50/
King of Blues
Mental Health
Advocates
Newcomers and legends
o f R & B honored
Breaking the barriers that
impede treatment
See Focus, Page A7
.
l V
City of Roses’
iZ
¡J* I
$ee Mc,ro secti°n» insides
JJnrtlanu (í^bseruer
Established In 1970
Volume XXX III • Number 23
T1 Week in
TheReview
Greenspan: U.S.
Economy In Turnaround
U.S. Federal ReserveChief Alan
Greenspan said Tuesday he sees
indications o f a “ fairly marked
turn aro un d ” in the U .S.
economy, with May data sug­
gesting it has stabilized. “ The
acceleration has not yet begun,"
Greenspan told a conference o f
topcentral bankers in Berlin, but
he went on to note that recover­
ing stock markets and other indi­
cations “ are suggestive o f a
fairly marked turnaround.”
Spacecraft to Orbit Mars
An unmanned European space­
craft - which launched Monday
on a Russian rocket - w ill orbit
Mars for nearly two years and
search for signs o f life on the
planet. The Mars Express space­
craft, which cost S350 million,
was initially put into the Earth’s
orbit and about 90 minutes later
it was given a final push to send
it on a six-month journey to Mars.
Bush in Middle East
President Bush was in the
M iddle East Tuesday, where
h e 'll stop first in Egypt, then in
Jordan for talks with Israeli and
Palestinian leaders. In his first
personal foray into M iddle
East peace talks, President
Bush pledged to “ put in ns'
much time as necessary” to
achieve peace between Israe­
lis and Palestinians and help
them live side by side.
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • June 04. 2003
Remembering Vanport
Bridge dedication
links yesterday
to today
by J avmee R . C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
Survivors o f the Vanport flood
may not have been compensated
by the city for their lost homes and
possessions, but they did get rec­
ognition when TriM et's Interstate
Max Long bridge was renamed
Vanport Bridge Friday.
The span, which links Kenton to
Portland International Raceway,
was dedicated on the 55lh anniver­
sary o f the flood to the men and
women who lived, worked and
eventually abandoned Vanport
when a dike broke and the Colum ­
bia River flooded the town.
C it y C o m m issio n e r Jim
Francesconi and U.S. Rep. David
Wu, D-Ore..joined TriMet General
Manager Fred Hansen and Metro
President David Bragdon to dis­
cuss what the Vancouver Bridge
symbolizes today.
“ W e’re here today to honor and
remember the City o f Vanport, the
residents whodied, those who were
injured and the thousands that
became homeless by the flood,"
Hansen said. “ Vanport was never
intended to be a permanent city,
but what Vanport gave us was di­
versity and a contribution to our
community that was permanent.”
Oregonian Colum nist Renee
Mitchell dramatically read her poem
titled, “ Vanport Voices," focusing
on Vanport living from an African-
American perspective.
Vanport survivor and North Port­
land resident, Marion Craig shared
her memories ofVanport during its
peak o f cultural diversity, and the
prejudice that Vanport refugees
faced as they rebuilt their lives in
Portland.
In addition to a memorial plaque,
the Delta Park/Vanport Transit
P hoto by M ichael L eighton /T he P ortland O bserver
Center honors the former city with
reproductions o f vintage paint­ Oregonian Columnist S. Renee Mitchell (from left). Vanport survivor
ings depicting the flood, 200 flam­ Regina Flowers and Jammie Lauderdale view the dedication o f the
ing comets as a tribute to the 1950s Vanport Bridge in north Portland. Mitchell read from a poem offering
an African American's perspective o f the city destroyed by floodwaters
continued
on page .45
55 years ago. See the poem on page A5, inside.
Soaring the Shies
desivninii
designing model airolanes
airplanes wasalwavsana
was always a part
o f his childhood. He passed his interest in
aviation on to his son, who later joined the
Airforce.
“ M y son and I used to talk about how
important the influence o f airplanes was on
our lives,” he said. “One day I stopped
talking about building planes and said, I'm
going to build this project."
BY W y NDED y ER
The course starts with a lesson in basic
T he P ortland O bserver
airspace aviation. The first thing children do
Students in Portland’s Centers for A ir­ is color a bird book to give them an apprecia­
way Science may be flying before they’re tion o f how the functions o f a bird relate to
driving thanks to an aviation program de­ the major components o f an airplane.
signed to build self-esteem, prevent aca­
Then students learn the history o f flight
demic failure and break the cycle o f eco­ before being exposed to plane instruments
nomic disadvantage.
and flight mechanics. Through computer-
"W e ’re not really here to teach kids to based flight simulation in a state o f the art
fly,” said Robert Strickland, the program's aviation science art lab, kids learn first how
founder and director. "W e ’re here to inspire to handle the plane on the ground and in the
kids to learn.”
air before learning about speeds, how to
The focus o f the two-year-long pro­ descend and gain altitude.
gram at the Blazer Boys
After each lesson, stu­
and G irls C lub on Martin
dents must demonstrate
Luther K in g Jr. Boule­
'theirskills on various com­
vard is to give children
puter tests before passing
aged 10 through 12 an
’to the next level.
early dose o f sophisti­
Once students are ad­
cated mathematical, com­
vance d co m p u te r p i­
puter and science tech­
lots, S tricklan d and his
nologies that may even­
sta ff teach them about
tually hook them high-
proper navigation tech­
tech and high-salary jobs.
niques.
“ I have some kids who
“ It’s pretty complicated
- Robert Strickland, Centers for
want to challenge the Fed­
stuff,” he said. “ Driving a
Airway Science program
eral Aviation Administra­
plane isn’t like driving a
founderanddlrector
tion private pilot exam,”
car - there are no signs in
S trick la n d said. “ A nd
the air.”
they’ ll probably pass - they're darned good
Once the students learn navigation, they
pilots.”
move into aircraft design and leant engineer­
The non-profit program was started in ing concepts before actually taking their
1992 with the help o f major corporate con­ first flight. When all the students in a class
tributors, national educators, aviation and have passed the whole sequence o f lessons,
engineering industry leaders, and the en­ the Columbia Aviation Association spon­
dorsement ofGen. Colin Powell.
sors each student with a flight on a private
Strickland, who has been a private pilot
continued
on page B5
for more than 10 years, said building and
V
*
Iraq Arms Hunt
Stumps Top Marine
The top commander o f U.S.
Marines in Iraq said Friday he is
su rp rise d that e xte n sive
searches have failed so far to
discover any o f the chemical
' weapons that American intelli­
gence had indicated were sup­
plied to front line Iraqi forces at
the outset o f the war. Lt. Gen.
James Conway, commander o f
the 1st Marjpe Expeditionary
Force, said that he was con­
vinced before and during the
war that at least some Republi­
can Guard units had been pro­
vided with chemical weapons.
Mule Clone
Created In Idaho
A healthy and energetic mule
named Idaho Gem is the first
memberof the horse family to be
cloned, joining the barnyard o f
cloned animals that now in­
cludes sheep, cows, pigs, cats
and rodents. Researchers at the
University o f Idaho cloned the
mule using a cell from a mule
fetus and an egg from a horse.
IdahoGem is the genetic brother
o f Taz, a champion racing mule,
and the researchers said the
clone mule also would be trained
to race.
www.portlandobserver.com
z
P hoto by ron washincton /T he P ortland O bserver
Centers for Airway Science founder and director Robert Strickland oversees student
Damone Lowery, 10, in a flight simulation exercise at the Blazer Boys and Girls Club.
Lowery has never been in a real plane but plans to have his own set o f wings when
he's older. “Instead o f driving my car I ’m going to fly my plane," he said.
DePreist Leads Farewell Concert
Conductor
ends 23 years
with Oregon
Symphony
DePreist awed a crowd o f
2,700 Sunday with a selec­
tion o f m usic by composers
close to his heart: Hector
Berlioz, Franz Schubert, R i­
chard Strauss and Gustav
Mahler.
A season-long tribute to
(A P ) — Jam es DePreist
DePreist, w hich started last
ended a 2 3-y ea r career as
A ug ust w ith an outdoor
conductor o f the Oregon
concert and a fireworks d is­
Sym phony on Sunday with
play, ended after Sunday’s
a fu ll house and the strains
concert
w ith a cake and
James De Preist
o f his favorite com posers.
party.
DePreist, 66, w ill be replaced by Carlos
D ePreist, who contracted polio at age
Kalmar, who has conducted V ien n a’ s 2 7, recently had a kidney transplant and
Tonkuenstlerorchester for the past three was ho spitalized w ith a n euro lo gical
years. DePreist w ill still conduct four guest c o n d itio n that caused severe head­
concerts next season.
aches.
T
i,
j
Northeast
youth reach for
their dreams
We 're not
really here to
teach kids to
fly. We 're here
to inspire kids
to learn.
Forum on James Death
Meeting may include
police, prosecutors
and the public
City officials w ill conduct a daylong
community forum to discuss the fatal May
5 shooting o f Kendra James, who was
killed by the single shot o f North Precinct
Officer Scott M cCollister as she tried to
drive away from a traffic stop.
While a date has yet to be set for the
forum, the Albina Ministerial Alliance,
Mayor Vera Katz's office and the Portland
Police Bureau expect it to take place mid-
June, possibly on Saturday, June 14.
Although details o f the forum are still in
the planning stage, organizers expect it to
include a panel o f law enforcement officials
and com m unity representatives to be
present. A meeting facilitator w ill lead the
group in discussion and take questions from
the audience.
Last month a grand ju ry failed to indict
M cCollister on any charges o f crim inal
wrongdoing in the shooting. Community
leaders decried the use o f a grand jury closed
to the public saying such proceedings a l­
most always rule in favor o f law enforcement
officers in cases with a minority victim.
North and northeast Portland ministers
and community leaders along with state
senators Avel Gordley add Margaret Carter
are also pushing for the state to change its
laws governing the use o f deadly force by
police and to open the grand jury process to
public review.