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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1977)
Thursday. February 24. Ï9T1 Lund Environment vs jobs We see the world through Black eyes Stop brutality at Rocky Butte Some time ago an extensive study of the administration of Rocky Butte Jail was made. This study, which generally found a lack of policy and procedures and of training for corrections officers, caused a big stir at the time it was released. There hove also been numerous grand jury reports on crowded conditions and other physical problems. Perhaps some of these will be corrected by the building of new jail facilities. Then we have heard for years that there is not proper medical care or attention to the physical and emotional problems of the inmates. More recently there hove been reports of increas ing abuse and harossment by corrections officers. Some of these incidents have come to public attention, have been investigated, but have not resulted in criminol indictments ogainst the officers. Suits have been filed and others are in the offing. Nearly two months ago we asked that the allegations of Bobby Jamieson against corrections officers whom he stated physically and mentally abused him be investigated. Due to a problem within his office, Commission Chairman Clark did not receive Jamieson's request until two weeks ago. Clark ordered an investigation and report to him to be completed within ten davs. The result — increased pressure on Jameison, another alleged beating, and the "hole". Usually this type of brutal behavior is committed by only a few of the guards. Others are more careful, their abuse is more subtle. Of course not all guards ore involved in this type of activity - many are sincere and attempt to do a seemingly necessary job in a proper manner. But there is no excuse for those who abuse men who are locked up and have no defense, who realize that any complaint or question can result in more abuse. An internal investigation is being made of Jamieson's complaints. We can just about predict the findings. We call upon Commissioner Don Clark to appoint a committee to look into the treatment of the prisoners at Rocky Butte — not the overcrowding, the quality of the food, or even the lack of medical care. These ore well known and have been documented over and over again. We believe the Chairman is concerned about the men in Rocky Butte, and we call on him to appoint a committee to study the treatment of the inmates and to ferret out those guards who commit the crimes and to gather the evidence needed to eliminate them. Everyone at the jail knows who they are. tfo putíúlw, but for all those who have helped and sustained me in my efforts to serve the community. These include not only dose friends and associates, but the members of Bethel who aided me in my m inistry in the church and the subscribers and advertisers who have supported the Dear friends. Tuesday, the day I was presented the Russell Peyton Aw ard - was the happiest and the proudest day of my life. W e have printed on page 6 some of the messages received in order to share them with those who were unable to attend the lunceon. I was sincere when I said that I accepted the award not just for myself Through the Obsrver we attem pt to provide a forum for the discussion of issues of importance to the people, to provide a voice for those who are not heard and to give some influence to the powerless. Thia aw ard w ill serve as an inspiration to continue with the work we have begun and a rem inder of the responsibilities such a public trib ute bring. Again. I would like to thank the M etropolitan Hum an Relations Commis sion for this honor. A . Lee Henderson JLftiMt U> tfoEdtiOl Verdict wrong To the editor: I am a young adult who has seen much of life's pain and unfairness, but none so much as watching an innocent man found guilty. The man I speak of is James Babe Wilson, the drug counselor who was convicted of smuggling contraband into rocky butte jail. I t sickens me to know of the injustice done, that has put a beauti ful man like Babe behind bars. Fm not just speaking of our judicial system, but of his working colleagues also. Please. Protest keep in mind that I am not a drug addict, and have never been directly involved with drugs, but I had a husband who was. From my first encounter w ith Babe. I knew he was a man solely interested in helping others. H e always spoke freely of his past life, as to insure that people could change, and th at not all was lost. I was skeptical at first, but after listening to Babe andhis past, I could finally see real hope for us. H is life as a crim inal was hard and long, but his life of rehabilita tion has been equally hard, and as for being long, he never got the chance. It goes without saying th a t w hatever he does, he does it to his fullest potential. In the tw o years Fve known Babe, Fve never seen anything but honest and an unexplainable dedication for helping oth ers. He never had tim e for pettiness in either life, which is just w hat he has been convicted of. I am a believer in Babe Wilson, for he is a believer in people. Sincerely. Tracy K r a u s brutality To the Editor: W e, the undersigned, witnessed the cruel and inhuman punishment done to Bobby Dean Jameison on Saturday. Feb ruary 18. 1977 at Rocky Butte Jail. W e are concerned about Bobby's wellbeing and others in this tank. C-4. Thursday they skin searched everyone in this tank and went through the whole tank while everyone was at Dinner. A fte r they took Bobby on Saturday, they also rolled-up another inmate, W alter Dean, the next morning. So we are wondering who is going to be next, and with what faked-up charge they are going to come with to get us. W e the undersigned. David L. Thayer Gary P riv e tt Bill Rogers Jerry Peterson Babe Wilson LaMon Christens (Editors Note: If anything happens to these men, who have publically protested the treatm ent of a fellow prisoner, it will not be looked upon lightly ! Spare Babe Wilson from this peniten tiary. A in't nothing here that Black man needs. A high cement wall, a cold and lonely cell - some old newspapers and magazines — couple of old worn-out letters of yesterday's dreams. habit cold tu rkey' - and standing at oui sides, before the judges in Multnomah County Courtrooms - when no one else Some of us - Black Prisoners, here - re«u last week's P srtiasd Observer sad the statem ent made - “Warehousing Drug Addicts“, is true. W e’ve witnessed young Black prisoners here - developing th eir first fix - to escape this reality. Some of us - Black Prisoners, here - remember Babe, who'd pick us up. lying in the gutters throughout Albina com m unity - Get food for our families, when we couldn't. W e'd knock on his door, just to sleep on his floor - on a chill, rainswept black ice night - and never get turned could - or would. Yes - and even, some of us - Black Prisoners, here - are fathers of daught ers walking the streets of Portland - tw elve and fourteen y e a n of age - givin- it up for w hat it’s w orth - for a fix and the price in life th ey’ll have feoav. But w ith a little luck - she might bump into Babe and listen about a drug addict's life he once had to live. A fte r all. th at child may not be mine, but yours. So. spare Babe Wilson from this peni ten tiary - you, who are Black leaders, attorneys, judges or just plain good folks back in our Black community. A in 't nothing here in this prison that Black man needs. away. Some of us - Black Prisoners, here - regardless of Babe's recent court convic tion - remember him sittin’ at our sides, (From the Black Prisoners at OSP whom Babe Wilson has tried to help - names w ith held at th e ir request) bringing us back to life, kicking a junkies Portland O bserver Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. 2201 North Killings worth, Portland, Oregon 87217. M ailing address: P.O. Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 87208. Telephone 283 2486. Subscriptions:f7.50 per year in the Tri-County area, »8.00 per year outside Portland. Second Class Postage Paid at Portland. Oregon The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only in its Publisher s column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual w riter or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer. A LF R E D L. HENDERSON Editor/Publisher National Advertising Representative ublishers. Inc. New York MEM8ES O re g o n Newspaper Publishers Association The Dow Chemical plant was to have been located on farm land across the Sacramento R iver from Pittsburg, Cali fornia. The site was 2,700 acres of the last undeveloped land in the state front ing on a deep w ater ship channel. W ith Alaskan oil due to arriv e by tanker in California in 1878, it seemed a natural site for the only major petrochemical facility west of the Mississippi. But on January 18th. afte r spending »6 m il l i o n on land and »4 million on engineer ing and environmental studies, Dow Chemical announced the project had been scrapped because of environmental red tape. The proposed development would have been a complex of 13 plants employing 1,000 workers w ith an annual payroll exceeding 115 million. D uring the five- to eight-year building period. 1,000 con struction workers would have been era ployed. W hen the unemployment rate in California is 8.5 percent compared to 7.9 percent nationwide, the projected jobs w ere welcome news. Dow gave up the project afte r becom ing entangled in the web of 65 separate perm its from 12 local, state and federal agencies. I t is shortsighted to dismiss the case of the Dow Chemcial plant aa just another case of bureaucratic bungling. Bureau cratic bungling it was, but it was more. I t was the environmentalists versus the The 1977 Oregon Legislature's pace picked up quite a bit thia week. W ith the final day for introducing bills passed, committees are now grappling w ith a num ber of proposals ranging from drought assistance to the allocation of energy w ithin the state. DROUGHT Drought conditions have prevailed in many western states for the last two years. But this year lack of rain threatens to push Oregon over the brink into the crisis stage. The Legislature has already taken stops to conserve w ater but Governor Straub issued what event ually may be seen as th e firs t emergency action on Thursday when he ordered the closure of Lost Creek dam. The governor also requested the Legis lature to take steps to institute a cloud seeding program in aa effo rt to alleviate the lack of precipitation and the increas ingly dangerous dry conditions in our forests. AU citizens are urged to do w hatever they can do to conserve scarce w ater supplies. 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Leadership O N P A 1975 N A T U R A L GAS R A TE S A m ajo rity of the members of both houses have signed a petition urging the denial of a portion of the rate increase requested by N orthw est N atural Gaa. N N G has said th at part of the request for an increase is caused by the conservation efforts of its customers. Freshman Dem ocrat Clayton Klein, from Central Point, has circulated the petition which w ill aak Public U tility Commissioner Charles Davis to deny th at portion of the rate request. Klein calls it “A tra ve sty” th a t such a request has been made when one considers the cutbacks Americans have made over the past few In the language of flower* a white violet mean*"modesty." A—ociMon ■ Founded It t d I t has been predicted that industry will be driven from the state by the Dow Chemical experience. I think not. How ever. I do feel that we must replace the environmental perm it laby rinth W ith a process of careful planning both on the p art of government and industry. Industry must be encouraged to locate in places th at provide sorely needed jobs and in places that make sense economically. Industry is not the enemy. Economic privation is. years to save energy. A t present 85 Representatives and 17 Senators have signed the petition. Disabled w a r veterans and veteran's widows must apply for th eir annual Oregon property tax exemptions by A p ril 1, the D epartm en t of Veterans' Affairs cautioned today. Application is filed with the county assessor. H .C . Saalfeld. Veterans' Affairs direct or, said the exemption amounts to »7.500 of the tru e cash value of the property. E n titled are w ar veterans 40 percent or more disabled, and unremarried widows of w a r veterans. Saalfeld said thia is not an automatic exem ption. Even though an exemption was granted last year, the property owner must file a new application to be considered for the exemption this year. I f the taxpayer still has property tax to pay on h it residence afte r the veterans' exem ption, and has an income of less than »15,000 a year, he may be eligible for a refund under the homeowners and rent ers property tax refund program. Appli cation for this benefit must be filed by A p ril 15 w ith the D epartm ent of Revenue in Salem. The state income tax packet contains a refund application form. Citizen of the Week •••J»-' Charles Patterson is a 1956 graduate of Steubenville High School in Steubenville, Ohio. H e served in the U .S. A rm y from 1956 until June of 1964. stationed in Germany and Alaska. A fte r leaving the A rm y, he waa employed w ith the Veteran's Adm inistration in Washington D .C . and Oklahoma C ity. He and his wife* Barbara, came to Portland in July of 1976, where he accepted the position of Assistant Supply Chief a t the V eterans Hospital. Patterson is a graduate of Federal C ity College in Washington. D .C . w ith a B.S. in Business Adm inistration. Patterson is a member of the Albina Lions Club. H e likes to read and enjoys music. Use all you need hut save all you can . . . The People at Pacific Power $2.50 of your now subscription to The Portland Observer w ill go to the regon Black History Project Tri-County area 7.50 —* $8,00 Mail to: Poriland Observer P.O Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 MEMBER N e N p A p ER There can be no question that we must protect the sir we breathe, our w ater supply and our invaluable agricultural lands. W e can do this and still provide for an expanding industrial capacity. W e can and must find s way. A new breed of leader must emerge. A t present we seem to be caught between industrialists who resent answering to the public and environmentalists who are committed to a no-industrial growth pol icy. Is it too much to ask for leaders who appreciate both the environment and the need for industrial expansion? Must we be in opposing camps? It's our future at stake. rates. Straub says enactment of SB 820 could provide lowered u tility rates for 85% of the state's power users. 1st Place Best Ad Results O N P A 1973 H etrick E ditorial Aw ard N N A 1973 with repeated blizzards. W estern United States is suffering from unparalleled drought. W ater, the West'» moet pre cious resource, is in short supply. This shortage brings into sharp focus the need to olan human activity to protect our physical environment. ENERGY Governor Straub took the witness stand this w eek before the State Energy and Environm ent Com m ittee to push for passage of SB 820. T h e bill represents the governor'a plan to reduce the rates of the state's residential power consumers. T he Domestic and R u ral Power A uthor ity (D R P A ) would m ake the state of Oregon a large preferred customer of the 1st Place Community Service O N P A 1973 5th Place Best Editorial N N P A 1973 industrialists, w ith the people caught in between. M ore and more, we must have nation wide recognition of the achievement of balance among the need for jobs, the availability of energy and the protection of the environment. The w in ter of 7 7 w ill not soon be forgotten. I t has left no doubt in our minds th at our energy supply no longer can be taken for granted. Presently, every region in the country is ree cam in ing its energy position. N atural gas, foreign oil and native coal supplies as well as points of e n try and routes of pipelines are being assessed and evaluated. Furtherm o re, I believe this record cold w in ter w ill bring a m ajor population shift w ithin the U nited States. People who have been harboring intentions of some day moving south or west w ill do so in substantial numbers. I fear many who have found the N o rth ern w in te r intolerable w ill come to California w ithout a full understanding of the tragic consequences of joblessness. In the state of California, this movement is sure to intensify the need for industrial development. Added to energy and jobs is the third force: environm ental protection. In Cali fornia, the environm ent not only is spectacular and w arm but also fragile. Though all nature is fragile, the lack of substantial rainfall adds to the destruct ibility. In this strange w in ter of 1977 while tl,e rest of the country is burdened From the Legislature Bonneville Pow er Adm inistration. Under the plan the state would purchase all of the needed power for domestic use and resell th at power to consumers at lower No place for Babe To the Editor: by Yvenn C ity
