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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1998)
Page A2 Protecting Our Children From Lead Poisoning (Ohseminy, by Vancouver Seeks Volunteer Firefighters In keeping with a tradition o f volunteerism in the fire service, the Vancouver Fire Department (VFD) is conducting a recruitment to till 15 volunteer firefighter positions. Dead line for applications is June 30. “Volunteer firefighters area valu able asset to the Vancouver Fire Department and to the entire com munity,” says division C hief Ron Oliver. “Our goal is to deliver trained back-up support to the line lirefighters during emergencies. These men and women are an important community asset and we are prepared to make an investment in their training.” There will be a competitive pro cess for filling the 15 openings. Cer tain requirements must be met in cluding: residing within the area served by the Vancouver Fire De partment, minimum ageof20, ability to pass both written and physical ability tests, and attendance at a train ing school. In addition, all new vol unteer firefighters are required to attend training on a regular Monday evening schedule throughout the year. A lo n g w ith b a c k in g -u p line firefighters during emergency re sponse situations, the volunteers also support the department by delivering public education programs, such as teaching CPR and first aid classes. Primary functions o f the position include extinguishing fires, salvage and overhaul, ventilation and rescue, and assistance in performing em er gency medical treatment. Testing will take place in mid- July. For an application packet, con tact the VFD at 892-4323. The VFD is the fourth largest fire department in Washington. It serves an area of about 100 square miles and 186,000people. Firefighters responded toover 13,000emergency medical cal Is and 3500 fire calls las, year. Clark County Takes Action Against Bad Checks The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office has reinstated its NSF Check Diversion Program to help businesses recover losses on bad checks valued at less than $250. This special ser vice is available free to all businesses located in the county, unincorporated areas and cities alike. As in the past, checks involving felony conduct, which includes forg eries and drafts o f more than $250, are referred for investigation to the appropriate law enforcement agency. “Our goal is to ensure restitution to local businesses and promote re sponsible check w riting,” says Clark County Prosecutor Art Curtis. “We also help businesses protect them selves from accepting questionable checks in the first place.” Education is a big component o f the program. Classes are held for bad- check writers to promote responsible behavior. The unit also teaches busi nesses how to protect themselves from bad checks by taking precautions, such as asking for a driver’s license or other picture identification. “There has been a lot o f interest in the business community about rein stating this program," says coordina tor Debbie Garvin. "It was originally eliminated in 1995 due to budget cuts.” This time around, the program is a joint effort between the County and the City o f Vancouver. Garvin is based ou, o f the Adult Diversion area o f the Clark County Prosecuting A ttorney’s Office, which supports the program by providing 25 hours o f her time a week, office space, and computer equipment. Other partners provide funding and staffing help, including the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Vancouver Police Depart ment, City Attorney, and Clark Col lege. Career Exploration and Job Fair Clark County Com m unity Ser vices, in collaboration with public and private sector partners, intro duces a sum m er career exploration and jo b fair. This event is designed to bring together employers and pro spective employees. Date: June 17, 1998 J L N E lü , 1998 (The JJortLauò ^W arm er Venue: The Water Resources Edu cation Center 4600 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM T his is a com m unity service event, adm ission is free to the pub lic and there is free parking. Inter P O L IC E ested em ployers can still p a rtic i p a te . P le a s e c o n ta c t D a v e R ic h a rd so n , at the S o u th w e st W a s h in g to n P riv a te In d u s try C ouncil, by Friday, June 12, 1998, to reserve a table and display area. There is no cos, to participating em ployers. L ore W intergreen NEW S F u The Beaverton Police Department, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, I is asking for your help in identifying and apprehending a subject respon sible for passing thousands o f dollars in bad checks. Using the name Elliott Simpson, with a date o f birth o f June 9, 1969, the subject obtained fraudulent iden tification in both Oregon and Wash ington. The identification was then used to open a checking account. During a five-day period in early March, the suspect was responsible soning is one o f the m ost com m on childhood diseases, and children o f co lor are m ore often its victim s. Portland is no different. Lead poisoning can effect any one, as it is an environm ental is sue. It is an environm ental ju stice issue because A frican A m erican and L atino(a) children in O regon are three tim es m ore likely than th eir w hite counterparts to be poi soned by lead. As a practical m atter, preven tion is the only realistic "cu re” for lead poisoning. A vailable m edi cal treatm ents are expensive and painful, do no, com pletely rem ove all lead from the body, and are pow erless to undo brain dam age. B lood lead testing and follow up are essential. You have to be assertive in dem anding that your children get this test. C hildren in N orth/N ortheast Portland should be getting the test at 1 year and 2 years old. Ify o u children are older than 2, but less than 6 years old and have no, been tested, have them tested as soon as possible. If you d o n ’t have insurance o r are not on the O regon H ealth Plan, c o n ta c t L o re w ith th e U rb an L eague o f Portland a, 280-2662 or Josiah Hill with Physicians For Social R esponsibility a, 274-2720 for free testing. If someone in your family tests between 10-19 micrograms per deci liter, call Lore for information. Mult nomah County Health Department will automatically follow up with those people testing 20 and above. T here are som e free program s and resources available in our com Lead is a m etal that can b e com e a pow erful poison that stays in your body a long tim e. U nfor tunately, a little goes a long way. The prim ary cause o f lead p o i soning now is lead based paint in hom es built before 1950. T hough hom es painted until 1978 have significant lead in the paint that can cause poisoning, household paint that is d eteriorating and cre- a tin g d u st an d c h ip s can be breathed in o r eaten. Y oung c h il dren are esp ecially at risk (think o f the num ber o f tim es your to d d ler p u ts th e ir hands in th e ir m outh). Y et, unless lead paint is rem oved w ith safety precautions, renovations on o ld er hom es can create an even higher d an g er o f poisoning. A child w ith lead poisoning as low as 10 m icrogram s per d e c il iter may not show any visible sym ptom s. N oticeable sym ptom s m ight look like flu or headaches. Even at this low level, lead causes serious and long term health pro b lem s such as: brain and nervous system dam age, hearin g p ro b lem s, heart disease and kidney dam age. A, higher levels o f lead in blood, you can suffer such se vere things as blindness, seizures, com a and death. W e know that children with neuro behavioral problem s such as A ttention D eficit, inability to concentrate, an d /o r hyperactivity are m ore likely to have d ifficulty learning in school and to e x p e ri ence social problem s. In fact, as adults, those w ith a crim inal h is tory are m ore likely to have had a history o f lead poisoning. T hus, the im pacts o f lead poisoning can be life altering. M ost people d o n ’t even know about the effects and sources o f lead poisoning, how can w e be expected to protect ourselves from som ething we d o n ’t even know is dangerous. Y et, lead poisoning is preventable. In the U nited States, lead poi Play our new Scratch-it • Vacation of a Lifetime You could win an 5 $8,000 travel certificate ? to anywhere you choose plus $12,000 cash! Overall odds: 1 In 3.76 Metro Recycling Information 234-3000 d Real people. Fast, helpful answers. Six days a week. for passing approximately $ 14,000 in fraudulent checks. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 30 years o f age, 5 ’ 10" tall, w eighing 200 pounds with short black hair and J brown eyes. Crime Stoppers if offering a cash reward o f up to $ 1,000 for informa tion, reported to Crime Stoppers, which leads to an arrest in this case or any unsolved felony crime, and you can remain anonymous. Call Crime Stoppers a, (503) 823-HELP. Tip of the week: Don't call it "trash" before you call us. Remodeling? j M etro has a database of business that recycle and salvage w ood, roofing material, plumbing, paint and more. Call 234-3000 i for inform ation.V isit M etro’s web site at: w w w .m etro-region.org In ju r y The Portland Police Bureau Traf fic Division, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, is asking for your help in determining the circumstances sur rounding a serious injury accident that took place on Tuesday, May 27.1998. On that date at 4:30 in the after noon at NE 6th and Broadway, Port land Police officers attempted to stop a red Chevrolet Camaro with a loud stereo. Instead o f stopping, the car sped off with officers in pursuit. As the car sped southbound on NE Mar tin Luther King Jr Boulevard, offic ers discontinued the pursuit because o f heavy traffic and erratic driving by the operator o f the Camaro. The Camaro conti nued sou th bound on MLK at a high rate o f speed, and turned eastbound onto NE Davis Street. Arriving at NE 12 th and Davis, the officers found that the Camaro had struck another ear, seriously in juring the driver o f that vehicle, and then punched a hole in the wall of Portland Bottling company, where the Camaro burst into flames. The driver fled from the vehicle, but was caught and held by an employee o f Portland Bottling. The driver, identified as 27-year- old Travis Scott Calhoun, v/as ar rested on charges relating to the acci dent and outstanding warrants. If you have information, call C rime Stoppers at (503) 823-HELP. Themes define youth day camp The Vancouver Clark Parks and Recreation will offer a Youth Day Camp a, Marshall Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd. The camp runs June 29-August 28 from 7 am to 6 pm. This program offers working parents an alternative to daycare and a positive recreational experience for children 6-12 years old. The Youth Day Camp consists o f nine weeks o f activities, with each w eek’s activities centering on a theme. This year’s them es are: June 29-July 2 Stars and Stripes August 3-7 Masterpiece Art Works July 6-10 Down Under August 10-14 Wild, Wild We, July 13-17 W orldly Wonders August 17-21 Spaced Out July 20-24 Play that Funky Music August 24-28 Mini Masters July 27-31 Enchanted Adventures There are four different fee options: Fee Option A: 7 am-6 pm $120.50 (in/city $96.25) Fee Option B: 8 am-5 pm 8:30 am-5:3O pm $98.50 (in/city $78.75) Fee Option C: 8:30 am -4:30 pm 8 am-4 pm $87.50 (in/ci,y $70) Fee Option D: 9 am-4 pm $76.75 (in/city $61.25) Registration fees are per week. Registration is limited to the first 65 children on a firs, come first serve basis. Register a, Bagley Com m unity Center, 4100 Plomondon. Call 360-696-8065 for more information. m unity now so it is a good tim e to find out if you need help (please see the related 'R e so u rc e s’ box). It’s im portant for us to try to protect our children from ever getting lead poisoning. P revent ing lead poisoning requires ag gressive efforts to stop lead ex posure before people are p o i soned. W hile aggressive lead poisoning prevention program s have begun in other states, there currently is neither a com prehen sive plan nor adequate funding to elim inate lead poisoning in O r egon. We know that to effectively ad dress lead poisoning we must come together to identify issues, needs, available resources and gaps. Pro tecting children from lead poisoning will require that we work together. Y our perspective and voice is needed. The powers that be are not going to do much o f anything about this unless we make them do some thing. Come to our planning meet ing on Monday, June 1 5 ,1998 from 6-8:30 pm at the urban League o f Portland, Shelton Hill Conference Room, at 10 North Russell Street. RSVP to Lore wintergreen at the Urban League o f Portland at 280- 2662. She will also provide you with updated information on lead poisoning: effects, sources, self-help and community efforts. Ifyou need child care, a ride, or translation as sistance let Lore know at least a week in advance. Please note that the building is wheel chair accessible. Everyone is encouraged to bring food or bever age to share. Call M etro Recycling Inform ation when you need inform ation about: • • • • • • recycling and reuse options garbage disposal ways to prevent waste com posting and natural gardening safer alternatives for home and garden hazardous waste disposal M etro Recycling Inform ation is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. M onday through Saturday. Call us for a free refrigerator magnet so you’ll always have our num ber handy. M e tro Regional Services Creating livable communities Metro is working to ensure that we have access to nature, clean air and water and resources for future generations. Waste prevention and safe disposal are ways you can create a more livable community. L