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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1985)
L S?'».' 3 - SANDY (O ra ) POST Thur. F«b 2 1 1 9 8 5 ( 5 « 1) The Sandy Post Editorial & Opinion Chris Hole, general manager Scoli Newton editor Gas tax increase needed in Oregon A proposed increase of 2 cents per gallon for gasoline should be considered as a way to reduce millions of dollars of backlogged highway projects statewide and improve local roads as well. House B ill 2266 recently underwent hearings before the Oregon House Transportation Committee, and another hear ing is set for Feb. 26. According to information provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation, a 1 cent increase would provide about $21 m illion to fund interchanges, over passes, pavement widening and other projects. The idea was not proposed by ODOT, however, but by a task force headed by Rep. Robin Lindquist, D-Gladstone. There are, without a doubt, many projects to be found waiting in the Highway Division’s Six-Year Highway Im provement Plan. The widening of Highway 26 in the Mt. Hood corridor is one of them. Without arguing the m erits of that plan, it is obvious by the number of projects proposed by cities, counties and the public during the 1983 program update that more funds are needed. A gasoline tax is paid by the user, and is therefore equitable. It can also be argued that a modern road system is a form of ecomonic development. It has been proposed that half of the 2-cent increase go to local governments, with 60 percent given to the counties and 40 percent to the cities. We like that idea. The roads and streets in Clackamas County and Sandy are in need of repair. It is not necessarily anyone’s fault, it is just that the piper hasn’t been paid. House B ill 2266 has a long way to go before it becomes law, but Oregonians should tightened their belts and consider it in evitable. We realize that gasoline taxes are already high. A 2-cent in crease would make the total 12 cents per gallon in Oregon. The mere mention of increased fuel taxes is enough to make some people’s blood boil. But the money being raised is not going far enough statewide. Locally, the longer we wait to fix the streets the more expensive it w ill be. Commentary Commentary Committees do work of Legislature by REP. BOB SHIPRACK Time is right for new water policy by STEVE STARKOV1CH Senate Majority Leader our public waters are used and by whom. The increased public awareness of problems in Oregon water policy has created a golden opportunity for us to do some things that have needed do ing for a long time. As senate m a jo ri ty leader and co-chair of the Joint Water Policy Committee of the Oregon legislature. I'm devoting a large part of my tim e and energy this session to working for intelligent and fa ir water policy reform I'm deter mined not to let this opportunity slip by. Fortunately, there are solutions to these problems, though things can't be straightened out quickly, nor without some cost to us all. We must move forward one step at a time, and we must not trample the present livelihoods and future hopes of inno cent people The first step was to recognize that in-stream uses of water (for fish and wildlife, pollution abatement, and recreation) are beneficial uses — not only because they have economic val5es, but also because they have in trinsic values We have taken this first step Another important step was to recognize that we do have pro blems with both the quality and quan tity of our water resource We've taken this step. too. We've also taken steps to improve (and adequately fund) our water use information and management capability. Finally, we recognize that the basis for any water policy reform must be the pro tection of existing water rights It is firm ly established in state law that the water in our streams and under the ground belongs to the peo ple of the state There is no such thing as ‘'p riva te ’ ' water Users are per m itted access to the water resource (a water "rig h t” is actually a permit to use) based on their pledge that the water w ill be put to "beneficial use" and not wasted The " firs t in time, first in rig h t” water appropriation doctrine, which gives p rio rity to older water rights, dates from a tim e when there were fewer demands on our lim ited water resources. At its inception, the doc trine was a simple and effective way to sort out competing claims for water But it has never been the in tent of state law that "beneficial uses" — or the amounts of water allocated to those uses — should be rig id ly fixed for all time Nor is it the intent of the law that large blocks of our water resource should be locked away for the exclusive use of a privileged few Other steps are being taken even as I w rite this. We are experimenting with a process of water basin plan up dating that may eventually provide a v e h ic le fo r re -e v a lu a tin g our priorities for distributing water to various beneficial uses We are ex ploring an approach to water conser vation that w ill set standards for waste reduction, provide economic incentives for those who choose to conserve, and provide legal and fis c a l d is in c e n tiv e s fo r n o n cooperation We are searching for ways to fund higher levels of stream- bank rehabilitation. And we are ex ploring ways to establish minimum stream flows as "p u b lic " water rig h ts w ith o u t im posing u n fa ir penalties on agriculturalists This last point is important No one seg ment of our society is solely responsi ble for the imperfection in Oregon water policy, and no one segment should bear the brunt of our reforms This intent notwithstanding, there are obviously problems with Oregon water policy Streams and ground- water supplies are overdrawn in many parts of the state There is not enough water left in some streams to support the w ildlife that used to rely on those streams, and not enough water left to keep those streams run ning clear and unpolluted Inap propriate grazing, over zealous flood control channelization, and improper logging have caused extensive damage to many streams, decreas mg water flow and increasing ero sion The State Water Resources Department and local watermasters don’t have enough personnel to keep track of how much water is being us ed, by whom, and for what purpose We know there is waste in water use. but we don t yet know how much or why. and no economic incentives to encourage conservation currently exist Perhaps our most d ifficu lt challenge is to create a fa ir process for periodically reevaluating how I don’t believe our water resources problems w ill be solved quickly, simply, or without some expense But the problem is well identified now. promising solutions have been pro posed. and there is determination in the Legislature to keep water policy reform moving forward If you have questions or opinions about * ater policy, or about anything else that may (or should) come before the Legislature, please con tact me at my office in the Capitol Building in Salem The tollfree number is 1 800-982-1211. As many of you know the work of the Oregon Legislature is done p rim a rily in committee We are known throughout the nation as hav ing one of the strongest committee systems of any legislature across the United States. On the first day of the legislative session Speaker Katz referred over 250 bills to the various committees, allowing the work of the session to begin without delay. Most of the committees have gone through prelim inary briefings over the course of the last for weeks — for instance the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources last week received a briefing from the Department of Agriculture on the progress they have made in controll ing the gypsy moth This is a very serious threat to the state and our district and I intend to monitor the progress that the Depart ment of Agriculture is making in keeping the moth in Lane County and hopefully eradicating this tree-eating pest once and for all The A g ric u ltu re and N a tu ra l Resources Committee also took up the issue of reforestation with three bills proposed by the state Depart ment of Forestry and one b ill in troduced by the Interim Task Force on Reforestation and Hardwoods Utilization, which are on the comm it tee table fo r discussion State Forestry proposals include increas ing the reforestation tax credit to 50 percent, instead of 10 percent, of costs and increasing the qualifying acreage from 500 to 2,000 On a related issue, last week in the Trade and Economic Development Committee they heard testimony from Champion International Their testimony followed the devastating announcement from Champion that they closed their Oregon plants, throwing some 1,500 people out of work. Although great strides have been made to diversify Oregon's economy over the last two years, we have not paid enough attention to our natural resource economy. I have already outlined some of the measures involving reforestation that we are going to take a look at Some of the other items that w ill be considered this session include a measure that would set up a commis sion to help market Oregon’s hard woods. HB 2121 Last week we passed House Joint Resolution 2, which calls on the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House to appoint two senators and two representatives to serve on Pacific State Legislative Fishery Task Force The Task Force w ill act as a clearinghouse for opi nion from all various interests in volved in the Pacific fishing industry. These are first steps in trying to rehabilitate our tim ber and fishing industries. But I believe rehabilita tion of our natural resource-based in dustries w ill be right beside develop ment of our hi-tech industries when we begin taking a look at proposed economic development legislation My hope is that the actions we take this session w ill help prevent future m ill closures !nd help stabilize Oregon's timber-based economies. Finally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what we are doing in the House Committee that I chair — the Labor Committee This week we w ill begin taking testim ony on several pieces of le gislation that would increase workers' compensation benefits if he o r she w e re d is fig u r e d o r dismembered The legislation would also affect surviving spouses of per sons killed on the job The committee is studying many bills to streamline the system and cut costs without lowering benefits. If you have any concerns over workers’ compensa tion, unemployment insurance or related subjects, let me know Next week I ’ll w rite about the pro gress of the E nergy and E n vironm ental C om m ittee as they begin to study u tility and phone rate legislation, and w ill provide an analysis of the sales tax. As always, if I can be of any ser vice to you do not hesitate to call me at 1-800-982-1211 . L etter to the editor Board actions stump patron At the Feb 11 high school board meeting our superintendent announc ed plans to attend a seminar in Salem called PRACTICUM I understand the superintendent w ill attend most, if not all, of this week-long seminar The purpose of this seminar is to enlighten school superintendents on how the Legislature works. Wouldn't it be nice if all employers gave one week off at full pay so we could become more knowledgeable about the Oregon political process’ Meanwhile, back at the school house problems continue to surface. On Jan. 14th the superintendent an nounced that 25 percent of the students who register as freshmen never graduate. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to find a solution to the drop-out problem? Also last fall the position of p rin cipal was eliminated with a reported savings of $50,000. yet SUHS financial reports still list an office of the prin- cipal at $77,624 a year and charge ap proxim ately $6,000 a month to this ac count Why not spend extra time qp- dating the accounting system? Another area of concern to me is the turnover in personnel. At the last three board meetings reported resignations ranged from one to two each month. Based on the present staff of 140 and the seemingly con tinuous stream of resignations, the turnover rate is 10 percent or more F ro m m y e x p e rie n c e as a businessman, a high turnover rate is the result of unhappy employees or selecting the wrong people in the first place. Whatever the reason for tu r nover there is a cost for training new employees and/or disruption of pro gram momentum and morale I favor seminars that improve skills so the individual can improve job performance However, I do not support an u n related a c tiv ity , especially when there are unsolved problems on the job John H King Sandy Editor's note: The audited figure for the principal's office for the 1983-84 year was $219,397. The pre- . sent budget for the principal's office is $77,624. The money is earmarked for supplies, maintenance contracts on business machines and for the salaries and benefits of five people. They include a cashier, switchboard o p e ra to r, s e c re ta ry and fie ld counselor (who supervises the grounds and works to solve detention problems). Salaries for two field counselors are included in the pre sent budget, hut only one person is employed at that position. According to Superintendent Roberta Hutton, that position will probably not be fill ed and the resulting savings will be included in next year's cash carry over. Commentary Residents asked to promote tourism ? by GOV. VIC ATIYF.II At one time or another, nearly everyone in sales has learned the four elements of the marketing mix product, price, place and promotion Oregon is successfully using these to increase the number of visitors to our state, to encourage them to stay longer, and to attract new dollars to our economy. We have the product — unmatched natural gifts such as Crater I^ike, our Pacific coastline, the Columbia Gorge and the Wallowas plus interna tional attractions such as the Oregon Shakespearean Festival and the Pendleton Round-Up We have the price — that is, vaca tioners can relax while spending as much or as little money as they choose We have the place, or location — adjacent to California, the most populous state in the Union, and con veniently situated for Pacific Rim travelers Now, we also have a rare oppor tunity for promotion. I wish to invite every Oregonian to join me in an unprecedented effort to market our state to pleasure and business travelers Tourism is a significant industry that brings $15 billion annually into Oregon's economy and employs an estimated 58,000 people Tourism dollars touch virtu a lly every Oregonian, even it they are not directly engaged in the tourism business Insurance agents w rite policies for motels and service sta tions Accountants counsel hotels and restaurants And so forth. example, advertising directly to pro- speclive travelers, producing an Oregon manual for travel agents. publishing bilingual travel literature and initiating media stories about tourism in Oregon Not long ago, we conducted a survey of San Francisco and Los Angelesarea residents Sadly, we found that 42 percent of those inter viewed believed Oregonians would prefer that Californians not visit We must overcome this perception That is the goal of our new tourism theme: "Oregon You're More Than Welcome ” U ltim ately, though. Oregonians themselves w ill determine whether tourists feel welcome Our reception of tourists w ill determine how long they stay, whether they encourage their friends to visit, and how fre- quentlv they return The friendly grocery clerk at Enterprise can be as important in welcoming visitors as the hospitable bed-and-breakfast host in Ashland or the attentive waiter in Redmond We are undertaking a comprehen sive campaign that w ill include, for / I 1 . t 9 .4.» , ‘ "t. - V» • » « Hr <*■ • 4 I « I Z < ; J ; * ',
