« *> * A pril 14, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver P age B4 tEfye Çortlanb (Observer r \ > r a t L i V i n Home School Students Show Off Science Discoveries _._I __ Did you know that there are over pproximately 1,250 home school stu- ents in the Portland Metropolitan trea? Students who attend traditional education programs have many op­ portunities to display their w ork, how­ ever, when the class room is at home, not many people get to see their ac­ complishments. A small sample of approximately 25 students will fea­ ture their scientific discoveries at Jantzen Beach Center on Saturday, April 17 from 10am to 6pm. Students participating in Jantzen Beach Center’s 2nd Annual Home School Science Fair Exhibit range in ages 5 to 18. Participating students “L.A. Is Burning” To Air On PBS Tuesday, April 27 have entered to win a family member­ ship to OMS1 and exhibits will be judged according to their age category on complexity, accuracy, and presen­ tation. The public is invited to attend free of charge. Jantzen Beach Center is located on Hayden Island, on the Columbia River, ofT of Interstate 5, Exit 308. For more information, call Jantzen Beach Center’s information line at (503) 289-5555 or (206) 699- 4644. Float Decorators Needed For Rose Festival’s Grand Floral Parade Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Selected New NAACP Executive Director The board of directors of the na­ tional Association for the Advance­ ment of Colored People selected the Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. to serve as the organization’s new ex­ ecutive director. Chavis, 45, of Cleve­ land, was selected from a field of three finalists at a special meeting of the N A A CP's National Board in Atlanta. Chavis is presently executive di­ rector and chief executive officer of the Commission for Racial Justice of the 1.7 m illion -m em ber U nited Church of Christ, with national of­ fices in Cleveland A native of O x­ ford. N.C., he is an ordained minister ofthe United Church of C hristand 30- y ear veteran of the civil rights move­ ment. Chavis received his bachelor ol arts degree (B.A.) in chemistry from the University of North Carolina; his masters of divinity degree (M .D iv), tunity to tour the Klager Victorian magna cum laude, from the Divintiy April 1-30 Mother Wit & Horse Sense: farmhouse and stroll the gardens dur­ School of Duke University and the doctor of ministry degree (D.Min.) A Look At Traditional and Contem­ ing these two weeks only. Gardens open year-round. $1 donation re­ from Howard University. porary' Folk Say ings Under Chavis’ leadership, the Exhibit at the Grant House Folk quested Dates arc tentative and will C o m m issio n for R acial Ju stic e Art Center, 1101 Officers’ Row. Tucs - be determined by the blooming sea­ has sponsored successful "Freedom son. 225-8996. Sun. 10 A m. to 5 p.m. 694-5252 Rides” to the Alabama Black Belt 27 & 30 Kids club at Vancouver 2, 6, 9, 13 & 16 Kids Club at and to Chicago to ensure voting (Taken From Parade Magazine, Vancouver Mall 10:30a.m. Free. 892- Mall rights and enhance voter mobiliza­ April 18, 1993 issue.) 10:30 a.m. Free. 892-6255. 6255. A New Orleans police sergeant 28-Mav 1 18th Annual d a rk tion; issued the landm ark report. 17 Swift Auction T oxic W astes a n d Race in the who became the city 's most successful county Quilters Quilt Show Red Lion Jantzen Beach, 909 N. Turning Point Christian Center, United States; sponsored the First homicide detective, solving 98 per­ Hayden Island Dr., Portland, OR 3609 Main St Over 100 new and National people of Color Environ­ cent of her cases, said she did so Annual elegant auction and dinner m ental L eadership Sum m it; and despite two strikes against her. M onies raised support non-profit or­ antique quilts Demonstrations of vari­ “Here 1 was, a black w om an-and lias provided national leadership ous quilting and handw ork techniques. ganizations in Southwest W ashing­ in e ffo rts to stein th e rise o f a dark-complected black woman at Q uilters' bazaar W e d , Fri & ton 4 p.m. to midnight $100 per racially motivated violence in the that.” declared 36-ycar-old Jacklcan person or $150 per couple 693-5855 Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p m . Thurs. 10 a.m. United States Chavis is involved in Davis in an inters icw to be published to 8 p m $2 general admission, $1 20 & 23 Kids Club at Vancouver numerous other committees and or­ this Sunday in PARADE, where she is students. 696-2474 M all 10:30 a m. Free 892-6255. pictured on the cover. April 1-30 Earth Action Month, ganizations 24 Yang Feng Puppet Theatre Davis, who overcame a child­ Chavis writes a weekly syndi­ Columbia Arts Center, 400 W Environmental Information Center, hood of abuse and poverty to graduate cated column. Civil Rights Journal, 699-3325 Evergreen Blvd which appears in over 300 papers from high school and enter the police April 3-May 1 Spring Clean-Up Chinese talcs told by master pup­ Vancouver neighborhoods, 696- nationally, and is sent to over 1,000 academy, said she decided years ago peteer Yang Feng. 2 & 4 p m perfor­ individuals, organizations and press that she was going to make something mances. $8 adult. $6 child (subject to 8222 contacts. The commentary is also car­ of herself. April 12 Citizen Forum. Harney additional service and handling fees). Raised by a great-aunt who was a Heights Neighborhood Association, ried by four national radio networks 695-3050. prostitute, Davis was sexually abused and numerous local stations for a com­ 24-Mav 9 Hulda Klagcr Liclac 696-8222 bined national audience of over 20 by the aunt’s husband She later be­ April 14 Arbor Day, W aterfront G ardens & Annual Open House 115 came pregnant by the first boy she million people per week. South Pekin Road. Woodland Oppor­ Park. 696-8031 dated as a teenager. "1 was on wel­ fare,” she recalled "1 knew I had to How wou Id you like to raise money or your non-profit group and have a ;reat time decorating the elaborate loats in the 1993 Delta Air Lines jra n d Floral Parade'’ The Rose Festi­ val Association now looking for float lecorators T h is is an o p p o rtu n ity for non-profit groups o f 20 or more people to make from $400 to $1.000 while participating in the fun and excitement of the second-largest all­ floral parade in the nation Flat deco­ rators must leave their name, number, address and the size of their group with the Rose Festival office at 227- 2681. The names of interested parties will be passed on to the professional builders who design and construct the floats. The 1993 Delta Air Lines Grand Floral Parade will take place on Satur­ day, June 12 beginning at 10am at Portland's Memorial Coliseum The parade will be seen by some 500,000 spectators lining the streets of Portland and by an addi­ tional 25 million households watch­ ing the parade on television. The Rose Festival runs June 3-27 and the theme is "Among My Souve­ nirs.” The Rose Festival Airshow is July 16-18 at the Hillsboro Airport Vancouver Community Calendar One year after Los Angeles' three days and nights o f beatings, looting, a burning, how well do we understand what happened the re-and why? In "L.A. Is Burning," airing Tuesday, April 27, at 9pm, on PBS (check local listings, Frontline revisits Los Angeles to explore those questions through the eyes o f five people who have thought and written about the city from the perspectives o f its different communities, races, and classes. Tracing the chronology' o f events from the moment the Rodney King verdict was announced, through the next seventy-two hours of rampage and deaths, to present-day’ L.A., this examination o f what happened becomes a larger essay on why Los Angeles is a warning signal. Top New Orleans Detective Had To Overcome Being Black And A Woman Vancouver unveils 10-year annexation plan for urban area * ancouver chy otikutH recently unveiled a V The plan xs as dex eloped by the city as part ot a negotiated agreement with Clark County last draft planning document detailing the city's intent to annex urbanized areas adjacent to the city over the nest Id years It identifies year during the Vancouver M all area annexation. Il calls for eventual annexation o f all areas serx ed by the city's xsater/sanilary sewer utility, plus the IS neighboring areas and lists approximate Hazel Dell area. The plan states that "Vancouver City Council timelines for each annexation. believes annexation ol the Vancouver Lrban Serx tee Area IS needed to adequately serx e tire area and to properly plan for its continued development.' Il adds that council "heliexes each resident and property owner should haxe access to all information needed to evaluate and make responsible decisions relative to urban serx ices and boundary changes.' The plan is broken down into three time periods short term (1-3 years), mid-term <2-5 sears) and long-term 15-10 years). City officials w ill work directly with property owners who want to annex, \reas in the short term phase include West Minnehaha. Ellsworth.Casca.le Park and the western part o f the Port of V ancouxer Areas included in the mid and long­ term phases include Evergreen. Orchards East Minnehaha, fix e Comers. Walnut Ciroxe. l ake Shore. Salmon Creek and Felicia Vancouver City Council has already received petitions from owtiers representing I f ' (vrsenl o f V police M o t i t p u in a h one exam ple o f the mans u r t u ll- k x r t xt rxieex the t i l l has exh nd o t into the nexxlx annexed Xaneouxer Siati area xinct .Ian I. the property ' alue in the W es| Minnehaha area Petitions representing the required 75 {vreent of .I..2S x ora «»n»rtl*d In K’ to s c make a decision. I knew that if 1 didn't do something right away, 1 would probably be on welfare for years.” "I made a determination,” she ad d ed . “ 1 w as g o in g to sta rt liking Jackie a little bit more. 1 was going to grow up I knew people in law caforccincnt, and 1 thought this would be a mechanism to help me grow.’’She took the examination for the police academy and failed it. She took it again and failed And Again and again Looking back, she guessed, she had placed so much emphasis on becoming a police officer that she choked “1 was nervous every time,” she said On her fifth try, she finally made it. “1 barely passed, but that didn't matter What was important was that I passed ” After graduating from the acad­ emy, Davis volunteered for duty in some of New O rleans’ highest-crime areas and gained a reputation for her good relations with the residents She eventually became a hom i­ cide detective. “Homicide is consid­ ered the cream of the crop,” she said. But getting there was tough. "O n the majority of homicide units I’ve seen,” she said, "recruitment is not always fair. You have to get past the stigma of being a female--let alone a black female.” Rebuffed several times, she finally was placed on the elite squad when her work on a rape case helped lead to the capture of a serial killer. Two years ago, Davis, who has a 19-y ear-old daughter, was promoted to sergeant and moved up to the Inter­ nal Affairs division Re-calling her long struggle to get to the top, despite constant harassment by her co-work­ ers, Davis said, “I cried myselfto sleep many nights My daughter saw me crying She saw me taking out my aggressions—sometimes on her, blow­ ing up for no apparent reason. We talked about it, and 1 realized that 1 had to learn to control my anger.” Standards Urged For Family Child Care Providers In an cfTort to raise the standards of child earc facilities in Oregon. Representative Lisa Naito (D-Port- land) in partnership with the Oregon Commission for Chid Care urged passage of legislation requiring all family child care providers to hold a certificate of registration "This is a public decision that is long overdue." said Arlene Collins. Chair of the Commission "W orking Mother" magazine recently published anartielc ranking the top instates for child care in the Nation I believe Oregon was not mentioned because we have no set standards for family child care In every other respect of chid care we are doing very well This bill is the Commission for Child C are's top priority for this session Currently in Oregon regulations concerning child care varies accord­ ing to the number of children in care. F acilities w ith more than seven children in care are required to be certified Family chid care providers, facilities w ith six or fewer children cared for in the p ro v id e rs ow n hom e, at th e p re se n t tim e may v o lu n ta rily register This bill would require the family child care providers also hold a certificate of registration T he bill also seeks to protect children by requiring providers to attend a training on how to detect child abuse and submitting to record checks by CSD and law en­ forcement Presently in Oregon there arc approximately 85,800 children cared for in about 25,000 family provider homes Less than one-third of these prov iders arc v oluntarily registered “This bill will not make it more difficult for parents to find child care or for providers to operate,” Said Rep Natio “It will ensure parents that the people caring for their chil­ dren have passed certain standards and that they have received training on detecting child abuse ” A public hearing took place Wednesday April 7,1993 in the House Committee on Children and Fami­ lies Busincssand health profession­ als, the M ultnomah County District Attorney soffice.parentsandfam ily chid care prov iders testified in sup­ port of HB 2657