September IO. 2014
^Ìurtlanb (Obstruer
IN S ID E
This page
Sponsored by:
TheWeek Review
Page 3
Fred Meyer
What's on your list today?.
Hands Across the Bridge brings voices o f recovery together in solidarity and celebration. The annual event
returns to the 1-5 Bridge between Portland and Vancouver beginning at noon on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Speak Up, Reach Out
Voices for
Recovery to
span 1-5 Bridge
September is National Recovery
Month and the largest one-day re
covery event west of the Missis
sippi will be held Sunday, Sept. 14
when local residents launch Hands
Across the Bridge, an annual event
on the 1-5 Bridge between Portland
and Vancouver.
This y ear’s theme, “Join the
Voices for Recovery: Speak Up,
Reach Out,” encourages people to
openly speak up about mental and
substance use disorders and the
reality of recovery, and promote
ways individuals can use to recog
nize behavioral health issues and
reach out for help.
The event begins at noon with
opening ceremonies on each side of
the river. Native Americans repre
senting local tribes will drum and
lead the participants as they walk
towards each other until they unite
on top of the bridge. Every partici
pant then joins hands in solidarity
and in celebration o f recovery as
they recite the Serenity Prayer. The
moment of unification is extremely
powerful, organizers said.
Last year more than 2,500people
participated and this year, the num
ber is expected to top 4,000.
After the bridge ceremony, an
other recovery event is held at Ester
Short Park in downtown Vancouver.
Oxfest is a free event for anyone in
recovery and their families and sup
porters.
For information on Hands Across
the Bridge and Oxfest, call Patty Katz
at 360-903-4645 or visit the website
handsacrossthebridge.org.
Workers File Discrimination Case
C alendar
C lassifieds
F ood
page 20
page 10
pages 14
Daimler Trucks North America’s
Swan Island assembly plant is fac
ing racial discrimination allegations
from four black employees
The employees state that they
were subjected to nooses, swasti
kas, racial slurs, and death threats
during their 10 years of employment
at the north Portland plant.
Daimler’s Portland branches em
ploy nearly 2,000 people, and the
plant on Swan Island is home to 800
of those employees.
Environmental maintenance tech
nician Joseph L. Hall, one of the men
filing a complaint this past year,
retired in July, sharing only that his
past 20 years at the company had
been fraught with racial incidents.
Attorney Mark Morrell, who is
representing three of the complain
ants, shared that the case may be
headed to litigation if Daim ler
doesn’t come to its senses.
City Council Settles with Black Executive
Form er em battled city adm inis
trative officer Jack D. Graham has
agreed to drop his legal claim s
against the city in exchange for a
$40,000 settlem ent that was re
cently approved by the City Coun
cil.
Graham, the city ’ s highest rank
ing A frican-A m erican official at
the time, had been accused o f fi
nancial m ism anagem ent in the
c ity ’s 2012-2013 fiscal year bud-
get, som ething he refuted.
Back in April, he had notified
the city o f his intention to pursue
legal claim s against the city, in
cluding claim s o f denial o f due
process, race discrim ination, and
defamation arising from false alle
gations made by city representa
tives that inferred he was guilty.
As part o f the settlem ent with
Graham , M ayor Charlie Hales is
sued a letter clearing Graham of
any wrongdoing. He stated that at
no time in G raham ’s em ploym ent
with the city of Portland (which
started in 2001) did he com m it any
financial “im proprieties.”
“Mr. Graham was highly re
spected by his subordinate em
ployees and was recognized by
the Bureau Chiefs he worked for
as the most vital m anager within
the organization,” said Hales in
the letter.