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M a rth I. 2 0 0 6
O’Neil Says ‘Don’t
Shed Any Tears’
M etro
94-year-old passed
over in Hall vote
il!l ^tlortlaitb © bscrucr
See Sports, page B6
SECTION
/n o m ili u n ity
C a le n d a r
Crowned Jewels
A fundraiser to benefit African
American women for breast can­
cer awareness will be held Tues­
day, March 14 at Portland Center
for the Performing Arts Newmark
Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway. A
private reception is at 5 p.m
followed by a preview perfor­
mance of Crowns, a gospel mu­
sical based on the book Crowns:
Portraits of Black Women in
Church Hats. $50 donation.
B
Thieves Up Ante on Car Prowling
New target is
identity theft
O tticer Dave D obler has been with the
Portland Police Bureau for almost two
decades. W hen it com es to car prowls, he
has seen it evolve into som ething more
than petty theft.
Although the crim e o f breaking into
Get Wet Indoors At
cars
to get at its contents remains preva­
Portland Parks
lent,
identity theft has taken the crim e to
During March, spring break ex­
tended hours are scheduled at new heights. Today, vehicle registration
and insurance docum ents are the com ­
Columbia, Matt Dishman, Mt.
Scott and Southwest Commu­ mon items o f interest to m any car prow l­
nity Center pools. Open from 6 ers.
a.m. to 9 p.m. with open swim
“Ten years ago, that was really rare,”
times starting at I p.m. Register said Dobler, a crim e analyst in the police
for spring classes by calling
b u reau's southeast precinct. “ But it has
Portland Parks and Recreation at gone from loose change and CD s, to
503-823-5130.
w hatever has your name and address on
28th Annual Shamrock Run it. It's alm ost surprising if you d o n 't see
Shamrock Run held at Water­ these docum ents among the items taken
front Park, Sunday, March 12. in a car prow l.”
The 19-year veteran said he has seen it
Online registration now open at
w w w .o n th e ru n e v e n ts .c o m / so much, he carries his insurance and
registration docum ents in his wallet. He
shamrock. Group rates available.
Register with four or more and warns those who leave mail and other
photo by I saiah B oeie / T he P ortland O bserver
save $4 entry fee.
paperwork in their cars to be more re­ 4 car prowl prevention tip sheet is placed on a car windshield in southeast Portland by Rosanne Lee, crime prevention
coordinator for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Officer David Golliday (center) and Southeast Uplift Neighborhood
sponsible because being a victim can
Portland's International
Program member Victor Flaming (right) join in the public education campaign.
have devastating results.
Women’s Day
“It’s a pain to fix your
In 2005, D obler and o th er precinct were found, officers used license plate
Celebrating its 31 “ anniversary
w
indow
for $2 0 0 ,” he
o fficers partnered w ith crim e p rev en ­ num bers to find out w ho the ow ners
Sunday, March 5, from 10a.m. to
4 p.m. at Portland State Univer­ said. “ But i,'se v e n worse • If possible, don’t leave valuables in your car.
tion co o rd in ato rs from the O ffice o f were, and sent letters notifying them that
sity Smith Center Ballroom, 1825 spending a year trying to • Beware of what you leave in plain sight.
N e ig h b o rh o o d In v o lv e m e n t. P o lic e
they could be potential victims o f a car
fix your credit. Getting • Carry legal documents in your purse or wallet.
S.W. Broadway. Event is free,
Bureau cadets and neighborhood asso ­ prowl.
but donations are accepted. For personal inform ation is • Roll up your car windows and lock your doors.
ciation volunteers w alked the streets
According to Police Bureau crim e sta­
w orth a lot m ore than
m ore
in fo rm a tio n ,
v isit
on four Saturday m ornings placing car tistics, their efforts d id n 't go unnoticed.
loose change these days.”
www.piwd.org.
have to leave it in your vehicle," he said.
prow l p re v e n tio n flie rs on v e h ic le s The num ber o f reported car prowls in the
D obler added that it's becom ing more
And for those who think unlocked car throughout the 2 1,2-square-m ile p re ­ precinct dropped almost 20 percent, go­
Linnton Weekend Market
com m on to see insurance and vehicle doors will keep thieves from breaking a cinct. T hey d istrib u ted up to 3.000
ing from 3,675 reported cases in 2004 to
Reopening for its third year, Sat­
registration docum ents as tfie lone items window, D obler said: "These car prow l­ fliers per m ission.
2,961 in 2005.
urday and Sunday, March 4 and
taken in a car prowl.
ers have gotten so good at breaking w in­
O fficers w orking the night shift also
"The project has been very success-
5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Linnton
“
Y
ou're
required
to
carry
these
docu­
dows, they never even check to see if the walked the same area looking in cars for
Community CenterGym, 10614
items that would attract thieves. If items
N.W. St. Helens Rd. (Approxi­ ments by law, but that doesn't mean you doors are unlocked."
continued
on page R5
mately *0 mile past St. John's
M H M M BM nH M H M
Bridge, west on Highway 30.)
Car prowl prevention tips
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i
Canine 101 Class
“Problem Pooch” group discus­
sion for anyone who has just
entered pethood or is consider­
ing adopting a dog. Classes of­
fered Saturdays, March 4 and 18
at 11 a.m. at the Oregon Humane
Society, 1067 N.E. Columbia
Blvd. Suggested $10 donation
and please leave pets at home.
For more information call 503-
285-7722 or visit www.oregon
humane.org.
Community Baby Shower
Soroptim ist International of
Gresham will collect new or
gently used clothing, dispos­
able diapers, baby wipes, dia­
per pails, pacifiers, sham poo,
bath towels and car seats. 9
a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday March
4, at G resham Fred Meyer. For
pick-up service, call V ickie
Kavanagh at 503-294-5941.
Free College Outreach
The first Saturday of each month,
from 12p.m. to2p.m„ high school
students can get free help from
Oregon State University on pre­
paring for any college at the Mat,
Dishman Community Center, 77
N.E. Knott St.
Business Meeting
North/Northeast Business As­
sociation meetings are on the
first Monday of each month from
6 p.m. to8 p.m. at AlbinaCommu-
nity Bank, 2002 N.E. Martin
Luther King Blvd. Morning net­
working meetings are the third
Wednesday of each month from
7:30 to9a.m . at the Blazers Boys
and Girls Club, 5250 N.E. Martin
Luther King Blvd.
Support Grows for Grant Field Upgrades
Big school lacks
major sports fields
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
T he spo rts fields at G rant High
S c h o o l in n o rth e a s t P o rtla n d are
m uddy, dark and patchy; the seating
• is paltry and sporadic. It’s not a very
inviting place for young athletes to
play, and in fact, they m ostly d o n 't.
| In ste a d th e y ’re b u sse d a c ro ss the
I riv er to play a, L incoln H igh School.
But G rant, one o f P o rtla n d ’s larg ­
est high schools, may soon see rev i­
talizatio n to its sports facilities. The
I v o lu n te e r o rg a n iz a tio n F rie n d s o f
G rant Football is rallying com m unity
1 su p p o rt for a num ber o f im p ro v e­
m en ts.
“ E v e ry w h e re we tra v e l sc h o o ls
have these kinds o f fa c ilitie s,” said
L loyd L indley, G rant parent and vol­
unteer spearheading the effort.
A C itizen A dvisory C om m ittee is
co n d u ctin g a public process to deter-
I m ine w h eth er there is co m m u n ity
I support for im provem ents. T he com -
j m ittee is tab ulating com m ents and
I responses from the nearly 200 people
w ho atten d ed a recent open house.
| T hey also m ailed qu estio n n aires to
4,0 0 0 hou seh olds and m et w ith all
community service
photo by I saiah
B ouie / T
he
nearby neighborhood associations.
T he group proposes four packages,
eith er operating independently or to ­
g ether.
T he first package w ould include an
all-w eath er turf system at G rant Bowl
in M ark C otton Field. T he im prove­
m ents w ould in clude added seating,
built into the b o w l’s e a stsid e bank.
Program on the HIV/AIDS epidem ic on
Saturday, M arch 11 at Self E nhance­
ment, Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Ave. The goal
is to educate, em pow er and include youth
in HIV prevention
Cherrell Edwards, 21, will serve as
keynote speaker and share her experience
with HIV. She will also host a Youth
Focus interactive discussion Instead of
lo oking at the d ise a se as a burden.
A local African A merican civic group
will do its part to em pow er the com m u­
nity on HIV/AIDS awareness.
The Delta Sigm a Theta sorority invites
area residents and young people to join
them in an International Day o f Service
i
P o r i land O bserver
Volunteers propose replacing grass with all-weather turf, along with other improvements to the sports fields at Grant High
School in northeast Portland.
installation o f fencing in landscaped
areas on G rant Street and 33rd A venue,
handrails and guardrails at the top o f
steep banks, and the opening public
restroom s in the nearby sw im center.
The next package adds an all-w eather
su rfa c e on the b a se b a ll and so c c e r
fields, or alternatively fixes and grades
the existing grass.
The third package w ould pay for
tu rf enhancem ent at ( ¡ ra n t's H olyrood ,
Field and add a new field for w o m e n 's
fast pitch softball and L ittle L eague.
Package lour adds lighting for night
gam es on the main athletic field.
To help m ove any o f these efforts
forw ard or for more inform ation, c o n ­
tact L indley at 503-224-9188.
Lending Focus to HIV/AIDS
Group reaches out
to young people
years<
_____
\
Edwards, sees her affliction as a gift that
allow s her to share her life with others to
prom ote aw areness and prevention o f
AIDS.
An international fashion show and d e ­
licious food from around the world is also
planned.
All activities are free. Registration and
check-in begin at 10:30 a.m. The pro­
gram is from 11 a.m. to I p.m.
«
Cherrell Edwards