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Vol. 72 No 39
The Sandy Post
SANDY OREGON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 1982
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Ity of ‘largest’ timber theft
A former Sleepy Hollow resident
was convicted last Thursday in what
federal investigators called the
largest timber theft prosecution in
U.S history
Tim McCoy Henderson. 46. now of
Gresham, was found guilty in U.S
District Court on six of seven counts
resulting from the theft of 627,000
board feet of timber
He and his wife. Darlene, are the
owners of Henderson Forest Pro
ducts. the logging firm which was in
volved in the theft
Chuck Stuckey, assistant U.S at
torney. said the thefts occurred on
U.S Forest Service and the Bureau
of Land Management properties; near
Brightwood and Zigzag
Beginning in November 1979,
Henderson and his logging crew cut
timber on BLM land along South
Boulder Creek At the conclusion of
the logging operation on April >5,
1960. 327.000 board feet of marketable
timber had been cut and removed,
said Stuckey
Sometime around Sept 17, 1961,
Stuckey said. Henderson began cut
ting on Forest Service land along
l,olo Pass Road, just north of Zigzag
Before logging was halted by Federal
Bureau of Investigation agents,
300,000 board feet of timber had been
removed
Most of the logs were taken to the
Tacoma based Cascade Timber
Company's Sun Dial log dump on the
Columbia River where they were
"destined for the export market,"
said Stuckey A small quantity was
sold for wood chips
Documents introduced by Stuckey
in court indicated that Henderson
received at least »550,000 for logs and
wood chips from the logging opera
tions
Thirty-eight witnesses testified on
behalf of the government during the
10-day trial, said Stuckey, including
BLM and Forest Service personnel.
FBI agents and members of Hender
son's logging crew
The defense, said Stuckey, produc
ed only three witness who all cor-
ra bora ted that Henderson "did not
cut the timber on purpose "
"His defense and his testimony on
the stand, was he tried his best to find
the boundary to federal land and
mark it appropriately so his crew
wouldn't cut the wrong timber," said
Stuckey "
Stuckey could not say if further
charges will be brought against
Henderson
“I've never been in the position to
absolutely comment that there will
be no other charges filed in connec
tion with the case,” said Stuckey
Emery Reynolds of Portland, center, surveys the damage to his pick-up truck
after a collision at the intersection of Proctor Boulevard and Strauss Avenue
The jury found Henderson not guil
ty of damage to federal property,
"the lesser of the seven charges.”
said Stuckey
The remaining six
charges are felonies, each carrying a
maximum of 10 years in prison, a
»10.000 fine or both
only two others like it in the last five
or six years "but this is the worst "
Henderson faces
range of
possibilities” for the convictions
This includes anywhere from "zero
to 60 years in prison, zero to $60,000 in
fines, or both ”
Stuckey called the Henderson case
"a rare one ” He said there has been
Sentencing has been scheduled for
Nov. 1.
last Friday morning. No one was injured. See story on page 3.
Couple escapes injury when fuel tank explodes
by DAN DILLON
A Gresham couple escaped injury
Monday evening when the gas tank
on their 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix rup
tured and engulfed the car in flames
on Proctor Boulevard, stopping west
bound traffic on Highway 26 for more
than 15 minutes
G L and Polly Bel) were traveling
west on Proctor when Mr Bel) beard
a scraping, grinding sound coming
from beneath the vehicle near the
Sandy Mobil station He stopped and
attempted to back off whatever was
dragging underneath the car
About that time, Fred Stahlman of
Sandy opened the car door and told
them the back end of the car was on
fire
"They made a hasty exit,” said
Sandy Fire Marshal Jim Gallagher,
“and no one was hurt, thank
goodness ”
Gasoline was burning on the
asphalt 30 feet in front and in back of
the car when the Bells jumped out.
Gallagher said An unidenftified per
son at the Triple-X Drive-in saw the
car burst into flames and called the
Sandy Fire Department at 9:12 pm
When the first firefighters arrived
on the scene, flames had engulfed the
vehicle and were leaping 15 to 20 feet
into the air Two tires blew out in the
heat, Gallagher said, and as
firefighters worked to extinguish the
blaze, the gas cap blew off the car.
No one was injured
After the fire was put out, in
vestigators found a mudflap and
bracket from a semi-truck lodged
under the vehicle It had dragged
beneath the car. punctured a four
inch gash in the fuel tank and spark
ed the fire as it raked along the road.
"The mudflap and frame happens
to have a license plate," Gallagher
said. The truck was registered tc
McBi een Trucking of Portland
He said 17 firefighters responded to
the blaze which totally destroyed the
car Gallagher estimated the loss at
»10.000
Last Thursday evening at 5:41
p.m., local firefighters responded to
an alarm for a “possible structure
fire" at 46000 Snow Lane, off McCabe
Road
When they arrived, they found a
1970 one-ton Chevrolet truck engulfed
in flames
The owner of the truck, Tony
Sageer, told fire investigator that he
had been restoring the vehicle and
had been doing metal grinding
In the process of the grinding, a
spark got into the cab of the truck
and lit on an oily rage under the front
seat. Sageer didn't notice the
smoldering rag and went inside.
A neighbor saw smoke above the
trees when the truck caught fire and
reported the ‘‘possible structure
fire," thinking the house was burn
ing.
Damage to the truck was
estimated at »2,000. Gallagher said
(See photograph on page 3.>
Post office plans sent back to drawing board
Design plans for the new Sandy
post office were dealt a setback last
Thursday when the local design
review board sent the project's
engineers back to the drawing board
According to City Planner Don
Wilson. U.S Postal Service represen
tatives came to the design review
board with a "totally different"
layout for the building than was ap
proved earlier
Board members asked the
engineers to come up with plans that
more closely resemble the plans ap
proved when the Sandy City Council
granted a conditional use permit in
June for construction at the intersec-
tion of McCormick and Wolf Drives,
Wilson said
At the time of the conditional use
hearing, the plans called for a man
sard roof with a flat top However,
the budding plans unveiled last
Thursday depicted a "totally dif
ferent change in the roofline and in
the windows." the city planner said
The new plans outlined a gabled
roof for the postal facility
He said the design review board
felt that because neighborhood
residents near the site had supported
the old design at the time the Postal
Service applied for the permit and
because the original blended easily
with the residential structures, the
old design should be re initiated
Wilson said the new design
modification would have required a
change in the conditional use permit
and a second hearing before the city
council
As it is now. the project shouldn't
be delayed. Wilson said Site
preparation will be allowed
The review board did approve the
site plan, landscaping and interior
layout for the new post office
In other action, the design review
board rejected an application filed
jointly by Janz Berryland and Mt
Hood Meadows
The two businesses want to install
an electronic reader board on the
produce market site However, the
design review board nixed the action,
pending study by the city staff and a
public hearing before the city coun
cil
That hearing is expected to be held
at the council's Oct 18 meeting
Under the proposal, Janz would use
the reader board during growing
season to advertise fresh produce
prices The ski resort would use the
reader board during winter months
to make public
an-
nouncements about road and snow
conditions, snow buses and some
commercial messages about the
resort.
Lift tickets would also be available
at Janz check-out stands
At question, according to Wilson, is
whether the lift-ticket sales con
stitute a business in the city Or
dinance requires that a firm must
have a business in the city before it
can erect a sign
If that is found to be a business.
Wilson continued, it will have to be
determined if that type of business
would be allowed on-site signing If it
is allowed, it will be determined if the
sign would advertise goods and ser
vices sold on the premises
School board stands by its new busing policy
by DAN DILLON
The Sandy Elementary Board will
stay with its new busing policy
: Index
SECTION I
I Keeping Posted
I Editorial Opinion
\ Inside the Church
Senior Center News
I Obituaries
...................
Menus
.........
SECTION II
Sports. Recreation
SECTION ill
Inside Tab
Inside Tab
Inside Tab
despite some objections that it is
creating hardships
The board adopted a new "half-
mile" policy this summer to bring
some uniformity to the district's bus
ing. allow earlier school starts and
cut costs
Under the new policy, children who
live less than one half mile from a
mam route have to walk to that main
route for bus pick-up Children who
live more than a half mile are still
provided the old service
The net result of the change is a
savings of approximately four hours
bus time and 44 miles of travel per
day
However, parents in six pockets
throughout the district think the
changes are unfair
At the Sept 20 board meeting,
parents from 370th Avenue.
Keisecker Road. Summertime Drive.
Kirkwood Drive and Orient Drive
asked board members to reconsider
the policy for a variety of
reasons—distance children walk,
curtailment of service and safety
The five board members took the
week visit those sites—and the pick
up point on Fish Hatchery Road—and
last Friday afternoon, in a special
meeting, reported their findings to
Reward offered for clues in slaying
The mother of the man found slain
in a held near Brightwood has of-
fered a SLM0 reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction
of these responsible for the shooting
death
Weed. 25. was found by a hunter .Sept
4 about 20 feet from Wildcat Creek
been shot once in the head
The victim s mother Mrs Ross E
Gearhart of Gresham is offering the
reward. It may be collected when a
suspect is charged with the slaying,
shesid
Weed was last seen at 1 30 p m on
Thursday, Aug 26. aa he drover west
on SE Powell Boulevard He was
driving a 1974 green Ford Pinto with
no hood
The next day a man was spotted
parking Weed's car in front of 737 SE
Union Ave in Portland The driver
reportedly left the car and joined a
man on a motorcycle
Anyone with information about the
case is asked to contact Detective
John Downey >f the Oregon State
Police
the parents.
Starting Monday, students who live
on 370th Avenue, at the end of Sandy
Heights Road, are being picked up at
Dubarko Road rather than near
Knollwood Estates where they
previously walked
At Keisecker Road, the bus will no
longer turn around at the road's in
tersection with 427th Avenue That
move was begun when a fence was in
stalled at the old turn around and its
proximity to the road made if dif
ficult for a bus driver to maneuver
The property owner agreed Fri
day. however, to move the fence back
10 feet and board members
reinstated service to the old pick-up
point
The board decided against pro-
viding bus service to one child on
Orient Drive, near Kelso Road,
because it is less than one half mile
to Kelso School which the policy
allows for, except in cases of
dangerous street crossings
Single Copy 25C
Minnesotan
named new
city manager
ad
A Minnesota
ministrator has been named
new Sandy city manager
Tom Reber. 31, city ad
ministrator in Jordan. Minn .
was selected last week by the
Sandy City Council to replace
Roger Jordan who resigned to
accept a similar position in
Dallas
"I was impressed with him at
the interview." said Sandy
Mayor Ruth Loundree "He
seems quite excited about mov
ing out here and becoming part
of our city
“He has a broad understan
ding and background for a posi
tion in this city, even though
we’re a little bit bigger "
Reber has been city ad
ministrator in Jordan since
June 1978 That city of 2,663 is a
“full-service" city, located
south of the Minneapolis-St.
Paul metropolitan area in flat,
open country, Loundree said
Reber dealt with a seven-
member city council as l:e will
in Sandy
He was responsible for budget
preparation and control, and
personnel, she said
"He's had experience in park
development and in all types of
city administration and in
waste water management.” the
mayor pointed out
Reber attended Mankato
State University in Minnesota
where he earned a bachelor's
degree in urban and regional
studies, and business ad
ministration in 1973 He earned
a master's degree from the
same university in 1975 in urban
and regional studies, and
management studies
She said Reber is anxious to
leave the snowy, Minnesota
countryside and begin his new
duties in Oregon. "He wanted to
get relocated somewhere on the
Pacific coast and get out of that
climate," Loundree said.
Reber and his wife Nanette
have one daughter, Katie He
expects to be on the job locally
within the next 60 days.
Boring home
destroyed by
arson blaze
An early-morning fire last Thurs
day swept through a ranch-style
house in Boring, causing an
estimated $150,000 damage
According to Boring Fire Chief
Matt Shields, the fire was arson-
caused
He said the owners of the home at
9040 Telford Road, the William
Rogers family, were out of town at
the time of the blaze A neighbor
heard glass breaking and popping,
and when he investigated saw flames
through the trees.
Twenty-five Boring firefighters
and crews from Sandy and Fire
District 10 responded to the 5:23 a m
alarm No one was injured, although
there was one close call
The 3,100-square foot home had a
full-size swimming pool in the living
room. Shields said
One of District 10's firefighters fell
in the pool, outfitted in full turnout
gear and battling the smoke. "If so
meone hadn't heard him hit the
water,” Shields said. "1 know he
would have drowned
Damage to the building was
»150,000. the Boring fire chief said
Damage to the contents of the home
was estimated at $30,000
The fire is being investigated by
the Oregon State Police Arson Squad
They have been authorized to offer a
reward from the Oregon Arson
Awareness Fund for any individual
who comes forward and helps with
the investigation
Shields said the name of the helper
is submitted to the state fire marshal
and they may qualify for a reward
from the »5.000 fund He said the fund
is designed to get people more aware
of the arson problem and get more
witnesses to come forward with
valuable information, "like if so
meone saw a car leaving this
driveway at 4 30 or something "
Shields said all tips would be handl
ed confidentially and anyone
assisting with the investigation
would be allowed to remain
anonymous
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