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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2004)
Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com May 19. 2004 Coach, Mentor Inspired by Youth M etro Jenean Dunn honored for volunteerism a'*1' ^orttani» ©baeruer See Sports, Page B2 SECTION C o ni in u n i t y a I e n cl a i Honoring Our Legacy The Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators holds the 23"1 annual Student A chievem ent Awards and Scholarship Banquet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20 at the U n iv ersity o f P o rtlan d Com m on’s Building, 5000 N. W i 1 lamette BI vd. Tickets are $25. For more information, call 503- 2X4-4268. Take Charge IRCO’s African RefugeeCommu- nity Self-Help program hosts the African Youth Leadership Con ference: Taking Charge of Your Education and Your Future from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 22 at the IRCOCommunity Center, 10301 N.E. Glisan. For more information, call 503-234-154 lexL 222. Nature Near Home Enjoy the outdoors w ith an Evening Bird Walk at Orchard Park in Hillsboro, led by Metro, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20. Register by cal 1 i ng 503- 797-1850option4. Know Your Rights APOC is holding a Know Your Rights public training for people o f color from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 29 at Bethel AME C hurch, 5828 N.E. 8,h Ave. Childcare and lunch will be pro vided. For more information, call 503-288-5429. Plan On It A Juneteenth Planning Com m it tee wi 11 meet every Friday at 6:30 p.m. through June 4 at the Phila d e lp h ia M issio n ary B a p tist Church, 236 N.E. Mason. For information, call 503-282-2216. B Mice Infest Vernon School Community questions building’s maintenance BY JAYMEE R . C t r l T he P ortland O bserver A recent mouse infestation at Vernon Elementary School isa part of life in the city, according to officials with Portland Public Schools. But some parents and other community members are un wil ling to accept that answer and ask whether this rodent problem isn’t anotherexample of a pattern o f neglect plagu ing northeast Portland schools. Lew Frederick, a spokesman for the dis trict, said during his 11 years with the dis trict, mice have been a problem at all schools, approximately three different schools each year. He said location and economics were not factors in V ernon’s outbreak. “Last year, the mouse problem was at Duniway (Elementary School) in southeast Portland, and that’s one o f the wealthiest schools in the district, so it’s not a matter of a particular area o f town,” Frederick said. Exterminators have laid non-toxic traps throughout the school and are catching four to five mice each night. Faculty has cleaned up materials that might be used as food or bedding for the creatures. T hat’s the best it can do until school is out, insiders say. “W e’ll do much more extensive things when school is out but we don’t want to put bait down while kids are around,” Frederick said. A ccording to Frederick, M ultnom ah County Vector Control had been notified but acall to VectorControl SupervisorChris Wirth said there was no record o f the com plaint. Wirth said Vector Control does not pro vide site inspections for mouse infestations. Kindergarten teacher Chris Retherford points to the mouse trap in his classroom at Vernon Elemen tary School in northeast Portland. photoby M ask W ashington /T hm P ortland O ku », via but it would recommend pest control, trouble shoot and suggest literature available on its Web site for control and prevention. Joan Miller, principal at Vernon, said ex terminators told her the problem is confined to storage rooms and the teacher's lounge, but students have reported seeing mice and droppings in classrooms. She also said that a m aintenance staff will search the b u ild in g 's perim eter and seal holes w here the mice are entering the school. “ Mice infestations and ants are som e thing we unfortunately have to deal with due to a sheer number of buildings we own and they tend to wear out,” Frederick said. A few years ago, the former W hitaker Middle School and John Adams High School site in northeast Portland was forced to close permanently because of poor mainte nance and structural failures. Better Homes A Fix-It Fair is a free neighborhood resource for building a better home and growing a greener garden horn 8:30 a.m. to2 p.m. Saturday, June 5 at Helens view High School,8678N. E. Sumner S t Canine 101 The Oregon Humane Society ex plains problem pooches at C a nine 101 classes on Saturdays, June 5 and 19 at 11 a.m. A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, call 503-285-7722or visit w ww.oregonhumane.org. Going Green OurGarden, Inc. is holding its S'*1 annual O ur Garden Kids Party and Plant Sale from 12-4 p.m. Sunday, June 6 at King Plaza, 3939N.E. MLKBlvd. Birth Ready W hether you need childbirth preparation classes, or just a re fresher, Providence Health Sys tems has a workshop for you. Prepare for pain, take a weekend seminar or prepare big sisters and brothers-to-be throughout th e su m m e r by v isitin g www,providence.org/classes or call 503-574-6595. Juggling Meds An Aging Forum at the Provi dence Center, 4805 N.E. Glisan St., helps older adults learn how to manage multiple medications at6:30p.m . W ednesday, June 16 in the social room. To register, call 503-574-6595. Interstate District Investment Restored Money Put Back into Neighborhoods by L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver W hen som e north and northeast neighborhoods m ade their urban re new al budget requests, the Portland D evelopm ent C om m ission cut them to the bone, draw ing neighborhood pro tests. Last w eek, the PDC capitulated. At stake was $500,000 for a variety o f program s in the Interstate Urban Renew al D istrict designed to protect and benefit local businesses and resi dents, provide im provem ents to area parks and im prove other am enities in area neighborhoods. The district was originally conceived to generate $30m illion to helpcreate the Max Light Rail Yellow line. But it was eventually made larger to accommodate a long wish list o f potential projects, including $6 million to the HOPE VI photo by M ark VV ashing ton ZT he P ortland O bserver project to modernize the former Colum An urban renewal district that pays for the new Interstate Max Yellow Line will bring some bia Villa o f low-income housing. money for local business and community development projects after all. Local Business Honored Big City Produce owner Hugh Gray stocks fresh greens at his north Portland market Women Speak BY JAYMEE R . ClJTI Women have a voice at Women in NAACP, a new w om en’s group, meeting from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month at the American Red C ro ss B u ild in g . 3131 N. Vancouver Ave. For questions, call 503-249-6263. T he P o rtlan d O rserver Farmer’s Market In Season For all the season’s best locally grown produce, meats, dairy and baked goods, visit the Portland Farm er’s Market, opening this week. Live cooking dem onstra tions are on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 6 p.m. P D C ’s original budget for the d is trict, unveiled in m id-A pril, took ad vantage o f low interest rates to pay o ff m ost o f its debts for light rail and HOPE VI. To the constern atio n o f com m unity leaders, funding for social and business im provem ent program s had been eith er cut to the bone or lopped o ff entirely. Jennie Portis, a m em b ero f the Inter state D istrict A dvisory C om m ittee, and others argued that, given the in creased values the M ax line is ex pected to bring to the area, the p ro gram s cut are critical to the ability o f residents and businesses to rem ain The new “proposed b u d g et” un veiled May 12 earm arks $200,000 for redevelopm ent projects, $ 15 0,000 for com m unity livability, $ 10 0,000 for business finance tools and $50,000 for housing. A d v is o ry C o m m itte e c o - c h a ir W alter V alenta told the PDC com m is sion, “ I’m very happy. W e feel w e'v e been heard. Now we have a new o p portunity on the ho rizo n .” pwmiBY JAYM EE R . CnV T he P ortland O bserver G reen business practices can both save m oney and m ake the environm ent better, as m any local com panies are proving. Big C ity P ro d u ce, a je w e l o f a b u si- n ess know n fo r c a te rin g to th e d iv e rse p o p u la tio n s o f north and n o rth ea st Port- lan d , w as re c e n tly d istin g u ish e d fo r p ro m o tin g a su sta in a b le fo o d system . O w n er H ugh G ray rep rese n ted on e o f 10 local co m p a n ie s th at re c e iv e d an E n v ironm entally S ustainable T om orrow (B E S T ) aw ard from P o rtlan d ’s O ffice o f S u stain ab le D ev elo p m en t. T he w in n e rs ’ sh o w ca sed su c ce ssfu l w ay s to co n serv e en erg y an d w ater, re d u c e and re c y c le w a ste , p ro m o te I tra n s p o r ta tio n a lte r n a tiv e s , c re a te new an d e n v iro n m e n ta lly -frie n d ly p ro d u c ts an d d e v e lo p s u s ta in a b le Ow ner Hugh Gray represented one o f 10 local companies that received an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) award... food sy stem s. Big C ity P ro d u ce is at 722 N. S u m n er St.