A p ril 17.2013
Çortlanh (Dbaeru er
,
Page 7
LIBERATION
5JT * =» =j -
Annette Steele, 80, is battling to save
h e r N o r th e a s t m t h Auon ilo
photo by D onovan M. S mith /T he P ortland O bserver
.
recently assumed
Lending Nightmare
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
struck a leak, S teele looked to the
b an k fo r a fix-up loan again; but
instead they looked to h er fo r p a y ­
ing an outstan d in g debt that was
adjustable rate, reverse m ortgage,
w hich allow s hom eow ners, 62 and
o ld er to borrow m oney against the
co m p o u n d ed by interest and had
value o f th eir hom es. Steele, took grow n to $97,000.
out 45 percent equity on her p ro p ­
It is a c o st the retired house
erty, and once again, began faith ­ cleaner and great-great grandm other
fully m aking her paym ents, this time, can n o t afford.
to the bank.
W ith the house now in foreclo­
A few years later, w hen her ro o f sure, and no law y er w illing to take
h er case until recently, she had been
forced to rep resen t h e rself alone in
court fo r o v er a year.
Local organizations, W e A re O r­
egon and the B lack W orking G roup
both aim to support struggling w ork­
ing-class individuals and fam ilies in
the m idst o f urgent hardships.
In conjunction w ith one another,
both groups have been in stru m en ­
tal in not only d rum m ing up support
fo r Steele around the co m m u n ity
through canvassing the n eig h b o r­
hood and various dem onstrations,
but also taking the fight directly to
Fidelity, the bank w hich has m ost
recently assum ed the title to S teele’s
h o u se.
L ast m onth, S teele and W e are
O regon leaders p lead ed their case
directly to F id elity ’s regional litig a­
tion office in Seattle, dem anding
that the b an k ’s director o f legal coun­
sel sign o v er the title o f her hom e;
they refused, and a call for Fidelity
to respond by M arch 29, also w ent
u n an sw ered .
T he threat o f eviction still loom s
o v er A nnette S te e le ’s head every
day, but she refuses to leave her
hom e w ithout a fight.
In the ev en t that the s h e r if f s
office show s up at h er d o o r to en­
force an eviction, the ch air o f the
B lack W orking G ro u p ’s n u m b er is
posted at h er front door fo r im m ed i­
ate contact. S teele w arns, in w hat
has becom e a bit o f a tradem ark
phrase o f hers, “I d o n ’t have a gun,
but I ’ve got ho t w ater ready to go
every d a y ” w ith a light chuckle that
m asks h e r bravery.
THE
SPINACOLUMN
TM
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Am ericas natural healing profession.
Part 12. Regular Checkups; As important to
your back as they are to your eyes or teeth.
Q
A
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
: I d o n ’t h a v e a n y s e rio u s
back problem s. W hy should I see
a C hiropractor?
; T h a t is a g o o d q u e s tio n .
Som etim es we d o n ’t realize that a
sm all crick in the neck o r som e slight
back discom fort is beginning o f larger
problem s w hich are often m uch m ore
d ifficu lt to treat at a later stage in life.
Unfortunately, eight out o f ten A m eri­
cans will be struck dow n by severe low
back pain at one tim e or another. The
m echanical or structural defects o f the
back usually develop slow ly and with
very little pain, but if left untreated, may
disable you for days, m onths or som etim es
perm anently. The likelihood o f disability
increase dram atically in over 30. Fortu­
nately, we are able to avoid m any spinal
p ro b lem s w ith regular, precautionary
checkups. Just as an eye exam o r dental
checkup prevents potential problem s or
corrects the problem s or in its early stages,
so do Chiropractic checkups. Detected
early, spinal defects are not only easier
to treat, but m ay save a lot o f pain and
m oney, as well as reducing the chance
o f a disabling spinal disorder. T o ar­
range for your checkup, or for answ ers
to any questions you m ight have about
your health, call our office at the num ber
below.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
2 124 NE Hancock, Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 -5 5 0 4