Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, April 22, 1998, Page 16, Image 16

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    Page B8
APRIL 22, 1998
(Eljv Jlortlanh ©bscruer
GET OUTDOORS
Treat The 54nimals
A fascinating look at the useoftreuK toys, scents, plants and structures
to enrich the lives of the zoo animals. You’ll go into an exhibit, set out
enrichment treats, then watch what the animals do. Open to ages 16 anc
Over with a fee involved. The event is on Saturday, April 25 from 8 to 9
AM. Call 220-2781.
"Explore The "Willamette
Join the curious, outdoor enthusiasts and explore diverse wildlife,
habitats and restoration efforts along the Willamette River Birdwatching,
plant identification, water quality sampling and discussion during this
tour Hie event will be held on Saturday, April 25 at the Sellwood River
Front Park! Oaks Park Way and SE Spokane) I he time will be from 9:30
to 1 I 30AMJCall 823-7836.
K
"Whale 54nd "Bird "Watching
, \ Visit Newport and Yaquina Head for sameexcellent birdwatching and
whale viewing. Whale watching at its best from the water! Look for the
California Gray Whale as they take part in their annual migration. Visit
either the Hatfield Marine Science Center or the OregonCoast Aquarium
f i l l 292-6855^121.
\
7
i
g fg
CMedicinal ¿4nd "Edible "Plants
Interested in the magnificent world of plants? Michele Palazzo will
ntroduce the world of medicinal and edible plants in this basic three
session class. Take a look at the various qualities that common plants such
as dandelion, chickweed and red clover have to offer. Call 292-6855
X12I.
The Accentors
On Saturday, May 2nd, Oregon Field Ornithologist and Auduhoner
Paul Sullivan will lead you on a sunris^ to sunset birding quest! Visit hot
birding spots from Portland to the Coast and back and enjoy great views
ofmigrating songbirds, as well as thebirdi ng highlights o f Oregon’s mid­
coast. Call 292-6855.
f
Qreenspace Celebration
Celebrate the purchase o f over 3,200 acres of Greenspaces. Get an
update by Metro and local park officials on how the regional and local
sliareofthe $135.6 million bond measure has been used to but Greenspaces
and implement regional trail plans,Dance to the Flatirons, a local group
that blends old fash ioned country and swing music. Families are welcome!
A free event held on Tuesday, April 28th nt the BridgePort BrewPub from
5 30 to 8:30 PM. Call 292-6855 X I 11.
Seed The "Earth
Seed and plant exchange plus site clean-up of invasive plants and
replemshingofdisplay and children’s garden area. Also includes weeding,
composting, soil building and mulching. The event is on April 25th from
10 AM to I PM at the Fulton Garden. Call 823-1612.
Ocean "Boat "Ride
T ake a boat ride and get to know the wonders and woes o f our rivers with
H2O’s fun hands - on education program. All ages welcome. The trip starts
at the Columbia River downtown on April 26. Call 228-9600.
Qarlington Center Seeks
Community Recognition
and Support
C ontinued F rom F ront
In July o f 1997, we underwent a
State Medicaid audit that stated our
Center had no substantive irregulari­
ties. We now discover that we are
being accused o f Medicaid fraud by
parties unknown to us and , as a
result, that we are the subject ofa US.
Department of Justice investigation.
The County’s letter to us o f April
17th, states that they are no longer
willing to engage in funding discus­
sions with us due, in part, to the
pending Medicaid investigation. We
have only just been informed o f this
situation and the result o f the inves­
tigation won’t be available until late
May. Apparently, county officials
are willing to accept our culpability
without benefit o f the outcome o f the
investigation.
We worked cooperatively with the
County and took to heart their rec­
ommendations and requirements for
addressing our financial difficulties.
For example, at their insistence, we
actively pursued a merger with
CCMH and a costly preparation for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The
unfortunate outcome of the demand
that we prepare forChapter 11 is that
CCMH has withdrawn from our pre­
viously encouraging negotiations and
one of our other financial partners
has backed away from financial sta­
bilization arrangements to which they
had tentatively agreed. Ironically, as
we began exploring Chapter 11, it
became apparent that filing forChap­
ter 11 was unnecessary and not an
appropriate action for Garlington
Center to take. Furthermore, to out
knowledge, the County has taken no
action to encourage CC MH to recon­
sider withdrawing from our merger
negotiations and has given us no time
in which to pursue other options.
The County letter o f April 17th
referred to above, also states that
they are no longer willing to continue
to discuss a bridge grant we have
been negotiating with them to pro­
vide fortheCenter'sstabilization. In
addition to the fraud investigation,
one o f their bases for denial of funds
is the County’s perception of the
inadequacy of our financial projec­
tions. As County officials know full
well, those projections were only
preliminary and our final projections
are not even due until April 24th.
We are deeply troubled by what
appears to us to be overriding politi­
cal considerations that are to the det­
riment of the more than 700 cl ients of
Garlington Center and the health and
revitalization of the North/Northeast
community. We Board members
hope you will join us in our unwill­
ingness to acquiesce to the forced
demise of the Garlington Center. To
allow this organization to die would
be a gross disservice and grave in­
justice to the community we serve
and to the memory o f Reverend John
Garlington II. Public investment in
this agency over the past 17 years has
succeeded in building an infrastruc­
ture to support over 700 seriously
mentally ill persons. It would be fool­
hardy to destroy this investment be­
cause of a temporary financial situa­
tion due to a changing funding envi­
ronment.
We would like you to contact
County officials, let them know how
important you believe Garlington
Center is to the North/Northeast Com­
munity and what an irrevocable loss
its demise would be, and urge them
to do the following:
•
continue discussions with
us regarding a bridge grant.
eliminate the bankruptcy
requirement they placed on ourorga-
nization, and
give us the opportunity to
explore merging with an acceptable
partner.
The people to contact with your
support and concerns are Lolenzo
Poe (248-5212 or248-3691), Beverly
Stein (248-3308),Gary Hansen (248-
5219), Sharron Kelley (248-5213).
The situation is urgent. We need your
action now!
If you need additional informa­
tion, please contact a Garlington
Center Board member or Executive
Director Phyllis Paulson.
N A T IV E ELBEB'S EARTM * ÎP1IR1T
BASEB PRISON PIROCbB i i i r v u
C ontinued F rom P age B9
say that one o f the cen tral
purposes is reb irth . In the p ro ­
cess o f p u rific a tio n we are
cleansed o f the various p o llu ­
tions and poisons in flicted on
us since our o rig in al b irth , in ­
cluding the m ental and e m o ­
tional ones. The lodge becom es
for us an o th er wom b in w hich
w e c a n g ro w in s p i r i t u a l
stren g th to the point w here we
are ready to em erge again into
the w orld, reborn, as pure and
innocent as a new baby. You
may im agine, then, that this way
o f c o n fro n tin g and sh ed d in g
past hurts, m istakes, confusion,
and stress, and g ettin g a chance
to begin all over again, w ould
be b eneficial for anyone s e e k ­
ing a b etter un d erstan d in g and
a new sta rt in life .”
M a n i t o n q u a t ’s
m o n th ly
prison sw eat lodges are located
on the grounds in a secluded
area d esig n ated by the p riso n ,
betw een the b u ild in g s and the
o uter fence.
“ In my w ay o f le a d in g a
sw eat,” ex p lain s M an ito n q u at,
“ I use four ro u n d s, one for each
d irectio n , in w hich I focus on
h ealing the body, m ind, heart,
and s p irit.”
T h e e ld e r s a lw a y s m ak e
th em selves a v a ila b le for in d i­
vidual co u n se lin g b efo re or a f­
ter c irc les and sw eats.
M an ito n q u at b eliev es v a ria ­
tions o f his p riso n program "...
could ev en tu ally all but do away
with p riso n s as we know them
today, by red u cin g crim e and
h elp in g d istressed p erp etrato rs
turn th eir lives around. In a true
com m unity i f som ebody does
som eth in g w rong you d o n ’t put
him in a cage. You try to find
out how he can repay the d am ­
age he has done, to do so m e­
thing for the p eo p le that he has
h u rt, and you try to help him so
that he d o e sn ’t com m it such a
m isdeed a g a in .”
M anitonquat is en v isio n in g a
21st century version o f the way
native people handled w rong­
doing in th eir tribal villages b e­
fore white people came - respect­
fully, w ith sp iritu al pow er, as a
hum an com m unity em bedded in
the broad com m unity o f nature.
“ I am seeking leaders o fle a d ­
ers. N ot to set up h iera rch ies,
but to teach p eo p le th em selves
to be lead ers, to take re sp o n si­
b ility , to work w ith each other,
and solve th eir problem s by p u t­
ting th eir m inds to g eth er. For
me it is clea r th at the way to
heal so ciety o f its vio len ce, its
stru g g le for d o m inion, its fear,
h o stility , greed, and addictions,
its lo n elin ess and iso latio n and
lack o f love, is to rep lace the
pyram id o f d o m ination with the
circ le o f eq u a lity and re sp e c t.”
M an ito n q u at notes that he is
g ettin g o lder. He is looking for
oth ers to jo in or su p p o rt this
effo rt. To su p p o rt the program ,
co n tact: M ettan o k it Prison P ro­
gram : A n o th er P lace, Inc., 173
M eriam Hill Rd., G reenville NH
03048 USA, (603) 878-3201,
m etan o k it@ ao l.co m , Fax (603)
878-2793.
Celebrating Equitable , Sustainable Cities
B y M ichael H ouck
The evolution o f a m etro ­
politan-w ide G reenspaces in i­
tiative and the form ation o f the
C oalition For A Livable Future
are two on-the-ground, p o si­
tive program s to ensure we d e ­
velop an equitable and su sta in ­
able m etropolitan region.
C o n s e r v a tio n is ts lo v e to
quote H.D. T horeau’s “ In w ild ­
ness is p re s e rv a tio n o f th e
e a rth .” The iro n y is th a t a
dem onization o f cities often
accom panies efforts to protect
the wild. Wild is good, cities
evil, country beats the city e v ­
ery time. The so-called “A m eri­
can dream ” is to own a q u a rte r­
acre plot or, b etter yet, a hom e
in the country. O f course, e s­
caping the m uch-despised city
contributes to suburban spraw l,
c o n su m e s v a st a c re a g e s o f
prim e farm and forest land;
fragm ents w ildlife habitat; d e­
stroys com m unity; creates a r­
eas o f concentrated poverty in
inner cities; and significan tly
increases the cost o f infrastruc­
tu re , in c lu d in g s to rm w a te r
managem ent.
If we really w ant to protect
the landscape our m otto for the
21 st C entury should be “ In liv­
able cities is preservation o f
the w ild .” For, unless we cre­
ate com pact, land-conserving
cities we cannot hope to p ro ­
tect the rural hinterlands and
w ilderness that contribute to
our quality o f life. But, in o r­
der to prom ote “ Smart G row th”
and create cities people actu ­
ally w ant to live in we also
have to provide a vibrant urban
G re e n fra stru c tu re w hich in ­
cludes h ealthy stream s, natural
areas and neighborhood parks.
In 1903 John C harles Olm sted
told the Portland park board that
“ While there are m any things
which co n trib u te to the beauty
o f a great city ...u n q u estio n ab ly
one o f the g reatest if a co m p re­
hensive park (sy stem ).” He laid
out for us, and for Seattle as
well, a park m aster plan which
included a variety o f park types,
including “ scenic re serv atio n s”
like Forest Park and Sm ith and
Bybee Lakes.
so u th east P ortland, and we need
to ensure th at as the entire re­
gion grow s it does so in an eq u i­
tab le and su stain ab le m anner.
In 1995 R obert L iberty, ex ­
ecu tiv e d irecto r o f 1000 Friends
o f O re g o n , in v ite d M y ro n
O rfield , a state leg islato r from
M in n e a p o lis , to P o rtla n d .
O rfield had docum ented the eco­
nom ic d isp arity that develops
betw een com m unities as rapidly
grow ing, spraw ling suburbs cap­
ture a larg er share o f the re ­
g ional tax base, w hile urban
The 21st Century should be “In
livable cities is preservation o f the
wild. ”
O lm sted ’s vision for an in ter­
connected system o f parks is the
b a s is
fo r
our
m o d e rn
G reenspaces system .
In May o f 1995 the region
passed a $135.6 m illion bond
m easure to acquire 6,000 acres
o f G reenspaces. As o f M arch,
1998 Metro acquired 3,210 acres
with its share o f the regional
$135.6 m illion bond. M etro has
also provided over $9 m illion
for 48 neighborhood and co m ­
m unity park projects. In ad d i­
tion to M etro’s purchase o f re ­
gionally significant natural a r­
eas, local ju risd ictio n have also
added to local parks and natural
areas w ith th eir $25 m illio n
share o f the G reenspaces bond
measure.
As im portant as G reenspaces
are, we also need a ffo rd ab le
housing, economic revitalization
o f north, n ortheast and o u ter
neig h b o rh o o d s with the highest
social needs stru g g le to meet a
high dem and for services, with a
d w indling tax base. O rfie ld ’s
visit cataly zed the form ation o f
a new co alitio n o f organizations
w hich had not co llab o rated with
one another.
It was to prevent the so cio ­
eco n o m ic and e n v iro n m e n ta l
d isintegration in our own region
that O rfield has described else ­
where that brought together over
forty n o n -profit groups to form
the C oalition For A L ivable Fu­
ture.
The C o a litio n ’s O b jectiv es
are:
1. Protect the re g io n ’s social
and econom ic health including:
p reventing displacem ent o f low
and m oderate incom e residents
and people o f color; assuring
equ itab le access to em ploym ent
and affordable housing through-
out the region; reversing po­
larization o f incom e;
2. D evelop a sustain ab le re
lationship between human resi­
dents and the re g io n ’s eco sy s­
tem s by p ro tectin g , restoring
and m aintaining healthy w ater­
sheds, fish and w ildlife habi
ta t, and G re e n s p a c e s b o th
w ithin and outsid e the Urban
G row th B oundary;
3. Assure fair d istrib u tio n o f
tax burdens and governm ent
investm ent w ithin the region;
4. Prom ote a d iverse and to l­
erant society;
5. In crease p u b lic u n d e r­
standing o f reg io n al grow th
m anagem ent issues.
To date, the CLF has p er­
suaded M etro to adopt p ro v i­
s io n s
fo r
f a ir
sh are
inclusionary zoning for affo rd ­
able housing; adopt low income
com m unity econom ic re v ita l­
ization language in the R e­
gional Fram ew ork Plan; and
adopt flood plain and w ater
q u ality m an ag em en t re g u la ­
tions.
M ore in fo rm a tio n on th e :
C oalition For A Livable Fu­
tu re can be o b tain ed at the
C o alitio n ’s offices at 534 SW
Third Avenue, Suite 300, P ort­
land, OR 97204 (phone: 503-
2 9 4 -2 8 8 9 ,
e m a il:
zack @ frien d s.o rg ). For more
in f o r m a tio n
about
th e
G reenspaces work o f the C oa­
lition contact: M ike Houck, Ur­
ban N aturalist, A udubon S oci­
ety o f P o rtla n d , 5151 NW
C ornell Road, P o rtland, OR
97210. Phone: 503-292-6855
X l l l ; fax: 292-1021; em ail:
houckm @ teleport.com .
Clean Rivers Stari With You.
Every day, storm drains carry
pollutants into our waterways.
Here’s what you can do.
■ Scoop up pet poop and
Hush il down the toilet or
toss it in the trash.
■ Maintain your car to
prevent pollution from oil,
fuel, and antifreeze leaks.
■ Wash your ear at a ear
wash or on the grass
to keep dirty water out
■ Landscape with native plants
to eliminate the use of
pesticides and fertilizer that can
be carried from your yard by
water runoff.
■ Properly dispose of paints
and solvents. For information
call Metro 234-3000.
■ Sweep sidewalks, driveways
and patios instead of hosing
d irt and debris into the street.
UUMF NO VIST!
WAINS TO STRUM
F’/nrf out more. Call the Regional Coalition lor Clean Rliers and Streams al 823-5610.
• (.!«•« kam.is fount \ Ih parim i nl of I |f|lii< > • (¡la«MMN* • Happy Valley • L ik e Dsweg«» • Milwaukie • Oak l.iulge Sanitary Disili« I ODHOIti
• On gim Lily • kl\« r«nwe • Wi-sl Linn • W ilsum lllr • City uf On-sham. Kminmmenlal S rrvhva • City uf h u ila m l fùnlm nm rnlal ScrvfcTB
• Multnomah (.«Hiiity • Mullin mi.ih Drainage IMslrfeM • Port «< Pnrtlaml • Oregim Dt-|tarUnrnl uf lransport.il ii hi • I nldetl Sewerage \gem y
ItheRegional
Coalitionfor
Clean Rivers
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