: *1 .
9 3
Page 6 Section II Portland Observer June 16. 1983
Possum tosser
gets 10 days
The DeAtley/Budweieer Cemero. with Rlbba at
tha wheel. racaa toward the Roaa Cup Raca finish
Iina at Portland International Racaway
(Photo: Pat Willard)
Willie T. Ribbs: Winner
by Cbad Drbm an
M r. W illy T. Ribb». the roaring
young lion, won (he Rose Cup Race
at Pori land International Raceway
last Sunday.
Ribbs is the first black to ever win
the Trans Am series and it was his
first entrance. Not only did W 'lly
" T " win the race, he also owns the
track record o f 1:10.63.
The race was full o f excitement.
There were two yellow flags near the
end that made the race close. O ther
wise M r. T . would have won by half
a lap in his DeAtley prepared
Camaro.
W illy T . shared some personal
comments to this writer that illus
trated his spirit and experience that
should be shared with the public.
Lonnie Edward Hooker, a 20-
year-old Gladstone man accused
nearly two years ago o f throwing a
dead possum on a black man’s
barbecue grill, was finally sentenced
to ten days in Clackamas County
Jail, fined $200 and then placed on
probation. The possum-tossing inci
dent occurred shortly after Portland
Police Bureau officers had allegedly
placed dead pouums in front o f a
black-owned restaurant in Portland.
Hoover got a lecture on racial dis
crimination
from
Clackamas
County
District
Judge
Terry
Gebolys as he received hit sentenc
ing on the third-degree criminal mis
chief charge. Hoover had entered a
guilty plea on the charge. He threw
a dead possum onto (he grill at
W alter's Mississippi-Style Barbeque
Stand at Southeast 82nd Avenue
and King Road.
The trial o f Hooker took two
years to reach a conclusion for a
number o f reasons. Plea negotia
tions, failures to appear and contin
uances accounted for the unusual
delay according to Gebolys. The
District Attorney also requested that
Hoover obtain automobile insur
ance and a driver’s license prior to
sentencing which also contributed to
(he delay.
THIS WEEK S SPECIAL
Pickup & Truck Seats
Reupholstered
tl
C o m p lete
M o a t T rucks
ART CRAFT UPHOLSTERY
2653 NE U n io n ..................... 287-8806
RUNYAN'S 88C
STORE
Observer:
How did you gel into Trans Am
and Formula car racing?
Willy T.:
9:006 45
Closed Sunday
3716 N.E. UNIONI
I am the only black driver on the
circuit today. M y father was into
racing and so it was a natural for
me. The first part o f my career, my
father helped me both spiritually
and economically due to the tremen
dous amounts o f capital I needed to
get started in racing.
Observer:
Was it hard to get started in the
U.S.?
Willie T.:
Yes, I couldn't find sponsorships
and I only raced once or twice a
year. Then I went to Europe and de
veloped my aggressive style o f driv
ing and was received well as a racer.
Observer:
What is needed to be an effective
racer?
Willy T.:
firs t it takes training, natural
talent and experience. I put a big
" E " on experience. Secondly, you
Wlllia T. Rlbba. wtnnar of tha Rosa Cup Raca. (Photo:Pat Willard)
need a good team o f technicians and
a good sponsor. Each car we have
on our team represents one million
dollars.
I want to be the best and win the
Indy. I want black people to become
more involved in motor car racing
and to be proud o f my accomplish
ments.
M r. Ribbs, twenty-seven years
young
and
from
San
Jose,
C alifornia, impressed me with two
things. One, determination and two,
his self respect. It's a message that
young and old can prosper by. I
guess the old addage “ You can
make it i f you try ,” is true.
Huh, Willy!?
-
Conference addresses conflict
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the first
woman to chair the U.S. Equal O p
portunity Commission, will speak at
the "E q uity in the '80s Conference"
to be held at Lewis and Clark
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
College in Portland on June 16th
and 17th. Ms. Norton was appointed
in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter
and served until 1981. As chairper
son she administered Title V ll o f the
1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal
Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act and Section 301 of
the Rehabilitation Act.
Currently a professor o f law at
Georgetown Law Center in Wash
ington, D .C ., she is the author of
"Sex Discrimination and the Law:
Causes and Remedies" and is
writing a book on the development
and impact o f affirm ative action
remedies.
Alvin
W.
Washington,
Vice
President and Associate Regional
Manager o f the Kaiser Foundation
Health Plan o f Oregon, w ill also
address the conference.
A graduate o f Lincoln University,
Washington holds an M .S . in
Administration from George Wash
ington University and an M S. in
Physiological Chemistry for Ohio
State. He has been in his present
position since most o f 1981 and pre
viously was a Health Plan Manager,
an Administrative Director, and
held various assignments in the
medical field and was a Lt. Colonel
in the U.S. A ir Force (technical in
form ation, intelligence).
Representing the Reagan admin
¿fcXAuto
etailing
Father's Day and
Graduation
Cards & Gifts
istration will be Asst. U.S. Attorney
General J. Paul M cG rath, who is in
charge o f the Civil Division in the
U.S. Attorney General's O ffice.
The conference on "T h e High
Cost o f Intergroup C o n flict" will
begin with registration at 8:00 a.m .
The conference fee o f $60 includes
two lunches.
Cellini
Cologne
from
Runyan's 88C
Store
Disposable
Lighters
»2«
TU R TU WAX COMPANY
"Voting to the first duty of
democracy "
- Lyndon Bainei Johnson
Reg. 3 /8 V
THE O R IG IN A L I
ACCEPT N O
SUBSTITUTE.
Turtle Minute Wax
$528
Reg. price $5“
ADOSA
TURTLE
WAX
SHINE
AS IT
WASHES!
L
T-75
Turtle Zip Wax
T 15
N e w Product
Kleen Guard
Furniture Polieh
$218
Reg. price 82"
1454 NE Prescott
282-9121
3/98«
R eg.83”
Commission
studies library
A fifteen member commission
will study redesigning Multnom ah
County's library system. A blue-
ribbon panel, suggested by C om
missioner
Arnold
Biskar,
will
deliver a plan for an improved
system by Christmas.
The commission will have a
County
Commissioner
as
its
chairman and will include the mayor
o f Gresham, the superintendent of
the
Portland
Public
Schools,
members o f the Portland City
Council, the Friends o f the Library,
the Library Association Board and
the library union, two representa
tives o f higher education and six
public members.
The panel will examine the
contract under which the County
pays the library's costs and the
Library Association governes the
library
system.
Among
the
questions to be addressed are
ownership o f the library assets, the
appointment
of
directors,
commitment for extended financing
and possible private
financing
methods.
Happy
Father's Day
Full line of
Sale ends June 25
Rag.81«
,4 at.