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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1992)
» » y »i» »*»■»< H '» 4 « *••■ •-♦ * * « » * • «-• * * *»*▼♦■• * • « v * W '< “The Eyes and i ars of the Community” V o lu m i) X X II, N u m b e r 14 Mr s». F r a n c es Jn i V e r s i t y E ugene, of ¡ c h o e n -N e w s p a p e r O re g o n L i b r O re g o n Wlje ^nrflanh (© barter Job Corps Unit Moves Into New Oregon State Building News In Brief Arthritis needn’t Put An End To Exercise On the contrary, the right kind of exercise can help arthritis sufferers per form daily activities with greater ease and comfort. A new class called "Exercise for the Arthritic" will be offered by St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, April 21 through May 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. SessionswillbeheldatSt Vincent s Mercantile Medical Plaza, 4015 SW Mercantile Drive, Lake Oswego. Taught by fitness specialist Marilyn Frankel, the class will focus on freedom of movement, mobility and stamina, all practiced at participants’ own pace. The exercises also can be done at home. Frankel has expertise in adapting exercise to individual needs and limita tions. She holds a master's degree in exercise physiology from the Univer sity of California, Davis. Cost of the class is S32. Preregis tration is required and may be made by calling 635-3538 or 645-4864. AOE AMO YOUTH IN ACTION Portland Gray Panthers Candidate Fair Portland Gray Panthers Candidate Fair will be held on Saturday, April 18 at Northwest Service Center 1819 Everett St. Some of our city, county and state campaigners will be dropping in between 10 A.M. and noon, to talk on current issues and learn the concerns of members and guests. The meeting is free and open to all. Call 224-5190 for further informa tion. A. Philip Randolph Institute 4th Annual Event The Portland Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute cordially in vite you to attend its 4th annual Wine and Cheese tasting festival. This is one of many events that the Portland Chap ter will sponsor to help bridge the gap between labor and the black commu nity. They have invited several politi cians to share their platform. The W ine and Cheese tasting event will be held on: April 18, at 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm at Musicians Hall, 325 N.E. 20th, Port land, OR. Tickets are $10.00 each. For further information call 235-9444. April Child Abuse Prevention Month As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, CSD and the Children's T ru st Fund w ill co o rd in ate Mission:Possible... a fundraising project which provides money for child abuse prevention and treatment programs throughout the state. More than 500 teenagers in juvenile corrections facili ties will complete community service projects in the hope that businesses and citizens in Oregon will donate money to Officials Urge Early Removal Of Studded Tires Mild spring weather has prompted the Oregon Department of Transporta tion to ask motorists to remove studded tires early this year. Motorists can legally use studded tires on Oregon roads until the end of April. However, state transportation officials want drivers to take them off as soon as possible to avoid further dam age to the state's highways. Bill Quinn, materials and research engineer for the department, said when used on bare pavement, studded tires can wear out skid-resistant surfaces and cause wheel ruts in the roadway. A rapid wearing of pavement markings also is a concern, he said. Unnecessary use of studded tires causes between $2.3 and $2.9 million damage to Or- ego: roadways each year. Quinn said tires chains and all- weather radial tires are good alterna tives for people traveling at high eleva tions. Oregon law allows the use of stud ded tires from Nov. 1 to April 30. Cultural Diversity Worxshop to be held at Urban League "Making Cultural Diversity an Asset” is the subject of a workshop scheduled for Friday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Urban League of Portland, 10 N. Russell Street. The workshop will be led by management consultant and author Darrell Simms. Mr. Simms is a veteran of IBM and Westinghouse and the author of the book Black Experience Strategies and Tactics (B E S iy His Beaverton com pany, Management Aspects Inc., spe cializes in helping corporations man age diversity and change. Topics of the April workshop in clude Cross Cultural Communications; Learning to Value Differences; Man aging Change; Assessing Business Prac tices; Team Building; Improving Rela tionships; and Dispelling Stereotypes. The workshop is geared to man agement professionals and others inter ested in organizational change. Cost, including continental breakfast, lunch and materials, is $100 per person. To register, contact Darrell Simms at 591-7498. Urban Talent Association To Offer Classes The Urban Talent Association will be offering performing arts classes be ginning Monday, April 6th, at Mallory Avenue Christian Church, located at 126 NE Alberta Street. Classes to be offered include, beginning and advanced acting, stand-up comedy and African dance. For registration information, call The Urban Talent Association at 2 8 6 -3 0 7 6 .___________ __________ The City of Portland Environmen tal Commission will meet April 2,1992, from 4:00 p.m. to 6;00 p.m. in The Auditorium, Portland Building (1120 S.W. 5th) Second Floor The Bureau o f Labor & Industries Job Corps Unit has moved to a new location and a brand new building, the Oregon State Building. The new address is 800 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 260, Portland, Oregon, 97232. Pictured from left to right are Job Corp staff members Marco Navarrete, Vincent Shorte, Poncho Gonzalez,Lana Barr, Kimberly Bridwell, Ollie Smith and Rafael Arellano. Bogle Meets_With NAMCO by E.T. Otto Claiming to be “The best hope on City Council for African-American con tractors,” City Commissioner Dick Bogle addressed members of the Na tional Association of Minority Con tractors of Oregon (NAMCO) last week. During this two hour engagement, Bogle answered questions from the floor and voiced his opinions and positions on several issues including current ef forts by the City to reinstate an enforce able program aimed at increasing city contracts with minority businesses. Bogle oversees the Bureau of Pur chasing and Stores which has come under fire for awarding contracts to general contractors who either failed to meet a ten percent minority business enterprise goal, or used questionable means in obtaining them. During the last council meeting, Bogle cast a “symbolic vote” against the recommendations of the Purchas ing Bureau, creating a major disruption amongst its members. A confused Mayor, Bud Clark, finally took his cue during a rare second vote. The council then approved by a three to two margin, the awarding of a $307,000 contract with only $600 minority participation. A NAMCO representative, Bill Harden, had spoke against awarding the con tract. Bogle indicated that the issue is a City Council issue and not just the responsibility of the Purchasing Bu reau. Those in attendance, many out wardly frustrated, agreed with his as sessment. “The City cannot legally force a prime contractor to use minority firms because of a 1989 Supreme Court deci- MW ' . Whats Inside ...... ............................................................... PAGE 2 N P W i AROUND TOWN ............................................. PAGE 3 C M T C D T ì IM M F N T ........................................................... PAGE 5 ............................................................... PAGE 8 .................................................................. PAGE 9 NFW S SPORTS D l'l IO IO N BY D. BELL There is a program based in inner northeast Portland that is geared to as sisting unemployed individuals prepare for the job market and help them find employment. Steps to Success evolved out of legislation from both the federal and state level; (1) The Family Support Act passed by Congress (2) and instituted by the State of Oregon in East Multnomah County in 1990. The program is designed to reduce the number of clients in the welfare system. Participants arc referred by Adult and Family Services. The Steps to Success program is broken into two components I l l CLASSIFIEDS/BIDS..................................................... PAGE 10 sion,” Bogle said. To get more minor ity firms involved in City contracts, he has established a committee to come up with some short term solutions. “A report is scheduled for release this week,” Bogle said. Bogle pointed to other efforts now underway to increase minority partici pation. One plan is to fund a feasibility study to see if a disparity study can be undertaken. “This will involve a num ber of agencies such as Multnomah County, the School District and the Port of Portland,” Bogle said. Because of the Supreme Court’s historic Croson v. City of Richmond ruling, which requires jurisdictions to provide direct evidence of past dis crimination in order to justify remedial race-conscious programs, many cities across the nation has conducted dispar ity studies. The cost of such studies arc wide ranging. For instance, the City of Atlanta paid $527,000 for an eight volume, 1128-page study which was completed in July, 1990. Many critics of the City's approach claim that both state and local officials have engaged in a form of foot drag ging. Efforts now being made are viewed as late at best, while other jurisdictions have conducted studies and passed new set aside ordinances for MBEs, no state or local govern mental entity in Oregon has seen fit to do so. NAMCO has been the major critic of Bogle and the other members of the City Council, and has charged that they engage in a form of institutionalized racism. Bogle was presented with a list of questions to which his responses R were met with mixed reactions. Among them was the making of a distinction between the various categories of com panies collectively referred to as mi nority. One NAMCO member pointed out that African-Americans were under represented in terms of receiving city contracts. The charge was made that prime contractors play favoritism to certain other racial groups and women at the African-American expense. “The programs were fought for by us, devel oped for us, but every other minority but us have benefitted ... once again we’re outside starting all over again,” the member said. Bogle promised to look into these allegations, saying that he is in favor of all minorities getting their fair share of work. He would provide statistical data based on race at a later meeting. Another step is being taken to fa cilitate an increase in minority con tracting is the creation of the position of a minority business advocate. Accord ing to Bogle, “The advocate will have duties and responsibilities governing city-wide purchasing and contracting activities.” The advocate position was funded for $40,000 and will be filled as early as July of this year. Citing his major accomplishments over his two term tenure in office, the incumbent Bogle presented an impres sive list of projects he either initiated or actively endorsed which benefitted North and Northeast Portland residents. But many in the audience seemed to be silently harmonizing the words from the popular tunc, “What Have You Done For Me Lately?” 250 Women’s Residential Center Accepts Children in Residence Volunteers o f America Oregon announces a new program element en abling young children to live in resi dence with their mothers who are in treatment at the Women’s Residential Center (WRC). This new element is a result o f the program’s restructuring to provide a stronger focus on substance abuse issues, women’s issues, and crim i- nality. The WRC is a six month residen - tial alcohol and drug treatment program for non-violent women offenders. The women are referred to the program through the corrections system. Com m issioner Gladys McCoy spoke at a press conference announcing the new element on March 23. “Volun teers of America’s Women’s Residen tial Center is noteworthy because it is able to serve women and their young children. The curriculum emphasizes family issues and parenting skills,” said Commissioner McCoy. “This is impor tant to me because it is consistent with my priority to assure public safety, at the same time we are working to meet the needs of families.” The family element is regarded as significant to the program directors because many of the women who enter the program face losing custody of their children while in treatment. The women who participate in the program receive parenting training and learn how to develop healthy bonds with their chil dren. “The program now addresses spe cific needs of women. W e’re combin ing what we know about substance abuse and criminality with a women’s em powerment model. It is a holistic ap proach which addresses the women’s behavior and gives them the resources they need to recover from alcohol and drug addictions,” said Barb Sussex, Program Director. Volunteers of America is a nation wide social service organization with branches in over200communities. Vol unteers of America Oregon, Inc., serves the community through child care, fam - ily preservation programs, a shelter for homeless women with children, a se nior center, senior health clinic, adult day care program, residential facilities for adult felons, a sheltci for homeless adolescent girls, and a Christmas Assis tance Program. Worthy Wage Day Parade and Rally At 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, child care workers, parents and chil dren will gather at Pioneer Courthouse Square before parading through down town Portland to call for “worthy wages for worthy work.” The parade, and the noon hour rally in the Portland State Park Blocks that will follow, is part of the Worthy Wage Campaign, a national effort to improve child care by focusing attention on the dismal conditions un der which child care providers work. For more information about the Worthy Wage Campaign, contact Dr. Lynn Robertson at 236-0180. Steps to Success The first, Career & Life Planning is geared for those who may lack previous work experience. The focus of this approach is both personal development and career as sessment. It is designed to help partici pants look at their barriers and develop strategics to work through them. Topics include assertiveness, prob lem solving, values clarification, stress management, parenting, and time man agement. The career assessment piece includes career testing, informational interviews, and usage of the computer ized career information system. The following phase to this cur riculum is the ABE/GED which offers adult basic education, or general edu cation services. From there the student 4 • - -*• -1 maybe placed in the work experience phase in which they would do volunteer work in preparation for the work force. After completing the prescribed cur riculum the student is placed in place ment job club to seek employment with assistance of the Steps to Success facil ity. The other Step to Success compo nent is career focus. This is a fast track program designed for those who have prior work experience. Many of the ser vices arc sim ilar to career planning, adult basic education, GED, and work experi ence. However, the duration is shorter between intake and job placement. Since the Northeast Steps to Suc cess has opened in October 1990, Direc tor Connie Carley said that more than 500 students have been served by the agency. They have served 223 people, with 15% male and 85% female, since July of 1991. There is a 60% retention rate after 90 days for students placed in jobs. The average wage for those who find a job is $6.41 per hour. Carley states that volunteers are needed to help students, especially in the area of math. Carley observed that under the cur rent conditions those that live in poverty are threatened by government cutbacks that are results of Measure 5. Such ac tions curtail the ability of those who are motivated enough to pursue higher lev els in their quality of life. Continued on page 3
