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ilK^o rtlan b ©bscruer Page B6 el March 9, 2005 O bservador Prison Fire Kills 133 in Dominican Republic (A P ) - Rival gangs fighting for control o f a provincial D om inican Republic prison set pillow s and sheets ablaze M onday, starting a fire that killed at least 133 people after rescuers w ere thw arted by a jam m ed entrance, officials said. O nly 26 inm ates w ere rescued from the public ja il in H iguey, 75 m iles northeast o f the capital on the island’s eastern tip, said N ational Police C h ief M anuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez. F our inm ates suffered bullet w ounds, but he had no details. G uards could not rescue prison ers from the blazing cell block be cause the entrance w as jam m ed. N ational Police spokesm an Gen. Sim on Diaz said. He did not know why the entrance w as jam m ed. By late M onday m orning, rescu ers had pulled 133 bodies from the cell block, Perez Sanchez said. H iguey fire ch ief N estor V era said, "M ost o f the prisoners w e’re Two prisoners show relief for having survived a fire at a ja il in Higuey, Dominican Republic on Monday. (AP photo) seeing are dead or badly w ounded." He said bodies w ere "piled up on top o f each other.” T he dead included tw o inm ates from Puerto Rico, he said. Arm y helicopters w ere ferrying the w ounded to hospitals in the capital, Santo D om ingo, he said Gen. Ram on de la C ruz M artinez, the national director o f prisons. The toll o f dead and injured was 159, although officials said earlier there were 148 prisoners in the jail. Dominican Republicjails are notori ous for being overcrow ded, as the U.S. State D epartment reported last week. The Dominican Republic’s35 pris ons were built to hold 9,(XX) prison ers but last year held more than 13,500, the State D epartm ent said in its an nual report on human rights. “ Som e prisons were totally out o f the authorities’ control and were, in effect, operated by arm ed in m ates,” the departm ent said. T he violence began Sunday night when one inmate shot and wounded a m em ber o f a rival gang, and dozens o f prisoners began fighting over which gang would control the pris oners, de la Cruz Martinez said. The gang that controls the prison sells food, cigarettes and drugs to the other prisoners. T he fight w as broken up by guards, but at about 12:30a.m. many prisoners began rioting, setting fire to pillow s and sheets in their cells, D iaz said. Latin American Art Featured “ E ig h t V ie w s o f L a tin A m erica,” will be featured at Onda A rte Latina and C ross C urrents G allery at 2215 N.E. A lberta St. through M arch 29. T he exhibit will feature photo graphs from C hery le Easter, Larry Easter, M ichael Feely, Bruce Hall, Latin America Plagued With Deadly Prison Riots (A P ) - D eadly priso n riots have plagued several cou n tries in Latin A m e ric a , w h ere c rim in a ls are c ro w d e d in to u n d e r-e q u ip p e d p r is o n s w ith p o o r ly tr a in e d gu ard s. H ere are so m e rec en t e x am p les o f priso n rio ts in L atin A m erica: - F eb. 8: G angs b attle in a P eru vian p riso n , leaving five inm ates dead. T he prison is d esig n ed for 1.800 inm ates but holds m ore than 7,000. - Jan. 21: Prisoners seize control o f a prison colony in central Brazil, killing tw o inm ates and holding Local A frican A m erican pastor Rev. Dr. LeR oy H aynes Jr. and C ongressm an Earl B lum enauer will speak at an interfaith m em orial service will honor those w ho have died during the w ar in Iraq. “A rlington N orthw est: T he C ost o f S ecurity” w ill be held on Sunday, M arch 20 at 2 p.m. at the First C ongregational U nited C hurch o f C hrist at 1137 SW Broadway. T hose in attendance will be given the opportunity to honor and grieve the lives that have been lost in Iraq. A tem porary m em orial will be set up w ith a list o f nam es. For m ore inform ation, to volunteer o r to donate, call 503-650-4447. G o s p e l r e c o r d in g a rtis t M ic a h S ta m p le y is se t to d e b u t “ T h e S o n g b o o k o f M ic a h " on M a rc h 2 9, f e a tu r in g h is f i r s t s in g l e “ W ar C r y ,” a c a ll fo r C h ris tia n “ s o ld ie r s ” to g o o u t in to th e ALBINA MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE Cascade B a G i LAD , Delta Si^rpa Tbeta ( A P) - The H om e D epot Inc., the n a tio n ’s largest hom e AIDS Project Tbe Portland Chapter LinRs, Inc Healing Worship Celebration i mprovem ent store chai n, is launchi ng a partnership with four national H ispanic o rganizations to recruit m ore S pan ish speaking em ployees - a strategy that proponents say can help retailers find talented w orkers and boost sales at the sam e time. Industry observers say the m ove - like the c o m p a n y ’s previous hiring partnerships with senior citizen and military groups - will help A tlanta-based H om e D epot tap into a valuable cu sto m er niche. By 2008, the com pany says, Hispanics are expected to have roughly $ 1 trillion in annual purchasing power. L aos pe l lin g e r Micah Stampley Service Honors War Victims to Debut Album '.1 Spanish-speaking Workers Wanted three guards hostage for 12 hours. aside for gang m em b ers are k illed -Septem ber 2002: Prisoners at La A ug. 18: R ival inm ates at a S al in a p riso n rio t in San P ed ro Sula, V ega in the D ominican Republic set vad o ran priso n fig h t w ith k n iv es H onduras. O ffic ials b lam e it on a fire to m attresses, starting a blaze an d stic k s, k illin g at le a st 31 short circ u it. G an g s alleg e that that kills 30 inm ates. The prison is people. P rison o ffic ia ls say m ore rival in m a te s th rew g aso lin e into built for 50 but holds about 4(X) men than 3 ,0 0 0 p riso n ers are b eing the ce lls and set th em ab laze as in nine cells. D om inican prisons at h eld in a fac ility m ean t fo r 800. o ffic ia ls sto o d by. the tim e w ere built to hold up to - M ay 2004: A three-day upris - April 5 ,2 0 0 3 : Prisoners battle 7,000 inm ates but had a population ing at a prison in Rio de Janeiro, gang m em bers at the El Porvenir o f som e 16,500. Brazil, leaves 30 inmates dead - some prison farm in northern H onduras, -D ec. 15,2001: Rioting inm ates beheaded and dism em bered. It is leaving 69 people dead. O fficials sta rt a fire th at sw eeps th ro u g h a B razil’s bloodiest prison riot since initially blam e inm ates, but a g o v p riso n in P a ra g u a y ’s C iu d ad del 1992, w hen 111 inm ates died at the ernm ent report says guards co m E ste, k illin g at least 25 p eo p le. It now -closed C arindiru prison. m itted m ost o f the slayings. The ap p a ren tly is to u c h ed o f f w hen a -M a y 1 7 ,2 0 0 4 : A t least 103 o f prison is built for 150 inm ates but ja ile r sh o o ts a p riso n er w h o a t 186 p riso n e rs in a ce ll b lo c k set holds 550. ta ck e d him in an escap e bid. R eligion tzsiAcls ¿ A b s e n c e w o rld a n d se e k th e ir m in is try a n d m is sio n . T h e alb u m h as so n g s o f e x p lo r a tio n an d r e d e m p tio n , w o rs h ip a n d w h o le n e s s , th e a r tis t sa id . S ta m p le y r e c e n tly s h a re d th e sta g e w ith C e C e W in a n s, R ic k y S k a g g s , M ic h a e l W . S m ith an d M ercy M e at a N a sh v ille f u n d -r a is e r c a lle d “ A n E v e n in g fo r R e s to ra tio n : M u sic C ity C o m e s T o g e th e r fo r T su n a m i R e lie f.” A fter releasing five chart topping album s, glorious g o s pel singer LaShun Pace was silenced by grief and illness. A fter four years, sh e’s back with the trium phant album “ It’s My Tim e.” Her first single from the w ork, “For M y G ood,” was num ber one on the C hristian Singles chart for a total o f ten w eeks, rem aining at num ber o n e f o r tw o c o n s e c u tiv e weeks. P ace’s latest release p rim a rily w as a healing tool for the m usician, as in the last ten years, she has endured seri o u s h e a lth p r o b le m s , th e LaShun Pace breakup o f her m arriage and the death o f her oldest daughter. song “T h ro u g h H er E y es.” It’s The album is m ade up for tears and through her faith and her m usic that prayer, and includes the voice o f she has been able to overcom e P ace’s 11-year-old daughter for the these hardships. Lane College Concert Choir From Join us in our war against HIV/AIDS, Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA) has broken the silence on HIV/AIDS in the African American communities by educating Christian churches in the North and Northeast community and fighting against the spread of HIV/AIDS. AMA invites community members, pastors, ministers and missionaries to the annual local observance of the national Balm in Gilead’s Black Church Week of Prayer. Jackson, Tennessee (O ne o f the 100 H istorical A frican-A m erican C olleges) Perform s In C oncert Please join us in our war against HIV/AIDS with Keynote Speaker, Rev. George Merriweather, Northeast Community Fellowship Foursquare Church Friday, March 11, 7:30 p.m. Allen Temple C.M.E. Church 4236 NE Eighth Ave. Portland, Oregon Contact: Dr. LeRoy Haynes, (503) 287-0261 or Bishop Grace Osborne (503) 281-5850 Susan L ynch, G ustavo Rapoport, Bryan W o lf and Richard W olfson. T he show includes w orks from Argentina, Chile, Cuba, G uatem ala, M exico and Puerto Rico. For m ore inform ation, call 503- 4 9 3 -1 9 0 9 or v is it w w w .ondagallery.com . W hen W here W ednesday M arch 23, 2005 7:00 pm M aranatha Church 4222 N E 12th Avenue Portland OR Cost: Free Will O ffering Sponsored By: Allen Tem ple C M E C hurch C o-S p on sored By: Albina Ministerial Alliance (AM A) For more inform ation, please contact Allen Tem ple C M E C hurch at (503) 287-0261 Graceful Performance “P o rtra its o f G ra c e ,” a p e rfo r m an ce m ad e up o f m o re th an 250 p eo p le, in c lu d in g m u ltip le ch o irs and a 3 0 -p iec e o rc h e stra w ill take p la ce M arch 16 th ro u g h M arch 19 at 7 :3 0 p.m . ea ch n ig h t at B e a v e rto n C h r is tia n C h u r c h , 13600 S.W . A llen BI vd. C h ild c a re w ill be p ro v id ed for c h ild re n u n d e r five. T ic k e ts are free. F or m o re in fo rm atio n , call 503-646-2151. 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