Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, August 26, 1998, Page 2, Image 2

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    Page A2
AUG UST 26, 1998
(Ehe {Jorilattò « flW s o w tr
P O L IC E N E W S
Community Notification of a
Sex Offender
7 0 0 0 Block of NE Killingsworth St.
The Portland Police Bureau is
notifying the com m unity o fa Reg­
istered Sex O ffender living in the
Portland area. ORS. 181.588 a l­
lows law enforcem ent agencies
to release such inform ation to the
public regarding convicted of­
fenders, who are required to reg­
ister. when such inform ation will
increase public aw areness and
prom ote com m unity safety.
The Sex O ffender has been
convicted o f a sex offense that
requires he register w ith a law
enforcem ent agency in O regon,
his crim inal history places him in
a category which indicates he may
reoffend. T his su b ject is not
w anted by the police at this time.
This O ffender has served his
sentence and is no longer being
supervised by the O regon D epart­
ment o f Corrections. The purpose
o f this com m unity notification is
to reduce the chances o f further
victim ization by this offender as
w ell as to prom ote com m unity
aw areness and child safety. In­
tim idating, harassing, or threaten­
ing o f this registered offender will
not be tolerated and may be a
crime.
If you have any inform ation
about this offender com m itting ad-
ditional crim es, please contact
the D etectives o f the Sexual A s­
sault detail at 823-4636.
S u b je c t’s nam e is R ichard
Jam es Batem an, w hite m ale, 58
years old, 6 ’0", 150 lbs, brow n
hair and blue eyes.
R ichard B atem an has been
convicted o f num erous counts o f
Sex Abuse I as well as sodom y I
and is no longer under supervi­
sion. Mr. Batem an is a pedo­
phile who has targeted young
children ranging in age from 6-
10 years old in the past. It is
believed there is a substantial risk
Batem an could reoffend.
Fatal Accident on N. Marine Drive
On Wednesday, August 19, at
approximately 6:50 pm, a fatal ac­
cident occurred in the 6100 block o f
N. Marine Drive. A 1998 Nissan
sedan, driven by Kristine Peisley,
41 years, o f Hillsboro, was travel­
ing south on an access road toward
Marine Drive in the 6100 block, when
she apparently failed to stop for a
stop sign before entering N. Marine
Drive. The Nissan was struck on the
driver’s side by a 1995 Dodge van,
driven by Andrzej Kulesza. 43 years,
or Forest Grove, who was traveling
west on N. Marine Drive.
Three passengers in the Nissan
were taken to area hospitals. The
driver and one passenger in the
Dodge van did not appear to have
any serious injuries and were not
taken to the hospital.
Police Investigate Homicide
on West Burnside
On Wednesday, August 19, at
approximately 11:00 pm, 911 re­
ceived a call of a man down in front
of 421 W. Burnside. When police
officers and medical personnel ar­
rived, they found a male victim ly­
ing in front o f 421 W. Burnside who
had apparently been stabbed.
From the investigation it appears
that the victim was on the south side
o f W est Burnside when he was
stabbed and then traveled north across
West Burnside where he collapsed in
front o f 421 W. Burnside.
The victim was transported to
an area hospital where he died as a
result o f a stab wound to his upper
torso. The victim who has not been
positively identified at this tim e is
a late 30’s to early 4 0 ’s male. There
is no suspect in custody at this
time.
Anyone with information regard­
ing this homicide is asked to call the
Detective Division of the Portland
Police Bureau, 823-0400. Detec­
tive Sergeant J. Rhodes
Suspicious Death Investigation Turns
Into Homicide Investigation
On W ednesday, A ugust 12,
1998 at appro x im ately 10:50 pm
officers o f C entral P recinct re­
sponded to a call in the 2000
block o f SW Front A ve., reg ard ­
ing a m an lying in a field. W hen
o fficers and m edical personnel
arrived, they found a deceased
m ale, 35 years, it w as unknow n
at the tim e the cause o f his death.
An a u to p sy , p e rfo rm e d on
T hursday, A ugust 13, determ ined
that the man died o f head traum a
and had been deceased for sev­
eral hours prior to being discov­
ered. this case is now being in­
vestigated as a hom icide. The
m ale victim has been identified.
H ow ever, the nam e is being w ith­
held pending notification o f fam-
ily.
The victim apparently led a
transient lifestyle and frequented
m issions, and the old tow n area.
Anyone with inform ation is asked
to call the Portland Police B u­
reau, D etective D ivision, 823-
0400. D etective Sergeant K erry
T aylor and D etective K ent Perry
are investigating this hom icide.
A “Street of Dreams Ar»t> A
Villose For SXle” 111
P r o f . M c K in l e y B i rt
A d efin ite shock w ave was cre ­
ated w hen I ‘d a re d ’ to com m ent
on th e m in d - s e t o f “ L e w is
M um ford," A m e ric a ’s m ost re­
vered urban plan n er; “ A m ajor
figure in arch ite c tu re , p lanning
and so c ia l th o u g h t (N o rm an
C ousins, H erbert J. G ans).
As an A frican A m erican , a
m em ber o f the group m ost e c o ­
nom ically and socially devastated
by that pantheon o f cruel d ream ­
ers w ho p ro v id ed us w ith a “G e­
ography o f N o w h ere” e.g. “U r­
ban Renewal-1 stand fully able
and q u alified to criticize the in­
hum anity o f A m erica’s m an-made
landscape, and som etim e, the p h i­
lo sophies and p hilosophers who
created it.
Last w eek, I quoted a w hite
p ro fessio n al who spoke o f my
com m ents on a co n trad ictio n or
d ichotom y in the psyche o f the
w hites who first fought d e sp e r­
ately to flee the city cen ters-b u t
w ho now fought equally as hard
to re tu rn from s u b u r b ia , th e
prom ised land.
1 said that, “ Even the renow ned
urbanologist, Lewis M um ford was
so a fflic te d .” For a sum m ary o f
his co n trad ictio n s one need to
look no further than pp. 6, 7 o f the
in troduction o f that classic, “1 he
Lew is M um ford R eader” (D onald
L. M iller ed P antheon 1986).
“ His ideal com m u n ity is one
that com bines the dynam ism and
d iv ersity o f the city w ith the v a l­
ues o f the v illag e-o rd er, n e ig h ­
borhood stab ility and com m unity
clo se n e ss...b u t he (M um ford) has
lived h a lf his life in a reconverted
farm house in a “ W alt W hitm an
sim p licity in the quiet village o f
by
A rm enia...a hundred m iles away
from the city in w hich he grew
up.”
O f course, the black people o f
the nation had to som e extent en­
joyed the values o f the village,
order, neighborhood stability and
community closeness— tightly en­
forced by the N ational A ssocia­
tion o f Realtors and by R estric­
tive C ovenants. Som etim es by
police and the N ational Guard.
A frican A m ericans therefore,
w ere ‘im prisoned’ in their ghet­
tos as w ere the Jew s in V enice,
Italy in their confinem ent to an
island section officially named
“G h etto.” But Jew s did have eco­
nom ic liaisons with kin in other
countries, and w ere able to ‘break
out.’
T hough the blacks, w henever,
able developed the hum anities and
social infrastructures I have de­
scribed here in such series as
“ Family M atters: The Way It Was.
T heir land and infrastructure was
g reedily devoured by the ‘urban
re n e w a l’ specialist (rem oval).
As 1 said here earlier I created
a shock w ave, daring to critique a
god in the urban pantheon, but I
alw ays have my docum entation. 1
am rem inded o f the tim e I as­
sailed the alleged findings o f
M argaret Mead in her classic 1928
book, “Com ing o f Age In Som oa,”
M orrow Q uill, 1961.
The D arw inists leaped right on
th is ‘p r o o f o f all the sexual myths
about dark skins= "corrobroates
through practical dem onstration,
the psychosexual theories pro­
m ulgated by Freud and his pupil"
(DR A.A. Brill). My Samoan
students at PSU (urban econom ­
ics class) had brought this m atter
to my attention during a break
and introduced me to a work based
upon years o f research by an A us­
tralian professor. Dr. Freem an.
His book, "M argaret Mead and
Samoa: The M aking and U nm ak­
ing o f an A nthropoligical M yth."
(H arvard, 1983), com pletely re­
futed M ead’s findings o f the same
type o f “cultural determ inism ”
that A m erican W elfare System s
use to describe the black poor.
W hen 1 pointed out the schizo­
phrenia in the m akeup o f the plan­
ners there w ere equal scream s o f
outrage. So be it.
This ‘M ead-referen ce’ is not
really a departure from the main
them e here, for it is absolutely
necessary to understand that it is
highly resented by the m ajority
population w hen blacks ‘d a re ’ to
m ake critical assessm ents o f the
gurus who control their econom ic
and social w elfare.
T he su b u rb a n d e v e lo p e rs are
re ach in g for p ick et fences, large
p o rc h e s , sm a ll y a rd s , p u b lic
squares and narrow streets. Will
th is m a rk e tin g ploy su sta in a
c o n tin u e d “ w h ite flig h t? " And
the c itie s play new gam es w ith
the in fra s tru c tu re , cra m m in g ,
ja m m in g , a n d m a n ip u la tin g
c o d e s (n e e d e d s e w e rs, w a te r
su p p lie s? ).
A re there really going to be any
“ Streets o f D ream s” that anyone
can afford or safely trod? In any
o f the new environs, near or afar?
Can a real “v illag e” com e to exist
sim ply by saying so in a huge
display ad? Can the w arm th and
am enities o f neighborhoods be
established by fiat? (because I
say so). It will be interesting
people and politics.
Wildland fire danger grows
Recent warm, dry w eather has
created a potential for fires in local
fields and w oodlands that could
threaten homes and businesses.
According to John Gentry o f the
Vancouver Fire Department (VFD),
residents in neighborhoods abut­
ting wooded areas should take steps
to protect their property by estab­
lishing a “defensible space” around
building. The space should pro­
vide a buffer between bui Idings and
com bustible m aterials, including
dry vegetation.
The VFD Fire Prevention Bu­
reau has also increased its em pha­
sis on abatem ent o f hazardous veg­
etation in neighborhoods. So far
this summer, over 150 property
owners have been contacted by the
fire department regarding elim inat­
ing these tire hazards.
Some specific ways to create a
fire-safe buffer zone in wooded or
grassy areas include:
* Mowing and raking field grass.
’ Removing dead, woody m ate­
rials from the ground near build­
ings.
’ Removing low limbs and shrubs
that a fire could climb into treetops
’ Reducingpotential fuel through
re g u la r p ru n in g , th in n in g and
proper disposal o f cuttings.
Fire resistant plants can also con­
tribute to a safety greenbelt around
homes. Examples o f low-growing,
tire resistant plants include turf,
groundcovers and annuals. Hosta,
daylily, ajuga, pachusandra, peri­
winkle and rhododendron are ex­
amples o f plants that do not accu­
m ulate dry, flammable material.
“This area can burn.” Gentry
warns. He notes that a major w ild­
land fire could strike inside the
city— in areas near hillsides, along
streams and where urban and rural
areas meet.
For more tips on planning and
managing fire defensible landscap­
ing in areas vulnerable to w ildland
fires, contact the VFD Fire Preven­
tion Bureau, 696-8166.
New traffic light signals new life downtown
New tra ffic p a tte rn s are a n ­
tic ip a te d
in
d o w n to w n
V a n c o u v e r w ith the o p e n in g o f
the C ity C e n te r 12-A ct 111 T h e ­
atre on 8th and “ C ” stre e ts th is
fall.
“T his is w o n d e rfu l," said d e­
v elo p er Eli K assab. “T he new
signal w ill give fu ture th e a tre
goers the opp o rtu n ity to get used
to p ark in g in the M .J. M urdock
p arking garag e and safely cross
“C ” S treet at the tra ffic lig h t.”
T he new tra ffic sig n al w ill be
o p e ra tio n a l by noon on T h u rs­
day.
The new sig n al sh o u ld slow
dow n v e h ic le s as they ex it 1-5.
Clark County Posts New Web Page
For The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permit Process
g ro u n d w a te r. T he in te n t ot the
N PD E S p e rm it is to p ro te c t w a­
te rs fo r use by fish, w ild life ,
and the p u b lic by c o n tro llin g
p o llu ta n ts in sto rm w a te r ru n ­
off.
A W ork G roup o f citiz e n s has
been estab lish ed to m eet w ith
C lark C ounty sta ff to provide
input as the ap p licatio n is d e v e l­
oped. C itizens are encouraged
to attend and com m ent at a series
o f m eeting w ith C lark C ounty
sta ff and W ork G roup m em bers.
T his web page includes a list o f
m eeting tim es, dates, and loca­
tio n s, m in u te s from p re v io u s
C lark C ounty has posted a new
page about the N ational P o llu t­
ant E lim ination System (N PD E S)
perm it on the C lark C ounty W eb
Site. C itiz e n s w ho w ould like to
get in v olved or learn m ore about
the N PD E S a p p lic a tio n pro cess
can find w hat they are lo o king
fo r
a t:
h ttp ://
w w w .c o .c la r k .w a .u s /s ite /
n p d e sl.h tm
U n d e r th e fe d e ra l C lean W'a-
te r A ct, C la rk C o u n ty is r e ­
q u ire d by th e sta te to o b ta in a
w a ste d is c h a rg e p e rm it fo r all
c o u n ty o w n e d sto rm s e w e rs
th a t e m p ty to su rfa c e w a te r or
3:12 A.M.
Y O U ’RE ASLEEP.
WE RE M A K IN G SURE Y O U R
A L A R M C L O C K GOES OFF.
F
At Pacific Power, we’ve been supplying
and delivering safe, reliable
electricity for more than 85 years.
We know the job. We know the area.
And we know there are some things
you’d rather not have to think about.
♦
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is one of them.
I hat’s where we come in - day or night.
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. \ / ’ /t if iC i'I f ’ CrHHfMIIV
WWW
p <1 ( I I I ( O I ,)
( 0 III
m eetings, b ackground and te c h ­
nical m aterials, and a glo ssary o f
term s.
The application for the NPDES
perm it m ust be su bm itted by O c­
to b er 1, 1998.
For m ore in fo rm atio n , please
call or e-m ail the fo llo w in g sta ff
m em bers o f the C lark C ounty
P u b lic W o rk s E n v iro n m e n ta l
S ervices D ivision:
E a rl
R o w e ll
at
erowell(ti co .c la rk .w a .u s o r 360-
737-61 18 ext. 4580
B ria n
C a r ls o n
at
bcarlson@ co.clark.w a.us o f 360-
737-61 18 ext. 4484.