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Volume X X V I, Number 51 -
Committed to cultural diversity.
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December IS, 1996
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Recycle your Christmas tree
N onprofit groups and businesses will
operate m ore than 150 d ropoff sites and
pickup services from W est Linn to North
Portland and from Forest G rove to Sandy.
Most groups will collect trees the w eek
ends o f Dec. 28-29 and Jan. 4-5. The small
fee or donation requested supports activ
ities o f groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl
Scouts, churches and schools Call M etro
Recycling Inform ation, 234-3000, forspe
cific inform ation on tree recycling op
tions. H otline hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5
p.m ., M onday through Saturday except
Dec. 25 and Jan I. Beginning Dec. 26,
C hristm as tree recycling inform ation wi
be available on M etro's w eb site: http://
w w w .m ultnom ah.lib.or.us/m etro
In the midst o f the holiday season
busyness, we ask you to rem em ber
the com m unity's work that is done by
noprofit agencies and charity orga
nizations. For the children and youth,
fo r the elderly, fo r the homeless indi
viduals and fa m ilies—f o r all those
who need extra help or special atten
tio n - these agencies are there day in
and day out, all year long. They are
dependent on our contributions o f
funds, goods, and time.
He know that several are strug
gling ju s t to keep their doors open.
For all, holiday donations are criti
cal to their on-going efforts. Please
rem em ber these com m unity trea
sures in your giving this year. A
donation in the name o f a frie n d
passes the blessing around.
Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration
Albina Ministerial Alliance
The A lbina M inisterial A lliance is ask
ing oregonians to help m ake a ch ild 's
dream s com e true by adopting a family for
the holidays or by m aking a donation of
w arm clothing or household needs. Call
The A lbina M inisterial A lliance at 285-
0493, X2O3.
PNCA
Scholarships are available for children
and young adults ages 4 - 17 for the Pacific-
North west C ollege o f Art Continuing E d
ucation Program . D eadline for scholar-
ship applications is Jan. 17,1997 for Spring
Sem ester. A pplication forms may be o b
tained at PNCA, I2 I9 S .W . Park Ave., or
by calling 226-0462.
Cuts for Kids
Local stylists donate tim e to offer in
ner-city children free h airc u ts just in time
for the holidays on M onday, D ecem ber
23, 10 a.m . - 3 p in. The Salvation Army
M oore Street C enter, 5335 N. W illiam s
A venue, North Portland. This event is free
for all children. Please call M oore Street
at 239-1241 for more inform ation.
Lazarus Art Society, Inc.
Presents T he 3rd A nnual K uum ba Fes
tival on D ecem ber 2 0 ,2 1 & 22 at the Matt
D ishm an C om m unity Center, 77 NE Knott
St Portland. Enjoy the Food Faire (Foods
from many Ethnic G roups Jan Art Exhibit,
Crafts, V endors, E ntertainm ent, and Skits.
D o n ’t m iss Art A ctivities Day on Saturday
from I I A M to 5 PM . L earn about
K W A N ZA A and how other cultures cele
b rate the h o lid a y se aso n . All ethnic
groupsare invited. Free A dm ission-D ona
tions R equested to fund our A fter School
Program Art Program . For more inform a
tion call: L orraine Fields, Event C oordi
nator at (503) 282-5461.
Bradley-Angle House
"Y ou can make adifference in the lives
o f dom estic violence survivors! The Board
ol D irectors o f B radley-A ngle House in
vites com m unity m em bers to a Brunch.
Learn m ore about volunteer opportunities
with the Bradley-A ngle House Board and
A ffiliate B oard.B runch will be held in
N orth East Portland in late January. C on
tact Erika S ilver at 2 3 2 -7 8 12.
Project Pal Volunteers
C ascade A ID S Project is seeking long
term volunteers to be pals to people living
with HIV disease, including AIDS. V ol
unteers are asked to com m it one year to
this program and to provide their own
transportation. Each volunteer will receive
a 32 hour training and access to support
groups anil inservices for updated infor
mation. Call G race T aylor at 224-5907,
ext I 15, to schedule and interview by
January 7. PAL volunteer training begins
January 18,1997, so call today to register.
SUBMISSIONS: Community
Calendar information will be given
priority if dated two weeks
before the event date.
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H o lid a if
g re e tin g s!
n m m u n ity
a U n b ar
A frican Dance, a fashion show, music
and poetry will be a part o f the Project
N etw ork & Da Da Kidogo Second Annual
Pre-K w anzaa C elebration is on M onday,
D ecem ber 23, 1996, located at 4 2 19 N. E.
Dr. M artin L uther King Jr. Blvd (The
Lutheran Inner-City M inistries Facility).
D oors open at 6:30 pm, program at 7pm.
B
P o rtla n d s h o p p e r s b e c o m e m o re fre n z ie d a n d n u m e r o u s a s th e C h ristm a s h o lid a y fa s t a p p ro a c h e s.
--M ayor Vera Katz, C om m issioner
Charlie Hales, Commissioner Gretchen
Miller Kafoury, Commissioner Mike
Lindberg, Commissioner Erik Sten, and
Commissioner-Elect Jim Francesconi.
A Golden Opportunity To Help Kids
Celebrating Fifty Years of Service to
Portland Youth at the 13th Annual Boys
& Girls Clubs Kids Auction
A select audience o f Portland’s most influ-
ential will once again support the Boys & Girls
Clubs Kids Auction on Saturday, M arch 8 at
the Hilton Hotel, beginning with a 600-item
silentauctionat5:30andananything-but-quiet
live auction and dinner at 7:00. This 13th
annual black-tie event is the clubs' largest fund
raiser, netting $352,(XX) last year. The 1997
Kids Auction theme, "Y our Golden O pportu
nity to Help Kids,” com bines the giving spirit
with the 50th anniversary of the Clubs’ service
to youth in Portland.
“Each year my com m itm ent to club kids is
renewed at Kids Auction. T here’s something
very powerful in the energy at this event. I’m
am azed at the generosity of buyers and the
caliber ofitem s our volunteer board procures."
Says Auction Chair Dave Emory, member of
the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Board of
Directors.
Renowned auctioneer Larry Helms returns
to the Kids A uction gavel. Among the items on
the auction block this year is a mint condition
1949 1/2-ton Chevy Pickup, a Fabulous French
Vacation for Eight, a spectacular piece from
a rtist R o lan d o A g u d e lo -B o te ro en titled
H umanidad, and dinner and Ballet with host
James Canfield, complete with overnight ac
com m odations at the Bensen Hotel.
A ttendance and donations are expected to
be unusually high among auction-goers this
year, as the philanthropic audience is aware of
the Clubs' need to raise funds for youth devel
opment programs.
New to Kids Auction is "M ake a N ight of It,"
the opportunity to package auction reserva
tions with accommodations to spend the night
at the Hilton. About a quarter of the 600
attendees are anticipated to take advantage of
this offer.
The Boys <*t Girls Clubs of Portland M etro
politan Area has been serving the youth o f our
communities for fifty years. In 1996, the Clubs
served a record number of youth; 5,300 m em
bers and an estimated 6,(XX) additional youth
who benefit from the Clubs without the $15
membership The Clubs expect another record
year in 1997. The Clubs are dedicated to the
enhancement and enrichment of youth aged 6
- 18. Concentrating much of its interest and
concern on individuals from disadvantaged or
at-risk circumstances, the Boys & Girls Clubs
help members develop values, skills and self
esteem by exposing them to a variety o f pro
grams. all designed to nurture their character,
cultural, vocational, educational, emotional,
physical and social needs.
As a non-profit agency, the Boys & Girls
Clubs rely on the generosity o f community
support for Club facilities and programs. Sig
nature events include Kids Auction, Steak and
Burger Night, the Boys & Girls Cluhs Goll
classic and G olf Marathon.
Contact Rhoda Culin at (503)452-9359or
Kevin Johnson (503) 232-0077.
Scholarship gives Renfro chance to finish college
harlie Waters remembers tak
ing his son Cody as a toddler to
Dallas Cowboys' practices to
watch his talented teammate and friend
Mel Renfro.
C
T oday, in one o f those strange tw ists of
fate, pro football hall-of-fam er Mel Renfro
has a ch an ce to go back to the U niversity of
O regon and finish his degree. At a D ucks'
Night O ut tribute dinner for Renfro in P ort
land last M ay, he was nam ed the first recip
ient o f the C ody W aters M em orial S ch o lar
ship for U O post-eligibility athletes w ho want
to return to college.
The scholarship was established by the
UO D epartm ent o f Intercollegiate A thletics
to honor C ody and Charlie, who w as the
D uck defensive coordinator at the tim e of
C o d y ’s d eath on D ecem ber 3. 1995. C ody,
who w as senior at M arist High S chool in
Eugene, died in his sleep o f an undeterm ined
cause.
Renfro finds it ironic in a "full circ le” kind
o f way "that I'v e alw ays w anted to go back to
school and w hat gave me the opportunity to
go back w as my old buddy from the C ow boys
through a trag ed y .”
“I'm proud that C o d y ’s name is on that
scholarship and that Mel got the first one,"
says C h arlie W aters, now w orking for an
energy ex ch an g e com pany in D allas, Texas.
“ I played w ith Mel for seven years. W e were
in four S u p er Bowls together and w ere very
good frien d s.”
R enfro will return to cam pus w inter term
and m ajor in sociology. He says he w ants to
finish co lleg e so he can stop feeling u n co m
fortable w henever som eone introduces him
as a UO graduate. But h e ’s also doing it for
his father.
“It was som ething that was alw ays im por
tant to my dad because I d o n ’t think he ever
finished high sch o o l,” says Renfro. "T here
were four o f us boys and all o f us w ent to
college, but none of us finished. I think it
would be good before he passes aw ay if I
could say I got my d eg ree.”
Renfro says he c o u ld n 't afford to go back
to college w ithout the scholarship He played
Pro fo o tb a ll h a ll-o f-fa m er M el R enfro.
in the pros at a time when even the top players
w ere paid less than $25,(XX) a year, then
suffered a series of professional and personal
disappointm ents after retiring from the C ow
boys in the late 1970s.
His Dallas fast-food restaurants went bank
rupt, subsequent coaching and scouting post
lions in pro football w ere short-lived, his
personal life was often rocky and he was
frustrated about being overlooked by the pro
Hall of Fam e for so many years.
Then things turned around.
Renfro credits a religious aw akening sev
eral years ago for directing him toward a
better path W hen he learned o f plans for a
Christian recreation center for inner-city chil
dren in his old Northeast Portland neighbor
hood he realized, "This is my dream , this is
my purpose, this is why God gave me these
abilities and put me in this neighborhood,
know ing that one day I could com e back and
give back."
He currently w orks with P ortland's Bridge
M inistries as an "unpaid, full-time am bassa
dor and fund-raiser” in an effort to raise
m oney for the recreation center He also
operates Renfro Enterprises, a sports p ro m o
tion com pany in Dallas.
A nd like icing on the cake, Renfro w as
finally inducted this year, into (be Pro F o o t
ball Hall o f Fame, m aking him one o f only
three D ucks to be so honored and one o f only
four in the college football Hall o f Fame.
Renfro is glad to be returning to O regon
and appreciates the attention h e ’s receiving
from the UO. G eorge G lass ’82 and G eorge
Hosfield ’79, M B A ’82, organized the D ucks'
Night Out tribute dinner to recognize R enfro’s
football career.
T he Oregon Club o f Portland will donate
its annual D ucks' Night Out proceeds to the
Cody W aters scholarship endow m ent, and
The O regon Club o f Eugene also will m ake a
yearly contribution, according to Tim R ob
erts, the athletic d ep artm en t's regional d irec
tor for developm ent in Portland. It lakes
about $150,000 to fully endow an in state
athletic scholarship, and about $15,(XX) has
been raised so far for the Cody W aters sch o l
arship.
“ It gets back to the No. I objective of
educating and graduating our young people,"
says UO A thletic D irector Bill Moos. “ Many
times, because o f the dem ands on student-
athletes today, they d o n 't graduate on time
Some go with the pros before graduating W e
w ant our athletes to com e back and finish
their degrees.”
M oos says it’s fitting for Mel Renfro to be
the first recipient o f the scholarship.
"W hen you look at the great student-ath-
Ictes w e’ve had here at O regon, M e l's nam e
rises up am ong the best," says M oos. “ M el’s
pro career ended before the huge salaries. If
he were playing today, h e'd be a wealthy
man But he played for the love o f the gam e
and thrill o f com petition, not for the m oney ."