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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1983)
>_SANOV (Or*.) 9O8T TK*».. Oc», S. 19*3 ($oc. I) The S^ntiyPost Chris M ol.. ®onorol •"‘>"‘•9" Coroline OuKoHlco monoper Editorial & Opinion N*Wt°n' Ul Honk Im rkh. .port, odltor SANDY. OREGON. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 6, 1983 Tragedy provides lesson A 24-year-old local man was recently sentenced to spend one year at the Multnomah County corrections facility. A five-year suspended sentence for crim inally negligent homicide was the charge in Multnomah County district court. He can petition for a work release after 90 days, and he must begin paying a $1,000 fine at a rate of $40 a month to begin 60 days after release from custody. In ad dition he must pay $400 toward his court-appointed attorney The sentence, handed down last week, was for an accident that oc curred Nov. 14,1962 in Troutdale. Laryn Slifer, who was 21, died in that accident. Ronald Shane, now 33, was left without the use of one eye. Both were from Portland. About two hours after the acci dent this Sandy resident had a blood alcohol count of .16, accor ding to records on file with the district attorney’s office. The legal lim it for D U II is .10. According to Charles B all, deputy district attorney, the sentencing was about what he ex pected. “ What do you do with peo ple when they come in and present themselves as your next door neighbor?” He was a first-tim e offender with a good record (and insurance coverage). Reportedly he was traveling too fast on a comer pro ne to accidents. But, of course, his most serious offense was that he’d been drinking and driving. Some would argue that a person who drinks, and then drives and kills another person, should face a more severe sentence. Though the point is valid, one also has to wonder what benefit would be served by placing an otherwise p ro d u c tiv e c itls e n In w ith criminals who are definitely a detriment to society. The problem is social and not easily dealt with. Considering the status of mass transit, an inexpen sive trip home after an evening of overindulgence at a tavern or at someone rise’s home is out of the question. Most people socialize at places too far from home to walk after an evening out. One solution, of course, is not to indulge, but it is a fact of life that on occasion even m o d erate drinkers will tip one too many. I t ’s not a problem to be taken lightly. “ At any one tim e it seems like we have four to six (of these cases) pending,” said Ball. A fte r p a yin g an a cc id e n t reconstruction expert $900 to $1,400, in addition to the numerous other expenses, it makes trying the cases alone “ grossly signifi cant and very expensive.” That doesn’t take into account the human element — the pain felt by the fam ily when the life of a young person is taken. The legal and human conse quences of driving home after a night out should be of prim ary concern before a first sip is taken. Letters to the editor Salem scene: highway plan Taxes, history collide by JACK Z IM M E R M A N U w c l i l f d Oregon Industrie« After watching the 82nd Legislative Assembly struggle with tax problems for the better part of a year, a growing number of Oregonians are asking how we got into such a mess in the first place Everyone realizes tax problems aren't new and that previous assemblies have struggled with sim ilar dilemmas. And as far as the present problem is concerned, the list of reasons is as long as you'd like to make it. Some blame the whole mess on property taxes Some say government's too big. Others ca rp about teachers, public employees, unions, inflation, unemploy m ent and the recession, too much dependence on the income tax and stagfla tion There are those around who believe na tional economic policy is the villain and others who figure steadily rising popula tion during the sixties and seventies pro pelled us into the fix we re in Still others blam e lack of aggressive economic development policy and overdependence on the forest products industry Historians tell us all such conjecture is off base Those things might have something to do with conditions today. But the initial reason for the predicament goes back to early February in 1841. That 's when our troubles really began Of course, there were events leading up to this significant singular incident that propelled us into our present perplexity They started in eastern Tennessee with the birth of an infant boy. named Ewing Young That was about the beginning of the 19th century and though he obtained lit tle schooling, historians tell us he parlayed h » natural abilities into a position of con siderable wealth It is assumed he was among those who opened the Sante Fe T rail and spent some time in Taos (New Mexico), becoming a friend of Kit Carson in the process In 1828 he lead a party across the Mohave Desert into California and established a fur trapping enterprise along the San Joaquin River Prospering but restless. Young was in spired by Oregon promoter Hall Jackson Kelley and trekked northward with the Kelley party to Fort Vancouver in 1834. Although technically a territory of the United States. Oregon at the tim e was pretty much dominated by the Hudson's Bay Company and its chief factor. Dr. John McLoughlin One of the ways McLoughlin m aintained' control of the few settlers in the area was to prohibit private ownership of livestock that would have enabled fam ilies to achieve a degree of independence Kelly and Young brought considerable hones and mules with them from California, which McLoughlin figured must have been stolen At least he branded the party as a bunch of hone thieves and denied its members the shelter of his fort. Kelley, whose health failed at that point, gave up the ghost, accepted help from McLoughlin to go back East and never returned to the land he dreamed of developing Young, healthier and meaner, stuck around and got even. Some stories say he got McLoughlin to ease sanctions against him by agreeing not to furnish homemade booze to Indians in the area He then organized a business that brought 600 bead of cattle into the region, sold most to set tlers and in the process exonerated himself in the eyes of his pioneer peers. A recognized leader. Young went on to erect one of Oregon's first sawmills and by 1840 had become a prosperous and respected farm er. It was Ewing Young's death the follow ing year that really got those early Orego nians moving toward establishment of a provisional government At Young's funeral it became apparent there was a need to probate his estate because no qualifying heirs could be found One is said to have stepped forward but he was not of all-white descent and one of this state's more colorful historians relates the young man abruptly disappeared from the pages of history So a probate judge was appointed and the first step was taken toward a govern ment and the necessity of taxes to sustain it. Records show taxes were voluntary until 1845 - netting 881.50 in 1843 and soared to several times that amount in 1844. an in crease that prompted Oregon's first tax revolt. Although voluntary, taxes in 1844 were described as one-eighth of one percent ad valorem on merchandise brought in for sale, improvements on town lots, mills, pleasure carriages, clocks, watches, horses, mules, cattle and hogs — plus a poll tax of 50 cents for all male citizens over 21. Legendary Joe Meek, sheriff at the time, had to contend with the likes of Joseph Gale, who was guilding the seagoing sail ing ship Star of Oregon near what is now Swan Island. When Gale scanned the assessment roll and discovered his combined taxes came to 81.14, he scribbled next to his name: "D arn my sole if I pay.” Despite that response from one of the wealthiest of Portland's then-scant popula tion of IS souls and the so-called tax strikers of the Clatsop district, Sheriff Meek delivered 8408.18 to the provisional government, only 872.98 short of his goal. The tax act of 1844 has been described as the link between no government and real government It all started because Ewing Young died when he did and left an estate someone had to account for Perhaps the subsequent tax act should hove borne his name. Nothing else of significance does. But maybe that's the way he would have liked it. There are two phrases one learns the true mean ing of when residing in the Mt. Hood area for ten years an d m o re . T h e y a r e "Enough is enough" and "There is no justice " What I am referring to most currently is the abor tive revised prelim inary six ye ar highway plan dated August 1983, which if adopted leaves us in the ashcan again. In the original six year plan adopted in 1982 the ex tension of the widening of Highway 28 from Wildwood 1.9 m ile s up th ro u g h Welches Road was pro jected and funded for 1988 with all verbal indications from Hie highway depart ment and Salem that most probably it actually would be under construction in 1985 along with the much n eed e d re s t sto p to a lle v ia te the excessive bathroom usage placing a demand on an alread y over taxed sewage system The n ew p ro p o s a l eliminates the rest stop totally so I would suggest the restaurant owners put the “ hooey-pot" man on a monthly retainer so that the present systems don't break down completely. Enough is enough definite ly a p p lie s to s e p tic systems The short but necessary extension has been put off until 1989 with an asterisk statement of " It is uncer tain that state funds will be adequate to match federal funds for projects after fiscal year 1988 " It doesn't take Webster's Dictionary and a Ph D. to realize that we have just gotten the shaft. For a highway project that was started in the ea r ly 1970s and extended to the east of Brightwood, I would say this sounds like the longest lunch hour in history When do they come back to work? The fact that we still are killing innocent people on a very regular basis seems not to enter in to the state priority system an d one m o re tim e W a s h in g to n an d Multnomah counties have pulled the golden rings and run away with our funding. Since M t. Hood and its recreational facilities are the single most important tourist and local citizen a t traction In the whole state, one wonders how we are supposed to carry the title and crown and still keep our highway users alive to enjoy the offerings In every walk of life if you are the best and the most you get the priority, but our State Highway Department obviously works in reverse The more the mountain recreation areas improve and have more to offer the public, the lower our priori ty gets. The state spends m illio n s of t a x p a y e r dollars to promote the state as a contemporary recrea tion area and all we can of fer is a highway which bot tlenecks three times within approximately a ten mile span which really ought to have a sign posted "P ro ceed at your own risk.” Just how long does the State Highway Department think the citizens of Oregon are going to stand still for this dangerous situation They act like Highway 28 is a side road instead of the fifth most heavily traveled in the state, summer and winter. Maybe instead of a rest stop, we ought to re quest a real "rest stop," n a m e ly , a c e m e te r y because we fulfill both the supply and demand Adrienne Shields Rhododendron Cats again Regarding the cat con troversy, may I insert my opinion? Regardless of whether or not you like cats or dogs or birds and squir rels, each of us is entitled to our opinion However, if I enjoy feeding the birds, chipmunks and squirrels and the natural animals in this beautiful area, 1 do re sent someone else’s cats or dogs interfering with my personal territory You can have all the cats and dogs you want as long as they are on your property and their yip piifi Jnd howling is also kept within the con fines of your own property I f I enjoy pesce end har mony and the beauty sur rounding us, that is also my right Nan Slenning Sandy Amazed Being a person who belongs to this community that has avoided so many pitfalls, it amazes me that our city officials could find the tim e to bother with a small thing as garage sale signs or any sign for that m atter that is to advertise wares sold out of one's home, is none of the city's business I am shocked that a garage sale sign needs city employes to worry if it is professional or not How nice of you to rent them for those of us who are not talented enough to print "garage sale or for sale ” I am curious as to who paid to h a v e th e s e signs painted? It sounds to me like we are going to need less peo ple on the design review board and pinning commis sion and more people on the police d ep artm en t and highway department That way we will have enough people to enforce this law I know for a fact that the highway department does not w o rk w ee ken d s Unless, of course it snows, then they are too busy knocking down m ail boxes and blocking driveways to be picking up garage sale signs This leaves it to our understaffed police depart ment to do the job on week ends With skiers speeding up and down the highway and drunk drivers going back and forth, the police departm ent should have plenty of time for this small task I know, I live on the highway. Let's not forget the fact that there are some people who have to have these signs in order to eat or help pay their property tax. I am speaking from ex perience. I had my sign taken and I also had it returned by the Sandy highway department who at first denied taking it. It was the Oregon State Highway Department that got them to bring back my sign At the tim e I did not even know about your petty law then I would also like to say that there are some of us who like garage sales and we don’t care how profes sional the sign looks. It is a great way to meet people and get a few bargains It is a pity that our com munity has become so pet ty as to dictate to people how often and just where and how we can sell our goods. After all, we are just try ing to make ends meet and pay our taxes so that city officials can sit around and decide what is professional and what is not. Karen Russell Sandy E d it o r 's s e ts : The garage ilgns are loaned, not rented, by Ike city of Mandy and the 85 fee to a deposit, which to returned upon return of the sign. Poster Is this slogan of Nikolai Lenin ringing in our ears today? "W e w ill conquer you from witW n." Lenin went on to say, " It is our duty to inculcate in the minds of all nations, the theories of international friendship, pacifism and disarmament, encouraging resistance to m ilitary ap propriations and training, at the same tim e however, never for one moment relaxing our efforts in the upbuilding of our m ilitary establishment ” In turn we heard Nikita Krushchev tell America, "Whether you like it or not. time is on our side We will bury you." There is a poster hanging in our county libraries from C lackam as Com m u n ity C o llege w hich reads: "Understanding the Soviets, a Path to Peace.” This will be a series of lec tu re s s p o n s o red by C la c k a m a s C o m m u n ity College and a fed eral grant Have we become so apathetic that we can't see what's coming over this land of ours? Senator Hatfield showed little concern over this when we notified his office, and Representative Denny Smith said he would "keep a close eye" on this series of lectures Where are our Patrick Henrys who say, "G ive me liberty or give me death.” Our biggest enemy right now is not fear, it is apathy I "L et George do it,” is the motto of too many people in America today We agree with Edmund Burke who once wrote, "T h e only thing necessary (or the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Aaron Ballou Sandy The Derby Young people are In the news often these days. Un fortunately, all too fre quently. these news items concern themselves with the ills of the action of some members of the younger generation However, it is encourag ing to re co g n ize th at goodness s till p revails among the young and that these fu tu re civic and business leaders indeed are tnvloving themselves In programs and activities in preparation for their future responsibilities. One such activity Is the Sandy Soap Box Derby, a part of an American tradi tian dating back more than 40 years Over those tour decades, our nation and our nation's people have been part of massive changes in society, in economy, in our total patterns of living. Young boys and girls, too. yearn to know what m akes som ething tick. They have ideas — and good ideas — about design >n< to make something work b etter B asically, these are principles behind the Soap Box Derby pro grams In b a s e m e n ts and garages, and in backyards around our com m unity, youngsters have been spen ding months putting their ideas to work In a sense, the builders are winners long before their racers are put to the test on the track They are w in n ers because they made a decision to become involved in a worthwhile educational program and they have had the deter mination to stick to that project. They have learned many things along the way c o n c e rn in g te c h n ic a l aspects of derby racers. M o st im p o r t a n t ly , however, they have learn ed that good things don't come easily. They have learned to establish a goal and to w ork h a rd at meeting that objective. These a re am ong the v a lu a b le leaaona the Soap Box Darby provides con testants. Congratulations to all the "winners" of the 1988 San dy Soap Box Darby race, and good luck to the par ticipants who are about to undertake their Soap Box Derby car construction fof the 1984 race season B arry Frets Darby Director f
