Portland Observer, September 3 , 18B1 Pasa 3
F R O M T H E B L A C K P E R S P E C T IV E . P ortland C om m unity College.
Cascade, is offering a special program o f evening classes called: " . . . From
the Black Perspective.” Ten Black instructors from a variety o f fields will
be featured this Fall at six different Northeast and North locations. Regis
tration is now open at Cascade. Fall classes begin M onday, Sept. 28. Call
283-2541, ext. 303 for more information.
From the Boardroom
by Gladys McCoy, County Commissioner
Should Rocky Butte Jail be fully
m aintained w ith expanded bed
»pace or are alternatives to incarcer
ation at the Butte sufficient?
Rocky Butte Jail should be fully
m aintained u n til the new M u ltn o *
mah County Corrections facility is
ready for use in N ovem ber, 1983.
Presently, Rocky Butte Jail is as full
as a Federal mandate w ill allow as
the result o f a suit brought against
the C o u n ty fo r “ inhum ane stan
d ard s .“ A lre a d y , our 1981 crim e
rate is up some 23 per cent; prosti
tutes are repeatedly arrested and re
turn to the streets within hours be
cause there is no room at the down
town ja il. Public awareness o f the
lack o f available bed space at Rocky
Butte is an open invitation to crime;
evidenced by increased arrests. The
Corrections Division does not have
the available bed space in the Rocky
Butte Jail to handle its increased ar
rests, but will have space if permit
ted to expand.
T o make room for unsentenced
prisoners at Rocky Butte Jail, shift
ing to free up bed space is taking
place on a cyclical basis. T o make
room at Rocky Butte Jail for pre-
tra il detainees, shifting o f unsen
tenced, medium security prisoners
to the M ultnom ah County Correc
tions Facility (M C C F ), Troutdale, a
m inim um security fa c ility , places
these unsentenced prisoners w ith
sentenced w o rk release prisoners
and endangers the security at that
facility. T o make bed space avail
able at M C C F , some o f the medium
security prisoners are shifted to the
various work release centers in the
County, such as the Burnside Pro
ject and the Oregon Halfway House
where there is very little security.
Some o f these o ffend ers com m it
more crimes, are re-arrested, and
the sh iftin g to m ake room starts
again.
T o stop o r reduce the sh iftin g
w ith in the C o rrectio n s system,
Rocky Butte J ail shoud be fu lly
m a in ta in e d , req uirin g funds not
presently available in the C o u n ty
budget. However, the request from
the Federal Marshall to house an ad
ditional 17 Federal pre-trial detain
ees at the B u tte, w ith funds
provided, to increase the bed space,
would allow the County the needed
fle x ib ility as well as the required
beds for the Federal Marshall.
T o increase the bed space, a
dormitory, costing 3137,000, would
be built in the basement o f Rocky
Butte Jail. It would house 17 addi
tio n a l Federal p re -tria l detainees
plus the unsentenced prisoner popu
lation held at M C C F . Rocky Butte
presently houses 13 Federal pre-trial
detainees. This Federal money is be
ing offered in order for more o f the
Federal court pre-trial detainees to
be held near the P o rtla n d Federal
Courthouse, placing the M u ltn o m
ah County Corrections Division in a
position to im m ediately resolve its
o vercrow ding pro b lem in the
County jail.
I maintain that the overcrowding
could be resolved by spending
3137,000 in Federal funds to expand
Rocky Butte. This would be an im
m ediate and wise solutio n to our
present grow ing need fo r m ore
available bed space. It would help
stabilize our increasing crime rate;
provide some fle x ib ility fo r the
C ourts and arresting a u th o rities ;
and, provide space for Federal de
tainees.
The Multnomah County Board o f
Commissioners support the Federal
M a rs h a ll’ s contract being signed,
but the C ounty Executive is reluc
tant to sign without the explicit au
thority to add bed space. There is a
split on the Board regarding the in
creased beds. Some Commissioners
believe a ll the problem s can be
handled by adding a w ork release
center com bined w ith a new tim e
line initiated by the Courts to cut the
number o f days between arrest and
conviction, an on-street supervision
program, and, a recog program.
I am very concerned about the
cost o f public safety and I maintain
that the cost to expand Rocky Butte
Jail, in the short run, ensures great
er benefits in the long run through
improved public safety, rehabilita
tion o f prisoners through work re
lease center, reducing recidivism ,
and, a considerable cost reduction
to M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty . It w ould
also help keep the ja il populations
w ith in C o u rt-m a n d a te d lim its .
M C C F would be relieved o f its pre
sent security problem s caused by
sentenced w o rk release prisoners
and unsentenced prisoners being
housed together.
H C D A d viso ry C o m m itte e , 7:30 pm, W ed., Sept. 16, Masonic Temple,
1119SW Park.
A ttic a D ay in Portland is held in conjunction with nationwide demon
strations commemorating the Attica uprising. Film , L ike A Rose (an inde
pendently produced film about two women serving 25-year sentences in the
Missouri State Penitentiary), will be followed by a panel discussion. 7pm,
Sunday, Sept. 13, St. Andrews Church (N E 9th A Alberta).
N A A C P , Portland Branch, general membership meeting, 4 pm, Sun.,
Sept. 20, at Bethel A M E Church (5828 N E 8th).
Pacific
Power
Citizen
o f the Week
Rocky Butte Jail is the only secure
facility we have until our new Jus
tice Center is completed some two
years from now. Rocky Butte must
be used until it is abandoned. Let us
utilize Rocky Butte Jail fully to pro
vide safety fo r o u r citizens. Is
3200,000 too much if it saves a life?
Protects a senior citizen? Spares a
rape victim? O r protects your prop
erty? M a k e no m istake, we must
have alternatives, but we must also
have secure jails. The Federal M a r
shall’ s grant w ill assist us to have
both.
I f you have a strong position on
this issue, please let me hear from
you by phone (248-5219), letter, or
drop by.
From the Capitol
■s
Congressman Ron Wyden
V
•t 4fc
Photo: Richard J. Brown
Q. Congress w ill reconvene next
week a fte r a long A ugust recess.
N o w th a t the budget a n d tax cut
battles have subsided, what do you
expect to be the m ajor topics o f de
bate?
A . Social Security and m ilita ry
spending w ill probably be the two
biggest agenda items. Other likely
issues include reauthorization o f the
Clean A ir Act and extension o f the
Voting Rights Act.
So cial S e cu rity — Expect a very
heated and long-winded debate. A l
most everyone agrees that the sys
tem is in dire need o f re fo rm , but
there is a great deal o f dispute as to
how to go about achieving that end.
Proposals range from those elimin
ating benefits for current recipients
(such as the A d m inistration's pro
posal to eliminate the minimum So
cial Security benefit) to those which
look only at long-range changes. I
will be working to ensure we adopt a
reform package that provides the
system with a sound economic base
— but still allows working men and
women and retirees time to prepare.
pensive,
in e ffic ie n t
weapons
systems. The House will shortly take
up the A rm e d Forces Pay A ct o f
1981 which puts more o f the defense
dollar where I believe it should be—
into better pay and incentive pack
ages for the men and women o f the
Arm ed Forces. W ith o u t a fighting
force that is trim and properly mo
tivated. all the technology and w hiz-.
bang weaponry in the world will not
provide us with the strong defense
we truly need.
M ilita ry Spending— There are a
lot o f places to cut military spending
w ithout threatening the strong de
fense we need and I support. Too
much money is wasted on overlv ex
Clean A ir A cl—-Proposals are be
ing circulated to roll back our clean
air standards— a move that could be
disastrous for Oregonians and other
Americans. Oregonians pride them-
An Open Letter
by Ronald R. Still
C hief o f Police .
Since becoming C hief o f Police, I
have had the opportunity to look at
the wide variety o f services that the
P o lite Bureau provides to the c iti
zens o f P o rtla n d . W e respond to
many d iffe re n t needs throughout
the community. I feel it will be bene
ficial to highlight two o f these ser
vices.
The C o m m u n ity A ffa irs C rim e
Prevention U n it has a program
called “ free locks.” This federally
funded program provides many low
income homewoners with security
hardware at no cost. It ’s objective is
to reduce the number o f people who
fall victim to burglaries. Since it ’ s
inception in 1977, the six members
assigned to this program have
helped make over 3,000 homes more
secure.
One o f the good things about this
program is that there is very little
that the homeowner must do to ob
tain the service. A telephone call to
the Crime Prevention Unit and sig
nature is all that is needed. Someone
w ill first check your home to see
what is needed, then a two member
crew will come to install the hard
ware. A ll this takes place over a very
short time period.
This program is successful in re
ducing burglaries. It is not available
SOLE DESIGN OF PORTLAND
5600 NE Union
Portland.
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to everyone. To qualify you must be
buying or owning your own home;
earn under SI 1,200 and live in the
Housing C om m unity Development
area. The last qualification is d iffi
cult to define. Many neighborhoods
in Portland are w ithin these boun
daries. M y suggestion is that you
call our C rim e Prevention U n it to
see i f you q u a lify . T h e ir phone
number is 248-4126.
Even if you do not qualify for the
“ free locks” pro g ram , crim e pre
vention personnel can come to your
home and make recommendations
for im proving the security o f your
home. Recent indicators show that
those hom eowners that have se
curity hardw are installed, sig n ifi
cantly reduce the chances o f being,
burglarized.
1 suggest that everyone should
take part in this program . The re
duction o f crime in Portland is im
portant to everyone.
I f you have com ments or ques
tions regarding the Portland Police
Bureau, send them to me through
the Public Info rm atio n O ffice, 222
SW Pine, Portland Oregon, 97204. I
w ill not be able to respond in my
open letters to each and every con
cern, bu, will select those which will
assist in improving communications
and relations with the community.
CONVERSE LEATHER
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FÏEE POSTER FOR EACH MlR OF SHOES PURCHASED
Interested in current books
about Civil Rights? Visit:
JOHN REED BOOKSTORE
In the Dekum Building
519 S W. 3rd Avenue
Sixth Floor
Or call 227 2902
selves on our clean, fresh air— and I
don’t believe they are about to give
that up. Oregonians also understand
that it is possible to strike a balance
between econom ic and e n v iro n
mental concerns— that a clean envi
ronm ent does not mean a loss o f
economic opportunities. Although I
would agree there is a need fo r in-
• creased flexibility in certain provi
sions o f the A ct, I believe that can
be achieved without rolling back the
standards.
Voting R ights A c t— As I dis
cussed in this column last week, the
m ajo r civil rights issue before the
Congress this fall will be the debate
over whether to extend the Voting
Rights Act. I have cosponsored leg
islation which would extend the Act
for 10 years— a move I feel is im
portant to ensure we m aintain the
gains we have made and move even
further along toward political equal
ity for all Americans.
Gerry Abrams' primary concern is educational opportunity
for young people: "Our children are our hope for tomorrow.
The one most important thing I am working for is quality edu
cation for all children. I would like to see schools in our com
munity that any parents would be proud to have their children
attend."
Ms. Abram was born in Columbia, Mississippi and was
raised in that state. She attended Jackson State University
for two years, prior to moving to California. She came to
Portland to visit, and here she remains. She earned a BS in
Social Science with a certificate in Black Studies from Port
land State University and plans to continue her education,
studying counselling and African history.
Ms. Abrams is the mother of six children—three boys and
three girls—ranging from 11 to 24 years.
She is currently spokesperson for the Jefferson High
School Parent Advisory Council, Title I; is an alternate to the
City of Portland's Housing and Urban Development Council;
is a member of the NAACP and is active in the Black United
Front. She is a member of Allen Temple CME Church.
B R O U G H TTO YOU BY
Pacific
Power
< Fred Meyer »
S h o p p in g C e n l e n
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