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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1982)
U r» F ra n c » » S choen-M eva ^ape U n tv e -s îty of Orcron I.Ib .-jr Sixers vs Lakers Spring in the City Section II Page 7 ÙJ LU Challenge of the 80s Page 5 Page 11 PORTLAND OBSERVER USPS 959 680-855 May 27, 1982 Volume XII, Number 33 25C Per Copy Two Sections Council says mediate llm L Board denies Jackson 1 ■ Í 80 ♦ ■ Mr». Beth Nance, librarian at Boiae Elementary School, la retiring after twenty aix yeara at Boiae and thirty w ith the Portland echool dlatrlct. The laet 20 years were at Boiae. at at her own request In addition to regular library and teaching duties she is advisor to the school newspaper, "Boise Speaks" and the College Bowl black history project. She founded the Friday Hikers and is cherished for her beach trips. M rs. Nance co- authored a multi cultural guide and la considered to be the district's authority on elementary sohoot level multi-cultural books. (Photo: Richard J. Brownl The P o rtla n d School Board refused M on d a y n ig h t to a llow S uperintendent M a tt P rophet to open lines o f com m unication w ith the Jackson E ducation C o a litio n . The board voted last sum m er to close Jackson H ig h School at the end o f the 1981 - 1982 school year. The board had voted to close only W a s h in g to n /M o n ro e but when Dean G isvo ld and C h a rlo tte Beeman jo in e d the board in July, they p rovided the votes to close Adam s and Jackson. The Adams com m unity was forewarned but the Jackson com m unity was not. Many believed the Jackson closure to be a move by the board to avoid a law suit based on the closure o f two heavily black schools while all west- side schools remained open. The Jackson C oalition has taken preliminary steps to seceed from the Portland school district and to form th e ir own d is tric t. The C o a litio n presented inform ation to the board claim ing discrepancies in financial inform ation provided by the school district. S chool board member Herb Cawthorne urged the board to allow Prophet to talk w ith the leadership o f the Jackson coalition to attempt to reach a m utual understanding. He emphasized that he was not ask ing the board to “ reconsider” . “ In a n o th e r recent m atter, regarding the T ubm an M id d le School placem ent, the Board o f E du ca tio n fo u n d its e lf at logger heads with a disaffected community. We could not solve the problems by ourselves. We needed an aggressive and sensitive Superintendent and the help o f federal m ediators. 1 am pleased th a t the Board had the wisdom to know it needed such help. Now we are at logger heads w ith the Jackson c o m m u n ity , and now as well, we need help.” Cawthorne urged the board to accept the help o f the C ity Council but not fail to exert its own sense o f leadership. Cawthorne said that an unsuccess fu l vote to secede w ould divide the Jackson community for many years, and a sucessful vote w ill force the school board in to a position that it w ill have to negotiate “ fo r it would be, indeed irresponsible to allow any p a rt o f our d is tric t to be broken away.” Steve Buel said it is not fisca lly responsible to a llo w Jackson to secede, which would be giving away $20 m illio n w o rth o f school property. " H o w can we gamble in such a manner...$40 to $100 m illion in revenue cut o u t o f the school budget because we refuse simply to victory Leek captures District by C. Eddie Edmondson Ed Leak, Democratic Party nominee for House District 18, enjoys success on his front porch with son, Morgan. (Photo: C. Eddie Edmondson) Ed Leek extended his slim 9-vote lead over his nearest D em ocratic challenger Friday, picking up 73 ab sentee ballots to 22 for H arold W il liams, his closest rival. M ultnom ah C o u n ty E lections o ffic ia ls , who counted the more than $,000 absen tee b a llo ts m ailed in fo r the M ay 18th prim ary, reported that Leek’ s unofficial total was now 1,155. W il liams* total was 1,095. W illiams, who appeared prepared to produce a strong fin is h that w ould have given the 18th D istrict an opportunity to elect a black state representative fro m a solid Demo cratic black constituency, picked up only 22 votes in F rid a y ’ s absentee ballot count. “ Absentee ballots can be a make or break s itu a tio n in close cam paigns lik e t h is , " Leek had said early Wednesday m orning when he was leading by about 100 votes. “ I worked it , ” he added, “ and I expect to do better there.” He did. Election officials reported 178 ab sentee ballots wer$ counted fo r the 18th D istrict House seat. Leek said 208 absentee ballots were requested by voters in the newly created dis tr ic t. E lections o ffic ia ls say they can’t confirm that number for some time. “ State Representative Ed Leek,” said M indy Leek Friday afternoon when she answered the c o u p le ’ s home telephone. Bruce Broussard, erstw h ile p o litic a l candidate and form er neighbor to Leek, also tele phoned co n g ra tu la tio n s F rid a y. Leek sat or stood on the porch o f his inner Northeast Portland home, re sponding to telephone calls and minding the couple’ s 13-month-old son, Morgan. A fter he takes time out for house hold and yard chores and a few days down on the coast, Leek said, “ I ’ m going to start ta lk in g to people about what they expect o f me; w hat’ s im portant.” Two groups he definitely intends to speak w ith are the religious community (the Albina Ministerial Alliance), and “ the 4500 people who d id n ’ t vote fo r me (in the 18th D istrict),” he said. “ I want to understand their con cerns, what is most im p o rta n t to people and what they think a state representative’s jo b is.” Leek intends to continue as a can didate through the November elec tio n , not becaues he expects much opposition from his Republican op ponent in this generally Democratic d is tric t, but as a way o f m eeting with and interacting with his consti tuency. He said he intends to ask those who campaigned against him in the prim ary to w ork w ith him up to and through the general election. “ I ’ ll call on them later in the sum mer and find out if they want to stay involved," he said. A fte r the election is over, Leek said he intends to establish a series o f c o m m u n ity meetings "s o m e where th a t’ s clearly accessible” so that people can come and discuss w ith him or his representative any thing they wish. have our S uperintendent ta lk to responsible people in the co m m u n ity. We take th is gam ble because we simply w ill not sit down and talk to somebody.” Buel also com plained o f wide discrepancies in in fo rm a tio n provided by the d is tric t over a period o f time. C h a rlo tte Beeman opposed Cawthorne’ s proposal because she is concerned that many people voted fo r the school tax base because they believe the operation o f the schools w ill be “ cost effective” . “ It is not a m a tte r o f c o m m u n ic a tio n ." She refused to answer questions on her position from Cawthorne and Buel. Dean Gisvold apposed the motion because he believed it assumed that discrepancies do exist between in fo rm a tio n supplied by the d is tric t and the Jackson C o a litio n . “ I see no reason to send the Superinten dent out on a fact finding mission.” F rank M cN am ara opposed the m otion and Joe Rieke and B ill Scott were not in attendence. The Portland C ity Council, which heard day-long testim ony on the issue fa t week, recommended (hat the school board seek mediation “ to reach a common understanding and resolution o f the closure issue. ” African Liberation celebrated African Liberation Day w ill be celebrated in P o rtla n d w ith a m arch fro m the King Neighborhood Facility to Irving P ark. The Jazm in C o m m u n ity M a rch in g Band w ill make its community debut as participants in the march. The March w ill begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 29th. A rally w ill follow . This is the 10th anniversary o f A fric a n L ib e ra tio n D ay, a day reserved to honor black freedom fighters th ro u g h o u t the w orld. The United N ations Com m ittee A gainst A p a rth e id has also declared 1982 as the “ In te r national Year o f M obilization for Sanctions A gainst South A frica .” Western Saharah US involvement in African war grows by Carole Collins Pacific News Service W A S H IN G T O N , D C . - T h e lo w -p ro file visit to Washington by Moroccan King Hassan May 18-20 belies its serious purpose— to draw the United States deeper into M o r occo’s losing war in the mineral-rich Western Sahara. The grow ing U.S. involvem ent, evident in the use o f American F-5 jets in the combat zone, increasing U.S. aerial m onitoring o f the zone, and the presence o f U.S. m ilita ry advisors in Morocco, is seen by c rit ics as a threat to the stability o f the entire region, including Morocco. It may also further undermine waning U .S. in flu e n ce in the A ra b w orld and black A frica, because most na tions on the continent support West- ern Sahara’s independence. Despite mounting losses in its war against Saharan guerillas seeking in dependence M orocco has ignored appeals fo r its w ith d ra w a l by the UN, the International Court o f Jus tice and, most recently, the O r ga n iza tio n o f A fric a n U n ity (OAU). Hassan's declaration o f victory a year ago is universally viewed with incredulity. M ost independent ob servers agree that M orocco controls only a tin y p o rtio n o f the Western Sahara—a phosph ate-rich desert land the size o f C o lo ra d o located southwest o f Morocco on the A tlan tic coast. Forty-six countries now recognize the Saharan A rab D em ocratic Re public (SADR), proclaimed in 1976 by the independence fighters o f the Polisario F ront. The SADR admis sion to O AU membership in Febru ary led Hassun to call fo r a boycott o f the forthcom ing summit meeting in Libya in A ugust, risking a fatal split in this a ll-A fric a n forum . The Reagan A d m inistration is reported to be backing Hassan’ s e ffort out of h o stility to Libya and the groups it supports, including the Polisario. Hassan’s visit is being made at the request o f President Reagan, who wants Congress to trip le U.S. m ili tary aid to the 300-year-old m on archy. Congressional action on the eve o f Hassan's visit revealed the grow ing gap between the Adm inistration and Congress on the Saharan war. The House Foreign A ffa irs C om mittee recommended that M orocco receive only $50 m illio n in m ilita ry aid, up from $30 m illion in 1982 but only half what Reagan sought. The A fric a subcommittee pressed fo r a ban on U.S. training for the Sahar an w ar. U nder State D epartm ent pressure, the fu ll committee adopted softer language to allow for “ defen sive counter-insurgency tra in in g .” Senate a ctio n rem ains a question mark. Hassan's visit comes at a time o f increasing p o litic a l and social ten sions w ith in M orocco. Food price hikes last summer resulted in a gen eral strike and riots which left 6fX) dead The price hikes reflect M oroc co's dire economic problems. There has been massive m igration into al ready overcrowded cities caused by the worst drought in 40 years. U n em ploym ent is estimated at 60 per (Please turn Io Seel. I I p. H) Troopa of the PO LISAR IO Front, fig h t for independence of the Sahara Arab Dem ocratic Republic from M orrocco (Photo I he Grunrna) V
