Page 4
October 28, 2015
Bridging the Gap
c ontinued from p Age 3
after the shootings of unarmed
black teens like Trayvon Martin
and Tamir Rice.
Officer Vince Elmore came
up with the idea of setting up a
meeting during a conversation
with Portland Police Chief Larry
O’Dea.
“We wanted to know how
to improve relations between
the police bureau and the black
community,” said Jefferson High
School guidance counselor Don-
ald Dixon. Dixon invited O’Dea
and asked his members from the
bureau to join Boys to Men for
breakfast. Over 100 officers and
the chief responded.
“I told the chief that the pur-
pose is not to bash them today,
or to point fingers at them or to
blame them for what they do or
don’t do,” said Dixon. “I told
the chief that the purpose is to
include them as men along aside
other men to share their life, ex-
periences, and knowledge to our
boys and to one another.”
Mayor Charlie Hales also at-
tended and shared his thoughts as
well.
“To watch our police officers
mentor students at the Donald
Dixon Boys to Men Breakfast was
amazing,” he said. “For everyone
working to build the relationship
between police and the commu-
nity, and for everyone working
for equity in our community:
Pay attention to this. This was
an empowering event.”
The whole purpose of the
Boys to Men program is for
men to share their skills, ex-
periences, talents, and wis-
dom with young men who are
heading down a path that older
community members have trav-
elled.
“Though the men being old-
er will probably have more
knowledge and experience,
they too can learn from the
younger boys,” added Dixon.
This fit well with the goals of
bringing the two communities
– officers and black young men
– together, so learn more about
the world as the students enter
adulthood.
Dixon explained that it was a
unique experience and he hopes
the students gain valuable in-
sight, along with the officers,
about the humanity of each oth-
er’s groups. “It is no secret that
there is a problem for the black
male across America,” said
Dixon. “In light of the nation-
al attention toward the black
male, especially black boys, we
have an opportunity to address
our black boys in the city of
Portland with having a boys to
men program and including our
own Police Bureau.”
Bill Patterson, who coached two adult national championship amateur teams, is the new women’s
soccer coach at Portland Community College.
Soccer Returns to PCC
Teams suit
up for men
and women
Walter Arevalo is the center of
attention as soccer practice gets
underway.
Arevalo welcomes players to
the artificial turf field next to Port-
land Community College’s Rock
Creek Campus, handing each their
blue-and-white jerseys, white
shorts and multi-band long socks
with impressive skill and swift-
ness. It’s made a bit harder amid
the playful shouting and general
craziness that comes with corral-
ling 25 college students for a team
photo.
“It’s part of the administration
skills,” he said with a shrug and
smile.
It’s not any team photo day. The
day signifies the reboot of PCC’s
new intercollegiate men and wom-
en’s soccer teams, both competing
in the Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence this fall.
The college announced this past
spring that it was bringing back
soccer and held a series of tryouts
in June. Arevalo was named the
first men’s coach while respected
former Astoria High School boys
coach Bill Patterson was picked to
lead the women.
PCC briefly sported intercol-
legiate teams in the early 1990s
with the men placing runner-up
in 1994. From the late 1960s until
the early 1980s the PCC club soc-
cer team was a force among sim-
ilar teams throughout the North-
west. The Panthers captured state
titles in 1971, and 1977-81 and in
1982 beat Oregon State Universi-
ty 2-1 in the title club game, their
last trophy.
Arevalo said he’s excited by the
potential of his Panthers, which
has players from Paraguay, Con-
go, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Forest
Grove, Milwaukie and others.
“I’m a competitor and a com-
petitive coach so I don’t want to
say right now that we’ll get to
the finals, but it’s pretty much the
feeling of the players,” he said. “I
want to be in the finals and I be-
lieve we have a chance because
we have good players.”
Patterson, who has coached
soccer for 20 years and is a philos-
ophy instructor at the Rock Creek
Campus, got intrigued by the sport
because of his kids, who were top
high school players in the 1990s.
As they progressed through the
ranks, he would watch the coach-
es and became interested in their
craft.
Eventually he got licensed to
coach soccer and was hired to
be the head coach of the Astoria
High School boys soccer team.
Patterson, who coached two adult
national championship amateur
teams, led Astoria to six league ti-
tles and to the state playoffs every
year during his 10 years there.
At PCC, Patterson hopes to
build around talented core play-
ers with a sharp, crisp passing and
possession style.
“I’m really encouraged by the
season,” Patterson said. “We have
a group of committed players who
want to get better and play as a
team. They put their uniforms on
with great pride. That’s a great
thing - to give these players who
may not have the opportunity
to play intercollegiate sports a
chance to play. They get to repre-
sent their community, their school
and themselves.”
Money Moved for Affordable Housing
More money will be directed
to affordable housing projects
from Portland’s Urban Renewal
Districts over the next five years
under a proposal going to the
Portland City Council.
As part of a new initiative
announced by Mayor Charlie
Hales in response to a housing
emergency, nearly $67 million
will be added to the $202 mil-
lion the city already expects to
receive for housing projects over
the period.
The property taxes set aside for
affordable housing in the city’s
urban renewal districts will grow
to 45 percent of the total revenue
received, up from the current 30
percent, just short of the 50 per-
cent set aside housing advocates
proposed when the housing crisis
was declared earlier this month.
“We have scrubbed each Ur-
ban Renewal Area in detail,
looking at both opportunities
and costs, in an effort to direct
money toward affordable hous-
ing while maintaining projects
to enhance jobs, livability and
equity,” Hales said.
Housing Commissioner Dan
Saltzman said, “Increasing the
amount of money we spend in ur-
ban renewal areas for housing is
a community-led solution which I
am pleased to join the Mayor and
Commissioner Fish to support.”
Hales said north and northeast
Portland will see the largest in-
crease in affordable housing re-
sources.