Volume X X V I, Number 7
Committed to eultural diversih
Riding Diversity
Wave
King Speech
Recalled
The Coast Guard aims to be
employer o f choice fo r a
diverse workforce.
Martin Luther King Jr.
delivers "I Have A Dream
speech at 1963 March on
Washington
See Metro, inside.
See Black History, page A 7.
Publisher
Washington
Still Critical
Thousands Homeless
From Flood
Torrential rain and melting snow led to
the worst flooding in memory last week for
many residents o f Oregon and W ashing
ton, leaving thousands o f people home
less. Lake Oswego and Tualatin were two
o f the hardest areas hit. Floodwaters from
the Willamette R iver also covered homes I
and businesses in Oregon City.
Portland Seawall Holds
A record run off o f the Willamette R iver
was held at bay last week from flooding
downtown Portland and the eastside by the
I city s seawall. Thousands o f volunteers I
j Joyce Washington^
ortland Observer Publisher
P
Joyce W ashington remains
hospitalized in critical condi
tion in the intensive care unit at Lega
cy Emanuel Hospital.
W ashington, 59, suffered a heart attack
Feb. 6 w hile driving home during the lunch
hour from the Portland Observer offices.
She was rushed to the hospital by am bu-1
lance and then suffered a second heart I
and Portland public works crews built up I
the wall with plywood, cement, plastic and
rock in anticipation of the rising waters.
Mudslides Close 1-5,1-84
Tw o massive m udslides closed 1-84 be
tween Troutdale and Hood R iver last week I
and flooding closed 1-5 between O lym pia
and Chahalis. The worst flooding in 30
years isolated several communities and
other small pockets o f Oregon and W ash
ington. Hundreds o f roads were closed or
partially blocked by slides and washouts.
is growing to the north and west as a new student human
Cascade campus is reflecting new vitality for the inner city
is were constructed on North Killingsworth Street.
Flooding Kills Seven
Northwest floods took seven lives last
week, four in Oregon. At least three others
in Oregon were missing on Monday. Tw o
men disappeared after driving a pickup
truck into nine feet o f water at the Salem-
K eize r city limits and a Troutdale woman
remained m issing after her house was swept I
down the Sandy River.
,
j
attack the same day while hospitalized. She
has not regained full consciousness.
Life supporting equipment was removed
I uesday and she was able to breathe on her
own.
O ur fam ily has received many prayers
and we grateful. We are also praying for a
complete recovery,” said her son Chuck
Washington, Portland Observer senior ed-
Northwest Flood Recovery
ederal and state officials began
Mark Clemens, a spokesman for Washing
organizing a massive cleanup
ton state’s emergency management, said pre
effort after devastating flood
liminary reports from seven o f 19 affected
ing, while high water kept many commu
counties showed $33 million in damage, a total
nities in Oregon and Washington isolat-
he said was sure to rise.
F
At least 500 people stayed in Red Cross
Water
Conservation Urged
shelters overnight, and hundreds more were
staying with relatives or friends.
O fficials from several government agencies
discussed how to dispose o f waste, including
hazardous chemicals and sandbags, that might
have been contaminated by raw flood sewage.
Flooding dirtied Portland’s B u ll Run
water supply and caused officials to close
conduits irom the B u ll Run reservoirs tor
several days. Conservation o f water was
urged from last Thursday until noon Tues
day as the city and surrounding areas relied
on Colum bia R iver southshore wells and I
in-town storage to meet drinking water
needs.
i
Hay Dropped
To Hungry Cattle
National Guard helicopters were used
Sunday to drop more than six tons o f hay to
900 hungry cattle on Hayden and G overn
ment islands in the Colum bia River. A ll
boat traffic on the river has been banned
until floodwaters recede.
Area Declared
National Disaster
President Clinton signed federal d is a s -1
ter declarations for Oregon and W ashing
ton last week becauseofdevastating floods.
The declarations w ill provide federal funds
for temporary housing, fam ily grants and |
ow-interest loans.
EDITORIAL
(Photo by Michael
Leighton)
Treatment Houses Proposed For Concordia
Pumping Saves
OMSI Building
Round-the-clock pumping o f floodwa
ters from the basement o f the Oregon M u
seum o f Science and Industry, located on
the eastside o f the W illamette River, is
credited with saving the facility, but m il
lions o f dollars in damage is still feared.
Downtown
Portland weathers
torrential
downpours, but
the threat o f
flooding is
averted.
oiicnn uamon coates. He said officers arrest-
ed a man in a rowboat seen stealing from
evacuated homes. Officers were tightening se
curity in areas where waters were still too high
to allow people to return.
In Lake Oswego, where floodwaters invad
ed dozens o f mansions over the weekend,
officials warned residents to leave sandbags in
place at least through the end o f the week
because ofconcem overa flood gate on acanal.
“ I think people are beginning to think about
cleanup, but there’s a possibility o f that gate
giving way this afternoon,” said Laura Price, a
city official.
wR ■ w R
I f W A V houses
h n i i c o c for recover
wo halfway
Both houses are proposed for 2,500 square
ing women alcoholics and drug
feet, with five bedrooms, based on a design
addicts, on sites a block apart -
by architect B ill Church that H A P has used in
on Northeast 2 5th Avenue, are proposed
four other locations, she said
for construction by the Housing Author
The units would be built on vacant lots
ity of Portland.
seized by Multnomah County for non-pay
One house, near Northeast Emerson Street,
ment o f taxes.
w ill house up to five women who have gone
Katy Treb o f the Multnomah County D e
through a substance abuse recovery program
partment o f Corrections said the Emerson
and a .e currently on parole or probation, and
House, to be called Gazelle House, w ill not
up to three children, H A P development pro
havea resident manager. However, she said,
gram m anager Jeanette Sander told the
its occupants w ill be monitored regularly and
Concordia Neighborhood Association at its
w ill be removed ifthey violate the conditions
February meeting.
o f their release.
T h e o th e r h o u se , n e ar N o rtheast
We w ill screen occupants very, very care
Killingsw orth Street, w ill house five chroni
fu lly," she said. “ We know this is your neigh
cally mentally ill women undergoing treat
borhood, and you don’t want problem s."
ment at the Garlington Center.
She added that the countv has o n e r a t n t a
T
HOUSING
sim ilar facility on Northeast Couch Street for
five years, and that w hile some occupants
have returned to their addictions, there have
been no problems or complaints from neigh
bors.
I hree people who own property near the
house supported this.
Deb A lliso n o f the Garlington Center said
their facility w ill h a v e a resident manager.
A llison said that 70 to 80 percent o f center
clients have substance abuse problems.
Glenn W illiam s, also o f the Garlington
C enter, said that the group's living arrange
ment is important to the clients’ long-term
recovery.
“ We find that we do real well with them all
day, but it’ s at night and on the weekends that
they think about relapsing," he said.
Noel le Webb, a developer who owns prop
erty near the two houses, questioned HA P ’s
decision to place two such facilities so close
together.
“ I think these are both excellent programs,
but it s a matter o f how much impact you have
on a particular community,” Webb said
Sander said the decision to site the houses
was based on the availability o f the property.
She added that according to the city ’s Bureau
of Housing and Com m unity Development,
there are relatively few special needs houses
in the area.
Staff from both programs said they hoped
community residents would take an interest
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