* • * * x v 9 \
«
T< T f t f 1 1 1 1 H
t t
Page 8—The Portland Observer October 24, 1990
i
Portland Observer
BUSINESS
7
Business Profile:
Timothy James
Collins Selected to
Chair Committee
ET ELECT
BY: CYNTHIA BROWN
Running a window cleaning
business was “ something I fell into about
5 years ago,’ ’ said timothy James, ow ner
of The W indow Cleaners. Now he serv­
ices w indow s for approximately 100
homes every week, plus many com m er­
cial businesses, and supervises a staff o f
8 which incudes 5 cleaners and 3 office
workers.
The residential end of the bu si­
ness has grow n rapidly during those five
years as more and more busy home
ow ners contract to have their w indow s
cleaned on a regular basis. M ost clients
oipt for service once a year, some every
spring and fall and a few clean freaks
want their w indow s shined every month.
W orking hard is nothing new to James.
W ith 18 brothers and sisters, he began
earning money at an early age. “ My
dad made us work. We had to pick
beans, berries, filbertts,’’he recalled.
“ W hen school w asn’t on we were pick­
ing.”
Jam es grew up in Portland and
attended Jefferson High School and then
was bused to W ilson High during the
mis-seventies integration effort. “ Going
to W ilson was a real learning experi­
ence. I saw how little was taught to
minorities at Jefferson. Everything was
harder, ut I did okay. I’m a persistant
typee of person, “ he said.
One o f the biggest challenges
Jam es faces is “ my race and my age. I
started when I was 2 1 and most guys
don’t w ant to work for a young guy and
a young black guy was to much, and a lot
of people in Oregon and Washington
would prefer white people in their house,
“ he stated. " B u t it hasn’t prevented me
from getting business. I have all the
business I can use.”
Another problem James encoun­
ters is keeping employees. “ Americans
aren’t happy any more with ju st a job.
They all want to be president and drive
a Mercedes. Asians and Hispanics are
more dependable, “ headded. “ T hey’re
grateful to get a jo b .”
Jam es feels that the state o f
Oregon works against small businesses
in many ways.
“ Oregon is the w orst state to
own a business in. Em ployees have all
the breaks. If som eone quits, I have to
them on the spot, and workers Comp, is
a big hassle, “ he said. “ T here’s an old
saying called “ The Oregon Back “
because O regon’s the easiest place to
get insurance for a back injury. W ash­
ington State is better (for businesses.)
Taxes are low er and workers C om pen­
sation is half as m uch.”
James sees a need for more net­
working among black business owners.
“ W e should support each other, but to
be honest, a lot o f us don’t. W e get
jealous o f each other, “ he said. “ I wish
we could get together. Back in the ‘6 0 ’s
and ‘70 ’s we had more leaders.”
He also feels a lack of wupport
generally from the Portland community
for black business owners. ‘ ‘I would go
somewhere else if I had a chance. D al­
las would be better. T hey’re trying to do
something about their race problen. They
have a lack o f black role models there.
The com m unity tends to grab hold of a
good black role model and support them.
In Portland there are quite a few good
male role models, but they d o n ’t get the
attention and visibility. We need to get
more media attention for young blacks.
The established media are ignoring
them .”
Jam es has seen an increase in
racial incidents in the last few years. He
was attacked 3 years ago. “ Things have
gotten better bu in the same breath they’re
worse, “ he said. But he tries to keep a
positive outlook about racial bias.
“ T here aren’t any bad people,
they’ve ju st been given the wrong direc­
tion. If it w asn’t for jealousy, there
w ouldn’t be prejudice. People are je a l­
ous when they see somebody has som e­
thing they don ’ t have. I fig ure I wouldn ’ t
be bugging anyone if I w eren’t doing
something right.”
The W indow Cleaners services
both residential and com m ercial build­
ings. They clean w indow s both inside
and out, with com plete service for storm
windows and other specialty windows.
The num ber in Portland is 233-0005 and
in Vancouver, W ashington is (206) 694-
6012.
L ongtim e volunteer John
Collins has been appointed to a two -
year term as chairman o f the C om m u­
nity Services and Allocations (CSA)
Committee for United Way of the C o­
lumbia-W illamette.
In addition to leading this group,
Collins also is a m em ber o f the board of
directors. His more than seven years as
a United Way volunteer have included
stints on the Emphasis and Strategic
Planning com m ittees. He also served
for two years as CSA associate chair­
man before being named to his current
position.
Collins is the controller at So,
Greenough, Collins and A ssociates Inc.,
a financial consulting firm in Portland.
Neighborhood
Meetings
Piedmont Neighborhood Association
Meeting. 7:30 p.m. Holy Redeemer
School 127 N. Portland Blvd.
Vernon Neighborhood Association
Meeting. 7:30 p.m. Vernon School,
2044 NE Killingsworth.
TAXATION
IS
EXTORTION
L et’s all stop threatening one an­
other. .
K J V O TE L IB E R T A R IA N
JIM DUNCAN says: "State priorities m ust reflect the needs of the people. Voters in HD 19 are
concerned about about CRIME, DRUG ABUSE, EDUCATION. PROPERTY TAXES and declining
HUMAN SERVICES
gfVOTERS: Do you w ant government to change, to be more accountable to do
the job which needs to be done? Do you w ant a representative who h as some
new ideas and w ants to work to build a better Oregon, by helping clean up
the environmental m ess in NE and SE Portland which results from widespread
crime and drug abuse?
Isn't the crime and drug abuse problem our No. 1 Environmental Problem?
Isn't violent crime and drug abuse ruining our parks and o u r neighborhoods
and making them unsafe for all of us?
If y o u are an sw erin g "Yes" to th e s e q u e s tio n s , th e n sa y "Yes" to a new lead er w h en y o u v o te
N ovem ber 6 , 1 9 9 0
J IM DUNCAN knows that:
Ef Funding for Education (K - 12) m u st have increased state participation if we are to have an
offset to local property taxes.
(0 More help and services from the Dept. of H um an Resources is needed by Oregon's Elderly and
by parents with mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed children in the Fairview Training
Center.
ST Many of our community leaders. Individual citizens and business owners feel th ey do not
have access to State government through the current Representative Ron Cease.
J IM DUNCAN will make your safety, your concerns and your welfare his prim ary em phasis. Call
him at 287-9462.
¡0" JIM DUNCAN is a labor union mem ber and h as been endorsed by the 1990 Oregon Political
Convention.
Authorized by ELECT JIM DUNCAN, P.O. Box 8604, Portland, OR 97207-8604, Ron Hall, Treasurer
Paid for by Herb Booth
Adoptees Benefit
Slated for November
Saturday, November 17, 1990
is the date o f the ‘ ‘For the Children W ho
W ait” banquet, 7:00 pm at the Oregon
Convention Center. The banquet will
mark the second anniversary o f its spon­
sor: One Church, One Child o f Oregon
DRIVEWITH
CAUTION!
which is a non-profit organization that
recruits Black fam ilies to adopt Black
children.
A ctor Taurean Blacque, for­
merly of “ Hill Street B lues” and
“ Generations” will be the guest speaker.
Mr. Blacque, even though h e’s single,
has opened his heart to adopt ten special
needs Black children. Taurean Blacque
was appointed the National Spokesper­
son on Adoption by President Bush.
This event will kich o ff N a­
tional A doption W eek. W e invite you to
take part in celebrating O ne Church,
O ne C hild’s second year o f service to
O regon’s Black children and the com ­
munity. Tickets (tax deductible) are
$30.00 or for a table of 10, $300.00. To
make reservations call One Church, O ne
Child or O regon at 285-7634 to support
the children w ho w ait for forever fam i­
lies.
WHEN WE GET THE RICH
OFF WELFARE,
THE POOR WON’T NEED IT.
y
VOTE LIBERTARIAN
Paid for by Herb Booth
P
I,
New York, Oct. 18 - George Cooper o f the National Park Service spruces up a
replica o f Lady Liberty's face inside the Statue o f Liberty Museum as part o f a
new, year-long campaign by AJAX to raise funds to keep the Statue’s interiors
shining. With 2.5 million visitors annually, the National Park Service’s 34 fu ll­
time maintenance workers remove 1,000 pieces o f chewing gum, 14,000 hand­
prints and 4.8 tons o f garbage from the Statue daily.
Tri-Met Plans Updates for LIFT Program
O fficials on O ctober 19 toured
a new central dispatch center that’s
designed to improve T ri-M et’s LIFT
service for elderly and disabled passen­
gers.
Tri-Met’s LIFT service provides
more than 2,000 door-to-door rides a
day to elderly and disabled passengers
who are unable to use regular Tri-M ct
service, but ride requests still exceed
rides provided. Officials say about 20
requests a day are turned down.
“ The increased efficiency of
this central dispatch center should even­
tually enable us to provide more rides,”
said T ri-M et G eneral Manager James E.
Cowen.
He said the new dispatch cne-
ter, which consolidates functions previ­
ously perform ed in separate sites in each
o f the three m etro area counties, will
streamline operations and allow more
effective use of vehicles, which should
also result in higher quality service. The
new central dispatch allows passengers
throughout the tri-counlics to call a single
telephone number to reserve a ride.
With a fleet of 110 lift-equipped
m ini-vans, T ri-M et’s LIFT takes pas­
sengers to visit doctors, shop for grocer­
ies, or to go to work and school. Persons
who arc unable to use regular Tri-M ct
service due to a mental or physical dis­
ability may register as LIFT passengers
by calling 238-4952.
All policies and procedures
concerning special needs transportation
arc reviewed and evaluated by T ri-M ct’s
Com m ittee on Accessible Transporta­
tion, a citizen’s group that advises the
Tri-M ct Board of Dircctos. The com ­
mittee meets the third W ednesday of
each month in Room C of the Portland
Building, 1120S.W . Fifth.
Buck Medical Services m an­
ages thcdispatchccnieralong with LIFT
scheduling and m aintenance, under a
$1.2 million contract with Tri-M ct.
<
Studded Tires
Allowed Oct. 26
The Oregon D cptartm ent of
Transportation will allow the use of stud­
ded tires on Friday, Oct. 26. The stud­
ded tire season regularly runs from Nov.
1 to Apr. 30, but the State Transporta­
tion Commission moved the date to
coincide with the first week of elk hunt­
ing season.
John Sheldrake, Field O perations E ngi­
neer with the Highway Division, says
that with the possibility of adverse weather
conditions in the higher elevations, the
earlier date provides the use o f a traction
device that is more convenient than tire
chains.
However, Sheldrake asks motorists to
delay using studded tires until w eather
conditions require them because they
damage bare pavement Instead o f using
studded tires, drivers arc encouraged to
try regular snow tires, all-weather radial
tires or tire chains.
PROMOTING YOUTH ENTERPRISE - D. Eric Pogue,second from left, Vice
President, Corporat Human Resources Policy and Administration, Philip Mor­
ris Companies Inc., briefs New York City business students on the Youth
Enterprise Day trip to minority-owned businesses. The students are, from left,
Jacqueline Clark of Medgar Evers College, Seon Joo Choi, Korean Manpower
Development and Barrington Burke-Greene, Manhattan Community College.
Following a breakfast at Philip Morris headquarters, the 40-lmember student
group visited the african American-owned Howell Petroleum Products, Inc., in
Brooklyn, the Asian-owned Expedi Printing Inc,, in lower Manhattan and the
African American owned Consolidated Beverages in Harlem. The group
lunched at Harlem’s Copeland’s Restaurant. ZYouth Enterprise Day is a part
of the Small Business Administration’s Med Week Activities aimed at introduc­
ing students to local, minority-owned business firms.
Oregon Tightens Drinking/Driving Laws
O regon’s courts ordered nearly
1,500 driver license denials for youths
between the ages of 13 and 17 during the
first three quarters o f 1990, according to
the M otor Vehicles Division.
The 1,489 denials were based
on court convictions or determ inations
involving-alcohol or drug possission, use
or abuse. After such convictions, courts
order DM V to wuspend licenses or deny
the privilege to apply for alicense or
permit. Driving privileges may be d e­
nied even when the offenses are not
related to driving a motor vehicle.
There w ere 1,267 denials for
possession of alcohol or drugs. This
accounted for 85 percent o f the total. O f
the rem ainder, four denials were for
having an open container fo alcohol or
drinking in a m otor vehicle; 161 were
for intoxication ordrivin under th infllu-
cnce o f intoxicants (DUII); and 52 were
for m iscellaneous alcohol and drug of­
fenses such as theft, delivery or m anu­
facturing of a controlled substance. Males
accountd for 1,084 of the denials, or 73
percent.
Under the law, first offenders
are denied licenses for one year or until
the person becomes 17, whichever is
longer. Repeat offenders arc suspended
or denied licenses for one year or until
the person becomes 18, whievhever is
longer. DMV statistics show that 205
were second denials, 44 were third deni­
als, seven were fourth dcinals, three
were fifth denials, and one was a sixth
denial.
k