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Ministry Plans New Urban School
Easter Egg Hunt
Miracle Village Ministries aims to nurture children and their families
o ut ni u n i t n
a l c n b a r
Jantzen Beach SuperCenter will be
holding their first annual indoor Eas
ter egg hunt featuring Mother Goose
on Saturday, March 30, from 1 -4 p.m.
nearShoe Pavilion for all children ages
10 and younger. There will be different
egg hunts based on children's ages.
Forages 1-3,hunt begins at 1 p.m .;for
ages 4-6, hunt begins at 2 p.m.; for
ages 7-10, hunt begins at 3 p.m.
Portland Farmer's Market
Portland Farm er’s Market will teach
anyone interested in how to grow like
a professional gardener. Gardening
speakers will offer free talks each hour
and kids’ activities will keep little
sprouts busy with take-home projects
inspired by nature. For more market
in fo rm a tio n ,
go
o n lin e
to
www.portlandfarmersmarkct.org
Friends of Trees
Friends o f Trees’ Branching Out pro
gram will give away 6 to 12 foot tall
yard trees, including a variety o f fruit
and nut trees and native deciduous
trees, in addition to native conifer
seedlings. The giveaway will be on
Saturday, March 30, from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. at Friends o f Trees, 3117 NE.
MLK, Jr. Blvd. and on April 20,9 a.m.
- 5 p.m. at Environmental Middle
School. Call 282-8846, ext. 17 or go
online to www.friendsoftrees.org.
OMSI’s Star Party
Spring, or known as vernal equinox is
here. On Saturday evening, March 23,
OMSI and Rose City Astronomers
will celebrate with a free star party.
Come and view celestial sights like the
planets, Orion Nebula and the Bee
1
hive star cluster. Telescopes will be
set up and binoculars provided. Call
797-4610 on March 23 after 3 p.m. to
get the latest information on weather
cancellation. Other information can
be found online at www.omsi.edu.
Police Activities League
The Police Activities League which
serves youth in Portland and Gresham
is sponsoring the 6"' annual PAL “Cel-
continued
on page B4
Esther Hinson (center) of Miracle Village Ministries enjoys the musical ‘ Then and Now" with Pat Dixon, Bietra Wilson and Gregory Wilson.
M iracle V illage M inistries plans to
open a private Christian elem entary
school in the fall in northeast Portland
to nurture children and their families.
The m inistry is a nonprofit group
founded by Portland C om m unity C ol
lege G ED instructor Esther Hinson.
A core group has form ed to launch
the new school. They are looking for a
site to begin classes next fall and for
help from the com m unity.
T he m in istry e n v isio n s a school
th at w ill give each stu d e n t, from
k in d erg arten to eighth grade, the in
dividual attention they need, offering
a holistic and m u lticultural education
w ith a stro n g em p h asis on m ath,
read in g and w riting.
H in so n h a s h e lp e d sh a p e th e
s c h o o l’s c o n c e p t for the p ast 18
years and p lan s to later include a
H ealth and W ellness C enter and R esi
d en tial H om es for young w om en,
betw een the ages o f 17-24.
The Health and W ellness Center will
be for seniors and their families. The
Diverse Group Honored for Excellence at BPA
The Bonneville
Power Administration
in Portland has made
its commitment to
hiring a diverse work
force plain with the
honoring of several
people of color.
Torrence served as the em cee. Special
guests included sister Lorraine W ilder,
Rev. Franklin Brown, a m im e group
called “JC C onstruction C rew ,” the
“N ’touch” band and the “C oncrete
E vangelists” - a rap group.
M iracle V illage was “birthed out o f
com passion for students w ho need to
be loved, nurtured, taught academ i
cally and discover w ho they are cultur
ally and spiritually,” organizers said.
For m ore inform ation, call 503-703-
0609.
Drug Abuse Treatment
Efforts Supported
County program to help young
people in trouble with the law
Clara Tyson
Gloria Carter
A $241,613 grant to im prove sub
stance abuse treatm ent and other
services for young people in trouble
with the law has been aw arded to
M ultnom ah C ounty by the Robert
W ood Johnson Foundation.
The foundation’s “ Reclaim ing Fu
tures" grant is one o f 11 nationw ide,
totaling $2.59 m illion, to com m uni
ties who plan new drug abuse treat
ment options and other services for
delinquent youth.
M ultnom ah C ounty plans to use
its share o f the m oney to fund a
project called M ultnom ah Embrace
that proposes to serve about 240
young offenders annually with sub
stance abuse problem s beginning in
2003.
“The need for M ultnom ah Em
brace is clear,” says Joanne Fuller,
director o f the M ultnom ah County
D epartm ent o f C om m unity Justice.
"W e know that kids who abuse
alcohol and drugs are m ore likely to
behave violently, break the law. or
end up in court. W e also know that
alcohol and drug abuse is a major
health problem am ong juvenile of
Ruth Hiraki
The group o f A frican A m erican em ployees and women at
BPA w ere celebrated for exceptional contributions during a
M arch 7 cerem ony at the federal agency’s headquarters in
northeast Portland.
T he in d iv id u a ls in clu d ed S u san n e C o o p er, an industry
eco n o m ist; John H airsto n , a p u b lic u tilitie s sp ecialist; and
R uth H iraki, a p o w er b u sin ess line m anager; all honored for
e x cep tio n al serv ice to the electric u tility indu stry and the
c o m m u n ity .
Byron Kelly
Suzanne Cooper
Harrison McMillan Jr.
John Hairston
Hiraki also w as honored for achievem ent in equal em ploy
m ent opportunity. In that category she was join ed by G loria
Carter, a public utilities specialist supervisor in Vancouver, for
aw ards that recognizes the prom otion o f EEO goals and the
creation o f a diverse group o f team m em bers.
B yron K elly. H arriso n M cM illan Jr. and C lara T yson,
p ro p e rty m an ag em en t sp e c ia lists, w ere h o n o red for c o n
trib u tio n s to en v iro n m en tal p ro te c tio n and w o rk p lace e n
ergy savings.
residential hom es elem ent will be for
young wom en needing skills in safety,
personal care, hom e econom ics, ca
reer preparation, jo b search assistance
and C hristian counseling.
M iracle V illage celebrated their sec
ond public fund-raiser earlier this month
at M allory Christian Church w ith a
m usical called “Then and N ow ,” a
presentation o f the history o f gospel
m usic, from B iblical tim e s to the
present.
The g ro u p ’s co-founder Shrenna
f
I
fenders in M ultnom ah C o u n ty ,”
Fuller said.
An annual study by the National
Institute o f Justice found that a num
ber o f people who had tested positive
for drugs quadrupled from 12 per
cent in 1992 to a record level o f 53
percent in 2000.
A 1999 survey o f youth on proba
tion in M ultnom ah County revealed
that 34 percent used alcohol or drugs
three or m ore tim es per w eek, and 23
percent used them daily.
“ Kids in M ultnom ah C o u n ty ’s ju
venile ju stice system w ith substance
abuse problem s d o n 't alw ays have
the services needed,” said D ianne
Linn, chair o f the M ultnom ah County
Com m ission. “ As a result, m any find
them selves in trouble w ith the law
again and again.
“This grant will help M ultnom ah
C ounty m itigate the costly cycle o f
substance abuse and delinquency,"
says Linn. “ W e need to invest in the
lives o f these young people. W e are
thrilled to have the support o f The
Robert W ood Johnson Foundation
to help us accom plish this.”