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September 24. 2003
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Harvest Auction
Leach Botanical Garden will hold
its annual Harvest Auction at 6
p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 in the Manor
House, 6704 SE 122 Ave. Garden
reporter Amy Jaeger will host
this event, and all proceeds will
benefit the garden. Tickets are
$50 per person. For more infor
mation, call 503-823-1673.
SECTION
Local artists open
studios for behind-
the-scene views
'(JucíouRiiit)
Theresa Johnson
paints personal,
intimate moments.
High Energy
The Community Energy Project
holds a series o f free workshops
to help make consumers energy
conscious. Workshops on water
conservation are at 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 and 10a.m.Oct.6 atOHSU,
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd.,
and at 6:30 p.m. at Peninsula Park
Community Center, 700N. Port
land Blvd. The project also in
cludes weatherizing workshops
throughout September and Oc
tober. For more information, call
503-284-6827.
Cultured Kingdoms
The Oregon Zoo is throwing a
multicultural celebration to show
case how various cultures around
.the world revere animals from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 27 and 28.
Local groups will present folk
lore through performances and
exhibits. For more information,
call 503-226-1561.
Green Walks
Discover Portland’s green space
from lOto 11 a.m. Saturdays with
guided tours by park volunteers.
Meet at Mt. Tabor Park’s vol
cano parking lot on Sept. 27. On
Oct. 4. meet at the Global Garden
at Harold O liver School’s park
ing lot. On Oct. 11, meet at Penin
sula Park, next to sunken rose
garden. On. Nov. 1, meet at
W hitaker Ponds visitor center.
Bill Rutherford is an African-American artist
who works in a diverse media, including
wire and wood.
Carolyn Crawford paints portraits o f familiar leisure scenes, but she also is one o f just 100 police
sketch artists in the country.
One hundred Portland artists, including three art
ists with African-American roots, are opening their
doors to the public for a behind-the-scenes view o f the
creative process.
Step into Our Studios, a Portland open studios
event, opens studios east o f the Willamette River on
Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12 and west-side
studios on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19.
This self-directed studio tour grants access to
printmakers, sculptors, photographers, ceramic art
ists, fiber artists, metal smiths, glass blowers and
painters o f many styles and media. Whether you ’re an
art snob or enthusiast, studio touring is a rare oppor
tunity.
A $ 12 ticket pays for two adults for both weekends.
Kids are free. Tickets include a map o f often galleries
and a 16-month calendar.
T ickets can be purchased at O nda and Brian
M arki G allery and Interstate Firehouse C ultural
C e n te r.
For
m o re
in f o rm a tio n ,
v is it
Officers on the
Front Lines
Pounding Pavement
Fitness fanatics will lace up their
tennies for the 32nd Annual Port
land Marathon on Sunday, Oct.
5 at 7 a.m. The event starts in
front o f City Hall, 1221 SW 4,h
Ave. and finishes at the Justice
Center, 1120 SW 3rd Ave. Regis
tration is $ 125. For more informa
tion, call 503-226-1111 or visit
jvww.portlandmarathon.org.
Community policing
starts with Neighborhood
Officer program
by S ean P. N elson
T he P ortland O bserv er
Moving Moments
The IFCC offers Life Movement
dance classes and workshops.
Our Breathing Body is on Oct. 11
and Touch Stones is on Nov. 1
and 8. All workshops are between
10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the dance
studio, 5340 N. Interstate Ave.
W orkshops prices range be
tween $45 and $60. To register,
call 503-284-1908.
Salmon Fest Northwest
The Salmon Festival at Oxbow
Regional Park is on Oct. 11 and
12. The festival features a Wy-
Kan-Ush-Pum village, the Salmon
Nation W elcome Center, guided
salmon viewings, crafts, music
and more. For more information,
call 503-979-1850.
Taking Out Alzheimer’s
You can help the Alzheimer’s
Association create a world with
out the disease by participating in
the 12th Annual Portland Memo
rial Walk at Pioneer Courthouse
Square on Sunday, Sept. 28. The
5 K walk raises money for national
research. For more information or
registration, call 503-413-6850 or
visitwww.alz.org/oregon.
Job Skills Workshop
Multnomah County Libraries will
host a free Job Seekers Workshop
to help develop job skills. The
workshop is from6 to 8p.m. Thurs
day, Oct. 23 at the North Portland
Library, 5 12 N. Killingsworth St.
To register, call 503-988-5234.
«
J-fistoric Ho a cC Trip
The founding fathers are taking a rare road trip through the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. An original copy
o f the Declaration o f Independence will be on display at the downtown history center through Saturday, Sept. 27,
before hitting the road for the next leg of the tour. Admission is free. For more information about the viewing, call
503-30&5222 or visit www.lndependenceRoadTrip.org.
Minimum Wage Hike Due on New Year
Rate moves to $7.05
an hour on Jan. 1
(AP) — Inflation will boost the state
m inim um wage to $7.05 an hour on
Jan. 1.
The state Bureau o f Labor and Indus
tries said the increase from the current
rate o f $6.90 an hour is based on an
inflation rate o f 2.2 percent.
The increase is required under Mea
sure 25, which boosted the minimum
wage of$6.50 per hour to $6.90 per hour
last January.
The commissioner o f the bureau must
I
adjust the minimum wage for inflation
every year based on the Consumer Price
Index. The annual adjustment is calcu
lated every September, rounded to the
nearest 5 cents and becomes effective
the following January.
“ Indexing provides sm all and pre
dictable increases for businesses,”
said Bureau o f Labor and Industries
C om m issioner Dan G ardner. “Use o f
the CPI adjustm ent offers businesses
the ability to budget m ore effectively
and accurately for increased costs.”
The state o f W ashington also ad
justs its minimum wage annually based
on the CPI, w hich is com piled by the
t
U S . B u rea u o f Labor and S tatistics to
m easure the average change in prices
over time in a fixed "m arket basket” o f
goods and services, such as food,
shelter, m edical care and tran sp o rta
tion.
Before voters approved Measure 25,
O regon's minimum wage had not in
creased since 1999.
The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an
hour and has not increased since 1997.
In January, O regon’s minimum wage
will be the fourth-highest in the nation
behind A laska and W ashington at
$7.15 per hour and Connecticut at $7.10
per hour.
Five Senior Neighborhood Officers in the North
east Precinct specialize in long term crime problems by
working with citizens and neighborhood associations.
The SNO program began in April 2001 to boost the
image and effectiveness o f community policing in the
Portland Police Bureau.
“From my perspective, the Senior Neighborhood
Program is really a front line in solving crime related
problems in the neighborhoods,” said Bruce Prunk,
the former commander o f the precinct who now serves
as an assistant chief for the bureau.
While patrol officers respond to 911 and other radio
calls in their neighborhoods, the SNOs relieve some o f
that pressure by handl ing longer term problems affect
ing livability such as street drug dealing and drug
houses.
“They’ve been very effective. It’s a good program
and they do a really great jo b ,” Prunk said.
Officers Roger Axhelm, John Blair, Jeff Morris,
Wayne Alderman, and Chris Traynor are led by Sgt.
Scott Johnson in northeast.
According to Johnson, drug houses are tops on the
list o f citizen complaints.
Axhelm. who works in the Eliot, Boise, Humboldt
and Piedmont neighborhoods, sees firsthand how his
efforts provide time consuming relief to patrol officers.
“We as SNOs have the time and ski I Is to look at drug
houses individually and network with agencies and
people,” he said.
“The more we can make patrol officers proactive,
the safer the patrol officers will be,” Axhem said. For
example, if drug dealers are caught in an apartment
complex, SNOs will work with patrol officers and the
landlord to evict the problem person.
“ Being a crackhead is not a protected class.” Johnson
said.
Johnson and Axehlm both recommend that land
lords who have problems with drugs screen tenants
better by asking questions such as, ‘Have you ever
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