Page 2, Portland Observer, March 13, 1906
Hispanic leader promotes justice
I
by Robert Lothian
hospitals and dimes increase bi lingual
staff and cross-cultural education.
Fnnque F.scobar, o f the Hispanic
Dr. Jose Gutierrez.
Media Project in Portland, revealed
that although Hispanics arc more than
6 percent o f the U.S. population,
only about 1.3 percent o f journalists
are Hispanic. He suggested that the
major media should sponsor scholar
ships and internships for Hispanics,
that the Oregonian should have a bi
lingual Sunday Hispanic column, and
that more entry level jobs and training
for Hispanics in the media arc needed
Government, labor and business will
he discussed at the next conference ses
sion March 23rd at the Northwest
Service Center, 1819 N .W . Everett.
The third session April 13th at the
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
United Way offices, 718 W . Burnside,
is aimed at setting up a Hispanic ad
visory council.
The advisory council is important,
said Gutierrez, because no such body
exists in Oregon now to look after
the interests of Hispanics. Spanish
speaking Americans continue to be
overlooked by the media, human
services and government agencies in
cluding the Census Bureau, he said.
In addition, continued Gutierrez, C hi
cano farmworkers in Oregon live in
conditions similar to those in the Third
World.
He reported that a Commission on
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Pro-choice activists face tough battles ahead
by Lanita Duke
G R A SSR O O T N E W S . N . W . - l n
recent months pro-choice activists have
become increasingly concerned with
the success o f right-to-life advocates
who turned the focus o f the abor
tion issue away from the woman.
They feel the concern now is concen
trated on the fetus while the woman
and her right to make a choice is ig
nored.
To balance this trend llie Otegoii’s
affiliate o f the National Abortion
Rights Action league (N A R A L ) is
planning a "Speak O u t.” this is a
letter-writing campaign where indi
viduals share personal stories about
abortion.
M ary Rohlffs, a N A R A L repre
sentative, said the days are over for
women to be hush-hush with their
abortion experiences. "W om en’s atti
tudes are changing. Now, the right to
have an abortion is threatened. The
purpose o f the "Speak O u t" is to
create an awareness that abortion is
a reality,” she added.
Rohlffs said letters should be ad
dressed to President Reagan and
mailed to: Oregon N A R A L , P.O.
Box 40472, Portland, O R 97240.
According to Oregon’s Vital Sta
tistics, ¡lie number o f induced abor
tions in Oregon in 1983 was 12,064.
Two-thirds o f the total number of
abortions performed in Oregon were
in Multnomah Côunty. "W om en in
other parts o f the state do not have
access to abortion," Rohlffs added.
Non-white women comprise 7.7 per
cent of the total which is up from 4.8
percent in 1980. R ohlff said that covert
and overt legislation is threatening
the right to have an abortion. In 1986
a ballot measure will appear asking
voters to prohibit state funding for
abortion. Since 1978, when federal
funding was stopped, Oregon was
among 14 states that paid for abor
tions out o f state monies.
“ We are facing our toughest bat
tle," Rohlffs added. “ People may be
pro-choice, but paying for it is a d if
ferent m atter."
Politically, North and Northeast
Portland are represented by an anti-
abortionist in the Senate. Sen. Bill
McCoy, and pro-choice in the House,
Rep. Margaret Carter.
" I don't want to support any legis
lation that tells women what to do
with their bodies. No one has that
right,” Carter said. Senator McCoy
refused to return phone calls to record
his stand on this issue.
Rohlffs said the majority o f right-
to-lifers project a conservative, relig
ious view, “ Because of their inability
to get a constitutional amendment
prohibiting abortion, they are attack
ing many vulnerable aspects o f abor
tion, such as minor rights, funding
and individual confrontations with
women at abortion clinics,” she
added.
Shirley Chisolm, who first led the
fight for abortion on the national
level, wrote in 1971, " Is abortion
right? M y beliefs and experience have
led me to conclude that the wisest
public policy is to place the responsi
bility for that decision on the indi
vidual."
Atiyeh declares March social work month
Gov. Vic Atiyeh has proclaimed
March as "Professional Social W ork
M o nth .” By doing this the first time
in Oregon, Atiyeh follows a precedent
set by President Ronald Reagan who
proclaimed National Social W ork
M onth. March 22. 1984.
"Social workers perform a vital
service helping people and their fam
ilies cope with and overcome debili
tating problems," Gov. Atiyeh said in
issuing the proclamation.
M artha Lemke, president o f the
Oregon Chapter o f the National As
sociation o f Social Workers, an
nounced the association's campaign
to educate the community about the
many problems workers face daily
and how these problems affect the
family. The campaign "W o rk is a
Family A ffa ir” is being carried out by
the 9(X) member Oregon Chapter in
conjunction with nearly 100,000 other
N A S W members nationwide.
Lemke noted many workers have
personal problems (hat interfere with
their work and others suffer from job
stress causing problems at home.
According to statistics, fifty percent
ol production problems are caused by
workers confronting difficulties such
as day care or marital problems. And
there is strong evidence job stress con
tributes to health problems such as
heart disease. "T hat stress robs em
ployers o f productive workers and
creates new problems at home,”
Lemke said,
l-emke also introduced John Milnes
of Salem, Michael Stoops o f Portland
and Esther Kelly Watson o f Portland,
recipients o f awards from the Oregon
Chapter N A S W . All were on hand for
the Governor's ceremony.
John B. Milnes, a Salem registered
clinical social worker, was selected
"Social Worker o f the Year" for
his role in legislation (hat gives in
surance reimbursement to social work
ers. The law, passed in 1981, gave
employees the option to use their health
insurance benefits to cover mental
health treatment by qualified social
workers. Milnes was formerly a unit
Citizens Utility Board csmpalgnar. Eric Stachon (laftl. posas with
soma of tha interim CUB board members appointed by the governor.
(L-r) Gala Corson. Nita Bruggaman. Mika Roach and George Starr read
telag ram a from tha Wisconsin and Illinois CUBs congratulating them
on their victory. Draaasd in tha CUB suit Is Bob Jenks.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
director o f the Oregon State Hospital
Alcohol and Drug treatment program.
He now treats workers and their fam
ilies in his private practice in south
east Salem.
Michael A . Stoops was made " C iti
zen of the Year” in recognition o f his
work with the poor on Portland's
Skid Road. Stoops has gained state
wide acclaim as advocate for the
homeless. He is chairman o f the
board o f Burnside Community Coun
cil and directs Baloney Joe’s, a drop-
in center on Burnside that serves meals
donated by area churches.
City Council to vote on
sister city measure
by Robert Lothian
The Portland-Corinto sister city
project raised $300 for school sup
plies for children in Corinto, Nica
ragua, at a dinner Feb. 27.
An additional two large boxes with
about $100 worth o f paper, penáis,
pens, crayons and other supplies were
also gathered at the event.
Spokesperson David Ijndor, a pa
thologist at Oregon Health Sciences
University, said the supplies will be
sent down with Portlanders visiting
Corinto this spring.
Lindor said the dinner was a kick
o ff for a campaign to raise awareness
o f Corinto and to convince the dty
coundl to approve Nicaragua’s major
port as Portland's next sister dty. A
week o f activities will culminate in a
dty coundl vole April 10th.
City coundl member M ike Lind
berg, who is heading the sister city
campaign, said adopting Corinto is a
way to support Nicaraguans in their
efforts to end the war with CIA-backed
contras. "Getting the d ty coundl to
pass the sister d ty resolution is one of
the main things we can do to help our
brothers and sisters," he said.
Diane Hess, Central America direc
tor for the American Friends Service
Committee in Portland, said schools
in Corinto are operating with three
shifts and students are short such
basic supplies as pencils. Also, there
are no maps, “ an absurd situation for
people in a country so much in the
center o f world events," she said.
Lindor said the Corinto project
has approached the Portland Asso
ciation o f Teachers and high school
teachers in hopes o f generating satel
lite school supply drives.
“ From what we gather, they are
sports enthusiasts o f the most exuber
ant kind and we want to get some
athletic supplies down there, too,” he
said. Lindor said future goals include
bringing teachers and students from
Corinto to Portland.
"B y April 10, we want to go to the
d ty coundl and say, 'W e don't want a
handout, we want help with what we
are already doing’ ," Lindor said.
Local businesses have already helped
by donating food for the kick-off
dinner, he said.
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Esther Kelly Watson, retired Port
land resident and former director of
Public Welfare, was given the Helen
Catlin Award. The Chapter gives the
award in memory ol a woman whose
life was dedicated to volunteer com
munity service. Since her retirement,
Ms. Watson has volunteered weekly
for 20 years in the Trinity Episcopal
Church program for senior adults. A
member of the pioneer Kelly family,
Ms. Watson wrote a book on the
history of Portland's Westminster
Presbyterian Church, where she is a
lifelong member.
J
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N o C M c “ ’
PARK RANGER PROGRAMMER TRAINEE HIGH
In 1970, Jose Angel Gutierrez led a
nationally-recognized
civil
rights
movement that changed the direction
o f a small Texas town. Crystal City.
The Mexican community there,
which had been left out o f decision
making by the white establishment,
gained control o f the school board,
the city council and the county com
mission o f Zavala County. Profound
changes were made to benefit the local
Mexican population.
Dr Gutierrez has been an Oregon
resident for five years. He teaches
political science at Western Oregon
Slate College in Monmouth, and he
is director o f Hispanic services for
United W ay in Portland.
Still active in efforts to open up
opportunities for Hispanic people.
D r. Gutierrez has brought together
Hispanic leaders and representatives
from agencies that serve Hispanics for
a path-breaking conference — “ The
Next Half: Hispanic Strategy fot
1985 1990 "
The conference will continue over
three Saturdays PartiapanU will assess
the needs o f Hispanic people in Ore
gon and define a better life in terms of
suggesting impreovements in social
services, the media, government and
many other areas.
The first Saturday session at the
Northwest Service Center on March
9th focused on human services and
the media. A wealth o f statistics was
provided, and it was suggested that
Hispanic Affairs which toured the
state recently found migrant farm
workers living in conditions he de
scribed as slavery. In M errill, near
Klamath Falls, for instance, he said,
the commission found debt peonage
— Farmworkers work 10 hours a day,
365 days a year to pay o ff debts which
the farmers ray they owe. "T h e grow
ers insist that they (the workers) owe
them money, and that's why they
can't leave,'* said Gutierrez.
The commission found also that
near Hood River, farmworkers must
pay up to $50 to get a job and then
about $30 a month to keep it.
It is possible that the conditions un
covered by the commission will be
corrected in "the next h a l f — inclu
sion o f the Hispanic community in the
social fabric o f the Northwest is one
o f the most important issues for the
next five years, said Gutierrez.
Coincidental with the conference,
he said, two Chicano leaders, Cesar
Chavez and Henry Cisneros, are
scheduled to appear in Oregon soon.
Chavez, hed o f the United Farm
workers Association, has called for a
new grape boycott. Gutierrez an
nounced at a recent meeting o f the
Hispanic Student Union at PSU. Cis
neros, m »/o r o f Austin, Texas, led
that city in starting innovative pro
grams to benefit the Hispanic com
munity. He was considered as a vice-
presidential running mate by Walter
Mondale.
Appearances by these leaders, and
the conference, portend a period of
increased focus on Hispanic issues in
Oregon, said Guiterrez.
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