“ffiûdÿitig, P<wt£and’ô CanwiunitLeô”
n m in u n i t n
a I e n ò a r
Kids are Upward Bound at PSU
Turkey Trot
Join the Oregon Road Runner’s Club
on Nov. 22, from 8 a m . -1 1 a.m. in their
annual Thanksgiving fun run through
the zoo. For registration information,
call the Oregon Zoo at 503-646-7867.
Residents cited for
seeing diversity as
strength and
building an
inclusive agenda
The Juvenile Rights Project
Parents and guardians of school-age
children can receive training to edu
cate their own and their children’s
rights in Suspension and Expulsion
procedures and in Special Education
issues at the Matt Dishman Commu
nity Center, located at 77 NE. Knott on
Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 6:30 p.m. - 8
p m Call503-823-3179.
Decorating the Oregon Way
Using fresh materials from the garden
can add fragrance and ambiance to the
holiday season. Calling on the talents
of one of O regon’s very best floral
designers, the Oregon Garden is an
nouncing a special class called “Home
for the Holidays: Decorating the O r
egon W ay” by Jack Richards. The
class will be on Tuesday, Nov. 27, from
5-8:30p.m . Call 503-874-8100.
Tree Farm Guide
A free Choose & Cut Guide to U-Cut
Christmas tree plantations in Oregon
and Washington has been prepared by
the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree
Association. The 2001 guide lists 41
Oregon U-Cut tree farms and 40 U-Cut
tree farms in Washington. For addi
tional information regarding the Pacific
Northwest Christmas Tree Association,
visit our website at www.nwtrees.com
or call503-364-2942.
Classical Chinese Garden
Portland Chinese Garden will host a
discussion and tour on the cultural,
practical and aesthetic assets of bam
boo on Dec. 1, from 9:30 a.m .-1 1 :3 0
a.m. The lecture and tour includes
admission tot he Garden and refresh
ment during the lecture. To register,
contact the Garden office at 503-228-
8 1 3 1 , ex t. 0 o r go o n lin e to
www.portlandchinesegarden.com.
Empower the Immune System
Now is the time to know the natural
antidote that empowers the immune
system and does not cause danger
ous side effects. A slow moving exer
cise for self-healing from China called
Pan Gu Shengong will be taught from
Wednesday, Nov. 28-Friday, Nov. 30
at the Davis Business Center, located
at4370NE.Halsey.from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Call 503-691-1915 or go online to
www.pangushengong.org
Community Energy Project
Learn how to take control of your
water and sewer bills. The Community
Energy Project will be having a free
workshop on W ater Conservation on
Tuesday, Dec. 4 at the Multicultural
Senior Center, located at5325 NE. MLK
Blvd., from 10:45 a.m. - 1 1 :45 a.m. Each
Portland household receives an in
structional workbook and a free kit of
materials worth $25. To register, call
503-284-6827.
M arian Wright Edelman to Speak
Y Child Care, a division o f YMCA of
the Columbia-W illamette, and Stand
for Children, A m erica’s only nation
wide grassroots voice forchildren will
present the “Strong Kids, Strong Fami
lies, Strong Communities Speakers
Forum." Marian Wright Edelman, presi
dent and founder of the C hildren's
Defense Fund will be speaking on
M onday, Dec. 3 at the Trinity Episco
pal Cathedral, located at 147 NW. 19*h
S t, from 7-8 p.m. Call 503-946-5437.
Providence Festival of Trees
T h is year, the Providence Festival
o f T rees features over 50 beautifully
deco rated C hristm as trees and h o li
day displays. The display w ill be at
the O regon C onvention C enter, E x
h ib it H all A from Friday, Dec. 7 -
Sunday, Dec. 9. Call 503-215-6070.
d— -- ---- ,
Portsmouth is
Neighborhood
of the Year
Students attend a symposium to explore careers in math and science at Portland State University.
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
A large group o f inner-city kids have a
better understanding of careers in the
fields of mathematics and science thanks
to a day-long series o f speakers, work
shops and activities at Portland State
University.
The students attended a Nov. 12 sci
ence and math careers symposium, spon
sored by the college’s Upward Bound
and Educational Talent Search program.
Guest speakers met in small student
groups to describe their jobs, explain what
was needed to prepare for their occupa
tion and to share personal stories on how
they went about creating a career path.
Anything o f interest about science,
math and careers was discussed.
A number o f special activities and
demonstrations gave students a glimpse
of the kind of satisfaction that math and
science jobs can bring to the people in
these fields.
PSU ’s Upward Bound and Education
Talent Search program serves young
people who are from low -income families
or who are the first members o f their
fam ily’s generation to attend college.
The college regularly provides tutor
ing, after school and Saturday classes
and workshops, an extensive summer
camp and a summer education program.
The programs also assist students
through the college and financial-aid appli
cation process, provide help on studying
for college entrance exams, and otherwise
monitor the kids’ progress and success.
Children’s Center Builds on Success
A child care center serving primarily
low and limited-income families in north
and northeast Portland will grow to serve
more children and families thanks to valu
able financial support from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation.
The foundation has given the Penin
sula Children's Center,4720 N. Maryland,
a $250,000 grant to help retire the center’s
mortgage and free up funds for programs
and services.
“The foundation’s support, combined
with a 3-year capacity building grant from
the Meyer Memorial Trust, provides us
with the resources necessary to undergo
significant capacity building and organi
zational developm ent,” said M arcia
Mulvey, Peninsula executive director.
Mulvey said the ultimate goal is for the
center to increase and enhance its pro
grams and services and “in turn strength
ening our 30 year commitment to the com
munity.”
Founded in 1970 and certified by the
Oregon Child Care Division, Peninsula
provides a full range of childcare services
for children ages six weeks to 12-years-
old.
An infant, toddler, preschool and be
fore and after school programs serve more
executive director of the Peninsula Children 's Center.
than 350 children a year.
By charging sliding-scale tuition based
on family income and providing transpor-
tation for before and after school pro
grams, the center meets a vital need for
working families.
In 1990, the Portsmouth district
of north Portland was more known
for drive-by shootings and gang
violence associated with Columbia
Villa, the public housing complex
within its borders.
Bui Thursday, M ayor Vera Katz
acknowledged a major turnaround
by naming Portsmouth the Spirit of
Portland Neighborhood of the Year.
What a difference 10 years can
make!
Since the peak of gang violence,
countless volunteer activists, non
profit groups and government agen
cies have worked to turn this neigh
borhood around.
The late County Com mission
Chair Gladys M cCoy was an im
portant early leader in changing the
area with her much-heralded ef
forts in the Villa. Now Columbia
Villa is in the midst o f a $ 135 million
federally funded revitalization ef
fort.
Other m ajor efforts are under
way.
The neighbors lobbied hard for
Portsmouth’s inclusion in the In
terstate Max Urban Renewal Dis
trict. Portsm outh residents also
prodded die city into getting a major
planning effort for Lombard Street
started.
But most residents believe the
Spirit o f Portland award recognizes
the neighborhood for the smaller
and more meaningful community-
based work done more recently.
“The neighbors worked together
to recognize that this is a multi
lingual, multi-ethnic neighborhood
that is very low incom e,” said
Cornelius Swart, Grant Director o f
the neighborhood revitalization pro
gram Portsm outh Vision 20/20.
“The neighbors saw that as a strength
instead o f a liability, and built an
inclusive agenda based on that.”
The achievements of neighbor
hood residents include building play
ground equipment in Columbia Park,
a community new sletter in four
languages mailed to every resident,
and street banners in five languages.
Residents have worked tirelessly
with groups like Friends o f Trees
and area public schools for years to
help enhance the neighborhood and
include children in the experience.
“It’s been a lot of hard work,”
says Susan Landauer, chair of the
Community Association of Ports
mouth. “But it all pays off when
people take pride in where they live.”
WSU Vancouver Hosts Forum on Afghanistan
Since the Sept. 11 East Coast attacks,
Americans have been struck by the im
portance of a part of the world they know
little about. The stakes are high. The
central and south Asia region includes
hundreds o f ethnic groups, four nuclear
weapons states and a history of intense
conflict.
W a sh in g to n S ta te U n iv e rsity
Vancouver plans a forum Dec. 6 titled
“Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: Under-
standing the Region,” that will discuss
the political, social and cultural complexi
ties of Central and South Asia.
The forum is set for 7 p.m. in the Stu
dent Services lecture hall and is free and
open to the public. Featured speakers
include Anita Weiss and Lynn Renken.
Weiss is a professor o f international
studies at University of Oregon. She is an
expert on Pakistan and South Asia and
was conducting research in Pakistan on
Sept. 11. Her most recent book, “Power
and Civil Society in Pakistan," links poli
tics and culture in the world’s sixth largest
nation and only Islamic nuclear state.
Renken is the program director for
Mercy Corps, a poverty relief organiza
tion based in Portland. As the director of
Mercy Corps’ ongoing project in Afghani
stan, she will explain the dynamics of
Afghani people and politics before, dur
ing and after U.S. military operations there.
1
Members of the WSU Vancouver fac
ulty will also comment on current events
from the perspective of the other nuclear
powers in the region, India. China and
Russia. There will be time for questions
from the audience.
The forum is sponsored by the WSU
Vancouver programs in public affairs with
support from the WSU Vancouver Diver
sity Task Force. Formore information, call
360-546-9640.
I