Portland Observer Thursday. January 26, 1978 Rage
Federal watchdog must watch
From behind the wall
by Ke.tresenUtive Ral.ih H. Metcalfe
by I j u t y Baker.
O .8.P. Correa;tondent
SANDY RICHARDS
The lady's name is Sandy Richards,
born in Anchorage, Alaska a couple of
months prior to the end of World War II.
Today, Sandy Richards is a housewife
who lives in Portland, Oregon. As a
matter-of fact, about this time last year,
may have still found Sandy Richards
surrounded daily by family members,
friends, and neighbors asking questions
about the laws and bills being introduced
in the legislature. Sandy Richards had
just been elected to go to Salem, as the
new State Representative of the 22nd
District in the Legislature.
But on the night of January 4. 1978,
Sandy Richards found herself not in
Portland, but in Salem...not surrounded
by her family and friends, but surrounded
by a large group of convicted male
inmates whom she was meeting for the
first time. She was not in the comfort of
her fashionable home, but sitting in a
room, inside the walls of the State’s
Penitentiary.
Why should this lady be in a State
Penitentiary? What was she doing there?
Sandy Richards cares about people.
She cares about all types of people who
live not only within the borders of her
district, but throughout her State. On
this rain swept night she had driven fifty
miles alone to prove this, just as she had
done on many other occasions when
people needed her - even if those people
are at the moment spending their lives in
a cell, surrounded by gun towers.
On this night in January, State Repre
sentative Richards was the 'guest lectur
er' at the Oregon State Penitentiary
le g a l le w Class, a class developed and
governed by the inmates, to learn as
much as they can about civil, state and
federal statuses.
Sandy Richards, in the company of
Diana Stewart, an attorney for the
Oregon Prisoner's Legal Law Project, sat
in a brightly lit classroom in the O.S.P.
Education Department with twenty-two
A^en whose crimes ranged from check
writing to murder, men who's sentences
ranged from five years to life. They sat in
a room where there were no guns, no
guards, and no cameras...and it can even
be said that these two young ladies were
receiving more protection than they
might find in their own homes: that
protection is called RESPECT - Respect
from those prisoners within that room,
for the appreciation of the lecture. Made
possible because of the trust the prison
staff and officials place upon these men
each week to govern themselves with
respect for any person that comes to offer
assistance and teach these mini-session
courses of law. For a period of two solid
hours Sandy Richards lectured about
Legislative bills and laws - how bills are
developed, drawn up, lobbied, presented
in sub-committees and acted upon.
The inter action between the ladies and
gentlemen was handled with such intelli
gence that much was learned by every
listening ear.
The words...DEDICA
TION and SANDY RICHARDS...were
spelled out with the same meaning
during the round-circle discussion, be
cause what she was contributing to these
individuals was all on a voluntary basis.
Not one cent would she be paid...she even
used her own money to finance her
journey. Even at the end of the session
Representative Richards didn't feel that
she had covered her lecture thoroughly
enough and volunteered to return the
following week.
What can the Correction's Division
say? What can the officials of the Oregon
State Penitentiary say? What can the
people and citizens of Oregon say? And
what can the prisoners of this prison say?
Except...THANK YOU, SANDY RI
CHARDS and we hope there are more
individuals like you in our State's elective
offices who are willing to work among
other human beings from the inside-out,
instead of judging them from the outside-
in.
ment to become the first woman given
the judgeship on the Court of Appeals. It
is quite apparent...when the Oregon
State Legislature and Senate made their
ratification of this woman's appointment
for this high State position they would
not dream they might actually find her in
the midst of thirty convicted prisoners
inside the walls of O.S.P. Or explaining
criminal laws and court procedures which
govern this State with the Attorney
General's Assistant Scott McAllister.
What did 30 prisoners learn from this
woman? Simply that she cared for them
as human beings...with or without an
Honorable title.
Cared about their
needs...their rights...and the knowledge
to grasp the laws and duties she was
sworn into office to up hold. She cared
about these individuals as she had cared
about those students in her classroom
years before...as she cared about her
clients in the courtroom, or even as she
cared about her colleagues in the House
and Senate.
At least that was the way this O.S.P.
Corres,M»ndent of the “Behind the Walls”
column witnessed such an historical
event on the night of January 16, 1978.
The sad part is that this woman should
have had the title of Governor or even
President, then not only a classroom full
of prisoners could enjoy her honesty,
warmth, and sincere concern for people
no matter who they may be or what title
they may be forced to carry...but then
again maybe these rare qualities can only
be found in Her Honor Judge Betty
Roberts as she administers her services
to the people of Oregon...as a WOMAN.
JUDGE BETTY ROBERTS
How does a man keep a good woman in
her place?
Since the beginning of time many men
have fallen in defeat trying to accomplish
this impossible task. Only to recognize
their valuable abilities at finding the
answers to many questions asked.
At last the State of Oregon finally
conceded that a woman can defend
herself and even excel mentally beyond
and above the call of duty in decision
making processes by merely caring
about our fellowman.
There was a community college in the
State of Oregon who knew such a
woman...as their political science instruc
tor. The same woman many judges,
counselors and juries in Multnomah
County and the City of Portland respect
as an Attorney of Law. The people in her
community have, for twelve solid years,
demanded she go to Salem as their voice
in the House of Representatives and the
Senate. The same woman who served on
or headed such committees as the Judi
ciary, Ways and Means, Aging and
Minority Affairs; where budgets and
reasonings become the main avenues to
what progress this State claims in this
day and age.
Anyone would think when a man or a
woman reaches this plateau that they
would have fulfilled obligations to coun
try, state, community, and to the people
they serve...but NO!...this same woman is
not about to put on an apron and make
her kitchen her office and ignore the
needs of the people...neither is this
woman about to turn down the gavel that
administers law and justice for a house
coat and dust-mop. Not while the State of
Oregon Court of Appeals needs her
loyalty, devotion, and intelligence to
make decisions which govern people's
lives and security.
This woman answered Governor Bob
Straub's wishes by accepting an appoint-
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Office, Congress' independent audit
agency.
Effective government action to reverse
We found in Illinois, for example, a
the continuing trend toward two separate
screening rate less than two percent.
and unequal societies in the United
Last year, of the thirteen million children
States remains critical.
eligible nation-wide for comprehensive
Many government programs to serve
care under this program only 1.4 million
minorities and the poor are on the federal
were served.
law books. How well are the various
To improve this situation I am encour
federal agencies implementing these pro
aged by a proposal to Congress from
grams? Are the agencies doing what the
President Carter for a new Child Health
programs are intended to do?
Assessment Program to revise substan
In addition to passing laws. Congress is
tially the existing EPSDT program. This
also charged with overseeing their imple
will provide much higher Financial incen
mentation. This oversight or watchdog
tives for the states to move out and
responsibility, I am sorry to report, is too
identify the poorest children, have them
often overlooked. I feel strongly that
examined, and have them treated.
none of these is effective until it is
Homeowners Assistance Program.
actually serving the people.
Another example of effective Congres
On a number of occasions my oversight
sional oversight work is with the Section
efforts have revealed serious inadequa
518(b) program of the federal Home
cies in federal programs, and these
owners Assistance Program. The need
findings have often resulted in agencies
for adequate and safe housing in our
changing their practices.
cities is pressing.
Let me cite two examples, one in the
Many of my constituents wrote to me
field of children's health and one in
detailing difficulties they were having
federal assistance to low-income home-
with HUD, so I started an investigation.
owners.
In this program many low-income home
EPSDT. There is a federal program
buyers relied on government appraisals
which is intended to assure that low-in
to uncover structural problems when
come children receive regular, high qual
they bought their homes.
ity medical examinations, preventive
However, in the appraisals such dan
care, and necessary treatment. It is called
gerous problems as worn-out roofs, defec
the Early and Periodic Screening, Diag
tive heating systems, and rotten porches
nosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program.
and steps were often overlooked. The
After Congress passed the EPSDT
homeowner claims resulting from these
legislation in 1967, it took the Depart
conditions were badly mishandled by
ment of Health, Education, and Welfare
HUD.
until 1972 to issue the EPSDT operating
As a result of my investigations with
regulations and longer still to get started.
the help of the Comptroller General of the
Furthermore, the program has not work
United States, the Department of Hous
ed as intended.
ing and Urban Development agreed this
It is painfully clear that no segment of
year to reconsider thousands of unpaid
our population is more in need of regular
and underpaid by homeowners.
and complete medical examinations than
Federal Urban Ombudsman.
This
the children of poor families. Therefore, I
December I met privately with President
investigated the failure of this program
Carter at the White House. Our discus
with the help of the General Accounting
sion ranged over a wide array of issues
affecting my partly depressed, urban
Uongressioral District on Chicago's
South Side in particular and urban
America in general.
I suggested to the President that a
comprehensive urban revitalization pro^
gram included appointing a Federal Ur
ban Ombudsman The responsibility of
the Federal Urban Ombudsman would be
to respond to complaints of citizens and
local government officials when a federal
program is not meeting the needs of
those whom it was designed to serve.
Congress appropriates each year bil
lions of dollars for federal programs to
revitalize our urban areas. Past program
management practices like those uncov
ered in my oversight work have cost
taxpayers millions of dollars. Such
agency mismanagement has contributed
to continued urban blight.
When the intent of Congress if fru
strated and negated by the ineptness of
local administrators, then it is we in the
Congress who must and will take action
to correct the situation.
You Can Hel;>. Individual citizens and
organizations can help in oversight by
informing your own legislators about the
performance of federal programs in your
community. This may influence their
view of the program and could lead to
action.
My own experience has convinced me
that effective legislation oversight is
necessary to insure that federal pro
grams do in fact operate as intended.
Congressmen can get action rolling to
bring services to the people, and we can
work to insure that in a given program
citizens get a fair shake.
We in the Congressional Black Caucus
work to be articulate and effective
advocates for minorities and the poor. We
are in a special position to make known to
the rest of the Congress and to the
Administration the impact and results of
federal programs designed to aid minori
ties and the poor.
State agencies battle weatherization fraud increase
SALEM - Governor Bob Straub and
Attorney General James Redden have
launched a Consumers' Weatherization
Protection Network to combat the poten
tial for consumer fraud in Oregon's
burgeoning insulation and home weath
erization industry.
The Network will comprise consumer
protection agencies in the Departments
of Justice and Commerce, local law
enforcement agencies and the newly-or
ganized Oregon Weatherization Contrac
tors and Manufacturers Association.
Rising costs of electricity, heating oil
and natural gas and heavy emphasis on
energy conservation, coupled with Ore
gon’s new weatherization incentives for
homeowners (tax credits and refunds and
low interest loans) are “likely to attract
unscrupulous operators who are neither
licensed nor bonded and who may know
next-to-nothing about insulation and
weatherization or criteria for tax incen
tives." said Governor Straub.
The Portland Better Business Bureau
has noted a “significant increase in the
number of complaints about shoddy insu
lation work and weatherization paid for
but not done," according to Bernard
Muller, BBB Director.
Redden said a substandard insulation
job “means the customer may get his
pocket picked twice. First, he's paying
for work that doesn't meet state building
codes. And second, because the work
does not meet code, he won't get a tax
credit.”
When state building codes apply, wea
therization measures must meet those
codes. Some weatherization items quali
fy for a tax credit or refund but are not
required by standards or codes. Before
buying, consumers should consult the
Oregon Department of Revenue or a local
building codes office.
The Network's thrust will be to per
suade homeowners to be skeptical about
“pie in the sky" advertisements and
claims, particularly if those claims come
from contractors who are not registered
with and licensed by the State Builders
Board.
Second, the Network will help custom
ers check the reliability and performance
records of licensed contractors. Third,
the Network will assist homeowners in
filing complaints on fraud, misrepresen
tation or shoddy workmanship and ma
terials.
Governor Straub said he agreed with
Redden that the Justice Department’s
Consumer Protection Division should be
the Network's lead agency. Two other
consumer-oriented state agencies, the
Builders Board and the Consumer Ser
vices Division of the Department of
Commerce, will assist in the program.
Redden said the state is “particularly
concerned with protecting the interests
of elderly homeowners who often are
victimized by fast-talking, hard-sell
operators.
“In one instance, an elderly woman was
talked into signing a contract for $1,400
worth of insulation. Subsequent reviews
of the work indicated she should have
been charged about $400...of which $300
could have been refunded by the Depart
ment of Revenue under Senate Bill 4."
Persons seeking information on con
tractors’ registration (or lack of it) can
call the Builders Board, toll-free, at
1-800-452-9104 (in Salem, call 378-4621).
Administrator Caroline Wilkins, of Com
merce’s Consumer Services Division, can
be reached in Salem at 378-4320. In
Portland the agency's number is 229-
6479. Both agencies are situated in the
Labor and Industries Building, Salem
97310.
Assistant Attorney General Ross Lay-
bourn is head of the Justice Department's
Consumer Protection Office at 500 Pacific
Building, 520 S.W. Yamhill, Portland,
97204. The telephone number is 229-
5548. A branch office in Medford is
situated at 107 East Main, Suite 7. The
Medford telephone number is 776-6185.
The Portland Better Business Bureau
may be reached by calling 226-3981.
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Job program seeks youth
Applications will be accepted through
March 15th for about 1,000 jobs with the
Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) in Ore
gon this summer.
The continuing youth program is
operated by the individual states, U.S.
Department of the Interior, and the U.S.
Forest Service. Entering its eighth year,
the YCC is designed to provide employ
ment during the summer for persons at
least fifteen and not yet nineteen years of
age.
There is no restriction in the YCC in
regard to race or economic background
but applicants must have an interest in
the natural environment. Selection for
employment will be by statewide random
drawing.
Former enrollees are not
eligible for youth leader positions. Form
er YCC participants interested in a
Former YCC participants interested in a
youth leader position should apply at a
National Forest headquarters or a De
partment of Interior office.
Participants in the YCC, a work learn
program, are introduced to environmen
tai problems, contribute to their solu
tions, and work with the management
and development of public lands.
In past years, the YCC has completed
projects involving stream improvement,
tree thinnning, range fencing, trail clear
ing, fish and wildlife habitat improve
ment, wildlife studies, and construction of
recreation facilities, among others.
Young men and women work side by
side beginning about the last week in
June and continuing about eight weeks.
Persons interested in the program may
obtain more information and applications
from high school counselors, state em
ployment offices, and other youth service
organizations. In addition, persons may
obtain information and applications from
the Governor's Commission on Youth,
National Forest offices, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service,
Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land
Management, and National Park Service
offices.
Applications should be mailed to the
Governor's Commission on Youth, 325
13th Street., N.E., Salem, Oregon 97310,
on or before March 15, 1978.
GED test
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Testing for high school equivalency for
those adults who have not graduated
from high school has been added at the
Portland Community College Cascade
Center, 705 N. Killingsworth,
Appointments to take the GED (Gen
eral Educational Development) tests
should be made through the counseling
department at Cascade.
To qualify for the certificate a person
must be eighteen, a resident of the state
and able to score at least forty on each of
the five GED tests. The Oregon Board of
Education awards a certificate of equiva
lency to those who successfully complete
the examinations.
The tests are given in the areas of
expression, readings in social studies,
readings in natural sciences, interpreta
tion of literary materials and mathema
tics.
Those wanting help in preparation for
the GED tests may use PCC classes and
tutoring centers. Arrangements for this
should be made through Adult Basic
Education.
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