Oregon daily emerald., February 13, 1979, Page 5, Image 5

making the news
Frofli AnoctaM Rncs Reports
SALEM — The 1,467 inmates of the Oregon State
Penitentiary were allowed out of their cells to resume normal
prison routine Monday for the first time in five days.
The prisoners had been locked in their cells since last Wed
nesday when 115 of them refused to carry out work details,
protesting low pay. Warden Hoyt Cupp on Sunday said, “Indica
tions are that some inmates are using pay issue to agitate the rest
of the inmate population for other purposes because they know it
is a popular issue.”
WASHINGTON — About 200 tractors paraded under
police escort to the Lincoln Memorial in a blinding snowstorm
Monday as farmers continued their protest for higher farm prices.
The tractors formed a tractorcade that , with the storm,
slowed traffic on major streets to a crawl all afternoon and into the
evening. The demonstration was scheduled to last five hours, but
was cut short because of the weather.
At the monument, about 300 farmers and their families stood
on the steps in the bitter cold while Walter Fauntroy, the District of
Columbia’s non-voting representative in the House, thanked
them “for opening our eyes” to the plight of the farmer.
An unidentified protester opened the rally by taking note of
the birthday of Lincoln, “A true advocate of human rights. That’s
what the farmers are talking about .. .That’s why we’re here, but
President Carter doesn't care.’’
SALEM — Job and housing discrimination against
homosexuals would be prohibited in Oregon if a bill defeated in
the last three legislative sessions wins approval the fourth time
around.
The measure introduced Monday by Rep. Gretchen Kafoury
inserts the phrase “sexual orientation” in statutes already ban
ning discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex,
marital status or national origin.
“I wouldn’t waste time bringing this out again if I didn’t think
we have a chance,” said Ms. Kafoury, D-Portland. “I'm always
optimistic. We ll try to keep it on a rational civil rights level of
discussion.”
She said the measure does not require affirmative action and
would allow employers to investigate an applicant s background
for sexual offenses where the employee would be working with
minors. Otherwise, employers, persons selling or renting prop
erty and restaurant and hotel operators may not inquire about a
person’s sexual orientation.
WASHINGTON — Pres. Carter, saying he will fly to Mex
ico on Wednesday “to listen and to learn," declared Monday he
seeks nothing “damaging to the well-being of the Mexican peo
ple."
Asked at a news conference how potential oil and gas purch
ases from Mexico will figure in his talks with Mexican President
Jose Lopez Portillo, Carter said, without indicating he expects to
strike a deal during his trip:
“We will negotiate with them in goodfaith. We will pay them a
fair price.
”... We have no inclination to force them to give us a special
privilege nor to do anything that would be damaging to the well
being of the Mexican people.”
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Investigators criticize
Peace Corps hiring
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Peace Corps fails
to adequately screen volunteers, with some candi
dates being interviewed by telephone and others not
at aH, according to a new study by the General Ac
counting Office.
The GAO, an investigative arm of Congress,
also said the overseas volunteer service fails to give
adequate information to volunteers about the condi
tions under which they are expected to live.
One costly result has been that “many volun
teers are terminating service before scheduled com
pletion — frequently within the first months of ser
vice,” said the report.
And the Peace Corps’ personnel turnover rate
was three times as high as that of other federal
agencies, the study noted, in part because the corps
limits the time its staff members can serve.
The study was conducted of the Peace Corps
office in Washington and its operations in Colombia,
Honduras, Malaysia, Afghanistan and Kenya. Re
sponses were sought from volunteers in those coun
tries from July to September 1977. The study of the
headquarters operation was made between June
1977 and October 1978.
The Peace Corps, set up in 1961, has sent about
73,000 volunteers to 88 countries. As of last fall, the
corps had about 7,000 volunteers and a budget of
about $84 million.
In its response in the report, the Peace Corps
said it was trying to improve the effectiveness of its
programs and projects.
Records found that in spring 1977, 5 to 20 per
cent of the applicants had no interviews with recruit
ers. In two recruitment centers, the report said, more
than half the interviews were conducted over the
telephone.
The GAO said the Peace Corps’ high staff turn
over has been a problem since its founding. Be
tween fiscal years 1974 and 1977, 578 foreign ser
vice personnel left the agency; 52 percent of those
served three years or less.
The report said the cause of much of the
turnover was the agency’s five-year rule, which limits
staff employment to two 2V2-year contracts, with a
possible one-year extension.
UFW strikers mourn picketer
EL CENTRO, Calif. (AP) —
Farm workers mourning the death
of a colleague shot to death on
the picket line stopped picketing
during a valley-wide work stop
page Monday as both sides tried
to defuse the volatile Imperial Val
ley lettuce strike.
Marc Grossman, a spokesman
for the United Farm Workers
Union, said the one-day
moratorium was being honored at
most of the valley 's more than 30
farms Monday while union and
non-union workers prepared to
pay respects for the 28-year-old
union worker killed Saturday.
An estimated 6,500 to 7,000
workers stayed off their jobs,
Grossman said, leaving the farms
short of replacement help. A total
of 10 farms are being struck by
4,100 farm workers.
The strike has already jeopar
dized about 40 percent of the
nation s winter iceberg lettuce
crop and has sent supermarket
prices higher each week.
UFW President Cesar Chavez
said Monday’s general work stop
page was a spontaneous show of
sympaihy “for our slain martyr
Rufino Contreras." Contreras was
among 15 striking workers who
entered a field where replacement
workers were picking lettuce.
Three men, including two fore
men and a worker hired to pick
lettuce during the strike, have
been arrested for investigation of
murder, according to Imperial
County sheriff’s Lt. Richard Wil
son.
Chavez urged members not to
take revenge, but rather to “leave
that up to the courts.’’
Grossman said the picketing
would cease until after the funeral,
plans for which were still pending.
He said union officials hoped the
events leading up to the funeral
“would keep the workers oc
cupied.
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