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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2002)
Page A6 April 24, 2002 Local Health Scholarships Offered T he K aiser Perm anente A fri can A m erican A ssociation will aw ard tw o $ 1,000college scholar ships to local high school seniors to study health care. E ligibility extends to A frican- A m erican students in M ultnom ah C ounty and oth er areas served by K aiser Perm anente in N orthw est O regon and Southw est W ashing ton w ith a grade point average at or above 2.75. “W e w ould like to increase the num ber o f A frican-A m ericans in health care professions, w here w e ’ve been tr a d i tio n a l ly u n d e rre p re se n te d ,” said M ary Roberson, association co-chair. For m ore inform ation o r an ap- plication, call 503-813-4487 or send an e - m a il to Mary.Roberson(g> k p.org. D ead line for applying is M ay 1. T he K aiser P erm an en te A fri can A m erican A sso c iatio n p ro vides a fo ru m to en c o u rag e p ro fessio n al and p erso n al g ro w th , c a re e r d ev e lo p m e n t, o p p o rtu n ity , and e n h a n ce m e n ts in the w ork e n v iro n m en t fo r A frican - A m e r ic a n w ith in K a is e r P erm an en te an d to fa c ilita te d i v ersity in itiativ es w ith in th e o r g an izatio n . Interview With Ron Herndon c o n tin u e d fr o m F ro n t level w hat it m eans to daily have your life negatively defined in large and sm all w ays by skin color. W hen a black person tries to get m edia attention regarding issues related to societal inequities and racism , you Find you rself having to break through the life exp eri ences and bias that m any in the w hite m edia bring w ith them . Y u g e n : W ho is Ron Herndon? H erndon: A person from a small town in Kansas, raised as a youth to understand that justice is something you have to fight for. I was taught to never accept injustice, to look out for your neighbor, and to help those who are unable to help themselves. One day that may be you. From a small, segregated community where I grew up, to my early days as a VISTA volunteer. I’ve learnedthevalue of giving back. I’ve been lucky enough to receive help from some won derful people. And they didn’t do it for money. I’ve met some brilliant people in my travels that, out of the kindness of their heart, shared their wis dom and experiences with me. I’ve tried to translate all that I ’ ve been gi ven into programs, and actions that help others. I try to positively impact the lives of people who are disenfran chised and system atically marginalized. Yugen: Ron, what makes a good leader? H erndon: A good leader is someone with the ability to translate a people’s misery into community efforts that posi tively address, and, hopefully, eliminate the sources of suf fering. He or she must also have an appreciation for his tory and the victories and de feats o f those who came be fore them. You shortchange the community when you at tempt leadership with only your minuscule, personal experience because our lifetimes are but a grain o f sand. A good leader will examine history and contemporary re lated experiences for a frame of reference. Dr. King (Mar tin Luther King Jr.) studied Ghandi for lessons on how to successfully confront injustice. Malcolm X studied everybody (smile). Stokely Carmichael was an acute student o f history, poli tics and economics. A good leader says to people, “This is what we are trying to do. These tactics are being used for this reason. O ur research has shown these tactics have been successful in the past. Or, we are using these tactics because of lessons learned from failed past tactics. Here are some fundamentals we are trying to accomplish. This is how we are going to approach accom plishing these fundamentals, this is how we w ill m easure progress, and these are the next steps w e’ll take. This methodology I see tragi cally lacking among many lead ers across the nation today. Our analysis of problems fac ing our communities is haphaz ard at best. We do little if any research into the successes or failures of others that have grappled with the same prob lems. Medical Marijuana Doctor Disciplined (A P )— Dr. Phillip Leveque, the osteopath w ho has signed 40 percent o f O reg o n ’s 3,600 m edical m arijuana applications, has agreed to have his license suspended for 90 days because he signed applications for p a tients he never exam ined. Leveque, 79, has agreed to follow accepted stan d ard s o f m ed ical care when he resumes his prac tice Aug. 1. T hat includes exam ining patients face- to-face before signing their medical m arijuana applica tions. “T his is harm ing my p a tients,” said Leveque, w ho has also agreed to pay a $5,000 fine. “T his isn ’t harm ing m e.” O reg o n ’s M edical M arijuana Act, approved by voters in 1998, allow s residents to grow and use m arijuana for m edical pur poses. A doctor m ust verify that the patient has a “debilitating m edical condition” such as can L eveque in February, the board charged that he routinely signed applications “w ithout ex am in ing th e p a tie n t, c o n d u c tin g m edical tests, m aintaining an adequate m edical chart, review ing possible contradications or conferring with other m edical care providers.” L eveque said he signed the order because he w as afraid o f w hat w ould h ap pen if he d id not. “If you d o n ’t respond to these turkeys, they drop a ton o f bricks on y o u ,” L eveque said. “In this case, the ton o f bricks w as likely revocation o f my license.” Leveque said he plans to use the 90 days to travel around the state, lobbying for the m edical m arijuana program and a pro posed ballot m easure that w ould ease access to the drug. 1 cer, glaucom a, A ID S o r severe pain. In its form al com plaint against 9 PoRCHASeD A^D ULTIMATELY DEE Portland/Vancouver 1-5 Improvements The Portland/Vancouver 1-5 Transportation and Trade Part nership Task Force will con vene for a meeting on Tuesday, April .30 to discuss various«as- pects of the draft recommenda tions for transportation improve ments along the 1-5 corridor be tween 1-84 in Portland and I- 205 in Vancouver. The meeting will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Oregon Association of Mi nority Entrepreneurs building, 4134 N. Vancouverin Portland. The public is invited to attend, and children are welcome. The meeting will involve presentations on and discus sion of: heavy rail needs, po tential improvements in the bridge influence area of the I- 5 corridor, Environmental Jus tice issues, land use, finance and transportation dem and management. The Portland/Vancouver I- 5 Transportation and Trade Partnership is a bi-state plan ning project sponsored by the Oregon and Washington De partments of Transportation, designed to respond to con cerns about growing conges tion on 1-5, between Portland and Vancouver. D esign th e S Anniversary Scratch tte fri M r, ijlsflC«/ H. & B. Too NOW OPEN Oregon’s Oldest Licensed Pawnshop 4709 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. 2 blocks south of Alberta Weekdays til 6 p.m. - Saturdays til 4 p.m. Free Parking - State Controlled Rates - Se Habla Español www.hbloan.com Oregon Family Business for over 50 years h t L