2
SAN0Y (O re.) ROST Thur*., Au«. 31. IM S (S m . I)
The âtfndyPost
Scott Newton, editor
Kimberly Nelson, advertising representative
Tax won’t benefit
residents of Sandy
You q*uwr CAjsi'r
w in /
We do not doubt officials of Clackamas County who claim
they need the money that would be generated by a proposed 3
cent per gallon gasoline tax.
With 2,000 miles of roadway to maintain, we can imagine
that funds are tight, and that a lot of tough decisions are made
about where to spend the revenues they do receive.
Be that as it may, residents of the city of Sandy would be the
losers if the tax were to pass, and we therefore recommend a
“ no” vote in November.
Sandy residents may remember that the City Council con
sidered a 1 cent per gallon tax measure put together by the ci
ty manager in October of 1963. The City Council voted down
the measure 7-0.
That proposal assumed that 5 million gallons of gasoline
were sold in Sandy in a year, and estimated revenues would be
about $50,000.
Using those figures, which service station owners a t the
tim e said were probably accurate, Clackamas County would
collect $150,000 a year in Sandy. Meanwhile, the city of Sandy
would receive about $42,000 a year to maintain its 19 miles of
roadway.
The distribution of the tax monies is based on a reasonably
fa ir formula considering population and miles of roadway.
But in reality, Sandy businesses would be big losers. It could
conceivably cost jobs, and the potential benefits do not
outweigh the losses.
As far as motorists paying the tax, it is probably fa ir to call
it a user fee, and we could be convinced that motorists aren’t
paying enough to keep roads maintained.
However, the county’s 3 cent per gallon gas tax is not the
correct solution for Sandy, and we recommend people vote no.
f
F o r .
R o A x D
R. e . pa .1 r _
Personally speaking
Trouble may lie ahead
for no smoking policy
by SCOTT NEWTON
Excuse me, but could you give that
to me again?
OK, I think I've got it. Sandy High
School’s board of directors, by
unanimous vote, has banned ■making
on all school grounds.
Kurt Heaton, superintendent/prin-
cipal, said that if they are to expect
students not to smoke or chew tobac
co, then it is fair to ask the public to
set an example.
He said they will ask people at
public events not to smoke on the
school grounds. “ If the public sees
we re trying to be reasonable, I think
they’ll go along with it," Heaton said.
The first thing that pops into my
mind is halftime of a basketball
game when all the smokers pour out
of the gymnasium and light up. The
ban on smoking doesn't bother me,
but I don’t think it can be enforced,
and it doesn't make sense to have a
policy you can’t enforce.
Even if local smokers agree to the
ban, there will be numerous visitors
from other schools who will either not
know about the ban on smoking, or
will choose to ignore it.
Heaton admits that it will be hard
to enforce. What he won’t admit is
that he has nightmares when he im
agines himself trying to enforce it.
The city of Sandy celebrated a
milestone in July with its 500th rental
of signs for garage sales.
A person gets three signs from the
city, one of which is put in the yard.
Thé other two are used to guide
motorists.
A person fills out a permit stating
n a m e , address and telephone
number, and pays a $5 deposit. In
return, that person gets professional
ly designed signs, and the city is pret
ty much guaranteed the signs will be
taken down when the garage sale is
over.
M a rg o
D e m p s te r,
secretary/receptionist, said that at
first people objected to the idea, feel
ing there was too much regulation in
volved. “ Most of the comments now
are Than k you. I t ’s a good idea,' ”
Dempster said.
There are certain places where
signs of any kind are prohibited, such
as in the state Highway D ividon’s
r^ht-of-w ay
Dempster started working far the
city soon after the program was
started. The first sign was loaned in
July 1980. She said garage sales ap
pear to be as popular as ever. In
August, they had all 30 signs out on
two different weekends.
Dempster, by the way, said she
never attends garage sales.
Sharon Brown, classified advertis
ing sales representative for the
Golden Nugget, does go to garage
sales. “ I t ’s kind of like going through
mom's old trunk,’’ she said. “ Every
once in a while you find something
wonderful. Usually you don’t."
Garage sales were once a fad.
Brown said. Now they are a way of
life , a tim e -te s te d method of
generating immediate cash.
I talk to Brown every once in a
while. The Golden Nugget classifieds
are a feature of both the Sandy Post
and its sister p ublication, the
Gresham Outlook.
The other day I called Brown to
tease her about an ad Christine Bier
man of Sandy saw. It was an ad for a
nanny “ in my home for three darling
children, ages 3 years, 8 months and
3 months.”
Bierman, who works part time as a
reporter for The Outlook, was sure
she had found the medical scoop of
the century. A fter a good laugh, I
called Brown, who didn’t see what
was so funny.
When Brown mentioned it to Gwen
Salesky, another sales represen
tative and the person who took the
ad, Salesky knew exactly what she
was talking about. “ She thought
about it, but said she wasn’t even go
ing to ask,” Brown said.
There was no medical miracle or
funny business. When the number
listed in the advertisement was call
ed, a man said it was two mothers
who wanted to share a nanny.
Policy on letters
le tte rs to the editor should be
typed, double-spaced and signed An
address and telephone number
should also be provided, although on
ly the name of the letter writer and
the city or area he is from will be
published.
Letter writers may also wish to in
clude a title or office held if it is ap
propriate considering the subject
matter of the letter.
The news deadline of noon, Tues-
day is also the deadline for letters to
the editor
Letter* should be accurate, free of
libelous remarks and in good taste.
This newspaper attempts to publish
all letter* it receives from area
resident*.
We reserve the right to edit letters
to conform to style guidelines or for
length. A preferred maximum length
is 300 words.
Where to write
Sen. M a r k H a t f ie ld ,
hOregon, 711 Hart Building,
Washington, D .C ., 20510,
202-224-3753. Portland office
phone 221-3386.
S en. Bob P a c k w o o d ,
R -O re g o n , 258 R u s s e ll
Building, Washington. D C ,
20610, 208-224-6244. Portland
office phone 221-3370.
Letters to the editor
Cash carryover
is too high
I am fully aware that the voters in
the Sandy school district w ill once
again be asked to approve the same
levy which has already been defeated
by voters in the district.
1 do believe there are a few things
th a t v o te rs should c o n c e rn
themselves about. In reading the
minutes of the high school board
m eeting Ju ly 14, the business
manager advised the board and those
patrons in attendance that basic
school support monies and prior
years taxes received were above the
anticipated amount, resulting in the
ending cash balance of about
9575,000.
According to may calculations, if
the business manager has 9575,000
surplus in his hands now and if the
proposed levy, same as last year, is
passed he w ill have an additional
9575,000. The next levy we vote on
Sept. 18 will be 91,150,000 more than
is needed to continue all programs
status quo.
It is also my understanding that the
elementary district found a surplus
in the low six-digit category.
Now, I only ask you taxpayers,
voters and readers if this is prudent
fiscal management? Why is this
surplus not being applied to reduce
the amount requested for the 1906-87
budget?
We are witnessing a travesty in the
a rt of taxation for public school
education. As one voter and over
taxed citizen. I ’m calling “ foul.” I do
not know how you, the reader, feels
about this, but I would not vote to ap
prove the Sept. 16 levy if my life
depended on it. I urge you. Mr. and
Mrs. Voter, to vote “ NO" on this
measure on Sept. 16.
Be safe, vote “ NO ." It will stop
“double-dipping" by our budget com
mittee and school board.
Lloyd A. Cummins
Affordable Education Association
committee member
Sandy
Tri-Met service
is non-existent
A tip of the hat to those residents
who recently spoke out against ineffi
ciency and tax dollars wasted on in
adequate Tri-M et service in Sandy.
The business com m unity that
largely supports T ri-M et would not
have the money to do so if they
operated as Tri-M et does. Private
enterprise must be effective to sur- '*
vive, so why should those that strug
gle to exist in the business world have
to carry an organization that doesn't
work
I would like to relate a case in
point. M y sister, visiting me recently
from Portland, wished to return
home. Having a busy schedule that
day, I offered to drop her off at the
transit center in Gresham, only to
find that it was roped off and closed.
No problem, or so I thought. I
would simply call and get updated in
formation from T ri-M e t’s modern
and probably expensive recording
system. The first call was for infor
mation on the specific route I needed.
The recording erroneously informed
me that I could catch the bus at the
transit center The second call was to
the number that has information on
route changes. This recording in
form ed me that service would
resume from the transit center the
following Wednesday, but left it a
total mystery where it was currently
operating.
This meant driving to Portland
because someone was incapable of
doing their job. Though this didn't oc
cur in Sandy, it was typical, in my
opinion, of T ri-M e t’a method of
operation.
bit
As in most situations, adverse con
ditions can also mean opportunity.
Why not let some aspiring en
trepreneur operate a local service to
the transit center in Gresham?
It would probably cost a little more
for a trip to Gresham but commuters
having a service tailored to their
needs should be happy even If it does
cost a little extra.
For those who might not be able to
afford the trip to Gresham, let's
spend a fraction of the 9178,000 Tri-
Met now collects to assist them and
give the rest back.
I realize this is only one of many
possible solutions, but with a little of
the creative and thougtful thinking
that large organizations seem to be
incapable of, I ’m sure Sandy can
come up with better transit.
Mike Sererin
Sandy
Salem Scene
Timber industry battles to survive
by JACK Z IM M E R M A N
Oregon’s forest products industry
is still number one.
It remains this state’s m ajor
generator of private sector employ
ment and payrolls
And it retains this position in spite
of a chain of events that sometimes
almost appear to be elements of a
well-orchestrated conspiracy.
All you have to do is recall events
of the last 10 years and you begin to
wonder that people continue to pur
sue production of forest products.
Just a decade ago came the report
that indicated Oregon’s available
timber supply was dwindling to the
p o in t th e in d u s try w ould be
decim ated unless m ore federal
tim ber was made available. As
might be expected, financial specula
tion — combined with record infla
tion — pushed the price of available
timber through the roof. Recession
followed with a depressed market for
many wood products and most pro
ducers were in deep, deep trouble.
In the meantime, the influx of
cheaper Canadian imports and the
emergence of the Southern United
States as a major producer closer to
Eastern markets further jeopardized
Oregon's position
And even as the industry sought ex
pansion of allowable harvests in
federal forests, preservationists
were succeeding in governmental
establishment of more and more
wilderness areas in which logging —
as well a * most other pursuits —
would be forever banned.
Despite the fact the industry’s m a
jor alternative to dwindling supply
was more intense management of the
available resource, it* means of sc-
complishing that goal have been em
broiled in almost constant controver
sy. The protests against the use of
herbicides to enhance growth of
marketable species flared in the late
1970s and is still a problem for
modern foresters.
More recently, regulators are seek
ing to expand buffer strips of stan
ding tim ber in riparian areas — land
bordering streams, lakes and rivers.
And that means considerably less
allowable cut and significant finan
cial losses.
Those members of the industry
who own standing tim b e r and
reforested plantations have been
caught in the liability insurance
crisis and are considering closing
their lands to public access by
recreationists rather than assume
yet another financial risk.
As it the foregoing were not enough
to cause closure of more mills than it
already has, the next development
was a federal tax reform package
that threatens to further increase
present coats of forest management
and drive tree farmers right out of
business
And this month the industry will be
subjected to hearings on proposals by
the Departments of Forestry and E n
vironmental Quality that, if adopted,
w ill have yet another adverse impact
on an already reeling entity.
The latest blow comes in the form
of expanded regulations on the burn
ing of forest slash — the m aterial re
m a in in g fo llo w in g h a rv e s t of
marketable timber. They are design
ed to both manage smoke generated
by such burning and m aintain
visibility in certain areas mandated
by the federal Clean A ir Act.
The-smoke management Issue is
supposed to control slash fire smoke
in a manner that avoids heavily
populated areas. The visibility is
aimed at avoiding impairment of
viewing scenic vistas in certain
federal forests and national parks. In
Oregon that refers specifically to
Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three
Sisters, Mount Washington and D ia
mond Peak Wilderness areas and
Crater Lake National Park.
C u rre n t sm oke m a n a g e m e n t
regulations protect Portland and the
W illa m e tte V a lle y to Eugene,
Roseburg, Medford, Tillamook and
Coos Bay from smoke incursions
The new regulations would aid Bend,
Astoria, Lincoln City and Newport
areas.
What the proposals would do is
severely lim it slash and field burning
between the Fourth of July and
Labor Day. Burning would only be
permitted during that period under
specific weather conditions that
would allow smoke to rise sufficient
ly and be blown over acceptable
areas
Environmentalists were to have
alerted their followers to protest the
standards as too lenient The forest
industry, on the other hand, was to
testify that such regulatory practices
would further hamper the economy.
The potential economic impact is
estimated to be a* large as 980
million annually, cost more than
4,000 jobs and deplete state income
tax revenue by as much as 95 million
a year.
The exercise epitom izes yet
another obstacle in the path of
O re g o n 's m a jo r p ro d u c e r of
economic vitality as it struggles to
retain that traditional role.
The Stfntiy Post
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99.88
818.88
I Isew hore In O regon
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to Clackam as County por year
in N orthw est and Pacific Coos» States
O.'iK. O’«*on
«•
O utside Northw est and Pacific Coast
IW .Ip .F ,M ,
Sandy 70*1. Sondy, Oregon 97059
No. 32
914.00
917.00
Aug 21. r i