposed
revisions to the the 1976 area plan.
“ They (the county) have not made
a proposal that protects us,” said
Post. “ They’ve made us a proposal
that gives LCDC everything they
want.
“ Justice is not being done when
LCDC takes away people’s rights,"
said Post
that Henderson entered into a con
tract with the same Washinton
tim ber company, which advanced
him $50,000 toward the market price
of the timber and agreed to credit his
account at the rate of $100 per 1000
board feet of exportable Douglas fir
The indictment contends that in
September 1980 Henderson logged
onto Forest Service-administered
land and illegally removed 170,000
board feet of timber.
If convicted, Henderson could face
up to a maximum penalty of 10 years
imprisonment for each of the seven
counts and a fine of $10.000
Henderson was arraigned on May
24 in Federal district court on the
charges
He reappeared Thursday, May 27,
for a hearing concerning his ability to
pay an attorney Based on his current
financial status, a court-appointed
attorney was assigned to him.
Accident
claims
tw o lives
A single car accident near Zigzag
Thursday evening. May 27, took the
lives of a Mt Hood resident and a
Newberg resident
Lyle McCuistion, community ser
vice officer for the Clackamas Coun
ty sheriff’s office, said at 6:40 p m i
1980 Honda tw o -d o o r heading
towards Highway 26 on Lolo Pass
Road ran off the roadway and struck
a tree 400 feet south of the Sandy
River bridge.
Assistant Fire Chief Lane Winter-
mute of the Hoodland Rural Fire
Department said that when rescue
personnel reached the scene they
found the vehicle upside down Both
occupants were trapped inside.
The victim s were transported to
Gresham Community Hospital by
Alpine Ambiance where they were
both pronounced dead
Killed was 29-year-old Loren Frank
Hiltbrunner of 20180 Lolo Pass Road
in Zigzag.
Hiltbruner was employed at Ixilo
Pass Lumber Company, where he
worked as a m ill worker and horse-
logger in the fa m ily -o p e ra te d
business.
Also killed was the driver, R Scott
Colclesser, 29, of Newberg
The cause of the accident is cur
rently under investigation by Deputy
Fred Winther of the sheriff’s office
SUHS students prepared for forestry jobs
by STEPHEN WYNNE
For The Post
The buzz of chain saws and the
crash of falling tim ber are fa m ilia r
sounds in the forests that surround
Sandy, and they are heard fre
quently by students in Sandy Union
High School’s forestry class.
This year students have been
busy cutting alder for firewood and
planting douglas fir seedlings.
The forestry program at SUHS
consists of a series of classes in
forestry that “ give the students a
start in learning what i t ’s like to
work in the woods,” said Alan
L ’Hommedieu, forestry instructor.
He added that “ the forestry pro
gram is designed to train people
for entry level jobs in logging, m ill
work and forestry management ”
Safety is emphasized in the pro
gram. The students also compete
with other schools state-wide in
forestry competitions
The Forestry Club is an option
for the most-involved students.
Some of the “ fun activities” they
participated in included the annual
Al right: Forestry Instructor Alan L ’Hommedieu and students Gary Maser.
John Cox and Alien Browning unload equipment for the cut. Above: Gary
Blaser makes chips fly while "bucking” alder for firewood.
cross-country ski trip, and a trip
this year to the Redwood Forest in
Northern California.
L ’Hommedieu said, "You can’t
get people to work unless you have
so m e th in g fun to get them
started.”
The trip to the Redwood Forest
was funded mostly by the cutting
of firewood, according to L ’Hom
medieu
The site of the forestry lab is
about four miles northeast of San
dy on Coalman Road. The 80-acre
property was donated by Lydia
Koennecke to SUHS in 1964 for
forestry purposes
In May of last year the high
school began p a rticip a tio n in
Publishers Paper’s “ management
assistance program,” which is a
free service to small woodland
owners designed to promote pro
per fo re s try management of
private land.
Publishers Paper supplied about
4,000 f i r seedlings, and two
foresters to provide advice on plan
ting. According to L'Hommedieu,
the seedlings w ill be harvested and
sold as Christmas trees in the
years to come as part of an effort
to make the forestry lab self-
sufficient.
The management plan specifies
a ro ta tio n o f p la n tin g and
harvesting trees that w ill add to
the self-sufficiency by making the
over all harvest more efficient
“ The forestry program has
grown quite a bit, and each year
more students have been involved
in the management of the forestry
lab,” L'Hommedieu said.
He added that because of the
economy, which has caused high
unemployment in the area of
Photos by
Stephen Wynne
forestry, it is harder to get pimple
interested.
However, L'Hommedieu said,
“ Oregon’s forests w ill always need
management."