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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1982)
Page 4 Portland Observer, May 6, 1982 EDITORIAL/OPINION Give them a choice A lot is being said and w ritten about the Tub- man M iddle School decision, the current media tion process, and the School B oard’s responsibi- tio n process, and the S ch o o l B o a rd ’ s responsibilities Board’s change o f m ind. The fact rem ains th a t the School B oard ig nored its own p olicy o f co m m u n ity acceptance in its move to Boise. The Boise parents were nev er consulted and s till have not been consulted about th e ir opinions o r desires. The Board did hear com m unity testimony— all fo r the E lio t site — but did not go to the feeder school’s parents— E liot, H um boldt and King. S ch o o l B o a rd p o lic y states th a t m id d le schools be established as “ . . .c o m m u n ity ac ceptance makes transitions possible.” C lin t I hom as’ d e fin itio n o f “ com m u nity ac ceptance” d u rin g the O ckley Green tra n s itio n was, “ that reasonable acceptance should exist w ith in co m m u n itie s a ffe cte d in the e stablish ment o f m iddle schools.” The Boise and E lio t proposals o ffe re d this week w ith in the re s tric tio n s o f the m e d ia tio n process do not provide fo r true co m m u n ity in- put and should be broadened. We would like to propose that the Board and com m unity consider tw o m iddle schools: a m id dle school at E liot fo r 600 or fewer students and a m id d le school at A dam s to in clu d e the s tu dents o f C o lu m b ia -W h ita k e r m id d le school. Students would be assigned to their ow n m iddle schools based on residence, but they would have the o p tio n to attend the other school i f the par ents feel its educational program was more suit able. Strong magnet program s at both schools w o u ld accom plish the desires o f a ll o f the c u r rently w arring factions— a m iddle school in the black com m unity, tw o integrated magnet m iddle schools, and optim um use o f the educational re sources o f the Adam s b u ild in g . It w o u ld leave Boise in tact and p ro vid e o p tio ns fo r its upper graders. We would like to see strong vocational explor atio n program s in both schools that w o uld ex pose young people to professional and vocation al career choices p rio r to high school. This has been accomplished w ith excellent results in other places and w o u ld give children attending these schools a head start in the careers o f the ’90s. 0 * District Court, Dept. 3: Michael Marcus Michael Marcus has made his m ark in local le gal battles. He is know n throughout the nation as an expert in landlord/tenant law. As a legal aid attorney M arcus has defended the rights o f tenants, the elderly, nursing home p a tie n ts, w e lfa re clie n ts and others w h o as a group are ofte n deprived o f th e ir legal and hu man rights He recognizes that the crim inal justice system — fro m the p o in t o f arrest to im p ris o n m e n t— works against the rights o f the poor and m in o ri ties and has used the law to help im prove th e ir access to justice. M arcus’ knowledge o f the law, his application o f the law and his judgem ent are ju s t some o f the reasons w h y we re com m en d a vo te fo r M ichael Marcus. 0 * Appeals Court: Judge Walker Judge Stephen S. W a lk e r, m em ber o f the M ultnom ah C ounty D istrict C o u rt, is our choice fo r the Oregon C ourt o f Appeals. Judge W alker has dem onstrated humaneness as well as good judgm ent on the district court. His background is that o f a defense attorney in private practice— defending persons accused o f all types o f crimes. As a trial lawyer and a judge he understands that the crim ina l justice system is not always respon sive, that the tria l is not always w ith o u t e rro r, and that the appeals court provides another op p o rtu n ity fo r the convicted person. In a recent survey o f a tto rne ys, Judge W a lk e r rated very high on in te g rity , im p a rtia lity , co m m o n sense and open-mindedness. 9 T he o p p o n e n t is J o n a th a n N e w m a n — the same Jona tha n N ew m an w h o b ro u g h t us ten years o f scattering o f our children thoughout the sch o o l d is tr ic t, the m an w h o b ro u g h t us the “ Newm an p la n ,” the man w ho resigned fro m the School Board the night H erb Cawthorne was elected. T his is n o t the type o f ju d g m e n t that w ould allow us to place the lives o f m any O re gonians in his hands. We urge a vote fo r Judge W alker. 0 * No—Prison Bond W e have lo ng believed th a t b u ild in g m ore m axim im security prisons is not the answer to the crime problem. Racism and the e .o n o m ic system along w ith their most prevalent symptoms— poverty, unem ploym ent, under-education, p oo r liv in g co n d i tio n s , drugs and a lc o h o l— are the causes o f crime. O ur money and our efforts should be de- voted to e lim in a tin g the causes o f crim e , not building prisons. A second use o f our money and resources is to tra in and attem pt to rehabilitate those already caught up in the crim ina l justice system so that they have at least some o p p ortun ity to return to their com m unications as productive citizens. 0 * No —Measure 5 Ballot Measure Five w ould make the office o f C hief Justice o f the Oregon Supreme C ourt ap pointive rather than elective. C u rre n tly the Justice o f the Supreme C o u rt select one o f themselves to be C h ief Justice. The measure would have the C h ie f Justice app oin t ed by the Governor. Separation o f the powers o f the a d m in istra tive, legislative and ju d icia l branches o f govern ment dicates th a t this o ffic e be selected by his peers, not by the Governor. We prefer that this position be separated from partisan politics. Thanks police for help To the editor: We wan, to thank the North Port land police officers, who responded to the car theft report Monday, May 3, around 11:15 p.m ., fo r their quick efficien t w ork. W ith in 10 minutes of the report one o f the o f ficers was at our door saying they ■ Oreyon Newspaper Publishers A sso cia tio n Register and Vote. had found the car and one o f the persons who had stolen it. We appreciate a jo b well done. Those officers were: O ffs. Greeno (female), Carson (female), Pantley, Hascall and Bottcher. Rev. & Mrs. John H. Parker Citizens consider school options (Continued fro m page I, column 6) Boise P-5 children would be transferred to the nearest school. A pproxim ately 100 would go to Reach, 113 to E lio t, 30 to H u m b o ld t, 40 to Irv in g to n and 50 to King. This plan would allow 427 transfer students to attend Eliot. Cost o f this plan is S3.5 m illion including S3.2 to renovate Boise and $300,000 to expand Eliot. Transpor tation would cost S245.OOO includ ing $125,000 for Tubman students and $120,000 for Boise students. Eliot Plans The capacity o f E lio t School would be expanded to 600 as it would be in the three Boise plans. This would allow the enrollment of 80 additional students. Eliot would be placed in the Mon roe building and expanded to 600 students. Capital outlay would by $5,450,000—$3,650,000 to renovate Eliot, $600,000 to renovate Monroe. O f this $1,200,000 has already been set aside for Boise regardless o f the use of the school. Transportation would cost $125,000. Since this plan adds another building (M onroe) it also adds $80,000 in operation costs and $200,000 in lost rent potential. Public testimony at the meeting held at Tubman favored Eliot over Boise. Many Tubman parents asked why an Adams option could not be discussed. Questions centered on two areas: why the School Board had changed its earlier decision to locate the school at E lio t and re garding possible educational d iffe r ences between Boise and Eliot. Charlotte Beeman, School Board member and member o f the Dis tric t’s mediation team, said, " I did not make that p ro m is e ." She ex plained that some people on the West Side were opposed to middle schools and succeeded in stopping reorganization in their area, but they are the losers. She reiterated her opinio n that her decision against Eliot was cor rect—" I still don’ , have any feeling that it was a bad decision on my par,.’ ’ B ill Scott, School Board C h a ir man, adm itted that there was no new information available when the decision was changed that was not available when the original decision was made. Superintendent Matthew P ro phet, calling the Tubman program a “ m o d el,” said the program w ill continue to be excellent regardless o f where it is housed. " I will see to it that, wherever the Board decides to place it, Tubman will continue to be the model it is and will improve." Ron H erndon, co-chairman o f the RUE, explained that the location o f the school was selected because E lio t would be least disruptive to neighborhood children. The Elio, program, to which all but 40 c h il dren arc bused, could be placed else where. "Three years ago we began to ad dress inequitable treatm ent. The major issue was a middle school. It had been said all along that all the children had a middle school but it wasn’t true.” (Continued fro m page I, column 6} Despite the strong signals they are receiving that the world is no, their oyster, Barringer said it is d iffic u lt for students to grasp how the labor market has changed. “ These kids are still thinking they’ re going to graduate and work for GM on the line. This is in an area where they’ve been laying o ff people with 10 and 15 years seniority." For these and other students, it is getting harder and harder to con vince them to look beyond the fam ilia r job horizons. Barringer noted despairingly that at a recent career day at the school, the overwhelm ingly most popular choice o f career was child care assistance— “ a job that rarely pays more than m in i mum wage and where there arc no openings in this area.” Other, more challenging career sessions, like civil engineering and energy jobs, had to be cancelled for lack of interest. Because the job outlook fo r its graduates is so dim, Romulus high school has begun in vitin g recent graduates back to school to take more classes in hopes of giving them some more marketable skills. O f last year's graduating class o f 285, 35 students have come back for more schooling. O f course, many students still as pire to professional carecers, but they find the going tough. Howard Mason, a senior at Romulus High, has been w orking in a variety o f jobs since he became a paper boy at age 13. But he hasn't been able to find a jo b since Christmas. Now he's under pressure to cam money to attend Tri-State University at An gola, Indiana, next year. But after several months o f fruitless jo b searching, he’s decided to fill his af A I McGilberry, Managing Editor Association ■ Founded I t t i To the editor: I t ’s unfortunate that I am forced to write this letter, however, under the circumstances I feel it imperative that I do so. Upon entering the D is tric t 18 race, I was enthusiastic and felt good about the possibilities for the area. I wanted to believe (hat the large field o f candidates would be good fo r the D is tric t because it would compel the voters to chal lenge us to speak to the issues and develop sound and workable solu tions (programs) to solve the prob lems of District 18. I wanted (so much) for the candi dates to keep the campaign on a positive note and hopefully build a foundation for a network o f leader ship in our District. I wanted this so bad tha, I led myself to believe that all D istrict 18 campaign activities would be conducted in fairness... and that the basis fo r selecting a candidate would be that individual’s awareness o f the needs o f the Dis trict and State and his/her ability ,o function effectively in the Legisla ture. Unfortunately, events have tran spired over the past few days that have tainted the character o f the race and its candidates. As the stretch run begins, the campaign is being reduced to backbiting and mudslinging. Specifically, a great number o f my lawn signs have been destroyed and/or stolen. I have received veiled threats from other candidates. I ’ ve also been offered political favors in return for my withdrawal from the race. Most recently, rumors have surfaced indicating that “ I do no, Subscribe todayl Receive your Observer by mail. Only $10 per year A ! W ill tu ms, Advertising Manager National Advertising Representative Am algam ated Publishers. Inc. N ew York ter-school hours (his spring in an unexpected way. He's going out for the track team. " I t ’s the first time I've been able to do this since eighth grade. I don't know whether to feel good or bad about it . " School counselors report an up surge o f interest in the armed ser vices. "There is a job there at least, and you don’ , have to worry about where your next meal is coming fro m ," said a Tillamook senior. David Montgomery, o f Portland, plans to join the Navy after finish ing a d iffic u lt senior year during which he has worked at a $4-an- hour maintenance job. Bu, he’ s no, entirely happy with the decision. “ I d o n ', wan, to go in to the service saying life on the outside is crummy because then maybe I won', wan, to come out again." Pacific Newsservice, I9H2 Rep. candidate hassled The P o rtla n d Observer (U S P S 959 6801 is published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company. Inc , 2201 North Killings worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post OMice Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon 283 2486 As the evening wore on the audi ence responded w ith laughs and jeers to Charlotte Beeman’s state ments, which were considered rigid, insensitive and paternalistic. H a leem Rashaan chided Mrs. Beeman for her lack o f knowledge and un derstanding o f the community’s his tory. “ You have no sensitivity or understanding o f what has gone on for a number of years. You have an answer but no understanding." Letters to the Editor Name M EM BER An item (hat has not been dis cussed earlier was brought up in re sponse to a question by Mrs. Eddie Moss. The selection o f the Boise site could result in the acquisition o f property to the east and/or south o f the school. C harlotte Uris questioned the pian to have 750 children at Boise— a size long considered too large by the School District, which has advo- caied a size of no more than 600 for middle schools. She said placing a large number o f 6th, 7,h and 8th graders together is "asking for trou ble.” High school grads find times are tough Portland Observer Subscriptions $10 00 per year in the Tri County area Post m aster: Send address changes to the 1‘oriland Observer, P .0 Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 The difference in cos, between using Boise or Eliot is estimated at $2 m illio n. “ The district must be committed to re c tifyin g mistakes and to pay for the mistakes o f the past. Black students at King were bused to 43 schools___Wha, price tag is Portland paying now?” He explained that the costs o f discrim ination are high—in m;,ney and in human lives—and that the money spent cn Eliot is to remedy mistakes o f the past. "The issue is equity." A ddress___________ City State Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland OR 97208 need the black vote to w in ." This is a personal a ffro n t to my integrity and character as a commu nity leader, Oregonian, and candi date for Stale Representative.. and I refuse to accept it. Those o f you who know me, know that I am an honest and fair person who disdains this unjustified slander. As the campaign draws to an end, I want to assure you that I will con tinue to speak to the issues and con duct myself with dignity. For me to do otherwise would be a disservice to you, the public, and to myself. My hope is that the final weeks o f the campaign w ill be open and fair and that you, the voters, are given the opportunity to select the "best candidate" for State Representative in District 18. Charles Stoudamirc