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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1982)
Portland Observer, September 22,1982 Page 3 METROPOLITAN Guardian Angels form Portland chapter by Nathaniel Scott Curtis Sliwa, foundcr/prcsident o f the G u ard ian Angels, blitzed Portland Thursday and Friday of last week as he laid the groundwork for his return in two weeks to cele brate the newest a d d itio n to the G u a rd ian Angels, P o rtla n d ’ s chapter. During the two-day inverval, SU- wa had private interviews with the mayor, the police chief, the sheriff, the district attorney and the police union. In a d d itio n , he had in te r views w ith the C ity C o un cil and spoke to C ity C lub o ffic ia ls , L in coln and Benson High schools stu dents, as well as neighborhood groups. Speaking at Baloney Joe's Friday night after the chapter announce ment had been made, Sliwa said he and a team o f eight Angels will re turn to P ortland for two days the first o f next month to dcm on'Tatc their crime deterrent capabilities. Staging mock robberies, rapes, muggings and em phasizing their crime-fighting techniques, (he team, led by Sliwa, will lay their credibility and capabilities on the line. Union A venue, the Burnside area, the Transit M all, some shopping centers and suburban areas w ill get a Glimpse of Portland’s latest weapon in its war on crime. Sliwa claims that Portland’s gov erning o ffic ia ls , m ayor and C ity Council, as well as the police chief, sheriff and other groups, were most receptive to the idea o f form ing a chapter o f the angels in the city. He attributes this in part to the Burn side C o m m u n ity C o u n c il, chaired by Michael Stoops, for the diligent work they put forward to make the latest Angels chapter possible. He added that the ’ ’ Burnside Com m u nity C o u n c il opened up many doors.” Stressing and em phasizing the need fo r ’ ’ neighborhood accept ance,” he said eight-member teams o f Angels in any given n eighbor hood, w ith the exception o f the downtown area, w ill be comprised o f “ at least 80 per cent” o f people from that neighborhood. Blacks are not going to accept w hite Angels telling them what to do, he said. When he spoke at at M artin Luther King Facility, there were elements of that com m unity who said, " W h o are you, John Wayne?” W h ile speaking to the 40 or 50 gathered at Baloney Joe's, H o lly wood continued to play a ro le .. .the word "vigilante” surfaced. Describing himself as a student at the University of Portland, one as piring Angel candidate asked Sliwa, " H o w do you answer when people say the Angels are a bunch o f vigil antes?” Sliwa maintained that nega tive connotations to the word “ vigi lante” were perpetrated by H o lly wood. And he cited a d ic tio n a ry definition to support his argument. ‘ ‘The crim inals have to un d er stand that we are not going to back down. . . we are not going to put our (ails between our legs and back o ff,” Sliwa said. “ When the hoopla is over and all the T V cameras go away, wc will have to be at our best, even when the chill factor reaches zero and below." P o rtla n d , continued Sliw a, w ill not be overrun by “ subway angels,” nor will it be invaded by a bunch o f hooligans flexing their muscles. In a d d itio n , he said, " E a c h Angel graduate, those authorized to wear berets, T-shirts and carry Angel id e n tific a tio n ,” w ill be trained in the art o f self-defense, C P R , and have a working knowledge o f the le gal ramifications for making citizen arrests. The patrols, to be done in groups o f eight, will consist o f foot, bicycle and car patrols. N um bering some 40 chapters throughout the country and with at least one chapter in Canada, the A n gels are solely dependent on dona tions— money, office and training space, supportive equipm ent and personnel for their continued sur vival. Sliwa maintained that all o f the above are needed, including “ com m unity s u p p o rt,” and he vowed that Portland trained Angels will be patrolling the streets by the first o f the year. G ivin g no p re fe ren tia l treatment, he did mention the Burn side area as one likely place they will begin. M a y o r Frank Ivancie at last Thursday's C ity C ouncil meeting com m ented that Sliw a “ says the same thing in public that he says in private. . . . He is consistent. ’ ’ Friday night, Sliwa hammered at what could be described as the Angels’ code o f ethics. “ A cross sec tion o f the people, blacks, whites, orientals and hispanics, men and women. One strike and you ’re out as an Angel m em ber. N o use o f drugs or alcohol. No carrying wea pons." Among the first 50 to gradu ate and become P o rtla n d ’ s m ile stone Angels, “ none will have crim inal records. Charles Banks, from the Angels chapter in Sacramento, C alifornia, w ill supervise the first group o f trainees. Sliwa emphasized that those with certain past criminal involvements, such as rapers, robbers and other dangerous felons, need not apply, adding that as time goes by, minor scrimmages with the law will not au tomatically disqualify a person from becoming a member o f the G u a r dian Angels. Sign up sheets for po tential Angels, soon to be located at strategic locations, hopefully at City Sliwa said, will gather enough signa tures to graduate 28 to 36 angels by the first o f the year. The rigors o f training— physical, legal, and C P R (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation)— he said, w ill weed out the glamour seekers and provide Portland with a home-grown contin gency that will not infringe upon the rights o f anyone. W o rking in groups o f eight and p u tting in at least eight hours a week, the Angels, Sliwa said, “ will not be involved in drugs, prostitu tion, and so fo rth .” But, he added, they will not back down while the com mission o f a crim e is in p ro gress, even if it means disarming a k n ife w ielder and restraining the person until the proper law enforce ment agency arrives on the scene. In response to Sliwa’s black com m u n ity concerns, Reverend John Jackson, co-chairman o f the Black United Front, said, "T h e Angels are fairly integrated in almost every city they have established in .” He added that if they maintain the same con cepts that they have in New Y ork City and other places, the position of the Front will be “ wait and see.” The approximately 40 people who gathered at Baloney Joe’ s F rid ay night, none black, were academ i cians. High school and college stu dents, college teachers and college graduates, they had one central theme: crime. Greg Sterling, a 27-year-old cook from Southeast P ortland, said, “ I am interested in becoming an Angel because o f the number o f innocent people who can’t take care o f them selves, especially the older people.” He added that “ it makes me feel better to get involved.” David Beassas, a 34-year-old resi dent o f N orthw est P o rtlan d and teacher o f self-defense at Portland C om m unity College, said, ” 1 feel the Angels w ill help to keep the streets safe.” Paula Sm ith, a 33-year-old BA- holder who resides in N orth P o rt land, said ” 1 like the concept. In the neighborhood where I live, crime is starting to escalate.” According to Michael Stoops, co- founder o f Baloney Joe’s “ The re ception o f the overall community in the metropolitan area was positive and enthusiastic.” He added that when Sliwa returns to Portland “ he wants to meet with the leaders and people in the black com m unity to deal w ith any concerns they may have.” Stoops, appointed liaison officer for P o rtla n d 's G u a rd ian Angels chapter, said more than 200 signa tures have already been gathered from people who either want to be come angel members or serve in some other capacity, i.e ., instruc tion, clerical work and so forth. “ Everybody talks a good show, and in the time it takes to recruit, train and start p a tro llin g ,” Sliwa said, "w e better be ready. During his two-day visit, he said his w ife f js a , national director o f the A n gels, will demonstrate and hold self- defense classes fo r women in the Portland area. And he added a bit hum orously, “ she w ill be beating the daylights out o f me.” Anyone interested in w orking w ith the Angels should contact Stoops at 238-0605 or 231-7158 for additional information. “R i t e ‘t S a r y c u e t J 104th ft SE Holgate Table« • Chairs • Dressers Chests • Bikes • Trikes Beby Beds • Miscellaneous 761 6977 Sevier's Garbage Service lirttp boxes A containers available "No hauling too small’’ 1101 NE Alberta • 287-0262 CATERING COSTS ABOUT THE SAME EVERYWHERE EVEN AT THE WESTIN BENSON. Catering prices are pretty standard all over town. But so are the services. Except at The Westin Benson. With crystal chandeliers, delicate china, gleaming silver and remarkably good food served by top notch professionals, we set a higher standard. Catering costs about the same everywhere. But only The Westin Benson offers you so many priceless extras for parries of 20 to 500. T he W estin B enson Portland ONE OF THE FEU' REMAINING CLASSIC HOTELS. Call 295-4140 ludav. Frrc evening 61 weekend parking. DOUBLE YOUR TALK TO NEW YORK, NEW YORK. $446 When \ t )ii call long distiince between Friday at 11pm ;md Sunday at 5pm, you’ll save a whopping 60%. Which means you c;m tiilk more thiin twice as long tor your money. So reach out this weekend. And give a big hello to the Big Apple. COST OF A «0 M L M T Ï CALL- Seattfe VAans Kwtiand Seem Advertise in the Observer © 1982 ♦ 0b 164 406 4 06 161 I I » 364 n e V * 1 .» 3 36 ♦ 06 A t* ÎE 406 406 4 06 Pacific Northwest Bell • Rate* applt lo mtetsute. direct-dial. weekend calb and may vary to Alaska and Haw M o n than 260 local raaldanta held a “ march against prostitution" to notify City and County of- flclala that they want prostitution ramoved from their neighborhood« and bualneaa area«, (Photo: Rlchord Brown) St. Johns attracts new business According to the North Portland Citizen Committee, in the past nine teen months 22 new businesses have relocated to the St. Johns Business District. The neighborhood has lost only three. Sixty-seven new jobs have been created. $7,400 in busi ness license fees have gone to the City of Portland, $550 in new busi ness license fees collected and $4.5 million in public improvements. This, says the committee, does not include the $1.8 million in reinvest ment either as the result o f rehabili tation or new business development. A recent merchant survey shows that )9 ’/« of the merchants increased sales while 35®/o had sales remaining the same. The neighborhood's successes have been noted in the June issue of "Neighborhood Reinvestment C or poration Newsletter," printed in Washington, D .C . One businessperson stated to the committee when asked the secret of their success, “ One o f the reasons was maybe the 90 volunteers (more than 20 working at least twice) on the River Jazz '82 in the St. Johns Business District and Cathedral Park over the ten days of the events. The events were designed to make exciting things happen in our com munity, bring new people into St. Johns when exciting things are hap pening and, through advertisements and news accounts, make the rest of the city aware that St. Johns is •Where It's A t’ l The fact that every thing was free and the events were scheduled at different times for d if ferent interests and the fact that the business people worked so happily together with their friends, seniors and other community members only reflects well on St. Johns for all of us. Reflecting well causes the suc cesses that Washington, D .C . noted.” I ♦
