Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1978)
I I I A 29 day reign PORTLAND Beaumont principal transferred OBSERI/ER Volum e U No. 40 Thursday, October 5 .197* 10c per copy Community residents meet with Governor Bob Straub and Mayor Neil Goldschmidt to discuss plans for proposed Two Sections sta te -fu n d e d housing fo r th e eld e rly . T h e site is a t N.E. Roselawn off Union Avenue. (Rsoto: Al Williams) AVREC sponsors 'Public Forum on Ballot Issues’ The Albina Voter Registration and Education Committee w ill sponsor a "Public Forum on Ballot lsssues" as a voter education service fo r the November 7, 1978 General Election. The forum w ill be held at the King Neighborhood F a cility cafeteria, 4815 N.E. 7th Avenue, Tuesday, Oc tober 10th, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. The purpose of the fQruro is: to provide intoim ation to the residents o f Northeast Portland on the pros and cons o f the 1978 ballot measures; and to allow AVREC to develop a position in respect to the ballot measures as they relate to the needs and interests o f Northeast Port land. The Forum will be conducted in a panel form at which presents both sides o f selected measures, and is followed by discussion and comment from the audience. A t the conclusion o f the forum , AVREC members will be polled on their positions on each o f the various ballot measures. The Albina Voter Registration and Education Com m ittee offers this Forum aid to Northeast residents in defining the importance and impact o f various b a llo t measures the community and the quality o f life within it. A ll residents o f Northeast P o rtla n d , and other interested citizens, are uged to attend and par ticipate. Please call A rt Barfield, A V kE C Education Committee, at 248-426C, for additional information. The Beaumont community is once again torn with turm oil and con fusion as it learned that the new Beaumont Elementary School prin cipal, Charles Kakvasil, w ill be transferred to Alameda Elementary School on October 13th. Alameda principal, Paul Smith, w ill move to Beaumont. A first year principal, Nakvasil was assigned to Beaumont this Sep tember. On September 11th, after a long controversy and much com m unity o p p ositio n, the School Board voted to make Beaumont a middle school for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Beaumont students in the lower grades w ill attend Alameda. Nakvasil explained that the tran sfer o f principals was to allow the new principals and staffs to begin planning for the change which will because he has, over many years, he did not know when he was assigned to Beaumont that his stay would be so short, but “ when prin cipals ar assigned, they never know for how long.” Saying he is pleased to be assigned to Alameda and agrees that the transfer was a good move, Nakvasil said he has enjoyed his work at Beaumont and has been successful because he has over m any years developed a relationship with the community and staff. Nakvasil does not know why he, as an inexperienced principal, was assigned to Beaumont - a school fraught with conflict. “ 1 suppose it was because of my roots -- because they had faith that I would be a good administrator. I am a discip linarian.” He considers Sm ith, whose previous assignments include M ult nomah and Ainsworth, a top prin cipal who w ill be an asset to Beaumont. Donald McElroy, Deputy Superin tendent, explained that when the School Board made the decision to change Beaumont to a m iddle school, Ray Steed and Carlos Taylor o f Area I I I brought to the A d- minisiraricu the p.r posal to shift the two principals. As a middle school, Beaumont would need an experien ced principal and Nakvasil is a “ rank Blacks feel discrimi nation, blame education system NORTHBROOK, IL L IN O IS — SEPTEMBER 27, 1978 — More than a decade has passed since Mar tin Luther King, Jr., said, “ 1 have a dream,” yet his vision goes largely u n fu lfille d . Racism and racial d iscrim in a tio n s till abound in America, according to a survey just released by the publishers o f “ Who’s Who Among Black Americans.” In the first poll ever conducted among the nation’s leading Blacks, a significant majority (69%) o f those surveyed think that a good number o f whites harbor racist feelings. Almost nine out of ten respondents feel that many whites say they don’t discriminate, but in subtle ways they do. O f the more than 13,000 Blacks listed in “ Who’ s W ho," some 2,000 participated in the survey. The respondents represent all fields o f endeavor from arts and entertain ment to athletics, from business to education and government. More than half earn upwards of $35,000 a year. Each has been selected for list- State Senator Vern C ook, Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator Mark Hatfield, has called for a halt to efforts to push Congress into a quick passage o f Senate Bill 3418 — the Pacific Northwest Elective Power Planning Conservation and Renewable Resources Act. The act, which would amend the Bonneville Power Act, would force BPA to sell electricity to private utility companies (i.e. Pacific Power and Light, Portland General Elec tric) at the same low rate at which it furnishes electricity to public utility districts (PUD). It would eliminate the “ preference clause," which gives PUD home and farm users preference over private utility companies and industry. It also would enable BPA to finance power plants for further utility companies. Cook recommends an end to ef forts to push the b ill through Congress this year and asked that fu ll public hearings be held thioughout the Northwest. A t a minimum there should be an exten sive study by Congress o f the regional ing in “ W ho's W ho” because o f significant achievement in his or her field. While 59% o f the survey group say they personally have experienced less discrimination as they have become more successful, the overall picture they paint is one o f ongoing discriminatory practices in all aspects o f American life. For example, an overwhelming majority (90%) indicate that Blacks do not have the same opportunity as whites to advance in m ajor cor porations and white-owned businesses. Some 85% say it is d if ficult for Blacks to start their own businesses because of discrimination in raising capital. Three-quarters o f the Blacks feel that discrim ination in hiring and promotion is a major cause of the depressed economy in the Black community. Still more (83%) blame the educational system for failing to prepare Blacks to compete. School integration is a top priority for 56% o f those polled and most (91% ) believe that segregated education is inherently unequal. Two-thirds o f the Blacks favor man datory busing programs to achieve racial balance. M ore than ten percent have children who have participated in busing programs and o f this group, the majority feel that contact with white children has been a positive experience, 67% em otionally and 70% educationally. Where problems exist with learn ing and discipline in the educational system, nine out o f ten respondents cite the fa m ily as the basis fo r trouble. A lm ost 70% a ttrib u te problems to school administrators who are not attuned to a com m unity’ s needs or feelings. Some 68% say teachers do not take enough disciplinary action and nearly two- thirds place the blame with poorly trained teachers. As for issues facing the country at large, almost all (91 %) are concerned about unemployment and more than half are worried about inflation. Fifty needs for energy, potential irrigation and the impact o f new power systems on the Columbia River fishery. “ The Bonneville Project Act o f 1937 harnessed the great Columbia River for the benefit o f the rural and domestic consumers o f the Pacific Northwest,” Cook said. ‘ ‘ For nearly fo rty years the historic anti-monopolistic principles o f this A c t have assured us the p o s s ib ility o f electric power distributed at cost i f we were willing to assume the responsibility o f form ing them, electing commissioners, and m aintaining customer-owned electric utilities, whether they be municipal utilities, rural electric co ops, or county-wide People’s U tility Districts. “ In 1968 we started a dramatic departure from this historic hydro electric system. This was the Hydro- Thermal Power Project o f the Bon neville Power Adm inistration, the Federal marketing agency for the electric power generated at Federal projects in this region. The goal of this program was to change the generating base of the electric power from a hydro-electric base to a 50-50 mix o f hydro power and thermal plants — coal and nuclear. “ After ten years of this program, what have we discovered about it? First, we have discovered that these therm al plants are not by any measurement cost effective. ‘ ‘ A ccording to the Assistant Secretary o f the new Federal Depart ment o f Energy, the boss o f the BPA Administrator, ‘ the Centralia,* Washington coal-fired plant went from $163 million in 1967 to $285 m illion upon completion in 1971. The Trojan Nuclear Plant in Rainier, Oregon jumped from an estimated $233 million to $554 million when completed in 1975. The three nuclear projects being b u ilt by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) escalated from their in itia l estimates in the early ‘70’s of $455 million to $1.1 billion; and $756 m illio n to $1.4 billio n respectively.’ “ Second, we discovered that the utilities did not know how to build thermal plants. The major source of these dram atic cost increases, percent would like to see health care insurance on the national agenda and a plurality (48%) favor tax dollars to support low /m oderate income housing. A good number o f the Blacks are disappointed with President Carter’ s performance in office. Only 36% think he has done a good to excellent jo b against 63% who rate him satisfactory to unsatisfactory. On the other hand, more than three-quarters give Andrew Young good to ex cellent marks for a job well done. Generally, the respondents agree w ith the C arter A d m in is tra tio n ’ s stand on foreign policy. Some 80% support the President’s position on the Panama Canal Treaty and 62% favor his decision to cancel the B-l bomber. While aid to the world’ s poorest nations gets the nod from three- quarters o f the survey group, only four percent would want their tax dollars spent on such aid. Carter’ s emphasis on human rights gets ap proval from 81% of the Blacks. referred to by Secretary Mclsaac, are cost overruns unforeseen by the utilities building the plants. ‘ ‘ T h ird ly , this H ydro-T herm al Power Program caught the state and local governments o f the Pacific Northwest fla t-fo o te d in that no statutes or administrative procedures existed for insuring that the plants would be safe, cost-effective and within the economic means o f the consumers o f this region who ultimately pay the bills. “ And what about those bills? For the consumers o f private companies who have enjoyed relatively low costs because o f the availability o f cheap Bonneville power, the switch from the Federal power and their own hydro-electric facilities to power fro m the T ro ja n nuclear plant doubled the consumers’ electric rates. “ But the private companies found themselves unable to amass the financial resources to continue the thermal program. For instance, one plant, the Trojan Nuclear Plant, upon completion doubled the net worth o f Portland General Electric beginner” . He explained that Nak vasil was one o f two beginning prin cipals this year and he was placed at Beaumont because Beaumont, with 520 students last year, is a “ small school” . Asked why Nakvasil had been assigned to a school that was to become a m iddle school, necessitating a change during the school year, M cE lro y denied know ing that Beaumont would become a middle school. The A d m inistration “ absolutely did not” realize Beaumont would become a middle school, he said. McElroy said that Nakvasil is get ting a good assignment at Alameda. Alameda is considered a “ plumb assignment” by other principals. It w ill be better for students also, he explained, because the prim ary children transferring next year w ill be familiar with him and many o f the Alameda and Beaumont parents will have children in both schools. Parents and staff are angry and confused. “ They knew before they assigned Nakvasil here that they would force a m iddle school on Beaumont, so why didn’ t they send a principal they knew could stay. This only hurts the children,” one parent said. Others fear this portends an immediate movement o f children in order that renovation o f the building might begin. McElroy elxplained the district’ s haste as the result o f pressure from parents. “ The parents are pushing fo r a m iddle school. Those at Alameda and Sabin have pushed hardest, but there is also pressure from Beaumont parents. Parents see this as another in a long series o f harassments. Ell Cain, manager of J.C . Penneys W alnut Park store, explains employee in centive program. J C Penney looks to expansion Ell Cain, the new manager at J.C. Penney’s Walnut Park store, is con cerned about community response to the store. “ The company has faith in this com m unity. That fact is demon strated by the fact that it renewed the building lease several years ago and is preparing to renew it again.” Rumors have circulated at times that the store w ill be closed but Cain assures that this is not the case. “ The people in the community do not support this store and other local merchants. This they must do if they expect business to remain in the neighborhood. The plans to rebuild U nion Avenue and bring in more business can be successful only i f the people who live here use them.” Since he has been at Walnut Park, Cain has broadened the selection of merchandise. “ We carry children’s clothing, a fu ll line o f baby goods, work clothes, fancy jeans, under Company. “ Therefore, the Bonneville Power Administration talked the publicly- owned utilities o f the region into joining the private companies on this disastrous road toward a fifty per cent hydro-thermal mix. “ Now the Bonneville Power Ad ministration has announced to the public that the wholesale rates o f power sold to the customer-owned u tilitie s (PU D s) w ill double in December o f 1979 as the costs of the thirty percent o f Trojan in the public sector and the three nuclear plants being built by the public agencies in the state o f Washington are finally reflected in Bonneville rates. “ Lastly, we have discovered that one o f the main principles upon which the Hydro-Thermal Plan was based — the inelasticity of demand for electric power — is false. The forecasts produced jointly by all the u tilitie s and BPA proved much higher than was forecast when the true economic signals of the cost of nuclear power finally were given to the consumers." Cook explained that neither the wear and housewears. We do not carry a broad selection o f women’s clothing because we do not have the trade to support it.” Cain explained that the most often purchased clothing and household items can be bought at the store. Cain expects the opening o f a catalogue section next year w ill in crease business at W alnut Park, which was once the busiest J.C. Pen ney store in Portland. Cain has been employed by J.C. Penney since he was a high school student in 1960. After a short effort at establishing a career in professional baseball, he returned to Penneys, advancing until he became manager of the store in Richmond, California, where he began. A t Walnut Park he is hiring com munity residents, attempting to stock requested items, and desiring to provide a service. U.S. Corps o f Engineers, which had built the federal dams, or the private utilities had expertise in “ building nuclear plants.” The cost overruns, equalled only by the cost overruns of defense contracts, dram atically proved the inability o f any agencies to keep these projects under control. Also, the extremely disappointing performance o f the Trojan Plant shows lack of planning and lack of understanding of the problem. In spite o f that ignorance, development continued on the expensive plant without consideration o f the con sumer.” They were able to build without a proper fiscal base because they are guaranteed a profit. PBA has announced that it w ill double the wholesale price o f its power in December, 1979. According to the agency, the bonded indepted- ness on the Columbia River power system must be paid by 1994, leaving $4.5 billion to be paid on the prin cipal. “ This staggering debt, even with the low 2.2% interest rate is a heavy burden. Yet, BPA now is requesting (Please turn to Page 10 Column I) )
