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August 1
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Caribbean Music in the Park
Have lunch at the Eastbank Esplanade and
a freenoon-timeconcert You will suddenly feel
as though you are lounging on a Caribbean
Island. TherewillbemarimbatnusiconFriday,
Aug. 3 and Friday, Aug. 17; Steel drum music
onFriday.Aug. 10. All concerts are from Noon
-lpm.Call503/823-5596.
Preparing for Childbirth
New Parks Bus Finds Niche Worker
to Fight
For Job
Leam about laborpreparation, birthing from
within, breastfeeding basics, coping tech
niques, medication, anesthesia, baby care and
postpartum care for the mother and family
Includes tour. The Center for W omen’s Health
Classes atOHSUis sponsoring theeventwhich
willbeheldonAug. 8,15,22 and29,froni6-8pm.
Call503/494-8231.
Employee who
supervised Gresham
toddler’s fatal visit
appeals dismissal
Stories of the Eastbank
Explore the un-natural history o f the
W illamette River with Paul Fishman, envi­
ronmental consultant. V iew and discuss how
the Esplanade design incorporates many
features to protect and enhance fish and
wildlife habitat and how past land use prac­
tices com prom ised tlie integrity ofthe river’s
ecological balance. M eet at the west end o f
the Steel Bridge w alkw ay at the north end o f
Waterfront P ark Call 503/823-5596 formore
info. This is a free event.
Libraries Closing on Aug. 9
All Multnomah County libraries, the Title
Wave Used Bookstore and the Library Admin­
istration building will be closed on Thursday,
Aug. 9, whole library staff attend training. Nor­
mal hours will resume on Friday, Aug. 10.
Teen Summer Kayak
Experience
Portland Parks and Recreation is offering
a chance for teens to try out several kinds o f
boats, from sea kayaks to racing boats. Inter­
ested participants will have the opportunity
to continue paddling at the regular sum m er
practice sessions o f the Portland Kayak and
Canoe Team. Participants m ust pass a basic
sw im test. Participants must meet at the
Sellw oodPool,9a.m .-3p.m ., daily. Call 503/
823-5132.
Meditation Classes Offered
Oregon H ealth & Science U niversity’s
Healthy A ging Project is offering meditation
classes on Thursdays from 5:3 0 - 7 :3 0 p.m.
in the School ofNursing, room 602. This new
meditation program is designed to help people
adjust to the changes o f the second h alf o f
life, and improve one ’ s health and well being.
The class will leam six different forms o f
meditation. Call 503/494-7757.
An Evening of Excellence
You are invited to jo in us in the celebra­
tion o f H ope H ouse’s first banquet fund
raiser on Saturday, Aug. 4 ,7 p.m. Com e one,
come all, as w e enj oy this time o f celebration.
The event will be held at the Ram ada Inn
(Airport), w hich will include a foil dinner
buffet and music by G ospel singer Ruby
Teny. C all503/287-0060.
33-family Rummage Sale
The Grant Gendrills dance team will hold
its giant, annual 33-family Rum m age Sale
fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 11, from 8:30
а. m. to 3 p.m. at the front entrance o f Grant
High School, located at 2245 N.E. 36"’ Ave.
Items for sale will include collectible, furni­
ture, clothes, books, toys, sporting goods
and tools.
Lead Poisoning Prevention
Workshop
The C om m unity Energy Project spon­
sors free Lead Poisoning Prevention W ork­
shops for Portland residents. Income-quali­
fied participants receive a free prevention kit
worth about $45. Free childcare is provided,
ih e next w orkshop will be on M onday, Aug.
б, from 6-7:30p.m .atN eighborhoodH ouse,
Tum ingPoint Program, 6552 S.W. 19'*’Ave.
Call 503/284-4962 to pre-register.
Twins and More
D oem becher Children’s Hospital on the
S'” floor will be giving a talk on “Twins and
M ore,” from 6-8 p.m. on W ednesday. Aug.
8. D iscover tricks and insights from trained
staff on how to sim plify your delivery and
infant care and feeding w hen you are expect­
ing twins or more. Meet other m oms to be,
and share your concerns and questions in a
supportive environment. To register, call
503/418-4200.
I
P hoto by M ark W ashincton ZT he P ortland O bserver
The Portland Parks and Recreation Department's new ‘‘RecN'Roll" bus, with its portable arts and crafts, sports and other activities,
draws a lot of interest while parked at the downtown waterfront. The bus has been a huge success this summer, drawing kids to area
parks where normally no summer activity programs are available.
Supplies Extremely Low for CityTeam Shelter
C ityT eam M inistries’ shelter and soup
kitchen is w orking overtim e to keep up w ith a
record num ber o f hom eless people show ing
up at its doorsteps for food, shelter and
addiction counseling. This sum m er, the num ­
bers o f hom eless people needing food and
shelter have more than doubled, leaving the
cupboards and freezers bare. “N orm ally we
have four freezers up and running, but w e are
dow n to tw o and our m eat supply is nearly
gone,” said Julie Stephenson, D irector o f
CityTeam . “O ur w inter num bers never died
off, the people ju st keep on com ing and we
need em ergency help if w e w ant to continue
serving a record crow d.”
T he soup kitchen regularly offers lunch
and dinner five days a w eek, and is only
closed W ednesday and Sunday.
B e c a u s e o f u n u s u a l o v e rc ro w d in g ,
C ityT eam now em ploys a lottery system for
hom eless men in need o f a bed. T he shelter
only has 55 beds available. “ Besides m eat and
frozen vegetables, we are running out o f
blankets and the w eather has been unusually
cold at night,” said Stephenson. A nyone can
help by dropping o ff blankets, m eat and veg­
etables or tax-deductible cash donations at
the ministry located at 526 S.E. G rand Ave. For
m ore inform ation call 503-231 -9334 o r 503-
490-8806.
Kafoury to Lead
Democrats
Rep. Deborah Kafoury, representing north
and northeast Portland, will serve as H ouse
D em ocratic Leader. Kafoury is serving her
second term in House District 18. She was
H ouse D em ocratic W hip during the session
that ended in July. “ I’m honored m y co l­
leagues have chosen to give m e the respon­
sibility o f leading our caucus,” K afoury said,
follow ing her election to the position on Sat­
urday.
K afoury is a form er aide to form er C on­
gressm an Les A uCoin in W ashington D.C.
She is a graduate o f G rant High School and
has a bachelor’s degree in E nglish from
W hitm an College. During her three years in
the O regon Legislature, she has focused on
advocating for O reg o n 's children, families
and seniors by prom oting educational oppor­
tunities, healthy families, strong com m uni­
ties and responsible government.
1
P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Mark Duhrkoop points to a bare freezer as a sign of trouble at the CityTeam
Ministries Shelter and Soup Kitchen on Grand Avenue in southeast
Portland. Donations are urgently needed to offset the record number of
people receiving emergency help this summer.
(A P) - A state casew orker who
sat in a car reading a new spaper
w hile the wom an he was supervising
allegedly strangled her daughter will
contest his dism issal from the State
O ffice o f Services to C hildren and
Fam ilies.
D ale K raft, 51, will get a hearing
before agency m anagers Friday to
protest his term ination.
K raft, a veteran state em ployee
only a short tim e aw ay from being
eligible to retire a fter 30 years w ith
full benefits, is entitled under his
union contract to defend his jo b in a
hearing.
L ast w eek, the state announced
plans to dism iss K raft. It did not
explained the exact reasons, but said
he gave inconsistent answ ers during
a state D epartm ent o f Justice in v es­
tigation o f A lexis L o p ez’s death.
Lane T oensm eier, an organizer for
Local 503 o f the Service Em ployees
International U nion, said the union
will represent Kraft at the hearing. He
would not discuss the case specifically,
but said the state agency had preju­
diced K raft’s case by announcing the
intention to consider dismissal before
he had a chance to defend him self at a
hearing.
Alexis, a ward o f the state, died July
11 during a visit with her mother, 32-
year-old Sharon W eston, in a Gresham
park. Weston had lost custody o f Alexis
last fall. She is accused o f killing the
20-month-old girl after taking her away
from Kraft to a secluded part o f the
park. W eston is charged with murder.
Police found Kraft sitting in a state
car m ore than 45 minutes after the crime
was reported. According to a statement
released by the Department o f Human
Services, an investigation by the Depart­
ment o f Justice concluded that Kraft
made inconsistent statements.
As a human services assistant for the
children’s agency, Kraft had been as­
signed to arrange and superv ise the visit.
He had arranged other visits for the child
with her mother.
Big Pipe to Close West Burnside
o n d a y , W e st B u rn s id e
S tre e t, betw een 14lh and
19,h Avenues, will close to construct
a segm ent o f the T anner C reek
Stream Diversion project.
The work is part o f the city’s C om ­
bined Sewer O verflow program . It
was o rig in a lly planned to begin on
July 23, but m oved to accom m o­
date changes in the construction
schedule.
C rew s w ill dig a diagonal tren ch
across the street to install a six-
foot d iam eter pipe.
T his project is part o f the c ity 's
2 0 -y ear com bined sew er overflow
program to prevent overflow s to
the W illam ette River.
M
P hoto bv M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Motorists are advised ofthe pending closure of West Burnside for installation of a big
pipe to divert Tanner Creek from the city 's combined sewer flow.