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August 25. 1993
Serving the community through cultural diversity
Volumn XXIII. Number 35
Growing Old With Dignity
Former Leader Of Hemlock Society
To Address City Club
Two experts on assisted suicide and director of the Center for Ethics in
will explain their points ofview to the Health Care at Oregon Health Sci-
City Club at the Club’s weekly Friday ences University, will clarify the ethi-
program at 12:15 pm, August 27, in cal and legal diflerencesbetween with-
the Rose Ballroom of the Portland drawal of life support and euthanasia.
Hilton, 921 SW 6th Ave. The press Toile will explain the impact of Sen­
and public are welcome at this event. ate Bill 286, the Health Care D eci­
W riter Derek Humphry, best- sions Act, on patients and families
known as founder of the Hemlock who wish to refuse life-sustainingtreat-
Society, at right-to-die advocacy ment and be comfortable with their
group, and currently vice president of decision.
The speakers’ presentations will
Americans for Dearth W ith Dignity,
be
followed
by a question and answer
will talk about the battle to create a
session
for
City
Club members.
legal right in the U S. for every com­
For
more
information
call: 222-
petent adult to choose “a physician-
2582.
Limited
free
seating
in back
assisted, humane and dignified’’ death
available
on
a
first-come,
first-serv
ed
when he or she becomes terminally ill.
basis.
Doors
open
11:30am.
Susan Toile, M.D., an internist
by Jim W ilson
Oregon is the national leader in
providing community-based care to
senior citizens, offering a range o f
less costly care from helping people
stay in their own homes to adult foster
care and assisted living facilities.
This is a true story: A 62-year-
old M arion County’ woman lives w ith
a congenital heart condition, has u n ­
dergone two open-heart surgeries, and
lives with her 73-year-old husband on
lus Social Security earnings.
Her heart condition prevents her
from vacuuming, scrubbing and do­
ing many other household chores.
Yet the couple are able to con­
tinue living in their owu home be­
cause the state pay s for two hours of
housekeeping a week.
" It’s better to be here in our owu
home together than to have to be put
into a home that would take care o f
us,’’ the woman says.
T hat has been O regon’s th in k ­
ing for a decade, and it is draw ing
renewed national attention because
it works for sen io rs-an d it saves tax
dollars. In recent weeks, we’ve greeted
or scheduled visitors from the NBC
a n d ABC n e tw o rk s, M a c N e il/
Lehrer NewsHour, AARP, the Alli­
ance for the Aging, and Texas and
Japan.
They understand that, like Ben
F ranklin’s death and taxes, growing
old is a virtual certainty that prompts
us to think about our own futures and
often to worry about those of our
parents.
This couple who receive weekly
housekeeping services are among
more than 25,000 Medicaid-eligible
seniors statewide whom the state
helps. Fewer o f them are in nursing
facilities today than 10 years ago;
more are m aintaining their dignity,
independence and quality o f life by
staying in their own homes or living
in the relative freedom of adult foster
homes or assisted living facilities
These people usually are poor.
and the odds are 3-to-l that they are niors is what manufacturers have of­
women. They receive services such as ten done for consumer products--built
nursing, housekeeping, cooking or better products and brought them to
laundry. The need is growing. Con­ market at a lower price
The sav ings add up We figure
sider the numbers.
• The state’s 75-plus population that, since we began emphasizing
grows more than 4 percent annually , community-based care in 1981, O r­
and Oregon’s over-65 population in­ egon Taxpayers have saved $225
creased 30 percent in the 1980s. By million. If the Oregon system had
contrast, the statewide population is been in place nationwide, the savings
would have been $20 billion.
growing about 1.5 percent a year.
Ask your parent or other senior if
• Curry County has the state’s
they’d
prefer to live at home, getting
largest percentage of over-65 resi­
the
assistance
they need, or in a nurs­
d e n ts, fo llo w e d by W h e e le r,
ing
home.
You
won’t have to wait
Tillamook, Josephine and Lincoln
counties. In the 1980s, Deschutes long for the answer.
Supporting that response are
County experienced the fastest growth
studies
in Oregon by the federal gov­
of people over 65.
ernment
and the University of M in­
• Forty percent of seniors live in
nesota
which
showed that seniors in
metropolitan Portland.
community
care
are happier and more
Serving elderly people in com­
satisfied,
lived
longer,
and received
munity-based care is even more at­
tractive because we can care for three care that cost less.
InOregon, we’ve prov ed the merit
people for the cost of one who is
of
helping
seniors continue living
placed in a nursing facility.
where
they
most
want to be.
What Oregon has done for se-
PCC Announces Harold Williams As
Chair Of College Board Of Directors
meeting.
W illiams represents Zone 2 or
the PCC district, an area which in­
cludes portions of north and north­
east Portland. Zone 2 is one of seven
seats in the five-county, 1,500 square-
mile PCC district.
W illiams most recently served as
the 1992-93 vice-chair of the PCC
M arcia A tkinson, who represents
Zone 6 which is composed o f portions
of Beaverton, Aloha, and Northwest
and Southwest Portland Her interest
in PCC comes from her experience as
a community college student and in­
PORTLAND OBSERVER
1 O llicc: (503) 200-0033 •
\ Fax«; (503)200-0015
Saturday Academy
Saturday Academy is pleased
to announce the appointment of
W illiam C. Crane as special assis­
tant to the director of the academy.
Creators of extraordinary learning
circumstances for highly motivated
children in grades 6 through 12,
Saturday Academy is based at the
Oregon Graduate Institute of Sci­
ence and Technology.
Crane joins the Academy staff
after many years as a teacher and
administrator of not-for-profit cor­
porations. A musician by training,
he has taught many ages a wide
range of topics, including musi­
cology, medical ethics, and French.
His responsibilities at Saturday
Academy vvil 1 include development
and curriculum expansion in the
arts and humanities The growth of
Saturday Academy has been im­
pressive in recent years. Having
just celebrated its tenth anniver­
sary, the academy enters its second
decade with a significant variety
of programs. Among them are: the
Apprenticeships in Science and E n­
gineering, an intensive mentoring
program one-on one between young
students and distinguished scien­
tists, the Student W atershed Re­
search Project, a water-quality as­
sessment training program utiliz­
ing actual research by young people;
the Women in Science and Tech­
nology Lecture and Banquet, an
annual event, designed to encour­
age girls and young women toward
professions in science and technol­
ogy; and, a broadly diverse pro­
gram of classes av ailable through­
out the year.
Saturday Academy operates in
eight sites around Oregon in addi­
tion to the Portland area program.
Seeking to serve motivated young
people from all circumstances, the
A cadem y provides sch o larship
funds to students for its activities
requiring tuition.
Saturday Academy invites in­
quiries about its programs at tele­
phone 503-690-1190.
5-Year-Old Boy Injured Playing
With Potato Cannon
O n Friday, August 20, 1993, at
approximately 9:42pm, East Precinct
Uniform Officers, along with medi­
cal p e rso n n e l, responded to SE
M itchell Street, regarding a 5-year-
old boy suffering from severe bum s to
his face and hands, which were the
result of playing w ith a potato gun,
also known as spudzookas The 5-
year-old, A nthony Dale Robinson,
was taken to Emanuel Hospital Bum
Center, where he is being treated At
the scene, officers spoke with the
b o y s ’ f a th e r , S te v e n D e w a in e
structor.
A g ra d u a te o f G reen River
C om m unity C o lleg e in A uburn
W a s h , she also earned bachelor’s
board.
A Portland businessman, W il­ and m aster’s degrees from City Uni­
liams is president of CH2A Associ­ versity. Before her election to the
ates, a contracting firm. He is active PCC board, she taught business man­
in Northeast community affairs and is agem ent courses at the college
past chair of the Coalition of Black Atkinson is president and owner of
Men and is a member o f the Urban HRGROUP, a hum an resources man­
Harold Williams
League ofPortland W illiams received agement consulting firm. Her profes­
sional background includes human
Harold W illiams, a member of bachelor and master degrees from resource and sales experience with
Portland
State
University.
He
lives
in
the Portland Com m unity College
northeast Portland and has three chil­ Intel, Sequent, Frito-Lay and NC Robinson.
Board of Directors since 1990, was
Machinery. She lives in northwest
Reportedly, the father had con­
elected to chair the board for the dren.
Portland.
Assuming
duties
as
vice
chair
is
1993-94 year at the directors’ July 15
structed a homemade potato cannon
and was using gasoline as a propel­
lant While the father was preparing
to launch the potato, his 5-vear-old
son held a beaker containing gaso­
line. Upon igniting the cannon, there
reportedly was an explosion and the
boy was suddenly engulfed in flames,
dropping the beaker Following ques­
tioning by detectives, the father was
released, pending further investiga­
tion.
According to medical officials,
the boy sustained second and third
degree bum s over his face, scalp and
hands. It’s expected that the boy will
be in the hospital for sev eral weeks.
"People tend to forget how dan­
gerous these potato cannons can be
and certainly young children should
not be allowed to play with them ,”
said Wayne Svilar, the investigating
detective.
Potato cannons or guns, as they
are sometimes called, are usually con­
structed using a plastic pipe and hair
spray as the propellant to launch the
potato. Generally speaking, they are
not regulated under the same restric­
tions as handguns or other firearms,
which use gunpowder as it’s source of
ignition.
Support The NAACP’s National Black Dollar Days Demonstration
(August 31 - September 8)
by ShaRcc Rhone, Branch Presi­
dent
The NAACP is conducting its
Annual Black Dollar Days Demon­
stration August 31 - September 8, the
Labor day week.
Once again, we are asking black
consumers to vote their economic in ­
terest by spending $2 bills and Susan
B A nt hony dol lar coi ns for thei r pur­
chases prior to, and during Labor day
week.
By participating in this national
demonstration. Black Americans will
tell white m erchants if they want to
continue to enjoy black consumer sup­
port, we expect our fair share of the
jobs and business opportuni­
ties. O u r m essage is
p la in . Y ou c a n n o t
c o u n t o u r m oney
without counting us;
either count us in,
or count us out.
We cannot
continue to accept
an economic rela­
tionship where black
family income is 58%
that o f white family income;
36% o f black Americans live below
the poverty level; and black unem­
ployment is twice that o f white unem­
ployment
In
1991 b lack
America ns earned more
than $200 billion and
sp e n t m ore th a n
$170 b illio n on
various goods and
se rv ic e s. T o ta l
black incom e ex­
ceeds the gross na­
tional product o f all but
nine nations i n the world
We must spend our dollars
wisely by doing business with those
who do business with us Doing busi­
ness with the black community is
hiring us, promoting us, and utilizing
black businesses for a share o f pur­
chases o f goods and serv ices.
Black Americans must also sup­
port, and help to build their own
businesses Last year black Ameri­
cans spent more than $12 billion,
over six percent, of our total black
income, with black business We must
keep a larger share of our money in
our ow n communities
We encourage blacks and others,
who believe in economic equality. to
support Black Dollar Days, August
31 - September 8
Minority Convention & Tourism
Advisory Committee Planned
Oregon Convention and Visitor
Serv ices Netw ork announced plans to
incorporate a Minority Convention
and Tourism Advisory Committee
within their current operating struc­
ture, according to Roy Jay, president
and chief executive.
Jay indicated that the formation
of this committee was part o f the
operations' long range plan to receive
more input from ethnic minorities
regarding visitor and convention ser­
vices. There is no other qualified
agency within the state that has ever,
effectively, addressed this category.
said Jay.
Jay cites that there is an esti­
mated $50 billion annual industry
involving Blacks and other minority
conventions and tourism. Jay stated
that many hotels and other businesses
have expressed interest in participat­
ing in the programs and projects,
OCVSN, a private entity, which
has been in operation since 1988, is
responsible for providing num erous
convention and visitor leads and re­
ferrals to Oregon businesses which
has resulted in millions o f dollars in
revenue