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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
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