Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
April 25, 2001
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SECTION
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YMCA Day Camp
The YM C A o fC olum bia - W illam ette is
currently holding open registration for D ay
C am ps for youth entering I s' - 8,h grades.
W eekly cam ps begin June 18th and run
through A ugust 31s'. Program s run from
6:30a.m . t o 6 p m . are conveniently located
at over 30 sites. For E astside C am p loca
tions contact 503/287-4069. For W estside
locations, call 503/641 -3345, ext. 105.
N aturescaping for Clean
R ivers
A free “N aturescaping for Clean R ivers”
w orkshop w ill be held on Saturday, M ay 5
at the Portland Parks N atural Resource O f
fice. T he w orkshop focuses on natural land
scapes and w ater-friendly gardening prac
tices. A naturescaped yard protects w ater
quality, conserves w ater and prevents ero
sion. T he w orkshop w ill be held on Satur
day, M ay 5, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the
P ortland P arks, N atural Resource O ffice,
located at 5701 SE. 86lh. A dm ission is free.
Call 503/797-1842.
The God Connection
T he G od C onnection invites you to their
A nnual Live C oncert and Silent A uction on
S aturday, A pril 28, from 6 p.m . - 10 p.m . at
4828 NE. 33rd. This y e a r’s L ive C oncert is
headlined by T heresa “ K eiko’s D ream ”
D em arest, and w ill feature other talented
Portland singer-songw riters including Juliet
W yers, A llyn R oberts, and C asey Chaney.
C a ll
5 0 3 /4 8 1 - 7 5 9 1 ,
or
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co n c ertfeg o d c o n n ec tio n .o rg .
Pet Adoption 2001
T he O regon H um ane Society jo in s with
hundreds o f anim al w elfare organizations
around the country for the M ay 5-6 “ Pet
A doption 2001.” O ver 140 hom eless pets
are expected to find loving hom es from the
O regon H um ane Society during the m ara
thon adoption w eekend. V isit the society,
located at 1067 NE. C olum bia Blvd. in Port
land, on Saturday, M ay 5 from 10 a m. and
Sunday, M ay 6 from 12 noon until 7 p.m. Call
503/285-7722,
Medicare Planning
“ M edicare P lan n in g ... M aking Sense o f
S upplem ental Insurance O ptions” is a two
hour u nbiased class for people ages 55
through 64 w ho are thinking o f returning or
for those approaching M edicare eligibility
age. P re-registration is required by calling
503/413-8795 The next class is on Tuesday,
M ay 1, from 6:30 p .m .- 9 p.m. on the G ood
S am aritan H ospital Cam pus.
Alexander Marcs joins other supporters of the group Friends of Trees for an Earth Day celebration and tree planting event Saturday at the
Trade Show Puts Minority Business Out Front
The Oregon Association of Minor
ity Entrepreneurs holds its annual
luncheon trade show with over 120
businesses, government agencies and
business developm ent resources,
Les Femmes* 50th
A nniversary Tea
In honor o f their 50”’ anniversary, the Les
Femmes requests the presence o f all past Debu
tante andCavilers, years 1951 to2000totheir50<’
Anniversary Tea on Saturday, April 28 at Im
maculate Heart Catholic Church Parish Hall,
located at 2926N. Williams Ave., from 2:3 0 -4
p.m. Call Betty Stephensat503/255-8645.
Vietnam Veterans of America
The V ietnam V eterans ofAmerica, Francis
C. Sollers C hapter392 invites you to com e to
our m onthly m eetings the 2nd W ednesday o f
every m onth at 7:30 p.m. at the VA Hospital,
2nd Floor, follow the signs. Call Kristin Kidd
at 503/777-9787 for more info or questions.
C areer Fest to Fill PCC
C ascade Gym
M ore than 70 em ployers will take part in
thePortlandComm unityCollege2001 Spring
C areer Fest, providing netw orking oppor
tunities for people seeking career options
and anybody w ishing to see a m ultitude o f
em ploym ent opportunities. The festival will
be held Tuesday, M ay 1 from 11 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. in the gym nasium on the Cascade Cam-
pus, 705 N. Kilhngsworth. Parking and admis
sion are free. Businesses attending include:
K aiser Perm anente. Southwest W ashington
M edical Center, Electro Scientific Industries.
Xerox, A-dec, Inc., Stream International. O r
egon State Police, U.S. Customs, American
M edical Response, Portland F ire Bureau and
Mt. Hood N ational Forest. Professional re
cruiters will offer em ploym ent workshops
and job coaching, covering the topics o f
resum e writing, interviewing and career tran
sitions . For more in formation, contact C oryell
at503-978-5290.
Thursday, May 3 at the Oregon Con
vention Center.
“The OAME logo symbolizes our
diversity as Oregonians working to
gether for business success,” said
Sam Brooks, OAME president and
chairman of the board.
“In 1994, we celebrated Hispanic
American owned businesses. In 1995,
we celebrated African American
owned businesses. In 1996, we cel
ebrated Asian American owned busi
nesses. In 1997, we celebrated Na
tive American businesses. In 1998,
we celebrated European American
businesses. In 1999, we held a joint
celebration of Oregon businesses. In
2000, OAME members voted to con
tinue the name and repeat the cel
ebration of each ethnic group. So we
began the new millennium with a
focus on Oregon's Hispanic Ameri
can owned businesses and this year.
OAME celebrates African Ameri
can owned businesses,” Brooks said.
The keynote speaker for this year’s
show is John Bryant, selected by
Time Magazine as “One o f America’s
50 Most Promising Leaders of the
Future.”
Bryant is the founder, Chairman
of the Board and CEO o f Operation
HOPE, Inc., America’s first non
profit investment banking organiza
tion. He also serves as Chairman
and CEO of the growing network of
Operation HOPE for-profit banking
centers and inner city cyber cafes.
Brooks said OAME is pleased to
work w ith all Oregon businesses and
service providers to produce this
year's luncheon and trade show.
Area residents and business people
are encouraged to join OAME in
celebrating and honoring Oregon’s
minority and small businesses. For
registration and exhibit and luncheon
information and reservations, con
tact OAME at 503-249-7744 or at
www.oame.org.
John Bryant
County Stops Sending Patients to Psychiatric Hospital
(A P) — M ultnom ah C ounty officials an
nounced T hursday it w ill stop sending p sy
chiatric patients to B H C -Pacific G atew ay
hospital w hile it continues to investigate the
death o f a M exican patient shot there by
p o lice. C o u n ty o ffic ia ls c ritic iz e d the
h o sp ital’s policy o f relying on police to co n
trol unruly and violent patients and allow ing
arm ed police officers into care units. Inspec
tors said they co u ld n ’t think o f a situation
w here arm ed personnel should m ake contact
w ith patients.
“ T he use o f police in term s o f bringing
firearm s into the unit needs to be d isco n tin
ued immediately," said Dr. Larry Marx, a m em
ber o f the co u n ty ’s investigative team.
C ounty m ental health officials began an
investigation after Jose Santos V ictor M ejia
I
Poot was shot to death by police A prif 1. two
days after he was admitted.
O fficers had twice been called to the hos
pital to deal with Mejia. D uring the first visit,
he allegedly threatened hospital staff and
officers w ith pencils before he w as placed in
a secure room. Less than an hour later, police
w ere called again after M ejia had escaped
from the room Police say three officers were
unable to control M ejia and used pepper
spray on him. then fired nonlethal beanbags.
W hen Mejia came at them w ith a m etal rod
ripped from a door, an officer shot him in the
chest and head, police say M ejia, 29. died at
the scene.
M ejia had been arrested tw o days earlier
on charges o f harassment and resisting arrest
after he boarded a Tri-M et bus and couldn't
pay his fare He w as released from jail that
evening, but another officer found him disori
ented and crying outside the dow ntow n po
lice building. H e was taken to the co u n ty ’s
crisis triage center, and eventually, to Pacific
Gateway.
The 66-bed hospital has called police 72
times since January 2000 to handle unruly
patients and o th er security problem s, records
show .
On T hursday, the county ordered the hos
pital to m ove its eight patients out o f Pacific
G atew ay until the hospital develops a plan to
com ply w ith county-ordered changes in poli
cies and procedures
The hospital has until April 26 to subm it a
corrective action plan Marx said only if it
does so by then will the county consider new
adm issions.
The county wants the hospital, the only
privately run m ental institution in the state, to
hire its ow n secun ty staff and determ ine w hen
it is appropriate for arm ed police officers to
help control patients.
The hospital issued a statem ent Thursday
acknow ledging that it has “som e very serious
deficiencies to correct.”
John van M ol, a spokesm an for B H C -Pa
cific G atew ay 's parent com pany. B ehavioral
H ealthcare C orp . said the hospital w ill work
as sw iftly as possible to m ake the required
fixes.
In addition to addressing the co u n ty 's
concerns, he said, the hospital also has agreed
to halt adm issions until state licensing offi
cials arc satisfied with the rem edies