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November 18, 1987, Portland Observer Page 3
Speak O ut
Do you think the livability is improv
¡ng in Oregon?
by Arnold Pitre
Arnold Pitre, 41, native Oregonian and local businessman,
seeks to present important, pertinent, community issue ques
tions, to randomly picked citizens, and report the responses
Prof. M cK inley B urt
Educational Consultant
M aurice Lucas
NBA Player/Businessman
Yes, the business opportunities
are certainly here, but with oppor­
tunities come preparation and de­
sire to produce when it presents
itself. There are some major deve­
lopments about that will certainly
improve the livability, but the liva­
bility in Oregon is pratty good right
now. In all our travels, my wife and
I have found Oregon to be a very
pleasant place to live. People are
extremely friendly.
Most of my
holdings are here. The livability is
good, and appears to be getting
better.
Not really. Drugs and crime activity
are on an increase. Preparation for
kids, white and Black, educationally
has not been adequate. The paren­
tal input to our education system
and child rearing, in general, has not
been adequate, and all that affects
our present livability as well as our
future livability.
Our economic
development has got to be more
"home grown". We are developing
a foreign market, but ignoring our
"home market". We need to em­
phasize home grown entrepreneur-
ship equally as much as the foreign
market. These are needs that I feel
require immediate attention. Blacks
are not involved to any measurable
extent in this regard, and that, of
course, affects our livability.
Social Security
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The Portland Community College Board of Directors and Federation of
Classified Employees, American Federation of Teachers, signed a three-year
employment contract Monday, November 2.
"Increases in the wage and benefit package will be distributed over the
three years, assuring competitive wages with business and industry, said
Federation President Niky Nikula. A new salary schedule will offer a range of
$11,000 to $31,000 per year on eight levels of employment. The previous
range was $10,916 to $29,613.
PCC Vice President of Administration Services Roy Lindsay said, "We
are pleased to resolve the issue and move forward. A three-year contract
gives us stability and the ability to plan our resources." Lindsay reported
that the wage increase will be reflected in a new salary scale and in one-time
payments over three years with a total increase of 12.6% over current salary
Changes in the insurance program allow employees to choose one of
three carriers for medical, dental, optical and prescription coverage. The
contract also increases educational benefits for classified employees and
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Questions and Answers
Q uestions: M y father has M edicare and has a medical co nd itio n th a t
requires he have diagnostic X-rays. Since he can't leave hom e, his
d octo r has ordered the X-rays be made at home. W ill M edicare pay
fo r these services in a person's home?
Answer: Yes, medical insurance helps pay the approved charges for
diagnostic X-ray services made in a person's home if the services are ordered
by a doctor and are provided by a Medicare-certified supplier.
Question: I have heard th a t I m ust show a Social S ecurtiy num ­
ber fo r all dependents I list on m y 1987 Federal tax return. Is this true?
Answer: A provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 requires that when
you file your tax return for calendar year 1987 you must show a Social Se­
curity number for each dependent listed on your return who is age 5 or older.
Oregon residents can get applications and instructions for completing the
application by telephoning 223-1616 in the Portland area or toll-free 1-800-
452-1654 from outside Portland.
Q uestion: M y disabled nephew has never been em ployed and
has no incom e. He lives in public facilities. W ould he be eligible fo r
any financial help fro m the Social Security A d m in istra tio n , such as
SSI?
Answer: Generally, a person who lives in a public institution is not eli­
gible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), but there are some excep­
tions. First, a person who lives in a publicly operated community residence
which serves no more than 16 people may be eligible for SSI. Second, some­
one who lives in a public institution primarily to attend approved educational
or vocational training offered there may be eligible, too. Third, a person may
be eligible for a monthly SSI payment — usually $25 if he or she lives in a
public or private health facility and Medicaid is paying more than half the cost
of his or her care. There are also exceptions for certain individuals who
work or homeless individuals temporarily living in public shelters. For more
information, telephone Social Security at 223-1616 from Portland and 1-800-
452-1654 from elsewhere in Oregon.
Q uestion: M y m other is no longer able to get around easily or to
dress or bathe herself w ith o u t help. Since my w ife and I both w o rk
each day, w e have someone com e to our home to take care o f my
m other w h ile w e re w o rkin g . W ould my m other's M edicare insur­
ance cover the cost o f th is care?
Answer: The type of care you have described is considered custodial
care and is not covered by Medicare. Under Medicare, care is considered to
be custodial when it is primarily to meet the personal needs and could be
provided by persons without professional skills or training. Examples in­
clude: changing the bed, helping with bathing, dressing, eating and taking
medicine. Even when a person is hospitalized, in a skilled nursing facility, or
is receiving home health care, Medicare cannot cover care that is mainly
Lynne Johnson
Portland Community College
Community Education Coordinator
Del St. James
Yes, not quite up to standard yet,
but improving. There appears to be
a few more jobs available these
days, and of course, that helps the
State's economy. A lot of people
have been hit pretty hard and have
not recovered yet, but I can still see
some improvement. Public service
help seems to be a little more avail­
able to people in need. The cost of
living seems to be a little high, but
things seem to be evening out.
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A veteran Portland Community College English instructor and her hus­
band have endowed a new scholarship to benefit Black students at PCC.
The Jean L. Buck Scholarship Fund was created by Mr. and Mrs. Bel­
ford Buck to honor Mrs. Buck's many years of teaching at PCC. First awards
will be made in the fall of 1988. The fund, with an initial endowment of
$5000, will be administered by the PCC Foundation.
Jean Buck started teaching for PCC in 1965 at Shattuck Hall. When
Cascade Campus was opened in 1971, Mrs. Buck was one of the original
instructors, concentrating on transfer and developmental English classes.
She also designed the first drop-in centers at Shattuck Hall and Cascade
Campus and trained tutors to staff them. She retired from PCC in 1986,
but continued as a volunteer tutor at the Cascade drop-m center.
For information about this scholarship, contact Mark Skolmck, PCC
Development Office, 244-6111, Ext. 4358.
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Portland Students to Visit
Children's M useum
.
Students from two Portland schools visit the Children's Museums
"Sticks, Stones and Sealbones" interactive games exhibit this Thursday and
A
Friday, November 19 and 20, 1987.
u nn|,or
Located at the Custom House, Southwest Second Avenue and Hooke
Street the Children's Museum exhibit give Portland's students opportunities
io 'e a 'n more about how children ih other cultures play w „h and team from
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games.
Atkinson Elementray School first-grade students will visit the exhibit on
November 19th and Woodlawn Early Childhood Center fifth-grade students
Will attend one-hour presentations on November 20th.
Student tours include viewing and explanations of a large collection o
games and toys from many nations, then dividing into teams to play some of
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T m e students will play "Image of Birds," and Eskimo dice game, while
others play dice games from India and ancient Sumeria.
A Nigerian game, "Sand Pictures", is played by drawing figures in the
without crossing lines of lifting fingers.
. . .
Teachers will leave the museum with special packets tohelp
many o, those multicultural games in their classrooms. The packets were
SV
<;and
The-Oregon Public Utility Commission has directed General' Te|e P ^ "®
Co of the Northwest (GTNW) to give bill credits to thousands of its Oreg
customers who were o»e,charged on hills prepared in late October and early
K
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funded by a grant from Portland Public Schools.
children's Museum
For more information, please contact: Tricia Knoll, Children s Museum,
248-4587 James Wells, Atkinson principal, 280-6333; Pamela She y,
lawn principal, 280-6282; Bill Garbett, director of public information an
communication, Portland Public Schools, 249-3304.
f ife »
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May the Lord be a Blessing in Your Life
Thanksgiving
Days
two new programs approved by the .987
PUC The Oregon Telephone Assistance Program (OTAP) and the leieco
Tues. Spec.
Complete Beauty Service
412 N.E. Alberta
Open^ues.-Sat.
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from
a e o n to ctedd cus,-
omem who were overcharged. They said the problem was caused by a com­
puter error that identified some customers as having more Phone line!I the
they actually have. In some oases, the oye,cha,ge amounted to sevotal
The Golden Rule
Beauty Salon
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PCC Foundation Announces
N ew Scholarship
Telephone Bill Overcharge
To Be Corrected
Retired Maintenance Worker
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their families.
The College agreed to recognize and include in the Federation bargain­
ing unit regular part-time employees who work over 600 hours in a fiscal
year, a reduction from the 1000-hour limit in the previous contract. "Adding
100-plus employees to the 375 members currently in the unit will maintain the
integrity of the union and secure union jobs, Nikula said.
The new contract clarifies the job classification system and updates the
grievance procedures. All classified jobs at the College will now be described
according to specific duties and responsibilities, hours and location of work.
"Conflicts may be resolved through a newly adopted progressive approach
to the grievance procedure," Nikula noted.
Other highlight of the contract include the addition of Martin Luther
King Day as a paid holiday and the option of early retirement for employees
covered by the last contract.
custodial.
Q uestion: Since m y neighbor ow ns his hom e and a car, I was
surprised to learn he was g ettin g SSI payments. H ow can th a t be?
Answer: Eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is limited to
people with little or no income or resources, but some resources do not
count when deciding if a person is eligible. For example, the applicant s
home and adjacent land are not counted. Depending on their value, a car,
personal and household goods, insurance policies, and burial funds may also
not count. Social Security thoroughly verifies whether each applicant s
resources and income fall within the limitations.
Q uestion: M y youngest daughter has M edicare coverage be­
cause she has perm anent kidney failure. I plan to donate one of my
kidneys to her fo r a kid n ey tra nsp la n t operation. I k n o w M edicare
w ill pay fo r m ost of her hospital costs except fo r the $520 hospital
insurance deductible and coinsurance. W ill M edicare also pay fo r the
hospital costs I'll incur w hen I donate my kidney?
Answer: Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A) pays the full costs of
care for a person who donates a kidney to a Medicare Renal patient. Further­
more, a donor does not have to pay the hospital insurance deductible or
coinsurance charges.
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Yes, we are becoming more and
more aware of different options and
opportunities to make Oregon a
more livable place: more oppor­
tunity for career building, educa­
tional growth opportunities in a
business career, through various
kinds of programs such as the PCC
Incubator Program. The Portland
Convention Center will open up
more possibilities for everything
from jobs to entertainment. It will
really make Portland more livable
and more pleasant. I think that
more and more options are being
made available.
PCC Classified C ontract Ratified
A .
TU R N IN G
HEADS
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BY
M elvia'
dollars.
3At the public meeting, the commissioner asked that an order be pre-
O wner Operato»
M ary Paris
281 7053
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• Head Turning Curls
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Group rate for 6 or more people
b'" ed. Credit those customers Io, the amount ove,billed a, the eatlies, oppot-
Wholesale
Pricing
On Groceries
Gone Public
GTNW officials said part of the problem was lack of co^ un^ ' ° "
between the company and its billing operations which »re conduce
Florida for all subsidiaries of General Telephone and Electric (GTE) _
GTNW has about 241,000 telephone lines in Oregon, including
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service areas in Beaverton and other parts of metropolitan Portland, Coos
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time you save on your grocery bill?
PHONE 283-3171
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Thty’ll Tell You All About It
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M M MBB BBB MBB BBM
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b u tc h C O O K
H a ir D e s ig n F o r M e n S W o m e n
Relaxers
$35. 00
TCB Curls
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1227 S .W . M O R R IS O N _ _ « _ ¿ 2 2 ^0 9 9 4 _____
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• Style cuts w ith Relaxers
Group rate for 6 or more people
Kimberley Warren
$35°°
M c O o n K i.t ,n p io v » »
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Blow Style and Cut
$ 2 5 °o
Bay-North Bend and La Grande.
Did vou know that tot almost 30 years you could have bought some of
» u , grocedes at wholesale prices? The Bee Company, for over 30
years y T . / o f zx___
f ’eled I ^ ♦U« p r u X . h lir VA/Ppklv
weeMy s s H f U
e n t s ' of name-brand
ip f
moceries at genuine wholesale prices.
You'll find canned and
9 iT J fo d n n o r is Det foods as well as frozen and close-dated deli
P3Ci X do9n°the shelves The best feature is that you do not have to
buv bv theiase You buy just what you want to buy. just the amount
V o p H I orated at 800 N. Killingsworth, just east of 1-5, they are
V
openn
Mond»v “ m u g h ^ fu rd a y 9:°30 am ,0 6:00 pm. isn't if abou,
•s
$45 00
tunity, but no later than Dec. 16.
overtoiling
Submit a detailed report to the PUC by uec. io on
problem and steps taken to correct it.
when PUC
The
of ---
the - billingI
'
The commission
commission became aware
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Consumer Assistance started receiving customer inquiries about
C° oam n„ nt The PUC then contacted GTNW about the overcharge.
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Booths Available
Office Space Available
287-0630
5852 N.E. 42nd
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