Homeless Camp Moved to Northeast Site
‘Dignity Village’ puts down roots on a city-approved site... See Story in, Page A5
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Volume XXXI
Number 37
www.portlandobserver.com
Charge
Against
Nurse
Dropped
Trespassing
complaint against
Mariah Taylor
called a “mistake
from the beginning’’
Mariah Taylor
by M ichael L eighton
T hi P ortland Q bseky t r
A trespassing charge against
Mariah Taylor has been dropped.
The registered nurse and founder
of the North Portland Nurse Practi­
tioner Community Health Clinic was
arrested Aug. 24 for criminal tres­
pass at the Sheridan Federal Cor­
rection Facility.
Taylor, 58, refused to leave the
prison saying she was unjustly “pro­
filed guilty” after an electronic scan
was done of her hands with a false
positive for illegal drugs. She was
there to visit her incarcerated son.
“This arrest was a m istake from
the beginning. Ms. Taylor is a
sterling individual; she m akes me
proud to represent the Third C on­
gressional District. I am glad my
office could play a role in getting
this issue resolved,” C ongress­
man Earl Blum enauer, announced
last week.
T he c o n g r e s s m a n ’s o ffic e
worked with the office o f the D i­
rector of Federal Bureau o f Pris­
ons in W ashington, D .C ., the
Yamhill S heriff's office and the
Yamhill D istrict Attorneys office
to resolve this matter.
“The irony i s M s. Tay lor has done
so much to rid her community of
drug use. She abhors d ru g s,”
Blumenauer added. "The fact that
continued
"The City Of Roses"
on page A4
Knight Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1205
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 197«
Hijacked flights are used as
bombing weapons to rein
terror on New York, D.C.,
and other targets
September 12, 2001
Attacked
BY JER R Y SCHW ARTZ
A P N a tional W rit er
NEW YORK (AP) - In one of the most devastating
attacks ever against the United States, terrorists crashed
two airliners into the World Trade Center in a closely
timed series of blows Tuesday that brought down the
twin 110-story towers. A plane also slammed into the
Pentagon as the government itself came under attack.
Thousands could be dead or injured, a high-ranking
New York City police official said, speaking on condition
of anonymity.
A fourth jetliner, apparently hijacked, crashed in
Pennsylvania.
President Bush ordered a full-scale investigation to
“hunt down the folks who committed this act.”
Authorities had been trying to evacuate those who
work in the twin towers when the glass-and-steel sky­
scrapers came down in a thunderous roar within about
90 minutes after the attacks, which took place minutes
apart around 9 a.m. But many people were thought to
have been trapped. About 50,000 people work at the
Trade Center and tens of thousands of others visit each
day.
American Airlines said two of its planes, both hi­
jacked, crashed w ith a total of 156 people aboard, but said
it could not confirm where they went down. Two United
airliners with a total o f 110 aboard also crashed - one
outside Pittsburgh, the other in a location not immedi­
A series o f photos show Tuesday's destruction o f the World
Trade Center towers in New York.
ately identified. Altogether, the planes had 266 people'
aboard.
“This is perhaps the most audacious terrorist attack
that’s ever taken place in the world,” said Chris Yates,
an aviation expert at Jane’s Transport in London. “It
takes a logistics operation from the terror group in­
volved that is second to none. Only a very small handful
of terror groups is on that lis t.... I would name at the top
of the list Osama bin Laden.”
Within the hour, the Pentagon took a direct, devastat­
ing hit from a plane. The fiery crash collapsed one side of
the five-sided structure.
continued
on page B8
Security tightened across Oregon after terror attacks
Several hundred people showed up at the American
Red Cross at 3131 N. Vancouver in Portland to
donate blood in the hours after the attacks in New
York and Washington, D.C. The Red Cross reminds
people that blood donations will be ju st as
important in the next few days and next week as
victims continue to need treatment.
by AMALIE YOUNG
T hi A ssociated P ress
(A P)— Federal, state and city officials
across Oregon took precautions Tuesday
to ensure that buildings, dams and other
facilities were safe after apparent terrorist
attacks in New York City and Washington,
DC.
All airports were closed following the East Coast attacks, including Portland International Airport, where
a look o f desertion took over the place late Tuesday morning after 305 flights were grounded and about
25,000 passengers had to change their plans because all departures were suspended.
Still, Gov. John Kitzhaber urged Orego­
nians to remain calm. “There’s absolutely
no intelligence to suggest the state of
Oregon is a target," he said in a televised
news conference.
Portland General Electric’s 800 or so
employees at its headquarters in the down­
town W orld Trade Center “have been
photos by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bsery er
evacuated” as a security precaution, said
Scott Simms, a utility spokesman.
Oregon State Troopers were posted at
the state Capitol, while building managers
closed underground parking and closed
off parking on streets nearby.
The Army’s chemical weapons depot
in Hermiston was placed on heightened
security, said Army spokeswoman Mary
Binder. She declined to give more details.
Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, an O r­
egon Air National Guard training base for
F-15 fighter jets, was placed by national
direction on heightened alert, along with
continued
on page R8
Harassment Takes Out Portland Firefighter
Black recruit was subjected to frequent derogatory racial comments and pornographic pranks
(AP)— A black firefighter is out of work
on a stress-related disability leave be­
cause of racial harassment he faced in a
Portland fire station.
Rick Fizer. 31, said he was subjected to
frequent derogatory racial comments and
demeaning and pornographic pranks ob­
served and overlooked by commanders at
the station located off North Interstate
Avenue and Going Street.
4
>
An independent investigator hired by
the Portland Fire and Police Disability and
Retirement Fund backed up Fizer’s allega­
tions. A fund committee reviewed the re­
port and approved Fizer's claim without
objection Aug. 24.
Fizer told the investigator he was sub­
jected to a “gross hostile working environ­
ment" that he could no longer tolerate, and
attempts to alert supervisors within the
station resulted in no improvement or ac­
tion against other firefighters.
“It’s almost a case study of what an
organization shouldn’t do when someone
comes forward with a complaint like that,"
said City Auditor Gary Btackmcr, one of
the committee members. "He w as made to
feel like it was more of his problem. That’s
the kind of thing that discourages people
from reporting it."
)
&
Fire Chief Ed Wilson on Friday declined
to discuss Fizer's specific allegations or
the fund’s investigative report.
Wilson said Division Chief Rich Grace
is overseeing an internal fire bureau inves­
tigation, which is expected to be done
within a couple of weeks.
“I assure you that this issue is being
continued
on page R8
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