Page A3
March 13, 2002
School Custodians,
Minorities Fight for Jobs
Geri Washington of Jobs With Justice testifies before the
Portland School Board to support the district's custodians and
janitors whose jobs could be eliminated under proposed budget
cuts. The union representing 486 full time workers in Portland
schools, and many more part-time employees, says about 25
percent o f the school workforce are minorities.
photo by
C ustodians in the Portland
public schools have a plan to help
save the district money while sav
ing their own jobs.
The workforce, represented by
the Service Employees Interna
tional union, has offered to forgo
pay increases for the next year.
They would also pay a portion o f
their health care benefits and work
for 9 days without pay.
Portland Public Schools has
D an S hea
486 full-time workers and many
more part-time employees doing
janitor and custodial work. Ac
cording to the union, about 25
percent o f that workforce is a mi
nority employee.
The Portland School Board will
vote Monday, March 18 on a pro
posal to hire private contractors
to replace its janitorial workforce.
District officials say the move
would save money.
Walgreen’s
Proposes
Killingsworth
Store
A W algreen’s drug and
variety store may soon be
bui|d adjacent to the New
Seasons M arket at N orth
east 33rd and Killingsworth.
Irm a
F e rc h a u d
of
N icholson D evelopm ent o f
Everett, W ash., ow ner o f
the property, says that her
com pany has subm itted a
design review application for
a 1 5 ,0 0 0 s q u a re fo o t
W algreen’s at the northw est
com er o f the property.
It w ould share the park
ing lot now used by the New
Seasons market at the south
end o f the property, the Rib
Express on the w est side,
and Figueroa’s Pizza and a
liquor store on the north.
N icholson originally pro
posed to build a Rite-Aid
drug store on the site, for
merly the Wi lshire Park Sen
try M arket. To win com m u
nity support for this, the com
pany said it would seek a
grocery store as co-occu-
pant. The Rite-Aid deal even
tually fell through, but in the
m ean tim e N ich o lso n re
cruited New Seasons which
opened in the fall.
New Vote-by-mail Rules Ordered
( A P )— Citing the tumultuous
2000 presidential vote in Florida,
Oregon Secretary o f State Bill
B radbury set new standards
Thursday for counting punch card
votes and notifying people when
their mail ballots aren’t counted.
Bradbury’s directive defines in
greater detail what constitutes a
vote in punch card counties. It
gives county elections officials
guidance on what to do about
“hanging chads” by including
pictures and clear directions on
how to determine voter intent in
each case.
One o f the key elements in the
U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to
end the 2000 Florida recount was
the fact that Florida counties didn ’t
have uniform standards for what
constitutes a punch card vote.
“Approximately one-third o f
Oregon voters sbll vote using
punch cards, an g our directive
will ensure that every county in
Oregon uses the same standards
to d e te rm in e v o te r in te n t,”
Bradbury said.
The secretary o f state’s direc
tive also contains provisions re
quiring counties to prepare a se
curity plan and file it with the
Elections Division. It must include
measures to ensure the security
o f ballots during transportation
and processing and the security
o f vote tally systems and com
puter records
PATTON HOM E
Service-Enriched Affordable Housing
Patton Home has contributed to the Albina neighborhood fo r over 100
years, providing independence, dignity, and choice to low-income elders
and people with disabilities.
Among the services offered by Patton Home are:
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•
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•
•
3 home-cooked meals a day, plus snacks
Housekeeping, maintenance, and laundry
Transportation coordination
Help with medications & routine nursing tasks
Assistance with bathing, dressing, eating,
and grooming
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Health and wellness classes
Social & cultural opportunities
Support groups
Activities, outings, and events
Educational classes & seminars
Stop by and say hello to one o f your oldest neighbors!
Patton Home
4619 N. Michigan
Portland, OR. 97217
(503)281-1844
A nonprofit, licensed residential care facility owned by Ecumenical Ministries o f Oregon.
N EW S E A S O N S
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