Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, July 31, 1996, Image 1

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    Free immunization
at local clinics
“The Darker Face
of the Earth”
Child immunizations are
being offered in local
Portland clinics.
Miss Collins to
return home
This play runs through
October 27 at the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival in
Ashland.
An appeal to those that
have known Miss Collins
to assist in returning her
home.
See Metro , page BI.
>
Al
THE i n '
REVIEWI
Atlanta park reopens
Crowds are once again fi11 ing Centenni­
al Olympic Park in Atlanta. It reopened
Tuesday morning, three days after the pipe
bomb attack that left two people dead and
110 others injured. As the gates swung
open, the crowds cheered and went straight
for the grassy knoll where the bomb went
off. The crater had been tilled and covered
with fresh turf. At a brief memorial cere­
mony, form er Atlanta M ayor Andrew
Young told the thousands on hand that they
should “not wallow in tragedy but enjoy a
triumph o f the human spirit.” The search
for the bomber continues.
Terrorism is primary topic
The fight against terrorism is a key issue
for Congress today, as well as for a summit
meeting o f world powers in Paris. White
House C h iefo f Staff Leon Panetta met this
week with House and Senate members to
discuss options following the pipe bomb
blast in Atlanta and the explosion that
brought down the TWA airliner o ff the
coast o f New York.
Clinton, Mubarak meet
President Clinton played host to Egyp­
tian President Hosni Mubarak at the White
House today. The two leaders compared
notes on bilateral problems like terrorism
and shared ideas on how to rejuvenate the
sputtering Middle East peace process now
that hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu is
prime minister o f Israel. " I 'v e been very
impressed with the leadership that Presi­
dent Mubarak has shown in the last several
months,” Clinton said going into the talks.
They planned to hold a joint news confer­
ence after finishing their discussions.
See Entertainment, page B3.
_
M
ValuJet criminal charges?
The Miami Herald says state and feder­
al prosecutors want to lay criminal blame
for the crash o f ValuJe, Flight 592 but
cannot decide who to charge. The newspa­
per says prosecutors have focused on the
people who handled oxygen canisters be­
lieved to have started or fueled a fire on
board the plane. Prosecutors don't plan to
decide on charges until after the NTSB
concludes its investigation o f the crash and
issues a cause.
J o n Mt w in
t ’s the classic battle between
workers and management, but
with a twist.
Workers attempt to unionize, manage­
ment tries to stop them, one wins, one loses.
This time, however, things are different.
State court workers attempting to unionize
for the third time in over a decade are still
waiting for election results 15 months after it
began.
The delay is mostly due to much litigation
over the election Multnomah County Court
Administrator Jerome Cooper said.
About 1,000 currently unrepresented court
workers voted in April 1995 on whether or
not to join the Oregon Public Employees
Union. The count now stands at 452 votes
against unionization and 448 votes in favor.
However, there are 6 1 unopened ballots chal­
lenged by the court’s management.
“The election hinges around these 6 1 bal­
lots," OPEU President Karla Spence said.
Most o f the 6 1 ballots are "challenged on
the basis o f questions about the appropriate­
ness o f bargaining unit status,” an OPEU
press release said. However, eight votes are
challenged because workers voted in person
at the Employment Relations Board, the or­
ganization conducting the election, or voted
by metered mail instead o f the postal service.
The ERB opened 342 previously chal­
lenged votes July 19 as ordered by the Court
o f Appeals.
The votes were challenged because work­
ers brought them to the OPEU, which then
delivered them to the ERB said Dave Stiteler,
an ERB board member.
“The employer alleged votes shouldn’t be
counted because ballots were gathered by the
bi
I
The Multnomah County Courthouse, maintained by some o f Oregon's judicial employees that are hoping to unionize.
union and hand-delivered to the ERB,”
Stiteler said, “we initially agreed with the
employer, but the union appealed."
O f the 342 votes previously challenged,
322 were for unionization, and 20 were
against.
OPEU and court workers claim the ERB
has been “less than neutral” in this election
They feel the ERB showed favoritism to­
wards management in their handling o f man­
agement’s appeals.
“ ERB is supposed to be neutral and they've
been anything but,"judicial assistant Colleen
Miles said. “They’ve been lean ing toward the
Gresham cross burning arrests
met with an unspecified number o f others in
the parking lot o f the Rockwood Seventh Day
Adventist Church in Gresham. The group
constructed a wooden cross, doused it with
gasoline, took it to Ballard’s home on S.E.
179th and set it on fire.
Ballard was watching television when he
saw the fireball through his livingroom win­
dow. He reportedly said he is relieved that
someone has been arrested in the case, and
that he does not know the suspects.
The two men are in federal custody. If
convicted they could face 10 years in prison
and 250,000 fines for each count.
Both men have criminal records with mi­
nor offenses dating back to 1992.
Shuman works as a mechanic at a trucking
company in Portland. He is the father o f a
toddler daughter and lives with his parents.
Harlow has a newborn girl and a six-year-old
daughter.
Authorities aren’t saying what specifical­
ly led to a break in the case. But Gresham
police officials say publicity prompted peo­
ple with information to come forward with
tips. The case is still open as officials search
for other suspects.
Shuman’s father said he knew his son
harbored racist views, but was dumbfounded
by the arrest.
Troy
Harlow, and
Michael
Shuman
were
arrested for
the recent
cross
burning in
Gresham.
by
P amela J okdax
he father of one of the men
arrested Thursday for burning a
cross in a black man’s yard
apologized for his son’s actions.
Without admitting nor denying his son’s
guilt, Stephen Shuman expressed remorse
for the June 16 cross burning at the home o f
Billy Ballard o f Gresham.
"M y family, we apologize to him. It’s a
terrible thing to do to som eone,” said
Schuman. “ Your home is supposed to be your
sanctuary. I really feel for him.”
“ I d on’t know if he did it. but to go to all
this trouble the authorities must have some
T
pretty credible evidence,” said Shuman.
FBI agents and Gresham police arrested
Michael Scott Shuman, 24, o f Gresham, and
I roy Allen Harlow, 25 ofFairview Thursday
afternoon. The two were charged in federal
court Friday, July 26, 1996, with two counts
each o f conspiracy to deny civil rights and
violating the Fair Housing Act by force and
threat.
“Investigating and prosecuting cases of ra­
cially-motivated violence is a high priority,”
said U.S. Attorney Kris Olsen. “Cross-burning
at a residence is a well-known symbol of racial
hatred and is essentially a terroristic act.”
Authorities believe Harlow and Shuman
JlTOF
management and it’s been very obvious,”
Stiteler disagreed. "I don't think those
allegations are accurate,” he said, “w e’ve
performed the same act in hundreds and
thousands o f other cases.”
▼
Continued to page A6
Olympic
bomber
amateur
sraeli experts said on Sunday
the amateurishness of the
Atlanta Olympics bombing
suggested it was more likely the work
of an angry or frustrated American
than international guerrillas.
A crude pipe bomb packed with nails
and screws exploded in a knapsack left at
a pop concert on Saturday, killing two
people and wounding 110.
“ Because o f the amateurish charge—
and it appears to be something impro­
vised we believe it’s not any sort o f
complex organisation or that an interna­
tional terrorist organisation did this,”
David Tsur, an Israeli adviser to Olympic
a u th o ritie s, told Israel R adio from
Atlanta.
Although careful to say the investiga­
tion could take “a whole lot o f directions,”
Tsur speculated the bomber was “a frus­
trated citizen" or “redneck who hates the
establishment.”
I
Multicultural Fair attracts diverse Crowd
J oey M t rpiiy
Minh, Episcopal vicar o f Southeast Asians in
uisine from hot dogs to du du bu
the Portland area.
kho. Performances from Native
The fair was held outside the Southeast
American drummers to African
Asian Vicarage at NE 54 and Alameda.
American gospel singers. Rowdy teens.
“It's a very international neighborhood,”
Quiet families.
Minh said, “on Sandy Boulevard there are
Such was the diverse scene at the second
many cultural restaurants: Italian, Vietnam­
annual Neighborhood Cultural fair last Sun­
ese, Mexican and German.”
day, sponsored by the Cenlial Northeast
Many agreed with M inh’s sentiments.
Neighbors and the Southeast Asian Vicari­
“Learning about other cultures helps us
ate.
better understand each other,” Youth Gang
Although the crowd was predominantly
Outreach director Halim Rahsaan said
Asian, most said the multicultural element
Even the vendors at the fair valued the
was valuable.
variety.
“If we understand each other's culture, we
“It's good advertising,” Michelle Ngo,
will live in harmony,” said Father Vincent
manager o f the photography studio Joelle
by
Concepts, said. “ I’m interested in all races.”
Police attended the event Sergeant Jim
McDaniel, a member o f the gang team, was
there because Southeast Asian gang mem­
bers were among the crowd
“ When they see us here, it eliminates a lot
of the problem.” McDaniel said. "If they had
weapons, once they saw us they’d take them
back out.”
Jangchup performed in the Tibetan dance
routine Part o f the Northwest Tibetan Cul­
tural Association, the group practices about
once a month Jangchup said she enjoyed the
performance, though the group wasn’t able to
participate in the rest o f the fair
Other performances included traditional
C
'
FRONT
S E C T IO N
25¿
workers union ballots delayed
Wages in check
A new report from the Labor D epart­
ment shows that workers’ wages and ben­
efits grew by a moderate 0.8 percent in the
second quarter, matching the first-quarter
increase The rise in overall worker com­
pensation was slightly slower than Wall
Street analysts had expected and should
help quiet, but not extinguish, financial
market fears o f higher inflation due to
wage increases. Economists said the re­
port would support the view that the Fed­
eral Reserve does not need to raise interest
rates soon to keep inflation in check. But
they noted that the report was only the first
o f three due this week, capped by Friday’s
July jobs report.
Her
P ra n c e s S c h o e n -N e w sp a p e r
r • F ra n c e s
___ =
o f O re a o n L it
Un i v e r s i t v
E u a e n e . 3r e ao n
97403
Saudi security talks
Defense Secretary William Perry is in
Saudi Arabia on a mission to strengthen
security for 5,000 U.S. troops stationed in
the kingdom. Defense officials are under ]
strict orders not to discuss details o f Perry’s
trip. Bu, officials said last week that he
would press the Saudi government to pro­
vide at least half o f the hundreds o f mil­
lions o f dollars needed to beef up security
for U.S. troops. Perry’s visit follows two
recent bombing attacks in Saudi Arabia
that killed 24 Americans.
See Religion, page B4.
MILY
1 ?
DIVER
4
METRO
i.
Middle Eastern dance, Mexican mariachi
music and dancing, Cambodian dance, a
magician, and Ukranian music.
Vendor Isabel Campbell described her du
du bo kho, a dish o f shredded papya and beef
jerky, as “fabulous.”
Campbell was at the fair last year, and said
business was better then.
Many said attendance was down this year
due to the weather. It had been raining inter­
mittently through the day
The hot dog vendor, however, refused to
comment on his dogs. They w eren't selling
very well Jenny Trinh was just there “to see
my friends and eat ice cream," she said “it’s
fun, and the multicultural thing is cool.”
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