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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1987)
Page 2, Portland Observer, October 1, 1987 Letters to the Editor flA O Ä COALITION ON SOUTHERN AFRICA f C o a litio n on S o u th A fric a Form ed Formation of the Coalition on Southern Africa (COSA) was announced today by a group of prominent Black and other religious and educational leaders. The Coalition's purpose is to provide an independent base of pri vate support for South Africa's majority population and to help foster a democratic, non racial post apartheid society. Bishop Richard L. Fisher, President of the Coalition and presiding Bishop of the 11th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, said, "The plight of the Black South African worker has been dis regarded in public debate about what to do to end apartheid. While that fight to end apartheid must continue, we must not lose sight of our concern for the victims. The struggle against apartheid will continue and it will suc ceed but we must not be complacent about lives damaged in the pro cess." "The Coalition is not a replacement for the Sullivan Principles,” Fisher emphasized, " but rather an anti-apartheid mechanism which recog nizes the inevitability of change." "W hen this Coalition was in the formative stage, we envisioned sup porting Reverend Sullivan’s efforts in South Africa. There can be no denial that he personally fostered tremendous improvements in the opportunities for Black South Africans and for dramatic changes in health, housing, and education for the majority population," Fisher said. Fisher said the members of the Coalition represent religious consti tuencies numbering more than seven million. The Reverend Dr. W. Clyde Williams, former president of Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama and executive secretary of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, is on loan to the Coalition where he will serve as General Secretary. Williams said he envisaged COSA as a pivotal point around which groups having immediate concern for the majority population in South Africa could coalesce. He sees the Coalition as a vehicle whereby genuinely concerned Americans can direct their efforts not simply at demonstrations but also by preparing Black South Africans for the time when they will have to exercise the tasks of political and economic leader ship. Williams said that as a participant in a recent fact-finding team of Black college presidents who visited South Africa und the auspices of the State Department, "we believe, as a group, that more must be done, that greater opportunities for management experience and training must be provided for Black South Africans if they are to be prepared for their responsibility in the post-apartheid era." Williams said, "after extensive meetings and discussions with Black South Africans, we committed ourselves to seeing that we would not be just one more fact-finding group which went to South Africa and returned to the U.S. to deliver rhetoric. We committed ourselves to take action, and this Coalition is a result of that commitment ." In a recent meeting with the Coalition, Bishop Harold Senatle, pre siding Bishop of the 18th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Church in South Africa and a member of the Coalition's initial Board of Directors, said, "This is the first time someone asked us, the people who suffer under apartheid, what it is w e would like institutions, such as churches, founda tions, corporations or universities, to do in South Africa. It is easy to say that Black South Africans would rather suffer when you are 12,000 miles away than when you are on the spot." According to Bishop Fisher, funds for the Coalition will be raised from educational institutions, corporations, foundations and private individuals who share the Coalition's objectives. "A s part of its work," Fisher added, "the Coalition will try to influence the policies of the South African government to end apartheid and to en courage companies, churches and foundations working in South Africa to do the same." The Coalition has been chartered as a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization in the District of Columbia and is empowered to accept funds from virtually any source to pursue its aims. Letters to th e Editor M a ke Up Y o u r M in d To the Editor: I am compelled to write this letter . . . Senator Packwood, you have recently announced that you will vote against the placement of Judge Bork on the Supreme Court . . . that you will participate in a filibuster to block his placement on the Supreme Court. All because of protection of privacy rights which center on the murder of unborn babies . . . yes . . . murder. In a recent letter read to the Columbia County Republican Central Committee you write . . . "There is no question as to the qualifications of Judge Bork . . ." Then, what decides? You an many other people have become so complacent in this world today and have lost your sense of moral foundation. Where does it all stop? For someone's convenience, no matter what the situation is, an unborn baby is murdered. No one likes to think about it that way, but that is exactly what abortion is. I am not a person that has always thought this way. I know all the arguements in favor. There seems to prevail, in society today, a schizo phrenic mood. We fly deformed newborn babies many miles to perform remarkable operations to save their lives knowing that the results will pro bably be far less than perfect. How unpredictable we are . . . we debate the pros and cons of abortion and euthanasia. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson said, "W e hold these truths to be self- evident. That all men are created equal, they are endowed with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happi ness." Now, Senator Packwood, think about the baby's right to life. Think about the baby's right to all these things. Our souls are immortal and like it or not, you and I will be conscious beings throughout all eternity. I ask you and all others . . . would you murder a newborn baby? If not, would you do it a minute before it was born, or a minute before that, or a minute before that, or a minute before that? At what minute can you or any one else consider life to be worthless and the next minute so precious? The life principle in the Hippocratic Oath has been abandoned by many. Not all, but many in the medical profession have seen fit to the inter ruption of unborn life in the womb and to the painless extermination of a waning life much as the veterinarian would put an ailing dog or cat to sleep. Unless we get our ethics and moral values straightened out imme diately we will have a death selection committee that decides whether you will live or die. Who knows? . . . among their criteria for elimination may be senators from Oregon. Sympathetically, Anita A. Clawson St. Helens, Oregon MONEY M A N A G EM EN T A weekly column on personal finance distributed by the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants R e c o rd k e e p in g 101 Suppose, for some reason, you needed to know how much you paid to have your kitchen remodeled. Are you the type of person who could walk to the right closet, open the box marked "1984" and pull the contract out of the envelope marked "Home Improvements"? Or, would you find yourself first rummaging through the unmarked files in your desk, then checking in the box where you stuff paid bills, before finally remembering that you were using the contract as a bookmark in the murder mystery you never finished? Keeping good records doesn't have to be time consuming and you don't have to save every check you ever wrote "just in case." The Oregon Society for CPAs says the key to efficient recordkeeping is knowing what to keep, where to keep it and for how long. The following is a summary of some of the important areas of recordkeeping. FAMILY PERSONAL RECORDS: Including birth certificates, mar riage certificates, divorce papers and separation agreements, citizenship or naturalization papers, passports, social security cards and military service records. These items should be kept indefinitely INSURANCE POLICIES: Including life disability, mortgage, auto mobile, homeowners or tenant insurance policies. It's a good idea to hold on to policies for a few years after thay are cancelled in case you have to prove your coverage in the event a delayed claim is filed against you. TAX RECORDS: Not only the tax returns themselves, but supporting documents must also be retained. Under normal circumstances, the Inter nal Revenue Service can go back three yeras for auditing purposes. But the IRS has six years to challenge a return if they have reason to believe that a taxpayer has failed to report more than 25 percent of the income stated on the return. CPAs advise you to keep records for six years, including all documents that support tax deductions or are related to your tax return, including cancelled checkb The Portland O bstrvrr (USPS 96» 680) is published every Thurviay by E mi « Publishing Company Inc 1463 N E Killings worth Portland, Oregon 97211 Post Office B om 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 Second class postar}« paid at Portland Oregon ’«6 MEMBER 4jjoc/abon - Founded 1885 Being Determined Today WORK FOR BETTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS Mr □ 288 0033 $25 for two years Bos 3137 Portland OR 97206 N a t io n a l A d v e r tis in g R e p re s e n t a tiv e A m a lg a m a t e d P u b lis h e rs N e w Y o rli < T o o ti 5 ’i 2 & * Street B om 3137 Portland Oregon 9Z2OB C I T Y ----- ------- hit • 7* i $15 for one year M rs Ms MrSS Subscriptions $15 00 per year in the Tn ( o u n ty are a P o s t inastar Send address changes to the Pitrllufid f>h\er\er P O Allred / Henderson. I diitir/Publuher A l William*, General Manager R I I u His Future is PORTLAND OBSERVER Th« Portland ()b \e r\e r was established in 19 A) u sF S « a » « ft « trtr PvNu»'*« Co /or Over the last days of August, a massive dry lightning storm caused about 600 fires in the critically dry forests of the southern Cascade range. By September 5, there were 14 fires of 3,000 acres or larger. As of this writing, most of the devastating forest fires in southern Ore gon are under control. The fires blackened over 63,000 acres of forests in Douglas, Jackson and Josephine Counties, and cost the State of Oregon an estimated 12 million dollars for costs on lands under its protection. At one point, about 1,300 homes in those counties were threatened by spread ing flames, and over $317 million in standing timber was destroyed. These were the worst serial fires in Oregon history, and required un precedented numbers of firefighters. Large fires in California had drawn off air tankers and other needed reinforcements. It soom became clear that the initial Oregon state and federal firefighting crews needed help. When Oregon and regional crews were all committed, crews from Alaska and many other states were flown to Oregon. With virtually no advanced notice, over 1200 members of the Oregon Army and Air National Guard were called upon to perform emergency duties on behalf of the citizens of this state. This represented the largest callup in Oregon in many years. Guard members transported firefighters to and from the fire and worked on fire lines. In my two trips to the fire camps I had the opportunity to personally thank many of the firefighters. I discovered that the National Guard troops were the "home team". The fire mobilization efforts at its peak also in cluded civilian fire crews from nearly a dozen states, and international con tingent of fire crews from two Canadian provinces, and 650 regular army troops from Fort Ord, California. These men and women worked under extremely adverse conditions in isolated and rugged terrain. They not only had to keep (at least!) one step ahead of rapidly spreading flames, they had to contend with heat, fatigue and even poison oak. Through the State Fire Marshal invoking the Conflagration Act, 44 structural fire engines from city and rural fire departments outside of south west Oregon were sent to the fires. The Department of Forestry arranged for three air tankers from Canada to be used on Oregon fires, plus 54 trained supervisors from British Columbia Forest Service and Alberta Forest Service. The Oregon State Department of Forestry and the USDA Forest Ser vice organized a highly coordinated, multi-agency fire control organization at Roseburg to direct operations. At Salem, the Oregon Unified Coordination Group was established for the second time in two years. This group includes five federal agencies and four state agencies to help get resources to the fires. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency took prompt action in providing an estimated five million dollars in federal funds to help fight the fires. We will be holding meetings in the affected areas to further assess fire damage and to critique our performance. Oregonians can be proud of the hard work and dedication of every one involved in this massive effort to preserve human life, homes, and much of our valuable timberland. INVESTMENT AND BANK RECORDS: Including stock and bond certificates, buy and sell orders, statements, cancelled checks and the like. Again, any of these items that support income, expenses or deductions on your income tax return should be retained for six years to be on the safe side. Other bank statements and cancelled checks should be kept for a year or until you are sure you won't need them to prove that you've paid a bill. RECORDS OF DEBTS: Including first and second mortgages, equity, personal and auto loan agreements. Keep a record of paid-off loans for a number of years as proof of payment. PROPERTY RECORDS: Including deeds, title papers and surveys. Property records should be kept indefinitely. You should keep the title of ownership for your car, boat or other property for six years after you sell it. HOME IMPROVEMENTS: Keep records, receipts or contracts for the cost of all home improvements. These costs increase your home's cost basis and can reduce the capital gains tax when you sell. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND RETIREMENT PLANS: Booklets ex plaining medical coverage and other benefits, and records on pension and profit-sharing plans should be kept as long as you have benefits due. FAMILY HEALTH RECORDS: Includes immunization information, dates and details of operations and hospitalizations. This information should be kept indefinitely and your children's records should be given to them when they are grown. WILL: You should have your lawyer keep the original of your will, while you keep a copy at home. Clearly indicate on the copy where the original may be found. If you should make a new will, be sure the old one and all copies are destroyed. By now you're probably wondering just where you're going to put all these papers. Papers that are very valuable or difficult to replace, such as birth and marriage certificates, property deeds and titles, and stock and bond certificates belong in a safe deposit box. A safe deposit box is, without question, the most secure place to keep important papers and small valuables. Most banks rent safe deposit boxes ftn an annual basis and if used to store income producing property, such as bonds or stock certificates, the rental fees may pro' te you with a tax deduc tion. It's a good idea to make a list of the content, of your box and keep it at home along with copies of the documents in you box. Portland Observer •• M M * In many states, a safe deposit box is sealed upon the death of the owner. If this is the case, don't put your will or life insurance policy in your safe deposit box. To check on the law in your state, ask your banker or attorney. If, for some reason, you cannot rent a safe deposit box, a fireproof strongbox is probably the next best thing. Be sure to purchase a box that is fire resistant. The papers you keep at home can be divided between current records and inactive records. A filing cabinet, inexpensive cardboard file box or accordion file would work fine as a storage vehicle for current documents. This is the place you keep recently paid bills, bank statements, insurance policies, credit card information and the like. An inactive file can hold older papers, such as old insurance policies, back tax returns and cancelled bank books that are seldom referred to. You can label this box with its contents and store it away on a shelf some where. CPAs advise that if you would like more information on recordkeeping, the Consumer Information Center stocks a free pamphlet, Keeping Family/Household Records." For your copy, send to Consumer Informa tion Center, Dept. 199K, Pueblo, CO 81009. Looking for a CPA in your community? Call the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants at 1-800-255-1470 (Oregon toll-free) or 641- 7200 (Portland Metro). Apt - S IA T E ZIP * o h —I O co -f > 3»