Page A6
■ B
P o r t la n d
M ay 9,2001
¿Ütje ÿlortlanb ©bseruer
*
tfXi.rriirr
M H
Computer Upgrade Puts Urban
League Back on Track
T h e U rb a n L ea g u e o f P ortland
h as c o m p leted a m a jo r u p g rad e o f
a c o m p u te r sy stem to h elp it e x ­
p an d se rv ic e s to the p u b lic and
co rrec t re c o rd k e e p in g erro rs that
in th e p a st h a d put th e a g e n cy in
fin an cial trouble.
" O u r o ld sy stem c ra sh ed tw o
y ea rs ag o an d that w as p art o f the
p ro b le m ,” sa id U rban L ea g u e e x ­
ec u tiv e P atrick S chw ab. “ W hen
fu n d in g a g e n c ie s a sk ed fo r fin an ­
c ia l an d p ro g ra m in fo rm atio n , the
le a g u e sim p ly d id n o t h av e the
te c h n o lo g y to a n sw e r th e q u e s ­
tio n s e fficien tly .
N o w , th a n k s to sig n ific an t h elp
fro m se v eral are a b u sin e sse s and
o rg a n iz a tio n s, th e U rb a n L eague
h as the la test a c c o u n tin g so ftw are
fo r financial d ata, a c o m p u te r sy s­
te m to track p ro g ra m s, and o u t­
sta n d in g s ta ff to su p p o rt th e te c h ­
nology.
Intel d o n a te d $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 to help
u n d e rw rite th e c o s ts o f a n ew
in fo rm atio n te ch n o lo g y in frastru c­
tu re an d fin an cial d a ta b a se so ft­
Seniors Eye
Vouchers for
Farmers
M arkets
An estimated 15,000 Oregonians
are expectedtotakepartinanew state
program to help seniors buy fresh
produce at farmers markets
“This is innovative way to put
more fresh fruit and vegetables into
thedietofolderOregomansandatthe
same time support our state’s farm­
ers,” says JeffM illerofthe Senior and
Disabled Services Division o f the
Oregon Department o f Human Ser-
Charmaine Rhoden, a student intern from Portland Community College,
checks a powerful new computer server and internet connecting system at
the Urban League o f Portland.
(P hoto by M ichael L eighton /T he P ortland O bserver )
w are to su p p o rt b o th cu rren t an d
long-term o p era tin g goals. H ew lett
P ack ard m a tch e d In te l’s su p p o rt
by d o n a tin g d esk to p sy stem s an d
vices.
Funded by a $1.5 million federal
grant the program will distribute v ouch­
ers to low-income Oregon seniors for
exclusive use at participating fanners
markets.
State officials expect to hand out
vouchers to 15,000 people on a first
come first-servedbasis beginning May
15. There is a limit of$ 100 in vouchers
per household and the benefit can only
be used between June 1 and Oct. 28.
Toqualify, an individual must be 65
or older, earn no more than $11,592
annually, and receive services through
the Older Americans Act or the Senior
and Disabled Services Division. For
more information, call503-945-6410.
Public Utility Chair Booted
(AP) - An annoyed Gov. John
Kitzhaber announced h e’s ending
the term o f Public Utility Commis­
sion Chairman Ron Eachus earlier
than planned, in part because o f
less-th a n -fla tte rin g com m ents
Eachus made about the governor
in a recent interview.
Kitzhaber announced that instead
o f serving until the end o f the year,
Eachus will leave the commission
as soon as Roy Hemmingway is
confirmed by the Senate as a com ­
missioner.
Eachus had sharply criticized
Kitzhaber since the governor an­
nounced on April 10 he would not
reappoint him to the utility-regulat­
ing panel on which he has served
fo r 14 y ea rs. E ach u s said
Kitzhaber’s action “lacked cour­
tesy and class and perhaps some
courage.”
“1 think it was because we are
too independent, too visible and as
such perhaps too troublesome for
the governor to consider us one o f
his own,” Eachus told the States­
man Journal after Kitzhaber failed
to reappoint him to the PUC.
In a letter to Eachus released last
week, the governor told him he had
been the panel’s greatest asset but
also “its greatest liability as well.”
UPS Offers Career Training
U nited Parcel Service has teamed
up with Portland Public Schools, Port­
land Com m unity College, the Portland
Area Career Training Center and the
Alternative Pathways Program to offer
the UPS Earn and Learn Program to
Portland-area high school students.
The program gives high school stu­
dents the opportunity to work part-
time at UPS while attending high school
and taking up to four college-level
courses at Portland Community Col­
lege courtesy o f UPS. Once the stu­
dents have graduated high school,
they are eligible to continue to work
part-tim e at UPS, attend college and
earn up to $23,000 in college tuition
reim bursement
To leam more about the PPS-UPS
Education Partnership, call K athy
Treves, PPS Business Partnerships
manager, at 503 281 -0668.
Survey Puts Portland First in Recycling
(A P )— A national publ ication has
rated Portland as the top recycler among
the nation’s 30 largest cities.
Portland has arecyclingrateof53.6
percent, four tenths o f a percent below
the 54 percent rate it set as its recycling
goal for 2000. The city’s office o f
sustainable developm ent is outlining
a proposal to meet the goal o f a 60-
percent recycling rate by 2005.
U nder consideration for future im­
provem ents are diverting food waste
and other organics from the landfill,
working with neighborhoods that have
low recycling rates, and outreach pro­
grams with businesses.
Neil Kelly Awards Luncheon Friday
T he N o rth -N o rth ea st B usiness
A ssociation and the R otary Club o f
A lbina are jo in in g in sponsorship o f
the 14th A nnual E xcellence in B usi­
ness and Neil K elly Day A w ards Lun­
cheon F riday,M ay 11th at 11:30a.m .
at S h en an ig an ' s R estaurant on Swan
Island.
The jo in t sponsorship is a first for
t
the tw o organizations and consoli­
dates their ongoing tribute to the life
o f the late rem odeling contractor Neil
Kelly. The Portland businessm an de­
veloped a thriving business in the
heart o f A lbina and dedicated him self
to im proving opportunities, particu­
larly for youth in his beloved inner
city neighborhood.
<
o rd e rin g a sig n ific an t d isco u n t on
n e tw o rk eq u ip m en t.
T h e L e a g u e also rec eiv e d in-
k in d su p p o rt fro m P o rtlan d C o m ­
m u n ity C o lle g e stu d e n ts an d the
O regon N ational G uard. V olunteers
d o n ated m o re th an 5 0 0 h o u rs to ­
w ard th e d esig n a n d in stallatio n o f
th e L e a g u e ’s n ew te ch n o lo g y in ­
fra stru c tu re o v e r th e la st th re e
m o n th s.
" O u r n ew te ch n o lo g y sy stem is
a m ilesto n e in th e U rb an L e a g u e ’s
effo rt to re-estab lish its p o sitio n as
an e ffec tiv e co m m u n ity resource,”
said M argaret C arter, P resident and
C E O o f the L eague. “W e are grateful
for the co llaborative efforts o f b u si­
ness leaders, com m unity leaders and
students to get th is jo b done.
T h e new data infrastructure in­
cludes m o re than tw enty n ew c o m ­
puters, a heavy-duty netw ork server,
four laser printers and m o re than
6,000 feet o f netw ork cable. T he
O regon N ational G uard helped d e­
sign the netw ork and th e cen tral
w irin g clo set. U rb an L ea g u e s ta ff
an d P C C stu d e n ts d rilled d o ze n s Of
h o le s in th e 1 0 0 -y ear-o ld U rb an
L eag u e b u ild in g to p u ll th o u san d s
o f feet o f cable.
Airport to Fix
Columbia Slough
Waste Problem
S en s. G o rd o n S m ith, R-
O re. and R on W yden, D -O re,
an n o u n ced th at the P ortland
In tern atio n al A irport will re ­
ceiv e $8.5 m illion fo rth e c o n ­
struction o f a holding tank that
w ill cap tu re n jaterials used to
d e-ic e p lan es and runw ays.
C urrently, m aterials used in
th e d e-icin g process com bine
w ith storm w ater and drain into
th e C o lu m b ia Slough. A n a d ­
d itio n al $5.9 m illion w ill be
m ade av a ila b le for the im ­
p ro v em en t o f a runw ay and
the installation o f low visibility
lig h ts at the airport.
“ T h ese fu nds w ill allo w
PD X and th e Port o f P ortland
to im p lem en t strict en v iro n ­
m en tal p ractices w ithout sac­
rificin g th e safety o f airlin e
p asse n g ers,” said Sm ith. “ B e­
ca u se o f the P o rt’s efforts,
th e C o lu m b ia R iv er w ill be
safer, c lea n er and m ore hos-
p itab le to salm on and p eo p le
alik e.”
“ F in d in g new situ atio n s to
th e problem o f d e-icing ru n o ff
is essen tial to m ain tain in g the
safety o f PD X p assen g ers and
th e in teg rity o f th e C o lu m b ia
R iv er,” W yden said. “T h ese
funds w ill pro v id e th e airp o rt
and the Port o f P o rtlan d w ith
th e m eans to fa cilitate both.
I t’s a w in-w in situ atio n for
th e co m m u n ity and th e e n v i­
ro n m en t.”
T he m aterial used for d e ­
icing w ill be released from the
sto rag e tank into C ity o f P o rt­
land sew er sy stem for tre a t­
m ent. It w ill then b e tru ck ed
to a lte rn a tiv e lo catio n s for
treatm en t o r recycling. W ith
th e new system in place, m ost
o f th e m aterial used to d e-ice
p lan es and ru n w ay s w ill no
longer drain into the C olum bia
R iver.
Its Has f ira lty H appened !
H. & B. Too
Oregon's Oldest Licensed Pawnshop
Is ready to open in your neighborhood
4709 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Just south of Alberta
Hours:
■
Plenty of Free Parking
Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:30pm
Saturday
10:00am - 4:00pm
We’ll get there together.
W ho’s going to solve
the energy crunch?
All of us.
Whether it's buying energy-efficient
appliances or turning off lights when
we leave the room, we've all become
more thoughtful about how we use
electricity. Many of our residential,
business, industrial and farm
customers have been taking advantage
of our programs to save even more
electricity. And we've been taking our
own advice by using energy-saving
measures where we work and live.
If we all do our part, we'll have the
energy we need.
Let’s all do our part. Call our Energy
Services Hotline at 1-800-222-4335,
and ask for a copy of our Bright Ideas
booklet for more energy-saving tips.
# PACIFIC POWER
Making it happen.
«2001 Pacificorp
I