Comm itted to C ultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
November 12. 2005
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SECTION
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o ill in u n i t y
« le n d a r
; Fix-It Fair
Neighborhood Fix-It Fair is at
David Douglas High School, 1001
SE 135"’ A ve.,from 8:30a.m .to2
p.m. Saturday,Nov. 15. For more
information, call 503-823-7222.
Turkey Trot
X
Get ready for Thanksgiving din
ner by joining the Oregon Road
Runners Club on a four-mile run/
walk through Washington Park
and the Oregon Zoo. For more
in fo rm a tio n , c a ll o r v isit
www.oregonzoo.com.
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Scholarship Help
Vernon Community Associa­
tion foot patrol members
Steve Lien (from left), Eric
Schnell, Judge Kemp, Larry
Laughead and Leah Robbins
patrol the Vernon neighbor­
hood to improve livability.
Samba Class
The World Dance Office pre
sents an 8-week fall samba work
shop with live music from 6 to
7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thurs
days through Nov. 25. Classes
are at the Peter Stott Center, Rm
207. $6. For more information
call 503-725-5670.
Mirror Mirror
photo by M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
®L
Katz and Foxworth to
join citizen night watch
Fed up with an increase in hom icide
and drug-related crim es in their neigh­
borhood, the Vernon C om m unity A sso­
ciation is com m itted to im proving their
streets by form ing a foot patrol.
On F rid ay , N ov. 21 m em bers w ill get
the ch ance to voice th e ir needs to M ayor
V era K atz and P o lice C h ief D errick
F o x w o rth , w hen they jo in the V ernon
N eighborhood Foot Patrol on itsev en in g
ro u n d s.
“This is a great opportunity to share
with the m ayor and ch ief what is happen­
ing in Vernon, and for them to experience
o u r n eig h b o rh o o d e n v iro n m e n t first
hand,” V ernon Com m unity Co-Chairs
Leah Robbins and Harvey Rice said in a
statem ent.
The group has been recruiting new
mem bers for the past few weeks.
Chimps Gone Wild
Jane Goodall brings enthusiasts
closerto nature with "Wild Chim
panzees,” through May at the
Omnimax Theater, 1945 S.E. Wa­
ter Ave. Tickets are $8.50. For
m ore
in fo rm a tio n ,
v isit
www.wildchimpanzees.org.
if
Northwest Medical Teams spon­
sors the multi-mediaexhibit "Win­
dows of Need, Doors of Hope”
from Nov. 12 through 18 at the
Doubletree Inn, LloydCenter. For
m o re
in fo rm a tio n ,
v isit
www.nwmedicalteams.org orcall
503-624-1000.
V /
Planting Neighborhoods
Get in Shape
Providence Health Systems of­
fers Westside fitness classes at
40I5SW Mercantile Drive, Lake
Oswego. Classes include step,
ball and bar, cardio mix, cardio
step, gentle-paced fitness, group
strength training and Tai chi, to
name a few. For a full schedule,
call 5 0 3 -5 7 4 -6 5 9 5 or v isit
www.providence.org/classes.
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Accepting Leaves by the Carload
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Tom McGarry helps Matt Kavanagh unload bags of leaves at Stanton Yard in north
Portland. Stanton is one of six city leaf depots. For $1 per carload, much less
than curbside recycling services, residents can dump leaves on designated
Saturdays and Sundays at specific times through Dec. 13. The depot sites for this
weekend are Cathedral and Lents parks on Saturday, and Floyd Light School and
Gabriel Park on Sunday. For a complete schedule of depot sites and times, visit
www.trans.ci.portland.or.us or call 503-823-1784.
Friends with Corduroy
CelebrateChildren’sBook Week
at the library with lovable Cordu­
roy, oneof children's literature's
favorite characters. The event is
from 7to7:30p.m . Nov. 20.3605
NE 15,h Ave.
A Healing Song
Sankofaa Health Institute offers
a free diabetes support group
from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third
Thursday at Alberta Simmons
Plaza, 6 1 1 NE MLK Blvd. For
more information, call 503-285-
2484.
Franklin Interim Principal Named
Dr. C harles Hopson, principal at
H arriet Tubm an M iddle School, will
take over as interim p rincipal at
Franklin High School in southeast
Portland.
Portland Public School S uperin­
tendent Jim Scherzinger announced
last week that Hopson, an experienced
school adm inistrator and adjunct as­
sistant professor at the U niversity of
Portland, will leave the northeast Port­
land middle school to fill the principal
»
I
Dr. Charles Hopson
The Vernon neighborhood includes the
d iv e rs e an d th r iv in g A lb e rta an d
K illingsworth business and arts districts,
Vernon Elementary School, Alberta Park
and num erous churches.
For more information, call Judge Kemp,
foot patrol coordinator, at 503-282-9043
o r503-750-3009.
Chambers Team Up
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i
Doors of Creativity
F riends o f T rees announces
n eighborhood tree plantings
beginning with the Rose City
P ark/R osew ay neighborhood
on Nov. 15. T hose interested in
leading volunteers should at­
tend training at 8 a.m. Nov. 15
at St. Rose o f Lim a Catholic
Church, 2727 NE 54,h Ave. For
m o re in f o r m a tio n , v is it
w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
... Recruits
New
Members
The W om en's Resource Center
is holding a workshop on Schol
arship Application ABCs from
to 4 p.m. Nov. 1 7 atP C C 'sC a s
ca d e
C a m p u s,
705
N
Killingsworth.Blvd.SSBRm. 103
A discussion on skin care and
body sculpting is the topic for
th e P ro v id e n c e W o m en ’s
Wellness Series from 7 to 8:30
p.m. Nov. 12 at Providence Port­
land Medical Center Amphithe­
ater, 4805 NEGIisan St. Forreser-
vations, call 503-574-6595.
z*
p o sitio n held by O pal C h a n cler-
M oore, who is out on medical leave.
Hopson will stay at Franklin until
C'hanclci-M oore returns.
Hopson has been the principal at
Tubman since July o f 1995.
Plans are now underway to select
an interim principal for Tubm an.
Hopson is charged with consulting
with Dr. Harriet Adair, area director of
the Jefferson clu ster, to assure a
smooth transition.
Emphasis put on minorities
competing in the mainstream
by L ee P eri män
T he P ortland O bserver
Representatives of three minority business groups are teaming up
to address economic vitality issues important to area residents.
The leaders from the African-American, Hispanic and Philippine-
American chambers of commerce, discussed their organizations and
goals before a recent dinner meeting of the Alliance of Portland
Neighborhood Business Associations.
A common theme was the intent to become part o f the business
mainstream, not to be marginalized in a slot reserved for them.
“Our mission is to empower African-American businesses and
that’s what we try to do," said Roy Jay of the African-American
Chamber, now six years old. "W e' re a very quiet organization. We pride
ourselves in doing a lot of work off the radar screen."
Nonetheless, the trio of associations made news earlier this year
when, as part of a coalition, they won a contract to run the downtown
Star Park garages.
"We don't want to be categorized as just
minority businesses, just waiting around for
set-aside money, as some folks want us to do,"
Jay said. "Everybody expects us to just do
beauty shops, barber shops and small restau­
rants. We want to operate within the entire city,
instead o f just looking for a handout."
Jay said the Star Park contract was a good
example of winning the competition for a major
contract on its own merits.
Jaime Lim of the Philippine- American cham- Roy Jay
ber gave a similar message.
"Make the playing field level,” he said. "If it is, minorities can
compete. We competed for Smart Park, and we won.”
Formed in 1996, the Philippine-American group has 200 members.
There are 12,(XX) Philippines and Philippine Americans in Portland. Lim
said.
"W e're not a very visible group," he admitted. “A lot of Philippines
just want to work for someone. Now more and more are going into
business."
Clare Padilla Andrews of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of
Commerce said that her organization, begun in 1994, is conducting a
drive to bring its membership to 500.
"We have more than 6,(XX) businesses and more opening every
day," she said.
A sister organization in Albuquerque. N. M.. helped end a rule that
there could be only one chamber o f commerce in any city. Hispanic
business people were not being heard by the local chamber, so they
formed their own, Andrews said.
I here s no way one Portland Chamber o f Commerce could repre­
sent all of us. Jay added. “It has never happened and it w asn't going
to happen.”
But Jay said multiple chambers do not preclude working coopera­
tively.
"We all go todifferent churches, but we all worship a higher pow er,"
he said. When we come together, we have the best of both worlds."
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