Multnomah County Combats Infant Deaths
Builds consortium
to improve health
by N icole H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
A recent study by the Multnomah County Health
Department found that low birth weight rate for
African Americans is more than twice the rate of
‘City of Roses’
Volume XXXV, Number 18
T.Week¡n
TheReview
Iran Plans to Pursue
Nuclear Tech Program
Iran declared Tuesday that it is
determined to pursue all legal ar­
eas of nuclear technology, in­
cluding uranium enrichm ent.
Washington contends Iran’s ura­
nium enrichment program is aimed
at building nuclear weapons.
Enriched uranium also can be
used to g enerate electricity ,
which Iran says is its only aim.
Runaway Bride Confesses
Authorities
on Monday
weighed the
evidence to
d e te rm in e
w h e th e r
J e n n ife r
W ilb a n k s
sh o u ld be
charged with a crime. Wilbanks
told authorities she was abducted,
but later admitted she took a
cross-country bus trip to avoid
her lavish, 600-guest wedding,
which was to have taken place
Saturday.
Pakistan Building
Collapses, 25 Killed
A gas e x p lo sio n c au sed an
apartm ent building to collapse
in eastern Pakistan, killing at
least 25 people and injuring 20
others as they slept early T ues­
day, police and rescue officials
said. Rescue w orkers were sift­
ing through the rubble in a
search for at least three others
feared trapped inside the three-
story building.
Childhood Obesity Plan
Former Presi­
dent Clinton
announced
Tuesday the
launch o f a
10-year ini­
tia tiv e
to
c o m b a t
c h ild h o o d
obesity, saying “w e’ve got to
change the eating habits o f
A m e r ic a ’s y o u n g p e o p le .”
Clinton said he becam e con­
cerned in the subject after un­
dergoing heart bypass surgery
last year.
whites. More shocking, the local infant mortality rate
for African Americans was about 10 deaths per 1,000
births; compared to four deaths each 1,000 births for
non-minority births.
For this reason, the Healthy Birth Initiative Con­
sortium was founded to work with local mothers out
of the Northeast Multnomah County Health Depart­
ment on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“1 don’t think there has been a specific program
that target’s African-Americans,” said Ellie Myrick,
a case manager and county health department worker
for the past eight years. She works along side com m u­
nity health nurse, Rose Pickett.
The two women help young mothers prevent SIDS
(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) or what many refer
to as crib death. Myrick believes that many people in
the African-American community thought that the
only way a child could die from SIDS was if the child
slept in the crib. This myth is just part o f the project
to inform young African-American mothers about
the risks they face.
A group of local activists, public health officials,
members of the faith community and parents is cur­
rently working with the consortium to reduce the
unreasonably high rate of infant fatality among Afri­
can Americans and Hispanics in M ultnomah County.
Through a federal grant that is renewed each year, the
consortium has been able to help over 130 women in
Established in 1970
0^
continued
y^
on page A8
w w w .portlandobserverc.om
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • May 4, 2005
Hoping
for a
Second
Chance
State holds future
for middle school
by K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
Walking into Victory Middle School, a
small charter school inside the Blazers Boys
and Girls Club on Northeast Martin Luther
King Boulevard, you’ll find a setting for
learning; no kids running around, no yelling
teachers, no chaos.
Principal Cottrell B. White Jr. welcomes
me with a handshake. He leads us to look in
on classrooms through walls of glass. Y outh
are seated at small tables, their attention
focused as an instructor diligently teaches
them how to add numerators and denomina­
tors. There is no talking back to the teacher
- just undivided attention for her.
When White introduces me to a young
girl in the hallway, she shakes my hand lazily
while looking off to the side. He points this
out and calls her on it. The young student
shakes my hand again. This time her grip is
firm and she looks me in the eye, smiling.
Gregory Benton’s computer class down
the hall is filled with sixth graders working
from a server that was built by the students.
They’re making web pages and writing let­
ters on respect toward a teacher’s assistant.
The environment of order and learning is
quite a change from what one might have
seen a year ago at Victory.
“There was no discipline here, every­
thing was chaos. It’s a 180-degree change,”
W hite said.
With a background as a student manage-
photos by K atherine
K ovacich TT he P ortland O bserver
Students keep alt eyes forward in Rirhard Blizzard's sixth grade class at Victory Middle School.
Parents all want the same thing. They want
them to be educated, respectful, to represent
their family in a good manner. My whole
approach to discipline is that it’s on them.
When they look in the mirror, who do they
see?”
Victory is now facing an important vote
on May 19 whether or not to renew the
school’s contract for the next school year.
The Oregon Department of Education origi­
nally decided in 2003 to sponsor the school
with public money that allows it to run free
from traditional rules, only after Portland
Public Schools turned down the request
timeaftertime.
Poor financial planning and record-keep­
ing, a high turnover rate for teachers and
little supervision on decisions made by the
school’s founder Rich Blizzard led state of­
ficials to recommend a halt on renewing the
school.
ment specialist and dean of students that
has spanned 30 years in the Portland Public
School system, White brought order to the
65 students when he came on board last
August.
“It’s building something inside that the
kids already have - they just need to use it.
But with so much improvement lately, it’s
hard to give those aspects much merit any­
more.
The power of the school’s board of direc­
tors has increased, a new board chairman
has replaced Dan Lucero, and W hite has
become principal over Blizzard, who now
focuses on the school’s self-paced material.
“We think that we have the cat’s meow,”
W hite said. “We do self-paced learning.
Having them go as fast as they want to go but
not as slow as they want to go. We look at
growth, not at grades.”
The size of the multi-cultural school makes
it easier to focus individually as well, with a
ratio of 15 to one.
“We have teachers that care,” W hite said.
"They’re not here because of the salary.
T hey're here because they want to be here.
continued
y^
on page A 7
Yellow Line
N L o m b a rd
Celebrates First Year
City Center
Interstate Avenue
sees 3.9 million rides
Fed Raises Interest Rates
T he Federal R eserve raised
sh o rt-term in terest rates for
the eig h th tim e in 10 m onths
T uesd ay and su g g ested that
m ore rate h ikes are com ing
as c e n tra l b a n k e rs keep
th e ir fo cu s on stam p in g out
inflation.
photo by I saiah
B o u e /T he P ortland O bserver
A MAX train makes a stop at north Lombard headed toward the City Center, marking
one year since the opening o f the 5.8 mile Yellow Line and 3.9 million passenger
trips over the last year.
Finding
a Niche
Trading corporate
job for own
business
See Women in Careers, section C
The Interstate MAX Yellow Line cel­
ebrated its first birthday Sunday, noting
3.9 m illion trips taken so far on its 5.8-
mileline.
Ridership far outpaces the form er bus
line that operated on North Interstate
Avenue, with w eekday counts up 92
percent, Saturdays up 104 percent and
Sundays up 97 percent.
The construction of light rail brought
high-quality transit service, new side­
w alks, traffic lanes, bike lanes, art and a
more pedestrian-friendly environm ent.
“In addition to strong ridership, w e've
seen trem endous excitem ent about the
revitalized com m unity th a t’s a more at­
tractive place to do business and live,"
said T riM et G eneral M an ag er Fred
H ansen.
W hen the Yellow Line opened, there
was a 50 percent increase in the num ber
of new businesses along the avenue, and
that num ber continues to grow . Some of
the big changes include a new Fred
M eyer store, construction for a New
Seasons M arket and a $27 m illion expan­
sion underw ay at K aiser Perm anente.
Interstate MAX opened four months
ahead o f schedule and m illions under
budget, expanding the entire light rail
system in the Portland area to 44 m iles
with 64 stations.
Cinco DeMayo Party
Fiesta
begins four
days of fun
Thursday
See Metro section, inside
s