Serving the community through cultural diversity.
Voinnin XXIV, Number 12
March 23, 1994
L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
Wire
(©bserüer
Free Healthy Kids Fair Features
Easter Egg Hunts and More
Sixth Annual Event to be Held in
New M edical O ffice B uilding A trium
Legacy Emanuel C hildren’ s H ospi­
tal w ill host its sixth annual free Health
Kids Fair, Saturday, A p ril 2, 10 a.m. - 2
p.m., in the new Medical O ffice B u ild ing
A triu m , 501 N. Graham, Portland.
The new ly expanded Healthy Kids
Fair w ill feature continuous Easter egg
hunt fo r children up to age eight, dis-
counted bike helmet sales and decorating,
a teddy bear clin ic , tours o f the new Legacy
Emanuel C hildren’ s Hospital Emergency
and A fte r Hours Care unit, a look inside a
L ife F lig h t helicopter and an ambulance, a
m ini version o f the Discovery Zone, Easter
bag decorating, thumb casting, a healthy
kids check and more.
C all 335-3500 fo r more inform ation
and directions.
Louisiana Social Club of Oregon Presents their Aunnal
Kids Easter Party
Date: Saturday March 26, 1994
Place: Texas Annex 1625 N.E. Alberta
Ages: 1 to 12 Years Old
HE NORTH-NORTHEAST BUSI­
NESS ASSOCIATION WILL HOLD
ITS EIGHTH ANNUAL “EXCELL­
ENCE IN BUSINESS" AWARDS BANQUET
ON MARCH 31 AT THE RED LION-LLOYD
CENTER HOTEL, 1000 N.E. MULTNOMAH,
BEGINNING AT 6:00 P.M. SIX AWARDS
WILL BE PRESENTED TO OUTSTANDING
BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS ACTIVE
IN THE NORTH-NORTHEAST AREA.
Jt
Jaki Walker
Director
of NE
Community
Dev. Corp.
I. BUSINESS & ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
( ACCOMPANIED BY PARENT OR GUARDIAN )
V -
Announced by North-Northeast Business Association
The keynote speaker w ill be Charles Jor­
dan, director, Bureau o f Parks & Recreation,
who w ill address the banquet theme, “ Accen­
tuate The Positive: Elim inate The Negative.”
Brenda Braxton, news anchor for K G W Chan­
nel-8, w ill serve as mistress o f ceremonies.
The evening is an opportunity to hig h ­
ligh t business and com m unity success stories
o f N orth-Northeast Portland during 1993.
The fo llo w in g awards w ill be presented:
Time: 12:00 p.ni. to 3:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Eighth Annual Awards
Banquet/Award Winners
y
«
y
Friends Of The Children Tutor
And Mentor Program
Friends o f the C hildren, a privately funded program fo r at-risk children, w ill begin
training tutors for second grade students M arch 29.
People who w ould like to w ork w ith children one-on-one approximately one hour
per week in a school setting w ill be paired w ith second grade students at Boise/Eliot, K in g
and Vernon Schools. These eight- and nine-year-olds w ill receive help w ith reading,
math and other skills.
I f you are a caring adult w ith approx im atcly one hour to share each week, call K ris
at 275-8378 for more inform ation. T raining begins March 29 at 6 p.m.
Kaiser Permanente
Honors Longtime Staff
Sweet’s M arket w ill receive the small
business award fo r its efforts to im prove the
area’ s business climate. Owner, Joe Smith
has been doing business in inner northeast
Portland fo r more than 10 years. D uring that
time, he has m oved and expanded his busi­
ness several times. Today Sweet’ s supports
five employees and offers a complete catering
service. Plans call fo r Sweet’ s to soon become
a full-scale convenience store.
On a personal level, Smith has consis­
tently encouraged entrepreneurship in others.
He has also worked d ilige ntly w ith youth from
the neighborhood, providing positive guid­
ance and support. Every Friday night you can
fin d a group from M orning Star child re n ’ s
Youth Program enjoying ample portions o f
Sweet’ s barbecue compliments o f the man­
agement. Smith is also heavily involved in a
youth employment program sponsored by the
A lb in a M in isterial Alliance.
T ra il Blazers/Oregon Arena Corpora­
tion w ill receive the award in the medium-
size business category for their continued
com m itm ent to supporting the revitalization
o f inner northeast both from a neighborhood
and abusiness perspective. Since establishing
their adm inistrative offices in northeast Port­
land more than 24 years ago, Blazers manage­
ment has made it a p rio rity to be actively
involved in the com m unity. W ith the Oregon
Arena Project came an expanded com m it­
ment to develop and implement corporate
policies establishing goals that promote the
h irin g o f inner north/northeast residents and
w ork fo r m inority, women-owned and emerg­
ing small businesses.
Looking to the future, the Blazers have
made a 30 year comm itment to be part o f the
Portland business comm unity. A d ditio na lly,
in master planning the Oregon Arena Project,
extensive efforts have been made to design a
complex that promotes additional retail and
business growth along NE Broadway as w ell
as the expansion o f north bound ligh t rail.
rently w orking w ith the Northeast Com m u­
nity Bancorp to target mortgage loans to
neighborhoods that private lenders have his­
P romise K ing
N THESE PRECARIOUS TIMES,
WHEN HOMELESSNESS SEEMS TO
GRIP PORTLAND STREETS.
GRETCHEN KAFOURY PROMISE OF
A FFO RD-ABLE HOMES FOR LOW-
INCOME FOLKS, PLUS HER HOUSING
PROGRAMS INITIATIVES MAY GIVE HER
THE COME-BACK TICKET SHE DESIRES.
I
Don Garrett
Three employees at Bess Kaiser Medical
Center and one at East Interstate Medical
O fficcarc among theseven Kaiser Prcmanentc
staff who recently received awards for 30
years or more o f service to the health plan’ s
members. Health Care reform is nothing new
fo r them; in three decades, they’ ve seen dra­
matic changes in medical facilities, equip­
ment and techniques, and in management o f
patients’ care.
During the 1960s, Jayne Rivard and four
other fa m ily members all worked fo r the
health maintenance organization (H M O ) at
the same time. Her first jo b was in the kitchen
at Bess Kaiser M edical Center, when she was
s till a high school student. She now works
there as a surgery scheduler. The greatest
changes Rivard remembers are the introduc­
tion o f video equipment in the operating room
and techniques like laparoscopy that let sur­
geons operate w ith much less trauma for
patients.
Don Garrett, RT, has been part o f Kaiser
Phyllis Miller
Pcrmanente’ s expansion into Clackamas and
other areas. He helped establish the radiology
department at Kaiser Sunnyside M edical
Center. N ow at Bess Kaiser M edical Center,
G a rre tt is in charge o f the ra d io lo g y
department’ s technical operation.
Kaiser Permancntc’ s longtim e em ploy­
ees have seen more than new buildings, equip­
ment and techniques. Some o f the changes are
new ways to involve patients in their own
care. Glenda M u llin , R N, a pediatric nurse at
East Interstate Medical O ffice, served on the
committee that revised the guidelines used by
advice nurses. W ith tim ely phone inform a­
tion, advice nurses reassure anxious parents
and help them relieve symptoms.
P hyllis M ille r, RN, on the nursing sta ff at
Bess Kaiser M edical Center, has seen an
increase in invo lvin g the whole fa m ily in a
patient’ s care. She believes this involvem ent
w ill be even greater in the future, especially in
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Continued to page A6
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Continued to page A3
Kafoury May Ride On Her
Records To Victory
by
Jayne Rivard
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Cen­
ter w ill receive the large-size business award
fo r its success as a business development
leader in the medical industry and its support
o f educational programs. Committed to im ­
proving the status o f the com m unity. Legacy
serves by w orking in partnerships to improve
the neighborhoods surrounding its facilities.
Legacy is a leader in local housing pro­
grams w ith the desire to increase the liveability
o f its neighborhoods. In 1992, Legacy created
its own housing program fo r employees, the
Emanuel Neighborhood Home Ownership
Program (ENHOP). W ith down-payment as­
sistance available to employees wishing to
purchase homes in N /N E Portland, EN H O P is
a national model fo r social responsibility and
com m itm ent that is being emulated in many
cities across the nation.
torically neglected.
I f there is anything Kafoury regretted it is
the faces o f homelessness that she has not
been able to wipe-ouL
“ The saddest think is that I have not been
able to m obilize downtown homeless enough”
adding that “ homelessness is such a visible
problem. I t ’ s just unacceptable to me that we
have so many homeless people in our com m u­
She was cautious and calculating in her
comments and exude optim ism , as she shared
her accomplishments, her p olitical goals and
her regrets w ith The Portland Observer. In an
extended interview outside her office.
Kafoury, in her first term as C ity C om ­
missioner oversees city programs responsible
for housing and com m unity development.
Her seat from Multnomah Elections Depart­
ment records is the most sought position in the
C ity-h a ll by aspiring politicians.
Six persons, Lew Church, StcvcGunthcr,
Gretchen Kafoury, Owen Mossbarger, Tom
O ’Connor and Richard E llio t Shannon are
vying fo r the position, this coming election.
And K afoury is pudding her chest and telling
everyone who cares to listen that her track
record as C ity Commissioner w ould get her
past her opponents. “ I don’ t think they have
the track records” , Kafoury said. “ There would
be any housing centers, the c ity o r non-profit
organization w orking in the neighborhood
would be in business w ith out m y e ffo rt” , she
touted “ Another program I started was the
Com m unity initiative, where you give small
grants to neighborhood housing center to get
started .”
Gretchen Kafoury
Kafoury cited the c ity ’ s rescue o f 352
homes threatened by the collapse o f D om in­
ion Corp, as an example o f innovative govern­
ment action. A $100,000 investment by the
city, leveraged bank loans o f $11,000,000 to
save those homes” she stressed.
She also waved, the Portland Housing
Center, created to assist moderate income
buyers through the home buying process and
a coalition created to leverage private invest­
ments fo r a down payment loan fund as part
o f her accomplishments.
The C ity Commissioner said she has
been tough on slumlords who leave substan­
dard housing unattended and that she is cur-
n ity .”
On w hy she want to come back to C ity
Hall. Kafoury said “ 3 o r4 years in not enough
to get clear about what to do. Saying that she
is shifting emphasis from government portfo­
lio to com m unity growth. I have done these
fo r twenty years. I don’ t see m yself retiring .”
K a fo ury’ s p rio rity on her second term
would be continuous support for com m unity
development corporations. “ Four years ago
there were over 1,000 abandoned houses in
north and northeast Portland, today there are
fewer than 500. M y goal fo r the next four
years is to bring that figure down to zero.”
Commissioner Kafoury was elected to
the C ity H all, January 1991. Before then, she
was elected to three terms in the Oregon
House o f Representatives from 1977 to 1983.
We expect those vying for p olitical posi­
tions in the state and city to get in touch w ith
The Observer fo r interviews and endorse­
ments.
Our com m itm ent to educate our reader-
ship is more than a promise. I t ’ s our job.