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March 09, 2022 Page 3 l OCal n ews INSIDE Helping Women and Girls Achieve Community leaders honored for dedication Arts & ENTERTAINMENT page 7 The Oregon Commission for Women is honoring Black com- munity member and activist Karol Collymore and Sen. Ginney Bur- dick of southeast Portland for their longtime dedication to improving the lives of women and girls. The Women of Achievement honorees for 2022 were select- ed passed on their outstanding leadership in promoting equity and diversity opportunities for women, officials said. Karol Collymore is the Inclu- sive Community Senior Director for Social & Community Impact at NIKE, Inc. where she leads a portfolio focused on philanthropy through the lens of race, gender, sexual orientation, and the inter- sections therein. Collymore previously served as the public affairs director for the Early Learning Division at Karol Collymore (left) and Sen. Ginny Burdick are honored for improving the lives of woman and girls. the State of Oregon. She also served as the executive director of the Equity Foundation and has worked with diverse organizations such as the American Heart Asso- ciation, Pro-Choice Oregon, and Metro Regional Government. Sen. Burdick served in the Or- egon Senate for 25 years before her appointment by Gov. Kate Brown to the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Coun- cil last year. In the Senate, Senator Burdick was best known for her leadership on gun safety legisla- tion. Laws passed during her ten- ure include universal background checks for gun purchases; remov- al of guns from domestic violence abusers and people at risk to them- selves or others; and requirements that guns be stored safely. The awardees will be honored in a virtual ceremony on Friday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m. when the Women’s History Month Procla- mation from the Governor’s Of- fice will also be read. New Lawmaker Delivers O piniOn C lassified /B ids page 9 pages 10 Established 1970 USPS 959 680 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the National Newspaper Association--Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association PO QR code Publisher: Editor: Mark Washington, Sr. Michael Leighton Office Mngr/Clasfds: Lucinda Baldwin Admin.Coord.: Quayuana Washington Creative Director: Kenya Anderson Office Asst/Sales: Shawntell Washington CALL 503-288-0033 • FAX 503-288-0015• news@portlandobserver.com ads@portlandobserver.com• subscription@portlandobserver.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 Subscribe! 503-288-0033 Fill Out & Send To: Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 $45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year (please include check with this subscription form) Name: Telephone: Address: or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com Wins funding for north Portland aquatic center By Michael Leighton Portland Observer The newest state lawmaker from Portland, Travis Nelson, a Black Democratic Party activist who was named state representa- tive for House District 44 in Port- land to fill the vacancy of former House Speaker Tina Kotek, was able to achieve a win for his dis- trict in a short Legislative session that just ended. Nelson is being credited with sponsoring a measure in the Leg- islature’s special session that con- cluded Friday to include $15 mil- lion in lottery funding for a future North Portland Aquatic Center. Nelson is a registered nurse who rose to prominence as a labor leader in his nursing profession and more recently for advocating for medical workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. He served as co-chair of the Ore- gon delegation to the 2020 Demo- cratic National Convention and is the first Black lawmaker in Ore- gon to identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The future swim center will provide a pool where kids can learn to swim and older adults can exercise. It will also provide Rep. Travis Nelson a community anchor, and jobs— first in construction and later in recreation and programming—for adults and youth. Portland Parks and Recreation will work with the community to plan for the site and develop a fa- cility that meets the community’s needs. The facility would replace the Columbia Park indoor pool in north Portland which was closed in 2019 due to life-safety issues. PP&R is considering Colum- bia Park, Columbia Annex and the Charles Jordan Community Center as three different sites for the new pool and activity space. There is no design yet, but the project is esti- mated to cost roughly $50 million. “I am glad to see the investment that the state was able to make in this community,” Nelson said in prepared remarks. “North Portland deserves the same aquatic access as other parts of Portland. I would like to thank my Senate counter- part, Senator Lew Frederick, for his work on the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. This project will give folks a place to come to- gether for physical activity, com- munity involvement, to teach our youth valuable skills and give youth a productive outlet.” Officials said PP&R has been working with community partners to diversify Portland’s aquatic centers and make swim lesson more welcoming to minority pop- ulations, and to reduce the cost barriers – but those changes are in- effective if there is not a swimming facility nearby. Without access to a pool to have swim lessons, kids may not learn to swim. Researchers have confirmed that children of color are far less likely to know how to swim and, far worse, identified an unaccept- able public health outcome: chil- dren of color drown at a higher rate than white kids. City Commissioner Carmen Rubio and PP&R will work with community partners to explore options to fill the remaining $23.3 million needed to completely fund the project, officials said. Last April, Rubio set aside $11.7 million in system development charges—the largest dedication ever—toward building a North Portland Aquatic Center. These funds will cover design, permit- ting, and robust public engagement to begin in the coming months.