South Tucson's El Independiente, 1981-09-18

              South Tucsons
Indé pendiente
Inside
By CHARLES ROGERS
La Frontera Center Inc. has attracted
$1.25 million of its $1.5 million goal to build
a new facility at 502 W. 29th St. to house
most of its services under one roof, ac-cording
to Mildred L. Hyman, fund-raising
director of La Frontera.
Jose D. Duran, director of La Frontera
Clinic said the center is "currently
scattered in 11 different locations." Ex-cept
for Green Valley, Ajo and Marana, all
administrative and service facilities will
be located in the new building, he said.
"We are at the last year of our federal
funding. We have increased our local
funding to include 34 sources," Duran
said. Some of the grants are matching
Greyhound Park. A study contracted
by the track's new owner shows that
most people are happy with the present
location. But the owner still plans
either to improve or move the track.
Page 2.
A grant of $690,235 was awarded to the city Aug. 13 by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve the
three public-housing projects, said Patricia DeVito, executive
. director of the independent housing authority.
DeVito said the city should receive the money this spring to
repair and remodel the two senior citizen projects, El Senorial
and Casa de Bernie Sedley, and the family project, Colonia
Progreso, all located at 1713 S. 3rd Ave.
She said the improvements are needed to bring the projects up
to fire and safety standards and to prevent overall
deterioration.
The improvements will include installation of smoke detec-tors
and water shut-off valves in each unit, exterior painting,
and kitchen and bathroom remodeling, she said. DeVito also
plans to buy equipment such as a work truck, a copy machine,
tools and security lights.
"We don't have many tools and our truk is 9 years old,"
DeVito said.
Individual electric meters will be installed in Colonia
Progreso because of a new law that prohibits utilities-included
rent in family units.
"Families can no longer waste as much (energy) as they
want," she said.
The city's housing authority will pay a family's electric bill as
long as the bill does not exceed the federal standard, DeVito
said, adding that the family must pay the excess.
She said the improvement money, allocated under the
Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program, will be
spent over the next three years.
DeVito said the housing authority is suffering financial dif-ficulties
stemming from an operating-budget delay.
"We have yet to receive our operating budget from the
government for this (fiscal) year. We are operating exclusively
on rents and we can't do that much longer," she said.
She said approval of the budget was delayed because of recent
cutbacks in public housing nationwide. The budget was due July
1.
DeVito said she had to lay off the groundskeeper, which
reduced the housing authority staff to four-a secretary, two
maintenance men and herself.
She added that she would be unable to rehire the ground-skeeper
because the budget awaiting approval was already cut
14.5 percent and "I don't see it getting better."
Opium poppies grow on a federal farm. Blossoming flower (inset).
More addicts seeking aid
By ANNE ALFORD
and PETER WATTERS
Expensive but low-quality
heroin is forcing many addicts,
many of them from South Thc
son, to head for treatment centers
O to break them of their habit,
according to a drug-rehabilitation
program director.
Last summer, the number of
patients increased 10 to 12 percent
at drug rehabilitation centers
within Pima County, said Ken P.
Geis, executive director of the
Community Organization for
Drug Abuse Control (CODAC),
La Frontera nears goalof $1 .5 million ¡n donations
grants. For example, the Kresge Foun-dation
pledged $100,000 if the center were
able to come up with the same amount, he
said.
Hyman said the center should be able to
match the Kresge grant and meet its $1.5
million goal with the proceeds from the
Oct. 22 fund-raising dinner at the Tucson
Community Center. The dinner will also
benefit the Alcoholism Council of Southern
Arizona, she said.
The alcoholism council will use the
monies it receives for operating expenses
and to offset decreases in federal funding,
she said. After expenses, 80 percent of the
money will go to La Frontera and the
remaining 20 percent to the alcoholism
council, Hyman said
The event will be a bipartisan
testimonial dinner to honor Barry Gold-
Graffiti. Some people ìay consider it
vandalism, but the cultural importance
of spraypainted messages should not be
overlooked, according to a University
of Arizona anthropologist. Page 3.
Food tax. Despite grocers' corn-plaints
of customers threatening to
shop elsewhere, the city still charges a
sales tax on grocery items. The corn-an
umbrella organization for 12
county drug-rehabilitation
programs.
Geis said the increase could be
attributed to one of two factors.
When the cost of heroin is high
and the quality low, addicts
needing a high dosage of heroin
visit treatment centers to break
them of their habit so they need
less to get high.
"When the heroin is only 3 to 4
percent pure, no one gets ad-dicted,"
so users need increasing
amounts, he said.
An increase in the purity of
available heroin usually results
in an increase of overdose
fatalities and may make heroin
water, "because he is one df our leading
state politicians and his name is
synonymous with Arizona," Hyman said.
Rep. Morris K. Udall and Sen. Dennis
DeConcini, both Arizona Democrats, will
be honored for their specific contribution
to mental health and alcoholism
legislation, she said.
Former first lady Betty Ford is the
featured speaker and the entertainer
Sammy Davis Jr. will appear, she said.
The price of the tickets is $100 per
person and $500 a ticket for seating near
the front of the arena, Hyman said.
She said as many as 500 volunteers have
assisted the center in its current fund-raising
campaign.
Duran said the clinic has greatly ex-panded
its services since it opened in 1969.
He said years ago the clinic served 360
plaints may be ünfounded as customers
remain loyal to stores in the city. Page
3.
School. The first day of school meant
different things to everyone involved-principals,
teachers and students. La
Familia section takes a look at the first
day and also examines how dropouts
are coping with renewing their
educations. Pages 4 and 5.
more difficult to buy, he said.
"Word has it that a high-quality,
low-cost heroin is going
around but not in a continuous
supply," Geis said. "It is my
understanding that the cheapest
you can buy today is a ½ gram at
$65.
"Right now, there is a high-quality
heroin in the East, and I
was told. that we could expect to
see it here. I expect that within
the next six months to have an
increase in high-quality heroin,"
Geis said.
And the problem can be found
in South Tucson, he said.
(Continued on Page 2) I
persons a year, and in 1980 the center had
76,000 client visits.
The city of South Tucson has been very
helpful, Duran said. A few years ago the
city granted $50,000 to the center on the
condition that it purchase property for a
permanent location in South Tucson he
said, adding, that 6.8 acres were even-tually
purchased.
The clinic's services, Duran said, are
mostly aimed toward mental health
problems stressing that there is a big
difference between mental health and
mental illness. He said the clinic serves
people who are not mentally ill, but who
are suffering mental health related
problems, such as stress, anxiety and
problems associated in everyday living.
The clinic serves people with alcohol,
drug, and family difficulties, he said.
City park. Plans for a park between
South Seventh and South 10th avenues
have been tabled indefinitely by the
city because it may not be able to afford
the land. Page 6.
Sports. It's an unlikely mïx, but city
children are practicing their left hooks
and uppercuts at churchall part of the
Catholic Youth Organization boxing
program. Page 8.
Vol. VI No. 2
Published by the Journalism Departmentof The University of Arizona September 18, 1981
Public housing
awarded grant
for remo.efln
By GARY CROOKS