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Page B6
April 03, 2002
Welfare Worker Cleared in Child’s Death
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Castro Invites Jimmy
Carter to Cuba
H A V A N A (A P ) — S peaking
publicly for the first tim e about his
in v itation to fo rm er P resid en t
C arter to visit this C aribbean is
land, C uba leader Fidel C astro said
he w ou ld n ’t m ind hearing criti
cism from his guest.
“W e only w ant him to see the
county,” C astro said in a w ide-
ranging address that began late
W ednesday after a nationally tele
vised cerem ony celebrating his
g o v ern m e n t's victory ov er d en
gue fever. “H e can criticize all he
w ants.”
C arter has confirm ed that he
w ants to visit C uba and is w aiting
for the green light from P resident
Bush. N o date for the tentative
visit has been announced.
C arter said Friday he expects
the Bush adm inistration’s “tacit
approval, not their blessing.”
N ew s o f the proposed visit
com es as the gap widens between
the W hite H ouse’s hard-line poli
cies tow ard Cuba and increasing
m oves in Congress to ease U.S.
trade sanctions and restrictions on
travel to the com m unist country.
C arter has spoken out for in-
Former
President
Jimmy Carter
may be the
first United
States
president to
visit Cuba
since 1959.
creasing trade and A m ericans’
visits to Cuba, saying they w ould
spread understanding o f the ad
vantages o f freedom .
“T h a t's the best w ay to bring
about change, and not to punish
the C uban people them selves by
im posing an em bargo on them ,
w hich m akes C astro seem to be a
hero because he is defending his
ow n people against the abuse o f
A m ericans,” Carter said last week.
Joe G arcia, executive director
o f the C uban A m erican National
Foundation, said his organization
w elcom es the trip as long as Carter
tells C astro to leave pow er. D ur
ing a 1994 visit to H aiti, C arter
negotiated an agreement with mili
tary ruler G en. Raoul C edras to
step dow n.
Mental Patient’s Death Makes Changes
(A P) — It w as about a year
ago that P ortland police officers
fatally shot m ental patient M ejia
P ool in the hallw ay o f a Port-
land-area m ental hospital after
being called there to help re
strain him.
A year later, police and health
officials say the shooting has
created positive changes in the
w ay officers and health w orkers
treat m entally ill and com bative
prisoners.
F or ex a m p le , th e re is in
c re a s e d c o m m u n ic a tio n b e
tw ee n state and co u n ty o f f i
c ia ls, m ore c o o rd in a tio n w ith
law e n fo rc e m e n t an d m o re
o v e rsig h t o f m ental h ea lth fa-
cilities.
T he sta te is alm o st done
w ith new ru les fo r h o sp itals
that ad d re ss specific p roblem s
the sh o o tin g in v e stig a tio n u n
co v ered .
A m ong them is a requirem ent
that m ental hospitals provide
im m ediate translation services
so doctors and patients can com
m unicate effectively.
A lso under the rules, a report
m ust be filed w ith the state any
tim e an arm ed officer is called to
restrain a patient.
H ospitals also will have to
provide a place w here officers
can lock their guns before enter
ing the w ards.
c o n tin u e d
fr o m p age B6
everyone in the system .”
A fter review ing D epartm ent of
H um an Services records and poli
cies, prosecutors determ ined that
“ Kraft w as never inform ed by
A lexis' casew orker regarding the
level o f supervision required.”
“A gency policy did not require
him to read the file,” Lieber’s memo
said. “H e did not look at Ms.
W esto n ’s file and, therefore, was
not aw are o f her m ental state.”
Beyond that, Kraft had no rea
son to fear for A lexis’ safety be
cause during previous visits "he
had n ot k ep t an eye on Ms.
W eston and the child, and the
c h ild w as b ro u g h t b ack u n
harm ed,” the m em o said.
T he d ecisio n not to pursue
crim inal charges against Kraft
enraged M ike A lexander, A lexis'
foster father at the tim e o f her
Friends of Trees
Hosts Yard Tree
Giveaways
Friends ofT rees’ BranchingOut
program w ill give aw ay yard trees
to help support their urban tree
planting program s. The trees have
been donated by area nurseries
and include six-foot tall fruit and
nut trees as w ell as native decidu
ous trees and conifer seedlings.
Trees can be picked up on April
20 at the E nvironm ental M iddle
School, 2421 S.E. O range St., from
9 a .m .- 5 p .m .
The tree distribution is a part of
a daylong Earth D ay celebration,
which will include a marimba band,
a farm ers m arket, an alternative
v e h ic le s fa ir, g reen v en d o rs,
ch ild ren ’s art booths and story
telling.
T he them e o f the event is “L o
calization: T he V illage R oots.”
All trees planted in the P ort
land m etro area will help increase
the W illam ette/L ow er C olum bia
region ’ s urban tree canopy, which
diminished by almost half between
1972 and 2000.
F o r m o re in f o rm a tio n on
Friends o f T rees, call 503-284-
T R E E (8733) or visit their website
at w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
death.
" I t’s a crock,” A lexander said.
"D ale (K raft) knew that Sharon
posed a threat. H e 'd even said
certain things to us that m ade us
believe it . . . T hey say th ey ’re
trying to protect the kids. T h ey ’re
protecting them selves.”
T he suit, scheduled for trial in
D e c e m b e r, a lso a c c u s e s th e
agency o f failing to adequately
train Kraft to safely supervise vis
its between Alexis and her mother,
or telling him fully about the risk
that W eston p resen ted to her
daughter.
A lexis’ father, Fernando Lopez-
Perez, was expected to give a depo
sition T hursday in a law suit he
filed last sum m er alleging that the
agency w as negligent in allow ing
visits between Alexis and W eston,
given W e sto n ’s p sy ch o lo g ical
and em otional problem s.
American Stroke
Association.
A Division of American
Heart Association
WJR.
Stroke
Awareness Forum
April 13, 2002 • 9 a.m. - Noon
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
1945 S.E. Water Avenue • Portland • FREE
Sight.
Stroke is a leading cause of adult disability and
the No. 3 killer of Americans. Learn about the
warning signs, treatment, care and your best
defenses against stroke. This free forum is
hosted by the American Stroke Association and
features experts from Legacy Health System,
Oregon Health & Science University and
Providence Health System.
Your
Speech.
Participants will receive a voucher for a free
stroke screening courtesy of HealthCheck
Screening, Inc.
Your
Please register by April 9. Seating is limited.
To register, call the American Stroke
Association at 503 233-0100 or 800 452-9445.
Mobility
Featured speakers:
• Paul Ash, M.D.
Medical Director, Comprehensive Stroke Program at Legacy
Meridian Park Hospital
Which can
you afford
• Ted Lowenkopf, M.D.
Medical Director, Providence Stroke Center at Providence St
Vincent Medical Center
• Helml Lutsep, M.D.
lose ?
• Roger Simon, M.D.
Director, Robert S. Dow Neurobiology Research Laboratories
at Legacy Clinical Research and Technology Center
/*
Providence
Stroke Center
It
Associate Director, the Oregon Stroke Center at OHSU
B| H ea lth C h e ck
M M
f M
U
K,
Legacy Comprehensive
Stroke Program
l ’iovtdciM < I Health System
sanon-syntneiabo
OHSU
®
Ingelheim
The Korean American
Association of Oregon
Boston Market
726 NE Killingsworth
503-282-6776
Killingsworth Food Mart
1616 NE Killingsworth
503-281-2154
Knott St. Grocery
2709 NE 7th
503-284-7490
Cullen’s Corner
4938 N Albina
503-287-0542
Ainsworth Market
5949 NE 30th
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Prescott Corner Market
1460 NE Prescott
503-284-7418
K C Food Market
309 N Killingsworth
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503-284-6511
Alberta Street Market
915 NE Alberta
503-281-6388
We Appreciate Your Business
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