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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1987)
V olum e X V III, N um ber 6 Decem ber 23, 1987 _________ _______________ _ "The Eyes and Ears of the Community" Reggie Blake: Joe Holcomb Remembered It was a chilling procession. A slow and painful walk toward the place where Holcomb was murder ed. Along the way, the curious could be seen peeping from behind window shades. Up ahead, a lone Portland police officer directed traf fic. Along side streets, cars stop ped, giving the appearance that their drivers were shahng moments of silence with the marching mour ners. As the mourners neared the Launderette, they began to sing "Amazing Grace," a song they sang throughout the laying of the wreath and the flowers. Hardly an eye was without tears, grief and sad ness. Men cried. Women cried. Small children cried. Strangers cried on each other's shoulders. Friends held onto each other for physical and emotional support. Over 200 angry citizens marched w ith Joe Janine Skenandore (2nd fro m left), to the L m urdered, and placed a w reath and flow ers Photo by Richard J. B row n Jim Kelly, who was Holcomb's employer at the time of his death, said the Portland Chamber of Com merce's decision to form a Commis sion to study the crime problem and its statement that the crime problem isn’t as bad as the news media says is a slap in the face of victimized After the last flower was placed on the wreath, the marchers walked back down North Skidmore Street, singing "We Shall Not Be Moved." And according to these humble, peace-loving citizens, they are not about to allow pimps, drugs, mur derers and the like to move them out of their neighborhoods. That, they say, is the spirit of Joseph Scott Holcomb. Tubman's Success ............... by Nyewusi Askari Back in November, when Mr. Paul Coakley, Principal of Tubman Middle School, presented his pro gress report to the Desegregation Monitoring Advisory Committee, he reported that the middle school was experiencing a very exciting and productive year. Citing the return of 92 percent of last year's staff, Mr. Coakley said this was a marked im provement over the previous year. Here are some additional high lights from that report: • There are 662 students at Tub- man this fall which includes 439 Blacks, 186 Whites, 17 Asians, 13 Hispanics and 6 Native Americans. • Tubman has a total certified and classified staff of 70 which in cludes 30 Blacks, 33 Whites, 5 His panics, 1 Native American and 1 Asian. There is a total certified staff of 53 which includes 18 Blacks, 29 Whites, 4 Hispanics, 1 Native Amer ican and 1 Asian. There is a total of 13 on the classified staff which includes 11 Blacks, 1 White and 1 Hispanic. There are 5 Blacks and 3 White employees on the administra tiv e staff. • Tubman has a number of after school clubs to encourage students Hospital Employee the Month citizens who know otherwise r he Chamber of Commerce makes nw embarrassed to call myself a busi nessman," he said angrily. In a moving, tearful tribute, Harold Williams, of Pen Nor, Inc., called Holcomb "a hero." "N ow is the time for the community to come together and rid itself of something shameful. Joe Holcomb is truly our hero," Williams said The silent march, which was led by Jim Kelly carrying a large wreath, began at the corner of Vancouver and North Skidmore Street and ended at MBS Coin-Op Launderette at 4236 N. Mississippi Avenue. by Nyewusi Askari Saying that they are tired of being the victims of senseless crimes and violence, approximately 200 tearful but angry citizens paid their last respects to Joe Scott Holcomb last Saturday. Meeting at the First AME Zion Church, members of the congregation expressed anger and outrage over Holcomb's death and charged that City officials are not doing near enough to stem Port land's crime rate. In remember- ance, the mourners marched five- blocks, in silence, to lay a wreath and yellow flowers at the doorway of the building where Holcomb was shot. John Scott Holcomb, 27, was shot dead Dec. 12, while attemp ting to aid a woman who was being harassed by two men near a coin- operated laundry. At the meeting, David Hupp, a local resident, characterized Hol comb's murder as an act of ter rorism. Addressing the crowd, Hupp said, "W hy do I call this an act of terrorism? Because our city is un der seige from a variety of socio paths and psychopaths, some of them our own sons and daughters. Hupp explained that he feels no pro tection from the City, and that al though the problems of crime are citywide, they are particularly focus ed in the Inner Northeast commu nity. "W e already are occupied by terrorism from within. And apathy, cynicism, racism and a smug delu sion of personal safety are our ene mies," he said. Rep. Margaret Carter, D-Port land, saying that her heart was sad dened by Holcomb's death, encou raged City and state legislators to join hands in the fight against crime. She warned against characterizing Holcomb's murder as a Black or a White problem "Crime is a state wide problem," she explained. Emanuel of in a positive direction: the Say No to Drugs Club; Chess Club; Inter national Cooking Club; Astronaut Club; Double Dutch Club; a Jazz Band; the Japan Sister City Club; and the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Club. On Thursday, with all of the clubs and the After School Study Pro gram going on at the same time, there are 130 students participating. The MESA Club has 47 students participating this year. • Tubman's Local Citizens' Advi sory Committee (LCAC) has helped to organize a special purpose for each month. • Tubman has a Parents' Screen ing Committee of 12 persons who participate in the hiring of new staff. • On October 16, 1987, inter nationally-known author, Walter B. Meyers, visited Tubman. The stu dents read his books before his visit, so they could be well-prepared. • The Tubman Administration and students get together each year to assess the year and to decide ways they can improve Tubman. This year they worked on improving hall and cafeteria behavior They have posted rules and have a Clean Up Behavior Program (CUB). This job is all personal satisfaction. Photo by Richard J. B row n Reggie Blake, S taff Nurse been praised by her co-workers. Those qualities also led to her ser ving as assistant head nurse and evening nurse supervisor for the en tire hospital until she realized these duties were taking her away from what she loved best — taking care of patients. by Lori Callister Reggie Blake didn't go into the nursing profession for the qlamour. She didn't go into it for the money. She did it because she loves to see people get well. And at Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, Blake is an impor □ "You don't realize what you do for people until later, sometimes. It's really great when patients come back to visit." So she chose to stay a staff nurse, "simply because I like to take care of patients. This job is all per sonal satisfaction. We see patients who are debilitated or all banged up from accidents and we can see them get well and get up and walk away." Blake says she doesn't consider the work she does particularly spe cial. But the staff and patients do. She is praised for her excellent way with patients that goes beyond rou- tant part of getting well for many patients. Blake was chosen em ployee of the month at Emanuel recently for her outstanding work in the Orthopedics Unit where she is a nurse on the evening shift. Reggie has been with Emanuel almost 18 years, just about since she graduated from Walla Walla College in nursing. And nursing is where she has wanted to stay. Her skills as a nurse and her level headed cool in crisis situations have See "R eggie B la ke", page 7 Reported " . . . i "" i t¡me management. • The Tubman Administrative staff hopes to bring Jawanza Kun- jufu as a consultant to Tubman to contribute ideas on student achieve ment. During his report, Mr. Coakley emphasized that the Tubman staff believes in promoting and encou raging positive student behavior. He expressed deep appreciation to Laura Ford, Community Liaison; Linda Wakefield, Assistant Princi pal; James Brannon, Assistant Prin cipal; Vern Marshall, Program Coor dinator; Bruce Tubre, Students Management Specialist and Barbara Johnson, Guidance Counselor for the work they have done on the A f ter School Study Program. He said that he knows Tubman is off to a great start and that he is proud of how much the staff, parents, DMAC members, and others have helped to give so much to Tubman. Paul Coakley: "92 percent of last year • A committee, under the direc tion of Barbara Johnson and Linda turned, a vast improvement over the previous year. Photo by Richard J. Brown Wakefield, has written out lesson plans for homeroom teachers to talk to students about being successful, developing good study habits and He invited community members to come to Tubman on any Tuesday or Thursday, 3.20 to 4:20 p.m. to participate in the After School Study Program.