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T he P ortland O bserver • A pril 30, 1997
Quick Study Soars
At Spelling Bee
Summit
Plea:
Youth
Mentors
After al the buzz settled down
after the Housing Authority’s Fourth
Annual Spelling Bee, second-grader
Charly Mederos emerged as the day’s
two-fold champion.
When Charly, 7, won second
place in his grade category last Sat
urday, nobody could have guessed
that less than four months ago, he did
not even know how to read English.
"1 can’t believe I won!” Charly
said, jumping up and down after being
announced the second place winner
of the first- and second-graders’
category.
It was just four months ago that
C harly, who cu rren tly attends
Pacoima Elementary School, enrolled
in the Housing Authority’s Reach
Me-Teach Me Reading Program at
the San Fernando Gardens housing
development where he lives with his
parents and younger brother.
He started out reading simple
words, then moved on to preschool
level books, and was quickly able to
read short stories with minimal help.
“Reach Me-Teach Me is a direct
Retired Gen. Colin Powell, first
lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and
Former President G eorge Bush
closed a three-day “sum m it” on
Mars,courtesy U.S. Geological Survey
volunteerism Tuesday, urging all
Americans to adopt the goals of
the event.
“Now the real work begins,” Mrs.
Clinton told several hundred sum
mit delegates and dignitaries from
across the country at closing cer
emonies in front o f Philadelphia’s
Independence Hall.
Said Powell, “The message I want
to give to all o f America is that
every town, every city and every
village should be thinking as we
have over the last three days:
‘What can we do to make this
real? What can we do to bring this
travel to Mars.
message home to every com er o f
Interest in a manned flight to Mars
Life on Mars? examines the
America?” ’
has been rekindled lately and cable
theory
that life once existed on Mars
The summit drew some 3,000 par-
television’s TLC Elementary School’s
and
also
looks at the public’s fasci
ticipants, including state and local
“The Path to Mars” can help you learn
nation
with
the red planet through
delegates, civic and corporate lead
more about our nearest planetary neigh
Hollywood
films and the press.
ers, and celebrities, to encourage
bor.
More
Martian
revelations can be
‘volunteerism in support o f disad
Segments explore the possibilities
found
on
Sci-Fi
Channel s Inside
vantaged youth.
of sending astronauts to Mars as well
Space.
President C linton, Bush, and
as the chances for manned space flights
On May 5, the series looks at the
former presidents Gerald Ford and
to other planets.
Martian
meteorite found in the Ant
Jimmy Carter also took part, lead
Other segments explore the LoWell
arctic
that
is widely believed to con
ing ceremonial events and joining
Observatory, a space shuttle and plans
tain fossil evidence of microscopic
in a neighborhood clean-up Sun
for a new space station.
life on Mars.
day.
Meanwhile, Assignment Discovery
The program also looks back at
The specific goals o f the summit
presents an entire week o f program
the
1975 Viking mission to Mars,
were to help 2 million o f an esti
ming around the them e Earth to
explains how meteorites are formed
mated 15 m illion disadvantaged
Mars” including D estination M ars,
and explores how meteorites can be
• youth by providing health care,
a docum entary that gives students
distinguished from Earth rocks.
mentoring, education, a safe place
a sense o f what it w ould be like to
for after-school activities and an
opportunity to serve their commu-
i violence Is an epidemic • Turn in a gun for a $50 merchandise certificate
Path to
Mars
On Tuesday, the 150 local del-
' egations wrapped up their work by
> meeting in state-by-state groups
to present plans for fostering
' volunteerism in their communities.
> Most delegations planned to
' hold local versions o f the summit.
i
“We hope to hold one for all
Indian tribes that w eren’t able to
' come here,” said G. Wayne Tapio
o f the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine
Ridge, South Dakota, one o f two
Indian tribes represented at the
summit.
Tapio and fellow tribe member
; C.J. Clifford, o f M andeson, South
Dakota, said they wished more time
had been alloted for the summit, to
establish contacts and partake in
! o f all the activities.
But they said they had received
i pledges for assistance — from the
: National Football League to present
; a football camp for reservation
youth, and from television news
» anchor Tom B rokaw to help,
! through a South Dakota radio sta-
’ tion Brokaw owns, with a local sum-
; have,” he said.
• Delegate Bryan Hartman, also of
• Plattsburgh, said strong local lead
ership was essential.
“Colin Powell has been such an
inspiration for this summit and for
Hong Kong History Rewritten
Hong Kong must revise its
history books to bring them in
line with the views of the Chinese
government, a state-run news
paper said Tuesday.
The commentary in the China
Daily gave examples of what
China wants changed when it
resumes sovereignty over Hong
Kong on July 1
OREGON
European powers.
1, maintains Britain was forc
ing sales of opium at a high cost
to China in social disruption.
The article also said Hong
Kong textbooks are wrong to say
China invaded Korea in the 1950-
53 Korean War. China calls it the
“War to Resist U.S. Aggression
and Aid Korea.”
The paper said Hong Kong
textbooks teach that B ritish
gunboats waged the Opium
War o f 1839-1842 to force open
C h in a’s m arkets and end the
imperial government s restric
tions on the opium trade.
China views the war as the
beginning of its slide into semi
colonial status at the hands of
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mit.
I
A challenge to the returning del-
; egations will be to relay from the
1 summit a sense o f urgency to ad-
dress problems o f disadvantaged
I youth, said delegate Peter Zielinski
J ofPlattsburgh, New York.
•
“We have to get people to be-
; lieve that there is a significant prob-
’ lem ... people don’t want to hear
’ about problems, but that’s what we
AmeriCorp member. “I remember
when he first sat with me to read and
he couldn’t read a word. Now he can
read and he feels good about him
self.”
The Reach Me-Teach Me program
was created by Mario Matute, a
youth case manager at San Fernando
Gardens who saw the need for
children’s literacy in the neighbor
hood.
“By observing the kids in our tu
torial and computer programs and by
speaking to local teachers, 1 found
that many of these kids didn't know
how to read," said Matute. "Then the
kids feel embarrassed in school be
cause they can’t read and get teased.
It’s no wonder there are so many kids
who don’t like to go to school and
eventually drop out. We want to
prevent kids from dropping out of
school by helping them to read.”
Anyone interested in volunteer
ing for the Reach Me-Teach Me pro
gram is urged to call Mario Matute at
the San Fernando Gardens Commu
nity Service Center, 818/834-9266.
response to the epidemic of illiteracy
that has plagued the nation’s youth.
Through Charly’s example, I know
this program will increase our
children’s arsenal so they’ll be able
to go out and make a positive impact
on the world,” said Executive Direc
tor Don Smith, H ACL A.
The spelling bee was open to all
elementary school youth from all the
housing developments. Preliminary
rounds were held last weekend at the
San Fernando Gardens, Ramona Gar
dens, Nickerson Gardens, Mar Vista
Gardens, and Rancho San Pedro
housing communities.
Three participants in each of three
categories (grades 1 -2,3-4, and 5-6)
were sent from each participating
community to compete in the main
event.
Charly placed first in his grade
category, out of over 50 participants,
at the San Fernando Gardens prelimi
naries.
“1 am very proud of Charly for his
great progress,” said his Reach Me-
Teach Me tutor Sheila Johnson, an
helping
d o lla rs are
i
i briglitM their
tutures.
Southeast Portland
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However, in each community,
■2
we need to find our own Colin , £
POLICE SUPERVISED
• Powell who can rally the troops
NO
QUESTIONS ASKED
> back home.”
C am b o d ian re fu g e e H oang
Exchange a gun for a $50 gift certificate.
Taing, introduced at the closing
: ceremonies by Powell, is planning
FOR MORE INFORMATION
to show her dedication in an un
usual way, by running some 3,000
miles from Philadelphia to San Fran
cisco to encourage Americans to
aiwgiUM asipunpaui <)«,$ « JQJ un3 e ui u in i. .nu»ptd,t ire si a.w |ou
• join in the sum m it’s goals.
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