A p ril 28, 1999
------------------------------------------------------ (Ehe Ïtoïthwfc (Observer
The Tide Of Compassion
B y H ugh B. P rice
P resident , N atio nal U rban L eague
“The interior o f Kosovo is a
w asteland o f burned villages and
wandering farm anim als, empty o f
ethnic A lbanians but sw arm ing
with Serbian fo rc e s...”
In the face o f the w renching
descriptions o f the bloodshed and
m isery in C entral E urope, like
these words from a recent New
York Times dispatch, who among
us has not felt the lure o f ju st
letting the m ind go numb, o f turn­
ing away from the horror o f it?
How can one contem plate that
human beings can do this?
How can one understand how it
cam e to be that various ethnic
groups who once lived literally
side by side now seem to be intent
on slaughtering each other or any
other group who appears to stand
in the way o f their perverted goal
o f creating a national hom eland?
How is it that so-called sol­
diers, who were once ordinary citi­
zens living ordinary lives, have
now become men who m urder and
rape unarm ed civilians?
How is it that these countries,
which once seemed to have both the
governmental structure and the cul­
tural commitment to resist a descent
into the kind o f barbarism that rav­
aged Europe a h alf century ago,
have so easily become killing fields?
The lure to turn away from this
horror is made all the more pow er­
ful by the unavoidable fact that
it’s not ju st the Balkans where
such b rutality has recently o c­
curred or is occurring.
Five years ago the same sort o f
m a ss s a v a g e ry h a p p e n e d in
Rwanda, w here the Hutu killed
more than 500,000 Tutsis in less
than four months. Before that, it
happened in Bosnia
And one could go on: the list o f
places where ethnic- or religious-
based outbreaks recur periodically
these days is, gloom ily, too long.
These tides o f violence sw eep­
ing around the world are powerful
evidence that, for all the progress
we humans have made in many
areas, the veneer o f "civilization”
at the end o f the tw entieth century
is still as thin as an egg shell.
But those A m ericans who feel
the num bness o f apathy coming on
ought to do two things.
For one, they ought to person­
alize the issue.
They ought to imagine them ­
selves as one o f the 315,000 ethnic
Albanians who have been driven
from Kosovo in the last three weeks-
forced out o f their homes, pushed
out o f their homeland, in many in­
stances literally with a gun to their
backs, often separated from others
in their family, bereft o f resources,
with nothing but the clothes they
are wearing.
If that w ere our situation, if that
were our children’s situation, how
would we hope the rest o f the world
would respond?
Secondly, those Americans who
feel the num bness o f apathy com ­
ing on ought to look to what indi­
vidual citizens in the nations o f
w estern Europe and Israel and Ja­
pan are doing.
In these places, where the expe­
rience o f a war being waged on
o n e’s home soil and the memories
o f what it’s like to be a refugee
have not been forgotten, there has
been and extraordinary outpouring
o f aid for the Kosovar refugees.
From these countries thousands
o f tons o f foodstuffs and other
materials, from com puters to w a­
ter purification equipm ent, and
millions o f dollars have been do­
nated. It’s clear that this is not
being given as “charity.”
It is being given because those
who give understand that this is
what human beings owe to other
human beings who find themselves
in a crisis.
It is being given because those
who are giving have refused to
take refuge in the false idea that
we are not our brother’s keeper,
our sister’s keeper, w herever those
brothers and sisters happen to be.
O f course, there are many in the
United States who have rushed to
donate foodstuffs and other m ate­
rial, too.
They understand the point Elie
Wiesel made Monday evening dur­
ing a W hite House sym posium on
the twentieth century and the "per­
ils o f indifference.”
Wiesel, who survived the Holo­
caust and who ever since has been
one o f those individuals who speaks
as humanity’s conscience, told those
gathered that indifference "is not a
response...not a beginning, it is an
end...indifference is always the
friend o f the enemy, for it benefits
the aggressor— never his victim ...”
This is why individuals around
the world are offering help to the
refugees o f terror in central Europe.
They understand that the way to
contain and beat back these periodic
eruptions o f the tide o f violence and
cruelty is with a tide o f compassion
and support for the afflicted.
They understand that the courage
to feel compassion for the suffering
o f others and the discipline to act to
relieve that suffering is the only way
to affirm that we human beings have
a future worth living for.
Statement By State
Schools Superintendent
On Colorado Shootings
I wish to extend my sympathy to
those in Colorado affected by April
2 0 ,1999’s school shooting tragedy.
O regon's experience o f last May
has given us empathy for how deeply
these kinds ofevents affect students,
families and communities.
We contacted the Colorado De­
partm ent o f Education and told
them we stand ready to help and
provided resource contacts.
This incident also resonates
with Oregonians. We will continue
to p ro m o te sch o o l safety and
strengthen connections between
schools and com m unities.
Since the Thurston tragedy, the
D e p a rtm e n t o f E d u catio n has
linked w ith school districts, com ­
m unity and police agencies and
m any other organizations to im ­
prove student safety and prepare
for crisis intervention.
For instance, we have worked
with U niversity o f O regon’s Insti­
tute on V iolence and D estructive
Behavior to provide a teacher train­
ing institute. Many partners helped
us w ith a violence prevention in­
stitute w hich w ill be repeated in
July at O regon State University.
In addition, we have worked with
several partners to develop the ca­
pacity o f school districts to deal
with crises.
School districts across the state
have developed model plans to pro­
mote safety. We must learn from
each other. That’s why the Depart­
ment will promote the best practices
across the state. These practices will
be posted on the Department’s web
page and featured in workshops at
the violence prevention summer in­
stitute at OSU.
Cascade Warehouse Company
Bolsters Oregon’s Economy
B y S cott C antonwine
The Oregon economy benefits
from a modem and efficient rail sys­
tem that allows Oregon producers to
ship the equivalent o f 1.5 million
truckloads without travelling the
state’s roads and highways, and pro­
vides service to thousands ofpassen-
gers who are not driving cars.
Timber and paper products are
the leading commodities shipped by
rail from Oregon to otherstates. Steel,
grain and processed foods are also
big rail users. Inbound freight in­
cludes chemicals to support the com­
puter chip, plastics and fertilizer in­
dustries. Nearly 20% o f rail ship­
ments are trailers or containers mov­
ing under contract with major truck­
ing companies.
The main railroad lines in Or­
egon are privately owned businesses
that pay property and other state
taxes. Since Congress deregulated
the American railroad industry in
1980, rail shipping rates have
dropped, traffic volumes soared,
accident rates plummeted and in­
vestments in modem locomotives,
cars, tracks, computers and commu­
nication systems skyrocketed.
Congress in 1992 designated
high-speed rail corridors, includ­
ing the Pacific Northwest Rail Cor­
ridor stretching from Eugene north­
ward to Vancouver, Canada. These
corridors are intended to focus fed­
eral, state and private rail invest­
ments to improve rail safety and
speed to benefit passenger and
freight movements.
Oregon initiated enhanced pas­
senger train and motorcoach service
between Eugene and Portland in
October, 1994. Ridership has con­
tinued to grow in almost every month
since the service began. More than
143,000 passengers rode the Oregon
train and motorcoach services last
year, up 15% over 1997. If these
passengers had driven cars, they
would have added up to 5.5 million
vehicle miles o f travel on already
congested state highways.
The Oregon passenger rail pro­
gram is g re a t fo r the s ta te ’s
econom y, supporting over 20 fam­
ily wage jobs and directly contrib­
uting more than $1 m illion annu­
ally to local businesses for goods
and services.
Oregon has received more than
$25 million in federal dollars to up­
grade railroad tracks and make sig­
nal improvements that enhance safety
and move passenger trains more effi­
ciently. The State o f Washington has
committed over $120 million to de-
velop its portion o f the Pacific North­
west Rail Corridor.
Oregon must now do its part to
help the region compete against other
parts o f the nation for federal rail
funds. A legislative budget proposal
by the Oregon Department o f Trans­
portation seeks $14 million during
the next two years.
These funds are needed to keep
current trains running. Without those
funds, all trains except the long dis­
tance Coast Starlight stop service at
the end o f June. Funds also will be
used to acquire passenger rail equip­
ment and add one more round-tnp
train between Portland and Eugene.
Buses from Eastern, Central and
Southern Oregon would connect with
trains in the Willamette Valley. The
funds would help secure $20 million
in federal funds available during the
same budget period for safety and
speed improvements to the rail line.
Rail is a proven, cost effective
technology for safely moving pas­
sengers and large volumes o f freight.
The importance o f rail’s role o f trans­
porting the commerce o f Oregon and
the region is continuing to expand. If
the Oregon economy is to continue
to prosper, it is essential that the state
supports a healthy passenger and
freight rail system.
Changes In Vista Ridge
Tunnel Due to Safety Project
Driving down the Sunset High­
way (U.S. 26) into Portland is about
to become a safer trip, thanks to the
completion of a safety project in the
eastbound Vista ridge Tunnel, ac­
cording to Oregon Department of
Transportation officials.
The last, and most noticeable,
change is a new restriction against
changing lanes from just before the
tunnel to where the highway splits
into the three different exit ramps
for 1-405 northbound and south­
bound, plus the City Center I S.W.
Market Street ramp. This restric­
tion is set to become effective this
Friday (April 23), when regulatory
signs go up ju st prior to the tunnel.
“W e have a history o f wrecks
occurring in the eastbound tun­
nel,” said ODOT traffic engineer
M erle H ill, “often caused when
drivers make quick last-m inute
la n e c h a n g e s, a fte r re a liz in g
th ey ’re in the wrong lane for their
intended destination.” Even tak­
ing into account the unique char­
acter o f this part o f the Sunset
H ighw ay, accident statistics show
this section has an accident rate
several tim es higher than the typi­
cal urban prim ary freeway.
lane changes. Both o f these changes
were completed last summer.
With the addition o f regulatory
signs at the tunnel entrance, stating
“no lane changes next Vi mile,” po­
lice can cite drivers for crossing over
the solid white lane markings in the
tunnel. “Failure to obey a traffic con­
trol device” is a class B traffic infrac­
tion. bearing a maximum fine of$ 170.
The restriction on lane changes
aims to elim inate this type o f driv­
ing behavior, and get m otorists to
plan ahead so that they get into the
proper lane well before entering
the tunnel, Hill added.
Other parts o f the safety project
include a modernized lighting sys­
tem, and lane striping prior to and
in the tunnel itself to discourage
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Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
The Approval of the Black
Farmer Lawsuit Settlement
“ 1 am very pleased that the U.S.
D istric t Judge Paul F riedm an
granted final approval to the settle­
ment between USDA and the Black
farmers. I believe that this settle­
ment is fair and ju st for both the
black farmers and for the Ameri­
can people. I want to personally
thank everyone who has worked
so hard on this settlem ent from
President Clinton to our Offices
o f G eneral C ounsel and C ivil
Rights and the Departm ent o f Jus-
tice. W ith this approval, USDA
can move forward, putting a pain­
ful chapter o f our history behind
us. Our com m itm ent to m inority
farmers and to civil rights does not
end here. We will w ork to quickly
and e ffic ie n tly im plem ent the
settlement agreement. We will con­
tinue to reach out to underserved
com m unities about our program s.
And, we will continue our efforts
to m ake U S D A th e fe d e ra l
governm ent’s civil rights leader.”
Helping Our Environment
T
oday, Lottery dollars
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ue to feel like... Oregon.
to provide support to K-12
public education and job
creation, the Lottery is
ready to respond to
Oregon's changing needs.
In 1998, Oregonians voted
to direct a part o f Lottery
profits to restore parks and
salmon habitats.
O
ver the last 14 years,
the Lottery has
returned over $2 billion to
OREGON
LOTTERY
It Does
Good Things
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