Senior citizens fail to use state tax benefit programs
Ron Wyden. Coordinator of Legal
Services for the E lderly, has
proposed a “ one stop” registration
process for senior citizens who are
eligible for a variety of tax relief pro
grams.
Although there are a wide variety
o f tax relief programs for elderly citi
zens, a small percentage o f the
eligible persons take part. Wyden
believes the lack o f response is due to
lack o f knowledge and understand
ing, and complicated application
procedures.
With the “ one stop” process, the
citizen would receive a form in the
mail on which he would apply for
every program he is eligible for and
wants to use.
There are over 400,000 persons
over 60 and 323,000 over 63 years in
Oregon. Yet approximately 134,000
persons over 60 filed for a 1977
Homeowner and Renter Refund. Ap
proximately 2.143 persons deferred
their property tax, and only 43 per
sons
deferred
their
bonded
assessments. Above three-fourths, or
$3 million, o f funds appropriated for
home weatherizing has not been
requested.
Wyden is attempting to inform
senior citizens about the programs
available to them prior to the tax
filing deadline, April 14th.
Oregon programs available to
senior citizens are:
Homtowntrs Proparty
Tax Refund
Those who own and occupy
property on December 31st of the tax
year and otherwise qualify for this
program, may receive a refund check
from the state.
Eligibility
To be eligible the individual must.
17 Occupy a residence as your princi
ple place o f dwelling; 2. Have a
recorded interest in your dwelling.
This means you must have a deed,
sales contract, or life estate in the
property on which you live; 3. Earn
less than $16,000; and 4. Be the only
person in the household who is filing
a claim.
Making a Claim fo r a Property
Tax Refund
When it comes time to pay income
taxes, between January and April
14th, pick up an Oregon Tax Packet
which will include the form and in
structions for filling out the form.
(For assistance in filling out this and
other forms, call the local senior cen
ter .) A tax packet may be obtained at
the local Post Office or bank or by
calling (toll free) 1-800-452-7814.
Renters Property Tax Refund
There is also a program that en
titles qualified renters to a refund
check.
Eligibility
To qualify for this refund the in
dividual must: 1. Occupy a residence
as the principle place o f dwelling; 2.
Earn less than $16,000 in the tax
year; and 3. Be the only person in the
household filing for a refund.
Elderly Rental Assistance
This is a program for low-income
seniors which provides cash to help
pay the rent.
Eligibility
I . The person must be 58 or older
PORTLAND OBSERVER
in the year prior to the year in which
he applies; 2. Earn less than $3,000;
3. Pay 40% or more o f his income
towards rent; 4. F IL E A C L A IM .
This is the same form used for the
homeowners and renters refund and
it can be obtained in most banks or
Post Offices or by calling or writing
and asking them to send the senior
citizens rental assistance refund.
Call (to ll-free) 1-8OO-452-2838 or
write: 1500 S.W. 1st, Portland, OR.
97201.
Either Elderly Rental Assistance
or The Renters Property Tax Refund
A senior can receive either o f these
(Please turn to Page 3 Column 1)
Volume 8 No. 10
Thursday, March 16.1979109
USPS
AMA child care program asks direct funding
4.
Æ î
Carol Bryant Is a candidate for the Portland Community Collage
Board of Directors. District II. Mrs. Bryant, a resident of North Port
land. is currently a member of the staffs of the Senate Human Resource
Committee and the Senate Committee on Aging and Minorities.
Mrs. Bryant is a graduate of Mt. Angel College and the PSU School of
Social Work. She is a former director of the Neighborhood Options in
Child Care program.
Mrs. Bryant advoctes strengthening the course offerings on the
Cascade campus and developing programs that tie into the economic
structure of the community, offering career opportunities. She Is a
strong supporter of the college's day care center for children of stu
dents.
Speaking to a joint hearing o f the
Senate and House Human Resource
committees, Cornetta Smith, acting
director of the Albina Ministerial A l
liance Family Day & Night Care
Program requested direct state fund
ing of the program.
A M A is currently funded, with
state funds, through a sub-contract
with 4-C.
Ms. Smith told the legislators that
a special need exists in the area ser
ved by the program — the northern
half of Multnomah County from St.
Johns to 202nd Avenue. “ M any
women — a high percentage of them
minorities between 35 and 55 years
of age — do not have the education
or training to hold good jobs but
they can provide excellent child
care.” Many o f the 400 day care pro
viders served by A M A do need sup
port services to enable them to do a
better job — training, assistance with
U .S . D epartm ent o f Agriculture
nutrition requirements, supplies,
assistance in working with parents,
and referral of children. Without this
assistance many will be forced to rely
on welfare.
.. _ . .
,
,
.
a K4 * r_____
contract directly with A M A for sup
port services to these family day care
homes rather than with 4-C. Ms.
Smith pointed out that 4-C has noti
fied A M A that it will no longer con
tract with them but will provide the
services themselves. “ We believe
North and Northeast Portland will
be hardest hit. They will be
eliminated,” she said. Ms. Smith
¿-..J.'..
AFSC rep sees expanding war
by N. Eungai Kumbula
Bill Sutherland, American Friends
Service Committee Southern Africa
Representative who has just returned
from a tour of the Front Line states,
is in town to talk about his visit.
Monday, he gave a press luncheon at
the Red Lion downtown and talked
to a number of people from local
papers. On his latest trip, he visited
Z am bia,
Botswana,
Angola,
Mozambique and Tanzania meeting
with refugees who have fled the
troubles in both Rhodesia and South
Africa, freedom fighters, leaders of
the Front Line states and other local
people. In his presentation Monday,
Bill started out by expressing the dif
ference between this, his latest trip to
Africa and all those that went before
it over a period of some 25 years.
The main difference, he said, was
that this time, there was a sense of
war that pervaded all of the Front
Line states. The Rhodesian and
South African regimes have really
declared all out war on these coun
tries. Whereas before, there were oc
casional raids into Mozambique and
Zambia, now these have become al
most weekly occurrences. Also now
there seems to be a more sinister pur
pose: to destabilize the front line
states. There have been reports of
Rhodesians training, arming and fi
nancing anti-Machel (Mozambique)
and anti-Kaunda (Zambia) terrorists
to try and overthrow the respective
governments.
To emphasize the viciousness of
some of these attacks, he singled out
the South A frican attack at
Cassinga, a refugee camp in Angola
run by SW APO in which some 800-
1,000 refugees were killed. He
blames the Western nations for their
continued support o f the minority
regimes of Southern Africa and fur
ther points out that, until recently,
the racists had never attacked at
night. The fact that they have sud
denly started to do so indicates that
they have recently acquired new and
more sophisticated weapons. He
mentioned the French Mirage jet
fighters originally sold to South
Africa but now being used by the
Rhodesia Air Force to attack M o
zambique and Zambia.
While the U.S. verbally condemns
apartheid both in Rhodesia and
South Africa, it has done nothing to
put some teeth into those threats and
condemnations. On the contrary,
U.S. economic support has increased
rather than diminished. O nly a
severing o f these economic ties
would be taken as concrete proof of
the U .S .’s commitment to equality
and fairness for all. With the U.S.
taking the lead and the rest o f
Western Europe following suit, they
could then clearly show their support
for the liberation movements in
Southern Africa.
Sutherland says the “ most grip
ping impression” he got on his trip
was the determ ination o f the
freedom fighters. In spite o f all the
raids into the front line states and in
spite of the betrayal on the part of
the West, the guerrillas are deter
mined to fight on. There is N O
T U R N IN G BACK, he says and he
thinks that, within a year or two at
most, genuine self determination will
be achieved in Rhodesia.
The credibility of the U.S. is at a
very low ebb because of America’s
ambivalance. The Africans feel that
there is not enough commitment to
C arte r’s oft stated human rights
stand, for instance. It is often said
that: ‘The wheel that squeaks gets the
grease.’ Apparently, we have been
‘outsqueaked’ by the right wing and
big business. Sutherland feels that
now is an excellent opportunity to
apply the necessary economic
pressure on South Africa especially
since the new Iranian government
has indicated it will not sell oil to
South Africa. The U.S. should also
withdraw its billions in investments
and the double blow would definitely
force the apartheid regime to recon
sider and possibly save Southern
Africa from the bloodbath towards
which it is headed. Since none of the
Africans in either Rhodesia, South
A frica or Namibia are willing to
tolerate the status quo and the result
ed slavery forever, this clash is pre
sently unavoidable. The U.S. could
apply the necessary pressure to save
the situation.
According to his findings, there
are approximately 1,000 American
mercenaries in the Rhodesian army
out o f a total mercenary force of
some 11,000; fully 52% o f the total
army. A major recruiter o f these
mercenaries is the infamous Robin
Moore who runs the “ House of the
Crippled Eagles,” the ‘ unofficial
U.S. embassy’ in Rhodesia. These
mercenaries, o f course, do very little
to improve America’s image in the
eyes of the Africans. In addition to
American mercenaries, there are also
British, French, West German,
South African, Israeli and Austra
lian mercenaries.
In conclusion, Sutherland urges
that we, the people who know better,
should start ‘squeaking* louder. We
should contact our Congressional
representatives to get A m erica’s
Africa policy back on track. We
should stop the Helms and the Haya-
kawas from prolonging the suffering
in Southern Africa.
“ Concern should be expressed at
the grassroots level. Do not let the
U .S .
legitim ize
the
present
Rhodesian regime. Sanctions should
not be repealed until all in Zimbabwe
have a say in the running of their af
fairs.”
said A M A — a locally based organi
zation that is indignous to the com
munity it serves — would be better
able to provide needed services.
The new state day care plan — as
described by James McCallister, of
CSD (Childrens Services Division) —
will force most state-subsidized day
care children into family day care
homes rather than day care centers
but will allow no services to insure
that child care is adequate. A total of
36 state child care workers will cer
tify and supervise 400 child care cen
ters and 3,000 fam ily day care
homes. The expected service would
include an initial visit to certify or
license the home and investigation
of complaints.
M rs. Ruth Burger, director o f
West Tualatin Day Care Program,
explained the need for linkage be
tween the day care provider and the
parents. W ithout support services
there would be no means for day care
providers to find children or for
parents to find day care homes. Day
care providers who have problems
with the child or parents would have
no where to turn and would quit.
There would be no one to insure that
good care was provided and no one
to offer training or education to
assist the provider. There would be
no one to assist the day care provider
with payments and taxes. The family
day care systems now operating to
insure that children too young to at
tend day care centers receive good
care in fam ily homes would no
longer exist.
Nick Peet, director o f Childrens
Service Division, explained that he
had been told by the Governor to
develop a system that would provide
care for the largest possible number
o f children at the smallest cost.
James McCallister described it as
“ moving toward basic service.”
The response is to provide care for
children whose parents receive
welfare or whose income from em
ployment places them just above
welfare standards. Maximum allo
wance for child care would be $150,
the full cost provided by the state if
the parents’ income was below a set
amount — for example $503 for a
two member family. As the income
rose above that figure the parent
f Please turn to Pane 3 Column 3)
Demonstration triggers mistrial
Judge James Ellis called a mistrial
in the trial of Gregory Burbach, a
Wackenhut guard charged with man
slaughter in the shooting o f Lewis D.
Mangum.
Burbach is charged with shooting
Mangum at the 15th Avenue Trade-
well Store, where Mangum, drunk
and verbally abusive, attempted to
force his way into the store to purchase
cigarettes and beer.
The trial was terminated when
members o f the R evolutionary
Communist Party distributed leaflets
in fro nt o f the Courthouse.
Although the five jurors who saw the
incident said they could not hear
what was being said — a folded leaf
let was found where they had been
sitting outside o f the courtroom.
Calling it a "conscious attempt to
contaminate the jury” Ellis declared
a mistrial and ordered that the trial
be reset.
A spokesman for the CRP denied an
attempt to influence the jury saying
they were merely trying to bring at
tention to the trial. She said there
appeared to be a news “ blackout,”
with no publicity on the case. “ There
were demonstrations when Jim
Daniels, a Black man, was on trial,
but the judge didn’t stop that trial!”
During the two-day trial, William
Ketron, manager o f the Tradewell
store, said he had seen Mangum in
the store about 7:00 p.m ., that he
appeared to be drunk and that he
had what looked like a butcher knife
under his coat. He asked Mangum to
leave and told Burbach not to allow
him in the store. Mangum stood out
side calling abusive language to the
guard.
Just before 10:00 p.m ., Ketron
saw Mangum just inside the door,
arguing with Burbach. Burbach was
telling him that he would have to
leave. Ketron then approached and
asked Mangum to leave. He said
Mangum was abusive, using profane
language, and insisted on coming in.
H e also called B ill W illiam s,
described as 6’2” , 180 pounds and
22-years-old, to the front o f the store
to help. He asked Mangum if he had
a knife and Mangum said he did not
and pulled open his coat to show that
he did not. When Mangum said to
Burbach, “ I ’m going to walk right
through y o u ,” Burbach said he
would shoot him. Mangum said,
“ Then I ’ll walk right through him
(Ketron)” Burbach replied. " I will
still shoot you.”
By then Burbach had drawn his
gun and appeared to Ketron to be
afraid — shaking, pale and visibly
upset. Ketron decided the situation
was serious, so he turned away and
walked toward the office to call the
police. After he had gone a few steps
he heard the shot. He told the court
he was surprised the man had been
(Please turn to page 3 col. 3)
NAACP meets
The N A A C P , Portland Branch,
will hold its monthly membership
meeting on Sunday, March 18th at
4 ,00 p.m. at Highland United Chur
ch of Christ, 4635 N .E. 9th Avenue.
Lucious Hicks, branch president,
has announced the following com
mittee appointments: Labor and In
dustry Committe co-chairmen - Bob
Boyer and Bobbie Gary; Finance and
C redit U nion C hairm an - L. C.
Ellison; Community Coordination
Com m ittee co-chairmen - Cleo
Franklin and James Loving.
Press and Publicity Chairman -
Gregory Gudger; Education Com
mittee C hairm an - John H eflin ;
Church W ork Com m ittee co-
chairmen - Reverends L. Fisher
Hines and Austin Ray; Legal Redress
C om m ittee chairman - W alter
Morris, Sr.
Freedom Fund Com m ittee co-
chairmen - Grayce Kennedy and Phil
M urray; Youth Work Committee
chairman - Ora Nunley. Membership
Committee co-chairmen - Bobbie
Nunn and D r. Clarence Pruitt;
Housing Committee Chairm an -
Harvey Rice; Consumer Protection
Chairman - Charles Stroughter.
Political Action Committee Chair
man - Robert Philips.
Armed Services and Veteran’s A f
fairs Chairman - Bernard Richar
dson; Life Membership Chairman -
Isaac Payne; Holiday Seals Commit
tee co-chairmen - Harry Ward and
(Please turn to page 2 col. 6)
I
Vicki Channel controls the ball, leading the Boise 6th Grade
"Raiders" to the city championship with a narrow win over Brldlemlle.
Boise's Young Woman's Top Graders team members are: Vicki Chan
nel, Latrinda Harris, Damatia Paul, Tina Wrlslay, Nina Taylor, Debra
Green and Stephanie Harder. Only three of the young ladies are 8th
graders, the remainder in the 7th grade. The Raiders defeated Peninsula
144 SI St Johns (46 51, Faith Lutheran (38-10), Oakley Green (38-91. Har-
’1) Portsmouth (68-61) and Hosford (38-32)