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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2002)
July 31, 2002 w v w.portlaiidobserver.eom Committed to C u ltu ra l Diversity (Trite ^ n rlla tth (Dhsi'rxu'r SECTION “Siiidtyiny iPo-tUand'a Catnmutiitieô” out m u n i t y a I c tt h a r (C National Night Out Picnic N atio n al N ig h t O ut, the first T u e s d a y in A u g u s t, is c e l e b r a t e d th ro u g h o u t P o rtlan d and th e en tire n atio n . It is a tim e fo r n eig h b o rs to conXe to g e th e r - on fro n t p o rch e s, in stre e ts o r p ark s - to get to know ea ch o th e r b e tte r and b ec o m e m ore ac tiv e in th e ir c o m m u n itie s to help fig h t a g a in st crim e. A p icn ic w ill be h eld on T u e sd a y , A ug. 6, fro m 6 - 9 p.m . at O regon P ark, on the co rn e r o f N .E . 3 0 lh an d O reg o n St. C a ll V icki S cherer at 503-963-8121. Oregon Humane Society T he O regon H um ane S ociety is h o st ing an a d o p tio n o u tre a c h ev e n t to b ring c o m p an io n pets w ho are ready fo r a new h om e in to th e co m m u n ity . S to p by at the C lac k am a s P etsM art o n S un d ay , A ugust 4 ,9 4 5 0 S.E . 82nd A ve., from 11 a . m . - 3 p.m . G o online to w w w .o re g o n h u m a n e.o rg o r call 503-285-7722. BlkeSummer B ikeS um m er is a celebration o f b icy c lin g , c o m m u n ity and c re a tiv ity - a W o rld ’s F air o f bicycling. T h is year, it w ill be h eld in P o rtla n d , w here th o u sa n d s o f peo p le w ill p articip a te in p ro -c y clin g ev en ts th ro u g h o u t th e m onth o f A ugust. E v en ts w ill in c lu d e p e rfo rm an ce s, rid e s, a film fe stiv a l, ed u c atio n al w o rk sh o p s and more. For m ore inform ation, go online to w w w .b ik csu in m er.o rg . Singles Retreat T h e P ied m o n t C hu rch o f C h rist is h o ld in g a S in g les R etreat on A ug. 3, fro m 9 a m. - 4 :3 0 p.m . at 5338 N. B o rth w ic k St. T he k ey n o te sp e ak e r is M in iste r Ja co b s fro m P h o en ix , A rizona. O th er talks w ill be given by m in iste rs and eld ers. C o st is $35 at th e d o o r o r a d o n atio n can be given. F o r m ore in fo rm a tio n , c a ll M in ister M ichael V inton at 503-285-2956. Neighborhood Walking Tour Portland is well known for its walkable, livable streets. P articipants can tour the southeast area on Aug. 17, starting at the C rossroads Plaza on S.E. 92nd and Foster. T ake a w alk around the L ents neighborhood th a t’s grow ing and changing. Explore the m any new developm ents and w alking am enities in th e a r e a . G o o n lin e to w w w . p o rtla n d tra n sp o rtatio n . org or call 503-823-5266. Local Standout Eyes Harvard Dyan Watson is a former graduate from Jefferson High School who is marching toward a doctorate in education. Dyan Watson promotes teaching for people of color by D avid P lechl T he P ortland O bserver W hen D yan W atson w as three years old, she d id n ’t play house, or doctor, like other kids, she played school. “Ever since I can remember, I* ve wanted to becom e a teacher,” says W atson, now 29 and on her w ay to the H arvard School o f E ducation’s doctoral program this fall. Statistically, W atson sho u ld n ’t have m ade it. She grew up poor in a single parent household. She attended schools “people had forgotten about.” “ It’s my faith in G od that has brought m e this far,” W atson says. D espite financial and fam ily setbacks, W atson graduated from Jefferson High as valedictorian in 1991. She graduated cum laude from W illam ette U niversity in 1995 and earned her m aster's degree the next year, boasting a 3.98 G PA . W atson has been teaching at Sunset H igh School for the last 5 years. She is credited w ith starting the first ev er A fri can A m erican credited course there. “T he opportunity to shape thousands o f kids' lives is incredible. It is also daunt ing and scary, but aw esom e,” W atson explains, “T he notion that I will touch a future leader ju st m akes m e feel good,” she says, “and its fun.” S he’s looking forw ard to absorbing know ledge at the H arvard School o f E du cation. w idely considered to be one o f the best in the nation. T he program takes m ost students 4-7 years to com plete. “If it’s possible, I’d like to do it in three,” W atson says. photo by D avid P lechi TT he P ort land O bserver The opportunity to shape thousands of kids' lives is incredible. It is also daunting and scary, but awesome. — D yan W atson W hen she gets back from H arvard, she w ants to be a professor o f Education at P S U o r Lew is and Clark. “I w ant to com e back to Portland and w ork with people that want to becom e teachers,” says W atson w ho lives in northeast Portland. “I want to reach out to the schools, talk to 6th graders, ask them if th e y ’ve ev er considered teaching." Right now , W atson sees “a crisis in Junior Golf Nurtures Young Champions Leisure Hour kids leam good sportsmanship and ditizenship Portland Farmer’s Market T h e N o rth w e st’s b est a rtisa n b ak ers g ath er to c e le b ra te the b elo v ed c ra ft o f b rea d b ak in g and local a rti san food d u rin g the an n u a l S um m er L o a f at P ortland F arm er’s M ark et on S aturday, Aug. 3, from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. at P ortlan d S tate U n iv e rsity ’s South P ark B locks. T ec h n iq u es and re c i pes sh ared by the a r e a ’s ren o w n ed b ak e rs are all p art o f th e fun. F or m o re in fo rm a tio n , g o o n lin e to w w w .portlandfarm erstnarket.org . »ummer Jazz Concert V free su m m er ja z z c o n c e rt w ill be leld on S u n d ay , A ug. 18, fro m 3 - 5 j.m . at P atto n P ark, a d ja c e n t to the n te rsta te F ire h o u se C u ltu ra l (Zen er, 5340 N. In tersta te A ve. G uest >erform ers are Ron S teen on dru m s, ) a n B alm er, b ass, S h irley N an ette, rocals. O p en in g act w ill be the P ort- and Com m unity C ollege’s Jazz Band. Slue Lake Park With golf bags in tow, young members of the Leisure Hour Golf Club march during last month's ‘ Good in the Hood’ parade. W ednesdays are sp ecial th is sum - n e r a t M e tro ’s B lue L ake R egional ’ ark w hen N atu ra lly fo r K ids o ffers <oung v isito rs lots o f th in g s to do. Kids can learn how to m ake anim al n a s k so n A ug. 7, from 10 - 11 a.m . at he C latso p p icn ic sh e lte r. F or m ore nform ation, call 503-797-1850. The jark is betw een M arine Dr. and Sandy 91vd., o ff N .E. 223rd A ve. B y J oy R amos T he P i » rtland O bserver W ith the influence o f Tiger W oods dom inating the golf scene, interest in the sport has exploded. Portland is nurturing its ow n T iger w annabes through the Lei sure Hour G olf Club in northeast Portland. The long-tim e program has received w ide acclaim for m entoring m inority youths to be good sportsm en and citi I education.” £ “T here is a lack o f role m odels," she says, “at one tim e, it m eant som ething to be a teacher. The profession attracted the best and the brightest.” N ow adays, W atson says, “top notch” teachers often opt out w ithin a couple years for better paying professions. D espite the u n fav o rab le num bers, W atson also w ants to encourage more ft zens. T his very com m itm ent to youth developm ent earned the club last month, a two-year grant o f $40,(XX)fmm the Western States G olf Association. The monies will be used for transportation, lessons, green fees, range balls and equipment. Since its beginnings half a century ago. the clu b w as started for the purpose o f getting men and women together w ho loved to play g o lf and bridge. It evolved A differently in 1943 by prom oting an inter est in g o lf am ong m inority youths. F ounder V ernon G askin, along with his w ife, and J. C ullen Fentress, w ent on to spearhead the W estern States G o lf A ssoc., a group that has grow n co nsider ably in size to 32 clubs w ith 1,600 m em bers. C urrently, the Leisure H our G o lf Club in Portland has 65 ju n io r golfers betw een the age o f 7 to 18-years-old and 20 m en tors. As part o f the program , ju n io r golfers are im m ersed in classroom instruction, clinics, on-course instruction with m en tors, and com m unity service. M any disciplines are required o f the kids in the program to leam responsibil ity, on and o ff the g o lf course; Even parent involvem ent is expected. Jaimee M ayfield, a 15-year-old Benson High School student praised the club by saying. “ I d id n ’t understand or know anything about g o lf until I jo in ed this program . I have grow n as an individual and now have the know ledge to go even further in life playing g o lf and being a better person." This year, the young golfers v olun teered their tim e at several church sites, dressed in black and white. “O ur program has so m uch to offer to our youths - not only to leam the gam e of golf, but we also strive to develop the w hole person w ith love, discipline and continued on page B3 people o f color to teach. “W e have a huge shortage o f black men in teaching,” she says. W atson has also led effective div er sity workshops in Gresham and Beaverton. She thinks all teachers could stand to be a little bit better at dealing with ethnicity. “Y ou d o n ’t have to be black, to be good with inner city kids.” She touts an interactive approach to teaching. “T hey d o n ’t rem em ber w hat you tell them but w hat you do.” W atson says. W a tso n 's m erit scholarship covers tuition and fees for a year, but is n o n renewable. A fter the first year she' 11 have to raise the m oney herself, or take out loans. The U rban C hurch o f Portland is ask ing the com m unity to help out with the $ 4 5 ,0 0 0 a y ea r tu itio n co st o f the continued on page B3 Firefighter’s Civil Rights Claim Settled (AP>— The city will pay $100,000 to settle a civil rights claim by a black firefighter who w as subjected to deroga tory racial com m ents and demeaning pornographic pranks while on the job. The negotiated settlement with Rick Fizer, 32, was reached in a mediation session this month. Fizer, who was out o f work on a stress- related disability for six months while his com plaints were investigated, is back on the job. “1 ’ m happy about being back, and I ’ m pleased with the settlem ent," Fizer said M onday. “Some m uch-needed changes are being made." The Portland Fire Bureau has hired an outside consultant to assess the bureau ’ s culture through a 100-question survey, interviews, station visits and a review of bureau policies. The consultants will re port in September w hether changes in bureau policies or training are needed. A five-month bureau internal investi gation into Fizer’s com plaints corrobo rated allegations that Fizer was subjected to racist com m ents about "cotton pick ing in M ississippi," negative com m ents about the north Portland neighborhoods the firefighters served and pornographic pranks. Five Portland firefighters were d isci plined last year for their actions. T w o — including a battalion ch ief — were d e moted, tw o w ere suspended w ithout pay and the fifth received a letter o f reprimand.
