Workplace Shooting
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A woman is killed and two
others are injured at a
drug-testing lab in Tualatin
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r r i n k i ic h i*rl in IQ7D
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVIV. Num ber 44
.W eek in
The Review
Obama Salutes Victims
S o m b e rly
reciting 13
nam es and
13 sto rie s.
P re s id e n t
Barack O bam aTuesday saluted
the A m ericans killed in last
w eek’s m assacre at the Fort
Hood, Texas Arm y post as he­
roes who died for their country
— and prom ised a nation de­
manding answers that "the killer
will be met w ith justice."
Blazers on All Star Ballot
FourT rail Blazers were nam ed
to this year’s N BA All-Star
ballot T uesday, including two-
tim e A ll-Star Brandon Roy,
L aM arcus A ld rid g e, A ndre
M i 1 ler and G reg O den.
No Clemency for Sniper
Virginia’s gover-
nor refused to
spare the life of
Jo h n
A llen
Muhammad and
I
cleared the way for
his execution Tuesday night for
the sniper attacks in 2002 that
left 10 dead and spread such fear
people were afraid to go shop­
ping, cut grass or pump gas.
Iran Charges Americans
Iran accused three Am ericans,
including one from Oregon, o f
sp y in g M o n d a y , sig n a lin g
Tehran intends to put them on
trial. It drew a sharp U.S. re­
sponse that the charges are
baseless because the hikers
strayed across the border from
Iraq.
Abdul-Jabbar has Leukemia
NBA
g re a t
K areem Abdul-
Jabbar is being
treated for a rare
formofleukemia.
The 62-year-old
A bdul-Jabbar said his doctor
didn't give any guarantees, but
informed him: "Y ouhaveavery
good chance to live your life
out and not have to m ake any
d r a s tic c h a n g e s to y o u r
lifestyle.”
Duck Player Reinstated
JSL
j O regon running
hack LeG arrette
Blount, who was
the
L
Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • November II, 2009
Fire Destroys School
Marysville
students
safely
evacuate
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
Students and staff were able
to safely ev acuate a burning
s o u th e a s t P o rtla n d s c h o o l
T u esd a y as fire q u ick ly e n ­
gulfed the building.
O fficials said it took ju st two
m inutes to em pty M arysville
Elem entary School o f its 460
stu d e n ts and staff. T h e fire
broke out about 11:40 a.m. A few
m inutes later, flam es were seen
ripping through the 87-year-old
landmark at 7733 S.E. Raymond
St. in the M t. S c o tt-A rle ta
N eighborhood.
Kenton Rush, a sixth grader at
the K-8 school, recalls sitting in
class when a large cloud of smoke
rushed past his classroom.
He quickly fled along with his
peers through the front door,
a n d w a s th e n ta k e n by h is
teachers to a library on Holgate
Boulevard w here he texted his
mother.
“Schools d on’t catch on fire
photo by M ark W ashington ZT he P ortland O bserv er
Emergency personnel go to work after a major fire erupts during the school day Tuesday at Marysville Elementary at
7733 S.E. Raymond St. Students and sta ff safely evacuated the building with no Injuries reported.
very m uch,” said Rush, w ho
was frightened by the fire.
T h e r o o f on th e e a s t sid e
o f th e sc h o o l c o lla p s e d in
fla m e s an d w as re d u c e d to a
b la c k e n e d h o le.
M o re th a n 100 P o rtla n d
firefighters battled the inferno.
By about 12:30 p.m. the fire ap­
peared to be under control, but
flam es could still be seen danc­
ing along the edge o f the roof
as lire fighters clim bed a ladder
to spray it with a hose. O nlook­
ers lingered outside the yellow
tape as w ater streamed out of
the front doors o f the school
Nearly two hours after the fire
continued
Hang Up
and Drive
Driving with a
hand-held cell
phone will
become illegal
Jan. 1 bringing a
$90 fine for
violations.
State gears up for cell phone ban
(A P) - As o f Jan. 1, you can
get slapped with a $90 fine if
you use a hand-held cell phone
w hile driving in Oregon. Will
that be enough to en courage
m otorists to keep their full at­
tention on the road? And how
well can the law be enforced?
O regon will becom e one o f
seven states that have banned
d riv in g w h ile , ta lk in g on a
handheld cell phone, according
to the Insurance Institute for
H ighw ay Safety.
T h e ban, ap p ro v e d by the
2009 O regon Legislature, does
not apply to drivers using a cell
p h o n e e q u ip p e d w ith a
handsfree device. It also has
exceptions for certain drivers,
in c lu d in g th o se w o rk in g in
public safety, and for others
on page A2
w ho are "operating a m otor ve­
h ic le in th e sc o p e o f th e
person's em ploym ent."
H ighway safety officials and
law enforcem ent agencies are
gearing up to publicize and en ­
force the law, w hich they say
will make roads safer.
Salem resident Jim Allhiser,
w ho ow ns a hom e inspection
business, isn't waiting for Jan.
1. He's already making arrange­
m ents to get rid o f his hand-
continued
on page A2
punching a Boise
S tate p la y e r in the season
opener, has been allow ed to
rejoin the D ucks. The univer­
sity requested Blount's rein­
statement, w hich was approved
by Pacific-10 Conference com ­
missioner.
OxyContin Holdup
A W a lg ree n s p h arm acy in
T routdale w as robbed for the
painki I ler OxyContin Sunday by
a w hite man in a ski hat. sun­
glasses, and a scarf wrapped
over his face. He got aw ay with
nearly $4,(XX) worth o f the drug.
AIDS Top Killer of Women
In its first study o f w om en's
health around the globe, the
W orld Health Organization said
M onday that the AIDS virus is
the leading cause o f death and
disease am ong women between
the ages o f 15 and 44. Unsafe
sex is the leading risk factor in
developing countries for these
w omen of childbearing age.
years
•Scommunity service
In Focus: Blacks and the Film Industry
the fo u n d er and president o f
Micheaux Film Corp. He was the
first black man to produce a full
len g th , eig h t-re el, all N egro
movie.
Micheaux completed 44 of the
82 so-called “race movies" that
were produced during the time.
His first, H om esteader (1919)
was a silent motion picture, and
The Exile was his first feature
film with sound. The Betrayal
(1948) was his last film before
his death.
Two local men. 2(X)8 Oregon
M ed ia A rts A w ard recip ien t
D avid Walker, and Ron Craig,
by A manda G rear
T he P ortland O bserver
African American films have
been aro u n d since the early
1900s - not that I have been
around that long.
A ccording to the E n cy clo ­
pedia o f the H arlem R en ais­
sance, William D. Foster o f C hi­
cago, formed the first black film
co m p an y , F o ster P h o to p lay .
From 1909 to 1913 he produced
the first black cast film shorts,
such as T he P ullm an P o rter
(1910) and The Railroad Porter
(19l2)-w hich was his l()-minute
debut film.
F o ste r o rg a n iz e d his c o m ­
pan y to sp e c ia liz e in “ n o n ­
d e g ra d in g B lack c a st c o m ­
e d i e s , ” c h a l l e n g i n g th e
b la c k f a c e - b la c k s p o r ­
tra y e d by w h ite a c to rs - d e ­
p ic tio n s o f A fric a n A m e ri­
c a n s , a n d o ffe rin g h is c h a r ­
a c t e r s c o m p le x is s u e s to
face. F o ster P h o to p lay C o m ­
p an y fo ld e d in 1918 du e to
f in a n c ia l a n d d is t r ib u t io n
p ro b le m s.
A legend writer, director, and
producer O scar M ichcaux was
2(X)9 Emmy nomination recipi­
ent, have joined the black film ­
m aker ranks with films such as
U ncle T o m ’s A partm ent and
Searching for York.
Walker has a unique take on
black films in particular, views
that some people may take is­
sue with. He says the average
person tends to only think of
two black priRlucers, Spike Lee
and Tyler Perry.
“They are neither the begin­
ning or the end," Walker said.
“|I 'v e | never seen a Tyler Perry
continued
on page AS
F ilm F estiv a l O p en s F rid a y
Portland filmmaker Ron Craig will participate in an inaugu­
ral African American Film Festival this weekend at
McMenamins pubs and theaters.
Portland kicks off an inau­
gural African A merican Film
Festival, with screenings all
w eekend
lo n g
at
M cM enam ins pubs and the­
aters, starting Friday, Nov. 13.
The festival will showcase
films from the 20’s through the
8 0 's. F ilm s such as G uess
W ho's Com ing to Dinner, Do
the Right Thing, Super Fly,
and Imitation of Life.
Forum s w ill speak to the
history o f African A m ericans’
involvem ent in film and what
it tak es to be in th is b u s i­
n ess.
Participating M cM enam ins
Pubs and T h e a te rs are the
Bagdad T h eater & Pub. St.
Johns Theater & Pub. Mission
Theater, and Kennedy School.
1