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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2002)
November 06,2002______________________________ (Cfje ^ortlanh ODbgerlier___________________________ PaseAS Health/Education Road Network Will Quickly Post Kidnappings Governor adopts the Amber Alert system to help find missing children ( A P) — G ov. Jo h n K itz h ab e r n ic atio n s tech n o lo g ies are p o w h as la u n ch e d a n ew , sta te w id e erfu l to o ls " to h elp fin d ab A m ber A lert sy stem to help find d u cted ch ild ren , th e g o v ern o r said. ab d u c te d ch ild ren . U n d e r th e A m b er A lert sy s K itzh ab er, w h o sig n ed an e x ec u tiv e o rd e r esta b lish in g the tem , a k id n a p p in g an y w h ere in sy stem la st w eek , said tim e is O re g o n w ill set th e new sta te c ritic a l a fte r an ab d u c tio n and w id e sy stem in m o tio n . L aw e n fo rc e m e n t ag en cies th a t the new sy stem w ill let w ill sen d a le rts to all rad io and a u th o ritie s n o tify th e p u b lic a l te lev isio n statio n s w ith d escrip m o st im m ed ia te ly . tio n s o f th e m issin g ch ild ren , “T h e ey es an d the ears o f the th e ir a b d u c to rs and o th e r in pu b lic an d a d v a n ce d co m m u Griffin Finishes Work at Human Services * Donnie Griffin of Portland will leave his position as deputy direc tor of the Oregon Dept. o f Human Services by the end o f the year. Bobby Mink, the director o f the state agency, praised Griffin for taking a key role in the department ’ s first major reorganization since its creation in 1971. He said Griffin, an expert in orga nizational change, kept his pledge to work as his chief deputy for 18 months to tw o years. “W ith D onnie’s help, w e’ve m oved DHS to a new structure ch ild is b eliev e d to be in im m i fo rm atio n . It w ill be up to th e in d iv id u al n en t d an g e r an d that the alerts T V and rad io statio n s to d ecid e w o n ’t be u se d in m ost cases w h eth e r to carry b ro ad c ast re in v o lv in g cu sto d y d isp u tes. A m b er A lerts started in A r p o rts ab o u t the A m b er A lert. In fo rm a tio n ab o u t an a b d u c lin g to n , T ex a s, afte r the 1996 tio n also w ill be p o sted on 38 ab d u c tio n o f 9 -y ea r-o ld A m b er elec tro n ic “rea d er b o ard s” that H ag erm an . A n eig h b o r saw her a re lo c a te d alo n g O re g o n ’s k id n a p p in g an d gave good in in terstates and m ajo r state h ig h fo rm a tio n to p o lice, but o ffic ers d id n ’t g et th at in fo rm atio n w a y s. P o lice o ffic ia ls said the A m o ut to th e p u b lic. A m b er’s body b er A lerts w ill be u sed if the w as fo u n d fo u r d ay s later. Bridge Builders, Latinos Earn Support Legacy health fund to support programs for at-risk youth The Bridge Builders, an African American mentoring and scholars program, and the Susannah Maria Gurule Foundation, a Latino lead ership group, have both earned g ra n ts fro m L eg a cy H ea lth System’sCommunity Health Fund. The Bridge Builders is dedicated Donnie Griffin played a key role to strengthening the African Ameri can community by administering in the Department of Human African-centered rites o f passage Services major reorganization. programs that promote spirituality, He w ill continue to serve on scholarship, entrepreneurship and O reg o n ’s B oard o f E ducation, to community building. w hich Gov. John K itzhaber ap The group will receive $250,000 pointed him in 1997. over the next three years to estab lish the Mays Scholars program, named after Benjamin E. Mays— the past president o f Morehouse College. The program will enable high school age students, with assis tance from their adult mentors, to implement a rite of passage pro gram for eighth grade boys. Re search shows that middle school students tend to have less adult supervision while being exposed to greater numbers of high-risk m inutes o f physical daily activ entrances or d eliver item s choices. to cow orkers instead o f in ity, or five miles. Use a pedom eter Fifty eighth grade school boys to help track your steps and take teroffice mail to help in will meet twice every month to par the stairs, park farther away from crease your steps. ticipate in interactive workshops. that w ill give O reg o n ’s m ost v ul nerable residents easier access to the services they need,” M ink said. C indy B ecker o f Salem was nam ed to fill the post on T h u rs d ay . B e c k e r, 5 1, p re v io u s ly served as the d ep artm en t’s chief adm inistrative officer. G riffin said he plans to devote m ore tim e to his fam ily, to co n tinue w ith a variety o f com m unity service activities, and to focus on future opportunities closer to his hom e in Portland. Did you Walk A rea residents are en c o u r a g e d to ta k e th e 10,000-step challenge. W alking is a great way to lose w eight and im prove your cardiovascular health. Providence Portland M edi cal C enter fitness experts rec ommend walking 10,000 steps a day, w hich is equal to 30 M a jo r G reg W ille fo rd o f the O reg o n S tate P o lice said ab o u t h a lf the states now h av e A m b er A lert sy stem s, and th a t o n ly 14 such alerts h av e been issu ed in recen t years. “H o p efu lly , it w ill be very s e ld o m u s e d ” in O r e g o n , W illefo rd said, ad d in g th a t h av ing such a sy stem in p la ce co u ld actu ally p ro v id e a d e te rre n t to ch ild ab d u ctio n s. Steps Today? attend varsity games, learn African drumming, step dancing, military drills and go on a field trip to a local historical site. “Throughout the world differ ent cultures have ritualized the pas sage into manhood and made it a community event,” said The Bridge Builders founder Kevin Fuller. “In each culture, the rite of passage process connected the initiate with In addition to youth presentations, there will be outreach efforts fo r parents to enhance their parenting skills. ... a mentor, indoctrinated the virtues o f that community, forced the can didate to be accountable for his life and helped the initiate to make mean ing out o f his life. This cultural and gender specific approach to rites of passage will be similar to great in stitutions that have helped African American young men to become scholars - Morehouse in Atlanta and Richard Allen Academy in New YorkCity.” The Susannah M aria Gurule Foundation will receive $263,060 over the next three years to estab lish Las Hermanas, a culturally spe cific project that will train 30 young Latinas per year in leadership/ca- reer development and health edu cation. These young women will then provide outreach and health edu cation to 100 Latinos per year through group presentations and small group platicas (talks) to be held at churches, schools and other community gathering places. In addition to youth presenta tions, there will be outreach efforts fo r p a re n ts to e n h a n ce th e ir parenting skills. “Currently, there are no Latino community based health preven tion and education programs in the metro area,” said Sonja Steves, vice president of marketing and commu nity relations for Legacy Health System. “A successful health pre vention and education program for Latinos must be built on long-term relationship building not only with the youth but also with their fami lies. Group Develops Studies on Racism Multi-cultural education follows new Oregon law Oregon Uniting, a non-profit organization specializing in racial reconciliation and justice, is devel oping a curriculum for Oregon Pub lic Schools educating students on O re g o n ’s in te rra c ia l h isto ry , spurred by educational bills m an dating multi-cultural education. The curriculum will address the long neglected history of people of color in the state. It will help all students better understand the past racial inequality laws thus shed ding light on the current situation of inequality and increasing racial awareness and empathy. “Our educational efforts will not promote separatism and intergroup conflict as some critics predict,” said Niki Toussaint, director of Oregon Uniting. “Its purpose is not to diminish the achievements of W estern Europeans, but rather emphasize that, in spite o f trem en dous barriers, many groups played a significant role in the develop ment of our state.” A team of seasoned veterans - including Carolyn Leonard, former coordinator of multicultural and multiethnic education for Portland Public Schools and current PPS Compliance officer for Portland Public Schools, and Floyd Pepper, curriculum development specialist - are developing the initial curricu lum to be implemented in Oregon schools. “As school populations in O r egon become more diverse, racial issues w ill co n tin u e to rise ,” Leonard said. “Understanding and acknowledging historical reasons for racial inequality will help all chil dren to heal and move on from today’s racial roadblocks.” T he curriculum w ill be pilot tested in several P ortland-area schools this January. T h e o r g a n iz a tio n a lre a d y works extensively with Grant High School, R igler E lem entary and Lane M iddle School to facilitate d ia lo g u es in v o lv in g stu d en ts, parents, teachers and school ad m inistration officials focused on racial issues and ju stice, in creas ing racial integration and h ar mony. O regon U niting, based in P ort land, was founded in 1998 to pro mote racial reconciliation and ju s tice through interracial dialogues, educational program s, assistance in racial issues w ithin a com m u nity and various racial aw areness events. It connects, inform s and encourages racially diverse O r eg o n ian s to w ork to g eth er to build ju st, unified com m unities. F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , v is it w w w .oregonuniting.org. Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health A program ot the African American Health Coalition, Inc. Sponsored by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) . Wellness Within REACH: Mind, Body, and Soul Activity Calendar M on Tues W ed T h u rs Sat F ri Salsa Matt Dishman 77 NE boit 6d)0-7d)0pin EKs Salvati« Army 5325NW®a«. African Dance Water aerobics Old School 2:00-3:00pm Dance 1 0 -1 1 « Hampton 6:00-700pm Addo Kendrick Jefferson High School Glass of '72 Natati 3535 NE15th. We«h(Room Aerobics Yop Aerobics Water aerobics Aerobics 6 3 0 -7 3 0 pn 730-B30pm 630730p m 2:00 - 3:00pm 6 3 0 7 3 0 pm 1011« Nickerson 0'Kmnie Nickerson Hampton Nickerson TBD Peñada Park Walkmi Gronp 700NP(rtU 07 Wilkin« Gronp R 12:30 pm Nickerson Nickerson ---------------------- - Saturday Basketball PerthM 12-lpa Basketball 12-lpm Radja N ovem ber 9 ,2 0 0 2 7:00 p.m. - Midnight Billy Reeds Restaurant & Bar 2808 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon $25 per person at the door Buffet provided - No-host bar To RSVP: (503) 249-1721 ext. 205 or www.classmates.com Calm WsUunj Groap • 705 N Umimemtk 6-30-7:30am Cason Walkmi! Group 6 -3 0 7 3 0 « Cason “ Must be 21 or older to participate Please check with AAHC before showing up to the first class 503-413-1850. Please receive approval from your doctor before beginning exercise class All claaae* are free of chargel African American Health Coalition, Inc. 2800 N. Vancouver Ave., Suite 100 • Portland, OR 97227 • Phone:503-413-1850 E-mail: cortissm@aahc-portland org • Web: www aahc-portland org
