May 9,2001
Portland
(Obi
Page A5
(Ttfe ^ìortlanò ffibaenwr
Health/Education
Alberta Street to Celebrate Art Saturday
The second annual Alberta
Street Art Hop is scheduled Sat
urday, May 12, with festivities
beginning at 10 a.m. and lasting
until 5 p.m.
Area merchants will welcome
new folks as well as neighbor
hood regulars to celebrate in the
meaning o f art, and enjoy a day
in a revitalized corridor known
for it's growing, exciting art cul
ture.
Alberta Street merchants will
be open and displaying art in a
variety o f forms. There will be
interactive hands-on art projects,
art education, and art-related
activities happening all day.
This year, Alberta m erchants
are promoting sustainable com
munity enrichment by team ing
up with Vocational Village High
School and the Community C y
cling Center for some exciting
projects and fund raising.
Vocational Village has cre
ated figurative metal sculptures
from recycled m aterial, called
Art AGOGS.
These artworks will decorate
th e e x te rio r s to re fro n ts o f
Alberta Art District merchants.
The long-term plan is to have
hundreds o f Art AGOGS lining
Alberta Street, from MLK. to
33rd. The Com m unity Cycling
C e n te r’s c e leb rates a grand
opening o f its new location at
The weekend is
what you make o f it.
FROM
79
B
î
k
1
Metal art is displayed by Nick Bruno, Natalie Davis and Liz Finjietd of Vocational Village to bring attention to
Saturday's Alberta Street Art Hop. The school is donating ¡0 o f the sculptures to personify the a re a ’s community
spirit and urban arts culture. The long-term plan is to have hundreds o f the so-called art AGOGs lining the
street.
1700 N.E. Alberta St. Sched
uled events include a juice ride,
live music and outdoor activi
ties. Donated funds will go to
wards the cycling center’s pro
grams for low-income minority
youth.
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Mercury-containing Necklaces Pose Health Risk
M ercu ry -co n tain in g n e c k
laces from M exico that are
showing up in Oregon are a
potential health hazard, warn
public health officials. The col
orful necklaces are often on a
beaded chain, cord or leather
strand with a glass pendant filled
with liquid m ercury, and they
may also contain brightly col
ored liquid. They come in vari
ous sh ap es such as h e a rts,
bottles, saber teeth and chili
pepper. The pendants are frag
ile and can easily break, spilling
liquid mercury.
“ Vapor from spilled m ercury
is highly toxic,” says M ichael
Heumann, environmental epide
m iologist at the state health di
vision. “We want the public to
understand this jew elry contains
enough mercury to be danger
ous to human health. W e’re con
cerned because we have a l
ready received a report o f one
Somebody Ought To Say
Something! b >- i .. k . buss
lhere are times when si
injustices; and that every time we
turn a blind eye, a deaf ear or
lence is not golden. There
comes a time when con
remain silent, our world changes
fronted by a moment or circum
and not for the better.
This column was developed to
stance that “somebody ought to
say something.”
provide good people o f conscious
and character with a venue in
Whether it’s about the dropout
rate o f Portland school children,
w h ich you can e v o lv e your
“somebody ought to say some
thoughts into words that can be
thing.”
heard, giving you an opportunity
to take a stand and speak up.
Incidents o f racial profiling,
ach o f us encounters
“somebody ought to say some
times where “somebody
thing.” Recognizing the accom
ought to say so m e
plishments and extraordinary con
thing!”
tributions o f ordinary people,
“somebody ought to say some
So, if you can shed light on
social injustices, share what you
thing.”
are hearing in the community, ad
O r on a lighter and more abstract
dress impending actions that im
note, when there is an accident on
pact your neighborhood or en
one side o f the 1-5 freeway, why
lighten others, I want to hear from
are all lanes slow and backed up?
you.
“Somebody ought to say some
thing.”
Contact me by mail at The Port
land Observer, attention L.K. Bass,
Sometimes its takes hearing
P.O. Box 3137, P ortland OR
someone else’s words to provoke
97208, o r via e -m a il at
further thought o f what you may
newstoportlandobserver. com or
otherwise dismiss; or that speak
Fax at 503-288-0015.
ing up is often the best deterrent to
T
E
Activists Give Food Stamp Program ’C’
O reg o n A ction, a grassro o ts
low -incom e o rganization, is g iv
ing the s ta te ’s food stam p p ro
gram a “ C ” grade. T he group
recently m et w ith state o fficials
in an effort to im prove the food
stam p program .
“ A d u lt and F am ily S ervices
gets an “ A ” for excellent jo b in
im proving outreach and in creas
ing food stam p en ro llm en t,” said
O reg o n A ctio n b o ard m em b er
Rose Spears. “ But they have a lot
o f w o rk to do in su re th at all
elig ib le w orking families in O r
egon get the food stam ps they
need,"
Oregon Action leader Samantha
W a tte n b u rg , a d d e d , “ W hen it
comes to feeding children and fami
lies, an ‘average’ jo b isn’t good
enough."
In the meeting, AFS officials
committed to the following food
stamp policy and program changes:
To insure that every food stamp
applicant is screened for em er
gency services upon first contact;
to have a two-page, shortened food
stamp application form in use by all
o f its offices by June 1 to enforce
a “no wrong office’ policy (appli
cants may apply at any office); and
to post a recipient’s bill o f rights
(negotiated previously with OA
leaders) in every office without
further delay.
Copies o f Oregon A ctin’s report
are available on the web at the site
o f the N orthw est Federation o f
C o m m u n ity
O rg a n iz a tio n
(www.nwfco.org).
necklace breaking in a class
room at a southern O regon
school.” Heumann says that if a
pendant breaks, the spilled m er
cury vaporizes quickly at room
tem perature. When the vapors
are breathed in, m ercury enters
the bloodstream and m ay cause
headache, co ugh,chest pain or
tig h tn e ss, and d iffic u lty in
breathing. If there is a lot o f
m ercury in the air or exposure
occurs over a long period o f
School Board
Cuts $20 Million
From Budget
The Portland school board ap
proved a budget M onday night that
cuts $20 million.
The board’s decision w ill likely
mean an end to many teacher posi
tions. Cuts will also dig into special
education, alternative education,
English as a Second Language
(ESL) program s and the Talented
and Gifted program. No department
will go unscathed by the budget ax;
it will take a slice out o f all depart
ments.
The vote also elim inated school
police, saving the district over $1.6
million. The city, however, decided
to pick up the tab o f funding school
police. In a letter Portland Mayor
Vera Katz said, “ I am recom m end
ing that we pick up the functions of
the school police because you have
given us little other choice.”
The cuts come as a result o f
declining enrollment and the state’s
failure to adequately fund schools,
the school district says.
Happy
Birthday
r
time, there can be nerve, brain
and kidney damage.
“W hether at school or home,
mercury spills o f any kind should
be treated as a hazardous spill,”
Heumann says.
For disposal inform ation call
Metro or the Oregon D epart
ment o f Environm ental Q uality
at 1-800-732-9253.
seafood at N o rth by Northwest. Go ahead, make it a weekend to
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