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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1987)
2 SANDY (O f» ) POST Thuf* April 30 1987 (S»< '• The Sandy Post Editorial & Qpim Scott N ew ton, editor Kim berly Nelson, advertising representative House should OK bill allowing off-track betting The Oregon House of Representatives should act quickly to adopt legislation that would allow off-track gambling on horse and greyhound racing at up to 10 betting parlors throughout the state. Such wagering currently is allowed at the Multnomah Ken nel Club in East Multnomah County, at Portland Meadows in north Portland and for a lim ited time at a horse track in Salem during the Oregon State F air. Off-track betting legislation passed the Senate last week by a 18 to 12 vote in spite of objections from some senators who complained that the bill would promote compulsive gambling and cause an increase in crime, divorce and other problems. The bill now w ill be considered by the House of Represen tatives and, if approved, must be signed by Gov. Neil Goldschmidt. The protests offered by several senators are based on myth. And myths are not the basis of good public policy. legislators opposed to allowing off-track wagering to occ>ur in state licensed and monitored restaurant/lounges should remember that the state of Oregon already is involved in gambling in a very big way. The state is the sole proprietor of the Oregon Lottery and spends thousands of dollars on a daily if not hourly - basis to encourage more and more wager ing. The lottery has even become hot news. Each night, com mercial television stations report the results of the daily four" contest as if they were breaking a news story. Off-track betting provides opportunity for residents of other areas of the state to have easier access to wagering already allowed Oregonians who live in close proximity to MKC, Portland Meadows or the state fair. Off-track betting also represents an opportunity for the state to earn more revenue. Before a bettor is paid off for a correct wager, the state gets its share. It is estimated the state earns from $5 million to $<’> m illion from the existing level of wagering at MKC, Portland Meadows and the state fair. And off-track betting also would serve as a form of economic development. If betting parlors are created in communities such as Beaverton, Eugene or Salem, new jobs w ill follow. And that s not bad. It is quite likely that some of the legislators who are opposed to off-track betting are opposed to gambling of any kind. Their opposition may be religious. Such objections are based on per sonal m orality that must be respected. Others, we fear, have offered their opposition without first becoming fam iliar with the issue. Some, we are confident, have never attended a horse or greyhound race. These legislators lack of fam iliarity with the facilities, and their standards for cleanliness and profes sionalism. and the state’s role in monitoring wagering, likely contributes greatly to their opposition. It is time for Oregon's participation in wagering for greyhounds anil horses to be consistent with its participation in the Oregon lo tte ry . Off-track betting parlors should be allowed. Letters to the editor Builders ( 'lub su y sth u n k you The members of the Builders ( lub of Boring Upper Grade School would like to take this opportunity to ex press our gratitude to the following people, organizations and businesses who contributed in various wavs to this year's very successful Boring Faster Egg Hunt T h e y in c lu d e : B i l l B o r in g , Bow m an's T h riftw a y in G resham , the Dragon Deli R estaurant. M cCall Country Store, B oring B a rb e r Shop, V anport M anu fa ctu rin g . Gresham E a rly R is e rs " K iw a n is Club, Coun try Video, Clackam as County Bank- B oring branch, the H a ir M ill, the Garden Center and the B oring F ire D is tric t Randy I. Gould B uilders Club advisor P< >liey in le tte r s letters to the editor should be typed, double-spaced and signed An address and telephone num ber should also lie 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 subjet I m atter of the letter The news deadline of noon Tuesday is also the deadline fo r le tte rs to the ed ito r le tte r s should be accurate, free of libelous re m a rk s and in good taste This newspaper attem pts to publish a ll letters it receive it receives fro m area residents We reserve the rig h t to edit letters to conform to style guidelines or for length Letters should be (MX) words Repeat ‘Gome visit, don’t stay’message A fellow I know named Bowen B la ir J r wrote a le tte r to the editor Saturday that set me to th in kin g T h a t's how I ended up in a purple posy patch pondering the fu tu re of Oregon Blam e it on B la ir He wrote about how tire d he was of the cliche that Oregon's economic ills can be traced to the late Gov. Tom M cC all's re m a r k , "C o m e v is it , b u t fo r heaven's sake, don't s ta y .” B la ir pointed out th a t he and pro bably m any others came to Oregon 10 years ago precisely because of the governor's re m a rk " I t indicated, quite accurately, that Oregon was a ve ry special place,” B la ir w rote in his le tte r to The Oregonian He went on to point out that to u ris m is now Oregon's second- largest industry A s im ila r re m a rk m ade to d a y by G ov. N e il G oldschm idt, he said, would do more to brin g tourists here than welcome signs at the border or a $1 m illio n a d vertising budget Now some people m ay wish that B la ir hadn't defied the governor and come to Oregon a decade ago As ex ecutive d ire c to r of F riends of the Col um bia K iv e r Gorge, he has been m aking plenty of m ischief B la ir is by JACK Z IM M E R M A N Associated Oregon Industries Beneath the House wing of the Capitol B uilding in Salem is a tiny room fro m w hich tw o e ffic ie n t women provide a telephonic link bet ween the le g is la tu re and the rest of Oregon I t ’s the voice of eith e r Janie Dover or Sheila Rutledge you hear when you d ia l 1-800-332-2313, the 64th Assem bly's to ll-fre e num ber which provides the public w ith the latest in fo rm a tio n on the status of individual pieces of legislation m aking their way through the process A one-time fire and police dispat cher fro m S ilverton, Dover is in the m idst of her th ird session answering questions about the legislature No stra n g e r to the process herself, Rutledge re tire d just a year ago after 15 years as a telephone operator for the state Together, they fo rm a team that is fie ld in g betwen (MX) and 400 calls daily fro m folks fro m a ll over Dregon who are curious fo r a v a rie ty of reasons about w hat's going on in the Capitol They also respond to callers who s h o u ld h a v e d i r e c t l y d ia le d W Y S ta te R e p r e s e n ta t iv e Bob S hiprack, D -D ist 23. 22610 Forest P ark Rd., Beavercreek, O re . 97004 631-3817. Or State C apitol, Room H 288. S a le m . O re . 97310 1400-332-2313. State Senator Bob k in tig h . D -D ist 14. 38863 E Cedar F la , Road. S pr in g fie ld . 97478 746-1842 Sen M a rk H a tfie ld , R-Oregon. 711 H a rt B u ild in g . W ashington. D C . '20510 202-224-3753 P o rtla n d office phone 221-3386 Sen Bob Packwood, K-Oregon. 259 Russell B u ild in g . W ashington. D C , 20510 202-224-5244 phone 221-3370 A kÉ T h i W h e re to w rite < the fe llo w who cam ped out in W ashington and haunted Congress u n til it passed the Columbia R ive r Gorge N ational Scenic A ct There are people in C orbett liv in g under the new rules of the scenic area who wish he’d stayed away. But B la ir is rig h t Oregon is a special place. I s till rem em ber listening to a Washington. D C . cab d riv e r back in the M cCall years le a rn in g we were fro m Oregon, he said w is tfu lly . "I heard w hat your governor said Oregon m ust be w onderful I'd like to see it som eday.” W illa m e tte R ive r Somewhere along the way e n viro n m ent has become a bad w ord When the recession hi4. the tim b e r industry went bad and some of us took pay cuts o r lost our jobs We scratched out the w o rd e n v iro n m e n t and substituted economy. In these days of Oregon Comeback, when we compete fo r electronics plants like m erry-go-round rid e rs reaching fo r the brass rin g , you don't hear m uch ta lk of environm ent Peo ple say the carnas plants w ill have to take care of them selves u n til we b r ing back payrolls. That we have to compete w ith Los Angeles and the San F rancisco Bay area That we w ill w o rry about the environm ent when we get back on our economic feet But I w o rry that when that happens the carnas w ill be crushed beneath those feet. Maybe B la ir is rig h t Maybe in stead of being part of the crowd cla m o rin g at the doors of in d u stria l tycoons, we should stand back a little and say, "H e y , we re a special place and we re looking fo r a few good in dustries to help us keep it that way O th e rw is e , com e v is it , but fo r heaven’s sake don’t s ta y ." Telephone link keeps operators busy B< ibcuts long Sharon Nesbtt Reverse psychology. F orbidden fr u it P laying hard to get But it on ly w orks if there re a lly is a treasure beneath the coyness We believed we had a treasure du rin g the M cC all years We protected it by passing bot tle b ills and land-use planning acts and cleaning our rive rs S aturday m orning a fte r reading B la ir's le tte r I went to West Linn to a hidden place off W alnut Street There the carnas bloom in a secret meadow It is n 't re a lly secret. The N ature Con servancy has owned the Camassia N a tu ra l Area fo r 25 years, but it is a w ild place so perfect th a t each p e r son who sees it believes he is the firs t A meadow. Big rocks a ll fu rry w ith lichen A riv e r of purple carnas lilie s flow ing among the rocks in color so v iv id it makes your eyes ache Splashes of pink flow ers fo r contrast And brassy swatches of yellow Scotch broom to add an edge to the soft pastel prettiness •I sat in the m iddle of it th inking how special Oregon is and noticed th a t you could see fro m that w ild , perfect place the plum es of steam fro m the paper n a il at Oregon C ity I rem em bered how that m ill, and m any others, cleaned up th e ir acts so s a lm o n w o u ld r e t u r n to th e O f V r\( < K Y ou T 4 M Ñ 6 1-800-327-7389. the num ber people can ca ll if they want to ta lk d ire ctly w ith th e ir L e g isla to r on a call-back basis Both num bers are p a rt of an exten sive le g is la tiv e In fo rm a tio n Service designed to expand public p a rtic ip a tion in the biennial exercise that repeals, amends and creates laws by w hich we are governed The b ill-sta tu s serv ice provided by Dover and Rutledge also enables citizens to o rd e r copies of in d ivid u a l b ills under consideration Those re q u e s ts a re fo r w a r d e d to th e L e g is la tiv e D is trib u tio n C e n te r, where w orkers m a il single copies free to those requesting them A ll are p a rt of an in fo rm a tio n ser vice that has evolved since the late 1950s and has included rules ca llin g fo r public hearings on a ll measures, expanded hearing room fa c ilitie s in the Capitol and a dditional space for reporters covering proceedings for the state's newspapers, radio and television stations The phone service began in 1973 and has been a fix tu re in its present state since 1977 Queries to operators that year numbered approxim ately 50.1XX) and as m any as 597 on a single day In 1979 total calls dipped to about 30.000 w ith 467 recorded on the busiest day. The record-long seven m onth session in 1981 provoked 38.404 calls and a peak of 341 on a single day In '83 the num ber dropped again to 33,318, but jum ped to 516 on the b usiest da y The 1985 session, shortest since 1977, saw total calls rise to 34,193 and the busiest day i June 141 logged 491 ca lls just a week before fin a l adjournm ent A lthough D over suspected the [»ace of th is session had slackened a little fro m the pace of the '85 session, records show 20,961 ca lls a fte r 14 weeks this year, com pared w ith 17,605 at about the same tim e two years ago T hat phenomenon lik e ly is a t trib u te d to D o ve r’s experience that she q u ickly adm its build each session she's on the job T h a t’s not the only experience w ith the legislative pro cess but fa m ilia rity w ith the fa c ilitie s and equipm ent at hand, also Both Rutledge and D over can ac cess com puter screens that provide them alm ost instantly w ith the status of any of the nearly 2,700 d iffe re n t measures cu rre n tly being considered by law m akers They also have copies of printed booklets that describe measures by subject m a tte r — a big help if callers are not aw are of the specific num ber assigned to each b ill, resolution and m e m o ria l in troduced each session. A new tool this year - a telecom m unications device fo r the deaf i TDD i enables the tw o operators to converse" via p rin to u ts w ith the hearing im p a ire d And a b ill is under consideration this session to make m ore of the devices a va ila b le to deaf people. Dover reports special excitem ent th is session occurred when a news team fro m public television's chan nel 10 did a feature on the service they provide. Aside fro m th a t, the job is re la tiv e ly routine enlivened m ostly by callers d ire ctin g th e ir d isp le a su re about one issue or another to the innocent providers of in fo rm a tio n Both D over and Rutledge display uncommon patience w ith callers and e ith e r a m eliorate the upset by ex plaining away any m isconceptions or re fe rrin g ca lle rs to the le g is la tu re 's c a ll back service so they can d eliver th e ir messages where it w ill do the most good by Admn Kruft P é UJSÉ RONI ■•i - * le Tft<ß - e r e p r s -> ú 7 cAMAriAN SA.crJt than P ortland office Rep. Denny S m ith, R-5th D ist., 1213 L o n g w o rth B u ild in g , W ashington, D C.. 20515. 202-225-5711 Salem office phone i to ll fre e i 800-452-7889. L e g is la tiv e access in Oregon 1-800-327-7389. One m ay c a ll this num ber and ask to be connected to any state le g is la to r's office Oregon le g is la tiv e status num ber 1-800-332-2313. One m ay c a ll this num ber to le a rn the status of b ills pending in the Oregon le g is la tu re * g . - 1 / J 1 p4 Ä H ¿ /y —r w 5
