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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1981)
B Portland Observer, December 10, 1981 Page 3 Michelle Gerald: Reporting the news Michelle Gerald, news reporter for KXL Radio, interviews Port land's new superintendent. Dr. Matthew Prophet. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) G rassroot News, N . IF. — “ I ’ m M ichelle G erald, in the K X L News C enter,” says one o f the few A fro - American women in Portland who’s involved in the delivery o f the who, what, when, where and why. “ As a news reporter my duties are either to stay in the studio making phone calls to gather news, or I ’ll go out in to the field to cover new s.*’ Ms. Gerald indicated that her pref erence is street reporting because it’s more personable. She relies upon the assignment editor o f radio station K X L for pin pointing stories, but keeps her ear to the ground, enabling her to cover stories that she assigns herself. “ Re cently I ’ ve reported on rape. I was taking a self-defense class and be came enlightened. 1 wanted to share what I learned.” Reporters must report the news in an objective manner, she explained. “ I present both sides; I w on’t say this is what happened— George says the C ity never called him but now they are taking his land, but the City says they did. When I go home I can talk to my friends and say what I personally feel, but on the air it is just both sides.” Has her objectivity ever wavered? " In some respects, yes. You some times c an ’ t help but put some o f your own personality into a story.” Keeping up with current events is the lifeblood o f a news reporter. ” 1 see stories about hard times coming over the wire all the time. The saw mill industry has over 50 per cent o f the people unemployed. T he other percentage is underemployed and I wonder what this is doing to their fam ilies. T oday, I covered a story about the governor w anting addi tio n a l cuts. T he Board o f H ig h er E ducation replied that they can ’ t make any more cuts. In a two-week span I ’ve talked with people who are no longer working. So, as a reporter I see firs t hand how harsh the economy is.” The stories she enjoys covering the most are ones that the general public is unaware o f and events and issues that have not been unearthed in a while. "W hen I did the story on the Black E d u c atio n al C en ter I knew that there were people out there who knew very little about the center. When I cover stories o f this kind it turns out to be a learning ex perience for me and our listeners.” The jo b o f news reporting does not have a high percentage o f Black women as role models. " N o , there are not e n o u g h ,’ ’ M s. G erald re plies. " I can see when I call some one up and later when I meet them to do an interview sometimes they are surprised. A lso, i f I happen to cover a story and the person I ’m in terviewing is o f the same race, i t ’s nice because that interview is not race related. I t ’ s lik e , H i, how are you doing. “ W h a t has bothered me is not com ing back in to the com m u nity with the skills that you’ ve learned. Now that I ’m in one o f those posi tions I can see that it ’s not all that easy. It takes a lot o f time and en ergy. You have to really want to do i t . ” M s. G erald stated th a t she w ould lik e to come back in to the community. " I feel at heart that I ’m a teacher. I receive great pleasure in watching someone find out some thing new.” She believes that one day her cov erage o f various stories may lead her outside o f Portland. Her long-term goals are to work in some capacity w ith Public R elations. She can be heard every hour on the h alf-h o u r re p o rtin g local news at 750 K X L AM. Study Kwanza The Black com m unity is invited to learn how to celebrate K w anza, an A frik a n holiday, at a workshop to held on Saturday, December 12th from 4 -6 pm at the Black E d u c a tional C e n te r’ s A c tiv ity Room lo cated at 1640 N E A lb erta . A dm is sion is free. For further information please call 282-9465 or 284-9552. Brutus time change Due schedule changes, Dennis Brutus, S. African poet and activist, w ill speak on F rid a y , December 11th, at Portland State University’s Cram er H a ll, Room 71, at 6:00 pm instead o f at 7:00 pm as reported in last week’s Observer. Officials oppose service cuts C ity and County representatives expressed their concerns about up coming cuts in the State budget to meet an anticipated $50 billion defi cit. , Thomas Higgins, director o f the Multnomah County Department o f Human Services, explained that “ it would be impossible for human ser vices and health programs to absorb the planned cuts without destroying that which it has taken 50 years to b u ild ....” "P erhaps most telling, the need will no, go away. Those who are de nied help w ill fill our streets, our neighborhoods and our jails. And whatever system they fall into, it is certain to be more costly, less e ffi cient and more inhumane.” The Slate Legislature will meet in Special Session January 1 Ith to re duce (he state budget. G o v ern o r Atiyeh has requested that all agen cies reduce their budgets by 20 per cent. Erm a H ep b u rn , director o f the City o f Portland’s Human Resource Bureau, pointed out that the legisla tors should be inform ed that addi tional cuts in education, w elfare, health and mental health, children’s services, elderly services and other human services cannot and should not be supported. Ms. Hepburn gave an example o f the proposed cuts: The State Senior Services Division is recommending cuts totalling $14 m illion, which in cludes cuttin g $6.7 m illio n fro m nursing home care and $5.4 million from community based care. But al so included is a 50 per cent reduc tion in O regon P ro ject In d ep en dence, a program that provides homemaker and other services d e -, signed to keep elderly persons ou, o f nursing homes. Oregon Project Independence, a program that provides homemaker and other services designed to keep elderly persons out o f nursing homes. "W e cannot allow these programs to become a scapegoat and used as an easy solution for complex prob lems. A ddition al cuts would mean total elimination o f some programs and substantial reduction in others. Also, it would be impossible to op erate and provide services at an ade quate level. It appears that we have forgotten why these programs were created." She suggested that the Legislature explore other alternatives such as in creasing revenue through taxes. " I admonish you. where w ill it end? Have we become a society so insensitive and oblivious to the needs o f the poor, socially and eco nomically disadvantaged, that there is a lack o f concern about the im pact o f cuts on human services.. . ?” Jean Babson, volunteer C h ild Welfare advocate, told how the pro posed cuts will affect services to children: the 20 per cent reduction will badly cripple services to ch il dren in need o f foster care, counsel ling, protective services, at a time of increasing unemployment and fam ily disruption. Reduction in funding child care will result in loss o f ser vices and com m unity resources. Preventive services such as hom e makers w ill be reduced. The p ro gram for high risk teenage parents will be elim inated as will day care for migrant workers. Cuts in the H ealth Division will result in more unwantd pregnancies. Medical care for mothers and chil dren will be reduced at a time when more services are needed. M ental Health cuts will bring abandonment For luxurious hair care, you can buy TCB products at: Friday's Beauty Supply 3612 NE 15th 249 0363 (or) 4664 NE U n io n 287 8256 o f com m unity care for m entally ill adults and children, eliminate out patient care for 12,400 children and adults as well as com m unity p ro grams for m entally retarded c h il dren. Adolescents w ill no longer have separate wards at the State Hospitals. Donald J. Ballinger, executive d i rector o f the T ri-C o u n ty C o m m u nity Council, said that if the choice is to elim in ate human services, "then we mus, be prepared to deal with these problems im m ediately and welcome persons— who current ly are not always visible because they arc being cared for in our jails, nursing homes, and mental institu tions— back into the com m unity prem aturely and w ith o u t the assistance that is required to assure appropriate behavior and continued independence in their transition.” In related action, Presiding O f fi cer o f the Board o f County Commis sioners Gladys McCoy has called for a conference o f the mayors o f Pdh- land, Gresham , F airview , T ro u t dale, and W ood V illage, the M u lt nomah C ounty Executive, and the M ultn o m ah C ounty legislators to discuss th : potential budget cuts. The meeting will be held on Decem ber 15, 1981, at 7:30 pm at the M u lt nomah County Courthouse. Watch crime C a p ta in Vern M c C a b e , com mander o f the Portland Police Bu reau’ s N o rth P recinct, reports an alarming increase in purse snatches and strong arm robberies near shop ping centers. These crimes usually increase during the holiday season. The most frequent victims are el derly citizens, w alking alone. The perpetrators are usually men, rang ing in age from teenagers to approx imately thirty. M cC abe suggests the follow ing safeguards: •W o m e n : D o n ’ t carry a pursel I f you insist on carrying a purse, use a small “ clutch” bag without straps to entangle you or the suspect to grab on to. •T a k e only necessary I.D . cards and money. Pu, these items in pock ets on the inside o f your clothing. •W h e n possible, do your shop ping or banking during the morning hours. These crimes occur more o f ten in the a fte rn o o n than in the morning. • Take a companion with you when going out. Remember, there’s safety in numbers! •W a lk w ith confidence and stay alert to your surroundings. Don’, be caught o ff guard! Those who are victim s or w it nesses to a crim e can assist the police: •S tay calm; ge, a description o f the suspect(s). •N o te the direction they take or the vehicle they get into. •N o tify the police immediately by dialing 9-1-1. Persons having in fo rm atio n re garding these types o f crimes should call Officer Dennis Schmeling, Crime Analysis at N o rth P recin ct, 248- 5720. For further inform ation con tact North Precinct’s Crime Preven tion Uni, at 248-5709. Earn 30% interest! Guaranteed 18-month fixed rate o f 12.75%. Sign up now for an IRA account at The Benj. Franklin, and you will earn 30% interest through December 31. Because well place your money in a Benj. Franklin high-yield re-purchase agreement* until generous new IRA laws be come effective January 1. So you can earn top interest ahead of time and get a cash bonus or free gift, too. 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