March 16, 2005 'r*!‘‘ JJortlaub © bseruer PageAS H ousing Upward Bound Fights Bounce Out Anti-poverty program faces Bush cut con tin u ed fro m F ront is a non-partisan issue." “I feel w e’re really m aking ad if- ference,” he said. "O ne question I ask every student is ‘If you w ere to apply for a job, w hat w ould be your most positive skills?’” He said students have a hard "T hey help you step by step,” said A bel K ahsay, also a senior at Benson H igh School and second year student at U pw ard Bound. “ B efore, I w ould occasionally do hom ew ork. 1 d id n ’t know the pro cess o f getting into college. W ith out it, I 'd probably be a lot o f steps behind, scram bling to get my grades I d o n ’t know what I ’d do without it. They teach me how to teach myself. — Hanlbal Gebremedhin, Benson High School senior tim e finding their strengths, but by the time they graduate from his program , they’re able to sit in front o f a college acceptance com m ittee and tell them exactly why they should be there. “W e give them the ability to ex press w ho they are,” D irks said. “It’s am azing that students can go from having few abilities to becom ing lawyers, doctors and teachers. W e’re in the business o f pulling dream s dow n into reality.” Hanibal G ebrem edhin, a senior at Benson High School and third year student with U pw ard Bound, is alarm ed at the thought that the resources h e’s had to help him col lege could be elim inated for future stu d e n ts. “W hat’re they gonna do? W here are they gonna go?” he asked. “It m otivates me. It keeps me on track. I d o n 't know w hat I’d d o w ithout it. They teach me how to teach myself. I w ant them to have the same path I did. It’s a good place to go to.” up, to get my classes do n e.” A m a n d a M a rtin e z -T e lle z , a sophomore at Franklin High School, said that com ing to U pw ard Bound has her getting straight A ’s, w hich will help her w hen she begins ap plying to colleges. “It’s a place to w ork other than hom e,” M artinez-T ellez said. A sophom ore at Jefferson H igh School, Q uai B aker said U pw ard Bound has helped her raise her grades in her toughest subject - math. “I can com e here and get help. I know I w ouldn’t have a good grade in m ath w ithout U pw ard Bound,” B aker said. In addition to helping out stu dents, m entor program s benefit the tutors as well. “It feels good. I ’m helping them out,” said Jesse Elizondo, a PSU senior. “A fter aw hile you feel like y o u ’re m aking a bit o f difference. Y ou can w atch them im prove and get better at dealing with new , con- photo by K atherine K ovacich /T he P ortland O bserver Jefferson High School sophomore Quai Baker (left) asks Upward Bound mentor Theresa Logan about a school project she s working on. ceptual things w hich is im portant w ith life skills.” T heresa L ogan, an o th er PSU senior and tutor said she can relate to her U pw ard B ound students. “R ecently I’ve been w orking in tensively on helping them write college scholarship essay s,” she said. " I ’m taking them through and helping them through the process o f w riting. T h ey ’ve w ritten som e really good essays. “Y ou can com e in here and get one-on-one help, w hich a lot o f them need,” Logan continued. “The kind o f help I can give them is not som ething they can get som ew here else. It provides after school activ ity. H aving adults take an interest in your academ ic career is really im portant. A lot o f kids m ight slip through the cracks, but if you have people w ho are alw ays on you, it m akes a huge difference. They give kids lots o f opportunities w ith in ternships and cam ps. T hey open their eyes to w hat else is around BANK Jason W. Ruecker L o a n O ffic e r them .” For m ore inform ation on the U pw ard B ound and Educational Talent Search program sat PSU ,call 503-725-4010. My first priority is your best interest! T h e O re g o n D e p a rtm e n t o f R evenue rem in d s ta x p ay e rs that A pril 15 is the filing d ea d lin e fo r the D isabled C itizen Property T ax D eferral P rogram and the S en io r C itizen Property Tax D eferral P ro gram. Both d efe rral pro g ram s allow q u a lifie d ta x p ay e rs to d e fe r p a y m ent o f th e ir p ro p erty ta x es on th e ir hom es. T he state p ay s the ta x es to the co u n ty , m ain tain s the ac co u n t, an d ch a rg es 6 p e r cent sim ple in terest, w hich also is d eferred . T h e d efe rral ac co u n t b alan c e is g en e rally due w hen the ta x p a y e r re c e iv in g the d efe r- Toll Free: Cell: t=l Would yon like to ovn your own homed Would \on like to refinance your current home, to lo wer your monthly payments? W aterfront Park on southw est River D rive betw een southw est M ont gom ery and R iver Parkw ay. T he Strand is the largest rede velopm ent project on PD C prop erty since the P ioneer Place retail center in dow ntow n Portland. C o n struction is set to be com pleted by early 2007. PD C C hairm an M att H ennessee said developm ent o f T he Strand will continue redevelopm ent long envisioned for P ortland’s d ow n tow n w aterfront, and w ill support future investm ents in infrastruc ture, jo b s, open space and a mix o f housing in the N orth M acadam U rban Renew al Area. •Good Credit "Bad Credit "Mortgage Late o.k. ■Refinance "Purchase "First-Time Buyer 100% Financing Option Available & No up front fees! I DO IT ALL! I f ! can 7 do It - N O BO D Y CAN! C all me today ! 503.722.8878 Charlotte Martin 111 N.E. Park Plaza Dr. Suite 115 Vancouver, WA 9 8 6 8 4 (SJ HOMELOAN SOURCE Property Tax Deferrals for Seniors Deadline April 15 FAX: 503.223.2162 503.223.2163 800.280.4187 503.803.5177 Jason.tuecker@fl8gstaf.com Construction Underway on the Strand at Riverplace ral d ie s, sells th e p ro p e rty , p e r m a n en tly m o v es o f f th e p ro p e rty — o th e r than fo r h ealth re a so n s— o r if the p ro p erty ch an g es o w n ersh ip . H o w ev er, a su rv iv ing sp o u se m ay q u alify to c o n tin u e th e p ro p erty in d eferral. T o q u a lify fo r e ith e r p ro g ram , th e p r o p e r t y m u s t b e th e tax p ay e r’s principle residence and m ust h av e a deed o r reco rd ed sa les c o n tra c t. T o tal h o u se h o ld in co m e m ust be less th an $ 3 4 ,0 0 0 fo r the y ear b efo re ap p lica tio n . P artic ip an ts m ay rem ain on eith er p ro g ra m as long as th e ir fed eral a d ju ste d g ro ss in co m e d o es not ex c ee d $34,000 . If a p a rtic ip a n t’s incom e exceeds the $3 4 ,0 0 0 lim it. O ffic e : 926 NW 13“ Avenue, Ste. 140, Portland, OR 97209 ■NMRMaMMWMMHMMMP C onstruction has begun on a $1 lOmillionmixed-usedevelopment that will enhance the R iverPlace com m unity and play a key role in the redevelopm ent o f the North M acadam U rban Renew al Area. T he Strand will feature 222 con dom inium units in three glass and steel to w ers w ith g ro u n d -lev el tow nhom es scaled to m atch the existing neighborhood. In addition, the project will feature a destina tion w aterfront restaurant, retail and w ork space, and a 100-space park ing garage for the public. Prices will begin at $ 190,000, with a square foot price o f $350. T he property is next to south Home Purchase Refinance Great Service p a rt o f the tax es still m ay be d e ferred. In ad d itio n to m e etin g the in com e lim itation and property o w n ersh ip req u irem en t, d isa b le d p e r so n s m ust be re c e iv in g o r b e e li g ib le to receiv e fed eral S ocial S e c u r ity D is a b ility b e n e f its to q u alify fo r the D isa b led C itiz en P ro p erty T ax D eferral P ro g ram ; se n io r c itiz e n s m u st b e 62 y ears o ld o r o ld e r by A pril 15 to q u alify fo r the S en io r C itiz en P ro p erty T ax D eferral P rogram . A p p licatio n s an d in fo rm atio n a re a v a ila b le b y c a llin g y o u r co u n ty a s se ss o r’s o ffic e o r the D ep artm en t o f R ev en u e at 1-800- 356-4222. 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