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Observer
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Arguello
seeks 3rd
Page 16
PORTLAND OBSERVER
O ctober 20, 1982
Volum e k ill. N um ber 2
25$ Per Copy
USPS 959-680-855
Measure 3 threatens Portland schools
superintendent o f the P ortland
P u b lic School D is tric t M atthew
Prophet has warned that the passage
o f Measure 3— the property tax lim ­
ita tio n — would bring the loss o f be­
tween one-third and one-half o f its
p ro p e rty taxes in a single year,
which “ w ould sim ply spell educa­
tio n a l disaster fo r nearly 52,000
Portland Public School students.”
The vague language o f the mea­
sure w ill, i f passed, ignite a series o f
let al actions and legislative struggles
that could jeopardize Oregon’ s eco-
n om ic g ro w th fo r years to come.
“ The impacts o f that disastrous sit­
uation defy adequate description.”
H ie measure would immediately in-
ciease unem ploym ent. “ It w ould
create social, po litica l, educational
and economical repercussions that
coaid last for a generation.”
The projected loss to the Portland
School D is tric t w ould be between
$63 m illion and $92.7 m illion, or be­
tween 38.75 per cent and 56.78 per
cent o f the 1983-84 tax levy. Added
reductions in state funds could bring
the loss to between $74 m illion and
5 'M m illion.
*Vyperatm i! at cu rre n t level, the
D oo a It bite? Qlnny Roaanbarg. Living Lab Spa
clalist at W h itaker School, explains the habita of
tha lab's boa c o n s tric to r d u rin g th e sch o o l's opan
house.
(P hoto: R ichard B ro w n )
U.S. buys war in El Salvador
by Julie l.evak and Jody A nderson
In the past three years over 120
m illio n U n ite d Slates tax d o lla rs
have been spent on m ilita ry assist­
ance to the brutal Salvadoran gov­
ernment. This money has been used
to fund the m urder o f m ore than
32,(XX) Salvadoran citizens by gov­
ernm ent security forces and their
param ilitary death squads, accord
ing to documentation by the Catho­
lic C hurch and Am nesty In te rn a ­
tional.
On July 25, President Reagan cer­
tifie d that human rights conditions
had significantly improved over the
past year. Reagan’ s c e rtific a tio n
was needed to clear the way fo r
another $ 130,(XX),(XX) in proposed
m ilitary aid to El Salvador.
In Septem ber, U .S .-b u ilt A-37
bombers, incendiary bombs, hand
grenades and a u to m a tic weapons
were used by Salvadoran troops to
slaughter more than 400 unarmed
women, men and children in El Sal­
vador's San Vicente province. This
is the second such massacre reported
since late this spring.
A t a tim e when 11 per cent o f
Oregon residents are out o f w ork
and social services are facing drastic
reductions, Reagan is planning to
send another $130 m illion to a gov­
ernment whose security forces have
been "carrying out a systematic and
widespread program o f to rtu re ,
‘disappearance* and individual and
mass k illin g s o f men, women and
c h ild re n .” (Amnesty International
report.)
It is not merely in the form o f m il­
ita ry hardw are that the U nited
States exports repression to El Sal­
vador. In a d d itio n to the U n ite d
States m ilitary advisors already in El
Salvador, Salvadoran troops and
o ffic e rs have been brought to the
states fo r m ilita ry tra in in g at Port
Bragg in N o rth C arolina and Fort
Benning in G eorgia. A nd there is
speculation in Congress that United
States m ilita ry in te rv e n tio n in El
S alvador may soon m ushroom to
even more frightening proportions.
Last m onth, C hristopher Dodd o f
C o n n e cticu t to ld W ashington re­
porters that he forsees the use o f
combat troops in El Salvador w ithin
the next six to twelve months. Said
Dodd, “ I think the war is going to
expand. I think it is going to include
Guatemala, H onduras, Nicaragua.
It has already expanded, but I think
it could really fla re o ut. In w hich
case, I can easily see the President
com ing on w ith in a m atter o f
m onths and suggesting that the
whole region o f Central America is
in desperate shape and the necessity
for U.S. aid beyond trainers and ad­
visors requested.** But the Reagan
administration w ill face opposition to
involvement in El Salvador. Public
outcry from a Vietnam-wise citizen­
ry is ra p id ly reaching p ro p o rtio n s
com parable to the anti-w ar move­
ment o f more than a decade ago.
Congressional m ail has been run-
(Please turn to page 4 column 5)
schools could remain open approxi­
mately 79 days.
D r. Prophet recommended fo u r
areas fo r p o te n tia l red u ctio n s i f
Measure 3 is passed. 1) Salary re­
d u c tio n s : E ig h ty per cent o f the
school budget goes fo r salaries. Re-
d u c tio n o f expenditures could be
made by cutting school days, elim in­
ating extended d u ty, reducing sal­
aries. The result w ould be loss o f
staff, less student instruction, dete­
r io ra tio n o f b u ild in g s and e q u ip ­
ment because o f lack o f m ainten­
ance.
E lim ination o f 50 per cent o f the
part time personnel and 30 per cent
o f the fu ll time personnel would be
necessary. A p p ro x im a te ly 67 per
cent o f the fu ll time employees are
directly involved in instruction.
2) Operational reductions: reduc­
tions in general maintenance, trans­
p o rtation, adm inistration and sup­
port (librarians, counselors, social
w orkers, etc.) m aterials. A lso, re­
duction o f school hours, such as a
four-day week.
3) P rogram cuts: R eduction or
elim ination o f early childhood cen­
ters, kindergarten, athletics, home
econom ics, in d u s tria l arts, career
education, special education, alter­
native and magnet programs.
4) School closures/class size in ­
creases: closure o f 20 elem entary
schools and 3 high schools; increase
average class size to 40. Course o f­
ferings w o u ld be lim ite d . In s tru c ­
tio n even in basic education would
be threatened and e ffo rts to meet
new demands in new technology and
im p ro ve d v o c a tio n a l education
would collapse.
Even i f all these reductions were
carried out the district could still be
forced to make added cuts.
“ As an educational ad m in istra ­
tion, my sta ff and I stand ready to
do everything we can to best meet
the educational news o f all students
w ith in the resources available, re­
gardless o f election o u tc o m e ,”
Prophet said. “ But we cannot guar­
antee, i f Ballot Measure 3 passes:
“ Excellence in education; equal
educational opp o rtu n itie s; special
services fo r exceptional children; a
fu ll school year; a competent com ­
plement o f skilled teachers and ad­
m in istra to rs; the level o f support
services essential to modern educa­
tio n ; c o m p e titiv e avadcuuc p ro ­
grams; and a host o f other com m it­
ments which Portland citizens have
expected o f th e ir schools through
the years.”
Zimbabwe elected
Zimbabwe, Nicaragua and Pakis­
tan were elected to the U nited N a­
tions Security Council by the Gener­
al Assem bly Tuesday. N icaragua,
which is the target o f U.S. attempts
at d e s ta b iliz a tio n , castigated the
U.S. in the General Assembly last
week fo r its support o f the H ondur­
an invasion o f Nicaragua. N icara­
gua won the L a tin A m erican seat
over U .S .-favored D om inican Re­
public. Zimbabwe replaces the pro-
U.S. Uganda.
Oregon unemployment rises
Unemployment in Oregon moved
to 11.2 per cent in September, up
fro m 10.9 per cent in August. The
n a tio n a l unem ploym ent rate rose
from 9.8 per cent to 10.1 per cent.
W h ile the n a tio n a l o ffic ia l un­
employment rate rose from 9.8 per
cent to 10.1 per cent, an increase o f
0.3 per cent, the black unem ploy­
ment rate rose by 2.0 per cent.
The unemployment rate for black
w orkers reached a record high in
September o f 20.2 per cent. The
jobless fo r black men was 19.8 per
cent; fo r women, 15.7 per cent; for
youths, 5 1.6 per cent.
Oregon does not keep unemploy­
ment statistics by race, but black un­
employment is estimated to be more
than double that o f white.
In Oregon, the trade industry lost
3,100 jobs in September (after sea­
sonable adjustm ent). Key lum ber
and co n stru ctio n industries held
their own while approximately 1,000
w orkers were hired in the ea tin g /
drinking portion o f the retail trade.
The reopening o f elem entary and
secondary schools added an esti-
mateed 11,200 workers.
The wage and salary index fell by
0.6, in dicating shorter w ork hours
fo r employed workers and a loss in
incom e to Oregon w orkers. This
loss took place in all sectors o f the
non-agricultural economy.
N a tio n a lly , the unem ploym ent
rate rose to 10.1 in September and
the number o f non-agricultural jobs
declined by 230,000. In September,
11.3 m illio n Americans were unem­
ployed according to o ffic ia l statis­
tics— w hich count only those who
are registered fo r w ork w ith the
state unemployment services.
A d u lt men accounted fo r nearly
all thejSeptember increase in unem­
p lo ym e n t. T heir unem ploym ent
usually declines this tim e o f year,
but did not do so this September.
A fte r seasonal adjustment, the jo b ­
less rate fo r a d u lt men rose to 9.6
per cent. Unem ploym ent fo r adult
women was 8.3 per cent and fo r
teenagers 23.7 per cent. Joblessness
for blue-collar workers was 15.6 per
cent, fo r w hite c o lla r w orkers 4.8
per cent and fo r service w orkers
10.7 per cent.
In a d d itio n to the unem ployed,
there was a large increase in workers
on part-tim e jobs because they can­
not find full-tim e w ork—6.6 m illion
workers.
There is mixed opinion about the
course o f the recession. The Reagan
A dm inistration has announced that
the recession is over and a “ tu r n ­
around” in the economy has begun.
H ow ever, R obert O rtn e r, c h ie f
economist in the Commerce Depart­
ment said the recession may have
persisted through September, “ and
we don’t have evidence” that the de­
clines in in d u stria l output and em­
ployment are over. The Federal Re­
serve Board announced that indus­
tria l production fell by 0 6 per cent
in September, the 12th decline in 14
m onths. The cum ulative decline
(Pteuse turn to page 4 column 3)
“ We were made to live together ”
Palestinian priest calls for Middle East peace
“ Security in the M id d le East
should be based on friendship w ith
the people o f the M id d le East. 1
fully understand the need for a Jew­
ish homeland a lte r the tragedy of
the holocaust. I fully understand the
connection o f the Jews to the land
o f Palestine. You |Jcw s| are w el­
come to Palestine— with me, but not
w ith o u t me
I understand your
persecution— this should mean we
can embrace in solidarity.”
So said f ather Elias C h a k o u r
M onday n ig h t, in a talk at the St.
Andrew s C o m m u n ity C enter.
Father C h a ko u r is a P alestinian
Catholic priest from the Galilee (in
Israel), and an Israeli citizen. Father
C hakour was brought to P ortland
by the Portland chapter o f the New
Jewish Agendu, a progressive Jew­
ish group whose stand on the M id ­
dle East includes support for Israel's
right to exist, as well as the recogni­
tio n that peace in the M iddle East
depends on the mutual recognition
o f Palestinian and Israeli national
rights.
In his ta lk . Father C ha ko u r re­
peatedly stressed his belief that the
Jews deserve a homeland in Pales­
tin e . B ut, said the 41-year-old
priest, “ I want my Jewish brothers
and sisters to understand that the
Jews coming to Palestine created a
tragedy for me.”
He described how, on a certain
day in 1947, his fa m ily welcomed
Jewish soldiers to his native village
in the Galilee, o ffe rin g them food
and lodging, because they were flee­
ing “ that Devil, H itle r ." Ten days
later (he soldiers asked the villagers
to leave, fo r a tw o-w eek p e rio d .
“ The tw o weeks arc not yet f in ­
ished. We are s till w a itin g to re­
t u r n . " Despite Isra e li Supreme
Court rulings in the villagers' favor,
in 1951 then Israeli Prime M inister
D avid Ben G u rio n had the village
destroyed. In 1956, said Father Cha­
kour, Jewish settlers came and set­
tled on the site, and the original v il­
lagers have s till not been com pen­
sated for (heir losses.
S till, Father C hakour insists, he
and many, many o f his fellow Pales-
tinians who live in Israel “ are not at
a ll interested in destroying Israel.
We welcome a ll Jews to Palestine-
but only a Palestine with us in it . "
Father C hakour acknowledged,
w ith o u t condon ing, the terrorism
com m itted by the Palestinians from
(he refugee camps, organized by the
P L O . Hut he insisted (hat it was
one-sided to o n ly be concerned
about Palestinian terrorism . “ I t ’ s
too simple to ‘ condemn terrorism .’
A Palestinian who is able to buy a
bomb to throw on the head o f Jews
— th a t is one face o f te rro r. But
those who buy cluster bombs—this
is another face o f terrorism, the ter­
rorism o f the mightier. And there is
a th ird face o f te rro rism — the te r­
rorism o f those w ho m anufacture
the bombs.”
“ In the eyes o f most Jews, Pales­
tin ia n equals te rro ris t. But in the
eyes o f the Palestinians, a Jew looks
like a terrorist as well. We must do
something to get behind the terrorist
stereotypes.
“ 1 am frightened by people who
refuse to listen to dialogue.”
In a d d itio n to the need fo r d i­
alogue, Father Chakour stressed the
need for a Palestinian homeland as
one c o n d itio n fo r peace in the
M iddle East:
“ The P alestinians must have
somewhere an address, a home, a
refuge. (This is ju st what the Jews
[Please turn to page 4 column 1}
V
FATHER ELIAS CHAKOUR
(Photo: Richard Brown)