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River City Celebration
H arbor je t-b o a t tours, interactive trade
exhibits, historical displays, lantern-
m aking workshops, food booths, en
tertainment and an evening illum inated
procession along the c ity 's Eastbank
Esplanade aw ait visitors to P ortland’ s
"R iv e r C ity C elebration & Illu m in a ta
Parade o f L ig h t” on Saturday, Sept.
21, fro m noon - 10:30 p.m . The
daylong festival w ill be at the east end
o f Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge, where
S.E. Madison ST. meets the W illam ette
R iver bank.
SECTION
Exploring Careers After High School
PGE summer jobs put local students on career
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Radical Women
Radical W om en hosts an evening o f
thought pro vo kin g com m entary, po
etry and m usic to celebrate the interna
tional resistance o f w om en and w o rk
ers to the new w ar order. The meeting
is free and open to the p ublic. The
event w ill be on Wednesday, Sept. 11,
7:30 p.m. at the Bread and Roses Cen
ter, 819 N. K illin g s w o rth . T o arrange
childcare, rides, w o rk exchanges o r
fo r m ore in fo rm a tio n, call 503-240-
4462.
Fun for the Whole Family
A re a re s id e n ts are in v ite d tp a t
tend the St. L u k e M e m o ria l C h u rch
o f G o d in C h r is t's 3"' a n n u a l b lo c k
p a rty in m e m o ry o f B re n d a J.
P ie a rso n on S a tu rd a y , A u g . 31 at
2700 N .E. Sumner, fro m 11 :3 0 a .m .-
6 :3 0 p .m . T h e re w il l be fo o d , fu n ,
m u s ic and gam es fo r a ll ages. A n
a d u lt m u st a c c o m p a n y c h ild re n
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u n d e r 12.
Street of Dreams
The 27th annual N W Natural Street o f
Dreams w ill continue to b u ild on its
reputation fo r showcasing uniquely
designed homes, u n ve ilin g its 2002
houses d a ily through M onday, Sept. 2,
follow ed by an “ encore weekend” Sept.
6,7 and 8. Each hom e's design in co r
porates the latest trends in electronic
technology, e n ergy-efficiency, land
scaping, consumer products, furnish
ings and decor. The tour begins in
A therton Heights in Lake Oswego on
the com er o f Rosemont and S tafford,
from 10 a m. - 10 p.m.
Tomato Fest
Tomato lovers unite to sample 50 va ri
eties o f tomatoes, learn the difference
between a plum and a pear tomato,
discover hybrid and heirloom varieties,
and gain structionson canningand freez
ing tomatoes. Plus, kids can meet farm
animals in the 4H petting zoo. The fes
tiva l w ill be at the Portland Farmers
Market on Saturday, Sept. 7, at PSU’ s
South Park Blocks, between S. W. M ont
gomery and Harrison St.
Summer Cycle and Walks
The Portland O ffice o f Transportation
is offering neighborhood w alking tours.
Takoa w alk around northeast Portland.
It w ill be on Aug. 31, from 9 - 1 1 a.m.
Meeting area w i II be at the L lo y d Center
N o rd stro m Plaza at N .E . 9 ,h and
M u ltn o m a h. Participants w ill v is it
Broadw ay/W eidler and L lo yd neigh
borhoods and explore several recent
transportation/livability projects. Call
5 0 3 -8 2 3 -5 2 6 6 o r go o n lin e to
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Race for the Cure
S afew ay and Y o p la it y o g u rt ju s t
launched the Safeway Salutes Portland
S u rv iv o rs p ro g ra m , an in -s to re
fundraising effort fo r breast cancer re
search. Their goal is to raise $10.000.
From Sept. 1 through race day. Sept. 15,
Y oplait and Safeway w ill donate $ 1 for
every 10. and $1.50 for every 15 Y oplait
yogurt cups purchased w ith a Safeway
C lub Card. The race w il I be held at Gov.
Tom M cC all W aterfront Park.
Jamika Johnson dreams of a career in business after exploring a choice o f careers at Portland General Electric.
J anet C olw ell
F or T he P ortland O bserver
by
Jamika Johnson was certain about one
thing when she graduated from high school:
She w ould go to college and have a career.
But ju st how that career path w ould unfold
was a mystery, and the last place she ex
pected to solve it was at a u tility company.
“ A t first I was very w orried about m y
career direction," says Johnson, a “ summer
hire” in Portland General Electric's Federal
A ffa irs division, where she helps maintain
legal files connected w ith major court cases.
“ But w o rkin g at PGE gave me a taste o f the
business w orld
I was surprised at how
many different departments there arc at a
u tility and the extent o f PGE's role in the
com m unity.”
Johnson now dreams o f a career in busi
ness. A fte r another year at Portland C om
m unity College. she plans to transfer to the
U niversity ofN evada at Las Vegas to com
plete a business degree,
Johnson is one o f 57 students w orking in
PGE’ s Summer H ire Program, w hich helps
attract talented young people to trade and
professional careers at the company.
U nlike many traditional internship pro
grams, PGE summer jobs pay competitive
wages and place students in real, hands-on
positions.
This year, more than h a lf o f the students
hired were m inorities or women, says Joe
Hutchins, program director.
A m ajor focus o f the program is recruit
ing m inorities and women into non-tradi-
tional jobs, such as hydro-maintenance or
engineering. That’ s in keeping w ith PGE's
top-down comm i tment to creat i ng a di verse
w orkforce
the company has eight em
ployee diversity groups as w ell as an advi
sory committee that regularly makes rec
ommendations to management on policy
and enhancing diversity across departments.
M any students spend m ultiple summers
at PGE, gaining valuable experience and
defraying college expenses. Some even go
on to fu ll-tim e jobs at the u tility.
PGE's School-to-W ork Program is an
other way the company reaches out to m i
nority students, says Hutchins. The pro
gram targets six high schools Jefferson,
Benson, Roosevelt, H illsboro, Woodburn
and North Salem.
Hutchins helps students apply fo r jobs,
organizes field trips to PGE facilities, ar
ranges for students to job-shadow PGE
employees and links students w ith employee
mentors.
This year, a total o f 448 high school and
college students vied fo r 57 summer posi
tions, says Hutchins. It’ s com petitive, but
everyone has a shot at a jo b , he says the
Mental Health Group Names Directors
Area centers for mental health strengthen, diversify board
re la tio n s program at P ortland State
U n iv e rs ity w here he is a d ju nct p ro
fessor. He also serves on the board
o f d ire cto rs at S elf-E nhancem ent,
In c., is a m em ber o f P o rtla n d 's U r
ban F o re stry B oard, is a fo rm e r
M e tro C o u n c ilo r, and is a past p re si
dent o f the P ortland chapter o f the
Tualatin V a lle y Centers, a group
o f clin ics that recently merged w ith a
longtim e p rovider o f mental health
services fo r A fric a n Am ericans in
Portland, has named four new o ffic
ers to strengthen and d iv e rs ify the
organization.
Ed W a s h in g to n and V e rn o n
Baker, lo n g tim e leaders in the black
c o m m u n ity , m ake up tw o o f the
a p p o in tm e n ts to the g ro u p 's board
o f d ire c to r s , a n n o u n c e d M a ry
M o n n a t, T V C president and c h ie f
Ed Washington (left) and Vernon Baker
executive officer.
Both men served on the board o f direc
tors fo r Center fo r C o m m u n ity M ental
Health, the group that merged w ith T V C
in March.
Baker serves as developmental disabi I i-
ties manager fo r M ultnom ah County. He
is an ordained m inister and has 15 years
experiences as a trainer and consultant in
the fields o fso cia l services and education.
He is cu rre n tly w ritin g a book on the
“ V illa g e Experience and the role o f the
A fro -A m e rica n m an."
W ash in g to n serves in the c o m m u n ity
NAACP.
A lso new to the T V C board arc
G ilb e rto T. Lusero and Paul Zadoff.
Lusero is a ffilia te d w ith the Latino
N etw ork. Oregon C ouncil fo r H is
panic Advancement, and several graduate
and medical schools in W ashington and
C alifornia.
Z a d o ff has held various positions for
Nike. He has 12 years o f experience in the
non-profit arts w orld, w orking w ith a vari
ety o f theatre, opera and ballet companies.
Extreme Heat Brings Energy Help from Oregon Housing Department
The federal government has awarded
Oregon $1.6 m illio n in emergency funds
to help low -incom e residents pay their
energy bills.
The Oregon Housing and C om m unity
»
Services department distributed the m on
ies to local com m unity action agencies,
service programs and partners.
Persons seeking energy assistance can
apply through their local com m unity ac
tio n agency.
“ O u r C ongressional delegates have
re a lly w orked hard to o b ta in these funds.
T hough there rem ains a m uch greater
need fo r energy assistance funds, these
t
d o lla rs w ill be ve ry m uch in o u r e ffo rts
to assist lo w -in c o m e households deal
w ith energy cost related to extrem e heat
and c o ld ,"s a id B ob R e p in e . O H C S
d ire cto r.
ch ie f requirements arc a w i I lingncss to learn
and the a b ility to be a good team player.
U ltim ately, the program is a w in -w in for
everyone, he says. PGE builds a pipeline o f
talented potential employees w hile students
get summer jobs that give them a first-hand
look at the u tility industry.
"W e 're w illin g to give them an opportu
n ity," says Hutchins, "and i f they do a great
job, there'll like ly be another jo b w aiting
fo r them next year.”
PGE starts accepting ap p lica tio n s fo r
sum m er p o sitio n s in m id -M a rc h . A p
p lica n ts m ust be 18 as o f June I and
undergo a drug test and background
check. T o a p p ly, d o w n lo a d an a p p lic a
tio n fro m P G E 's w e b s ite , w w w .
P o r tla n d g e n e r a l.c o m o r c a ll th e
com pany’ s human resources departm ent
at 5 0 3 -4 6 4 -7 2 5 0 to have an a p p lic a tio n
m a ile d to you.
Hands to Span
the 1-5 Bridge
People in recovery and those who
support treatment fo r drug and alcohol
abuse w ill jo in hands “ across the 1-5
B r id g e " b e tw e e n P o rtla n d and
V ancouver on Sunday, Sept. I . from 7
a.m .to8:30a.m .
The event is planned in recognition
o f National A lco h o l and D rug A d d ic
tion Recovery M onth.
( Jregonians w ho have overcome sub
stance abuse are also jo in in g leaders
from the state's treatment field in a
show o f support fo r greater treatment
nnd services during a Friday ra lly a, the
Hooper D e to xifica tion C enter.
Invited speakers include M ayor Vera
Katz. Sen. M argaret Carter, and Rep.
Deborah Kafoury.
The rally w ill include petitions calling
on all public o fficials to increase funding
fo r addictions treatment and support ser
vices. Oregon Partnership w ill be calling
for an increase in ( fregon' s beer and wine
tax. The Recovery Association Project,
the A ddiction Counselor Board o f O r
egon. the ( lark County A lcohol and Drug
Program, and the Oregon Partnership
support both events.