Chicken 'n Dumpling
Dinner was success

On Saturday, March 3, Canby Adult Center hosted its annual Chicken 'n Dumpling Dinner.

Our kitchen staff served more than 300 meals to a hungry crowd that visited, listened, or even danced to the music of Ida Colby and Friends, and went home satisfied.

Alvin Borths, a home-delivery meals driver, won a lap robe made and donated by Edna Vosika.

We would like to thank all the volunteers and Key Club members who made this evening possible. These young people went out of their way to take care of our guests and even participated in the dancing.

We also appreciate the support given by the community at large. I would like to give my personal thanks to members of the staff who relinquished their Saturday to make this happen. This was the largest turnout we have had for our dinner, and we expect next year to be even bigger.
Anna Phillips
Center director
Canby

Knight PTA, CTA
deserve our thanks

We would like to thank the Knight School PTA and the Canby Telephone Association for providing funds to help purchase four Bridges to Mathematics programs for the first- and second-grade students at Knight School.

Bridges in Mathematics combines visual and manipulative mathematics in a rigorous, engaging program that will better prepare our students to meet the state benchmarks and the mathematical challenges of the future.

In this day of reduced funding at the state level, it is very heartening to receive community support for programs that will greatly benefit our children.
Randi Gunter
Tami Nolan
Ellen Starr
William Knight School
Canby

City leaders made
error regarding loan

Last month the city of Canby lost the primary funding mechanism for public projects in our downtown revitalization efforts.

In a nutshell, the state wanted to give Canby a loan to build a street which is necessary before Milgard Manufacturing can move their Wilsonville operation to Canby.

The loan repayment would be paid by the industrial property taxes from businesses that would build in the industrial park.

Mayor Prince and his anti-growth supporters argued that taxpayers' money should not be used for infrastructure development. I emphasize here that the "taxpayers' money" consists of property taxes from new industry.

I argue that industrial property taxes should be used for infrastructure improvements, especially when it means the industry simply will not come here without that infrastructure.

In fact, the state and county are so anxious to see Canby create economic balance and revitalize its commerce that they are willing to forgo those industrial property taxes and let Canby use that money for its own development. So where does the "taxpayers' money" go if not to Canby's URD? It would go into the General Fund at the state and county.

When the mayor says taxpayers' money should not be used to subsidize business, I would absolutely agree if "taxpayers' money" meant something out of my pocket. But, when "taxpayers' money" means property taxes from industry that has not yet been built, it becomes quite a different discussion.

And when those industrial property taxes can be used to revitalize downtown Canby without costing us common folk a penny, then I think the administration is nuts to turn it down.

The property owners in the industrial area even offered to donate $734,000 in property for the city's right-of-way. That is still not good enough for Mayor Prince and company.

A new downtown revitalization plan has just been completed. Urban Renewal money, which is property taxes from new business in the industrial park, is the primary mechanism for funding that revitalization.

When our leaders publicly say they favor downtown revitalization and urban renewal, then they make decisions which sabotage the funding mechanism for those efforts. The kindest thing I can say is, "beware of politicians who talk out of both sides of their mouths."
Roger Harris
Canby

Maintain services
for seniors, disabled

We need your help. As you may know, Gov. John Kitzhaber has recommended drastic reductions to Medicaid reimbursement rates that will affect all senior citizens in assisted living facilities, residential care facilities and adult foster homes, regardless of payment source.

The cutback would represent a 45 percent decrease in service payments for clients receiving Medicaid and living in assisted living facilities, while residential care facilities and adult foster homes would receive no cost of living increases for the next two years.

Rural communities will face closures of facilities in critical need areas where alternative access to long-term care services can be miles away. Our local senior citizens deserve better!

Part of our mission is to provide affordable, quality services. Having adequate Medicaid reimbursement available for those who need it means we are able to serve individuals with limited resources without compromising quality of care and driving up your monthly charge unnecessarily. It also means that residents are better able to remain at the facility they're residing in when their finances run out.

The proposed Medicaid reimbursement rate reductions threaten the financial viability of all facilities. They will be less able to serve individuals with modest financial resources.

If these reductions take effect, current monthly rates could increase by as much as 8 percent per month in order to keep their doors open without reducing costs and compromising the quality of care. We cannot allow this to happen.

The Honorable Mark Simmons, Speaker of the House of Representatives, was heard saying on an interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting, that one measure of a society is how well it treats its elders. There are tough decisions to be made by our representatives; however, we don't think the most vulnerable of our population should suffer these consequences.

We urge you to write your representatives and tell them that we want to maintain quality service for our elders, the essential need for rural facilities and that the current proposed Medicaid cuts seriously threaten the survival of these long-term care options.

We thank you for your action, support and dedication in ensuring these facilities remain an option for the thousands of senior and disabled Oregonians residing in them today.
Nicki J. Harold
Program director Rackleff House
Canby

Governor must not
cut funds for seniors

The following letters were sent to Gov. John Kitzhaber. My name is Phyllis Rice. I have been living in an assisted living facility for 11 years. I gave up my house, my belongings and my money.

I have run out, given everything to Social Security and other government organizations. If you are going to continue to take away everything you'd better provide tents for us - that's just about all we can afford.

I enjoy my life here in assisted living, and have had no complaints. Please reconsider. There are many more people like me. Don't leave us destitute.
Phyllis Rice
Canby

Reconsider Medicare Cut

My name is Berna Flick. I am a resident of the Rackleff House, an assisted living center.

I like being here, and feel that you are threatening my peaceful lifestyle. Your (action) will affect all of us. Please reconsider your Medicare cut.
Berna Flick
Canby

Please don't remove
Tri-Met from Canby

I protest the idea of removing Tri-Met from the city for the following reasons:

1. Paying double for what I now pay once for.

2. Having no transfer buses in Oregon City and wait between buses if they do not connect. Weather conditions factor in also.

3. Then there is the matter of the possibility, and it is a good one, of having to transfer buses in Canby to use the one going to Oregon City. And, I am assuming there will be more than one bus running in Canby at the same time and connections will also have to be made.

As you can see, there would be considerable inconvenience to those of us who work outside of Canby, to say nothing of the added expense.

I have no objections to an intercity bus service or a service extended south toward Woodburn or west toward Wilsonville, but do object to the extra cost, time and inconvenience of losing the runs Tri-Met now has in place.

Please don't put this extra burden on those of us who work outside of Canby. Also, have you considered what this will do to people who live in rural Canby or outlying areas of Canby who drive here to catch Tri-Met?

Please remember that everyone who calls Canby home doesn't live within the city limits. I think they should be heard.

Please don't feed us the line that, "It will be cheaper or free to use the Canby bus line." You know, and I know, that will never happen, at least not for long. The city of Sandy is a prime example of that logistic.
Jay L. Potter
Canby

Unequal treatment
cannot be tolerated

The recent jury award of $1.4 million to former Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Carl Bell raises some very important issues that our county government needs to confront. If we want to create a society that honors diversity and protects equal opportunity for all, then unequal treatment based on race or ethnicity cannot be tolerated by public agencies.

On Feb. 15, the Democratic Party of Clackamas County unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the elimination of racial profiling by law enforcement. The resolution also calls for racial and ethnic diversity to be a hiring goal in the Sheriff's office and throughout county government.

Let no one interpret this as an attack on or judgment of the Sheriff, the Sheriff's Department or county government regarding the Bell case. Law enforcement is a hard and dangerous job that few of us are willing to step up and do.

With increased awareness and sincere commitment by our county commissioners and other elected officials, this unfortunate episode in the Clackamas County Sheriff's office can become the catalyst for positive change.
Mike Schaufler Chair
Clackamas County Democrats