March 1 1 ,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 3
HUD Announces First Ever Waiver To Help Employees Qualify For FHA Loan
Program Emanuel Grants Its First ENHOP Loan to Employee
Representative Ron Wyden an
nounced today that in enterprise zones
around the stale, the Housing and U r
ban Development office (H U D ) w ill
waive the 5 percent down payment
required from a homebuyer’s own funds
to only two percent, allowing the re
maining three percent to be supple
mented by an employer loan program.
The first approval o f its kind in the
nation, the waiver comes on the heels o f
a new program at Emanuel Hospital &
Health Center and Legacy Health Sys
tem that loans employees up to $5,000
to buy a home in Emanuel’s immediate
neighborhoods. Legacy’ s program
stimulated this H U D waiver.
“ Normally this type o f program is
not permissible w ith an FH A loan,”
said Tom Cusack, H U D Director o f
Housing Development D ivision,” But
we are w illin g to take an additional risk
in exchange for investment in enter
prise zones.”
According to Cusack, enterprise
zones are areas created by the State
Legislature in an attempt to encourage
re-investment in business and housing
development. In Oregon, there are 30
enterprise zones. North and Northeast
Portland being one o f the most popu
lated.
The change in policy by H U D has
allowed Emanuel to grant its firs t
Emanuel Neighborhood Home Owner
ship Program (ENHOP) loan. Staria
M cCuller, 43, is the first Legac y Health
System employee to see the dream o f
owning a home become a reality. “ I t ’ s
too good to be true," she said. A social
worker fo r the Oregon Bum Center at
Emanuel, M cCullar has had her per
ceptions changed about North/North-
east Portland. “ When I first started
see its significance as other employers
institute programs fo r their em ploy
Century Products
Recalls Swings
ees,” he said.
Proceeds go
Emanuel has stated that they w ill
to w ard s youth
make the materials used to create the
a tte n d in g regional
ENHOP program available for other
youth group of
y o u th conference
employers to adopt.
“ This is a model program,” said
Cusack, “ but the only way it can truly
presents
be successful is for other employers to
1st A nnual Fashion Show F u n d raiser
become involved. As other enterprise
zone employers become committed,
we w ill see the difference the H U D
A n Ethnic Experience
waiver w ill make state-wide.”
A V isual Trip T h ro u g h T he W orld of
The H U D waiver carries sign sig
nificance that may even influence other
A frican A m erican
cities in the nation to begin sim ilar
F ashions
employee-assisted loan programs.
In addition, Fannie Mae, a private
company chartered by Congress to pro
Performance by:
vide a national secondary mortgage
The African
market, has named ENHOP as the first
American
Ballet
employer-assisted homeownershippro-
gram in the state to be approved for
their Magnet 3/2 program. This pro
R eception
gram allows for three percent down
to Follow
from the buyer’ s funds and the balance
to be provided by an employer loan.
“ Fannie Mae is delighted to be part
D oor Prizes
o f this new plan to enable the em ploy
ees o f Emanuel Hospital to afford
42nd &
homeownership near their w ork place,
and at the same time, revitalize the
K illingsw orth
Portland community surrounding the
Donation: $10.00
hospital,” said John Fulford, senior vice
Contact: Wanda at 288-1092
president in charge o f the company’ s
10-state western regional office.
He went on to add, “ This is exactly
the kind o f effort Fannie Mae Chairman
Jim Johnson had in mind in March 1991
when he announced a special $10 b il
lion corporate commitment to special
“ This says to the recipients that * we
Oregon State U niversity and the
needs and low -to moderate-income
have
faith in what you are trying to d o ’
Corvallis-Albany
branch
o
f
the
National
housing nationwide.”
and hopefully w ill show them a sense o f
Association fo r the Advancement o f
trust,” Berkey said. “ To a college stu
Colored People have established a new
dent, especially a form er inmate w ith a
scholarship fund to benefit former in
fam ily, $500 can be pretty im portant.”
mates o f the state Department o f C or
The College o f Liberal Arts is han
rections.
I remain committed to the v ia b ility and
dling
counseling and supervision o f
O fficials o f O SU ’ s College o f L ib
importance o f small regional insurers. eral Arts and the N A A C P believe it is
scholarship recipients, said H arold
We w ill do everything we can to assure one o f the first scholarships o f its kind
Hunter, director o f development fo r the
regional carriers continue to provide
college.
in the U.S.
alternatives.”
“ We think this an exciting idea and
The Benjamin L . Hooks Scholar
The merger is next subject to ap ship Endowment Fund—named in honor
we hope it w ill capture the imagination
proval by the corporate member o f o f the recently retired national execu-
o f people around the state,” Hunter
BCBSO and the physician members o f tivedirectorofthe N A A C P —is designed
said.
RVPS. I f those parties approve the to assist former inmates continue their
The Departmentof Corrections w ill
merger, Weeks w ill then issue a c e rtifi education, according to Eamestine
help identify candidates fo r the scholar
cate o f merger and acquisition, RVPS Berkey, president o f the C o rv a llis -A l
ships, which w ill be funded p rim arily
would effectively cease to exist and
through efforts o f the N A A C P , Hunter
bany N A A C P branch.
BCBSO would takes its place on A p ril 1.
said. Representatives o f the Corvallis-
Applicants must be form er clients
The merger was initiated by RVPS o f the Department o f Social Services;
Albany branch o f the N A A C P w ill make
which was concerned about rising health should have families w ith children; and
the final decisions about scholarship
care costs. The company fe lt that it
recipients, who w ill be chosen from a
should have been enrolled in education
could best protect its policyholders by
lis t approved by OSU and the Depart
or vocational training programs w ith
merging, while it was healthy, w ith a
ment o f Corrections.
the Department o f Corrections.
large insurance company.
Fundraising w ill begin immediately
A t the tim e scholarship funds are
Consumers w ho have questions
^ ^ ¿ ^ p i e n t s shall be enrolled as
fo r the Benjamin L . Hooks Scholarship
about the merger can w nte the Company fu ll-tim e students a(
s u > and classi.
Endowment Fund, which has been es
at o
OSU,
classi
Regulation Section, Insurance D ivision, fied at least as sophomores. Scholar
tablished w ith the OSU Foundation. For
440 Labor & Industries Building, Sa ship recipients w ill receive $500. Spon
m ore in fo rm a tio n , contact H a ro ld
lem, OR 97310, or call them at 378
Hunter at the College o f Liberal Arts,
sors say the recognition is more im por
4281.
737-4587.
tant than the amount.
"Fashion Safari'
working at Emanuel, I had some con
cerns,” she said,” but I ’ ve met a lot o f
people who live in the area and I think,
overall, parts o f this area arc really
nice.”
M cCullar said she bought the home,
located just o ff o f Portland Blvd., p ri
m arily fo r the neighborhood. “ I was
quite taken by it,” M cC ullar said. “ I
looked around a lo t and in this neigh
borhood people help each other out,”
she said,“ It rem indsm eof where I grew
up.”
“ What Emanuel’s program has al
lowed me to do is have a little o f the
American Dream,” said McCullar. “ The
ENHOP program can only benefit the
employees and neighborhoods, ’ she
said, “ I t ’ s innovative and wonderful.”
A ll employees o f the Legacy Health
System who qualify may apply for an
ENHOP loan. The third largest private
employer in Oregon, Legacy Health
System includes Emanuel Hospital &
Health Center, Good Samaritan Hospi
tal & Health Center, Holladay Park
Medical Center, M eridian Park Hospi
tal, M ount Hood Medical Center and the
V isiting Nurse Association.
W hile ENHOP applicants benefit
from the H U D announcement, so do the
neighborhoods o f North and Northeast
Portland. The recently presented A lbina
com m unity Plan recommends home
ownership as one o f its objectives. Now,
there exists an even greater opportunity
for people who live in the community to
purchase their own homes.
“ Emanuel is very excited about the
impact the H U D waiver w ill have for our
employees and the c ity ,” said Jim M ay,
President resident and CEO o f Emanuel
Hospital & Health Center and Holladay
Park Medical Center. “ We w ill really
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Ad Prices Good March 11 through March 17,1992 At Safeway.
Golden Fancy
Bananas
Dole golden ripe fancy bananas, ready to enjoy in
salads, jello, pies, puddings, breads, muffins and
so many other delicious ways. Stock-up!
Lbs.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission is announcing the recall as
part o f its mission to protect the public.
Note: To report an unsafe con
sumer product or a product related in
ju ry , consumers may call the U.S. C on
Look In The This Week
Magazine for your Safeway
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week at Safeway!
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W ESTERN
U N IO N
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Safeway
Expect the Best
•••
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OSU, NAACP Collaborate On
Scholarship For Ex-Inmates
Weeks Approves Merger Of Blue
Cross And Rogue Valley
coming and w ith it some redevelop
A proposed merger between Blue
ment opportunities fo r housing, retail,
Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon and
and employment,” Stacey noted.
Rogue Valley Physicians Service has
“ I t ’ s time to test some land use
cleared the first hurdle fo llo w in g the
concepts fo r accom modating more
approval o f Oregon Department o f In
people inside Portland instead o f a llo w
surance and Finance D irector Gary K.
ing all o f the growth to occur in the
Weeks.
suburban fringe,” he added.
Weeks held a hearing on the pro
There are three main components
posed merger in M edford on January 23.
o f the Livable C ity Project:
Nearly 100 affected people attended the
1. Engage the com m unity in a c ity
hearing, and while some asked fo r cla ri
wide discussion o f the growth concepts. fication o f the terms o f the merger, all
2. Coordinate w ith other projects were supportive o f the merger. Weeks’
related to growth and development such
decision to approve the merger follow ed
as M etro’ s Region 2040 Study.
a thorough consideration o f the fo llo w
3. T ie a number o f other planning
ing issues: the legality o f the merger; its
projects into a consolidated effort in affect on policyholders or shareholders;
cluding updating the land division code, the quality o f service to be provided
meeting the requirements o f the state
under the agreement; and its affect on
transportation rule, reassessing appli
competition.
cation o f site and design review, re
“ A fter careful thought and consid
viewing tree preservation strategies and eration and after hearing the concerns o f
development on steep slopes, and pre
the subscribers, we believe this merger
paring an infill/redevelopm ent analy-
is in the best interests o f those affected,”
SIS.
said Weeks. “ In approving this merger.
The project w ill be under way im
mediately.
Saturday,
A pril 25th
8PM
W hittaker
M iddle
School
C e n tu ry P ro du cts C o m p a n y,
Macedonia, OH in cooperation w ith the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety C om
mission (CPSC) is voluntarily recalling
its 1991 model wind-up infant swings
w ith the “ W hisper-W ind” motor. Cen
tury has received 31 reports o f injuries
to consumers invo lvin g these swings.
M ost injuries were to consumers who
were attempting toopen the motor hous
ing or repair swings that had stopped
working.
I f the plastic cover over the swing
motor is removed, the pow erful, coiled
wind-up spring w ill unwind rapidly and
forcefully and may cause serious in
ju ry , Injuries reported to the firm in
clude puncture wounds and lacerations
requiring immediate medical treatment
The recall applies to approximately
181,000 Century “ whisper-wind” in
fant swings manufactured during 1991.
The five swing models involved were
sold fo r about $3O-$8O nationwide
(model numbers: 12-319, 12-329, 12-
344,12-345, and 12-349). Recalled units
bear manufacturing date codes 9101
through 9112. The date codes are lo
cated on a white label on the bottom o f
sumer Product Safety Commission’ s
toll-free hotline at 1-800-638-2772. A
teletypewriter for the hearing impaired
is available at 1-800-638-8270; the
Maryland T T Y number is 1-800-492-
8104.
ft.
Mallory Church of Christ
City Council Endorses Kafoury’s
Livable City Project
The Portland C ity Council adopted
a resolution on March 4,1992, support
ing the Livable C ity Project: Managing
Portland’s Growth. The project, intro
duced by Commissioner Kafoury and
supported by the Portland Planning
Commission, is designed to implement
Portland Future Focus goal o f capturing
a larger share (20%) o f the region’ s
projected growth w ithout destroying
the cohesiveness and character o f exist
ing neighborhoods. “ This project w ill
test the theory that we can make neigh
borhoods safe and stable by building
upon the historic characteristics o f
neighborhoods as they developed along
trolley lines,” explains Commissioner
Kafoury. “ We are seeking the input o f
residents throughout the city to deter
mine how to accommodate growth and
enhance our c ity ’s liva b ility,” she added.
The Planning Bureau w ill be in
charge o f the Livable C ity Project, co
ordinating citizen involvement and other
city bureaus. Planning D irector Robert
Stacey is candid about the challenges o f
this p ro je ct “ W e have more ligh t rail
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