Portland Observer, June 10, 1982 Page 3
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
Rose Festival director predicts greater success
CLAYTON HANNON
Every June Portland presents one
o f the nation’s major celebrations—
the Rose F estival. A ccording to
Clayton H annon, Executive M a n
ager, the Rose Festival has two im
portant functions: to provide Port
land with a m ajor celebration— nu
merous activities in an atmosphere
o f celebration; and to generate eco
nomic and promotional benefits for
the community.
The Rose Festival is produced by
the Rose Festival Association, with
72 directors, 32 honorary directors,
23 committees, and a full-time staff
o f five. The Association is self-sup
porting, generating income through
events and donations.
Since he joined the Rose Festival
Association staff in 1969, Hannon
has seen the festival events grow
from 23 to 50 and the annual budget
fro m $212,000 to $ 80 0,0 0 0. The
Festival now includes three m ajor
parades— the Grand Floral Parade,
the Starlight Parade, and the Junior
Rose Parade. The philosophy has
changed from providing entertain
ment to providing opportunities for
participation. Some events— m ilk-
carton boat race, boomerang con
test, L ittle Britches Rodeo, square
dancing— do not draw large crowds
but they are important additions in
that they provide a range o f activi
ties for specific constituencies.
One o f the concerns expressed
about the Rose Festival is the image
o f racism. Over the years the black
community has felt that queen selec
tion processes w orked to exclude
black youngsters, and that those few
events that did include black partici
pation have been eliminated. To the
black community the Rose Festival,
the Rose Society and the Royal Ro-
sarians have a definite " w h ite im
age."
H an n o n said this is one o f the
areas o f most concern to him . He
expressed the opinion that Queen
Robin Marks (1980) should not have
been the first black queen but denies
that queen selection processes are
"rigged” to exclude blacks. The dri
vers and escorts tend to be w hite,
but the Rose Festival does not select
the applicants for the schools.
Regarding the local high school
bands which have now been
dropped from the Grand Floral Pa
rade, he said, "T h e y have elim inat
ed them selves." Since the drastic
budget cuts o f 1970, when music
was cut along with other areas, the
P o rtlan d School D is tric t’ s music
program has never recovered. Only
Jackson, M adison and possibly
Cleveland have marching bands o f
any quality and these are small.
" Y o u cannot take young people
in the n in th grade, teach them to
play an instrument and make a qual
ity band. They cannot compete with
schools like the Centennial District,
where they can field two large mid
dle school bands. By the time they
reach high school there is competi
tion for band positions.
" P o rtla n d directors have said,
’ D on’t invite us.’ W e could not put
a small Portland band in the parade
behind a Centennial.”
Visiting bands are generally from
the N orthwest, C a lifo rn ia and the
M idw est— areas where there is not
high participation o f blacks. Bring
ing a black school band fro m the
East or South is nearly impossible
because o f the trav el cost to the
band.
Black people have served on the
Rose Festival board— as Cora Smith
currently does. Hannon hopes to in
clude the black community more ac
tively— both in com m ittee w o rk —
and in designing events that will in
crease participation.
Another role the Festival plays is
econom ic. A recent economic im
pact study estimates that the Rose
Festival contributes $4.8 m illion in
direct expenditures in 1981. This in
cludes an estimated $1 million spent
by visitin g
N av y
personnel,
$ 4 9 0 ,0 0 0 by the sports car races,
$ 1 5 0 ,0 0 0
by visitin g
bands,
$ 9 6 0,0 0 0 by the fun center, and
$1.1 m illion by tour groups and the
like. Economists figure that money
turns over from 3 to 5 times, so us
ing a conservative 2.5 multiplier, the
festival would bring $12 million an
nually.
The Rose Festival Association is
already contemplating the 1983 fes
tival— which will be the 75th A n n i
versary. The festival will be larger,
with special entertainment.
Black community seeks House District 18 candidate
The Northeast C om m unity C o n
gress announced Wednesday that it
will support the candidacy o f Rever
end John Jackson for the Oregon
Legislature, District 18.
D is trict 18 includes the state's
largest con cen tratio n o f black
people and was created by the legis
lature to provide an opportunity for
black citizens to elect a black repre
sentative. Five black candidates and
three white candidates filed for the
Democratic Party nomination in the
P rim ary; the election was won by
Ed Leek, who is white.
Reverend M A . W a tle y , N C C
v ice -c h airm a n , said the d is trict
would be best served by a black per
son and that Reverend Jackson was
asked to run because "he is a Chris
tian, and he is black."
Jackson said he had not run in the
Primary because politics was not his
calling, but that he had agreed to
run because the Congress had asked
him. He has a long record o f com
m unity service including being the
first black to be appointed to a state
commission, when he was appointed
to the Welfare Commission by Gov
ernor M ark H atfield. He served on
the A lb in a W ar on Poverty C o m
mittee, the Model Cities Board, the
Foster-G randparents' B oard, the
U n ited W ay B oard. He has been
chairman o f the A lbina M inisterial
A llian ce and President o f the
N A A C P , and is co-chairman o f the
Black United Front.
In a separate e ffo r t, Jim m y
"Bang Bang" Walker has circulated
petitions to form a new party— the
"N ew District— New Party, District
18” party. He plans a party conven
tion on August 1st, to select a candi
date. W a lk e r, who has previously
run for political office, said he is not
a candidate but w ould accept the
nomination if asked.
Oregon law dictates that in order
to run in the General Election as an
In dependent, the candidate must
have been registered as an Indepen
dent at least 180 days prior to the fil
ing date. This would eliminate Jack-
son from candidacy as an Indepen
dent because he is a registered Dem
ocrat.
T he only m ethod by which a
person who is currently a registered
Democrat can be placed on the N o
vem ber G eneral E lection b allo t
(other than winning the Primary) is
to represent a " m in o r” party (the
Democrats and Republicans being
regarded as " m a j o r " parties).
T h ere fo re the altern atives are to
form a new party or to become the
candidate o f another m in o r party
such as the Citizens Party, the L ib
ertarian Party, or one o f the social
ist parties.
W alker and representatives o f the
Congress met for the first time fol
lowing the Wednesday press confer
ence to discuss how they can work
together to achieve a common goal.
W a lk e r wants the new p a rty ’ s
convention to be open — w ith no
pre-selected candidate. He envisions
several c a n d id a te s . presenting
petitions to be considered and either
delegates representing precincts or
all registered voters present selecting
a candidate. The candidate could be
o f any race, but would be active in
the community.
The Congress, on the other hand,
has already selected its candidate.
W a lk er and Congress representa
tives said they are w o rkin g to get
together to prevent fragm entation
o f the effort.
Also in contention is Kent Ford,
who is registered as an Independent
and can be placed on the b allo t
through petitions or a nom inating
convention.
JÒHN JACKSON
Guardian Angels: Solution for Portland?
by Tracy M. Smith
Who ara you? "Jaim lnl” rapila« Darlck Spaars aa ha awalta signal
to continua tha march during Roaa Fastlval Starlight Parada.
(Photo: Richard Brown)
Linus Pauling speaks for peace
D r.
Linus
P a u lin g ,
N obel
L au reate, w ill speak on the
"C am p aig n for W orld Peace” on
June 13th, 8:00 p.m. at First United
M eth od ist C h u rch , 1838 SW
Jefferson. The talk will be preceded
at 7:30 p.m. by the film " T h e Last
E p id e m ic "
on
the
medical
consequences o f nuclear war.
P au lin g , a native o f P o rtla n d ,
was awarded the N o bel Prize for
Chemistry for his work on chemical
bonds and structures, and the Nobel
Peace P rize. H E has dedicated
h im self to w ork fo r peace and
against nuclear weapons.
Today the use o f force by the po
lice is being called in to question
more and more. Alm ost every day
brings some new revelation o f police
misbehavior. For whatever reasons,
police are accused o f a variety o f
transgressions. As a result, citizens
are exploring new avenues to help
ensure their safety.
Founder o f the Guardian Angels,
Curtis Sliwa, is scheduled to come
to Portland for a two-day visit. Sli
wa was invited by M ich ael A .
Stoops, Board Chairperson o f the
Burnside Community Council, Inc.
The Burnside Com m unity C oun
cil is bringing Sliwa to Portland to
learn more about the G u ard ian
Angels program. The Council also
hopes to deliberate on a m odified
version o f the G uardian Angels to
determine whether it may be proper
for the Burnside neighborhood,
borhood.
Stoops is hopeful that he will be
able to schedule two town meetings
while Sliwa is in Portland. Invited to
attend these meetings are several or
ganizations: Gray Panthers, Neigh
borhoods Against C rim e , Black
United Front, and Urban League.
As o f now, only one public o ffi
c ial, C om m issioner Jordan, has
been asked to meet w ith Sliw a.
Commissioner Jordan was not sur
prised that he was the only official
invited. Jordan said he is concerned
with crime in Portland and is one of
the few who would be receptive o f
Sliwa.
Jordan stated that he will keep an
open mind when the Guardian A n
gel group is in Portland. Nonethe
less, he made it clear that "la w en
forcement” is appropriately a func
tion o f local government by means
o f officers who have met established
selection and tra in in g standards,
and who can be held accountable.
W h at are the G uardian Angels?
They are a private, n o n -p ro fit o r
g an iza tio n o f trained volunteers
which conducts unarmed patrols in
high crim e areas to guard against
crim inal assaults on innocent per
sons or property. They dress in red
berets and insignia T -s h irts that
serve as a visual deterrent to would-
be criminals.
The Guardian Angels was started
in 1979 to protect persons who rode
the subways in high crime areas in
N ew Y o rk C ity . They also p atro l
streets, parks, public tran sit sys
tems, shopping districts and neigh
borhoods.
The Guardian Angels do not use
weapons. Their two main concerns
are public safety and public accept
ance. The G u a rd ian Angels are
trained in how to avoid injuries. In
addition, there is a 10-week training
p ro g ram which includes physical
conditioning, self-defense, first aid,
C P R , and citizen’s arrest procedure.
Trainees must make 3 two-hour ses
sions per week. Trainees may be dis
missed due to tardiness, refusal to
follow orders, or serious character
defects, as well as for other reasons.
Guardian Angels are not perm it
ted to in te rfe re w ith drug use or
dealing, prostitution, gambling, un
der-age drinking, or other crimes in
which people are not directly violat
ing the rights o f others.
Anyone 16 years o f age can enter
the training program to be an A n
gel. However, no one with a serious
c rim in a l c o n v ic tio n , d e b ilita tin g
handicaps, or app aren t a ttitu d e
problems such as bigotry or violent
tendencies can qualify.
The G uardian Angels have been
called vigilantes. However, they de
ny the word vigilante. The Angels
say the rely on the existing A m eri
can system o f justice.
Vigilantism is commonly defined
as taking the law in to o n e’ s own
hands. There appear to be three pur-
poses that predominate in vigilante
action: crime control, social-group
control and regime control. The vig
ilante may be said to o ve rid e n tify
with authority rather than to be re
belling against it. The vigilante as
sumes the desired role o f the father
as p ro te c to r o f home and the
mother. The vigilante turns his an
ger against others who share his own
forbidden impulses to challenge au
thority.
C h ie f Ron S till and M a y o r
Ivancie m ake a statem ent o f p u r
pose in their "Focus on C rim e and
Street D is o r d e r." The statem ent
says, "T h e Crim inal Justice System
in the State o f Oregon is not provid
ing an acceptable level o f security
and safety fo r Portland citizen s.”
Given that the M ayo r o f P o rtlan d
and the Chief o f Police are in agree
ment that crim e is a serious p ro b
lem, how will citizens protect them
selves against the ascending crime
(Pieate turn to page 2 col. 4)
WPPS bonds cost $3 .75 billion
W A S H IN G T O N — U S. R epre
sentative Jim W eaver (D -O R ) has
revealed that the Bonneville Power
Administration and the Washington
Public Power Supply System’s ef
forts to sell m ore bonds fo r con
struction o f the W P P S S nuclear
plants w ill cost N orthw est u tility
customers an additional $488 m il
lion in ’bonus’ interest payments.
W P P S , B P A , and W a ll Street
bond brokers floated a bond issue
M ay 20, 1982, w ith a principal o f
$680 m illio n . W ith interest and
am ortization costs over the thirty-
year life o f the bonds, the total re
payment on the $680 million will be
$3.75 billion. The interest rate paid
on these bonds was 2.01 per cent
higher than comparable bond issu
ances that week, according to the
D a ily B ond B uyer w eekly index
which charts average interest rates
for 25 bond issuances each week.
" W P P S S and B P A did every
thing they could to sneak in under
the wire and sell as many bonds as
possible,” Weaver claimed. Weaver
was referring to the fact that due to
the passage o f In itia tiv e 394 by
W ashington state voters last N o
vember, no new bonds can be float
ed after July I, 1982 without the ap
p roval o f W ashing to n voters.
" T h e y even threw in a 2 per cent
bonus, at our expense. T h at 2 per
cent giveaway will cost the people o f
the Northwest $488 million over the
next thirty years,” Weaver added.
According to W eaver, the 2 per
cent higher interest rate is a direct
reflection o f W all Street’s growing
concern that investments in W PPSS
are “ shaky, at best.” " H a d WPPSS
and BPA acted responsibly and got
ten the support of the Northwest be
fore floating this bond issue, W a ll
Street’s fears could have been allevi
ated enough to sell the bonds at the
going r a te ,” W eaver said. " I t ’ s
clear that B P A and W P P S S are
more interested in satisfying the de
sires o f W all Street speculators than
in meeting the needs o f N orthw est
ra te p ay ers ,” W eaver claim ed .
" W e ’re being soaked for $488 m il
lion so B PA and W P P S S can con
tinue their nuclear fa n ta s y ," W ea
ver concluded.