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V olum n XXII, Num ber 41
Rlober 7,1992
‘The Eyes and Ears of the Community’
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M r« ;. F r a n c e s S c b c - e n - N e w s n a o e r
U n iv e r s ity o f O re n o n L x b r
E u n e n e , Or en o n
Photos by Veronica Green
a year ago - no contract, and no chance
of making this year’s team, some say. I
think The Packman will play this year in
the NBA. I hope it will be in Portland.
The Trail Blazers need people like Pack
in their organization. Her is definitely a
breath o f fresh air, and a blue collar
worker, if you will. But most important,
he’s a quality person, and one the Blaz­
ers need as much off the court as on.
I hope the kind of person robert is
stands for something. Giving som e­
thing back is very important to P ack. He
demonstrated this in the summer when
he put on a basketball camp at Benson
High School. Many o f the kids from
North and Northeast Portland partici­
pated in the cam p free o f charge. B e­
cause these kids could not afford to pay
the fee to participate in the camp, R ob­
ert made room for them anyway.
These are the things most people
never hear about - the good things
that pros like Pack do for youths.
Pack’s grade for me is A+; and there
is no higher mark you can gel.
We are blessed to have him here
in Portland. 1 hope the Blazers will
realize the importance one man can
be to their team, and somehow find a
way to get The Packman back in a
Blazer uniform this year and for many
years to come.
MYCAP Banquet Honors
Youth, Focuses On Unity
BY TONY WASHINGTON
The business shingle that hangs
over the entrance o f M YCAP contains
Good E nough.”
The phrase represents the motive
and spirit o f staff, board members,
m entors and the collective volunteer
force o f the M Y CA P organization. The
phrase com es from one o f the last
speeches given by Col. M cNair, the
first African am erican in space. The
excerpt is from acom m encem ent speech
to a class o f graduating seniors.
Said Sam Pierce, M Y C A P’s Ex­
ecutive D irector and Co-founder, “I
was trying to find a phrase that would
consistently remind us o f why we were
here and to keep us on track.” Col.
McNair, along with six other astronauts
were killed in 198 when their space­
ship, Challenger, exploded during take
off. Pierce continues, “but since Col.
M cN air’s death, the phrase has com e to
have a double meaning, along with the
phrase acting as an inspiration, it is also
a m emorial to an African American
astronautical hero who overcam e great
odds to fulfill his dream .”
Honoring those who have worked
very hard to fulfill their dream is the
primary focus o f M Y CA P’s First An-
nual Banquet and Awards Dinner being
held at the Oregon Convention Center,
S aturday Oc tober 17 th at 6:00 p. m . The
banquet and awards dinner will honor
youth from several programs that work
with gang impacted youth. The pro­
grams include MYCAP, Portland House
of Umoja, Maclarcn School, Portland
Youth Redirection, Yaun, and others.
Thus the theme o f the banquet is: “A
Celebration of Youth, Unity, Family
and Community."
“We want to take this opportunity
to honor those young men whose ex­
ample says clearly that it is possible to
get out o f gangs and lead a productive
life. In addition, we want to honor other
organizations and community leaders
P>
25*
Clarification From The
Vernon Neighborhood
Association On The
National Guard’s
Support In N.E. Portland
Giving Something Back
BY JOHN PHILLIPS
On Sunday afternoon at the M id­
way Shopping Center located at S.E.
122nd and Division in Portland, a
young man sat behind a table signing
autographs for five dollars apiece. At
the end o f two hours, the young man
had m ade over nine hundred dollars.
But the money did not go into his
pocket; all the proceeds from this af­
ternoon o f autographing were donated
to Portland Saints Basketball, Inc., a
nonprofit organization made up o f
women who play basketball in the
Amateur Athletic Union o f the United
States.
This young man was Robert Pack,
“The Packm an” for the Portland Trail
Blazers, pack, a 6-foot-2, 180 pound
guard from New O rleans, Louisiana,
has not signed a new contract for the
upcoming season, which puts his bas­
ketball future in limbo. All of this did
not stop him from smiling and talking
to basketball fans from 5 to 95 years o f
age.
W ith a degree from the U niver­
sity o f southern California in 1991,
pack has som ething to fall back on, but
his love is on the basketball court.
He was discovered by the Blazers
during the Southern California sum ­
mer basketball league for free agents.
No one could see him making the team
with so many odds against him, but not
Pack. By working harder than any one
in the training cam p, he caught the eye
o f the coach and made the team. The
rest is history for pack, who averaged
4.6 points per game, 1.9 assists and
12.4 m inutes per gam e in 72 games
last year.
Now he is right back were he was
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who have been an advocate for youth,”
says Pierce.
However, MYCAP does not view
the banquet solely as a MYCAP func­
tion, but an opportunity to demonstrate
the unity and cooperation between the
various groups that are working with
this population of youth. Some other
organizations participating in the event
are: Christian Women Against Crime,
Gang Enforcement Team, Gang R e­
source Intervention Team, Gang Strike
Force, Give Us This Day, Juvenile
Justice’s Street Law, House o f Umoja,
Mallory Avenue Church’s Night Court,
One Church One Child, Pordand Orga­
nizing Project, Portland Y outh Redirec­
tions, the Y M CA ’s Midnight Basket­
ball program and Youth Gang Task
Force. These organizations will be joined
by such standard bearers as the Albina
Youth Opportun ity School, Lentz Learn­
ing Center, Mainstream Youth Program,
Portland Opportunities Industrialization
Center, Portland Urban League, Private
Industry council, Self-Enhancement and
Yaun Child Care Center.
Concludes Pierce, “W e have al­
ways espoused that we arc only a part of
the solution. It does indeed takesa whole
village to raise a child. The above orga­
nizations have a role in that village.”
Residents o f Vemon Neighbor­
hood have once again experienced the
violence in our streets that has resulted
in an o th e r C asu alty and several
wounded. Many o f these citizens feel
as if they too are casualties. Like the
“walking wounded, the men, women
and children who live on and around
N.E. 18th A ve. bear the emotional and
psychological scars brought on by regu­
lar gunfire and the accompanying vio­
lence itgenerates. Imagine being awak­
ened in the middle of the night by
gunfire and being too afraid to walk
downstairs in your own home to call
for help. How many gunshots would
you have to hear before you so desen­
sitized to the sounds that when you
hear loud shots in the middle o f the
night that you roll over and go back to
sleep? How many o f us have had to lay
on the floorof our homes regularly and
pray that whatever is happening out­
side o f your yard did not result in
injury or death to you or one of your
family members? These are some of
the stories o f the citizens who live on
N.E. 18th Ave.
Unfortunately, the constant vio­
lence that has disrupted the lives o f
people on N.E. 18th Ave. is not iso­
lated to the Vemon Neighborhood.
Throughout the city similar stories of
fear are being told.
C itizens are com paring their
neighborhoods to “ war zones.” The
Exec uti ve Board of the Vemon Neigh­
borhood Association has unanimously
decided to request that Gov. Roberts
dispatch the National Guard to per­
form ancillary duties to support the
work of the Pordand Police Depart­
ment. This request is consistent with a
similar call made several years ago as
a follow-up to the “Rescue Plan For A
Community Under A ttack,” which
outlined specific measures that needed
to be taken in heavily drug and gang
impacted neighborhoods.
Specifically, step 2 in the plan
stated:
“ Utilize the National Guard in
patrolling target area streets and identi­
fied hot spots throughout the com m u­
nity. Coordinate G uard efforts with
police “Cold Taps” and planned sweeps.
The following steps should be taken
with the Guard:
A. National Guard placed on active
duty
B The Guard used for surveillance,
perimeter security, transporting prison­
ers, patrols, drug house sweeps, curfew
sweeps.”
We believe that the police will
continue to work very hard to address
the issues o f crime with the lim ited
resources they have available to them.
We urge Mayor d a rk to support our call
for the Guard and to work in cor ju n c ­
tion with the City Council to allocate
additional resources to the Police B u­
reau so that they can increase their
visibility in these areas.
W e encourage citizens to actively
participate in helping the police to re ­
spond to the problems by continuing to
report illegal and suspicious activities.
Neighborwatches should be quickly o r­
ganized. Schools and law enforcem ent
need to look at how they enforce tru ­
ancy laws.
Finally, a word o f concern about
the media coverage o f the violence and
tragedies that result from it. Media does
a disservice to all of us when they
sensationalize and glorify those who
perpetrate violence. By allowing indi­
viduals to openly and profanely make
direct threats the media becomes irre­
sponsible and incendiary. We urge you
to give more thought to the im p a c your
reporting may have so that you do not
become a part of the problem. We are
looking for solutions and we need the
support o f citizens, law enforcement,
the government, and the media.
In closing I would like to add that
the theme o f tonight’s rally at V ancou­
ver Ave. Baptist Church is appropriate,
“ Hope and Hard W ork.” We believe
that if we continue to work hard we can
improve the quality of life in Northeast
and the entire city of Portland.
Coats For Kids
Drive On The Wey
People cleaning their closets for Fall
can now put their old coats to good use by
participating in The Salvation A rm y’s
sixth annual Coats For Kids Drive.
Used coats can be taken to one o f
fifty dry cleaners in the Portland metro­
politan area between October 1 and 31.
The dry cleaners will collect, clean, press,
bag and deliver the coats to The Salva­
tion Army.
The Salvation Army will give the
coats to low-income children through
A
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five family services offices, the M oore
Street Community Center in North Port­
land and the Greenhouse Center for street
children.
The campaign is sponsored by the
Oregon Dry Cleaners’ Association, KXL
radio and Katu television.
People wishing to donate a coat
should look for the Coats For K ids sign
in their neighborhood dry c le a n c ’s w in­
dow or call The Salvation Army at 234-
0825.
U
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Portland Observer Special Issue
Starting on page 11
ilumenauer Calls Far Neighborhood Public Safety Stations
C ity c o m m issio n e r E arl B lu ­
m enauer is urging a group o f citizens
exam ining Fire Bureau operations to
consider transforming fire stations and
police precinct buildings into neigh­
borhood public safety centers.
" I t’s time to take a fresh look at the
need for independent fire and police
stations,” says Blumenauer. “I believe
we could deliver more service at less
cost if we put all o f our public safety
services in one neighborhood center.”
Blumenauer spoke this week to the
Fire Study Committee, and indepen­
*«
r i '’ .
<
I
dent group of 16 citizens appointed by
the City Council to exam ine the opera­
tions of the Fire Bureau. The group is
working with a team o f consultants who
are preparing a three-part report. The
first part studied existing fire opera­
tions, the next part will consider future
alternatives.
“The first phase o f your report
confirmed what I’ve seen for m yself
during my six years on city C ouncil,”
Blumenauer told the groupon W ednes­
day. “Our Fire Bureau has been on the
cutting edge of fire prevention and sup­
pression efforts. I’m proud of that, and
I support it.”
Blumenauer said creating neigh­
borhood public safety centers would
not require closing existing fire stations
or police precinct buildings. “ As we
remodel existing stations or build new
ones, we could transform them into
public safety centers. Besides fire and
com m unity policing services, w ccould
also add fire and crime prevention pro­
gram s, citizen foot patrols and block
watch program s.”
“There arc two other key areas I
5
think you should address in the second
phase o f your report,” said Blumenauer.
" F irst we need a full public discussion
about personal responsibility in fire
prevention and tougher laws for reck­
less behavior that causes fire. We should
also examine safer construction stan­
dards and their cost to the private prop­
erty owner versus the benefit to the
community at large if fire damage and
incidents can be reduced.”
“Second, we should discuss how
our community provides emergency
medical services,” said Blumenauer.
“Right now, we may have the w orst o f
both worlds: a fire crew is dispatched to
the scene but a private am bulance is
also called to transport patients. W e
need to bite the bullet here and decide
what is the best system for the people o f
Portland.”
“Our goal should be to deliver the
maximum public safety service we can
to the com m unity,” said Blum enauer.
“ I believe the best way to do this is to
coordinate our com m unity policing and
community fire protection efforts as
much as we can w henever w e can .”