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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1983)
Pag« 4 Portland Ob— r v r , Jurw 16,1963 Quorum o f One EDITORIAL/OPINION by Greg H'asson The end of an era When Boise Elementary School closed its doors Friday the culmination o f a twenty year struggle was realized. When Boise reopens in one or two years as an Early Childhood Educa tion Center, along with Tubman Middle School at the Eliot building, community children will have an ECEC, a middle school and a high school in the community. The struggle for quality education at Albina schools began in 1963 with the N A A C P demand for desegregation. There followed a retrench ment of segregation with the Model Schools system which locked students into inferior schools but, through the Administrative Trans fer, provided a release for children of parents who protested too much. The highly financed and highly publicized program was a dismal failure. Then came Blanchard with his “ Schools for the ’70s" plan — elimination o f the upper grades for Albina schools, forced scattering of black students to isolation in white schools, and enticement o f white preschoolers to black schools to provide “ desegregation” statistics. Blanchard’s downfall came when even further restrictions were proposed for Boise and King students, barring them from Jefferson, Wash ington and Grant. This led to the Community Coalition for School Integration, the Black United Front’s boycotts, the election of Steve Buel and the ap pointment o f Herb Cawthorne and Sarah New hall to the School Board, and the resignation of Jonathan Newman —- the board’s desegregation "expert.” The passing of power from the business con trolled board to a people oriented board brought a fundamental change in the district's one-way forced busing program and the termination of Superintendent Blanchard. When the downtown business community re alized it had lost control it made an unsuccessful recall attempt, then helped select and finance candidates to replace those who had acted against their will. The story is well known, but it is a chapter in Portland’s history that should be remembered. The successful struggle against an immovable and insensitive school board and superintendent showed what a few people — united and informed — can do. It is what real democracy is about — controlling the institutions that play a vital role in the lives of citizens and of the com munity. This struggle also should remind us that we have let the power slip away and inspire us to regain it. W e also must remember those who worked and sacrificed for our children: the Coalition; the Committee for Quality Education for All Children; the BUF; school board members Herb Cawthorne, Steve Buel, W ally Priestley and Sarah Newhall; Ronnie Herndon; Dr. Matthew Prophet and others. Boise has long been a focal point in the struggle — the last stand where parents and citizens had to say, “ Can’t take no more!” The new Boise can become the focal point in the new struggle to disprove the myths that poor or black children cannot learn and to provide real quality education. Sales tax in trouble? The Sclei House Committee that was ap pointed by House Speaker Grattan Kerans to pass the sales tax referendum out o f committee and onto the House floor for a vote is having (rouble. The committee has added a ceiling on state and local government spending— designed to make the sales tax more to the liking o f those who cry that there is too much government spending. Business leaders favor the sales tax, which shifts the costs of government from the large property owners to the wage earners, and o f course favor a ceiling. They are balking at the idea o f allowing twice yearly elections to override the ceiling. In the meantime, rumors are circulating that some House Democrats are having second thoughts. A fter all, why commit political suicide by supporting the hated sales tax only to see the tax defeated by the Senate? It is also said that many Democrats who voted for Kerans* special committee didn’t even know the effects o f a sales tax as compared to a homestead exemption or a graduated income tax. Some red-faced Demos arc wishing they hadn’t been so quick to say yes. Letters to the Editor Boise students attend three schools To the editor: I have watched in silence for the past three or four months to see what the school board and the school district would do in preparing the parents, the students and the community for relocating the Boise students. I am writing this because most parents and the community are unaware o f the transactions which are going to take place that will place somewhat o f a hardship on parents. The students will be scattered to three different schools: Columbia for grades I -5; W hitaker for Pre-K and Kindergarten; ADams for 6-8 grades. I feel this kind o f scattering unnecessary. Not one board member or anyone from the administrative level has come to counsel or meet with (he Hats off to Maestro Ken Berryl T o the editor: I know you were thrilled beyond your greatest expectations if you attended Youthsounds KJ at Jelicrson High School June 5th. (he program was also broadcast on KBtMJ. Truly the entire program was super, scry enjoyble and spiritually uplifting. Youthsounds KJ is the type of entertainment our city needs more often because it is inspiring to our young people. “ The l ord is with you.” As for Maestro (please) Ken Berry, who is a musical genius, •• wm • composer and producer, talented, humble and always helping others without taking any monetary compensation or expecting a favor in return for his services, we should appreciate Ken and his whole family who have been loyal over a number o f years giving their talents to help make our community a better place in which to live. I am saying to all young people, "Y o u are somebody". Keep up the good work. God bless us and keep us forever as we travel this Higway o f Life. Ms. Amanda Jackson » O«»' '• •. The P u n ta n ti O h w r v t r IU S P S 959 680) i t published every Thursdey by Ei»e Publishing Com pany. Inc 2201 North Killings worth Portland. Oregon 97217 Post Office Bo« 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon The Portland (>b\rrvrr was established in 1970 MEMBER Subscriptions 115 00 per year m the Tn County area Poet m aster Send address changes to the Portland O h s m r r. P O Bo« 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208 A lfre d L. Henderson, Editor/Publisher A ! Williams. Advertising Manager Astociahon - founded »M5 For its part, VIPs rejects even the suggestion of a problem. After three separate attempts to land an inter view. an individual who would iden tify himself only as a spokesperson for the chain said he doesn't consid er the freeway oasis, located miles from the nearest city, a truck stop. " T h a t is what we perceive to be a family restaurant serving full dinners and as an incidence to that we have beer and wine. It is a restau rant like any o ther." Right — and guns don't kill people: people kill people. W hich isn't to say that VIPs shouldn't have been granted the license It's just that the situation is a graphic demonstration o f the paradox inherent in discussions of what to do about drunk driving: We know that drunks on the highway kill, but America, especially the West, is a mobile society. G il Bellamy o f the T raffic Safety Commission says that fact is well demonstrated by the statistics. "Seventy-five percent o f drunk drivers get drunk at public establish ments. Yet, less than a third o f the liquor in this state is sold at taverns and bars. The problem is that vir tually 100*» o f restaurants and bars that serve liquor have parking lots. You expect people to drive there." Cheryl J. Gettis, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission super visor in charge o f Linn County, says the problems some individuals have with alcohol aren't addressed by the licensing regulations adopted by the OLCC. "Specifically in the case of V IP s ," adds Gettis, "there was no criteria, pertinent statute or regula tion that weighed against the issu ance o f a license. Currently, mobility o f clientele isn’ t an issue (hat our regulations address.” But, says Bellamy, it could be. “ We will have the laws in this society that the bulk o f the people want. T h a t’s not fifty-one percent; that's more like what three-quarters o f the people want. And if three- quarters o f the people say ’ It really violates the principles o f common sense to allow wine and beer sales at a restaurant adjacent to a freeway,’ the state will stop allowing it.” As stated above, though, the legislation currently being consid ered is aimed at the consumer, not the distributor. The major bill would require that upon a person’s second drunk-driving conviction, the car he or she was operating be impounded for 120 days. Wyers, who heads the Senate Justice Com mittee, estimates that the cost to the individual under such a law would be somewhere around JKOO storage and handling charges. M ore importantly, the law would grant additional power to the police. Depriving someone o f their car for four months is a strong statement, perhaps the kind o f message we want to send out about mixing driv ing and alcohol. Despite constitu tional mandates to the contrary, however, it's well established that, sometimes, laws are selectively en forced. Police are like anyone else and have a tendency to deal more harsh ly with people they don’t like than with those they do. This problem is especially evident in rural communi ties and raises the question o f whether this is (he best approach to take toward solving what everyone agrees is a serious problem. extends health insurance About JO million workers and their dependents have lost their medical insurance through unem ployment. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved H R J021 to provide limited assis tance to the unemployed, but the bill is languishing in the Ways and Means Committee where Reaganites hope to kill it. The $2.7 billion needed to fund the measure, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman (D -C a l.), was in cluded in the First Budget Resolution passed by the House but actual ap propriation o f the funds is contin gent on Congressional passage o f the "H e alth Care for the Unem ployed Act” and President Reagan's signature. The measure amends Title X X I o f the Social Security Act to establish a Federal-State entitlement program for jobless workers and their depen dents who are either receiving unem ployment compensation or who have exhausted their benefits. Stales would be eligible for federal match ing payments ranging from 50 to 100 percent o f the program’s coats, depending on the state's unemploy ment rate. States would have the choice of providing benefits through their em ployment service or through a private insurance carrier. Benefits would include 9 days in the hospital, 10 doctor visits per person, and full prenatal and delivery care. Persons enrolling would pay 2 percent of their weekly unemployment com pensation. A ll employees o f 25 or more workers who provide health insur ance would be required to continue those benefits for at least three months following layoff. They would be required to offer an open enrollment period to the unem ployed spouses o f their employees. The bill also authorises direct federal payments to public and other hospitals (hat are providing medical care to the poor without fee. Ben Riskin, a board member of the Coalition for a National Health Service, said the real solution is enactment o f Rep. Ron Dellums’ (D -C a l.) bill to create a comprehen sive community national health pro gram. Calling the Waxman bill too limiting, he recommended that, " W e should simply expand the serv ices provided by the Public Health Service to cover all the unemployed while the fight continues for the Dellums b ill." Douglas Fraser, former head o f the United Auto Workers union, ridiculed the corporations’ conten tion that laid-o ff workers can con vert to individual insurance pro grams that cost $200 per month. De scribing an unemployed man who was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing insurance papers to o b tain surgery for bleeding ulcers, he said, "T his intolerable situation would not have existed if Congress had enacted a universal, compre hensive, national health insurance program such as the labor movement and many other progres sive organizations have recommend ed. We continue strongly to support (his goal.” Jobless rates continue increase community as a whole. Yes we have had meetings where two or three people, who are considered the principal's advisory board, made decisions for the whole community and with no communication with the majority o f parents. I feel this is just another insensitive act as always happens when dealing with important things in our community. I am hoping that this has been an oversight and that there was no intent to ignore this community as has been done in the past. There are six black aides who have not been assigned because the principal took teachers and aides by seniority. A t least, this was the procedure to a point then one aide who had less building seniority went to the administration building and was placed at Colum bia. I am sure it would have been much easier for her to be assigned that the blacks who will be displaced. There will be only one black teacher and a special education teacher. Vesia Loving Portland Observer S A L E M — T w o weeks ago, (he Oregon State Senate approved bills dramatically increasing the negative consequences o f conviction for drunk driving. Tw o months earlier, the VIPs res taurant at the Corvallis/Lebanon freeway exit began serving beer and wine by the glass. A mixed signal? “ I guess you could argue th a t," admits Sen. Jan Wyers ( D -P o rt land ). “ The other argument would be (hat the presumption is that the people who drink there wouldn't be the ones who drove away. Also, it’s not illegal in Oregon to drive having had a drink. Most people can handle a drink or two with their meals and drive away and do quite acceptably. So it isn't necessarily totally incon sistent." 283 2486 N a tio n a l A d v artia in g R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc N e w York by Charles Coodmacher Oregon and Washington are tied for the dubious title o f being stales with the fifth highest rate o f insured unemployment — 5.4 percent for the week ended M ay 21. The nation wide unadjusted rate was J.9 per cent. the Labor Department report ed Friday. O fficial statewide overall unem ployment in Oregon for the month of M ay was 12.2 percent. The rate for the Portland metropolitan area was 10.9 percent Data adjusted for seasonal changes reflected an increase o f 6,000 nationally during the week o f May 2K, compared to the previous week. Many economists privately agree that official unemployment statistics vastly underestimate actual jobless- Labor dispute (C ontinuedfrom Page ! Column 4) “ It gets pretty hot out there," said Burnside. Police have been on the scene repeatedly to break up shouting matches between protesters and Hatch employees. On M ay 20th, five thugs, two o f whom were later identified as Hatch employees, assaulted and injured several pickets, targeting one in particular. "T hey proceed to a tap dance on h im ,” said Burnside. The pickets suffered broken ribs, possible spleen damage, face lacerations and con cussions, and one of the injured had to see a neurosurgeon, he said. A short time later, early on the morning o f M ay 22, 26 union pickets were arrested after they re fused to move out o f the way o f a ness and that new claims for unem ployment benefits are a better indi cator o f economic change. New claims are the first sign that more workers are joining the jobless. The number o f jobless workers filing initial claims for state unem ployment benefits nationally rose for the second straight week at the end o f M ay to 461,000 O fficial overall unemployment rates, on the other hand, may go down simply because the period of eligibility for unemployment benefits eventually expires. Discour aged workers — those who have given up on finding a job are totally ignored. So, too, are workers illegally hired “ under the table" yet no longer employed and those youth who have yet to find any employ ment. crane, stopping work for a few hours. They were charged with criminal mischief, with a bail of $150 each. Burnside said that while in general the police have treated the pickets with respect, he’s disappoint- edin the time taken to hear the as sault case. A hearing was scheduled almost a month after the incident, he said, but “ if one o f our people were to go out there and beat some one up, they'd be in jail immediate ly .” Meanwhile, company owner Robert Hatch said that "o ur people are working above capacity," be cause o f the union protest. "T h e reason they're out here is just to harass us,” he said of the pickets. "T h e quality o f our work has never been questioned," he said. "W e 're qualified contractors. W e’re way ahead, we're here to build this job and that’s it.” Insured unemployment only in cludes those people who are out o f work and covered by unemployment insurance. There are 86.8 million workers covered by such insurance nationally. The department's Employment and Training Administration also reported that during the week ending M ay 21. a total o f J,614,000 people received regular state unem ployment checks, the same number as a week earlier. The J.6 million national figure for slate unemployment benefit recipients does not include 2 million others who receive jobless checks under extended or special programs, or federal workers, newly discharged veterans and railroad workers. When asked about the safety vio lations alleged by Burnside, Hatch answered, "T h a t seems a little petty doesn't it, really?" As for hard hats, "1 don't wear 'e m ," he said. Hatch said that two employees have quit work on the freeway proj ect since the protest began, but that he has " a stack of 500 applications" of people who can take their place. "Those pickets are sitting there starving to death, and our people are taking home $800/week. W hat I mean is, who's winning?", he said. Hatch said he has enjoyed the "m orning entertainment” provided by the pickets. " I really had a good time with those guys. I t ’s just been fu n ,” he said. Burnside said the unions will hold a "stop the scabs" rally on Satur day, June 18th, 8 a.m . at 4128 N E Halsey. Union members and (he general public are urged to attend, he said.
