Post
Single Copy 25«
ESD delays Boring
boundary decision
by JAN COOLEY
The Multnomah Education Service
District will not decide until at least
September whether to change the
boundaries of Gresham Union High
School District to include all of Bor
ing School District.
The MESD board postponed a deci
sion on the boundaries Tuesday
night, saying it prefers to wait for the
outcome of a consolidation vote Nov.
4 in the Sandy Union School District.
At a public hearing Tuesday night,
the MESD board unanimously pass
ed a resolution to take the m atter
“ under advisement, with the option
to hold an additional hearing."
About 40 people attended the
meeting. In addition to form al
presentations on the issue, three peo
ple spoke in favor of the boundary
change and one person spoke against
Photu by Scott Newton
Jon Anderson'« truck w u the first of 12 in a funeral procession Saturday.
Truckers honor Anderson
by SCOTT NEWTON
People called Jon and Karen
Anderson the "highway gazelles."
But. they will run no more together
Jon Anderson died while jogging
Tuesday. Aug 12
They were frequently seen jogg
ing along U.S. Highway 26. Jon
Anderson was preparing for the
Hood-to-Coast relay, a grueling test
of endurance Aug 22 and 23 that
will be run by teams of 11 over a
16« mile course.
Karen said her husband was the
"epitome of the healthy person."
After his brother, six years older,
underw ent quad ru p le by-pass
surgery three years ago, the couple
began a strict regimen of diet and
exercise,
A heart attack claimed Ander
son. He and his wife were jogging
together on the Sandy High School
nature trail The autopsy showed
"very, very severe coronary artery
disease," Karen said. There were
no symptoms whatsoever. The doc
tor called it a "silent k iller," Karen
said.
The funeral was postponed until
Saturday, Aug. 16 so that the people
he worked with at United Grocers
could attend
The cab and trailer of his truck,
with three sprays of carnations and
roses on front, lead the funeral pro
cession, followed by 11 cabs. The 12
rigs represented the 12 years he
worked there
The workers might have put
every truck in the flee, in the
funeral procession, except that
there were groceries to deliver
"H e was extremely well liked,”
said Norm Dye, transportation
supervisor for United Grocers “ He
was one of those guys everyone
loves."
The procession traveled from
B a te m a n F u n e ra l C hapel in
Gresham along Powell Boulevard
to U.S. Highway 26. and down
l^angensand Road to St. Michael
Catholic Church.
" I thought it was impressive. It
kind of got to me,” Dye said, adding
that he hadn't heard of any sim ilar
kinds of processions
A fte r th e fu n e r a l, in an
unrehearsed moment, the lead
truck let out one of those long,
lonesome blasts, and the rest of the
trucks followed in sequence
Karen Anderson said she doesn't
know how to express her thanks to
the people, or to the company, for
all they did.
In some ways. Karen said she
feels cheated by her husband's
death. Jon enjoyed life and wanted
to live it. He was 47.
In July, they hiked to the peak of
the Steens Mountains.
The flip side of the coin, she
acknowledges, is that very same
fact, that he lived a good life. She
paused, looking fo. a way to ex
press what he had. "Love is what
the word is."
He was bom the son of Clayton
and Florence Foster Anderson in
Portland on April 16, 1939 He was
raised in Portland where he attend
ed Powellhurst Elementary and
David Douglas High schools.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in
1956 and was honorably discharged
+ in i960 Me return« d to Portland and
m arried Karen Deters on M ay 26,
1962
They have lived in Boring the
past nine years.
He was employed by Northwest
Motor Welding for several years
before working for United Grocers
as a truck driver He was honored
as the driver of the year for the
company in 1981 He was a member
of the brotherhood of Teamsters,
Local 162.
His hobbies included motorcycle
riding, hunting, camping, fishing
and running, and most other types
of outdoor activities.
He is survived by his wife,
K aren; his children, Gretchen
Anderson of Boring, Bren, Ander
son of Portland and Robyn F ry of
Sandy; his brothers, Don Anderson
and David Anderson of Gresham;
his sister, Lona Anderson of
Portland; and a granddaughter
Memorial contributions may be
made to the Muscular Dystrophy
Association.
The board has 100 days from July
15, the day the boundary change peti
tion was received, to act on the re
quest But it has asked the State
Board of Education for a 60-day ex
tension so it can consider the out
come of the Nov. 4 election. In that
election, voters will decide whether
to unify the Sandy Union High School
D is tric t w ith the grade school
districts that feed into it.
The state board is expected to rule
on the extension request Friday. I f it
denies the request, the M ESD board
will consider the petition at its
September meeting. If the state
board approves the request, the
MESD decision w ill be postponed un
til after the election.
If voters approve unification, said
John Burgess, M ESD staff attorney,
“ It would change the facts on what
the board would consider ”
The M ESD board must base its
decision on seven criteria set by state
law and its own policy. Those criteria
include impact of the change on
enrollment, assessed property value,
educational programs, support ser
vices and tax rate.
A study presented by MESD Depu
ty Superintendent James Jacobson
concluded the proposed boundary
change would not have an adverse
impact on either the Sandy or the
Boring district. Orval Ause, assistant
s u p e rin te n d e n t fo r G re s h a m ,
testified that the Gresham board has
not taken an official position on the
proposal, but prefers to take the role
of an “ interested observer.”
Gresham could accommodate the
approximately 90 students that would
transfer from Sandy High School to
Barlow High School, Ause said. The
only adverse impact might be in
transportation.
“ If we have to pick up those
students, it might increase costs. I ’m
not sure,” Ause said.
Pamela Stebbeds, an attorney for
the Sandy Union High School
District, said the change would have
a negative impact on the district. The
district would lose approximately
$14,000 per student in reimburse
ment. It also would have to lim it
some of its elective programs, in
cluding Japanese language classes
and some business, electronics and
Please turn to Page 4.
Four
city
seats
are
up
"- S'
for re-election this fall
People interested in running for a
position on the Sandy City Council
have until 5 p m on Monday, Aug. 25,
to submit petitions. Election packets
can be picked up at City Hall.
The mayor's position is open, along
with three council seats. They are
position 1, currently held by Dick
Harrison, position 2, held by Larry
Buck, and position 5, held by Calvin
Jones
The mayor’s term is for two years.
The City Council terms of office are
for four years.
Mayor Deane Wesselink will be
running for re-election to his position,
according to Tom R eber, city
manager. Others who have picked up
election packets are Buck, Harrison
and Richard Barton.
A candidate must g ath er 20
signatures from registered voters in
Sandy to get on the November ballot.
Bluff Road paving begins
People who live or travel on Bluff
Road will only be able to travel one
way, and that way is north.
The m -m ile stretch of road, from
U.S. Highway 26 at the south to Kelso
Road on the north, w ill be under con-
struction until mid-October.
Jim Turin and Sons Inc, paving
contractors from Sandy, received the
bid to do the work. Construction
began Wednesday.
See related story on Page 3.
Trail to get national notice
by SCOTT NEWTON
Zel Gernhart, left, and Randy Hutchinson with a wood duck nest near the pond
at Pop Rannow Stadium.
I
It is dusk, and as one is jogging on
the Sandy High School nature/exer-
cise trail, entering the wooded area,
squirrels scamper out of the way and
birds dart ahead.
Amid the unexplainable noises of
the forest sits a model project taken
on by the high school that is getting
national exposure.
Randy Hutchinson, department
coordinator for health and physical
education, and Zel Gernhart. depart
ment coordinator for mathematics
and science, have been at work on the
trail for two years, along with
students from two-hour environmen
tal sciences classes
From dawn until dusk, walkers and
joggers of all ages use the trail. Hut
chinson knows people from Gresham
who drive over to exercise here.
The benefits are obvious. There is
no traffic, or the accompanying ex
haust fumes, and running on the bark
dust trail reduces stress to the joints
When the trail descends into the
woods, the trees block out the hot
sun.
There are 10 exercise stations, and
10 more will be built.
But in addition to providing a com
plete workout, 'Iutchinson and Ger
nhart are pleased with its myriad
other uses
Sandy High School students hosted
an outdoor school for Kelso School
sixth graders last year, and Hutchin
son said there was good interaction
between the two age groups along the
nature trail.
Hutchinson said senior citizens are
sometimes intim idated by teen
agers. but along the jogging trail
students working on the trail and
seniors out for a morning walk are on
a first-name basis
Gernhart said that most schools
have cut outdoor school programs
from their budgets He said he hopes
the trail project can fill that gap
class. Wood shop classes will be
brought in this year to build small
boats to use on the pond. Money from
a grant will be used this fall to pay for
a 12- by 24-foot dock with handicap
ped access. Hutchinson said students
in agricultural classes would help
with the landscaping.
The goal of the program is to build
enrollments in declining vocational
Science teachers from across the
state will get a chance to tour the
trail during their fall conference.
Students studying botany have
identified as many as 55 species of
plants. Biology classes conduct plant
and animal population studies, and
study water chemistry and aquatic
life at the pond.
The pond has been there for years,
but not in its present form . A second
pond has been excavated, and should
be filled by the coming winter rains.
It w ill feature an island in the middle,
and the two ponds will probably
cover a half an acre to an acre.
Anumber of different departments
have been involved A drafting class
drew a blueprint of the drainage
pipe, which was built by a (metals
education subjects, according to
Dennis Crow, senior vice principal.
Crow said enrollment is up in
a cad em ic subjects because of
to u g h e r c o lle g e -e n tra n c e r e
quirements, leaving many students
with less time to study vocational
subjects.
The high school received a $12,000
grant, of which they spent $10,060, to
w rite the program. While that may
sound like a simple enough project,
three science instructors, five voca
tional education instructors and a
career counselor were involved. “ It
was written by teachers who teach,"
Gernhart said.
Y
After five drafts, they put together
a version that will allow high schools
across the country to set up a full
blown. or a modified, version of the
project
Textbooks have been printed, and
Sandy High School will realize in
come from the sale of the book
The course will get national ex
posure. The Ohio State National
Center for Research and Vocational
Education is preparing to publish an
article telling about the program,
which will be istributed to educators
in all 50 states and seven trust ter
ritories. according to Crow.
Hutchinson and Gernhart will also
make a presentation at the Oregon
Science Teachers Association’s fall
conference in Lake Oswego. In
terested teachers will get a chance to
come to Sandy by bus to visit the
nature trail first-hand.
The high school also received a
$1,500 grant from the state to pur
chase building materials, and the
grant for the handicapped fishing
dock is for $875. There are several
students at Sandy High School confin
ed to wheelchairs, Crow said
Hutchinson and Gernhart said
Crow put in a good deal of time get
ting the grants "Though there was a
lot of red tape, it was worth the ef
fo rt,” Crow said.
Gernhart can envision all kinds of
public uses for the facility, and can't
imagine that there is a class that
couldn't utilize the area in some way.
E v e n p o litic s w ould be a p
propriate, Gernhart said, teasing
Crow about the red tape