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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 1998)
JULY 29,1998 Page A8 (TI k ÎJnrtlaub ©bweruer ''Family M a tte r s : 'The M ?ay I t 'W as TV . Cene Lus ion B \ P rof . M c K i s m B i r i “ I'm in the rruxxl tor love, simply because I’m near you. Funny. but w Iren yo u 're near me. I'm in the mood..." W henever Robert McFerrin S r . the taught the protocol tor locating and then securing the permission o f an absentee property owner to grade his vacant lot. And y ou learned the techniques for scav enging parts to build racers for the Soap lead tenor in our high school choir sang those or similar, soulful lyrics during auditorium period, girls w ere known to leap on stage from the low er balcony. A mischievous student and later a famed cixnedian. "Red Foxx'.also could be tbund on that balcony , but the girls w ere energized tor different reasons. "R ed" as he already was known was headed tor the nation’s night club circuit ;md television successes, while Robert McFerrin Sr. became a star ot the New Y olk Metropolitan opera. More talent Box Derby. Negotiate! A cooperative proprietor o f a comer serv ice station often pmvided groups o f neighborhixxt youths (if well behaved) w ith space and some tools for their auto motive projects. Others were known to develop rather sophisticated shops in a home garage, l ike local mechanical ge nius Thomas (D on) M Rutherford w ho at age 15 was converting gasoline-powered from St. Louis. A nd w ho isn't familiar w ith the vocal magic ot Robert 'sson. Bobby M cFem n - the acappella wizard w hose voice is an 'instrum ent' which has no bounds. At will, he is a w oodw ind. a brass fanfare or percussion, classic, pop, country, blues, or conducts a symphony. A nd that is"T he Way It Was", for the laterlifeofsom eottheblack children I v c described; follow ¡ngthelamplighterfrom block toblock.tightingtbr extra booksto read in grades 5 and 6, kid-sponsored- and-tinanced inter-neighborhixxlbiev cle races and sort ball (funded by collecting rags, bottles and scrap metal). Another societal imperativ ew asasort o f 'technology transfer' between suc ceeding generations o f youths. Skills, wills and attitudes were handed down to (inherited by) the next age group; from howtorepairthe"New Departure Brakes" on coaster bicycles, to setting up a sc ience club in a basement or fantastic ju m p rope routines. O r if a new baseball diamond w as needed in the neighborhood, you were increasingly impoverished neigfibor- hoodsandlifestyles-thefrillspa-tnim of African Ameircan existence as it re- mairetodayeflrctivesolutionsfortnday’s problems could be derived from experi ence. For me and youths in similar situ ations, a w hole new world opened up before amazed eyes-not virtual but real. automobiles to diesel. I he very same Don Rutherford I fea tured here on February 25 ot Black His tory Month; The Benson High School and Univ ersity o f Oregon graduate. Profes sional Engineer (P.E.) and designer ot the critical engine controls for Howard Hughes' famous giant flying b o at the "Spruce Goose" (locally on display at Evergreen Aviation Educational Center. McMinville. Oregon). Will his schools There were new kinds ot people, atti tudes. places, sounds, challenges - and ambitions. A nd grandpa. E. Collins Scott, the strong moral compass and scholar ot the clan ‘still w as beside m e' (to this day ) - through athousand dangers, while learn ing a score o f crafts after dropping out o f ev er honor him? This, indeed, has been "The Way It Was" and I believe it has been demon- strata! that the remarkable serialization o f the"Village",thatextendedfemilyofhome, school and neighborhood, structured the spiritual strength and humanity which sus- tai tied black peoplethmugh all the parallel ing horrors o f racism - from lynchings to employment and housing discrimination. Well, let us see i f that ubiquitous "Sup per Table Input" can prevail in a not- uncommon case. W hen my grandfather died. Circa 1930. that classic middle class family o f ours disintegrated-my mother and I becoming a stand-alone unit', an eight-year old child and an emotionally distraught divorcee, not coping very well. There followed a gradual descent into high school in the elev enth grade - never to return! W ehad been prepared tom ind the rich lode o f public and university libraries in America, elementary school is foundation. As it w as with m y peers o f similar situations across this country, I found no th e sc o p e o f w o rk id e n tifie d b y th e s e rv ic e s itin g p o lic y . I he g ro u p w ill d e fin e th e is su e s an d d e sire d o u tc o m e s fo r a p ro c e s s th a t b a l a n c e s s e rv ic e n e e d s, leg al r e q u ire m e n ts . a n d n e ig h b o rh o o d in te re sts a n d c o n c e rn s in lo c a tin g c o m m u n ity s e rv ic e s . A s te e rin g c o m m u n ity o r ta s k fo rc e w ill lik e ly b e a s s e m b le d in th e fall to im p le m e n t re s tric tio n s in im p acted a re a s, o p tio n s fo r fair sh a re sitin g p o licies, b ro a d e n in g th e u se o f G o o d N e ig h b o r a g re e m e n ts, and th e e ffe c tiv e n e ss o f e x is tin g p o lic ie s and p ro g ra m s d esig n ed to a d d re ss sitin g related p ro b lem s. T h e w o rk g ro u p ’s re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r th e sc o p e of w o rk to b e a d d re sse d w ill b e p re w o rk g ro u p . A m o n g th e issu es th e g ro u p w ill c o n sid er fo rth e c o m m u n ity in v o lv e m en t p ro cess a re co n c e rn s to r im - provi ng co m m u n icatio n s, tren d s and n eed s fo r so cial se rv ic e s, o u treach an d e d u c a tio n , v o lu n ta ry fu n d in g Kites and balloons should be flown in open areas away from lines difficulty passing the entrance exam to Northw estern Law School (now Lewis & Clark ). orto Los AngelesCitv College nor to gaining certi fication to practice in Federal Tax Court. In the late 1940's and 1950’s it was diffieulttoainvince Portland that youvverc ahighschtxildrvipoutaixlasrxithem ghetto “village' ’ had so prepared y o u -at a higher Keep clear of trees or structures close to power lines level titan many o f the teachers (even today). Haidertoconvincearterl set up the ‘U nion Avenue Finance Company" for whitecardealerson M LK’ whovveremy accounting clients - 1948-1951. My 1972 appointment to the faculty ofPSU simply affinned ' our’ perception ofthedisaster overtaking American edu cation. In industry w e knew something w as terribly w rong for w e often got illiterates at the personnel dœ r-college grads. See my "Perspectives” column p.4; Teacher testing debacle. Social Services Sting Policies Sought In an e ffo rt to im p ro v e c o m m u n ic a tio n a ro u n d th e sitin g o t a ran g e o f so c ia l s e rv ic e s . C o m m is s io n e r G re tc h e n M ille r K a fo u ry h as c h a rg e d an in te rb u re a u w o rk g ro u p w ith d e fin in g a s c o p e o f w o rk to r a c o m m u n ity in v o lv e m e n t p ro c e s s th a t w ill re s u lt in a p ro p o s e d so cial Jack S Jill went up the hill & played near poles and wires. A line was down S Jack soon found if touched he would EXPIRE. se n te d to C ity C o u n c il in th e fall. In a d d itio n , tw o n ew p o s itio n s a re b e in g c re a te d to a ss ist w ith s it in g issu e s. M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty 's P u b lic A ffa irs O ffic e w ill d e v e lo p a c e n tra l in fo rm a tio n c e n te r fo r C o u n ty fa c ilitie s a n d p ro g ra m s s it in g . A fa c ilita to r at th e O ffic e ot N e ig h b o rh o o d In v o lv e m e n t s N e ig h b o rh o o d M e d ia tio n C e n te r w ill w o rk w ith c o m m u n ity m e m b e rs , so c ia l s e rv ic e an d h o u s in g p ro v id e rs , a n d c o n s u m e rs o f s e r v ic e s to a d d re s s c o m m u n ity c o n c e rn s , d e v e lo p G o o d N e ig h b o r p la n s , an d p ro v id e b a sic in f o rm a tio n o n s itin g issu e s. Mahala, age 7 Treat all lines on the ground or overhead as energized Stay away from substations or anything marked Danger: High Voltage Funding for Portland Light Rail Projects approved in Senate committee U .S. S e n a to rs R on W y d en and G o rd o n S m ith h av e w on $ 2 6 .7 m il lion in fu n d in g for th e ex p an sio n ot P o rtla n d ’s ligh t rail sy stem . T h e m o n ey is co n ta in e d in th e I ran sp o r- tatio n A p p ro p ria tio n s bill for next y ear, w hich w on co m m ittee approval to d a y , and w h ich g iv es M etro flex ibility to use th e fu n d in g c ith e r for c o m p le tio n o f th e W estsid e p roject o r final d esign and rig h t-o f-w ay a c qu isitio n for the S o u th -N o rth project. W in n in g suppo rt for light rail e x p a n sion and im p ro v in g O re g o n 's tra n s p o rtatio n fu n d in g w ere tw o o f the s e v e n b ip a r tis a n p r i o r it ie s th a t O r e g o n 's tw o sen ato rs laid o u t at the b e g in n in g o f the 105th C o n g ress. "A s th e m etro p o litan area co n tin u es to g ro w , a vital m ass tran sit sy s tem w ill b e a n im portant part o f m ain ta in in g th e P o rtlan d a re a 's special c h aracter,” said W y d en . “T h is new inv estm en t in lig h t rail w ill h elp ease traffic co n g estio n and im p ro v e air q u ality th ro u g h o u t th e re g io n .” "T h is new fu n d in g w ill p ro v id e m uch need ed u p g rad es to both tra d i tional and altern ativ e m o d es o f tra n s p o rtatio n ,” said S m ith. " T h e se im p ro v em en ts w ill help p reserv e the high q u ality o f life for O reg o n ian s, p ro v id e co m m u ters w ith m o re o p tions, and k eep us at th e fo refro n t ot in n o v atio n .” In ad d itio n to the light rail a p p ro p riatio n , th e bill also h elp s O reg o n w ith fu n d in g fo rm u la in creases that w ill h av e a tre m en d o u s effect state w id e o n h ig h w ay , air, and m ass tra n sit. T h e A irp o rt Im p ro v em en t P ro gram (A IP ) fu n d in g fo rm u la, w h ich p ro v id es g ran ts fo rcritical safety and in frastru ctu re im p ro v em en ts at a ir p o rts, assig n s $ 7 .2 m illio n fo r O r eg o n n ex t y ear, u p from $ 5 .9 m illion for th is year. O reg o n w ill receiv e $ 2 6 0 m illio n fo r ro ad an d b rid g e c o n stru c tio n th ro u g h th e F ed eral h ig h w ay A d m in istratio n (F H A ), an in crease from th e $ 2 2 8 m illio n a p p ro p riate d last y ear. F u n d in g for m ass tran sit p ro g ram s, su ch as bus sy stem s and light rail, w ill be boo sted from $23.3 m illion in O reg o n to $25.9 m illio n n ex t y e a r th ro u g h th e re tio n (F T A ) fu n d in g form ula. L ast y ear and e a rlie r th is year, W y d en an d S m ith w o rk ed to g eth er a r e s till p e o p le w illin g to tu rn th e i r h a tr e d in to v io l e n c e ," s a id S te v e G r o s s m a n , D N C N a tio n a l C h a ir . " B u t a c c o r d in g to c u r r e n t la w , th e i r d e p lo r a b le a c ti o n s m a y n o t b e c o n s id e r e d a fe d e r a l c rim e . T h is le g i s l a tu r e w ill p r o v id e f e d e ra l p r o s e c u to r s th e to o ls th e y n e e d to in v e s tig a te , p ro s e c u te , an d , h o p e f u lly , p r e v e n t h a te c r i m e s .” U n d e r c u r r e n t la w , f e d e r a l p r o s e c u to r s m u s t p ro v e n o t o n ly th a t th e c rim e s w e re r a c ia lly m o tiv a te d . b u t th a t th e v ic tim s w e re h a rm e d b e c a u s e th e y w e r e e n g a g e d in s p e c if ic , f e d e r a lly p r o te c te d a c tiv ity s u c h a s v o tin g . T h is r e s tr ic tio n m a y m a k e fe d e ra l p ro s e c u tio n in c a s e s s u c h a s th e ra c ia lly m o tiv a te d m u r d e r o f J a m e s B y rd , Jr. la s t m o n th e x tr e m e ly d if f ic u l t, i f n o t im p o s s ib le . T h e “ H a te C rim e s P r e v e n tio n A ct o f 1 9 9 8 " e lim in a te s th is r e s tr ic tio n . “ T h is b ill w ill a llo w fe d e ra l utdoor electric safety is important to all of us — on th e In term o d al S u rface T ra n sp o r tatio n an d E fficien cy A ct (IS T E A ), w h ich a u th o rizes th e tran sp o rtatio n w o rk d escrib ed a b o v e; y e ste rd a y 's especially this time of year when we’re outside bill actu a lly allo c a te s th e m o n ey to states to carry o u t th at w ork. in Pacific Power’s Electric Safety Contest, we want to C O N G R E S S S H O U L D P A S S T H E “H A T E C R IM E S P R E V E N T IO N ACT OF 1 9 9 8 ” T h e D e m o c ra tic N a tio n a l C o m m itte e to d a y cal led u p o n C o n g re s s to p a s s th e “ H a te C r im e s P r e v e n tio n A c t o f 1 9 9 8 " (S .1 5 2 9 , K e n n e d y ). T h e b ip a r tis a n b ill w ill p r o v id e a d d itio n a l fe d e ra l a u th o r ity to p r o s e c u te h a te c r im e s b a se d o n th e v i c t i m 's ra c e , c o lo r , n a tio n a l o r i g i n , r e l ig i o n , g e n d e r , s e x u a l o r i e n ta t io n o r d is a b ility . “ T h e re c e n t e v e n ts in J a s p e r , T e x a s h a v e s h o w n u s th a t th e r e Dustin- age 11 w o rk ed F ederal Transit A d m in istra p r o s e c u to r s to w o rk w ith s ta te a u th o r it ie s a n d is n o t in te n d e d to u n d e r m in e th e ir a u th o r ity in any w a y . M a n y h a te g r o u p s h a v e in te r s ta t e n e tw o r k s w h ic h m a k e it h a r d e r fo r s ta te o f f ic ia ls to d eal w ith th e m . T h is b ill r e c o g n iz e s th e fe d e ra l ro le in p ro s e c u tin g and p r e v e n tin g h a te c rim e s an d s tr e n g th e n s th e h a n d s o f fe d e ra l a u th o r it ie s ." s a id G o v e r n o r R oy R o m e r, G e n e ra l C h a ir o f th e D N C . “ F e d e ra l o f f ic ia ls n e e d in c re a s e d a u th o rity to sto p th e sp read o f h a te c rim e s . C o n g re s s c an g iv e th e m th e to o ls th e y n e e d b y p a s s in g th e ‘ H a te C rim e s P re v e n tio n A ct o f 19 9 8 ' a n d w e s tro n g ly u rg e th e m to d o s o ,” R o m e r sa id . more. With the help of some of last year’s winners make you aware of some of the potentially hazardous situations you and your kids can get into while working or playing outdoors. For a free color-your-own fun poster & glow-in-the-dark magnet for kids, call 1-888-221-7070. > PACIFIC POWER A PacifiCorp Company www.pacificorp.com
