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Volume X X V II, Number 13
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Committed to cultural diversity
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1907
A tip from Tiger
Comic Jamie
Anderson to
perform in Oregon
returns with poetry
Tiger Woods conducted the
first in a national series o f
youth clinics launched bv
the Tiger Woods
Foundation.
She pulled words from
Shakespeare. Dickinson,
Terence, and Dunbar out o f
her magical grab bag.
See Arts & Entertainment, page AS.
See Metro, page BI.
<Mf* ^« rifa rò tf“ -
See Sports, page B3.
'
250
F ra n e t
■■■■Mam
Statewide school computer refurbishing
Simpson seeks new trial
O.J. Simpson’s lawyers have filed a
! motion seeking a new wrongful death
I c iv il trial. Tuesday was the deadline for
Simpson’s lawyers to file an appeal or any
I other motions relating to the c iv il trial
that ended last month with a ju ry award-
| ing the plaintiffs $33.5 m illion in dam­
ages. The ju ry found Simpson responsible
| for the murders o f his former wife and her
friend. The documents filed with ihe Los
I Angeles Superior Court also asked Judge
Hiroshi Fujisaki to reduce the damages
| awarded in the case.
Break for bomb trial
victims
Thejudge in the Oklahoma C ity bomb
ing case has agreed to allow victims o f the
bombing to attend the trial even i f they
plan to testify in the death penalty phase o f
the case Tuesday’s ruling marks a com­
p le x reversal for U.S. D istrictC ourt Judge
Richard Matsch, who earlier had barred
the attendance o f anyone who might tes­
tify in any phase o f the case.
Oregon public school students like those above benefit from the upgraded
computers, and related equipment donated by Intel throught the STRUT program
created by State Schools Superintendent Norma Paulus (right).
ta te Schools Superintendent,
Norma Paulus announced on
March 2 0 a statew ide program
to refurbish computers and other tech­
nology for schools, as a part of Oregon’s
com mitment to NetYear 97.
Named STRUT, for Students Recycling
Used Technology, the program includes 29
Oregon school districts where students w ill
evaluate, repair and refurbish donated com­
puter systems. These “ recycled" systems w ill
be donated to school districts for student use.
“ This is an exciting opportunity for stu­
dents to learn computer repair, business
S
Clinton: crack down on
doctors
President Clinton says the best way to
prevent fraud in the Medicare and M edic­
aid programs is to keep crooked doctors
from getting into the system in the first
place. Clinton Tuesday proposed stiffer
screening o f health care providers who
receive government payments. Clinton is
asking Congress to pass a b ill that would
help bar unscrupulous doctors and medi
cal firms from the government health care
programs for the elderly and poor.
management and team building skills, while
b rin g in g thousands o f com puters into
Oregon’s classrooms," said Paulus. “ Busi­
ness, schools and communities are w orking
together to bring the tools o f technology to
students.”
Paulus wasjoinedat Jefferson High School
in Portland, one of three Portland schools
participating in SI RUT. by representatives
o f the project's founding partners. John
Young, superintendent, Northwest Regional
Education Service D istrict and Wendy
Gore meets Chinese
officials
Vice President A1 Gore met senior C h i­
nese officials Tuesday to begin the highest
level U.S diplom atic talks in Beijing in
eight years. Members o f the U.S. delega­
tion say little was achieved to bridge the
gap between the two countries on human
rights, but talks on the issue were less
acrimonious than in the past.
Army sex scandal charges
The sexual misconduct scandal at the
U.S. A rm y ’s Aberdeen Proving Ground
in Maryland is worsening. The A rm y says
it has charged two more d rill sergeants at
the base, bringing to 10 the number o f
soldiers charged in the scandal. O fficials
say S taff Sgt. Wayne Gamble, 36, is
charged w ith adultery, sodomy, assault,
desertion and other violations. O fficials
say he abused 14 female soldiers.
Electric chair misfires
Florida Governor Lawton Chiles says
he does not plan to suspend executions o f
prisoners despite the m alfunctioning o f
the electric chair at a state prison in the
town o f Starke. Witnesses say a bolt o f
flame and smoke shot from the head o f
convicted murderer Pedro Medina during
his execution Tuesday.
EDITORIAL........... ....... A2
FAMILY.................. ....... A3
HEALTH................ ...... A4
ARTS & ENT......... ...... A6
METRO.................. ....... B I
EDUCATION......... ...... B2
SPORTS................ ...... B3
RELIGION.............. ...... B4
CLASSIFIEDS...... ...... B5
Hawkins. K-12 Manager. Intel Corporation
The STRUT program began three years
ago when Intel Corporation was looking for
a way to locally recycle its outdated and
surplus computers. Hawkins contacted the
Northwest Regional T.tíucatio:’ Service Dis­
trict to explore a partnership with local
schools. Forest Grove High School became
the first school to establish a curriculum and
to receive free computers for refurbish ing. In
the past three years, four high schools in
Washington County have refurbished more
than $4 m illion dollars worth o f computers,
peripherals and equipment donated by Intel.
The corporation also provided $140,000 in
cash contributions to support start-up costs
and statewide training. More than 1,200
computers have been distributed to schools
throughout Washington County.
Tigard High School created the most so­
phisticated program, converting an 8.000
square foot wood and metal shop area into
TigerNet, a student-run computer refurbish­
ing "corporation ’’ Forty computers are re­
cycled through TigerNet each week and the
statewide model is based on this one devel-
oped by students, teachers and the alterna­
tive school program in Tigard. According to
John Young. NW Regional ESDsuperinten­
dent. “ The first student "C E O ” o f TigerNEt
has graduated from high school and now
serves as a technical contractor/consultant
to Intel."
Business, government and individuals
are being asked to donate PCs, m onitors,
keyboards, hard drives, printers, netw ork­
ing devices, modems and even copiers to
participating schools in their counties. As
many parts as possible from each dona­
tion are recycled and used to build re fu r­
bished equipment. In many o f the pro­
grams. students who complete two years
of training w ill receive technician c e rtifi­
cates and/or advanced placement credits
toward com puter technology programs at
com m unity colleges
Intel is proud to be a founding partner o f
this project and delighted to share its success
with schools throughout Oregon," explains
Wendy Hawkins. "It is a perfect use o f
corporate resources and we encourage other
businesses to get involved."
In addition to the founding partners. East­
ern Oregon Fast Freight, Piper Jaffray and
Portland General Electric are supporting
STRUT with significant financial and in-
kind donations.
A ccording to STR U T projections, a
m inim um o f 10.000 computers w ill be
refurbished in the com ing school years.
C alculating based on current m arket value
o f refurbished computers, STR U T w ill
donate $5.25 m illio n in computer equip­
ment to Oregon's schools by June 1998.
S I RU I plans a statewide technology c o l­
lection on A p ril 25-26.
The educational ranch herd is restless
in I ’ m ii i ssi in M< K i x m B i k i
he following potpourri of educa­
tional news and comments does
not attem p t to prioritize or es­
tablish any gradient of concern.
days, any or all information in this area
could be valuable.
The most overriding concern o f all in­
volved is in the area o f school finance and
funding, this obtains (?) with school adm in­
istrators, teachers, parents and those who
would benefit most directly from an im ­
proved economic climate - the students
themselves. And, not to be left out o f this key
equation, is the public at large which, tradi­
tionally, has borne the education burden
through property taxes.
It was passage o f Measure 47 last Novem ­
ber that threw a monkey wrench into the best
laid plans o f all the mice and men who
T
heretofore had thought a solution to be within
easy reach o f any group o f dedicated and
sufficiently informed citizens That tax-cut­
ting initiative, the brain child o f tax activist
These
B ill Sizemore, promised to derail all o f
( fregon s plans to reverse a decade o f inad­
equate public schools support
At this date, the week o f March 24th, we
find the Oregon State Legislature busily
(and frantically) at work on a revision o f
Measure 47 that can be placed before the
voters in May. Even with B ill Sizemore
helping (?), it is a toss up whether or not this
corrective legislation can restore the educa­
tion process just to where it was before last
November, e g., shaky.
These “ corrective measures" w ill have
quite different impacts, to whom you talk is
the key. With the temporary ballot designa­
tion, “ House Joint Resolution 85," we have
from some quarters an estimate that this
resolution w ill see Portland property owners
receiv ing about half the tax cut promised by
Measure 47 (according to the Multnomah
lax Supervision and Conservation Com­
mission). But, clearly , this estimate startled
B ill Sizemore, who may or may not continue
to cooperate with the legislature
A ll things considered, it now seems very
doubtful i f the grandiose plans for school
systems operating at the 20th century level
can be achieved - even by the year 2010.
I here is little remaining talk and hyperbole
about implementation o f the "Year 2000
Standards’ for elementary and secondary
schools. But, there is considerable alarm
voiced that the earlier prospect o f an ever-
expanding technology in Oregon could fall
flat on its face if the state is unable to provide
a well educated workforce
Readers have long known that over a span
o f decades. I have expressed a special appre­
ciation for the roleofthestate’s(and nation’s)
community colleges. So. it is with great
delight I see that this past Friday, the state
legislature did not cut as many o f the system’s
positions as previously announced Though
this two-year system cannot, o f course, be­
gin to replace the university as a provider o f
highly trained scientific personnel, commu­
nity colleges can and do furnish a great deal
o f the supporting technical workforce. Also,
in a great many cases, they have been a
stepping stone to a four year degree. But the
reprieve may be temporary
The ethnic cards are very much in the
game as the educational vise tightens. Na­
tionwide. both the black and white media
♦
Continued to page A5
Youthgangs program gets $200,000 grant
P e r lm a n
funded," Ron Laster, a coalition board mem­
he Northeast Coalition of Neigh­
ber, said. “ This is the first time w e’ve re­
bors' Youth Gang Outreach Pro­
ceived private funding for an entire pro­
gram, denied a contract w ith
gram.” The coalition receives most o f its
Multnomah County last year, has funding
re­
from contracts from government
ceived a $ 1 9 8 ,0 0 0 grant from M eyer
agencies, including $250,000 from the Port­
Memorial Trust.
land O ffice o f Neighborhood Associations
Ben Priestley, executive director o f the
for support for citizen involvement and vol­
coalition, announced the grant award at his
unteer activity
board's March meeting, and Victor Merced,
The Youth Gang Program was created by
program officer o f Meyer Trust, confirmed
the coalition in 1988 It provides outreach
it. The funds, together with cash reserves
workers who provide counseling to African-
and an existing United Way grant, w ill
American, Asian Hispanic and white youth
enable the program to continue at least until
gangs, gang members and at-risk youth
next spring
They work with the Portland Police Bureau
“ This is a turning point in how we are
and Portland Public Schools todefuse poten­
bv
L
ee
T
tial gang violence I hey also provide public
education about youth gangs, and how to
combat their influence, to civic and commu­
nity groups.
Until last year the program was funded
primarily by a $280,000 appropriation from
Multnomah County Las, fall the county
awarded the contract to a consortium o f
agenc ies headed by the House o f I Jmoja in an
attempt to take a more "broad-based ” appoach
to youth gang issues
I he coalition board decided there was on
ongoing need for their existing program and
decided to try to find other funding sources
for it
Coalition board member Charles Ford
said that an on-site visit by Merced and
Warren Nunn o f Meyer I rust “ was the sell­
ing point I hey left very impressed. They
were bold enough to say that they had been
told by some people that we shouldn't be
funded, but after coming and seeing for
themselves they disagreed ’’
Merced says tha, the trust was influenced
by the program’s “ track record," and the
feeling that there's still a need for this kind
o factivity We look forward to working with
them and seeing positive results.”
Youth Gang Program director Halim
Rahsaan says he is "ecstactic" a, receiving
the grant and hopes to pursue other such
funding