January 1 3 , 1993...The Portland Observer...Page 9
Loan Consolidation Can
Make A Difference For Many
Student Loan Borrowers
Student loan borrowers who are
entering repaym ent in January and are
concerned about their student loan debts
m ay fin d a belated h o lid a y g ift in the
Federal loan C o n solidation Program.
The Federal Loan C onsolidation
Program is designed to help borrowers
w ho have a num ber o f student loans b y
a llo w in g them to com bine th e ir loans
in to one. A n d , effe ctive Jan. 1,1993, the
program o ffe rs borrowers more ben
solidate their loans i f they meet the
m in im u m debt am ount and both agree
to be held lia b le fo r the com bined loan.
• In c o m e -s e n s itiv e re p a y m e n t
terms are available w h ic h tie m o n th ly
paym ent am ounts to a borrower* s earn
ings.
• B orrow ers w h o have defaulted
on th e ir student loans may consolidate
i f they make satisfactory repaym ent
arrangements w ith the holder o f the
efits.
“ F o r m any borrow ers, consolida
tio n can mean the d ifference between
fin a n cia l hard ship and a manageable
debt,” explained Phoebe H ollenbeck,
vice president o f the N orthw est Educa
tio n Loan association (N E L A ), a guar
anty agency that adm inisters the stu
loans.
“ W h ile Loan C o n solidation o ffe rs
m any benefits, there also are certain
draw backs w h ic h borrow ers need to
consider,” H ollenbeck cautioned.
F o r exam ple, interest costs are
higher fo r co n so lid a tio n loans. The
m in im u m interest rate is 9 percent
w h ich m ay be h ig h er than the rate on
the b o rro w e r’ s e xistin g student loans.
dent loan program s in the N orthw est.
Loan C onsolidation allow s b o rro w
ers w ith student loans to ta llin g $7,500
o r m ore to com bine these loans in to a
single debt, m aking loan repaym ent
more manageable. B y co m b in in g sev
eral student loans, borrow ers then make
o n ly one m o n th ly paym ent to on ly one
lender. Loan C onsolidation can also
reduce the am ount o f a b o rro w e r’ s
m o n th ly payments by extending the
repaym ent period fo r as long as 30
years, depending on the size o f the debt.
E ffe c tiv e J a n .l, 1993, Loan C o n
so lid a tio n borrow ers also receive the
fo llo w in g benefits:
• Interest w ill be paid on consolida
tion Loans b y the federal governm ent
du rin g periods when borrow ers q u a lity
to defer th e ir loan payments.
• M a rrie d couples can jo in tly con-
AAA Oregon
Promotes Bicycle
Safety
The A u to m o b ile C lu b o f Oregon
invites K -6 Oregon students to p a rtic i
pate in the 2nd A n n u a l Safety Poster
Contest.
T h is year’ s contest prom otes b i
cycle safety . I n i 990, there were 21,580
deaths and in ju rie s in the U.S. to b ic y
clists between the ages o f 1-14.
The statewide contest includes three
categories, K -2 , 3-4, and 5-6. A ll en
trants w ill receive a A A A O regon
W a tcrb o ttle . Each category w ill have
its ow n 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.
First place finishers w ill receive a M o u n
tain B ike , second place prizes include
R ollerblades, and th ird place finishers
w ill receive a B ic y c le H elm et.
Teachers o f the firs t place finishers
w ill receive a $ 150 g ift c e rtifica te to an
A A A O regon A pproved A ccom m oda
tion.
T he o ve ra ll size o f any poster m ust
either be 18" x 2 4 ” o r 22" x 28". A ll
posters must be illu stra te d on the h o ri
zontal axis o n ly and m ust be packaged
fla t fo r shipping, not ro lle d o r in tubes.
E ntries m ust be postmarked no later
than A p ril 2, 1993.
A A A Oregon encourages Oregon
schools to participate in o u r poster co n
te s t. I f y o u w o u ld lik e m o re
inform ation,please ca ll Scott T h o m p
son at (503) 222-6747 o r 1-800-452-
1643 outside the P ortland m etropolitan
a
r
e
a
. ____________
PORTLAND OBSERVER
’ I7ie Eyes an d Ears o l Ihe C o m m u n tY '
O ff ic e :
(5 0 3 ) 2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
Fax#:
(5 0 3 )2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
In a d d itio n , an extended repaym ent
period also means the b o rro w e r pays
m ore in interest costs.
F or m ore in fo rm a tio n about the
Federal Loa n C o nsolidation Program ,
contact N E L A ’ s to ll-fre e loan repay
ment hodine at 1-800-356-6924. N E L A
s ta ff mem bers can e xp la in the Loan
C onsolidation Program and advise b o r
row ers on the pros and cons o f c o n s o li
dating based on in d iv id u a l c irc u m
stances.
N E L A is a p riv a te , n o n -p ro fit
agency w h ic h guarantees student loans
against d e fa u lt and provides in fo rm a
tio n to borrow ers on a ll aspects o f the
CI m m s Just For
Homeowners
The Portland H ousing C enter is
o ffe rin g a series o f free classes to help
hom eowners m aintain, a ffo rd , and in
crease the liv a b ility o f th e ir home and
neighborhood.
T o d a y, January 13th, a class on
home m aintenance scheduling w ill be
held fro m 6 :30 to 8:30 pm at Portland
C o m m u n ity C o lle g e ’ s Cascade C am
pus at 705 N . K illin g s w o rth , T e rre ll
H a ll, R oom #218. Fred M erchant o f the
P o rtla n d D e ve lo p m e n t C o m m issio n
w ill in s tru c t hom eowners on m ainte
nance issues, in clu d in g how to id e n tify
and plan fo r repair problem s, and when
to hire a professional.
A C reative Landscaping class w ill
begin today also, and w ill meet fo u r
Wednesdays fro m 6:30 to 8:30 pm at
G rant H ig h School, 2245 N E 36th, in
R oom #137. T aught by Doe R isko, a
Landscape D esign A rtis t, this class w ill
explore alternatives to tra d itio n a l lawns
and shrubbery w ith w ater conservation
and lo w m aintenance in m ind.
V a rio u s classes w ill be offered this
W in te r. These classes can be found in
the PCC W in te r catalog in the C o m m u
n ity Education section. R egistration w ill
be taken at the door. C a ll Portland
H ousing Center fo r ad d ition a l class in
fo rm a tio n , 282-7733.
The Portland H ousing Center is a
private, n o n -p ro fit program that p ro
vides inform ation,education , and coun
s e lin g
fo r
hom e
b u y e rs
and
hom eowners. A program o f E cum eni
cal M in is trie s o f O regon, the Portland
H ousing C enter is supported by a part
nership o f private and p u b lic funds.
Federal F a m ily E ducation Loan P ro
gram , fo rm e rly called the Guaranteed
Blood Donor Does The Right Thing... And
Finds Out He’s One In A Million
C harles, “ C h u ck,” Green, C entral
O ffice Technician at U.S. W est C om m u
nications, doesn't th in k he’ s special. In
fact, he describes h im se lf as a “ quiet kin d
o f person.” A nd, even though he’ s given
blood 38 tim es at A m erican Red Cross in
Portland, he’ s never w orn one o f the “ Be
nice to me. I gave blood today" stickers.
He doesn' t w ant a pat on the back, he ju st
feels good about doing the rig h t thing.
The 46-year-old Portland resident
began do in g the rig h t thing by donating
blood when he was in the arm y. In 1986,
Portland’s Red C e ll Reference Labora
tory discovered through mass random
screening that Green has U-negative
blood, a rare blood type found in o n ly one
in 5,000 A fric a n A m ericans. It is non
existent in the w hite population. F o rtu
nately fo r a 13-year-old sickle ce ll ane
m ia patient liv in g in the P acific N o rth
west, ten frozen pints o f G reen’ s blood
helped her make it through m u ltip le
sickle ce ll crises.
T o understand w hy Green is so spe
cial, it helps to know w hy certain blood
types are rarer than others. B lood con
tains red cells and on the surface o f those
cells are protein substances called “ a n ti
gens.” Red cells carry ipany d iffe re n t
antigens. A n d , whether you have a cer
tain blood type depends on whether or
not your red cells have a p a rticular a n ti
gen. T h is is in a d d ition to the A B O
antigens and Rh factor. There are more
than 600 antigens know n today and more
are discovered each year. Less fa m ilia r
antigens, o r antigens that m ost o f us
carry on o u r red cells but that a few
people’ s red cells lack, lik e G reen’ s U -
negati ve, make him a rare donor. B lood
is “ ra re " i f o n ly one person in 1,000 or
m ore lacks the same antigen o r c o m b i
nation o f antigens. The rarer a person ’ s
blood type, the more d iffic u lt the c ir
cumstances i f that person suddenly
needs m atching rare blood fo r a trans
fusion.
Green and other rare donors are
listed on the Red Cross Rare D o n o r
R egistry, a listin g o f thousands o f rare
donors throughout the U.S., w ho can
be contacted i f their blood is needed. It
also contains a com puterized in ve n
tory o f all the frozen rare blood being
stored at Red Cross regional blood
centers. In 1993, Red Cross celebrates
the R e g istry’ s 25th A nniversary.
Green w ill celebrate his special
status as a rare donor by g ivin g blood at
the F ifth A nnual M a rtin L u th e r K in g
Jr. M e m o ria l B lood D riv e , on F riday,
January 15,1993, at Im m aculate Heart
Catholic Church, M ulti-Purpose R oom ,
2926 N W illia m s A ve ., Portland. The
d rive is fro m 3 to 7 p.m.
A cco rd in g to V o lu n te e r B lo o d
D riv e C hairm an, Charles Stoudam ire,
Green and other “ non-rare” A fric a n
A m erican donors are in hot demand.
“ The local Red Cross has a w hole
blood donor file o f m ore than 290,000
people: Less than one percent is made
up o f A fric a n Am ericans. It is our hope
that by encouraging A fric a n A m e ri
cans to give blood, more rare donors,
like C huck, w ill be discovered. M ore
A fric a n A m erican patients w ill benefit
by these discoveries.”
S toudam ire said A fric a n A m e ri
cans m ake a special c o n trib u tio n to the
black co m m u n ity because some have
d iffe re n t com binations o f blood types
than people o f oth e r races.
“ T w e n ty percent o f a ll blacks ha > e
Type B blood com pared to 11 percen,
o f w hites. A lm o s t tw ice as many blacks
need T ype B b lo o d i f they are trans
fused. People w ith sickle c e ll anemia,
lik e the p a tie n t re ly in g on C h u ck, are
often treated w ith transfusions. They
w ill need 20 percent o f th e ir blood
fro m type B donors. Shortages o f A f r i
can A m e rica n donors can result in
shortages o f T ype B b lo o d .”
Stoudamire hopes that through Red
C ross’ e ffo rts, starting w ith the K in g
B lo o d D riv e , A fric a n A m e rica n do
nors w ill g ro w to m atch the percentage
o f the p o p u la tio n in the lo ca l area.
B lo o d donors m ust be at least 17
years o ld , w eigh at least 105 pounds
and be in good health. A ll donors w ho
give b lo o d a t the K in g M e m o ria l B lood
D rive w ill be screened to see i f they are
the same rare and special type as Chuck
Green.
D onors can c a ll 284-0011, ext.
292, to schedule a d o nation appoint
ment.
Green w ill keep d o ing the rig h t
th in g ...in a d d itio n to g iv in g blo o d in
K in g ’ s honor, he’ l l be re c ru itin g A f r i
can A m ericans to do the same.
“ I g ive blood because there is a
need. I try to do m y little b it.”
Student Loan Program .
The Portland Observer encourages our readers to write
letters to the editor in response to any articles we publish.
At Risk Teenage
Girls Need “Big
Sisters”
V olunteers o f A m e ric a ’ s K le tz e r
H a ll is seeking w om en to sign up now
as volunteers fo r th e ir B ig sister P ro
gram. The volunteers w ill spend ap
p ro x im a te ly 10 hours per m onth be
com ing role models and caring friends
fo r a t-risk teenage g irls.
K le tz e r H a ll w ill host a B ig Sister
volunteer tra in in g January 1 9 ,2 2 , and
26 fro m 6 :00 p.m . - 8:30 p.m . Those
interested in vo lunteering as a B ig S is
ters need to attend a ll three meetings.
T o register please ca ll 234-9211.
K le tz e r H a ll provides short-term
shelter fo r adolescent g irls w ho come
fro m unstable hom e e n viro n m e n ts.
V olunteers o f A m e rica is a nationw ide
s o c ia l s e rv ic e o r g a n iz a tio n w it h
branches in o ver 200 com m unities. As
w e ll as K le tze r H a ll, V olunteers o f
Martin Luther King, Jr
Never pay rent
again.
A m e rica O regon, Inc. serves the c o m
m u n ity through c h ild care, fa m ily pres
e rvation program s, a shelter fo r hom e
less w om en w ith c h ild re n , a senior cen
ter, senior health c lin ic , a d u lt day care
program , residential substance abuse
fa c ilitie s fo r ad u lt felons, and a C h ris t
mas Assistance Program .
FEBRUARY IS
BLACK HISTORY
M ONTH
* !o o o o o o o o o t
ooo
oooo«*
aooa
CALL 2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 o r FAX 2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 TO
ADVERTISE OR RESERVE YOUR SPACE
1RS Assistance Hours
Announced
The Internal Revenue Service has
announced ad d ition a l hours o f taxpayer
assistance fo r O regonians filin g federal
incom e tax returns. Telephone tax as
sistance w ill be a vailable state-wide
M o nday fro m 7:00am u n til 5:30pm and
Tuesday through F rid a y from 7:00am
u n til 4:30pm , except fo r federal h o li
days.
In a d d ition telephone assistance
w ill be available fo u r Saturdays du rin g
the filin g season. The Saturday service
w ill be provided January 30, February
6, A p ril 3, and A p ril 10 fro m 10:00am
u n til 2:00pm .
T o o b ta in telephone assistance,
taxpayers c a llin g fro m the Portland
m e tro p o litan area m ay c a ll 221-3960.
Those c a llin g fro m other areas in O r
egon can ca ll to ll-fre e l-8 0 0 -T A X (8 2 9 )-
1040. F ilin g season brings a high de
mand fo r telephone assistance and c a ll
ers m ay be met by a busy signal w hen
they try to c a ll in. G enerally, demand is
s lig h tly less in the early m orning hours
and late in the week, so callers m ay
w ish to try c a llin g at those times.
A ll phone calls are subject to m o n i
to rin g by supervisors and q u a lity re
vie w personnel to ensure courteous and
accurate assistance.
In d iv id u a ls w ho are deaf o r hear
ing im paired and w h o have access to a
T D D m ay contact the P ortland o ffic e
by g o ing through Oregon
T elecom m unications R elay Ser
vice (O T R S ) at 1 -800-735-2900 T D D /
voice and using the IRS telephone n um
ber o f 503-326-3168. A cle rk w ill take
the name and phone num ber o f the
taxpayer and an IRS tax assistor w ill
return the c a ll to the taxpayer via T D D .
In a d d itio n to telephone service,
w a lk -in service is available at fiv e lo
cations in Oregon, although during peak
periods there may be long lines fo r
assistance. The P< rtla n d o ffic e loca
tio n is:
Federal B ldg., 1220S.W . 3rd A ve.,
W h y rent when you can own?
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putting hard earned cash in someone elses'
pocket What's your alternative? Buy a HUD Home.
Often for as little as your "first-and-last-month’s-
rent,” you could have the down payment for a H U D
Home. Just add normal closing costs and fees, and
you're ready to move into your own home.
Ask a real estate professional to tell you more about
HUD Homes, and show you HUD listings. For a
free brochure filled with helpful advice on
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choosing, buying, and enjoying a
home, call 1-800-767-4HUD.
.
South L o b b y (B o th federal and state
tax assistance is available at th is loca
tio n )
The o ffic e is open M onday through
Friday fro m 8:00am u n til 4:30pm .
IRS employees are notexpected to
prepare taxpayers’ returns, nor do they
prepare com plex business schedules o r
assist w ith bookkeeping and account
ing functions. IRS n o rm a lly advises
in d iv id u a ls needing that type o f help to
seek assista n ce fro m
preparers.
p riv a te ta x
HUD Homes. The Smart Move
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