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Winter Brings Child Care Challenges Image Consultant To
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Like
thousands r>
of T u/nrLino
working par­
ents throughout, Ed Watson and his
wife Liz have a precarious game plan
for child care during the week.
Liz, a police attorney, drops off
Andrew, 3, at a child-care center at
7:45 a.m. on her way to work. Ed, a
hank vice president, drops off Sarah,
6, at school at 8:15 a.m. on his way to
work.
Sarah finishes school at 3 p.m. and
goes to an after-school enrichment
program until Liz, who works an
early flex-time schedule, gets off work
at 4:30 p.m. and picks up both kids.
The routine relies heavily on ev­
erything falling into a predictable
pattern — both parents working reg­
ular hours, both children being
healthy and the schools staying open.
But bring on a winter storm, an
out-of-town work assignment or the
flu and the Watsons’ careful routine
is as useless as a four-wheel drive on
~l__
glare ‘ ice .
With the number of double-in­
come families like the Watsons on
the increase, employers are feeling
the pressure to offer more flexible
child-care options in case of weather
emergencies, sudden illnesses or
school holidays not observed by
employers.
A growing number of employers
have responded by offering back-up
on-site care or allowing parents to
work at home when their child-care
plans fall through.
While most don’t encourage it,
some employers contacted last week
said they allow workers to bring in
school-age children when emergen­
cy care can’t be found.
Of course, a good number of em­
ployers don’t or can’t offer back-up
care.
Diane Curry whohaschildren ages
5, 6, 7, and 8, asked her mother to
watch the brood for part of the day.
Her brother usually watches the chil­
dren when she and her husband
Charlie, who also works, cannot —
such as after school.
Curry said sh e's fortunate her
bosses work out a suitable work
schedule with her when she’s in a
ch ild -c are jam . For exam ple,
when school started last Septem ­
ber Curry had no after-school
care in place. So she worked 8
a m. to 2 p.m., picked up the
children, went home to cook din­
ner and clean the house, then
picked up her husband in the late
afternoon.
“We work for real good people,”
Curry said. “They told me it was all
right, as long as Charlie was here.”
After she was able to get her brother
to watch the kids, Curry began work­
ing 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in December.
Workers at small companies and
those in blue collar industries typi­
cally have no choice but to lose a
day’s pay and stay home with their
children.
Some office workers are expected
to find alternative child care in cases
of emergencies rather than bring the
children in.
Ed Watson said he and Liz trade
off taking vacation days in child-care
emergencies. Like many working
parents, the Watsons have no ex­
tended family in the area who can
care for the children.
"If one of us is not working out of
town, then we’ll stay home to take
care of the kids," Watson said.
Sometimes thejuggling of respon­
sibilities requires tag team-like skill.
In many cases, bad weather is pref­
erable to being under the weather.
Many businesses also close down
during snow storms, so parents also
can take the day off.
Visit Nordstrom’s
Darlene Mathis
Advertise in the
Portland Observer
rights Shine Brighter At Area Schools
It’s not every day that changing
some light fixtures earns a check for
$150,000 for an energy-conscious
consumer.
But as electricians recently twist­
ed in the last fluorescent lights in the
Jefferson High School cafeteria, Port­
land School Board member Marty
Howard accepted a check for the
school district’s general fund in an
innovative partn ersh ip with
PacificCorp.
“ Lighting im provem ents at
Jefferson and 28 other schools in the
district will save Portland public
schools more than 4 million kilowatt
hours of electricity each year,” said
Mira Vowles, energy engineer for
the school district.
Combined with regular mainte­
nance costs in the longer-lasting
bulbs, the school district will save
more than $200,000 each year
through lightingefficiency measures.
E n v iro n m e n ta lly fr ie n d ly
lighting brightens more than the
hallways, classroom s and cafete­
ria at Jefferson.
“It could be pretty gloomy around
here sometimes,” said Jefferson Prin­
cipal Alcena Boozer. “Better light­
ing also means an improvement in
the student learning environment.”
Nordstrom Lloyd Center has an­
nounced its plans to host image
consultant Darlene Mathis on
Thursday, Feb 15.
Mathis is the author of Women
ofColor, the Multicultural Guide to
Fashion and Beauty. She was re­
cently profiled in Essence maga­
zine and is the founder and presi­
dent of Monday Mornings Hair De­
sign, Inc., a full-service salon in
Washington, D.C.
Mathis will be available to meet
with store customers from 10 a m
to 5 p.m. in the cosmetics section on
level two. To make an appointment
or for special accommodations in­
formation, call the store at 287-
2444, extension 1416.
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^ üPí' Se«
School Board President Luscious Hicks (left), accepts a check from Larry Blaufus o f Pacific Power,
during a ceremony at Jefferson High School. Also pictured are school board member Marty Howard (from
left) and deputy school superintendent Donald McElroy. The district earned $150,236 from Pacific
Power in an incentive program to replace old lights with energy efficient ones.
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Fresh Cauliflower or
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