Youth Speak Out Against Police Abuse
See story, page A5
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Knight Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1205
"The City Of Roses'"
Volume XXXI
Number 35
www.portlandobserver.eom
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
August 29, 2001
Beloved Nurse Shaken by Prison Visit Aaliyah
Winners Claim Shares
of Powerball Jackpot
Three o f the four winners of the $294.8
million Powerball jackpot claimed their
shares, including a Maine couple who
hid their winning ticket in a box of
cereal, a medical records clerk from
Minnesota and a 46-year-old ex-con
vict from Kentucky.
Bush Vow on Social
Security 'Symbolic'
WASHINGTON — The White House
is backing away from its pledge to pro
tect every cent of Social Security re
serves. The non-partisan Congressional
Budget Office says the government will
have to use $9 billion of Social Security
reserves to cover the fiscal year ending
Sept. 30.
Israel Seizes Positions
in Palestinian Town
BEIT J ALL A, West Bank— In response
to massive Palestinian fire on a Jewish
neighborhood, Israeli forces entered
this Palestinian town, took up posi
tions in several buildings and imposed
a curfew.
Drugs Trigger Withdrawal of
Student Financial Aid
This year an estimated 28,230 college
students were denied federal financial
aid because they have admitted to a
drug conviction. This is the first time
aid is being denied to applicants who
leave the drug-conviction question
blank on their applications. That could
keep 11,417 more students from getting
aid.
Remembered
as Rising Star
Mariah Taylor is
arrested for
trespassing after
complaining about
drug detector
Plane crash in the
Bahamas takes life
of 22 year-old
singer, actress
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
A woman well loved for her work on
behalf of women and children in the north/
northeast community has been left shaken
from an incident at the Federal Correc
tional Institution in Sheridan.
Mariah Taylor, a nurse practitioner who
has earned national praise for her work
providing medical care to low-income resi
dents. was arrested at the prison Friday
and cited with criminal trespassing.
Taylor said it happened after she tried
to visit her son, an inmate of the federal
facility.
The visit was denied because a sensi
tive scanner detected drug traces on her
body.
Taylor says she is drug-free and has
never used narcotics.
To back up those claims, she took a blood
and urine sample at Legacy Emanuel Hospi
tal a few hours after her arrest. The results
came back Monday and were negative.
“I was humiliated, handcuffed and
treated as a criminal,” Taylor said.
She described the ordeal as being “pro
filed guilty” with no opportunity to prove
her innocence.
“The privilege o f visiting with my son
was denied on the basis of false and erro
neous drug charges,” she said. “I was not
guilty of the charges and I stood up for
what I thought was right.”
Taylor said she cried, pleaded and
begged for the staff to call people she
knew who could vouch for her credibility
Aaliyah was filming for her next
video before her death.
Nurse practitioner Mariah Taylor wonders how many more people have been
subjected to the same humiliation she says happened to her at the federal
prison in Sheridan and did not protest or stand up for their rights.
by N ekesa M lmbi M oody
T he A ssik ta ied P ress
P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
and character, including G ov. John
Kitzhaber.
Instead she was denied visitation, hand
cuffed and escorted to the outside where
a sh eriff s car was waiting for her.
Taylor said sh e riffs deputies from
Yamhill County took her to a detention
facility in Wilsonville.
But because the facility was closed, she
was returned to the parking lot at the
Sheridan prison and released.
From the'’moment the 15-year-old
Aaliyah burst onto the scene in 1994 —
an R& B singer whose sultry voice, strik
ing good looks and sexy attitude belied
her young age — it seemed as if every
thing she touched became a success.
Her debut album sold more than 1
million copies, she was nominated for a
Grammy twice and even her foray into
the movies yielded a surprise hit.
“I was trained since I was a little girl to
be able to do it all," the 22-year-old artist
said in a recent interview with The Asso
ciated Press.
Her career had barely begun to peak
when she was killed in a plane crash in
the Bahamas on Saturday.
Eight others on board also perished
when the twin-engine Cessna they were
traveling in went down shortly after it
took off; Aaliyah had been filming a
video for the next single off her album.
A statement released Sunday by the
singer's publicist, PMK, said: “Aaliyah's
family is devastated at the loss of their
loving daughter and sister. Their hearts
go out to those families who also lost
their loved ones in this tragic accident."
She is survived by her mother, father
and brother,
Aaliyah Haughton was bom in Brook
lyn on Jan. 16. 1979, and was raised in
Detroit. A career in entertainment ap
peared to be predestined: Her mother,
Diane, was a singer, and her uncle. Barry
Hankerson, was an entertainment man
ager who was once married to Gladys
Knight. By age 6, she was already on
stage, appearing in a production of the
musical “Annie.”
“I was an orphan, I had one little line,”
she recalled. “But what I loved about it
was just putting the production together,
being in the chorus, learning the rou
tines, singing, and doing a little bit of
The federal prison has been the subject
of complaints about the drug detector
before.
Critics say the ion scanner detects tiny
quantities of drug residue from currency,
taxi seats or other sources.
Just last week, the Portland Observer
ran a story about flaws in the system. The
American Civil Liberties Union reported
that it has received complaints about the
scanner from around the country.
Study: CEOs Rewarded for Layoffs
WASHINGTON — As the economy
slowed last year and companies laid off
workers, major chief executives were
rewarded for making job cuts, accord
ing to a study. Top job-cutters got an
average increase in salary of nearly
20% last year, compared with 3-4%
raises for salaried employees.
Employers ban dialing-and-driving
NEW YORK — Fearing multimillion
dollar lawsuits, many firms are banning
their employees from using cell phones
for work purposes while driving.
Prosecutors: Pharmacist
Tampered with IV Bags
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At least 150
• intravenous bags of cancer drugs used
by 30 to 35 patients may have been
altered for profit by a greedy pharma
cist. Each dilution could count as both
a “misbranding” and an adulteration
under federal law, prosecutors said in a
civil court filing.
Toddler of Fugitive Found Dead
SACRAMENTO - The 3-year-old son
of a missing man suspected o f murder
ing his wife and four relatives in two
Sacramento suburbs was found dead.
Authorities were led to the location by
a note written in Russian.
Rosemont Commons is the centerpiece of the refurbished Villa St. Rose, a beautiful, historic and abandoned
convent at 597 N. Dekum. Northwest Housing Alternatives. Inc., helped design the project which contains 165-
units o f new housing with homeownership and rental opportunities across a 7.6 acre parcel. A grand opening
celebration hosted by the Portland Development Commission. Northwest Natural. State Farm Insurance and Wells
Fargo Bank will be held on Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
acting.”
“T hat's when I said. I've got to do this
forever, she added.
By the time she was 11, she was pol
ished enough to earn an invitation from
Knight herself to perform with her in Las
Vegas.
But the singer who would have the
greatest impact on her career was R&B
superstar R. Kelly, best known for hits
such as “I Believe I Can Fly,” and for
writing and producing for performers
such as Michael Jackson.
Court Upholds Clegg Murder Conviction
( AP)— The Oregon Supreme Court has
upheld the convictions of a Portland man
found guilty of aggravated murder in hir
ing two men to kill his wife.
Prosecutors said GroverClegg Jr., plot
ted the July 30, 1993, death of Christina
“Tina” L. Clegg. She was shot when two
masked men burst into the north Portland
Head Start office where she worked.
Authorities said Clegg wanted to es
cape a troubled marriage, keep his two
A
I
sons and to collect a $1(X),(XM) life insur
ance policy on his wife.
The Supreme Court unanimously re
jected Clegg's claim that hearsay evidence
was improperly used against him. The
court said the evidence was justified un
der an exception to the general rule against
hearsay testimony.
Clegg, his brother. Randall Clegg, and
Reschard Steward were convicted of ag
gravated murder and sentenced to life in
I
prison without parole.
A fourth man, Larry Matthews, was
killed in an unrelated crime ir Alabama
before police could arrest him.
The jury found Steward guilty of being
one of two gunmen who burst into the
office and began shooting. Police said
Matthews shot Tina Clegg five times.
The state said C legg's phone state
ments were intended to ensure his wife
was at the office when the gunmen arrived.
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