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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2001)
( ommittcd to ( ulturul Diversity www.portlandob8erver.eom December 19, 2001 “fSiidgin p S'o-itCand'd Communities ” I ZlT n n t n t n t t 11 u Ie ttò a v New Warehouse Boosts Food Bank Size One Day of Peace T he first official celebration o f “O ne j D ay O f Peace.” inspired by children | and passed unanim ously by the U .§. C ongress, w ill happen on T ue., Jan. 1. C om e listen to the m usic and see per- j form ers from around the city at the Chiles C enter, Univ. o f Portland cam-1 pus, 5000 N. W illam ette Blvd. D oors open at 11 a.m. and program begins at 1 2 n o o n .C all2 9 3 -3 1 8 6 o rg o o n lin e to | w w w .onedayofpeace.net. Commemorating Roe vs. Wade Radical W omen will commemorate Roe vs. W ade, the landm ark case that le galized abortion in the US, w ith a book | OREGON review and discussion o f “W hen B iol ogy B ecam e D estiny,” “W om en in I * W eim ar” and “N azi G erm any.” T he free m eeting w ill be at the B read and j R oses C enter, 819 N. K illingsw orth. Call 240-4462. Mothers Against Drunk Driving A new warehouse directly behind Oregon Food Bank offices in northeast Portland brings improved efficiency to the hunger relief agency and stretches the dollars collected for food donations. B eginning on Friday, D ec. 21 until j N ew Y ear’s Eve, M others A gainst D runk D riving w ill be hosting the M A D D C ab program . T his is a free | service intended to provide a safe, sober ride hom e to anyone w ho m ay have had too m uch to drink and drive. It will operate nightly from 7 :30 p .m .- I 2 a.m. For m ore info., call 503-284- M A D D (6233) and ask fo r M arie | Brown. Portland’s Rx-lt Fair H osted by the C ity o f P ortlan d ’s Of-1 fice o f S ustainable D evelopm ent, the IS* annual F ix-It F air is a free n eig h borhood event designed to connect P ortland residents w ith public r e - | sources that save m oney, conserve resources and im prove hom es and neighborhoods. T he first 150 attend ees at the “S elf-H elp W eatherization” | w orkshop w ill receive a free w eather ization m aterials kit. F or a schedule, call 823-7590. Childcare available. Haircuts for Kids I t’s holiday cheer w ith all the trim-1 (A P ) - A fter years o f w orking o u t o f rented w arehouses, the O regon Food B ank is finally in its big, new facility at 7900N .E . 33nl Drive. A new w arehouse w as opened in N o vember, just in time for the arrival o f40,000 p o u n d s o f d o n a te d sa lm o n f ille ts . T he salm on w as delivered to the site’s 7,500-square-foot freezer, adonation from the O regon D epartm ent o f Fish and W ild life. “It d id n 't put m uch o f a dent in” the freezer space, said R achel Bristol, ex ecu tive director o f O regon Food B ank. “But it w as one o f the very first item s that christened o u r new freezer.” Opening th e$ l 1 million office and ware house w ill go far in helping the nearly 27- year-old agency respond to increasing dem ands as O regon dips into a recession. T he 108,000-square-foot building in cludes the 94,000-square-foot warehouse. “W e ’re pretty excited,” Bristol said. “I t’s ju st going to m ean so m uch in term s o f im proved efficiency, being able to stretch our annual fund d o n o rs’ dollars even farther.” She said leasing a com parable w are house w ould cost about $500,000 a year. F or the past 13 years, Bristol said, the Food Bank operated from tw o leased warehouses with a combined 60,000square feet in north and northeast Portland. She said the freezer capacity o f both w as ro u g h ly o n e-th ird less than the new freezer’s. O ther am enities at the new site include a generous loading area and a large space w here frozen foods can be packed by Holiday Express Brings a Thumbs Up! A breakfast courtesy o f ¡HOP gets a passing grade during the special Blazers Holiday Express community event for Albina Head Start students, seniors and local veterans. The Dec. 7 celebration was hosted by the Blazers Community Builders and drew the participation o f Blazer players and employees. In addition, more than 800 holiday trees were distributed to the north and northeast community. mings. N orth and N ortheast P ortland's children w ill receive free haircuts ju st | in tim e fo r the holidays thanks to the I generosity o f 25 local hairstylists. T he haircuts w ill be given on M onday, D ec. 24, from 9 a.m . - 5 p.m . at T he Salvation A rm y M oore Street C orps and Community Center, located at 5325 N. W illiam s. Ave. Improve Your Handwriting W ant to im prove your handw riting? | L eant how for free. Portland State U ni versity will be hosting National H and w riting Day with a Handwriting Im- J provement W orkshop on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Sm ith | M em orial Center, located at 1825 SW. Broadway,SmithCenterBallroom ,Rm. 355. Call 725-489 lo r 1-800-547-8887. Salvation Army Gift Giving V olunteerelvesforthe Salvation A rm y | w ill sort, stock and distribute th o u sands o f donated toys, clothing and I food at the C hristm as distribution cen ter on Friday, D ec. 21 and Saturday, | D ec. 22 at 1625 NE. Sandy. Noon Time Rides T he M ultnom ah Bar A ssociation is I offering noon tim e bicycle rides, w hich are short, fast rides on hills. T he group is to m eet at the SW . co m er o f Pioneer C ourthouse Square, betw een Y am hill and Broadw ay, noon to 12:10 p.m ., M ondays and T hursdays. Call R ay j T hom as at 228-5222. Leam Tai Chi L eam the slow , gentle m ovem ents o f I Tai Chi for increasing flexibility, bal ancing lung capacity, prom ote stress relief and other health benefits. T he Peninsula Com m unity Center, located I at 700 N. Portland Blvd. is offering a J Tai C hi class, from T hursdays, Jan. ,7 -F e b . 7, from 7:30p.m . - 8:30p.m . Call 8 2 3 -3 6 2 0 or go o n lin e to | w w w .PortlandParks.org. A Neighbor Found Murdered Girl Police Ask Parents of Wilshire Neighborhood to Stay Alert (A P) — A northeast P ortland couple found the body o f a 14-y ear-old girl in their W ilshire neighborhood backyard T hursday m orning. M elissa Bittler, a student at the M et ropolitan Learning C enter in N orthw est Portland, w as found about 8 a.m . when the couple w alked out to the garage and saw the girl through the w indow , said Sgt. Brian Schm autz, a Portland Police Bureau spokesm an. “T hey w ere ju st starting their day and looked o v er and saw the body.” he said. T he couple called police and d etec tives quickly ruled the death a hom icide. The g irl’s parents lived across the street. Police determ ined she had been sexually assau lted . Investigators said they did not have a suspect and did not know w hether the killer knew Bittler. Police are suggesting that parents o f children in the area stay alert. Dr. N ikolas H artshorne, a deputy state m edical exam iner, conducted an autopsy T hursday afternoon but declined to re lease the cause o f death, saying only that B ittler died o f “hom icidal violence.” O fficers cordoned o ff the house as police photographed the crim e scene and detectives from the Police Bureau’s hom i * * cide division and sexual assault detail knocked on n eighbors' doors seeking clues. B ittler lived with her parents. T ho mas J. Bittler, 45, and Mary M. Bittler. 42, and regularly w alked w ith her sister, a G rant H igh School student, to catch a bus to school. N eighbor M argaret C ook said she rem em bered often w atching the girls w alk to and from an elem entary school in the area w hen the girls w ere younger. N eighbors said until now they have generally been most concerned about thefts and car prowls. B ittler's death marked the city' s 24th homicide this year. hundreds o f volunteers in a clim ate-con trolled room. T he search for a new site began roughly four years ago. In A ugust 1999, a fund raising effort was launched that raised $ 11.5 million. The fund-raising is com plete, but pledges are payable over five years. T he Food B ank netw ork encom passes 20 regional food banks that serve 781 organizations in O regon and Southw est W ashington. It distributed 4 6 m illion pounds o f food last year to approxim ately 652,000people. New Booster Seat Law Requires Proper Fit An example o f a properly installed high back booster seat. O reg o n ’s new booster seat law goes into effect Jan. 1 T he “booster seat" law , passed by the 2001 L egislature, requires drivers w ho transport children to use approved d e vices that elevate sm all children to m ake standard safety belts fit properly. V iolation o f this law is a C lass D traffic infraction carrying a $77 penalty. The new law will require drivers to use booster seats for children betw een the ages o f 4 and 6 and forchildren w ho w eigh betw een 40 and 60 pounds. The law has not changed regarding children under four years and 4 0 pounds, who m ust still be secured in child restraint system s. C alifornia and W ashington have re cently adopted sim ilar law s w hich take effect January 1 and July 1. resp ectiv ely . O fficials say lap and sh o u ld er belt system s are 45 percent to 65 p ercent e f fective in preventing crash -related death or injury to adults. H ow ever, children w ho are 2 to 5 years old and restrained prem aturely in adult belts are 3.5 tim es m ore likely to suffer significant crash in jury than children restrained in child safety or booster seats. C hild safety system s reduce th e risk o f death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. co n tin u ed V on page B6
