M
&
City Champs Open Against Glencoe
Franklin carries a league title victory over Lincoln into the state tournament
See story in sports, Page B5
JJartlanh ©bse
Al
Volume XXXI
Number 43
t v n f Of
R n Roses'
cpc"
The P i City
e
"T h p
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
wivw.portlandobserver.com
November 07, 2001
50*
Terrorism Watch Grows More Personal
Reported threats to West Coast bridges adds police
and military patrols; brings school evacuation plans
Bush Addresses Ex-Soviet States
W A S H IN G T O N — President B ush
com pared A fgh an istan ’s terrorist-har­
boring regim e to the totalitarian leaders
w h o en slaved Europe for m uch o f the
last century. H e a lso said terrorists are
seeking chem ical, biological and nuclear
w eap on s, p o sin g a threat “to c iv iliz a ­
Portland's main post office is one
o f 600 across the country to be
tested for possible contamination
o f anthrax.
tion itse lf.”
Post Office
Awaits Anthrax
Testing Results
Patriotic Emmys Take 'Wing'
T he E m m ys w rapped th em selv es in the
flag in a third try at handing out awards
for p rim etim e T V . M ost o f the attention
w as focu sed on the aw ards, including
S ex a n d th e C ity , nam ed best co m ed y
series, and N B C ’s The W est W ing, named
best drama for seco n d straight year.
Anthrax Found in Pentagon
W A S H IN G T O N — T w o postal b o x e s
at a U .S . P ost O ffice in sid e the Pentagon
have tested p o sitiv e for anthrax. The
facility w as sch ed u led for testin g b e­
cau se it gets its m ail from a con tam i­
nated p ost o ffic e in the D istrict o f C o ­
lumbia.
Traffic moves between Vancouver and Portland on the twin spans o f the Interstate Bridge in the wake o f a warning of
possible terrorist attacks on West Coast bridges.
photos by M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
Eight Western States on Alert
L O S A N G E L E S — T he FBI has alerted
eigh t w estern states that it has u n con ­
firm ed inform ation terrorists m ay be
targeting su sp en sion bridges o n the
W est C oast. H ow ev er, the FBI had not
yet corroborated the inform ation but
d ecid ed to issu e a w arning.
U X Closes in On Russia Arms Pact
D efen se Secretary D on ald R u m sfeld
v isits M o sco w this w eek en d to try to
c lo s e a d eal that w o u ld let President
B ush press ahead w ith a national m is­
sile d efen se. T he n egotiation s w ill set
the stage for P rcsid en tB u sh ’s N o v . 13-
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
The threat of possible terrorist attacks
has gotten more personal for Portland area
residents.
Local police have been seen keeping
watch beneath city bridges as Coast Guard
and sheriff's department boats cruise off
the downtown waterfront, responding to
reported terrorist threats against West
Coast bridges.
In addition, Portland schools within
three-quarters o f a mile of any bridge have
sent home evacuation plans in the unlikely
event that an incident occurred.
The schools involved are Lincoln High,
Buckman Elementary. Metropolitan Learn­
ing Center, Boise Eliot, Tubman Middle,
Benson High, CSC, Abernathy Elemen­
tary, Brooklyn Elementary, Sellwood,
James John Elementary, Astor Elementary
and Roosevelt High:
Last week, the Justice Department
warned that W est Cost bridges could be
targeted by terrorists. And California Gov.
Gray Davis announced that federal offi­
cials have “credible evidence” that terror­
ists may be targeting California bridges.
Tuesday, the FBI concluded that the warn­
ing wasn’t credible, but still wants law
enforcement to remain on high alert.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said there
was no evidence of a direct threat against
Oregon. But he ordered stepped-up police
patrols of the state’s most heavily traveled
bridges, mainly those in downtown Port­
land.
The Coast Guard has been checking the
undersides of Portland’s bridges since the
Sept. 11 East Coast terror attacks, but has
increased the number of patrols it sends out,
and the length of time they stay on the water.
A hazardous materials team will test
for anthrax spores at Portland's main
post office W ednesday as a precau­
tion, health officials said.
The Portland facility is one of 200
post offices to be tested nationwide. It
was selected because it is the major mail
hub serving Oregon and Southwest
Washington. Results could take up to
10 days.
Postal officials stressed that they
did not expect to find any anthrax in
Portland.
“We don’t suspect any contamina­
tion in the Portland facility,” Postal
Service spokesman Peter Hass said
Friday, adding that the facility will re­
main open during testing.
The tests were ordered after anthrax-
tainted letters surfaced on the East
Coast and anthrax spores were found at
postal centers in five states.
Portland district manager Dallas has
asked to have a mail-processing center
near Portland International Airport also
inspected as a precaution. That will be
done later, he said.
15 with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'Dirty'Bombs Latest Fear
T h e U .N .’s International A to m ic En­
i
ergy A g en cy w arned that terrorists m ay
steal radioactive materials to build “dirty
b om b s” aim ed at public pla ces. S u ch a
d ev ice co u ld k ill hundreds through ra­
diation p o iso n in g and co u ld con tam i­
Meeting Emergency Food Demands
Volunteers from
Tektronix work in
teams at the Oregon
Food Bank warehouse
on North Williams to
prepare boxes of
emergency food for
people in Oregon and
Southwest
Washington. More
than 300 Tektronix
employees
volunteered last week
as part o f a Food
Bank “Helping
Hands ’ program that
focuses on getting
people involved in
their neighborhoods
and community.
nate large areas.
House Passes Own Air Bill
W A S H IN G T O N — T h e H ou se p assed
its o w n version o f an aviation security
plan, taking issu e w ith the Sen ate over
w hether airport screeners should be
federal em p loyees.
Jobless Rate Jumps to 5.4%
W A S H IN G T O N — T he nation’s unem ­
p loym en t rate soared to 5.4% in O cto ­
ber, the b ig g est on e-m on th ju m p in
m ore than 21 years. M anufacturing,
airlines, travel a g en cies, h o tels, and
retailers w ere am ong those p ostin g big
lo s se s.
States Told to Make Megan's Laws
TmiaiMr
I WgpeWw
C O L U M B U S, O h io— T he federal g o v ­
ernment has ordered O h io and 13 other
states to m ake their M egan ’s law s stron-
ger or risk losing m illions in grant m oney.
States had until last m onth to change
their la w s to require se x o ffen d ers to
register w ith local authorities for life.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland
O bserver
Widespread
Job Losses
Reported
(AP) - The nation's unemploy­
ment rate soared to 5.4 percent in
October, the biggest one-month jum p
in more than 21 years, providing the
most dramatic evidence yet that eco­
nomic fallout from the terror attacks
probably pushed the country into
recession. Over 400.000 jobs were
eliminated during the month.
“It’s not good news for America,”
President Bush said Friday, urging
the Senate to quickly pass an eco­
nomic revival package. After meet­
ing with economic advisers. Bush
said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had
not only taken thousands of lives
but had also “threatened the liveli­
hoods o f thousands o f American
workers.”
c o n tin u e d
on p a g e A 3
Portland Area Residents to Consider W hitaker Plans
District may keep kids at other schools, redevelop the northeast school
Interim Superintendent Jim Scherzinger
presented his recommendations for north­
east Portland’s W hitaker Middle School
building and W hitaker students to the
Portland Schoo, Board Monday night.
The district will hold two community­
wide meetings in November to review the
recommendations and the other options.
The meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday Nov. 20 at Rigler Elementary
School, and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov.
28, at Vernon Elementary School.
The W hitaker building is not in use and
classes are being held at other locations
A
A
this year. Mold was found in the old build­
ing over the summer and repairs could not
be completed in time for the start of school.
Two weeks ago the school board re­
ceived a report indicating it would cost at
least $8.3 million to repair the Whitaker
building, which originally housed John
Adams High School.
The report recommended the building
not be repaired. It cited the cost, excess
space in the district, and the fact that even
if repaired the building still would not be
well-suited to a middle school.
Scherzinger's three-part recommenda­
tion would keep 7th and 8th graders to­
gether at the W hitaker Lakeside site on
Columbia Boulevard where they currently
attend classes. The 6th graders will stay at
Rice unless enrollment exceeds capacity.
But instead of scraping repairs and
selling the John Adams site, the school
chief recommends studying possible re­
development of the Adams High Schoo,
site.
One possible option could be a mixed-
use development including a smaller
school, should it be needed in the future.
Scherzinger said W hitaker's current
educational structure, with 7th and 8'h grad­
ers together at Lakeside and a separate 6th
grade center at Rice, is working well.
“I am pleased with the anecdotal evi­
dence of how well the students are doing
in their new locations,” he said. He noted
that moving students again would talr«»
focus away from improving achievement.
Scherzinger said he had been urged by
principals to make a decision soon so
students, teachers, staff and parents could
focus on raising achievement and not
continue to worry about where their school
will be located next year.
A