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[Gamble]: We see them every time we ski; we never know them until we need them. [Male Ski Patrol Member]: Well, I always follow-up on any serious break, and visit the person in the hospital, and- and it- I think they appreciate it too, that you take the interest and the time to come back and see 'em. [Gamble]: We'll go up the mountain with Mt. Hood ski patrols. [acoustic strum] There's a resurgence in fundamentalist education. We'll visit Portland's largest church school to see why more parents are choosing a Christian education for their children. [Male Church School Student]: I believe that I basically always have been saved because I have always believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I believe when that time comes is- I'll meet him- see him someday. [acoustic strum] [Gamble]: Jobs: Some people work out of desire, others work because they must. What makes people like or dislike their jobs? [Allen]: There's an attitude of feeling very ineffective. Uh, frustration with all the forms that you have to fill out, and-and, we've had an increasing numbers of forms. Um,
a feeling of frustration- and this- these are the changes I've seen in education in the last 15 years. [acoustic strum] [acoustic strum] [Gamble]: Good evening, welcome to Front Street Weekly. In addition to those stories, we'll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Christian schools, and we'll meet one of Oregon's leading businessmen, John Passintini. With Oregon's economy in such bad shape, unemployed are scrambling for any job. Recently, when Tri-Met announced it was receiving job applicants, several thousand hopefuls showed up to vie for the relatively few openings. Today if you are employed chances are you would not leave your job on a whim, or because of dissatisfaction. Sometimes though, a job can be so unrewarding the employee is forced to ask, is it really worth it? [acoustic guitar plays] [Gamble]: It was Picasso who said "work is a necessity for me." And Voltaire who wrote that work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom,
vice and need, but how do we find that work which gives our life purpose? Which enhances our feelings of value? And who or what defines exactly what is meaningful work? With those questions in mind, Front Street looks at people on the job. We'll examine some occupations which many would reject, yet are important in the framework of society, and we'll meet two people who have questioned seemingly rewarding occupations. On this bright sunny morning in Southeast Portland, neighbors are delighted to see the familiar red and white truck of Steve McInnis come down the street. Steve's job is demanding, it's tough and it's a job many people disdain because it deals with the refuse of other people's lives. Steve is a sanitary engineer, or a rose by any other name, he is a garbage man. It's a job he believes in, and one he loves. [McInnis]: Being a garbage man it demands a lot out of you and, uh, you know,
the hours and, uh, pushing and the stops and the time ?inaudible? schedule that you're on during the day. [Gamble]: Do you approach each day with enthusiasm? [McInnis]: Sure, sure. Every- every morning, when we start out. [Gamble]: You look forward to going to work? [McInnis]: You bet. [Gamble]: Do you ever get derisive comments about the nature of your job? The fact that you're a garbage man? Do people tease you? [McInnis]: Sure, everyone likes- likes to tease a garbage man, give us a bad time, but, um, I feel what- what we're doing is really really good, really constructive. [Gamble]: Would you comment on the statement that a man's job determines his feelings of self-worth? [McInnis]: I think it's the personal satisfaction we get out of working with the customers and helping the customer, uh, dealing with the customers every- every day. You know, uh, questions, answers. Stuff they have- have for you, being able to greet- greet your customers and talk to 'em, and, um, get-getting to know your customers. [Allen]: ...Declare themselves independent but that doesn't mean that they wanted war, either. [Gamble]: Christine Allen is a schoolteacher
and a good one. Idealistic and eager when she began teaching 15 years ago, today Christine faces disillusionment and possible teacher burnout. In fact, Christine questions whether teaching will be her lifelong career. [Gamble]: Do you worry about teacher burnout? [Allen]: Oh, most definitely I would say I probably have experienced it. [Gamble]: Tell me about it. [Allen]: Um, there's an attitude of feeling very ineffective. Of frustration with all of the forms that you have to fill out. And- and we've had an increasing numbers of forms. Um, a feeling of frustration and- and this- these are the changes I've seen in education in the last 15 years that, the public demands more and more, uh, from the schools. You know, they expect us to do more and more things, um, and yet they're unwilling to support financially I think. Uh, they feel that money is wasted, and there's a lot I think misperceptions on the part of the public as to what really happens in education.
[Gamble]: What do you feel are some of the greatest problems facing your classroom today? [Allen]: I find that- that students take a lot out of you. They require, you know, a lot of... And I dunno if this just is the 9th graders or what even, seems like they require a lot more loving. And so you, by the end of the day you're really drained. Part of it too is, uh, classes of 30, or 30 plus and- and trying to deal with each one individually because you've got students that have some skills but- and then many of them that don't. So you're trying to bring them all up and have them all so that they're learning equally, or at least getting the basics down, and that can get very frustrated, very tiring. The thought of teaching another 30 years, until I'm 65, you know, I'm going 'no way' and I'm seriously considering looking at other kinds of opportunities, other things. [Gamble]: Warren Gross says he has spent much of his life around the funeral business, from his
teens on he worked for Caldwell Colonial Mortuary. In college he planned a different career, but the funeral business always drew him back. He presently works at The Arbor, and daily deals with the business of death. Does this depress him? No, says Rod, indeed he looks forward to the challenges each day brings. [Gross]: This business, by virtue of its characteristics is challenging every day. [Gamble]: The public is often wary of your profession. How do you combat this? [Gross]: Well I- I work very hard, and I think that families that see things being done and things happening feel that their money is well spent. [Gamble]: When people find out about your line of business. Do they tease you or kid you or come on with macabre jokes or "Digger O'Dell." [Gross]: Every day. [Gamble]: How do you handle that? [Gross]: Well, uh, I usually-
I usually say the punch line, and that cuts 'em off right then. [Gamble]: What is the punchline? [Gross]: Well, any joke you tell me I bet I know the punchline to it. I do get into kind of a serious note about it. Um, the funeral business is a sacred trust. Uh, I have- I have responsibility to protect the dignity of the dead as well as the confidence of- of the family. [Gamble]: Would you comment on the value of a man's work, and its relation to his feelings of self-worth? [Gross]: The funeral business lends itself to a lot of variety that at one time we didn't think was really there, and my goal with a family is to create a custom service, directly molded for them, and uh, that- that's- that's an exciting
challenge, and everybody's needs are entirely different from the last family you serve. A man's work has to be something that he does look forward to doing every day and doing his very best at. He's got to bring his own character into his job. [Gamble]: Dick Carey is a certified prosthetist, which means he daily deals with victims of catastrophic illness or body-maiming accidents. Dick creates the artificial limbs which help make bodies seem whole again. Although certainly Dick's work brings him into contact with sadness, he doesn't view that as an impediment to his career choice. If he had it to do all over again Dick would do exactly what he's now doing. He knows his work is needed, and that he is purposeful. [Gamble]: Do you face your job each day with enthusiasm? [Carey]: Well, I enjoy my work, I enjoy working with people, I enjoy the- the, uh,
challenges that are offered to me every day. Every person that I meet is- is a new and different challenge. There is no, uh, there is no straightforward answer to, uh, you know, uh, one particular type of amputation is different on each person. [Gamble]: Do you get close to the people who you fit for these artificial limbs? [Carey]: Oh yes, I have to. I have to get very close to them. I have to be able to find out what their problems are and try and come up with solutions for their individual problems. That person is amputated for life and they do need their prosthetist for life. You just don't put a leg on someone and never see them again. [Gamble]: If you had to choose a career again, would you choose this job? [Carey]: Oh yes, but earlier. [Gamble]: Why would a man with a thriving CPA business, satisfied clients, a healthy income, and the respect of his peers not feel satisfaction in his career?
Tom Bant didn't know why. What he did know was that the gnawing dissatisfaction he felt every day was in part due to his seeming successful occupation. He had to make a change. [Bant]: I'd spent 20 years, um, being a CPA, and it occurred to me one day that people get shorter sentences for committing murder, and I, as I say always did want to write. I got sort of turned away from it in college, uh, and I thought 'by golly, I'm going to see if I can write.' [Gamble]: Was leaving your firm, and selling the practice scary? [Bant]: Yes it was. I worked with my fear by going back to school to give- break myself into writing by easy stages, and then I found out that I was breaking into a whole new world, or at least one that I hadn't been around for 20 some years, and that was the world of the school [Gamble]: From an improvisational acting class to working on a novel for his
thesis, Tom's world at Reed College has all been preparation for a hoped for writing career. It is light years away from his certified public accountant image. [Bant]: Since I was a CPA and now I want to be a writer, it could be argued that that's autobiographical but the incidents that I used were all invented. [Male voice]: Well, are the changes, uh, in the book, uh more relevant to the- to some kind of inner psychological change rather than just career change? [Bant]: Uh, possibly not. [Gamble]: What if you're not successful? [Bant]: Well, what I'll do is I'll call it, um, um, a sabbatical and go back to being a CPA. I know I can be a good CPA because I have been one for several years, uh, but at this point, um, I don't know whether I can be a successful writer or not, and I don't want to emphasize success too much but if nobody reads your work, then, um, um, it's too much like a- a futile gesture.
[Gamble]: What then have we learned about the role of our work and its importance to our worth? We have learned we would have to agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "I look on that man as happy, who when there is a question of success, looks into his work for a reply." [McInnis]: I think you feel really good at the end- end of the day. It's kind of like, uh, you know, everyone else goes out and plays their racquetball and works out, uh, we get it all in in the first part of the morning. [Allen]: I like to be- I am basically an optimist so I like to be optimistic about education, but I think we need to do a better job of selling the public, in what- that we are doing quality work. [Gross]: A job should actually be a freedom of sorts, and- and a creative thing. [Carey]: Uh, your job is what you are doing with your life what, uh, you know, uh, if you're not happy in your work, if you're not satisfied in your work, outside of possibly having a hobby that satisfies you, uh, what are you going to do? [laughs]
[Bant]: A person is what he or she does, and if you don't like what you're doing, you're not going to like yourself much. [acoustic guitar plays] [Gamble]: It's nice to think that people could change jobs, not just for economic reasons, but for reasons of self-satisfaction as well. Yet we continue to have double digit unemployment. For example in 1981, 13 percent of workers quit their jobs voluntarily. The following year, only 8 percent left their jobs for comparable reasons. One question remains. Can a person learn to be relatively happy in a job he would not choose to keep? Kevin McGovern, you are the psychologist, how do you advise people with this problem? [McGovern]: Well I ask each person to try to find some specific happiness in their work role. [Gamble]: But how do they do this within the work role if the job is defined for them. [McGovern]: Well if they're having a difficult time, we ask them to speak with their employer to see if Job modifications can occur To see if they can change their schedule or to find another employee that they can job share some
responsibilities with. [Gamble]: OK, worst case scenario, they can't do anything to affect the job. What could they do outside of the job to make their life meaningful? [McGovern]: If their job is unmeaningful then they may become depressed and anxious, so we advise them to go out and find some other meaning in their life. They might want to join a social organization, a volunteer organization, or find a recreational activity that they can afford and enjoy. [Gamble]: Is there a danger when a person is unhappy with his job and he doesn't have a hobby or other outside interests that he might take his frustration home? [McGovern]: Absolutely. Many people take home their frustration, their marital problems, problems with children, increased alcoholism and drug abuse. [Gamble]: So you're saying find something purposeful whether it's your job or outside? [McGovern]: That's right. [Piano Music] [Swenson]: Enrollment in Christian schools is up considerably. One statistic claims the number of fundamentalist schools in the northwest region alone has increased from 177 to
222 schools this last year. Later on the program will ask some questions about why the enrollment is up in these schools and what impact this kind of education has on the student. But first "?Ana Shatt?" has this background report. [Reporter]: Two years ago. These were the halls of "?Clark-Rose?" junior high. Part of the Portland Public School system. Because of a decline in student enrollment, The city leased its building to Portland Christian. The largest Christian School in Portland. With a tuition of $2,150 dollars a year for a high school student, it's also one of the most expensive. Michael and Tammy Davies drive from their home in Vancouver Washington to attend Portland Christian. They are among a growing number of young people who have left the public schools in search of a fundamentalist Christian education. What are they looking for? Who decided to go back to high school and find out.
Bible teacher "?Dan Gerald?" told us the school's basic goal. ["?Gerald?"]: Our purpose is to help them become Christ-like. More like Jesus. Expose them to the truth in the Bible, expose it to them from every angle you possibly can. And when you accept Jesus Christ, your center of identity changes. If God is the center of things, then everything must be revolving around him. Not around man. So my perception of all of life must change. Not how do I see this, but how does God see this? It's for his benefit not for mine. I am the servant not the one to be served. [Student 1]: I have a personal relationship between me an Christ. [Student 2]: I believe that I basically always have been saved because I have always believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I believe when that time comes I'll meet him, see him someday. ["?Gerald?"]: When a student accepts Jesus Christ, I mean really accepts
him, not just lip service, outward expression goes to Christian school but really accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, then his relationship with other people deepens. With his other students because the relationship becomes a spiritual one not just a social one. [Speaker]: Also playing with us at times, filling in will be Mike Davies. And the manager is Chris Collins. [Reporter]: It's Friday morning, the pep rally before the opening game of the season. Just like any school, Portland Christian is out there to win. [Eye of the Tiger plays] [Principal]: We teach what it means to win and lose from God's eyes, which is to represent
him. To have the right attitude in competition. It's very important. To teach those values right, wrong. What better place to teach Christian values than playing basketball? [Reporter]: Principal ?inaudible? taught public school math for 14 years. He was not allowed to actively express his religious views. Things are different for him now at Portland Christian. [Principal]: Teacher does more than just have the students pray for the correct answer. They really discuss mathematics in terms of God's creation. It tells us more about God and His perfect mind. It's no happenstance the math came this way from our point of view. It's part of God's plan and part of His perfect mind. This beautiful structure of mathematics is the way it is. You need to know the Bible to teach any course here. As I mentioned before, in Christ, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that includes history and man's story.
So we decided to sit in on David Robinson's Western Civilization class. By the way a little later in US history next year when we talk about this issue. When we get to talking about the Holocaust we're going to do a quick parallel study about the book of "inaudible" because it deals with this very question. How is it that God can use people that are horribly evil to judge his own people. Think about what it would will be like to be told say God comes to you in a vision and says I'm going to bring somebody who's equivalent of an Adolf Hitler into your country. Because because you've got some problems. We can see how it worked out for good, but then it was just (trails off) 20/20 hindsight is what we have. If something were to happen to your your father. Say your parents were killed in a car wreck. Then you come to me, Debbie, and we'll talk about this. (background noise) So while transfer from a public school to a Christian school? Mike and Tammy give us
their reasons. I feel I have a security that they don't have. I feel like there's somebody always there when they need them because Jesus Christ is like a father and a brother all at once. My brother talked about all the time every night. He always talked about guess what I did today, you know. It was so much fun, and he was always gone and I was always home. Because like our school got out at 3 o'clock and I play basketball and stuff but I really wasn't involved. There was parties and stuff. But the parties were dances and usually my parents didn't let me go to those and stuff because most of them were drunk there and Mike said that I'd get good friends there and you know I was kind of happy as a Christian I can share what I had on my mind. (music) Mike took a little time adjusting to the change in environment. On a choir trip to Seattle during his first year at Portland Christian, he and a friend broke curfew and stayed out all night. A week later he was caught cheating.
I've been rebellious a few times and we're not all perfect. I just happen to have been revealed. (inaudible) We'll try to teach right and wrong. The words we use are sin and righteousness. Are you in this class? No, I'm down here. See you later. (laughter) The time is now 20 after. Anybody else going to the library? (background conversation) As you read the New Testament, especially the book the book of Galatians you find that it talks about being free in Christ not freedom not freedom to sin but freedom from sin and it's a matter of you submitting to the proper spiritual authority over you. It's not a matter of whether it's right or wrong. It's a matter of you. I said I'd do it. Before God, I'll do it. (music)
The student really gets a hold of the fact that they are a slave to Jesus Christ. Their attitude towards others begins to change in terms of service to those other people. Jesus gave himself away. If I want to be Christ-like, then I also will do that - give myself away. (music) How and why can people experience this in their lives. Christianity. (background conversation) They care about your relationship with him. And they're always is making sure that you are up on that and stuff. They are always giving bible verses
and stuff we need to memorize and stuff. It's a lot of fun. No we're not training kids how to be stamped out like a particular stamped out of a mold. We're trying to teach them how to evaluate things through the mind of Christ. Indoctrination's building hedges and telling people they must walk in between them. Education is teaching a young man or young woman how to use their mind. How to look at everything that is before them and understand it. Discern truth. How does God look at that? These obviously aren't the halls of a public school. The dress code for one gives Portland Christian a different look. David Deboss explained that rule. Girls wear dresses to school most of the time not because we feel like there's anything especially sacred about a dress as opposed to a pair of pants but simply because.
we really believe that the Bible indicates that men and women have different roles in life and are different and God made them different for wonderful reasons and we want to enhance those reasons and so we encourage in this manner our boys and girls to look different and act differently. A man is should be the leader in the home. We teach that. I was brought up in that That's all my life I've always, they've always taught me this and so I just that's the way I feel. (inaudible) No, I'm not You asked me if what I thought about women being submissive to their husbands, right? I think that it doesn't hurt if the wife helps, because you know it's not like - it seems like my dad has never let my mom work it seems like. But I think that if the wife, I enjoy working if I'm not working it seems like boring but I don't know if I'm married if
I'm if I think that if the wife wants to work and is keeping up her duties at home then she should be able to work. It's going to be the first team that's really run against us a lot. You can do it, just work at it. When Portland Christian played this time their record was already 3-0 and the game tonight turned out to be a close one. (game noise) As we go out on that floor help us to have one thing in mind and that's to play towards excellence for you. And I pray that we'll not play for the crowd but for anybody but for you God. And I pray that no matter what the scoreboard says that we're out there working our tails off no matter what. And I thank you for Mike Davies. He's a real encouragement to me and I pray that he can get in this game tonight and I pray that he can hustle the way he's always hustled. Dear lord, I thank you for this team that you've given us and I ask that you you give us intensity as we go out there tonight and
I ask that you give Bill the strength he needs because he's not feeling very well tonight (inaudible) But he is he's a great guy and I want to thank you that he's on this team and for all the hardwork he puts out. The Davies family is paying nearly $4000 a year to send their children to a private school. Why do you send your children to Portland Christian? First of all, we really feel like there's a quality education there. And then in today's society it's quite a responsibility to raise children. And as Christian parents, the Bible instructs us to bring them up not in the admonition and nurture of christ and everything we learn there is a principle involved there. And we feel that's been taught there and it's worth it. Students at Portland Christian seem very comfortable with their school's philosophy.
Fundamentalists schools are increasing in number. Yet some educators are concerned that an exclusively Christian education presents a narrow view of the world. Are students being taught to feel different from those with other beliefs? I love the non-Christians because they're God's creation. God has commanded me to so I do. And they're humans. They were created in the image of God just like me. I see God in them. I just don't see the fullness of God. Do you think you teach blind obedience to authority? Yes I suppose you could say that I do, we do teach blind obedience to authority. And again, it goes back to what the Bible says in Romans Chapter 13 it says we're commanded to obey the law. Private Christian education is growing in popularity in Oregon and nationally. Apparently many parents feel their children need the structure, discipline, and emphasis on morality for which church schools are known despite the high price of
tuition. Some public school teachers and other educators caution that the strict Bible based system may be too inflexible for students once they leave the church school setting. William Long is professor of religion and humanities at Reed College. Doctor Long, Professor Long, why is it that Christian education enrollment is up? I think for one reason parents see the need to have greater control of education and greater control of what their their own children learn. And that's the primary feature I'd like to stress. Well what impact are these schools really having on children? Of a positive nature, I think they are inculcating some principles that parents perceive are not being inculcated in the public schools. They are perhaps teaching the students something about the history of Christianity, the understanding of the Bible. There are some positive features that I think one can stress about these schools. Now you're featuring a positive. There have been some critical comments also made by public educators. What are some of these comments. The comments that I would like to isolate briefly relate to the
film that we just saw. And my primary objection to the way that the Christian schools are oriented now is the understanding of the Bible that tends to underlie the curriculum. Stressed throughout is the formative understanding of the Bible as a text, as a formative influence on people's lives. What I find though is in the use of the Bible there is a selective and generally a self-serving attitude toward it. So you're saying it's overexaggerated or they're using just specific aspects of the Bible in a curriculum? For example, It was stressed at the end of the film that students should obey the teachers and there was a reference made to Romans 13. Indeed, that is that's a passage that is frequently used. But I think that such a passage needs to be understood in the greater context of the Bible where the obedience to authority is not only stressed but they're also disobedience to authority that is stressed too. This is what I would call a selective use of the Bible that I find is unhelpful and gives the student the
impression that there is a unitary understanding of what the Biblical text teaches. So there is some selectivity there. Certainly. Also with us is Mr. Les Forney the principal of the West Hills Christian Elementary School. Mr. Forni, what are your views about Christian education. Why is enrollment up? We find that enrollment is up at our school because we have families that are concerned about their children. They feel that it's a God given responsibility based in the Old Testament that they are to nurture and admonish their children in the things of the Lord. And as a result their responsibility is not being fulfilled in the schools in which they're in. So you're saying that the public schools are being irresponsible currently. I'm not using the word irresponsible as far as the public schools are concerned. But what the responsibility is for the children and the parents. They want their children nurtured and admonished in ways that are not presently being taught in the public schools. Does this mean they want them to be more moral, to be part of the Moral Majority?
I think the statistics would show that they're concerned about a number of things. A lack of discipline being taught, respect for authority. There are biblical principles, moral attributes, that are not being taught. And they want those taught to their children. Therefore, in our country, of course, we have that freedom to choose. Now that is one of the beauties of our program. As a principal and as an educator what happens to the child who begins in your school and has to leave the school because of a lack of funds or an inability to respond to that model of education? Are they lost sheep as they return into the regular curriculum? We have found that the great percentage of our students who have to transfer into a public school either because they go into a high school program or have to transfer out while yet in the grade schools. Not only are doing average but in most cases above average. Are they carrying the Spirit with them or are they helping others in these other schools? We find that many of them are doing that very thing and they become model students in the public schools in which are attending. I see.
Professor Long, Mr. Forni, this curriculum is based on the Bible. Is this really a fair thing to do to children? Is the Bible outdated today? Does it really respond to our current needs in society? I think there is a reading of the Bible, the scriptures, that in many contexts is proper and helpful for our society. But you also said there was selectivity, only aspects of the Bible that were pulled out. The impression given from the film we saw and from what I know about this education is that the Bible functions in a way to give direct guidance to people for all of life's activities. And I think it's that principle that needs to be opposed. Not that the Bible cannot be useful in certain contexts. But the fact that the impression is given that the answers for all of life's crises, situations and problems facing people individually in our society are given in the Bible is an impression that I don't think is correct. Mr. Forni what are your thoughts about that? Especially when we think also about womens role today. You know these women are asked to take a submissive role. And are they learning this from the Bible?
We feel that there, all of these aspects are taught in the Bible. There's not going to be a chapter in the verse that will give you the answer for a specific need. But the principles are there. So you're telling the students to believe everything they read in the Bible. We find god's word, the Bible, to be without error. Yes. Without error? Yes. Don't we make human errors in interpreting the Bible? We feel that the inspiration of God's word was protected through that. And that there are no errors there as we see them. I said how about this aspect of blind obedience and corporal punishment. What are your thoughts about this? Well again, it's a biblical principle and if you believe God's word to be true. And you're going to be an adherent to it, then you're going to find that those are a part of your lifestyle. So you're saying it's positive to physically punish school or punish children in an educational setting? In our program we have a parent application form in which they say they are giving us permission to use corporal punishment. But doesn't the State of Oregon call that child abuse?
Aren't there laws about that? There are certainly child abuse laws. But if you were to come and observe corporal punishment in our school you'd say no that's not child abuse. I see. And the reason being Kevin, excuse me, would be that it's done with firmness and fairness. We pray with the students. We counsel them in love and understanding and it's never done in anger. That's where the abuse comes in is when it's done in anger. Professor Long, what are some of the negative aspects? what happened to some of these children that can't cope? I think, in a number of cases of students with whom I have spoken, perhaps after they get out of this particular school system at least some have mentioned to me that they felt that they were not prepared for life in the world. Indeed I suppose any educational system could result in that. But specifically in terms of kind of the varieties of people they might have to meet in the world, they felt that the education derived at a Christian school was one that didn't prepare them for that.
So you're saying children become isolated, they go through a Christian school, then they need to go out into the regular environment and they're having problems coping with that? I'm not saying that's a necessary byproduct. I find that though it - one can tend to be more in that direction because again of the impression given there that the biblical understanding of things will give one a sufficient answer to all of life's problems.. Do you have any examples of that where a child, a person, a student had a difficult time coping with their "normal environment" after leaving a school. A person that I'm thinking of specifically mentioned to me that after graduating from a certain Christian school he felt that he was not prepared for college experience, was not prepared for treating dealing with people who didn't come to the education with the same kind of pre-suppositions regarding a Christian view of the United States history of the Christian view of the West. Mr. Forni, obviously you must be concerned about finances currently. Schools are expensive to run. What do you feel about tax credits or tax breaks for people who send their children to
Christian schools or private schools. Money is always a problem, isn't it? Absolutely. Whether it's in the public schools or the private colleges that Doctor Long is associated with or with my program. We've seen some wonderful things happen. We've been in operation for 34 years now. And that's one of the older schools in the Portland district as far as the private Christian schools concerned. It is a problem. And as far as the tax credits are concerned,we would be in favor of that, providing there weren't the strings attached that apparently there will be and they're working on now. So you would want a parent to have credit for sending their child to a Christian school. That's correct. You see it as a double jeopardy that they have to pay taxes both to the public curriculum and the private curriculum That's often mentioned. Professor Long, how about yourself ? You're in a private institution. Yes. What are your thoughts? Well I would disagree with Mr. Forni regarding that. Primarily because of my understanding of the purpose of public education which is not only to communicate certain information but to communicate an understanding of who we are as a people. And when
people then seek education outside of that particular system I don't think support should be given them for that type of withdrawal. One last question. Are our public schools failing in teaching moral development, Mr. Forni? Well, as I tell all of our new families that come in and inquire about enrollment, I think the public schools are doing the very best job they can without divine guidance. When they have ruled him out, they have ruled out a lot of the wisdom that they necessarily need. Gentlemen, I want to thank you. Thank you. (music) In Oregon, snow skiers who witness a serious collision on the slopes are required by law to give assistance but the majority of first aid administered is the responsibility of the ski patrol. Reporter Tamara Thomasson went to one of Oregon's most popular ski areas to see what life is like for members of the patrol.
Snow skiing. A sport that more and more people are taking up and one that requires a great deal of balance and agility. If you ski on Mt. Hood you've no doubt noticed the excellent skiing capabilities of the ski patrol. They're hard to miss. In the blue and red coats with crosses on the backs and first aid packs strapped around their waist. The people in the blue are the paid full time pro patrollers. The group in the red are members of the all volunteer Mt. Hood ski patrol. We work very closely with the pro patrol and all of the areas they're basically responsible during the week and then we come in and help them handle all the people that come up from Portland and on the weekends. Volunteers are required to patrol the slopes and/or administer first aid at least 12 weekend days over the five month winter season. Not an easy job and one that
requires a lot of training. I don't think the public really recognizes us for what we are. They see us patrolling but they don't realize that in order to get our original first aid card, we have to spend 52 hours. I have to, we all have to, spend eight hours every season getting a first aid update. We have a chair lift evacuation drill that we go through every fall. CPR training, avalanche training, and it's a big organization. It takes a lot of administration. How you doing today? In order to become a member of the Mt. Hood ski patrol, you must be at least 18 years old but you don't necessarily have to ski well. To become an attendant who works only in the first aid room one must pass the Mount Hood first aid and basic life support course. (Background noise) Charlene Thompson is one of several first aid supervisors who has seen a wide range of injuries over the last year. From a a splinter to a
you saw this morning the tib-fib fracture. Someone in the parking lot. We've had people hit their head. We get people doing pole plants into their legs. Ski pole plants into their legs. Kids that sharpen their edges, decide they're going to sharpen their edges and get carried away and go to put their skis in their snow and have their gloves off and go. Charlene says spending weekends in a first aid room does have its rewards such as helping Roger Johnson feel comfortable while waiting for the ambulance. Johnson slipped and broke his leg in the parking lot. So I still have an unblemished record on the slopes. I haven't broken anything while skiing. Just, the parking lot is very dangerous. (background conversation) It's the early Saturday morning meeting at Timberline. In order to qualify for the hill patrol, all volunteers in this room have earned an advanced first aid card and have passed a strenuous ski test. They've all spent one season as an apprentice and two days learning how to ski with the aluminum sled for "?Auchia?". Dave Hitchcock and Dick Puli are two old timers who have more than 40 combined years of experience on the slopes
and they remember when driving a sled was really tough. When I started with the patrol we didn't have "?Auchos?" in the United States. We used a thing called a dog sled which was a regular wooden toboggan which had the curled up end. Just look like like a tobaggon. Looked like a normal tobaggon, and had a super structure in the back that you held onto and a super structure in the front and And two skiers, you straddled it, operated it. And very awkward, very, very awkward and difficult to use in high terrain, in steep terrain. The Mt. Hood ski patrol has been unique since its formal establishment in 1938. It was the country's first ski patrol and now it's 350 members serve all five ski areas on the mountain including Timberline during the summer months. All of the rescue equipment on the mountain belongs to the Mt. Hood ski patrol. Because of the equipment is so expensive, the "?Auchia?" the aluminum rescue sled we now have, a few years ago sold for $120 dollars is now something like $750 and our radios which are
sell for $1200 dollars, something like that. Fifteen hundred. All that equipment is on a capital fund. We have been successful in raising that through a capital fund drive through various foundations. Old timers of the Mt. Hood ski patrol say the skiing accident rate has dropped significantly over the last 20 years because of improved safety equipment and better grooming of the slopes. Skiing is safer but still there are accidents. Approximately 500 minor and just as many serious accidents per winter season here at Timberline which is one of the smallest skiing areas on Mt. Hood. The most common skiing injury this year is a sprained knee. And the patrollers say if you like to avoid that kind of injury you should take skiing lessons, have a professional periodically check your bindings and practice stretching exercises each morning before heading up the mountain. But if you are injured on the slope during the weekend and rescued by Dick Puli you can at least count on one visitor in the hospital.
Well I always follow up on any serious break and visit the person in the hospital. I think they appreciate it too that you take the interest and the time to come back and see them and see how they are doing. Puli says he's practiced this friendly gesture for nearly 20 years but he's just recently realized how important it might be to the whole ski area because of the increased number of lawsuits springing up throughout the country. By having friendly lift operators and a friendly ticket operator and good guys out in the parking lot whose the first person you see in the morning. All of this helps to develop a good attitude and in my estimation, it materially reduces the risk that the operator faces if the guy does fall down later in the day. He knows hatt the people are concerned about him, they've being polite to him. And if we do our part then and pick him up and don't jostle him, do our job , why it comes off with a happy ending. If you ruffle him up in the morning, they're going to be ruffled all day. And if he has a fall he's going to be hard to deal with. And you're
likely to find him suing you. (radio in background) Dale Crockett is the paid ski patrol director at Timberline. Go ahead. He's a pro who takes care of administrative problems on the weekends while proudly turning over the slopes to the volunteers. We've got the best bunch of volunteers that I could ask for and their program is very extensive and they've got hundreds of people that work with it and I think the dedication level just can't hardly be beaten. (Background noise) Crockett says the biggest part of a patroller's effort should go to hill safety. Marking the hill for hazards. We're not required to mark anything for the skier responsibility code that is natural but that we do as a service to people, mark the rocks mark congestion areas,try to get the traffic patterns laid out. I look at skiing, the slope sometimes like a great big freeway and if I was a highway engineer trying to work out the difficulties sometimes.
Occasionally skiers will turn up lost at the end of the day and if the person can't be found in the usual places, patrollers will make a search. At Timberline skiing out of the designated ski area is permitted. But patrollers don't want to go looking for anyone out there. If they know what they're doing, it'sup to them. I don't liking going and risking my life to saving them is what it comes down to. But at Mt. Hood Meadows they have a different attitude toward people who decide to ski out of bounds. I personally feel that they should be arrested and they should spend at least a couple nights in jail and they should be treated as anybody else would be treated for trespassing in an area that's so marked. If a skier is caught skiing out of bounds at Mt. Hood Meadows his expensive lift ticket will be revoked and he will be allowed to leave the area with just a warning. The reason for this strict policy's avalanche danger and patrollers control that danger by closing off certain areas or by ski-cutting a not so dangerous slide path. The third method that we use is, and pretty extensively here, is explosives.
We actually use dynamite. We take the dynamite on routes in the morning and go to loaded areas on the Hill and toss those sticks of dynamite into the load, into the snow loads and so as to release the tension again, and artificially create avalanches so that skiers won't trigger those avalanches later in the day. Avalanche control work can be hazardous and frightening. Several of the pro patrollers have been caught but as a safety measure each patroller carries a "?Scady?" avalanche rescue transceiver which continually sends out a signal. It really is good. You can spend a lot of time probing around and looking around for a guy in a slide path and be a long way from where the guy is really buried. And this pinpoints where the skier is before you start digging, you can waste a lot of time digging. Where if you got one of these things you're digging in a confined area and there's a good chance you'll find the guy. If you're caught in an avalanche and buried, your chances of survival after the first
15 minutes drop by 50 percent. So after 15 minutes you're in you're in big trouble. After a half an hour to 45 minutes you're basically looking for a body. Turner says avalanches are well controlled at Mt. Hood Meadows. Very few paying customers have been caught in avalanches in any of the designated ski areas. But pro patroller Jim Doyle has. We had the hill open for public and I was skiing down a run that we now call Popeye after me and I made two turns in it and broke loose above me and buried me up to my neck. And I had to get dug out by two other patrolmen. Like most pro patrollers, Jim has an emergency technician card and is an expert skier. These attributes come to good use during the week when it is the pro patroller's job to rescue skiers in trouble on the slopes. Volunteers and paid patrollers alike admit that patrolling requires dedication, hard work, and living with miserable weather but there are rewards and few consider giving it up.
I'll probably be a ski patrolman for the rest of my life. You know I look at some of the volunteers that have been doing this for 20 to 30 years and you know just how super people they are and they just go well you know I just want to be one of the old men of the mountain someday I guess. I'm vintage of 1920 I'm thinking that maybe I (laughs), should hang it up but I enjoy it. I really truly do. Well I'm vintage nineteen 27 so I have at least seven good years. Dick is still going great. So I have at least seven good years. And perhaps more. (music) According to Timberline's Director Dale Crockett, half of all skiing accidents involving people over 21 are alcohol related. Apparently drinking and skiing can be as dangerous as drinking and driving. Convenience stores have become a part of our lives. Most are open around the clock allowing us the
freedom to shop any time day or night. Tonight we're going to talk to the man responsible for a popular local chain of convenience stores. The Plaid Pantry Markets. In the 20 years since its inception, Plaid Pantry has grown to include 130 stores with more on the way in 1983. With us in the studio tonight is John Pasintini, a man who was recently described by Willamette Week as a businessman with power. John thank you for joining us. I'm curious about the Wall Street Journal's comment about the recession how long and worrisome it's been. Do you think the recession is about to end? I don't think so. I heard all these reports from all these economists who say recovery is just around the corner but they've been saying that now for a year and a half. And I think it's going to be with us for a while there are too many people out of work. Interest rates still haven't fallen enough and it's just going to be a long time I think before the automobile industry picks up and the lumber industry. That's the dilemma that faces the state legislature. Now if you had some advice to give to the state legislature in terms of trying to balance the budget for example is a good deal of talk now about a sales tax. What's your
feeling about that, John? As a retailer I've always been against a sales tax for selfish reasons but I think it's the way to go as long as they have a sales tax that doesn't affect the low income people some type of rebate for them. But I think a sales tax is the only answer to solve the problems we have. John, you're continually expanding the Plaid Pantry markets. What is it about you that finds business encouraging here in this economy. Our type stores are small stores. We're not a big ticket item people don't buy very much from us. We're convenient. I think next to money, the thing that the American people value the most is time and convenience stores do save time and that's why our business has held up really well. Time is an interesting concept that also has to do with the nature of the economy itself. The discussion is is that Oregon has to diversify its economy if we're going to survive. The question is how do we diversify and do we have time to really do it in light of your earlier comment with regard to the recession. I think that's very difficult. We're not the only state that's looking for high tech. Everybody wants high tech and tech industries. Now it's impossible for everybody to woo them in high tech
industries really don't involve all that many new employees compared to lumber or automobile manufacturing they really don't employ that many. I think high tech is great but we have to look for other types of industries that would be good for the state. For example what kind of industries might those be? I really don't know yet - a lot of people talk about the apparel manufacturing industry but a lot of those are thinking of moving to the south where labor is cheaper,where the raw materials are and it's it's difficult to to really look at the type industries that Oregon would be well suited for. I think the trade is very important for Oregon though.That is, I think, the future for us. You are talking about overseas trade? Overseas trade, to the far east, to China. John, what about lag time? People say that the Northwest wil lag behind other parts of the nation in terms of catching up and getting away from this recessive time. I, I don't think we're going to be that far behind. You look at some of the states back east and they have some real serious problems,a lot more than we have, as much unemployment as we have. The steel industry the auto industry, those are never going to recover. Those people are going to be out of work forever.
But do you think the timber industry will ever fully recover out here. I don't think it will ever fully recover but I think it will come back. To some degree where it will still employ a lot of people. But the legislature if I may come back to that was still faced with the problem of balancing a budget and some real questions as to whether the governor's budget is really realistic. You've indicated that you do believe a sales tax is a possibility. Two other things have been talked about with regard to trying to balancing the budget. One is a lottery and the other is the net receipts tax. What's your view of those? Well the lottery will not raise that much money. They talked about raising 10 to 15 million dollars and that's not going to be enough to put a dent in it. The net receipts tax a lot of people don't like that. I don't think that will get past the legislature. I don't even think there will be there will be anybody for it. There are no Republicans for it or no Democrats for it and I think you're going to have to find other ways to balance the budget. Apparently one Republican, the governor's, the only one's whose for it. John, do you think we have any real business leadership here in this state? As far as individuals. I think we do. I think we have a lot of concerned businessmen
who are concerned about the welfare and the future of this state. You are or at least took the initiative in offering the stamp program or you want people to be encouraged and optimistic about their state. How did that work for you? It worked really well, we gave over five million stamps away of course that's not going to solve the economic problems of this state. But it does give the people a chance to become aware of the problems we have and let people around the country know that Oregon is viable and alive but that is certainly not going to solve the problems. Oregon has too many other problems, our income tax, our property tax. To many of those keep business away from locating here. Let me center this thing for just a moment now, say it is now this year at this point and you are starting out. Could you do at this point what you did in the past in terms of building this marvelous business that you have or what kind of advice would you give to a young man who was starting out. I don't think I would be able to build the type business that I built because it's already here. But I think there are all kinds of new businesses that we will see 20 years from now that aren't here today. And a
lot of young people will have started those businesses and be successful 20 years down the road. So John do I hear you say that you're optimistic about the future business in Oregon. Well I think Oregon is going to be here for a long long time. And business as well. And I think that if a person is motivated enough that they're going to be able to do well no matter what the economy is like. That's all the time we have tonight. Join us next week good night. (music) (music)
(music ends) (music)
Series
Front Street Weekly
Episode Number
212
Contributing Organization
Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland, Oregon)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/153-78tb30hk
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Description
Series Description
Front Street Weekly is a news magazine featuring segments on current events and topics of interest to the local community.
Broadcast Date
1983-00-00
Genres
News
News
Magazine
Topics
News
News
Local Communities
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:59:14
Embed Code
Copy and paste this HTML to include AAPB content on your blog or webpage.
Credits
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
Identifier: 113032.0 (Unique ID)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Original
Duration: 01:00:00:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Front Street Weekly; 212,” 1983-00-00, Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 26, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-78tb30hk.
MLA: “Front Street Weekly; 212.” 1983-00-00. Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 26, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-78tb30hk>.
APA: Front Street Weekly; 212. Boston, MA: Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-78tb30hk