Project help kicks off with a rap
The 1900 Project H ELP fund-rais­
ing drive for the needy was launched
w ith a rap song about givin g and a blan­
ket brigade made up o f two Portland
fourth grade classes, Friday, November
9, at 12:30 p.m., at Portland’s Pioneer
Courthouse Square.
Sponsored by Portland General
Electric Co. (PGE) and Pacific Power,
Project H ELP provides emergency heat­
ing assistance to low-incom e fam ilies or
individuals. A t the event, children from
the Salvation A rm y ’ s Moore Street per­
formed the rap tune and some 50 stu­
dents from Beech and Buckman Ele­
mentary schools in Portland loaded blan­
kets donated by the tw o utilities into a
Salvation A rm y Emergency Canteen.
To supplement the blanket brigade.
Pacific Power shareholders are contrib­
uting $115,000 toward Project HELP
and other fuel assistance funds this year,
w ith more than $70.000 earmarked for
Oregon Customers. PGE shareholders
are donating $40,(XM) to the campaign.
Customers who wish to contribute should
check their November b illin g statement
for donation envelopes. Proceeds w ill be
administered by the Salvation A rm y Jan.
1. 1991.
Last year, contributions totaled more
than $450,000 and helped some 4,600
families and individuals stay warm.
A voiding W inter Electrical Hazards
one o f the m ajor hazards o f fall and
w inter weather is the increased incidence
o f power lines being knocked down by
ice and w ind storms. In case you ever
find yourself in a situation involving
downed electrical lines, here are sonic
tips that m ight help get you out o f a jam.
* A downed line should never be
moved or touched. Even it is on the
ground, the line could s till be “ a liv e ”
(energized) and contact could be deadly.
* I f a w ire falls on a vehicle, the
driver and any passengers should stay
inside until help arrives and the wires arc
removed. I f remaining in the vehicle is
impossible, each person must jum p clear
w ithout touching the ground and the
vehicle at the same time. A ll fallen wires
should be reported to the local police,
fire authorities, or PGE at 464-7777.
* W ind can also knock down televi­
sion, radio, and CB antennae. Before
getting up on the ro o f to make repairs,
make sure there is ample clearance be­
tween the antenna and any overhead
power lines.
* W et and freezing conditions in ­
crease the danger o f electrical equip­
ment. Children should be reminded to
stay away from electric substations, trans­
formers, and u tility poles.
Children are expensive
Parents know it costs a lot to raise a
child and now there are new 1989 figures
to prove it.
Parents tend to not think about how
much a child costs unless they’re putting
out a lot o f money all at once, such as for
school clothes or braces. C hild-rearing
costs are hidden in mortgage payments,
health insurance premiums and weekly
food bills.
Those are some o f the budgetary
components considered by the Fam ily
Economics Research Group o f the U.S.
Department o f Agriculture that recently
issued revised estimates o f the cost o f
raising a ch ild from birth to 18.
An urban fa m ily in the West w ith an
income from $28,3(X) to $46,900 can
expect to spend about $ 188,170 in 1989
dollars. A rural fam ily w ith the same
income w ill spend an estimated &105.090.
The figures show that children be-
come more expensive as they age, w ith
peak yearly expenditures coming in the
15-to-17 age bracket, explains Alice M ills
M orrow , Extension fa m ily economics
specialist. Expenditures increase as fail
income increases too.
The estimates include housing, food,
transportation, clothing, health and edu­
cation, child care and other expenses.
M orrow stressed that the figures don’ t
include costs o f birth, saving for post-
high school education and indirect costs
to the parents.
Urban fam ilies earning less than
$28,300 can expect to spend about
$87,000, w hile fam ilies earning more
than $46,900 w ill spend an estimated
$162-450. Rural fam ilies in the lower
income level w ill spend about 573,200,
w hile those in the highest level w ill
spend an estimated $149,7(X) in 1989
dollars.
CSD RESEARCH PROJECT TO
IDENTIFY STATEWIDE NEED
T o better identify what resources
and staff C hildren’ s Services D ivision
needs to protect Oregon’ s children, the
agency is preparing to audio tape incom ­
ing phone calls from people reporting
child abuse and neglect. The recordings
o f incoming reports w ill help CSD deter­
mine exactly how many staff are needed
to provide services in each com m unity.
D uring November and December,
all branches w ill have incoming calls
recorded. Each branch w ill participate in
this program fo r three weeks. Depending
on the size o f the branch, a ll calls or
some calls w ill be taped.
The completed recordings w ill go to
Portland State U niversity and the U n i­
versity o f Oregon. Graduate students,
temporarily hired by CSD, w ill e lim i­
nate certain identifying inform ation such
as the names o f intake screeners, clients
and callers. CSD w ill not touch the tapes
from the tim e they are recorded to the
time all that inform ation is eliminated.
A fte r all the calls have been re­
viewed by the graduate students, a com ­
mittee consisting o f a current CSD worker,
a retired w orker o f retired supervisor,
and an academic com m unity representa­
tive w ill listen to the tapes. No current
management personnel w ill be listening
to tapes. The committee w ill determine
what should have happened when the
call first came into a branch office.
C SD ’ s research department w ill
analyze the data. Researcher Paul Bel-
latty believes this project w ill help the
agency standardize its work. “ We can’ t
compare branches under our current
system. This w ill allow us to compare
branches and project C S D ’ s protective
service workload more accurately.”
This research project is the first o f
its kind nationwide. In all other child
welfare agencies across the country ,
workload projections arc difficult to make.
It is hoped that Oregon’s model project
w ill be successful in Oregon and w ill
help other states predict ch ild welfare
needs.
W orkers who participate in this
project have agreed to do so. I f callers do
not wish to be recorded, they w ill be
referred to another number for assis­
tance.
To keep the cost o f this project down,
CSD has contracted w ith graduate stu­
dents instead o f universities. The total
cost o f the audio taping program is
$15,000.
November 14, 1990—The Portland Observer-Page 5
Energy
workshops benefit
homeowners and
renters
Free energy conservation workshops
are being offered to the public through a
grant from the Washington County O f-
fic e o fC o n im u n ily Development. W ork­
shops, conducted by staff from the
Housing and Energy Conservation De­
partment o f Washington County C om ­
m unity Action, w ill be held from now
through March 1991. Interested people
should contact Rosa at the Com m unity
Action office in Aloha, 642-3236.
Workshops arc designed to not only
educate the public on ways in which they
can save energy, but also to give them
training in actual weatherization o f their
homes. Each workshop participant w ill
receive a free audit o f their home to
determine how much cal loss could be
prevented through casttherization meas­
ures. The participants w ill then receive
instruction on installation o f these meas­
ures.
Homeowners or renters in low to
moderate income levels w ill receive free
materials to perform the weatherization
measures that w ill help prevent the con­
tinued loss o f heat from their homes.
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SHARING IDEAS ON WAY'S TO KEEP KIDS IN SCHOOL was the thrust of the Burger King Honors
Excellence in Education symposium recently held in Washington, D. C. Some 117 outstanding teachers and
principals of the year were honored and challenged to discuss strategies for reversing the nation’s alarming
dropout rate. The program is sponsored by Burger King Corporation in cooperation with the Council of Chief
State School Officers and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Pictured are Reverend
Jesse Jackson accepting a Burger King Academy sweatshirt from Academy students (left to right) Fernando
Pavia of Miami, Fla., Gerald Perdue of Inglewood, Calif., and Gilbert Bland, president of the Burger King