Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com Iuly 28. 2004 M etro / S ports exclusive Uh ÿlortÎanh (©bseruer L .' C SECTION o ni ni u n i i a l e n cl a Hoopin’ It Up This two-day basketball clinic on July 29 -3 0 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m . at T h e H oop Vancouver stresses the impor tance of correct shooting form It will focus on stationary shoot ing. shooting off o f screens and shooting on the move. Ages 9 to 14 are encouraged to attend. For more information, please call 360- 260-2088. PHOTO BY M ark W ashington / V T he P ortiani ) O bserver Alberta Farm Market P roviding healthy, affordable, high quality food, the A lberta C oop erativ e G rocery offers seasonal produce from local grow ers, ready-to-eat food and w eekly entertainm ent. Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, located on 1500 NE A lberta Street. For m ore inform ation, call 503-287-4333. Attention Bookworms! C ontact the nearest public li brary near you and take ad vantage o f fun sum m er read ing program s open to all ages or take free com p uter classes. L e a rn a b o u t e - m a il, w eb searching, spreadsheets, word processing and m ore. To learn m ore, visit online at http:// w w w .m ultcolib.org. Writing Seminar Free your writing spirit with a free writing workshop by Write Around Portland through Aug. 12 at locations in and around north Portland. To register or contribute, call 503-796-9224. Interest in Adoption? A free information meeting for prospective adoptive parents is held the third W ednesday of every month from 7 to 8 :3 0 p.m. at Belmont Public Library, 1038 S.E. 39lh Ave. For more informa tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit www.openadopt.com. Stay Healthy S ankofaa H ealth Institute of fers a free diabetes support group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every th ird T h u rs d a y at A lb e rta Simmons Plaza, 6707 N.E. Mar- tin L uther King Jr. Blvd. For more information, call 503-285- 2484. Work For Change Community Advocates invites those interested in protecting children from abuse to become an event volunteer, event out re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt, graphic artists or office support team member. For more informa tion, call 503-280-1388. Home Improvement The Com munity Energy Project holds free workshops on water conservation and w eatheriza tion. For more information, call NBA Slam Duns Ctiamplpn gives one-on-one advice adopt snooting Inside me Key to Big B rem e, Big S ister participant. Super Star Shares Love and Basketball Slam-dunk champion gives back to childhood community by J ohanna S. K ing / T he P ortland O bserver “Everyone move together," yells Freddy Jones, guard tor the Indiana Pacers and Portland native. “Work as a team to put the ball in the basket and it makes everybody look and feel good.” A kick off to his weekend o f basketball festivities, Jones spent an afternoon hang ing out with kids of the Big Brother Big Sister program at Irving Park in northeast Portland. The clinic, sponsored by NikeGO, was geared toward giving young people the opportunity o f learning more about the game they love from a professional athlete. Jones supports the sport, but also sheds light on the importance of becoming a well -rounded young person. “Basketball is only a part of the picture,” he says. “T here’s a lot more than ju st the glam our and fame the game has to offer. I’d rather be a good person versus a good ball player any day.” As part o f his first Freddy Jones Summer Slam weekend benefiting Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Portland, the NBA star shows youngsters the game as it's played on the court among fellow pro athletes. Jones hopes to get kids active through his weekend of action packed events and show them that although basketball is fun, other things like going to school and w ork ing hard to get good grades is even more important to becoming a successful indi vidual. Big Brothers Big Sisters tries to help in the development o f children across M etropoli tan Portland, including innercity youth who often know more intimately about challenge and adversity. Adult volunteers, called Big Brothers and Big Sisters spend several hours per week with their little sis or broas not only a triend, but as a mentor who genuinely cares. "Kids need that special attention and personal time with an adult who can serve as a trusted friend and positive role model,” said program, director Lynn Thompson. “It’s continued yf on page H2 PENINSULA ADVANCES TO REGIONAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT Boy s all-star baseball team wins state tournament and earns advancement The P eninsula Junior B aseball team , coached by Bryan Butcher S r„ ce l ebrates their state cham pionship victory against Jefferson C ounty w ith a I 9 to 10 win. O ne thing is for ce r tain, when these 13 and 14 y ear olds from P enin sula Junior Baseball Team gath er tog eth er on the field, they know how to play ball. The P eninsula b o y 's team won both district and state tournam en ts, e a r n in g th e n e x t a d vancem ent o f playing for the 2004 regional title. The all-star team in clu d es: A lex B en n ett- M e ls o n , D eS haw n B la c k n a ll, A n d re K . I 503-2844962. B ro a d o u s , B ry a n (B J ) B u tc h e r, P a u l G ib s o n , D w a y n e (D J ) L in c o ln , M arco s M o n ta s, S h aw n R ic h e y , T h e ro n S e g a r, D arius Strickland. T h e W e st C o a st R e gional T o u rn am en t w ill be held in F o rest G ro v e start ing on W ed n esd ay , A u g u st 4 to A ug. 11. T ea m s re p re s e n tin g A la s k a , W a sh in g to n , C a lifo rn ia Id ah o , M o n tan a, N ev ad a, A riz o n a , W y o m in g and H aw aii w ill all be in a tte n d ance. T he w in n in g team s w ill not o n ly tak e ho m e a g ig a n tic tro p h y , but w ill also be in v ited to c o m p e te in the Ju n io r L ittle L eague W o r ld S e r i e s h e ld in T ay lo r, M ich ig an A u g u st 1 5 -2 1 NAACP Meetings The Portland Branch o f the NAACP holds two monthly ex ecutive com mittee meetings, on the second T hursday o f the month and the T hursday be fore the fourth Saturday o f the month. G eneral m em bership m eetings are held on the fourth Saturday o f each month. For more information, call 503-284- 7722. Tennis Aquatic Fitness Providence has a full schedule o f fitness classes including w a ter exercising at the Providence Aquatic Center, 4805 N.E.GIisan. Fora schedule, call 503-215-6301. Women Speak Women have a voice at W omen 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. For questions, call 503-249-6263. Novice playing P a rk . tennis enth usiast learns technique at Irving by J aymee R. C m / T he P orti . and O bserver Texas 16-year-old tennis Super Cham pion is visiting Portland for the summer to help teach tikes about the game. Forrest “Andy" Jenkins got his first racket at age 3 and his life hasn't been the same since then. A Houston resident, entering his junior year at Worthing High School, Jenkins de votes as much energy into athletics as aca demics. He took his college entry exams at age 12 and would like to study mathematics in college; possibly engineering or geom etry. He also has ambitions to be a profes sional tennis player. His local coach, Don Johnson, founder and director o f Kids 'N ' Tennis, which is currently running sum m er clinics in north east Portland, says those dreams can be realized if he starts getting the national at- on the Brain tention he deserves. “H e's an all court player and that’s the kind o f player that you want to have. He’s multi dimensional," Johnson said. Jenkins has won five tournaments, and recently played in the Al Edwards M en's Open Juneteenth Classics. He was the only youngster in the event. Besides spending his summers visiting his Dad in Portland, Jenkins has volunteered with Kids ‘N ’ Tennis since the age of 12. “I just love tennis. This is what 1 do," said Jenkins, who also enjoys video games and watching track and basketball. Jenkins practices tennis six days each week. With his commitment and well-rounded ap proach to the sport and his life, his coach is confident he'll rival tennis greats in two or three years. “Having an all court game means having the mind to match." said Johnson. Forrest "Andy" Jenkins prepares to return a serve.