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Page 4..The Portland Observer...November 18, 1992
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We merged with
Washington Mutual
Lighten Up, McKinley!”
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BY PROF. MCKINLEY BURT
Well, that’s what the man said-lhe
reader who complained that my judge
ment on some community leadership
and institutions was too harsh. And add
to that the classic pejorative, “Who
appointed you, anyway?”
My answer to that is, “If it is nec
essary that my commentaries be cleaked
in some type of authority, then, 1 submit
the past 23 years of ’foot work’ in
education, industry and interaction with
federal agencies and with the commu
nity.’’That will cover the period 1969 to
1992. And before that there was what 1
regard as a very productive stretch from
1943 to 1954. My jobs, enterprises and
projects were of such a nature as to
provide a better than average insight
and opportunity for analysis of the ur
ban infrastructure and the underlying
social interactions.
In fact, the words above arc an
almost verbatim quote from the cover
letter of a grant proposal I recently
submitted to a consortium of national
corporations. Please note: I don’t reply
to the standard “R.F.P.s” (Request for
Proposals) churned out by federal bu
reaus and other institutions. I design my
own “requests for funding,” utilizing
the perspectives gained from the “foot-
Robert and Velma Henry
work" I cited earlier—and from a first
hand acquaintance with the struggles or
successes of several generations of many
of the communities black and white
families.
I found it interesting to have to
recall and assign a monetary value to the
many projects I’ve initiated over the
years-not for myself, but for groups in
the community whose efforts and com
mitments I thought to be too valuable to
let flounder for lack of attention and
funding. I stopped with a direct funding
in cash and real estate of close to a hal I -
m illion dollars. And this, of course, does
not include the high-priced technical
personnel I solicited from government
and industry-or the hundreds of jobs I
developed with industry to enable my
students at Portland Slate University to
complete their education (many are still
with those firms as career employees).
Yeah, ol’buddy, I think that I am
entitled and plan to “keep on-keeping
on,” as the saying goes. You see, readers
are telling me that I am already having
some identifiable effect (for instance
the new program for training minority
gang youth in health careers at Provi
dence Hospital). This is a door I opened
for the first time for minority career
training in 1987 (Portland Observer, 8/
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a n v c u rl
26/87).
As
with m
many
such projects I
developed, 1 filled the initial slots with
talented young people from the commu
nity that I felt were not getting the higher
levelofsupportandencouragcmentthey
deserved at the time (Jomo Greenidge:
computerized blood analysis; Byron
Spires: computer systems for hospital
administration). I’m “opening up” a lot
more.
As we see, this is the way to “open
up the process," and it is why 1 will
continue to “Jaw-jerk” about well-
funded institutions (and individuals) that
are only pecking at the surface of our
problems when an effective application
of time and monies could achieve won
ders. And don’t leave out “imagina
tion.” You’ve got to be inventive, and
you’ve got to read a lot of material other
than what you are “told to read!"
To that upset reader who had a
quarrel with my “appointment,” I would
also say this. AU of the things I’ve gotten
done were structured and supported by
my own finances, a half-time salary at
the university and by social security
after retirement. In other words, look at
it this way, “I am a model that says,
given what your organization has, I know
you can do better wherever you are now.
Thank You.”
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Court Affirms Commissioner’s
Decision In Parental Leave Case
; Henrys merged with Washington Mutual when they moved to Seattle in 1972. They
liked our interest rates and the convenience of one stop banking
S ince then, we ve helped them
with their time deposits and IRA and financed the remodeling of their home. The Henrys like
Washington Mutual. And we like them. B eca u se around here, taking care of people - and not
big business - is what we re all about Sound like your kind of bank? T h e n call Washington
Mutual, the friend of the family at 1 800 562 3565.
Merge with Washington Mutual.
I qua1 I lousing l ender “
HDIC Insured
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Smokers
Urged To Quit
For A Day!
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Continued from front page
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Drink lots of liquids but pass up
coffee and alcohol
Tell everyone you’re quitting for
the day
,
When the urge to smoke hits, take
a deep breath, hold it for 10 seconds and
release it slowly
Exercise to relieve tension
Try the “buddy system” and ask a
friend to quit, too
For literature about smoking ces
sation contact the Lane County chapter
of the American Society at 484-2211.
The office at 2350 Oakmont Way, S uite
201, provides free literature on a vari
ety of health/cancer related topics. Hours
are Monday through Friday, 8:00 to
noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
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Who: Gentle Dental.
A locally owned, private-group den
tal practice with 10 office locations
staffed by 44 dentists and specialists.
Gentle Dental is currently in its 14th year
of delivering high-quality, professional
dental care to residents of the Portland-
Vancouver metropolitan area.
What: Gentle Dental Day.
An annual event whereby Gentle
Dental provides free dental treatments
on a one-time basis to people who need
dental care but lack the financial means
to obtain treatment. This day is devoted
expressly to people who do not receive
public assistance and do not have dental
insurance. The free services include ex
aminations, consultations, extractions,
gum and teeth infections, nerve treat
ments, fillings and minor denture repair
For the third consecutive year, Gentle
Dental is fortunate to have Fred Meyer
pharmacies help make this day possible.
C ollectively, through five previous
Gentle Dental Days, Gentle Dental has
served hundreds of needy individuals
and provided more than $250,000 worth
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On Saturday, December 5, Boy
Scouts at all levels will be combing
neighborhoods collecting non-perish
able food in their annual "Scouting for
Food" drive held in conjunction with
the Oregon Food Bank.
Last year nearly 7,000 participat
ing Scouts collected 312,019 pounds of
food, enough to feed 9,000 needy fami
lies. This year, their goal is 325,000
pounds.
Scouts in the 15 counties of North
west Oregon and Southwest Washing
ton that make up the Colúmbia Pacific
Council will be knocking on doors be
tween the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. All
canned goods are welcome especially
nutritious items such as tuna, chunky
soups, stews, meats, fruits, and veg
etables. Donations of peanut butter,
baby formula, and complete packaged
meals are also needed.
Sixth Annual
Gentle Dental Day
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“ Scouting For Food” In Your
Neighborhood Soon
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of dental treatments.
Where: All Gentle Dental Offices in
Portland and Vancouver.
Portland: Clackamas Town Center,
across from Meier & Frank; Cornell
Center, 158th and N.W. Cornell Road;
Eastside,340N.E. 122nd Ave.: Hillsboro,
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at the Sunset Esplanade shopping plaza;
jantzen Beach Center across from
PayLess; Milwaukie M arketplace,
Highway 224 and Oak Street; Tigard,
near W ashington Square at S.W.
Scholls Ferry Road and Nimbus Av
enue. V ancou ver: Cascade Park, 12503
S. E. Mill Plain Blvd.; Hazel Dell,
7725 N. E. Highway 99; Vancouver
Mall, adjacent Meier & Frank.
When; Tuesday, November 24,
1992 (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
Why: To Thank The Community
For The Support And Trust Shown To
Gentle Dental Over The Years.
How: First Come, First Served.
Needy individuals seeking treat
ment may visit any Gentle Dental of
fice where a medical and informa
tional history will be taken. They will
be asked to describe their primary den
tal problem or service requested. Gentle
Dental will then take any necessary X-
rays, do a diagnosis, recommend spe
cific treatment, and with the patient s
approval, perform the treatment. Due
to lime constraints, length, procedures
and non-emergent treatments will be
excluded. For patients whose needs
exceed a one-visit treatment, Gcnde
Dental reserves the right to decline
services. Medical conditions may pre
clude our ability to provide care on
Gentle Dental Day.
Boyd’s Coffee Company will pro
vide 50,000 collection bags for Scouts
to fill and deposit at local fire stations
where Oregon Food Bank drivers will
collect them.
Columbia Pacific Council, Boy
Scouts of America has 41,000 youth
members throughout Northwest Oregon
and Southwest Washington, not includ
ing 12,000 registered adults who serve
as leaders.
They have identified the elimina
tion of hunger as one of their top projects.
The Scouting for Food program is an
effort to do their share in feeding the
hungry in America.
“This is an ideal opportunity for
Scouts to participate in an activity de
signed to help the needy in the commu
nity. This is what Scouting is all about,"
said Douglas S. Smith Jr., Columbia
Pacific Scout executive.
________
ADVERTIS ET
In a decision handed down yester
day by the Oregon Court of Appeals,
the Court upheld Commissioner Rob
erts’ final order In the Matter of PGE,
issued December 28, 1988. In dispute
was the use of paid sick leave during
parental leave. Use of paid sick leave,
especially its usfe by fathers, has been
the subject of considerable debate since
the parental leave law became effective
on January 1,1988. In a split decision,
the court upheld the commissioner’s
order allowing the use of paid sick
leave, finding that an employee is en
titled to use it during parental leave,
even if a collective bargaining agree
ment, employment agreement or com
pany policy require an employee to be
sick to use sick leave.
The case focuses on a civil rights
complaint made by a PGE employee,
Joseph Clague, a service inspector and
member of the International Brother
hood of Electrical Workers, who re
quested 12 weeks of parental leave
when his third child was bom. Clague
parental leave - and make the opportu
nity to stay with a newborn or adopted
chid during those first important weeks
available to both parents.” Roberts
added that the Court of Appeals did not
mention the Attorney General’s 1988
opinion that sick leave was not avail
able to employees, when that opinion
created so much confusion and resis
tance among employers.
The PGE v. BOLl decision affirms
the course of action the bureau has
consistently pursued to settle such pa
rental leave cases,. In an October 13
final order for example, Roberts or
dered the Oregon DepartmentofTrans-
portation to restore an employee’s va
cation leave account which he used in
lieu of sick time and to compensate him
for several days he took without pay,
and to pay him $5,000 in emotional
distress damages. Of the 45 complaints
filed by employees denied parental
leave benefits since 1988, the majority
center on the issue of using accrued
paid sick time during the leave.
asked to use two weeks of accrued
vacation leave, three days of accrued
sick leave available for elective sur
gery and nine weeks and two days of
other accrued sick leave. PGE denied
this request but granted C laguc’s
amended request to lake 10 weeks of
parental leave of which seven weeks
and two days were unpaid. Clague filed
the parental leave complaint with the
bureau on April 1, 1988 charging that
his right to use sick time during paren
tal leave had been violated. In her final
order, Commissioner Roberts awarded
Clague $7862 plus interest to reim
burse him for his sick time and $2000
in compensatory damages for emo
tional distress.
“We are th rille d with the
decision,’’saidCommissioner Roberts.
“It is very important to us. Hopefully it
will put to rest a four-year dispute over
the use of sick time during parental
leave. The bureau’s rules in this matter
reflect the intent of the legislature to
lessen the economic impact of taking
TIPS FOR EASY HOLIDAY SHOPPING
Mervyn’s director of customer information services Bob
Stewart has these tips fpr making holiday shopping as easy as
possible:
* Shop during non-peak hours such as weekday mornings
and weekend evenings.
* Narrow your search for the perfect gift by thinking in
advance about what general type of gift you want to give each
person on your list.
* Once you have a general idea of what you are looking
for, organize your list by gender or gift category, such as
home, foot wear, jewelry, etc., to make it easier to shop for
several gifts at once.
* Don’t wait until the last minute when the pressure is on.
Stewart, who was the first employee hired when Mervyn’s
was founded 43 years ago, has seen enough holiday seasons
to know what he’s talking about. “People lake different
approaches to holiday shopping,” he explains. “Some get
organized and shop with a purpose. Others wait until Christ
mas Eve and go through the store in a race to the finish. After
watching thousands of shoppers, I think being organized
helps you to have more fun and get the best deals because you
know what you’re looking for.”
" Portland Observer encourages our readers to write
letters, to the editor in response to any articles
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