Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 2004)
Committed to Cultural Diversity September 22. 2004 M etro Exhibit Celebrates Hispanic Heritage 11,1 ^orttani» CObserucr See El Observador, page B3 SECTION C O 111 Hl II 11 I t y a I e n d a r Stay Warm T h e C o m m u n ity E n e rg y Project holds a free w orkshop on w ater conservation from 6:30 to 8 p.m . on W ednesday, Sept. 29 and a lead poisoning prevention workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on T uesday, O ct. 5 at 422 N. E. A lberta St. C all 503- 284-6827 for m ore w orkshop tim es and locations. Mailman is Postal Service Ambassador Sickle Cell Telethon Area residents are encouraged to join in the fight against Sickle Cell Anemia disease by calling in your pledge o f support during a Saturday, Sept. 25 telethon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Multnomah County Cable TV. Aquatic Fitness P rovidence has a full schedule o f fitness classes including w a ter exercising at the Providence A quatic C en ter, 4805 N.E. Glisan. F oraschedule,call503- 215-6301. AIDS Walk 2004 H elp save lives by p articip at ing in AIDSW alkO4 on S un day, Sept. 26, presented by Nike. T his 5k event starts at 8:30 a. m. at Pioneer Courthouse Square and ends at the same lo c a tio n . A c ti v itie s ru n through noon. For m ore infor mation, call 503-223-9255. Women In NAACP W om en in N A A C P, a new women'sgroup, meets 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. Children’s Healthy Growth Clinic A free 40-m inute session on Rolfing, a holistic system of soft tissue m anipulation and m ovem ent to insure health grow th and m ovem ent pat terns, is available for children ages zero to 10 on Saturday Oct. 23, from 1-5 p.m. at W ild O ats M arket, 2nd floor, 3535 N.E 15th. For questions about thisclinic, call 503-753-7653 or em ail rolfer@ earthlink.net. Multicultural Health Fair Wild Oats Natural Marketplace at 3535 N.E. 15 Ave. hosts a Multicultural Health Fairon Sat urday, Oct. 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. In Charge The A m erican Red C ross O r egon Trai 1 Chapter offers When I’m in Charge, a 2.5 hour course that prepares ch ild ren ages eight to 11 how to respond to and be safe in situations. The next class is held W ednesday, Oct. 20 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at M t. H ood M edical C en ter, 24800 S.E. Stark St., Gresham . The fee is $ 18. To register, call 503-280-1440. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. P ostal S ervice Portland Letter Carrier Karl Keeton, a new national spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service, delivers the mail on his downtown route Dedication to customer service earns honor A Portland letter carrier with a stellar record for 34 years o f service is now a national postal ambassador. African-American U.S. Postal Service em ployee Earl Keeton is one of only nine letter carries from the country that are appearing in a new USPS ‘Working tor You" advertising campaign. Keeton will demonstrate the postal service’s commitment to customer service in national television, radio and print advertisements and also make personal appearances to promote postal services. He was selected from among 800 postal em ployees who auditioned for the honor. "There is no one betterqualified toexplain the products and services offered by the U.S. Postal Service than our own em ployees,” said Post master General John E. Potter. “The same letter earners who are so well regarded by many of our customers will now officially represent us in our advertising, showing that there are many ways to access postal services without ever having to leave your home or office.” Madison Teen on School Board Suleima Cortez sticks up fo r student needs by J aymee R. C uti T he P ortland O bserver The Portland Public School Board’s newest member has the student’s best interests in mind. After all, she’s a student herself. Suleima Cortez, 17, a Madison High School senior, was selected to represent the needs o f the stu dents by making presentations to the board, establishing a student summit at all area high schools, attending all board meetings, and even voting on crucial matters affecting students. C ortez’s leadership style is democratic. She meets with stu dent summit leaders to take the needs o f all students into consid eration. My opinion is only my per sonal opinion, but I have to repre sent all students in the district so I have to find out what their needs are,” she says. Cortez says her job is to inform every student, so they can partici pate in changes that affect them most. “One o f the things I want to focus on this year is getting infor mation from high school to high school and getting information from the district to all the students be cause students are the ones that are affected.” Cortez says she loves what she does. Besides her involvement with the school board and attendance at the Superintendent Student Advi sory Committee, Cortez runs track, tosses javelin, throws shot put, holds the position o f multicultural director for M adison’s student body and p articip a tes in Las Hermanas, acommunity group pro moting Latino health. “I’ve always been involved with things related to business or poli tics,” Cortez said. Next year, Cortez plans to attend he University o f Oregon and study international relations. She says her experience with the school board will likely have an affect on the direction her career takes. “I’ve thought about education for a career, but maybe I want to minor in something related to help ing students,” said Cortez. Suleima Cortez participates in a government class at Madison High School in northeast Portland. The multicultural director o f her student body, Cortez is the newest student member of the Portland School Board. PHOTO BY M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver Forces of Nature OMSI presents Forces of Na tu re , N a tio n a l G e o g ra p h ic Chases M other Nature’s Dark Side, at Omnimax from Oct. 8 through March. For more infor mation, call 503-797-4000. Fox Chase Artwalk The businesses o f Fox C hase C orners, at N ortheast 30 A v enue and K illingsw orth Street, sponsor A rtw alk for the entire fam ily,beginning Nov. 14from 11 a.m. to4p.m . For more infor m a tio n , e - m a il milagms@milagrosboutique.com. Run Cheetah The cheetah’s race for survival is on exhibit at the C entral L ibrary’s C ollins G allery, 801 S. W. 10 Ave., through Oct. 24. An a rtist’s reception is at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 in the gallery. For m ore inform ation, visit w w w .cheetah.org. Urban League puts Focus on Education Annual dinner to feature schools chief Portland Schools Superintendent Vicki Phillips will be the U rban L eague of Portland’s keynote speaker at its 2004 Equal Opportunity Day Dinner. The recently hired administrator has been asked to talk about “Educational O pportu nity and Equality," the theme of this year’s event, reflecting the Urban L eague's com mitment to building a community that pro vides opportunity to all. Phillips arrived in Portland in August after serving as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education since January 2003. She is a strong advocate for education reform and has worked to improve schools as a teacher, as leader of a non-profit education founda tion, and as superintendent of a mid-sized urban school district. "W e are very excited She has con sisten tly about this year’s event and w o rk ed to red u c e the the opportunity to honor achievement gap between Brian Rohter." said Charles students o f different in Wilhoite, chair of the Ur com e levels and ethnic- ban League of Portland’s groups. board of directors and prin A h ig h lig h t o f the cipal with Willamette Man Wednesday, Oct. 13 din agement Associates. ner will be the presenta The local com pany that tion of the Urban L eague's Rohter leads began five Equal Opportunity Award years ago and now in Portland School District to Brian Rohter, president cludes five stores and more Superintendent Vicki Phillips and co-founder o f New than 800 employees. New Seasons M arket. The award is gi ven t n appre - Seasons Market has a proven track record of ciation for and in recognition of his important building a diverse work force, investing in contributions to equal opportunity. underserved communities and promoting A no-host reception begins at 5:45 p.m., sustainable and strong local agriculture. followed by dinner and the program at 6:45 “T his y ear’s honoree and them e also p.m. at the Portland Hilton Hotel. The dinner's help remind us of our local Urban L eague’s emcee is KGW news anchor Brenda Braxton. longtim e efforts to build equality through education and econom ic o p p o rtunity," W ilhoite said. The dinner is strongly supported by P o rtlan d ’s business com m unity. S pon sors o f this y ea r’s dinner include: Intel, K aiser Perm anente. NW N atural. OHSU, Portland G eneral Electric, Portland Trail Blazers, Providence H ealth System , The S tan d ard , T hom ason A uto and W ells Fargo. Proceeds from the dinner will directly benefit Urban League of Portland programs. For ticket information, call the Urban League of Portlandat 503 280-2611. The nonprofit, com munity-based organi zation headquartered in north and northeast Portland. The League helps em power Afri can Americans and others to achieve equal ity in education, employment and economic security through a combination of direct services, outreach and advocacy. B
