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O ffice M anaged : K athy L in d e r
R eporter :
Sarah Blount
Reducing the Odds of Underage Drinking
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OR IN PA R T W IT H O U T PER M ISSIO N IS P R O H IB IT E D
by K aren
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Y ou’ve seen the statis­
tics: Nearly every alco­
holic began drinking be­
fore age 21. And kids who
start drinking before age
15 are five times more likely
to have alcohol problem s
than those w ho wait. Yet
getting kids not to drink
can be challenging. Beer is almost
as cheap as soda pop. And th ere’s
the peer pressure. Now you’re fac-
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Opinion articles do not
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O pinion
Active parents
are a key to
prevention
Publishers Association
luly 19. 2006
¡ng a sum m er when they have no
classes, no hom ework and fewer
sports, clubs and other activities to
keep the m occupied T h ey ’re likely
to watch more TV , and that means
Know where your
kids are at all times.
Take the time to get to
know their friends.
W heeler
A R
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF PORTLAND
The Housing Authority of Portland and the
Multnomah County Library invite you to an evening for
grade school. As is true o f many
parents, I was able to tell them that
our fam ily is genetically at risk of
alcoholism , so alcohol isn’t som e­
thing we want to risk experimenting
sports and other activities are great
alternatives to alcohol. My 14-year-
old son plays the electric guitar, so
we identified rockers who don’t
use alcohol or drugs or who did and
quit. He starts high school and our
18-year-old daughter starts college
in the fall. W e’ve talked with them
about not only our expectations,
but also the advantages o f doing
well in school, not im pairing brain
developm ent and establishing how
they w ant to be viewed by their new
peer group. Refusal skills ("thanks,
but I don ’ t w ant to get kicked off the
team ” ) can be learned by discuss­
ing everyday challenges, such as
how to kindly turn dow n someone
asking for a date.
If you d rin k , set a good ex ­
ample. Practice m oderation. D on't
drive after d rinking. M ore help
for parents can be fo u n d on the
O regon D epartm ent o f H um an
S e rv ic e s w e b site o re g o n .g o v /
D H S /a d d ictio n /u n d e ra g e-d rin k -
in g /m a in .s h tm l
or
at
sto p a lc o h o la b u s e .g o v .
If it sounds hard, it’s because we
parents are afraid our kids will hate
us. Love m eans caring enough to
keep them clean and sober. They
will thank us later.
more exposure to beer and liquor with. At our house, w e’ve never
ads. In fact, they’re likely to see had th at "u n c o m fo rta b le talk "
more beer and liquor ads than their about drinking and drugs; it’s a
parents will. As a parent, what to part o f our normal conversation.
do? First, acknow ledge that ours is We talk about how ridiculous ads
a year-round responsi bi I i ty. O ur job are that, besides exploiting women,
is not to be our kids’ friends, but show alcohol as a fun activity when
theirparents. W ecan ’tbelazy about the consequences o f irresponsibil­
it. Know where your kids are at all ity can be anything but fun. W ith
tim es. Take the tim e to get to know expectations com e incentives and
consequences. W hen my d augh­
their friends.
W hen you take them to an activ­ ter was 12, we told her that if she did
ity, get out o f the car and m eet the well in school and didn ’ t drink she'd
other parents. W hen your children get a phone.
O ur teens know that if they do
and teenagers go to other kids’
hom es, talk with the parents and p o o rly in s c h o o l, t h e y ’ll be
learn their addresses and phone grounded with no TV , no phone, no
Karen Wheeler is addictions
num bers. Set expectations. I began Internet; if they drink, the conse­
talking to our daughter and son quences will be greater and the policy manager in the Oregon
about alcohol before they entered family will seek counseling. Music, Department o f Human Services.
F a lse S ell o n S p e n d in g L im it
Initiative overly
harsh, arbitrary
by M ichael
A C O M M U N IT Y
EVENT
for remembering the past
. . . and looking to the future
of Humboldt Gardens
Tuesday, July 25, 2006, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Killingsworth Branch Library, 512 N Killingsworth
All community members, including Iris Court, Royal Rose Annex,
Royal Rose Court and Sumner Court current and former residents
from the past six decades, are invited to join us.
For more information, contact the Iris Court Relocation Office
at (503) 249-8741
L eachman
O regon prepares for periodic
recessions by funding unem ploy­
ment benefits through a trust fund
held separately from the rest o f the
state budget. No state income taxes
s u p p o rt u n e m p lo y m e n t. T h e
am endm ent being pushed by pro­
ponents o f TA BO R would never­
theless include unem ployment pay­
m ents in the arbitrary new spend­
ing limit.
Last N ovem ber, Colorado vot­
ers suspended use o f a sim ilar mea-
public services.
If the TA BO R am endm ent had
passed in O regon in 1990, state
services in Oregon would have had
$7.3 billion less in the current 2005-
07 budget cycle. That am ounts to a
24 percent cut in current state spend­
ing and service levels. T hat would
be like elim inating state funding for
all of die following services and
departm ents com bined: K -12 edu­
cation, the Oregon Health Plan,
corrections, state police, environ-
Proponents o f a ballot initiative
that im poses an overly harsh and
arbitrary spending limit in O regon's
constitution are calling their m ea­
sure the “rainy day am endm ent.”
This is like trying to sell a lightning
rod by calling it an “um brella.”
O regon does need a rainy day
fund that can be used to maintain
schools, public safety and other
state services when the econom ic
w eather turns foul, but this so-
called T A B O R (Taxpayer Bill of
R ights) proposal does no such
thing.
Even w orse, if the Legislature
ever finally createsa rainy day fund,
the m isnam ed m easure will render
the fund im potent to help protect sure for five years after Republican mentai quality and agriculture.
Gov. Bill O w ens, business leaders,
Calling this scheme the “rainy
services during a downturn.
and the state legislature agreed that day am endm ent,” even though the
H ere’s how.
T h e p r o p o s e d a m e n d m e n t it was dam aging C olorado’s u ni­ m easure renders a potential rainy
counts unem ploym ent insurance versities, health care system, road day fund useless, is a joke. But if
paym ents underthe spending limit. maintenance and other crucial pub­ voters place this ruse in O regon’s
constitution, it will not be a laugh­
In a dow nturn, when many people lic services.
L ike C olorado, the proposed ing matter.
are laid off, unem ploym ent insur­
Michael Leachman is a policy
ance paym ents increase. W hen the Oregon m easure restricts spend­
2 0 0 1 recession hit, unem ploym ent ing grow th to the rate o f population analyst at the Oregon Center for
insurance paym ents from the state growth plus inflation, a level that Public Policy, a local group
to laid-off w orkers increased by forces deep and unpopular cuts to formed to advance economic and
schools, public safety and other social opportunities fo r all.
$ 1.3 billion.
■
■—
Calling this scheme the “rainy day
amendment, ” even though the
measure renders a potential rainy
day fund useless, is a joke.
Hip Hop Wake Up Call
Setting a positive example for fans
by J udge G reg
M athis
Even if y o u 'v e never
tasted Cristal, you prob­
ably know what it is. A f­
ter all, the high-endcham -
pag n e has been m e n ­
tioned in lyrics by every­
one from Ludacris to Jay
Z, making it theeigth most
referenced brand in music in 2005.
W ith all the attention - and the
increased sales such attention gen ­
erates - y o u 'd think Cristal would
em brace hip hop culture, thanking
its spokesm en and wom en, i.e. rap­
pers, for the extra income. Not quite.
Frédéric Rouzaud, the managing
director of Cristal, recently gave
The Econom ist m agazine the im ­
pression that he w as less than
happy with hip h o p 's obsession
with his co m pany's product, say­
ing “we c a n 't forbid people from
buying it."
Jay Z, a platinum selling artist
and record executive, took offense
to R ouzad's statements. L et'sh o p e
others in the gam e will w ak eu p an d
becom e more mindful o f the prod­
ucts - and the im ages - they broad­
cast to the world.
I
Hip hop music and cul­
ture has both formally and
inform ally pushed a vari­
ety o f products over the
years. Cadillac, N ik e.. .you
nam e it and an artist has
m entioned it in a song.
And those lucky corpora­
tions profit greatly. After
al I. hip hop is consum ed al l over the
world and many - including young,
w hite suburbanites - learn every­
thing there is to know about urban
culture by listening to the music
and w atching the videos.
If Sean "P. D iddy” C om bs says
“ Pass the C ourvoisier,” chances
are millions will do just that. Until
now, m ainstream rappers haven't
paid much attention to the impact
their words have.
W ith Jay Z calling for a boycott
o f Cristal, it seems hip hop is poised
to move away from the brash m ate­
rialism that has becom e its calling
card. Jay Z has street cred.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian leadership
Conference.