H
E n jo y K w a n z a a
a n d H a p p y Wetv Y e a r
CL he
93nxtíanh ©bse
"The City Of Roses"
Volume XXXI
Number 49
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
December 26, 2001
50*
Saturday School Revived to Address Crisis
(fi a n in le in n u t* n ity
a r
Train to be a Mediator
Become a volunteer mediator with The
N eighborhood M ediation Center.
Women and men o f all ages, cultures,
ethnicities and backgrounds are en­
couraged to apply. Mediation train­
ing is free in exchange for volunteer­
ing three hours a week for at least one
year. Application deadline is Dec. 31.
CaU823-3152.
Urban League's New Year's Party
P ie Urban League o f Portland is host­
ing a New Y ear's Eve Party at the
downtown Portland Embassy Suites
Hotel. The extravaganza will be held at
the dow ntow n Portland Embassy
Suites Hotel located at 319 SW. Pine.
The festivities start with a reception at
7:30 p.m. and will feature the light jazz
o f Michael Allen Harrison and danc­
ing . For tickets, call Ticket Masters at
224-4400, Urban League at280-2600or
the Embassy Suites at 279-9000.
One Day of Peace
The first official celebration o f One-
Day O f Peace, inspired by children
and passed unanimously by the U.S.
Congress, will happen on Tue., Jan. 1.
Come listen to the music and see per­
formers from around the city at the
Chiles Center, Uni v . of Portland cam­
pus, 5000 N. W illamette Blvd. Doors
open at 11 a.m. and the program be­
gins at noon. Call 293-3186 or go
online to www.ongdayofcfiacg.pst
Weatherization Workshop
D on’t let your heating bills take you
hostage. Take action! The Commu­
nity Energy Project will be having a
free w eatherization w orkshop on
Thursday, Jan. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at the
Lane Community School,7200SE. 60“1
Ave. Qualified participants receive a
free kit o f materials worth $150. Call
284-6827.
Portland's Fix-It Fair
H osted by the C ity o f P ortlan d ’s
O ffice o f Sustainable Development,
the IS“1 annual Fix-It Fair is a free
neighborhood event designed to
co n n ect P ortlan d resid en ts w ith
public resources that save money,
conserve resources and im prove
hom es and neighborhoods. The first
150 attendees at the “S elf-H elp
W eatherization” w orkshop w ill re­
ceive a free w eatherization m ateri-
, alskit. For a schedule, call 823-7590.
Childcare available.
^ia— #.a ann*
M a a /I a j I
vOlUillWi vwQFwwfi x7UIQ9S liwvtlwu
. B otanical gardens and specialty
‘ parks in the Portland area need vol-
unteer guides to talk to visitors
about the plantings. A recruitm ent
fair for garden guides is scheduled
for Saturday, Jan. 26. It will be held
at C heatham Hall in the W orld For­
estry C enter betw een 9:3 0 a.m . and
11:30 a.m. Call 823-3601.
Trained volunteers to work with area students to narrow achievement gap
by J oy R amos /T he P ortland O bserver
For many parents, it’s discouraging to
hear that Portland’s public educational
system is in a state of crisis. A recent report
by the Crisis Team, a local watchdog group
that evaluates school system progress,
calls for immediate changes to get low-
income children to grade level.
Getting to the “root” of the problem,
Oregon Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Portland, re­
cently accepted the position of Project
Coordinator of the Oregon Parents Center
at Albina Head Start in northeast Portland.
The center’s mission is to empower
families with information so that their child
can do well in school. To further that goal,
Saturday School was revived, based on a
program that was started in 1980.
Bringing back the Saturday School was
also a direct response to the Crisis Team
report on the obvious academic achieve­
ment disparities that exist when race, income
and where children live are concerned.
The Crisis Team has targeted fourteen
elementary and middle schools for the
large number of underachieving students
enrolled; all o f them are located in north
and northeast Portland.
Starting in January, parents and stu­
dents can work with trained volunteers to
address educational problems at the Sat­
urday School, from9:30 am . - noon. For the
students, they can get homework help.
Parents are advised on things like how to
build connections with theirchild’s school
and teachers, and understanding their
parental rights and responsibilities.
Available to all the participants for free
will be 115 volunteers and educational
materials donated for the program. Each
volunteer undergoes training to tutor kids
and provide administrative assistance.
Saturday School leaders, Sen. Ave! Gordly (from left), Yugen Fardan Rashad and Tanya Stagray admire the centerpiece
quilt o f African proverbs at the Oregon Parents Center at Albina Head Start in northeast Portland.
photo by
Taking a holistic approach with the
Saturday School, Gordly plans to bring in
the involvement of the school districts,
not just parents and students. Three more
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Saturday Schools will open at The High­
land United Church of Christ, YO! Center,
and Self Enhancement. Inc.
For information on how to register a
Slavery Descendents Hear False Appeals
by M ichael
L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
A rash o f scams and fraudulent schemes
appear to be circulating through the Port­
land area this holiday season, prompting
a warning by State Sen. Margaret Carter.
One example is a false promise that tells
African American descendents of slavery
to call a phone number to claim money for
inheritance tax refunds.
“Congress has not passed a bill to pay
all descendents back,” Carter said. “No
one is paying anyone through a fund
called the Black Inheritance Tax Refund.”
Carter, a Democrat, represents north
and northeast Portland in state govern­
ment. She also serves as executive director
of the Urban League of Portland.
No one is paying any­
one through a fund
called the Black Inher­
itance Tax Refund.
— Sen. Margaret Carter
k
“1 am very concerned that the elderly,
folks living on fixed incomes or short bud­
gets not be fooled, being taken by some
flyer that plays upon the struggles and
hopes of a people or community,” Carter
said.
Solicitations that use language like
“word of mouth," or “your friend told you
and they heard from someone else,” can be
tell tale signs that the operation is not
authorized to do business in the state.
Carter urges residents to be careful
when someone wants you to send a check
in the mail, asks for your credit card num­
ber, and is promising money at the end of
some rainbow.
“We work too hard for our money to let
it go,” Carter said. “And nobody has ever
left us an inheritance of anything of much
consequence that I know of. If they did, we
would all be living in big mansions on the
hill already. Be careful.”
Carter said those who see a question­
able business practice should call the O r­
egon Attorney General’s Consumer Pro­
tection Office in Portland at 503-229-5576.
student or volunteer at Saturday School,
call 503-282-1975 or visit the Oregon Par­
ent Information and Resource Center at
3417N .E.7lh Ave.
Kwanzaa Saturday
Area residents will gather for the fifth
annual Bridge Builders Kwanzaa Gala
and Gentlemen's Ball, the community’s
most extravagant Kwanzaa celebration,
Saturday, Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the
Arlene SchnitzerConcert Hall.
The celebration will honor 17 young
men who completed rites of passage
and are scheduled to continue their
academic careers by attending colleges
and universities across the nation.
The mission of the Bridge Builders is
to strengthen the African American
community by administering African-
centered rites of passage programs that
prom ote sp iritu ality , sch o larship,
e n te rp re n eu rsh ip and com m unity
building.
Adidas Village Rises on Old Kaiser Site
Improve Your Handwriting
W ant to im prove your handw riting?
Learn how for free. Portland State
U niversity will be hosting National
H andw riting Day w ith a H andw rit­
ing Im provem ent W orkshop on Sat­
urday, Jan. 26, from 10 a . m . - 1 p.m.
at the Sm ith M em orial Center, lo­
cated at 1825 SW. Broadw ay, Smith
Center Ballroom, Rm. 355. Call 725-
4891 or 1-800-547-8887.
Bluff’s Erosion
Controls Take Hold
Adidas is on schedule in the construction o f two office buildings and a circular sports center for their
new Adidas Village on North Greeley, the future American headquarters for the sports apparel
company. The former Raiser hospital on the other side o f Greeley has been remodeled and will open
to 700 Adidas employees next month and during February, officials said. The north Portland campus
will serve another 2 0 0 Adidas employees when construction on the new buildings is completed
next fall.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
The effort to prevent erosion on north Portland's
Willamette Bluffs appears to be working even with a
deluge o f fall rain. The hillside was seeded with
grass and straw was strategically placed along the
ground after a summer wildfire scorched some 3 7
acres o f the bluff and threatened about 1 0 0 homes.
The city budgeted $ 2 9 0 ,0 0 0 for restoration
expenses, but may spend less than that.
photo ba
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
I