Human
Dilemmas
Behind the images
o f the criminally
insane
‘City of
Roses’
Home
Grown Talent
Renee Watson
writes two
childrens books
See page 6
áLIüfí latrò
See A&E, page 9
hserlier years,
•'community service
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXX, Number 25
w w w .p o rtla n d o b s e rv e r.c o m
Wednesday • June 23. 2010
No Closures for Now
Superintendent
retreats on plan
for more time
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
A fter hitting
a num ber o f
snags, sig n ifi­
cant com m u­
n ity
pu sh
back, and fac­
ing o th er se ri­
ous issues, the
plan to sig n ifi­
c a n t ly o v e r ­
haul P o rtlan d
P u b l i c
S c h o o ls’ high
school system Carole S m ith
h as b e en d e ­
layed u n til the fall.
At the school board meeting on Monday,
Superintendent Carole Smith, who initiated
the redesign project last year to address
c. „ . ,
...
photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
S t^ e n ts fr° m Jet1erson H igh S chool p a ck a S choo l B oard m e e tin g on June 1 6
gaping inequities in the high school system,
said that no action would be taken on the plan
until September.
The announcement was a major if not
tem p o rary rep rie v e for su p p o rte rs o f
Jefferson, Benson and Marshall high schools,
neighborhood campuses impacted most by
the redesign proposals.
Smith, reading from a prepared statement,
said that she and board leadership were in
agreement that the complex proposal needed
more time, especially when the district had
been distracted by the June 4 disappearance
o f Skyline Elementary student Kyron Horman
and a major budget shortfall.
Smith reiterated her support for the rede­
sign program, which would dramatically alter
three high schools and roughly equalize the
number o f students and funding at neighbor­
hood high schools.
Claiming the proposal would bring “game-
changers” to the district, she said that it
would guarantee the same education to each
student, regardless o f their race or economic
status, and reduce segregation at each school.
“We have tolerated gross inequities in
access to educational opportunity. We
Wlth s 'Sns ^ e p e c tin g the m any scho ol a d m in is tra to rs th a t have co m e a n d then
m oved on from the no rth P ortla nd school.
continued
’W '
on page 16
Donated Blood is Gift of Life
Crisis transfusions
point to critical need
by
N ick W arren
Latay Hammick is ready for summer vacation after finish­
ing up the sixth grade at Boise Eliot School. She is excited for
basketball with her friends and what could be her first trip to
summer camp.
But for Latay and her family, there’s more to be excited
about than summertime. It’s also been over six months since
Latay has needed blood transfusions at Doem becher
Children's Hospital, where she had her last medical emer­
gency.
When Latay was bom, she was diagnosed with sickle cell
anemia, a disorder that causes red blood cells to form an
abnormal crescent shape. Because o f this rare shape, sickle
cells are fragile and only last about 10 to 20 days in the
bloodstream, while healthy cells typically survive for about
Latay H am m ick follow s a p la n fo r s ic k le c e ll anem ia
h e a lth th a t g e ts h e r m e d ica l he lp when she ne eds it,
like c ritic a lly im p o rta n t b lo o d tra n sfu sio n s.
120 days.
This means patients like Latay are chronically short on
their red blood cell count. Since these cells play a critical role
o f transporting oxygen throughout the body, they must be
replaced. To help relieve symptoms o f anemia in sickle cell
patients, blood transfusions are necessary.
When she was two years old, Latay had open heart
surgery. Many pints o f donated blood were used for a
successful operation.
“It took a few hours, and while the sickle cell blood was
coming out, she had pints o f good blood coming in,” said
Tiffany Lamberth, who is Latay’s mother. “When a sickle cell
child goes into the hospital, it’s called a crisis. Latay usually
stays there for three to five days.”
Leonard Lamberth, Latay’s grandfather, sits on the board
• o f the Sickle Cell Foundation o f Oregon. The family is very
knowledgeable on the blood disorder, but because symp­
toms often start as fatigue, infections, and episodes o f pain,
it used to be difficult to determine the cause.
continued
on page 4