* Portland Obaarvar Thursday. Juna 7, 11TB
A m erican S tate Bank
Behind the W all
bv Larry Baker »35021
O.S.P. Correspondent
Ladies M eet Gentlemen
by Daniel » Howe »41331
On May 30th and June 1st the Class
o f Legal Processes, o f which I am a
member, was honored by the presence
o f a delegation from the League o f
Women Voters. T h irty -fiv e women
from al! parts o f the state set aside their
preconceived ideas and sat in on our
group for a common purpose: to bet
ter understand the class and what we're
trying to do as a group for children
who may or may not one day be in
trouble with the law.
The key to the dicussion was under
standing. One lady told me that we
(convicts) “ are people ju s t like
everyone else” ; while another admitted
that before she came she wasn't so
sure. Almost all. if not all, left with the
feeling of sincerity which may one day
soon help us to achieve our goal — to
help youngsters find an alternative to
the preseni “ Scared Straight“ men
ta lity , and to curb ju ve n ile d e lin
quency. No rational man who has been
through the ‘system’ wants to see his or
his fellow mans' child become another
statistic in the Corrections Division
file.
As a group we stress that “ we do not
have the answers,” but neither does
anyone else or there w ould be no
problem. We feel that as human beings
we have a duty and must try. We also
feel, and must believe, that as long as
people express their interest and are
willing to keep trying, our hopes and
goals for today's youth w ill one day
become reality!
We must thank the League o f
Women Voters and all others in
terested in understanding and willing
to communicate with convicts. After
all. many o f us are a direct result o f the
juvenile justice system and its inade
quacies. We feel that we do have
M ock trial performed at O.S.P.
Judge Robert E. Jones, C irc u it
C ourt, M ultnom ah County is the
Northern Oregon Coordinator for the
O.S.P. Class of Legal Processes since
development in March 1977.
Judge Jones has provided the class
of 30 inmates with material o f a 'court
case' that will allow them to demon
strate their legal skills to the Oregon
public.
On June 6th the O.S.P. Education
Department will be the actual setting o f
the court room . Charles Keaton,
O.S.P. staff member and his inmate
staff w ill put some hard work into the
project.
Gary Babcock. State Public Defen
der will train three inmates o f the class
to handle the defense.
Scott McAllister, Assistant Attorney
General will groom three inmates for
the prosecutors.
John P. D uffy, Portland attorney
will be presiding judge.
Karli Olson, Portland attorney, will
act as clerk o f the court.
Slate Representatives, aides, law
students. Judges, community people
and inmates w ill be selected for the
jury.
On June 13th, the actual trial w ill be
held.
The trial w ill be taped by Channel 2
Newscast for future viewing; also a wide
selection o f news media w ill cover the
event. Why? Because to our
knowledge, nothing like this has ever
taken place inside a prison before.
something positive to contribute: in
valuable experience and the willingness
to help.
The League o f Women Voters im
pressed us w ith their purpose and
ideals One o f their new projects is a
two year study on the juvenile justice
system and alternatives.
We expressly wish to thank Mrs.
Sharon Rader, President of the Salem
chapter, fo r m aking this meeting
possible and hope that we can continue
this kind o f open-m inded com
munication between interested parties.
I know those who visited were im
pressed by the tour o f the prison, our
guest speakers and the group o f in
mates. I f we had not been so limited by
time many more questions could have
C la y to n K ee n e ( in m a te /a tu
been answered and resolved. We will
dent) bids farew ell to O.S.P. after
always look forward to this kind o f
tw o years w ith the 'Class of Legal
public interest and involvement.
Processes
Bad discharge hearings planned
The Discharge Review Boards o f
the Navy and Arm y w ill conduct
hearings in Portland the weeks o f
June 11th to 23rd for veterans who
are appealing their bad character dis
charges. There are about 8,000
veterans
w ith
“ bad
p a p e r"
discharges in Oregon. The DRBs
come to Portland about once a year
with 39 veterans on the docket for
the hearings this year.
Portland M ilita ry and Veterans
Counseling Center has been working
with veterans with "bad paper" for
over four years. For the hearings this
year, PMVCC will be representing 30
clients.
O nly a small number o f the
Black Bechtel Employees Committee
in an attem pt to set aside the
proposed settlement and get the class
action suit back in gear.
Under terms o f the settlement,
Bechtel w ould adm it to no
discrim ination, and would not be
required to improve its employment
practices. Each o f the four original
plaintiffs was to be paid $3,000 while
$120,000 was to be divided among
the rest o f the class action plaintiffs,
and a futher $160,000 paid in legal
fees. The settlement would also shut
the door to further discrimination
Tired of paying too much
fo r too little health care?
Hear Max Fine, Executive Director o f the
Committee fo r National Health Insurance,
W ashington, D .C ., talk about Senator
Ted K e n n e d y 's "H e a lth Care fo r A ll
Americans A c t."
WHEN: Friday, June 15th, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Westminister Presbyterian Church,
1624 N.E. Hancock, Portland
Public Welcome — Free Talk
There is also dinner available at church, 6 p.m. before the
talk. Cost is $5 a person and call 233-6868 for reservations.
Max Fine will also speak on Friday, June 15th, Noon in the
meeting room at Mannings Cafeteria, 949 Lloyd Center, Port
land. No host Luncheon, Public welcome.
McGowan
(Continued from Page 1 Column 6)
McGowan received a four day
social pass a year ago and, with his
wife, escaped to Oregon Although
McGowan was fitted with artificial
legs, he has been unable to find em
ploym ent. The social security he
received in prison was held when he
escaped. McGowan is a veteran,
wounded in Vietnam, but because of
a less than honorable discharge he
receives no benefits.
The State o f Oregon has not
received extradition papers from the
State of Alabama so the McGowan’s
do not know what to expect. They
plan to fight extradition if it comes
because they believe McGowan’s two
escapes and his suits against the state
will place his life in danger.
DENTAL IN S U R A N C E
is a valuable asset. . .
appearance
COMPLETE COOPERATION
ON A LL
DENTAL INSURANCE CLAIMS
WE HANDLE ALL THE DETAILS OF
COMPLETING YOUR CLAIM FORMS
no appointm ent needed
Come in at your convenience
PARK FREE — Any Park n Shop Lot
HOURS:
Weekdays 8:30a.m. to5p.m .
S W 3RD b YAMHILL ST., PORTLAND, OREGON
TAKE ELEVATOR TO 2ND FLOOR 3RD ST. ENTRANCE
1518 NE KILLINGSWORTH
PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1
EXO D US
ON S U M M E R T IM E .
S u m m ertim e is the peak of nature's g row th
respect it soberly.
ON THE D IM E N S IO N S O F T H E W O RLD:
There are tw o w o rlds; the w o rld th a t w e can
m easure w ith line and rule, and the w orld th a t
w e feel w ith our hearts and im aginations.
Leigh H unt
ON R EPU TA TIO N :
To disregard w h a t the w orld thinks of us is not
only arrogant but utterly sham eful.
Cicero
She’s pregnant.
She’s deserted.
She needs help.
She should call
221-0598
B irthright
fres confidential
counseling for
pregnant girls
Mayer Building at
1130S.W Mdrnson
Baked just right for you!
. . . U N IO N OR C O M P A N Y
Dr. Jeffrey B RA D Y, D entist
claims by an individual plaintiff.
“ I am not aware o f any other Title
V II settlement as weak as this one,”
noted Scott, present attorney for the
Black employees. He pointed to
recent settlements o f $33 million with
General Electric, and $3.5 m illion
other.
“ The recurring theme of many o f
the employees we've talked to is that
Blacks are being passed over for
promotion in favor of less experienced
white women," noted Scott.
He also pointed to the fact that
Bechtel’s two highest women execu
tives, both in personnel and both
named as defendants in the Black
employees suit, received their
positions after women became
organized and started filing suits in
the early '70s.
bread
MADE WITH PURE LKFJC
VEGETABLE SHORTENING
estimated 8,000 “ bad p a p e r"
veterans in Oregon have sought relief
tor their discharges by appealing for
a personal hearing in front o f the
DRBs for each service branch. The
administrative process for upgrading
bad character discharges is long and
complicated. Many veterans who
received bad discharges are severely
stigm atized by those discharges
although the reasons for those
discharges are many times dubious
(e.g discharges given because of im
plicit racial reasons or because of an
arbitrary adm inistrative decisions
etc.).
For further inform ation, please
contact Bill West at 224-9307.
SHOP
Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bechtel faces civil rights suit
(Continued from Page I Column 6)
Federal Judge W illiam Orrick has
deferred ruling on the settlement un
til June 1st to enable the attorneys to
gather new evidence.
One interesting sidelight raised by
the women’ s discrimination suit is
some indication that the company is
improving the lot o f one group o f
employees at the expense o f the
with the Bank o f America, the terms
of which included extensive a ffir
mative action programs.
Scott and his law partner have
been retained by the NAACP and the
The Bank that integration built
ON R EPU TA TIO N :
A person has a re p u ta tio n , and is no lo n g e r
FREE, but m ust respect it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
ON R EPU TA TIO N :
T h e solar system has no a n x ie ty a b o u t its
reputation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson