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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.
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