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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2005)
D e c e m b e r 14, 200S-J w w w .p o rtla n d o b s e rv e r.c o m Page AIO Committed to M etro Cultural Diversity ÍIk JJ n rt Ia n b ffihserver o m m u n ity C a l e n d a r Soccer Heroes Salvation Army Hair Cuts The Salvation Army M oore Street W orship and Community Center, 5335 N. W illiam s Ave. offers free professional haircuts for children in need, on a first com e first serve basis, from 10 a.m. to 3 p in. on Monday , Dec 19. For more inform ation call 503-493-3927. Meet Fans Portland Jazz History Bob D ie tsc h e , a u th o r o f Jumptown, a history of Jazz in Portland and the African Ameri can community, will hold a book signing and reading event Satur day, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. at Talking Drum Bookstore and Reflections C o ffe e h o u se , 446 N.E. Killingsworth. He will be joined by Portland Observer writer Ron W eber w ho w orked w ith Dietsche on the book. The Pilots, University of Portland’s Soccer Champions, braced the cold, signing auto graphs for faithful fans Friday at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Red Cross Teaches Safety The American Red Cross offers a range of safety classes for crisis situations, from learning how to baby sit to performing CPR. The courses are intended for children aged 8 through adult. For more information visit www.redcross- pdx.org. photos by I saiah B o i \vJ T he P ortland O bserver The University of Portland Pilots’ latest national women's soccer championship is sweet for Pilot fans who braced the cold to rejoice with the team at Pioneer Court house Square Friday. The fans were thanked for being sup portive all season. Winter Solstice Blood Drive The 3rd annual W inter Solstice Blood Drive at the American R ed C ro s s on N o rth Vancouver, Dec. 19-23, features free gift-w rapping for partici pants. To make a blood dona tion call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. African Drumming, Dance The North Star Ballroom, 635 N. Killingsworth Ct., hosts begin ning drumming and Ghanaian rhythm classes on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. On Wednesdays, intermedi ate drumming is offered in addi tion to an African aerobics and dance. Chata Addy teaches all classes. For more information call 503-6324)411. Al-Anon Meetings Al-Anon meetings are held Mon day evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. at Miracles Club on the cor ner of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and. Mason Street. Al-Anon is for friends and loved ones o f alcoholics and addicts. 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 of color and bilingual women are encouraged to call. For more information, call 503- 282-9940. Work For Change Community Advocates invites those interested in protecting children from abuse to become an event volunteer, event out reach, technology expert, graphic artists or office support team member. For more information, call 503-280-1388. Women in Community Service V olunteer m entors are being sought by W omen in C om m u nity Service to work with incar cerated women at the Coffee Creek C orrectio n al Facility. M entors provide support and e n c o u ra g e m e n t fo r w om en transitioning from prison back into the community. Volunteers must be fem ales, age 24 and up. For more inform ation, call 503- 570-6614. years« * community service Bar to Codes Bar Member BPA attorney got start with Saturday Academy A ndrea D yal F or the P ortland O bserver by When Melanie Spraggins at tended Reynolds High School her skills in math and science wereclear. Her career plan, however, was not. But soon an apprenticeship th ro u g h S a tu rd a y A c a d e m y played a springboard role, shap ing the young woman she would become. Spraggins’ talent and hard work in the high school program cap tured the attention of a Saturday Academy instructor, who encour aged her to apply for an apprentice ship. In 1994. the pursuit was suc cessful and she was working and learning about science and engi neering with the Bonneville Power Administration. At BPA, she solved complex, real-world problems, learning re sourcefulness and engineering skills. One of her accomplishment was the development of a system of bar codes for power substations that are still in use today. The experience gave Spraggins’ a glimpse of her future. She completed a second summer with BPA as an advanced appren tice. teaching new interns. After wards, Saturday Academy con nected her to an internship at O r egon Health and Sciences Univer sity, which helped clarify her career goals. At Oregon State University, she was elected vice-president of the student body and later president on the first African-American ticket for student body president and vice-president. Spraggins’ felt the experience from her apprenticeships set her apart and gave her distinct advan tages in pursuing her career. She better understood the value of tak ing a more comprehensive approach to her performance. Daily distrac tions carried less importance. photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Melanie Spraggins is a successful attorney with the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland. Her springboard into the professional world began as a Portland area student in Saturday Academy. She had a clear picture o f how excellence in learning could lead to excellence in her professional life. Before she graduated from col lege, the BPA hired Spraggins as an environmental scientist. When she decided to enter law school, BPA helped her out. Fast-forward to 2005. Spraggins is now a lawyer for the BPA. With nearly 12 years experience at the federal agency, she has a firm grasp on the technical aspects of high voltage electrical transmission sys tems and enjoys a unique niche at the organization. In retrospect, Spraggins says that her Saturday Academy appren- continued on page A 6 No Homes for Thousands of Oregon Kids Heartbreaking report measures impact O regon's homeless student population from the most recent school year was 11.294 kids between 5 and 18 years old. a stagger ing figure, according to state Schools Su perintendent Susan Castillo. ‘‘This is a heartbreaking report that shows thousands of children in Oregon attend school despite lack of safe and sta b le living situ a tio n s ,” C a stillo said. "Homeless youths face huge chal lenges before they even get to the school door, and schools work hard to provide Homelesschildren are de these students with what fined as minors who lack fixed, they need to ensure they can regular and adequate night access the same educational time residences. A homeless opportunities available to family could live in an em er every other student.” gency shelter or share hous The Census Bureau esti ing with others due to loss of mates that I -2 million youth housing or economic hard are hom eless nationw ide, ship, stay at motels or live in about 2 percent of all 5-18 cars, parks, public places, yearolds. The same percent tents, trailers, or other similar age was found in Oregon. Susan Castillo settings. Out o f the state’s 552,320 In Oregon, 56 percent of homeless stu students from kindergarten through high school, 5,052 were homeless in grades K-5. dents reported sharing housing with rela 2,464 were homeless in grades 6-8, and 3,778 tives or friends due to economic hardship or similar reason; 17 percent reported living in were homeless in grades 9-12 a homeless shelter; 9 percent reported being unsheltered; 5 percent reported living in motels; 13 percent were unknown Federal law requires that hom eless chil dren have equal access to the same edu cation provided to other children. Each school district is required to have a H om e less Liaison to coordinate outreach e f forts and services for hom eless students in their area. Castillo credited the work of school offi cials for compiling the data and for providing services to homeless students that include school enrollment, extra tutoring, referrals for shelter, housing, health care and coun seling services.