Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
March 10. 2004
High School Basketball All Stars
M etro
Jefferson Coach Marshall Haskins and seven
of his players lead all-city honors
See S p o rts, Page B6
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SECTION
o in in u n i t y
a le n d a r
C
Reunion Watch
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B
COMMUNITY
Form er students and faculty o f
G irls Polytechnic, Jam es M on­
roe and W ashington-M onroe
high schools have the 66lh an­
nual all-school dinner at 5 p.m.
M onday, April 12 at O ur Lady o f
S o rro w s S ch o o l, 5 2 3 9 S.E .
W oodstock Blvd. Tickets are
$15. For m ore inform ation, call
503-236-6557.
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OFFICE
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Packy Turns 40
Packy, the O regon Z o o ’s el­
ephant which becam e nation­
ally renow ned as the first Asian
elephant born in the W estern
H em isphere in more than 44
years, celebrates his 40"’ birth­
day with a cake stom ping from
10a.m. to 4 p .m . April 14.Com e
by to sing happy birthday to
Packy, and have a piece o f cake
for yourself. For more inform a­
tion, visitw w w .oregonzoo.com .
Honor Political Women
T he O regon H istorical S ociety
p resen ts a p rogram honoring
th e a c c o m p lis h m e n ts o f
w om en in the histo ric 1970s
le g isla tu re (in clu d in g M ayor
V era K atz) in conju n ctio n w ith
W o m e n ’s H is to r y M o n th .
C o n v e rsatio n s are at the H is­
torical Society, 1200 S.W . Park
Ave. from 7 to 8:30 p.m. T hurs­
day, M arch 18. F or m ore infor­
m ation, call 503-222-1741.
Trees Need Friends
Friends o f Trees will plant trees
and shrubs in the H illsdale/
M a rk h a m a n d B e a u m o n t-
W ilshire/C oncordia neighbor­
hoods on M arch 13. If you want
to be a help Io your com m unity
and environm ent, call 503-284-
TREE
or
v is it
w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
* Wellness
T he second annual H olladay
Park Plaza Com munity Wellness
Fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday.M arch 19at 1300N.E. 16"’
Ave. For more inform ation, call
503-280-2221.
Minority Business Boost
A Sm all B usiness Econom ic
D e v e lo p m e n t
C o n feren ce
hosted by H U D is designed to
help m inorities and fem ale busi­
ness ow ners participate in fed­
eral g o v ern m en t co n tra ctin g
prospects. The conference is at
the D oubletree Hotel in Jantzen
Beach, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p. m .
March 18.Pre-registration is$35.
For inform ation, call 877-741-
3281 o r visit w w w .hud.gov/
Washington.
photo by
Ctriturally-specific
services help
Portland women
by J aymee R, C uti
T he P orti . and O bserver
Lianne Roland was very proud o f her
clients at last Friday ’ s celebration at Ugaza
Jam ii, w here she w orks as a dom estic vio­
lence facilitator.
For the last several m onths, sh e’s been
following African A m ericans through their
self discovery and self im provem ent as
they work through counseling program s
and other culturally specific services to
get their lives back on track.
Roland know s the road is long, as she
is a graduate o f Ugaza Jam ii, herself. The
program , translating to “healing com m u­
nity,” conquers heavy topics such as
traum a, parenting and substance abuse to
help participants find em ploym ent, hous­
ing and raise their children in w ell-ad­
ju sted families.
“ I’d been to countless other treatm ent
facilities and I alw ays ended up relapsing
because I d id n 't have the support I needed
from my com m unity,” says Roland, w ho
changed her life around after 25 years o f
substance abuse, dom estic violence, in­
Health For Everyone
The 6'h annual Health Fair featur­
ing “H ealth Issues that Affect
E veryone” is from 9:30 a.m. to
2:45 p.m. Saturday. March 13 at
the A insworth United Church of
Christ, 2941 N.E. A insw orth
United Church o f Christ. The
event is free, and lunch is pro­
vided. For more information, call
503-284-8767.
NAACP Meetings
T h e P ortland B ranch o f the
N A A C P will hold tw o m onthly
executive com m ittee m eetings,
one on the second T hursday
o f the m onth and the T h u rs­
day before the fourth S a tu r­
day o f the m onth. G eneral m em ­
b ersh ip m eetings are held on
the fourth S aturday o f each
m onth. For m ore inform ation,
call 503-284-7722.
carceration a n d a separation from herchil-
dren. “I w as able to relate to the facilitators
(at U gaza Jam ii) because they looked like
me, understood my language and I was
m ore able to model their behaviors.”
Ugaza Jamii celebrated the accom plish­
m en ts o f p a rtic ip a n ts last F rid ay at
Lorenzen A uditorium at Legacy Emanuel
Hospital. T he program is nearing a close
because its grant is running out, but a new
program , W eku, focusing on pregnant
w om en and m others with children less
than 12 m onths o f age, will persist in
teaching parenting and life skills with cu l­
tural sensitivity.
“If we can get a pregnant w om an in
treatm ent, the chances o f del i vering a c lean
and sober child are greater, or if she al­
ready has the child, we can provide devel­
o p m e n ta l s e rv ic e s ,” sa id S h errily n n
Blanton, clinical resource coordinator for
Project N etw ork, the parent program o f
U gaza Jam ii and W eku.
Project director Jeanne Cohen and other
facilitators are pitching the benefits o f
culturally specific treatm ent to areajudges
and district attorneys, hoping that som e­
day. clients will be referred to treatm ent
with Project N etw ork instead o f serving
jail time.
For m ore inform ation, or to enroll in
Weku, call 503-335-0855.
An Anniversary
to Remember
Stick Up for Seniors
Elders in A ction is sticking up
for seniors with a W eb Evalua­
tor T raining from 9:30 a m. to
noon on W ednesday, March 31
at the PCC Southeast Center,
2305 S.E. 82 Ave., Room 119and
an O m budsm an Training from
9 :30 a.m. to 3 :3 0 p.m. M arch 29
through April 1. For more infor­
mation,call 503-823-5269 orvisit
w w w .eldersaction.org.
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Kathaleen Huff (from left), Sherrilynn Blanton, Charee Bailey and Lianne Roland discuss a schedule o f workshops sponsored by Ugaza Jamii, a counseling
program for African-American women.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Willia Ida Williams reflects on 5 9 years at Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church.
W illia Ida W illiam s, once the presi­
dent o f the music department at
V ancouver Avenue F irst B aptist
Church, is s till an active member o f
the church her late husband. Rev.
O.B. W illiam s founded.
The church w ill celebrate its 59th
anniversary with music, food and good
people during special events all week.
including a potluck supper on Satur­
day, March 13 and concluding anni­
versary celebration at 3:30 p.m. on
Sunday, March 14.
Vancouver Avenue First Baptist
Church is at 3138 N. Vancouver
Ave. The church is one o f Portland's
oldest African-Am erican congrega­
tions.
Cascade Campus Expansion Builds Skills
Tom as R om ero is the jack-of-all-trades at Portland
From grading to fram ing to finishing work, R om ero
Com m unity C ollege C ascade C am p u s' construction
is there from start to finish. He estim ates he w orks on
sites in north Portland.
15-20 jo b sites a year. On one rainy day, he was
Rom ero is a labor apprentice and w orks on every­
assisting a fellow w orker in surveying the foundation
thing, from operating heavy m achinery to applying
o f the new technology building. This will enable them
carpentry skills and any task in-betw een that needs to
to res, the slabs o f concrete evenly, w hich will be the
be done.
“It's a jo b that gives me an opportunity to learn new
things,” he said.
For the last six years, the A loha resident has been an
basis o f the first floor. There are many things he must
keep in mind as he works.
“The toughest thing about my jo b is trying to stay
sharp, ” Rom ero said. “There are so many things going
apprentice with W alsh C onstruction. He is in the midst
on at the site, from people, vehicles and heavy m achin­
o f several construction projects at the C ascade C am ­
ery, I m ust stay alert. And I have to be as accurate as
pus, all progressing at a dram atic rate.
In conjunction with the recently renovated Terrell
Hall, W alsh Co. is overseeing construction o f the new
1 can with my m easurem ents. My cow orkers have to be
able to trust m e.”
Rom ero, w ho is engaged to be married, cam e to
technology classroom facility, a rem odel o f the old
O regon 13 years ago from M exico City at the age o f 16.
Tomas Romero gains job skills during the construction o f new
Renaissance M arket for public service education pro­ buildings on the Portland Community College Cascade Campus in
continued
on pane H5
north Portland. Romero is an apprentice with Walsh Construction.
grams, and the physical education building.
I