Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1983)
Council reviewing package Pauling needs handicap improvements By Shelley Ball Of The Print FOR ALL ITS modernistic design, the college’s Pauling Center was built without handicapped access doors, such as these in the Community Center (below). Photos by Buck Jennings Handicapped people may gain easier access to the Paul ing Center this summer, as Clackamas Community Col lege’s president’s council is reviewing a decision package that would install 10 automated doors, Facilities Development and Planning Officer Don Fisher said. The council began review ing the package Thursday and will continue to do so for another two to three weeks. If it is approved it will be referred to the College’s budget commit tee, and if passed, it will go into effect July 1, 1983. Acceptance of the deci sion package would make it the first active step towards im proving the Pauling Center since spring of 1981, when Handicapped Specialist Debbie Derr, in conjunction with the Handicapped Advisory Coun cil, conducted a study on the accessibility of the center, after which they made recommen dations to Dean of Student Services Jim Roberts. Derr said she and the council made two recommen dations, one concerning the lack of automated doors, the other regarding grass strips bet ween the cracks of concrete blocks on a wheelchair ramp. The grass makes it difficult for people in wheelchairs to cross over, she said. After the recommenda tions were made, Fisher estimated in Oct. of 1981 the combined cost of the auto mated doors and the replace ment of the grass strips with concrete to be $20,200. Nothing more was done about the situation until the decision package was formed. The Pauling Center was opened to the public in the fall of 1981, and was constructed by Rockrise Odermatt Mount joy Associates (ROMA), which is located in San Francisco. When asked why such a recent construction did not have automated doors already in stalled, Derr thought the cost of such doors was a probable answer. “I would venture to say that it was a way to save money, by meeting minimum requirements,” she said. Den said the center currently meets the minimum state and federal requirements, because these requirements are divided into “recommended ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’.” One of these “recommended musts” is that the doors in the Pauling Center have seven pounds pull, which Derr said they have, but one of the “recommended shoulds” is to have self-opening doors, which Derr said were left out because they were not thought of as a necessity. Derr also said the automated doors are not cur rently thought of as an impor tant priority item for the Col lege’s budget. “I think for it to happen (remodeling of center) it’s got to become a priority for the College—I’m not sure if it is now,” she said. Fisher also cited priority level as the reason no automated doors have ever been installed in the Pauling Center, instead of the costs of the doors themselves, although he did say that the College cur rently spends $4,000 a year to keep the other self-opening doors on campus in good working order. He also said the center is meeting state and federal requirements, and that the automated doors have not been thought of as a high priority when compared with repairing roads, which he said $15,000 a year is spent for. “If we could get through a year or two without road repair, we would have the money to do it, but we haven’t been able to do this,” Fisher said. He also said he thought the automated doors were gradually becoming a higher priority now, as more han dicapped people are attending the College than before. Derr said that more students need to be aware of the situation in order to help improve it. “It’s more than han dicapped people; there are other students, elderly people, even people with breathing problems who can have trouble with the doors,” she said. College student faces robbery A holdup attempt at the Clackamas Fred Meyers was foiled Easter Sunday, April 3, by a quick-thinking witness. According to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s of fice, Bruce Wayne Oaks, 22, attempted to rob the Home Im provement Center of the store. Oaks claimed to have a gun in his coat pocket, and demanded all the money in the cash register. The employee working at the register was Thomas R. Jef fries, a journalism major at the College. Jeffries emptied the till Program looking for volunteers to aid victims of sexual assault The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Rape Victim Advocate Program is currently looking for 20-30 female volunteers to assist both male and female victims of sexual assault. The Advocate Pro gram will be looking for a six- month commitment from the volunteers. Rape Victim Advocates provide support to victims of this crime of violence, working with all the police agencies in Clackamas County. The ad vocates are expected to meet with the victim as soon as possible after the assault is Page 4 reported and to provide assistance, information and support through the necessary hospital exam and police inter views. Advocates are required to sign up for one 24-hour duty day each month and attend one monthly training meeting. Prospective volunteers should understand that, if a call is received during the 24-hour shift, there will be more houfs of follow-up work on that case during the month. Because of the unschedul ed duties required by follow-up work, each volunteer should carefully evaluate applying to the RVA program. The women who are ac cepted will be given eight train ing sessions which will prepare them for all areas of advocate duties. Classes are expected to begin in April, 1983. Interested applicants must be 18 years of age, have a valid driver’s license, and have an automobile. For more information or to apply, call the RVA Program at 655-8616 between the hours of 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. and the assailant fled the store. A witness outside, who is unidentified as of press time, noticed Oaks “looking nervous” as he made for his car, a 1967 Mercury. The witness jotted down the license number of the vehicle. With that information, the sheriff’s office put out a bulletin for the car. It was spotted by the Oregon State Police heading north on the 1-205 freeway. A chase ensued, which included members of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office. Oaks was finally stopped near the Lewis and Clark Park in Troutdale. Shots were fired, but there were no injuries. A pistol and the stolen money were found in Oaks’ posses sion. The caliber of the weapon and the amount of money were not disclosed. Oaks was wanted for escaping from the Oregon State Peniten tiary. He was also being sought for questioning concerning a robbery on March 31 at the Waremart on Johnson Road in Milwaukie. Spring term enrollment parallel to past years Enrollment at Clack amas Community College for Spring term is equivalent to a year ago Mary Dykes, assistant to the director of Admissions and Records at the College, estimated. She stressed that the figures are not completely totaled as of press time, but they are approximately equal to last year’s count at this time. The official total will not be completed for at least two more weeks, Dykes said. The head count of stu dents two weeks into the term is 4,246, but after all areas of the College’s educa tional program are tallied the figure should reach near 9,000, Dykes estimated. The Full-Time Equi valence (FTE), a figure used for State records, is also near the same level from years past. The College’s FTE for spring term is 862. Clackamas Community College