1970

Recently enjoyed a steady diminishing of the equity value in your home? Then you'll be hard pressed to believe that real estate is alive and well in Arizona, of all places. Phoenix may have been a trendsetter for our national economic slump, but Jack Rasor still holds the formula for cranking out successful development projects in the area. Jack is a senior partner with Westcor, which has provided his paycheck since 1972, and where he expects to be on the payroll 20 years from now.

These days Jack mostly develops the kind of upscale malls where you'd be proud to send your teen-age daughters to hang out. Jack's formula for success in the midst of a minefield of economic perils boils down to hard work. His peers say, "He has an energy level second to none:" And Jack is even quotable on him- self: "We're a business and I'm a businessman. This is a job. You just don't go shake hands with someone and make a millions dollars." Since Westcor currendy has $500 million of projects on line, we'll let you count the handshakes for yourself.

A recent release from the Environmental Protection Agency (hopefully on recycled paper) announced Dave Ullrich's appointment as the director of the Region 5 Waste Management Division. Region 5 encompasses the Great Lakes states, and Dave can share some pride in the cleanups in that seriously damaged area over the past couple decades. Dave joined the EPA in 1973 after receiving a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He has a solid background in air and water enforcement, but will now turn his energies to one of today's hottest environmental issues the cleanup of hazardous waste. He'll push for faster cleanups through the Federal Superfund program, and also direct expansion of emphasis on recycling and waste minimization. Let's all hope for accelerated progress as we emerge from the ho-hum attitude of the Reagan years on these matters. Be that as it may, Dave is well aware that ultimately a clean environment depends on each one of us. Be assured that wife Polly and son Eric cheer Dad on with their own recycling program at home in Chicago. The rest of you should be ever-mindful of those MSDS sheets flooding across your desks.

Speaking of environmentalists, I've received a fan letter from Andrew Gora '86, who is deeply troubled by recent inferences in this column concerning his beloved New Jersey. I do stand corrected as regards a recent reference to the existence of landfills in the Pine Barrens. As Andrew points out "landfills are for legal dumping, and everybody knows that waste should be dumped illegally in the Pine Barrens." Furthermore, young Andrew considers our radiologist classmate Rich Mattern the envy of other Jerseyites "at least Rich knows the levels of his daily dose of gamma rays and worse." Finally the petulant Andrew doubts that "the transitory and ephemeral olive hue of your typical Modestan is any match for the permanent radiating green of a New Jersey native."

Confused as he may be, I do salute the Dartmouth of the eighties for instilling a love of great literature into the younger generation. Mr. Gora's ravenous readership of the of'70 Class Notes is proof enough of that. Thanks for writing, Andrew. Yes, it's true that your letter was longer than almost any other I've received as class secretary over the past five years. And do write again. We all appreciate someone willing to mouth off in behalf of such a hopeless cause. Or better yet, join us next June at our 20th Reunion and defend your point of view. We need a mascot anyway. P.O. Box 3934, Modesto, CA 95352-3934