Page B4
M a rc h 10, 1999
(Elje Portiani* ffibaeruer
W
f Believe I Can Fly
SUCCESS STORIES FROM PEOPLE OF COLOR
Youth Essay Contest
The O regon Pilots A ssociation
Air Safety and Education Foundation
has announced it’s Spring Youth
Essay C ontest is officially open.
Y ouths betw een ages eight through
sixteen are encouraged to create a
short essay (250 w ords or less) using
the them e ” 1 B elieve 1 C an Fly.” The
entries m ust be received w ith the
entrant’s com plete nam e, address,
county and age as o f close date ot
A p ril 16, w h ic h is th e I 3 2 ”li
anniversary o f the birth o f aviator
W ilbur W right.
The tw o top entries from each ot
O PA ’s five regions will be chosen.
R egional w inners receive aw ards
certificates and an invitation to fly
with an OP A pilot. From the ten regional
winners, one m ale and one female
winner will be chosen as state winners.
State w inners are aw arded a $ 100
FOR INSPIRATIONAL NEW BOOK
U.S. Savings Bond, a plaque, and an
invitation to tty with one parent to
attend the O PA an n u al A w ards
M eeting in August.
D anny Stark o f H illsboro and
H e a th e r
S c h u ly le r-M o o n
of
Independence were most recent slate
essay winner. Each received a letter
o f congratulations from G overnor
Kitzhaber who was him self a student
A
Les Brown and Rafael Colon, two
dynam ic and successful m en who
happen to be also people o f color, are
jo in in g fo rces to p ro d u c e w h at
promises to b ealan d m ark book. And
they need your help.
Brown and C olon have com e up
with a unique and pow erful prem ise
that im proves upon the concept ol
the popular C hicken Soup series. In
then book. The M aking o f M am a's
Sweet Potato Pie, they plan to share
the stories o f o rd in ary m en and
w om en form the A frican-, Latin-,
A s ia n -, an d N a tiv e - A m e r ic a n
com m unities w ho have overcom e
pilot at the time.
The O PA /SEF Fall Y outh Art
C o n te s t w ill b e a n n o u n c e d in
September with similar guidelines and
aw ards. Teachers are encouraged to
use the annual Spring Youth Essay
and Fall Art Contests as a part o f their
classro o m activ ities. A ll en tries
should be mailed to OP A SEF Y outh
E ssay C o n test, P.O . B ox 2126,
Beaverton, O R 97075 and must be
received by April 16,1999.
adversity to live their dreams.
Sw eet Potato Pie is no cookie-
cutter book, for it will offer more than
fleeting warm and fuzzy feelings. The
stories the authors will include m ust
not ju st tell a good tale, but share the
specific actions the person took to
get w here they are. Readers will move
beyond ju st know ing that success is
possible to seeing w hat they can do
to achieve it.
Both Brow n and C olon are m ore
than qualified to author this book.
Brown, an African-American who was
labeled uneducable as a child, is now
a m otivational speaker, author, and
A new laser at Providence St.
V incent M edical Center is helping
h eart p atien ts stay h ealth y . T he
excim er laser— the only one o f its
kind at a hospital in Oregon— extracts
pacem aker leads and cleans up stents.
Pacem akers im planted in heart
patients are connected by wires to the
heart. Hie wires are inserted into blood
vessels to keep the heart beating
regularly—agodsend formany people.
But, the wires can break or require
changing particularly if they become
infected. lnthepast,physicianselected
to either leave the wires in, or pull them
o ut as b est th ey co u ld , w ith o u t
damaging the heart muscle. In some
cases, open heart surgery was required
Do You Have a Story?
Soul story?
A C h ick e n S oup story is an
inspirational, som etim es em otional,
often hum orous, true story that opens
the heart and rekindles the spirit. It is
the personal account o f an event, a
relationship, a lesson learned or a
dream fulfilled that helps the reader
discover basic principles they can
use in their ow n lives.
M aybe it recounts the deep bond
eiwceii
i'u d and
iiu your
vvui bestfriend
uvauuvuu .. .
betw
een y you
tim eless m em ory o f your friend that
allows you across the years and is
i* •
_ J I- 2_ A
. . —... .» .-1 . into
nl/A 1 lo v ’£ e * . . . Z
>(* di
friendship
turned
or
any
story o f friendship that m akes the
reader feel m ore p o sitiv e, m ore
connected - and better about life in
general.
S o m e o f th e c h a p te rs w e ’re
p la n n in g are: O n F rie n d s h ip ,
C h ild h o o d
F rie n d s ,
S p e c ia l
M om ents, O vercom ing O bstacles,
Lost & Rekindled Friendships, Being
There, Friends to Lovers and Friends
to remove the wires.
W ith the excim er laser, physicians
sim ply slip a catheter over the wires,
form ing a sheath. W hen the laser is
activated, the w ires loosen due to the
laser action and are easily pulled out
Forever.
I f you have a great friendship-
related story and w ould like to be
included in C hicken Soup for the
Friends Soul, please send your stories
to: Chicken Soup for the Fnends Soul
at3 104 E.Camelback Rd. #531. Phoenix,
A Z 85016 (please keep copies as we
are unable to return materials). Fax to
(6 0 2 ) 5 0 8 - 8 9 1 2 , o r e m a il to
soup4soultrthome.com.
llw ays there to put a sm ile on your
face. . . that tim e w hen you and your
friends laughed until your sides hurt
.. a heartfelt moment when friendship
lifted you up out o f d e s p a ir. . . a long
distance or internet friendship that
som ehow transcends tim e and space
. . . an u n e x p e c te d tw ist w hen
The average/maximum word count
is 750/1200 words. For each story
selected
in the - b ook, a 50-w ord
— .........
biography will be included about the
author and a perm ission tee o f$ 3 0 0
will be paid for one-time rights. For an
exam ple story, please view our web
site a twww .chickensoup.com . There
are no lim its to th e n u m b e r o f
subm issions , . . Stories m ust be
received no later than April 9, 1999.
Photo Dave Lawton
Keeping hearts healthy. Dan
D a lto n ,
RN, h o lding tw o
pacemakers, shows off the new
excimer laser in Providence St.
V in c e n t M e d ic a l C e n te r's
electrophysiology lab. Physicians
in the Providence Heart Institute
are using the new laser to remove
pacemaker leads and clean stents.
national average.
“ I am p le a se d w ith o u r 8,h grade
re su lts,” said S tate S ch o o ls Supt.
Stan B unn. “ B ut our 4'h grade scores
re in fo rc e m y b e lie f that read in g
m u st b ec o m e a g re a te r p rio rity in
th e e a rly g rades. R ead in g is the
g atew ay to le a rn in g .”
O regon 8'h graders scored 266,
fiv e p o in ts a b o v e th e n a tio n a l
average. T he edge is significant,
a c c o rd in g to N A E P . O re g o n is
schools w ill receiv e, to h ire extra
teachers. “ W e need to m axim ize our
ability to red u ce class siz e."
The initiative will include more
support for teachers, "they received
little assistance in reading instruction
in their teacher education programs
and in staff developm ent,” said Bunn.
“T hat's why m y office is working with
higher education and the Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission.
We need to strengthen the support
system for teachers.”
Stan Bunn, State Superintendent
o f Public Instruction Larry A ustin,
Inform ation Specialist, T elephone
(503) 378-3 5 7 3 , ext. 530 h ttp ://
w w w .ode.state.or.us
grouped with 13 oth er states above
the national average.
O regon 4h graders scored 214,
one point below the national average.
T he o n e-p o in t d iffe ren ce is not
statistically significant, NA EP said
“H ow ever." Bunn said, “this score is
sobering for a state that prides itself
as a leader on national tests.
Bunn said he will launch an initiative
to strengthen reading, especially in
kindergarten through grade 3.
O ne elem ent o f the initiative is to
reduce class size. O f the states
w hich p articip ated in the N A EP
tests, only three had h ig h er pupil-
to-teach er ratios. B unn w ants to
use state funds to leverage $11.5
m illion in federal funds O regon
lointTown Hall scheduled on
education reform and funding
Senator A velG ordly(D -D ist. 10).
n ato r Frank S hields (D -D ist. 9),
d Representative Randall Edwards
-D ist 15) will hold ajoint town hall
•eting on Saturday, M arch 13 from
:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The meeting
ill b e h e ld at M a d iso n H igh
h o o l’s c a fe te ria m ulti-p u rp o se
om, 2735 N E 8 2 -
T h e g u e s t s p e a k e r w ill be
ipenntendent o f Public Instruction
an Bunn. B unn w ill discuss our
o g ress tow ard education reform
r the 21* century. H e w ill also
sc u ss o th e r e d u c a tio n -re la te d
•• ••
o f the heart.
“ T h is is a v e ry e x c itin g
developm ent,” says D aniel O seran,
M .D ., an e le c tro p h y s io lo g is t at
P ro v id en ce St. V in cen t M edical
Center. “W e can now readily rem ove
pacem aker wires. B efore, ifw e were
successful in rem oving the wires, it
a lw a y s to o k lo n g e r an d w as a
potentially riskier procedure.’
The laser also is useful forcleamng
c lo g g e d s te n ts . S te n ts -m e ta l
supporting coils that keep arteries
open-can becom e filled with ingrowth
o f scar-like tissue in about one-fifth
o f patients. T his causes a narrowing
o f the artery, m aking it m ore difficult
for blood to flow through.
The excim er laser can be passed
through the stents, vaporizing the
cells, and clearing the tissue.
“B ecause the laser vaporizes the
cells that have grow n into the stent,
it quickly and easily clears up any
narrow ing w ithout leaving any tissue
behind,” says Peter Block, M .D., a
P rovidence St. V incent cardiologist
a n d a s s o c ia te d ir e c to r o f th e
Providence H eart Institute.
The providence Heart Institute is
one o f the m ost active heart centers
in the w estern United States. Heart
Institute physicians are perform ing
groundbreaking research into new
surgical procedures, laser-activated
drugs, and other advanced medical
technologies.
Providence St. V incent M edical
C e n ter w as se lec ted on e of the
nation’s T op 100 hospital for 1998.
Providence St. V incent is part o f
providence H ealth System.
“I
t r i - met
new s
T h a n k Y ou fo r y o u r interest!
Oregon 8th Grade Outscore
Students Nationally On
Reading Test
O re g o n 8"1 g r a d e r s s c o re d
significantly higher than students
nationally on 1998 reading tests
c o n d u c te d b y th e N a tio n a l
A ssessm ent o f Educational Progress
(N A E P ). H o w e v e r, O re g o n 4'*
graders scored slightly below the
su ccess.
In addition to telling their personal
story, contributors will be asked to
sh a re a fav o rite d e sse rt recip e.
T hough it m ay be a cute idea, this
request reflects the s ig n ific a n c e o f
the origin o f this book. T he sw eet
potato pie o f the significance o f the
origin o f this book. The sw eet potato
pie o f the title cam e from the kitchen
o f B row n’s adoptive m other who
sustained her son not ju st through
h e r c o o k in g b u t a ls o w ith
u n c o n d itio n a l
su p p o rt
an d
encouragem ent. The m etaphor is
carried throughout the book with each
perso n ’s recipes for success and its
sw eet rewards.
The authors ask that stories be
submitted immediately or no later than
March31 by mail to Communications by
Design, 3827 B IximeSt. SE ,f umwater,
W A98501 ;by e-mail tombiv2(fl aol.com
orby fax to 360- 459-8419.
New Laser Helping Heart Patients
Chicken Soup for
the Friends Soul
D o you have a heart-w arm ing,
insightful and pow erfully moving
story about friendship'? The authors
o f the N ew Y ork Tim es and USA
T o d ay B e stse llin g b o o k se rie s,
C hicken Soup for the Soul (are
currently seeking stories to include
in Chicken Soup for the Friend’s Soul..
So far. C hicken Soup for the Soul
titles have sold more than 40 million
copies, literally transforming the lives
o f readers from all walks o f life. W hat
m akes a good C hicken Soup for the
rad io and telev isio n p ersonality;
Colon, from Puerto Rico, is an author
and president o f his ow n com pany.
V oices Internationally, as w ell as an
in tern atio n al know n speaker and
facilitator. Both have overcom e
prejudice and hardship to build their
own road to personal and professional
issues, including adequate funding
for schools.
“W hile w e are discussing the
am ount o f m oney needed to keep
schools whole, we also need to be
taking about the gaps that remain in
building the capacity to achieve the
education reform standards. No child
should be left behind. We need to
fund schools with increased revenues
and not at the expense o f the m ost
vulnerable o f O regonians and not
without including the capacity to raise
the ach ie v em e n t lev els o f A LL
students,” stated Sen. G ordly about
the dem ands for education dollars.
Senator G ordly and Shields and
Rep. Edw ards will also address the
key issues o f the 1999 Legislative
Session. The public is invited and
encouraged to attend. If you have
specific questions or concerns that
you would like addressed, call Senator
G o rd ly ’s o ffice (503) 986-1710,
Senator S hields’ office (503) 986-
1709, or Rep. Edw ards’ office (503)
986-1415
Senators G ordly and Shields and
Rep Edwards will also hold joint town
halls M arch 13 and April 17
M I - «R ■
«r?
•.
Ar*/: •
• •
TRI-MET buses fly directly to PDX
Traveling to Portland International Airport (PDX)
becomes more convenient today as of (Monday,
March 1) when Tri-Met buses begin providing direct
service to the terminal.
Passengers on Tri-Met bus route 12-Sandy
Boulevard can use a new bus stop located on the
outside lane of the upper roadway. Passengers
previously transferred to an airport shuttle bus to
reach the terminal.
“With the use of Portland International Airport
growing dramatically, we're pleased to provide
travelers and area employees with a viable option
for getting to the airport,” Fred Hansen, Tri-Met
General Manager said. “We applaud the Port of
Portland for helping make our service more
convenient for our customers.
Tri-Met’s route 12-Sandy Boulevard travels between the
airport and downtown Portland daily from about 5:30
a m until 11:30 p.m. MAX light rail trains connect with
route 12 buses at Hollywood Transit Center. For more
exact schedules or Tri-Met trip-planning information,
contact 238-RIDE or www.tri-met.org.
TRI-MET
238-RIDE
How
we g e t t h e r e
m a tte rs
TTY 238-581 1 • www.tri-met.org
• • . . - k