Page A5
October 13, 1999
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Oregon Vital Statistics 1997 Annual Report
PORTLAND- “Oregon Vital
>- Statistics Volume 1 1997” and "Or
egon County Data Book 1997,”
have been released, according to
public health officials at the De
partment o f Human Services.
Research analysts at the O r
egon Health Division found posi
tive changes, but work is still
needed in some areas. Findings
from “Oregon Vital Statistics Vol
ume 1,1997,” which contains birth,
teen pregnancy and abortion data,
include:
•In 1997, O regon recorded
43,765 births. The birth rate to
Oregon women 15 to 44 years old
was 63.0 per 1,000 females, a slight
decrease o f 0.3 percent from 1996.
•Eighty-one percent o f Oregon
mothers received early prenatal
care in 1997, an improvement over
the 1996 rate o f 80 percent. Early
prenatal care is associated with
improved infant health. Oregon’s
year 2000 benchmark goal is for 90
percent ofpregnant women to be
gin prenatal care early, in the first
trimester.
•Just over six percent o f Oregon
women who gave birth in 1997
were uninsured, an increase from
1996. The Oregon Health Plan ex
panded eligibility in 1998, so this
may decrease in the future.
The percentage o f women who
smoked while pregnant declined
to 16 percent in 1997, from 18 per
cent in 1996. However, O regon’s
rate remains 23 percent higher than
the national rate. Women who
smoke w hile pregnant have a
h ig h er risk o f having a low
birthweight baby.
•The pregnancy rate among
teens age 10 to 17 years decreased
3.7 percent to 18.1 per 1,000 teen
females. Oregon’s benchmark goal
is 15 pregnancies per 1,000 teen
females by the year 2000.
For the first time since 1974,
the proportion o f births to unm ar
ried women declined from the pre
vious year (from 30 percent in 1996
to29percent in 1997).
The "O regon C ounty Data
Book 1997” contains both birth
and death data by county. Some
findings:
In 1997 a death occurred every
18 minutes in the state, for a total
o f 28.750 deaths. This is a death
rate of 8.9 per 1,000 population.
During the past several de
cades, the heart disease death rate
has fallen and the cancer death
rate has risen. In 1997, among
counties with at least 50 resident
deaths, cancer was the leading
cause o f death in four counties.
Baker, Grant, Lake, and Lane.
A record 816 Oregonians died
from diabetes in 1997. Diabetes-
caused deaths have risen every
year during the past decade, and
diabetes is now the seventh lead
ing cause o f death in Oregon.
Ninety-three Oregonians died
from AIDS in 1997. This was 130
fewer than the year before and
the lowest num ber since 1988.
M ore than o n e-h alf (56 percent
of
d e c e d e n ts )
liv e d
in
M ultnomah County.
M ultnomah C ounty contains
only 20 percent o f the sta te ’s
population, but 40 percent o f all
h o m ic id e
v ic tim s
w e re
M ultnom ah C ounty residents.
T h e re w ere 53 m u rd e rs in
M ultnomah County; the state
wide total was 131. O regon’s ho
micide rate has declined annually
since 1994.
For the first time since 1989,
O regon’s infant death rate in
creased (5.8 per 1,000 live births),
but this increase was statistically
insignificant.
Complete copies o f both reports
may be obtained from the Health
D ivision's Center for Health Sta
tistics at 503-731 -4354. They may
also be accessed, along with other
h e a lth d ata, on the In te rn e t
through the Health Division’s web
page at http ://w w w .o sh d .o rg /
cdpe/chs/statinfo.htm
C o lle g e T u itio n S lo w s Its C lim b
Rise is Less Than 5 Percent; Average In-State Tuition $3,356 For Public
University
Good news for folks with col
lege-age kids: Tuition and fees
nationwide rose less than 5 per
cent for the current school year,
the sm allest increase in four
years, according to a study re
leased today by The C ollege
Board.
Students and their families can
thank a thriving economy, brim
ming state coffers, a vigorous
stock market boosting endow
ments and efforts by schools to
rein in costs, experts said.
They also cautioned it may not
last.
" I t ’s a zigzag phenom enon,"
said Jane W ellman, a fiscal and
policy analyst at the nonprofit
Institute for Higher Education
Policy in W ashington.
"T im es are good. State bud
gets are better than they’ve been
in over a d ecad e," she said, add
ing that higher education fares
well in good times.
But she warned, "W hen times
are bad, it’s the first thing to get
c u t."
The encouraging news was
tem pered by a second board
study: There was a record $64
billion in financial aid last year -
most o f it in the form o f student
loans.
And with inflation running at
less than 2 percent in recent
years, college costs still seem
steep, said Patrick C allan, who
runs the National Center for Pub
lic Policy and Higher Education
in San Jose, Calif.
C allan warned that many stu
dents are getting deeper into
debt: " T h e fact that everybody
needs to go to college to get a
m iddle-class job ... The fact that
you have to borrow more than
you used to, this is a problem ."
C a lla n ’s c o n c e rn w as r e
flected in the second survey,
which found that loans, scholar
The College B oard’s first sur
ships and grants for 1998-99
added up to $64 billion - 85 per vey found the average under
cent more than a decade ago, graduate at a four-year public
school in their home state pays
after figuring for inflation.
In all, 58 percent o f the aid $3,356,or $109more forthe 1999-
came from loans, up from 40 per- 2000 school year than last year -
a 3.4 percent increase.
centin 1980-81.
The p rice hike w as m uch
It’s all worth it, College Board
higher
at a four-year p rivate
President Gaston C aperton said
school.
The av erag e stu d en t
Monday in an interview from
there
paid
$ 15,380, or $671 more
W ashington. He said a four-year
this
school
year than last, a 4.6
college degree doubles the earn
percent rise.
ings o f a high school graduate.
C o sts o f tw o -y e a r p u b lic
" T h e a v e ra g e is a ro u n d
$30,000 a year vs. $60,000 a year,” schools were $ 1,627, or $73 more,
he said. The $30,000 difference a 4.7 percent increase; and at pri
over a 40-year career equals $1.2 vate two-year schools $7,182, fora
rise of $242, or 3.5 percent.
million.
T
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" T h a t’s the value o f a college
e d u c a tio n ," said C aperton, a
<T lie
form er West V irginia governor.
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And even if it requires loans, he
said, " I don’t know anyw here in
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Recycling increases, but so
does amount of trash
P o rtla n d -O re g o n ia n s are re
cycling more paper, bottles and
plastics - but th e y ’re also m ak
ing more trash. New data from
the Oregon D epartm ent o f E nvi
ronm ental Q uality show that -
for the seventh consecutive year
- P ortland-area residents led the
state for the am ount o f m aterial
recycled or burned for energy.
G arbage haulers and recycling
c o m p a n ie s in C la c k a m a s ,
M u ltn o m ah and W ash in g to n
counties reported a 43 percent
recycling rate in 1998.
That com pares with an aver
Students paying out-of-state or
out-of-district charges did better.
On average, the survey found, they
paid $8,706 at four-year schools,
$235 or 3 percent more. At two-
year schools the average increase
was a tiny 2 percent rise, or $89, to
$4,818.
Similar increases were seen in
the costs o f living on-campus. Stu
dents at four-year private colleges
this year are paying an average of
$5,959, a $205 increase, or 3 .6 per
cent over last year.
At a four-year public school,
room and board this year averages
$4,730, or $208 more, a 4.6 percent
rise. At a private, two-year college
it averages $4,583, a $210 hike, or
4.8 percent more than last year.
The College Board, probably
best known for administering the
SAT college entrance exams, is a
membership organization o f high
schools, colleges and universities
that promotes higher education.
Caperton stressed that Ameri
cans need college degrees for the
better paying, high-skill jobs of
fered in technology and the global
economy. But fears of the high cost
o f school keep many away, he said.
" E d u c a tio n is ex p e n siv e ,”
Caperton said, "b u t it’s not nearly
as expensive as not getting an edu
cation.”
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age 37-point-3 percent recycling
rate for the state. But O rego
nians generated an average o f 7-
point-2 pounds o f garbage per
person per day last year, the D-
E-Q reported. T hat’s an increase
from 7 pounds in 1997 and 5-
p o in t-7 p o u n d s in 1992.
aby boomers’ children,
crowd classrooms
P o rtla n d -There is a new gen
eration o f baby boom ers— the
ch ildren o f baby boom ers.
T he n e w e st g e n e ra tio n is
crow ding into P o rtla n d ’s c la ss
room s w ith num bers nearly as
great as th eir p a re n ts ’ g enera
tion.
The num ber o f students in U-
S schools in 1998 was 48 million,
sec o n d o n ly to the o rig in a l
boom ers’ 49 m illion in 1970.
But the present dem ographic
bulge will eventually grow larger
than th eir parents group. Im m i
gration will expand the numbers
by m illions over the next two
decades. O regon is feeling the
b u lg e m o s tly in s u b u rb a n
schools, w here few schools are
keeping up w ith the new wave
o f tots. N inety-six percent o f
the s ta te ’s schools are in need
o f repair.
But only about one third o f
school bond issues pass in O r
egon.
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Help shape our transportation future
^ 3 u r i n g the past five years, residents have
joined with local governments from across
the region to identify how we can best meet
our future transportation needs. N ow it’s
time to take a final look at the Regional
Transportation Plan - our 20-year blueprint
for the region’s transportation system -
before it is finally adopted.
Regional elected officials are seeking com
ments on the plan’s recommended m otor
vehicle, transit, pedestrian, bicycle and freight
projects, and on ways to finance these long
term needs.
In addition, state and regional decision
makers need your input about transportation
projects on the state system proposed for
priority funding with part of the recently
passed increase in the gas tax and vehicle
registration fees.
Metro Regional Services
Creating livable communities
Oregon Department
of transportation
Public comment meetings
Come to one of the following meetings to
learn more and to comment:
5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20
Conestoga Middle School
12250 SW Conestoga Drive
Beaverton
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21
Gresham City Hall
1333 NW Eastman Parkway
Gresham
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26
M etro Regional Center
600 NE Grand Ave.
Portland
i.
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28
M onarch Hotel
12566 SE 93rd Ave.
Clackamas
For more inform ation, call M etro’s
transportation hotline, (503) 797-1900,
option 2, or visit www.m etro-region.org.
For ODOT, call 731-8245 or visit
www.odot.state.or.us/stip/
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