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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1988)
»Syyt I ve *»<♦♦♦•« » K r» F -- l. Portland, Oregon * • *»• » *e *e ♦ •» ' *7 P V\ »k • , 3 < >c >oen*.\'e*»s cf ~ Room c ‘ v r e r • a n u& ! t h vt »•<>«».. ¿i» y O r e ja n ö7<03 fv ^ r g jty $ P O R T L filfö JÉ* ■ *’# * ’ '. - ■ 4. . ERVER "T h e Eyes and Ears o f th e C o m m u n ity " V olum e XVIII, N um ber 45 A n Observer Special Report u The Struggle To Dream: Introducing ... By: Leon H arris M anaging E d ito r/G M The O regonian, pointing out pros titution, crack, youth gangs, and the high crime rate in certain neighbor hoods in North and Northeast Port land was extremely timely, extreme ly informative and extrememly o ff ensive. They were timely because the pro blems addressed are not insurmount able and it is not too late to a ct. They were informative because ap parently some of us were aware of the problems this community is confront ed w ith in its struggle forequality. They were offensive because they pointed out once again what little re gard is given to a community when a well respected media prints a series of articles that could fuel the exodus of merchants and residents (minorities and whites) from the North and North east section of Portland. And why not? W ho wants to live in or do busi ness in a community characterized as being held hosta g e by criminal ele ments. YO L A N D A KING M s. Yolanda K ing, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will speak at Portland State University, Friday, October 7, 1388-12 noon-in the main gymn, 930 SW Hall. Ms. King's ap pearance is sponsored by Port land S tate U niversity Black Cultural Affairs Board. Ms. King's topic will be "A Dream D e fe rre d ." Free A d m issio n . COMMENTARY THE LEISURE H O U R GOLF CLUB is s p o n s o rin g a " N o r th w e s t S h o o to u t Dance", Oc tober 8, 1988 at the holiday inn- A ir p o r t, from 10 p .m . - 2 p .m . The club is expecting a hundred out of tow n guests. The public is invited. Go out and support the Leisure Hour Golf Club. Theirs is a w orthy cause. The neighborhood under seige as mentioned by the O regonian did not inherit the problems of crack and y o u th gangs. C rack was introduc ed to Portland more than eight years ago, but since it was mostly concen trated in North/Northeast Portland, it was a social crim e. Now that it is closely linked to the on-going crime rate in the area, it is an epidemic. Youth gangs were introduced to Port land just over tw o years ago - bringing w ith them larger quantities, higher po tency and cheaper prices for crack. The C ity o f P o rtla n d knew gangs IN T R O D U C IN G October 6,1988 A c h ie v e r o f t h e W e e k n were moving into the city and why. California authorities notified Port land Police of this movement north ward as early as May 1986. This infor mation was passed on to the Mayor's office along w ith a request for ad ditional manpower to address the pro blem. For some strange reason, the Mayor's office chose to ignore its' o w rf police intelligence. The Union Avenue prostitution pro blem has been dealt w ith in every con ceivable way possible. Unfortunate ly, it has been mostly community in volvement. One or tw o policemen can not ridtheareaof all the prostitution on Union Avenue. The media coverage of North/N or- . theast Portland's crime problem did accomplish one thing. It created a wave of hysteria within the Real Estate industry in the area, making it virtually impossible to get a dollar for dollar value for some of the most valu able property in the city. H's important to note that selling property is not a problem, getting a fair market price is. But as property values decrease outside interests intensifies - buying Lieutenant Charles M oose. everything in sight on Union Avenue - Relations at Portland Community mostly liveable home for rental in Lieutenant Charles Moose graduated College. come. Renting to all comers, absen from the 154th Session of the FBI A t the National Academy, Lt. tee landlords (using the area problems National Academ y at Quantico, Moose studies included Futuristics in as leverage) suck property tax relief, Virginia, on September 9, 1988. He Law Enforcement, Executive Leader which in most instances, is granted. was Portland's first African-American ship, Constitutional Criminal Pro And why not? North/Northeast is police officer to attend the academy. cedure, Organizational Communica suppose to be a community under The FBI Academy is a prestigious in tio n , Crisis M anagem ent, seize, remember? It is curious to note ternational school that require eleven Management of Forensic Science and that the proposed convention Center weeks of intensive study and training. Drug Enforcement Strategy Plann (just down the street) has suddenly It is attended by law enforcement o f created a lot of interest in community ing. ficials from around the world. Lt. Moose worked as the after property. But that same Convention Lt. Moose is featured as Achiever noon relief Ueutenant at North Pre Center mandates that we hold on. o f th e W eek for his many accom cinct prior to attending the Academy; Relief is ju s t a couple o f years plishments which include more than a job he says he enjoyed. Since his aw ay... thirteen years of service w ith the return from the Academy, he has Portland Police Bureau. In addition to beentransferredtoEast Precinct. having a Master's degree in Public The P o rtla n d O bserver is proud to A d m in is tra tio n , he is cu rre n tly salute Lt. Charles Moose as its' enrolled in the Urban Studies Doc Achiever o f th e W eek and is hope torate Program at Portland State ful that he will be returning soon to University. He has taught Applied North Precinct. Psychology and Police/Community R o le M o d e l o f t h e W e e k The Urban League of Portland was founded in 1945 and is one of 112 a f filiates of the National Urban League and a United W ay member agency. The mission of the National Urban League is to enable low-income, Blacks and other minority group members to cultivate and exercise their f ull human potential on a par w ith other Americans. During the past program year, the Urban League of Portland provided direct services to over 5,000 clients, not including its "hot line" information referral services. Recently, the Fred Meyer Charit able Trust cancelled its grant to the League's developmental employment program. That decision was made, in part, because of the Urban League's use of funds for other operating ex penses. It voted not to require re imbursement of the funds used for other Urban League activities. As a result of that decision, the League was forced to make cuts in its employment program and significant reductions in its FY 1989 budget. Based upon current budget pro jections, the Urban League is facing a $30,000 to $40,000 cash flow deficit over the next nine months. While that amount could be reduced or eliminated entirely if current fund-raising pro jections are exceeded, it also could significantly increase if the League is required to make substantial repair ex penses on its real properties. PLAN OF A C T IO N In order to curb the deficit and suc cessfully regain our financial strength, the following steps have been taken by the board: (1) The appointment of a highly competent CEO, Useni Perkins, and the hiring of an experienced Financial A n d re 'L Wickham Andre, a 3rd grade student at King Elementary school was recently crowned "Student of the M o n th " by his te a ch e rs. Congratulations Andre! Charneal S ingleton g lo w s w ith confiden ce d u rin g her reign as CEO, last m o n th . In the spring of 1988, Charneal Singleton was confronted w ith one of the most difficult decisions of her young life. A fte r dropping out of an alter native high school program, she was encouraged by a close friend to take the first step tow ard a productive life. A t the age of seventeen, Charneal took advantage of the Portland In vestment program to acquire a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED). This effort exemplified her hope for the future. She successfully completed all course work while she worked toward a Portland Investment Job- Readiness Diploma. Through her employment as a clerical assistant at the Youth Employment Institute, Charneal has acquired necessary communications skills, a positive work attitude and a demonstrated ability to contribute to any business. In August 1988, Charneal was honored as a Portland Investment graduate at a cer.emony hosted by the Portland Leaders Roundtable 'The Portland Investment has broadened my outlook on career opportuni ties," Charneal said. "I'm confident I can be a valuable part of today's work force." Charneal put those skills into action when she served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a day to kick-off the Portland Investment Hiring Plan on September 28, 1988. The P o rtla n d Observer is proud to salute Charneal as its' Achiever o f th e W e e k . The P o rtla n d Obser ver is proud to salute Charneal as its Role M o d e l o f th e W e e k . IN D EX FEATURES Page 1 EDITORIAL/OPINION Page 2 COMMUNITY FORUM Page 3 RELIGION Page 4 ENTERTAINMENT Page 5 CLASSIFIEDS Pages 6-8 MBESPECIAL Pages 10-18 ..........* **• » ~ ' • , C a m p a ig n 88 U p d a te on Still, the challenger for the top office at City Hall, fielded questions from the Port land Observer last Friday night in the first of a series of Campaign '88 broadcasts in association with Northeast Spectrum, produced by Larry Dunham over Channel 38. In response to a question, Mr. Still asserted that he wanted to become the Mayor of Portland because he loved the city and didn’t want to witness its further deterioration due to poor manage ment. When queried about his im age as der Gestapo, Mr. Still bristled and declared that he resented that type of charact erization which was completely opposite to what people felt about him during the 30 years of service on the police force. He claimed that during his chief-of- police, the bureau had its highest rating in acceptability during its entire history. R When reminded that the drug problem was not unique to the lower Northeast section of Port land. Mr. Still blamed the mayor for the huge increase in crime during his tenure. He also stated that the mayor had either reduced or eliminated certain police ac tivities which had proven to be ac tive deterrents to crime. Mr. Still was asked to react to the fact the Fred Meyer Founda tion had cancelled the $370,000 remainder of a grant that had been given to the Urban League in order to stimulate employment among Black people. Mr. Still ex pressed his regret for that unfor tunate situation but added that the matter should not be closed and that the funds should be re n e g o tia te d . The P ortland Observer takes a strong position in that regard, also. The funds were cancelled because of trans gressions of a previous adminis tration. The sons should not be made to pay for the sins of their fathers. Urban League Progress Report Rev. Ross ' 25C . . - t.‘ . : V • “ * * T i njMTlift ■ • • • ? ' •' * * “ * * * * W i'* < ! i ’ T - . - :• ■. ■ .’ ' •’ • ; ' ? Services Director coupled w ith a coupled w ith a complete revision of the monthly financial reports supplied to the Finance Committee and the Board; (2) The adoption of a revised aus terity budget for the remainder of FY 1969, including placement of ex penditure and hiring constraints includ- • . : Useni Perkins, CEO Urban Leagueof Portland ¡ng salaries, travel, conferences, professional fees, e tc., and tem porary cutbacks in personnel until the deficit is removed; (3) The appointment of an outside expert task force chaired by Board member David Nero to examine all Urban League real property holdings and make recommendations to the Board as to how best to utilize those properties to accomplish its mission; ' (4) Exploration of the possibility of transferring ownership of Urban Plaza and Plaza II to other interested com munity housing agencies; (5) Working in partnership w ith the Portland Development Commission to find a buyer for the Mentzer Buikfng. W e are pleased to report a sale ap pears imminent; • * 1 ¿ .> ;f • *.-•• . «• » P S ‘ ¿ :»* .• ; i.n-7Ä i à -/« & ? » a -» . 4 » - * » / *. T--'» •>: ?.. j S •. « *« f o l *V***'-Ai (6) Continuing independent annual audits by a reputable Big Eight accou- tingfirm ; and (7) The addition of financial, business fund-raising expertise to the Board of Directors; (8) The appointment of a new Development Director, the approval of a six-month development plan and the creation of a blue ribbon panel from the community to make recommenda tions to the Board to insure the fund raising drive succeeds; (9) Exploration of the possibility of filing a lawsuit against responsible par ties to recoup damages for negligent workmanship and breach of contract in conjunct ion w ith the rehabWtation of the buildings. It is important to note that no Urban League programs, other than the em ployment program will be affected by the budget cuts. The Urban League continues to re main one of the largest and most im portant social services agencies w ith in this community w ith a rich tracftion of service to the Black community, in particular. The League is proud of its history and accomplishments and pledges to continue to serve the Nor theast community and to advocate on its behalf. The community w ants the Urban League to succeed, supports its mission, and we are optimistic it w fl rally to our cause so that w e can con tinue to carry out our vital community role. The P o rtla n d O bserver stands behind the efforts of the Urban League to get its house in order. A house divided cannot stand. W e ask the community to stand w ith the League. -