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March 14, 2018
‘Let’s Get Moving’
Health Event
The Vancouver branch of the NAACP
and other organizations are inviting their
friends and neighbors to get involved in
a ‘Let’s Get Moving’ campaign to build
awareness on the importance of adopting a
healthy lifestyle.
African Americans face many health
disparities, impacted by issues like low in-
comes, dependency on Medicaid services;
gym memberships that lack cultural inclu-
sion; chronic health conditions like diabe-
tes, obesity, heart disease, stroke and other
daily stressors to name a few.
Community health worker and found-
er of the “Let’s Get Moving” program,”
Kelli Keyes says, “We need to create more
opportunities to build awareness of the
importance of becoming more active as a
community.”
On Saturday, March 17 at 1 p.m., area
residents are invited to learn more during
an open house at the Vancouver Housing
Authority, 2500 Main St. For two hours
each Saturday at the facility, the group
meets for dancing to music, an outdoor
walk-rhythm activity, healthy conversa-
tions and a variety of healthy snacks. The
group’s age range is college young adult
through an amazing 80 years young!
For more information, call Kelli Keyes
at 360-993-9558.
Jeff Alumni Oppose Name Change
Will host public
discussion next week
A group representing past and present
students of Jefferson High School has tak-
en a stand against changing the name of
the school and has started a petition not to
change the name and leave it the same.
The call to change Jefferson’s name took
on weight last January when the Humboldt
Neighborhood Association sponsored a
public forum at the North Portland Library.
It followed an appeal by resident Clifford
Walker, a local black neighbor and activist
who objects to public high school named
after a former slave owner. Others want
to focus on supporting and improving the
school and warn about a gentrified com-
munity erasing Jefferson’s current history.
The Portland School Board is considering
revising its policies to allow for school
name changes when it takes into account
the district’s desire to eliminate systemic
discrimination.
Monday, The Jefferson High School
Alumni association issued a statement
saying it found little support for changing
Jefferson’s name. The group said when
it asked its members to comment on its
Facebook account, only 20 people stated
they were in favor of a name change and
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Jefferson community to attend their own
public discussion on the issue. The meet-
ing will be held on Wednesday, March 21
at 7 p.m. at the Unite Oregon offices at 700
N. Killingsworth St.
Week in Review
Serial Package Bombs Deadly
Three explosions that occurred when people picked
up packages outside their homes around Austin,
Texas appear to be connected, according to po-
lice. Two of the blasts happened Monday, killing a
17-year-old African-American boy and injuring two
others. A March 2 blast killed a 39-year-old Afri-
can-American man.
President Donald Trump unceremoniously dumped
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday — by
tweet — and picked CIA Director Mike Pompeo to
take his place, abruptly ending Tillerson’s turbulent
tenure as America’s top diplomat and escalating the
administration’s chaotic second-year shake-up with
five top officials resigning or being fired in the last
two weeks.
Lilliard Player of Week
The NBA named
Damian Lillard
the Western Con-
ference Player of
the Week Monday
after he led the
league in points
per game and
led the Blazers
to three-straight
wins, including
a 17-point victory over the defending champion
Golden State Warriors.
Students to see “Hamilton”
Danny Peterson
P ublic r elAtions : Mark
112 people were against it.
The Jefferson Alumni Association and
the nonprofit immigrant and civil rights
group Unite Oregon are calling on current
Jefferson students, alumni and the wider
More White House Shakeup
State Farm R
r ePorter /W eb e ditor :
A monument of President Thomas Jefferson fronts Jefferson High School.
Portland Public Schools announced Monday that
is sending 750 high school students to see the
award-winning musical “Hamilton” at a special
matinee performance on Wednesday in Seattle,
ahead of the play’s arrival in Portland next week.
The Hamilton Education Program made the tick-
ets available at a deep discount to the 10th and
11th grade students from historically underserved
schools.
Crows Killed by Neurotoxin
In late January, witnesses in the vicinity of North-
east Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Jessup
Street reported seeing nearly a dozen crows “fall-
ing from the sky,” seizing on the ground and dying.
Last week, a criminal investigation determined the
birds were intentionally poisoned with a neurotoxin
called Avitrol, a restricted use pesticide. Whoever
put out the poison likely violated federal law, ac-
cording to the Audubon Society.
Food Bank Recalls Chia Seeds
The Oregon Food Bank initiated a recall of 22,201
pounds of chia seeds Monday, which were donated
to the food bank and distributed between Novem-
ber and March 9. The product may be contaminated
with rodent droppings. While no known illnesses
have been reported with this product, use or con-
sumption may present a health hazard to consumers.
Merkely on Presidential Run
Rumors of Sen. Jeff Merkley
running for president in 2020
may be fueled by his upcom-
ing trip to New Hampshire, but
last week he told KOIN 6 News
he’s focused on campaigning
for fellow Democrats fighting
for a majority in the Senate.
“My main focus is the fight for
51, to get a Democratic major-
ity in the Senate that can stop some of the worst
of Trump’s policies and also the packing of the
courts,” Merkley said.
House Ends Election Probe
In a viewpoint met with sharp disagreement with
Democrats and with the U.S. intelligence communi-
ty, Republicans on the House Intelligence Commit-
tee announced Monday that they have ended their
probe into the 2016 election, finding no evidence
Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to help
Donald Trump win or that Trump campaign collud-
ed with Russia.