December 26, 2001
Page A3
Sltje 53ortlanb ffibseruer
Lawmaker Backs Schools in Budget Fight
by M ichael L eighton
T he P ortland O bserver
Supporting schools is the priority for a
northeast Portland law m aker who will soon
go back to Salem to fix a state budget
deficit.
Rep. Jackie D ingfelder said schools al­
ready require more than 50 percent o f the
state’s general fund and it w on’t be easy to
cut budgets w ithout hurting kids. She said
im portant health and human services and
public safety program s make up much of
the other expenses o f state governm ent.
The O regon Legislature has been called
into special session in the new year to make
up a $700 m illion budget shortfall.
D ingfelder, a D em ocrat, received her
introduction in the Legislature last spring,
when she was appointed to her post upon
the resignation o f form er State Rep. JoAnn
Bowm an.
She feels her priorities m atch those of
Bowm an, a popular a voice for minorities
and people who are under-represented in
state governm ent.
D ingfelder says she will look at com pro­
m ises w hen it com es to budget solutions.
She d oesn’t want to elim inate program s
that help schools, kids and crim e prevention
because they save money in the long run.
She said she w ould consider raising taxes
on a tem porary basis to help balance the
budget.
Northeast legislator focuses on economy and helping families
Saying that she hoped
ingjobs.
to remain north and north­
“I plan to focus on
east Portland’s voice in
helping businesses avoid
th e le g is la tu re . R ep.
further layoffs, helping
Deborah Kafoury, filed
com m unities by creating
Friday to run for a third
more jo b s and helping
term in the Oregon House
families who are strug­
o f Representatives.
gling under unem ploy­
“lam proud of the work
m ent,” she said.
that I accom plished dur­
In July, Kafoury was
ing the past two legisla­
elec ted as th e H ouse
tive sessions, including ad­
Democratic Leader. She
ditional support for do­
will lead the legislative
mestic violence preven­
and political efforts o f 28
tion, restoring funding for
House Dem ocrats over
Rep. Deborah Kafoury
Oregon Project Indepen­
the 18-month legislative
dence, making a college education more
interim.
affordable for working families and
Kafoury is currently serving her sec­
providing an additional six months of
ond term representing North and North­
unemployment benefits to certain work­
east Portland in the state legislature. She
ers d islo cated by the e c o n o m y ,”
represents the new ly-form ed House D is­
Kafoury said.
trict 43, which was House District 18
The Democrat said lawm akers must
before the Secretary o f State shifted
turn their attention to expanding the
legislative district boundaries to reflect
state’s struggling economy by expand-
population changes.
Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, northeast Portland's newest lawmaker,
wants to make sure schools don't come up short when the
Legislature m eets in special session in the new year.
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
M aking Joif fa r Kids
Eight-year-old Tara
Danielle Brigs
delivers presents
to Dawne Duncan
o f Emanuel
Children's
Hospital. The
northeast Portland
girl was able to
start a toy drive at
her church that
resulted in enough
presents for every
child at the
hospital.
photo B y
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland
O bserver
Tara Danielle Brigs played Santa’s
little helper when the 8-year-old orga­
nized a toy drive for every child at
Emanuel Children’s Hospital.
T a ra 's selfless act o f kindness was
taken to heart by fam ily, friends and
m em bers o f the H ighland U nited
,C hurch o f C hrist in northeast Port­
lan d , under the leadership of Rev. W.
1
Kafoury Files For Re-Election
G. Hardy Jr.
She accomplished her goal of 160
toy donations by making phone calls
and sending emails urging support.
When asked, “why do you need 160
toys?” Her reply was that this hospital
has 155 beds and she wanted to make
sure than every child received a gift.
Congratulations, Tara!
k
Ride Free on
Tri-Met This
New Year’s Eve
Tri-M et is making it easy and safe to
get to and from New Y ear’s Eve festivi­
ties by offering free rides after 6 p.m. and
adding extra MAX and bus service.
The MAX light rail will run every 10
minutes until 2 a.m. and every 15 minutes
until the last trains leave dow ntow n at 3
a.m.
Added buses will run on 11 lines New
Y ear’s Eve, including the 4-Fessenden,
5-Interstate, 8-NE 15,h, 9-Pow ell, 12-
BarburBouclvard. 14-Hawthome. 15-NW
23rd, 15-Belmont, 33-M cLoughlin, 40-
Tacoma, and 54-Beaverton-H illsdale,
Tri-M et is also encouraging people to
use public transportation to the celebra­
tion at Pioneer Courthouse Square on
New Y ear's Eve.
If the celebration becom es too large
for Pioneer Square, MAX trains will stop
ru n n in g
th ro u g h
d o w n to w n th e
downdown core, but shuttle buses will
carry riders betw een closed stations.
For help planning your trip, you’re en­
couraged to call Tri-M et’s online trip plan­
ner at www.tri-met.org or call 503-238-RIDE
weekdays from7:30 a.m. to5:30p.m.
H«
SL«
cy both
W . , k end G e t a w a y Package
$ 1 1 9 -0 0
T h e best p a rt? E ve ry o n e
gets to save
Because n o w a
room lo r tw o
bre ak fa st
lo r tw o a n d Iree p a rk in g
are a ll Just $ 1 1 9 *
A dd
to th a t the (act th a t
w e re s itu a te d in th e heart
ol d o w n to w n S e a t t le -
n e a r shopping, d in in g A
a ttra c tio n s —a n d it s easy to
see w h y w e re th e perfect
w e e k e n d escape
a n d h im
lo r her
For reservations,
c a ll 8 O O - 5 S 1 - 2 7 0 2
V row ne P la za z Seattle
1113 S ix th A v e n u e
Seattlcz W A
9 8 IO I
A d d re s s
(o r
th e
Traveler.
Tai & gratuity not included Exptm 3/31/02