February 14,1990
Portland Observer • Black History Month • Page 5
N ews A round T own
Dick Bogle's
Women Gather
City Hall Update
To Discuss
Leadership Issues
Update: N ortheast Rescue Plan . . .T h e
Bureau of Buildings has joined with resi­
dents of Northeast neighborhoods targeted
by the “Rescue Plan for aCommunity Under
Attack” to set ground rules for code en­
forcement which address the individual needs
of each neighborhood. In the King neigh­
borhood, response to complaints has been
excellent; home owners are taking steps to
correct problems, and bureau personnel have
been added to assist people. Enforcement
efforts are being expanded south into the
Sabin neighborhood. Neighborhood revi­
talization dollars are being spent on show­
case projects in badly deteriorated areas.
Plans are underway for a major spring clean­
up involving Air and Army Guard person­
nel and neighborhood volunteers, patterned
after the successful pilot project last O cto­
ber on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
U pdate: A bandoned Buildings . . . On
February 1, certified letters were sent to the
owners of 900 houses declared “derelict
buildings" under a new City ordinance. By
definition, the houses are not only aban­
doned, but badly in need of repairs. Our
objective is to force the owners to either
bring their properties up to City code, or
demolish the houses. Owners of "derelict"
houses have until February 15 to submit
detailed rehabilitation plans to the Bureau
of Buildings, and pay a $100 fee.
Update: A ffirm ative A ction . . . Chief
George Monogue is propelling the Fire Bureau
toward full representation for minorities
and women with a program which may well
become a model for the nation. This past
year, 20% of the successful candidates for
spots on the firefighter hiring list were m i­
norities and women. The goal fo r 1990 is
20-25%, and new emphasis is being placed
on recruitment. In December, 60 recruits
met at Portland Community College's Cascade
Campus to start pre-employment training.
Deputy Chief Ron Bender, who has headed
the program since it was initiated in 1987,
expects to prepare as many as 100 appli­
cants for the bureau’s next firefighter ex­
amination in September, 1990,
U pdate: A ffirm ative Action . . . Dennis
Nelson, manager of the Bureau o f Licenses,
responded in a positive way to Commissioner
Bogle’s call to step up the hiring of minorities
and women. All four of his recent hires are
from underutilized classes, three of them
minorities!
U pdate: In terstate Firehouse C u ltu ral
C en ter . . . The Meeting, a fictional en­
counter between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., premiered February 2 and
will run through March 4. Thanks to a grant
from the Fred Meyer Charitable Trust, close
to 1500 school children will see the play.
For information and reservations, phone
243-7930.
Update: BOEC ( 9 1 1 ) ... We are working
hard to implement the 911 levy approved
by City voters in June, 1989. The needs as­
sessment process was completed in late
November. On December 6, a contract was
signed with U.S. West to purchase and in­
stall the Enhanced-911 system that auto­
matically flashes the caller’s address on a
screen. Planning is underway for the Com ­
puter Aided Dispatch system for police, fire
and medical service. We are ahead of sched­
ule, and expect to have the E-911 system
operational by this time next year.
U pdate: 1990 Census . . . To assure that
minorities, the homeless and other groups
are counted when the census swings into
action in March, Commissioner Bogle has
appointed a Complete Count Committee.
State and federal dollars are at stake, as
well as the city's representation in Con­
gress and the Oregon Legislature, since
census statistics are used as guides to fund­
ing and apportionment of political districts
U pdate: Bicycle M essengers. . . We hs'c
responded in a positive way to complattts
of traffic safety violations and rude botav-
ior by downtown bicycle messenges. We
decided to seek voluntary com pliant from
the messenger companies, rather han ini­
tiate another regulatory program Working
with the Association for Portlanr'Progress,
Downtown Retail Council and Tie com pa­
nies, we developed a work pla> which calls
for the use of logos and color? on bikes and
messengers, hospitality and traffic safety
training for messengers, atd other meas-
PORTLAND
OBSERVER
’'The Eyes and Ears
o f the C om m unity"
O ffice :
(503) 288-0033
Fax #
(503) 288-0015
Developing leadership addressing
housing, employment and education needs
of women was the topic of a conference
held on Saturday, Feb. 3rd, from 8:30 a.m.-
5:00 p.m. at the Kenton United Presbyte­
rian Church (2115 N. Lombard St.) in Port­
land. Approximately 150 attended this train­
ing event which brings together women of
diverse backgrounds from around the North­
west to learn the National Congress of
Neighborhood W omen’s Leadership Sup­
port Model.
Lisel Bums and Madonna Beard, both
members of the NCNW National Council,
conducted the training sessions at the con­
ference. Ms. Bums, who is the Director of
the New York Society for Ethical Culture,
has extensive experience in organizing
women around neighborhood improvement
issues. She has taught at New York Univer­
sity, as well as at other colleges in New
York state. Ms. Bum s’ co-trainer Madonna
Blue Horse Beard, an Oglala/Lakota Sioux
spiritual teacher, who works with groups to
share a Native American perspective of
cultural diversity.
“ We are fortunate to have these women
here in Portland to share their sk ills,'' says
Charlsie Sprague, conference organizer.
“ Ms. Bums and Ms. Beard have both con­
tributed to national and international com­
munity development efforts. Their work in
Portland will be to connect local advocates
with a regional network of grassroots and
professional women working on leadership
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
'The Eyes and Ears of the Community
Office: (503)288-0033
Fax#: (503)288-0015
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Portland Observer!
Salute
to Black
Heritage
How many Black Americans are you
familiar with in the history of our
country?
Chances are, not that many because
you won't find them in most history
books. But Black History Month gives
us a chance to become aware of the
contributions many Black Americans
have made in science, medicine,
industry, agriculture, literature and
more.
Join us in the observation of Black
History Month and broaden your
knowledge of how we, as a
people have made this country
what it is today.
February
BLACK
HISTORY
M ONTH