Superintendent
Search Intensifies
con tin u ed
fro m M etro
T he com pany. W isconsin-based
ProA ct Search Inc., claim s to seek
out the best candidates "in every
co m er o f this nation to m eet your
executive staffing needs,"
A condition for hiring Schm itt as
interim was his dem onstrated lack
o f interest in the jo b full-tim e (he
ju st turned 64 years old).
Schm itt said he agrees with this
stipulation because it prevents in
terims from having "an inside track.”
Schm itt said one o f his m ost im
m ediate plans is to focus on high
school perform ance this summ er.
“ W ith
som e
of
th e
reconfigurations and som e o f the
sm aller schools w ithin a school,
like at M arshall and M adison, the
district is looking at w ays to try to
keep them open and m ake them
more responsive to those students,”
he says.
S ch m itt d o e s n ’t fault P hillips
f o r le a v in g in th e m id s t o f
rec o n fig u ratio n s, saying, “ I re
ally believ e that she w as c o m m it
ted to P ortland fo r m uch longer
term until th is G ates F oundation
o p p o rtu n ity cam e along, and I
d o n ’t th in k a n y b o d y s h o u ld
b lam e her fo r accep tin g that b e
cau se s h e ’ll be in a p ositio n to do
so m uch good for so m any c o m
m unities and school districts from
that van tag e p o in t.”
S ports
Phillips, in a final visit to Boise-
Eliot Elem entary in north Portland
last week, said she expects easier
ch o ices for fu tu re su p e rin te n
dents.
“So it’s not about saving a
school,” she says.
The outgoing leader said the
school board is “very dedicated
to picki ng som eone who wi 11 mai n-
tain the m om entum o f the work
that the team has started.”
Schmitt will get $ 11.500 a month
until Sept. 30, w hen the Board
hopes to have found a new super
intendent.
Such a salary only requires that
Schm itt keep the district running,
but he interprets the jo b descrip
tion to take on em ergency m ea
sures, such as responding to scat
tered groups o f parents that have
been petitioning to redraw school
boundaries.
"W e need to address rather
quickly the w hole school-transfer
and attendance policy, and to re
v ie w th a t a n d m a k e so m e
changes," he says.
“It’s alw ays kind o f a tricky
balance," he says, “ in betw een
there is a position o f m aking sure
that there are lots o f high quality
choices across the district, so no
m atter w hat school or neighbor
hood y o u ’re in, y o u ’re going to
have access to som ething there
that’s special.”
In conjunction with Portland Public Schools
and Portland Park Bureau
T L C Summer
TLC- TnT Camp
TLC-TnT is a program fo r
students and fam ilies to
promote self-esteem. The
program is designed to offer
everyone a chance to experience joy, fun, gratitude,
tenderness, love, accomplishment and victory.
” i care "
Oden Marks Blazers Idrning Point
Pick gives
team high
expectations
by P at G ruhler
T he P ortland O bserver
Kevin Pritchard did it again. Tw o
years in a row the Blazers general
m anager created huge noise during
the N BA draft.
T he draft was a huge turning
point for the Blazers franchise. Not
only did the team have the much
publicized first pick, in which they
did w hat most people thought and
picked G reg O den, but they also
m ade several trades throughout the
night, including trading superstar
Zack Randolph.
In draft grade reports by many
N BA pundits, the Blazers earned
the highest grade tw o years in a
row.
O den is w idely thought to be the
best post player to com e out o f
college since Tim D uncan in 1997.
Pritchard had not tipped his hand in
the five w eeks betw een the June 28
draft lottery. In fact, many people
were starting to feel that Pritchard
may be leaning tow ard selecting
K evin Durant.
C oach N ate M cM illan seem ed
to favor O den the w hole tim e, but
the team , and the league, did not
w ant the team to leak who they were
picking until the very end.
O den has rejuvenated the city ’s
Blazers fans. T housands o f people
crow ded in the rain in PioneerCourt-
house Square Friday afternoon to
w elcom e O den to Portland.
In the trade involving Randolph,
photo by R aymond R endleman /T he P ortland O bserver
G reg O d en s t e p s o f f a M ax train a t P io n e er C o u r th o u se S q u a re
for a rally Friday o n e d a y a fte r b e in g d ra fte d b y th e Trail B la zers
a s th e n u m b e r o n e p ic k in th e NBA.
the Blazers also lose D an D ickau
and Freddie Jones to the N ew York
K nicks for post player C hanning
Frye and former all star guard Steve
Francis, who was throw n in for sal
ary cap reasons.
F ran cis has been h am p ered by
his p o o r attitu d e an d h u g e c o n
tract fo r the m ajo rity o f his career
and does not look to be co n tin u
ing it in P o rtland. T h e B lazers
have been ru m o red to b u y o u t the
rem aining $36 m illion on F ran cis’
co n tract, leaving F rye as the m ain
p iece the B lazers g ot in retu rn for
R an d o lp h .
R andolph and Frye do not really
have sim ilar num bers, as Randolph
averages nearly 25 points and 10
rebounds and Frye is closer to 10
points and five boards. But m ost
people look at this as addition by
subtraction for Portland. They get
rid o f a bad attitude and bad team
player in Randolph, and get a guy
in Frye who will fit in better.
M cM illan will m ore than likely
play a three-m an rotation with Oden
and A ldridge in the post, giving the
Blazers three athletic, quick shot
blockers and rebounds w ho should
give the m ajority o f team s huge
problem s.
For the second year in a row, the
Blazers bought a first round draft
from the Phoenix Suns, getting
guard Rudy Fernandez o f Spain.
They then bought P hiladelphia’s
firs t-ro u n d p ick to g et P etteri
Koponen. Both players are thought
to be tw o o f the b etter young inter
national players in the gam e, but
d o n ’t look for them on the court this
year, expect both o f them to stay
o verseas.
T he Blazers used tw o second-
round draft picks to get solid col
lege prospects Josh M cR oberts out
D u k e U n iv e rsity an d T au ree n
G reen, w ho helped lead the Florida
G ators to back-to-back national
cham pionships.
The Blazers also received small
forward Jam es Jones from the Phoe
nix Suns. Jones is a terrific three
point shooter who was a role player
the last few years on the trem en
dous Suns teams. L ook for him to
help P ortland’s plagued shooting
from beyond the arc.
Portland now sets its sight on
free agency, w here they look to
figure out w hat to do with free agent
sm all forw ards Travis O utlaw and
Ime Udoka. The team will also have
to figure out w hat to with D arius
M iles, R a e f L afren ts an d Joel
Prysbilla.
N ever count out Pritchard using
all o f these players to m ake a trade.
You never know w hat he is up to.
The Blazers signed O den to a
deal on M onday. T hey start sum
m er league play Friday. T his will be
a chance for many o f the young
stars to shine.
( oordinated by Faye Palmerton & Roy Pittman
5744 N. M oore
Portland, O regon 97217
Faye503-970-4324
Roy 503-314-7884
EmaiT. fpalm erton@ aol.com
G regory B rown a n d
D e n is e M u h a m m a d ,
D ignity V illa g e's o n ly
tw o b la c k r e s id e n ts ,
with th e h o m e le s s
c a m p 's fu n d ra isin g
co o rd in a to r Will Currier.
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con tin u ed
fro m M etro
week at the village doing security
or general help.
“W e w ant the co m m u n ity to
k now that w e a re n ’t ju s t sittin g
on o u r b u tts lo o k in g fo r a hand
o u t,” C u rrie r says. T he ste re o
ty p e o f h o m eless p eo p le being
lazy really b o th e rs him as w ell.
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6 2004 BPl »» Rlqhu
the Portland area and I d o n ’t think
it’s changed,” said Davis “I f sh ard
for people to get into a shelter these
C u rren tly th ere is no lim it on how d a y s.”
Before com ing to Dignity V il
long so m eo n e can stay at D ignity
lage, Davis says she lived in a shel
Village.
“ 1 d o n ’t v iew D ig n ity V illage ter in V ancouver.
Di gni ty V i 11 age does not do back
as an ex cu se to g et h o m e less,”
says C u rrier. “ It’s a tran sitio n al ground checks on potential resi
p lace fo r p eo p le not w here they dents, so her neighbors could be
sex offenders, m urderers, etc., but
stay fo r fiv e to 10 y e a rs.”
C in d y D av is k n o w s w hat she as a w om an D avis says she feels
w an ts to do w ith h er life, but b e safe. No one under the age o f 18 is
lieves it’s un attain ab le since sh e ’s allow ed to live at D ignity Village.
“ It’s pretty obvious w ho the
b een h o m e le ss th e p a st th ree
w eird people are. We actually had
y ears.
“No one w ants to hire me, I d o n ’t som eone w ho had ju st got out o f
know if it’s my age or the lack of jail for m urder and he had a w arrant
experience, and people generally and he got picked up,” said Smith,
look dow n on you if they know “N one o f us knew that but he was
w hat your address is,” said Davis, a perfectly nice guy.”
T he biggest issue residents say
50. “A lso, w hen they see a large
gap on your application that also is the occasional spousal argum ents
raises a lot o f eyebrow s.” The fam il but m ostly its noise control. Just a
iar taunts o f “why d o n ’t you just few steps inside D ignity V illage
get a jo b ," have been heard prob property a list o f rules is displayed
ably m ore than once by the 1,400 next to the office. The rules forbid
people in Portland w ho sleep o ut any drugs or alcohol within a one
block radius o f the property.
side every night.
Currier says these rules are som e
Davis, a form er office manager,
has lived at D ignity V illage twice tim es too m uch for residents.
“O ver the last five m onths we
along with herdaughter, Elsie, who
is 20. H om eless w om en may have have had a lot o f negativity,” said
more options in Portland, but Davis C urrier, 42. “The new people co m
w asn’t able to find a shelter to take ing in have a positive attitude."
C urrier says it's a cultural shock to
her and her daughter.
“Seven years ago w hen I was som e new residents w ho com e to
hom eless with my daughter there Dignity Village.
“T hey com e here and see they
w eren 't any openings anyw here in
DIANE TIC S is i TradAmMk Jfirt
Technology Center and H used with its permission.
sacvka
mirk owned by Aeliqmul
d o n ’t have to lie and cheat to live,”
said Currier. “It’s great to not have
the sound o f som eone w aking me
up at 5 a.m. from a doorw ay.” Living
at D ignity Village, C urrier says,
gives him a greater purpose than
ju st helping him self. Instead it’s
h o m e le ss p eo p le h e lp in g each
other.
“ I d o n ’t get paid but it helps the
village. I d o n ’t have a problem get
ting a jo b , I could do that tom or
row ," said Currier. “ I have the abil
ity to talk with preachers and I am a
Christian. It would be a sham e to let
that fall apart and ju st w orry about
me. T his is a special circum stance.
How often do you get to m ake an
impact in 60 p eo p le's lives?”
The leadership roles, like Cindy
D avis' position as office m anager
and C urrier's role as fundraising
coordinator, require them to be a
resident at D ignity V illage for one
year. T o com m it to staying hom e
less for one year at least, som e may
question the incentive to leave.
Sm ith says the incentive is tocreate
a b etter w ay o f life.
“I will be moving on,” said Smith.
For m ore in fo rm atio n on how
you can help D ignity V illage, visit
m y sp ace.co m /d ig n ity v illag e. The
site is o p en to the p u b lic each day
from 10 a.m . to 10p.m . D ignity
V illage, a n o n -p ro fit o rg an izatio n
is located at 9 4 0 1 N.E. Sunderland.
D o n atio n s can be m ade at any US
Bank.