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Giving Spirit Thrives at Auction
Race for the Roses
Providence Health Plan
employees wave their
numbers to grab the
attention o f an
auctioneer at a recent
Support O regon’s future by partici
pating in the Fourth A nnual “Race
for the Roses,” P ortland’s only half
m arathon and a 5K Run/W alk on
Sunday, A pril 21. The event begins
at the Oregon Square Courtyard near
the Lloyd Center at 7 a.m. follow ed
by the 5K Run/W alk at 7:30 a.m. To
register, call A A Sports at 503-331 -
3140
or
go
o n lin e
to
w w w .race4theroses.org.
charity event. A total
o f 268 products were
auctioned o ff to raise
more than $32 ,00 0 for
three local
organizations: the
Community
Transitional School for
homeless children;
Providence Child
Center that provides
child care to the
medially-fragile
children; and the
Women's and
Children's Center
dedicated to providing
food and supplies to
homeless mothers and
their children.
Oregon Spring Beach Cleanup
The 18th annual Great Oregon Spring
Beach Cleanup will be held on Satur
day, April 6. Thousands of volunteers
are needed to help clean Oregon’s
beaches, from the W ashington to the
California borders, between 1 0 a.m .-
1 p.m. Call SOLV at 800-322-3326orgo
online to www.solv.org.
Community Energy Project
Learn how to take control o f your
w ater and sew er bills. The W ater
C onservation w orkshop provides
inform ation on how to detect and
rep air leaks, w ater conservation
ireas in and around your hom e, plus
d etails on P o rtla n d ’s incredible
w ater system. It will be held on
W ednesday, April 1 0 ,10 a.m. at 422
NE. A lberta. To register, call the
C om m unity Energy Project at 503-
284-6827.
photo by D ave L awton
Portland Farmer's Market
Portland Farm er’s M arket will teach
anyone interested in how to grow
like a professional gardener on Sat
urday, May 11, at P S U ’s campus
grounds on SW. M ontgom ery and
Harrison St. Gardening speakers will
offer free talks each hour and k id s’
activities will keep little sprouts busy
with take-hom e projects inspired by
nature. For more m arket inform a
tio n ,
go
o n lin e
to
www.portlandfarmersm arkct.orE.
Earth Day Celebration
Portland is celebrating Earth Day
.w ith an event called Procession of
the Species. The parade is a way for
many to connect to the natural world
using the m edia o f art, dance and
m usic. Join the procession on Sun
day, A pril 28 by w earing a hand
made costum e o f an endangered
species or playing music to promote
environm ental aw areness. For more
information, call 503-452-4483.
Oregon’s Daffodil Show
For the second year in a row , The
O regon Garden will host the Oregon
D affodil S ociety’s D affodil Show
on A pril 6 and 7 in the J. Frank
Schm idt, Jr. Pavilion. Enjoy 10,000
daffodils that w ere planted at the
garden last fall by volunteers. The
show will run from 1 0 a.m .-6 p .m .o n
Saturday, April 6 and 10 a.m .- 4 p.m.
on Sunday, A pril 7. Call 503-874-
8264
or
go
o n lin e
to
w w w .oregongarden.org.
Reading V
New classes will be starting at the
Reading Works, a local organiza
tion dedicated to improving the read
ing skills of the north and northeast
Portland community. They will be
gin on April 22 at the Portland Metro
Assembly of God Church, located at
N.E. 6th and Alberta.
Adults and school age children
can enroll. The program is individu
alized for each student, regardless
of grade level.
Reading Works is lead by two
experienced teachers, Katy Libke
and Connie Meyer. They specialize
in employing the Blended Sound
and Sight method along with the
Spaulding method as teaching meth
ods. *
W ithin the center is an upbeat
and colorful environment that’s
conducive to learning. There’s a
bright “Sound City” board across
one wall and classical music that’s
played in the background.
Classes are held every Monday
and Wednesday, from 6 - 7 p.m. The
cost is $3.50 per class with a dis
count offered if a student brings in
a new member.
If you are interested in signing up
for Reading Works or would like to
volunteer your time to help others
learn to read, call Katy Libke at 503-
281-8121.
Eric Bolds (from left), Shaudle Hutchison, Raheem Clayton and Ra eesah Clayton become better readers with the help
o f Auntie Jean Brown of Reading Works.
Welfare Worker Cleared in Child’s Death
Prosecutors examine whether state custody system is to blame
(AP) — After a five-month review,
prosecutors have decided not to file
charges against a child-welfare worker
who supervised a fatal visit between a
toddler and her mother.
Dale A. Kraft did not know that Sharon
Weston “posed a danger to physically
harm her child" when he supervised a
visit that ended in the child’s strangula
tion, prosecutors said Wednesday after
reviewing 3,600 pages of documents.
Prosecutors instead blamed a system
failure on the part of the Department of
Human Services’ State Office for Services
to Children and Families in the death of 20-
month-old Alexis last July.
Alexis was taken into state custody in
October 2000 after Weston threatened to
I
kill or injure herself and the girl.
“The inconsistent procedure, practice
and lack of communication in this case led
to a failure on the part of the system to
protect this ch ild ,” Kate L ieber, a
Multnomah County deputy district attor
ney, wrote in a memo Monday.
During a supervised visit July 11, Kraft
allowed Weston and Alexis to stroll out of
his sight at Gresham's Main City Park.
Weston took the toddler to a remote
area and allegedly strangled her with a
cord from her jacket. She took the body to
a nearby funeral home, where employees
called police.
Officers found Kraft reading a news
paper in a state-owned car more than 45
minutes later.
I
Kraft was fired a month afterthe killing.
Weston has pleaded innocent to two
counts of aggravated murder and one
count of attempted aggravated murder
and is being held for trial.
The state considered a variety of crimi
nal charges against Kraft, including mur
der, manslaughter, criminal mistreatment,
child neglect and official misconduct.
“We looked at every conceivable
charge," said Multnomah County Dis
trict Attorney Michael Schrunk. "Some
thing went terribly wrong. We found that
directions were unclear, expectations were
unclear. W e're hopeful there will be clari
fication and good strong protocols set up
on visitation. This is a wake-up call for
continued
on page B6
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Transportation Department Hiring Youths
T he D ep artm en t o f T ra n sp o rta
tion has su m m er jo b s av ailable for
young people w ho w ant to w ork in
the o u td o o rs and help keep O regon
clean.
Each year the tran sp o rtatio n d e
partm ent hires about 300 youths
statew ide to clean up litter along
state h ighw ays as part o f the Y outh
L itter Patrol program . W hile the
crew s p rim arily pick up litter, o th e r
d u ties m ay also include graffiti re
m oval and general landscape m ain
tenance. A ty pical crew includes a
crew leader and tw o o r m ore crew
m em bers.
T hose in terested in serving the
Y outh L itte r Patrol program can
reg ister anytim e up until July 19
w ith the n earest local E m ploym ent
D epartm ent o ffice. In te rv ie w s for
selected ap p lic a n ts m ay begin as
early as M ay 2002. D ep en d in g on
the area, Y outh L itte r P atro ls m ay
w ork up to 12 w eeks this sum m er.
Y outh L itte r Patrol w o rk ers are
paid on a p er hour basis sta rtin g at
$7.27 fo r crew m em b ers and $7.85
fo r crew le a d e rs. C re w le a d e rs
m ust be at least 18 years old w ith
a valid d riv er's license and good
d riv in g re c o rd . C re w m e m b e rs
m ust be 16 th ro u g h 20 years old.
T he Y outh L itter Patrol pro g ram
w as fo unded in 1971 to h e lp in
clean in g up hig h w ay rig h ts o f w ay
and is funded th ro u g h the sale o f
c u sto m lic e n se p la te s a v a ila b le
through D riv er and M otor V e h ic le s
S e rv ic e s.
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