Pago 4 Portland Observer, January 21,1962
RUMOR HAS IT
*
Thomas Chamberlain and M ika Porter, para
medica, with "Shirley Ann*, emergency car purch-
ased and maintained by St. Johns residents.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Shirley Ann: Is she ours?
by Bonnie Seal
Is it better to be a big fish in a lit
tle pond, or a little fish in a big
pond? This is a question some resi
dents o f St. Johns have begun to
consider over the last two months
since the inception o f the emergency
dispatch number, 911.
The new dispatching system a l
lows persons throughout M u ltn o
mah County to use the same emer
gency number, and was established
as part o f a state-wide effort.
W ith the county’ s effo rts to es
tablish a uniform system came the
fear that St. Johns would lose access
to the Shirley A nn— the emergency
medical rescue unit that has been fi
nancially subsidized by the citizens
o f St. Johns through donations for
over twenty years.
The controversy has its roots in
the death o f a St. Johns baby, Shir
ley Ann H o w ell, who choked on a
graspe and died in a fireman’s arms
en route to the hospital in the late
1950s. As a result o f the in fa n t's
death, the citizens o f St. Johns
pooled their efforts and their pock
etbooks to purchase the first emer
gency medical unit in N orth P o rt
land— the original Shirley Ann, pre
decessor to the present car, P o rt
land’ s Rescue U n it number t h r e e -
wit h the idea that service would be
free for all residents o f St. Johns.
Since that time, financing for the
original car’s successors and equip
ment has been subsidized by a trust
fund fed by donations, and chaired
by Jewel Sundquist and R ita
Cocannour, citizens o f St. Johns.
Sundquist claimed the fund paid
$7,000 toward the purchase o f the
present car, and that it is the best
equipped o f all three rescue units in
Portland.
Because o f their investments into
the car, St. Johns residents became
concerned about losing access to it,
in the new ly-established co u n ty
wide system.
T h eir com plaints hinged on the
premise that the Sh irley A n n was
cost-free, and an am bulance that
might be sent by the dispatchers at
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Em ergency
Medical Services (E M S ) would not
be.
“ M an y o f the residents o f St.
Johns are elderly, and can’t afford
that kind o f service,” said Sund
quist. “ I don’ t want people to be
stuck with paying for an ambulance
coming out which isn’t needed.”
The rescue car has not been re
placed by private ambulances, ac
cording to Stephen Dean, director
o f Emergency Services for M ultno
mah County and the C ity o f P o rt
land. Rescue units do not transport
the patient, he explained. For most
medical emergencies, both a rescue
unit and an ambulance must be sent.
“ Studies have shown that the
sooner you get treatment, the more
likely you are to survive,” empha
sized Dean, and fire department ve
hicles including cars and trucks have
an average response tim e o f fo u r
minutes, two minutes faster than the
average o f six minutes that it takes
for an ambulance.
J
In most cases a person must be
transported to the hospital, and this
requires an ambulance, according to
Dean. “ I f the emergency sounds se
rious, and the ambulance is the clos
est vehicle, it will be dispatched.”
Sundquist said she has received
no complaints about the system dur
ing the last few months, nor has she
heard o f anyone in St. Johns not
getting the Shirley Ann. She said a
person could call the fo rm er fire
alarm num ber, 232-2111, and ask
specifically for the Shirley Ann. and
that few cases in which the Shirley
Ann was not available had come to
her attention.
B oth fire departm ent and E M S
spokesmen discouraged using the
old num ber. W h eth er the Sh irley
Ann is the only vehicle dispatched
depends upon the availability o f the
car and the seriousness o f the emer
gency, according to D ean, who
stated that, “ In most emergencies
the rescue unit w ill be followed by
an ambulance. A person can ask for
the Shirley A n n, but if it is out on
call they will get another emergency
unit.”
Dean did not know if the rescue
unit was located in St. Johns speci
fically because o f the subsidy, or if
ano th er lo catio n w ould be m ore
strategic for the county.
He pointed out that three o f Port
la n d ’ s 23 am bulances are located
along a h alf-m ile stretch on N orth
L o m b ard between W abash and
Cary. “ This makes St. Johns one o f
the best equipped sections o f the city
for an emergency,” he commented.
the resources.
W hile no statistics are available
on unemployment o f Black youth in
Oregon, the Commission estimates
approximately 38 per cent based on
national figures and a recent local
poll.
The Commission plans to submit
a proposal to a private foundation
seeking funding to address Black
youth unemployment.
The Commission was established
by Governor Atiyeh on September
30, 1980, along with the Governor’s
Commission on Hispanic A ffa irs .
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Commission presents report
Governor Vic Atiyeh has received
the first annual report o f the Gover
nor’s Commission on Black Affairs,
which place priority for the coming
year on fund raising and unemploy
ment o f Black youth in Portland.
Fund raising is essential, accord
ing to chairman Pearl Spears-Gray,
since only one dollar was appropri
ated by the Legislature for the two-
year period. D u ring the past year
the Commission received a $500
donation from the Joint Council o f
Teamsters N o. 37 and $100 from
Links, Inc. Fund raisers added to
Still Has The Best Curl In Town A t The Best Price!!
W ith this ad
Its functions include monitoring ex
isting laws and programs designed
to meet the needs o f the Black pop
ulation; identifying and researching
problem areas and issues and
recommending action; serving as a
liaison between the Black com mu
nity and government entities.
A d dition al members are: G eral
dine C hristian, Thomas Kennedy,
Bobbie N u n n , B arbara P a tric k ,
Frank W ilson, o f Portland; Bruce
Broussard, Sandy; Patricia Creal.
Springfield; and Mathette Williams,
Salem.
i JRockwell Glasses
a n d jg e ta glass.
,
Middle school controversy brews
(Continued fro
m pane
from
nnot» I lm column
in m n 5)
c i
schools. The Board will be asking
for a new tax base in M ay and we
need these voters.”
A t the present time board mem
bers H erb C aw th o rn e and Steve
Buel support the E lio t site, while
Bill Scott favors Eliot unless a better
site can be found within the commu
nity.
The School D is trict s ta ff has
studied seven sites including Eliot.
Their conclusions are:
•Adam s High School: Facility is
adequate but too large; no capital
investment is needed; transportation
would cost $155,000 per year; out
side o f attendance area.
•Boise: occupied by K-8 school;
relocation o f K-5 to Eliot would not
allow space for incoming transfer
students; not adequate space;
$3,185,075 building cost; $125,000
transportation cost.
•E lio t: C urrent program would
have to relocate; not adequate
space; $ 3 ,6 5 0 ,0 0 0 building cost;
$125,000 transportation cost.
•Kennedy: Building depreciated.
I
; _____
rr. •_* _____••
insufficient space; $6,381,600 build
ing cost; $140,000 tran sp ortation
cost; out o f attendance area.
•M o n ro e : inadequate space;
$1,750,000 building costs; $171,000
transportation cost; out o f attend
ance area.
• W a s h in g t o n /M o n r o e H ig h
School: land deficient, building too
large; no cap ital investm ent re
quired; $ 171,000 tra n s p o rta tio n
costs; out o f attendance area.
The Area I and A rea II C itizen
A dvisory Com m ittees were asked
for their input. These committees
are appointed by the School Board.
The A rea I C A C recommended
Adams High School. The Adams II
C A C recommended the elimination
o f Kennedy, Adams and Jefferson
from consideration, the selection o f
a site close to the attendance area,
move o f C o lum bia/W hitaker to the
Adams building, sale o f Colum bia
/W h itaker to fund Tubman site.
The Board's Desegregation M oni
toring Advisory Committee went on
recorded again as “ strongly recom-
mending the Eliot site.”
The O regonian revealed on F ri
day th a t the School D is trict and
Portland C om m unity College have
entered into talks concerning a pos
sible trade o f the P C C Cascade
Campus fo r Adam s H igh School,
with the possibility o f using Cascade
fo r T u b m an M id d le School. The
Cascade property was acquired by
Portland C om m unity College with
Model Cities funds and at the time
made a long-term com m itm ent to
serve the model n e ig h b o rh o o d -
bounded on the east by a p p ro x i
mately 21st Avenue. This possibility
also has not been discussed with rep
resentatives o f community organiza
tions.
The Black United Front expressed
its anger at the School B o ard ’ s
apparent in ten tio n to abandon
earlier promises to locate Tubman
at the E lio t b u ild in g . Ronnie
H ern d o n ,
C o -c h a irm a n ,
said
that the desegregation plan has
brought little if any improvement in
education for Black children.
I B re a k fa s t Is
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Steak & Shrimp
Dinner
&
Coke
*61 9
Jan . 20th thru Jan . 30th
• STEAK HOUSE
I
I
■
L
Account »60 «02
Coupon valid for purchase of Steak it
Shrimp dinner Dinner include* Rib eye
•teak, 4 piece* of «hrimp, baked potato,
rod and »alad Dinner include* Coke and
Rockwell ylaae Offer valid from Jan 20th
thru Jan . 30th.
-o
Steak & Shrim p
Dinner
&
Coke
♦611
Jan . 27th th ru Fob. 7th
Account »00 S02
Coupon valid for purchase of Steak b
Shrimp dinner Dinner include* Rib eye
•teak, 4 p,«(.e* of «hrimp, baked potato,
roll and salad Dinner include* Coke end
Rockwell glass Offer valid from Jan 27th
thru Feb 7th, 1982
A
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(Between Union and Graod)
RUSTUER