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lanuary 19, 2005
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Page A3
Offer Saves Northeast Recreation Site
FA/CA turns
center over to
neighborhood
T he N ortheast Y M CA will change
its nam e and ow nership but co n ­
tinue operating as a com m unity c e n ­
ter and health club.
T h e Y M C A o f C o lu m b ia -
W illam ette B oard o f T rustees has
accepted an offer to purchase the
facility at N ortheast 38th A venue
and B roadw ay. D an D olan, presi­
dent o f A -B oy Supply Co. subm it­
ted the offer and intends to lease the
facility to a group o f people w ho are
N ortheast Fam ily Y M C A m em bers.
T he group w ill take over o p era­
tions on Feb. 1, as the N ortheast
C o m m u n ity C en ter, a n o n -p ro fit
health and fitness center.
“W e w ish them success and will
w ork together to m ake this transi-
PHOTO by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
The Northeast YMCA has decided to sell its longtime facility on Northeast 3 8 " and Broad­
way to a group who will maintain the structure as a community resource and non-profit
health and fitness center.
tion as sm ooth as p ossible,” stated
Bob Hall, local Y M CA president and
ch ief executive officer. "O ur board
m oved sw iftly on this decision to
ensure no interruption in service for
the new o w n ers, the co m m u n ity
and any o f o u r m em bers w ho choose
to stay w ith this facility. I am thrilled
that w e found a very positive solu­
tion w hich will preserve this north­
east com m unity resource.”
Plans call for program s currently
available at the facility to be offered
by the new center. P rogram m ing,
activities, and services will be ex ­
p anded to attract new m em bers.
The N ortheast C om m unity C enter
has im m ediate plans to launch a
m em bership drive.
The Y M C A announced last m onth
that it could no longer afford to ow n
and operate the center. T he organi­
zation will continue its presence in
northeast Portland w ith childcare
services, teen program s and youth
sp o rts.
J e ffe r so n
Neighborhood
M e e tin g
Participate in planning the
future foryour neighborhood
school at a Parent and C om ­
m unity M eeting fo r the
Jefferson neighborhood.
The meeting, on T hurs­
day, Jan. 2 0 fro m 6 to 8 p .m .,
is an opportunity to meet
your neighbors and learn
about exciting opportunities
that Jefferson is offering stu­
dents. It is also a good op­
p o rtu n ity to m eet th e
district’s new superinten­
dent, Dr. Vicki Phillips.
The m eeting is at the
Jefferson Cam pus audito­
rium, 52 ION. Kerby St. Child
care and refreshments are
provided.
NHKKMMMM
Exhibit Illuminates
Vanport, Shipyards
African Americans helped power WWIl
A new exhibit titled “The Shipyard
W orkers o f W orld W ar II: Labor and
Art,” will be on display in the Central
Library’s Collins Gallerythrough Feb.
14. The gallery is located on the third
floor of Central Library, 801 S.W. 10th
Ave. Admission is free.
Presented by the Oregon Cultural
Heritage Commission and cooperation
with Kaiser Permanente, the exhibit
includes rare artifacts, historic photo­
graphs, paintings, ship manuals, books,
and ephemera that focus on the story
of the three World W ar II shipyards
operated by the KaiserCompany in the
Portland-Vancouver area.
W ork provided by the shipyards
was responsible for bringing many
African Americans to the Portland
area. “Tlje Shipyard Workers: Labor
and Art” examines the role o f the home
front workforce, its impact on popula­
tion, housing and schools, and the
decisive role it played in shaping the
metro area we live in today.
In addition to the exhibit, the new
book “Waging W ar on the Home Front:
An Illustrated M emoir o f World W ar
II” will be available for purchase.
W ritten by Chauncey Del French and
edited by Lois Mack and Ted Van
A rsdol (O regon S tate U niversity
Press, 2004), the book is acom pelling
first-hand account o f how the war
changed the lives o f those at home
and features 150full-color illustrations
augm enting the shipyard stories.
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , v isit
www.multcolib.org/events/collins or
call 503-988-5469.
<
This historic
photo of
workers at
the Kaiser
Shipyards is
on display at
the Central
Library in an
exhibit
dedicated to
labor and art.
HMM*
HMNM9M
Social Security Reform:
Medal Sought for War Hero
Don't Forget the Unfair Rules Hurting
Hundreds of Thousands of Educators
By
Reg Weaver,
President,
National
Education
Association
>
The Links, Inc.,
an African-
American group
with local
members is
trying to get
national recogni­
tion paid to
World War II
hero Doris
“Dorie ’ Miller.
“ But it’s okay, because he came hack alive,’ she says o f the man
who became her husband and father o f their three children. After
working as a stay at-hom e mother, the two o f them both decided
to go back to school, and Janice became a teacher at age 38. She
still teaches second grade today in Illinois.
Her husband recently passed away, leaving Janice heartbroken to
lose her high school sweetheart. Her voice gets hard when she talks
about the unfair discovery she made after his death.
his ship w as at­ and 654 shipmates were killed in the
tacked by Ja p a ­ line of duty when Japanese sank
nese aircraft, and the aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay
as a result, the cap­ on Gilbert Islands, the ship that
tain o f his ship, the Miller served on after being trans­
U SS W est V ir­ ferred from the USS W est Virginia.
ginia, was hit in the
Ironically, the captain o f the
stomach with shrapnel. As the cap­ USS W est V irginia, w ho D oris
tain lay in a pool o f blood. Miller had m oved to safety, was the
dragged him to a place o f greater only naval personnel from the
safety. As the ship continued to be USS W est V irginia to receive the
bom barded with artillery. Miller C ongressional M edal o f Honor.
Based upon Doris' significant acts
Ironically, the
o f heroism , given his m ilitary clas­
captain o f the USS West sification. for M iller to not only
Virginia, who Miller had attem pt to save his captain, w ho
was incapacitated, but to in stin c­
moved to safety, was the tively attem pt to save oth er lives,
only naval personnel
deserves the M edal o f Honor.
It is the goal of The Links, Inc.,
from the USS West
to collect 1 .(XX).(XX) signatures in an
Virginia to receive the
attempt to encourage legislators to
Congressional Medal
posthumously award Miller, the first
o f Honor.
A African-American navel personnel
o f World W ar II, Congressional
manned a machine gun, with which Medal o f Honor.
he had no prior training, and was
Betty Cabine. the president of
able to shoot down at least three o f the Portland Links chapter is ask­
the 29 Japanese planes that were ing members of this com m unity to
lost by the attackers that day.
respond positively when contacted
Doris M iller continued to serve or approached, to support this
his country in the Navy during worthwhile and long overdue na­
World W ar II. However, in 1943, he tional recognition for a fallen hero.
Dorie Miller
saved many lives
The Links, Inc., an A frican-
American service organization, with
more than 10,000 members across
the world, including Oregon, are
joining forces with U.S. Rep. Eddie
Bernice Johnson o f Texas and other
state and federal legislators, to gain
national recognition for WWIl hero,
Doris "D orie” Miller.
M any leg islators have been
working diligently for many years
to have the Congressional Medal
o f Honor posthumously awarded
to this deserving hero. On May 20,
C ongressw om an Johnson intro­
duced a bill, H R. 4445 toward this
objective.
In 1939, at the age of 20, Doris
Miller, a native o f Waco, Texas
enlisted in the Navy as a Mess
Attendant. This was one of the few
positions available to A frican-
American sailors while serving in
the segregated military.
On the fateful day of Dec. 7,1941,
Miller was collecting laundry when
Amid the Social Security reform talk o f im pending shortfalls,
investment yields and transitional costs, it’s easy to forget that
retirem ent policy affects real people. For example, it has seriously
affected Janice Quas, a wom an who went to her high school prom
in the late 1960s while her boyfriend went to Vietnam.
I
It's easy to
“I found out that since I became a teacher, and pay into the state
retirem ent system as a public employee, I am no longer entitled to
all o f my husband’s Social Security benefits.”
forget that
policy affects
What Q uas is experiencing as a widow and teacher is felt by m il­
lions of public employees all over the country.
real people.
The reason: arcane provisions in the Social Security law titled the
Governm ent Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elim ination
Program (W EP). f'hesc laws were originally put in place to keep
high-paid public officials and their spouses from “double dipping”
by receiving the full benefits o f both the national Social Security
and state-backed pension program s that cover public employees in
about half o f the states. In practice, however, they have had the
effect o f denying lower-paid public servants the benefits they or
their spouses have earned. For example, m id-career professionals
moving from the private sector are dismayed to learn that becom ­
ing a teacher will mean the loss o f Social Security they earned in
their previous career.
iiea
NATIONAL
E D U C A T IO N
ASSOCIATION
nea.org
As the President o f the nation s largest teachers union, the National
Education Association, 1 join Quas and millions of others who’ve
dedicated their lives to working with children in asking the
Administration and m em bers of Congress to change the law so
America's educators can receive the Social Security benefits that they
deserve. Even before we consider any major overhaul of the Social
Security system, simple fairness dictates that we fix this anom aly
that punishes people for choosing careers in public service.
Great Public Schools
fa r Every Child
NEAs 2 7 million
members are the
nation s leading
advocates for
children and public
education
I