Front Street Weekly; 304

[Silence], [Thunder and lightning], [Running Water], [Music] [Music and running water] [Music] Oregon Public Broacasting presents Front Street We- Weekly. A te- A television magazine featuring news and arts coverage with an Oregon perspective. with Gwyneth Gamble and Jim Swenson. [Upbeat music] Good evening, I'm Gwyneth gamble.

[Gwyneth]: Welcome to Front Street Weekly. [Jim Swenson]: And I'm Jim Swenson on Tonight's show, the fate of Oregon's only school for the blind is in doubt. Some legislators feel the state can't afford to maintain such highly specialized care. But parents of blind children are worried. [Woman] Well why don't we face it. The real world is never going to be a big part of these children's lives. They are never- ah, tell me how many people can cope with a child going in and out of seizures all the time, that is blind and handicapped. [Gwyneth] A summer tradition in Eugene for classical music lovers, has turned into one of the leading cultural events in the northwest. The Bach Festival draws some of the finest professional vocalists, instrumentalists, and one of the most highly respected Bach conductors in the world. [interviewee]: It's too much thu, thun, thun, thun, you know? Sounds [interviewee]: like rain in Eugene which i' should not, yeah? [Host]: And I'm the Portland art scene, we'll look at the Portland Art Association and go behind the scenes of the art school, film center,

and museum. [Swenson] Mortimer Adler. He's an author, he's a high school dropout who went on to become one of this country's leading philosophers. Tonight, he'll share his thoughts and ideas on America's school system. [Adler] We have not yet had, in this country, a truly democratic system of public schools. [Gwyneth] Conflict and controversy have plagued Oregon's fishing industry for several years. We'll take an in-depth look at commercial fishing and efforts being made to put the industry back on its feet. We'll see what it means to fisherman, Indians, and various state and federal agencies. [Man] If you're gonna regulate, let's regulate the whole industry. In a fair and equitable way, but not just pick on one part of the industry like the salmon fisherman and put us out of business. [Swenson] And tonight in our series Aimin' on Oregon, Steve braves the elements to report on an international sport that actually got its start here in Oregon. [Gwyneth] The fate of Oregon school for the Blind has been uncertain for more than five years.

Recently the century old institution was nearly closed by state legislators who called it underutilized and too expensive in these budget squeezing times. Although the school has remained open, it is almost certain to face continued scrutiny by legislators and has an uncertain future. Reporter Trish Nye worth looks at why the fight over this institution could have nationwide ramifications. [Neiworth]: In this hectic fast paced world in which we live it is often the simplest things we take the most for granted. [child laughing] But for some, these simple pleasures aren't really simple at all. [Neiworth]: Each year, thousands of children in the United States are born with handicaps. [Teacher]: Good girl, good girl. [Neiworth]: And each year they are aided by new special methods. Tools to help them overcome obstacles and to learn. [Children choir]: Rowing, rowing, rowing in the sea-

[Neiworth]: It was in the early 1970s that federal lawmakers said Handicapped children should receive the same quality education available to quote "normal children." They passed a law called 94 142, which would ensure that these special youngsters not be overlooked by an already burdened educational system. Mainstreaming was the result of the law. Handicapped youngsters no longer were banished to institutions. They became part of the regular public school system. [cars driving] It's been about a decade since lawmakers thought they solved the dilemma of how to educate these special children. But today they are being faced with a new challenge. A trend appears to be growing that is opposed to mainstreaming, at least for some children, and the battle over who should or should not be mainstreamed may be fought out right here on Oregon soil. That battle could result in the closure of one of Oregon's oldest institutions, the School for the Blind. The issue here is whether or not alternatives like this one should

be afforded to multi-handicap students who may be able to be mainstreamed but for one reason or another do not feel ready. What is decided here in [Neiworth]: Oregon could change the face of mainstreaming across the country. [Kleiwar]: All the kids that could be mainstreamed were mainstreamed. But laymen sometimes look at the graph of population and they continue it on out and so you'd automatically think "well if you were mainstreamed you know hundred and ten kids, then we should automatically be able to mainstream all of them." [Neiworth]: To understand why this may be a precedent setting case, you must first understand what has happened to Oregon School for the Blind. Years ago more than one hundred blind children were here. Today there are only 54. [Children talking, crying] When the push for mainstreaming happened, this institution like others across the country lost the majority of its students to the public schools.

Those that remain behind need intensive special care. Care that cannot be found [Neiworth]: in a large classroom setting. [Neiworth]: State lawmakers say they recognize and appreciate the work being done at the blind school but ironically that [Neiworth]: excellence is also troubling. [Fawbush]: We have a very excellent staff at School for the Blind. Nobody argues that. But if you're over allocating your resources in the one pot like that an' yo- your your pie is only so big and that means everybody else gets a smaller piece. And the state officials, we have an obligation, to try to see that everybody [Wayne Fawbush]: with similar handicaps receive equivalent care. [Reporter]: Fawbush is concerned that those students of the blind school are being given special treatment. There are about 500 other blind children in the state today, some with multiple handicaps all who have been successfully mainstreamed. Fawbush and others wonder why 54 more can't begin facing the real world as well. [McCready]: Well why don't we face it, the real world is never going to be a big part of these children's

lives. They are never, ah, you tell me how many people can cope with a child going in and out of seizures all the time, that is blind and handicapped in ah- so many of these children are so severely impaired they never will be a part of the real world. Certainly if they are less handicapped and even if they're blind they can be a part of the real world. But it isn't going to be easy for any of them. [Betty McCready] Molly, want to have some cherries? [Neiworth]: Betty McCready is quick to admit that her 13 year old daughter Molly may be one of the more severely handicapped students at the blind school. Besides her vision problems, Molly suffers from [Background Chatter] constant seizures that cannot be controlled by medication. [Neiworth]: Molly tried mainstreaming and was placed in a TMR classroom for the trainability mentally retarded. But other children in the class could see. [McCready]: Molly could have been there forever and never made any gains. And so we're saying that look,

these are the low end and the really severely handicapped blind children, we feel they need more of than what they have out there. She's a threat to normal children and they're threat to her because they don't know what she's going to do and she doesn't know what they're going to do. And when you're having seizures nodding in and out all the time it's pretty hard to be a part of the real world. [music] [Neiworth]: Jenny Kramer tried public schools too before coming to the school for the blind. Jenny's major handicap is blindness, part of her eye did not develop before birth. She can see images but still has learning disabilities. [Children working on schoolwork] [Teacher's working with children] Without the expert instruction she receives at the

[Neiworth]: School for the Blind, Jenny may not have learned to read. [Kramer]: She would probably go back in the Salem public school and they would give her what they felt that they could work with and [Kramer]: she'd basically be babysat for. [Neiworth]: Still, Oregon legislators are considering placing most of these children back in public schools. It's not that they're ignoring the pleas of educators and parents. But after talking about closing the school for several sessions, the idea now has some basis in fact. The state mental health provision has come out with a report suggesting that most of the students at the school could be adequately served in their communities if state dollars [Reporter]: followed. [Child]: Hey! Alright! [Male speaker]: We have an obligation to see that all kids of similar handicaps are treated fairly and as equally as possible. Ah, And that while our trauma may be difficult for them as parents because their children are in

a situation that they are used to in a comfortable with, over the long run, I think everyone will benefit if they reassess the community placement as a priority. Maybe not quite as comfortable, but maybe in the long run better for [Male speaker]: everybody. [Reporter]: And there have been other findings in favor of closure. Case in point, the school is being underutilized. It was built for a larger population and in recent times, has not been able to attract these numbers. Even [Reporter]: its director recognizes that. [School for the Blind Director]: one of the problems is they we're sitting on ah, property that was designed for a hundred to a hundred twenty-five students, and we have 54, so it is partially underused. But the overhead continues and [director]: that makes the per-capita high. [Reporter]: Case in point, the school is expensive. It costs about 32,000 dollars per student per year for the 9 month program. Mainstreaming most of the kids would cost the state about $20,000 per student per year.

That's across savings to the state of about 650,000 dollars annually. Case in point, the property upon which the school was built could be used more efficiently. A local hospital has expressed interest in the land if the school were closed or moved. [music] [music]And finally legislators may not have ruled out the fact that even if most of the students are mainstreamed, there will still be some that the public school system just can't serve. For these students, an alternative could be a reduced school for the blind program possibly at the state school for the deaf. A more controversial idea is to use the state's Fairview training center for the mentally retarded. But there are problems. You must have an IQ of under 70 to be admitted. Therefore making it impossible for blind children needing special care [Reporter]to utilize the facility unless they too have mental disorders. [Another Reporter]: At this point legislators aren't sure what to do. Instead of making a hasty decision that could prompt a flurry of lawsuits by parents unhappy with their child's new placement, the law-

makers have decided to take an in-depth look at the situation. [Reporter]: In the meantime the school will continue to operate as it always has. [Reporter]: Offering quality programs for these students. [Another speaker]: and that makes two dollars and [Male Speaker]: one cent away, right? [Reporter]: In a way it's been its own worst enemy attracting attention to itself by offerings over and above what could be afforded at the public schools. But the fate of Oregon's only blind school is more than just another item on a legislative agenda. The issue that must be worked out there may have far reaching ramifications in years to [Reporter]: come. Mainstreaming may never be the same. [Speaker]: The whole concept is banned. before 142, the public-public law and handicap education, put the children back in the local school. Well the education depends on ?inaudible?. And who knows? Down the road people will say "no that's not the way to do it. You should have them all in, in one deafness setting" and we have many people who believe today that it's wrong not to have them in a residential setting where they really learn

all those skills so they can go out and function in societies. So you know you get different, different philosophies. Who knows what will prevail [speaker]:10 years from now [Reporter]: Whatever lawmakers decide they must keep in mind the issue is much larger than whether or not to close one institution. Their decision will not only affect the lives of 54 students, but also of many unborn disabled children in years to come. [Teacher]: Well maybe if you just hold onto the [inaudible] and then turn with all your strength. [Child]: Okay. [Teacher]: All right. [Children talking] [Reporter]: Even though hundreds of children in Oregon and across the country with the exact same disabilities have been successfully placed in public schools, that alone does not prove that all disabled people can be mainstreamed. For behind the blindness, behind the wheelchair, and behind the obstacles, each of these folks are as unique and [Reporter]: different as each one of us. [Teacher and children singing with music] [Other speaker]: If they don't educate these children

now at the very maximum, I think it's going to cost dearly to the state forever to maintain these children. You should have your child home and love them and be with them daily, and have them yourselves with the family. And we- isn't that we don't want them with the family, but if you love them enough you've got to do the most you can to to educate them all you can because they have a long life ahead of them. [Teachers and children singing] [Reporter]: Parents of students attending the Blind School say they will fight any action the legislature takes to close the institution. Parents will use the state's course if necessary. Jim? [Jim]: Eugene is a community with just over 100,000 people, small in comparison to other American cities. Yet its citizenry supports one of the best cultural events in the northwest. The Oregon Bach

Festival. At the heart of this annual event is a German conductor who breathes life into Baroque music. Patricia Joy narrates this view of conductor Helmuth Rilling at the Bach Festival. [Patricia Joy]: Take an internationally renowned scholar on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach at a classroom of conducting students and the incredible center built by the people of Eugene. What emerges is one of the leading summer cultural events in the northwest. A two week series of classical concerts performed by the finest professional vocalists and instrumentalists in the world. The Oregon Bach Festival is a Eugene summer tradition for Bach aficionados. It began on the University of Oregon campus in 1970. Royce Saltzman from the School of Music had extended an invitation to the respected baroque scholar Helmut Rilling of Stuttgart West Germany to teach a choral conducting workshop and conduct one Bach concert at Beall Hall.

Now in 1983 there are four master classes, 11 days of free noon concerts at Bell, and eight afternoon ?contata? performances and ten evening concerts onstage at The Hult. [?Teacher?]: It's- you see it's different [inaudible]. [Reporter]: But it is the master class in choral conducting taught by Rilling that is at the heart of what happens during the festival. The 30 concerts are the pleasant byproduct of the Bach festival's educational program. The students are conductors from universities, high schools, churches, and professional choirs around the U.S., West Germany, worldwide. The Eugene classes were the model for Rilling's summer Bach academy, held also in Stuttgart, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires. [clapping] [?Rilling?]: What I tried to do in the classes, the conducting classes is

during the Bach Festival is to see that it's not only music. But also it's not only philosophy or theology. [background singing] But that's these two things can come very well together and can be very important to many people. [background singing practice] [Reporter]: The morning has begun with one of the 50 choir rehearsals during the festival. Today the focus is on Bach cantata 149. Each day the students and the musicians are learning and performing a new Bach cantata. [background singing practice] That Rilling should be considered as one of the foremost Bach scholars comes as no surprise. Events in Rilling's life parallel those of Johann Sebastian Bach. [Rilling]: Bach was a church musician. It was his job to create and perform church music. And he did this with a longstanding tradition in his family. I have been brought up with a

background of much music but also of much philosophy and theology. My family in Europe had in their ranks many ministers and all too many musicians. [Patricia]: This afternoon's rehearsal on stage at The Hult Center includes the orchestra, choir, and conducting students. [Rilling] [inaudible] I mean ti-ime bum bum bum. [male voice] Well it still needs to be [inaudible] [Rilling] See I would-I would not do this because the a leitmotif is tam ti da ti-i da-da-da. It's too much thun thun thun thun no? Sounds like rain in Eugene, it should not, yeah? [classical music] [Patricia] In eight days eight cantatas are rehearsed and performed. Bach himself wrote, rehearsed, and presented these cantatas, often at the rate of one week. [classical music]

[Rilling] And this is [inaudible] on the wrist [rhythmic singing] You need to go faster and [inaudible] It is non- [inaudible] [singing continues] [Patricia] Music credits from New York to Los Angeles marvel at the way Rilling molds an ad hoc chorus and orchestra into a highly-polished performing ensemble in only two weeks time. [classical music] [classical music] [Rillinng] You need excellent soloists for these works, as well vocal soloists and as instrumental soloist but you need also, in the tutti sections of the orchestra you need excellent players. Only then you can work really fast.

There is a lot of professional knowledge just the technical abilities to well. [opera style woman singing] What these people have in addition to their technique or qualities is a wonderful musicianship and a great enthusiasm to make great music. [Patricia] The admiration is mutual. [Male interviewee] Highlight of the Bach festival is getting to work with the man of the caliber of Helmut Rilling and being able to sing music that you don't get to often preform with performs as competent and exciting. [Male interviewee 2] He's one of the easiest conductors to work for because he is extremely polite but he also knows exactly what he wants and is very good at clearly explaining it. [background practicing] [Male interviewee 3] Well this is my seventh year to work with Rilling and it's uh- each year it's a new experience. He's very inspirational and always working for more precision and-and more insight into the music and he brings it off. I think that-that very special

quality that he brings to music is that he is so terrible well prepared and-and scholarly and yet there is this very human penetrating kind of soul. [Rilling lecturing in the background] [Patricia] At 5:15 Rilling continues to lecture, this time the students are members of the audience, then gathered to enjoy the Bach cantata performance. [Rilling] The last cantata [inaudible] series, which we have today is a cantata for a unusual festive day in the church here a festive day which... [Patricia] When the performance begins, it will be under the direction of the student conductors. Each of the cantatas seven movements is led by a different student. [Man announcing] First Movement will be conducted by Harriet Simons from Buffalo New York. [music starts] [Patricia] The thrill of Rilling is yet to come. Tonight he will conduct Bach's Magnificat. But first, friends of the Oregon Bach Festival joined musicians for dinner at, what else, a box supper. [Background commotion] Rilling praises the festival's increasing number

of supporters. [Rilling] Eugene is first of all very nice place. A quiet place, a sophisticated place. Good friendly atmosphere for such a festival is at most importance. Of course at the very beginning they did not have have the festival here. Since the population of Eugene voted to build this wonderful new music center, the whole aspect of the festival has changed the game. [Patricia] As concert time approaches, Eugene music lovers are arriving to listen to the first Oregon Bach Festival to be held at the Hult Center. The musicians are readying themselves for the transition from rehearsal to performance and the conductor studies the score and reflects upon his selection and the task before him. [Rilling] Why especially Bach? I think this has to do with his architecture and construction. It is so clean and so

much in order without lacking fantasy. There is no important composer since Bach who has not been influenced by his work. I like the atmosphere on stage here in Eugene very much. I think it's ideal way of music making, which you will not encounter many places. I think a performance should always be something special. It should not be just better [commotion] [inaudible] [music and singing] [Jim] 1984 will mark the 15th season for the Oregon Bach Festival. In the off

season Helmut Rilling is under contract to record all of the cantatas of Bach, close to 300 in number. He plans to complete this enormous task in 1985, the year commemorating Bach's 300th birthday. And now a glimpse of some young artists at work and a view of some cultural events coming up soon. [slow guitar music] [Gwyneth] Mortimer Adler has been called a Socratic traveling salesman. The distinguished philosopher

travels thousands of miles each year provoking people into thinking about the great ideas of Western civilization. Recently Adler was in Portland where he shared his outspoken views on education and technology with Rhonda Barton. [Rhonda] At first glance Mortimer Adler seems an unlikely television host. The 80 year old philosopher, author, teacher, and editor of The Encyclopedia Britannica recently starred in his own PBS series with Bill Moyers exploring six great ideas of Western civilization. But taking philosophy out of the academic closet and serving it up to a general audience is really what Adler is all about. Throughout his long and distinguished career, Adler's mission has been making philosophy everybody's business. [Adler] The main contribution, in my judgmenty, of philosophical thought is to get a more reflective, a deeper, broader understanding of the things that one already knows. It isn't the increase in knowledge as much as an increase in understanding, and great ideas are the ideas you understand things with. So like

.spectacles but the mind you see the world in newer lights and clearer lights. [Rhonda] Besides making Aristotle and other great thinkers accessible to the layman, Adler also has been concerned with the reform of America's schools. In The Paideia Proposal Adler, himself a high school dropout, outlines a radical restructuring of the basic educational system. [Adler] We have not yet had, in this country, a truly democratic system of public schools. [school bell rings] I mean there's been an elitist system with two or three tracks, with more than half the children shut it off with no real education at all. The Paideia Proposal calls for the same quality of schooling for all the children. [Rhonda] To Adler the same quality education means every child should study the exact same curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade with no electives, no vocational courses. Subjects such as language and history would be taught by lecturers. Skills such as reading, listening, and making critical judgments would be sharpened through

special exercises. And an understanding of values and ideas would come through discussing Great Books and participating in music, drama, and art. Adler admits that making such changes would require retraining teachers and convincing parents. A task that could take 20 years or more. [Adler] If this were France, it'd be very simple. The Minister of Education would say, "this is what we're going to do", and the schools of France would do it the next morning. In this country you have to persuade, there are 15,000 or more autonomous school board, school districts, each of which has the power to decide what should be taught and how it should be taught within the school, within its jurisdiction. So you have to persuade the country, state by state, district by district. If our kind of society is going to survive, either politically or economically, it has to happen. It isn- isn't a question of choice really. We either do that are we- I think our society will flounder badly. [Rhonda] Another thing that has Adler worried, is this threat technological advances pose to human

values. In a speech at the Oregon Graduate Center in September, Adler said: As more sophisticated and intelligent computers are developed, we must remember the fundamental difference between man and machines. [Adler] Imagine for a moment. If you will. That the Korean airliner 0-0-7 had been run by a computer and that on board, that it was a freight plane, not a passenger plane. Onboard was a load of very high tech computers being sent from the United States to South Korea. And let's suppose that the Soviet Union- that the computers went astray. That they mis-programmed the flight, crossed Soviet airspace, and the Soviet jets shot that plane down. Would there be an outcry, yes. There'd be property damaged. The American manufacturer's of the plane or the Korean owners of the plane or the American manufacturer's of the equipment that's being shipped on it might sue the Soviet Union to regain their property. We would- we would not be

morally outraged. We wouldn't call it murder. We wouldn't call it a brutal- a brutal disrespect for human values and human rights. There would be no persons onboard. [Rhonda] In the future someone may invent a computer that can hold conversations, solve puzzles, and behave in ways indistinguishable from a person. But if that happens, Adler says the foundation of human rights and dignity is gone forever. [Gwyneth] Adler went on to say that only human beings have an intellect and a free will. If machines are given those qualities, then humans are no longer unique and their value is diminished. Others such as Norm Winningstad of Floating Point Systems disagreed with others Aadler's conclusions. They said computers expand human choices and increase productivity. [funky jazz music] [Jim] Oregon's commercial fishing industry is literally on its back and for as many people as you ask, there seem to

be as many reasons. But some at least are now talking about potential solutions. Aileen Pincus-Walker narrates this report on the Oregon fishing industry and its options for survival. [Aileen] Allen Harrell would rather be on board a boat than standing where he is, watching The Grizzly go by. The Grizzly is the last boat Allen worked for as a fisherman. When he started fishing five years ago, he thought the industry offered him job security and food on the table. Things have changed. [Allen] I've been looking for other work, which I've been hoping on getting back in fishing. They just- you know. Nobody's doin' nothin'. Fishin' is just more or less- you might as well say it's going to be extinct, if it keeps going this. Allen is an unemployed fisherman and he's got plenty of company. Oregon's commercial fishermen are experiencing one of the poorest years ever. [Male Fisherman 1] $1,050 this year against a normal $25- $35,000

season and if- I we've had that, just $1,050 which doesn't even- it doesn't even start to anywhere or as near even pay the expenses of the boat, the normal operating expenses: licenses, insurance, and all that sort of thing. [Aileen] Just two years ago, catches netted fishermen 144,000,000, the highest mark year of profit. But by 1982, fishermen netted 20,000,000 less. And this year the catch is expected to be down another 40%. Oregon's fishing industry, once the third largest in the state, is in serious trouble. The problem, simply put, is: not enough fish to go around. [Aileen] State Representative Bill Bradbury says the problems facing the salmon fisheries is typical of the problems industry-wide. [Bill] If you look at salmon in the, oh- mid-70s there was a dramatic increase in the amount of salmon available for harvest. At the same time, the federal government, through the Production Credit Association, made a lot of money available for people to buy boats.

So you had almost a doubling of the fleet in the- in the mid- to late-70s to harvest that resource 'cause there are all these people who said: hey, people are getting rich out there, let's go buy a boat and get into it. And then we had a downturn, in the amount of fish that were available and here all these loans on all these boats. Um, too many boats dividing up a small uh, smaller, and smaller pie. [Aileen] The Columbia River's dam system used to be blamed for devastating the Chinook and other salmon runs but analysts now contend that over-harvesting of all kinds of fish is at the heart of the problem of declining runs. More effective fishing gear, larger vessels, and sophisticated electronic equipment allow fishermen to increase their catch. Most of the money the Eardman's earned is invested back in their boat. A small fixer-upper can cost $2,000, an average trawler, over 20 times that. Many of the 3,900 licensed commercial boats are

financed through state and federal loan programs. But these programs have had to tighten their lending policies. In 1980, fishermen were hit with skyrocketing fuel costs and double-digit interest rates, that compounded with tougher government restrictions on harvesting, have made it tough for many to stay afloat. [Mr. Eardman?] I'm facing bankruptcy right now and [ha] I'm not the only one and it's not too- because I'm not a good fisherman, because I fished for 30 years. My son's fished with me since he was 8 years old and we know the sea, we know how to fish. It's just plain- like I say it-it's overfishing the fishery and regulations, it's a combination of a lot of things. [Aileen] For fishermen facing bankruptcy, the options are few. One insurance agent we spoke to said calls, claiming fishing boats have sunk, are up dramatically. [Insurance agent?] They're just holding on for all they can. There's a lot of boats being repossessed, and took back. It's hurting a lot of people.

[Aileen] Other fishermen argue there are fish out there to be caught, but bureaucratic bungling has put unnecessary restrictions on the industry. [Male Fisherman 2] We're not allowed to go out here although the fish may be out here in abundance. Uh, people are sitting behind desks someplace and figuring on a pencil that uh, the fish are going to be down there tomorrow, yesterday, out here today, and right up there tomorrow. Uh, and this doesn't work out. This ocean is just as unpredictable as the bar and the waves are out here. [Aileen] Case in point, fish counts. The fisherman say State Fish and Wildlife managers still haven't found a way to accurately predict fish runs, and overregulation is running the fishermen right out of business. [Bill] A lot of my constituents are going broke in the fishing industry right now because there, there's just not enough fish, there too many boats. The whole thing. Add to that, the regulatory system that came down on top of them with the 200 mile limit which was supposed to be the fisherman's saving grace, was the 200 mile limit, and instead it turned into a regulatory

nightmare. [Aileen] But state officials say, someone must manage the resource. The ocean is no longer the endless supplier we once thought it was, and failure to manage the supply will only destroy the industry. [State official?] It's no longer an unexplored frontier, let's put it that way, or an unexploited frontier. It has been exploited, both by domestic and foreign fleets and it has arrived at the point, where better management is uh, gonna be required. Uh, and better management unfortunately sometimes means restrictions which were not there before. [Aileen] Commercial fishermen and treaty Indians feel they do not get a fair share of the fish available for their catch. The Indians argue the longstanding Indian Treaty Fishing Rights have been an unfulfilled law. Commercial fishermen also feel unfairly treated. They say only certain species are regulated. [Mr. Eardman?] They're gonna regulate, less regulate the whole

industry in a fair and equitable way but not-let's not pick on one part of the industry like a salmon fisherman and put us out of business. [Aileen] Raising fish artificially was supposed to be the answer to the supply problem. It wasn't. Fish raised in hatcheries aren't as hardy, and are more susceptible to diseases. They just don't survive. The Fish and Wildlife Department admits hatchery raised fish can't be counted on to increase the fish stocks substantially. [Bill] Aqua culture has been a failure. Weyerhaeuser doesn't like losing money but they have been losing money at aqua culture. It has not been returning what anyone hoped it would. [Aileen] Another problem, the number of agencies outside of Oregon that affect Oregon's fisheries. For instance, Alaska and Canada now legally harvest 80% of the fish grown in Oregon for their own markets. [State official?] Many of the stocks move out into the ocean and move north, to Canadian waters, into Alaskan waters, and into the high seas.

We do have a major interception problem of Columbia River stocks in both Alaska and Canada. [Aileen] And many of the fish that do make it back to Oregon waters are illegally caught. Fish poaching has become a crucial problem this year because of the poor fish runs. Illegal docks like this one are evidence that poaching exists along the Pacific coast, and inland waters. On top of all these problems are the uncontrollable natural forces that leave the fishermen guessing what the next harvest will bring. This year's surprises includes the El Niño, a natural weather phenomenon that has resulted in smaller fish, and an obvious lack of fish activity. Smaller catches have not only hurt the fisherman, but others in the industry as well. Approximately 14 Oregon fish buyers and processors have gone out of business since 1979, leaving several hundred people unemployed. To survive, many say the industry will have to do something it has been slow to do: work together. Even fish-loving

Northwesterners will have to learn to eat more, and varied kinds of fish if the industry is to survive. Some parts of the industry like crab and bottom fishing have started marketing programs. Seminars such as this one, showing food handlers how to fillet shark are part of the solution. Personalities like Horst Mager help enhance the idea there is more to Oregon fish, than high-priced salmon. Shark, squid, octopus, and pacific whiting are the kinds of nontraditional, low-priced fish the industry would like Oregonians to begin developing a taste for. Many in the industry have their own way of getting people to try different types of fish. [Female fisherman 3] The way we got people to start trying shark, is we took a barbecue grill out on the sidewalk and started cooking shark, and giving out shark as samples. [Aileen] Supply and demand, fisherman say is the real problem. If more fish can be marketed to the consumer, other problems, including adequate financing, will take care of themselves. Nancy Finale is Marketing Director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.

Her job is to improve the image of the Dungeness Crab so that more Oregonians will eat it, and the price will stabilize. She's taken U.S. Dungeness Crab to Hawaii, Alaska, and Japan. It's been featured in restaurant and trade journals as a gourmet item. She says the marketing works. [Nancy] So we've-we've taken a-a product that fishermen were having a hard time marketing themselves, to the fish buyer. They were put on limits, they were getting a low price for it and we've enhanced the image to the end user. Either the housewife or the person at the restaurant who's buying the seafood and we've made it into something that they-they want. They're calling people and saying, "Hy I want Dungeness Crab." [Aileen] Joe Easley, of the Oregon Trawl Commission, is doing similar work with bottom fish. He realizes that bottom fish isn't exactly a popular fish in high demand but feels optimistic about its future. [Joe] We've got back into doin' some-some direct advertising, and producing a label that we're trying to get the retailers to use, and we're gettin' more and more of them to use it.

And pushing it as an advertised medium of something to recognize for an Oregon product. [Aileen] If the tactics work, Oregon's fishing industry could recover. If more fish are caught here fisherman say the prices will come back down. But if consumers don't change their tastes, it could mean the end of Oregon's fishing industry as we know it. [Mr. Eardman?] I mean we're a little minority but we deserve recognition. It's a- it's a great industry. And we-we're farming the sea. We feed people you know, and I think we deserve better than we're getting to be honest with ya'. [Bill] What the fishermen real-would really like to see is instead of all this focus on regulation, they'd like to see at least an equal focus, if not a greater focus on enhancement, on improving the resource so that there's more there for them to harvest, and I think that's the real challenge. [Jim] Meanwhile new data that is being reviewed by the various fisheries agencies is showing that the salmon runs in the foreseeable future will be even worse. Likely meaning even more restrictive

seasons. A promise of a bleak future for Oregon's commercial salmon industry. [funky music] [Gwyneth] The Portland Art Association is one of the oldest arts organizations in the Northwest, but like other arts institutions, it needs money and public support to continue. And that means it is essential it maintain a positive public image. Many people don't realize the Portland Art Association is more than just the Portland Art Museum. The association also includes the Northwest College of Art. The only institution offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the northwest. The Northwest Film Studies Center is the third member of the association, actively involved in bringing films, filmmakers, and film lovers together. All three: art museum, film study center, museum art school are the separate but equal parts which together comprise the Portland Art Association.

The Association Board of Directors is committed to a method of operation with each institution having its own director reporting to an Executive Director. Donald Jenkins, head of the museum, remembers when the association was just the museum. [Donald] I mean, people didn't talk about the art association. They-they said 'the museum'. They still did to some extent but now there's a greater awareness that this is a complex institution of three distinct organizations in one. [Gwyneth] What are the real strengths of this institution? [Donald] Well the strengths are, first of all, the strength of its components. Who else in the Portland area is concerned about the art of the past? Who else in the Portland area is concerned about the art of other cultures? We have an obligation to the people who don't travel outside this community to represent that whole world. Now, I don't think we should do it in such a way that we allow equal amounts of everything, and-and

dilute our-our purpose. Our collecting is-is concentrated in certain areas where we know we are strong. But our exhibition program and our collections to some extent try to do justice to the wide world of art. [Gwyneth] But the art museum also is an exciting field trip for schoolchildren, who can touch and feel a Northwest Indian potlatch bowl or perhaps try an Indian mask. The newly-renovated impressionist gallery in the Ayer wing is a totally different art experience. There are some people who feel intimidated when they don't understand the meaning of a specific exhibition. Consequently some have charged the museum with being elitist. [Donald] Because I think it's one of the biggest red herrings I've seen in a long time. This place simply is not elitist and all it requires is for someone to come here on a Friday evening, when we're open free to the public, or on the weekends, to see this place being used in a way that just would, throw that

charge out the door. So I think we have a great-a great future and a great story to tell. And-uh we need help in telling it. [Gwyneth] This is the site of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, or the museum art school as many refer to it. This is where young artists-to-be come, and if they're fortune enough to graduate, receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. It is also an equal part of the Portland Art Association, along with the Northwest Film Study Center and the Portland Art Museum. It is unique, in that it is one of four or five museum, museum art schools left in the country. School director Sally Lawrence feels the real strength of the college is due to its close association with the museum. [Sally] It's been a stormy path. It's been very difficult, for museums and schools to maintain a viable relationship. Museums collect, and preserve, and educate. Schools um- teach,

and they have uh- different needs, and different demands are made upon them. They-they in some ways serve a different public, and it's been difficult, but it can be done. And when it is done, and it's done well, It's-it's a very valuable asset to any community. [Gwyneth] Because the Northwest College of Art has the only degree program of its kind in the Northwest. The association covers the cost of the school's overhead. However tuition meets most of the school budget. [Sally] Our direct- 95% of our direct costs are covered by our tuition. [Gwyneth] Is it possible in today's world to really make it as an artist, or should one have other skills as well? [Sally] It is possible but I don't believe at this point, that one can, in all honesty, say that the moment you earn a B.F.A. degree, you're going to be an artist and you're going to go out there and earn a lot of money. That-that doesn't happen. I've noticed

a very definite attitude on the part of students who are very consciously, gearing themselves, for a dual career. [Gwyneth] Are you optimistic about the future of art museums and museum schools and in particular, this one? [Sally] Yes I am. I am very optimistic about it. A member of the board of the Boston School recently referred to the museums schools as a National Trust. There-there are only these four or five of us left and we are uniquely an American institution. [Gwyneth] The Northwest Film Study Center is the newest member of the Portland Art Association. Director Bill Foster sees it as a regional media arts center. [Bill] We're trying to t-turn that around a little bit and encourage people to make their own films and also to become more discriminating consumers of what comes from other places. So, we do a whole range of things in

Portland and all over the Northwest that sort of try and stimulate this on all kinds of levels. [Gwyneth] So you teach film, you make people aware of film, [Bill] Right. [Gwyneth] you provide a chance for people to see film where they might not be able to. [Bill] Right, and we try to be a sort of community catalyst, if that's the right word, hook together different organizations, different individuals and try and create some sort of new context or new ground where people can become involved and exchange ideas and audiences. [Gwyneth] Foster feels the benefits of joining with The Art Association outweigh the disadvantages of operating independently. [Bill] Obviously the-the this partnership with-with the college and-and the museum has been-has also opened a lot of doors and done a lot of things entrée into the community, so to speak and public awareness. Things that might take an arts organization much, much longer to achieve. [Gwyneth] Do you carry your own weight financially? [Bill] Yes and No. It's hard to come up with costs when

you're sharing accounting departments, and janitorial services, and space allocations, to come up with exact figures, but by and large uh we-we do pretty well with earned income and grants that-that are available to us individually as opposed to the whole association. [Gwyneth] The present executive director of the Portland Art Association, Stephen Ostrow, was hired three years ago but recently Ostrow and the board announced he will be leaving early next year. The association board wants someone well-versed in marketing. Someone who will primarily devote time to fundraising, leaving each director free to run his organization. [Gwyneth] You have said you're leaving 1984. Do you feel that you've accomplished what you've intended to when you came to Portland? [Stephen] Not totally, I would have liked to have had one-no, one further year to-to sort of, put-put things to bed, put ideas to bed.

[Gwyneth] Did you feel bitter about the board's behavior in all of this? [Stephen] It's the-it's the nature of nonprofit organizations. I once made the comment, a long time ago, and I've repeated it here, that institutions eat people, and that's how they-they survive. What happened to me is absolutely normal for people in my positions. I-I'm on the job market now, and we're not unique. I mean, look at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, or-or look what's been happening down at the, you know at the Opera Association etc. it's, and that's not just Portland. That's Portland and Los Angeles and San Antonio, Texas and then, you know, you name it. [Gwyneth] Even though he's leaving, still Ostrow believes in the strengths of the Portland Art Association. [Stephen] Portland Art Association is a unique, high-quality arts institution that is servicing the people of the region in a magnificent matter. [Gwyneth] So joining the Portland Art Association does give one access to the three institutions. Jim I mean the museum, the Film Study Center, and of course the museum art school. [Jim] That's a great combination.

Finally tonight on our series Amen on Oregon, Steve attempts the role of a sportscaster and he's going to take a look at a sport that had its origins here in Oregon. [Steve] Thanks Jim. The location: Delta Park. The reason: a national championship. Why Portland? Because this is where the relatively new, international sport actually got started. And the sport that has all these people excited? Footbag. Not hacky sack, footbag. [excited music] At first glance it looks like any other morning at Delta Park, overcast. A few hardy souls braved the elements, fortified with a little caffeine, other stretched muscles cramped from a night spent sleeping in the back of a car. Now it's bad enough, being up this early on a Sunday, but stretching too, these folks are obviously different from most of us. They've

come from as far away as West Virginia and Louisiana. Why? To compete in the first annual National Footbag Championship. By now you're probably wondering just what is footbag anyway? Well to begin it isn't like any of our other major sports. [Male Footbag coach?] Oh nice try, nice try. Good knees. Hut! [players yelling, audience cheering] [Steve] So have you figured out the difference yet? The big three: baseball, football, and basketball, all rely heavily on the use of the hands; something strictly taboo in footbag. [Male player 1?] Kicking games have been around for many, many centuries in our eastern cultures, and uh the American culture has been so hand-oriented that unlike the European countries that have soccer. The American sports were lacking that foot coordination. In our game, we do not kick the object, we simply apply a lift to it. And for that reason, is-is how, it is very helpful in strengthening the lower body.

[Steve] That's why Oregonians John Stalberger and Mike Marshall designed the first Hacky Sack back in 1972, and over the past 11 years it's gained in popularity. One of the reasons is the cost. A foot bag runs anywhere from $6-$15, and there been more than a million of them sold in the last five years, alone. Footbag is also being promoted as a sporting event, and the World Footbag Association, based in the Rose City, now has members in Denmark, Sweden, Australia, and Canada. But while the number of players has grown, it's still not a big spectator sport. So it's always easy to find a good seat. Now I have to tell you, if you haven't watch Footbag, you're really missin' out. It doesn't take too long to see why these people are willing to come out under questionable conditions and root for their favorite players. The game takes an incredible amount of coordination and skill, [crowd groans] but I'm still not sure the body was meant to bend like that. In addition to being contortionist, these folks are the nicest group of competitors I've ever seen. unlike others who enjoy nothing better than throwing a nationally-televised tantrum. [Angry fan] How much bigger a point can you screw it up with!? Makes me sick!

[Steve] Here's a nice contrast: these players are discussing, not arguing, discussing a questionable call on game point. That's game point, in a doubles match, to determine the International Champions. [Male Player 2] We just lost track and we- [Male Player 3?] You guys won on game point? Is that right? [Male player 4] It's partly my fault. [Male player 2] Yeah but I want to serve it again, yes. [Male Player 4] Do you have any objection to that, Dave? [Dave?] It should be Mick's? serve. [Male player 4] Okay, let's do it that way then. [Male player 2] Okay. [Steve] It's kind of hard to picture McEnroe involved in a conversation like that. But wait, it gets even better. This is how the losers congratulate the winners. No meaningless handshake here. In fact these players spend about as much time hugging each other, as they do playing the game. [Female Player] Everybody's such good friends. That's what really drew me into this group and got me so interested in it. It's because everybody friendly and they're so- tt's a new sport, and in order for it to grow, people have to work together and they have to, you know, encourage it and teach each other what they know and that's why we all get along so well.

[Steve] And there you have it, a sport worthy of Oregon. Cheap, polite, nonviolent. It'll never make it, but it should. [Jim] Well if our resident cynic supports it, I suppose it can't be all that bad. And if Gwyneth, you want to be one of the first to witness this event in person. There are a number of tournaments coming up in the next couple of months. You can write to the World Footbag Association at P.O. Box 33007 Portland 97233 or call their Vancouver office area code 206-694-4989 to be one of the first. [Gwyneth] And I expect to see you practicing Jim. That's all the time for Front Street, until next week. Good night. [Jim] Good night.