P a g e b P o r tla n d O b s e r v e r J u n e 19. 19HU Cell Talk Behind the Walls by l.arry Baker »35021 ()..S'. /*. ( 'orrespondent By Delbert »38650 I am an inmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Being from Eastern Oregon, I am very aware ol how very little the average person there know about the corrections branch o f government in Oregon. I was born in Nyssa. I attended school and grew up in the Vale area, and I was employed in Ontario as a Service Technician lo r O ntario Photocopy Equipment Company. So I guess you could say I’m native to the area. The State o l is the largest em ployer in the state and corrections is one o f the largest divisions within this body and therefore takes a large percent o f your tax dollar. So it is only right that you might wonder how this money is spent. I cannot give you an itemized list o f expen ditures, bu, I can tell you about one small program here at the prison that is funded by your tax dollars, and has really helped me see the light at the end o f the tunnel, so to speak. I am speaking about the elec tronics vocational training program here, in which I am currently enrolled. Our instructor is M r. Don Rea. fie is a competent and personable man who takes his job seriously. The class room is equipped to handle ten students. The class is taught so that each inmate can progress at his own rate of learning. Io qualify for the class you must have good reading comprehension and a knowledge o f basic a rith metic. Also you must be within two years ol your release date. It usually takes from 12 to 14 months to com plete the class. Can we find jobs after completion o f the class? Yes, in fact, the class cannot turn out men fast enough to meet the demand for their skills. Besides employment, the class gives many ol us something else we never had when we came here. A sense ot self worth. What would I be doing if I wasn’t in the program? Like many other inmates, I would probably be walking the Red Desert feeling sorry to r myselt. I he Red Desert is a name the old cons use to describe the red cinder track which runs around the prison yard. It’s kind o f an inside joke here to speak about the lost souls who wander the Red Desert. At the present time there is a new V.T. building being constructed ad jacent to (he old one and is slated lor completion about September o f this year. This new building w ill almost double the current oppor tunities as lar as vocational training is concerned In my opinion, this is money well spent. One ol the more positive things about the V. I . programs is that they allow our V.T. instructors to go out into the community one day each month to help in job placement for their students and also to keep current with the latest techniques in their respective fields. I ’ m sure you have all heard many negative things about prisons. While many o f these are undoubtedly true, there are many positive things a man can do here in order to rehabilitate him self. I feel that the V .T. programs ottered here are o f major importance in co n trib u tin g to rehabilitation. Message from the Superintendent By Hoyt C. Cupp Superintendent Oregon State Penitentiary As you are no doubt aware, the Employee Bargaining Unit has given us notification o f their intent for all non-security s ta ff, (e.g., C oun selors, Stewards, Maintenance, Clerical, etc.) to go out on strike ef fective Monday, June 16, 1980. This will, in some instances, cause some inconvenience lo r inmates and remaining staff. Nevertheless, I am committed to continuing to run the institution as normally as possible during this period. During the period ot the strike, all lines and activities will run as nor mal, with the exception of: - Education Department. - The ABE Program w ill be closed. - College Program operation will depend on how many professors come to work. - Vocational Training Program will be closed. - The Industries swing shift will be closed. - Inmates assigned to swing shift w ill be provided jobs during the regular day shift. - Physical Plant assignments will be curtailed. Selected inmates nor mally assigned to the Physical Plant w ill be “ on call’ ’ should Physical Plant management stall need their services It is not my desire that inmate pay be entirely terminated as a result o f the strike. To offset pay loss, in mates not working due to suspended operations will continue to earn pay up to the first 5 days o f the strike. Good times will continue to be ac- curued w ithout in te rru p tio n throughout the duration o f the em ployee work stoppage. Counseling Services w ill be provided. Please confine requests lo r counseling services to urgent needs. Interview Requests w ill be screened for that purpose. E X 0 D U S ' By Asmar A bdul Seijulluh (aka Joe West » 40404 David Wright » 39816 Assistant Editor rfrr<t//rr//r// a » r / Jfle rr/w e » / ('e n fe t 1518 N E KILLINGSWORTH By M alik A hmad Sabr A h (aka Alvin H. Canell 33512) We have written, we have asked, we have appealed to you in every way ftossihle for us, but the respose has been a silent one. I would now like to ask you a couple questions but your answers should be directed to the honesty o f your heart and the truthfulness o f your mind. What would be the effect on you if you were I ) accused by a white so- called victim o f a crime that really never took place like they say it did. 2) Arrested by a sea o f white police. 3) Jailed by w hite ja ile rs. 4) Prosecuted by a white prosecutor. 5) Sent to a racist prison; racist by its very conception and design. 8) Dehumanized by while guards? 1. W ould you say “ this is justice?” 2. Would you plead for help? 3. Would you kill yourself? 4. Would you adjust? 5. W ould you ignore the whole things? 6. None o f the above.... What would be the effect on you if: You were sent to prison from a m orally and financially bankrupt section o f a very wealthy city, and you left behind loved ones and friends who haven’ t the means t,o provide for themselves, not from laziness, but from lack o f jobs and lack ol equal opportunity to acquire decent jobs? 1. Would you worry? 2. W ould you be angry at the system? 3. W ould you wish you could work her for SI .00 a day to help at home? 4. Would you ignore it? 5. None o f the above... What would be the effect on you if: Once you got to prison you saw A ll other activities such as Recreation Yard, Activities, Can teen, Visiting, etc.,, w ill continue as normal. To dispel any rumors, I see no need whatsoever to im plement any kind o f lockdown. Again, it w ill be unfortunate if the employee work stoppage occurs. It w ill require extra tolerance and patience on the part o f us all. Your cooperation is requested. You can be assured we will continue to do all we can to seek early resolution to this situation. personnel who were less moral, less educated and less needy than the com m unity from which you were stolen, “ earn from $1,000 to 51,700 dollars a month” by telling grown men to “ take o ff your hat, tuck your shirt in, cell in " and locking doors? 1. Would you say, “ if my people could get jobs like this, we wouldn’ t be subjected to prison nearly as much as we are now? 2. Would you despise the system for systematic racism? 3. W ould you challenge the fam ily a ffa ir here to provide our people jobs (hat would help meet the rise o f inflation? 4. Would you ignore it? 5. None o f the above.... What would you do it your wife and your babies drove fifty miles, used a tank o f gas and three hours travel time to visit you and then, a fte r they got here, were only allowed one hour visitin g tim e because o f lack o f visiting space in the Oregon State Penitentiary, when it is designed to hold 1107 men, but the visiting room is only designed for 120 people? 1. Would you quietly submit to this cold treatment, when you’ ve waited seven to fourteen days to see your family and have tolerated the bullshit o f O.S.P., just trying to keep cool until your fam ily could come and comfort you. 2. Would you ignore it and say "A h , such is prison?” 1. Would you accuse your people of not writing (breaking your own ties with the outside world)? 2. Would you accept it? 3. Would you question the mail room? 4. Would you ignore it? 5. None ol the above... We are under such conditions here and we don’t know really what to do. We know that something could be done with your help! We wonder alot. We wonder why won't the urban League, the N .A .A .C .P ., The Black United Front, in concert, or individually, sponsor workshops inside O.S.P., to find out what we need while we are here and after we leave here. This could grow into a national project. It could get federal funding to help both communities, i.e. the community in Portland and the second largest Black population politics, human and civil rights; it is very much needed. We have anywhere from 400 to 500 Black men in the corrections system in Salem. Surely this number is large enough to cause concern to the leaders o f our people. The whole world is concerned and in an uproar over 53 hostages in Iran; hostages that were somewhere they had no business being in the first place! I f we here, could get the concern, or l/10th the concern that Amerika has fo r the hostages in Iran, we could get some instant straighten up in the Oregon crim in a l justice system and in Oregon State Peniten tiary. 3. Would you scream and shout? 4. Would you_______________ ? 5. None o f the above. What would you do if you spoke out against the powers that be, and suddenly your mail stopped coming, but you knew your wife and family wrote everyday? What would you be doing if you were here? Think about it cause it is not im possible fo r you to come. Oregon knows that the Black man has no one to come to his aid, so they do with him as they damn well please. Pacific Power Citizen o f the Week PORTLAND OREGON 9721 1 284 7997 FROM THE FRONT DOOR B Y TO M BOO THE From the front door, I was asked by a Minister (Preacher), from one ot our local Churches here in Portland to publish my opinion of the Mt. St. Helens volcano. I felt that this request was a "Trick or Dare’’ confrontation However, I decided to take the bite. From the front door, I saw the Mt. St. Helens volcano as a clear act ot geological Patience, Pow er and Pressure I also saw the reaction ot People demonstrated as P atience, Powerless and Frustration. I saw no change in the human attitude toward natural phenomenon. When it is cold human beings seek to stay warm, and by and large they succeed, by their own discoveries, creations and patience. When it is warm, human beings seek to stay cool, and by and large they succeed by their own discoveries, creations and patience. When it rains or snows, human beings seek to stay dry, and by and large they succeed by their own discoveries, creations and patience. When there are electric storms, tornados and hurricanes, human beings seek shelter and by their own instinct and logic by and large they are saved. When there are earthquakes and tidal waves, human beings instinctively seek shelter and move from the path of the storm and by and large they succeed and are saved. Historically, when and where there are natural powerful activities, and human beings are around, their instincts surface and makes a bid to survive. Remember, that when the Mt. St. Helens volcano erupted there were those who heeded the warnings, both ot the mountain and of those who predicted the possible impending dangers; and there were those who did not. Lets not forget that the forces of nature almost never acts without warning, but in all cases, without exception, there are those who heed the warnings; and there are those who do not. The Mt. St. Helens volcano experience is as Sim ple, or, as C om plex as any other natural phenomenon - think about the simplicity or the complexity of a snow flake or a rain drop — can anyone on earth truly know and measure the dimensions of Powers, Pressures, and Patience that it takes to bring just one snow flake or rain drop into reality. Children (Continued from Page I Col 6) large particles takes place. Small children may at times swallow some o f the ash. Evidence to date suggests that ingestion o f ash is not a hazard to the health o f children and adults. C hildren should ce rtainly be prevented from playing in areas where ash is deep on the ground or piled up, especially if they are likely to lie or ro ll in the ash. M ore frequent cleaning o f home interior areas where children play w ill minimize the amount o f indoor ash exposure in areas o f heavy past or future ashfalls. Since there is the potential for fu rth e r ashfalls, it would be ap propriate for families to obtain a mask fo r each member and to discuss their use. A PERSONAL MOMENT FOR THOSE W HO CARE The airplane the Wright Brothers flew is little more than a distant cousin to the jet liners of today. The first radio is even farther than a distant cousin to modern day television. Im proving on the original makes the object a part of many through their contributions. The only thing that offers per fection from the start Is love. A perfect love cannot be im proved. 1979 Wm A Kummet laaaaaaaaaaiiiiaiaiiiiaaaaaaaaaaii PRESENTED BY When human beings experienced their first snow storm, they may have appeared as in trigued, frustrated and as helpless as we here now have felt toward the Mt. St. Helens volcano. When you think about it, the first snow storm was probably far more frightening to the people who experienced it, than, Mt. St. Helens is to us, I imagine the questions were the same: When it it going to stop? What is it doing now? Is it dangerous or toxic? Whet s causing it? How do I get rid of it? How will it effect our future? Why is it doing it at this time? Mt St. Helens is our first direct experience with a mountain that spews ash, dust end steam, on an intarmittence schedule. From the front door, I concluded that the M t. St. Helens volcano was just another one of nature s old Professors calling its class to order; and as in all classes, there are some Students who will learn, and there will be some who will not. AMERICAN STATE BANK 273/ N.E. Union 282 221« laaaaaavaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaia Ronnie Herndon is best known for his service as co-chairman of the Black United Front. Under his leadership the Black community has united as never before around the issue ot education ot black children. The recent successful boycott of the public schools demonstrated that the BUF does express the legitimate concerns of Black parents. Herndon was born and raised in Coffeyville, Kansas, and came to Portland in 1968. He attended Reed College where he earned a degree in History in 1970. "The things I learned that are worthwhile were not learned at Reed College," Herndon says, adding that his college experience at Reed was anything but pleasant. Soon after graduation he established the Black Education Center to provide for the academic, cultural and psychological needs of Black elementary age school children. The next year he founded Talking Drum Bookstore to provide the Black people ot Portland easy access to information on their history and culture. Herndon is director of the Albina Ministerial Alliance Child Development Center, a full day headstart program. For many years Ronnie Herndon has been identified as a man who will contribute much to his community. Bright, articulate, dedicated, with strong convictions and strength of purpose, Herndon is an in spiration to young and old. Young people look up to him, older people love him. With pride we present him as our "Citizen of the W eek." BROUGHTTO YOU BY Pacific Power