Committed to Cultural Diversity
www portlandobserver.com
January 29. 200 5
tThc ^ o rtia n h (©baertier
Adopt a Pet
World Renowned Educator Visits
Advocate
T “Believe in
The Oregon Humane Society is I
extending its outreach efforts to
area pet stores this month. To help
the Humane Society bring home-1
less pets into the community, call j
dazzles
classroom
C
•
-
o m m u n ity
a I c n cl a i
SECTION
yourself. ”
— Marva Collins, founder of
Westside Prepatory In Chicago
dents are low academic performers.
Others have issues with attention
deficit. But when Collins had them
all repeating poetry on her cue no
one w ould've known it.
“For her to turn them on like that
was just an incredible experience to
watch,” Flowers said.
In fact, the spectacle brought
her to tears.
“Yes, I'm crying,” she told her
class. “I’m just so impressed."
photo by D avid P lechi / T he P ortland O bserver
Collins taught the children a
World-renowned
educator
Marva Collins teaches third-grade
spontaneous poem to illustrate the
students
at
Boise
Eliot
to
recite
original poems. The strength and
difference betw een needs and
by D avid P lechl
teacher, Evelyn Flowers, caught
T he P ori land O bserver
wind of her visit to Portland, she
Marva Collins is something of a knew she couldn't pass up the op­
Free Training For Hospice
Kaiser Permanente will provide I le g e n d am ong te a c h e rs. She portunity to have Collins bring some
founded W estside Preparatory in of that magic to her students.
free volunteer training to people
Chicago and single-handedly de­
What Flowers saw only fur­
willing to provide physical and
emotional support for terminally I stroyed the myth that minority and thered her am azem ent. Collins
inner city children are destined for quickly had the entire class' rapt
ill hospice patients in the Portland
inspiration Collins brought to the children brought their teacher,
a life of academic and social failure. attention.
a re a and re s p ite fo r th e ir
continued
on page H4
Evelyn Flowers, to tears. "I'm ju s t so impressed, ’ she said.
So when Boise Eliot ’ s third grade
Flowers said some of her stu-
caregivers. The training is in Port­
land on Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. starting
Jan. 30 through Feb. 27, with one
Saturday session on Feb. 8 from 9 |
a.m. to 4 p.m. For more inform a­
tion, call Kaiser Perm anente's
hospice volunteer coordinator
— Erwin Warren, head recruiter for the Portland Fire Deptarment
Juanita Oliver at 503-499-5285.
503-285-7722, extension 204.
f
We have no quotas. We do have goals. We want to make the fire
department representative o f the communities we serve.
: t Chinese NewYear
Banquet
, The Chinese New Year Cultural
Fair will be a community event to I
welcome the Year o f the Sheep |
9,500 signatures
will put People’s
Utility District on
the ballot
with a banquet and a traditional
dragon dance. The annual cel­
ebration will be held at the Legin |
Restaurant, 8001 S.E. Division on
Saturday, Feb. 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 I
p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 2, from 10 |
a.m .to5p.m .
Natural Migraine Relief
New Seasons Market will offer a |
free class by Dr. Jessica Nesseler-
Cass, ND, on natural migraine re­
lief. Dr. Nesseler-Cass will discuss |
the three types o f migraines, how
they can be linked to foods, hor­
mones and stress, and how to a void
triggering migraines. This class is |
open to the public on Tuesday,
Feb. 4 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
* Slavery Reparations
Discussed
’ Randall Robison, author of sev-1
eral books on African American
issues, will lead a lecture at the
Kaul Auditorium at Reed College
on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30p.m.
on what America owes to blacks.
Robinson is widely recognized
for his leadership of the Free South
Africa M ovement to end apart­
heid in South Africa: his efforts to |
highlight the effect o f globaliza­
tion on African and the Carib­
bean; his work to win support for
reparations for African Ameri­
cans; and his efforts to alert Ameri-
cans to the causes and implica­
tion o f A m erica’s burgeoning
prison industrial complex.
p
photos by D avid P i . echi / T he P ortland O bserver
Erwin Warren, head recruiter for the Portland Fire Department, oversees hopeful trainees during a firefighting agility test last
weekend. He said since the trainee program started five years ago, women and minority employment in the department has
jumped from four percent to 19 percent.
Diversity in
the Ranks
I
s
a
Firefighting trainee program opens
doors for minorities and women
J
Art Supply Swap and Sale
Art on the Peninsula will host an |
art supply swap and sale on Sat­
urday, Feb. 8 from 10a.m. to 1 p.m.
at the Kenton Firehouse, located |
at 2209 N. Schofield. The swap
and sale is a free event offering
spaces and tables for people to |
sell or swap artist supplies, tools
or craft items. For more inform a­
tion, call 503-823-4099 or show up |
with your batch o f supplies and
swap away.
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
The young men and women w ho partici­
pated in this m o n th 's agility test to be­
com e a P ortland figefigher have already
scaled a slippery slope.
The hopefuls were among more than a
thousand applicants who took a written test
to be considered a firefighter trainee. Six
hundred were asked to return for an interview
and ju st 174 w ere invited to the fire
departm ent's training center for a grueling
afternoon o f strength and endurance -related
climbing, pulling, dragging and lifting.
“They've all dem­
onstrated the ability
Robert Kapuniai-Ryan rests between rounds o f the Portland
to b ec o m e g o o d
Fire and Rescue agility test. He will be considered for employ­
fire fig h ters,” said
ment along 174 other applicants that took the strength and
Erwin Warren, the
endurance-related test last weekend.
departm ent’s head
recruiter since 1997, and the first African that traditionally have not had a place in the
American to hold that post.
department.
The firefighter trainee program provides
After all, it w asn’t until 1955 that the first
an opportunity to become a firefighter with­ African American was employed as a Port­
out prior experience.
land firefighter. It was another 21 years be­
Established as a way of leveling the play­ fore three more African American men were
ing field, Warren said the program has opened brought in despite a union body vote
the doors for women and applicants of color
continued
on page H4
The Firefighter That Almost Never Was
Bill Ladd’s rocky start leads to a lasting career
The Mystery of
Black Holes
Come learn about disappearing I
stars at the Mt. Hood Community
College Planetarium on Saturday,
Feb. 8 and Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.
“Black Holes” will feature images
o f the effect massive collapsing
stars have on their surrounding
celestial environments. The 45-
minute presentation will take place
at the MHCC Sky Theater at the
school's Gresham location. Ad­
mission is $1 on a first-come, first- |
served basis. For more informa­
tion, contact Doug McCarty at |
503491-7297.
I
1
Coalition
Plans to
Push Out
Enron
is
Bill Ladd (right) has served as a Portland
Firefighter for 30 years.
<
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserx er
Bill Ladd didn't always want to be a
fireman. He picked up the skills in the
Marines and proved himself apt. But in the
back o f his head, he always had a different
future in mind.
“I wanted to teach art and history,” he
said.
So after four years of dust and dry
weather at Camp Pendelton, Ladd returned
to Portland.
He enrolled in art studies as a full-time
college student.
“Art has always been one of my main
interests,” he said. “The Mannes were like
my alter ego.”
Between his studies, Ladd drove for
TriMet. At the same time a friend sug­
gested he consider firefighting.
Ladd entered a training feeder p ro ­
gram, but w asn ’t taking the prospect
seriously. He had oth er occupations to
consider. Besides being a talented a rt­
ist, Ladd show ed a propensity for the
w ritten word.
He was introduced to George Pasero, a
longtime sports columnist with the O r­
egon Journal and Oregonian. Pasero
looked over his work and told him he might
have a future in journalism.
continued
on page H5
The Oregon Public Power Coa-
lition volunteer petitioners have
gathered enough signatures to
place on the September 2003 bal­
lot a m easu re to cre ate the
Multnomah County People's Util­
ity District with ultimate purpose
to acquire the assets of PGE and
remove Enron from Oregon.
Placing such a measure on the
ballot requires 7,219 valid signa­
tures of registered voters who
live in Multnomah County, ac­
cording to the county’s Elections
Office.
The coalition has already col­
lected well over 9,000 signatures
and expects to bring in another
thousand by Feb. 5, when the
group plans to file the signatures
with Multnomah County for veri­
fication.
O ver 150 v olunteers have
turned in signatures, all o f which
" This is about
removing Enron
\from Oregon and
getting control o f
the PGE assets. ”
- Bill Mlchtom, signature collector
k
were collected by unpaid v o l­
unteers. At least 1,000 o f the
signatures w ere collected from
the line of m oviegoers w aiting
to enter the dow ntow n Fox T h e­
ater to see the M ichael M oore
film, “Bowling forC o lu m b in e.”
M ichael M oore has sent the
coalition his co n g ratu latio n s.
“W hat put us o ver the top
was the Jan. 18 peace rally in
Portland," said Joan H orton, the
chair o f co a litio n ’s petitioning
com m ittee. "O v er 700 people
signed the petition in ju st a few
h o u rs."
T h e p e titio n in g v e te ra n s
among the volunteers reported a
high level of enthusiasm among
those signing the petition.
“This is about removing Enron
from Oregon and getting control
o f the PGE assets," said signature
collector Bill Michtom.
PGE is Enron' s largest remain­
ing asset and is a m ajor source o f
cash for Enron.