Page 2
December 30, 2015
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Meadowlark Lemon Dies
‘Clown Prince’ of basketball was 83
(AP) — Meadowlark Lemon,
the “clown prince” of basketball’s
barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters,
whose blend of hook shots and hu-
mor brought joy to millions of fans
around the world, died Sunday, Dec.
27 in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 83.
Though skilled enough to play
professionally, Lemon instead want-
ed to entertain, his dream of playing
for the Globetrotters hatched after
watching a newsreel of the all-black
team at a cinema house when he was
11.
Lemon ended up becoming argu-
ably the team’s most popular player,
a showman known as much for his
confetti-in-the-water-bucket routine
and slapstick comedy as his half-
court hook shots and no-look, be-
hind-the-back passes.
A sign of his crossover appeal,
Lemon was inducted into both the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
and the International Clown Hall of
Fame.
“My destiny was to make people
happy,” Lemon said as he was in-
ducted into the basketball hall as a
contributor to the game in 2003.
Lemon played for the Globetrot-
ters during the team’s heyday from
the mid-1950s to the late-1970s,
delighting fans with his skills with
a ball and a joke. Traveling by car,
The
No Indictment in Tamir Rice Case
The police officer who killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice
outside a Cleveland recreation center last year won’t
face criminal charges. Neither will the other officer
who was with him. An Ohio grand jury failed to indict
the officers on Monday, following the recommenda-
tion of the local prosecutor who said there was no
criminal intent.
Landslide Buckles Highway
A massive landslide caused a state highway to buck-
le at the border of Coos and Douglas counties over
the Christmas holiday. The Oregon Department of
Transportation says that it could take at least a month
to fully clear debris and repair damages to Oregon
Highway 42.
Meadowlark Lemon of the Harlem
Globetrotters, the ‘clown prince’ of
basketball, died Sunday in Scotts-
dale, Ariz. He was 83.
bus, train or plane nearly every night,
Lemon covered nearly 4 million miles
to play in over 100 countries and in
front of popes and presidents, kings and
queens. Known as the “Clown Prince
of Basketball,” he averaged 325 games
per year during his prime, that lumi-
nous smile never dimming.
“Meadowlark was the most sensa-
tional, awesome, incredible basketball
player I’ve ever seen,” NBA great and
former Globetrotter Wilt Chamberlain
said shortly before his death in 1999.
“People would say it would be Dr. J or
even (Michael) Jordan. For me it would
be Meadowlark Lemon.”
Bakery Pays Up Fines
The defendants in a high-profile discrimination case
in Gresham deposited $135,000 to pay state fines this
week, but say they will continue to appeal the verdict.
The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa were charged
for denying services to a lesbian couple.
Man Falls to Death
A man died after falling nine stories from an apartment
balcony shortly after 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Emer-
gency responders found the man dead outside the Vue
Apartments on Southwest Park near Portland State Uni-
versity. Traffic was closed and investigators are still try-
ing to learn the circumstances surrounding the fatality.
Champion for Refugees Dies
Jerome “Jerry” Stern, a Portland businessman who
used his wealth and influence to help relocate hundreds
of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, died this
week at his home in Portland. He was 89 years old.
Paying it Forward
C ontinued froM f ront
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Week in Review
bers’ homes, and the process continued that
way for years. But as the chapter grew, it
became necessary to locate larger and larg-
er meeting space.
Key dreamt of having a permanent
meeting site large enough to accommodate
40 to 60 people. Her search resulted in the
discovery of a long abandoned Arco gas
station and convenience store on the cor-
ner of North Albina and Ainsworth Street,
across from the glowing, rose-covered
Peninsula Park.
The property itself was unsightly, trashed,
boarded up, and piled high with rubbish.
Arco wanted to dispose of the property and
sold it to Key for a very modest price in
1992 so that it could be turned over to Delta
Sigma Theta as a future community site.
Poole-Jones and others made the dream
become a reality. They left a mark that re-
minded many Portlanders of what a com-
munity can do when it comes together. The
sorority won a $70,000 grant from Pacific
Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy pro-
gram to install solar panels on the center
and secured many other environmentally
friendly contributions.
The sculpture commemorates Poole-
Jones’ efforts, but also the promise of a
sustainable future for all women of color
in the heart of a quickly gentrifying neigh-
borhood.