lanuary 2, 2008 Œl’1' ^Jnrtlanb (Dhseruer PageA2 Gun Turn-In Promotes Safety The Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation, Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association and the Portland Police Bureau collected 103 guns, plus pellet and toy guns, at a recent gun turn-in at Grace Episcopal Memorial Church. The guns will be checked for possible involvement in felonies, then melted down. Participants received coupons good at Union 76 gas stations, Fred Meyer, Safeway, New Seasons, the Lloyd Center mall and for Portland Trail Blazers tickets. Grace Church pastor Stephen Schneider recalled that Ceasefire Oregon had its first gun turn-in 10 years ago at this church. At a press conference prior to the event, Portland Police Chief Posie Sizer praised the event as a way to reduce the number of excess guns that can find their way into the hands of children or criminals. ph o to m L ei Pi ri \ i \ x / T iii P om i a n d O bserver Girls Master Elements of Hip Hop In New After-School Program First of its kind bv R aymond R endeeman T he P ortland O bserver The Rock ‘n’ Roll Cam p forGirls is inaugurating a 10-week program to teach the cultural im portance and technique behind the five ele­ ments o f hip hop. As part o f the program 's mission to eradicate m yths about m usic and genderthat limit speaking up. sing­ ing out and making noise, girls 8-18 will learn the basics of beatboxing. DJing, M Cing. breakdancing and graffiti art. The teachers represent a w ho's who o f the thriving regional hip- Molly Brown (left) and Sequoia Browne I ay practice beatboxing at the Rock ‘n ' Roll Camp for Girls, 89 0 0 ‘A ’ N.E. Vancouver Way. MIK Day Celebration through Service Join the fun and help your community! Monday, January 21 Register at www.unitedway-pdx.org Volunteer with your friends, family, children or co-workers. Build a food pantry. Prepare supply kits for Oregon soldiers. Help a school and lots more! hop scene. Syndel of S iren 's Echo, M ireaya M edina of Beats for Peace and Ragen Fykes o f Triple Grip com prise ju st the Portland delega­ tion o f talent. The program also landed Seattle MC S u 'ad Abdurafi and O lym pia’s M ara M cCloskey. Ask O W ith each expansion, Rock ‘n ’ “It’s about em pow ering girls tow ard their own ideas o f who and Roll Cam p for Girls becom es each what they want to be," says pro­ year a bit more o f a misnomer. But, gram director Connie W ohn. who in the rebellious spirit o f the origi­ this year helped start Hrp-Hop 101 nal rock music, the organization continues to help young people at Jefferson High School. A fter the success o f introducing develop musically and em otionally some hip-hop elem ents at cam p last in a society that makes any musical sum m er, the program directors d e­ genre difficult for those striving to c id e d to w id en th e o ffe rin g s be active agents. “ You can always have a role, and through an after-school program. The seven-year-old organization for hip hop, that doesn’t mean you will also expand the wide variety of have to be a video girl,” W ohn instruments and equipm ent that it says. T he first co u rse o f its kind in provides for the students. th e c ity , H ip H o p E le m e n ts The move m arks more resur­ uniq u en ess exten d s to its now - gence than reaction, as female hip- hop artists and producers estab­ fleeting u n d erground status. "If lished the genre. “Especially in hip we w ere d oing this in New Y ork, hop, there have been a lot of women the hip-hop program w ould be who were influential,” says Wohn. th e first o n e so ld o u t,” say s Foundational perform ers like W ohn, noting that sm all classes Q ueen L atifah shared in the d e ­ will be held regardless. With lim ited financial aid avail­ sire to abolish ob so lete traditions that restrict m any fem a les’ free able for its $250 tuition, the pre­ m usical ex p ressio n and o bstruct miere w inter course runs weekly th eir access to the w orld o f m u­ from 4:30 to6:30 p. m. starting Thurs­ sic. T he cam p will seek to d em o n ­ day, Jan. 10. A pplications can be s t r a t e — th r o u g h le s s o n s , found from I to 7 p.m. M ondays m e n to r s h ip an d p o s itiv e e x ­ through Thursdays at the cam p 's am p les— that w om en can explore location, 89(X) 'A ' N.E. V ancouver hip h o p 's form s as m uch as w ith W ay. on girlsrockcam p.org or by calling 503-445-4991. any o th e r m edium . Dear Deanna! I don’t make a lot of money but I know how to save and invest. My family members want to borrow money and get loans from me. This causes a lot of stress and arguments when I tell them no because they don't pay me back. I'm single and I'm tired of everybody thinking I'm their money bags. -A nonym ous; On- Line Reader Dear Anonymous: You need to grow up and real ize that you’ re not a savings and loan hero. You don't owe your family anything, and if they kick you to the curb for holding on to your money, then so be it. You're being used. Get over it and keep it moving. Dear Deanna! NEW S E A S O N S M A R K E T Z AT A R B O R L O D G E I plan to evict my adult children that live with me. I've been retired for a few years and I still find myself cooking and cleaning because my kids haven't left the nest. I started letting them know my plans this summer and they act like this is a joke. I have retirement money that I want to use to travel, live my life and have a good time. What is the best way to tell them one more time, they have to get out and know that I'm serious? —M argaret; Baltimore, Md. Dear Margaret: You can hire a moving crew to come and pack their things for them. This will catch them offguard and shock them especially if you have a locksmith changing the locks at the same time. You've done your job as a mother but failed as a parent if your children can', make it on theirown. Then again, they're selfish freeloaders taking advantage of you because you le, them. The game is over and your freedom begins when you call the moving company. Dear Deanna! y&7 U)e are, a re/^Car pharmacy'. i f W e fill p r e s c r ip tio n s — in c lu d in g a n tib io tic s , h ig h b lo o d p re s s u r e m e d ic a tio n s , a n ti d e p re s s a n ts , b irth c o n tr o l, a n d m o re . t r W e h a v e k n o w le d g e a b le , frie n d ly p h a r m a c is ts w h o h a v e th e tim e to s h a re in fo r m a tio n . I am in a situation tit work because of a prank my co-worker played on our boss. We participated in the Secret Santa drawing and agreed to buy gifts for one another. I had to buy a gift for my boss and I bought a bottle of perfume. This was well and good until my friend replaced the gift with a box that had charcoal, a dog collar and breath mints in it. I'm going to be fired and I want to take her down with me but I'm scared of being called a snitch. What do I do? -A n ita ; Dallas, Texas Dear Anita: y O u r p r ic e s a re c o m p e titiv e W e a c c e p t m o s t in s u r a n c e p la n s a n d a re a d d in g o th e r s a s re q u e s te d . I t W e s p e c ia liz e in c u s t o m c o m p o u n d in g . M e e t y o u r P h a r m a c is t M e lin d a B u tle r Y O U R L O C A L L Y O W N E D , N E IG H B O R H O O D P H A R M A C Y A T A R B O R L O D G E N IN T E R S T A T E A V E N U E & P O R T L A N D B L V D • 5 0 3 .4 6 7 .4 8 4 8 w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m • M O N FR I 9 a m - 7 p m • S A T 9 a m - 6 p m • S U N 1 0 a m - 4 p m < The first thing todo is stop being stupid. You shouldn't sit back and lose your job because your co-worker is a jackass. You need to stand up for yourselfand put your friend on blast and if anyone gets fired, it should be her. In the future, keep your mouth shut because you played a role by telling your business. If you're honest and have been a good employee, you're safe If not, plan to start the New Year off wiser and on the path to look for another job. Ask Deanna is written by Deanna M. Write Ask Deanna! Email: askdeanna I & yahoo.com or 264 S. DtCienega Blvd. Suite 1283 Beverly Hills. CA 90211. Website: www.askdeanna.com