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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2003)
(Elje |JortÌanò ©bseruer August 06. 2003 Words Change Lives Powell Calls Report He’s Leaving Nonsense S e c r e ta r y o f S ta t e Colin P ow ell R ev. B e n O wre R u th G la s s (fro m left). W illie M a e turner. J o e Franklin a n d Dr. S c h o la s tic a N jo ku o f th e N o r th w e s t A frican A m e ric a n W riters W o rk sh o p r e a d fo r a W rite A ro u n d P o rtla n d e v e n t a t D a w so n Park. Writing forum brings confidence to express oneself by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver The N orthw est A frican A m eri can W riters W orkshop has a new audience. Rev. Ben O w re has a new avenue o f expression in his old age. A nd L ora L afayette says h er life has been transform ed. The participants in W rite A round Portland cam e together at Dawson Park in north Portland to celebrate their w orks and share their publi shed and m ore recent writings. T he celebration on July 16 w as the culm ination o f tw o m onths o f w orkshops in the B oise and Eliot n eigh b o rh o o d s. G ro u p s su ch as th e N a tiv e A m erican R ehabilitation A ssocia tion, Friends o f C hildren and the U n th an k P laza se n io r h o u sin g project, got involved In creating a com fortable enviro n m en t for ex pression. M others and daughters forged a clo ser identity by w riting together. T he local resid en ts’ w ritings are published in “all an d S u n d ry ,” an anthology sold at the park and avail able from the W rite A round Port land organization. R achael W yatt, a recent g rad u ate o f P arkrose H igh School, read from her w ritings during the co m m unity celebration. “I ’ve been w riting since I was four, but it’s been pretty recent that I decided that this w as w hat I w anted to do,” she told the Portland O b server. A m o n g oth er things, h er w ork affirm s a strong religious faith. She said the gathering gave her a chance to m eet a group o f w riters, A frican A m ericans like herself, others three and four tim es h er age, and people w ith div erse backgrounds. The first reading o f the day fea tured the work o f four members o f the N orthw est A frican-A m erican W rit ers W orkshop. The group, formed 14 years ago, has published an an thology cal led Kuumba (avai lable at R eflections bookstore) and meets regularly at Portland C om m unity C olleg e’s C ascade C am pus library. Joe Franklin, Wi Hie M ae Tum er, R uth G lass and Dr. Scholastica N joku read for the group. G lass described the courting ritu als o f an earlier generation, w ith m eetings at the g irl’s hom e and her m o th er sitting nearby to m ake sure nothing im proper occurred - such Lora L a F a yette as the y o u n g m an taking the g irl’s hand in his. O ther readers told o f a w om an's painful divorce from a m an she sti 11 loved, a m an ’s bitter com plainl against form er fem ale lovers and an ex -d ru g ab u ser’s description o f a w om an ju n k ie w ho borrow ed his bathroom fo ra “ fix "an d nearly killed h erselfth ere. The Rev. Ben Owre, form er pas to r o f W oodlaw n an d H ughes M em orial M ethodist churches, em barked on a new career as a w riter tw o years ago w hen W RAP held a w ork sh o p at the D ahlke M anor sen io r center, w here he now lives. For Lora LaFayette, a resident o f dow ntow n’s Park Tower, W RAP ushered in a life change. She en countered the group through a socialization class for the mentally ill. The group helped her build self esteem and led to her enrollm ent in classes at Reed College and Port land State University. She is now w orking on a novel, several poem s and short stories. Page A3 (A P ) — Secretary o f State C olin Pow ell dism issed as gossip and nonsense a published report that he had sent w ord to the W hite H ouse he w ould not serve in a second Bush adm inistration. “ I d o n ’t k n o w w h a t th e y a re ta lk in g a b o u t,” P o w e ll s a id o f Lawmaker Says Budget Abandons Seniors, Children State Rep. G ary H ansen, D- N orth Portland, in a speech to H ouse Special C om m ittee on Budget m em bers on Friday, criti cized both the state budget and the p rocess used to create it. A s the only D em ocrat on the co m m ittee, H ansen addressed the concerns o f his caucus about the inadequacy o f the budget. “T his budget abandons our children and seniors. Right now w e each have a vote that could u n d e rm in e O r e g o n ’s s o c ia l safety n et,” he said. He cited the elim ination o f county funds for pre-natal care as wel I as el im ination o f services for m edically needy seniors and the cap on the O regon Health Plan as exam ples o f devastating cuts. “T he leadership o f the H ouse is now saying to O regonians that no m atter how high u nem ploym ent rises, w e w ill not pro vide health care coverage to any new children o r pregnant m oth ers.” th e s to ry in T h e W a s h in g to n P o st. “ I s e r v e a t th e p le a s u r e o f th e p r e s id e n t. T h e p r e s id e n t a n d 1 h a v e n o t d is c u s s e d a n y th in g o th e r th a n m y c o n tin u in g to d o m y j o b fo r h im .” A ccording to the new spaper, P o w e ll’s d e p u ty , R ic h a rd L. A rm itage, inform ed N ational Secu rity A d v iserC ondoleezza Rice that neither he nor Pow ell w ould serve in a second term . “ T h is is ju s t o n e o f th o se s to rie s that e m e rg e in W ash in g to n th at re fle c ts n o th in g m o re than g o ssip , a n d the g o ssip lead s to¿t rash o f sp e c u la tio n a b o u t w ho m ig h t fill a va c a n c y th at d o es not e x ist,” P ow ell said in an interview w ith R adio S aw a, w h ich broad- c a sts to the A rab w o rld w ith U .S fin a n c ia l su p p o rt. “T h e story has no substance," Pow ell said. “ A nd the so-called conversation that took place b e tw een my deputy, Mr. A rm itage, and N ational S ecu rity A d v iser C o n d o leezza R ice did not take place.” T he W hite H ouse, m eanw hile, expressed President B u sh 's su p port for Powell. “T he president thinks he is do ing an outstanding jo b and a p p re ciates the jo b that he is doing,” Press Secretary Scott M cC lellan said. “T he president looks forw ard to Secretary Pow ell continuing to w ork w ith him in our foreign policy realm.” Volunteers of America Hires Sweeney C hristee S w eeney has jo in e d V olunteers o f A m erican O regon as Director o f D evelopm ent and C om m unications. S w eeney, a graduate o f U niver sity o f O regon and St. M ary's A cad em y in Portland, m ost recently w orked on the O regon Public A f fairs team for Intel. She is also a form er director ofcom m unications for the Portland Trail Blazers. V olunteers o f A m erica is a non profit hum an services organization m eeting critical needs o f children and fam ilies. C h riste e S w e e n e y New M iddle School Finds a New Home Victory M iddle School, formerly slated to open at N ew Song C om m unity C hurch, w ill open at the B lazers B oys and G irls C lub th is Septem ber. O versize classroom s, a d ouble size gym , full cafeteria, a teen room and a fully equipped activity areas m ake the M artin L uther. K ing Jr. Boulevard club an attractive school environm ent form iddleschool kids O fficials w ith the school said B lazers Boys and G irls C lub m em - bers w ould continue to enjoy their full use o f the facility after school hours. V ictory students will receive a free public school education. Tw o teachers in m ost 30-student class room s will m ake for a 15-1 studcnt- to-teacher ratio. C ertified teachers will teach m ath, science, language arts, health, physical education and social studies. W E LL S FARGO The Next Stage* \telpiri9 schoôlb pet to fhe'i< re-<t steige.. Sign up for Wells Fargo Checking and add direct deposit and w ell donate to local school districts. Open any Wells Fargo Consumer Checking account and add direct deposit and we'll donate $10 to local school districts.* Sign up for Online Bill Pay and after you make the first payment, we'll donate another $10. Add other products and services and we'll donate up to a total of $30 to help local schools reach their Next Stage. We'll help you get to your Next Stage, too. Because with Wells Fargo 24-hour telephone bankers and free access to online banking, It's easier than ever to organize your finances. Plus, you'll get p erks like discounted loan rates. Talk to one of our knowledgeable bankers and see how, together, we can help local schools. 9/1 any ° th e ' rh e ckin g afC0Un' m u” remain ope" ,h ' Ough and reteive ■" Qualifying Dir« ' DeP°sit 12/12/2003 ,o Pä* mu5'e s t a b l is h e d through welisfarqospecial com enter keyword 'Sc h o, ’ 1 T * Oonf " ons * ^ ld r t * PubAc school district where the Wells Fargo office at w hich the account is maintained is located, or ,f the account is not assigned to a spec ific Wells Fargo office, to a p u b i, s, K, > >1 d, bank s discretion Donations w ill be made in the name o f the local Wells Fargo Bank, and customers may no t claim any p o rtio n as a charitable deduction for tax purposes See banker for details © 2003 Wells Fargo Banks All rights reserved Members FDl( I I A
