2— SANDY (O r«.) POST Thur».. Now. 21. 1983 (S«<. 1)
The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Scott N e w to n , e d ito r
K im b e rly N elson, a d v e rtis in g re p re s e n ta tiv e
Sandy turns back
on its commitment
It is not an easy thing to be a member of any of our local
swim teams. Not only do you have to do the work that goes
with being an athlete, but you also have to have thick skin.
It is too bad the Sandy Aquatic Center wasn’t built in the
shape of a football, because that is what it has become — a
political football.
A few years ago, during a hotly-debated series of budget
cuts made by the Sandy High School board of directors, money
that was earmarked for the Aquatic Center was eliminated.
Some of that money was to have paid the rent for the Sandy
High swim team, and another chunk of it was to pay for in
structional programs. It is to everyone’s benefit that other
local school districts, by making swimming a part of the
physical education curriculum and thus paying rent, help
share the cost of operating the Aquatic Center.
Supporters of the SUHS swim program raised over $5,000 in
the fall of 1982 to fund a competitive swimming program. Now
that that crisis is past, we have another one on our hands. The
Blue Marlin Aquatic Club has performed a great service for
youngsters through the years, but they are now without a
home and are currently practicing in Barlow High School’s
pool. That’s gratitude for you.
When members of the community voted to build a pool, it
was at least partially through recognition of that fact that,
with so many people participating in water sports, teaching
children to learn to swim was literally a life-saving act.
Add to this consideration the fact that many parents are con
cerned about the lack of activities available for local youth.
And yet young people are currently locked out of participation
in a healthy, social activity.
We understand why the SUHS board eliminated the swimm
ing portion from the budget a few years ago, and we unders
tand why Sandy’s grade schools — and the Aquatic Center —
are currently closed.
It just seems as though the community isn’t living up to its
past commitment.
Personally speaking
Raising tomboy not as bad as it seems
Commentary
Little news value
found in closure
-
by SCOTT NEWTON
It was only meant as a passing
remark, but I can't let it pass. The
other day a person in the news
business said something to this ef
fect: “ I t ’s too bad they closed school
in Sandy, but it makes for good news
copy, doesn’t it? ”
I didn’t get a chance to answer It
was said in the same way one asks,
“ How are you doing?” or “ Nice
weather, huh?”
But the fact of the m atter is. I'm
not a big fan of school closures, just
as I am not a big fan of automobile
accidents or fires. I w ill admit a
perverse fondness for digging out the
facts on bank robberies, but that’s
another stor>
Suffice it to say, I enjoy covering
the school closure about as much as I
would enjoy taking pictures of a
three-car pile-up
I remember when I was covering
the story about Sandy High School’s
budget problems a few years ago. I
decided I would really get into the
budget, really dig out the informa
tion. I spent hours on a 50-inch story.
F ifty inches, for those of you for
tunate enough to be naive in the
language of journalese, is one long
story. The next day I bumped intoa
teacher Not just any teacher, but an
aware, popular, active citizen in the
community.
“ What I don’t understand,” the
teacher said, “ is why you didn’t real
ly get inside the budget, explain it in
a way people would understand?”
Let me tell you, it is hard. I like a
challenge as much as the next guy,
but I'm not a masochist
You can't just say busing w ill cost
“ blank.” Three districts participate
in the busing cooperative that has
demonstratively saved the district
money and they once all had syn
chronized calendars but now Sandy
High School and Bull Run are picking
up the tab for an abbreviated bus run
but eventually Sandy Elementary
1
-
may make up days and therefore
they w ill have to foot the bill by
themselves and so it w ill cost
everybody more but it is s till in the
d istric t’s best interest to participate
in the co-op. Whew.
But the worst part about it is, I ’ve
been through at least some of it
before. Last winter do you think
anybody bothered to read a budget
story? Don’t w orry, I know the
answer and it doesn't hurt my feel
ings. I wouldn’t have read them
either, except that I feel bound by a
code of ethics that says I should pro
ofread my stories before they are
printed.
One night, out for a glass of
refreshment before heading home, a
citizen — an honest, hard-working
citizen — started complaining about
taxes. I know where he’s coming
from.
“ During the budget process,” he
said, “ why don’t you w rite a real
firebrand editorial telling people to
get off their you-know-whats and go
to the meeting and find out what’s in
the budget.”
“ You're rig h t,” I said, "good
idea ” I sighed, trying to recall the
exact wording of some silly editorial
I wrote about getting involved — you
know, during the budgeting process.
But I ’ll be honest with yo5 I don’t
blame people for not reading those
stories, just like I don’t blame them
for not getting involved until there's
a crisis. It isn’t even that it's so com
plicated; the fact is it ’s boring.
But now i t ’s crunch time. As
everyone realizes, the kids should be
back in school where they belong So
we re going to go through this budget
dollar by bloody dollar, even if it kills
us. I expect we’ll soon be reading
about somebody being bored to
death. “ He was determined to
understand what was in the budget,”
some bereaved widow w ill say.
So don’t tell me about good news
value Rob a bank instead
Letter to the editor
Vote on 1 positive
I want to thank each of you who
went to the polls and voted yes on
Nov 5 for passage of Ballot Measure
1, the reallocation of the hotel-motel
room tax in Clackamas County.
Your positive attitude towards
creating jobs by supporting the
tourism industry in our county, and
your solid on-going support for the
county fair, has been reflected by
your vote
Your passage of Ballot Measure 1
comes at the right time as many
communities begin to thnk about
ways to address tourism oppor
tunities in their area
Again, my thanks to you for taking
the time to go to the polls and then for
saying yes overw helm ingly fo r
tourism and jobs in Clackamas Coun
ty
Sam Allen, treasurer
Citizens for Tourism A Jobs
in Clackamas County
Clackamas, Ore.
by ROSE RINALDI
Was Norman Vincent Peale a
parent when he wrote “ The Power of
Positive Thinking” ?
I doubt it.
As I carried my second child, I
dreamed of the g irl she would be (Of
course she would be a girl. I already
had my boy.)
I pictured (as positively as I could)
a spotless bedroom with lavender
walls and pink ruffled curtains. I saw
my little g irl as she would be in a few
years, sweet and fragrant in a frilly
dress, a cherished doll clasped tight
ly in her tiny arms, impressing
visitors with dimpled smile and
perhaps even an old-fashioned curt
sy
As she grew older, I would enroll
her in ballet. I could picture myself
pinning her long hair into a chic
twist, helping her into her pastel
Danskins, and spending my Satur
days watching her develop into a
graceful young woman.
When she was old enough for band,
I would guide her toward the flute.
How proud I would be of her, sitting
in the front row during school con
certs, blowing den. ire ly across the
mouthpiece of a shiny silver flute.
D id m y r e a lit y m a tc h m y
daydreams? Only in the matter of
gender My daughter came scream
ing into the world: nine pounds of
howling, impatient girlhood
As a toddler she loved getting grub
by, creating any kind of disturbance,
and generally making sure her entire
world was aware of her existence. I
loved her fiercely, but I must confess
to occasionally wishing she was just
a bit more feminine. I couldn't forget
my dream of curtsies.
She wasn’t the curtsying kind In
stead, at age two, she entertained
visitors by throwing her legs out
from under herself and landing ker-
plop on her diaper-padded bottom,
shaking the walls and rattlin g the
windows.
The dolls we bought were taken
from the toy chest only when her
more traditional cousins came to
visit. The rest of the tim e they lay
neglected in favor of more intriguing
activities such as climbing kitchen
counters, the fireplace mantel, and
(just before her fifth birthday) one
quarter of the way up the 100-foot
Douglas fir in our backyard.
Her room is lavender and pink. But
spotlessly clean? We compromise.
As long as she keeps a path cleared
from her bed to the door so she can
escape in case of fire, I don’t nag her
I haven't opened her bedroom door in
months. I don’t even like to think
about what it must be like: d irty
clothes and half-eaten peanut butter
sandwiches lying about . .dozens of
six-legged creatures on their backs,
legs straight up in the air, looks of
horror frozen on their tiny faces
And the dresses . .well Actually,
my daughter loves them. In theory,
that is. The few we’ve bought have
decorated only her closet When I
suggested she take one off the hanger
and actually put it on, she looked at
me as if I'd lost all touch with reality.
“ Do you really want me to hang from
monkeybars and do cartwheels with
a dress on?” she asked She had a
point.
When she began fifth grade, I
hadn't learned yet I made a convinc
ing (I thought) case for the flute
She chose the tuba
The only g irl in the brass section,
she had to sit with her legs spraddled
in order to support the instrument
that was almost as big as she was
Her brother, however, was impress
ed "Congratulations," he said. "You
actually found a way to make more
noise than usual!”
And ballet. Well, I did enroll her,
but I soon learned she was no
Pavlova. She never walked when she
could run, and she couldn’t seem to
stay in one spot long enough to com
plete the positions to her teacher’s
satisfaction
She quit ballet and went out for
track
Instead of spending my Saturdays
in a warm studio watching my
daughter do graceful pirouettes and
arabesques, I sit on a hard bleacher
(as often as not in the pouring rain)
watching her throw metal balls, leap
hurdles, and run until she smells like
the boys' locker room after a football
game
When the play “ Annie” came to
Portland a few years ago, the au
dience was filled with beribboned
darlings in ruffled dresses I felt
chagrined that my daughter was the
only g irl wearing jeans Before the
evening was over, however, I finally
came to terms with her unique per
sonal style
D uring interm ission , ch ild re n
swarmed across the street to the Ira
B Hayes Fountain The femininely
dressed girls stood watching as the
boys — and one pig-tailed charmer in
blue jeans — jumped from slab to
slab, climbing to the top of the foun
tain to catch the cooling spray on
their joyful, up-turned faces
So don’t feel sorry for me. In spite
of the unworn dresses, the wasted
ballet lessons, the unmet dreams.
I ’m content. In fact, when my
daughter (now as tall as I ) sits on my
lap and says, " I love you Mom,” I ’m
deliriously happy my attempts at
positive thinking failed and my
daughter is exactly as she is
Personallyspeaking
Career as brat teaches mean lesson
by SARA FORK
When you’re a kid, you dream of
becoming a great dancer or night
club singer, or something. If you’re
lucky and talented, or both, you work
hard, have your teeth capped, have
rich parents and you make it.
Not being blessed with any of those
gifts, I just sort of slid into things
Which is how I began my career as a
brat.
I certainly didn’t start off thinking
in terms of professionalism, which is
good because it was a relatively short
career I simply wanted life to go my
way and by acting like a brat, much
to my delight and astonishment, it
did
I have to confess, however, that I ’d
had some earlier training, that I
wasn't totally an amateur I already
knew that the squeaky wheel gets the
grease and I was pretty well oiled I
squeaked loud and long every time I
wanted a new favor With three older
sisters to practice on, I had built up
quite a repertoire
With my older sister, just hanging
around when she had boyfriends
over, whining and eavesdropping on
their conversations, always seemed
to work. She would give me anything
to make me stop whining and go
away. “ And for heaven's sake, go
blow your nose while you’re at it,”
always meant I got me her piece of
cake for supper that night My
Mother was always praising her as a
wonderful example of generosity to
her little sister
I shared a bedroom with sister
number two, which made it easier to
victim ize her. Being somewhat prim
and proper, her half of the room was
always neat and tidy while mine look
ed like a disaster area Unfortunate
ly, she was immuned to my whining
and runny noses didn’t bother her
She never did anything worth
squealing on, so she never got into
trouble However, she did have one
vice. She would read under the
covers at night after all the lights
were out Now, I understand this
vice, sharing it as I did But being
three years older than I was, she got
to read all the good books and, dam
it, I wanted to read them too! And, I
wanted my half of the room cleaned
up
There came a day when my sister
read the wrong book, one m y mother
had attempted to censor Boy, did I
squeal! It got the expected results I
got a nice clean room. Although I
didn’t get to read the censored book, I
did get to read all of my sisters' other
books, which for some reason disap
pointed me
Sister number three was a little
tougher Being closer in age to me,
she was therefore somewhat wiser to
my tricks (after all, it hadn't been
that long since she'd been a brat
herself). I really needed her because
she was a lot more w illing to get d irty
when we played cops and robbers or
Tarzan of the Apes She made a great
Cheeta So, for this sister I had to be a
very cagey brat No squeaks, no
squeals and no whining On her it had
to be blackmail, pure and simple It
worked beautifully for a whole sum
mer I had a great Cheeta to go with
my T!rzan, and she played a darn
mean game of cops and robbers
Of course, a life of crim e doesn’t
pay dividends very long and Cheeta
rebelled She flat refused to play or
pay any longer And when I pulled
out my ace in the hole and threatened
to tell Dad that she had smoked one
of his cigarettes, she beat the holy tar
out of me
Not to be outdone by this bold act of
aggression, the other two added a
few licks of their own
It wasn't the best thing that hap
pened to me that summer, not by a
long shot But, the cut lip, the bloody
nose and the bruises healed, and so
did my personality As a lesson in
life, this was a big one
Did I learn anything9 I sure did
Never try to blackmail anyone who
doesn't want to be a monkey
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propriate considering the subject
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