Committed tu Cultural Diversity
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Local Youth Sets ]
Track Record
Cameron Retherford competes at
the Phoenix, Ariz. Invitational
See Sports, page B6
Lents Resource Fair
Southeast Portland residents are
invited to learn about hom e ow n­
ership opportunities, park im ­
provem ents, street repairs and the
future 1-205 Max light rail line at
the Lents Resource Fair, S atur­
day, April 29 from 9a.m . to I p.m.
at Lent Elem entary School, 5 105
S.E. 97lh Ave. T here also will be
special activities for kids, includ­
ing free bike helm ets.
Neighborhoods Celebrate
T he C oncordia and Fox C hase
neighborhoods o f northeast P ort­
land present a street fair, S atur­
day, April 29 from 10a.m. to5p.m .
on N ortheast 30th A venue be­
tw een K illingsw orth and Jarrett
s tr e e ts . T h e ‘N e ig h b o rh o o d
Spring T hing’ will include music,
art activities, free bicycle helm ets
for kids, story telling, puppet
show s and other perform ances.
Networking Skills
The function o f netw orking for
jobs and business opportunities
will be explored during a Oregon
A ssociation o f M inority E ntre­
preneurs C offee and Issues fo­
rum at 7 a.m. Friday, April 28 at
O A M E C ascade Plaza, 4134 N.
V ancouver Ave. The one-hour
session is open to the public and
no registration is necessary.
Ceramic Showcase
The Oregon Potters Association
hosts the nation’s largest all-clay
show M ay 5-7 at the Oregon C on­
vention C enter. The show in­
c lu d e s in f o rm a tio n b o o th s ,
children’s areas and live dem os.
The last day o f the show is free.
Brazilian Carnival
Join Portland State University on
Saturday, April 22, in celebrating
B razilian cu ltu re w ith m usic
d a n c e a n d c a p o e ira p e r f o r ­
m ances, plus Brazilian cuisine
from La V illa Restaurant. D oors
open at 7 p.m. and the show is at
8 p.m. Tickets are $4 to $ 10, avail
able through T ickelM aster or the
PSU box office.
u
n
photo by I saiah
n
PGE engineers Kelley Reid and Janet Gulley introduce Benson High School students to options in engineering and skilled trades.
SKILLED TRADES
Open,o Women
Industries shed old
norms, restrictions
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
As baby boomers reach retirement, skilled
trades w orkers are increasingly in dem and.
But fields like engineering and technology
harbor a little secret: they re disciplines very
slow to w elcom e m inorities and women.
Fortunately, opportunities are out there
for those who d o n 't lit the "typical" descrip­
tion o f skilled tradesperson. Young people
preparing to enter the jo b market can forget
donning a blue collar or white collar and try
on a gold collar for size.
G old collar w orkers are defined as highly
skilled individuals who know a great deal
about several a re aso f their co m p an y 's work.
Sim ply put, th ey 're m ulti-faceted w orkers
who solve the problem s, push the buttons
and work up a sweat.
And they are hot com m odity right now.
Portland General Electric is follow ing the
change in workforce dem ographics, and cite
a study predeicting 2.5 m illion new skilled
trade w orkers needed over the next eight
years.
T o till this gap. PGE has launched cam ­
paigns to encourage and educate students
about trade careers. Further more, th ey 're a
proactive force in recruiting m inorities and
w om en for th eir nearly 3 ,0 0 0 -m em b er
workforce.
Enter Janet Gulley and Kelly Reid - two
Nursing Mothers Classes
Japanese Garden Plant Sale
The Japanese G arden will help
you bring new life and color to
your garden at its annual plant
sale on Saturday, Apri 129, from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the gates o f
garden in the upper parking lot.
A dm ission is free.
Welcome Spring at PCC
P o rtland C o m m unity C o lleg e
hosts the second annual Beltane
Festival at Cascade and South­
east cam puses, M onday, May 1
from 11 a.m. to5 p.m. Enjoy music
as well as drum m ing and dancing.
Family fun at WoodFest
years,
•'community service
fem ale PGE engineers who sometim es stooc
alone in their pursuit o f engineering degrees
W hat threatened to stand in their way was
the lack o f peers within their chosen fields
" I ’ve definitely seen a shift," Gulley said
" It's bloom ing every single year."
Reid and Gulley enjoy their jobs, and gc
so tar as to say they have fun learning
somethi ng new everyday alongside talented
cow orkers. So the pair visits high schools,
like B enson's ju n io r and senior mechanical
engineering classes, and spread the word of
opportunities many may not have known
existed.
"These jo b s can be overlooked by stu­
dents." Gulley said. “ W e're trying to get the
continued
on page H5
WSU Vancouver
Hosts Expert on
Equality Issues
Nursing M others Counsel o f O r­
egon actively seeks volunteers
to help advocate a w om an’s right
to breastfeed her child. If you
have had at least six m onths
breastfeeding experience, attend
the free training on Saturday, Apri I
22 at Legacy Em anuel Hospital.
W om en o f diverse ethnic back­
grounds and bilingual women are
in high dem and. For more infor­
m ation, contact Rachel at 503-
3 8 0 -2 3 0 8
or
R;tchel(« nursmgmotherscounsel.org.
The W orld Forestry C enter hosts
the firs, annual W oodFest on
Saturday, May 6 from 10a.m. to5
p.m. See an all-w ood Ford Road­
ster, participate in fam ily activi­
ties, m usic, N ative A m erican
storytelling, fiMxl and more. For
m o re
in f o rm a tio n ,
c a ll
w w w .w orldforestry.org o r call
503-228-1367.
B olie /T he P ortland O bserve «
photo by D ede P ries i
College scholarships are celebrated by members o f the Jefferson Dancers at the National High School Dance Festival in
Miami. Pictured are Kelly Ann Barton, Lex Dones, Olivia Ancona. Viktor Usov, Andrew Smart, and Leah Rothlein.
Dancers Earn Gateway to College
Spring Concert next
for Jefferson troupe
The Jefferson Dancers have ju st returned
from the National High School Dance Festi­
val in Miami where the troupe earned the rare
honor o f perform ing in tw o gala concerts
before packed houses at M iam i's G usm an
C enter for the Perform ing Arts.
The successful conclusion to three days
o f student perform ances, m asterclasses and
auditions for college scholarships and sum ­
mer dance program s is testam ent to the q u al­
ity o f the choreography o f Jefferson D anc­
ers instructor Steve G onzales and the tech­
nical ability of the Jefferson dancers them ­
selves.
Next up for this talented group is the
Jefferson Dancers Spring C oncert, a series
o f four perform ances May 10 through May
13 at the N ew m ark T heater at the Portland
C enter for The Performing Arts. Tickets are
av ailab le at the box office or through
T ickem aster outlets.
In M iami, Jefferson proved again that it
has one o f the elite dance team s in the nation.
Ninety high school dance program s from the
United States, Australia, and Canada were
represented in the com petition.
Jefferso n D ancer K elly Ann B arton was
continued
yf
on page H5
One of the nation's leading sehol
ars on issues of equality and justici
w ill speak Sunday at the Vaneouve
campus of W ashington State Uni
versity.
Manning Marable will give the key
note lecture during a "Justice in Edu
cation. Educating for Justice” confer
ence at 4:30 p.m. in Room 110 of th<
Student Services Building. His topic
will be "Diversity and Democracy ir
A m erican E ducation: M aking
Multiculturalism Work."
M arable,
a professor
o f history,
public a f ­
fairs and po­
litical sc i­
ence and di­
rector of the
Institute for
Research in
A fric a n -
A m e r ic a n
Manning Marable
S tu d ies at
Columbia University, is the author ani
editor of some 20 books and 200schol
arly articles.
He will speak to both of the confer
ence themes: creating an equitabli
and just education system andexplor
ing the role of educators, students am
academic institutions in promoting so
cial justice. Panels, roundtables am
workshops exploring specific aspect
of the justice issues will take plact
throughout the day.
WSU Vancouver is located at 1420
N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of th<
134th
Street exit from either 1-5 or 1-205