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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1978)
Ui»9 Frances Schoan- .owapaper U n iv a rs ity of Oregon L ib rary cwgcne, Oregon 97403 Hooks asks press responsibility PORTLAND V ______ OBSERVER V o lu m e 8 N o . 39 T h u rs d a y . S e p te m b e r 2 8 .1 9 7 8 10c par co p y Horticulturist explains forest careers It was described as “ an un- forgetable experience” by many of the guests - that Saturday “ Ecology and Career E x c u rs io n " by Greyhound bus to the beautiful site o f the W ind River Young A d u lt Conservation Corp (YAAC ). A number o f urban youth and their parents were made aware o f the importance o f the land and forests and their technology in respect to career and economic planning. The h ighligh t o f the excursion was a complete tour o f the nursery facility conducted by Oscar Hall, a career Forest Service employee. Oscar Hall is the Black, Tuskegee Institute-trained ho rticu ltu rist fo r the Wind River Tree Nursery, G if ford Pinchot National Forest, United States Forest Service. The nursery is located ju s t n orth o f Carson, W ashington, an hour and twenty m inute drive up the C olum bia Gorge. H a ll was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, attended high school in Lilbourn, Missouri, and received his B.S. in biology from Tuskegee In stitute in 1964. His special areas of research for his Masters o f Science degree fro m the same school in cluded genetics and herbacides. The Hall family includes his wife Arnet ts, a son Chris, 10, and a daughter Anita, 7. From 1968 to 1976, Hall worked as Research Plan Physiologist for the U.S. Forest Service in Louisiana. In May, 1976, he came to the Pacific Northwest to accept the position o f horticulturist for the nationally im portant Wind River Nursery, which produces and ships millions o f small trees each year. As supervisor o f h o rtic u ltu ra l operations o f the huge nursery and arboretum. Hall brings to bear his critical expertise at every point in the process o f producing the healthiest and highest-yielding trees possible for the nation’ s forests. This highly scientific procedure begins with cone drying and seed preparation (extrac tio n • testing • storage - stratification). In the production of the trees he supervises soil sampling, seedbed preparation, sowing, etc. and such support functions as frost p ro te ctio n , shade, pest c o n tro l, irrigation, weed control, cultivation and fertilization. Other operations include lifting and pulling the trees, grading and storing, packing and shipping. Oscar Hall. Forest Service horticulturist, examines seedling at W ind River Tree Nursery. Hall continually conducts research and develops new techniques for im proving the production o f seed'ing trees so necessary to the economic viability o f the timber industry. The visitors were equally im pressed by Hall's continuous and in formative dialogue as he conducted them from one sophisticated oper ation to the next and by his com petent, professional manner and his encyclopedic knowledge o f his discipline. It was an impressive per form ance by this talented young man. After the noon meal was served, there was a briefing on the objectives o f the Young A dult Conservation Corp in terms o f the acquisition of the skills, discipline and work habits which make fo r successful achievement. The afternoon was spent visiting the living quarters and recreational fa c ilitie s o f the enrollees. A ll were impressed with the structure. The learning/work ac tivities included seed/cone gathering, trail constuction, campground main tenance, etc. with opportunities to become timber cruisers and similar forest technicians. On the return trip to Portland the bus was filled with conversation on the eye-opening introduction to new career and economic vistas, which was aided in no small part by the ef forts o f Oscar Hall. A great debt o f gratitude was also expressed for two Black foresters on the trip, Dewey Tate and Brian Woods, and to Sally Marquis o f the Corp. The trip was sponsored by the Human Resources Department o f the Forest Service. The project was designed by M cK inley Burt Associates, Human Resource con tractor to public agencies and in dustry. Agriculture problems draw farmers, government Eugene Jackson, Mollala rancher and businessman, gave a special presentation at the Clackamas County Extension A dvisory Board meet ing Thursday evening. His presen tation highlighted the events at the Regional Small Farms Conference held recently in LaGrande. Jackson was one o f eight delegates to represent Oregon at the Regional Small Farms Conference. O ther states p a rticipating were Alaska, Idaho, M ontana, N orth Dakota, South D akota, W ashington and Wyoming. Also in attendance at teh Conference were the directors o f the co-sponsoring agencies, Secretary Bob Bergland of the U.S. Depart ment o f Agriculture, and Gracida Olivarez o f the Community Services A d m in istra tio n . Congressman A l Ulman also spoke to the delegates. The purpose o f the Conference was to provide a forum for small farmers to discuss spici fic problems and the role of small farmers in the agriculture industry. Sim ilar con ferences w ill be held throughout the United States. Bergland and Olivarez plan to use the in fo rm a tio n and recommendations from the C on ference to determ ine what ad m in istra tive changes need to be made. This information will also serve as a basis fo r new legislation and w ill point out the areas where the two agencies need to work with other federal agencies to better define an administration policy for small farm ers. Five major topics were discussed at the Conference: 1) Access to capital and credit; 2) production, management and marketing; 3) sour ces o f additional income; 4) farm family living; 5) land and water use. First, delegates presented problems, questions and concerns in these areas; then, they followed up by m aking recom m endations fo r solving or correcting these problems. According to Jackson, the Con ference was well organized and had selected excellent workshop leaders. Many o f these leaders were Oregon State Extension Service agents. " I really think we’re going to see some positive results fro m this C on ference,” Jackson said. "T he federal people seemed sincere in their efforts to work with us, and the participants were able to express their concerns very effectively. But what was really impressive were the sound, practical recom m endations w hich the delegates were able to agree upon and subm it to the federal ad ministrators.” Jackson had d istrib u te d ques tionnaires to many farm ers in Clackamas, Washington and Marion counties, including members of the Extension Advisory Board, asking them to list their questions or con cerns under the five m ajor topic areas. Jackson and his family live on a cattle ranch in the Molalla foothills above Marquant. He is a member of the Clackamas County Extension A dvisory Board and the Oregon State Farmers’ Union. Calling the press the “ touchstone o f democracy, progress and enlightenment” Benjamin Hooks, executive director o f the NAACP, called on the delegates to the Associated Press Editors meeting in Portland to join in the struggle for justice and equity through unbiased reporting and interpretation o f the aspirations o f minority people. “ There has been something both fascinating and disillusioning about the relationship between the Blacks and the majority press,” he said. "Y o u know too well the many complaints about gross insensitivity on the part o f the white press toward news and responsible leadership in the Black com m unity.” He cited feelings on the part o f Blacks in and out o f power that the white press is being at least insensitive or at worst irresponsible in its coverage o f in cidents in the minority community. “ Behind all these lurks the fact that the nation’ s m ajority press has by and large failed to include minorities in reporting and in fo rm in g the American public about all the aspects o f the domestic, national and in ternationa l scene. T his is the required task i f there is to be fair and accurate reporting o f the news if the Am erican people are to make in te llig e n t decisions about their destiny and i f democratic institutions are going to respond to the claims for justice and equity o f the dispossessed and downtrodden.” Hooks said the situation that now faces m inorities in pu b lic and political affairs is as critical, if not more so, than a decade ago. Hun dreds o f thousands o f Black youth have never had a job or a meaningful work experience. "Thousands are leaving school as fu n ctio n a l illite ra te s, some possessing high school diplomas. Others are being pushed or knocked out because o f a wide range of d iscip lin a ry, d iscrim in a to ry and discouraging practices or because o f general disdain by their teachers.” "A n d i f any o f you bother to read the press releases and the quotes that eminate from the N AACP and other groups you possibly know the short comings and failures o f various programs by heart — programs that wreak havoc on people’s lives, that do in justice and cause m in o rity people grief and pain.” Calling current efforts to eliminate busing and school desegregation ultra sophisticated attempts to make school segregation acceptable, he said they constitute no less than " a wild and intemperate attack on the ju d ic ia l system and its du ty to protect the rights o f minorities from the abuses and excesses o f the m ajority.” R eferring to the 1968 Kerner report w hich found the co u n try headed fo r " tw o societies - one Black and one white — separate and unequal” , Hooks assessed the prediction as becoming a reality in 1978. " In 1968 the nation stood at the crossroads o f history. It could have made a giant step forw ard but it chose to step backward. It entered in a backlash era o f law and order.” H ooks said th a t Black people recognize that if it had not been for the press, the nation’ s conscience might not have been sensitized as early as it was. On the one hand the press has been an able advocate, yet much more could have been accom plished with more support from the white press. Denouncing press censorship and recent anti-press Supreme C ourt decisions, Hooks supported the right o f a free press. But he reminded the editors that the American public is dependent on the press fo r reporting and interpreting the news. He also admonished that in the face o f in creasing disillusionm ent o f Black youth, peace cannot be maintained through police power. “ Unless we make the bounties and privileges and the beauties and the greatness o f democracy and our system available to every citizen the time w ill come that they w ill not be available to any citizen.” Hooks called on the white press to • include minorities in staffing. Two- thirds o f the daily newspapers em ploy no m inority journalists. Only eleven Blacks hold positions higher than assistant city editor. He asked the press to get its house in order for it cannot call on the public to do what it is not willing to do itself. He denounced the use o f code words like "fo rc e d busing” , “ forced man d atory busing” and “ reverse discrimination” . “ Surely newspaper editors must know what these em otionally charged words do to People Against 6 and 11 claim that both measures are fake tax relief. If either passes the result will be cuts in services and jobs. Women and m inorities w ill be the hardest hit because they are the most recently hired and the most affected by social services. Measure 6 and 11 w ill have the same effects. Measure 6 is a quick “ meat ax” approach while Measure 11 is a slower approach to the same end Both measures should be voted against. Neither is genuine tax relief. Genuine tax relief would require an end to tax loopholes and govern ment subsidies to big business. A Public Forum to discuss the basics about Ballot Measures 6 and 11 will occur on Thursday, October 12th at 7:30 p.m. at Friendly House Theater, N.W. 26th and Savier. The discussion w ill focus on the proposed amendments to the Oregon State C o n s titu tio n which w ould lim it property taxes. Panel speakers will share in fo rm a tio n regarding the present M ultnom ah C ounty tax structure; analyze Measures 6 and 11 as to what each implies and how they d iffe r; nnd explain how each measure would effect taxpayers if passed. He called on the press to recognize that this nation has been unfair, that it has enslaved and brutalized and humiliated and tried to take away the m anhood and w om anhood o f a whole group o f citizens, and to face the fu tu re understanding that changes have to be made. “ You, as the interpreter o f events, whether you like it or not, you can not retreat. You cannot equivocate; you cannot quibble. You have to either accept the responsibility or abdicate." He said that central to the fu tu re o f the nation is a “ free, upright, responsible” press. Seniors meet The Advisory Committee o f the Near Northeast Senior A dult Service Center w ill meet Friday, September 29th at 7:30 p.m . at the A lb in a Human Resource Center, 5022 North Vancouver Avenue. The purpose o f the meeting is to organize a group o f interested com m unity people to determine the needs and resources o f senior citizens in this area. The Ad visory Committee is asking represen tatives from com m unity organiza tions to participate in this project. Brown directs minority recruitment program Mrs. Raella Booton Brown has been named Project Director o f the HEW Special Projects Grant entitled “ Recruitment o f M inority Students fo r Careers in N ursing” by the University o f Oregon Health Scien ces Center, School o f Nursing. Ms. Brow n has practiced her profession and has taught nursing in several states and served one year as visiting associate professor at the National Taiwan University School o f Nursing. This latter experience assisted in synthesizing some o f her personal and professional beliefs regarding cultural differences and the need for the professional nurse to assume responsibility in assuring that patients’ needs are met in spite o f diversity in culture. D ynam ic, energetic and soft spoken, Ms. Brow n pursued a bachelors degree in nursing from Tuskegee Institute in 1954, followed by a masters degree in nursing education from Boston University in 1961. When she finished her generic nur- Meetings discuss measure 6,11 An educational on the negative ef fects o f Ballot Measure 6 and 11 will be held Saturday, October 7th, at 2:00 p.m. in the Centenary W ilbur Church, 215 S.E. 9th Street, Port land. The educational is sponsored by People Against 6 and 11. B E N JA M IN HOOKS people who must read them over and over and over again. I therefore call on the press in addition to fighting to remain free, also to maintain respon sibility.” Raella Booten Brown is director of University of Oregon Health Sciences Center minority nursing program sing program she had no interest in teaching as her first interest was in direct patient care. She had been in terested in psychiatric nursing but by her senior year had decided that “ you cannot divide a patient into two parts” a discovery that led her into the relationship o f social scien ces to health and illness. It was during the early sixties, as assistant professor at Syracuse University, that Ms. Brown became vocal as an advocate fo r recruiting m inority nurses into baccalaureate nursing program s. D u rin g this period she was active in community affairs that focused on improving the quality o f life for all the residents o f Syracuse. She was an active member o f the NAACP, a member o f the In ter-racial Steering C om m ittee, a member o f the National Council o f Black Women, and a charter mem ber o f the U rban League o f Syracuse. D uring a six year tenure in C olorado, as C hairm an o f the Department o f Health Occupations, Ms. Brown was actively involved in the Western Interstate Council on Higher Education in Nursing project “ Faculty D evelopm ent to Meet M inority Group Needs” . Under her administrative leadership the El Paso C o m m u n ity C ollege D iv is io n o f N ursing in C o lo ra d o Springs received re co g n itio n fo r the developm ent o f an In s tru c tio n a l Systems Program to facilitate the retention o f m inority students in the associate degree program. Another innovation in the State o f Colorado involved an experimental approach with the concept o f “ lateral trans fe r” as the core fo r providing a dem onstratio n fo r an open curriculum. It is her belief that im plementation o f the “ lateral trans fer concept” salvaged many stu dents who otherwise would not have succeeded. Ms. Brown also designed and im plem ented the fir s t nine- m onth academic year p ra c tic a l nursing program in the United States and was successful in seeing this program accepted by fo rty-th re e states. »
