PageAô_______________________________ ____ _________
Cl?e Jlortlanb © b seru er__________________________ [une b . 2007
Bracing for
Ghost bikes,
roadside memorials
painted stark white
and affixed to a
particular spot like
this one at North
east Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard
and Wygant, remind
passersby of
cyclists who have
been struck and
killed by drivers.
Returning Veterans
con tin u ed
fro m Front
and largely cost-free governm ent
health care, it w ould not be sur
prising if tw o-thirds o f the retun
ing veterans do not seek any V A
services, said Jim Sardo, a doctor
that specializes in Post-Traumatic
Stress D isorder at the VA.
Reason num ber one for this
phenom enon is a “w arrior m en
tality" that encourages service
men and w om en to endure hard
ship alone, according to Port
land therapist Carole Levine. In
addition, she says, “T here are
som e veterans who ju st d o n 't
w ant to go to the VA, because
they’re sick o f the m ilitary.”
O ther m ilitary people d on’t
w ant doctor’s visits going on
their record and preventing reen
try , so L e v in e o r g a n iz e s
R etum ingveterans.com to show
case 45 local practitioners who
offer free and confidential ser
vices for recent vets.
Even W ashington adm itted to
his ow n “ w arrio r m e n tality ”
streak. “O nce you get the proper
educational exposure, you can
take care o f your own problem s,”
he says.
But 21 st-century Portland will
no longer accept the status quo
when it com es to vet health. City
officials, w eary o f dealing with
sick and hom eless Vietnam veter
ans, organized a forum last week
to support reintegration efforts.
T he forum began with a tearful
account by Kimberly Mark-Villela,
who com pleted an Iraq tour in
2003. “I cam e hom e with prob
lems, but I d id n ’t tell anyone,” she
said. ‘T h e m ilitary is not an orga
nization that prom otes reporting
personal problem s.”
Levine explained the preva
lence o f Post-Traum atic Stress
D isorder in vets, saying it is a
“norm al reaction to a very abnor
mal situation.” Since governm ent
benefits expire after tw o years
w ithout a diagnosis, she sees the
veterans’ reluctance to seek help
as a m ajor, nearly unrecognized
problem that disintegrates fam i
lies through festering anger and
depression.
As part o f a growing concern
about law enforcem ent response
to m ental illness, a representative
o f the city ’s police spoke about
the attention to post traum atic
stress in crisis-intervention train
ing.
M ore than a few panelists m en
tioned how much more it w ould
cost in the long run to ignore vet
health.
A ttention to the health o f vet
erans is important “no m atter what
one thinks o f the war,” said Levine.
INVESTING
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HAKIM JONES
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATE
PHOTOS BY
S arah B lount /
T he P ortland
O bserver
Ghost Bikes Offer Lingering Reminder
Roadside memorial send
message to slow down
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
T he stretch of N ortheast M artin
L uther King Jr. B oulevard that
crosses W ygant Street is mostly a
b lu ro f cars day and night, but if you
look closely y o u ’ll notice a road
side m em orial rem inding drivers to
be safe and slow down.
But rather than flow ers, a photo
graph o r a cross, this m em orial is a
bike. A nondescript ju n k er model,
painted stark w hite and speaking
volum es about a particular death
that happened nearly three years
ago.
It’s called a ghost bike - one of
m any bright w hite bicycles planted
around tow n where cyclists have
died in crashes involving vehicles.
G host bikes rem ind drivers to
pay attention to tw o-w heeled co m
muters, so it’s no surprise that they
highlight M LK B lvd.,aparticularly
dangerous road for accidents in
volving any com bination o f bikes
and vehicles.
The G host Bike concept o rig i
nated in Pittsburgh in 2004, with the
m ovem ent m aking its way across
the country in m ajor cities, includ
ing Portland one year later.
Sum m er2005 was a brutal one for
P ortland cy clists, with m ultiple
d e a d ly a c c id e n ts h a p p e n in g
throughout the city. As that dan
gerous sum m er cam e to an end, 21 -
year-old cyclist Chris Burris was
struck and killed by a speeding
driver w hile riding with his g irl
friend and herd au g h terd o w n M L K
near W ygant Street.
Before B u rris’ death, people
w ithin P ortland’s bike com m unity
had talked about how the ghost
bikes m ovem ent in Pittsburgh, and
one created in Seattle earlier that
summer, had inspired them. Among
them was M ichael Jones, now 31,
w ho was searching for a way to
help out the m ovem ent.
Jones connected w ith B u rris’
b ro th e r, F o rre st, th a t su m m e r
through the local non-profit SHIFT,
discourage people from riding their
bikes.
“It’s interesting there’s not total
support,” Jones said.
But the City o f Portland has
granted ghost bikes enough sup
port to leave them cabled where
they are, although the bikes have
legally been abandoned.
City Com m issioner Sam Adams,
who runs the D epartm ent of T rans
portation, said ghost bikes serve as
a sobering rem inderthatthe.se inju
ries and deaths are real people, not
ju st statistics, and that our trans
portation system is “w oefully un
Michael Jones
der funded.”
“I’ve told my folks to leave them
and with others they w ere able to
alone,”
A dam s said.
secure a bike, spray paint and a
A
dam
s’ office will receive $11
cable to tether their first ghost bike
m
illion
next
m onth to launch the
w here a cyclist had died at South
Safe
Streets
Initiative,
a project that
east 39th A venue and Belmont.
in
part
will
reduce
traffic
injuries
The memorial led to several other
and
fatalities
at
som
e
o
f
Portland’s
ghost bikes throughout town, in
clu d in g routes along N ortheast m ost dangerous spots.
C yclists with traffic safety co n
Sandy Boulevard and N ortheast
K illingsw orth A venue and the m e cerns can call transportation o ffi
cials at 503-823-SA FE or em ail
m orial for Burris on M LK.
Jones says he receives em ails safe@ pdxtrans.org. O ther safety,
from people praising the bikes, but legal and advocacy resources can
som e think th ey ’re trashy. There be found at the Bicycle T ransporta
has also been som e backlash from tion Alliance, a statewide advo
cy c lists w ho think ghost bikes cacy group, at w w w .bta4bikes.org.
Investing has as much to do with the quality of the rela
your portfolio. As a Financial Advisor for Smith Barney,
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C onnie Van Brunt, a nationally
recognized education leader from
C hicago, w ill lead the P ortland
Schools Foundation, an advocacy
and research organization for Port
land Public Schools.
Van Brunt was hired last week
after a national search and will begin
her w ork in Portland on July 9.
“C onnie is a strategic leader pas
sionate about children, public ed u
cation and a strong com m unity voice
in ensuring all young people in Port
land are prepared for college, work
and com munity," said Jill Kirk, presi
dent o f the foundation.
Van Brunt is currently ch ief ed u
cation officer at the C hicago Charter
School Foundation, w here she is
responsible for academ ic strategies,
assessm ent, and partnerships for
more than 7,(XX) low -incom e stu
dents. Van Brunt previously led
Illinois’ oldest indepen
dent after-school program,
serving the innercity com
munities o f Cabrini Green,
E n g le w o o d a n d N e a r
North Chicago. T here she
developed aw ard winning
m athem atics and reading
program s recognized na
tionally for accelerating achievement
for low -incom e students.
In addition to Van Brunt’s exten
sive experience in fundraising, com
munications and management, she
was founding editor of Ebony Jr!
magazine.
She received her M aster o f Arts
in Teaching from Harvard U niver
sity G raduate School o f Education,
and has com pleted her doctoral
coursew ork in applied research in
child/youth developm ent and ed u
cational research m ethods at Loyola
U n iv e rsity /E ric k so n
Institute.
In a c c e p tin g th e
p o sitio n V an B runt
noted, “ I’m excited to
be part o f the great work
o f the Schools Foun
dation and the incred
ible vitality and civic
spirit o f this city. I'm
Van Brunt
deeply com m itted to
connecting the diverse cultures and
neighborhoods o f Portland in our
work to achieve equity and excel
lence for all students.”
N ich o le M aher, ex e cu tiv e d i
re c to r o f the N ativ e A m erican
F am ily C e n ter an d m em b er o f the
P SF ex e cu tiv e search co m m ittee,
su m m ed it up, “C o n n ie b rin g s the
academ ic sm arts, practical e x p e ri
ence and track record w orking with
co m m u n ities o f c o lo r to help this
city cre ate g reat sch o o ls fo r all o f
its stu d e n ts.”
Help Clean
Your ‘Hood
P eo p le o f P u rp o se and
A ssociates are recruiting help
and donations for a Re-tilling
o f the S oil n eig h b o rh o o d
cleanup on Saturday, July 7.
T he group urges north and
northeast Portland residents
to stop pointing a Finger and
lend a hand in an effort to
show pride by rejuvenating
the neglected soil in their
neighborhoods.
The day will begin with
breakfast and the clean up
begins at 9 a.m. At noon a
celebration will follow at Irving
Park with live music and food.
Clean up locations include
M aple M allory A partm ents,
Jefferson High School and
C o r n e r s to n e C o m m u n ity
Church. T o find out how you
can be a part o f this event, call
Lany Collins at 503-752-8356.
£?C lear C hannel
Fellow ship M issionary B aptist Church
u
Pastor
Dr. Johnny Pack IV
4009 N. Missouri Ave.
Evangelist
Melanie Pichon-Smith
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