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Real Issues
Voice for Peace
African American theater group
presents Deceptive Love’
Distinguished Congressman
and civil rights leader to visit
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‘City of Roses’
Volume X X X III
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Established In 1970
•
xPQrtlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
N um ber 10
Wednesday • March OS. 2003
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F e e d i n g O r e g o n ’s H u n g r y
Naked Jogger returns
Coalition proposes
more food vouchers,
free lunches for kids
The naked jogger o f New York
has struck again. His latest ap
pearance was during near freez
ing temperatures on Tuesday in
a Binghamton downtown park
ing garage. And, as in each o f his ]
previous runs, he eluded police
who rushed to the scene. An
employee said the streaker has
been seen running around the
six-level parking garage at least
20 times since last August. The
last time was in late November.
Police said they can 't figure out
how he’s able to get dressed and
emerge from the garage undetec
ted.
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
A coalition o f Oregon lawmakers has
introduced three bills that could alleviate
the suffering o f thousands o f Oregonians.
State Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, D-northeast
Portland, was instrumental in bringing the
pressing issue o f hunger to the attention o f
lawmakers at the state capital in Salem.
For the last three years, Oregon has ranked
first in the nation for hunger and food inse
curity, meaning local residents who don’t
always have enough money to meet basic
nutritional needs. Many Oregonians experi
ence hunger pangs on a regular basis.
Dingfelder fasted from sunrise to sunset
last Wednesday to dramatize the plight o f
the thousands that go hungry everyday in
Oregon.
“This is a symbolic gesture to assure
O regon’s hungry citizens that their legisla
tors intend to end their suffering,” Dingfelder
said.
The legislation would provide food ser
vice meals to children in O regon’s hungriest
D efinitely
school districts and offer food vouchers for
seniors and low-income families.
“We must address the short-term needs
o f hungry Oregonians and work toward a
long-term solution that prevents this prob
lem from ever happening again,” Dingfelder
said.
Gov. Ted Kulongowski addressed part o f
continued
on page A3
Robert
Bacote
chases
Gator
down
Going
Street.
College drops mark
of the beast
The Kentucky Mountain Bible I
College has finally dropped the
666 prefix that disturbed Chris
tians who recognized it as the
biblical mark ofthe beast. “W e’re
just elated that the number has
been changed,” said Rob Roy |
•M acGregor, the college’s vice
president o f business affairs. “It
was like we had this Scarlet Let
ter attached to us.” The college
is now removing the number from
printed material, including its |
official letterhead. The 666prefix
had been the only one available
in the area since telephone ser
vice arrived here. The need for |
more phone lines forced tele
phone com panies to add new j
—
numbers.
Shoddyrope
prevents suicide
■ A Romanian man is reportedly
planning to complain to con
sumer authorities about the poor |
quality o f a rope he used in a |
failed attempt to hang himself.
Local newspapers have quoted
45-year-old Victor Dodoi as say-
ing he can't even die in his coun
try. The papers say D odoi's rela
tives found him hanging from a
tree in his garden, and managed |
J
to easily cut the rope with a knife.
He was taken by horse-drawn
cart, and then by ambulance, to I
a hospital. Dodoi says he is plan
ning to file a complaint with the |
Consum er Protection Authority
about the quality o f the rope, as
soon as he is released.
Clinton called
for Jury duty
Former President Bill Clinton has I
been tapped for jury duty. A
questionnaire designed to help |
select a jury for a federal at
tempted murder case indicated
that Prospective Juror No. 142
was actually William Jefferson
C linton. A lthough C lin to n ’s
name was never revealed in the |
federal hearing, his answers, read
aloud in thecourtroom, provided
the giveaway. Under previous j
jo bs held, the respondent an
swered President o f the United
States. He also wrote that he |
thought he could be fair and im
partial, despite his “unusual ex
perience with theO .I.C .,” orO f- |
fice o f Independent Cour
P hotos by wynde dyer / the P ortland observer
Northeast Portland resident Robert Bacote has no problem getting his rottweiller Gator to fetch a tennis ball - but getting him to let go is another story.
Area adjusts to
boom in canine
population
by W ynde D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
Who let the dogs out?
It’s a question more and more people
are asking these days - and not just
because people are chanting the popular
Bahamen song.
S 'S
SD O
said licensing statistics for canines have bar where you can take your dog and
been virtually stable over the past few have a beer."
years.
The Lucky Labrador on Southeast
The difference, he said, is not that Hawthorne isn’t the only pet friendly
more people own dogs but that more establishment in Portland. In fact, many
people are seen out with their dogs.
restaurants, coffee shops, mini-marts and
Rowton said as the urban area be grocery stores skirt health codes to allow
comes more densely populated and city patrons canine accompaniment. Others
dwellers downsize their homes or move just allow dogs in patio areas, or furnish
into apartments, more people take their water bowls outside for thirsty pups while
pets for walks, rather than leaving them owners quench their thirst inside.
chained up.
Portland has it’s own monthly news-
“Ten years ago the dog was tied up
out back,” Rowton said. “Now there’s a
continued y f on page A6
First Year Success for Irvington Village
A ssiste d liv in g
Before, fami lies were forced to dri ve to
the suburbs to visit loved ones in supple
mental care facilities because options for
local residential treatment were few
The 104 unit, five-story structure at
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and
Mason was envisioned by the elders o f
Irvington Church almost 10 years ago as
a local facility for low-income seniors
and seniors with special needs.
“This was their dream,” Guyton said.
“With a Christian base we really feel like
God has a plan for Irvington.”
That ambitious dream included a wel
coming community room, an on-site
’ity finds a niche
ortheast Portland
'avid P led
Portland Observer
;n Irvington Village opened its
o seniors last January it was the
its kind in inner northeast Port
gg
The streets, parks, yards and busi
nesses o f Portland seem to show an
unprecedented boom in the canine popu
lation which begs another question - are
there really more dogs, or have dogs just
become more visible?
“There aren’t more dogs - dogs have
just become a more integral part o f the
social fabric,” said John Rowton, shelter
manager for Multnomah County Animal
Services.
While the cat population in Portland
continues to rise as a result o f poor
spaying and neutering practices, Rowton
is was pretty much a new con
i' assisted living in this area," said
Guyton, the village’s assistant
?er.
I
beauty shop, an expansive dining room
and a relaxation room complete with fire
place and library.
“We want people to know they’re
coming here to live,” Guyton said. “We
didn't scale back on anything.”
Each floor has TVs and every apart
ment is equipped with a refrigerator and
microwave. Nutritious and tasty meals
are served hot three times a day.
“We make it convenient for them,”
Guyton said. “We have some good food.
In fact, w e're pretty much known for our
food.”
continued
on page A 6
Irvingon
Village
resident
Comellla
Johnson
enjoys
knitting and
keeping
active.
PHOTO BY
D avio
P i . echi 7
T he
P ortland
O bserver