5, 1999
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume \ \ l \ , Number IK
H a p p y
Emily Norton Plays
"Especially for
Children"
The Jefferson Arts
Program Kicks in
"ArtForce"
Mother’s
Day
(Tin'
U.S. Postage
PAID
Portland, OR
to All o f the Mothers Out
There - From The Portland Observer
See Page 6 _______________
See Focus Page 2 ________
Bulk Rate
Perm it No. 1610
l niversity o f Oregon
Knight Library
Newspaper Section
Eugene < )R 97403
arti aitò
fase V
W I
Soldier’s Family Celebrates News
of Impending Release
the TV new s all night long waiting to see
them get on that bus and get out o f there.”
A ssociated P ress W r iter
Y ugoslav President Slobodan M ilosevic
nly a day ago, prisoner-of-war Steven
ag re ed S atu rd ay to release A rm y Spc.
G onzales sent his parents a message
G onzales, 22; StaffSgt. Christopher J. Stone.
from Y ugoslavia, apologizing for
the agony his captivity had caused them. 25, o f Sm iths Creek, Mich.: and S taff Sgt
Andrew A. Ram irez, 24. o f Los Angeles.
On Saturday, all the pain was overcome
T he d ecisio n follow ed a m eeting b e
by joy after Rosie and G ilbert Gonzales
tw
een
M ilo sev ic and the Rev. Jesse Jack-
learned their son and two other American
son,
w
ho had v isited the three soldiers
soldiers would be freed.
F
riday
in
B elgrade. Jackson said the POW s
“ W e just thank God so m uch for answ er
w ould acco m p an y him to C roatia on S un
ing our prayers," Mrs. G onzales, wearing a
day and then fly to the nearest U.S. airb a se,
sm ile for the first tim e in weeks, told report
likely in G erm any.
ers. “ We can ’t w ait to hold him .”
S to n e ’s w ife , T ric ia , p la n n ed to flv
"W e probably w o n ’t sleep tonight,” her
o
v
erse
as w ith the c o u p le 's 4 -year-old son.
husband added. " W e 'll probaby be watching
B> P auline A hkii
Cinco de Mayo
In honor o f Cinco de M ayo, Tri-M et is
offering a free ride hom e to those w ho take
buses or M A X light rail trains to the festivi
ties at Portland’s W aterfront Park. Free
rides hom e are good W ednesday, M ay 5
through Sunday, May 9. To receive a ticket
for a free ride home, attendees only need to
present their Tri-M et receipt at the festival ’ s
m ain booth.
Cascade Symphony
The Cascade Symphony is looking to
build its already healthy orchestra member
ship by announcing a call for additional string
players (violin, viola, cello and bass). Please
call Maestro Aszemar Glenn at 286-5032 if
interested. The Cascade Symphony meets
once a week for about 2 hours to rehearse and
perform their concerts at the historic Holly
wood Theatre in Portland.
Yugoslavia Bombing
Local feminists will speak about w hat is
behind the U.S.-led NATO m ilitary ag
gression against Y ugoslavia and how to
pressure the A m erican warmongers to stop
the bombing on Thursday, May 13, at 7
PM. An Eastern European buffet will be
available at 6:30 PM for a $6 donation. The
event will be at the NW N eighborhood
Cultural Center, Com m unity Room, 1819
NW Everett, Portland. Call 503/228-3090.
W heelchair accessible.
Book Drive
The Friends o f the Multnomah County
Library is in need o f thousands o f used
books in good shape for the annual county
wide Book Drive on M ay 8-22 at the Central
Library (522 SW Fifth). Please no old text
books, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
or magazines. Andespeciallyno tom, ragged
or moldy books. We also appreciate CDs,
audio and video tapes, LPs and sheet music.
Call 503/224-9176.
Artist Workshops
The Regional Arts & Culture Council
presents Survival and Growth: Tools and
Strategies for Artists and Arts Organiza
tions. The next workshop is on Saturday,
May 15, 9 AM -2 :3 0 PM. There will be
information for individual artists on present
ing and documenting their work, and strate
gies for career development. Sessions will
focus on writing skills (resumes, artist state
ments, proposals); documenting art work on
video, slides, and other media; resume/video/
portfolio review sessions; and a panel dis
cussion on career development strategies
featuring prominent local artists from a Va
riety o f artistic disciplines. Call 503/823-
5417 or 823-2927.
Book Group
Who would have thought that coming out
as a young gay man in Sri I anka could be such
an amusing and touching event? Join us this
month, as the Eastside Gay & I esbian Book
Group discusses Funny Boy, by Shyam
Sel vadurai, a smart, moving story o f growing
up gay in a most repressive society. The group
will meet at the Barnes & Noble (in the Lloyd
Center) on Wednesday, May 26 at 7 PM.
Hands On Portland
Hands on Portland is hosting a concert on
May 20 to celebrate volunteerism and raise
money to expand Hands on Portland’s ser
vices. Pepe and the Bottle Blondes and
Jamie Hampton and the Essentials will be
playing, and the concert is open to anyone 21
and over. It will be a fun event for a great
cause. All proceeds benefit HOP, which
mobilizes teams o f volunteers on diverse
service projects that are "done in a day” and
have a direct and ongoing impact on the
community. Call 503/234-3581.
Medicare And Women
The Portland C hapter o f the O lder
W om en's league (OWL) invites mid-life
and older women to a free, open meeting and
discussion opportunity. Ruth McCormick,
MSW will be speaking on “Medicare And
Women”, O W L 's annual M other’s Day Re
port to Congress Ihe lecture will be at the
Portland Impact Center(4707 SE Hawthorne i
on Saturday, May 8, from 9:45AM until
NOON
laca ________________________
O
R y an , to reu n ite w ith her h u sb a n d as
so o n as sh e rec eiv e d c o n firm a tio n o f his
re le a se .
"E veryday, I w ait for news. W hen I heard
this. I co u ld n 't believe it at first." Mrs. Stone
said Saturday night.
O f her husband, she said, “ I’m very proud
o f him , and I miss him and love him .”
H er m other. Lisa M cK inney, w ith whom
she and R yan have been staying in San
A n to n io said:
“ S h e’s packed and ready to go if it is true.
... She is praying, and she is very hopeful that
it is true,” Ms. M cKinney said.
The Gonzaleses also were firming up plans
to travel to Europe, and when they finally do
taff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone, right. Spc. Steven M. Gonzales, center, and StaffSgt. Andrew A. Ramirez are welcomed by Rev. Jesse Jackson
ack and Rev Dr Joan Campbell, right, upon their release In the Yugoslav military headquarters In Belgrade. Sunday May 2 1999. Yugoslav
uthorlties handed over the three captured U.S. soldiers to U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson on Sunday, ending their 32 davs In caDtIvltv.
Parents of One
Colorado Gunman
Denied Immunity
L IT T L E T O N , C olo. (R eu ters) -
T h e p aren ts o f E ric H arris, one o f
tw o g u n m en w ho k illed 12 fellow
stu d e n ts an d a te ac h er at C o lu m
b in e H igh S ch o o l, have b een d e
nied im m u n ity from p ro secu tio n ,
a u th o ritie s said on S atu rd ay .
“ W e ’re n ot g iv in g an y o n e im
m u n ity ,” Je fferso n C o u n ty C h ie f
D ep u ty D istric t A tto rn e y M ark
P a u tle r said.
P au tler said H a rris’ p are n ts had
re q u e ste d im m u n ity b e c a u se o f
"w h a t p o litica l figures w ere saying
reg a rd in g p are n tal c u lp a b ility ."
S in ce the A pril 20 m a ssacre in
th e m id d le class su b u rb o f D enver,
p eo p le aro u n d the U n ited S tates
h av e ask ed how the p aren ts o f H ar
ris, 18, an d the seco n d sh o o ter,
D y lan K leb o ld , 17, co u ld n ot have
k n o w n w hat th e ir sons w ere up to.
P o lice said th ey found a w eapon
in full view in the bedroom o f on e
o f the g unm en and d isco v ered a
jo u rn a l sh o w in g the m assacre had
b ee n p la n n ed for a year.
M ean w h ile, K leb o ld ’s p are n ts
m et F rid ay n ig h t w ith in v e stig a
to rs, alth o u g h p o lice w ere n ot p ro
v id in g any d etails.
“ T h e y w ere in te rv ie w e d la st
evening," JeffersonC ounty S h e riff s
spokesm an T roy G ardalen said.
E arlie r in the w eek a u th o ritie s
had in d ic ated they w ere try in g to
fo rm a lly in te rv ie w the p a re n ts.
T hey said they could not force them
to b e in te rro g a ted unless th ey b e
ca m e su sp e cts in the case.
P o lice h av e been fo llo w in g up
h u n d red s o f leads and w ant to know
i f a n y o n e h e lp e d H a r r is a n d
K leb o ld — w ho ap p aren tly to o k
th e ir o w n liv es during the sh o o tin g
— ca rry o u t the attack.
see their son. Mrs. Gonzales said words would
not be needed.
“ I d o n ’t even think w e ’ll have to say
anything to each other _ ju st look into each
others’ eyes and hold each other,” she said.
The soldiers had been held in isolation
since they were seized M arch 31 w hile con
ducting a routine patrol along the Y ugoslav-
M acedonian border. F riday’s meeting with
Jackson was the first tim e they had seen each
other since their capture.
D uring the v isit, w h ich w as telev ised ,
G o n zales ap o lo g ize d to h is fam ily, say
ing, "S o rry 1 p ut you th ro u g h so m uch pain
and a g o n y .”
W hen asked about his m essage. Mrs.
G o n zales ch o k ed b ack tears and said,
"Through this w hole ordeal, even though he
was the one really suffering m ore than we
were, I know he was ju st constantly thinking
about how we were doing.”
W ith the new s o f G onzales’ impending
release, residents o f this southeast Texas
town o f 35,000 said Saturday that they, too,
felt only joy and hope.
“ I ’m ju st gonna start thanking G od all
evening,” Cheryl Leo said as she headed to a
children’s art festival in the tow n square,
where the sidew alks are decorated w ith
American flags and yellow ribbons.
“I w ant them to com e home, get a little
sleep and then party,” she said.
Employees at the Texas D epartm ent o f
Criminal Justice, w here both Rosie and Gil
bert G onzales work, have been planning a
parade for weeks. A date will be set once
Gonzales returns.
G onzales grew up in Palestine but his
parents m oved to H untsville in 1997. He
attended Texas A&M U niversity for a year
before enlisting in the A rm y in 1996.
In a letter his parents received earlier in
the week, G onzales said he looked forw ard to
being reunited w ith his fam ily and returning
to A&M.
A nd w h ile G o n zales ’ p aren ts had hoped
to have him hom e in tim e to celeb rate his
22nd b irth d ay last m o n th , they said there
w ould be plenty o f b elated p artying once
he returns hom e.
“W e have plans for m any celebrations,”
Mrs. G onzales said. “W e ju st hope that h e’s
able to go on with life and deal with life and
not think about having spent his 22nd birth
day in a ja il.”
Wild Oats Acquires
Nature’s Northwest
Name and Company Philosophy to
Remain the Same
N
F o u n d ed in B o u ld er, C o lo ra d o in 19 8 7 ,
a tu re’s N orthw est an n ounced that
W
ild
O ats is the fastest g ro w in g c o m p an y
it is b eing sold to W ild O ats M ar
in
th
e
faste st g ro w in g seg m en t o f re ta il -
ket, Inc. (“ W ild O a ts"), its current
n
atu
ral
p ro d u cts. W ild O ats c u rre n tly h as
ow ner. T he tran sactio n is ex p ected to close
at the end o f M ay.
SEE "NATURE'S” ON PAGE 83