Portland observer., February 23, 1994, Image 7

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“Serving; thefcommunity through cultural diversity
Volumn XXIV. Number 08
L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
(Elje ^ínrtíanb (©bserlier
(¿ L a le tt
Miss Black Oregon Shines
right In Nations Capital
it a x
MERC Unveils New
Business Plan
On February 22, the M etropolitan E x­
position Recreation Com m ission will un­
veil a Business Plan that portrays a slim ­
mer, m ore efficient organization that has a
clear sense o f direction. A special com m is­
sion meeting has been called to publicly
present the plan. It will be held in rooms
A103-104 in the O regon Convention C en­
ter form 8:30am to 10:00am.
Renewing The Earth
Subject For Conference
“Renew ing the earth” is the subject for
a conference considering the local global
environm ental crisis. The conference will
be held at St. Paul Catholic Church, 1201
Satre St., Eugene, O R., on Saturday March
5, 1994, 9am to 4pm.
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Invites School Children
To Studio Rehearsals As
Part Of Unique New
Program “Arts
Downtown: Sensational
Sights and Sounds
Portland, OR. - Beginning February
16 and running through A pril, Oregon
Ballet Theatre (OBT) will open its studios
for schoolchildren to get a close look at
dancers in rehearsal, as part o f a pilot
project with area arts organizations de­
signed to enhance the classroom experi­
ence and fill the gap left by dim inishing arts
program s in schools.
Miss Black Oregon, Michelle Soles
'ichelle Soles, the reigning Ms.
Black Oregon brought warmth and
.sunshine to W ashington, D.C. on
behalf of the State o f Oregon. She was totally
unselfish in sharing portions to all who will-
City Commissioner Seeks Home For Homeless
by
Women Artists!
Join us at a NO LIMITS workshop
with Beth Grossm an. Fri., Apr. 22, 7-10
p.m .,S at., Apr. 2 3 ,9 a.m .- 10 p .m .,& Sun.,
Apr. 24, 10 a.m . - 3 p.m. at the H illsboro
home o f Kathy Sievers.
Cost for the workshop is a sliding scale
from $140-$ 190. Please pay what you can
actually give, and not he usual “I c a n ’t
afford it" lowest amount. Space is limited.
Send your $50 deposit or full paym ent as
soon as possible. Full paym ent should be
received by April 15. A $10 discount will
apply if your payment is received by March 31.
Send you name, address, and phone
number, along with a check made payable
to Beth Grossman, to: Kathy sievers, 2121
S.E. O ak Crest Dr., Hillsboro, O R 9 7 123. A
limited am ount of financial assistance is
available. A pplication deadline for finan­
cial assistance is April 4. C ontact Lonnie
Feather at (503) 222-9773 for further infor­
mation. Call Kathy with at 648-3340 with
other questions.
Mr. Rescue Provides
Free Auto Emergency
Service To Memorial
Coliseum Patrons
Patrons parked in M emorial Coliseum
shuttle lots also have instant access to Mr.
Rescue by dialing * H-E-L-P from their
G TE M oblinet cellular phone or (800)452-
2212 from any phone.
Mr. Rescue emergency roadside ser­
vice is available 24 hours a day, seven days
a week for G TE Mobilnet cellular service
customers. For more inform ation about
G TE M obilnet’s cellular service and Mr.
Rescue Emergency Road Service please
call (800) 366-GTEM (4836).
S ubmissions : C ommunity
C alendar I nformation must
be
DATED TWO WEEKS AFTER THIS
issue ’ s PUBLICATION DATE
ingly w anted to receive
M iss B la c k O re g o n , w h o is a c o m ­
m u n ic a tio n s m a jo r at P o r tla n d S ta te
U n iv e rsity , u tiliz e d th o se s k ills o f th e a t­
ric a l k n o w le d g e to m e sm e riz in g e ffe c t
w on the h e a rts o f h e r c o m p e tito r ’s w ith
c h a rm & u n m a tc h a b le po ise!
T h e a r e a ’s o f c o m p e titio n ra n g e d
from c re a tiv e ex p re ssio n , ta le n t, perso n al
in te rv ie w and e v e n in g g o w n s. In a ll c a t­
e g o rie s she sh in e d lik e new m oney h o w ­
e v e r, fo r h e r ta le n t sh e san g in C a p e lla
th e G la d y s K n ig h t song “ T h a t’s W h at
F rie n d s A re F o r .” S he w in g e d h e r w ay
th ro u g h the song w ith too m any u n n eed ed
c h o rd c h a n g e s b u t fin ish e d it to an a p ­
p la u se o f w a rm th .
O n the fin a l n ig h t o f c o m p e titio n a ll
o f the c o n te s ta n ts p e rfo rm e d a g ro u p
d a n c e r o u tin e in sa lu te to the re ig n in g
M iss B lack U SA - M s. E b o n y W a rre n it
w as d o n e w ith su c h p re c is io n , one m ig h t
have e x p e c te d it to c o n tin u e up on N ew
Y o rk ’s B ro a d w a y . F u ll o f life , z e st, and
c la ss! It w as at th is p o in t w h e re the 12
fin a lis t w e re se le c te d from the g ro u p o f
22 c o n te s ta n ts .
T h e O re g o n d e le g a tio n sa t a n x io u sly
lis te n in g as th e n a m e s w ere b e in g c a lle d
1 2 ,1 1 , 1 0 ,6 , 5 , 4 , 2 , a n d 1, a n d n o n e w as
M iss B la c k O re g o n . Y es, A m o m e n t o f
d e je c tio n p a sse d , b u t p a sse d it d id , in ­
d e e d fo r th e re w ere no lo se rs h ere. N o n o t
at a ll e v e ry o n e o f th ese la d ie s ro se to the
o c c a sio n w ith d istin c tiv e p rid e , p o lish
a n d p o ise !
E v e ry p a re n t w h o se d a u g h te r as here
c o u ld do n o th in g b u t jo in the g o rg e o u s
p e a c o c k an d w alk w ith the a ssu ra n c e o f
k n o w in g , y es, you a re B ea u tifu l! T h an k
you M ic h e lle S o le s. M iss B la c k O reg o n
1994. W e sa lu te you, w e lo v e y o u , b e ­
c a u se you a re o u r ow n!
P romise K ing
owntown Portland will be relieved
j j o f homeless faces if plans by City
^ C o m m is s io n e r G retchen Kafoury,
goes through.
The city has launched a search to this end
to identify a better alternatives to m ass shel­
ters in downtown. I t’s overall plan is to re­
place these shelters with three or four sepa­
rate, specialized facilities for mentally sick
persons.
The Com m issioner, executive assistant
Erik Stein told Portland O bserver that the
reason behind this m ove is that lot of re­
sources allocated could not reach all o f the
specialized targets.
Kafoury, is making a clarion call to all
property ow ners and real estate professionals
to submit proposals to help identify potential
sites for the new proposed facilities.
“This is a new approach”, the C om m is­
sioner told a press-conference at the Glisan
Street Homeless shelter. “ Rather than trying
to site these ourselves, we will use the exper­
tise o f the business and developm ent com m u­
nity to help figure out where to pul the new
facilities.”
Gretchen Kafoury, City Commissioner
The funding o f this project will be jointly
shared by the city and the county. Business
leaders, neighborhood residents, service o r­
ganizations and homeless advocates will be
tasked in the selection process.
The city already has a grant from the
governm ent and will need about six million
dollars to make this initiative a reality. The
project is estim ated to gulp about ten million
dollars at com pletion.
“T his plan is going to be com pleted over
several years and it’s going to take time to find
the m oney”, executive Stein had confided.
Specifics and concrete plans o f this hous­
ing project are uncertain until a list o f sites is
developed. The first facility will be a 50-bed
for the chronically m entally-ill homeless.
Mental Health Services W est, will develop
the new facility with resources from Portland’s
Bureau o f Housing and Com m unity D evelop­
ment and U.S. D epartm ent o f Housing and
Urban DevelopmenL
About 300 homeless are currently housed
at the c ity ’s shelters in dow ntow n Portland.
It is likely that downtown business com ­
munity who have interest in this new moves
will also bear the financial burden. “W hether
or not these new facilities can be developed
will depend on how successful we are at
raising the necessary m oney,” Kafoury said.
Shelters run by private organizations will
not be affected by the developm ent
East Portland
Business/
Neighborhood
Community Says
“No More Crime”
ick off events are scheduled for the
Neighborhood/Business Crime
W atch Program launched by G ate­
way area Business Association and Parkrose
Business Association in cooperation with
Portland Police Bureau.
The project goals are to reduce crime,
raise crim e prevention aw areness and im ­
prove responses to crime, vandalism and
suspicious activity in East Portland.
An extensive community outreach
event will be held:
• Thurs. March 10, from 10 a.m. to 1:00
p.m. Parkrose Business Assn.
• Thurs. March 17, from 1 to 4:00 p.m.
Gateway Area Business Assn.
B u sin e sse s w ill be a sk e d to m a k e a
m in im u m d o n a tio n o f $ 1 0 upon r e g is ­
tra tio n to d e fra y the c o s t o f b u sin e ss
W a tc h sig n s w h ic h w ill b e p la c e d
th ro u g h o u t the ta rg e t a re a s. A ll p a r­
tic ip a tin g b u sin e sse s w ill re c e iv e p a c k ­
ets o f in fo rm a tio n sp e c ific to the b u s i­
ness se c u rity and w ill be re g iste re d on
a b u sin e ss d is tric t m a p /te lc p h o n e tree
to e n h a n c e b e tte r co m m u n ic a tio n . T his
w ill in c lu d e n e ig h b o rin g r e s id e n ts
n u m b e rs w ho are an a sse t to a b u sin e ss
a fte r h o u rs. T h e ta rg e t a re a s re p re s e n t
the firs t sta g e o f o rg a n iz in g th a t w ill
be im p le m e n te d in the fu tu re .
The kick off event will host special
guests such as city, county and state lead­
ers, local business ow ners and representa­
tives from tex neighborhood associations
including refreshm ents. T he events a re
scheduled as follows:
• G atew ay Area Business A ssociation-
W ed., March 23,1994 Location: W ood­
land Park Hosp. Auditorium at 10300
NE Hancock, 7pm to 9pm with a short
program at 8pm.
• Parkrose Business A ssociation-W ednes-
day March 16, 1994
LOCATION
T he P lan tatio n a t 1145 NE Sandy Blvd.:
• 3:30pm to 5:00pm with a short program
at 4:00pm
• 7:30 to 9:00 pm with a short program at
8:00pm
Kay and Andie stress the need for
volunteers to assist the com m ittee with its
outreach and kick off efforts. To volunteer,
or for more information on target and area
please call.
Contact Persons for more information:
• Andie Spuck, V olunteer Chair, Parkrose
Business Association 254-4445
• Kay Vetaly, Volunteer Chair, Gateway
Area Business Assn. 257-5862
• Kyle Ziegler, East Portland D istrict C oa­
lition-Crime Prev. Staff 256-0014
Dr. Virginia Phillips Return To Portland
n 1991, the M ich ig an F am ily and
C h ild r e n ’s S e rv ic e s D iv isio n
(F C S D ) re c e iv e d a m illio n d o l­
lar g ra n t from the K e llo g g F o u n d a tio n ,
the p u rp o se o f the g ra n t w as to d e v e lo p
a new pro g ram c a lle d the N e ig h b o r­
hood In te rv e n tio n P ro g ram for F am ily
P re s e rv a tio n . S in c e th e k e y to the
p ro g ra m ’s su c c e ss w as fin d in g a hig h ly
q u a lifie d p e rso n to head the d e p a r t­
m e n t, F C S D c o n d u c te d a n a tio n a l
se a rc h fo r a d ire c to r. A fte r a ll th e lo ts
w e re c a s t, th e p e rs o n c h o s e n w as
P o r tla n d ’s w on O ,. V irg in ia P h illip s ,
P h D . D r. P h illip s and h e r h u sb a n d .
R ev. Jo sh u a P h illip s , a rc the fo u n d e rs
o f G iv e U s T h is D ay, In c . G U T D sp e ­
c ia liz e s in E x te n d e d F am ily H o m es,
A d o p tio n and R e sp ite C a re for A fric a n
A m erican C h ild re n . In a d d itio n , they
a rc c o -fo u n d e rs o f the O re g o n c h a p te r
o f O n e C h u rc h O n e C h ild a d o p tio n
a g e n c y . D r. P h illip s w as the firs t to serv e
as O C O C ’s E x e c u tiv e D ire c to r an d held
th is p o s itio n u n til b e in g re c ru ite d by
M ic h ig a n .
T he se v e n ty -fiv e y e a r old ag e n c y ,
f o rm e rly th e M ic h ig a n A id S o c ie ty ,
q u ic k ly fe ll in love w ith D r. P h illip s ’
e a sy g o in g b u t c o m p e te n t d e m e a n o r.
A lso , the a g en cy p ro v e d to be in sig h tfu l
in its se le c tio n c h o ic e o f D ire c to r. N ot
o n ly d id D r. P h illip s p ro v e to be an
e x c e lle n t a d m in is tra to r and p ro g ra m d e ­
v e lo p e r, b u t her p h ilo so p h ic a l w ritin g
took M ichigan by storm . H er “ D ear A bby”
type w eek ly a rtic le c a lle d “ A sk O fe d e a n ”
b e c a m e a big hit w ith the p e o p le in B attle
C reek an d beyond. T h u s, it w as e asy to
u n d e rsta n d how d isa p p o in te d e v e ry o n e
w as w hen she d ecid ed to re tu rn to P o r t­
lan d .
As D ire c to r o f th a t p ro g ra m , D r.
P h illip s w as re sp o n sib le fo r n o t o n ly its
a d m in is tra tio n and o v e rs ig h t, b u t a lso
fo r b e in g a lia iso n to the v a rio u s c o m m u ­
n itie s im p a c te d by the p ro g ra m . O ne o f
h er lia iso n d u tie s w as o f p a rtic u la r im ­
p o rta n c e w hich m e a n t b e in g an a d v iso r
to the K ellogg F o u n d a tio n . It w as through
th is a d v is o rs h ip th a t K e llo g g fo u n d o u t
ab o u t the E x ten d ed F am ily c o n c e p t w hich
the P h illip s a rc k n o w n th ro u g h o u t the
n a tio n for. T he p e o p le at K e llo g g w e re so
im p re sse d th a t they have a d o p te d the
E x te n d e d F am ily M odel as a fam ily p r e s ­
e rv a tio n m o d el for the sta te o f M ic h ig a n .
B eing the b u ild e r th a t sh e is . D r.
P h illip s d e v e lo p e d the e n tire p ro g ra m ,
h ire d an e x c e lle n t sta ff and o v e rsa w the
p ro g ra m from it g e n e sis to m a tu rity .
S a tis fie d the pro g ram w as stro n g and in
good h a n d s. D r. P h illip s le ft h er $ 6 0 ,0 0 0
a y e a r jo b to re tu rn to P o rtla n d to
c o n tin u e h e r an d her h u s b a n d ’s d re a m
o f h a v in g the O re g o n G U T D ’s E x ­
tended Fam ily P rogram beco m e a m odel
fo r o th e r c itie s and sta te s a ro u n d the
c o u n try .
D r. P h illip s is c lo se to c o m p le tin g
tw o b o o k s th a t she is c u rre n tly w ritin g .
T he b o o k s sh o u ld be p u b lish e d a n d a t
b o o k sto re s by M arch. In a d d itio n , D r.
P h illip s is in the p ro c e ss o f p u b lish in g
a q u a rte rly m a g a z in e c a lle d T h e F a m ­
ily C o n n e c tio n . T he m a g a z in e is due
o u t in la te A p ril.
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n on G iv e Us
T h is D a y ’s E x te n d e d F a m ily , R e sp ite
C a re and A d o p tio n p ro g ra m s , c o n ta c t
R ev. Jo sh u a D. P h illip s o r D r. O . V ir ­
g in ia P h illip s at (5 0 3 ) 2 8 5 -7 6 3 4 . Y o u r
q u e s tio n s ,c o m m c n ts a n d id eas arc w e l­
com ed.
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