-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
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‘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