P age A4
D ecember 20, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
P o lic e N ew s
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M an W rite s $ 6 1 ,0 0 0 In Bad C h e c k s
The Beaverton Police Depart-
I ment, in cooperation with Crime
Stoppers, is asking for your help in
apprehending Ralph Robert Rickert.
According to investigators,
Rickert is believed to have passed
I at least $61,000 in “ bad checks.”
Rickert obtained drivers’ li­
censes in Oregon and Washington
| under the assumed name o f Bruce
Edward Wendland. After opening
I a checking account at a Washing­
ton bank, Rickert wrote approxi­
mately 120 "bad checks” to area
I merchants.
Rickert is described as a 30-
year-old white male, with a date o f l
birth o f March 18, 1965. He stands!
about 6 feet tall, weighs 175 to 195
pounds, with black hair and brown
eyes. He may wear glasses when |
writing checks and may be accom­
panied by an adult white female)
with blond hair.
Crim e Stoppers is offering a I
cash reward o f up to $1,000 for
information, reported to Crime Stop- f
pers, which leads to an arrest in this
case or any unsolved felony crime
and you need not give your name, [
C all Crim e Stoppers at (503) 823-
H ELP
Fraud suspect,
Ralph Robert Rickert.
C o vington Faces Murder Charge
A 19-year-old north Portland
man has been arrested for murder in
I connection with an Oct. 30 traffic
death. Police said the suspect, Donte
LaVoy Covington, was arrested Dec.
4 as he arrived at the Justice Center
to make a court appearance on a
recent cocaine arrest.
Covington is charged in the death
o f Victor P. Drayer, 40, who died o f
head injuries when he fell from a
truck in the 4400 block o f North
Gantenbien Avenue. The victim was
run over by the vehicle, police said.
A witness said Drayer was hanging
on the truck just before he fell
Portland Police Bureau detec
I tives, in cooperation with Crime
Stoppers, are asking for your help
I in identify ing and apprehending the
| suspects responsible for a robbery.
brown eyes. At the time he was
wearing a white sweatshirt, black
sweatpants, and was armed with a
small black handgun.
Suspect #2 is described as a
black male, 6' tall, weighing 150
pounds, with black hair and brown
eyes. At the time he was wearing a
black nylon parka, dark pants, and
a dark color knit capt.
Crim e Stoppers is offering a
cash reward o f up to $1,000 for
information, reported to Crim e
Stoppers, which leads to an arrest
in this case or any unsolved felony
crime, and you can remain anony­
mous. C all Crim e Stoppers at (503)
8 2 3 -H E LP .
Robbery suspect #7
seen.
Suspect #1 is described as a black
male in his early 2 0 ’s 5 ’9 tall, clean­
shaven, with short black hair and
Barott said 15 inmates, o f whom
five w ill work as back-up workers,
were selected from 50 applicants to
handle phone inquires for O M A P
The contract w ill also improve
services to medical providers, re­
duce a backlog o f tough claims and
free up regular staff to handle the
most difficult questions and to help
providers, said Hersh Crawford, act­
ing director o f O M A P in the Oregon
dure or diagnostic code in a billing.
He said first-year savings are greater
than those in subsequent years be­
cause O M A P isn’t responsible for
furniture, phone and other start-up
costs.
Without the contract for O S C I
inmates’ work, Crawford said, the
state would have been forced to hire
more employees to handle the vo l­
ume o f Oregon Health Plan calls.
He said inmates w ill have no
access to confidential patient records
and that two O M A P staff members
are assigned to the O S C I phone room
to ensure that providers receive a
high quality o f customer service. I le
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A new book by historian Adib
Rashad, Islam, Black Nationalism &
Slavery, A Detailed History, has just
been released. In this fascinatingstudy,
Mr. Rashad identified the major land­
marks in the history o f Muslims in
America, documenting many contri­
butions o f Africans to Islam, the pres­
ence o f African Muslims in America
before Columbus, and the role Islam
played in Muslim slaves surviving the
ordeal o f bondage.
Beginning with the origins o f
Islam in Arabia and continuing to the
African empires o f Ghana, M ali and
Songhai, Mr. Rashad examines the
influence the religion had on the peo-
P t . r or ru t
A c t io n
vise council about Sister C ity rela­
tionships, unanim ously recom ­
mended the alliance. Elie Kasab,
Chairman o f the International A f­
fairs Commission w ill accompany
the mayor. Joyo met the require­
ment o f city sponsorship as out­
lined by the commission. Keith
Kiplan also traveled with the May­
or representing the Vancouver R o ­
tary Club
A n em ergency inform ation form
is required for each ch ild .
The open gym program is co­
sponsored by the Vancouver Parks
and Recreation Department and Van­
couver School District.
Open gym sites are: M artin
Lu th e r K in g Elem en tary S ch o o l,
4801 Idaho St.; H arn ey E le m e n ­
tary S c h o o l, 3212 E. Evergreen
B lv d .; Fru it V a lle y Elem entary
S c h o o l, 3301 F r u it V a lle y
R o a d ; R o o se ve lt E le m e n tary
S ch o o l, 2921 F a lk R d .; W ash­
in g to n W le m e n ta ry S c h o o l;
2908 “ S ” St. (program starts
D ec. 9).
C ity Vancouver Public Infor­
mation D ivision, (360) 696-8016.
Fax (360) 696-8942.
pies o f the continent and the impact
o f slavery on A frica n M uslim s
brought to the Americas. He offers
several biographical sketches ofpre-
C iv il War Muslim slaves and how
Islam was reintroduced into the Un­
tied States at the turn o f the century.
Mr. Rashad describes the rise o f
Islamic and B lack Power movements
in urban areas o f the U.S. and pre­
sents vivid portraits ofsuch powerful
historical figures as Marcus Garvey,
drew A li, Elijah Muhammad, and
Malcolm X . The book also incudes
biographical profiles ofcurrent lead­
ers such as Minister Louis Farra-
khan, Imam Jam il A l-A m in (H. Rap
Brown), Imam W .D. Mohammed,
and many others who have contribut­
ed to the present African-Am erican
Islam ic consciousness. The chapters
on Elijah Muhammad and Louis Far­
rakhan are particularly revealing,
shedding much light on the origins
and teachings o f the Nation o f Islam.
Islam, Black Nationalism & Sla­
very, A Detailed History, which in­
cludes an introduction by renowned
Islam ic scholar Dr. Sulayman S.
Nyang o f Georgetown and Howard
Universities, is by far the most com­
prehensive history written to date on
the influence o f Islam on African
Americans.
New & used books on
Business, Music, &
African-American Studies
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C o a s t G uapd
h
said no O M A P staff members are
being laid o ff but, as vacancies oc­
cur, the Medicaid office w ill review
workload.
In February, Crawford said, the
state intends to move the contract for
public inquires about the Oregon
Health Plan from a private contrac­
tor to Corrections Industries. That
phone line is for members o f the
public - about 1,500 a day - seeking
eligibility and applicant information,
and Crawford said it makes sense to
consolidate both operations into a
single phone center. Corrections In­
dustries already has the contract to
mail packets o f Oregon Health Plan
information to people w ishing to
apply for coverage.
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U.S.
been inhabited since 2000 B .C ., has
a population of 85,427 and covers
about 33 kilometers o f land. The
geography o f Joyo generally match­
es Vancouver.
Joyo was formally approved as
a sister city by city council on Oct. 2.
The Vancouver Rotary Club is the
official sponsor.
Vancouver's International A f­
fairs Commission, appointed to ad­
New History Book Features
Minister Farrakhan
Inmates Get Jobs While State Saves Money
Department o f Human Resources.
Crawford said the phone assis­
tance, previously available only six
hours a day, w ill now be available
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., including noon
hours. He said the contract with C o r­
rections Industries w ill enable the
state to reduce a six-month backlog
o f complex claims to as little as two
weeks.
“ We were mandated by voters
to train prison inmates and to save
tax dollars,” Crawford said. “This
means we can assign our best-trained
employees to work the toughest cas­
es while giving jo b experience han­
dling more routine questions to peo­
ple at O S C I." He said better service
may mean that physicians and den­
tists w ill be more w illing to accept
Medicaid patients.
Crawford said medical provid­
ers’ question - about 800 a day - are
often about payment errors that re­
sult from having used a wrong proce­
on a goodwill visit to Vancouver’s
| official sister city, Joyo in Japan.
The mayor carries a proclama-
| tion and a plaque written in English
and Japanese form alizing the rela­
tionship between the two cities.
Joyo C ity is in the center o f
Yamashiro Basin halfway between
Kyoto and Nara. The Joyo area has
Kindergarten to fifth grade
children can escape the weather
and play inside five elementary
school gyms on Saturdays from
10:30a.m. to 12:30p.m. G ym sw ill
be open Saturday, Nov. 18 through
March 9.
Th e program is free and
features an hour o f o rgan ized
sports and an hour o f free play.
D o u b le P a y o ff:
The state Medicaid office is con­
tracting with Corrections Industries
for inmates to answer routine billing
inquiries from physicians dentists,
hospitals and other medical provid­
ers about Medicaid and the Oregon
Health Plan
It is the first contract to be im­
plemented under terms o f last year’s
Ballot Measure 17, which requires
prison inmates to spend 40 hours a
week in work or on-the-job training.
The arrangement is expected to
save the Medicaid office, known as
the Office o f Medical Assistance
Programs (OM A P), $213,000 in the
first year and $94,000 annually after
that.
“This is what Measure 17 in­
tended—jobs for inmates, training for
inmates and savings for taxpayers,”
said Bobbie Barott, office services
supervisor forCorrections Industries
in the Oregon Department o f Correc­
tions
“We believe giving more in­
mates a chance to work w ill not only
improve their attitude in the institu­
tion but also give them better prepa­
ration for jobs after their release,”
Barott said. “These inmates are en­
thusiastic about this opportunity and
are quizzing each other on the Med­
icaid training they’ve received.” She
said the inmates received a month o f
training.
Mayor Bruce Hagensen, de-
I parted Vancouver on Oct. 19, 1995
K ids D u ck The W e a th e r
C ash C o n n e c tio n R o b b ery
On Wednesday, November I,
1995, at about 8:00 in the morning,
| two subjects entered the Cash Con-
I nection check cashing service at
| 2929 S E Powell Boulevard. The
suspects confronted an employee at
gunpoint, and forced her into the
rear o f the store. One subject re­
moved money from a cash register
while the other forced the employee
to open the vault. After obtaining a
I substantial amount o f cash, the sus-
I pects fled on foot. No vehicle was
M a y o r H ag e n s e n D e p a rts
On G o o d w ill V is it To Joyo, Japan
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