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April 23 1987 S»< I
The Sandy Post
Scott N e w to n , e d ito r
K im b e rly N e lson , a d v e rtis in g re p re s e n ta tiv e
Editorial & Opinion
Bashings are fun,
but not productive
“ Board bashing” may give people a sense of satisfaction, a
feeling that they are getting even with “ the government, but
in fact it is an unproductive exercise.
People in Sandy have been in rare form more than a couple
of times the past few years. The target is always a group of un
paid, dedicated board or city council members.
One classic board bashing was held in August 1982 when the
Sandy High School board was faced with the prospect of
delineating programs to “ A” and ” B” ballots. One of the sug
gestions to come out of that meeting was that volunteers could
work as bus drivers.
The largest “ board basher” was probably the November
1985 meeting of the Sandy Elementary District board. Voters
had just closed the schools and the board had to determine a
dollar amount to put on the emergency levy request.
One of the suggestions to come out of that meeting was that
volunteers could fix the schools’ roofs.
It is amazing that there are such simple solutions to school
funding problems.
Some board members rise to the occasion during board
bashings. During a meeting in the summer of 1984, people who
live along Bluff Hoad faced the prospect of increased taxes
through a local improvement district to improve the road.
Dick Harrison, city councilor, changed the direction of the
council with his now infamous quote. To vote against the pro
ject, backed by $450,000 in federal funds, would be to vote for
potholes on Bluff Road, he said.
Some board members actually seemed to get a kick out of
board bashings. Much of the work done by governmental
bodies is tedious, while board bashings have a carnival air.
But the work of boards, councils and budget committees is
important and for that reason citizens should participate when
decisions affect them.
Compared to other board bashings, Monday night's ( ity
Council meeting was a mere tremor — the topic of discussion
was A-frame signs.
But one Sandy businessman’s inference that the Sandy City
Council is anti-business was unfair. Four of the City Council
members have extensive business experience. Two of them
have businesses outside the city limits, but to assert that they
are not concerned with the Sandy business climate is a
fallacy; their livelihoods are tied to it.
Two of the City Council members are employed by local
school districts. To infer that those members don’t care about
the business climate is also unfair, expecially since those two
in particular have put in thousands of hours working for the ci
ty ’s benefit.
Interestingly enough, most board members have extremely
thick skin.
The best way to contribute to public discussions is to do ex
actly what good board members do — prepare for the
meeting.
Paid officials w ill take the time to explain the history of im
portant, upcoming issues. The same reading material that is
available to board members is also available to the public.
(The exception, of course, is in matters of personnel, or of
legal significance.)
While board bashing is fun. it is the voice of common sense
that usually carries the day.
It is heartening enough to make a person believe in the
democratic process.
Tax reconnection
is revenue neutral
by GOV NEIL GOLDSCHMIDT
Special for The Post
Now that April 15th has come ami
gone, I'm pleased to be able to share
some good news with you about your
taxes Recently the House Revenue
Committee, under the chairmanship
of Rep Carl Hosticka of Eugene,
unanimously passed a measure that
changes Oregon's income tax sy stem
to conform to the new federal income
tax code For the sake of simplicity
alone, it's good public policy
But m ore im p o r ta n tly , the
measure does not create any new tax
windfall for the state Reconnecting
the federal and State tax codes
without any changes in the tax rates
would result in an extra $150 million
in revenue this year or $300 million
for the biennium Both during and
after the campaign. 1 said that this
money should go back to taxpayers
rather than be used to increase state
revenue
As a major part of the 60-Day
Agenda. I asked legislative leaders to
agree that any reconnection be
revenue-neutral We promised we
would not have our hand in tax
payers’ pockets, and the Revenue
Committee kept that promise
Under this measure, the money
w ill be returned to taxpay ers through
lower tax rates
To achieve revenue neutral status,
the upper tax rate of 10 percent was
dropped to «95 percent This will
send a positive message to business
as well as to individuals Corporate
rates also drop, from the current 7.5
percent to a rate of 6 6 percent The
impact on corporate rates is also
t
revenue-neutral
Some 654.000 Oregonians will pay
slightly less state taxes under the
measure, while only 242,000 would
pay slightly more Most taxpayers
earning under $40,000 per family
would pay less, and taxpay ers in the
$40,000 to $50,000 bracket would be
equally split
The measure is up for a vote in the
House and then moves on to the
Senate
One principle of the Oregon Com
eback is that the government should
make do with what it has That's why
the reconnect is revenue-neutral
But government should also get
what it is due
So while I ’m on the subject of
taxes, I want to bring you up to date
on our revenue enforcement plan
It's estimated that at least $25
million is slipping through the state
government's fingers because it
laeks the tools to effectively enforce
our tax laws An OSU study in the
early 1980s indicated that perhaps 20
percent of taxpayers are cheating,
and the number is growing
That's why we have proposed
legislation to turn that trend around
I have asked the legislature to
beef up our enforcement capabilities
anil give delinquent taxpayers a
chance to pay back taxes and interest
without penalty The result will be an
estimated $30 million in additional
revenue due to the state government
The Senate recently passed this
"carrot and stick" approach to
revenue enforcement by a wide
margin, and the House is expected to
give it prompt attention
Gar trips improve with a^e
magazines and puzzle books and a
sack of lemon drops Hubby and I get
about 30 miles to a lemon drop
I ,ast week we took a road trip to
Nevada We sailed across the desert
south of Burns at speeds we were
ashamed to admit No children in the
back seat with eyes glued to the
speedometer
Over the years we have learned to
calibrate our bathroom stops No
more hunting for a bush in the middle
of a desert
Never say never, they say
1 can remember it as if it was
yesterday The car limping into the
driveway. The doors flying open
Kids and debris spilling out onto the
gravel. D irty clothes Gum-glued
comic books. Stinky shoes and stale
Coke cups avalanching out of the
back seat
" I will never." I said then, "go on
an automobile trip again If we can't
afford to fly, we’ll just stay home "
There were good reasons for that
kind of parental pronouncement
Like the time No Two Kid, who
maintained a steadfast silence up to
the age of 2, climbed into the back
seat and for the next 1,000 miles yell
ed every word he knew into his
father's ear
Or when No. One Kid lost her baby
tooth in the back seat before she had
a chance to redeem it with the Tooth
Fairy Or the hundred times 1 threw
myself over the front seat to separate
the snarling, biting pair and drew a
line down the middle of the back seat
to create a demilitarized zone
Sharon Nesbtt
the kids got big enough to be good
company on automobile trips, they
didn't want to go with us anymore.
So, tentatively at first. Hubby and 1
struck out alone on a road trip. What
a revelation. It turned out that it was
not the drive that drove us crazy, but
the kids
The backseat, once a jumbled
mass of funny papers, hamburger
wrappers and crayons, is now a roll
ing closet It is also stocked with
We fill the miles with long silences
or punctuate them with discussions
of roadside restaurants that serve
the best hash browns I read Hubby
the Sunday funnies as we roll along
He complains when I do that at
home; in the car it us OK
We gaze out the window at hills
purpled in sage brush or meadows
carpeted in green and say dumb
things like "oooh" and "ahhhh And
no kid in the back seat says, " I don't
see what's so great about that."
And we take our collection of tapes
everything from Strauss to Sinatra
and hum and tap our way down the
freeway. No one in the back seat
holds his hands over his ears and
groans.
The other good part about travel
ing without kids is taking naps,
though it works better if both parties
don't nap at the same time We take
turns tipping the seat back and snooz
ing without guilt
And we read bumper stickers and
complain about people who feel it us
necessary to let everyone know that
they i heart I their Schnauzers. Or we
laugh at the fellow whose bumper
sticker warns: "Caution, I drive nak
ed."
And no one in the back seat says,
"What's so funny about that ’ "
When we get home, of course, the
stuff spills out of the back seat Fun
ny papers and tourist brochures
glued together with lemon drops
Pens and papers and stmUy shoes
But it is our mess and we w ill clean it
up gladly, already planning the next
trip
We call the kids and tell them we
are home, what we did and how much
we liked our trip and we get the
distinct impression that they are glad
they didn't go. And so are we.
Letters to the editor
Stiltue presents
wrong image
I am writing about the planned
erection of a bronze statue of a ser
viceman carrying an M-16 1 am con
cerned by the image such a statue
would present, especially as a
memorial to those who have died in
the service of their country.
The romantic and sentimental no
tion of the innocent, solitary ser
viceman, charging off into unknown
danger to protect us, is a laudable
one However, it is a narrow, inac
curate representation I find it d if
ficult to connect such an image with
the real pain and suffering of people
who were literally blasted apart by
the violence of war It is a hypnotic
offering to the imagined glories of
battle, an old image, one of limited
scope that leads to the unthinking
perpetuation of war
To be honestly representative, a
memorial sculpture would have to
portray disfigured, contorted, dead
bodies - for that is what the
memorial exists for, those who died
An homage to death, not life
Such a sculpture would have the
advantage of discouraging participa
tion in this demoralizing activity
war - without first realizing what
the result of this involvement might
be The idea would undoubtedly be
rejected by any City Council in the
United States as unpatriotic and of
dubious esthetics. 1 doubt that Sandy
would want to present this image as
its own.
But what of the planned statue’’ Is
this the image the city wants to greet
people with’’ Does this best represent
the hopes and aspirations of the peo
ple of Sandy’
To honor correctly those who died,
an effort should be taken to insure a
m e m o ria l a p p ro p ria te to the
sacrifice involved This may include
a garden or perhaps a sculpture sym
bolizing the hope for the end of war
More in the spirit of peace (The
United Nations has a statue of swords
being beaten into plowshares I'm
sure that Sandy would opt for a
creative solution )
I am not questioning the sincerity
of the VFW or any other group Hav
ing served in Vietnam myself, I
understand the desire to pay tribute
to those who died However, 1 would
hope the Sandy City Council could
take the farsighted view and stand on
its integrity to choose or allow an im
age more suitable to the con
sciousness of 1987
' Ix’t us not waste th»‘ lives of those
that have died le t us instead insure
that none shall follow blindly, un
thinking in pursuit of glories unfulfill
ed.”
Peace
Joseph Cotter
Eagle Creek
Self-fulfilling
prophesy fenred
I have a son who is a senior and a
daughter who is a junior at Sandy
High I sat down with them and asked
them to seriously consider how many
teachers they have had that they
would rate as poor, good, and excep
tional
My daughter rated one teacher as
poor, four as exceptional, and the
rest as good My son rated two as
poor, five as exceptional and the rest
as good.
The exceptional teachers were
distinguished by their ability to com
municate knowledge, to inspire, to
maintain order, and by their per
sonal dedication 1 think Sandy High
is blessed with many fine teachers
I went to a private high school and
could only think of two teachers that I
would consider exceptional My wife
and I feel that our children have got
ten a good education at Sandy I don't
know why there is so much bad-
mouthing" of the schools in the San
dy area
Our experience with Sandy High
doesn't correlate with the opinions of
those who say the school is no good
The district has lost a number of good
teachers, and I am told that others
are actively seeking employment
elsewhere.
I do know that selling a home in
this district is tough, due to our
reputation of not supporting the
schools Constructive criticism) is
essential, but hateful condemnation
is destructive The bad-mouthers''
have persuaded some to believe the
myth that Sandy schools are no good
I fear that a "self-fulfilling pro
phesy" is in the works and may
result in the school sy stem becoming
second rate, in time It's hard to im
agine what could be gained by that'
P S Hopefully the AEA will use the
same formula everyone else uses to
compare Sandy to other districts
Thanks, Connie Whitlock, for expos
ing their "e rro r."
Bill Kruger
Boring
by Aduni krtift
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