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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1979)
« Portland Observer Thursday. April 2*. 1979 Behind the Wall American State Bank Larry Baker »35021, O.S.P Correspondent "The Bank that integration built" 2737 N.E. Union by Dave Crawford »39830 Assistant Correspondent natural resources issues. "T h e issue is taxes,” he stated. "T he people spoke to us on election day . and we are not sure how to in terpret what they are saying. This has caused Congress to enter a ‘ cooling o f f period legislatively, and the result is that nothing earth shaking is lik e ly to happen u n til the tax question is solved.” Ragsdale continued, ‘ ‘ 1 d on’ t think it ’ s bad that Congress isn't doing anything. This slowdown in spending and governmental action may give us tune to re-evaluate our priorities. We know that people are sick o f government. We also know that 60«« o f the people are not able to afford to own their own home. Perhaps it’ s time we found answers rather than programs.” In the field o f resources, the Sena tor commented on the reality o f the oil crisis. "T he Arabs and later Mexico have such a stranglehold on us that we have become merely pawns in the game o f in te rn a tio n a l p o litic s ,” Ragsdale stated. He feels the crisis is due to incredibly stupid manage ment on the pan o f mayor oil com panies, and to very short-sighted policies by the federal government. Ragsdale said, “ The real emer gency is that most people refuse to believe there is a crisis. They cling to the tradition that gas pumps just never run dry. T hat’ s simply not true.” On a state-wide level, energy plan- Oregon State Senator Mike Rags dale kept very much in colorful cha racter recently while attending The Class o f Legal Processes at O.S.P. Ragsdale attended the class as an ‘ equal' and integral part o f the thirty inmate student discussion group, in an atmosphere he thought very stimulating. *'l don't much like politicians who talk and don't take time to listen,” stated the Senator, "and you can't learn without listening.” Senator Ragsdale defines himself as a 'moderate Republican.' He has built his rather spectacular career m politics on a foundation o f sensi tivity to people. While others learned from books and political science classes, Rags dale learned from listening and ap plying what he heard. “ I began college.” he said, "and things went well until I began to see that what was taught in the classroom was a far cry from what happened in a real life situation.” Shortly after this realisation he left college fo r business and later politics. Senator Ragsdale, despite being one o f the most dynamic o f congressmen, has never Finished his college education. Discussion turned at length to politics rather than personal topics. Exchanges of thoughts and ideas fo cused m ainly on economics and by Tony Reid »40444 Muui Hakeem ■ to . 'W * Jfc rr&A -v ! REP RAGSDALE ning is pretty sketchy. There are sources of power being studied, but as yet no serious answer to a short age o f oil. Solar, geothermal and local hydro-electric plants arc all being studied, both for benefits and for impact. But none are extensive enough to offset the oil shortage. Let’ s end this story with a com ment by Senator Ragsdale Perhaps this comment reflects his concern for people better than 1 can otherwise hope to. The discussion had turned to the ‘ whys’ and ‘ hows’ o f the tax question. "When 1 see interest rates, inflation, and taxes becoming so op pressive that people can no longer buy a home, it’s time to re-evaluate our objective. I t ’ s people, the populace, that we need to look to. We need to pay more attention to what is going on around us. That is the answer. Until that happens things aren’t going to get much better.” There is certainly no arguing political vision like that. Here is a man, I believe, with an eye to the people. Cost given priority in justice issue A bill (HB 2860) that would allow a witness before a grand jury to have an attorney present and to provide for recording the proceedings is cur rently before the Oregon House. The grand jury is a group o f citi zens who hear information presented by the District Attorney’s office and determine whether there is evidence that a crime has been committed and whether the person under suspicion should be brought to trial. The grand jurors consider cases ranging from murder to fraud, robbery, rape, forgery, etc. They are ordinary- citizens with no training in law and they have no one to advise them ex cept the District Attorney whose job it is to prosecute. The witness has no attorney with him , does not know whether he should answer the D A ’s questions, how fully to explain. He can go into the grand jury as a witness against someone else and come out as a defendant. The justice system now requires that a suspect have advise o f an at torney before talking to the police and again throughout his trial, but leaves him defenseless before the grand jury. Although the prosecutor can have a recording o f the grand ju ry proceedings made and can use it against the defendant, the defense at torney has no access to the record ing. Two weeks ago a sub-committee of the House Judiciary Committee had favorable testimony on the bill from Jim Hennings, M ultnom ah County Public Defender; attorneys Elden Rosenthal and Des Connall; and Clayton Patrick, Oregon Trial Lawyers. Opposing the bill were the District Attorney’s Association and the Attorney General’ s office. The concept is endorsed by the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute. C onnall recommended amend ments to the bill that would provide recording o f the grand jury proceed ings and providing that recording to the defense attorney. Concurrent with the House Consi deration o f the bill is an action by- three defense attorneys Jeffrey Rogers, Richard Rogers and Des Connall on behalf o f their clients, asking the Oregon Supreme Court to order recording o f M ultnom ah C ounty grand ju r y preceedings. .Arguments will be made before the Supreme Court on May 10th. The members o f the sub committee appeared to favor the bill during the hearing. Representative Tom Mason (D -P o rtla n d ) asked what good is it to have an attorney at the tria l after the defendant has "spilled his guts and nailed his coffin shut?” Representative Mark Gard ner (D-Hillsboro) said the accused should have advice o f council before incriminating himself. By the time the vote came this week, the sub-com m ittee had changed its mind — the major con cern was that o f money. Concerned about the cost o f pro viding attorneys fo r the indigent, Representative Norm Smith (R-Ti- gard) said in most cases the grand jury hearing is “ a perfunctory way o f issuing an in d ic tm e n t.” He thought an attorney should only be allowed for witnesses who are ac cused o f a crime. He wondered if witnesses are aware that they don’ t have to testify, but that once thev begin they must continue? He thought many witnesses might not know they were in crim in a tin g themselves. Representative Mason said the grand jury has a force o f compulsion — it can force people to appear to testify. He thought that since a wit ness is forced to appear, he should have a right to have an attorney present. Representative Mark Gardner was concerned about the District A tto r ney’ s use o f the grand jury as an in vestigative tool. The DA can build a case by forcing people to testify and they do not know they can refuse. Joyce Cohen (D-Lake Oswego) wondered if allowing an attorney in the room would prolong and compli cate the procedure. Ted Burgas (R-Astoria) who had earlieT expressed his long-time con cern over abuses o f the grand jury by the prosecutor, said the committee should not expand a legal process that is already too long. He related that he had breakfast with Oregon Supreme Court Justice Herbert Sch wab who had told him “ we must beware o f drowning ourselves in due process.” The sub-committee voted unani mously to pass the bill on to the full Judiciary Committee, removing the section allowing the assistance o f an attorney and substituting, in con cept, having someone tell the witness that he doesn't have to incriminate himself. They decided that having a tape recording o f the grand jury preceed ings would be a small cost, so voted to require that a recording be made and be available to the defense attor ney prior to the trial. North Portland holds community election North Community Action Coun cil will hold its community election for its Board o f Directors on April 27th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Balloting will be conducted in the North Branch AFS (Welfare) Office, the West Portland AFS (Welfare) Office, Pay’ N Takit on North Chau tauqua. Linnton Feed and Seed, and the N C A C O ffic e . In ad d itio n , voting w ill take place during the regular luncheons sponsored by Loaves and Fishes. Residents of North and Northwest Portland are encour aged to vote in their neighborhood polling places. Board member nominees for rep resentatives o f the poor are as follows: Kenton #1 — Betty Guynn and Jim Michels; Overlook #1 — Deborah Bagley and Patsy Fox; Ports m outh »I — George Peterson, SHOP lENOW'S BRAM OS yew k n e w V A R IIT IC S v « „ M i« S IT U yew a ren i * Tkn »»■ U T« I I f M d w w b .« • ISM - A fees4 A w e M tH t« » » A M I O l.M v . M Lo— an ••«•’f* Milla O lea « ItliáA fl» 1 I Ot».a*»« • Oas* O'*«« • I AM» I I f Mr • 3I'M A M f M • 3^A A l l A • 23«-B A I • iM b fl O a 282-2216 Melvin Lester, and Lena Robinson; St. Johns 11 — Rose Albert, Ed ward Bunch, and James T aylor; Linnton »1 — Mary Golden and Fred Chatfield; Linnton »2 — Dar lene Monroe and Doug Polk; North west #1 — Clark Hayden and Mark Story; Northwest #2 — Frances Sheldon and Michael Stoops. In ad dition, Community Representative nominees are: #1 — Art Anderson and Bill Bartleson; #3 — Marilyn Endicott and Joe Satchell. North Community Action Coun cil, Inc. is a non-profit limited pur pose agency providing services to low-income residents o f North and Northwest Portland, under the au spices o f the Community Services Administration. HELP PREVENT BIRTH »<■ March of Dimes SPACE COMTRSBUVEO 8 » I h E PURi iSM tP The World Community o f Islam in the West is a concept and a reality. The religion o f Al-Islam is a way of life, an ideology, and social concept. Education may mean primarilly the self-perpetual ion o f and accepted culture. A culture which is the life o f a determined society. J Education is a continuation at the process o f growing into a complete human being, which took place physically in the nine months before being bora. But now it is the mind, not the body, which is growing and developing. Education must represent the cul ture and ideology o f a people and should preserve the same for future generations. Experience in living has taught us that unity o f thought with out unity o f character is incomplete. Unless education seeks to build up good character in the student as well as instruct him in knowledge, it will never achieve its purpose o f aiding the student in his growth to com pleteness as a human being. In Al-Islam good deeds are o f pri mary importance. Throughout the ’ H oly Q u r’ an’ those who believe and do good is fre quently used to describe the true be lievers. One o f the basic aims o f the mission o f PROPHET M U H A M M AD (Peace Be Upon Him) is the purification o f human life and the soul (mind). In this day o f revival and renewal o f true religion, our great leader. Honorable Wallace D. Muhammad is universally com pleting this work. It is a psychologi cal and sociological fact that the basic character traits of man are de veloped in the early stages of life. The schools and colleges can play a significant role in the formation o f mans character. It is the function o f education to shape the character o f man and to shape the character o f the student into the Islamic pattern. As- Salaam- A li k um- W arahmat u LLA H . Fnendehip fe a »bettering Tee.” Coleridge DEAR W E IG H T WATCHERS Q e Is it true that Weight Watchers' mem bers are allowed to eat spaghetti? (signed) HOPING. A e Yes. (W ithin limits.) f t * * * W hat s this I hear about your new exercise plan? (signed (C U R |O |JS ( ^ e l t s PEPSTEP.'“ The new Personal Exercise Plan, it s terrific! f t * * * V ^ e ftn e of the reasons I wanted to join Weight Watchers was the fact that you didn't make people exercise. Now you're starting exercise classes? Boo! (signed) LAZY. A « We’re not starting exercise classes! PEPSTEP is an exciting new plan that is not done at the meetings. And it ’soptional. Skip it if you want to. WEIGHT WATCHERS The Authority ★ ★ We've madr up ibrur qMrVkmv hol Ihr vàaaltom and pr,il> Irim « rt rent Io gel ail ih r am •e ra , jean Wrighi W elt-fen! EM ANUFL HOSPITAL N Gantenbatn E m »n iai East Room 9-1 (Nursing Homo) T h u n 7:00 p m CARPENTERS H A U ZOS N Lombard Street M on 7 0 0 p m. Thun M m M A R A N A TH A CHURCH 1222 N E Skidmore b tIX im IMPORTANT NOTICE: Join before Mey 14 end weekly dues will be »3 60* for es long es you maintain membership. New member end rejoin weekly rate - 94.00 beginning May 14th. Registration fee un changed at 96.00. • Offer good only in Franchise »083 For information call COLLECT Portland (603) 297-1021. Weekdays - 8 30-6 30. "Health n the first w ealth.“ Emerson C E X O W E IG H T W A T C H E R S IN T L IN C . 1 8 7 9 O W N E R O F T H E W E IG H T W A T C H E R S A PE PS TE P T R A D E M A R K S D U S 1518 N E KILUNGSWORTH PORTLAND OREGON 97211 284 7997 APRIL 1979 A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EXODUS THE BETTER WAY I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me, than merely show the way. The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear; Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear. And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds. For to see the good in action is what everybody needs. I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done. I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true. But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do. For I may misunderstand you, and the high ad vice you give. But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
