EDITORIAL
Spector of child abuse
Is everyone’s problem
It seems every day. another one happens. A de
fenseless baby either killed or maimed, a victim of
child abuse.
It would be difficult to come up with a more hei
nous crime than that of killing an infant. Last year in
thd supposed Land of the Free. 1,338 children died
from child abuse — half under the age of one.
Lone County is not immune from the epidemic. In
the past 14 months, four children were killed and an
other horribly injured. Need more evidence? Between
1985-91. Oregon avoraged 15 child abuse deaths per
year. In 1992, that number has already been reached,
and we haven't even gotten to the halfway point.
What is going on?
It seems the more focus put on child abuse and the
more wc understand the
psychological and envi
ronmental reasons for it,
the more it happens. Most
likely, as we get a deeper
awareness of the problem,
we’re finally recognising
the true amount of child
abuse cases.
There aren't necessari
ly more occurrences — we
iust aren’t passing the
blame off on ’’accidents"
or uny such nonsense any
Blaming It on a
small segment of
the population/
as soma am apt
to do, Is
pointless,
careless and Just
plain stupid.
So what can bo done? Is more governmental
ovcrwutch needed? Is Increased bureaucracy the an
swer?
No. Increasing the system would make it more un
wieldy than it already is. What needs to happen is
more communication between the schools, police and
sociul workers — the people who traditionally deal
with child abuse cases.
The symptoms of a potential abuser are quite easy
to sec. Poverty, alcohol or drug abuse, and a history of
domestic violence are just some of them. Put people in
stressful situations, add the pressure of a newborn
child, and disaster might not bo far behind.
But child abuse happens regardless of social strata.
It happens among everybody. Blaming it on a small
segment of the population, os some are apt to do. is
pointless, careless and )ust plain stupid.
As an individual, take a pro-active stance regarding
child abuse. If you see a suspocted case, report it to the
authorities. If you have children and know you have a
temper, seek counseling before it becomes a problem.
Recognize your own shortcomings and see that they
don't impact your children.
In addition, pressure the local, state und national
governments. Convince the politicians this is an issue
that needs to be addressed. Let them know if they do
nothing about it. they won't be politicians much long
er.
Oregon Daily
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OPINION
Perot’s buffets win hands down
THE FINE
PRINT
BY DON PETERS
For (ho post (hroo months,
everybody has Inson so se
rious.
It's election time, and all que
ries run to the same tune
What's your stance? What do
you think about this issue? And
so on
All are valuable questions,
but there comes a time when
the seriousness needs to stop.
Election night, for instance.
I really do love politics. To
mo, election night is like a gi
gantic sporting event without
the Astroturf. Drama, conn
from-bohind victories, cheering
crowds.
So where else would I be on
Tuesday night except down at
the Lone County Fairgrounds,
scoping out the election scene.
And while my follow Journal
ists (worthy, one und all) were
busy usking the important “is
sue questions," I had a little
more time to focus on another
aspect of election night:
The food
If you've never been down to
an election headquarters, I'll
give you a piece of advice. Co
hungry. Some of the spreads
the candidates put out wore un
believable.
Sumu went for the basic pop
corn and chips while other in
dulged in cheese squares, fruit
or vegetables. And I, with noth
ing bettor to do. graded the can
didates on their food selection.
So without further chit-chat,
hero are the First Annual Peters
Flection Night Snack Awards:
First Place — hands down to
tho Ross Perot campaign. Those
people went all out. renting one
of tho side rooms off of tho con
vention hall. A voried buffet
spread, pleasing to eye und pal
ate.
It must have been expensive
I asked Jim Halo, one of the lo
cal coordinators for the Perot
campaign, if good ol' Ross had
kicked In for the grub.
"No." Hole said. "Perot
hasn't spent a dime in Orogon
VVu just wunled to have a party
to get to know each other.'*
And if Perot gets on the bal
lot in November?
"We'll bo back," Hale said.
A small suggestion, Ross:
Texas barbecue. $100 million
can go u long way.
Floor Award — City Council
candidate Tom Slocum. The
Slocum campaign went
healthy, opting for fruit over
deli slices.
Was the healthy approach a
campaign themo?
"I don't think so," Slocum
said. "But after climbing up
and down hill and dale during
the campaign, wo needed
healthy food."
Twina — State Rep. Sam
Dominy and state Sen. Bill
Dwyer. The two camps had
identical food choices —
cheese, crackers, chips and sal
sa Coincidence, collaboration
or conspiracy? Is this the start
of another political scandal?
Catergate, perhaps?
Mike Dubick, Dominy's cam
paign manager, denied any
connection with the Dwyer
group.
"We just went conservative,"
Dubick said.
Conservative? A Democrat In
Lane County?
"Only on the money we
spent," Dubick said.
Others were more pragmatic
about thuir choices. County
commissioners Jerry Kust and
Jack Roberts, who both won re
el action, said campaign work
ers had picked out the food.
"I'm at the mercy of my han
dlers in food matters," Roberts
said.
“How much can you got for a
S100?" Rust said, defending his
fruit, chips and salsa spread.
The pass-it-off-on-the-cam
paign-workers strategy was
used a lot Mayoral candidate
Mary Burrows (popcorn, chips,
cookies) said if it had been up
to her, "we would have had
more cheese."
"I don't know how to choose
food," she admitted. "1 leave
the big decisions like that to
Tm not a chip
person because
then you have to
bring dip, and It
Just goes on and
on.’
— Debra Ehrman
candidate
othors."
Dobra Ehrman, running for
district court judge, was the
only candidate to break away
from the chip rut She brought
pretzels.
"I’ve always been a pretzel
fan,” she said. 'Tm not a chip
person because then you have
to bring dip, and it just goes on
and on."
Some candidates didn't both
er with food. Mayoral candi
date Izzy Whetstine passed out
buttons, not brie.
"I came down here aftor din
ner." Whotstino said. "1 just
didn't want to eat any more."
However, I didn't rely solely
on my tastes to hand out the
awards. After a careful screen
ing process, I was able to find
two impartial observers and
askod them to make a “best
food" choice.
"Ruth Bascom,” said outgo
ing mayor Jeff Milter. "Sne
definitely had the best salsa."
Chris Chandler, a reportor for
KVAL-TV. said she hadn’t eat
en anything, but from a purely
visual stance, stale Rep. candi
date Cynthia Wooten was the
winner.
"Hers was the best," Chand
ler said. "She brought cheese
and crackers. That whole chip
thing-not."
And there you have it.
Don Peters is an editorial editor
for the Emerald.