Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 5

-4 0) 0) G'onnialdirtBiw almanac 2 comics 7 Statesman-Journal, Thursday, August 25, 1983 Benton officials scrap gas tax for sales tax By PAUL CROSBY For th Statesman-Journal 1, CORVALLIS Responding to pressure by Corvallis officials, Ben-i ton County commissioners Wednes-; day scrapped a proposed cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. I They replaced it with a plan for a 3-percent tax on gasoline sales to t. provide road repair funds for cities Statesman-Journal photo by Dean Koepfler Park streets in Salem on Wednesday as a expand and add a new lot for its inventory, bulldozer began clearing the property to The church had moved from the site some make way for an automobile dealership to months ago. OLD CHURCH SITE RAZED This was the view from within the old Christian Center Church on the corner of Market and pair program. Last year, the county had about $150,000 for repairs and resurfaced just two miles, Blair said.

The county has imposed weight limits on roads which are in the worst condition, and will impose more limits this fall and winter to prevent further damage. Corvallis officials have said the gas tax would be unfair to city residents unless the money was shared with the city. Mayor Alan Berg and City Manager Gary Pokorny noted residents are paying property taxes to fund the city's capital improvements program, in which streets are being widened and extended, among other work. A large percentage of rural residents work in Corvallis and use city streets, but do not pay into the improvements program, the city officials said. Commissioners said Wednesday the tax plan probably would not receive public support if the city opposed it.

"I think we would have a difficult time passing this with the mayor's opposition," said Commissioner Barbara Ross. Commissioner Dale Schrock suggested a percentage tax, under which revenues would vary with the price of gasoline. Officials also suggested one-third of the revenue should be divided among Corvallis, the county's other three cities and possibly the road maintenance districts. Under the plan, tax money could be collected from dealers by the state, then returned to the county. Assistant county counsel Jeff Condit said the proposed tax would affect only vehicles operated on highways and roads, exempting those used in farming, logging and other off-road operations.

False alarm penalty ordinance adopted as well as the county. Since spring, the county has been considering a three-cent-per-gallon gas tax to provide funds for repair of 5 county roads. County commissioners and staff agreed Wednesday to propose a 3-percent tax to be shared with cities and possibly also with road districts. The decision in part was a response to Corvallis officials' pledge last month to oppose the tax unless the city received a share. County officials agreed to hold a public hearing on the tax proposal the week of Sept.

12. The exact date and time will be announced later. Commissioners could drop the tax plan or submit it to a public vote in November if opposition is strong. If citizens express support for the idea, commissioners could enact the tax outright and postpone until 1986 an election to determine whether it should be continued. County officials have been seeking ways to raise money for an annual road resurfacing program.

The plan calls for resurfacing 10 miles per year, but the county has largely abandoned it since 1979 because of the recession and tight budgets. The result has been deterioration of many county roads. Public works director Jim Blair has said the county needs about $750,000 per year to resume the re placed an unnecessary burden on them. The commissioners also approved a rate increase of about 15 percent for garbage pickup by the Siletz Sanitary Service. Owner Fred Lindsay said the monthly fee for picking up one can weekly would be increased from the current $6.75 to $7.75.

The new fees apply to the area outside the city of Siletz served by Lindsay's business. He said a similar rate increase within Siletz is pending. The commissioners also waived the county building fee for construction of a new fire hall for the Siletz Fire Department and signed an agreement with the federal Department of Justice which gives the sheriff's department a grant of $3,500 for marijuana eradication. The ordinance will require individuals and businesses with burglary and fire alarm systems to get permits from the sheriff's department. It also covers businesses providing this type of protective service.

"Everyone is covered, one way or another," said Ron Connell, assistant county counsel. The ordinance will impose on owners of such devices a penalty of $100 per false alarm after the first two in a calendar year, Spencer He said the penalty was intended to "give them an incentive to get the alarms fixed." Newport Police Chief James Rivers said a "tremendous number (of the false alarms) were caused by malfunction." While the ordinance will apply only to alarms installed outside incorporated areas, the commissioners were told the cities were expected to follow suit. Matt Spangler of the planning department told commissioners the proposed amendments affecting beachfront protective structures were recommended by the planning commission. He said the changes would take the county out of the business of issuing permits for such structures, leaving the responsibility to the State Parks Division and the Division of State Lands which also are involved in the permit system. A number of contractors who build protective beachfront structures complained to commissioners that having both the county and state involved in the permit system By DUANE HONSOWETZ For the Statesman-Journal NEWPORT An ordinance intended to reduce the number of false alarms sheriff's officers must answer was approved by Lincoln County commissioners Wednesday.

The commissioners also set a 1 p.m. Oct. 19 public hearing on amendments to sections of the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan affecting beachfront protective structures. Sheriff Larry Spencer told commissioners that 239 false alarms from burglary and fire alarm systems were answered by his officers in 1982, along with eight that were valid. Spencer said it was costing his department a "large number of man-hours to answer those false alarms." Yamhill County jail getting new officer Brake failure cited in death of bicyclist I ft McMINNVILLE In the wake of a hunger strike this week by prisoners at Yamhill County jail, commissioners Wednesday authorized hiring an additional corrections officer for the jail.

Also, another officer will be assigned to assist in the dining room and prisoners' exercise activities, commissioners said. The new officer will be paid from contingency funds. Sheriff Glenn Shipman interviewed finalists for the job Wednesday. The striking prisoners complained about food service and exercise conditions. Commissioner Ted Lopuszynski noted, however, that while prisoners have complained about insufficient exercise, they have in fact refused to exercise.

In other business, commissioners decided to move their informal Tuesday morning session, when the agenda is adopted for Wednesday's meeting, to Monday. All informal morning sessions will be' set at 10 a.m. instead of the cufrent 9 a.m. The 2 p.m. informal sessions remain unchanged.

Commissioners also: Approved an agreement to lease property at 507 N. Galloway McMinnville, to the Yamhill County Mental Health Department for $300 per month. The facilities house the department's Abacus gram. A 23-year-old mentally disabled bicyclist died Wednesday when his brakes failed as he rode down the driveway of his south Salem home into the path of a car, Marion County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies identified the victim as Jay Dean Guthrie of 7690 Liberty Road who was declared dead at the scene of the 6:20 p.m.

accident in front of his home. Deputies said Guthrie was riding down the sloping, curved driveway when he apparently tried to stop, lost control and continued onto Liberty Road S. The bicycle collided with a northbound car driven by Jeffrey Walter Sinclair, 22, of 490 Cordon Road NE, deputies said. Sinclair and a passenger, Michael James Baylie, 23, of 1080 Wilbur St. SE, were unhurt, according to deputies.

Deputies said the bicycle was in "poor mechanical condition" and "had no effective brakes." Authorities said Guthrie was living with Michael Belcher at the Liberty Road address, under a Veterans Administration Statesman-Journal photo by Mike Williams ties identified the victim as Jay Dean Guthrie of 7690 Liberty Road S. Mangled bicycle lies beside Liberty Road after a 23-year-old mentally disabled man was struck and killed by a car Wednesday evening. Authori- the vicinity. "When I come out of my driveway, I have to look awfully close because of that curve down there," he said. Guthrie's body was taken to Howell-Edwards-Doerksen Postponed until 10 a.m.

Sept. 21 a public hearing on a road vacation request by David J. Kraemer. The road is adjacent to Highway 99W in north McMinnville, near Kraemer's Garden Center; 5 are rescued, 2 still missing after capsizing From combined reports LINCOLN CITY Five people were rescued and two men remained missing after an 18-foot pleasure craft capsized about 7 p.m. Wednesday at the mouth of the Siletz River at the south end of Lincoln City, Coast Guard officials said.

Jay Williams, fire chief for the Depoe Bay Coast Guard Station, said the boat capsized in calm weather conditions about 400 feet offshore. He said the water in the mouth of the river can be tricky and a sand bar is located there. The search for the two missing men by two Coast Guard helicopters, three Coast Guard motor lifeboats and a semi-rigid rubber-hull boat was suspended about 9:30 p.m., said a spokesman at the Coast Guard's search and rescue headquarters in North Bend. Five adults were pulled from the water by men in a Coast Guard boat, authorities said. They were taken to North Lincoln Hospital, where they treated for hypothermia and released.

Hospital authorities identified the rescued people as Connie Wallin-ford, 37, Gleneden Beach; Jean O'Donnell, 55, Columbia Beach, John Shackleford, 34, Troutdale; Kevin O'Donnell, 35, and Doreen Cote, 32, both of Depoe Bay. Coast Guard officials declined to identify the two still missing, pending notification of relatives. The owner of the vessel is among the missing, they said. They said the missing men were last seen in the surf and were not wearing life jackets. Coast Guard officials said it was unknown why the accident occurred.

The vessel was towed to Depoe Bay by the Coast Guard. conservatorship. Belcher said the conservatorship involved board and room for Guthrie, who had become a friend since moving in last October. He said Guthrie's parents live in Milwaukie and his grandmother and a sister in Salem. Sinclair's passenger, Baylie, said their car was rounding a blind curve at the foot of the driveway.

"(Guthrie) just came out of nowhere. We didn't have a chance to do anything," he said. A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the curve poses a traffic hazard, but he was unaware of any other accidents in New owners being sought for Solem KECH-TV The main assets of KECH include its stu "If someone wanted to discuss it with us, we certainly would pursue it, sure," said Brustin. ON-TV, which has had financial problems, would be valued at about $400 per subscriber about $8 million, he said. There currently are just under 20,000 subscribers, Brustin said.

ON-TV has a 20-year contract, with an option to renew, for use of KECH-TV's tower, which is located near Silverton. KECH provides free programming, mainly movies and syndicated shows, during the day, while ON-TV takes over the signal at night for its pay customers. At one time this spring, Brustin said, there was discussion of merging KECH and ON-TV, but nothing was done on it. Willamette Subscription also has the option to match any outside offer to purchase KECH. Brustin said there was no offer from Willamette's limited partners yet, but he had heard a rumor that a group was The decision to sell KECH, he said, was due to both the strength of the market for television outlets and the end of the Federal Communications Commission rule which required that a newly-licensed station had to be held by its owners for at least three years.

Though he wouldn't give any specifics of KECH's financial status, Brustin said "the station is doing really well. "I think if we were not to sell the station, the station would continue to improve." He wouldn't estimate the investment in the station, but said it was in excess of the $2 million to $3 million talked about two years ago. There have been inquiries about KECH from both groups and individuals, he said, though no offers. There is no deadline to sell KECH, according to Brustin, although he anticipates something might happen by the end of the year. The FCC has to approve any such license change.

By RON COWAN Of the Statesman-Journal Salem's 2-year-old UHF television station, KECH-TV, has been put up for sale by its owners, who also are willing to take offers for a related enterprise, ON-TV in Portland. Arnold Brustin, one of the two principal owners of the station, said their sales broker, Blackburn has been putting the word out for about a month that the station is available. The price range is $8 million to $9 million, said Brustin, interviewed Wednesday by phone at his Los Angeles office. Brustin and his partner, Christopher Desmond, also are general partners in Willamette Subscription Television which operates ON-TV, a subscription television service (STV). As to whether it also is for sale, Brustin said, "We've thought about it.

We haven't actually sought a buyer. dio, located in an industrial park north of Salem, and its tower and transmitter near Silverton. The assets also include various agreements for use of syndicated programming. KECH is a major ON-TV creditor, according to court filings. As of Dec.

31, 1982, ON-TV owed the station about $300,000 for advertising time. ON-TV lost $6.6 million in its first year and its limited partners sued Brustin and Desmond for alleged mismanagement. There was an out-of-court settlement. Brustin blamed ON-TV's problems on the poor economy and the cautious attitude of the public in spending its entertainment dollars. STV is "certainly not as easy as I had been led to believe," he said.

"It's been difficult." Ron Ruppe, former director of sales for the service, recently was named the new general manager. Bob Cook is vice president and general manager of KECH..