Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, March 30, 1988, Image 1

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March 30,1988
The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity’
Campaign ’88: Commissioner Dick Bogle
by Nyewusi Askari
The race for Portland City Council
Position #4 is heating up. The
challenger, Harvey Lockett, be­
lieves he is the best candidate,
citing his “ clear vision, strong
commitment, personal vigor, and
dedication to quality in carrying
out the public trust. The incum­
bent, Commissioner Dick Bogle,
says he is the best man for the job
and has the record to prove it.
Com m issioner Bogle, a 4th
generation Oregonian and 3rd
generation Portlander describes
himself as “ people oriented;” a
Commissioner who works quietly
with trusted managers to assure
the smooth, efficient manage­
ment of his bureaus; a team player
who steers others toward consen­
sus and a Commissioner who has
brought stability to City hall, pro­
viding a voice of moderation and a
balance between differing view­
points.
Bogle says his number-one pri­
ority is reclaim ing Portland’s
streets and neighborhoods from
criminals. “ I am leading the fight
against methamphetamine labs
with a coordinated effort involv­
ing city, county, state and federal
agencies. Three of my four major
bureaus are involved . . . the Fire
Bureau, the Bureau of Buildings,
and the O ffice of Neighborhood
Associations.” As Commissioner
of Public Safety, Bogle cites the
following accomplishments:
• S p e a rh e a d e d th e Drug
House Ordinance which has led
to actions against more than 60
drug houses.
• Has expanded the Neighbor­
hood, Business and Crime Watch
programs throughout the City.
• Is focusing a tte n tio n on
youth gangs and how to combat
them.
• Voted to fund 18 additional
police officers to help stem the
current drug-driven crime wave.
• Is playing an active role in se­
curing additional jail space to put
a halt to the county’s “ revolving
door” policy and the practice of
writing tickets to thieves and bur­
glars because there's no place to
lock them up.
“ My op po n en t has
twisted my intent, as well
as my words, to serve his
ownjjurposes.
• Is seeking a stem-to-stern
revamping of the criminal justice
system to put criminals out of
business.
R e s p o n d in g to L o c k e tt’ s
charge that he lacks vision. Bogle
says, “ I was among the first to re­
cognize the growing threat of
youth gangs, and among the first
to draw attention to the need for a
coordinated response. I held an
informational meeting for North­
east ministers . . . a public forum
at the King Neighborhood Facility
. . . and a panel discussion for
community leaders at my Com­
missioner’s Forum in March. The
Office of Neighborhood Asso­
ciations has set up a Youth Gang
Hotline, and other steps are being
taken to head off a crisis.
"I can point to other successful
programs which I believe testify
to my management style, such as
the smoke detector give-away in
inner Northeast neighborhoods,
where more than 700 homes have
been protected; the Senior C iti­
zen Escort Service, a pilot project
in the Lloyd Center area which
has been turned over to Project
Linkage; the arson program in
Northwest and more,” Commis­
sioner Bogle said.
A City Comm issioner since
1984, Bogle was a Portland police
officer for 8 years, a reporter and
news anchor for Channel Two
News (KATU-TV) for 15 years, and
Executive Assistant to City Com­
missioner Mildred Schwab for 2
years.
Bogle says his three-plus years
as City Commissioner have been
productive. The productivity he
cites includes:
• In itia tio n of th e c it y ’ s
Residential Recycling program.
• Development of the Mid-
County Sewer Plan under tight
time constraints from the Oregon
Department of Environm ental
Quality, and the Safety New Pro­
gram which allows seniorcitizens
and low-income homeowners to
defer installation charges.
• Initiation of the St. Johns
Landfill End-Use Plan, a national
model for landfill reclamation,
calling for parks, nature trails,
recreational facilties, and w ildlife
preserves.
• Worked with the Fire Bureau
on the successful program to as­
sist women and minorities to be­
come firefighters.
• Set the policy which allows
citizens in newly annexed areas to
determine for themselves how
best to organize their neigh­
borhood associations and com­
munity groups, building on exi­
sting planning groups.
Commissioner Bogle says his
opponent, Harvey Lockett, is
misinformed on key issues. Re­
sponding to Lockett’s charge that
he (Bogle) “ declined the Mayor’s
race because he lacked a per­
sonal vision for the city,” Com­
missioner Bogle said:
I did not say I lacked a personal vi­
sion for the city. In declining to
run for Mayor, I said my vision of
the city’s future was still cry­
stallizing. In context, it meant I
was growing in my job as Com­
missioner, in terms of both leader­
ship and management ability and
wanted a second term before jum­
ping into the Mayor’s race. It
meant that if and when I become
Mayor, I want to be good and
ready!”
Dear Community,
According to reports re­
ceived by the Metropolitan
Human Relations Commis­
sion on attacks against both
persons and property, there
appears to be a rise in in­
cidences of racial violence
in the Portland Metropolitan
area. Other reports lead us
to believe that both internal
and external forces are at
work to bring about a decay
in racial climate in our com­
munity.
The MHRC has made it
clear, publicly, that it seeks
to rid our com munity of
these negative and some­
times demonstrably violent
influences. The Com m is­
sion seeks to encourage all
elements of our community
— g o v e rn m e n t, m edia,
schools, com munity ograni-
zations, clergy, business —
to send a clear, irrefutable
message that racial intoler­
ance cannot and w ill not be
allowed to flourish here.
On Saturday, April 2 at
11:30 a.m., the Portland
Black United Front w ill hold
its annual march and rally
against racial violence. The
march w ill start at King
N e ig h b o rh o o d F a c ility ,
4815 N.E. 7th Avenue, and
proceed to Alberta Park bet­
w e en N o rth e a s t K ill-
ingsworth and Ainsworth,
and Northeast 18th Avenue
and 22nd.
I encourage you to attend
this activity to demonstrate
your support for promoting
interracial peace in our com­
munity.
Interracial harmony and
peace does not lend itself to
partisan debate, nor should
it be impaired by considera­
tions of what or who is, or is
not, politic. All of use need
to stand up and be counted
on this issue.
The Metropolitan Human
Relations Commission w ill
be represented at the march
and rally. W on’t you join us?
Sincerely,
Gregory L. Gudger,
Director
Metropolitan Human
Relations Commission
New Postal Rates
Effective April 3
Gigi Chaney, registered dentai hygienist with Kaiser
Permanente, demonstrates to children at the Jean­
nette Fegan School the proper way to brush their
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teeth. Chaney is the coordinator of the First Visit To
The Dentist program.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
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The cost of mailing a First-
Class letter w ill rise to 25 cents
beginning Sunday, April 3, but
the Postal Service urges custo­
mers not to wait until the last
minute to make their new stamp
purchases.
Your local post office has an
ample supply of the new E
stamps which went on sale na­
tionwide March 23, 1988. The
stamp has a postage value of 25
cents, the new First-Class rate,
and w ill remain on sale until post
offices receive new denominated
postage that conforms with the
new rate.
Also, post offices have a good
supply of one-, two- and three-
cent stamps that can be used
with custom ers’ existing stocks
of 22-cent stamps to meet the
new First-Class rate.
Syphilis Outbreak Worries
State Officials
by I.R. Macrae
As public concern over AIDS
has all but overshadowed that
over other sexually transmitted
diseases, one of those diseases
is making a comeback: syphilis.
It’s official: Oregon is in the
midst of a syphilis epidemic, and
African-Americans are especial­
ly at risk. Last week state health
o fficia ls offered up the grim
statistics: 503 new cases of
syphilis were reported in 1987,
well over twice the number re­
ported in 1986. Of those victims,
162 were African-Americans and
133 were Hispanic. In other
words, over two-thirds of the total
number of cases occurred in the
African-American and Hispanic
communities.
In 1987, African-Americans in
Oregon suffered syp h illis 10
times more often than they did in
1985.
O fficials are concluding that
the word isn’t getting around fast
enough of the importance of tak­
ing precautions that can lim it
sexually transmitted diseases.
They worry that people who
engage in sex with m ultiple part­
ners without using condoms, for
example, are exposing them ­
selves not only to syphilis, but to
AIDS as well.
Henry Horton, manager of the
s ta te ’s Sexually Transm itted
Diseases Program, admitted that
the state needs to do a better job
of warning African-Americans of
the dangers of unsafe sex. "The
Black com munity is probably the
least-reached . .
he said. "We
need to find new ways to get to
them ," he noted, adding, “ the
same is true of the Hispanic
migrant population.”
Horton said prostitution com­
bined with drug use is suspected
as a major factor in the dramatic
rise in syphilis among African-
Americans, noting that once the
disease moves in, it can spread
easily among persons whodo not
visit prostitutes. Drug use is a
factor because it “ lowers resi­
stance to risk-taking behavior,”
Horton said.
Sym ptom s of the disease
usually begin about three weeks
after exposure with a single sore
somewhere in the genetial area.
"Any sore in the genital area
should be suspicious," Horton
emphasized. The sore, however,
soon goes away, to be followed
by a rash on the hands and feet
and flu-like symptoms, including
headache and fever. After those
I
symptoms subside, the victim
may think he or she has recover­
ed, but that is not the case. While
there may be no more obvious
symptoms, untreated syphilis
can lead to a variety of serious
medical conditions, including
heart trouble, brain damage, in­
sanity and even death. Babies
born wfth the disease suffer from
damage to bones and teeth and
may die if not treated early. Seven
babies have been born w ith
s y p h ilis d u rin g the c u rre n t
epidemic, fourof whom are of the
m inority community. So far, none
of the seven has died.
The good news is that syphilis
is easily curable with a single
dose of a special type of peni­
cillin. Horton said current efforts
to combat the disease focus on
early intervention: victim s are
asked to reveal the names of per­
sons with whom they have had
sexual contact so that they can
be treated before they infect
others. Such efforts proved suc­
cessful in reducing the level of
gonnorhea, Horton said. He also
noted that while almost half of
syphilis victim s used to be gay
males, the introduction of safer
sex practices among homosex­
uals has had some effect in
lim iting the spread of syphilis in
that group.
The state is also working with
organizations which try to help
women leave the life of prostitu­
tion behind. One such group,
New Beginnings, distributes
condoms supplied by the state.
Screening of persons most at
risk for syphilis, including pro­
stitutes and drug-users, w ill also
be of vital importance in controll­
ing the epidemic.
On the subject of AIDS, Horton
said that the State Health Divi­
sion doesn’t have enough data at
present to know if the spread of
syphilis has meant a serious in­
crease in the level of exposure to
the fatal virus. Fortunately, that
situation w ill change with the in­
troduction of AIDS testing in the
Sexually Transm itted Disease
Program now underway at com ­
munity health clinics. By next
year, Horton said, it w ill be
clearer whether the present sy­
philis epidemic also represents a
hidden explosion of AIDS in the
m inority community.
In the meantime, said Horton,
the state’s educational efforts
w ill stress: "If you think there's a
change that anything might be
wrong, seek treatment im m edi­
ately.”
Connie Carley (R), Director of the Northeast YWCA, recognizes former
director Delvon Barrett at a tea celebrating National Women's History
Month. Barrett was the director from 1969 until retiring in 1984. Also, on
display was a Smithsonian exhibit entitled “ Black Women Achievements
Against the Odds. ’ '
Photo by Richard J. Brown