Page 4, Portland Observer, September 18,1986
METROPOLITAN
Gospel singer Irby
tours the south
by Nathaniel S< otl
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
DAVE FORD
Hock Shop upsets neighborhood
by Hubert Lothian
The ( M w n v r has received several
calls fro m irate neighborhood resi
dents upset w ith the H ock Shop, a
second hand store at 'fttltl N.E. Union
Ave.
The residents complained that they
went to the shop after items were stol
en fro m their homes and found the
items fo r sale there, presum ably
brought in by burglars. Several sug
gested the store might be a fence oper
ation.
One man, w ho resides on N. W il
liams A ve ., said he fo u n d bicycles
belonging to his wife and daughter in
the store. " M y daughter's bike was
just being loaded onto a tru c k ," with
many other bikes, he said. He was
able to recover the bike after showing
Hock Shop owner Dave Ford the bike
license.
A lter a camping tent and backyard
batbeque were stolen recently, the
man said he stood across the street and
watclied the store entrance to see if he
could catch the person who took his
things. " I t seems to me he's running
a semi legal fence for a lot o f the petty
thieves in the neighborluNid." he said
" A lot o l petty b u rg la ry goes right
there; I'se sat and watched it."
lo r d said he is not responsible for
the com m unity's burglary problem ,
and that he has no way to tell it an
item is stolen or not. "T h e re 's not a
second hand store in the c ity that
doesn't have this p ro b le m " he said
'W hen they gel one in the area they
want to blame it for every crime com
m itted. W'e d o n 't end up w ith any
more s tu ff stolen here, in a low in
come area, than they do in Southeast."
lo rd said tltat if someone can prove
an item in his store has been stolen
from them he w ill give it back. They
can also contact the police and go
through an o ffic ia l process which
lakes some tim e and paperw ork, he
said
lo r d said he provides a service to
the c o m m u n ity, that even local
churches have b e n e fite d fro m his
bargains. "T h e re 's no pickets out
there," he said.
The shop has had a stormy history
since it opened in M ay, 1981. C o m
plaints from the neighborhood about
the store being a possible fence opera
turn surfaced almost im m ediately,
and police visited the store frequently.
"T h e y were on me top to b o tto m ,”
said I o rd , try in g to put me out o f
business." C harging harra.ssmcnt,
I ord slapped the Police Bureau with
a lawsuit, which remains under litiga
lion
Some o f the problems may be cleared
up by an am endm ent to the c ity ’ s
I9H0 pawn shop ordinance being con
sidered by the C ity C o u n c il. The
amendment would require about 44X1
pawn shops and second hand stores in
the city to have a revocable perm it,
allow police to investigate applicants
for a record o f theft or fraud, require
customers selling property to present
id e n tifica tio n , require businesses to
hold certain property for 15 days be
HIM RADIO.
IV E o n CO
Northwetr'g Lo'pet’
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fore reselling it, and require businesses
to n o tify police when they receive
frequently stolen items. A Police Bu
rcau spokesman said the original law
trriped reduce burglary and tire amend
merit woukl hdp even mote.
Northeast crime prevention coordi
nator Sharon McCorm ack reminded
neighborhood residents to mark their
property. Engravers can be checked
out from branch libraries for the pur
pose, she said "T h e y ’ re not going to
recover it i f there's not some way to
identity it,” said M et ormack
Ten-year-old " M a s t e r " G o ldie
Irb y, who has been singing since he
was three years old, returned to P ort
land a lte i perform ing in Muskegon,
M ich ig a n , M em phis, Tennessee,
V ickburg, Greenwood and Jackson,
Mississippi lire tour also took Irby to
parts o f South Carolina
I I k - Midwestern and Soutlrcrn lour
was a firs t for Irby even though he
has toured the West and Pacific North
west extensively.
He said at one place in Mississippi
he sang at a church that sal in the
muidle ol a cotton field And in Jack
son. Mississippi, he was a special guest
to W O A D 's Second Gospel f estival.
W’O A D is a Jackson, M ississippi,
radio station dial plays gospel music 24
hours a dav. I he le s liv a l was held
July 27 and 2J4.
In a d d itio n to appearing at the
gospel festival, Irby met and sang with
the Jackson Southern A irs and the
A rchie Singers I ater this m onth,
Irby and gospel singer Shirley Caesar
w ill be in concert in South C arolina
A native ol Portland, Irby is a fifth
gradei ai Irvm gioii grade school He
1/2 OFF. And right now until
N tA t'inber I. w e re even going
one better fry offering a one-half
pen cut discount »iff norm al
interest rates on most consumer
1»tans w ith automatic payments
from your First Interstate
account
( Hir special loan
H itlinesareopen week
days from Ida in
to 7 p.in., week
ends from
noon to 5 p. i n
If you’re t< lobu.sv
to rim to til»? bank
for a loan, pick up
the phone and call
First Interstate Bank
Bet auseweknow
you're on the move,
and that von need a
fiank that can keep
pace
O w w
Î m IM m «»*«*
4823 N Vancouver
Portland. OR 97217
O ttica 287 2042
r.,c'.v
has recorded on a 45 single record:
"Bless Me, O I.o rd . Bless M e” and
“ The Day W ill C om e."
Irby has written two poems and d i
rects the ad u lt ch o ir at the Greater
f aith Baptist Church.
ffe said the lour was tiresome but
he enjoyed seeing things he hadn't seen
before.
“ I want to be a singer and a con
cert pianist when I grow u p ," said
Irby, who is teaching himself to play
the piano.
Irby said, "Sometimes I feel happy;
sometimes sad when I sing certain
songs."
Irby’s mother, lam odia. said, "E v
erybody wants to be his (Irby's) man
ager A man from New York offered us
$50.1X10 to sign him to a contract."
However, Rose Trice, Irb y’s grand
m other, said, " I f we fin d someone
who wouldn’t take up t»xr much o f his
time and treat him right, we w ill sign
him to a contract." The fam ily’s main
concern is that Irb y ’ s career doesn't
fall into the hands ol someone who is
<xn to exploit him
In tire meantime, the family is man
.iging his career
' •
N
I
* , »
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WT • • -
GOLDIE IRBY
G ill to apply for any con
sumer loan-auto, boal.RV.
Inline improvement, or debt
const iln Lit it m
( )f t ourse.you're always
welt tim e to .ip p lv in person at
any branch statewide
W ith the right credit infor
m ation,we II approv e your loan
on the spot w h ile you're on the
phone or in the bank But in
any case,you II probably have
an answer in 24 hours
< -
1 * •
(photo Richard J Brown)
In Portland call 225-4000
< )utside the f ’ortland area,call
toll-free 1 (800)228-0454. A nd
let us do the paperwork
We re setting
the pace.
a
Interstate
Rank
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*’
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