A ugust 10, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A 6
>i?' ■ Î?
F
Ä
/
I
W jgT
City Liberalizes Home
Down Payment Aid
THIS SATURDAY. COME TO A PLACE
OF FUN, SENSAtlON AND WONDER.
AND IT'S NOT IN PORTLAND.
The scope o f the City of
Vancouver’s Down Payment As­
sistance Loan Program, which
gives financial help to certain
first-tim e home buyers, has in­
creased in several areas.
Maximum assistance avail­
able to individual home buyers
has jumped to $3,000 (up from
$2,250). Income limits, for a fam­
ily of four for example, have in­
creased to $33,850 (up from
$31,900). The allowable home
purchase price has grown to
$107,825 (up from $90,000).
The assistance program is for
city residents only and targeted
at low- and m oderate-incom e
home buyers. The down payment
1-5 North, City Center Exit, left on 6th St.
OPEN SATURDAY 9 - 3
ARMERSj
Farmers Market In
Full Swing
T his is the peak o f the se a ­
son at the o p en -air V an co u v er
F arm ers M arket. E very S a tu r­
day over 50 v en d o rs fill the
tw o - b lo c k a re a in h is to r ic
dow ntow n V ancouver near Fifth
and M ain streets. T h e m ark et is
open from 9 a.m . to 3 p.m . from
M ay th rough O ctober.
S p e c ia l fe a tu re s in c lu d e
gard en -fresh pro d u ce, co lo rfu l
n ursery stock, fla v o rfu l food
and qu ality h a n d -c ra fted item s.
T his is the m a rk e t’s fourth s u c ­
c e ssfu l year.
T he lively m arket also h ig h ­
lights local e n te rta in m e n t and
seaso n al c e le b ra tio n s. It is en-
jo y ed by v isito rs o f all ages.
P lenty o f free p arking is nearby
a t B r o a d w a y a n d S e v e n th
streets. T here is still som e space
availab le for v endors. C all the
m arket m aster at (206) 695-
7259 o r the v en d o r ch airm an at
(206) 8 932-5324 for in fo rm a ­
tion.
County Program Receives
National Recognition
Five county program shave
received A chievem ent Awards
from the National Association of
Counties (NACo). According to
NACo Executive Director Larry
Naake, the wards recognize Clark
C ounty’s “ ...hard work to pro­
mote responsible and effective
county governm ent.”
The following programs were
singled out:
• O peration Home Stretch - A
Clark County Community Ser­
vices D epartm ent project that
helps homeless fam ilies get back
on their feet, find housing and
employment.
• W ildland Urban Interface
Fire Protection - A Clark County
Fire M arshal’s Office program
whose goal is to keep rural resi­
dential areas of the county fire
safe.
• Emergency M edical D is­
patch Quality Improvement Pro­
gram - A Clark Regional C om ­
m unications Agency project to
improve emergency medical dis­
patch services.
• C o rre c tio n a l In d u strie s
Plant Nursery Program - A Clark
County Corrections Departm ent
program - also known as Mabry
Nursery - where inmates grow
and care for plants used in public
landscaping projects.
• Debt Service Program and
Senior/D isabled Tax W ork-Off
Program - Both projects are in
the Clark County T re asu re r’s
assistance comes in the form of a
no-interest loan. The loan does
not have to be repaid until the
property is either re-sold or trans­
ferred.
The Down Paym ent A ssis­
tance Loan Program , first un­
veiled by the city in June, is funded
with a $150,000 grant for the
federal Community Development
Block G rant and HOME p ro ­
grams. It helps to ease the finan­
cial burden for certain home buy­
ers by paying up to half their
down payment. “The City of Van­
couver wants to encourage pride
in our neighborhoods by increas­
ing hom eow nership,” says Karen
McGrath of the city’s Department
of Community Preservation and
D evelopm ent. “ T his program
helps do that.”
The program is currently coor­
dinated through First Interstate,
Northwest National, Continental
Savings, Seafirst and U.S. Bank and
Eykis Financial Services. The
amount of the loan will be deter­
mined by the lender, after a review
of other available funding sources
and buyer finances, and approved
by the city. Assistance will be dis­
tributed on a first-come, first-served
basis. For more details, home buy­
ers may contact aparticipating lender
or the city’s Department of Commu­
nity Preservation and Development
at 696-8005.
Clark County Budget Process
Gets “Excellent” Marks
The National Association of
C ounty In fo rm atio n O ffic e rs
(NACIO) has singled out the
county’s 1994 budget process
with an “Excellent A w ard.”
“Clark County Budget Blue­
print 94” was judged with entries
from throughout the nation in the
“Special Projects” category for
counties with population less than
500,000. Judging was based on
such things as innovativeness,
how well resources were used,
the seriousness of the issue in­
volved and the overall impact of
the project, according to awards Clark Vancouver Cable T elevi­
chair Debra J. Henzey. She added sion.
that the com petition was highly
competitive.
The panel of judges included
representatives from professional
agencies and governm ent infor­
mation specialists.
Key to budget process was
Wednesday, August 3, 1994
public involvement and inform a­
01-03-21-24-27-35
tion. In order to involve as many
citizens as possible, the county
Saturday, August 6, 1994
developed publications, new spa­
2-8-13-17-20-47
per advertisem ents, public w ork­
shops and produced a video with
Washington
State Lottery
Office. The first tracks bond is­
sues and results in a cost savings
to the county. The second is a
program in which low-income se­
niors and disabled residents can
work within county offices or at
home to earn money to pay off
their property taxes.
Yard Debris
Recycling Adds Up
Area residents who do not
recycle yard debris are “throwing
their money aw ay,” said Tami
Kihs, solid waste analyst for the
city of Vancouver.
One can of yard debris hauled
away as regular household gar­
bage costs $10.65 per month. By
comparison, three cans set out for
bi-weekly yard debris pickup costs
only $5.50 per month.
“ O ne o f o u r yard d e b ris
stickers can transform a garbage
can into a recycling can and
m oney saver,” said Kihs, who
rem inds residents to sign up for
the a re a ’s expanded pilot Yard
Debris R ecycling Program . Par­
ticipants can set out three 30-
gallon cans o f debris every other
week for a flat rate of $5.50 per
month.
“ T he m o st e c o n o m ic a l
method of all,” points out Andrea
Friedrichsen, Clark County waste
reduction specialist, “ is to com ­
post yard debris at hom e.” For
advice from a M aster Composter,
call (206) 254-8436. Information
on yard debris collection or non­
re g u la r, o n -c a ll yard d e b ris
pickup is available by calling Zero
Garbage Yard Debris Recycling
a t (206)892-2502.
LxM
M
—» l X I —'
Regional NAACP President Under Fire
, . „
Branch presidents from Oregon and Washington, including ShaPee Phone of Portland (from right)
and Henry Luvert of Eugene, at a News Conference denouncing a letter released to the media by
Greg Evans, president of the Washington and Oregon State Conference of Branches of the
NAACP. They claim Evans did a disservice by airing complaints in public and suggesting in the
letter that branches withhold funds from the national office because of allegations of crisis in
leadership, finances and integrity.
What’s The Big Deal About Science and Technology
by
P rof . M c K inley B i rt
Well, thanks again for the kind
words, dear readers. Don't worry
about the time you call (or day you
write or hour you fax -- or from what
continent). 1 need to know that I m
reaching you and your youngsters.
From what you are telling me, most
who are teaching these areas do not
understand exactly how the science
and technology fit into the industrial
and workforce infrastructure. "You
have been there
As soon as her copy of the Port­
land Observer arrived in San Fran­
cisco. an African American engineer
of long acquaintance called to say
that Part 2 of this series should be
very helpful in instructing the breth­
ren on exploiting the job to its fullest
'•1
•
benefit; this fact obtaining whether
one is a so-called ‘professional' or
not. "1 like it. McKinley, because
you get people to understand that
professionalism is 90 percent atti­
tude and commitment.”
This high-ranking sister in the
engineering field is one oftw o young
women scientists I met in 1978 at the
West Coast Annual Conference.
Association of Black Engineers and
Scientists. I represented Portland
State University, and I came back so
thoroughly impressed with the com­
petence of these ladies, 1 spent sev­
eral weeks describing the confer­
ence events and, particularly their
activities Not only exhibits designed
and set up on several floors of the
Holiday Inn to demonstrate "how
science and technology fit into the
industrial workforce infrastructures."
but they designed and implemented
a Communications Superhighway
that was simply fabulous.
Black students were flown or
bussed in from five western states
with parents, chaperons and science
teachers (from high school to col­
lege seniors). Half a floor in the
building was dedicated to comput­
ers, teletypes and other equipment
which surrounded interviewing desks
manned by specialists in college
placements and scholarships - and
for graduating college seniors, there
were personnel people from the "For­
tune 500." with open lines to firms
like IBM. Monsanto, etc. and major
government and state officers. A tem­
porary travel agency had been set up
and a student could have his resume
checked, employment application
processed and airline ticket printed
in 24 hours in many cases. As 1 said,
“simply fabulous.”
Now, you take that scene, and
you reflect on my on-the-job techno­
logical and training orientation I de­
scribed last week. You would have
thought there would have been a
major breakthrough back here in re­
spect to education and a realistic
concept of communications. Not just
theCommunications Superhighway,
but the ‘Science Center and Motiva­
tional Paradigm' I designed and out­
lined to two school superintendents,
now gone Based on my book Black
Inventors of America and its impact
around the country , many of us sup­
posed there would be no foot-drag­
ging with the school officials (after
all they were "committed," right?
salaries and all.)
In any case, I am in com m u­
nication again with the tw o lady
engineers and physicists and con­
ference calling with som e very
interested fellow m em bers o fth e
A ssociated O regon Industries.
They will be up here soon They,
as well as the scientists, were
very upbeat about my response
from parents who have called to
say that my series has directed
them to assess their jo b s in the
sam e m ode -- as a ‘real-tim e
curriculum or learning tool that
can be brought home and then re-
flected into the child's school. Sev­
eral dozen of us will be meeting at
the facility of a Beaverton firm shortly
after school starts.
Several parent/workers have
voiced wonderm ent that school
people could not comprehend that
given that many of the black inven­
tors were h igh school dropouts (even
grammar school,) why couldn tthey
- being the gifted teachers that they
are - see what a useful tool my rel­
evant contributions to the Base Line
Essays would have been (omitted!).
It is so unfortunate that so many of
our unmotivated and uninspired
youth have dropped out - or perished
in the street. More next week and
"Thomas Edison, and black geniuses
in Europe.”