JU L Y 8,1998
Page A 3
^ortlanò (Observer
Just For The Joy
Of It!
Celebrate O regon’s rich cultural
heritage with six fabulous noon-time
musical perform ances! N orthwest
Inupiaq D ancers will kick o ff this
free music series on Friday, July 10
from N o o n -1:00 p.m. on the Oregon
History C enter Plaza.
A lexander M uktoyuk, m aster art
ist o f Inupiaq traditional dance, is a
skilled storyteller and dancer. An
O re g o n r e s id e n t s in c e 1967,
M uktoyuk passes on the traditional
dances he learned as a child on King
Island in the B ering Straits. All
Inupiaq dances tell stories through
the w ords o f a song and the gestures
o f the dancers.
Just for the Joy o f It! is a lively
series o f traditional music ranging
from Mexican Mariachi music to Obo
A ddy’s traditional G hanaian music
o f talking drum s, bells, and shakers.
The music series is organized by the
O regon Folklife Program o f the O r
egon Historical Society and spon
sored by US Bank.
T he O regon History C enter is lo
cated in dow ntow n Portland’s South
Park Blocks at 1200 SW Park A v
enue. The m usic series is free and the
public is invited to bring a lunch and
experience O regon’s thriving cultural
heritage. For m ore in fo rm atio n ,
please call 503/222-1741.
Community Children's
Fair in Portland
A Com m unity C hildren’s Fair will
tke place Saturday, A ugust 15, from
0 :0 0 a m to 3 :0 0 p m . G am es.m usic,
cod, free giveaw ays, and a
affle w ill b e p ro v id ed
hroughout the day for par-
nts and children to enjoy.
Inform ation will also be
vailable about childhood
levelopm ent as w ell as
le lp fu l p a r e n tin g tip s,
dany local agencies will
lave booths there w ith sta ff m em -
lers available to answ er questions.
Any fam ilies concerned about the
evel o f lead in their hom es are en-
:ouraged to have their chi Id screened
at the free testing clinic on site, so
that preventive action can be taken as
soon as possible if needed.
T he fail is sponsored
by V olunteers o f America
Com mon Bond, Adult and
Fam ily Services, A lbina
M inisterial A ssociation,
and A lbina Head Start.
Resources at the fair
will be targeted to fami-
__ lies in North and N orth
east Portland, but all are
w elcom e to stop by. Com m on Bond
is located at 4919 NE 9th ju st o ff o f
Alberta. For m ore inform ation, call
503-280-1616.
National Outstanding Program Award Goes to The
Haven Project at the Blazers Boys & Girls Club
T h e H av en P ro je c t, w h ic h
p airs v eteran ac to rs and th e a te r
p ro fe ssio n a ls w ith y o u n g c h il
d ren at the B lazers B oys & G irls
C lub in N o rth east P o rtlan d , has
re c e iv e d th e p re stig io u s O u t
sta n d in g P rogram A w ard from
B oys & G irls C lu b s o f A m erica
fo r b ein g one o f th e b est y o u th
p ro g ra m s in the n ation.
P o rtla n d a c tr e s s G re tc h e n
C o rb ett, w ho fo u n d ed T he H a
ven P ro je ct in 1996 at th e B la z
ers C lu b b ased on a sim ila r p ro
gram she w itn essed in N ew Y ork
C ity, has successfully paired o ver
300 p ro fe ssio n a l ac to rs, w riters,
d ire c to rs, and m u sicia n s w ith
C lu b m em b ers, m o st o f w hom
co m e from lo w -in co m e fam ilies,
w ith p ro fo u n d resu lts. B lazers
C lu b s ta ff and p are n ts o f C lu b
m e m b ers p o in t to fo rm erly shy,
se n sitiv e kids w ho h av e b lo s
so m ed in to co n fid e n t, o u tsp o k en
y o u n g a c to rs an d p la y w rite rs
th ro u g h in v o lv e m e n t in th e p ro
gram .
A cc o rd in g to B lazers C lub D i
re c to r L in d a W h ite, “G re tc h e n ’s
tire le s s effo rts to sh o w ca se o u r
k i d s ’ c r e a tiv e th e a te r w o rk s
th ro u g h p u b lic p e rfo rm a n c e s in
real th e a te rs has g iv en o u r yo u n g
a rtists a tre m e n d o u s sen se o f
v a lu e .” T h e H av en P ro je ct h as
used th e N ew m ark T h ea ter at the
P e rfo rm in g A rts C e n te r to stag e
p la y s w ritte n by k id s an d p e r
fo rm e d by so m e o f th e c ity 's to p
ac to rs w ith o rig in a l m u sic sc o re s
and sets p a in te d by p ro fe ssio n a l
artists. N ew p la y s w ill b e p e r
form ed on Ju ly 2 4 -2 5 . T h e p e rfo r
m an ces are free, b u t re se rv a tio n s
are req u e sted can b e m ad e by c a ll
ing 2 8 5 -9 1 1 3 .
T h e O u ts ta n d in g P ro g ra m
A w ard w as p re se n te d to th e B oys
& G irls C lu b s o f P o rtlan d at the
an n u a l B oys & G irls C lu b s o f
A m erica N ational C o n feren ce held
in O rlan d o , F lo rid a, in fro n t o f
2 ,0 0 0 B o y s & G irls C lu b s p ro fe s
sio n a ls from aro u n d th e n atio n .
“ T h is aw ard is a real trib u te to
G re tc h e n 's b e lie f th a t ex p o sin g
ch ild re n to art can h av e life -a lte r
in g e ffec ts, and i t ’s a real h o n o r
fo r th e B oys & G irls C lu b s o f
P o rtlan d and fo r o u r city to be
rec o g n ize d for this w o n d erfu l c o l
la b o ra tio n ,” said V irg in ia H ensen,
E x e c u tiv e D ire c to r o f B o y s &
G irls C lu b s o f P o rtland. “ R e co g
n itio n like th is w ill help o u r e f
forts to b rin g T he H aven P roject
to all o u r o th e r C lu b s,” H ensen
said.
T h e B oys & G irls C lu b s o p
e ra te fo u r C lu b h o u ses and tw o
ex ten sio n s in P o rtlan d sc h o o ls
w h ich a re o pen to all b o y s and
g irls ages 6 -1 8 . G en e ra l C lub
m e m b e r s h ip is $ 1 5 f o r th e
school y ear and $ 15 for th e su m
m er. F o r m o re in fo rm atio n re
g ard in g th e B lazers C lu b o r T he
H aven P ro ject, call 2 8 2 -8 4 8 0 .
The Bank of America Jammin' Science Fest
Returns To Portland W ith Out-Of-This-
Galaxy Star Lab/Seienee Exhibits
The Bank o f A m erica Jam m in’
Science Fest, a free event for fam i
lies and youth organizations, is re
turning to Portland on July 14 and
features an out-of-this-galaxy star lab,
cosmic experiments, and more earthly
fun with puzzles and brain teasers.
Enrollm ent brochures are now avail
ab le at local B ank o f A m erica
branches.
Open to kids ages 5 to 14, the
Bank o f A m erica Jam m in’ Science
Fest is expected to attract nearly 700
kids to the Portland event, to be held
at M cM enam ins K ennedy School,
5736 NE. 33rd. Pre-registration is
required and enrollm ent is available
on both an individual fam ily basis or
for groups such as local youth care
organizations.
Launched in 1995 to address the
need for science education, the Bank
o f Am erica Jam m in’ Science Fest
has since helped more than 12,000
kids discover how fun and interest
ing science can be.
“Now in its fourth year, the Bank
o f Am erica Jam m in’ Science Fest
uses hands-on activities and experi
m ents in its curriculum , w hich is ex
actly what educators and kids alike
are saying they need," says Larry
O gg, Bank o f A m erica area execu
tive o f O regon and southw estern
W ashington. “ For exam ple, a recent
national Science Foundation survey
found nine out o f ten students stated
the best way to learn science is to
observe things and then do experi
ments, and many educators are in
co rp o ratin g th is ap p ro ach w hen
teaching science.”
The Bank o f A m erica Jam m in’
Science Fest is part o f the Bank o f
America Jam m in’ K idsC am ps.afree
series o f cam ps designed to help kids
do their best and offered throughout
the N orthwest. By exposing children
to diverse interests, including athlet
ics, science and the arts. Bank o f
Am erica Jam m in’ program s aim to
encourage creative and critical think
ing, foster team w ork and build self
esteem.
P aren ts can call th e B ank o f
Am erica’s custom er service line at 1-
800-243-4778 for m ore information.
Child Safety Seat Resource Center Kicks-Off
Summer flioareness Campaign
Doctors and Specialists U rge Par
en ts T o G et T h e ir C h ild S eats
C hecked D uring T he Busy Sum m er
T ravel M onths
T he C hild Safety Seat R esource
Center, Oregon SAFE KIDS, Legacy
Em anuel H ospital and M cD o n ald 's
R estaurants are kicking o f f a sum
m er-long aw areness cam paign to
help educate parents about the im
portance o f p roper installation o f
child car seats.
M ore than 85% o f child seats are
installed wrong!
Because fam ily travel increases
during the sum m er m onths when
children are out o f school, a special
event will be held to dem onstrate
the im portance o f proper child safety
seat installation.
D octor Linda Erwin, traum a sur
geon at Legacy E m anual, has seen
m any children w ho have been vic
tim s o f crashes w ithout the benefit
o f child safety seats. H aving never
used a chilcl safety seat personally.
Dr. Erwin does not understand w hy
they are so difficult to install. She
will install a safety and have d e v a lu
ated by A ndrea D ervin, specialist
for the C hild Safety Seat R esource
Center.
M cD onald’s R estaurants o f O r
eg o n an d SW W a sh in g to n has
partnered with the C hild Safety Seat
Resource C enter to help provide
educational m aterials in their stores
as well as sponsor car seat clinics
throughout the area.
Revenue Department Begins Federal Retiree Refund Process
In response to today’s announcement
by Governor John Kitzhaber and Attor
ney General Hardy Myers, the Depart
ment ofRcvenue (DOR) has begun work
on the process that will lead to the issuing
of refunds to federal retirees
Ihe department will receive further
direction from proceedings in the Oregon
Tax Court and from legal advice from the
Oregon Department o f Justice. Immedi
ately upon receiving their direction, DOR
will work to identify affected retirees and
develop criteria to determine individual
refunds.
t
Atthis time, federal retirees do not need
to take any action. IX )R will develop
instructions,and already hasbegundevel-
oping a simplified form to facilitate re
funds. Federal Retirees seeking the latest
information updates should access the
department’s web site, telephone infor
mation system, and press releases.
DOR estimates the total amount of
refunds at $300 million, however, this
figure could be substantially affected by
several factors including court interpreta
tion and individual taxpayer information.
Ifiese refunds will he paid out from the
same source as other tax refunds, that is
from tax receipts. The September revenue
forecastoftheOfficeofEconomic Analy
sis will reflect these payments.
For additional information, taxpayers
may contact DOR’s Tax Help number at
(503) 378-4988. The Web site address is
www .dorstate.or.us. Spanish speakers may
call (503) 945-8618. For TTY (hearing or
speech impaired only), die year-round toll-
free number within Oregon is I -800-886-
7204. In Salem the number is (503) 945-
8617. These numbers are answered by
machine only and are not tor voice use.
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