June 8. 2005
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
Pistons Face
Spurs in Finals
Best of seven
begins Thursday
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community’ service
See Sports, page B6
SECTION
o m m u n ity
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Adoption Information
Prospective parents looking into
adoption can attend a meeting on
Wednesday, June 15 from 6 to
7:30 p.m. at the Belmont Public
Library at 1038 S.E. 39°’ St. The
session will acquaint clients with
the philosophy and services of
Open Adoption and Family Ser­
vices. For more information, call
5 0 3 -2 2 6 -4 8 7 0
or
v isit
www.openadopt.org.
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Jefferson High Reunion
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,
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Help is needed to plan a 10-year
reunion in late August for the
Jefferson High School Class of
1995. Wenedell Raiford is encour­
aging his old classmates to con­
tact him about attending and
making plans for the event. For
m ore in fo rm a tio n c o n ta c t
jenelley77 @ yahoo.com.
Friends of the Trees
Come to the Friends of Trees for
Neighborhood CoordinatorTrain-
ing on Saturday, June 11 starting
at 9 a.m. in an effort to organize
tree plantings. To register, call
503-282-8846 extension 25. For
m o re
in fo rm a tio n ,
v isit
www.friendsoftrees.org.
Black Museum of Oregon
Leaders o f the Black M useum
o f O regon will hold a m em ber­
ship and com m ittee m eeting at
Reflections C offee House, 446
N.E. Killingsworth, on Saturday,
June 11 at 3 p.m. to discuss the
future o f the museum. For more
inform ation contact Mr. King J.
503-284-0617.
African Drums and Dance
The North Star Ballroom hosts
ongoing classes on Tuesday and
W ednesday’s. Tuition is either
$ 15 drop in fee or $75 for 6 weeks.
Ghanaian rhythms will be pre­
sented through beginning and
advanced drumming and you can
also work up a sweat at their Af­
rican Aerobics class. North Star
Ballroom is located at 635 N
Killingsworth Ct. For more infor­
mation, call 503-283-2080.
Bradley-Angle House
The Bradley-Angle House needs
volunteers to help its outreach
a g a in st d o m e stic v io le n c e .
Women o f color and bilingual
women are encouraged to call.
For more information, call 503-
282-9940.
A wall made o f straw and mud is under construction at the
ReBuilding Center on North Mississippi. The wall is complete
with reused windows and shelves and serves as an entrance
into the public center.
Creative recycling
found at warehouse
by K atherine B lackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
It’s like a Home Depot for the eco-friendly,
a SCRAP outlet for the architect. Taking
recycled doors, windows, light fixtures, bath­
room fixtures, lumber and yes, even the
kitchen sink, from tom-down homes to turn
them into inexpensive pieces for a new home
is what the ReBuilding Center does best.
It also keeps the local landfills a bit less
empty, saving 9 million pounds of material a
year with the center’s recent addition. That’s
an average of 5 tons a day.
Children’sMuseumActivtties
Portland C h ild re n ’s M useum
will hold a variety o f art activ i­
ties for children throughout the
month, including m edium s us­
ing mosaic, A frican arts and
culture and garden stepping-
stones. For more inform ation,
c a ll 5 0 3 -2 2 3 -6 5 0 0 o r v isit
www.portlandchikJrensmuseum.oig.
Get Fit, Stay Healthy!
Sankofaa Health Institute offers a
free diabetes support group from
6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thurs­
day at Alberta Simmons Plaza,
6707 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. For more information, call
503-285-2484.
Founded 7 years ago through Our United
Villages, the non-profit center celebrated it’s
grand reopening last Saturday with a re­
cycled art show, live music and a raffle,
commemorating the addition of a new 28,500
square-foot building and the beginning of a
major facelift to rest of the 62,000 square foot
warehouse.
With all the materials being brought into
the center, they’d simply run out of room to
store it all. The addition allows it to double
its capacity, being able to help more than 300
people a day with their rebuilding needs, up
from 200 before the reconstruction.
“Our goal in the next two to three years is
to create 20 more local jobs, divert up to 10
tons of materials a day from being wasted
and to generate more resources for commu­
nity building and enhancement that will
strengthen the fabric of our community,”
said Shane Endicott, the center’s executive
director.
The 5,h Annual Village Building Conver­
gence, a separate local project that helps
transform neighborhood aesthetics natu­
rally, is also building a new entrance to the
warehouse. A curved cob wall, made of
straw and mud, serves as an entrance into
the center and is the second permitted instal­
lation of cob in a commercial setting in Port­
land.
Endicott is no stranger to the philosophy
surrounding the center.
“I grew up around it,” he said. “I was bom
and raised here in northeast Portland and as
a young child my family fixed up their home
using salvaged material. I was hardwired for
continued
on page H6
Local casting company seeks minorities
by N icole H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Celebrities make up only a small portion
o f the w orld’s population. For the common
person, that lifestyle may be out o f reach.
But with the popularity of reality shows,
the television viewer is more likely than ever
to see people that look like them instead of
a larger than life movie star. A television
commercial also bridges the gap between
anonymity and stardom. Many famous per­
sons got their start in television commer­
cials.
Because of Danny Stoltz Casting, located
in northwest Portland, African-Americans
from Oregon will soon be featured in a new
America Online commercial. The achieve­
ment will net them thousands of dollars in
future residuals.
Danny Stoltz has two companies within
one: Danny Stoltz Casting provides actors
with speaking roles and Extras Only is for
characters needed in scenes requiring a lot
of people.
Since opening almost 11 years ago, two
weeks before Danny Stoltz celebrated his
16°’ birthday, Danny Stoltz Casting and Ex­
tras Only, has been responsible for provid­
ing extras for feature films and commercials
in Oregon.
The companies never have to worry about
the common person being interested in ex­
tras work, but when it comes to African-
Americans, they are in need. Out of the 1,500
continued
V
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1,
photos by N icole
on page H5
Casting director Danny Stoltz looks over a portfolio of local actors to fill roles in
commercials and movies.
Area Kids Think
College at PSU
AIDS Awareness
Albina Ministerial Alliance spon­
sors a bi-monthly support and
education group for A frican
Americans living with HIV/AIDS
at MaranathaChurch at4222 N.E.
12th St. The group will meet every
second and fourth Thursday of
the month. For more information,
call Elnathan Hudson at 503-285-
0493 ext. 217.
K atherine B lackmore /T he P ortland O bserver
Do You Want to be on TV?
Women Mentors
W omen in Com m unity Service
are seeking volunteer m entors
for fem ale offenders at C offee
C reek C o rre c tio n a l F acility .
M entors provide support and
e n c o u r a g e m e n t to w o m en
transitioning from prison back
into the com m unity. M entors
m ust be fem ale, 24 or older.
Training is provided. Call 503-
570-6614 for more information.
photos by
Frederick Baker (from left), Ella Rose-Kelly, Alex Higlen and Alfredo Suarez have expertise in recycled
building materials as members o f the ReBuilding Center s ta ffa i 3625 N. Mississippi Ave.
H< x > per /T he P orti . anii O bserver
Elementary school students Mary Nguyen and Sumeia
Mohamud discuss their plans for the future.
Over 4 0 0 elementary students from the Port­
land and Hillsboro area are thinking about a
college education thanks to the recent “I'm
Going To College Day” at Portland State U ni­
versity.
After several weeks o f classroom study, the
program culminated with the fifth graders from
John Ball, Reedville. W oodlawn, Prescott,
Orenco and Community Transitional schools,
attending PSU for a day of class, tours and
activities.
The Northwest Education Loan Association
helped sponsor the outreach in hopes to in­
crease the number o f students planning for
higher education.
i
During his field trip to Portland State University, fifth
grader Dustin Sprague found himself pondering the
question, ‘ How do I plan on paying for college?"