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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1987)
Page 10, Portland Observer, December 0, 198/ Postal Service Gives Tips on Christmas Mail Preparation With a little bit of care, holiday cards and packages can arrive on time and in good shape, says your local post office In addition to mailing early, postal customers are urged to properly address cards and packages with the name, house number and street (or post office box) number, and the city, state and ZIP plus 4 Code reserved for the last line. Use of apartment numbers is also very im portant. It is also a good idea to put a slip of paper with the recipient's name and address and your return add ress inside parcels, and be sure the addressing on the outside of the parcel includes your return address and ZIP plus 4 Code. Parcels will arrive at their intend ed destinations on time and in good shape if you follow a few simple suggestions: Cusion: Make sure contents are well-cushioned and there is no empty space in the box. D on't overw rap: Just use your carton for mailing; wrapping it in paper is unnecessary. Seal properly: Close your parcel with one of the three recommended types of tape: pressure sensitive, nylon reinforced kraft paper or glass reinforced pressure sensitive. A void smudges: Use smudge proof ink when addressing all your holiday package. Address properly, use ZIP plus 4 Code: Put recipient’s address in the lower right portion of the pack age and your return address in the upper left corner of only one side of the package. Be sure to include the ZIP plus 4 code in all addresses. Remember, a wrong ZIP Code can delay the delivery of mail. M ail early. Time it right; mail early in the season and early in the day. Small items may be deposited in collection boxes. Use the rig h t service: Irreplace able items, such as cash and other valuables, should be sent Regi stered Mail. For in fo rm a tin concerning postage, rates and fees, and the location of your nearest C hrist mas m ailing sta tio n , call your local post o ffice . C u sto m e rs U rged to M a il Early This H o lid a y Season The Holiday Season is here again. It is the busiest and heaviest time of the year for the Post Office. During this holiday season the Postal Service will handle more than 12 billion holiday cards, letters and packages. To handle this monumental amount of mail, the Postal Service asks customers to "Mail Early in the Season and early in the day. Your local post office's primary objective for the 1987 Christmas Mailing Season is, to make it as convenient as possible for custom ers to get their holiday letters and packages mailed in time for delivery by Christmas. The following is a list of special activities to assist postal customers this holiday mailing season: ivlaii Early C ollection Boxes — Beginning Monday, December 7th, your post office will begin special collection runs to strategically placed "Mail Early" collection boxes throughout the city. These "M ail Early" collection boxes will be marked with a green Christmas tree decal on their side. Cards and letters, deposited in one of these boxes before 11:00 a.m., will receive more expeditious hand- ling, earlier in the day. The majority of these boxes will be located along main thorough fares in your town. For the one nearest you, call your local post office. Postal co n tra ct stations & Self Service: As an added conven ience, local postal contract stations will be open outside normal post o f fice hours and Self Service Postal Units are available to serve you 24 hours a day. Call your local post office for location and hours. Saturday Service: Specified post offices, stations and branches will be open December 12 and 19, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., as full ser vice and retail mailing outlets. Call your local post office for the one nearest you. W ill Call Service: All post of fices will be open for customers to pick up packages on December 12 and 19 from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call Postal Info rm a tio n : 294- 2300. M ail early in the season — early in the day. Christm as is ju st days away. Petett Defends Transplants Decision----- by Nyewusi Askan When Freddye Webb Petett ap peared before the Join Subcom mittee on Ways and Means for Human Resources, she recom mended that the state not fund organ transplants for welfare clients and, instead, spend the money on prenatal care for welfare mothers. Last week, when 7-year-old Adam Jacoby "Coby" Howard died of leukemia, his mother blamed the state for not giving him a chance to live. Ms. Howard, unemployed and without health insurance, had launched a money-raising campaign after learning that Coby needed a bone marrow transplant. The fund raising effort raised $70,000 but fell far short of the $100,000 needed by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Re search Center in Seattle to perform the operation. Ms. Petett, Administrator of the Adult and Family Services Division explained that organ transplants for welfare clients are expensive, and that under federal law, if a state decides to use welfare money to pay for transplants, it must pay the bill for all the clients who need the operations. House Speaker Vera Katz, D Portland, and Senate President John Kitzhaber support Ms. Petett's position. Their support was voiced during a meeting of the Legislative Emergency Board. There are those, like Portland’s Democratic Rep. Tom Mason, who believe that the Legislature's deci sion raises serious medical and ethical questions. He wants the state to restore full funding for organ transplants, and said he Fred M e y e r to D o n a te O ver $425,000 to S a lv a tio n A rm y Fred Meyer, Inc. announced to day that it will donate over $425,(XX) worth of food, clothing, toys, and household items to The Salvation Army in 12 Northwestern cities. On Monday, December 7, trucks from the Fred Meyer holiday convoy will deliver Portland's share of the donation to local branches of The Salvation Army and The Sunshine Division. The donation, valued at $120,000, will take place at 8:30 a.m., at the Fred Meyer Corporate Headquarters loading docks. The docks (which face 22nd street) are located at 3500 SE 22nd. Donations will also be made in Salem, Eugene, Roseburg, Med ford, Klamath Falls, Coos Bay, and The Dalles. Seattle, Tacoma and Bellingham, Washington, and Boise, Idahok, will receive dona tions as well. The annual holiday donation is unique in that it was begun over 60 years ago by the firm's founder, the late Fred G. Meyer. "M r. Meyer started this tradition many years ago," said O.B. Robert son, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Fred Meres, Inc. "Since then, we've been able to expand the program, and help thousands upon thousands of our neighbors. It's a joyous tradi tion which we re proud to con tinue." Freddye W ebb-Petett thought the funding could come from the expected budget surplus for the 1987 89 biennium. The re storation would cost the state about $1 million a year. Administrators estimate the budget surplus at about $140 million, however, be cause of the state's current expen diture limit, the money cannot be spent. At the meeting, it was revealed that the $36 million in the state s emergency fund is in danger of be ing depleted. The cost of fighting forest fires this summer, additional costs for state worker's compensa tion insurance and costs for a host of human resource needs are blamed for the predictions. Ms. Petett's position has gene rated favorable responses in the Black community. Welfare recip pGE Briefs ients, especially single-parent mothers and low-income families are pleased that they won't be sac rificed for the few. Joann, a single, unemployed mother of three, explains: "Around here, ther has always been the feel ing that the people in Salem don't care about what happens to welfare clients. I know that I'd much rather see the state spend money in ways that will benefit a lot of people in stead of the few who would bene fit from the transplant program. If the operation cost $100,000 dollars, you can bet it's going to cost twice that much trying to pay for the medical expenses after the opera tion." The state estimates that over a two-year period, funding organ transplants may only save 34 lives. M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Library O ffe rs N ew O utreach Services Three new services that will bene fit Multnomah County residents who find it difficult to get to a library are now being offered by the Library Outreach Services Depart ment of the Multnomah County Li brary. The services include books by mail for some rural boxholders and eligible homebound patrons, large p rin t books by m ail for those homebound persons who Can read only large prints and library lobby service to several retirement facili ties, senior centers and nursing homes. All services are free for those who qualify. Books by M ail "Offering books by mail is an ef ficient way to serve rural boxhol ders in specified zip code areas who live a considerable distance from their nearest library branches," says Sarah Ann Long, Multnomah Coun ty Library director. "The program Savon A u to Repair 2293 N. Interstate 223-0583 Clutch Service Wholesale Discount Rebuilt Transmissions Engine Rebuild $650-9700 Installed 36 month guarantee on all parts and labor Open 9am to 5pm also provides books and other ma terials to people who, because of illness or infirmity, find it difficult to leave their homes." All branch libraries have books- by-mail catalogs that contain appli cations for the service, says Mary Ann Miller, manager of Library Out reach Services (LOS). Multnomah County rural boxholders who live in the northwest section of the coun ty (the part of the St. Johns area with the zip code 97231) and those who live in the far eastern area of the county (rural boxholders in Gre sham, Troutdale, Corbett, Fairview and Cascade Locks/Bonnevill with zip codes of 97014, 97019, 97024, 97060 and 97080) are eligible for the services. Any homebound county resident may request certi fication through Library Outreach Services (221 7722). Multnomah County Books By Mail is provided through a contract with Washington County Coopera tive Library Services. Large Print Books By M ail Homebound patrons who are able to read only large print may also request certification by LOS. A library staff person will visit the homes of those who request the service in order to verify need. Lib ra ry Lobby S ervice Library Lobby Service is in place for retirement facilities, senior cen ters and nursing homes. During two-hour once-a-month visits, li brary workers deliver carts of books to the centers and trained volun teers register patrons, check books out/in and take requests for speci fic titles. Library Outread Services current ly staffs 33 bookmobile stops each month as well as van delivery to 141 homebound individual patrons and 26 nursing and retirement homes. w/intor W inter UUpatherization W eatherization — Decern ber and January: PGE employees are participating in the Community Energy Project, which is providing free energy edu cation and conservation techniques to Portland area residents this w in -» ter. Beginning in December, and con-', tinuing until January, a project,^., underway to provide free weather ization to 100 senior citizens in the. North and Northeast parts of J h ^ city. PGE is providing educational, materials, and financial support for^ the project. Company volunteers, will also do minor weatherization, including weatherstripping and- caulking. An estimated 100 homeowners within PGE's service territory have been selected by social service agencies to participate in the pro-;, ject. (The weatherization will occtur, on various dates throughout the, winter.) ; Contact: Carol Dillin, 226-8514. Santa V isits Kids on Burnside December 16: Santa Claus is paying a visit to needy children, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 3:30 p.m., at the Carousel, located on SW First and Salmon. •' For the second consecutive ye.at, PGE along with Mental Health Ser., vices West is providing an afternoon, of fun and holiday cheer to about. 60 street children. The youngsters,, will ride on the carousel, receive, Christmas stockings, and have , q chance to chat with Santa. PGE volunteers are also collecting clothes to donate to the children., many of whom reside at the West, Women's Hotel and others who |iy^( on the streets. Contact: Carol Dillin, 226-8514 Kathy Carlson, 220-3131. Christm as B reakfast at W illia m Temple House — December 25‘-,-. PGE volunteers continue a holt-- day tradition of serving Christmas breakfast to the needy at the W il liam Temple House, Friday, Decem ber 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2063 NW: Hoyt. Low-income, senior citizens, the unemployed, and those who don t otherwise haV&a place to share a Christmas meal are invited to par-' take in this special event. The, Christmas breakfast is sponsored'by’ PGE in cooperation with Sky-Cheft) which is providing the food. Ap proximately 300 people are expect ed to attend. For the past 22 years William Temple House has served the com munity as a counseling center that provides monetary, material, ancj mental health assistance to thosg in need. Contact Carol Dillin, 226-8514 or; Kathy Carlson, 220-3131. 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