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)