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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2005)
Construction Empowers H ousing Special Edition Women learn skills, teamwork and help community inside pages A5 and A6 Story on page A5 (Oh g er Her ‘City of Roses’ Volume XXXV, Number 12 Established In 1970 www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity Wednesday • March 23, 2005 ’Week ¡n ThcReview Deadly Shooting Second for Officer Oregon Soldiers Home Grand Jury to hear case About 700 Oregon soldiers came home last weekend from Iraq af ter being away for 18 months. After a prayer and brief remem brance of those who died, they reunited with their families at Fort Lewis, Wash. The 162nd Infan try division is based in Cottage Grove. Eight members of the bat talion died in Iraq. Violence Skews Elections Five years of violence, intimida tion, voting irregularities and re stric tiv e le g isla tio n have skewed Zim babw e’s electoral playing field in favor of Presi dent Robert M ugabe’s party, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday, days before new parliamentary elections. School Shooting Kills 10 The suspect in the worst U.S. school shooting since Colum bine smiled and waved as he gunned down five students, a teacher and a guard, asking one of his victims whether he be lieved in God, witnesses said. The Minnesota teen’s grandfa ther and his grandfather’s wife also were found dead, and the boy killed himself. See story on page A2. Feeding Tube Ruling Appealed A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion o f Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, denying an em er gency request from the brain damaged woman’s parents. The parents’ lawyer quickly filed a notice of appeal. The ruling came after feverish action by Presi dent Bush and Congress on leg islation allowing the contentious case to be reviewed by federal courts. Undocumented Workers Surge The nation’s undocumented im migrant population surged to 10.3 million last year, spurred largely by the arrivals of unauthorized Mexicans in the United States finding job opportunities, ac cording to a report released M onday. Embargo Pressure on EU European Union leaders faced pressure from the United States and other nations Tuesday to maintain a 15-year em bargo on w eapons sales to C hina in the w ake o f B eijing’s new law au thorizing a m ilitary attack on Taiwan. c o 2 S o S ¿ O o £ C ûS >.-s > o CJ c > m & u sn «—• L j -C 5 5 3 UJ Gasoline Prices Sting Broadway Shell station attendant Donnie Crawford works the pump as record gasoline prices drain pockets. The national average retail price for all three grades has increased to $2.13 per gallon, the highest ever. But in Portland, prices are even higher. Along with sharp hikes in the cost o f crude oil, an analyst predicts more sticker shock in the days ahead because o f seasonal changes and strong demand. photos by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver > Activist Sets Sight on School Board Charles McGee is a young man with a mission K atherine K ovacich T he P ortland O bserver by A sa 19-year-old African Ameri can who has gone through the Port land Public School System, Charles McGee has had a recent first hand look at the obvious need for change in the system. That’s why he’s run ning on the May ballot to replace the seat of Derry Jackson on the Port land School Board to cover north and northeast Portland. He’s got tough competition, run ning in the election with 42-year-old Dan Ryan, director of university development at Portland State Uni versity and 60-year-old Steve Buel, a former middle school teacher who previously served on the board from 1979 to 1983. But age isn't a factor for the con fident and articulate McGee, apoliti cal science and cultural anthropol ogy student at Portland State. He cites such great leaders as Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Moses as all being young people who lead people in a positive way. “Age is not a requirement for leadership,” McGee said. “I am old enough to risk my life for my coun try, to die for my country. I’m old enough to drive a car and possibly risk killing a family. I am old enough to vote on policies. I am qualified enough to vote on the decisions that will have an impact on my gen eration.” McGee was the youngest person on the d istric t-w id e S tu d e n t Achievement Committee, was the founder of the Black Student Union at Franklin High School, was in volved with the creation of the Black Student LeadershipConference. and helped to dissolve some issues around police shootings. "I was very active during the police shootings when there was a Board fGN HEADQUARTERS icgeeforschoolboard.com " • 1 ' •'■'••A.- 'W J A<-. . V ’M/. Í 1 .W c Q f B r- \ photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserved School Board Candidate Charles McGee stands outside his campaign headquarters at 15th and Killingsworth Streets in northeast Portland. " We need to include more parents in the process by always including them and saying there is a spot at the table fo r them. - Charles McGee lot of strife in the community,” McGee said. “I helped to bargain the relationship Something I’ve been very good at is talking to my peers, talking to people who are on the ground, communicating to them the issues from the other side o f the street, being that middle person and bridging that gap between gov ernment and the community to see how they can better serve the schools and the children.” McGee first realized the impor tance of education through his fa ther. a former government official from North Liberia who fled the dangers of a bloody civil war in 1993 toeventually settle in Portland. His father went on to become a teacher at Vocational Village High School and McCoy Academy. “I started to value teachers," McGee said. “When you live with a teacher who is teaching at-risk young people who are sometimes forgotten about in society, you start to realize the importance of the field. I started to learn the importance of family and what it means to be an American." Following by example, McGee sees how necessary it is to have A parents involved in the steps of learning. “ I want to close the achievement gap. We need to include more par ents in the process by always in cluding them and saying there is a spot at the table for them," McGee said. “One of the greatest mandates of the Portland Public School Board is to ask questions and I do not believe that is occurring. When a policy is presented you never hear discourse betw een m em bers. I would be the type of board member continued on page A6 In his second fatal shooting during 16 years on the force, Port land Police Officer Terry Kruger fired the shot that killed 40-year- old Ronald Riebling Jr., ending a hostage standoff that lasted three hours early Sunday in southeast Portland. Riebling was holding an um brella wrapped in cloth when the fatal b u lle t struck him, not a rifle as offic ers suspected, police said. Kruger is a law en fo rc e m ent sn ip e r and member of the b u re a u ’s Special Em er Ronald gency R e a c Riebling Jr. tion Team and killed Sunday is currently on paidadministra- tiv e leave. A M u ltn o m a h C ounty grand jury will hear the case next week. On Feb. 28, 1996, K ruger shot and killed Deontae J. D e o n ta e J. Keller killed Keller, 20, a lo in 1996 cal A fric a n American who was driving a car police said was used in a drive-by shooting earlier in the day. Police said Kellerjumped out of the car and threatened them with a gun. A grand jury ruled the death justifiable homicide. But K eller's father, Joe “Bean” Keller contin ues to wage a fight for justice on behalf o f his son. He accuses police of a cover up, arguing his son was critically wounded and then left for hours w ithout medical attention in a back yard near north ShaverStreet, some distance from the vehicle. He points out that the alleged gun his son possessed had no fingerprints on it and was found on the other side o f 6-foot fence. In S u n d a y 's sh o o tin g , Riebl i ng ’ s former gi rl friend, cal led police when Riebling broke into her home. She was outside when officers arrived, but her three chil dren were inside the duplex with R iebl i ng during the standoff. None were injured. In an interview w ith detec tives M onday, K ruger said he saw Riebling com e to the door holding w hat he thought was a rifle and sw inging it in front of him “as if he was aim ing at offic ers from the hip," said Sgt. Brian Schmautz. Initially the officers fired two beanbag rounds in an attempt to take him into custody, but this didn't have an effect. Riebling went back inside. SERT officers said they heard someone inside yell that he had a gun. W hen R eibling stepped ou, again, Kruger saw Reibling turn toward him and raise the object to his shoulder as if he were aiming a rifle at him, Schmautz said. Afterthe shooting, police found no weapons on Riebling or in the duplex. Court records show Riebling had assault, drunken driving and drug convictions dating to 2001. I