Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 17, 1999, Page 7, Image 7

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National Urban League says Supreme
Court Census Decision is unfavorable
9
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FEB. 17, 1999
Page A7
The Suprem e Court, in decision
likely to inflam e political tension
throughout the nation, ruled that the
2000 census couldn’t use statistical
sam pling to obtain a more true count
o f Am ericans. Sam pling is the scien­
tific m ethod developed to reduce in­
accuracy inherent in the census count
and in particular the count o f minority
communities.
Ironically, the C ourts decision is
likely to have a lasting negative im­
pact on the political influence in Con­
gress o f predom inantly w hite com ­
m unities around the county. This is
because the Court ruled that the 1976
federal census law prohibits the use
o f sam pling for the purpose o f appor­
tionm ent - that is the division o f
congressional seats am ong the states
- but the rulin did not restrict the use
o f sampling for purpose o f legislative
redistricting - that is the division o f
congressional seats w ithin a state
The result o f this bifurcated deci­
sion is that States w ith significant
pockets ofm inority populations, such
as N ew York, will continue to lose-
Health Division
issues Measles Alert
represented in the allocation o fco n -
gressional seats relative to the ap­
portionm ent census count. This is
likely to sit w ell w ith w hite com m u­
nities w hen congressional districts
are draw n based upon the 2000 cen­
sus. Even w orse, the two m ethods
o f population counting and the re­
sulting d isp arities co uld lead to
sig n ifia n c tly in c re a se d p o litica l
fighting betw een urban and subur­
ban m unicipalities as the size o f the
pie w ill now be sm aller than the sum
o f its part.
out on the apportionm ent o f seats in
Congress due to the low count o f
m inorities in those states resulting
from theoldcountingm ethods. While
at the same atime, for redistricting
purpose, cities that have sizeable
m inority populations w ithin these
states will reflect the greater actual
num bers o f m inorities as a result o f
the use o f statistical sam pling m eth­
ods.
As a consequence o f the dual
co u n tin g m easu res, th e se citie s
populated by m inorities will be over-
Don’t Worry about Grandpa’s
Pacemaker in the year 2000
M any people who rely on com ­
puter chips to live such as individu­
als with pacem akers-are w ondering
whether the millenium bug will affect
th e ir lives. W ell, g ran d p a and
grandm a d on’t have to worry that
their heart devices will stop ticking in
the year 2000. According to Provi­
dence St. V incent Medical Center com-
puterexperts, the computer chips within
pacemakers-unlike many other com-
puters-don’t care a bit about the date
function. So, when the year 2000 rolls
around, the chips inside pacemakers
will continue to function just like they
always do.
CLOTBUSTING WITH LASERS
Each year, more than 700.000people
in theUnited States have a stroke. Al­
most one third OD U.S. stroke victims
will die and another one-third face per­
manent disabilities. But a new clot-
busting laser may bring New Hope to
stroke victims. Researchers at Provi­
dence St. Vincent Medical Center and
Oregon Medical Laser Center and the
Oregon laser thrombolysis. Laser
thrombolysis uses laser light to de­
show that anti-throm bolytics are ex­
trem ely effective w hen used in con­
ju n c tio n w ith s te m m in g and
angioplasty (procedures to keep the
arteries open and blood flowing to
the heart). D espite these advances,
how ever, aspirin is still one o f the
best clot-busting m edicines for sur­
viving a heart attack. Providence St.
Vincent Medical Center cardiologists
suggest that people at risk for heart
trouble never leave hom e without an
aspirin and get to a hospital im m edi­
ately if they experience chest pains.
stroy blood clots blocking the flow o f
blood to the brain. Since lasers can
vaporize clots in ju st a few minutes, the
revolutionary technique m ay extend
the window o f time o f stroke victims
can successfully be treated-giving
them a greater chance o f survival.
ASPIRIN: D ON’T LEAVE HOME
WITHOUT IT
There are a wide variety o f powerful
new medications on the market to stop
blood clots from forming and growing
within heart patients-a class o f drug
know n anti-throm bolytics. Studies
About Al King
kids land good jo b s right out o f high
school. T he U tility Trades Program
he started is already serving over 200
kids at Benson and Jefferson and will
soon be underwat at Roosevelt. His
program identifies talented students and
exposes them to the classes they need
to prepare forapprenticeships after high
school. Along the way, A1 is there to
mentor them. On any given day, he can
be found in local classrooms, reminding
Kidss o f all the reasons to remain in high
school and take full advantage o f the
training available to them.
(P O R T L A N D ) H ealth o fficials
a n n o u n c e d t o d a y t h a t tw o
m e a sle s c a s e s h a v e re c e n tly b ee n
re p o rte d
in O r e g o n .
A
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty m a n d e v e l­
o p e d th e c h a r a c te r is tic ra sh on
J a n u a r y 2 , a n d a C la c k a m a s
C o u n ty w o m a n o n J a n u a r y 4,.
a c c o r d i n g to B e l e t s h a c h e w
S h ife ra w , M D , M P H , e p id e m i­
o lo g is t w ith th e O re g o n H e a lth
D iv isio n . T h e c a s e s w e re s u b ­
se q u e n tly c o n firm e d b y la b o ra ­
to ry te s ts . H e a lth o f fic ia ls are
n o w se e k in g to d e te r m in e th e
so u rc e a n d e x te n t o f th e o u t­
b re a k .
M e a sle s ty p ic a lly b e g in s w ith
a c o u g h , ru n n y n o s e , c o n ju n c ­
tiv itis , a n d fe v e r. T h e s e sy m p ­
to m s a r e f o llo w e d b y a re d ,
b lo tc h y ra s h th a t b e g in s o n the
fa c e a n d s p re a d s to th e re s t o f
th e b o d y . M e a sle s is h ig h ly c o n ­
ta g io u s a n d is tr a n s m itte d b y
a irb o rn e sp re a d .
D r. S h ife ra w c a u tio n e d th a t
p e r s o n s w ith a r a s h i l l n e s s
sh o u ld n o t ju s t “ d ro p in ” to th e ir
p h y s ic ia n ’s o ffic e o r to th e e m e r­
g e n c y ro o m . “ S in c e m e a s le s is
v e ry c o n ta g io u s , w e a d v is e th o se
w h o s u s p e c t th e y m a y h a v e
m e a s le s to c a ll b e fo re h a n d an d
a rra n g e an a p p o in tm e n t w h ere
o th e r p a tie n ts w ill n o t b e e x ­
p o s e d ,” S h ife ra w sta te d . P e r­
so n s are n o lo n g e r c o n ta g io u s
fo u r d ay s a f te r th e ra sh h a s a p ­
p e a re d .
T h e b e s t p re v e n tio n a g a in st
m e a sle s is to b e fu lly v a c c in a te d .
A d u lts b o rn d u rin g o r a fte r 1957
w h o h a v e n o t h a d m e a sle s o r
a r e n ’t s u re i f th e y h a v e h a d
m e a sle s s h o u ld re c e iv e o n e d o se
o f m e a s le s v a c c in e . C o lle g e s tu ­
d e n ts an d c h ild re n o n e y e a r o f
ag e an d o ld e r s h o u ld re c e iv e tw o
d o se s o f m e a s le s v a c c in e , g iv en
at le a st o n e m o n th a p a rt. A d u lts
b o rn b e fo re 1957 h a v e p ro b a lly
a lre a d y h a d m e a s le s a n d are p r e ­
su m e d to b e im m u n e.
“ H e a lth - c a r e w o rk e rs h a v e
b e e n at h ig h e r risk o f m e a s le s in
re c e n t U .S . o u tb r e a k s ,” sa id D r.
S h if e r a w .
“ T h e r e f o r e , th e y
sh o u ld c o n s u lt th e ir in fe c tio n -
c o n tro l p r a c titio n e rs a b o u t the
n e e d fo r v a c c in a tio n .” H e a lth ­
c a re p r o v id e rs w h o s u s p e c t
m e a sle s in a p a tie n t s h o u ld n o ­
tify th e p a tie n t's lo c a l h e a lth d e ­
p a rtm e n t w ith in 24 h o u rs ,
S h ife ra w sa id .
Surf the Clark
County Code Book
V A N C O U V E R , W A - R e s i­
d e n ts w h o w a n t to f in d o u t
a b o u t c o u n ty o r d in a n c e s th e
e a sy w a y can n o w s c ro ll
th r o u g h C la r k C o u n ty C o d e
B o o k o n lin e .
E v e r y th in g fro m m a rria g e li­
c e n s e f e e s to w e e d c o n tro l to
f ire p r e v e n tio n o r d in a n c e s c a n
b e f o u n d in th e C o d e B o o k ,
w h ic h is c o d ifie d f o u r tim e s a
y e a r.
T h is is a v a i l a b l e o n th e
c o u n ty ’s I n te r n e t h o m e p a g e
at:
w w w .c o .c la r k .w a .u s /
c o m m is h /o rd /in d e x .h tm
T h is p a g e is lin k e d to a lis t o f
o r d in a n c e s th a t h a v e b e e n a p ­
p ro v e d b u t a re n o t y e t c o d i­
fied .
F in d it at:
w w w .c o .c la r k .w a .u s
commishZaneword.htm
Al King (right) shown here speaking with a student (left)
A L King grew up in Portland Pub­
lic School system , graduating from
Benson High School in 1954. Those
were the days w hen inner-city high
schools had a reputation for prepar­
ing youth for great careers as trades­
people - and A l w as no exception.
He took a jo b w ith PGE in the early
1970’s, having been recuited to the
com pany through an affirm ative ac­
tion program . H e started out in the
com pany’s storeroom and w orked
his w ay up the ranks over the next few
years. He later transferred to P G E ’s
W estern Division, w here he becam e
a m em ber o f the aerial lighting crew
responsible for keeping the street
lights glowing in an area extending
from W ilsonville all the way to down-
tow nPortland. F o rth en ex t 14years,
Al didn ’ t just change street light bulbs
- he also changed the public’s opin­
ions about electrical w orkers with his
friendly, outgoing personality. The
co m p an y rea lize d w hat a g reat
spokesm an they had in Al and pro­
m oted him to hum an resources spe­
cialist, a jo b he will retire from this
spring at the age o f 63.
W hen he joined P G E ’s human re­
sources team. Al noticed two trends:
The com pany was experiencing a
demand for skilled workers, linemen,
carpenters and welders, but w as hir­
ing fewer and few er skilled trades­
people am ong the m inority popula­
tion. After doing some research, he
realized that local h igh sch o o ls
w eren't” doing enough to prepare
young people for these careers, hav­
ing phased out their technical pro­
grams. Then he rolled up his sleeves
and w ent to w ork on the problem .
W orking closely with schools and
the local business com m unity, Al ws
instrum ental in reintroducing the
auto, carpentry, electrical and w eld­
ing shop program s that help at-risk
Community Health Plan Clinic
expands services, seeks
board members and New Site
P O R T L A N D - T he N orth P o rt­
land N u rse P ra c titio n e r c o m m u ­
n ity H ea lth C lin ic w ill so o n e x ­
p an d its se rv ic e s to b e n e fit c h il­
d ren n ee d in g ac c e ss to a ffo rd a b le
h ea lth care. N ow in its 19,h year,
th e C lin ic is re c o g n iz e d as a “ safe
p lace" for children in need o fh ea lth
ca re se rv ic e s an d is k n o w n as the
C lin ic o f “ la st re s o rt” . A cc o rd in g
to Rev. V icto r B row n, C hairm an o f
th e c lin ic B o a rd , “ W e h av e se ­
cu re d fu n d in g from se v e ra l fo u n ­
d atio n s an d b u sin e sse s th a t w ill
allo w us to b e tte r se rv e th e h e a lth
ca re n eed s o f o u r c o m m u n ity ’s
c h ild re n . W e now se ek a la rg e r
lo c a tio n a n d c itiz e n s w h o can
v o lu n te e r th e ir tim e as B o a rd
M e m b ers” . M ariah T ay lo r, C lin ic
fo u n d er an d N u rse P ra c titio n e r,
ad d e d , “ re c e n t y ears h av e seen a
d ram a tic in creasein h o m eless and
S p a n ish -sp e a k in g fam ilies n e e d ­
ing a c ce ss to q u ality h e a lth care.
O ur E v e ry C h ild A H e a lth y C h ild
p ro je c t allo w s us to h ire a seco n d
n u rse p ra c titio n e r an d tw o h a lf­
tim e S p a n ish -sp e a k in g o u trea ch
w o rk ers. T his m ean s th at m o re
c h ild re n w ill be b e tte r se rv e d by
o u r clin ic . H ealth c a re is a rig h t,
not a p riv ile g e ” . S in ce e a rly fall
the C lin ic has se cu red g ran t fu n d ­
ing from the N o rth w e st H ealth
F o u n d a tio n P a c ific a re F o u n d a ­
tio n , T em p leto n F o u n d atio n , K ai­
se r P e rm a n e n te , L o re n e S a ils
H ig g in s C h a ritab le T ru st, L am b
F o u n d atio n and L arso n L eg acy
T ru st. T h e C lin ic seek s c o m m u ­
n ity re sid e n ts w h o can co m m it
se v eral h o u rs a m o n th as B oard
m em b ers, se rv e on a C o m m ittee,
help se cu re a new lo c a tio n or v o l­
u n teer in o th er w ays for the C linic.
In te re ste d c itiz e n s are u rg ed to
call M ariah T ay lo r at 2 8 4 -5 2 3 9 .
T he C lin ic ’s m issio n is to d ev elo p
and m a in ta in c o m p re h e n siv e p e ­
d ia tric h e a lth ca re fo r the d iv e rse
cu ltu ral g ro u p s resid in g p re d o m i­
n a n tly in N o rth an d N o rth e a st
P o rtlan d . P ed ia tric p rim a ry cul-
tu ra lly -s e n sitiv e h e a lth ca re se r­
vices are p ro v id ed to ch ild ren from
b irth to ag e 21, in c lu d in g p re v e n ­
tio n , w elln ess e d u c a tio n , h ealth
m ain ten an ce, and trea tm e n t o f m i­
n o r ac u te illn e sse s.
Steve Bradley Band
Thursday, February 11 • 7:00 pm
Valentine’s Dance with X Angels
Friday, February 12 • 7:00 pm
Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Concert Series
KKJZ 5th Birthday Bash with Rick Braun
Sunday, February 14 • 7:00 pm • $20 admission
Arthur Moore Four Blues Band
Thursday, February 18 • 7:00 pm
Paul Delay Trio
Thursday, February 25 • 7:00 pm
Songwriters in the Round • Craig Caruthers
Sunday, February 28 • 7:30 pm • $7 admission
All ages welcome • No charge except where noted
February Music