Page A3
April 17, 2002
Kid Drinking Confronted
Rose Festival Ambassadors Begin Tour
continued
First Lady Sharon Kitzhaber dedicates
underage drinking exhibit at OMSI
First Lady Sharon Kitzhaber
called upon Oregonians today to
make the prevention o f underage
drinking a statewide priority.
The First L ady’s comments
were made at the dedication of a
new exhibit on underage drinking
at the Oregon Museum o f Science
and Industry in Portland. She was
joined by Nancy Stueber, OMSI
president, BarbaraCimaglioofthe
Department of Human Services,
and Pamela Erickson, Oregon Li­
quor Control Com mission direc­
tor and pas, chair of the Oregon
Coalition to Reduce Underage
Drinking, to declare April, Alco­
hol Awareness Month.
“The extent of alcohol con­
sumption by children ages 9 to 15
is alarming. Preventing underage
drinking must become our prior­
ity,” said the First Lady. “Drink­
ing alcohol should no, be a rite of
passage to adulthood.”
A ccording to research, the
early use of alcohol can impede a
child’s healthy physical, mental
and social development. And, a
substantial number of children
who begin drinking before the age
o f 13 will develop alcohol depen­
dence a, some point in their lives.
Sharon K itzhaberisco-chairof
the National Leadership to Keep
Children Alcohol Free.
Her remarks referred to recent
findings from O regon’s Healthy
Teen Survey 2001 by the Oregon
Department o f Human Services.
The survey indicates that 43 per­
cent of the state’s 11 th graders are
likely to consume alcohol in the
next month.
“O reg o n ’s collaboration is
w orking under the same um ­
brella, 'W ise up - Straight talk
about alco h o l.’ We w an, people
to u n d erstan d that alco h o l is a
d an g e ro u s drug that is th re a t­
e n i n g th e h e a lth o f o u r
y o u th ,” sa id N ina R o b art, e x ­
ec u tiv e d ire c to r o f the O regon
C o a litio n to R educe U nderage
D rinking. "R ight now , kids are
say in g i t ’s easy to get a lc o ­
hol. T h e b est w ay to red u ce
u n d era g e d rin k in g is to keep
a lc o h o l a w a y fro m y o u n g
p eo p le w ith in our hom es and
com m unities.”
For more information about
wha, adults and youth can do to
prevent underage drinking, visit
www.ocrud.org orcall 1-800-923-
I llJ T
outstanding women who were
selected from 14Portland-area
high schools by their respec­
tive student bodies. Each mem­
b er re p re s e n ts h er sch o o l
throughout the m onths of May
and June at many com m unity
ev e n ts, including m eetings
with business leaders, visits
to hospitals and meetings with
a variety o f civic groups.
To q ual i fy for the court, young
women must be full-time stu­
dents, members of their gradu­
ating classes, have grade point
averages of at least 2.75, demon­
strate good citizenship and have
good attendance records.
T he candidates are ev alu ­
ated on character, com m uni­
cation and presence. The court
members were elected over the
past few weeks by vote o f their
respective student bodies.
R an d all R ealty C orp, is
proud to sponsor the Rose
F estiv al C our, sc h o larsh ip
program . Each court m em ber
Work Begins on Native
American Center at PSU
Gary Cumpston (from left) of Bank of America, PSU President
Daniel Bernstine, and students Francene Ambrose, president of
American Indians Science and Engineering Society, and Damion
Barnett, coordinator of United Indian Students in Higher
Education, celebrate the ground breaking for PSU's new Native
American Students and Community Center.
photo by B rent
P ortland State U niversity re ­
cently broke ground on the co n ­
struction o f the N ative A m eri­
can S tudent and C om m unity
Center.
“T his project represents an
im portant cultural and educa­
S chauer /PSU
tional asset fo ro u rco m m u n ity ,”
sa id PSU P re s id e n t D an ie l
B e r n s tin e at an A p ril 5
groundbreaking cerem ony. “It
has been extrem ely rew arding
for P ortland State U niversity to
be involved w ith elected offi-
fro m Front
U l » POSSIBILITIES
Theme and logo for the 2002 Rose Festival court.
receives a $3,000 college schol­
arship.
For more inform ation on the
Rose Festival, call 503-227-
2681 o r go o n lin e to
w w w .rosefestival.org.
UPT0W^~D0WN/T0WN. OUT TOTHL^ALL.
cials, students, private donors
and the N ative A m erican tribes
in m aking this project a reality.”
The center will stand as a
symbol of PSU ’s com mitm ent to
goodw ill, diversity and com m u­
nity pride, according to D onald
Sampson, the center’s campaign
chair.
“ T he center w ill serve as
foundation for other program s
and enrich Portland State, the
city and state o f O regon. We
will see its benefits far into the
fu tu re,” Sam pson said.
T he C enter will be the only
one o f its kind in the Portland
m etropolitan region, hom e to
14,000 A m erican Indian and
A laska native people.
T he site will serve as a cu l­
tural hom e for native students,
supporting their enrollm ent a,
PSU and enhancing their aca­
dem ic studies.
The center will also provide a
resource room equipped with
com puters for students, class­
room s, m eeting and conference
spaces, and an opportunity for
all w ho visit the C enter to learn
about N ative A m erican tra d i­
tions and historical and co n ­
tem porary issues of im portance
to indigenous people.
TAKE TRI-MET.
Health Service Providers Merge
Consolidation serves North/Northeast African Americans
Tw o local mental health pro­
viders have joined forces to serve
area residents with mental health
and substance abuse services.
The Center for Com munity
Mental Health, a 28-year-old or­
ganization with a special com mit­
ment to the African American
com m unity, has m erged with
Tualatin Valley Centers.
Locally, Tualatin Valley Cen­
ters has been providing services
a, M cCoy A cadem y, Self-En­
hancem ent, Inc.,Colum bia Villa.
James John Elementary School,
and the Center for Community
Mental Health. 1, is a participating
m em ber of the Northeast Rescue
Planning Action Committee and a
founding member of the Leo Ni
Leo and African American G am ­
bling Treatment programs that
were part o f the Center for Com ­
munity Mental Health.
“Reaching this important deci­
sion has been a careful and delib­
erate process by both o f our
boards and management staff. It
has been important to both agen­
cies that any affiliation be based
Advertise with diversity
Z/i
lattò
(If)h server
call 503.288.0033
«em ail:
ads@portlandobserver.com
on shared vision and mission that
preserves and whenever possible,
expands the services of both or­
ganizations to reach even further
into our com m unity,” said Mary
Monnat, president and chief ex­
ecutive officer of Tualatin Valley
Centers. “After much consulta­
tion and review, it was concluded
that, in essence, we are stronger
together than either one of us
could ever be standing alone.”
Agency officials said while the
name “CenterforCommunity Mental
Health" will be going away, Tualatin
Valley Centers will maintain programs
familiar in the community, including
the Conquest Center, Project forCom-
munity Recovery, the Leo Ni Leo
program for African American male
youth with addiction and/or mental
health issues, and the Nickerson Cen­
ter for early childhtxxl and adoles­
cent day treatment.
sSR
WfflKi«
Get there and back with a 6-hourTri-Met QuikTik.
You can purchase a Quik Tik atTri-Met ticket
vending machines or from your bus driver.
TRI-MET
503-238-RIDE
RACIAL & ETHNIC APPROACHES
to COMMUNITY HEALTH
A PROGRAM OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HEALTH COALITION
2800 N. Vancouver Avenue, Suite 100, Portland Oregon 97227; 503 413-1850
SDonsored bv the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
¡5 A community action plan to decrease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in
1?
WHY?
STAY
ED...
the Oregon African American community. The program, "A Healthy
Community Starts with You: Community-Driven Strategies to Lower Risk
Factors for CVD", addresses the root causes of the CVD disparity.
In Oregon an African American is twice as likely as a white American to
die from a stroke and almost one & 1/2 times as likely to die from a heart
attack. African Americans have a higher incidence of premature
death, diabetes, stroke, heart attack and high blood pressure.
For more information on our intervention strategies to provide health
education, strengthened social support networks, and advocacy
skills to combat racism and to help decrease the disparity of
preventable chronic diseases.