( ommittcd to ( ulturul Diversity
www.portlandob8erver.eom
December 19, 2001
“fSiidgin p S'o-itCand'd Communities ”
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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
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on page B6