I * Í.J- i -♦ - “ A " ', H ' ♦ gr -■»> .-T^<. • v \ a V . # - * * ■* *?J «SfelUttM^ : > _> ’. %■ r j’. i ’ Z '^ y / w T Z 'T * w s A i ®£ br <4 ì * T he P ortland O bserver • M ay 17, 1995 P age A 5 Employees Honored At Recognition Event In keeping with the goal o f continuously improving its servic­ es to citizens, the City o f Vancou­ ver conducted its 1995 Employee R eco g n itio n A w ards program Wednesday, May 3. H ighlight o f the event was the announcement o f the Employee o f the Year. C ity employees nominated over 100 fellow employees for a variety o f awards including Team­ work, Great ideas. Keeps Us Smil­ ing, Community Involvement and Unsung Heroes. Aw ards were granted based on representative employee votes. There were also five length-of-service recognition categories - five, 10, 15, 20 and 25-plus. Master o f ceremonies for the event was C ity Manager John Fischbach. “ When I reflect on how much progress we have seen together, I know that none o f it would have been possible without the hard work and professionalism o f city staff,” he told the group o f over 400 city employees in attendance. A ls o in a tte n d a n c e was M a yo r Bruce E. Hagensen and m embers o f the V ancouver C ity C o u n cil. Lindia Stanton, senior program coordinator forthe Vancouver Parks Department was selected as Em­ ployee o f the Year. Stanton was lauded for being pleasant, approach­ able and respectful o f co-workers and citizens. Her nomination said “ she has a consistent can-do atti­ tude.” O f special note was Stanton’s innovation in special programs o f­ fering recreational and educational opportunities for people age 50 and older. Recent key accomplishments include conducting over 630 activ­ ities last year at Luepke Senior Cen­ ter, soliciting over $160,000 o f in- kind goods, and launching the T V series “ Elder Court” on C VTV-47, which focuses on issues pertinent to senior citizens. The luncheon event was con­ ducted at the Red Lion Inn at the Quay. House Passed Parental Responsibility Bill The Oregon House HB 2884 has been passed . The b ill, introduced by Representatives M ike Lehman (D-Coos Ray) and Bryan Johnston (D- Salem), is the centerpiece o f the two bills known as the “ Parental Respon­ s ib ility A ct” . HB 2884 would allow law enforcement officials to cite parents o f children under the age o f 15 who engage in criminal acts or fail to attend school. The b ill provides for parents to be notified on the first offense and allows jud icia l discretion to prescribe parent effectiveness training course upon a second offense. On the third offense parents could be fined up to $1,000. We are starting to see a significant increase in problems associated with young people , said Lehman. “ Kids are bringing guns into school. Teen pregnancy and related problems are on the rise. The high school dropout rate is increasing. I believe it is time to recognize that parents have a responsibility to supervise their children. The vast m ajority ofparents w ill have no problem with this law. It is aimed only at those parents who turn ♦heir kids loose on society with out any supervision.” C iting a parent under the proposed law would not be mandatory. It would however, provide law enforcement officials with a clear tool to hold to parents responsible for the activities o f their children which does not exist under current law. “ This b ill doesn’t relieve kids o f their responsibility for the acts they commit, Johnston said, what it does, is hold the parents to a standard for their actions.” I he b ill passed on a 46-12 vote and now moves to the Senate for consideration. □ Y e s ! I would like to subscribe to In TheB IS C k. 1 D Two years t— One year $39.00 Name Address City, State $72.00 Zip. LISCENSED IN OREGON SINCE 1975 Singles & Seniors, I can help you! | “1st Class Guarantee” Did You Know? Did You Know...that accord­ ing to a W all Street Journal sur­ vey, big U.S. companies saw their profits surge by 48 percent during the first quarter o f this year W ith C D ’s pay ing three percent and sav ings accounts paying five percent it is obvious that i f you want to make money you should either be in business or at least investing in one. Did You Know...that the top market for selling books in Amer ica is San Jose, California followed by New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Did You Know...that newev- idence discovered by a team o f George Washington University re­ searchers suggests that the type o f sophisticated thinking associated w ith the development o f modern society actually began in A frica and not Europe as is widely be lieved. The researchers conclude that compiex thinking began in A frica about 75,000 years ago and not 40,000 years ago in Europe and Asia. Did You Know...thataccord­ ing to the National Highway Safe­ ty Administration, two-thirds o f American drivers buckle up when they drive. The Transportation De­ partment estimates that seat belts save better that 5,000 lives a year. Did You Know...that m oti­ vational expert Stu Kamen sug­ gests that you turn negatives into positives by starting each day with a set o f positive thoughts. He says take 10 to 15 minutes at the begin­ ning o f each day to simply gener­ ate constructive energy by deep breathing and thinking only about positive things. Did Ym i Know thataccord- ing to the latest government re­ ports, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer in America. Labor Secretary Robert Reich reported last week ¿ a t “ V ir ­ tually a ll” o f the increase in aver­ age fam ily income since 1978 has gone to the top 20% o f the popu la- tion while the bottom 20% has actually lost 15% o f its average fam ily income. Did You Know...that from birth through college it costs about $250,000 to raise the typical child Did You Know...that i f you want a guide on how best to repair negative credit, you can order ($9.95) a good one-C redit Repair Made Easy - from the Better Life Club, P.O. Box 284422, Washing­ ton, D C. 20038. D id You K now ...that this week’ s favorite quote comes from Machiavelli: "In order to recognize wisdom, one must first be wise.” A-ZEBRA 0. George A. Hendrix MBA, GRI, Broker m il s Q racy B y R obert N. T aylor interpreter. It’s if the French who still re­ motely dictate who sit at the helm of power. Your most authentic source o f information on events happening in the continent o f A frica - A frica In ­ s ig h t- is hack It was at the close o f last year that I bid bye to Portland, promising to be back again. It was a wonderful trip that exposed me to various insti­ tutions and powerful people and it really did adjust my maturity. Even my boss and my critics agreed. Any­ way ify o u care about your heritage - get hooked on thiscolumn This week I am taking you to Gabon - a former French colony in Africa. Ondo Nze is the president and founder ot the Gabonese League o f Human Rights, created in the wake ot the end o f the Gabon single-party' political system in 1990. Nze is currently in our country under the sponsorship o f the United States government. He was in Port­ land recently as guest o f the W orld Affairs Council, introduced to us by the executive director o f the Metro­ politan Human Rights Commission, Helen Cheek. In an exclusive interview, Nze O ndo Nze, a n a d v o c a te fo r h um an rights in G abon. spoke about neo-colonialism, human rights abuse and the political stran­ gulation in Gabon orchestrated by the French masters o f his country. I f you don’t know, the French still maintain the largest m ilitary base in Gabon. And in spite o f this close affinity w ith the rich colonialists, the Gabonese economy has continued to plunge to an abysmal disaster. Gabon’s natural resources has continued to feed the French econo­ my, while the country wallows in precarious penury. “ The economic and m ilitary' presence ofthe former colonial mas­ ters influence the political life o f our country," Nze said through a French “ The last presidential election which took place in 1993 was a fraud on the Gabonese people,” Nze said He said human rights groups in Gabon denounced the election be­ cause the president declared him self victorious even before the votes were counted. “ There is tru ly no d em ocra ­ cy in o u r c o u n try and co lle ge graduates are being m a rg in a lize d by the pow er that be. T h is is an attem pt to s tifle d is s e n tin g v o ic ­ es,” he said. These happenings have con­ firmed the European conspiracy to keep A frica underdeveloped techno­ logically. Just tell me why the French gov­ ernment, with its power, w on’t help Gabon out o f it’s economic doldrums. Considering the fact that it remains the only colonial administration that still has vested m ilitary interest in its former colony. I f you are still wondering why Gabon is still a nation drenched in all socio-political abuses, get the French o f f Gabonese politics and the A fri­ can nation's economy. Then see what happens. Governor Creates Food Processing Council Governor John Kitzhaber an­ nounced that he has created the Food Processing Council (FPC) by execu­ tive order. The council, which w ill consist o f as many as 12 members, w ill be charged with helping pro­ mote and develop Oregon’s food processing industry. in d u s try ,” said K itzh ab e r. “ I want th is c o u n c il to b rin g me ideas on how we can im prove the business e nviro n m e nt fo r food processing in O regon and increase the value we add to our food p ro d u c ts .” Kitzhaber announced the follow ­ ing appointments to the board: Art “ Oregon has an opportunity Christiansen, retired, o f NORPAC to c a p ita liz e on its a g ric u ltu ra l success by expanding the num ­ ber o fjo b s in the food processing Foods, who w ill serve as chair o f the council; Frank Dulcich o f Pacific Seafood in Portland; Harold Schild Trauma Doctor Battles Violence o fT i I lamook Creamery in T il lamook; B ill Albee o f W aterm ill Foods in Milton-Freewater; Dave Jensen o f Sm ith Frozen Foods in W eston; Peter T ru itt o f T ru itt B ro the rs in Salem ; S y lvia H enry o f H e n ry ’ s W in e ry in U m pqua; K a rla C ham ­ bers o f Stahlbush Island Farms in C o rv a llis ; L a rry Pearm ine o f Pearmine Farms in G ervais and M ik e Naumes o f Naumes Inc. In M ed fo rd . I Continued from front ▲ her wish is that she could save every patient that enters her operating room. “ The ugly side is that people die. We cannot fix everything. It ’s very stressful,” she bemoaned sympathet­ ically. In spite ofher efforts in violence prevention among youths, Dr. Erwin who’s married, has no kids o f her own. Why? “ I don’t have enough energy to do surgery and be a parent,” she said. Almost on a daily basis, Dr. Erwin is called upon to attend to yet another kid who is shot and the sight o f a hurting kid still traumatizes this trauma surgeon. Realty Inc. ”O » n < lira OOO rfaanglhitty w© ttírunsú: À.lüùeir Befoflir [Ukg©[iî@@