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
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