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August 30. 2006
Pa$eA3
Passionate Judge
Remembered
Judge brought courtrooms
to Portland neighborhoods
A m em orial service was held
Friday at the H ighland C hristian
Center fo r M ultnom ah County
C ircuit Judge C liffo rd L. Freeman,
who died M onday, Aug. 2 1 after
a lengthy battle w ith cancer. He
was 62. C oncluding services and
vault entombment was at Rose
C ity Cemetery.
Freeman was born June 2 , 1944
in Portland. He attended H ig h ­
land Elem entary School (now
M artin Luther K ing Jr. Elemen­
tary ) and graduated from Benson
HighSchool in 1962.
p iio îo hv I saiah B ot ie /T he
P ortland O bserver
Locked chains seal a gate off Northeast 42nd Avenue to the landmark originally constructed as Adams High School, then turned
into Whitaker Middle School, before being closed and abandoned by the Portland School District.
Whitaker-Adams Site Will Finally Fall
Demolition could
start as early as
November
The grounds of the abandoned Whitaker
Middle School, originally John Adams High
School, have turned into a bleak, concrete
wasteland, with only a splash of color here
and there provided by graffiti and tumbling,
half crushed beer cans.
Now the once beautiful, 268,899-square-
foot campus - at Northeast 42nd Avenue,
north of Killingsworth Street - is about to
disappear.
The Portland Public School Board last
week approved $ 2 .1 million todemolish the
building and wrecking crews will move in
as early as November.
The district's property manager Kerry
Hampton said the demolition could take up
to three months to complete.
Construction of Adams started in 1966
and the school opened in the fall of 1969. It
would be Portland’s newest high school if
it was still operating today. The school
district closed the school in 2001 saying it
was too expensive to repair after years of
poor maintenance, including a leaky roof
and lack of ventilation, an original design
flaw that led to the growth of toxic mold
and trapped radon gases.
When it closed as a middle school, stu-
School district officials
say there is now no money,
therefore no plans, to build
a replacement school.
dents were moved across town to Tubman
Middle School on North Flint Street.
The building has been costly even as it
stands vacant; since 2002 the district has
spent nearly $700,(XX)oftaxpayers’ money
in maintenance, utilities and insurance.
School district officials say there is now
no money, therefore no plans, to build a
replacement school, despite earlier prom­
ises made to the adjacent neighborhoods.
A Portland Public School's construction
bond expired in 2005 and proceeds from
the future sale of Washington High School
will not cover the costs to rebuild at
Whitaker.
Some neighboring Concordia residents,
tired of witnessing drug and gang activity
at the site, hope to see the district sell the
property to developers, who would build
affordable homes that fit in with the neigh­
borhood.
Macy’s at Meier & Frank Square
Past won't be
forgotten
Minority
Contracting
Meeting Set
The Oregon Association o f M i­
n o rity E ntrepreneurs (O A M E )
hosts its next netw orking meeting
to discuss contracting o pportuni­
ties fo r m in o ritie s, women and
emerging small businesses on F ri­
day. Sept. 8 at 7:30 a.m. at theO A M E
Cascade Plaza, 4 134 N. Vancouver
%
Ave.
The free and open-to-the-public
session provides tim e fo r small
businesses to build relationships
w ith key contacts from private and
public organizations including the
M in o r service changes e ffe ctive S eptem ber 3
There w ill be schedule adjustments and/or route
changes on the following bus lines, effective Sunday,
September 3, 2006.
Commemorative plaques are unveiled for the newly dedicated
Meier & Frank Square.
store, a Portland landmark fo r gen­
erations.
PDC Executive D irector Bruce
W arner said M a cy's has been very
m indful o f the role the store has
played in the past.
“ The plaques are one way in
w hich they honorthis history, while
also preparing the store fo r its fu ­
ture," he said.
A ll M eier & Frank stores w ill
become M a cy's stores on Sept. 9.
Red Carpet Celebrations at all O r­
egon stores w ill include a ribbon
cutting ceremony w ith a live band,
g ift bags w ith $10 o r $500 elec­
tronic M a cy's g ift cards and red
fo il chocolate stars, cake, cider,
and ch ild re n 's entertainment.
M a cy's is a d ivisio n o f Feder­
ated Department Stores w ith co r­
porate offices in C incinnati and
New' York.
USPS 959-680 ___________________________________
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther king, Jr. Blvd.. Portland. OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
I j i i i h r : M ichael l.eigliton
O is tr ir i i i h s M \ s a i , i r : Mark W ashington
C r i m i v i I ) i r k ih r : Paul N eufeldt
<)i m i M w m o r : Kathy Linder
K ip h r ii r : Sarah Blount
EniTon-is CHur, Pi
hi ishi r :
Schedule & route
changes in St. Johns (Safeway)
6-Martin Luther
King Jr Blvd
Schedule changes
9- Powell
Route change at The Village
(near SE 182nd & Powell)
10- Harold
Schedule changes
10-NE 33rd Ave
Schedule changes
17-Holgate
Schedule changes
31-Estacada
Schedule changes
39-Lewis & Clark
Schedule changes
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C ity o f Portland. T riM e t, H offm an
Construction. Stacy & W itbeck and
many more.
2006
fall service update
By unanimous vote, M a yo rT o m
Potter and the Portland C ity C oun­
c il have declared that the d o w n ­
tow n city block between 5th and
6 th A v e n u e s and A ld e r and
M orrison Streets w ill now becalled
“ M eier & Frank Square.”
“ I c o u ld n 't th in k o f a better way
to pay tribute to M eier & Frank s
service to our com m unity than to
m em orialize the name o f its fou n d ­
ing fam ilies and the cherished tra­
ditions that M eier & Frank repre­
sents to generations o f loyal cus­
tom ers," R.B. Harrison, president
and c h ie f o p e ra tin g o ffic e r o f
M a cy's Northwest, said after the
vote last last week.
Harrison thanked Potter and the
Portland Development C o m m is­
sion fo r th e ir partnership w ith
M a cy's and fo r actively advocat­
ing fo r the redevelopment o f the
dow ntow n building, a landmark fo r
generations. He unveiled tw o o f
the brass plaques that w ill be placed
on the corners o f the b u ild in g as
w ell as at each entrance to the
dergraduate degree in econom­
ics, a master’s degree in educa­
tion. and a law degree from UO.
He served as a felony trial at­
torney fo rth e M etropolitan Pub
lie Defender's O ffice from 1979 to
1988. For the next four years, he
held a variety o f state jobs, in ­
cluding an advocate for the ( )ffice
o f M in o rity , Women and Emerg­
ing Small Business Enterprises.
From 1993 to 1994, he worked
as a consultant in diversity train­
ing, education and intergovern­
mental affairs be­
He was a d rivin g
fore returning to
force behind the de­
the
p u b lic
v e lo p m e n t o f the
defender's office as
Northeast C om m u­
acivil commitment
nity Court at the King
hearings attorney.
Neighborhood Facil­
He also served as
ity in northeast Port­
pro tern Juvenile
land.
Court referee for
Court colleagues
the county before
said Judge Freeman
th e n -G o v . John
brought courtrooms
K itz h a b e r
ap­
into neighborhoods Clifford L. Freeman
pointed him to the
to handle q u a lity-o f-
bench in 1996.
life crimes that weren’t consid­
It was in March 1998 that Judge
ered high-profile. Presiding C ir­ Freeman began presiding over the
cu it Judge Dale Koch described Northeast C om m unity Court. He
him as "a very gentle man” who found ways that defendants could
had a passion fo r connecting with aid the com m unity as part o f their
the residents he served.
sentences. The judge also pre­
LJ.S. D istrict Judge A ncer L. sided over another court in South­
Haggerty first met Judge Free­ east Portland.
man when the tw o were in high
"He did a very good jo b across
s c h o o l. H a g g e rty a tte n d e d the board working with community
Jefferson H igh By the tim e the leaders, residents and defendants,"
tw o were sophomores at the Uni­ said Michael Schrunk, Multnomah
versity o f Oregon, they had be­ County district attorney.
come roommates.
S urvivors include his step­
"He was a straight shooter and mother, Fannie Freeman: cous­
very honest," Haggerty said. "He ins, Cherron Papillion. Paul Lewis
always did the right thing and and T rudie Reid; and several
was someone who was humble. nieces and nephews.
Whenever you asked how he was
The fa m ily suggests remem­
doing, he'd always say, Better brances to Self-Enhancement. Inc.
than I deserve.'"
(The Oregonian contributed
J udge Freeman received an un­ to this story.)
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