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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2004)
-W Halloween Party Treats Elect a President: Original snacks with popcorn and a little imagination Vote early by mail and at official county dropsites See recipes oil page A6 /Ä?.' w ‘City of Roses’ Established In 1970 www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIV • Number 41 Wednesday • October 20. 2004 .Week ¡n TheReview Social Security to Rise More than 47 million Ameri-1 cans receiving Social Security will get a 2.7 percent increase - an extra $25, on average - in their monthly checks next year, but much o f the increase will be eaten up by higher Medi- ] Appeal puts schools, senior programs at risk care premiums. by J aymee R. C utí T he P ortland O bserver Plane Crashes at MLK Birthplace A small plane crashed Tues day into an auto-body shop I near the birthplace o f Martin Luther King Jr., killing both people aboard, authorities said. | Glitches in Florida Voting Voters began casting ballots I Monday in Florida, encoun tering long lines at the polls and a few ballot box glitches four years after the 2000 presi-1 dential election fiasco. ACLU Cites Unreliable Lists The American Civil Liberties I Union said Tuesday that sev eral states are using unreliable procedures to remove felons [ from voter registration rolls, possibly disenfranchising le-1 gitimate voters. Tuition Increases Slow The pace o f ever-rising col-1 lege costs has slowed som e what this year, and students are relying more on private loans rather than grants or other federal sources to fi-1 nance their education, accord ing to two new studies. Advocates for children and se niors argue that a tem porary Multnomah County income tax has done exactly what it's supposed to do: put a band-aid on ailing schools, social programs and healthcare af fecting our most vulnerable popula tions. But one year into the promise of needed funding, the three-year 1.25 percent voter-approved income tax is in jeopardy because of Ballot Measure 26-64, a referendum to re peal the levy. Portland Public Schools alone would lose $43 million if a ‘yes’ votes wins in the Nov. 2 vote-by-mail elec tion Lew Frederick, the spokesman for Portland Public Schools, says the district is prepared to cut six weeks off the school year if 26-64 passes. The loss of income taxes also would evaporate budgeted monies for 329 county jail beds. “It would affect everybody in the community when you talk in terms of public safety," said Sarah Carlin Ames, spokesperson for Stop the Repeal, Noon 26-64 campaign. "The sheriff is very concerned that violent criminals might not have a place in thejail and criminal confidence would rise when people realize they can break into your house without doing time.” Vanessa Gaston, president of Portland's Urban League, expects cuts to the Multicultural SeniorCen- ter in northeast Portland wil I be great. The center is heavily funded by Multnomah County, and co-sup- photo by ported by the Urban League and The senior center serves between Loaves and Fishes. 300 and 400 seniors each month “The program will be dramati with planned activities, meals, case cally cut or it may be done away management and transportation. with. We just won’t know until after Kim Feicke, director of Small the election and we’re hoping this Schools Northwest at Lewis & Clark repeal does not pass,” said Gaston. College, says she opposes Mea CARE Director Kidnapped Gunmen in Iraq seized the di-1 rector of CARE International - a woman who has worked on | behalf of Iraqis for three de cades - as the British govern-1 ment on Tuesday weighed a politically volatile American request to transfer soldiers to | M ichael R i benstein /T iie P ortland O bserver Esther Etuk pauses in the lobby of her north Portland apartment building as she faces the prospect of losing vital medical services if voters repeal Multnomah County's income tax. Etuk was kicked off the Oregon Health Plan the last time government budgets were cut. She suffers from degenerative bone disease, ortheoarthritis, edema o f the legs and low oxygenation o f the blood. sure 26-64 because of its affect on sible for the district to provide ad schools. equate education," Feicke said. “Portland has been working re E xactly which M ultnom ah ally hard to improve educational County service programs that will opportunities for all students and suffer cuts or elimination if Mea- close the achievement gap, but this continued on page AS measure is going to make it impos Major Gains at Ball Elementary Principal awarded fo r outstanding Cave Looter Faces Charges I achievement Fortner insurance agent Jack dangerous areas near Baghdad. Harelson maintained he did nothing wrong when he exca vated an ancient American In dian gravesite in N evada’s Black Rock Desert. Now he faces charges he paid $ 10.000 in opals in an attempt to have the judge, chief investigator and an informant in the case | murdered. One local principal is being rewarded for making major gains in education. Third graders from Ball Elementary School, 4221 N. Willis Blvd., met state benchmarks in math, an improvement from 85 to 100percent. The same group also climbed from 57 to 97 percent of reading benchmarks since 1992. The school, previously labeled a “school in crisis,” is comprised of 3 1 percent African- American students and 32 percent Latino students with 84 percent of the student popu lation qualifying for free and reduced-priced lunch. Tamala Newsome, principal, turned scores around by revamping kindergarten curricu lum to focus on literacy and by retraining teachers to implement special methods of teaching for children afflicted with poverty. “Here at John Ball Elementary Schtxil, we teach children, not curriculum," Newsome said. “If any one child doesn’t respond to what we have, we don’t stop looking until we find something that meets that child's needs.” Newsome was awarded $25,(XX) by the Milken Family Foundation, honoring educa tors for excellent achievement. The announcement was made at a recent all-school assembly with a surprise appear ance by former NFL star Rosey Grier, who spoke about the award. Newsome will also participate in the an nual Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference and meet the presi dent in Washington, IX'. Principal Tamala Newsome grasps the attention o f kids at Ball Elementary School at lunchtime recess. Other schools in north and northeast Portland also showing gains in test scores include W hitaker M iddle School and Jefferson High School. Whitaker improved reading scores by 15 points, jumping from 34 to49 percent since 2004. Jefferson's reading scores have improved by 12 percentage points from 2003 to 2(X)4. though the school remains below state averages. 1 Here at John Ball Elementary School, we teach children, not curriculum. If any one child doesn't respond to what we have, we don’t stop looking until we find something that meets that child s needs. - Principal Tamala Newsome 1