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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1982)
Mrs F rances Sc’ oen-’.ew spsper Poca U n iv e rs ity o f Ores-on L ib rary tu g s n fi, Or-ji-ort &7 jO3 Cablesystems' minority goals i ’ Page 1 ■ 3 f f ^ B T h e Jacksons 1 Will they quit? T. R. Dunn An interview SF fc. Page Page5 PORTLAND OBSERMER ^5 Pending Eliot site betrayal threatens conflict The P ortland School Board and its adm inistration has raised com munity disgust and anger as it con tinues to spend valuable staff time and money studying potential sites for the new Harriet Tubman Middle School— the school developed at the demand o f the com munity to serve students o f K ing, E lio t and H u m boldt attendance areas. For the past ten years the upper grades, varyin g fro m grade 3 to grade 8, have been removed from m a jo rity Black schools. Students were then scattered throughout the school district for what was called “ desegregation.” The spaces left by these children's removal were filled by fo u r- and fiv e -y e a r-o ld white c h ild re n — m ostly fro m the West Side— in another effort at “ desegre gation.“ Tw o years ago the c o m m u n ity - led by the Black United Front— de manded that the 3rd throu g h 3th grade classes be restored and that middle schools be provided for 6th, 7th and 8th grades. M id d le school children were assigned to C olum - b ia/W hitaker, Fernwood and Beau mont. The district also agreed to de velop a middle school in the com m u n ity fo r the students o f K ing, H u m b o ld t and E lio t. This school was to be housed in the Flint build ing, currently a "F o llo w Through” program d raw in g child ren from other areas but having few resident children. O th e r promises made by the School Board to avoid a school boy cott were that none o f the elemen tary schools in the community— in cluding Boise— would be closed. A fte r the agreem ent was made changes took place on the Board: Dean Oisvold replaced W ally Priest ley; C h a rlo tte B eem an replaced Sarah Newhall. The political in flu ences shifted— giving Frank M cN a mara, Bill Scott, Lee Rieke, Gisvold and Beeman the o p p o rtu n ity to change those portions o f the agree ment that they do not like. There has been frequent discus sion, and ram p an t ru m o rs, that T u b m an w ill never be housed at E lio t. Among these rumors, which have not been presented to the Black com munity, are that the site is not safe, that expansion is impossible, that costs are prohibitive. Although all o f the Black and civil rights o r ganizations continue to support the E lio t site, the d is trict has never come to their spokesmen with this inform ation or entered into discus sion about alternate sites. Board member Herb Cawthorne said the Board seems suicidal in its insistence on looking at options that are im possible. " T h e y are going through the same process they did with school closures, getting people all riled up beyond what is neces sary. To get the Jefferson communi ty riled up, thinking they might lose a high school to gain a m iddle school, doesn’ t m ake sense. A n d there is no reason to ta lk about Washington/Monroe or M onroe.” Cawthorne believes E lio t, Boise and Adams are possibilities, but the Board is badly split on E lio t, split on Boise, and now the possibility o f Portland Community College using Adams has been raised. The com munity would not support putting the school at Boise and that option would also cause much disruption for children. Cawthorne said he had never been provided with informat: • showing that the Eliot site is unt .sible. “ I think they have some question about the soil at E lio t, about the school sliding into the freeway. But they have used that b u ild in g for years and I ’m sure that if they want to there is a way to ensure its safe ty .” “ This playing with options that are not options will only cause prob lems for the district. The people o f the Jefferson district came out and voted in numbers greater than ever before and they voted to support the (Please turn io page 4 col. I ) SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN FRANK McNAM ARA Cablesystems meets hiring goals Otto Poticha, of Unthank. Sadar and Poticha, archltactural firm ; Bobby Davis, DAK Construc tion; C om m isslonar Charles Jordan; and Rich Wiley, M inority Business Enterprise Coordinator for Cablesystems Pacific, reviewing building plans for the company's headquarters. (Photo: Cathy Cheney) Cablesystems P a c ific , which is franchised by the C ity o f Portland to provide cable television in the city east o f the Willamette River, has re ported that it exceeded its minority business requirem ents during its first six months o f operation. The com pany is required by its contract with the city to meet a 20 per cent M in o rity Business E n ter prise utilization goal. F or the first q u a rte r, ending August 31, 1981, the company fell short in M B E utilization with 10.6 per cent but the d efic it was o ver come by minority utilization in the ren ovatio n o f new fac ilitie s on Northeast Sandy Boulevard. A contract was negotiated with the M B E architectural firm o f U n th a n k , Seder and P o tic h a , which not only secured the talents o f this firm but included their assistance in securing additional M B E participa tion. They retained the engineering com pany o f M o rris o n , Funatake, Inouye and Andrews. W ith the assistance o f Batiste Managements Systems, Cablesys tems ensured that minority contract ors were in fo rm ed o f the bid process. The prime remodeling con tract went to D A K C o nstru ctio n , In c ., and they sub-contracted to Christian Electric, Inc. The finishes and carpet installation were done by R. P .& l General C o ntracto rs. The m a jo rity o f the $690,200 building renovation went to m inority com panies. " O u r success to date w ith the M BE program has been possible be cause o f the number o f competent, qualified and well-equipped M B E ’s willing to compete for and perform the services required,” Frank Nues- sle, Cablesystems’ general manager, said. “ We recognize that continued success is dependent on our ability to increase M B E awareness o f the o p p o rtu n ities in the cable indus try.” Cablesystems has surpassed its m in o rity and female em ploym ent goals in some categories, but failed in others. O v era ll the goals have been exceeded. Forty-three per cent o f the o ff i cials and managers are m inorities, far exceeding the 22 per cent goal. This has created a sensitivity to m i n o rity h irin g on the departm ent head level which assures growth o f m inority participation. The 20 per cent minority participation in office and clerical help also exceeds the 19 per cent goal; operatives, at 33.3 per cent exceed the goal o f 20 per cent. Falling short o f the goals are profes sionals and technical. The company explains that the s h o rtfa ll in the technical department is due to a na tio n al shortage o f m in o rities in cable television technology and the fact the installers are not yet hired. Participation o f women is below the goal in officers and managers and in professionals. Because the numbers o f m inori ties and women in the Portland area with skills needed for the cable in dustry are few , Cablesystems will develop an in-house training pro gram to facilitate its affirm ative ac tion. Among the areas identified for early training are Customer Service Representative, Sales Representa tive, and some technical positions. T he com pany also has a contract with the C ity o f Portland agreeing to employ CETA-eligibie residents. C allin g Cablesystems P a c ific ’ s performance a model for other busi ness, Commissioner Charles Jordan praised the company’s commitment to reaching its goals. “ It is rather significant that Cablesystems has met the goals set by its franchise with the City. We have been told for many years that it is impossible to meet m in o rity business enterprise goals and minority hiring goals and still come out ahead. Some have even said meeting these goals is impossible— that it is impossible to find qualified people. "Cablesystems has proved it can be done and that it is im p o rtan t. Their success will be used as a model to show what can be done if there is commitment." The lottery: Is it the answer? Fourteen stales supplement their incomes w ith state lo tteries. For these states revenue ranges to $23 million per year. In some states, as in New Y o rk , lo tte ry p ro fits are earm arked for education or other essential social programs. Oregon has not seriously considered a lo ttery but declining revenues fro m incom e taxes resulting from a recessed economy and fear o f a “ property tax revolt” will combine to make it an option to be considered. The ra ffle is part o f A m erican history; during the colonial period and the early l8(X)s raffles funded many public works. A nti-raffle laws came in the 1830s when p rivate raffles rivaled the state lotteries and absence o f regulation led to corrup tion. Lotteries exist even where illegal. The "numbers games" o f the major cities turn over millions o f dollais, all tax free. In O reg o n, where all form s o f gam bling except non p ro fit organizations’ bingo games are ille g a l, at any one tim e an estimated 1,000 illegal raffles are in progress — operated by churches, social and service clubs, youth groups. G len d a D u rh a m , a P o rtla n d a tto rn e y , proposes a small step tow ard legalization in O regon, in the 1981 legislative session she proposed legislation that would have allowed raffles by non-profit o rg an izatio n s and draw n strict regulations fo r charitab le fundraising promoters. N on-profit organizations could organize their own raffles, but if they chose to use a pro m o ter, that prom oter would have to be licensed and his activities and commission would be regulated by the state Recent investigations have revealed tht unscrupulous charitable fundraisers often receive more o f the p ro fits than the charities to which the donations are intended. The Reagan A d m in is tra tio n ’ s cuts in budgets fo r the arts, hum anities and social services spiked M rs. D u rh a m ’ s interest in the lo tte ry . ‘ ‘ W ith the economic re ality that we cannot depend on government any longer, the raffle is a good solution for the non-profit service agen cy,” she explained. “ A nd current Oregon law makes this illeg al. It is a poor law that makes crim inals out o f Shriners attempting to raise money for their crippled children's hospital.” W h ile many social agencies, especially churches, use Bingo as a fund raiser, Bingo has a high overhead — rental o f space and equipment, personnel, etc. Raffles a d d itio n a l housing, using local have low overhead — some contractors and employees. These, printing and possibly advertising, in turn, could be raffled with the and the prizes if they arc not * procedes used for further economic donated. development — industrial buildings M rs. D u rh am found much and job training facilities. Millions interest and support in Salem but o f dollars could go to all types of her b ill failed to pass from the needed social services, all through House Judiciary C o m m ittee. She voluntary participation. now is in the process o f circulating “ R affles are completely petitions to ammend the state v o lu n ta ry ,” she explains. U nlike C o n s titu tio n to allow ra ffle s for added taxes, no one is forced to n o n -p ro fit org an izatio n s. (These participate. can be obtained by calling 228- M rs. D u rh am is not ready to 1393). promote a state lottery in Oregon at M rs. D urham has set her sights this fime. She believes in one step at high. She would like to ra ffle o ff a a lime - starting small and proving house — perhaps in A lbina — and it can be done. use the procedes to develop
