(Etjc jJÌortlanh ®bseruer
November 27, 2002
Page A 3
continued
from Front
Rat Olympics Return
Tom and Mary Bittler
hold a picture of their
beloved daughter
Melissa, at Meek
School in northeast
Portland last week
after a ceremony
dedicating a school
bench in Melissa's
honor. A former Meek
student, Melissa was
murdered on Dec. 13
as she headed to
school from her north
east Portland home.
Trial for the accused
killer in the case,
Landon Andre
Stephens, 33, is
pending.
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
PSU Expands for Minorities
Vancouver
DePreist professorship to support education in the arts
Transit
Hurting
S a le s ta x b o o s t c o n s id e r e d
C lark C o u n ty tran sit officials
ag reed in a 7-1 vote th a t in the
n ex t y ea r o r tw o C lark C o u n ty
v o ters sh o u ld be ask ed to ap
p ro ve a prop o sal to raise the
s a le s ta x f o r C - T r a n , th e
c o u n ty ’s p u b lic tran sit system .
A fter several m o n th s o f re
search, ca lc u latio n s and d isc u s
I sions, the m ajority o f the C-
I
I
• T ran B oard agreed th at th e tran
« sit a g e n c y ’s fin an c es w ill be so
< d ep leted in sev eral y ea rs that
Í
« the on ly ch o ice is to su b stan
serv ice o r seek
t tially c u t the
ad d itio n al fun d in g to ev en re
I m ain at th e sam e se rv ic es levels
I
t o p erated currently.
<
I C -T ran presently levies three-
tenths o f one percent sales tax,
* im posed after a county w ide vote
» in 1980. In 1999, w ith the pas
• *
<
sage o f Initiative 695, C -T ran
lost the m atching m otor vehicle
excise tax contribution, resulting
in a $12 m illion revenue loss.
Subsequently, C -tran cut o r
saved nearly $16 m illion in ex
penses ov er the last tw o years
and shored up the rem aining loss
by using reserve funds that had
been set aside for capital facilities
projects. T hat fund is expected
to be exhausted in 2005.
C -T ra n sta ff w ill now w o rk
o n r e c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r an
electio n date, alo n g w ith the
d ev e lo p m e n t o f ex ten siv e p u b
lic ed u c atio n , o u trea ch and c iti
zen p articip a tio n to ad d ress the
issue.
C -T ra n o p era tes 28 ro u tes in
C lark C o u n ty , w ith co m m u te r
serv ice to P ortland.
Portland State University will pay
tribute to O regon Sym phony co n
ductor Jam es D ePreist with a new
professorship that w ill expand edu
cational opportunities in A rts to
s tu d e n ts fro m tr a d itio n a lly
underrepresented background.
The new professorship not only
provides outstanding instruction
in the visual arts but also provides
outreach and m entoring that will
help these students in the PSU
Department o f Art continue through
to com pletion o f their degrees.
The new James D ePreist Visiting
Professorship in Ethnic Art has
been created and nam ed through a
$ 100,000 gift from the H arold and
A rlene Schnitzer CA R E F ounda
tion. The professorship is a natural
o u tg r o w th o f P o rtla n d S ta te
U niversity’scom m itm ent to diver
sity, evidenced by President Daniel
O. B ernstein’s University-w ide D i
versity initiative, and by P S U ’s
position as that m ost diverse cam
pus in O regon. This professorship
will help grow that diversity in PSU
D epartm ent o f Art.
“W e are pleased to jo in H arold
and A rlene S chnitzer in honoring
Jam es D ePreist w ith this new pro
fessorship," said Robert Sylvester,
dean o f PSU School o f Fine and
Perform ing Arts. “Jim m y is a m en
tor and a teacher, it is fitting that
this professorship be in his name.
In his 23 years w ith the O regon
Sym phony, Jim m y ’s influence is
felt throughout the region’s cul
tural life.
DePreist is com pleting 23 years
as O regon Sym phony m usic direc
tor; he is changing his role w ith the
orchestra through 2008.
Supporting Families
S elf E nhancem ent, Inc. will dis
perse holiday food boxes to fam i
lies in need on W ednesday, Nov.
27 at noon.
O v er200 families are expected to
benefit from the giveaw ay at the
Center for Self Enhancem ent, 3920
N. K erby Ave.
SEI has conducted the giveaw ay
for years, but this year, th ey ’ve
seen a m arked increase in the n um
ber o f fam ilies requesting boxes.
“Normally we give out lOOboxes”
says Tony H opson, President and
C EO o f SEI. “But this year w e’re
doubling that to 2 0 0 boxes because
the need in our com m unity is ju st so
great” .
For more information, please call
Lisa M anning at S elf Enhancem ent
Inc., 503-249-1721, extension 241.
2002 is an O lym pic year, if you ’ re
a rat. Next week, the Rat O lym pics
return to the Lincoln cam pus o f
N ebraska W esleyan. The rodents
will be com peting for the big
cheese in all sorts o f O lym pic
events like track, w eight lifting
and long jum p. T rainers and their
rats will be vying for gold, silver
and bronze m edals. Psychology
Professor S pencer M orrison says
training rats is a great w ay for
students to study anim al behav
ior. M orrison adds the specta
tors will be am azed by the ra ts’
ability and agility.
Berliners tire of swingers’
A group o f w eary Berliners has
gone to court to close dow n a
sw ingers’ club on the ground
floor o f their building because
th e m o a n s o f p le a s u re an d
scream s o f delight are keeping
them awake. A lthough they get a
reduction on their rent, a law yer
w ho lives on the first floor says
his wife has to use earplugs every
n ig h t becau se the so u n d s o f
sexual intercourse can be heard
throughout the building.
Friends claim boy was
swallowed by snake
A young South African boy is
missing, his friends say he was
swallowed by an African rock py
thon and a snake expert says he
believes them. Snake park owner
said judging by a big flattened
grass path and snake tracks by a
nearby river, the group o f boys,
aged between five and eight, are
probably telling the truth.
Breast-Feeding Prompts
Court Action
A ju d g e in U rbana, 111., gave the
state legal guardianship Friday
o f an 8 -y e a r-o ld boy w hose
m other w as breast-feeding him
as recently as last year. Lynn
Stuckey, 34, will retain custody of
the boy. Judge John D eLaM ar
said she had not abused the boy
in any way, but m ade bad deci
sions that could cause him long
term em otional harm.
Wanted: Heads of Cajun
country rodents
Nutria - furry, swamp-dwelling ro
dents that look like 10-pound rats
with webbed feet - are largely re
garded as a nuisance in Louisiana’s
Cajun country. Starting W ednes
day, the state o f Louisiana will pay
a $4-a-tail bounty in hopes of w ip
ing out 400,000 nutria this winter.
The payment is part o f an effort to
save Louisiana’s coast.
Closing Thanksgiving Day Early at 4:00 pm. Opening Friday
rani
Celebration!
Starts next Wednesday
December 4th at 8am.
S afeway
Visit Safeways
Celebrate
Season ^Safeway
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at our
Martin Luther King Blvd.
Safeway Store!
Available at
M anor «House
Turkeys
9 (
Grade A. 17 to 23-lbs. size range. Frozen.
Seif-basting. L im it 1 with $25 purchase including
price o f Turkey.
A k lb.
ID.
Safeway Club Price
Safeway SELECT Spiral
Sliced "hole or Half Ham
Honey Glazed.
Glazed. Previously
Previously Frozen
Frozen
Honev
SAVE up to $1.32 lb.
Now the savings are in the Card!
A
1
97
Safeway Club Price
ALL LIMITS ARE PER
HOISEHOLDPER DAY!