Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 03, 1999, Page 2, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    M ultnom ah County Library’s North
Portland Branch Library To Close For
Year O f Renovation
P O U C E N E WS
Crime Stoppers: Assault
And Robbery
The Vancouver, Washington Po­
lice Department, in cooperation with
Crime Stoppers, is asking for your
help in solving an assault and rob­
bery case that occurred at the Car­
p en ters’ U nion H all, 612 E.
McLoughlin, in Vancouver.
On Friday, January, 8, 1999, at
approximately 6:50 in the morn­
ing, a 36-year-old Union Orga­
nizer, for the Carpenters’ union.
arrived and was unlocking the front
door to the hall, when he was at­
tacked from behind and knocked
unconscious by an unknown sus­
pect or suspects. Approximately
an hour later another employee,
arriving at work, found the victim
still laying on the floor.
Stolen was the victim’s black
wallet, containing identification and
$200 in cash, and a black briefcase
containing union related informa­
tion and material.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash
reward of 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 need not give your name. Call
either the Vancouver Police Depart­
ment at (360) 696-8116, or Crime
Stoppers at (503) 823-HELP.
Portland M an Has Pleaded G uilty
A Portland man has pleaded guilty
in Multnomah County Circuit Court
to theft in the second degree result­
ing from his failure to report wages
while receiving workers’ compen­
sation benefits for a job-related in­
jury.
Ronald W. Walsh entered the
guilty plea October 16, 1998. He
was sentenced to two years proba­
tion and ordered to pay SAIF Corpo­
ration $126.85 in restitution. Walsh
is currently serving prison time in
the State o f Washington on an unre­
lated charge and also faced other
unrelated felony charges in the State
o f Oregon.
Walsh was employed as an in­
staller o f heating and cooling
equipment for a Portland company
when he suffered a work-related
injury in January 1997. SAIF ac­
cepted the claim, which entitled
Walsh to receive disability ben­
efits while off work recovering
from the injury. A subsequent in­
vestigation by SAIF’s Fraud and
Investigation Division revealed
that Walsh had returned to his job,
but failed to inform SAIF or to
report his wages as required by
law.
SAIF is O re g o n ’s larg e st
w orker’s com pensation insurer
with 35,000policyholders. SAIF’s
anti-fraud program has saved the
company and its policyholders an
estimated $23 Million since 1990.
SAIF maintains a confidential toll
free telephone num ber (1-800-
282-8822) which the public may
use to report fraud cases. Fraud
can also be reported over the
in tern e t
by
e-m ailin g :
fraud@saif.com.
Get Tough on Crime: Focus on
V ic tim ’s Rights
The param ount custom er o f
the ju stic e system is the vic­
tim , claim s D ennis M aloney,
D irector o f D eschutes C ounty
C o m m u n ity J u s tic e , in F all
1998 issue o f O re g o n ’s F u ­
tu re , a p articipation public af­
fairs m agazine. “To get tough
on crim e we m ust focus on vic­
tim s’ rights and com m unity ju s ­
tice. It is m ore cost effective
to hold the o ffen d er directly
a c c o u n ta b le to th e v ic tim ,
rather than pay for incarcera­
tio n .”
In D eschutes county the p ri­
m ary co n ten t o f offender su ­
pervision is restitution and sup­
port o f the victim . V ictim s help
determ ine appropriate re stitu ­
tion and m eaningful com m unity
service. O ffenders pay re stitu ­
tio n ap p ro a c h in g 90 p ercen t
com pared to a national average
o f 33 percent. This actually
“helps build a bond betw een the
o ffen d er and the com m unity
w hile restoring victim s,” says
M aloney. C itizen involvem ent
in the ju stice system occurs at
all levels. In the case o f per­
s o n - to - p e r s o n c r im e s , the
county assures that a support­
ive v o lu n teer w ill be by the
v ictim ’s side w ithin m inutes.
S e n te n c in g in D e s c h u te s
county reserves prison space
for dangerous person-to-person
offenders and chronic, unstop­
pable property offenders. Sav­
ings are used for crim e preven­
tio n
th ro u g h
c o m m u n ity
projects. This m oney is m an­
aged by a c itiz e n s’ com m ission
on C hildren and Fam ilies. Com ­
m unity service projects have in­
cluded building a child abuse
center with the local rotary club
and building a com m unity park.
O ffenders will build an entire
house for habitat for H um anity.
The com m unity has dem on­
strated overw helm ing support
for a com m unity ju s tic e ap ­
proach and officials m aintain
that com m unity ju stic e and due
p ro cess are e n tire ly co m p at­
ible. “ We w ill be tough on
crim e,” states M aloney, “when
we make sentencing decisions
that work and this includes m ak­
ing o ffen d ers re sp o n sib le to
their com m unity.”
M alo n ey ’s a rtic le “ Ju stic e
and the Com m unity” can be read
in the forum on crim inal ju s ­
tice in the Fall o f O regon’s Fu­
ture. To subscribe to O regon ’s
Future, call (503) 731-9938.
GRIEF RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUP
Beaverton Christian Church an­
nounces the formation o f a Grief
R eco v ery S upport G roup for
those who have experienced the
loss o f a loved one. It will begin
meeting on Tuesday Jan, 19, 1999
at 7:00 p.m. For more informa­
tion please call 646-2151, ext.
240
Public forum will address
aquatics issues
The V a n c o u v e r-C la rk P arks
and R e c re a tio n a q u a tic s p ro ­
gram in v ite s in te re s te d c o m ­
m u n ity m em b ers to v is it our
p u b lic fo ru m s.
T he forum
w ill p ro v id e an o p p o rtu n ity
fo r re s id e n ts to d is c u s s p ro ­
g ra m m in g , p e rs o n n e l o f fa ­
c ility is s u e s w ith the a q u a t-
ics sta ff. P a rtic ip a n ts are e n ­
c o u ra g e d to b rin g q u e s tio n s ,
s u g g e s tio n s an d c o n c e r n s .
T his is the f irs t o f fo u r m e e t­
ings set in 1999. The forum
is sc h e d u le d for W ed n esd ay ,
A p r i l 2 1 , a t 6 p .m . at
M a rsh a ll C en ter.
M a rsh a ll C e n te r is at 1009
E. M c L o u g h lin B lv d . C a ll
6 9 6 -8 2 3 9 for m ore d e ta ils .
C ity o f V a n c o u v e r D e p a rt­
m ent o f In fo rm a tio n S erv ice s
- (3 6 0 ) 6 9 6 -8 0 1 6 - FA X
(3 6 0 ) 6 9 6 - 8 9 4 2
e
- m
a
i l :
V aninfo@ ci. V ancouver, wa. us
sw im fo ru m
T ri-M et tests new y ie ld signs
Tri-M et is testing yield signs
that eill help buses and traffic
flow more safely and smoothly.
The signs, backed by a new state
law, gives buses the right-of-way
when pulling back into traffic af­
ter serving bus stops. Making it
easier for buses to merge back
into traffic enhances safety for
passengers and m otorists, and
helps keep buses on schedule. To
I
serve bus stops, Tri-Met bus op­
erators typically pull in and out of
traffic some 400 times during an
8-hour shift.
T ri-M et w ill test the signs
through February on Six buses
traveling throughout the metro­
politan area. The flashing, illu­
minated signs are located near the
left taillight. After completing
the test and making any necessary
m odifications to the prototype
signs, Tri-Met will order enough
signs for all buses and hopes to
install them by July. Transit agen­
cies throughout the state will also
order the same signs for their
buses.
Failure to yield right-of-way
to the buses in these circum ­
stances is a Class D traffic infrac­
tion, subject to a $75 fine.
Public m eeting scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
Multnomah County Library’s
North Portland Branch Library, lo­
cated at 512 N. Killingsworth Ave.,
will close for renovation on Sunday,
Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. Once construction
begins, the project is expected to
take one year to complete at an esti­
mated cost o f $1,884,000.
A public meeting to discuss the
reno vation proj ect wil 1 be he Id Tues­
day, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at the library.
“The North Portland Branch Li­
brary was built in 1913 and is a
beautiful classic Carnegie library
with a brick exterior and open-
beamed wooden ceilings inside,”
says Ginnie Cooper, director of li­
braries for Multnomah County. “It’s
also an unreinforced masonry build­
ing that needs extensive renovation
work, while preserving its historic
quality,”
When the 9,500-square-foot
building reopens, it will meet mod­
em day seismic codes in addition to
receiving a new roof, plumbing up­
grades, and elevator to provide dis­
abled access to the second floor
meeting room, and additional public
restroom and new electrical and
telecommunications improvements
to support public computer stations.
New interior lighting and furnish­
ings will reflect the historic nature
of the building.
In addition to providing library
services to library patrons in north
and northeast Portland, the North
Portland Branch Library is also home
to the Multnomah County Library’s
Black Resources Center, a special
collection of materials relating to
the African-American experience.
The center also contains works by
African and Caribbean writers. Ad­
ditional collections include Span­
ish and Vietnamese language mate­
rials.
While the North Portland Branch
Library is closed, library users will
be urged to use the St. Johns Branch
Library, located 7510 N. Charles­
ton, or the Hollywood Branch Li­
brary, located at 3930 N.E.
Hancock.
Voters approved general obliga­
tion bond funding to finance
Multnomah County Library’s branch
renovation project in 1996, respond­
ing to problems caused by long-
deferred maintenance, new seismic
codes, new Americans With disabili­
ties Act (ADA) standards and the
need for electronic infrastructure
to support new technology. The
multi-year project, expected to be
completed in 2002, includes im­
provements to nine libraries and the
replacement o f the Woodstock,
Hollywood and Hillsdale branch li­
braries. Central Library, which
opened in April 1997 after an exten­
sive renovation, and the Midland
Regional Library, which opened in
September 1996, are not part of the
project.
North Portland Branch Library
patrons and others who would like
to receive ongoing informational
mailings about the project may reg­
ister at any branch of the Multnomah
County Library or by calling 248-
5402. Ongoing information about
the project is also available via home,
office or in-library computer on the
lib ra ry ’s web site (h ttp ://
www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/).
A “ g arag e” sale, featu rin g
shelving, furniture and miscella­
neous items that will not be used
in the renovated North Portland
B ran ch L ib rary or in o th er
M ultnom ah C o u n ty L ib rary
branches will be held at the li- ,
r
brary from 8 a m. - 3 p.m. Satur­
I
day, Mar. 13. Items that are pur­
chased at the sale must be re­
moved from the library at the time
o f purchase.
A tte n tio n : A ll Gladys M cCoy
A cadem y A lum ni
The Gladys McCoy Academy
Alumni is hosting a meeting on
forming an alumni association and
fundraising on Friday, February
1
12, 1999, at 3 PM.. The Gladys
McCoy Academy is located at
3802 NE MLK Jr Blvd., Portland,
Oregon. All alumni are welcomed
Diversity pSWiMM
Our
biggest
advantage
is being
part of
a big
family
to attend. Contact Miss Darrina
Muhammad, Class of 1997 at 281-
9597 or by fax 281-8817 for
more information.
Com mu n ity|
To us, being part of a big
family means...
*Sharing responsibilities
among only the most
qualified, highly trained
professionals...
* Sharing ideas and
programs to protect
our children and
benefit our
neighborhoods...
I
* Sharing resources
with the families
and communities
we serve.
and understanding the
the importance of sharing.
&
430N. Killingsworth Street
Portland, Oregon97217
503/283/1976
" When the time
comes to select a
funeral home,
please remember
our total
commitment is to
you."
Complimentary videotapes and books are available on coping with grief.
Proud to be a member ofthe world's most experienced family of funeral homes.
(