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PORTLAND
OBSERVER
Voi. 6 Na. 20
Portland. Oregon
Thursday, April I, 1976
Ife per copy
City budget
cuts jobs
Mayor Neil Goldschmidt's 1976-1976
budget will slice 221 city positions in a
money saving effort. These include 160
that were on federally funded programs.
Ken Jones, city budget officer, esti
mated that fewer than 100 persons would
have to be laid off because some vacan
cies will occur due to national attrition.
Some departments have ceased hiring in
anticipation of the lay-offs.
No firm decision has been made as to
which positions will be eliminated but the
Mayor expects a degree of confusion due
to employees with seniority “bumping"
those in other departments.
Goldschmidt was unable to estimate
the effect of the cuts on employment of
minorities and women and expressed
some concern, but said minority em
ployment was not a factor in the budget
cuts.
Albina stops state appointment
The appointment of Dexter Henderson
was blocked by action of the Albina
Human Resources Center Board after
learning of the appointment through the
news media.
The board and employees of the Center
were dismayed and angered to learn that
Dexter Henderson, former Accounting
Administrator of the Center had been
assigned as its Assistant Administrator.
Henderson was demoted from his poor
tion as Administrator of the Corvallis
Human Resources Center after being
accused of using staff inappropriately and
attending classes at Oregon State Uni
versity on state time.
Richard Davis, director of the Oregon
Department of Human Resources said of
Henderson's reassignment to Albina, “It
is my feeling that because of his fa
miliarity with the center, the increased
supervision he will receive and the
reduction in supervisory responsibility,
he will be able to contribute to the
department and the people we serve.
Sources in Corvallis told the O b s e r v e r
that Henderson:
The dismay over the appointment was
increased in light of Davis' recent state
ments supporting giving more authority
to the center directors. The Albina board
testified before the Interim Committee
on Human Resources last week. urging
that center directors be given a line of
authority that will allow them to effec
tively coordinate the services of the
various agencies operating in the center.
Davis has proposed legislation abolish
ing the various divisions within the
Human Resources - Welfare, Children's
Services, Division of Vocational Rehabili
tation, etc. - to enable a better delivery
of services.
A.L. Henderson, speaking on behalf of
the board said:
"The Board questions Mr. Henderson’s
sensitivity to the clients of the Albina
Center when he has already demonstrat
ed his insensitivity to the needs of those
clients served by the Corvallis Center.
“D ex ter H enderson has previously
served as Assistant Manager and the
Acting Manager of the Albina Human
Resources Center. He was unable to
develop the social legitimacy required by
this community and thus created hostility
and, in fact, generated a negative re
sponse that is still remembered.
The position of Assistant Manager
demands competence and support. It is
not a rehabilitative nor a training posi
tion. In the absence of the Manager, the
Assistant Manager would be responsible
for the Center. Leadership is required in
this position, and that quality was not
exhibited by Mr. Henderson in his posi
tion with the Corvallis Center. This
position should be not filled by a person
who needs help, but rather by someone
who can help."
Davis had recently visited the center
and met with the board, expressing his
philosophy of greater community control.
Sources in Corvallis told the Observer
that Henderson had not been able to
relate to the people using the Corvallis
Human Resource Center and that he had
not gained the respect and support of the
Corvallis community.
Henderson, a former career army man,
was assistant director of the Albina
Center under Leon Harris, who was the
center’s original director. There has been
some concern because Henderson assist
ed with the investigation of allegations of
misuse of state funds made against
Harris.
Harris was cleared of the
charges, but later resigned his position.
Henderson served as acting director until
Ms. Hazel G. Hays was selected as
director, then resumed his position as
assistant. He later transferred to Man
ager of the Albina Welfare Office.
Henderson has been assigned to the
special programs division of the state
Department of Human Resources in
Salem.
Jury acquits Larry Baker on robbery charge
Larry Baker, a parolee from Oregon
State Penitentiary who is enrolled in the
Criminal Justice Program at Portland
State University, was found not guilty of
robbery after approximately an hour's
deliberation by an all white jury. Baker
has received public attention in recent
months as an example of a “rehabilitated
ex-felon". He charges that his indictment
in the robbery case was a direct result of
his charging the Oregon State Correction
Division and the Multnomah County
Division of Justice Services with racial
discrimination in refusing him employ
ment.
Madame (ires' harem inspired at home ensemble in multi-striped taffeta, with
neckline and panteloons that flow into a full back cape will be shown at the
Ebony Fashion Show. (See page 5.)
p lu n g in g
As a practicum student from PSU,
Baker was assigned to the Multnomah
County Division of Justice Services as a
counsellor for probation and parole. In
addition to counselling 26 persons, he was
assigned several of his supervisor's cases
when his supervisor was out of town. One
of these was David Nelson, who was in
Clackamas County jail on a rape, sodomy
and burglary charge and on whom there
was also a probation hold for Multnomah
County. Baker was approached by N el
son's wife, Kathy Nelson, to assist in
getting her husband out of jail. Judge
Olsen of Multnomah County advised
Baker that if he found Nelson to be
reliable and if he were to be released on
bail. Baker could have the probation hold
released.
The state's story was that Baker had
received money from a friend of Nelson.
Morgan Hall, which was to go for bail and
that he had not paid the bail nor returned
the money.
According to Baker, the incident first
came to the attention of the authorities
because he reported a possible bribe to
the Clackamas County District Attor
ney's office and since the bribe was to
take place in Multnomah County they
reported it to Multnomah County author
ities. Following the incident, Baker filed
an affidavit with the county, telling his
version of the story. This affidavit has
disappeared. He heard nothing more
about it until he was asked by two
Multnomah County detectives to meet
them in the office of his state parole
officer in November. In the meantime he
had filed discrimination charges against
the state and the county.
On January 8th his complaint was
accepted by the state Civil Rights Divi
sion for investigation and on January
28th the U.S. Department of Health,
Education and Welfare were apprised of
the complaint. On January 8th Baker was
indicted for robbery and on January 28th
he was arrested. He was told by police
officers that they were unable to find him
between January 8th and 28th. although
he was working at the county Court
House, attending school and living at his
usual address.
Baker told the court that during the
time he was attempting to arrange bail
for Nelson and to make a judgement
Black youth framed?
about releasing the probation hold, Mor
gan Hall called and asked him to pick up
and cash some checks for him. Hall was
going out of town until Saturday evening
when he would pick up the cash and poet
the bail. He called his credit union from
Chehalis to have the checks made to
Baker.
Baker said on Saturday morning Hall
picked up the money, but in the mean
time hints had been made about a bribe to
Nelson's victim. Baker decided to go
along with the bribe in order to obtain
evidence and had another probation
officer, Tamara Mitchell present as a
witness. He also had informed Clackamas
County authorities. The bribe did not
occur as contact could not be made with
the victim.
After writing up his report for the file.
Baker transferred the case back to the
original counsellor and Nelson stayed in
jail. Multnomah County detectives ap-
(Please turn to p. 2 col. 4)
Youngest death row con fights for life
by Jon Stewart
NEW ORLEANS (PNS)
A major
scandal involving America's youngest
death row convict, seventeen year old
Gary Tyler, has erupted here in New
Orleans.
Tyler's lawyer has obtained affidavits
from two of the state's three key wit
nesses against the Black youth charging
that they were coerced by local police and
government prosecutors into giving false
testimony.
As a result. Tyler’s May 5th execution
date has been suspended pending a hear
ingin District Court April 21st, in which
Tyler's lawyer will argue for a new trial.
Tyler was convicted by an all white
jury in the shooting death of a thirteen
year old white youth. Timothy Weber,
during a racial melee in Destrehan.
Ixwisiana
forty miles north of New
Orleans on October 7, 1974.
The shooting incident occurred during
an anti busing demonstration, when a
crowd of white students and parents
surrounded a school bus containing sixty
to seventy Black students. A shot rang
out and Weber, standing among the
white demonstrators, fell dead.
I oca I police immediately searched the
school bus and all Black students, but
produced no weapon. Tyler, who had
been aboard the bus, was arrested during
the search for obstructing justice when
he allegedly argued with an officer. That
night the charge was changed to first
degree murder.
Police had produced a .45 automatic
after impounding the bus and obtained a
signed statement from a witness, fifteen
year old Natalie Blanks, stating she had
been sitting near Tyler on the bus and
saw him lean out a window and fire the
weapon.
Blanks stuck to her statement before a
grand jury and throughout the trial. Two
other prosecution witnesses who had
been aboard the bus also testified they
had seen the alleged murder weapon
passed around the bus and handled by
Tyler.
The .45 automatic was never conclu
sively identified as the murder weapon,
however, because the bullet that killed
young Weber was never recovered. Nor
were Tyler’s fingerprints found on the
weapon. Police said he had been wearing
gloves.
By a strange coicidence, the weapon
was reported stolen from the nearby
Kenner police firing range after it was
discoverd on the bus.
Tyler was convicted and sentenced to
die in the electric chair at Louisiana State
Prison at Angola. He has been on death
row there since December 15, 1975.
WITNESS RECANTS
On March 9th Tyler’s new attorney.
Jack Peebles of New Orleans, filed
motions for a new trial. He also released
a 31-page affidavit in which Blanks, the
key state witness, declared that her prior
statement and trial testimony were false
and had been prepared for her by police
and prosecutors.
In the affidavit. Blanks state« that
Louisiana Assistant Attorney General
L.J. Hymel and St. Charles Parish A ssis
tant D.A. Norman Pitre threatened to
charge her with accessory to murder and
perjury if she recanted her testimony.
According to the affidavit. Blanks said
the prosecutors “asked me. How old is
your baby?' and Do you want to be in
jail? Don’t you want to see your baby?
Don't you want to be here to raise your
baby?' "
Blanks states that on the night of the
shooting she was brought to police head
quarters and strip-searched by police
women. She contends that while she was
naked two St. Charles Parish male
deputies grabbed her and shouted. “You
know Gary shot him."
That night, she says, the same two
deputies gave her a prepared statement
identifying Tyler as the murderer and
told her to sign it.
Attorney Peebles says that before
Blanks testified in the trial she met in the
judge’s chambers with her attorney,
Sylvia Taylor, Judge Ruche Marino, and
the assistant D.A. and assistant attorney
general.
Taylor informed the judge and prose
cutors that in view of her client's psy
chiatric instability she would advise her
to take the Fifth Amendment if question
ed on the statement implicating Tyler.
The prosecutors then agreed to grant
Blanks “oral immunity" from accessory or
perjury in return for her testimony.
Peebles claims the jury was never told
of the immunity, nor of Blanks' “exten
Port considers new drydock
Although the maritime industry sup
plies approximately ten percent of the
jobs in the Portland metropolitan area, a
great majority of Portland’s residents are
hardly aware of the busy port. Even
Blacks, many of whom came to Portland
during the war to work in the shipyards,
do not realize that ship building and ship
repair is still a major industry.
On a natural supply route from the
East, the Columbia River, and at the
early railroad term inal, Portland d e
veloped as a port city.
It is still
dependent on the shipping industry, most
of which is exporting. In recent years the
Columbia has been dredged to accomo
date large ships, providing easy access.
The Port of Portland, which maintains
the only publically owned shipyard on the
coast, got into the ship-repair business in
1900 when it established a ship-repair
yard in St. Johns. Following World War
II, the Port purchased the Kaiser yards
at Swan Island.
Although the shipyard is owned by the
Port, the facilities are leased to private
contractors. Eleven companies use the
yards, the largest being Northwest Ma
rine Iron Works, Incorporated and Dii
lingham Marine and Manufacturing.
The marine industry creates 17,602
jobs, with a payroll exceeding SIRI
million, and nearly 20,000 related jobs in
import and export activities. Approxi
mately ten percent of the jobs in the
tri county area are related to the mari
time industry. Additionally, the mari
time payroll creates an estimated 17,000
jobs in other goods and services.
Over 700 companies supply parts,
goods in services for the shipyards.
An estimated 76 percent of all costs in
ship building and ship repair go to labor.
These are a variety of types of jobs,
including steel and welding. Pay is fifty
percent above the regional average.
The Port of Portland is considering
asking the people of Portland to build a
new drydock on Swan Island, that would
service the large oil tankers that will soon
take oil from Alaska to California.
No port on the Weat Coast la currently
prepared to serve these large ships and
Portland could gain the business if it had
proper facilities.
Currently, the oil
companies plan to take the ships to Japan
to repair, but federal law requirea that
they use an American port if one is
available.
Although the nation la in a depression,
work at the shipyards continue at a high
level.
Bill Gilmore, assistant general
manager and production manager at
Northwest Marine Iron Works, Incor
porated, said his company ia turning
away work. "The bertha that were built
during World War II for five ships, only
hold three of the larger ships in use now.
We turn away jobs because there is no
space for them."
The largest drydock in operation is
only 661 feet long. 114 feet wide, has a 27
ton lifting capacity, capable of lifting
ships up to 50,000 dead weight tons. The
oil tankers that will carry Alaska oil will
be 70,000 to 190,000 ton vessels.
The Port of Portland’s shipyards are a
money making operation.
Over $13.6
million gross revenue was derived to the
Port during 1968 through 1974. Profit is
used to maintain the Ports docks and
terminals, which like all other ports, lose
money but bring in business.
To keep up with changes in the
industry, the Portland shipyards must be
brought up to date. Built for World War
II vessels, the drydocks are not large
enough for the new, larger ships. Build
ing a drydock large enough for the new
oil tankers, and additional repairs births,
is expected to generate a coat flow of over
$10 million a year, and an additional 1,000
jobs.
The Port has two choices, it can build
the large drydock now and add the tanker
repair to already growing ship repair and
building businesses, or it can wait and
build additional smaller facilities later
The facilities cannot be left as they are
without losing jobs and revenue. Already
much business is being turned away
because of lack of berthing space and
inadequate facilities.
An architect’s view of proposed lew drydock at Swan Island.
sive psychiatric background." If either
had been known her reliability as a
witness could have been damaged.
Assistant Attorney C-enerel Hymel and
Assistant D.A. Pitre have declined to
comment on any aspect of the case.
OTHER WITNESSES
On March 24th Peebles filed additional
motions to obtain tape recordings of
police interviews with the two other
witnesses who claimed during the trial
they had seen Tyler handling a gun while
on the bus.
One of those witnesses. Loretta Lon
don Thomas, has since signed an affidavit
stating that she, too, was coerced to give
false testimony.
Thomas states that she was questioned
on three separate occasions the day of the
shooting. The third time, she states, a
sheriffs deputy told her he was “going to
send her to jail for 99 days” if she didn't
(Please turn to p. 4 col. 3)