Editorial

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Upcoming meetings will give Canby residents a chance to help shape the area's future

There are always plenty of chances to get involved in the civic side of life, but currently there are two worthwhile opportunities worth considering.

The city's Periodic Review process is under way, and influential design workshops are being held this week at the old Mangus Variety Store at the corner of Northwest Second Avenue and North Holly Street.

Devising ways to design appealing signage, facades, lighting, landscaping and streetscapes are seen as approaches to help the future viability of downtown businesses, but issues such as transportation and parking are important, too.

The workshops are part of an ongoing process to stimulate Canby's downtown, which features many longtime retailers and businesses, but also its share of empty stores. Residents are encouraged to drop by the Mangus building, find out about proposals, and give their opinions and design suggestions.

The informal workshops are being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 29-31, and from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at the vacant downtown Mangus property.

Design workshops will also be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 12, and from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 13 and Sept. 19.

Designs crafted at the workshops will be posted in the windows of the Mangus building, the Canby Adult Center and participating businesses in town. The results from the design workshops will be incorporated into the draft plan to be presented at a public meeting in January.

The completed plan will provide focus and direction to downtown revitalization and redevelopment efforts, and will be a key resource for procuring funds to implement the prioritized projects identified in the plan.

What, where, when, why and how should Canby grow are some of the central questions that need to be addressed as the city's population is projected to grow to 24,000 within 20 years.

Looking beyond Canby's borders, Clackamas County is also seeking input as it continues with an ambitious program aimed at planning for and absorbing existing and forecasted growth.

A town hall meeting to incorporate Canby's priorities and vision in the Complete Communities project is scheduled to be held at Cutsforth's Old Town Hall, 225 N.E. 2nd Ave., from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7.

Attendees will be asked to think about the priorities, issues, opportunities and challenges that will make Canby complete for themselves and their families. A video will be shown, followed by a discussion and questionnaires.

Complete Communities, a high-priority project initiated by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, is a countywide undertaking to engage citizens in discussions about the future direction of the county and its individual communities.

The county's three commissioners have pledged the final recommendations will influence and guide their decisions as the urban-rural county continues to grow in population and commerce, and a Complete Communities Congress will be held Oct. 28 in Oregon City.

Both the city and county projects will be more comprehensive and, therefore, more representative of our community if local residents get involved and make their opinions known.

For more information on the Canby design workshops, call Canby Planning Department project manager Matilda Deas at 266-9404.

For more information on the county's Complete Communities project, view www.clackamas.co.or.us/community, or call 655-8581.

Letters to the editor

Thanks for addressing
Kiwanis dumping issue

The Kiwanis Club of Canby wishes to thank the Canby Herald for quick and accurate coverage of the dumping situation recently at the Canby Kiwanis Thrift Store.

The public needs frequent and consistent reminders that the donations given to this not-for-profit organization need to be in salable condition, and brought in during weekly business hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

The deposit of goods after hours and/or in poor condition raises operating expenses, greatly limiting the funds gained for community service, the main reason for the store's existence.

We are not in the business for people to substitute our premises for the local area dump.

Patrons of the Kiwanis Thrift Store should also be alerted to our extremely high inventory at this time of year, and look for several special "sales" opportunities during the month of September. In the near future, we plan to spruce up the facilities, requiring the reduction of stock.

Our efforts to improve and serve our community will continue for a long, long time with the cooperation of our donators and our customers. Thanks to all.
Ken Perinchief,
secretary Kiwanis Club of Canby

Cartoon made light
of Biblical standards

The cartoon making fun of Lon Mabon that appeared in your paper on Aug. 23 was disgusting to anyone who lives by Biblical standards.

First of all, it portrays Mr. Mabon to be guilty of intolerance, then it is suggested he is a clown because of his stand on homosexual practices. Since when do we publicly label someone a clown because of their beliefs? By doing so, the cartoonist is not only showing his intolerance toward Mr. Mabon, he is also bordering on character assassination as well.

I earlier referred to Biblical standards, - may I quote Romans 1:26-27 from the NIV version of the Bible. "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned relations with women and were inflamed with lust one for another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

There are other scriptural passages that follow the same line of thought which would further substantiate that homosexuality is wrong.

For hundreds of years many have substituted Biblical standards for standards of their own choosing. The Bible speaks clearly to this issue.

There will be a day when we won't be judged on what other humans or the news media said, we will be judged by our actions according to the word of God. Is calling someone's attention to that fact hateful?
Duane Shaw
Canby

Cartoon was not clever,
OCA worker says

Canby Herald, I am disappointed in you for stooping low with a cartoon that is neither clever nor funny. While "clown" is one of the nicer names Lon Mabon has been called, it is loaded with ridicule toward a man who cares enough to protect our children and teens from a deathstyle that will destroy them physically, emotionally or spiritually.

As I have worked with him and his wife in the Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) office for 13 years, Mr. Mabon has earned my respect by conducting himself as a gentleman. He continually accommodates demanding media persons in spite of their liberal spins on his sincere words and their lies and ridicule.

I have never heard him call anyone a name, including homosexuals who send him hate mail (one note with AIDS infected human excrement), or political opponents. I have never heard him raise his voice in anger when there were plenty of times a lesser man would have done so.

While you may not agree with Mr. Mabon, this husband, father, Vietnam soldier, Christian pastor and leader of OCA deserves respect for persevering with a worthwhile cause in the face of citizen apathy and personal attacks. As an OCA worker, I have also come to appreciate the many wonderful OCA members across Oregon who continue to stand with their maligned leader.

Many of them have "been there and done that," but have found healing from abortion guilt, homosexuality, the aimlessness of drug life, and just the human condition of imperfection that we all share by seeking the healing power of God who made them.

All members have a deep concern for America, her families and individual health and liberty. It's too bad Oregon's media opposes such concern with tacky cartoons and degrading editorials.

I hope the Canby Herald will refrain from such in the future, regardless of what the Statesman Journal and Oregonian choose to do.
Pat Smith
Canby