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April 1,1992... I ne Portland Ubserver...Page 7
Family Nursery Opens
Doors for At-Risk Families
Opening ceremony and press con
ference for Volunteers of America Fam
ily Nursery, Portland’s first program
created as an early intervention for at-
risk families and an abuse and neglect
prevention project.
Speakers at the opening ceremony
will be VOA Board Chairman, Tom
K e lly ; fo rm e r G o v e rn o r N eil
G oldsch m id t; M ultnom ah C ounty
C hildren’s Services Division Regional
Director, Kay Toran; and parents from
the successful Eugene Relief Nursery
Program.
DATE: April 7 ,1 9 9 2
Time: 10:30 a.m.
The Family Nursery is located ad
jacent to the VOA Day Care Center at
S.E. Eighth Street between Ash and
Pine.
The Family Nursery is a free pro
gram created as an early intervention
program for at-risk families which aims
to prevent abuse and neglect. The Fam
ily Nursery emphasizes parenting skills
that strengthen families by offering the
opportunity to learn how to better iden
tify and work through problems before
they become unmanageable. Develop-
mentally appropriate, respite childcare
and pre-school opportunities will also
be available to infants, toddlers and
preschoolers.
The program goal is to keep fami
lie s to g e th e r and to sto p the
intcrgenerational cycle of abuse and
neglect. To accomplish this goal the
program takesa holistic approach, pro
viding a positive and nurturing atm o
sphere for parents and their children.
The children arc given a sense of love
and order as part of the preschool
programs, while parents learn new pa
renting skills designed to improve their
relationship with their children and
prevent child abuse and neglect. The
Family Nursery will also provide out
reach and education to the community
about the nature of abuse and neglect
in families.
The Family Nursery receives sup
port from the U.S. D epartment of
Health and Human Services Crisis
Nursery Program, the Oregon State
Children's Services Division, the Vol
unteers of America Endowment Fund,
the Collins Foundation, the U.S. W est
Foundation, the VISTA Program, O r
egon Children’s Foundations and vol
unteers.
Portland Housing Center
Offers Classes
The Portland Housing Center is
pleased to announce the offering of a
four-class course entitled “The How-
Tos of Home Ownership,” on Tuesday
nights, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m ., in the cafeteria
ofBinnsm ead Middle School, 2225 S.E.
87th. In addition, a W ednesday evening
series will be offered in the month of
May at W hitaker Middle School
The course is designed to help
people wanting to buy their first house.
The four classes will address the topics
of: 1) m anaging family finances so you
can buy and maintain a house; 2) how to
go about buying a house; 3) tips on
picking the right house; and 4) how to
take care of that new house.
Classes are open on a first-come
first-serve basis and are free of charge.
Preregistration forms and class infor
mation flyers are available by calling
the Portland Housing Center at 282-
7744. Enrollment is limited to 50 people
per class. Preregistration is required
through the Housing Center due to the
popularity of the classes.
The Portland Housing Center works
with low and moderate income house
holds to assist them in purchasing a
home. The Housing Center classes are
required for qualified participants seek
ing down payment grants of up to 1 % of
the total purchase price. Qualified par
ticipants must also meet income guide
lines and be buying a house at $49,000
or less.
Small Employers Health
Insurance Plan Completed
M ost of O regon’s small employers
will have guaranteed access to a group
health insurance plan by the end of the
year.
The state’s Small Em ployer Carrier
Advisory Committee (SECAC) has com
pleted design of the basic benefit plan.
Department o f Insurance and Finance
Director Gary W eeks expects to grant
final approval within a week. A pproxi
mately 300,000 Oregonians work for
affected employers.
The insurance plan was required by
the 1991 Legislature to help end a seri
ous problem for small em ployers-a lack
o f access to group medical insurance.
The package completed by the com m it
tee may be purchased by any company
em ploying three to 25 eligible em ploy
ees from any health insurance earner
serving that market. The basic plan ben
efits are “substantially sim ilar” to the
priority list of benefits created lo r
O regon’s proposed Medicaid reform.
Preventative care received priority.
The law also reforms the marketing
o f any group health insurance plan sold
in the “three to 25” market. No indi
vidual may be excluded due to a new
health problem , coverage of a pre-exist
ing condition can only be restricted for
six months, pregnancy cannot be con
sidered a pre-existing condition, and the
law controls premium rates.
W eeks said, “I ’m very pleased that
the barriers to small employers purchas
ing this badly needed benefit are finally
falling.” He thanked SECAC members
“for completing the extremely difficult
task of presenting a plan that is both
accessible and affordable. It’s my hope
that the premium will be near $100 per
month for each covered em ployee.” The
basic plan should be on the market in the
fourth quarter of 1992.
The com m ittee completed most of
the plan in February, then met again
today to add benefits. The added ben
efits inc 1 ude outpatient prescription drugs
and additional preventative dental and
vision care for children. Barney Speight,
Vice President, Policy & Development,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oregon,
chaired SECAC.
The sm all em ployer package is a
key com ponent of the Oregon Health
Plan which would extend medical cov
erage to the vast majority o f the state’s
citizens over the next three years. (Note:
Affected em ployers don’t have to pur
chase the insurance at this time. M anda
tory health insurance for all Oregon
employers is not scheduled until July of
1995.)
UNJONzAVENtlE<
/
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LORRAINE HLAVINKA
All Types of Auto Plate and Window Glass
Storm Doors and Windows
4709 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97211
Phone 249-5886
Woman-Owned
Running on Empties:
Oregon’s Bottle Bill Turns 20
“ If there’s any great fault to the
Bottle Bill today,” says Jerry Powell,
publisher of the Portland-based maga
zine Resource Recycling, “ it’s that law
makers haven’t had the guts to change it
to expand and adjust to the times.” U p
dated bottle bills died before passage by
both the 1987 and the 1989 legislative
assemblies.
On the other hand, the Bottle Bill
remains successful enough that it has the
potential to stifle other recycling efforts.
Private recycling companies stay in
business by selling their collected m ate
rials to package manufacturers. Yet many
producers still prefer to use so-called
“virgin” materials for their products,
creating a recycling glut and depressing
prices.
Aluminum commands the highest
price on the recycling market, but the
Bottle Bill removes lucrative pop and
beer cans from re c y c le rs’ revenue
streams.
To help increase demand for re
cycled materials, the 1991 Legislature
passed a law requiring half of O regon’s
garbage to be recycled by the end o f the
decade. The measure also mandates a
higher proportion of recycled materials
in packaging.
“ It’s not just a simple m atter of
picking up the materials,” explains law
maker Cease. “The question is. W hat do
you do with them all?”
It was the perfect law for 1972.
Oregon’s Bottle BilP’became thestate’s
■egional mythology .’’writes Brent Waith
in the Spring 1992 issue of Old Oregon,
ihe University of Oregon’s magazine of
ideas.
But as the Bottle Bill, the first in the
nation, turns 20 th is year, have the times
passed it by?
“The question today,” says state
Sen. Ron Cease, D-Portland, a leading
environmentalist in the Oregon Legisla
ture, “is does it really help us increase
recycling, or does it hurt us?”
On the face of it, the Bottle Bill
appears to be a stunning success. By the
end o f the 1980s, Oregonians were pay
ing nickle deposits on more than 1 bil
lion beverage containers annually.
“ States that rely on recycling alone
see only about 50 percent of the bottles
and cans come back in,” says Peter
Spendelow, a recycling specialist for
theO regon Department of Environm en
tal Quality. “ In Oregon, we see a return
rate o f 93 percen t-in some areas, 100
percent.”
Not all beverage containers qualify
for deposits, however.
Twenty years ago, lawmakers never
considered the growing number of bottles
and cans used for beverages other than
soft drinks: wine coolers .mineral water
and juices. Y et those containers now are
showing up as the litter Oregon hoped to
tam p out.
_____________________ -
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Space is lim ited, Call by 4 /8 /9 2
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C h iklrcn 9 a n d under m u « be
accom panied by an adult
SPONSORED BY:
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ostiOPAiMic
.«n.z-Ai
' M E D IC A I
FO U N D A T IO N
Twenty-five of Portland’s prem icr
chefs, 12 local wineries, two micro
breweries and a master espresso maker
blended their talents to fight hunger in
Oregon on Monday, March 30, at the
Portland Center for the Performing
A rts(PCPA ).
This event came at a particularly
important time as Oregon Food Bank
and many social service organizations
throughout the state focuses on the
needs o f individuals and families who
are struggling with a tightening O r
egon economy. Emergency food box
agencies throughout the state report
that approximately half the people re
ceiving assistance are children, and
the numbers are increasing as eco
nomic conditions for many families
worsen.
Students Again Enrolling In Record-
High Numbers at PCC’s Campuses
Spring term 1992 classes began
Monday, March 30 at Portland C om
munity College.
Enrollment figures for spring term
at PCC again show a strong increase
over the same time last year.
As of March 23, a week before
classes began and two days prior to
open registration March 25, enrollment
figures are 21 percent greater than the
same time last year.
“Students are registering forclasses
earlier, ensuring that they will have a
seat,” said Susan Bach, director of In
stitutional Research.
“ My sense is that current figures
will drop somewhat as we get closer to
the beginning of the term. However, the
growth pattern for spring is very similar
to what we experienced w i nter term and
I expect that it will stabilize at about
eight to ten percent over the prior spring
term.
“Based on these figures, we are
estimating a five-year increase of 30-35
percent,” Bach added.
As of March 23, students enrolling
in lower division transfer courses have
pushed up the enrollment 27 percent
over the same time last year.
As of March 23, growth on indi
vidual campuses in the PCC district,
which covers five counties and 1,500
square miles, ranges from a 9.9 percent
increase in enrollment to a 46 percent
increase.
Sylvania C am pus in southw est
Portland has enrolled 8,743 students, a
23 percent increase over the same time
last year. Rock Creek Campus in W ash
ington County has also seen a 23 p er
cent jum p, from 2,780 students to 3,421
students. Cascade Campus has seen the
greatest enrollment surge—46 percent.
Student enrollment at the Cascade C am
pus in north Portland has increased
from 1,148 spring term last year to
1,682 this year. Non-traditional offer
ings through PC C ’s Open Campus, held
in numerous locations throughout the
Portland-metro area, has enrolled 9.9
percent more students in 1992 when
compared with the same time spring
term 1991.
March 25, the first day o f open
registration, “Students began queuing
up about 6:30 a.m .,” said Jeanine
L ofton-H endrix, assistant registrar.
“This morning there are lines at all
three campuses. The Sylvania Campus
registration line is taking students out
the doors andback into the parking l o t ”
•x- *
Sg
The Eighth
Oregon Black
Political Convention
'Today’s Leaders Preparing Leaders fo r Tomorrow'
r
___
C EASTM O RELAND
hospital
April 11-12, 1992
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel
14811 Kruse Oaks Blvd. • Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
3 LOCATIONS:
Mount Scott Elementary School
11201 SE Stevens Road
•Ockley Green Middle School
6031 N Montana
• Reedwood Friends Church
y______ 2901 SE Steele_______ z
youth groups o f
Mallory and Piedmont
Church of Christ
Proceeds go
tow ards youth
attending regional
youth conference
p re se n ts
1st A nnual Fashion Show Fundraiser
RivcrPlacc
"Fashion Safari"
An Ethnic Experience
A Visual Trip Through The World of
Dhisi____
African American
Fashions
Dow ntow n's W aterfront N eighborhood
FIRST MONTH FREE RENT*
BRAND NEW APARTMENTS WITH RIVER VIEWS,
CITY VIEWS, AND GARDEN VIEWS.
, ’ First month free rent with 1 year lease
1 BEDROOMS FROM $680
1 BEDROOM + STUDY FROM $805
2 BEDROOMS FROM $975
Secured garage parking included in rent
Easy mo»e-m: Credit check and deposit.
l AO N. K illin g s ^ o r th Street
P ortland. O regon 9 ~ 2 r - 2 -199
Phone (503) 2H5-1976 l ax (5<>3) ¿«3-1979
Chefs and other participants in
C hefs’ N ight Out hoped to raise money
and awareness to combat this prob
lem. Proceeds from this year’s event
will benefit several hunger-relief agen
cies in O regon—Oregon Food Bank
and two o f its regional food banks
(Klamath/Lake Counties Food Bank
and CAPECO, serving G illiam, M or
row and Umatilla counties, and St.
Vincent de Paul’s Foodtrain program,
which collects perishable and prepared
food from Portland restaurants, cater
ers, bakeries and groceries and then
distributes that food to agencies assist
ing hungry individuals and families.
Twenty percent of event proceeds will
be distributed by the national sponsor,
Share our Strength (SOS), to agencies
fighting hunger world-wide.
It's F U N ! I t s FREE!
SATURDAY, A P R IL 11
9 am to 1 :3 0 pm
At KID SAFE, children have
serious fun learning safety
skills that m ight help save a
life. Hands-on classes in:
CPR; Babysitting; Fire Safety;
First Aid. Poison Prevention;
Making Emergency Calls;
Electrical Safety; Traffic
Safety; Drug & Alcohol
Awareness; &
Personal Safety.
Lunch avarlabte
Fifth Annual "Chefs’ Night Out" to Benefit Hunger-Relief Agencies
Ih e he alth and safety education program
for kids ages 4 to I 2
6TH ANNUAL
K
Top Portland Chefs Add Important
Ingredient to Fight Against Hunger
>en Daily at SW Montgomery anti SW Harbor Way
Mon - F ri 9 AM to 5 PM
Sat & Sun, Noon to 4 PM
Cornerstone
(503) 228-1800 Residential
Saturday,
April 25th
8PM
W hittaker
Middle
School
42nd &
Killingsworth
Donation: $10.00
Contact: W anda at ¿«H1O92
o r Dwayne at ¿19-0193
P e r f o r m a n c e by:
T h e A fric a n
A m e rica n B a llet
Reception
to Follow
Door Prizes