F r o m
by Larry Baber.
O.S.P. Correa,«adeat
One year ago the "Behind The Wal!"
column was horn within this prison. After
spending an entire night on the first
article, this O.S.P. Correspondent never
dreamed it would (hypothetically speak
ingi slip between the bars, sneak by a half
dozen electronic camera eyes, tip-toe
beneath sleepeyed guards in gun towers,
scale a thirty foot concrete wall, evade
voltage alarm trip-wires strung on top of
the wall and slide down the other side,
only to go running down the road
shouting and screaming in a loud voice
"H E L L O W O R LD . H E R E I AM ."
Normally, most newspaper readers
who heard such a scream or "words" in
print from those incarcerated behind the
walls would say. "Oh well! Here we go
again, just some more rhetoric and
criticism mess", and would swiftly turn
the page. But those who read our first
column responded with such a tremen
dous effect by letters and cards, that the
great escape of "Behind the Wall" column
from the cells to the general public was
not only successful, but also self reward
ing.
Over the past twelve months, hun
dreds of voices have come forth through
poems and stories of prison experiences.
"Behind the W all" has served the
Oregon public as a vast information
source so that you may know what your
U x dollars are buying in such fields as
corrections, penal institutions and the
criminal justice system.
Breaking
through that silent wall that has been still
for so many years are the voices of
prisoners as they try to understand and
experience their sentences and convic
tions; there have been articles (pro and
con), approval and contradictions.
The main fact is 'freedom of the press'
and the 'right to express ones views
through such means without retaliation;
mail abuse or censorship. This is a right
not granted to many prison correspon
dents within penal institutions. Any
■risoner within the walls of O.S.P. has
the right to w rite and present to this
Correspondent his or her articles and
they can then be published in "Behind the
W all" column of the Portland Observer.
Many readers of "Behind the Wall"
have viewed such a column as a revolu
tionary change in the prison system, but
to this Correspondent, the main purpose
or motive for its development remains
the same as 12 months ago - to open a
constructive avenue for communication.
b e h in d
th e
Phil I-an* »39520
Aoot. Correa,wndont
w
Mandatory unit pricing takes effect
a ll
JtiUii. D. Snowden »38013,
Poetry Editor
City studies
neighborhood
livability
Residents of three of Portland's neigh
borhoods will have a chance to let City
Hall know how they feel about City
services. Interviewers will be canvassing
Sabin, Boise and Maplewood as part of a
study of Portland's neighborhoods. The
Neighborhood Livability Project, re
0 . 8 .P. Correr,undsnt Larry Baker and Richard Rlnebart, ;>botogra;ther aad ¡wot.
as well as providing a way for people to
meet people. Also it is to build a bridge
over these walls so the general public
may have a closer look at those individ
uals who have become society's ‘human
problem' - the convicted and incarcerat
ed prisoner. I t has been stated many
times... “No one can speak more clearly
about a problem than the one who has
actually experienced it."
Throughout the first successful year of
"Behind the Wall," many of the inmates
have developed new friendships through
articles they have submitted and now
receive letters from Portland Observer
readers. W e have always encouraged the
public to w rite directly to the inmates
who have w ritten the articles. Names
and prison numbers are printed along
with each article and we all reside at the
same address: 2605 State Street, Salem,
Oregon 97310.
“Behind the W all" has not only re
ceived credibility with the 1500 inmates
inside these walls, but also with the staff
and administration, for they too have
submitted articles and statements for
printing.
The "Behind the W all” inmate volun
teer staff consists of Billy W hitm ire, Phil
Lane and Julius Snowden - who have
contributed endless assistance to"yours
truly" - in order that this column present
a positive picture each week. The staff
has had the opportunity to present
prisoners’ articles to other newspapers
within the state and their editors have
met our requests with open arms.
Tim e and time again the questions
have been asked, "W hat direction is the
column going? W hat is its goals?” This
O.S.P. Correspondent must answer such
questions w ith, "As long as the column
generates 'better understanding, reality,
and information' among its readers, then
its purpose is worthwhile, because, that's
what the Portland Observer is afl about."
Let Africans choose
(Continued from Page 1 Column 6)
For once, we would like to do our own
thinking. After all. isn't it true that "the
foot knows best where the shoe pinches?”
Christopher Bean (Oregonian 2-3-78) is a
South African white, an international
lawyer, and he lives in L .A . How that
qualifies him to tell me what's best for me
is beyond my comprehension. He accuses
President Carter, his aides and the
American public of being ignorant of
South African realities then goes on to
really mislead them all.
How anybody who claims to be a friend
of the Africans and a foe of apartheid can
defend the Bantustans is utterly incred
ible. Does he seriously believe that all we
want to do is escape apartheid by going
off to some barren, desolate, economically
disastrous back of beyond? No, Bwana!
That is not what we are fighting for. For
the umpteenth time, we are fighting for
our fair share of the pie.
Every time some white South African
“liberal" writes about Africa the idea of
tribes never fails to crop up. Bora and
raised in that part of the world where I
also spent the first eighteen years of my
life, the only time I ran into Xhosas,
Zulus. Shonas. Ndebeles et al was in the
media -- when I read what some “expert"
on Africans had to say. Among the people
concerned, such “differences" don't exist.
W hy do these “experts" create these
tribes? Because it substantiates their
arguments about the "disunity” among
Africans.
Transkei got it's "independence" in
1976 but where is she now?
She is
nothing but a worthless labor reservoir,
so poor in fact, that the people are forced
to go “back" to South Africa to work,
with the added handicap that now they
are "foreigners" in their own land. The
country belongs to all the people: Black,
white. Indian, etc. and nobody but no
body has the right to split it up and
banish some of the citizens off to the
"homelands."
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Supermarket
shoppers throughout
Oregon will find valuable new informa
tion to judge their purchases of most food
and grocery commodities March 1st when
mandatory unit price labeling takes ef
feet statewide.
The shift - from voluntary unit-price
systems in some outlets to mandatory
labeling in most stores grossing S I.5
million or more a year - has been in the
planning stages for months, said Leonard
Kunzman, director of the Oregon State
Department of Agriculture. The agency
will administer the unit-price require-
N. Killingsworth
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Wre would be crazy to accept a system
that allocates only thirteen percent of the
land to 87 percent of the population while
leaving the whites, who only make up
thirteen percent of the total population,
the other 87 percent which also happens
to contain all of the gold, diamonds, iron
and all those other minerals as well as all
the most valuable farmlands. A ll these
riches belong to us too and until they are
equally shared among us all, there w ill be
no peace in Azania.
W e are fighting a system that makes us
non persons in our country of birth. W e
will never give up our birthright. W e will
continue to fight, to the last man if
necessary.
Coming to American investments,
Bean makes the absurdly myopic sugges
tion that American corporations should
use their influence to effect changes
within the system. For the last tim e, we
are not fighting for mere changes within
the system. The whole system has got to
go.
W ithdraw ing those investments
would have a sizeable impact on the
economy. Rigorously applied, this is the
kind of pressure that can force the
electorate to choose a more responsible
leadership.
Isn't it rather funny that Bean seems
more concerned about Blacks losing their
jobs than the Africans themselves. W ith
drawing those investments would be a
big blow to the apartheid regime and a
big boost to the forces fighting for
freedom, equality and justice.
quested by Commissioner Jordan, is
being conducted by the Office of M an
agement Services and is developing a
system to measure the effect of City
services on the livability of neighbor
hoods. The design of the system is now
nearly complete and the three neighbor
hoods have been chosen for a pilot study
which will help determine how effective
the process is in measuring livability.
Each of the neighborhoods studies will
be the subject of a report on findings (a
“Neighborhood Profile”) before the pro
ject is completed in June. Each Profile
will include information from City bu
reaus, the results of a block-by-block field
inspection and the public opinion survey
concerning City services as well as census
data. The survey, being conducted by
Oregon Attitudes, Inc., was recently
funded by a unanimous City Council vote
and is an important component of the
study because it will provide information
about how citizens feel about the services
they receive.
Dozens of environmental conditions are
being studied, such as housing conditions,
abandoned autos, public safety, loose
dogs and the condition of neighborhood
streets and sidewalks.
Data will be
compiled for each condition and put
together in readable form in the Neigh
borhood Profiles. I f the pilot study shows
that the system is workable and finan
cially feasible. Profiles for all of Port
land's neighborhoods could be developed,
offering citizens and bureaucrats detailed
information concerning service delivery,
providing early indications of problem
spots and a system to track neighborhood
change.
Wants friends
To the Editor:
I am presently incarcerated in an Ohio
prison, I've been incarcerated over seven
years and have lost all contact with
family and friends. I would like to have a
friend. Therefore I'm turning to you in
hopes that you will make my name and
address available to your readers.
I am 25 years old, have blond hair and
blue eyes. I would like to correspond
with anyone who would like to form a
friendship through correspondence; race,
age or sex so unimportant. I'm lonely and
need a friend.
In closing I thank you for your time and
help.
Sincerely,
Jim Nance »141-844
P .0 . Box 45699
IAjcaiville, Ohio 45699
will show which size is the real value,"
she said.
"Consumers still must consider their
own quality requirements and other
factors to determine the package that
best meets their own needs." she added.
The Departm ent’s consumer office is in
charge of consumer information and
education in the unit-price picture.
Actual administration of the statute
will be the role of the Weights and
Measures Division.
That division’s administrator, Ken Si-
mila, and Ms. Baker recently completed a
series of statewide meetings with retail
ers and consumer representatives to set
the system in motion and to explain the
department's philosophy of administering
the statute.
Director Kunzman has emphasized the
Department's philosophy is one of seek
ing voluntary compliance.
‘T h e changes brought about by the law
are significant to Oregon’s food and
grocery industry - just as important as
they are to the consumers - and by
avoiding actual hardships and potential
higher costs, we believe we are serving
all individuals and entities better by
making the transition gradually.” he said.
“W e will certainly enforce willful and
deliberate violations, but we don't antici
pate many problems of this sort with the
average Oregon food retailer."
Kunzman explained that some ele
ments in the statute opened up broad
interpretations and time will be required
before the entire unit price transition
could be considered complete.
"One example is the section of the law
which deals with the source of the food
items," he said. ‘T h e bill exempts unit
price requirements on food commodities
which come from a warehouse where
there is no computer-label capability.”
That means that in some stores, some
items will not bear the unit price because
there was no ability to produce computer
ized labels.
“But we already are seeing many
stores which have chosen to unit price
almost everything, whether the law
specifies it or not. Managers have told us
that it’s easier for them to do it uniform
ly, rather than split hairs and try to keep
track of exempted items.
That is
encouraging,” Kunzman said.
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ments set forth in House Bill 2242, passed
in the 1977 session of the Oregon Legisla
ture.
Essentially, the system requires that
most packaged food and grocery pro
ducts be priced in two ways - »ith the
conventional total package price and a
unit price showing what the item costs
according to a specified unit of measure
ment.
"W hat the change really means is that
the pricing system which has been
traditional at the meat and produce
departments will extend to the rest of the
store," said Linda Baker, the depart
ment's consumer advisor.
The five basic units of measurement
which will be in effect for "per-unit"
comparison between different sizes and
brands will be pounds, pints, feet, square
yards and 100 units (in categories where
the sale is made to a specific count of
items).
Each wholesaler or retailer can develop
individual formats for displaying unit
prices.
The legislation, however, re
quires the displays to be legible and
easily understood.
Many shelf labels
already prepared by the industry show
the unit price - or "cost per measure” - in
the top left corner of the shelf label, close
to the customary total-item price.
"The advantage to consumers in unit
pricing lies in the providing of more
specific value-comparison information to
judge a purchase, and every consumer
really should have that right to informa
tion,” said Ms. Baker.
“I t ’s not the absolute, foolproof yard
stick for the consumer, however. The
best way to use unit pricing is to apply
the price to identical or similar items,
particularly if they appear in varying
brands, sizes and prices. I t also helps the
careful consumer to determine prices of
similar or identical items from store-to-
store," she explained.
For example, many consumer goods
come in packages of varying sizes, with
the smaller container often more expen
sive per unit than the larger one.
“Every consumer. I ’m sure, has found
it a complex mathematical problem when
trying to decide which size is the best
value.
Checking the unit prices, for
example, on 9 ‘/»-ounce, 14-ounce, 22
ounce and 35-ounce boxes of corn flakes
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