Portland observer., July 11, 1984, Page 3, Image 3

Portland Observer, July 11. 1984 Page 3
How noi to gei burned
wilh high energy bills.
METROPOLITAN
Union Square breaks ground dancing
by Nathaniel Scott
Break dancing, poetry reading,
gospel music, jazz and soul stirred
the fancy of many who partook of
Union Square's grand opening,
Friday and Saturday of last week.
The five-store shopping plaza is
located at N .E . Union Avenue and
Morris Street.
two years o f planning. The plaza
represents “ S I.5 million of private
and public investment.”
M oreover, he said, the five
businesses in the plaza received a
total of approximately $250,000 of
low-interest P D C loans. Three of
the businesses are reportedly
minority owned
While not being at liberty to talk
about specifics, Wong said, “ There
are a lot of developmental projects
in the making in the N o rth -N o rth ­
east,” referring to low-interest PDC
loan business ventures in the North
Northeast.
Ron H erndon, co-chair o f the
Black United F ro nt, said, “ A lot
more money is needed in the com­
munity, and not just from P D C .”
During his brief statement, Hern­
don praised U nion Square's Nike
store, “ For entering into a contract
with the Black community."
"Rapper” Vitamin at the grand
opanlng.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Complimenting the festive enter­
tainm ent, the five stores: C o n ­
venient Food M a rt, the Flower
King, Nike, Ronaldo’s Ice Cream,
and the Sunshine Pizza Exchange,
provided customers and potential
customers, with discounts galore.
U nion Square, according to
Warren Wong, project coordinator
with the Portland Development
Commission (P D C ), is the result of
" A percentage of the proceeds,”
a portion of Nike’s receipts, he said,
“ Are going into the development of
the com m unity." He added, all of
the companies doing business in the
Black com m unity should do
likewise.
LaRue M a rtin , manager o f the
plaza's Nike store, said business at
the U nion Avenue site has been
"quite good.”
A nother
of
the
Square's
proprietors, A lvin Manus o f the
Flower King, said his business has
also been good. In fact, he said, his
business has been “ outstanding."
Manus showed his appreciation
by selling long-stemmed red roses
Saturday for ten cents each. His
reason was, “ I appreciate the people
who have supported me so fa r.”
Geraldine Avery haipa Larry Richard, aga 15. fill out a copy of tha
BUF survey on taanaga haalth car. naada at tha Union Squara grand
opanlng.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
BUF teen care project
seeks community involvement
by Nathaniel Scott
The Portland Black United Front
(B UF) received $5000 from the Tri-
County United Way for a teenage
care project, Venita M yrick, chair­
person o f the p ro ject, said. The
$5000 will assist the B U F ’ s efforts
to educate Black teenagers about
pregnancy, and about health
problems in general.
Citing statistics compiled in 1982,
Myrick said, at that time, 33.3 per­
cent o f the city's teens lived in the
North and Northeast. Furthermore,
she maintained, 42.2 percent of the
33.3 percent figure were Black. In
addition, she said, the percentage of
Black teen pregnancies continues to
be alarmingly high.
The acuteness of the B U F’s con­
cern was demonstrated Saturday,
July 7th. at Union Square's grand
opening celebration. At the festive
occasion, thirteen representatives
from the Front distributed health
care leaflets to teenagers and con­
cerned parents.
Avel M a y fie ld , one o f the nu­
merous volunteers with the BUF's
project, said the Teenage Care
Project w ill be located at 1640
N.E. Alberta, the Black Education­
al Activity Center.
Mayfield said the overall concern
is the number of Black teenage
pregancies in the Black community.
"O ur target is to reach 200 teens,”
she said. “ We are striving to reach
100 who are actually parents, and
an additional 100 who are sexually
active.”
In addition, she said, a number of
physicians, dentists, and nurses
from the Black com m unity, have
pledged their support and services.
The BUF circulated a teen-needs
survey at (he Union Square grand
opening Mayfield said, “ We wan­
ted to find out what the young
people felt their needs were; we in­
tend to take the in fo rm atio n and
channel the program (Teenage Care
Project) to meet those needs.”
Deaf increase visibility
by Nancy Solomon
"Poppers” Arthur Jacoba and LeRon Harpar make aoma ayaa pop
at tha opanlng.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
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D eaf
people— the
nation's
second-largest, yet most invisible,
disabled population— became more
visible Tuesday.
For the first time in Portland's
history, leaders o f the deaf com ­
munity held a press conference to
speak out about the lack of respect,
social services and government funds
they receive.
“ The hearing world has a lot to
learn about deafness. It understands
nothing
about
being
com ­
municatively disabled,” said Betty
W ood, coordinator o f the In te r­
p re te r P r e p a r a tio n /D e a fn e s s
Program, at Western Oregon State
College
Wood was one of six deaf leaders
who addressed the large number of
media representatives and deaf
community supporters who atten­
ded the conference. Held at the
Greater Portland Association of the
Deaf (G P A D ), 8134 N. Denver, the
speakers represented five separate
deaf organizations in Oregon.
“ Hearing people need to learn to
respect our differences, to accept us
on an equal level, and not as being
intellectually inferior," Wood said.
" T h e m ajority o f decisions made
for deaf and hearing impaired per­
sons are made by people who know
nothing about deafness,” she addd
To remedy this situation, Wood
suggests the Oregon Legislature
establish a state-funded position for
a full-time deaf service coordinator.
Many states, including Washington
and C a lifo rn ia , have sim ilar
positions, she said.
This coordinator would give
Oregon’s deaf population access to
social services such as health care,
vocational training and legal ad­
vocacy.
“ Mental health programs are vir­
tually non-existent for the deaf and
hearing im p a ire d ,” said C alvin
Johanson, president of the Oregon
Association o f the D eaf (O A D ).
" D ru g abuse programs, for exam-
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©NM he. » rtaast
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The shortest lived U .S . coin was the tw enty-cent
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The human brain is 80 percent water.
There is no single cat called a panther. The name is
commonly applied to the leopard, puma, and the jag­
uar.
Clarence Birdseye, the "Father of Frozen Food," was
an inventor and explorer who first experimented with
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ple, flourish all over the state and
are lavishly funded, but none of
these programs provide direct ser­
vice to the deaf and hearing im ­
paired population.”
The communication barrier bet­
ween deaf and hearing people
became evident during the press
conference itself, despite the fact
that sign language interpreters were
available.
After the last speech was given by
George Kosovitch, who is hard-of-
hcaring, the reporters eagerly began
to ask him questions. When
Kosovitch yielded the floo r to
Wood, who is profoundly deaf, the
questions immediately ceased.
"T he point is, hearing people are
not com fortable with u s," Wood
said after the conference. "T h a t's
the whole problem with the com ­
munity at large."
BETTY W OO D
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
" I ’m not upset, I understand (the
reporters) know nothing about
deafness. But at the same time, they
need to be more patient with us,"
she added.
It is this discom fort hearing
people feel towards deafness which
perpetuates her isolation. Wood
said.
In continuing that fight against
isolation, Portland deaf activists are
seeking money for a multi-service
center here, they announced.
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