Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.tom
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SECTION
Pacific
Power Files
for Rate
Increase
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Online Adopt-a-Pet
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The Oregon Humane Society has
put a ne w twist on on-line person­
als. With just two clicks, those
looking fora loving pet can find it
with the dog, cat, rabbit or rodent
of their choice by logging on to
A f»
y t .
interested in pet adoption can
scroll through photos o f all the |
Utility cities rising
costs of doing business
pets available for adoption at the
northeast Portland shelter and
read pet profiles that are expanded |
daily.
Prostrate Cancer
Prevention
'Providence is offering a new class
for reducing the risk o f prostate
cancer on Thursday, March 27
from7p.m. to8:30p.m. at4805 N.E.
Glisan in the Providence Social |
j
Room. The class, called “Can Diet,
Supplements and Herbs Reduce
the Rick of Prostate Cancer?" will j
be led by Dr. Miles Hassell, direc­
tor o f the Providence Integrative
Medicine Program. For more in­
formation, call 503-216-4687.
Community Wellness Fair
H olladay Plaza Park, located
across from the Lloyd Center, will
host acommunity wellness fair on
Friday, March 28 from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. There will be several guest j
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speakers and workshops lined up
throughout the day to discuss
with attendees such topics as i
healthy cooking, blood pressure
and diagnostic screening, fitness
and glucose testing as well as |
alternative and oriental medicine.
There will be refreshments, door |
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prizes, raffles and giveaw ays
throughout the day. For more in­
formation, call 503-280-2221.
Shrine Circus Visits
Saturday and Sunday
•The Shrine Circus will return to |
the Memorial Coliseum on Satur­
day, March 29 and Sunday, March I
Veterans For Peace
Carl Shelley (left), a veteran o f World War II and Vietnam, attends a downtown peace rally with his wife. Mary. The
event on Thursday was held the day after U.S. troops began bombing in Iraq. Shelley said statesm anship and the
support o f the U.N. should have been enough to solve the conflict. ‘ I know when these young kids pick up pieces
o f their buddies, they're not going to want war anymore," he said.
photo bv D avid P i h hi TT he P ortland O bserver
' 30 with shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sun-1
day. This family fun show for |
“kids of all ages” features a full
three-ring circus with clowns,
acrobats, aerialists, elephants and J
tigers. Tickets are available by :
calling 503-682-4420or at the door |
IVI e t l i c i n e IVI a n
Business flourishes for
first African-American
Juneteenth Talent Search
The Junetheenth A ssociation j chiropractor in Oregon
prior to each performance.
Northwest and Doris Café and
Lounge in vite the community to a
talent search for performers for |
this year’s Juneteenth C é lé b ra -1
tion. Categories include g o sp e l,,
jazz, blues, musicians, vocalists
and comedians. The search will
be judged by audience participa- :
tion at auditions to be held at |
Doris Café, located at 325 N.E.
Russell, on Sunday, March 3 0 from
3p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more infor­
mation, call 503-287-9249.
J
Pacific Power has filed a general rate
request with the Oregon Public Utility Com ­
mission to recover rising costs for insur­
ance, pension funding and health care,
among other costs.
“These cost pressures are being faced
by many businesses across the country,
including those in the utility sector and
Pacific Power is no exception," officials with
the utility serving northeast Portland said.
Pacific Power is asking for a net increase
o f 4.9 percent for residential customers.
If approved by the OPUC, the price
changes would take effect early next year.
"Our key goals are to deliver safe, reliable
electricity, provide excellent customer ser­
vice and maintain stable, competitive prices,”
said Don Furman, senior vice president of
regulation for Pacific Power. “Even with this
proposed rate increase Pacific Power will
maintain its position as one o f the lowest-
cost electricity providers in the region.”
Rates for Pacific customers in Oregon
have remained relatively flat over the past
several years.
For example, the average Pacific Power
residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-
hours o f electricity a month was paying
$66.48 in November 2000. Currently, that
same customer is pay ing just $66.39 a month
for their electricity service.
Pacific Power attributes rising costs of
doing business to external factors such as
the downturn in financial markets. Internal
cost controls have helped mitigate, but not
totally cover, the impact o f these rising
costs, officials said.
If this rate request is approved, a residen­
tial customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per
month will see a monthly bill increase of
$4.89.
bv J avmee R. C ori
T he P ortland O bserver
Chiropractor Billy Flowers has al­
ways let his passion be his guide.
Today, Flowers has a healthy chiro­
practic practice in northeast Portland,
but 17 years ago, when his business
opened, his job title could be described
more accurately as “pioneer.”
Flowers, 55, is the first African-
American chiropractor in Oregon. He
was led to chiropractic care as a pa­
tient. Standing more than six-and-a-
half feet tall, with a blown out knee and
seized up joints. Flow ers’ passion for
basketball was ending at age 26.
In college. Flowers was concerned
about his health as his coaching staff
com monly dispensed painkillers, ste­
roids, sedatives and barbiturates.
But the prescriptions m ade him feel
w orse, not better, and he sought the
help o f a chiropractor to regain his
health.
His dreams shifted, and he found
that if the adjustment o f his spine af­
fected nerves all over his body, then he
too wanted to learn this powerful heal­
ing technique.
“I latched onto a chiropractor who
also happened to be a healer," said
Flowers, who began studying chiro­
practic sciences after graduation.
ThedecorofFlow ers’ office reflects
his travels. As a collector of African art
and artifacts, stepping into his office
feels more like mini-museum space than
the usual neutral doctor’s office with
watercolor paintings.
“The reason I’ve chosen to deco­
rate my office in a way that's Afro­
centric is that blacks are seldom in­
vited into a place o f business that
photo bv M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
celebrates our culture that is still a
business," Flowers said. “I want the Chiropractor Billy Flowers works on a realignm ent o f a
people in this community to be rein­ patie nt's neck a t his office, located at 2 1 2 4 N.E.
forced by who they are."
Hancock. Flowers was the first African American
chiropractor in Oregon when he opened up shop 1 7
continued y f on page BS
years ago.
s
t
Learn to Sing at MHCC
Mount Hood Community College
is always looking to add voices to
its community-based choir. No
audition is required. Those inter-1
ested can share their joy for music
while learning to sight-read, im-1
prove vocal technique, explore
choral literature and perform. The
class begins March 31 and meets
Mondays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. at the Gresham campus. For
more information or to register,
call 503-491-7571.
Optimizing Energy and
Stamina
On Tuesday, April 1 from 7p.m .to I
8:30 p.m. naturopathic physician
Dr. Jason Barker will highlight
various ways everyday people
continued
yf
on page B5
St. Vincent DePaul Wins $1 Million Contract
Jose Calvo, Ernest
Wesley, Le Canh and
Otha Brown o f the St.
Vincent DePaul Enter­
prises o f northeast
Portland, assemble
shelter-in-place kits for
the protection against
chemical weapons as
p a rt o f a $1 m illion order
from the U.S. Army. The
not-for-profit business
hires and trains workers
with disabilities.
Disabled workers
assemble shelter-
in-place kits for
the Army
A group of disabled Portland
workers proved to be big winners
last week when St. Vincent DePaul
Enterprises o f northeast Portland
was awarded a $ 1 million contract
for the assembly o f 40,000 shelter-
in-place kits to guard against a
chemical contamination in the event
of an accident at a U.S. Army weap­
ons depot.
photo by M ark
W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
*
“ Bids cam e in from co m p eti­
tors all across the n atio n ,” said
St. V incent C h ief E xecutive O f­
f ic e r B e n n e t J o h n s o n . “O u r
p e o p le 's can -d o ' attitude and
adherence to a ‘n o ex cu ses' motto
m ade this endeav o r a reality ,"
Johnson said.
T he k its, w h ich c o n s is t o f
d u ct ta p e, c le a r p la stic an d in ­
stru c tio n a l v id e o s d e s ig n e d to
p ro tect local c itiz e n s in the case
o f a leak or d isa ste r at a c h e m i­
cal w ea p o n s in c in e ra tio n fa c il­
ity , w ill be d istrib u te d to the
re sid e n ts o f C a lh o u n C o u n ty ,
continued
on page B3
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