Volume X X V Number 23
Committed to cultural diversity
Join In Celebrating Our
Drexler, Rockets
Battle Magic
Clyde Drexler has another
chance at an NBA title as
Houston squares off against
the Orlando Magic.
See Sports, page B2.
e I Jnrtíanh
Hv P romisi : K ing
Oregon Bond M arket
Improves
McCoy Declares Drug
Free Zone
jJS,. . ,
Students and staff at Gladys McCoy
Academy, 3802 N.E. Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd., have made a commitment to help
make their block a better place to live and
work. The school has declared the area a
drug free zone. The designation means that
any person caught selling or in possession
o f illegal drugs within 1,000 feet o f the
school would face arrest and a mandatory
16 month jail term.
Brew Pub For Kennedy
School
The historic Kennedy School at 5736
N.E 33rd Ave. will soon become an estab­
lishment for entertainment. McMenamins
Pubs and Breweries plan to covert the school
into a brew pub, theater, bed-and-breakfast
inn and community meeting-activity cen­
ter. The plan was recently approved by the
Portland City Council.
j
Vernon elementary students are get­
ting a first hand experience in learning how I
to improve the environment. EnviroCorps
community service workers have teamed
up with the students to plant berry and
| flowering native plants at northeast Port­
land’s Alberta Park. The naturescape project I
is next to Portland Fire Bureau Station 14.
It will provide food and habitat for migrat­
ing birds while improving the aesthetic
quality o f what is currently a stretch o f
lawn.
Plans For Big Pipe Laid
Portland plans to build a huge new
pipeline, 10 feet in diameter, through por­
tions o f north and northeast Portland. The
$90 mi I lion project is a key part ofthe effort
to reduce and control combined sewer over-
[ flows into the Willamette River and Co-1
lumbia Slough. A series o f public meetings
are being held to discuss the project and get
advice on alternative routes. Construction
is expected to start in the spring o f 1997 and
take three years to complete.
j
Chain Gang Draws
Inm ate Suit
An inmate has filed a $100,000 suit
against the state o f Alabam aalleging viola­
tion o f civil rights for forcing him to work
Ion a chain gain. Alabama instituted the
chain gang in a bid to reduce crime. Histor­
ically, chain gangs in southern states were I
primarily populated by black prisoners and
were often viewed as being a racist form o f
punishment.
I
New Commissioner
Named
An African American, Thomas Hill
Moore, has been sworn in as commissioner
ofthe U S. Consumer Produce Safety Com­
mission. He has over 10 experience as a
Senate staff aide and legislative attorney.
of providing continuing comparable employ­
ment wages and benefits with other employ­
wild cloud of a labor crisis is
ers, coalition coordinator Shelley Herochik
looming over Bess Kaiser
argued.
Medical Center as aggrieved
Herochik said in some cases, the propos­
w o rkers charge the hospital
als “violate current union contract provisions
m anagem ent w ith unfair labor
at Kaiser and Sisters o f Providence.”
practices.
The coalition is
T he m ed ical
angry that these pro­
c e n te r announced
posals set criteria and
last month that it was
co nditions that the
phasing out its inpa­
union members w on't
tient hospital in north
'
' L 4 .
* C
v
be able to meet.
P o rtla n d . At the
«3®
Herochik said the
sam e tim e, it an-
*
I workers wet e not rep-
nounced agreements
J
re se n te d w hen the
with Sisters o f Prov­
agreements were be-
idence on the reem­
■
ing reached.
p lo y m e n t o f d is ­
>**•
“ T h e ir p o lic y
placed workers.
» j C ' . .;.
jf
sounds very good on
Now a coalition
>SS K aiser le a d s
paper, yet when you
o f unions represent-
(O /a p or diSp Ute
analyze them, instead
ing the workers say
o f including as many
the agreements are unacceptable.
o f our members as possible they are really
The coalition charges Kaiser with refus­
excluding these members,” she said.
ing to negotiate with its employees over the
According to Providence, displaced
re-hiring and selection agreements even after
Kaiser employees must meet the minimum
three heated bargaining sessions.
qualifications o f its job descriptions and have
“Kaiser’s initial proposals with Provi­
a clean employment record within a 12 month
dence fall far short o f protecting our mem­
bers’ rights and retirement and also fall short
Continued to page B6
A
O regon’s financial picture has im­
proved as the state nears its final round o f
implementing the 1990 property tax limita-1
tion created by ballot measure 5. Accord­
ing to State Treasurer J im H i 11 there’s grow­
ing confidence in the strength o f O regon’s
economy by major investors.
;
Un i v e r 1
Eupene
q 7 403
Kaiser, Union
In Labor Duel
KN
Urban Environment
Improved
M ew sp
, L ib r
_______ _
■ ..A.,,;. .- t f
Woodlawn Elementary kids rollick in the sand of time. The first graders went
on a field trip to the seaside last Friday to learn more about nature and the
sea.
Contest Inspires Creativity
T
he Portland Rose Festival
holds a more literary meaning
for some area children.
Elementary and middle school students
participated in a new event which challenged
their creativity and writing skills.
Pac ific Power sponsored the Rose Schol­
ar essay contest, which was open to students
in grades 4 through 6 who attended public
schools in the com pany’s north and northeast
Portland service area.
I hey were asked to answer the question:
“ If you could invent something that runs on
electricity and make life better for people,
what would it be?”
A total o f 320 youngsters responded.
Their ideas ranged from helping others
stress. Another suggested a “gun recycler”
that would be used to melt guns into the
shapes of tools to build more homes and
shelter for the poor.
One writer suggested a robotic maid and
even priced it. And still another thought an
“automatic garbage retriever” would be nice
for people in a hurry.
Some inventions were humorous, others
showed the concerns ofyoung people regard­
ing the future ofthe planet. In one instance, an
inventor designed a “reclining toilet” de­
signed to make the bathroom “experience”
waiucu i u i i i v c i i i d iTidcnine to h e lp stop crime
and create a peaceful place for everyone.
Another created the “pollution killer,” agiant
vacuum cleaner that runs on solar power or
electricity, sucks the pollution from the air,
filters it - then releases back into the atmo­
sphere.
Prizes for the winners included gift cer­
tificates to Tower Records, $50 U S. Savings
Bonds, T-shirts, hats, a special Rose Scholar
Reception and an invitation to march in the
Pacific Power Junior Rose Festival Parade.
In addition, teachers received a $50 gift
Continued to page B6
Brown Brings Goodwill To His Community
ich ard Brow n m akes a
conscious and forceful effort
to make positive contributions
to his neighborhood and to his
heritage.
R
The community activist and photogra­
pher has been a resident o f northeast Portland
for over 20 years.
Last week Brown was aw arded the
George A Russill Community Service Award
by the Oregon Community Foundation. Ear­
lier this year he was named an outstanding
individual by the North-Northeast Business
Association.
Brown is a member o f the Black United
Front, The Police C h ie fs Forum, Rainbow
Coalition, the Black Leadership Conference
and the Citizen Crime Commission. He serves
on the board o f the House o f Umoja and
Albina Head Start.
Brown helped organize the community
patrol on Northeast Beech between Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Borthwick. Then
as neighbors began to walk the streets in
groups during the evenings, criminal activity
in the neighborhood dropped.
The patrollers have included Mayor Vera
Katz, other city officials police officers and
SPORTS
Richard Brown (right) receives an award for community service from Tony Barker
of the Oregon Community Foundation.
folks form all walks o f life.
Brown says he is concerned about neg­
ative images o f African Americans, especial­
ly males, and o f his community as seen in the
media.
“ My work is an attempt to
way we view ourselves and the
viewed by others,” he said.
Climb To
Help Big
Brothers,
Sisters
P
ortland resident Dan Blue
will make his way to the top
of Mt. Rainer this weekend.
Blue will be one o f 20 Big B ro th ­
er/B ig S ister sta ff m em bers and v o l­
unteers from acro ss the co u n try m ak­
ing the hike on b e h a lf o f area youth.
In north and n o rth e a st P o rtlan d ,
Big B ro th er/B ig S ister is sp o n so red
by the U rban League o f P ortland.
The organization m atches children
from single parent hom es w ith a c a r­
ing adult role m odel for a long lasting
one-to-one relatio n sh ip .
The w eekend “ Big C lim b ” w ill
kick o f f the Big B ro th ers/B jg S iste rs
o f A m erica national co n feren ce next
week in Seattle.
Each clim ber hopes to raise $2,000
for th eir local Big B ro th er/B ig S ister
a g e n c y . J a n tz e n o f P o r tla n d an d
M cD o n ald ’s R estau ran ts are c o rp o ­
rate sponsors.
A d ditional local sp o n so rs are still
being sought.
At 14 ,4 1 1 feet, W a sh in g to n ’s Mt.
R ainier is one o f the h ig h est peaks in
the co n tin en tal U nited S tates.
W hile this w ill be B lu e ’s first a t­
tem pt at scalin g Mt R ainier, he has
clim bed Mt. H ood and has rafted and
hiked in the H im alayas.
The clim b is being led by R ainier
M ountaineering Inc., a guide serv ice
headed by L.ou W hitaker, the first
A m erican to scale Mt. E verest in A las-
A nyone w ishing to support the Big
B ro th er/B ig S ister program can send a
donation to in care o f the U rban League
o f P ortland, 10 N. R ussell St., P o rt­
land, OR 97227.
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