www.portlandobserver.com
PagpAIO
January 4. 2006
M etro
Committed to
Cultural Diversity
œi’c IJo rtla n b (©bseruer
p o m m u nity
C a le n d a r
Combat Heating Bills
Fight heating costs at the I9"1 an­
nual Fix-It Fair presented by the
city o f Portland’s office o f Sus­
tainable Developm ent. The Satur­
day, Jan. 7 event, from 8:30 a.m . to
2 p.m. at Parkrose Middle School,
118(X) N.E. Shaver St., will feature
w orkshops and exhibits on low er­
ing utility bills, home safety and
more. Free lunch and gift items will
be provided w hile items last.
Free College Help
The first Saturday o f each month,
from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. high school
students will be helped to prepare
for any college at the Matt Dishman
Com m unity C enter, 77 N.E. Knott
St., through the efforts o f Oregon
State University.
African Drumming, Dance
The North Star Ballroom , 635 N.
K illingsw orthC t., hosts beginning
drum m ing and G hanaian rhythm
classes on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. On
W ednesdays, interm ediate drum ­
ming is offered in addition to an
African aerobics and dance. Chata
Addy teaches all classes. For more
information call 503-632-0411.
Passionate about Diversity
Banks named
outstanding
volunteer
Linda Banks is passionate about
diversity, traveling the world and
volunteering at hom e to prom ote
unity, celebrate diversity and work
to eradicate racism.
H erem ployer, Portland General
Electric, is recognizing her efforts
to give back to the com m unity by
nam ing her an outstanding volun­
teer for 2005.
C reated to rew ard the com m u­
nity spirit o f PGE em ployees and
retirees, the com p an y ’s O utstand­
ing V olunteer A w ards program
pays tribute to individuals w ho have
dem onstrated steadfast co m m it­
m e n ts to th e ir c o m m u n itie s
throughout the year.
Banks was nom inated for the
aw ard by Karen Ettinger, director
o f the G lobal & M ulticultural Re­
source C enter o f the W orld Affairs
Council o f O regon, located at Port­
land State University and spon­
sored by the co lleg e's Office o f
International Affairs.
A hum an resources and diver­
sity em ployee at PGE for 12 years.
Banks met E ttinger at a PGE diver­
sity event in 1998.
‘ Linda’s work with the Resource
C enter is a vital part o f our su r­
vival,” said Ettinger. “She goes out
o f her way to include us in PGE
activities, helps us find funding
through PGE and generously do­
nates her tim e to our program s."
The center has developed sev­
eral diversity program s for schools,
w orkplace events, cultural fairs and
curious individuals. It also has re­
source and reference Iibraries geared
tow ard different ages. The center is
filied to the brim with cultural bridge
boxes, each featuring one o f 50
countries that contain educational
tools such as maps, lesson plans Linda Banks promotes diversity and works to eradicate racism
and treasures such as m usical in- on the job and as a community volunteer.
strum ents, traditional clothes, toys,
gam es and props.
B anks also has been involved
in C ro ss T o w n /C ro ss C u ltu re ,
w h ich b rin g s to g e th e r m id d le
school stu d en ts from d iv e rse d is­
tricts to talk ab o u t th e ir b ac k ­
g ro u n d s and at-h o m e cu ltu res.
She cre ate d a d iv ersity sum m it to
ed u c ate and inform b u sin esses
in the Pacific N orthw est w ith PGE
as sp o n so r o f the ev en t, held once
ev ery o th e r y ear at the O regon
C o n v en tio n C enter.
"C om m unity involvem ent is a
large part o f our com p an y ’s cu l­
ture, and we are very proud o f our
em ployees’ spirit o f giving,” said
Carol D illin, vice president o f pub­
lic policy at PGE, “E verybody has
som ething to share and tim e spent
w orking w ithin our com m unities is
absolutely priceless.”
In recognition o f her award, PGE
donated a $250 O utstanding V ol­
unteer G rant in B anks’ nam e to the
G lobal & M ulticultural Resource
Center.
HHBMMfini
Bradley-Angle House
Investor to Build
‘Rosa Parks’ Plaza
The Bradley-A ngle House needs
volunteers to help its outreach
a g a in s t d o m e s tic v io le n c e .
W om en o f color and bilingual
w omen are encouraged tocall. For
more information, call503-282-9940.
Get Fit, Stay Healthy!
Petitions to rename Sandy Boulevard
Sankofaa H ealth Institute offers a
free diabetes support group from 6
to 7:30 p.m. every third Thursday
at A lberta Sim m ons Plaza, 6707
N.E. M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
For more infoimation, call 503-285-
2484.
BY K l l AYA D a RKO
T he P ortland
O bserver
Rev. W illie Banks,
a com m unity leader
and businessm an in
the Portland com m u­
nity, has announced
p la n s to b u ild th e
“ Rosa Parks P laza”
apartm ent building on
N o rth e a s t
Sandy
Boulevard. He is also
petitioning the city of
P o rtland to renam e
Sandy as Rosa Parks
Boulevard.
Banks said his m o­
tivation to honor the
civil rig h ts pio n eer
fo llo w s h e r rec en t
Rev. Willie Banks is a man on a mission.
death and the 50'h an ­
He plans to build a 63-unit apartment
niversary o f her Dec.
building on Northeast Sandy Boulevard and
1,1955 arrest in M ont­
name the complex after Rosa Parks. He
gom ery, Ala. for re­
also wants the city to rename the street in
fusing to relinquish
honor o f the civil rights pioneer.
her seat on a segre­
gated bus and the bus boycott that follow ed.
“Rosa is a legend o f her time and changed the course o f history. We
will dedicate the property to her and for the benefit o f the com m unity,”
Banks said.
The 63-unit apartm ent com plex is slated for construction this year at
11814 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Banks said he also looks forward to having a water
fountain on the prem ises that honors the battle for civil rights.
Banks is the president o f Banks Real Estate Investm ent Corp.
Work For Change
C om m unity A dvocates invites
those interested in protecting ch il­
dren from abuse to becom e an
event volunteer, event outreach,
technology expert, graphic artists
or office support team member. For
more information, call 503-280-1388.
Community Service Women
V o lu n te e r m e n to rs are b ein g
sought by W om en in C om m unity
Service to work with incarcerated
women at the Coffee Creek Correc-
tional Facility. M entors provide
support and encouragem ent for
women transitioning from prison
back into the com m unity. V olun­
teers must be fem ales, age 24 and
up. For more information, call 503-
5706614.
Aquatic Fitness
Providence has a full schedule o f
fitness classes including w ater
e x e rc is in g at th e P ro v id e n c e
A quatic C enter, 4805 N.E. Glisan.
For a schedule, call 5 0 3 -2 15-6301.
Business Meeting
N orth/N ortheast Business A sso­
ciation m eetings are on the first
M onday o f each m onth from 6 to 8
p.m. at A lbina Com m unity Bank,
2OO2N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
M orning netw orking m eetingsare
the th ird W e d n esd ay o f each
month from 7:30 to 9 a m. at the
Blazers Boys anil Girls Club, 5250
N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. For
more information,call 503-2494H87
or visit w w w .nneba.org.
Creative Space For Dance
Aurora D ance Studio, 5433 N.E.
30th, offers an array o f classes for
children, teens and adults at all
levelsof ability. Call 503-249-0201
or
visit
o n lin e
at
w w w .h ev an et.co m /au ro rad an ce
for additional information.
years »,
•Tcommunity service
Local Flu Season Begins
Character Counts
Patrick and Maria Harvey stand proudly behind their children Trevor and Tyler who were recently
honored at the Oregon Gymnastics Academy for displaying the six pillars o f character: caring,
citizenship, responsibility, respect, trustworthiness and fairness. The brother and sister
team won special praise for donating their hair to Locks o f Love, a nonprofit group that helps
hospital patients and delivering meals to seniors.
Film Festival at Jefferson
Ken Bum s’ ’Jazz’ .featured Monday
Area residents are invited to the Jefferson
High School campus at 6 p.m. Monday for a
free showing from Ken Bums’ award-winning
documentary "Jazz.”
The film profiles Jazz in the late 1940s and
early 50s, with the backdrop of an escalating
Cold War, a growing threat of nuclear annihila­
tion, and youth's new appetite in musical tastes,
sentimental singers and rhythm and blues.
Featured artists are Duke Ellington and his
big band, Louis Armstrong and his “All-Stars,”
Norman Granz creating thrilling inventive jazz
and more. And as Charlie Parker and others in
the jazz community succumb to a devastating
narcotics plague, gifted musicians like Miles
Davis, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan and John
Lewis find new ways to bring new audiences to
Jazz.
This brilliantly directed episode continues
Jefferson High School's 5,hannul 1 Multicultural
Film Festival, a public service film series of
informative andfamily-oriented documentaries
that are presented each first Monday of the
month.
I
Still time for a flu shot
L a b o ra to ry te sts h av e c o n ­
firm ed that flu season has arrived.
P ublic h ealth o ffic ia ls in the
O reg o n D ep artm en t o f H um an
S erv ices are e n c o u rag in g people
to get v accin ated .
“ A nnual in fluenza is definitely
h e re ," said Dr. S u san A llan, state
p u b lic h ealth d irecto r. "W e d o n 't
ex p e ct flu seaso n to be in full
sw in g for sev eral w eeks, so we
w ant p eo p le to know th ere is still
tim e to g et a flu sh o t.”
Flu seaso n in O regon ty p ically
p eak s in late Ja n u ary o r F eb ru ­
ary , and m ay co n tin u e in to A pril
o r ev en M ay. A llan said that O r­
egon is also m o n ito rin g for avian
in flu en za, alth o u g h no hum an or
bird cases o f the H5N1 virus have
been identified in N orth A m erica.
“ A vian flu d o es not cu rren tly
p resen t any risk o f c re atin g h u ­
m an o u tb re a k s,” she said. “ But
tak en se rio u sly , w ith e stim a tes
that it ca u se s up to 3 6 ,0 0 0 d eath s
each y ea r in the U .S .”
A llan said it is esp e c ia lly im ­
p o rtan t th at any p erso n in on e o f
th e f o llo w in g h i g h - p r i o r i t y
g ro u p s get a flu shot: C h ild ren
aged 6-2.3 m onths, a d u lts ag ed 65
and o ld e r, resid e n ts o f n u rsin g
h o m es and long term ca re fa c ili­
tie s, an y o n e ag ed 2 -6 4 w ith u n ­
d e r ly in g m e d ic a l c o n d itio n s ,
p re g n a n t w o m e n , h e a lth c a re
w o rk ers w ho p ro v id e d irec t p a­
tie n t c a re a n d c a re g iv e rs and
h o u se h o ld c o n ta c ts o f ch ild ren
u n d er 6 m o n th s o f age.
P eo p le seek in g v ac cin atio n s
sh o u ld ch eck w ith th e ir h ealth
care p ro v id er or the co u n ty health
d ep a rtm en t. Flu clin ic in fo rm a ­
tion is also a v a ila b le by v isitin g
the W eb site lu n g o reg o n .o rg or
callin g 1 -8 0 0 -S A F E N E T or 503-
‘ regular’ influenza should be 988-5858.