August 25, 1999
ÿ a rtia n ô ©beeruer
Page A5
Overtime May Be
Re-examined
(SALEM) — If you’re a state
employee, your overtime pay may be
affected by a court decision. The
state Attorney General is asking the
state Supreme Court to take a look at
overtime pay for state workers. The
Attorney G eneral’s office says it
would like to stop an a ward o f around
ten-Million-dollars in overtime pay
that salaried workers recently got.
New Contract for
State Workers
(SA LEM ) N early 20-thousand
state w orkers have a new tw o-year
contract. They voted 87-percent
FOR a new contract and ju st 13-
percent A GAINST. Some 35-hun-
dred m em bers o f the Oregon Pub­
lic Em ployees Union em ployed on
state university cam puses are still
negotiating their contract.
boaters Instructed
(STA TEW ID E) - The gover­
nor plans to sign some new boating
certification standards into law to­
day. The new rule goes into effect
in O ctober. It m andates that O r­
egon boaters have to prove they
know the rules o f the water by get­
ting an education certificate before
they can operate a pow erboat with
more than ten-horsepower.
Just Say No
(S A L E M ) G o v e rn o r John
Kitzhaber says he has a list o f 3 2 bills
that he is considering vetoes for. In­
cluded is a measure that would in­
crease the speed limit on rural free­
ways. Another would allow local
communities to vote on property tax
increases to help fund schools. The
governor says he may also veto bills
that would force doctors to notify the
parents o f teenagers who want abor­
tions, and others that would keep
cities from suing gun manufacturers
for damages caused by gun violence.
No Random Testing
(T IG A R D ) — No random drug
testing for students involved in
a f te r - s c h o o l a c tiv itie s in the
T igard-T ualatin School D istrict.
The School board voted against
the idea. But board m em bers did
vote to raise the academ ic require­
m ents for athletes. It used to be
that students with a "D " average
could still play sports. N ow they
need at least a “C ” to “ D” average.
Voter
Empowerment
Forum
Special Election «Voter Drive« Measure 1 1 Repeal
State R epresentative Jo Ann
B ow m an (D -19, P o rtland) will
chair a com m unity forum address­
ing ballot m easures for the Special
E lection this fall. T hese are ballot
m easures referred by the 1999
O regon L egislature intended to
bypass gubernatorial vetoes, and
are intended to rew rite the Oregon
Bill o f Rights. Proponents for these
c h a n g e s h a v e d u b b e d th e s e
c h a n g e s “ V ic tim s’ R ig h ts R e­
form s” . “ My concern” , said Rep­
resentative Bow man, “ is only one
o f the seven measures actually puts
new rights o f crim e victim s in the
State C onstitution. The oth er six
sim ply expand the pow ers o f the
state in crim inal prosecutions and
rem ove C onstitutional rights from
people accused o f a crim e."
T his com m unity forum also
aim s to increase voter particip a­
tion in N /N E Portland. It is a jo in t
effort w ith the A lbina M inisterial
A lliance to have a ‘V oter R egis­
tration D ay’ at all AMA locations
on Sunday, Septem ber 12, 1999.
Also part o f this forum will be
signature gathering for a movement
to repeal Ballot Measure 11. Repre­
sentative Bowman, along with Citi­
zens to Reform Measure 11 “2000",
will discuss the need to “put judges
back into the justice system .”
“ It’s up to judges to determ ine
appropriate sentences, not assis­
tant district attorneys who seek high
convictions rates. M easure 11 gave
the pow er o f sentencing to assis­
tant district attorneys w ith a One
Size Fits A ll' system " M easure 11
must be repealed and we can have
judges returned to the sentencing
process o f our justice system. The
judges must be allow ed to do the
jo b we trust them to do,” stated
Representative Bowman.
BOXANE BARTLETT
Owner
NE Community to Benefit
FDA
Restricts From Freightliner Expansion
Blood
Donations
B\ LAL’RAN NEERG/XARD__________
© T he A ssociated P ress
W A SH IN G TO N (A P) - Som e
A m ericans who visited B ritain fre­
q u e n tly at the h e ig h t o f th a t
co u n try ’s m ad-cow -disease scare
w ill be banned from d o n atin g
blood back hom e, the governm ent
decided today.
Britain is one o f A m erican tour-
ists ’ top destinations, and to d a y ’s
decision by the Food and Drug
A dm inistration w ill affect only a
small portion o f those travelers:
A m ericans who have spent a total
ofsix months in Britain since 1980.
The average tourist who spent just
a few weeks in Britain can still do­
nate blood, the FDA said.
Canada is issuing sim ilar re ­
strictions today, said the FD A ,
which w orked w ith that country as
well as top U.S. blood experts in
developing the policy.
T here is no e v id en ce th at any
m ad-cow -type illn ess has been
spread through b lood tra n s fu ­
sions. But b ecause m ad-cow d is­
ease has been linked to a hum an
b rain destro y er in B ritain, fed ­
eral health o ffic ia ls decid ed the
blood donor ban w as an a p p ro ­
p ria te p recaution.
T he d e c isio n , w h ic h b lo o d
banks have expected all sum m er,
was c o n tro v e rsia l b ecause the
U nited States is poised for blood
shortages. B lood donations a l­
ready have been falling, and the
Am erican Red C ross says the new
policy will cut the U.S. blood sup­
ply by 2.2 percent.
At issue is an infection that kills
by literally eating holes in brain
tissue. In cow s, it’s called mad-
R esidents and businesses in
N ortheast Portland stand to ben­
efit from an upcom ing expansion
o f F reig h tlin er’s operations on
Swan Island, should the PDC and
City Council approve an E nter­
p r is e
Zone
a p p lic a tio n .
Freightliner plans to invest more
than $90 m illion in new facilities.
The company plans to build a new
$315,000 square foot corporate
headquarters facility, m ove its
R&D Cascade Research and D e­
velopm ent facility to house its
Trucks Business Units and invest
in new production m achinery and
equipm ent. Freightliner and rep-
resentatives o f the N ortheast Port­
land com m unity have been m eet­
ing over the past several months to
discuss elem ents o f the job place­
m ent, good and services procure­
ment and em ployee benefit pro­
grams that will be part o f an E nter­
prise Zone agreement with the C ity.
As part o f the c ity ’s Enterprise
Zone program, the company would
receive $6.6 m illiontax abatem ent
over a five-year period. In return,
the company would agree to a num­
ber o f w orkforce and business de­
velopm ents to benefit Zone resi­
dents including:
"In today’s business clim ate.
m erges and acquisitions are a com ­
mon occurrence. Portland has seen
its share o f former Portland-based
operations m erge and m ove out o f
the city and out o f Oregon. E nter­
prise Z one tax abatem ents are one
o f the tools we can use to encour­
age key businesses to stay in our
area,” said M arty B rantley, C hair­
man o f the Portland D evelopm ent
Com m ission. “ H eadquarters op­
erations strengthen the overall busi­
ness clim ate in the region not only
in term s o f jobs, but also in the
com m itm ent to com m unity that
sterns from com pany leadership
living and w orking in the area.”
Smart Program Seeks Volunteers
SMART is a book and reading
program for children in K inder­
garten through second grade in
low -incom e com m unities. The
goal o f SMART is to create enthu­
siastic readers who read at or above
grade level and to em pow er com ­
m unities to help their children.
Research has shown that failure to
read by the third grade increases
the chances that a student w ill drop
out o f high school, becom e in­
volved in early pregnancy, or use
drugs.
Each volunteer reads w ith two
children for one hour per week
during the school year. The vol­
unteer shares her jo y o f reading
and enthusiasm for stories with
these students, replicating that spe­
cial connection that can occur be­
tw een a positive, caring adult, a
child, and a book. SMART also
gives every student two new books
a month to take home and share
w ith their fam ilies. The goal is to
create a successful experience for
both the volunteer and the student.
Join others in im proving the lives
o fO regon’sC hildren S harearead-
ing tim e or carpool to a school with
a co -w o rk er. C o n tact V alerie
A nderson at 916-2000 ext. 4564 if
you would like to arrange for a
presentation about SMART.
If you can read, y o u ’ve already
got w hat if takes to becom e a
SM ART volunteer.
cow disease, and from the late
1980s through 1996, British cows
suffered an epidem ic.
A bout one in 1 m illion people
around the w orld gets a sim ilar
brain disease called Creutzfeldt-
Jakob disease, or CJD. A lthough
CJD som etim es is hereditary, usu­
ally its cause is not known.
The worry about blood stems
from B ritain's discovery in the mid-
1990s that some people caught a
new variety o f CJD apparently by
eating b e e f infected with mad-cow
disease. Named "new variant CJD,”
it has killed 41 Britons.
There is no known m ad-cow
disease in U.S. cattle, the United
States has not allow ed im porta­
tion o f British beef for over a de­
cade and no A m erican has caught
new variant CJD.
But because these brain dis­
eases can incubate for years w ith­
out causing sym ptom s, som e sci­
entists say the possibility exists
that years from now they w ill dis­
cover a link betw een blood tran s­
fusions and infection.
U .S. blood banks w ill have six
m onths to phase in the ban. In ­
cluded are not ju st A m erican trav ­
elers but potential donors o f any
nationality w ho spent a total o fsix
m onths in B ritain betw een Jan. 1,
1980, and Dec. 31, 1996 - w hen
B rita in began destro y in g m ad-
cow -infected herds. The ban cov­
ers travel to or residence in E n­
gland. S cotland, W ales, N orthern
Ireland, the Isle o f M an and the
C hannel Islands.
Vacations Can Be Deadly
Most Highway Traffic Fatalities Happen in July and August
Portland, Ore. A ugust 18,
1999 M ore A m e ric a n s are
killed in traffic accidents in July
and A ugust then any other time
o f the year, according to the
N a tio n a l H ig h w a y T ra ffic
Safety A dm inistration.
“ S ta tistic a lly , there is a sig­
nificant increase in fatal car
crashes th ro u g h o u t the century
during the vacation m onths,”
say s
Jo h n
V r ijm o e t,
P ro g re ssiv e 's O regon general
m anager. “ T hankfully, the rate
goes dow n again after Labor
D ay."
Progressive, w hich is one o f
the n a tio n ’s leading advocates
o f highw ay traffic safety, offers
the follow ing eight tips on safe
sum m er highw ay travel:
Wear a seat belt.
Safety belts save over 10,000
lives a year. If every passenger
over the age o f four was strapped
in, an additional 9,000 lives could
be saved annually.
Keep children under
age 12 buckled up
in the back seat
mised vision due to the sunset,
make evening the most dangerous
time o f day to drive.
To avoid injury from airbag
impact.
Take frequent
breaks.
Put small children in
a car seat.
An estimated 312 children un­
der age five are saved annually by
being strapped into a car seat.
Allow extra time to
reach a destination.
Speeding causes 30 percent of
all fatal crashes and over 13.000
lives are lost every year due to
speed-related accidents.
Stop for a walk or
meal at dusk and
avoid city travel
during rush hours.
Stop, get out o f the car. and
stretch tired muscles. Exercise
increases the oxygen flow to the
brain and boosts waketulness.
Stop to read maps
or discipline
children.
The rule o f thumb is both eyes
on the road and both hands on the
wheel at all times.
For more information visit the
web site at progressive.com.
Avoid sugary
snacks and
caffeine.
Such foods
and beverages
give drivers a
surge
of
quick en ­
ergy but
le a v e
them feel­
ing more
tire d
later.
The increased number o f cars
on the road, coupled with compro­
Rodarte’s Dapcare
Quality Childcare
a
State Reg
A M A Food Program
(5O3)-331 -0110
S ubscribe
to w
$ortian&
T he P ortland O bserver can be sent directly to your home for only $60.00
per year Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to:
f f o
r
Name: __________ _____________________________ —— -----------------
We M ake
Keys
From Scratch
fa st
s e r v ic e
HO USE
CALLS
Address:
City, State:
Zip-Code: .
T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
a
b
l e
|J LOCKSMITH & KEYS
S ubscriptions
T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137
P ortland , O regon 97208
d
4724 NE Kllllngsworth
Portland, OR 97218
503-284-9582