F7 Wellness Exercise
Building Confidence
African Americans attack
cardiovascular disease
Young ladies prepare for
Les Femmes and
Debutante Ball
See story,*Metro section, inside
See story, M etro section, inside
• t v n f O n c D c '
’City
of Roses
___ I
m
tn
______ L
Established In 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIII • Number 25
Wednesday • June 18. 2003
Players
on the
Rise
Smuggling
Suspect Caught
Investigators believe a 25-year-
old Honduran woman was the
ringleader o f the nation’s dead­
liest sm uggling attem pt that
ended in the deaths o f 19 people
cram med into a stifling trailer.
Prosecutors unsealed an indict­
ment Monday accusing Karla
Patricia Chavez and 13 others o f
organizing or facilitating the trip
that ended May 14 when the
crowded trai ler was found aban­
doned at a truck stop in Victoria,
100 miles southwest o f Hous­
ton. Seventeen immigrants died
at the scene, and two others died
later.
Cedale Doyle (left) and Kevyn
Green o f Benson High School
were among a large group o f
high-achieving basketball players
from around the country who
participated in last weekend's
Inner City Players Basketball
tournament at Grant High School.
The ICP program is noted for
developing great athletic skills
but also “men of substance" who
overcome life's obstacles with
good character and academics.
See story in Sports, page B6.
No Calm Before
More Storms
Emergency officials braced for
more rain following storms that
sent torrents o f mud and water
down already saturated hillsides
in central Appalachia, forcing
dozens o f people to flee their
homes and blocking roads. More
than 50 homes were heavi ly dam­
aged or destroyed in the Charles­
ton area o f West Virginia and
officials declared a state o f emer­
gency. Gov. Bob Wise asked
President Bush to designate the
county a disaster area.
Boxing Match Death
A woman died o f head injuries
two days after being pummeled
in an am ateur boxing bout and
police opened an investigation
Tuesday into the fight. Stacy
Young, 30, suffered swelling and
bleeding in the brain during Sat­
urday night’s bout in Florida.
She d ied M o n d ay n ig h t at
B ayfront M edical C enter in
Sarasota, hospital spokesman
Bill Hervey said.
Bush Defends Iraq War
President Bush shot back Tues­
day at those suggesting his ad­
ministration inflated prewar intel­
ligence data on Iraq’s weapons
program. He said the most impor­
tant fact was that “the people o f
Iraq are ffee.” *i know there’sa lot
o f revisionist history going on.
But he is no longer a threat to the
free world,” Bush said as he pro­
moted his domestic agenda at a
community college in a Wash­
ington, D.C. suburb.
Rape and Murder
Up from Last Year
Crime resumed its declineoverall
last year, even though the num­
bers o f murders and rapes in­
creased. the FBI reported. The
FBI’spreliminary UniformCrime
Report found a 0.2 percent de­
crease in the number o f crimes
reported to the pol ice or other law
enforcement agencies in 2002, as
compared with2001. That resumed
a trend that began in 1991.
photo by M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
Rose Sisters Homecoming
Women from north
Portland school are
coming home
1930s. A t the tim e, som e students w ere
bashful about w here they graduated from,
because the school was stigm atized as a
place for bad girls, but today, alum ni say
they are proud o f the self-respecting w omen
the sisters taught them to be.
by J aymef . R. C uti
“ W e w ere m ischievous, and w e w ere
T he P ortland O bserver
m outhy, but m ost o f us cam e from bad
Sisters o f the G ood Shepherd are cel­ hom es. The courts sent us here,” said G race
ebrating 101 years in
Ruble-Bell, graduating
Portland with a reunion
from
V illa St. Rose in
A
o f s ta ff and students
1956.
fro m V illa St. R ose
The school eventual ly
School. The reunion is
closed when the aging
from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday
sisters and director re­
at the Rosem ont Court
tired, but the historic site
A partm ents at 597 N.
has been renovated, and
D ekum St.
now serves as an apart­
For the Sisters o f the
ment building for the eld­
G ood Shepard, former - Former Villa S t Rose student
erly.
s ta ff and teach ers o f Grace Ruble-Bell
In its heyday, how ­
V illa St. Rose and Rose
ever, 7 or 8 nuns were
Industrial School, their girls are com ing responsible for m ore than 130 high school
home.
girls sent to Vi Ila St. Rose by social w orkers
photo by R on W ashincton /T he P ortland O bserver
V illa St. Rose School, form erly Rose because o f fam ily or truancy problem s.
Former students Carol Wonner (from left) and Grace Rubel-Bell join their
Industrial School, w as a boarding school in
continued
on page A3
former school directress, Sister Frances Louise, on the grounds o f the
north Portland for teens in trouble in the
former Villa St. Rose School at 597 N. Dekum.
This was our home.
We lived together,
slept together, ate
together, fought
together and made
up together.
Hard Times for Jobs
Unemployment
higher for minorities
by J aymef . R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by R on
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
While so many throughout the city are unemployed, Manuel Garcia has held onto
his job at the Fast Trip on Martin Luther king Boulevard for 7 years
*
It may not come as a surprise to local
residents looking for work that Portland has
an exceptionally high jobless rate.
According to statistics released by the
Bureau o f Labor and state Employment Di­
vision, the unemployment rate is 8.2 percent
in Portland compared to 7.5 percent for the
state and 6 .1 percent nationally.
State economist Art Aryer said the Port­
land area has been “hit very hard” by an
economic downturn
Minority employment is especially grim.
Nationally, 10.8 percent o f African Ameri­
cans were unemployed in May. For m inori­
ties in Portland, however, the latest data
shows 15.8 percent o f African Americans
and 7.8 percent o f Latinos are unemployed.
Last week. House Democratic Leader
»
Nancy Pelosi said the country is facing the
worst economic record in almost 50 years,
with 3.1 million people losing their jobs since
January 2001.
“The Bush administration record isclear:
America is nearly $3 trillion deeper in dept,
and has lost more than 3 million jobs.
In last minute negotiations on a $350
bi 11 ion tax cut. House Republ icans chose not
to expand the child tax credit to lower income
families, leaving behind 12 million children
from working and military families.
A lthough evidence o f recovery for
Portland's economy has been shelved, cer­
tain industries are doing unseasonably well.
As o f May. manufacturing added 1,200
jobs, after shedding 8.500jobsjust a year ago.
Leisure and hospitality employment showed
strength by adding 3,200 jobs in hotels, res
taurants and the tourism industry
Construction added 1,500jobs, 400 more
than expected in the spring season. Banking
and real estate gained 300jobs, but the rate
was slower than the average seasonal gain.
V