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January 21
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The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Scott N e w to n e d ito r
K a rm d o H e d lu n d a d v e rtis in g re p re s e n ta tiv e
Safety net reducing
quality of programs
Safety-net financing, approved statewide by voters and im
plemented this school year, is adversely affecting the quality
of education in the Sandy Elementary District.
The safety net allows districts to levy the same amount each
year without seeking a vote of the public. It does not allow for
growth or for districts to make up losses in revenue from the
state or federal governments.
In the first year of the program, cuts were made in the San
dy library program. Librarians were taken out of the libraries
at Kelso and Eirwood schools, and the librarian at Sandy
Grade School took over the operations at all three schools.
The change has not been drastic, but it has had a detrimen
tal effect.
Classroom teachers now must teach library skills instead of
allowing specialists to do that job.
While classroom teachers generally are quailified to teach a
broad range of subjects, they are not as highly trained in the
specific area of library skills. Someone who reads reviews and
orders books, organizes the library and sets up the card
catalog is more qualified to promote reading materials and
teach children how to find research materials.
The change also has slightly increased the load on teachers.
The libraries are occasionally closed in the district because
no staff people are available to keep them open.
The prospects for next year, under safety-net financing, also
are not encouraging. Three teaching positions and three
maintenance positions are scheduled for elimination unless
taxpayers approve a levy or tax base.
That could mean larger class sizes in the growing district.
Also, the buildings in the Sandy Elementary District
historically have been well maintained. But cutting the
maintenance staff will not be without consequences.
Maybe that is what the taxpayers want a clamping down
on programs But taxpayers also should be aware of what they
are getting, and our observation is that cuts in the library have
hurt the quality of education in the district.
LETTERS
i
five guidelines listed above is the on
ly comprehensible choice
Patty Klascius
Sandy
S to n e b u ild in g
b e st fo r lib ra ry
1 would like you to strongly con
sider the Stone building for expan
sion of city services, specifically
library and police
As a member of the Policy Board of
the Cooperative Library Network of
Clackamas County, I studied the
re c e n tly co m m issioned $45,000
library planning report by HBW
Associates, national consultants on
library planning
S tu d e n ts a re n ’t
ta u g h t basics
Your article on the high school
•‘Prescription (.earning la b " on Jan
14 was very positive and informative
However, I feel Superintendent Kent
Heaton deserves more credit
After all. it was Mr Heaton who
The chapter on site selection pro sold the program to the board And
cesses for local libraries suggests convinced the teachers' union they
five key factors to be considered should cooperate If it wasn't for Mr
when acquiring sites for local Heaton, it never would have happen
ed
libraries They are
Also. 1 think special comment is
1 Proximity to users at other ac needed concerning the 120 students
tivity places 2 Visibility 3 Ac enrolled in the lab These students
cessibility 4 Neighborhood com are not enrolled in the lab because of
patibility and image 5 Site size and learning problems, but because they
suitability
weren't taught the basics in grades
From my observations, the Stone one through eight I understand ap^
site meets or exceeds each and every
proxim ately 30 percent of the
one of these guidelines For these students entering ninth-grade are not
reasons. I urge you to consider this prepared to work at that level
site
Meanwhile, back at the grade
In addition, using this building now school they are conducting a study on
has some unique advantages to the
their quality program and maybe in
Sandy city core If you wish to con 1080 or 1900 will make some minor
tinue having a downtown, you must
adjustments
a ttra c t people there Having a
Parents, if your student is getting
library located in the center of town good grades, check a little closer
will do this, helping to make adjacent
luist week a ninth-grade student
sites more attractive to other small
helped
me with a project When it
businesses
came time to pay for his labor, he
Otherwise, considering the lengths told me seven hours When question
of vacancy of the old Thriftway ed he recounted on his fingers and
building, Crockett's and Buckboard came up with eight, so I paid him for
Pizza i now occupied i, adding 8 4 , which was the correct amount of
a n o th er large v ac an t building tune
downtown will turn it into a ghost
Now, to add insult to injury, based
town
on grades to date, this student will be
While not a city resident myself, on the honor roll by y ear's end Isn't
being on the high school board of that great'
directors makes me extremely cogni
P S This student does not know
zant of total tax rates of our district's geography any better than basic
patrons.
math
John King
I believe taxpayers in this area
Affordable Education Association
need relief, and in my opinion the
Sandy
least expensive site that meets the
sas
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ÛUR EDUOTIOMI MIÇTÛN iS TO ¡EACH KtSFÖNSlt ì UTY. KOLI IHbrKfcSStS
P e rso n a lly s p e a k in g
Task force m em ber defends option
by PHIL JONSBI II
Special fur The Post
There has recently been con
siderable effort on the part of several
members of our community to have
the Sandy City Council try to acquire
the Stone building and move the
library and police department there
rather than to accept the task force
recommendation to expand th«- pre
sent City Hall
The task forte report was such a
brief statement of a complex issue
that I, as a member of the task force
would like to attempt to outline some
of the reasons for our decisions
I believe that all the task forte
members would like to have recom
mended a new city complex that
would have satisfied everyone s
needs, but we recognizetl that Sandy
has been through very difficult
economic times anti it w as felt that if
we can't pass a school levy election
we have no business buy ing addi
tional property at major «- xjm - iis «-
The following are some of the
reasons we decided on City Hall ex
pansion
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• We don't believe government
should be expanding Instead, they
should make do" with modestly ex
panded quarters
• We don't believe taxpayers would
pass a bond issue for buying addi
tional property at a major expense
Expansion of the present building
would eliminate the need for addi
tional property
• We don't believe it would be
credible to have the City Hall used
only by a small staff and have the
library and police department moved
to a different location
• We believe that there is better
supervision of departm ents if they
are not M attered in different loca-
tions
• We believe that the present loca
tion of the police department has
been a deterrent to vandalism of City
Hall and Meinig Park
• We don t believe the [»rune com
mercial property should be taken off
the tax rolls Remember that the
taxes exempted from any property
purchased by the city would lx- an ad
ded burden to the remaining city tax
payers
The Stone property is a major tax
contributor in the city and the loss of
this over the period of a bond issue
would be significant
• If the Stone property was pur
chased, not only would we lose the
tax money, but choice property
would not be available to a prospec
tive com m ercial business, thus
possibly fu r th e r d e lay in g the
revitalization of the area
• City Hall was designed so that it
could be expanded, and the building
was located on property so that it
could be expanded
• Acquiring another building would
require the monthly cost of a phone
system and other utilities, heat,
m aintenance and additional in
surance on two buildings instead of
one
• Cost estim ates of the Stone
building did not include money for
the Boitano property.
We agree that parking is not the
best at City Hall but if we are going to
economize, people can walk an extra
block or so I frequently go to City
Hall and I have rarely had to walk
even ' half a block from my car
Expanding City Hall will not take
away any parking spaces.
At the time, I personally opposed
locating City Hall where it is, but that
is water under the dam " The in
vestment was made, and I think we
should make the best of it.
The task force believed that the op
tion to purchase the Stone building
had some good features, such as good
appearance, good parking, and the
benefits to the general area of
creating pedestrian activity, but
after holding 10 meetings this sum
mer and fall, we voted to recommend
expanding City Hall.
My personal feeling is that the ex
pansion of City Hall could be ac
complished for considerably less
money than is currently proposed,
and I hope the City Council will find
ways to do this
The task force did not have time to
try to do this If the cost can not be
cut considerably, 1 would not want to
proceed with it.
If economic conditions improve in
Sandy, and if Oregon changes its tax
system so that school support is
taken off the taxpayers' shoulders,
then we can think about getting some
of the amenities we can't afford now
G ro ce r basks in w a rm th o f ro a s t
He didn't wear his familiar green
apron
Except for a couple of years off for
World War II and a few years sam |)l
ing and rejecting retirement. Boy
Meger has been a grocer for 57 y ears
The green wrap-around apron he
wears is as much a part of him as his
shy smile and th«* 1 way the ducks his
head Or his funny habit of rubbing
his hands together as he stands
behind the counter of th«' l'routilale
(¡eneral Store
It was part roast and jiart love
feast Sunday when people told tales
on Meger at th«- lroutdale Historical
Society meeting In honor of the oc< a
sion, Meger took, off his apron and
closed up shop for two hours The
society gave the grocer a historical
m arker to put on the front of his
store The marker tells how tin-
business was started ill l routdale in
1891. how it sold everything from
buckets to Bull Durham " How
Meger bought it in the 1940s after
having been a clerk there sum- the
age of 15. And then the marker adits
something a bit unusual It say s.
-Presented in 1988 to Boy Meger,
who has sold his gixxls by lantern
light in many a winter storm
Heads bobbed in agreement when
the tale was told about the 1908 !'I89
BOBCATS
The Srincfy Post
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him everythin" you’ve got ”
Meger reached into the till and
handed over the $20. Cox reported
smugly.
That same till used to contain wat
ches that Meger exchanged for
groceries with folks who were down
on their luck And it hasn't been that
long since the store offered charge
The chatting is left to his sister, accounts
If it hadn't been for Koy, there
Elsie Simnitt. who takes her turn at
would
have been times when we
the cash register
There were lots of stories told Sun didn't eat." remembered Edna Alex
day Sam Cox remembered th«- time ander
he went into the store to ask Meger
Ike Handy recalled the time his two
for a $20 donation to help a Boy Scout young sons decided to run away from
go to camp
home Meger obligingly sold them
the things they needed for the trip
Meger. usually a soft touch,
and charged it to their father’s ac
re s is te d on that «xcasion He hail just
been held up by a robber who stuck a count
I always wanted to thank you for
finger in his pocket to simulate a gun
the fine service you gave them .’’
In addition to losing his « ash to the
Handy deadpanned, remembering
holdup man. Meger showed Cox an
the night that half the community
extensive list of donations already
turned out to hunt for his kids
made
Meger beamed and grew red in the
Cox. who has a certain reputation
for persistence, argued a bit and then face Sunday as people kidded and
moved in for the kill I don't unders praised hun Then he spent a half
tand it. Boy All 1 want is $20 for a dozen precious words saying thank
Boy Scout And you won't give it to you and took his plaque back to the
me when I know that all anybody has store
He was there bright and early on
to do is come in here and stick a
finger in his pocket and you'll give Monday In his green apron
was the sound of a promise Boy
would be at the store Spring came
when the chains came off
They also used to say that you
didn't amount to do anything in
Troutdale until Boy Meger talked to
you Some people waited years for
that honor He hoards his words as
though lx- has a limited supply
Sharon Nesbtt
New Year's blizzard Meger slept in
his unheated store in order to be
there for his customers The power
and th«- heat were off He put the
bananas in the insulated meat r ase to
keeji them from freezing To keep
himself from freezing, he layered
sweaters under his green apron But
he failed to protect his ears and they
turned a vivid purple
Some people used to say that you
knew winter was here when Meger
put the chains on his car Sometimes
he would clank to work on bare pave
ment for weeks until the chains were
really necessary But their sound
by A D A M KRAFT