Like the rest of the Citizen Planning Organizations scattered throughout Clackamas County, The Jennings Lodge CPO (JLCPO) acts only in an advisory capacity to the county in regards to land use (“Walmart’s Oak Grove plan stirs opposition,” July 11).

Even though Walmart is not in our CPO, having met the county codes, permit applications, etc., the JLCPO welcomes Walmart to our community. What is now a vacant graffiti-filled eyesore of a building will have a new and time-proven responsible occupant.

My personal opinion is that we live in a very diverse community, and part of it is several Title One schools and a multitude of low-income housing. Having another choice for local consumers to shop provides a much-needed option.

As members of a community, we must look out for all of our citizens not just a select group. Let’s also not lose sight of the fact that this new store will provide job opportunities to some of those throughout our community who both want and need employment. I am confident that they would be only too happy to fill the positions offered at Walmart.

West Linn and Lake Oswego have accepted these new smaller grocery-pharmacy formats to their communities. Those who don’t agree, for whatever reason, always have the option to shop where they choose.

Tom Weaver

Vice-chairman of the Jennings Lodge Community Planning Organization

Positively Clackamas is NOT!

Positively Clackamas is just another Portland lobbist’s attempt to make another PAC sound like it is a local idea (“Politics catches train to Clackamas County,” July 18).

There is nothing grassroots about these jokers.

Created on June 20 by the same fellow who has tried to make it sound like Clackamas County residents believe they should pay for another county’s bridge and continue another county’s delusions of light rail grandeur. The proof is at the Secretary of State’s website.

Another strawman PAC ultimately funded by unions and people standing to greatly profit on poor ideas, at the expense of taxpayers.

The addresses on the slick mailings they’ll send before the election will have a Clackamas County PO Box, but clearly the PAC is based in and for Portland.

Positively Clackamas is positively a Multnomah County PAC.

Libby Wentz

Gladstone

Landscaping—

Good samaritan!

When you are panicked and in need you assume others will heed your need - as I found out, not necessarily so, until you find the right person!

On a recent Tuesday morning, my teenage daughter, Nellie Kay, got out of bed at 6:45 and drove me to the train station in Oregon City for what I envisioned as a work-filled leisurely train ride to Seattle. She waited until just before the train arrived and then departed for home.

A few minutes later, just as the train was pulling in, I received a cell phone call from On Star connecting me with my daughter. She was hysterical. She said “daddy someone hit me!” You can imagine my panic as I looked around for a ride to the accident and my daughter. The first person I asked was the Porta Potty guy who said his boss wouldn’t let him give me a ride. I called a taxi company but they said it would be 15 minutes; 15 minutes! I can’t wait 15 seconds!

As I frantically looked around I saw to the right the offices of Growco landscaping. The guys were filing out headed for their rigs on their way to work. I approach them asking for a ride. The first person kind of shuffled and referred me to his boss Javier Rodriguez, who was just stepping out of the office. When I explained my situation he said, “jump in I’ll take you there.” We drove through traffic to the accident scene.

On the way there he said that he understood my panic, as his daughter is 19. When he dropped me off he said good luck. My daughter collapsed into my arms sobbing. She had been stopped in traffic when she was hit by a driver who didn’t even slow down. Thank God for Acura she’s alive today. As a father, I’m thankful for Javier. He took the time to be a Good Samaritan.

Thank you to Growco Landscaping for hiring such a great guy. As I reread this it seems pretty tame. Let me tell you it takes a special person to immediately see a situation for what it is and to act accordingly.

I am sure the 15 minutes Javier spent for me created inefficiency for him and his crew. The impact on the life of my family was priceless!

Bruce Kerr

Lake Oswego

Ludlow lies

John Ludlow, who hopes Clackamas County voters will select him as the next county chairman, had a letter published (“Priorities?” July 18) that contained some outrageous and/erroneous statements. I submit herein my comments on a few of them:

1. The county commissioners except for Savas had “bought into the Portland agenda of diminished public safety...”

I cannot believe that Ludlow really thinks the commissioners want to reduce public safety.

It’s just an insult completely unsupported by any evidence. For that matter, is there anyone who really thinks that Portland has an “agenda” to increase public exposure to danger? I suppose Ludlow is using this “Portland Creep” kind of insult to exploit whatever negative feelings about Portland exist among Clackamas County residents to get votes. However, many of us residents of unincorporated Clackamas County (I live in Oak Grove) consider Portland to be a wonderful city and see no reason that Portlanders and residents of suburban and rural Clackamas County cannot live in harmony and enjoy mutual benefits from those connections.

2. The commissioners determined that a new tax or fee is needed to maintain county roads.

The Clackamas County Coordinating Committee (“C4”), not the Board of County Commissioners, has in fact considered a new fee to fund transportation projects. Paul Savas happens to be the chairman of C4 and has been leading that effort. Savas is the only commissioner who Ludlow respects, so Ludlow should talk to him to become enlightened on the subject (if Ludlow seeks enlightenment).

3. Metro’s Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) has “dumped our county’s share of gasoline taxes into TriMet’s ridiculous light rail and paved bike routes...”.

In fact, JPACT’s role is to determine regional distribution of federal funds and has no say in the distribution of Clackamas County funds. JPACT is only an advisory body. Metro Council makes the decisions.

4. “When road funding is stolen from the people of Clackamas County and diverted to pay for light rail ...”.

Is Ludlow is accusing Clackamas County commissioners of theft? Or, maybe this is just wild, incendiary garbage designed to get voters to suspect the integrity of Clackamas County government. Elect Ludlow to come in and banish evil! I suppose anyone can say that a decision by Clackamas County to fund a project he hates rather than a project he loves is “stealing” from his beloved project. But, it’s just irresponsible to use such language.

There’s more nonsense in Ludlow’s letter, but I’ll stop here—for now.

Ludlow’s letter, and his insulting and rude comments directed at the Commissioners in last week’s public meeting show me that Ludlow is the kind of politician all too common these days: one who will say anything regardless of the truth to push his agenda and get elected.

David Gray

Oak Grove

The politics of incumbency

U.S. Representative Kurt Schrader joined by other Blue Dog Democrats breaks with his party (“Once a contest, Schrader’s district seems safe,” July 18); the Democratic Party, to vote with the Republicans on legislation that is important to the Republican Party.

Question; what’s the benefit to his Oregon constituents? How often does a single Republican break with his/her party to vote on Democratic legislation that is important to we the Schrader constituency? Representative Schrader’s politics are the politics of incumbency. They are designed to get him re-elected. His cross over voting represents little or no gain for we the people of his representative district. The fact is his cross over voting represents a loss because he’s denying Democratic party leadership the one thing that most often moves legislation—it’s called leverage. I’ll vote for Representative Schrader but when it comes to his voting on the House floor he’s not “out in left field” he’s in foul territory!

D. Kent Lloyd

Gladstone

Enjoy the walk, video

The Clackamas County Government Channel has just released a documentary about a historic fire lookout near Molalla called Pechuck Lookout.

This lookout is the last cupola-style fire lookout left in Oregon made from native stone. There are only a few of these stone lookouts left in the United States. The lookout was built in 1932 to protect the Molalla River Watershed from wildfires. At that time this area had some of the biggest trees in Oregon. Descendants of one of its builders, John Oblack, still live in the area. The lookout is also listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.

To get to the lookout visitors must walk 3.5 miles through Table Rock Wilderness and BLM land. Few people know about Pechuck Lookout or the trail that leads to it. The lookout is also open to the public for overnight stays on a first-come, first-serve basis and no fee is charged.

The 25 minute documentary is narrated by Mike Donahue from KOIN TV news and celebrates the lookout’s 80th birthday. It can be viewed online at vimeo.com/41782852

A set of photographs of the lookout can be found on Flickr at flickr.com/photos/musguy/sets/72157624637784006/

Terry Musgrove

Oregon City

Stop light-rail

construction

I am writing out of definite concerns about the Portland-to-Milwaukie light-rail project (“Politics catches train to Clackamas County,” July 18).

Voters in Milwaukie have already voted this measure down twice, yet both our City Council and the Board of County Commissioners are trying to shove it down our throats. Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts has already stated that crime has increased significantly at the Clackamas Town Center since the addition of light rail.

Our elected officials have forgotten that by being elected by voters, they are employed by voters, making the local taxpayers the employer. They were hired to manage our city and county business. Yet they think they can do whatever they want regardless of what their employer thinks.

Now you have attorneys filing briefs back and forth, trying to claim that anything prior to September doesn’t count. All of this does not matter. The citizens of Milwaukie have already said no twice, and they have the final say in their city.

Any construction going on right now needs to cease and desist until after the September vote. In fact, it just needs to plain stop. The voters in Milwaukie who have spoken again and again should be the final word on the subject.

If voters in the county want light rail, then it will have to be built around the city limits of Milwaukie because, again, we said no.

Jeff Molinari

Milwaukie

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