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.