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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1979)
Mrs Francea Schoen-K’etrspaper Koon U n lv e r a lty o f Oregon L ib ra ry tugene, Oregon »7403 Buel, Scott win school election Two new members were elected to the Portland School Board -• Steve Buel and Bill Scott. Buel w ill replace Evie Crowell, the Board’ s only Black member, who was appointed by the Board in August to fill the uncxpired term o f Gladys McCoy. Ms. Crowell received 18 per cent o f the vote. Scott replaces Beverly York, who is completing her first term on the Board. Mrs. York received only 12 per cent o f the vote and Mike Ver- bout, a Portland teacher, won 28 per cent. Buel and Scott have both endorsed the p o sitio n o f the C o m m u n ity Coalition for School Integration - that the d is tric t’ s current desegre gation program is inequitable and inadequate. Buel endorsed the pairing proposal and Scott approved that m ethod o f desegregation it whites continue to fail to respond to voluntary efforts. Scott and Buel agree that the Board has not respond ed adequately to the Coalition’ s re search and proposals. A major issue o f the campaign — which found most o f the candidates meeting frequently at public forums - - was the relationship o f the Board to the p u b lic and the genera! dissa tisfa ctio n w ith the B o a rd ’ s response to public concerns. Returned to office were Frank Mc Namara, who had little opposition, and Forrest “ Joe” Rieke, who received 50 per cent o f the votes cast, followed by Karen Masterson with S3 per cent. The voter turnout o f only 8.3 per cent o f the registered voters is expect ed to draw the attention o f the new members o f the Board. The election date was changed by the Oregon Legislature in 1976 at the request o f the Portland School Board. Mem bers’ terms were extended by a year and the election date set on the second 1 uesday o f A pril on the years in which a general election does not occur. Buel and Scott have informed the Observer that they prefer returning the school election to the primary election date. State Representative and School Board member W ally Priestley spoke on the floor o f the House Wednesday, pointing out to the Legislature the negative effect o f the election date change. Not only did only 8.3 per cent o f the voters cast ballots, but the election cost was increased by about 30 per cent. A WILLIAM SCOTT PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume 9 No 1; Thursday, April 5, 1979 10< US PS 959 680 .r Nuclear issues concern Legislature The debate in the Oregon Legisla- Legisla ture over the issues surrounding nuclear power has intensified follow ing the accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. While the people o f H arrisburg were waiting to see i f they will lose their property or their lives, the Oregon Legislature was debating the steps leading to expan sion o f the nuclear in d u stry in Oregon. Governor Victor Atiyeh has an nounced replacements for two mem bers o f the Energy Facilities Siting Council and indicated that he w ill replace one additional member this summer. The Siting Council has for seven years been involved in setting standards for nuclear power plants and hearing evidence on the ap plication o f Portland General Elec tric to build two plants at Pebble Springs near Arlington. Prior to the Pennsylvania accident, a decision was expected this summer. State Senator Jan Wyers has in troduced SB 899 which would pre vent any changes in the Siting Coun cil until that decision is made. A Senate Energy and Environment Committee hearing on SB 899 was marked w ith sharp exchanges be- t tween the Governor's i .... John izo,„ Governor’s ¡.irk- aide, Lee son; C om m ittee C hairm an Ed Fadely, who opposes nuclear power; and Committee member Senator L. B Day, a proponent o f nuclear power who selected one o f the Gover nor’ s new appointees to the Siting C ouncil, his employee H arvey Risewick, Jr. Although members o f the Com mittee expressed the opinion that no individual could study and absorb the extensive record quickly enough to make an informed and indepen dent decision in a few months, John son said the decision is no more complicated, even less complicated, than judges and juries make every day. The two Council members who are to be replaced, W illiam Luch and Dr. John Thorpe, indicated that they do not believe a new member could make an informed decision. Gover nor Atiyeh had originally said he was removing Luch and Thorpe because they had served two terms. When in formed by A tto rn e y General Jim Redden that they can legally con- I'thue, the G dverndr said lie was removing them because they have since indicated how they w ill vote. n -.u ___ ___ that although Both men indicated because o f their service on the Coun cil they have grave concerns about safety, they have made no decision on the Pebble Springs application. Luch and Thorpe said they had first heard about their dismissals from the newspapers, then had been told by Lee Johnson that they were dismissed. Luch said several days later he was told by the Department o f Energy that he was still on the C o u n cil and asked to attend a meeting. Then Johnson called and said he is still a member o f the Coun cil. He has heard nothing from the Governor’s office since. Luch said estimates had been made that it would take a person 50 days, 4 hours a day to read the record, not in clu d in g the rules. “ Anyone who makes a decision without reading the record is doing so shortly.” He said, “ There are so many facets on each side o f the question that what you have to do is make up your own m ind.” Dr. Thorpe said although he had not determined how he would vote on Pebble Springs, “ Anyone on the Council for eight years must have developed an opinion — from his con science — having been exposed to concerns over po licy and waste management, economics, manage ment o f operations, safety and ha zard aspects.” Lee Johnson said SB 899 is uncon stitutional. “ It is the most blatantly unconstitutional bill I ’ ve ever seen” and that this is the view o f the Governor’ s office. Although Atiyeh has not sought outside legal advise there are three attorneys in his office. Johnson and Bob Oliver have found the bill unconstitutional and John son said if Attorney Russell had been asked he also would have found it unconstitutional. Johnson informed the Committee that the Governor has no intention o f reappointing Luch or Thorpe. Senator K ulongoski, saying he could not support any C o u n cil replacements, recommended that PGE solve the problem by w ith drawing this application. The Committee failed, with a 4-4 tie vote, to pass SB ¿9^, but also de clined to send R^sewick’ s name to the fu ll Senate fotcoffirrm ation. Senator Fadely indicated the b ill w ill be reconsidered. Multnomah Project Health seeks state funds Hearing room 50 in the basement o f the State Capitol Building was as crowded as the House Committee on Human Resources, chaired by Rep resentative Gretchen Kafoury, con sidered continuing state funding to M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ’ s P roject Health. C a llin g P roject H ealth the program that “ turned me on more than anything else I ’ ve seen in my po litica l life ,” C ounty C hairm an Don Clark asked the committee to approve HB2970 which would con tinue state funding. According to Congressman Bob Duncan, state funding will guarantee federal match ing funds. “ There are people who are sick be cause they are poor — and there are people who are poor because they are sick, ’ C la rk explained. P roject Health attempts to break that cycle by allow ing low-income people to obtain health care insurance paid for by the public funds. This “ mainstream” aspect, which allows low-income people to be ser ved by the same health insurance programs as persons who pay for their own medical insurance, allows the person not only to receive the same quality o f care, but to retain their dignity Commissioner Gladys McCoy told the committee that health care is the greatest c o n trib u tio n government can make in terms o f service. In K«lth Kvernvik warms up for the Pebble Springs Walkathon by run ning the Wildwood Trail. (Photo: Debbie Mishler) Walk aids 'anti-nukes' cause Keith Kvernvik is the Observer’s representative in the Pebble Springs W a lkathon. The W a lka th o n , ten miles on Portland’ s W ildwood Trail, w ill raise funds to aid “ Forelaws on Board” in its intervention in the Energy F a c ility S iting C o u n c il hearings. For the past seven years Energy Facility Siting Council has held hear ings on Portland General Electrics a p p lica tio n to b u ild tw o nuclear power plants near A rlin g to n . The Siting Council was expected to make a decision by mid-summer, but in light o f the Pennsylvania accident has been asked by Governor Victor Atiyeh to reopen hearings. For four years Forelaws on Board iR»cr venors L lo y d M a rb e t, C arl Freidman and Dave Hupp have pre sented evidence against construction o f the plants. Their ability to conti nue depends much on financial re sources. The W a lka th o n held last year enabled Forclaws on Board to bring two form er nuclear engineers who resigned th e ir em ploym ent w ith General Electric’s Nuclear Division in 1976 to Oregon to testify. Richard H ubbard and Dale Bridenbaugh spent several days testifying on the problems o f decommissioning, waste disposal, risk analysis, and accident potential. The men had explained their resignation from General Elec tric to the Jo in t C om m ittee on Atomic Energy, “ We did so because we could no longer ju stify devoting our life energies to the continued development and expansion o f nu clear fission power — a system we believe to be so dangerous that it now threatens the very existence o f life on this planet.” The Pebble Springs W alkathon will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Western F orestry C enter. Supporters are asked to pledge a dollar amount for each kilometer walked by the entry. Pledges for Keith Kvernvik can be made by calling 283-2487. creasing numbers o f people are becoming medical indigent. “ What happens to people who cannot take care o f themselves — who are forced to use all o f their resources and go on welfare?” She also praised Project Health’s system o f delivery, remem bering the former system when all medically needy people had to go to the Medical School Clinic, and all appointments were made fo r 9:00 а. m., "th a t was dehumanizing.” Project Health serves an average o f 2,300 persons, with an eight to ten percent turnover per m onth. A n n u ally the program serves about б, 000 people. Approximately 48 per cent are females with children and 52 percent are aged, disabled or blind. Because o f th e ir p o ve rty, many enrollees have histories o f health problems so costs per individual are high, averaging $65 per person per month. The program buys 2.5 bed days per enrollee, compared to 1.1 bed days in the general population. According to Dr. David Lawrence, County Health O ffice, the primary goal o f the program is to provide the same health care available to other citizens — ongoing care o f medical problems. Eligible for the program are persons who are not eligible for welfare payments, but whose income is too low to allow the person to pay for adequate health care. The category o f people who would be "p o o r because they are sick” are allowed to retain employment and some resources by receiving help with health care costs. Although not d ire c tly a ttrib u ta b le to P roject Health, applications for welfare have declined in Multnomah County while rising in the remainder o f the state. In the 1976-77 fiscal year there was a drop o f 1,000 welfare clients; in 1977-78 a drop o f 3,000 clients and a decline o f $2 million in cash payments. Project Health, which began as a pilot project designed by a citizen committee, is currently funded with county, state and federal funds. No funds for family crisis The m isfortune o f one Oregon State Penitentiary prisoner — C lif ford Washington — brought atten tion to the fact that there are no funds for prisoners who have personal crisis situations. Washington was in formed that he could not attend the funeral o f his father in Champaign, Illinois, because he did not have ade quate funds. Washington told the Observer that he would be able to raise the money in three or four weeks to repay a loan, but was informed that the insti tution has no money to loan. Charles Keaton, Director o f Reha b ilita tio n , said that in past years when inmates were able to make out side speaking engagements fo r schools and community agencies, the in s titu tio n charged mileage to the State and used that money as a loan fund fo r inmate emergencies. This was declared improper by the A tto r ney General two years ago. Currently inmates must pay theis own way on family emergency trips, CLIFFORD WASHINGTON besides paying for the expense o f ac companying guards. C alls to the Salem Branch, NAAC P, and the Urban League o f Portland were fruitless and inmates were unable to contact the Portland Branch, NAACP. Patricia Harris: Put teeth in Fair Housing Law H o u sin g and and Urban (J rh n n O v p ln n m p n i Housing Development Secretary Patricia Roberts H arris urged Congress to pass the Fair Housing Amendments Act o f 1979, saying “ The proposed changes in Title V III o f the C ivil Rights Act o f 1968 — known as the Federal Fair Housing Law — w ill strengthen sig nificantly the impact o f that law.” The Law, as currently constituted, identifies and prohibits most forms o f discrimination in housing. How ever, she said, it does not provide the Government with the tools necessary to address such discrimination effec — . l . . » tively or to enforce the prohibition against it. “ It is no recent discovery,” the Secretary said, “ that conciliation alone, without additional machinery to back it up when it proves inade quate, is scarcely a remedy at a ll.” “ Fair housing enforcem ent by H U D ,” she went on to say, “ is now ’ By Invitation,’ and when a respon dent doesn’ t accept our invitation, the aggrieved party has no remedy ” The President, she said, has recog nized the inadequacy o f the present Law. In his State o f the Union Mes sage, the President referred to the . Law s weakness,’ and charac terized Title V III as "largely an empty promise because o f the lack o f an adequate enforcement mechanism.” "1 am here today,” she told the Subcommittee, “ to reinforce that co m m itm e n t. The F a ir H ousing Amendments Act (S.5O6), i f enacted, w ill fu lfill the promise o f Title V II by providing significant enforcement tools now unavailable to H U D , to the Department o f Justice and to the private litigant.” S.5O6 would provide H U D com prehensive adm inistrative enforce ment authority to stop violations and to punish violators through temp orary injunction , cease and desist orders and assessment o f substantial penalties. The a u th o rity to order temporary relief before final dispo sition o f a charge, said the Secretary, w ill be particularly useful to assure that a dw elling in a controversy remains available to the aggrieved person while his complaint is being heard. A d d itio n a lly , the proposed b ill would authorize H U D to refer com plaints to the Department o f Justice for the purpose o f filing a civil suit — even in cases which may not con stitute a “ pattern o f practice” o f dis crimination. This, noted the Secre tary, would provide H U D two alter native enforcem ent routes: the judicial route in cases where there appear to be substantial damages and the administrative route in com plaints where the primary issues are discriminatory policies and securing housing in controversy. S.506 would expand the enforce ment capability o f the Department o f Justice significantly beyond its pre sent authority to bring “ Pattern or P ractice” suits. The D epartm ent would have the authority to seek remedies in behalf o f aggrieved indi viduals through intervention in court actions brought by such individuals and by the filing o f suits on com plaints referred by the Secretary. Finally, the proposed b ill would provide the aggrieved in d iv id u a l sig n ific a n tly greater fle x ib ility in seeking administrative relief through H U D o r pursuing p rivate c iv il remedies through the court. In either an administrative or a judicial proceeding, fees and court costs could be awarded to the pre vailing party — regardless o f his or her financial status.
