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METROPOLITAN
Portland Observer, February 2, 1983 Page 3
Utility bills
Where to go for help
costs only.
According to the PUC publica
To qualify for Project Help, in tion, Consumer Rights and Respon
come of applicants must fall within
sibilities— Disconnection o f Utility
125-150 percent of the federal pov
Service, customers having (rouble
erty level.
making payments have the right to
According to P PA L spokesper
set up an installm ent plan where
son Barbara Douglas, the purpose
they pay ten percent of past due bills
of the program is to assist the "new
over a 10-month period.
poor— the ones that have been good
Three w ritten notices from the
customers and suddenly find them
utility are required if disconnection
selves faced with a crisis.”
is threatened— 15 days before, three
" W e ’ re trying to reach people
days before, and a third notice on
who are just above the poverty
the day scheduled for interruption
lin e," said Sonia Eetherston of (he
o f serveie. The utility must try and
Salvation Army. " I t helps, but it's
contact the customer in person on
not mandatory," she said, "to be a
the day of shut-off, and explain op
senior citizen or handicapped."
tions.
Project Help was created out of
The publication states that “ Ser
concern by PPAL employees about
vices cannot be turned o ff on, or the
the "terrible economic times" faced
day prior to, a holiday or week
by customers in the company's six- end."
Also, " Y o u r service cannot be
state service area, which includes
Oregon, Washington, northern Cal disconnected if the physical health
ifornia. and parts o f Idaho, M o n o f a person in your household
would be endangered without heat
tana and Wyoming, said Douglas.
Sonia Eetherston said the Salvation or power." The utility must receive
Army became interested because a certificate from a health care pro
many people had been coming to the fessional in such cases.
The PUC fact sheet on utility cus
agency seeking energy assistance.
tomers’ rights can be obtained by
Douglas said that Project Help
has received an "overwhelming re- contacting John Clay, Oregon Pub
lic U tility Commission, Room 300,
spone" in donations from P PA L
employees, corporations and inter Labor and Industries Building, Sa
ested individuals. The original lem , OR 97310 (P o rtland phone:
$100,000 has been met already, she 229-5700). Persons interested in
said, and the company is deciding L IE A P should go to the Urban
now whether to increase its contri League o ffice, 5329 N .E . U nion,
287-1506. Northeast Portland resi
bution.
Success o f Project Help is an ex dents can apply for Project Health
ample o f "p eop le showing their at the Salvation Army's Moore St.
goodness when times get to u gh ," C om m unity Center. 5430 N.
Moore, 282-2571.
said Douglas.
by Robert Lothian
Speaker of the House of Representatives dis
cusses state budget and tax proposals with com
munlty residents at Portland Observer'» Legislative
Forum January 29th.
Genetic research ethics explored
by Brenda Braxton
University of Portland News Service
A panel discussion was held at the
University of Portland on January
26th to examine the contributions
and conflicts of genetic research in
the 1980s. Panelists included faculty
from the University’s Biology, Phil
osophy, Theology, and Education
departments.
Dr. Becky Houck, assistant pro
fessor o f Biology, called human
genetics a "tw entieth century phe
nomenon a n d .. .the most rapidly
changing branch o f science." Dis
eases including herpes, tuberculosis,
and some cancers have a genetic
base, she said.
Karen Kovach, genetic counselor
at the Crippled Children’s Division,
stated that the first goal of genetic
engineering was to ‘^prevent genetic
disease." She said that there were
thousands and thousands of genetic
conditions and five to ten percent of
the population has a genetic disease.
There are many good uses for
genetic research. It is now possible
to detect genetic defects in a fetus
and perform surgery at a cellular
level to correct the problem. In ad
d itio n , H um u lin , insulin derived
from humans instead o f animals,
will appear on the market this year,
said Dr. Seidler, assistant professor
o f Philosophy. A human growth
hormone is being perfected in the re
search stage, also.
Along with the contributions of
genetic research comes conflicts. Is
sues such as safety and ethicality
have not been resolved.
According to Dr. Seidler, safety
laws regulating genetic research
have been relaxed since the early
twenties. Eighty-five percent of the
research conducted today is not ob
ligated to adhere to these laws.
Industrial genetics, which con
ducts its research on a larger scale
than that done at a private labroa-
tory, has never been subject to
safety laws, said Seidler. He pointed
out that it is d iffic u t to m onitor
leakage and dumping on a large
scale. S till he estimated that 130
companies have sprung into exist
ence over the past few years. ’’These
are the companies who are the big
gest polluters a lre a d y ,’ * he said.
"There is such a rush to develop this
new technology.. and to me speed
and safety are not compatible."
Both D r. Seidler and D r. M a t
thew Baasten, associate professor of
Theology, touched on the ethicality
of genetic engineering.
Dr. Seidler raised a question as to
whether or not scientists are ad
vanced enough to intervene in hu
man evolution. Could their inter
vention lead to positive eugenics,
the creation o f perfect human
beings? During the 1920s there was
a positive eugenics movement in the
United States. In 1928 three-fourths
o f colleges taught positive eugenics
courses. Some felt that the "purity”
of the American people was threat
ened by such factors as im m ig ra
tion, said Dr. Seidler. He also stated
that during the 1930s Hitler contact
ed the United States in regards to
positive eugenics.
If positive eugencis strives for the
perfect human being, the fate of the
less fo rtunate like those with
genetics defects is dismal.
Dr. Baasten presented three com
mon ju stifications for selective
abortion. The first on is that these
abortions are perform ed for the
good of society. Resources are need
ed for the independent and healthy
person and not for the dependent,
defective ones. Secondly, a genetically
defective person has little chance of
being useful to society. Lastly, selec
tive abortion is needed as an alterna
tive for parents who feel that bring
ing a defective child into their home
would not be in the best interest of
their family.
If genetically defective individuals
are not allowed to be born, what
other types o f individuals w ill be
aborted so as not to burden society?
D r Baasten was concerned with
where the line would be drawn in
such an instance.
Dr. Carol Sivage, Coordinator of
Special Education at the University
o f Portland, discussed the cost of
care for the handicapped.
Every child that attends a public
school receives the basic school sup
port of 1,200 per year (figures vary
between school districts). H and i
capped children receive up to $6,000
per year. This amount covers special
equipment, extra teaching staff, and
transportation, said D r. Sivage.
These funds are raised through local
property tax or state wide taxes.
Social Security also goes to aid
the mentally retarded and disabled
adults living in a group home. These
individuals receive a Social Security
Income (SSI) check of approximate
ly $300 per month. Rent, electricity,
and spending money are paid by
these checks, said. Dr. Sivage.
Help is available for low income
people having trouble paying their
heating and utility bills, and facing
shut-offs.
Two programs— L IE A P (Low
Income Energy Assistance P ro
gram ), conducted through the
Northeast Portland office of the U r
ban League, and Project H elp,
sponsored jointly by Pacific Power
and Light Company and the Salva
tion A rm y — o ffe r help with pay
ment of heating and utility bills.
In ad dition , the Oregon Public
Utility Commissioner’s Office has a
free fact sheet, "Consumer Rights
and Responsibilities— Disconnec
tion of Service," which explains le
gal rights of customers and ways to
avoid shut-offs.
To qualify for L IE A P , income of
applicants must fall within 123 per
cent o f the "federal poverty level,"
which is $38OO/year for a single
adult, according to Don Allen, ener
gy projects coordinator for the U r
ban League.
In the case of an immediate need
(running out o f heating fuel, or a
threatened shut-off, for instance).
Allen said (hat a direct payment can
be made to a fuel company or u til
ity. When the need is less im m e
diate, he said, cash grants are
awarded to q ualified applicants
within 4 to 6 weeks of application.
L IE A P was made possible by the
"w indfall profits tax" imposed on
oil companies by Congress in 1975,
according to A llen . It was deter
mined at that time that at least part
of the money should go to low
income persons “ for relief from the
high cost of energy," he said.
Over 4,000 Northeast residents
were assisted by L IE A P in 1982,
said Allen, and he expects "quite a
bit more” in 1983.
In Project H elp, Pacific Power
and Light Company has offered
$100,000 in stockholder’s funds to
match tax deductible volunteer do
nations. Cash grants o f up to $125
are awarded to help with heating
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