www.portlandohservefccom
Committed to Cultural Diversity
o m in u n i t u
a I e n b a r
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50*
January 5, 2000
Youth Straight Shoot aids at risk children
CONTRIBETEDSTORV
Winter Fun
If m usic is your passion. M elody M akers
is a fun and enjoyable class for teens (age
16+) and adults,, o f all m usical levels, to
create songs and rhythm as a group. The
class m eets every Thursday, January -
M arch 9, 1 :3 0 -2 :3 0 p.m. at Portland Parks
an d R e c re a tio n ’s C o m m u n ity M usic
C enter at 3350 SE Francis. T he cost is $30
for residents; $45 for non-residents. And
if singing isn ’t your thing, then you can
alw ays dance! Call 823-PLA Y o r visit our
w eb site at w w w .portlandparks.com .
Hearts for Housing
T he N ational A lliance for the M entally III
ofC lackam asC ounty presents: “ HEARTS
for H O U SIN G ” a gala event, dinner and
auction benefit for a capital fund drive to
help m eet housing needs o f people with
m ental illness. The event will be held on
S a tu rd a y , F e b ru a ry 5, 2 0 0 0 at th e
EvengelicalConferenceCenterat 18121 SE
River Road in Milwaukie. Call Elaine Krause
at 503/656-4367 orG inny Davidson at 503/
657-0799.
Jazz Age in Paris
T he Central Library will be having free
public programs on “The Jazz A ge in Paris:
1 9 1 4 -1 9 4 0 ” exhibit throughout January.
T he program s include concerts, lectures
and w orkshops. All program s take place at
C entral L ibrary, 801 SW 10th A ve.,
Portland, and are free and open to the
p u b lic. C all 5 0 3 /9 8 8 -5 5 7 8 fo r m ore
inform ation orcheck the library’s W eb site
at w w w .m ultnom ah.lib.or.us/lib/.
eor J he
P ortland O bserver
T he Interstate Firehouse C ultural C enter
(IFC C ) presents an exhibition o f black and
w hite photography by a group o f young
artists participating in O C H A ’s (O regon
Council for Hispanic A dvancem ent) Straight
Shooting project January 6 - 29. Straight
Shooting is a statew ide photography project
^ th a t puts cam eras in the hands o f at-risk
youth (ages 15-19) in order to provide them
w ith a creative and positive experience.
A free, public opening reception will be
held on First Thursday, January 6 from 5-9
p.m. The IFCC is located at 5340 N. Interstate
A venue, betw een Alberta and Killingsworth.
G allery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 1 2 - 5
p.m.
T h ese
a s to n is h in g ly
c r e a tiv e
photographs, w hich reflect a broad spectrum
o f hum an expression, w ere m ade by youth
from C lackam as, W ashington, M ultnomah,
M a rio n , B a k er, M a lh e u r, W a sc o , and
D eschutes counties. OCH A and the IFCC
hope to create com m unity aw areness o f the
issu e s facin g th e se y o u th th ro u g h th e
exhibition o f their photographs. The program
provides a positive and supportive learning
environm ent that gives youth an avenue for
the presentation o f their view o f life, giving
voice w here it w ould otherw ise not be heard.
O ne outgrow th o f the program is the
fo rg in g o f m en to r-p ro tég é relatio n sh ip s
betw een professional photographers and
youth. Both professional and serious am ateur
photographers are recruited to be mentors.
T heir connection to the youth participants
extends beyond the technical instruction o f
photography ski Ils and into the useofpersonal
Sarah Reyna, 18 o f Washington County’ will be displaying this untitled black
and white photo at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center gallery. She is a
part o f the Straight Shooting program o f the Oregon Council fo r Hispanic
Advancement. Turn to page 5 to see another photo on El Observador.
experience in order to create excitement about
the activity.
The IFCC, located in an historic 1910
firehouse, is a non-profit, com m unity-based
p e o p le o f e v e ry e th n ic and c u ltu ra l
background can com e together as artists and
audience to explore, preserve, and honor their
diversity.
centerforthe visual and perform ingarts whose
program s focus on m ulticultural issues and
perspectives. Founded in 1982, the IFCC is
committed tocreating an environment in which
Steelhead Fishing
Beginning fisherfolk age 16 and up will
explore the sport o f fishing, including
technique and equipm ent. Larry Palmer, a
member o f the Sandy Steelheaders Chapter,
will share his strategies for success in local
w aters in Steelhead Fishing, a tw o-week
class on T uesday, January 11 and 18. The
cost is $10. Call 823-PLAY.
US West puts
O re g o n
schools
on
In fo rm a tio n
Superhighway
Grand Opening
Ihrning Conflict Into
j Win-Win
T h e O regon P eace Institute presents
TU RN IN G C O N FL IC T SITU A TIO N S
IN TO W IN -W IN , a w orkshop presented
by Linda Katz and Frances K aplan, which
wi 11 be held on January 20 from 6:30-9 p. m
■;
A s s im ia ie d P ress
i
at First United M ethodist Church, Room
134, at 1838 SW Jefferson Street, Portland.
T o register, call O PI at 503/725-8192. A
donation o f $ 10 w ould be appreciated.
Poetry Workshop
• I
The Attic is the Pacific N orthw est’s newest
and m ost unique literary studio. Intensive
and supportive, T he A ttic is a laboratory
for writers to study the imagination, develop
new ideas and m aterial, test the quality o f
their work, and prepare for publication.
T he A ttic begins its poetry w orkshops on
January 17, 2000. C lasses are open to all
poets. The Poetry W orkshop will meet
M ondays, 8-10p.m .
piioiora
Free Lead Testing
C hildhood lead testing is a m ajor and
preventable environm ental health problem
and lead-based paint is now the primary
source o f lead exposure. Free lead testing
for children will take place the second
Saturday o f each m onth, from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. at Com m on Bond, 4919 NE Ninth
A venue (N ortheast N inth and Alberta
behind St. A ndrew ’s Church).
Fulton Park Family
: Night
An inexpensive solution to the question o f
“ W hat to d o ?’ on a Friday night for parents
and kids age 2-10 is the Fulton Park Family
N ight. A ctivities chan g e w eekly and
include a craft project, tum bling, riding
toys, gam es, volleyball, and basketball.
Lim ited to the first 100 people, so plan to
get there early. T his w eekly activity runs
6:30-8:30 p.m. beginning Friday, January
21. C ost is $5 p er fam ily. For more
inform ation or to register, stop by the
center at 68 S W M iles, visit our w eb site at
www.portlandparks.org, orcall 823-PLAY.
M. W ashington
From left to right: Ross Barrett, assistant manager, and
Eric Hansen, manager, celebrate the grand opening o f the
new Binge n i l Ie store in northeast Portland.
Officials defend Y2K spending, problems were averted
A ssam ia i ed P ress
The state has spent more than $86 m illion
ferreting out data glitches in governm ent
com puter softw are and says the am ount is
justified considering what might have been.
— More than 360,000 low-income Oregonians
would have been kicked o ff the Oregon Health
Plan Jan. 1 because the state com puters
though, their eligibility ended with the 20th
century.
— Foster parents and institutions caring for
6,500 children under state protection would
not h av e been paid b ec au se th e sta te
com puters suddenly thought the children
were from 79 to 100 years old.
— Signals controlling highw ay on-ram ps,
thinking it was a weekend o f a year before
there was traffic, would have stayed green
longer and created rush-hour chaos.
— Employment Department com puters would
have thought nobody had w orked in 99 years,
and unem ploym ent checks w ould no, have
been sent out as scheduled.
— The Law Enforcement Database System,
w hich police use to look up d rivers' licenses,
would have crashed
O verall, officials said, problem s w ould have
been w idespread and troublesom e.
T he cos, in Oregon may eventually reach
$100 m illion. State officials defended their
efforts, saying the thorough inventory o f the
state's interlocking com puter system s itself
will be valuable over time.
They noted there likely would have been
ex p en siv e law su its if th e serv ices had
stopped.
“We know w e would have had systems fail,"
said Barbara Jensen. O reg o n 's Y2K project
manager. She said the three-year project “was
not only necessary , i, w as valuable.”
I he price tag in Oregon was about the same
as it w as in A la b a m a , F lo rid a an d
M assachusetts, all m ore populous states than
Oregon It was about the sam e as wha, Nike
spent with its $9 billion in annual revenue
com pared to O regon’s annual state budget o f
about $5.5 billion.
The new year begins with good news for
students and teachers in public schools all
across Oregon - a commitment by US West
to provide $ 50 m i 11 ion over the next two years
to support the use o f technology in O regon’s
schools. The first installment o f the grant - a
check for m ore than $25 million - was
presented to G overnor John Kitzhaber by
Larry Huss, US West Vice President Oregon,
and a group o f North Salem High School
students at a cerem ony at the State Capitol.
"This check represents an opportunity for
all o f O regon’s K -12 schools - urban and rural
- to invest in technology that will be essential
in the 21st century,” Kitzhaber said.
“ It’s a down payment on our children’s
future," said Huss, and par, ofourcommitment
to Oregon. But we w ouldn't be here today if
no, for the vision o f Senator David Nelson,
Representative Jim Hill,G overnor Kitzhaber
and com m unity leaders from all across the
state who supported Senate Bill 622.”
The $25 m illion grant will go to the
Connecting Oregon Com munities Fund for
distribution to K -12 schools by the Oregon
D epartm ent o f E ducation. US W est is
scheduled to m ake an additional $25 million
grant in January 2001.
US West is the firs, telephone com pany to
elect to be regulated under Senate Bill 662,
telecommunications reform legislation passed
in the 1999 L egislative A ssem bly. The
legislation encourages com panies like US
West to provide critical funding for advanced
technologies in O regon’s schools and rural
com munities In electing to operate within the
provisions o f the new law, US W es, will be
removed from rate o f return regulation and
will operate under a system o f price caps.
“Schools that aren ’t wired today will be
wired with a local com puter network, and
every school facility will have funding for a
high-speed telecommunications connection,”
said Stan Bunn. Superintendent o f Public
Instruction.
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