Portland observer., April 28, 1977, Page 3, Image 3

Portland Observer Thursday, April 28. 1977 Page 3
From behind the wall
at th«
39019
by Glen E.
Oregon State Penitentiary serving 10
yean (or his first felony, has instituted
There were over 3,000 people in the
action in the Marion County Circuit Court
temple and for the most part, they were
to prohibit the unconstitutional use of
drunk with wine. Their faces registered
Veterans Home and Farm Loan Funda.
a wild mixture of cruelness and expec­
Barn e s states that the Legislature had no
tancy.
constitutional or legal authority (or
The temple had been built at the
transferring or appropriating funds from
expense of many slaves. Hundreds of
the Veterans Home and Farm Loan Fund
them had been sacrificed to erect the
for the purpoee of holding a statewide
huge blocks of granite to so great a
election. The action was ordered to be
height. It made a person marvel and
filed by the clerk on April 13th by Circuit
wonder how thousands and thousands of
Court Judge Richsid Barber after Barsee
these large blocks, weighing over s U n
had submitted his Petition on Monday
each, had been raised U form a half
April 11th.
sphere, and with just two giant pillars
The title of the action is “Petition (or
for support at the very cenUr.
The
submission of Controversy without suit
pillars were 8 ft. apart and about 10 ft.
or action" pursuant to ORS 27.01030.
through the middle.
They tapered
Barsee believes that the Oregon State
toward the vast, curved ceiling which
Lsgialature and the Secretary of S u te
was 80 ft. from the marble floor.
would be acting unlawfully and unconsti­
Part of the multitude were engaged in
tutionally if they were allowed to proceed
shouting insults and throwing garbage
to use the funds for any other purpoee
and empty wine bottles at a pitiful,
that allowed by the Oregon Constitution
seemingly helpless object between the
and the Statutes of the S u te of Oregon.
two pillars. This was a man of well above
Barsee states that his first interest in
average height and he stood without
filing the action is to protect the rights of
flinching.
There was a stout chain
veterans and secondly to force the state's
fastened to either of his wrists with the
elected representative*, elected by the
other ends locked securely around the
people, to uphold their oath of office and * pillars.
His scantily clad body was
act in a «»««tit i»t wmally responsible man­
muscular and he held himself proudly. A t
ner. S u te legislatures make the law and
a glance he looked much like a gladiator
therefore should be required to obey the
of old. If one were to take a closer look
law and the Constitution of the S U U says
one would see that his eyes had been
Barsee.
Barsee is a veteran himself
gouged out of his head and his body was
having served in the United States Navy
crisscrossed with many marks from a
from August 1964 to February 1966.
whip.
Says Barsee, “I waited for some time
A well aimed wine bottle struck him
for someone to do something but realizing
on the side of the head and his knees gave
that no one was going to protect my
way for a moment. He looked upward as
righU or the righU of the other veterans,
if praying to heaven and the great crowd
I took action." Barsee has two years
laughed and cheered and their laughter
in self taught law at the
filled the vast arena. They were still
S U U Penitentiary where he
laughing when Samson pulled.
spends all Ms free time studying law and
working with inmate legal problema.
Barsee has also spent his time in prison
39019
by Glen E.
studying in full time college and will
receive Ms BA degree in liberal arts in
About 20 of them sat or squatted in a
June of 1977. Barsee hopes to enter law
rough circle in the cave. They were
school after receiving his BS degree in
barefoot and garbed in hides and skins of
Sociology at a later data.
«i«in animals. No two were dressed alike
Says Barsee, “I don't want to hasale
but all had long scraggly hair. The older
anyone but it is my firm belief that no one
ones had unkempt beards. There was one
including our elected officials is beyond
thing in common though: the way they
the law and therefore now is the time to
were all attracted to something on the
put an end to any illegal or unconstitu-
floor of the cave in the center of their
a tread is set
circle. Some stared in fascinated awe
s’s apathy toward such
with their mouths partly open, and others
Oregon has traditionally been a
gased excitedly. An old, grey-haired man
pines of relatively dean local and S u u
just watched proudly with a twinkle in
and 1 want to keep it that
his eyes.
One of the men picked up a small tw ig
and threw It at this thing in their midst.
It seemed to snarl and it devoured the
twig in a few moments.
The youngest of them felt bold before
the others and he reached out to touch
the thing. This time it didn’t snarl. It
wrapped itself around the young man's
hand. He let out a yell of pain and jerked
his hand back and sat looking at it. His
face held a mixture of fear and surprise.
Most of the men laughed, but the old
patriarch only smiled smugly. The man
squatting next to him leaned closer and
asked, “What will you call this thing?" In
a voice barely audible, the old man
whispered “fire."
by Henry Lee Madden 38967
Due to the fact that I've been re­
quested to limit my opinion concerning
the Restoring of the Death Penalty in
Oregon to one hand written page, I
cannot elaborate in detail all of what I
believe concerning this vast and complex
issue.
I cannot make such a broad statement
which is to say: Black people are not
aware of the injustice being inflicted upon
Black prisoners, but I do believe that
Black people on the grassroot level
should begin taking a more active role in
the judicial system and the laws which
govern them, especially with House Bill
No. 2428 restoring the Death Penalty to
the State of Oregon, which is being
debated on the floor of the Oregon
legislature.
I'm opposed to this Bill for many
reasons, reasons which I believe all Black
people should also consider. I t is my
personal opinion that this bill is directed
at Black people, and I don’t believe they
care how many of their own kind they
have to execute just as long as there are
blacks amongst them. I have to ask
myself just who is pushing this bill ?!? It
is said that it is society's pressure that is
forcing the legislature to act on House
Bill No. 2428. W ith that in mind ask
yourself just who in the hell is society?!?
A fter you've answered those ques­
tions, research a few statistics and find
out tor yourselves exactly how many
Black as opposed to whites have died in
electric chairs, gas chambers and execu­
tion by hanging as was done in the state
of Kansas, I think one will be astounded
at the figures in Black blood as opposed to
whites or any other nationality.
Student discipline major school problem
W A 8 H IN G T O N ~ 8 tu d e n t discipline
►
a major
of school authorities across the
■ ....e t - g t« « «tody report issued
by the National School Boards Associa
tton (NSBA).
The eondnOons are baaed on a survey
of 100 school districts conducted by the
Ad Hoc Committee on Discipline of
N8BA's Council of Big Cfty Boards of
of the
districts
as the
of disciplinary
M secondary schools jumped nearly 60
pmeent in the pest 6 years, while assaults
on I h i I n n rose 78 percent and assaults
niseis T rir i ii f |——— » The data
i that the cost of school vandalism “
the U A ta now 8100 million annually.
Disruptive behavior is moot common
MMmg Students la junior high school and
the early years of high school, the report
notes, while the problem is growing but
__.
— ■-— <„ «tanentarv schools.
The report says no evidence exists that
“ ' “--------- sfatarne are related to stu-
or rodai background; dis­
ta increasing in rural
______ i and in affluent and poor areas.
According to the report, many Ad Hoc
For 40 ye a rs The L ittle
Chapels of the Chimes have
grown with Portland because
the families we serve know we
care about them and that our
prices, fully itemized, are fair
Committee members believe the increase
in school discipline problems is due to
erosion of parent-child relationships and
an increase in violence in society at large.
Recent court decisions in students' rights
eases, which reduced the authority of
school officials, were also cited as a
possible contributory factor.
The committees's recommendations to
school districts facing discipline problems
-Establish a task force, composed of
school board members, parents, teachers,
administrators and students, to deter­
mine the dimensions of the problem.
-Involve students, parents, teachers
and administrators in a school board's
development of discipline policies and
procedures, to ensure community under
standing and support.
-D istribute written policies on student
behavior to parents, students and all
school employees.
-Provide seminars and workshops on
techniques tor dealing with student of­
fenders consistently and fairly.
-Encourage school employees to exer­
cise their full legal rights to prevent
violence in the schools. Support those
employees, especially in the cpurts, when
their authority is challenged.
-Develop alternatives to student
Services for every faith and
lifestyle, traditional or simple as
y o u r ta s te d ic ta te s , p e r­
sonalized Credit terms and
p re -n e e d tru s t p la n n in g
available, ask for our free Tt is
My Wish' booklet.
Mortuary • Crematorium • Calcinatory
4 ATTRACTIVE CHAPELS ALWAYS OPEN
fcttfaC&apefs
256-0606
N. KILLINGSWORTH
283-1976
N E Hstasyattoeth
430 N KiHtngaworth
N. LOMBARD
283-0525
SOUTHGATE
777-1465
3018 N Lombard
10306 S E 82nd Avenue
Name: Henry Lee Madden 38987
Home town: Long Beach, California
Age: 30
B.D.: 44-46
Address: 2806 State St., Oregon Prison
B.P.: Palestine, Arkansas
Education: High School graduate
College: One semester, major Sociology
Goals: Plan to continue my education
after release, start my own business in
Fashion designing, become more actively
involved in the rights of prisoners but
before I do any of that I want to
reestablish the unity of my family and
become re-united with my children on a
communication level. And try to bridge
the gap that these five and a half years
have brought between my wife and I, a
woman I'm proud to say has somehow
managed to keep it together as best she
could for a woman alone.
4 8 -M O N T H
AUTO
LOANS
Designed to make a new car more affordable.
Workshop
explains
housing
The Portland Metropolitan Steering
Committee has scheduled three Home
Maintenance and Financing Seminars for
the second week of May, 1977. The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, local financial institutions,
and building industries, as well as other
concerned agencies, will participate in
the seminars.
All residents within the target areas of
Southeast, Northeast and North Portland
as well as other interested persons within
the Portland area are invited to partici
pate in the seminars, free. Follow-up
services will be provided to help all
participants after the seminars.
For those residents who have any
difficulty, such as transportation, baby­
sitting, etc., in attending the seminars,
they may apply for assistance and the
PMSC Housing Program, 220 Northeast
Russell Street, Phone: 288-8391.
The Seminars are scheduled as follows:
1. May 9 and 10. 1977
7:30 to 100: p.m., St. Stephens Church,
1112 Southeast 41st Avenue
2. May 11 and 12, 1977
7:30 to 10:00 p.m., University Park
United Methodist Church, 4791 North
Lombard Street
3. May 18 and 16, 1977
7:80 to 10:00 p.m., PMSC Building, 220
Northeast Russell Street
The subjects to be discussed will
include electric, plumbing, carpentry,
painting, roofing, siding, insulation and
other home repairs, along with Federal,
State, local and other housing programs.
Example: 4 8 Month Auto Loan
48 Monthly
Financed
ANNUAL
PERCENTAGE
RATE
Total of
$4,650 47 at $119.20 10.55% $5,720.59
1st 118.19_______________
Example based on first payment due 30 days
after loan date.
With today's sticker prices,
it m akes sense that you
want m ore out of a new
car. It also m akes sense
that you want m ore out of
a car loan.
That's why you'll be glad
to know about our 48-
m onth First Loan for
autos, if now's the tim e to
replace your present car
w ith a brand new one.
D epending on the pur­
chase price, it gives you
m ore tim e to pay for the
new car, van, camper,
w agon or light truck you
need.
It also can save you money
w hen you borrow. With
a simple-interest FirstLoan
for autos, you're only
charged interest on the
am ount you actually ow e
... only for as long as you
ow e it.
In addition to 48-month
auto financing. First
National offers a com plete
line of shorter-term
FirstLoan auto plans.
So, w hen you've got your
ey e on a new car, w e can
len d a hand w ith m oney
to buy it.
There* a 1st time ter everything.
F IR S T N A T IO N A L B A N K
G T OREGON
pension, including alternative educational
programs.
The nine-member Ad Hoc Committee
was chaired by Javier Montes. E l Paso,
Texas, and constated of the following
school board members: Omar Blair. Den­
ver; James Griffin, St. Paul Minn.;
Joseph Hillary, Buffalo, N .Y .j Harwood
Koppel. New Orleans; Doris Stacy, M il­
waukee, and Ruth Thomas, Omaha.
School administrators on the committee
were D r. Charles D . Almo, Chicago, and
D r. John Minor, Atlanta. Staff liaison la
D r. Jeremiah Floyd, an NSBA assistant
executive director.
The Council of Big City Boards of
Education, an NSBA-affiltated group,
was founded in 1967 and constats of school
boards serving communities with core
city populations of 800,000 or more.
PROOF.
WATTWATCtflNG
REALLY ROTS OFF.
"FULL-TIME WATT WATCHING HAS SAVES US
MORE THAN 21% ON OUR ELECTRIC BILL.”
Sinpsoa retails
presideacy
The Ward s home was fully insulated when
it was built two years ago so there was no
need for more . but they figured they could
save still more in other ways.
They did
The Wards managed to cut their energy
usage by more than 21% over a six-month
period And during some months the savings
were substantially more
How? Lots of ways
For one, the Wards decided to turn their
thermostat off overnight and sleep under elec­
tric blankets instead They now use their micro-
wave oven almost exclusively, too Kathy Ward
has dramatically reduced her use of the family
dishwasher and clothes washer (she washes in
warm water and rinses in c o ld ). And whenever
possible she hangs the clothes out to dry on a re­
tractable clothesline
Larry has put lower watt bulbs in their light fixtures
and installed dimmers on the light switches to reduce
consumption
We knew we could cut our energy use if we really
tried, said Larry. Ii was just a matter of looking at the entire
house and cutting down where we could—it worked/
Larry, Kathy and tneir 3-year-old son, Aaron, are great
Watt Watchers and have proved that it saves money.
The proof is right in their pocketbook
THE SOONER YOU START WATCHING
YOUR WATTS, THE MORE MONEY
YOU'RE GOING TO SAVE.
The election of officers to serve during
1977 was held by the Portland Roofing
Contractor’s Association on A pril 12,
1977.
Herb Simpson of Abbot A Simpson
Roofing and Gutters was re-elected as
President, Arnie Schmautx of Buekeroo-
Thermoeeal will serve as Vice-President
and D ave ( ate of Columbia Roofing,
located in Vancouver, Washington, will
be Secretary Treasurer.
The Association plans to continue its
program of encouraging quality work in
the Roofing Industry.
Of special interest to membora thia
year will be a program to educate doctors
who deal with serious asphalt burns, of
the importance of leaving any asphalt on
the burned skin area. This prevents
damage to the skin which occurs when
the asphalt ta removed. The asphalt,
which ta frequently 460 degrees when the
accident occurs, will not cause infection
even if left on until healing commences.
Several roofers in our industry have been
subjected to extensive and painful skin
grafting because doctors instated upon
removing the asphalt.
Another project of special concern to
members this year will be to bring the
information contained in the National
Roofing Contractor's Association's re­
cently pnNtabad report “Good Roofa Save
Energy" to a t many people la our market
area as possible This report shows just
how much Ineulation ta required in a
or building to
Your voluntary sltorts now to cut
electric u m by 10 * could help
avoid emergency cutback* later
To holp you * • have coneorvation idea»
on everything from electric furnaces and
water healers to lighting and insulation
Flue our newest Wbtt Wpfchers Guida
for both home and farm Just w nfe us
FOE F O B om 1788 Portland O R 87207
or calf the Conservation Center Saa for
.roursaH conservation really does pay off*