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March 9, 2005
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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.
L egal
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