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luly 26. 2006
Page A3
Wellness Walk Reaches Out to Portland Community
Grand Marshals
named for
annual event
Co-grand marshals Mayor Tom
Potter and State Sen. Avel Gordly
will lead the African American
H ealth C oalition's 4th Annual
Wellness Within REACH Walk.
Saturday. Aug. 19 at Dawson Park
in north Portland.
Hundreds of Portlanders are ex
pected to walk in celebration of our
community's health and in support
of the AAHC's free physical activ
ity classes program, which serves
more than 1,500 Portland-area Afri
can Americans each year.
"We want to make physical ac
tivity acultural norm in our commu
nity.” said AAHC President Corliss
McKeever. "Our goal is to make
Portland the healthiest African
American community in the nation."
Potter said he was proud to be a
part of this year's celebration.
“The AAHC promotes wellness
within the community, raises aware
ness and ultimately allows people to
live healthy, fullerlives," Potter said.
Mayor Tom Potter
Gordly encouraged local partici A A H C
W ebsite
at aahc-
pation in the walk and associated portland.org/events or at its offices
festivities.
at 28(X) N. Vancouver Ave.. Suite
"The day will he complete with 100. Event-day activities begin in
Dawson Park on North Vancouver
your presence." Gordly said.
Cardiovascular or heart disease Avenue and Stanton Street at 8 a.m.
remains the leading cause of death with music, refreshm ents, and
for all Americans. The AAHC's children's activities, and the Walk
REACH program seeks to reduce begins at 9a.m. along a 1.5-or4-mile
risk factors associated with the dis route through beautiful north and
ease among African Americans in northeast Portland neighborhoods.
the Portland area through health
Sponsors of the 4th Annual
education and increased physical Wellness Within REACH Walk in
activity.
clude Legacy Health System, New
Walk registration is $20. Pre Seasons Market, OHSU and Provi
registration is encouraged on the dence Health System.
Sen. Avel Gordly
Red Ink Swamps College Students
Local study
sees higher
costs, debt
Student debt has increased three
times faster than the cost of living
in the Willamette Valley over the
last decade, according to a new
report by the OSP1RG (Oregon Stu
dent Public Interest Research
Group) Foundation.
The group found that today’s
new graduates carry record levels
ol student loans due to rising col
lege costs, stagnating grant aid and
shifts in state spending. Com
pounding those issues are interest
rates on federal student loans,
which rose July I to their highest
level in six years, increasing almost
2 percentage points to 7 .14 percent
on current loans and 6.8 percent on
new loans.
OSPIRG analyzed the Bureau
of Labor S tatistics’ Consum er
Price Index survey of the cost of
core consum er goods like food,
housing, transportation, health
and apparel costs in the region,
finding that between 1993 and
2004 the average student debt for
students increased by 107 per
cent. The cost of living in the
W illam ette Valley increased by
32 percent and local health costs,
including insurance, drugs, and
medical care, increased by 62
percent.
"As interest rates climb, health
care, rent and other basic expenses
will have to compete with even
higher student loan payments."
e x p la in e d T hom as V ladeck,
OSPIRG campaign coordinator.
"Add rising student debt to today’s
cost of living and stagnating in
comes and you can see why more
than one in four young adults are
uninsured."
In their report, OSPIRG recom
mended that Oregon, the federal
government and colleges focus on
solving the problem of student debt.
Among the report’s recommenda
tions are increasing need-based
grant aid and reforms to make stu
dent loan repayment more manage
able for borrowers.
"We know that it is critical that
our universities and colleges re
ceive a substantial investment from
the state so they can provide a
quality education, at the same time
we must ensure that students no
longer have to bear high tuition
increases," said Courtney Morse,
Oregon Student Association In
terim Board Chair.
"The fact that student debt is
rising so much faster than the cost
of living should set off alarm bells."
said Joel Coupens. an alumni of
Western Oregon University. "It's
going to keep students from going
to college in the future."
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Neighbors’
Night Out at
Fernhill Park
N e ig h b o r s ' N ig h t O u t at
Fernhill Park prom ises to be a
fun-tilled evening for the entire
family.
The festivities on Tuesday,
Aug. I begin with a community
parade from Faubion Elementary
S c h o o l, 3039 N .E . P o rtlan d
Blvd., starting at 6 p.m. Parade
participants include the Alberta
Clown House. Everyone is w el
come to be in the parade and a
special d ecoration station for
bikes, strollers, or what have you
will be open at Faubion beginning
at 5 p.m. The parade will travel to
Fernhill Park where the festivi
ties will continue.
Entertainment at at the park
begins at 6:30 p.m. when Leapin’
Louis Lichtenstein takes the stage
and displays his special mix of
cowboy tricks, unicycling, ju g
gling and more. At 7:30 p.m.
re n o w n e d lo c a l m u sic ia n s
Sneakin’ Out will unleash their
"post-apocalyptic electro-acous
tic throw -dow n."
Throughout the evening, there
will be interactive activities for
cuntinued
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