w Black History
Month
Former Blazer Finds Game
Mike Harper returns to the court as family man.
See story in Sports, page B6
See feature stories, inside
vf R z ic d c '
‘City of
Roses
Volume X X X III •
i-
im o
........... .......... i i ____i - i _____
Established In 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
N u m b er 8
’VVeekin
TheReview
Stolen disguise is a no go
A w om an w ho caused a fender
bender in Stuart, Fla. fled into
K m art bathroom and tried to con
ceal her appearance with hairdye
m akeup and a change o f clothes
stolen from the store, au thorities
said. P o lice said th ey fo u n d
M elissa A nne N unziato, 28, in
the bathroom , along w ith em pty
boxes and price tags for the sto
len item s in the trash. In spite o f
her attem pt to disguise, the other
driver identified her and N unziato
w as charged w ith leaving the
scene o f an accident, theft, o b
struction o f ju stic e by d isguise
and driving w ithout a license
Offer: Free car
with marriage
A N ew Jersey man is prom ising a
free sports car to the wom an who
marries him. Sandy Grossman was
serious about finding a bride by
V a le n tin e ’s D ay, an d d ro v e
• around in a 1959 C adillac am bu
iance topped with a billboard ad
vertisem ent for a bride. The elec-
' trie sign prom ised “Free Sports
C ar W ith M arriage” and listed his
e-m ail address, photo and vital
stats: “43, 5 ’ 11, 175 pounds and
NEVER M A RRIED .” H eonly re
ceived five e-m ail responses (and
no “I d o ’s”) since his cam paign
began earlier in die month. “I’m a
rom antic,"-he said “ I think this is
the ideal w ay to find som ebody.”
A church that charges
W orshippers can now pay their
church collection with a charge
card - at least in one village in
northern Sweden. InNorrfjaerden
just outside Piteaa, 560miles north
o f Stockholm , the church is offer-
, ing its w orshippers “a m odem
opportunity” to m ake a contribu
tion. Pastor Karin Sandlund said
she had often joked about fixing a
card reader to the collection bag
With her husband, w ho w orks for
a bank in N orrfjaerden. “W e
thought it w as tim e to give the
younger generation an alterna
tive. The church m ust keep up
with things,” Sandlund said.
14-year-old girl is
the Thai fetus-thief
A 14-year-old T hai girl has been
charged w ith robbery after co n
fessing to police she helped steal
fetuses from a hospital m useum
for use in black m agic rituals,
p o lic e
s a id .
T h ip a w a n
P ra k a ith o n g s u rre n d e re d h er
teenage d aughter to authorities
and the youth confessed she
had been paid to serve as a lo o k
out w hile her friends stole fe
tuses and skulls from the m u
seu m o f T h ailan d ’s oldest m ed i
cal school at Siriraj H ospital.
Wednesday • Februaiy 19, 2003
M eek Future in Doubt
Parents, teachers react
to possible closure of
northeast school
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
Ken Berry, principal at Meek Elem entary,
talks a little faster than usual these days.
H e has to. A s head o f one o f fo u relem en -
tary schools identified by the Portland School
D istrict for possible closure. B erry is busy
answ ering p aren ts’ q uestions and allaying
th eir w orst fears.
"T h ere are tw o paths right now ,” Barry
said. “T he path o f the regular school year,
and the path o f u n certainty.”
S uperintendent Jim S ch erzin g erw ill an
nounce Feb. 27 w hich schools are recom
m ended for closure. T he school board will
finalize the decision M arch 17.
In the m eantim e, papers are piling up on
B erry ’s desk and his voice mail is full. Still,
he takes the tim e to an sw er p aren ts’ q u es
tions one by one.
T hrough it all, he rem ains thorough and
thoughtful, but blatantly realistic about the
future o f the school, located at 4039 N.E.
A lberta Court.
B erry said he w ill support the direction
the school board w ants to go w hile doing his
best to keep the threat o f closure from inter
rupting his m ission as principal.
“ W e have b u dget constraints but w e
also have budget responsibilities,” he said.
“W e need to m ake sure o ur academ ic p ro
gram is on target. I’m ju st trying to work with
the stu d en ts first.”
T he decision to clo se M eek is based
upon the d istrict’s Space A llocation C o m
m ittee recom m endation on the m ost effi
cient use o f funds.
Ed B e tte n c o u rt, d ire c to r o f stu d e n t
achievem ent for the M adison R oosevelt
cluster o f schools, told parents at a m eeting
last w eek that the m ove is necessary in the
face o f a $50 m illion budget shortfall.
Principal o f Meek Elementary Ken Berry listens as district officials tell parents and teachers that the school may close at the
end of this year as part of a plan to cut district operating costs.
“ By closing four schools w e ’ll save one
m illion dollars the first y ear and one and one
h a lf m illion every y ear after th a t,’ he said.
m ent to top ju s t 150 students next year.
“ I n a larger school there are other op p o r
tunities and support system s that aren ’t
■ There are two paths right now - the
path o f the regular school year, and the
path o f uncertainty.
— Meek Elementary Principal Ken Berry
H e also to ld parents the optim al size o f a
school should be around 300 students. Small
by m ost standards, M eek expects enroll-
available in a sm aller school,” B ettencourt
said.
I f the school is closed, students at M eek
w ill transfer to V ernon E lem entary.
Parents questioned the recom m endation.
T hey say M eek ’s sm all size has contributed
to its success as a school.
C harline R om ig has tw o grandsons en
rolled in head start at M eek. She said few er
students m eans few er distractions. If the
school closes, she fears the personal touch
w ill be lost.
"Y o u w alk in and alm ost every teacher
can call you by nam e,” Rom ig said. “ How
m any schools can you say that abo u t?”
T eachers at M eek agree that the sch o o l’s
sm all size m akes for an ideal learning envi
ronm ent.
continued
on page A J
Powerful Puppets
Kids on the Block
program packs a punch
at school bullies
Surgeons see a rise In
penis extensions
Penis extensions are the top cos
metic surgery treatment for British
m e n w h ile w o m e n c h o o s e
1 iposuction or breast en largement,
m edics said. The Harley Medical
Group, which runs lO privateclin-
ics in Britain, released figures for
2002 w hich show ed m ore than a
third o f operations on men were
for penis extensions, follow ed by
nose surgery and liposuction.
www.portlandobserver.com
PHOTO BY W YNDE
D y ER/T h E PORTLAND (>BSt RVER
Oregon Association o f Minority Entrepreneurs President and Founder Sam Brooks
guides Asian business leaders from Seattle around the OAME facility in north
Portland. The Seattle group plans to start a business incubator program that’s
similar to OAME.
OAME to Serve as Model
Seattle’s Asian
business leaders look
to Portland for answers
by W ynde D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
A sm all group o f am bitious A sian b usi
ness from S eattle cam e to north Portland
•’ t — ~ ,|a y to tour the O regon A ssociation o f
ty E ntrepreneurs facility and learn
am uel B rooks, O A M E ’s A frican
;an president and founder, w as able
he organization o ff its feet,
the advice o f C onrad Lee, U nited
Sm all B usiness A dm inistration Re-
A d m inistrator for A laska and the
: N orthw est, representatives o f the
: V ietnam ese M erchants O rganiza-
rtd the C hinese Inform ation Service
r plan to design their ow n business
ito r i n Seatt I e o ff O A M E ' s success fu 1
I here in Portland.
I
“ I f it w orks for one com m unity it can
w ork for o thers,” Lee said. “ I see O A M E as
one o f the best exam ples o f a multicultural
organization that fosters econom ic devel
o pm ent by bringing people together."
Seattle’snew m ultibillion-dollarlightrail
project w ill disp lace at least 200 hundred
sm all business ow n ers in predom inately
A sian com m unities. T he city has offered
the businesses, social service agencies and
residents m ore than $50 m illion in com pen
sation for their d isplacem ent, but Lee sees
this as a m ixed blessing.
“T his is a brand new opportunity to
build a strong co m m u n ity ,” he .aid. "B ut
having a resource like that and not knowing
w hat to do w ith it can cause m oney to be
trickled aw ay,”
L ee’s fear is that unless the small busi
ness ow ners co llab o rate acto ss cultural
and linguistic barriers, the now -prosper-
continued
yf
on pane AS
becom es the victim , and C lare, his friend
w ho teaches him that it's okay to report a
bully to som eone w ho can stop the activi
ties. A fter the presentation, children get to
ask the puppets questions.
by W ynde D yer
“ It’s a m agical opportunity w hen the chil
T he P ortland O bserver
dren connect w ith the puppets,” Fouts said.
C alling nam es, starting rum ors, stealing
“ W hen they talk to E ddy and C lare it's like
lunch, pushing, punching and ju s t plain old
th ey ’re talking with their buddies - it’s to
m eanness - school bullies
tally different than one-
are an age-old problem .
on-one adult tochild com
A t El M onica Elem entary
m unication.”
School in B eaverton the
B ecause o f a statew ide
children in M rs. W ells’
m andate that all schools
second grade class know
in O regon provide for their
the problem all too well.
stu d en ts som e form o f
Last T hursday they got a
school safety an d a n ti
visit from a pair o f K ids on
bully education, the K ids
the Block A w areness P ro
on the B lock A w areness
gram puppeteers and their
Program on school b u l
— Ramona Fouts, puppeteer
puppets, E ddy and C lare,
lies has been in high d e
to help them learn how to
mand.
say, “Y o u ’re not the boss o f m e!”
M any o f the 152 schools the program
b re sse d all in black and acting from a
visits with its 15 inform ational puppet show s
script, perform ers H arriet Saxe and Ram ona
on everything from sexual abuse to divorce,
Fouts dazzled the classroom with a pow erful
to drug and alcohol prevention and cultural
puppet scenario.
difference, are on the w aiting list ju st to get
The story involves E ddy, w ho w as once
continued
an page A 10
the w itness o f an act o f bullying and later
I t ’s a magical
opportunity when
the children
connect with the
puppets.
Nightclub Stampede Kills 21
1,500 inside Chicago club
rushed for locked doors
(A P) — H undreds o f scream ing guests
rushed the exits o f a crow ded C hicago night
club M onday after security guards used a
chem ical spray to quell a fight, and at least
21 people w ere crushed to death or sm oth
ered in the panic, officials and w itnesses
said.
continued
on page AO
Maria Lopez reacts outside the Epitome
Night Club Monday Feb. 17, 2003 in
Chicago as she searches for information
about her Fiancee.