M A Y 5,1998
Page A4
(Elje |Jnrtlanò ffîbseruer
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
(Ebe |Jn rtla n b (iPbseruer
Attention Readers!
Please take a minute to send us your comments. W e're always trying to giveyou
a better paper and we can't do it without your help. Tell us what you like and
what needs improvement... any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. We
take criticism well! Get your powerful pens out N O W and address your letters
to: Editor, Reader Response, P.O. Box 3157, Portland, O R 97208.
(Tljc ^lortlanb (iDbserucr
(U S P S 9 5 9-680) E stablished in 1970
Charles W ashington
P ublisher A Editor
Mark Washington
Distsribution M anager
Gary Ann Taylor
B usiness M anager
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
Director o f Operation
Tony W ashington
A ssista n t Editor
lesha Williams
Gruphic Design
Contributing Writers:
Professor McKinley Burt,
Lee Perlman,
Neil Heil pern
Joy Ramos
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Bivd.,
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015
Email: Pdxobservf« aol.com
Deadline fo r all subm itted materials:
Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm
POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer,
P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208.
Periodicals postage p a id at Portland, Oregon.
Subscriptions: $60.00 p e r year
The Portland O bserver welcomes freelance submissions. Manu
scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned
ifaeeom panied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display
ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in
other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the
general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f
such ad. < 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITH
OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.
The Portland O bserver—O regon’s Oldest Multicultural Publica
tion—is a m ember o f the National Newspaper Association—Founded in
1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated
Publishers, Ine, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
S ubscribe
to
£ i | c $ b r t i a « h <if)h s e w e r
The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $60.00
per year. Please t ill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to:
S ubscriptions
T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137
P or i land , O regon 97208
Name:
Address:
City, State:
Zip-Code:
T h an k Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
P 6 C t 1 r e s
/ c r
When Reality Is Real, Not Virtual, II
1
ment and tools, electronics, optics,
astronomy and the like, i am goingto
use the same successful approach I
used in The Dalles, Oregon in sup
port to kid’s science club (1966).
At the tim e I had transferred
from the accounting and data pro
cessing division to the electronics
departm ent. I had ju st won a N a
tional Science
F o u n d a tio n
aw ard for The
D alles Junior
B$ P rof .
High School-
M c K ini ,EY my m athem at
ic s-c o m m u n i
Bl Rl
cations project
w as the first
tim e in th e
country “on-line com puter term i
nals w ere placed in a ju n io r high
classroom and data interchanged
with Portland and other cities." Un
fortunately I was never able to see
the Portland School D istrict on the
concept, though I was able to get
the m anager o f the A ssociated Press
to aid me in developing the struc
ture.
So here are some sources for many
types o f the equipment and instru
ments that would be relevant to the
operation o f youth science clubs o f
various ages. Just one o f the reasons
been an inspiration to some curious
students. An interest in inventors as
people working to improve condi
tions for humanity and not necessar
ily personal gain, speaks well ofyour
influence on these young people.
As a side effect ofy o u r visit, “si
lent” Norman has become more com
municative and has caught up on all
his w ork, he
even ran for Stu
dent Body Presi
den t and a l
though hed id n ’t
m ake it, he
tried.”
T h a t is the
kind o f stuff that
enables your to
“keep on, keepin’ on” through the
years. Especially when you accumu
late them from diverse and sundry
locales; Oakland, Atlanta, Brooklyn,
Chicago, Klamath Falls, W ashing
ton D.C., etc. There is one thing
wrong, however, those were the ‘salad
days,’ but now we read depressing
headlines indicating that the inner
city education situation has retro
gressed. We will have some rather
pointed commentary in later issues.
Right now, it seems that there is a
significant problem in identifying and
procurring relevant science equip-
You are quite right, those o f you
who said this 'reality’ series is an
excellent and necessary follow up to
that “Identity and Motivation” se
ries. A number o f parents say you are
“right on, for there is nothing like
emphasizing a ‘connection’ to the
resulting economic gain.” D on’t let
your kids move from adolescent to
obsolescence.
A parent who was a teacher at
Madison High when I was on their
career program, February 1987, now
has two teenagers o th e r own who are-
involved in our Black Inventors
Motivation Program. She still has
several o f the hand-outs I distrib
uted.. One in particular is o f special
significance to her; “ I used the ap
proach to revitalize a flagging inter
est in school work among my own
kids
The reference was to several hun
dred copies o f a testimonial I had
received form eighth grade teacher,
(Mrs.) Fern Morey at Kellog School.
It was written October 13, 1970.
“ I want to thank you for
coming to Kellogg and talking to our
240 seventh and eighth grade stu
dents. Character shows from within,
and your message about self disci
pline and attitudes was most timely.
Yourbook, “Black Inventors,” has
sPrtta ‘(Po Uir (PUP/Mr
ing together to find a resolu
tion to Garlington’s current
financial situation. On April
3,1998 Garlington received $108,393
to pay staff salaries through April 30,
1998. The mutual agreement and con
ditions imposed were to fulfill receipt
of the $108,393 and not intended as a
part o f a “bridge grant option.” The
most recent financial projections re-
ceived from Garlington continue to
show a deficit. As a result o f this
situation, Garlington lacks sufficient
funds to pay their May 5,1998 payroll.
Therefore, on April 23, 1998, the
County terminated their contractual
agreement with Garlington Center.
Ensuring that clients in North/
Northeast Portland continue to re
ceive culturally competent services is
Send your 'cuci* lo ih« Fd.'u» Io:
Fd.ü< f’û R«<» I I 17. Portbrul OR 972IW
Dear Editor,
I wish to respond to the Portland
Observer’s April 22nd articled on the
Garlington Center. It is critically im
portant that the community know' that
Multnomah County and the Depart
ment o f Community and Family Ser
vices (DCFS) are committed to main
taining a stable, culturally competent
service delivery system to the clients
who are in need o f critical mental
health services in North/Northeast
Portland.
For the past several weeks the
Garlington Center, DCFS and the State
o f Oregon’s Mental Health and De
velopmental Disabilities Services Di
vision (MHDDSD) have been work
JM /M B01PPU$H
C O A L IT IO N
I
C a ro lin a , T e n n e sse e , W est V ir
g in ia , V irginia.
* A pp ro x im ately 22 m illion
people live in A ppalachia.
“ D istressed" A reas
For FY 1998, 97 A ppalachian
co u n ties (eight in southeastern
O hio) were “distressed" according
to the A ppalachian Regional C om
m ission. To qualify as a distressed
area, a county must have all three
o f the follow ing conditions:
* 8.6% o f more unem ploym ent
from 1994-96. U.S. unem ploym ent
from 94-96 was 5.7%
* 67% or less ($ 12.934) o f U.S.
1995 per capita market income (ex
cludes transfer paym ents).
* 150% or more 1990 U.S. pov
erty level (19.7% or More).
* O r two tim es the U.S. poverty
rate (26.2% ) and either 8.6% un
em ploym ent or 67% per capita
m arket income.
Health Care in A ppalachia
T w e n ty -fiv e o f tw e n ty -n in e
counties in Appalachian Ohio have
been designated as health profes
sional Shortage A reas (H PSA ),
defined as a com m unity with inad
equate access to prim ary care phy
sicians.
* A dam s C ounty, OH has a resi
dent to physician ratio o f 4,555 to
I.
* Vinton C ounty, OH, with a
total population o f 11,951 people,
has only one physician.
Education In A ppalachia
R eseg reg atio n o f schools and
r e d u c tio n o f o p p o r tu n ity a re
b ased on a real e sta te tax base -
class. So w h eth er A ppalachian
or urban C h icag o , our ch ild re n
and
a re
u n d e rse rv e d
u n d e ru tiliz e d .
* V inton C ounty (O H ) High
School does not have a lunch
room. If a student does not have
any m oney to buy lunch at a
nearby restaurant, that teenager
m ust get his or her subsidized
lunch at the elem entary school,
and sit dow n and eat with the
little kids. Many students choose
hunger over shame.
D o e sn ’t A p p alach ia A ttract
C haritable G iving?
O ne m ight think that because
the needs are so great, A ppala
chia w ould receive a dispropor
tionately high share o f charity.
The sad truth is it does not.
The D onors Forum o fO h io re
cently analyzed the rate o f growth
o f new private foundations and
found:
* Betw een 1989 and 1992,
foundations in A ppalachian Ohio
accounted for only I percent o f
all new grants.
* A p p a la c h ia n O hio re p re
sents 13% o f the s ta te ’s p o p u la
tion and a m uch h ig h e r sh a re o f
the s ta te 's p oor. Rev. Jackson
co m m itte d to help e sta b lish a
F o u n d a tio n fo r A p p a la c h ia n
O hio to sp u r c o n trib u tio n s and
d e v elo p m en t.
Rev. Ja c k so n stre sse d that in
a tim e o f such g ro w th , w ealth,
p ro sp e rity , and w ith the stock
m ark et b re a k in g re c o rd s d aily ,
“ W e a re le a v in g far too m any
A m e ric a n s b e h in d and in the
m a rg in s .” He u rg e d th a t we
adopt the M arine creed - “ Leave
no A m erican B e h in d ."
a top priority o f the County and
State. It is my hope that the
Garlington Board will focus its en
ergy on assisting the County and the
State in developing a transition plan
to assure that these services remain
viable in North/Northeast Portland.
Sincerely, Lolenzo T. Poe, Di
rector Department o f Community
and Family Services
To
Leave No American Behind
This past w eekend. Rev. Jesse
Jackson traveled to O hio U niver
sity in A thens, OH in an attem pt
to refram e the national debate
and focus attention on the class
gap: the gap betw een the stock
w ealthy and the sw eat poor.
H orizontal gaps o f race and
gender are based upon laws and
custom s that can be closed if the
present laws are enforced. Includ
ing race and gender is not a zero-
sum gam e. Inelusion invariably
leads to grow th.
But it is the vertical class gap
that is leaving too m any A m eri
cans behind. W ith deregulation,
the ro o f is o f f for the w ealthy.
T he floor has been rem oved for
the poor. The m iddle class is anx
io u s
f a c in g
d o w n s iz in g ,
o utsourcing, and loss o f benefits.
T he m iddle class feels the giant
sucking sound o f g rav ity 's dow n
w ard pull.
The very issues that seem ra
cial in content when viewed from
the lens o f a place like Chicago
turn out to be class when view ed
from the lens o f A ppalachia. As
Rev. Jackson said, “ If I w ere to
give the sam e speech in Harlem ,
A m erica w ould miss the point.
Race w ould have been used as a
d eco y .”
W here Is A ppalachia? W ho Is
A ppalachian?
A ppalachia extends from New
Y ork to G eorgia and includes all
o r part o f 13 states:
* A la b a m a , G e o rg ia . K en
tu c k y . M a ry la n d , M ississip p i,
N ew Y o rk , N o rth C a ro lin a ,
O h io , P e n n s y lv a n ia , S o u th
(just one) 1 joined the "Association
o f Oregon Industries (AOI)” was to
meet those in the science and tech
nology field who could provide real
time advice and assistance in this
field. I found out how valuable that
was when working at the Aluminum
plant in The Dalles, Oregon.
Write for the following catalogs”
The best supplier for beginners
through college Junior:
Pelescopes-Mircroscopes-Optics-
Biology-Physics-Motors-Magnets
Edmund Scientifics 1998 catalog
for Science and Engineering Enthu-
siasts-C'onsumer Division, 800-728-
6999, 101 East Glaueester Pike.
Barrington NJ 08007-1380 (much
unobtainable in Portland).
Micro Mark, The Small Tool Spe
cialist (for metal working-also have
many model kits) 1-800-225-1066,
340 Snyder Ave.. Berkeley Heights,
NJ 07922-1595.
The Woodworkers Store, 1-800-
279-4441. 4365 W illow D rive,
Medina, MN. 55340.
Every type of equipment for metal
and woodworking Harbor Freight
Tools, 1-800-423-2657, 3491 Mis
sion Oaks Blvd. Cam arillo, CA.
93011-6010
The rest o f this story will be con
tinued next week.
P ro g ra m s
F o r tu n a te ly ,
th e re still re
th a t
m ains a safe
yo u r fam ily’s val
haven
ues.
on
television.
OPB,
W e're
th in k any b u d -
and w e ’ve got
B a rn e y
We d o n ’t
■ d in g y o u n g a rtist
fun, nonviolent shows
lik e
r e in f o r c e
should be inspired by
& i
v io le n c e . D o y o u ?
Friends, T h e Puzzle
O P B . Part o f a happy
Place and now A rthur,
c h ild h o o d for
all part o f the R ead y to
over a q u a rte r
L earn Service on O PB .
o f a century.
PBS
T his I s W hy T here ’ s OPB.
OPB
I h r Ready to I earn Service on PBS is brought to voti
m P',r’
Its Where You Belong
uww.opb.org
( " l P” r-U|,’ n fnr PuMn Hmadcasting