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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1992)
.• >.»<» W< »» n > > »■« « The Eyes and Ears of the Community" Volumn XXII, Number 18 # « V 'r * » » • ♦ *»»■» r ft ♦ ♦ • ♦ • ft V <1 ft Mr a . F r a n . . e s S c h o e n - N e w s p ¿ U n i v( » r s i t y o f O r e g < E ugene 97403 ® je ^fîüri kmh (©hserXr et The Private Industry Council Selects New Program Director Vernarci Taylor Promoted To Direct The Northeast Employment And Training Center Vemard Taylor has been appointed d ire c to r o f T h e P riv a te In d u stry C ouncil’s N ortheast Em ploym ent ad Training Center. Taylor had been a trainer for the council since 1990, working at the cen ter for the past year. Before joining the council, Taylor worked as a facility m onitor and coun selor for Portland Progress House, a residential treatm ent and reform pro gram forex-offenders. He is also expe rienced in the hospitality industry and as a small business owner. Taylor is a graduate o f W arner Pacific College, and is currently involved in graduate studies at Portland State University. “The Northeast Em ploym ent and Training Center provides real opportu nities for the people o f this area to become self-sufficient,” stated Taylor. Services include counseling, job train ing, job referrals, life skills and basic skills training. The center was estab lished in July 1989 to address the needs o f N orth and N ortheast P o rtland’s chronically unem ployed, especially African-American men and W elfare recipients. Many partners help make the cen ter successful. O regon’s Em ploym ent Division, Adult and Family Services, Portland com m unity C ollege, orga nized labor, local em ployers and com munity groups have joined together to provide comprehensive job training ser vices. The Northeast Em ploym ent and Training Center is located at 3034 N.E. Martin Luther King Boulevard (241- 4644). It is an operation of The Private Industry council, a nonprofit organiza tion primarily funded through the fed eral Job T raining P artnership A ct (JTPA). The Private Industry Council operates a variety of em ploym ent and training programs for youth and adults throughout W ashington and M ult nomah Counties. Sabin Neighbors To Reclaim park On Saturday, May 2nd the Sabin community Association and the Sabin community Development corporation will join forces in a community w ork day at the Vernon W atertower Play ground. Neighbors have expressed con cern over misuse o f the playground for illegal or nuisance activities. It is hoped that a facelift will encourage more fam i lies and neighbors to enjoy the play ground and view it in a positive light. Volunteers will paint the play equip ment, do some simple landscaping, and install a bench so that parents can sit and watch their children play. Local n u rse rie s d o n a te d m any c o lo rfu l plantings for this community service effort. Neighborhood organizations lob bied to have signs posted that will close the park late at night. The beautifica tion efforts have been coordinated in cooperation with the Parks Bureau and W ater Bureau. Neighbors will volun teer for a continued maintenance sched ule throughout the summer. The com munity association will continue to work on security concerns in coordination with com m unity policing. Volunteers are encouraged to join in beginning work at 10 am and then celebrating with a potluck picnic at 1 pm. W ear work clothes, bring tools, and plant donations. For more inform a tion, call 284-8870. Blumenauer Expresses Sympathy and Support I want express my sympathy and support for Jacob Johnson, who was attacked and severely beaten last Fri day night. According to news reports, Mr. Johnson — an African American - was assaulted by two white youths who belong to a skinhead group. I have spoken to police C hief Tom Potter and Dr. Darryl Tukufu about the incident. C hief Potter assures me that the Police Bureau will investigate the matter thoroughly and quickly. I have offered my support and services in any way to assure that justice is done. I also have written to Mr. Johnson and his family to express my sorrow and offer my support. Racial violence, hate crim es, and bigotry cannot and will not be tolerated in our city. This outrageous attack was a tragedy not only for Mr. Johnson and his family, but for all Portlanders. News In Brief Free Children’s Vision Screenings Set O regon4 -year-olds can receive free tests for lazy eye, an eye condition that can affect a child’s ability to learn easily in school. Doctors of the Oregon Optometric A ssociation will provide the diagnostic tests the week of May 11-15. Parents can be referred to a nearby participating optometrist by calling 654-5036 in Port land, or toll-free, 1 -800-922-2045 state wide. Calls m ust be m ade by April 27. The 15-minute screenings test for la z y eye, or am blyopia, and preschool vision readiness skills. Lazy eye devel ops when one eye doesn ’ t carry its share o f the vision load. The eye may appear to be normal or may accompany crossed eyes. Parents, pediatricians and the chil dren themselves may not notice that anything is wrong. Full recovery is possible with early treatment. If am blyopia is detected dur ing the optom etric screening, the child can com plete treatm ent before entering school. Gov. Roberts has declared May 11-15 as C hildren’s Vision W eek. Jefferson High Student Awarded NACME and NASA Scholarships International ja z z great, TO M GRANT, returns to his alma mater, U.S. Grant High School. The G rant High Alumni A ssocia tion is sponsoring this event for the benefit o f the students and faculty of Grant High. Tom Grant, class o f 1964, has just released his 10th album entitled In M y W ildest D ream s. This follows his last year’s Edge of the W o rld , which hit the #2 spot on the R&R charts and “Top 10” on Billboard. Plan to spend an evening with Tom and hear his strongest and most com pel ling music to date. “ I want people to walk away feel ing good and with the lyrics still playing in their heads after hearing this,” says Tom Grant. Tom G rant Band Concert U.S. Grant High School 2245 N E . 36th Avenue Thursday - May 21st - 7:30 p.m. $10.00 tickets available at Fred Meyer Music Dept. Jefferson High School student Sekou Craw ford, has been selected to receive a $1,000 TechForce National Action Council for M inorities in Engi neering (NACME) Scholarship. The scholarship money will go toward the first year o f undergraduate study at an engineering program o f his choice. This prestigious aw ard is presented to students w ho are com m itted to purs ing undergraduate degrees in engineer ing, have excelled in mathem atics and sciences, and have dem onstrated com m itm ent to their communities. Craw ford will be presented with the scholarship on June 5 at FORUM ’92, N A C M E ’s annual conference in New O rleans, Louisiana. Additionally, Craw ford has been awarded a full academic scholarship at M orehouse College in Atlanta, G eor gia. This scholarship is provided by National Aeronautical Space Adm inis tration (NASA) for aeronautical engi neering. As part o f this scholarship package, NASA will employ Crawford each sum m er until graduation from college. News 2 & 3, 5 & 6 Arkansas Club Easter 4 Entertainment 7 Blazer Prediction 8 Religion 9 Campaign '92 10 Homes Wanted 11 & 12 Classifieds Page 13 & 14 Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Center for Community Mental Health BY D. BELL The Center for Community Mental Health was the outgrowth of one m an’s effort to pro v ide fam ily services to mem bers of N orth/N ortheast Portland. In 1972 O cieTrotter received funding un der the auspices o f the Lutheran Family Counseling Services. Lutheran Family Counseling Services had contracted to meet the needs of both southeast and northeast Portland. The funding awarded to Trotter was an effort to fulfill that com m itm ent. The original arrangem ent included Trotter and a half-time secretary in a little house on Stanton and Rodney. In 1974 the agency m oved to its present location on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Holman. In 1974 the agency also began con tracting with the state/county mental health system for children and family services. Also, it was during 1974 that the agency, with the help o f corporate and private donors, began the purchase of the house on M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd., which now serves as its adm inis tration office. O cie Trotter resigned in August o f 1979 and the present director Nate Nickerson started in O ctober o f the same year. The Center for Com m unity Mental Health operates four m ental health ori ented programs. The Child and Family Services has two com ponents, each spe cifically designed to accom m odate its clients. Regarding children the Center for Community Mental Health is re quired by state guidelines to address the needs o f seriously m entally ill children who are homic idal, suicidal, or at threat o f leaving home or in a slate o f crisis. Consultation occurs with family, or significant others in the child’s life, including casew orkers, teachers and juvenile services. T heagency’sadultprogram serves those who are self-referred or referred by a num ber o f other agencies and facilities in the com m unity. The refer ral sources may include N/N.E. C om munity M ental H ealth Center, and the State Hospital System ,Corrections Di vision, Dept. o f Vocational R ehabili tation, or through the private sector such as physicians and hospitals. The single largest reason for adult referrals is depression, followed by major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and manic depressive illness. O ther problem s include sig nificant behavior disorders, liL crises, and social problem s such as separa tion, divorce, violence in the home, battering, and other forms o f conflict. Clients are helped through a variety of modes such as individual treatment, group therapy, family therapy, skill building groups, etc. The Conquest Center is an adult outpatient program which was the first day treatm ent program for the m en tally ill in Multnomah County. The present site for Conquest is Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Emerson. C lients are referred by a variety o f means, including state hospital or other m ental health agencies and self refer rals. Conquest C enter’s goals are to maintain the chronically m entally ill adults in the com m unity and enhance their daily living skills through a struc tured program. Project for Community Recovery (PCR) evolved as a result of the House o f Exodus no longer being m a position to provide drug and alcohol ueatm ent. The demise o f the House o f Exodus left a vacuum in N/NE Portland in Continued on page 6 Settlement Day Helps People Clear Up Outstanding Warrants Tom Grant Back at Grant Whats Inside... 250 Community Fair Saturday, May 23,1992 G ood things do happen in North/ N ortheast Portland, and we feel the com m unity at large should hear about them. To make this happen, we, Mallory Avenue Christian Church, arc sponsor ing a C om m u n ity F a ir, Saturday, May 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Groups and organizations that are working to make things better will set up displays and tell about their pro grams. Be sure to put this on your calen dar, and be looking for more inform a tion to come! For more information, give us a call: Bob Nelson (287-4050) or W illie Stoudamire (288-5173). Multnomah County has 21,000out standing arrest warrants: warrants is sued as recently as ten days ago or as long as ten years ago. They bog down the court system, cost tax payers money and interfere with people’s ability to get jobs. Many o f the arrest warrants can be cleared up easily if the individual with the out standing warrant would come forward. But individuals have not come forward for a variety o f reasons. Some fear going to jail, some have forgotten about the warrants and some just don’t know the w arrants exist. In an effort to reduce the backlog of outstanding arrest warrants, Multnomah County is holding a Settlement Day on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, 1992. Individuals who want to check on, discuss or clear up their outstanding warrants can do so on Settlement Day without fear of being arrested. They can come to the second floor o f the Justice Center, at 1120 S. W. Third Avenue, and meet with representatives from the M ultnomah County D istrict A ttorney’s office and the M etropolitan Public D efender’s office to discuss their prob lem and possible solutions. There will be no cost to the person for these legal services. If an agreem ent can be made with the D istrict A ttorney’s office the m atter will be disposed o f that day. If not, the individual can still make an appearance before the court that day and have the warrant withdrawn. The m atter will then be scheduled for a regular court hearing. The person will remain free until that hearing, but if he or she fails to appear at that hearing another warrant may be issued. If the person is not satisfied with the D A ’s offer, he or she is free to leave and will not be taken into custody. M atters that can be processed on Settlement day are M ultnomah County warrants for m isdem eanors, warrants for traffic crim es, possession o f lesser am ounts o f co n trolled substances, felony property crim es, failure to com plete a DU1I Diversion Program and failure to make child support. M atters that cannot be handled on Settlem ent Day are probation violations, traffic infractions, (running a red light), park ing tickets, class A or B felonies, or felonies involving assaultive behavior. Nor will it be possible to process w ar rants from outside of M ultnom ah County. Anyone interested in taking ad vantage o f this program is encouraged to call the Public D efender’s office at 273-1351 to register. This is a 24 hour phone number, which will be used dur ing the week of April 27 through May 1, for the exclusive purpose o f Settle ment Day. The Portland Police Bureau has agreed to participate in SettlementDay. “We support this effort. There is a ‘w in’ for everyone. We would rather have people with warrants com e in voluntarily than arrest them on the streets or at their hom es or places of business,” says Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Sgt. Derrick Foxworth. Settlement Day is coordinated by the Volunteer Law yers Project, a non profit organization that links low-in- com e people who have civil legal prob lems with volunteer attorneys who take on the cases at no cost. Volunteer Law yers Project also has special programs for the homeless, people with HIV disease, homeless veterans, people who speak Spanish and people with family law problems. Settlement Day is one of the events taking place during com m u nity Law Week, sponsored by the M ult nomah Bar Association Young Law yers Section. Hunters Set Record At Oregon State Pageant 1992 Kids are greaL but when you sec them excel at the rate these youth have you will be am azed by the desire and w illingness to be the best they can be. On April 26, 1992, the Oregon State Pagcantat the Sheraton Airport Hotel got on the way. It saw 11 young ladies compete for U.S. A. National Miss in four divisions: Petite, Pre-Teen, Teen and Miss. The highlight o f the night saw last year’s National Pre-teen Cham pion, Nikesha Breeze Hunter crown her sister A ry a n n a H u n te r, ag e n in e , from Sherwood, Oregon. It’s the first time sisters have won the division three straight years. It’s also the first time in the Pageant’s history. I guess they join the likes of Pittsburgh Steelers, 49ers, and Lakers in dom inating this division. The Hunter girls are definitely a force and their parents should be proud of them all. The pageant had the girls express their talents in essay, evening wear, and a host of other categories. More in volvem ent is needed, how ever, as I only saw 11 contestants. “ It’s a great le a rn in g e x p e r ie n c e ," e x c la im s V ivienne LaCour, National Director. “ I want to see a lot more kids involved and show the talents. I ’m here for a service to them, and I enjoy my line of w ork.”
