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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1981)
Mrs Francos Sehoen-Newspaper Posa U n iv e rs ity o f Oregon L ib ra ry uigcne, Orecon 97403 u.s. Have A Happy Thanksgiving threatens war PORTEND OBSERVER N ovem ber 25, 1981 V olum e XII N um ber 7 25C Per Copy School Board considers Tubman site change The Portland School Board will study a number o f alternative sites before deciding w hether to place H arriet Tubm an M id d le School at its intended site - Eliot. T w o years ago the P o rtla n d School Board adopted a new desegregation plan to head o f f a threatened school boycott. A major facto r in that plan was the establishm ent o f one or more m iddle schools in the Black community. Over a ten year period the upper grades - sometimes reaching the 4th grade - were removed fro m the neighborhood schools. N o middle schools were established fo r these children - as was the case in other areas o f the d istrict •• and the children were scattered throughout the d is tric t. C h ild re n fro m King school, for example, were sent to 43 different schools. The board established H a rrie t Tubman Middle School to serve the students o f K in g , H u m b o ld t and Eliot schools and agreed to place it in the Eliot building. The school was established tem p o rarily at the old M onroe H igh School building for the 1980-1981 school year so the Eliot building could be prepared. Then some members o f the board decided the changes to Eliot would be too expensive and that the building is inadequate, and the plan was put on hold for another year. T u b m an was established w ith magnet programs intended to draw white children from other areas o f the city. The Board now plans to look at other options. Those suggested by In te rim Superintendent James Fenw ick and the s ta ff are: the M onroe building; the W ashington/ M onroe building, now closed, and located in Southeast; the Adam s b u ild in g , now closed; K ennedy elementary school, which has been closed for several years due to poor build in g c o n d itio n ; Boise, which now houses the only P K -8th grade school in the area; and Jefferson High School, the only high school in the area. Don M c E lro y reported that the s ta ff in ten tio n is to have a professional poll taken o f Tubman parents, p o te n tial parents from K in g , H u m b o ld t and E lio t, and potential parents from other areas o f the C ity. The two Area Citizens A d viso ry C o m m ittees and the D e s e g r e g a t io n M o n ito r in g Committee would also be involved. The s ta ff w ould analyze b uilding use, tra n s p o rta tio n , costs, and projected racial balance fo r each building. The proposal met w ith some opposition from board ir*m b e rs . H erb C aw th o rn e asked hy the d istrict should spend money on a p o ll when the preference o f the parents for the Eliot site is known. A lso, why asked them i f their preference will be discarded? H e also considered a p o ll o f parents to be too narrow , since all p o litic a l groups in the area have consistently favored Eliot. The poll should include only parents o f King, Hum boldt and Eliot students which are the resident students o f the school. In making decisions about other m iddle schools only resident fam ilies were in v o lve d , and that policy should not be changed in this case. B ill Scott said any p o ll should come only a fte r all the related in fo rm atio n is made available. He favored placing the school at Eliot but would reconsider i f there were factual in fo rm a tio n showing that this is not feasible. Scott also was concerned about the program now in the E lio t building - a pre-school and Follow T h ro u gh pro g ram that serves children fro m throu g h o u t the district. Steve Buel rem inded the board that the school was established to be in the Black c o m m u n ity and that most o f the options named would not serve that purpose. The board should sit down and discuss the issues with the com m unity leaders who were involved in the o riginal plann ing — not w ith anyone else. “ The ultim ate decision should be w ith those people in the Black com m u nity who were involved b e fo re .” F o r the school to be successful the Black community has to belive that they are being fairly treated and that their children will benefit. No decision as to the process to be follow ed was made, but the board w ill consider other options in addition to the Eliot building. Southwell heads DVR Joil Southwell has been appointed director o f the State's V ocational Rehabilitation Division. The D iv i sion, one o f the eighth in the D e partment o f Hum an Relations, has 430 employees and an annual bud get o f $21 million. T he agency provides re h a b ilita tion services to the handicapped to enable them to become employable and be independent. JO IL SO U T H W E L L Southwell, who is currently man ager o f an A d u lt and Fam ily Ser vices branch office in Portland, will assume new responsibilities on De cember 1st. H e jo in e d the state in 1975 as manager o f the Northwest Branch o f Adult and Family Services. Prior to that he was an executive dftettoi o f the Senior Adult Service Center, in itia lly funded by M o d e l C ities , and later operated through the C ity / County Council on Aging. A fte r graduating from P ortland State University in 1968 in Business A d m in is tra tio n , S o u th w ell was a management trainee for Crown Zel- lerbach. He earned a masters degree in Political Science from P .S .U . Southwell and his w ife, C ynthia, live in Portland with their sons, Joil, Jr., 10 and Marcel, 6. Education Center named for Blanchard The P o rtlan d School Board has named the Education Service Center a fte r D r. R obert W . B lanch ard , who served as superintendent from 1969to 1980. The re so lu tio n , in tro d uced by Board Chairman Frank M cNam ara, states, “ . . . h e exercised a wide range o f impressive leadership and services to the students, employees, and patrons o f Portland." The resolution was supported by D r. Holland Anderson o f the M u lt nomah A th le tic C lu b E a rly Birds who stated that Blanchard’s friends at M A C realize "how much o f him self he gave to the Portland School D is tric t." Sid Lezak, U .S . A tto r ney. also a M A C frie n d , said the controversy surrounding B lan chard’s dismissal affected him and left a wound in the community that nam ing the b u ild in g fo r him w ill help heal. F orm er school board member Robert Ridgley reviewed the contro versy surrounding the b u ilin g , which he called one o f Blanchard’ s m ajo r controversies. The site was acquired through condemnation o f p riv a te p ro p e rty , m ostly homes owned by Blacks; there was opposi tion to building at a time o f shrink ing resources; there was opposition from city officials and others who felt the p ro p erty could be better used to augment the M em orial C ol iseum site or for tourist facilities. L au rie P aris, speaking fo r the Jackson H igh School newspaper, the Frontiersman, said Blanchard “ insisted on a high level o f educa tion for all students.” O p p o sitio n came fro m R onnie Herndon, co-chairman o f the Blac* United Front, who said the naming o f the building for Blanchard does not take into consideration what his policies meant to the Black com munity. Students from King were sent to 43 d iffe re n t schools, students from Humboldt to 20 or 30, and the achievement level o f those who went (Please turn to page 4 column 4) Leaders of tomorrow: Aisha Daniel, three-year- old daughter of Jean Vessup. helps Ronnie Hern- don chair Black United Front political conventioi (Photo: Richard J. Brovs U.S. threatens war in Central America The Reagan a dm in istration has increased its threats o f aggression against Cuba and Nicaragua in re cent weeks, heightening tensions in the area to the level existing during the 1962 missile crisis, and threat ening to blow existing conflicts into a full scale war in Central America. W ith the guerillas in El Salvador controlling 50 per cent o f the coun tryside and their m ilitary successes increasing, the administration fears that unless it takes “ decisive ac tio n ” the U .S.-supported m ilita ry government will fall. Along with re cruiting the aid o f Honduras against the guerilla groups operating along its borders, the U .S. is contemplat ing military action against Cuba and N icaragua which it blames for the re v o lu tio n a ry a c tiv ity in C e n tra l America. •C u b a has responded with a state o f military alert, expecting an inva sion within the next few weeks. •N ic a ra g u a has m o b ilized its forces and expects an invasion by G u a te m a la n , H o n d u ra n , N ic a ra guan and Cuban exile or even U .S. troops “ at any moment.” •H o n d u ra n arm y units have moved 25,000 Salvadorean refugees from along their border in prepara tion for a rear assault against El Sal vador guerillas h o ld in g Cabanos and Chalatengo provinces. •G ren a d a, with a population o f only 150,000, has also alerted its troops. They have noted the move ment o f U .S troops and naval and air activities near Barbados, 193 ki lometers from Grenada. The threat began w ith charges that Cuba, along with Nicaragua, is aiding the liberation forces in El Sal vador with arms and advisors. On July 30, in a close-door session o f sophisticated and broad clandestine present a single Cuban m ilita ry or the Senate Armed Forces C o m m it strategy that encourages aimed vio civilian advisor among the revolu tee, Secretary o f State H aig said, lence and the destabilization o f its tionary forces fighting in El Salva “ There is strong evidence that part neighbors. d o r.” o f the material (Soviet m ilitary aid — O n August 24th H aig charged The statement concluded: “ W e to Cuba] is being reshipped to Cen that the growing activity o f Salva challenge M r. H aig and his govern tral Am erica.” doran guerillas results from a con ment before world and U .S . public — In early August, U .N . Ambas stant supply o f weapons, the activity opinion to produce even a little bit sador Jeanne K irk p a tric k said in o f advisors, and command and con o f proof o f such allegations.” C hilc that the U .S . intends to per tro l o f foreign o rig in , chiefly C u — O n September 11th. A d m ira l suade C uba “ by every a va ila b le ban. He added that he feels the U.S. Harry Train, commander o f the A t m eans,” adding that the U .S . is should confront Cuba. lantic Fleet, said the U.S. is in a po aware the Cuban “ expansionism ” — On August 28th H aig said the sition to impose a military blockade must be attacked directly. U.S. is considering a broad range o f against Cuba. — On August 11, H aig to ld the p o litic a l, econom ic and security On September 15th Cuban presi A m erican Bar A ssociation that (m ilita ry ) measures, and studying dent Fidel Castro told the 68th Con Cuba and the Soviet U nion arc re how to confront Cuba. ference o f the Inter-Parlieam entary sponsible for the growing tensions T he governm ent o f C u b a re U n io n , m eeting in H a v a n a , “ W e in Central America and A frica. He sponded on September 3rd, stating have defied the U .S. Government to charged that Cuba has 1500 military that the charges o f arms distribution present even the slightest evidence to advisor in Nicaragua. to El Salvador “ is completely false, c o n firm its statements, but it has — On August 20th the State De 100 per cent fa ls e ,” adding that been unable to utter a single w ord.” partment said Cuba had developed a “ there has never been nor is there at — On October 12. Vice-President George Bush said Nicaragua still ha the o p p o rtu n ity o f freeing itsell from the chains being tied to it b< 5,000 Cuban advisors. — On O cto b er 14th, Bush de clared that the U .S . will not stand passively by while foreign powers brutally intervene in the a ffairs of Latin American countries. On October 19 a newspaper ar ticle by Evans and Novak charged that between 500 and 600 special C uban troops had landed in Nicaragua with the intention o f es tablishing a Marxist state in eastern El Salvador. On O cto b er 24th C as tro re sponded. saying. “ C u ba has not sent a single soldier from any special forces or any other kind o f force to Nicaragua. Cuba has never sent any troops to Nicaragua. This is a bla- (Ptease turn to page 5 column I)
