)—SANDY (Ors) POST Thun
Oct 13 IW3 (S k I)
Chris Hol* generoi monoger
Scott Newton, editor
Carolins Duff. oWics manager
Hank Emrkh. sports editor
Editorial & Opinion
SANDY, OREGON. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6. 1963
Gas tax worth support
Despite being unpopular, the
fuel dealer license tax is a good
idea.
The gas tax, proposed by Tom
Reber, city manager, would be
collected on motor vehicle fuel
sold in Sandy. The tax would
either be 2 percent of the retail
purchase or 2 cents per gallon
Reber is right in two major con
tentions. First of all, the tax would
not alter driving habits of local
residents. In the last 15 years gas
has jumped in price from under a
quarter to over $1.25, and that has
barely affected driving habits. In
fact, there presently appears to be
a
trend
toward
larger
automobiles.
Secondly. Reber is right in his
contention that a gas tax is a user
fee. It is true travelers on
Highway 26 — which is maintain
ed by the state — don’t use the ci
ty’s streets. However, additional
police protection comes out of the
general fund and certainly the
well-traveled highway doesn’t
make their job any easier.
What makes it a user fee is the
fact numerous local residents
trade here, regardless of the price
of gas in Gresham, and with our
cars we are damaging the road
ways.
The gas tax — which would be
dedicated to street improvement,
curbing, water drainage and
sidewalks as presently proposed
— is a step in the direction of ac
tually paying for what we are us
ing
The gas tax might be more
palatable if it was implemented in
1 cent increments.
Reber projects a $100,000 gain
from a gas tax. If $75,000 of that
went toward property tax relief,
local residents might eventually
be less critical of the tax,
something the city council ought
to consider at its meeting Monday
evening.
There is little chance the gas
tax will pass — two councilors
have already said they will not
support the measure — and that is
unfortunate as the gas tax offers a
fair way to pay for the use of the
streets.
Time wasted on sales tax
at expense of alternatives
by Rep. Bob Shiprack
The special session of the Oregon
Legislature came to an end with referral of
a 4 percent sales tax In order for the sales
tax to come to a vote of the people, it must
first be approved by a majority of coun
ties. cities and school districts
1 opposed this measure, as I have con
sistently opposed a sales tax Recent, well
done and funded polls have shown very lit
tle public support for a sales tax in Oregon,
and I feel the Legislature should not have
spent ten months belaboring the issue at
the expense of other alternatives This
sales tax will shift the burden of taxation
toward homeowners and renters, par
ticularly those in rural, relatively low tax
rate areas
deletion of the split roll This was defeated
Accompanying the sales lax was a rate
32-24 with myself voting yes The original
and assessment freeze in SB 792 This
S B 792 then passed 33-25, and I voted no
was the Governor's proposal and was con
That completed the property tax relief
tinent on pasage of the sales tax measure
package and assumptions can be made
The freeze sounds good, but in actuality
only limited elections above the establish The combination of a sales tax and loss of
the split roll will cause a shift in tax burden
ed tax rates and levies to two per year The
from other properties to homeowners —
bill, however, had one fatal flaw It would
abolish the split roll section of the 5 per that is certain and admitted by the sales
tax proponents. For the past months many
cent limit on assessed valuation created by
the 1979 Legislature In 1979 it was noticed of our small businessmen in the district
that over the past 10 years a shift of the have contacted me regarding this propos
property tax burden from 32 percent to 42 ed tax It is my best estimation that the
majority of small businessmen in District
percent toward homeowners versus other
properties They established a split-roll 23 will not benefit l^rge property owners
system with a 5 percent cap statewide on such as the timber companies, the elec
tronics industry and big retailers will
homesteads in one group and other proper
ties in the other Because of that action, benefit, and these groups were very active
since 1979 the homeowners property tax in pushing this proposal To call this plan
burden has remained relatively constant tax reform when homeowners and renters
despite the great slowing in homestead will pay more is not accurate and I hope
you will join me in opposing this at the
market value in recent years
Indeed, without the split roll, local level and on the ballot should it be
homeowners would have paid another 3 referred
If you have any questions or comments
percent of the total property tax bill since
contact me at Rep Bob Shiprack. 22610 S
1979
A minority report would have maintain Forest Park Road. Beavercreek, Or ,
ed everything in S B 792 expect for the 97004
Letters to the editor
Free world guilty of greed, apathy
Aaron Ballous letter in
the Oct 6 Post strikes a
chord that every citizen
should respond to We are
guilty of ignorance, apathy
and greed while being oc
cupied primarily with
building our own earthly
paradise and following our
base hedonistic instincts
The fall of Rome results
from not within which
every high school pupil
their parents if we have
any honest informed
history teachers
The results of a crises
now approaching what is
left of the Free World may
never be averted unless
American people activate a
spirit of Renaissance as
demonstrated in 1776 when
we broke away from the
tyranny of the British
Any pattern of logical
Personally speaking
Being ‘mature’ has its advantages
management Everyone knows
you can only do one thing while
wearing a football uniform but
there are a myriad of things that
can be accomplished while wat
ching football
It is usually about this time of
year that I realize I forgot to take
my shirt off all summer 1 had
meant to but the first time I show
ed up at the beach three Navy
ships turned back out to sea.
thinking the reflection of the sun
off my body was a signal flashing
warnings
Like eating, but that goes back
to the 20 pounds This is still
another advantage for the
mature person A young person
eats forever and never seems to
know where it went A mature
person always knows exactly
where it went. I still have two
pounds from half a cheesecake I
ate three years ago
Next year I am going to work
on a tan starting in January or
when I lose 20 pounds, whichever
comes first. I realize it isn't to
"macho” for a man to be this
vain but I'm afraid all my macho
left to make room for that extra
20 pounds
Many people say a mature per
son learns to slow down and enjoy
life Slowing down is always a lit
tie easier when you are carrying
20 extra pounds
Macho isn't the only thing that
left. I will never understand why
my barber keeps saying no one
will notice that bald spot when
she obviously did.
I don't like to think of it as get
ting older, but as a maturing pro
For instance. the more mature
person prefers the "cerebral"
nature of athletics Not without
coincindence. the cerebral nature
of athletics can best be enjoyed
on television or from the grand
stands
Thia will give a much better
overall view of the game and the
complexities involved than gain-
Enjoying life is another story
The mature person has to be a lit
tle more selective about what he
can and cannot enjoy As far as
physical activity is concerned,
the body has built in warning
signals to tell you when you are
overdoing it These warning
signals are called aches, sprains,
bruises, and death
by Hank Emrich
ed as a participant It is much
easier to notice the ballet like
preciseness of a running back's
moves when you don t have to
concentrate on a nose guard who
wants to rip you apart With a
remote control device to change
channels, the game can even be
enjoyed without sweat
I considered following my
wife's example by investing in a
Richard Simmons exercise
record but I couldn't bring myself
to invest 115 to have someone in-
The cerebral approach also is
beneficial in the area of time
I
suit me to music Besides, it
bothers me to have men with high
voices calling me a fat little
sweetheart
1 never have trusted exercise
leaders anyway Before anyone is
allowed to teach an exercise
class, a thorough investigation
should be conducted as to their
whereabouts during World War
II Particularly those with Gar
man accents
There are several of these
grunt and groan gurus on televi
sion who insist they are over 50
and still in the same shape they
were in 30 years ago More than
likely they have substituted one
of their children and simply do
the voice over for the shows
They keep insisting that exercise
is fun If it is so fun. why does so
meone have to pay them to do it?
Sure these guys look good, but
you have to remember there is a
commercial every seven minutes
and while we are at the fridge
sneaking a snack, some guy runs
out with a towel, wipes off the
sweat, and hits them with a quick
shot of hair spray
I would look good too if I had so
meone following me around so I
could freshen up every seven
minutes
thinking we must first see
clearly the problem and
then search for a solution
The first problem is Two
percent of our people call
the shots and control the
political agenda, which
means they are more than
half way into their own vic
tory. The problem with
politics the way it is prac
ticed today is that we
citizens are accustomed to
passive participation
Somebody else sets the
agenda, what is to tie
discussed, who is to cam
paign and who is to win
election, and we are con
strained to make our
choices within the limits
established by the con
trailers
The second problem is:
Have you ever received a
political questionnaire in
the mail-’ Well. I have and
what makes me boil is how
the
questions
and
responses on my mind are
never raised or answered
This is our cultural en
vironment today, polluted
wth public relations, hypies
and banal entertainment
We are not taught to think
morally or effectively, nor
are we expected to actively
participate in deliveratmg
policy! Everything is a
matter of how it is packag
ed. of how popular percep
tions are to be manipulated
and the substance of reality
obscured
As for our past five
presidents, they have been
no less than national
disasters and three of them
still have their snouts in the
taxpayers' trough Since
1963 under the State
Department leadership of
McNamara. Kissinger and
Cyrus Vance. America has
been engaged in 15 years of
suicidal, unilateral disar
mament which gives the
communist world an ad
vantage to strike us dead if
they only fully knew the
true economic, moral and
military condition of
America
First, militarily, tell the
President and Congress to
get on full speed with the
announced Beam Weapon
program, hoping we can
tieat the Russions with that
weapon, which will stave
off a nuclear war and also
give our economy a thrust
out of the present depres
sion
Our government must
take any and al) action
against Russia, remember
ing the Russians want to
defeat us. not destroy us
They want our land, pro
ductive capabilities and to
make us their slaves What
they have in their heads is
to create a second world
wide Roman Empire
Secondly, economically,
our U S
government
employs approximately
7,000 university trained
eco omist. tiesides hundres
employed by all major
banks, financial institu
tions and large corpora
tions The historical facts
of the past fifty years of
which this author has
studied are that these
economists are of less
value than so many witch
doctors
Other necessary solu
tions which 1 will address if
the Sandy Post editor will
print a second letter are the
results of a clear analysis
by Lyndon H URouche. a
New Hampshire patriot
who offered himself a can
didate for president in the
Democratic party in IMO
Cifford Koenig
Sandy
Work
together
May I take this oppor
tunity to thank the staff of
the Sandy Post and most
especially, Scott Newton.
for the support and detailed
reporting that assisted the
Sandy Union High School
district tn its recent levy
passage
My belief in the total
community
working
together for the welfare of
all citizens, even those who
are not yet voters, was
reinforced by the large tur
nout of our patrons at the
polls It was difficult for
many of our heavily taxed
and frustrated patrons to
cast a positive vote to keep
our schools open, but many
of them put aside personal
concerns and assisted us as
we attempt to provide the
best possible education for
our young people
To all of you, I can only
say how much we ap
precíate your support here
at Sandy High Thank you
from all of us who work
with the youth of this com
munity
Roberta K Hutton
Superintendent
Sandy Union High School
Thanks
The Sandy Ridge Riders
had a benefit car wash at
the Sandy Fire Hall Oct. 8
rhe money that the San
dy Ridge Riders made will
be given to the Clackamas
(bounty 4-H extension office
to help give campships for
4-Hers in Clackamas Coun
ty
About 60 cars showed up
and they made 8110.
The Sandy Ridge Riders
would like to thank the San
dy Fire Department for let
ting us use their facilities
and would like to thank all
the people who brought
their cars to be washed and
help make our day a suc
cessful one
Thank you.
Michelle Goosey