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October 29. 1997
omniittcd to cultural diversity.
Bonofide
stardom for
LL Cool J
Governor urges
support for HEAT
a
Gov. John Kitzhaber puts
focus on emergency energy
assistance.
Award winning rapper and
TV star emerges as cross-
cultural phenomenon.
See Entertainment, Page H3.
T*
> * r
a
*
>«9» a*U>.
J k
See Housing, Page A3. J
Make yourself
known at KBOO's
Boo Ball
The costumes will put you
in a festive mood and the
music will get you dancin'.
See Metro section, inside.
(Lite ^ o rtía n h (feu
SiKjAfe
y
r
*' 5'
People
vote on
dying
Chinese President Jiang Zemin toured
h isto ric
b u ild in g s
in
c o lo n ia l
W illiamsburg Tuesday on the eve of his
summit with President Clinton. Jiang
watched colonial dancers and shook hands
with the performers. About a dozen pro
testors, kept 250 yards away, held signs
reading “Free Tibet” and “Human Rights
Now.”
Question is
repeal of law
allowing
Physician
assisted
suicide
Stock market rebound
Wall Street rallied Tuesday as The Dow
Jones industrial average soared 337.17
points, its biggest one-day gain ever, and
closed at 7,498.32. Shrugging off a historic
plunge, investors jumped at cheaperprices.
A slump in Asian and European financial
markets had led to three days of heavy U.S.
losses, including M onday’s record 554-
point Dow drop
Spooked by the plunge on the New
York Stock Exchange, overseas markets
fell even more Tuesday with Hong Kong’s
posting its largest selloff since 1989.
The London exchange skidded before re
covering most of its loss on the heels of
a big rally by U.S. stocks.
Clinton orders guidelines
President Clinton sought anew to
build support for national testing stan
dards, urging more school districts to
promote children on the basis of academ
ics rather than for social reasons. In a
speech at O scar M ayer E lem entary
School, the president said Chicago has
been able to turn failing schools around
in part because of its decision to stop
advancing children from grade to grade
based on their social development.
Albright confident
Though concerned about delay. Secre
tary of State M adeleine Albright ex
pressed confidence Tuesday that Israeli
Prime M inister Benjam in Netanyahu
wants to reach a new agreement with
Yasser A rafat’s Palestinian Authority.
Albright told reporters she had talked to
Netanyahu on the telephone and was con
vinced "the prime minister wants results.”
Jury gets murder case
Jurors have begun deliberating the case
of a British au paircharged with killing an
American infant. Defense attorney Barry
Scheck, part of O.J. Sim pson’s Dream
Team, says prosecutors “did not even
come close” to proving that nanny Louise
Woodward killed 8-month-old Matthew
Eappen by shaking the boy or slamming
his head Prosecutor Gerard Leone Jr.
said 1 9 -y ear-o ld W o o d w ard k illed
Eappen in frustration over the child’s
fussing and the demands of her job.
School drug use cited
A survey of schools by a private drug-
control program found increases in drug
use among junior high students, while use
in senior high held steady. The IOth an
nual survey by Atlanta-based PRIDE -
Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Edu
cation - found a 5 percent increase in the
junior high students who reported that
they used illegal drugs monthly.
Artists on Diana album
Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson and
Bruce Springsteen are among 35 major
artists who have agreed to contribute
songs toacharity double album in memory
of Princess Diana, her lawyers said to
day. The album - “Diana, Princess of
W ales-Tribute”- goes on sale Dec. I and
also includes songs by U2, Eric Clapton.
Rod Stewart and Mariah Carey. Elton
John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997” will
not appear on the album
3S K M H U M
t* ■
■■■■■■■■
Chinese leader visits
World markets shaky
25(2
B y N eil H eilpern
Area youth practice theatrics at a Smart Start program at the Portland Police Activities League Center in northeast Portland.
Art auction takes aim at violence
little peace o f mind—and a great
youth (The cultural crtNcr, located a, 18,9
deal o f art—will be auctioned
NW Everett, was formerly known as the
Nov. 8 in an event that hopes to
Northwest Service Center.)
ultimately make Oregon a safer place grow
The event will benefit Smart Start. Inc., a
up.
non-profit organization which teaches youths
The first annual Smart Start Art Auction,
how to resolve conflict and express them
from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Northwest
selves through the visual and performance
Neighborhood Cultural Center, offers col
arts.
lectors and the public a chance to bid on an
The fundraisei is co-chaired by Portland
eclectic range o f art and help fund a new
Mayor Vera Katz, Portland C hief of Police
program aimed at lowering violence among
Charles A. Moose, Portland art collector
A
Gordon Gilkev and Oregon artist James
Lavadour. Jackie Gamble, director of the
Touchstone School in Lake Oswego, is also
co-chairing the event.
Founded by Rebecca Singer, an actress,
artist and youth counselor with more than
15 years experience in teaching at-risk
youth how to creatively overcom e vio
lence, Sm art Start w orks to build self
esteem , sucess and self-expression am ong
youth.
Portland’s
many
cultures
Local jews dance
with their Torah
B y N eil H eilpern
ambourines jangled, and drums
vibrated as dozens o f people
danced around the room with their
beloved Torah.
These were the people of P ’Nai, Hebrew
for “Faces of Light”, one of several Jewish
congregations in the Portland metropoli
tan area celebrating last w eek’s holiday of
Simchat Torah. “Joy of Torah".
Held at the Smile station in Sellwood,
the event capped a month long cluster of
major Jewish holidays, including Rosh
Hashanah, The Jewish New Year, in late
September, Yorn Kippur, Day of Atone
ment, Oct 10, and Sukkot, "The Feast of
Ingathering” or “Tabernacles”.
As with most Jewish holidays, this was a
family affair, and the children started the
evening with an arts and crafts project to
make their own paper Torahs.
Shulamit Levine asked the youngsters
what Simchat Torah was all about and young
Jonathan Irwin answered, “To rejoice about
the holy scrolls.”
When Levine asked, "What is a Torah?”
Lceba Laviolette blurted out, “a paper that
keeps on going.”
Aki Fleshier, another adult leader of the
event, noted that the scrolls — which in
clude the first five books of the Bible —
told the children it was not paper, but either
parchment or animal skin
Most youngsters knew a portion of the
Torah is read each week, until the entire
T
C ontini ED t <) page A2
Kids are astonished by the handwritten Torah, a scroll o f the first
books o f the Old Testament.
(Photos by Neil Heilpern)
Karen Irwin leads grandson Jonathan as he dances with the Torah.
f a terminally ill person is racked with
uncontrollable pain and suffering, with
no apparent hope of recovery, will
society allow that person to ask a doctor to
provide a prescription lot a lethal doze of
drugs to end his or her life?
That is the question once again before
voters this Tuesday
Measure 5 1 would repeal the Oregon
Death With Dignity Act
The act was titled Measure 16 in 1994 and
passed by voters.
A “Yes" vote on Tuesday means the voter
is against physician assisted suicide and
wants the current law wiped off the books
A “No" vote means the voter wants people
to have the freedom to choose when, where
and how to end their lives when faced with a
terminal condition, thus keeping the 1994
law on the books.
While the courts affirmed Measure lb ’s
constitutionality, earlier this year, state leg
islators decided to send the measure back to
the voters.
Current law provides specific conditions
under which patients can request lethal drugs
and protects participating physicians from
legal repercussions. Physicians are not per
mitted to inject the drugs or take an active
part in the final act.
The law requires a 15-day patient wailing
period, two oral and one written request, a
second physician’s opinion and counseling
for patients with impaired judgement due to
depression.
Patients may choose whether to notify
next of kin. Health care providers have the
right to refuse participation.
Measure 51 supporters argue mandatory
counseling and notification of fam ilies
should be required and complain that physi
cians aren’t allowed to indicate on death
certificates a death was an assisted suicide.
Opponents of the current law also com
plain about lack ol stale residency require
ments, expressing concern of a flood of
people coming from other states to die.
"W hen O regon’s legislature sent the
Death with Dignity law back to the ballot,
they told us that we just didn't know what we
were doing when we passed Measure 16,"
said that m easure’s chief petitioners Bar
bara Coombs Lee, Elven Sinnard and Dr.
Peter Goodwin in a current voters' pamphlet
statement.
"When life has deteriorated to the point
of a miserable, agonizing existence, we
would like the choice to hasten the inevi
table end, and to do so with the advice and
help of a willing physician,” said terminally
ill patients BarbaraOskamp. Penny Schlueter
and loin Shuck
”1 believe an individual should have con
trol, should be able to make choices about
the enil of their life,” said G ov. John
Kitzhaber.
Supporters of the repealing measure 51
argue lethal drugs may not be effective and
may increase discomfort in dying.
Ballots have been sent to voters and must
be received by county election officials no
later than 8 p.m., Tuesday Postmarks do not
count.
I