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July 14, 1999
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R E P O R T
Links Scholarship Winner
Outlook Good for U.S. Kids
P
a th e a te r m a jo r at th e U n iv e rsity
ortlan d C hapter Links, Incor
o
f O reg o n .
porated, aw ards a perform
T he L inks P erfo rm in g /V isu al
ing or visual arts scholarship
A
rts
to a g ra d u a tin g A fric an A m erican S ch o larsh ip is aw ard ed y early
and is intended to assist students in
h ig h sc h o o l se n io rs w ho has d em
th eir e d u catio n al en d eav o rs and to
o n stra te d a rtistic p o te n tia l in high
encourage young m en and w om en
sc h o o l a c h ie v e m e n t and le a d e r
to prep are for the feature. S ch o la r
sh ip a b ility . T h is y e a r’s s c h o la r
ship m oney m ay be used at any
sh ip has b e e n aw ard ed to M iss
accred ited in stitu tio n o r ap p ro v ed
Y asm in R av ard , g ra d u a tin g se
program o f co n tin u ed learning in
n io r from St. M a ry ’s A cad em y .
the perform ing arts or visual arts.
M s. R av ard is a ta le n te d sin g e r
E arlier this year, P o rtlan d C h ap ter
an d a c tress, d ire c tin g an d p la y in g
o f Links, Incorporated aw arded five
le ad ro le s in se v e ra l sch o o l p lay s.
academ ic scholarships to local high
S h e se rv e d as an O u td o o r S ch o o l
school seniors at the A nnual E bony
C o u n selo r, an d d em o n strated high
F ash io n Fair.
a c ad e m ic ac h ie v e m e n t w ith a 3.8
I f you have an y q u estio n s, c o n
G P A . S he w ill u se the s c h o la r
tact:
P at W alk er 638-8901
sh ip to c o n tin u e h e r e d u c atio n as
Vaccinations, School Enrollment Up; Smoking, Violence Down
B> LAURA MECKLER
C T he A ssociated P ress
W A S H IN G T O N - S tatistic ally ,
th in g s are lo o k in g up for A m e ri
ca n kids.
V accinations and preschool en
rollm ent are up. Teen smoking, child
birth and youth violence are dow n,
according to a governm ent report.
’’The trend is in the right direc
tion. W e’re sailing with the w in d ,”
said K risten M oore, president o f
C hild T rends, a research group.
S till, M o o re n o te s that th e r e ’s
b een no p ro g re ss in red u c in g teen
alco h o l c o n s u m p tio n o r in c re a s
ing h ealth in su ran c e co v e rag e, and
ev en the are as th at have seen im
p ro v e m e n t are s till d is tu rb in g .
” W e ’re n o t w h ere w e sh o u ld b e ,”
sh e said.
The annual report, released Thurs
day, is designed to be a broad assess
m ent o f the state o f the n ation’s chil
dren, a collection o f statistics from
across the federal governm ent. Back
ers hope it w ill som eday reach the
prom inence o f the annual econom ic
report to the president.
" I w ould contend that our chil
dren are as im portant to the future o f
the country as the econom y,” said
Dr D uane A lexander, director o f the
N ational Institute o f C hild H ealth
and H um an D evelopm ent. " T h e
stock m arket w ill never depend on it,
but I hope the report will annually at
least focus attention on the status and
condition o f o u r ch ildren.”
A m ong the findings:
-M ost children and teens had di
ets that needed im provem ent. For
instance, in 1996,24 percent o f chil
dren ages 2 to 5 had a good diet and
8 percent had a poor diet. T he rest
needed im provem ent to m eet federal
recom m endations. T hose num bers
generally got w orse for older kids.
-The n um b er o f 10th and 12th
graders sm oking dropped in 1998
a fte r g ra d u a lly in c re asin g sin ce
1992. But 22 p ercen t o f high school
seniors and 16 p ercent o f sop h o
m ores still sm oked.
-The birth rate for girls ages 15 to
17 fell from its peak o f 38.7 live
births per 1,000 teens in 1991 to 32.1
percent in 1997.
-F o rty -e ig h t p e rc e n t o f 3- and
4 -y e a r-o ld s w ere e n ro lle d in p re
sc h o o l in 1997, up from 45 p e r
c e n t a y e a r e a rlie r, p a rtly d u e to
w e lfa re re fo rm p u sh in g m o th e rs
into th e w o rk fo rce. T he m o st d ra
m atic rise w as am o n g b la c k c h il
d ren , w ith th e p e rc e n ta g e risin g
from 45 p e rc e n t to 55 p erc en t.
-The num ber o f poor kids to get all
their vaccines edged up in 1997 to 71
percent, up from 69 percent in 1996.
L ately , m uch o f the atten tio n on
teens has dealt w ith v iolence, as the
n a tio n s tr u g g le s to u n d e rs ta n d
sc h o o l s h o o tin g s in C o lo ra d o ,
G eo rg ia an d elsew here.
But youth violence has actually
been dropping since it peaked in 1993.
’ ’Thepublic in general doesn’thave
a very accurate view o f violent crim e,”
said Margaret A . Zahn, a criminologist
at North Carolina State University.
In 1997, there w ere 31 serious
violent juvenile crim es com m itted
for every 1,000 children ages 12 to
17. T hat ’ s do wn from 5 2 per 1,000 in
1993 and is the low est rate since
1986, according to the Justice D e
partm ent. Still, in 1997 there w ere
706,000 violent crim es involving one
or m ore o f these teens.
T here are also few er teen victim s
o f crim e. T here w ere 27 victim s for
every 1,000 people ages 12 to 17 in
1997. T hat ’ s do w n from 44 in 1,000
in 1993, Justice said.
Summer And The “Fire” Season
Have Arrived!
Wildfire and Hillside Fires... A Real Threat
■
Did you know ? It takes an aver
age o f 10 m inutes for a hom e in an
urban/w ildland interface fire to bum
to the foundation.
Did you know? The seventh most
costly catastrophe in die United States
was the Oakland Hills wildfire o f 1991.
Insured losses exceed 1.7 billion dollars.
“Many in the urban area do not view
wildfire as a direat. The fire in Oakland
Hills California proved to all that this is
not the case. Dry, hot summer days
provide near perfect conditions for the
spread o f wildfires and hillside fires,"
says Krista K. Fischer, regional coordi
nator for the W estern Insurance Infor
mation Service (WIIS), “particularly
following a very wet, lush growing sea
son for area plants, underbrush and
grasses. Even though fire is the number
one peril covered under homeowners
insurance, nothing can make up for a
lost life or the emotional stress and
inconvenience o f suffering a majorprop-
erty loss. There are steps homeowners
can take to reduce the risk to property
and lives before a fire strikes, along with
certain insurance preparations that will
help reduce the stress involved when
suffering a fire loss.”
Since the 1970s, growing popula
tions in Oregon, Idaho and Montana
have expanded turther into traditional
resource lands such as forests and range-
lands. ihe * interlace" that has been cre
ated between urban and suburban area
and these resource lands lias created
increased and significant threats to life
and property from wildfires. This lias
also pressured existing fire protection
systems beyond design or capability.
"The insurance, forestry and fire ser
vice communities are concerned about
major fires this summer," says Fischer.
“W e would like to educate homeowners
on what they can do now so we can
avoid some o f the catastrophic losses
which have occurred in the past such as
the Bend skeleton and Sundance fires,
a id numerous fires throughout Idaho
and Montana as well."
“W e have areas in all three states that
are prime for hillside fires,” she says.
“ In Portland the hills abound even in the
subuibs, similar geographic conditions
can be found in Boise and other cities in
the Pacific Northwest. An Oakland
Hills-type’ fire could happen up here as
easily as it did in California."
It’s now a common, summertime
occurrence that hundreds o f homes in
Oregon, Idaho and Montana are threat
ened or destroyed by wild fire This
costs million o f dollars annually to resi
dents o f these three states. W hile
hom eow ners’ insurance covers fire
losses, it can’t replace a life or ease the
emotional trauma o f losing irreplace
able keepsakes, heirlooms oryour home.
Homeowners and renters, accord
ing to Fishcher, should check their in
surance coverages with their agent or
company representative to make cer
tain limits are adequate in the event o f a
loss. Ask questions, such as: ‘Is the
home insured to value? Is the coverage
for guaranteed replacement cost? What
about my personal property '.’ W hat cov
erage is provided for shrubs and trees'?
Other structures? V aluable papers, jew
elry, ecL? What should I do in the event
o f a loss? How do I file a claim.
Homeowners should take an inven
tory o f their personal property, or up
date their current inventory. The inven
tory should be stored, along with photo
graphs, in a safe place away from the
home such as safety deposit box.
Y our insurance companies, through
W1S, offer the following:
• U se your yard as a “defensible
space." You can accom plish this by
rem oving all dry grass, brush and
dead leaves at least 30 feet from your
hom e. R eplace highly flam m able
plants w ith landscaping plants that
are fire retardant.
• Space trees and shrubs at least 10
feet apart. Reduce the number oftrees in
heavily wooded areas. Contact your
local utility company if you notice tree
branches encroaching on power lines
on your property or in your neighbor
hood. For trees taller than 18 feet, prune
lower branches within 6 feet o f the
ground to keep ground fires from spread
ing into treetops.
• Stack firew ood and scrap w ood
piles (uphill if possible) at least 30
feet from any structure and clear away
flam m able vegetation w ithin 10 feet
o f any woodpile.
• Locate butanepropane tanks at
least 30 feet from any structure and
surround them with lOfeetofclearance.
• Defensible space must be regularly
maintained to beeffective. This includes
a well-pruned and watered landscape.
Taking care o f the inside o f your
home is extremely important in sav ing
lives. Test smoke detectors monthly.
Replace batteries at least once a year.
Keep fire extinguishers in strategic and
accessible locations. Make certain all
extinguishers are properly charged and
all family members know how to use
them. Consider the installation o f a resi
dential sprinkler system. Home sprin
kler systems provide an immediate re
sponse to a fire and are one o f the most
effective and reliable ways to protect
your home and life against loss. To
further protect your home from the heat
o f an external fire, install protective
shutters and fire retardant drapes.
ExteriorFire Proofing... Your roof
is themost vulnerable part ofyourhome.
W hen building a new home or re-roof-
ing and existing home consider the use
o f fire resistant materials. Be sure to
clear pine needles, leaves, or other de
bris from your roof, gutters and ducts.
Remove any branches hanging over
your roof, as well as tree branches within
ten feet o f your chimney. Cover your
chimney outlet and stovepipe with a
non-flammable screen o f one half inch
or smaller mesh.
Enclose the underside o f balconies,
above ground decks and open founda
tions with fire resistant materials.
Lim it the size and num ber ofw in-
dow s in your hom e that face areas o f
vegetation. Even from a distance o f
80 feet aw ay, the heat from a wi ldfire
is enough to b um furnishings inside
your house. Install dual-pane or triple
pane w indow s to reduce the poten
tial o f breaking in a fire.
Make it easy for the fire fighters to
reachyou.. Know at leasttwoexit routes
from your neighborhood in case of an
emergency evacuation. Make sure any
road leading to your house allows two-
way traffic, is not to steep, and does not
have curves to sharp to accommodate
large emergency vehicles.
D rivew ays and bridges m ust be
able to support heavy em ergency ve
hicles, including bulldozers carried
on large trucks. M ake sure dead-end
roads and long drivew ays have turn
around areas that are w ide enough
for em ergency vehicles.
Y our street nam e and address
should be printed in numbers and
letters that are at least four (4) inches
tall and should be on a contrasting
color background. They should be
visible from all directions o f travel for
at least 150 feet. Be sure your street
name and num ber are not duplicated
elsewhere in your fire district. If your
hom e is set back from the street or
road, post your address at the en
trance o f your driveway.
Em ergency plans a m ust...P lan
an escape route from your hom e and
neighborhood with your family. Des
ignate an em ergency m eeting place
for family m em bers using alternative
escape routes and establish a contact
point to com m unicate with concerned
relatives. Practice em ergency exit
drills on a regular basis.
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Miss Yasmin Ravard
Multnomah Women’s Club
written to U.S. Rep. Ron Wyden. In the
letter he stressed improving the quality
o f education. Douglas was one o f 51
students who represented the 51 states
at the Teen Youth Forum which was
held in Washington, D.C. “I learned
about or government," he said. “I also
got to meet and talk with the senators
and representatives.” He was twelve
years old at the time.
Douglas is a m em ber o f Berean
Baptist Church and has volunteered
in Vacation Bible School every year.
He has been accepted to attend
the University o f O regon, m ajoring
in Journalism. H e has also received a
D iversity Scholarship from the U ni
versity o f O regon w here he will at
tend in the fall. D ouglas Jon G aither
is also the grandson o f Mr. and Mrs.
Bland F. G aither and Mrs. Edith
M ickey o f M cM innville, Oregon.
M ultnom ah W o m en ’s C lub, a
member o f the National Association
o f Colored W om en Club, was orga
nized in April 1941 for the purpose o f
working for the moral, economic, and
religious welfare o f w om en and chil
dren. Mrs. Lillian W hitlow is the presi
dent o f M ultnomah W om en's Club.
com m unity as a participant in the
n J u n e 5 , 1999 th e
Fellowship ofChristian A thleteClub,
M ultnomah W om en’s Club
Peer H elper Program; a program that
p r e s e n te d a to ta l o f
helps students w ork through personal
$7,000 OOto two localstudents. Jonathan
problem s, and also as a teen leader in
J. Johnson graduated from Barlow High
Y outh G roup at East Hill Church.
School in 1998 and attended his fresh
Jonathan, the son o f Mr. and Mrs.
man year at Highline Community Col
Levan
Johnson Jr., received $3,000.00
lege near Seattle, Washington. He will
from
the
M ultnomah W om en’s Club.
attend Lane Comm uni tyCollege in Eu
He
is
also
the grandson o f Mr. and
gene, Oregon to begin his sophomore
Mrs.
Levan
Johnson, Sr., and Mrs.
year. After completing his sophomore
Thelma
Ray
o
f Jacksonville, Florida.
year at Lane, he will complete his de
Douglas
Jon
Gaither, son ofMr. and
gree in Business Administration at Uni
Mis.
Ronald
Gaither
and a 1999 gradu
versity o f Oregon.
ate o f Wilson High School, received a
During Jonathan ’ s tenure at Barlow
S 4.0 0 0 .0 0 sc h o larsh ip from the
High School, he was a member o f the
Multnomah W om en’s Club. Douglas
Student Principal Advisory Board. Stu
was involved in the Multi-Cultural Club
dents were chosen by Principal Wally
at Wilson High School. He played var
Shuerler to assist him in solving prob
sity basketball and was a teacher-aid in
lems that faced the student body and
the physically challenged class where
the surrounding community. Jonathan
he learned much about helping others.
was a coordinator and participant in
One o f Douglas’s most memorable
the first annual fashion show at Barlow.
experiences
happened while he was a
Participants and coordinators were both
seventh
grade
studentat Trinity Lutheran
chosen specifically through behavior
School.
He
was
chosen from among
and performance in the classroom.
8,000
students
nationwide
who entered
During his semor year at Barlow High
a
letter
writing
contest
to
members o f
School, Jonathan was the Cultural
the
Congress
in
RespectTeen
“Speak
Awareness Club Treasure.
for Y ourself’ contest. His letter was
He w as actively involved in his
O
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