Page 6
August 7, 2024
Never Say Never
Continued from Page 5
do what the woman who describes
herself as “Simone Biles from
Spring, Texas, who flips” does as
well as any gymnast — male or
female — has ever done.
She flew. She soared off the ta-
ble and landed with a big bounce
— a nod to the energy she gener-
ates — with her right foot on the
out-of-bounds line.
The judges dinged her a tenth of
a point for that. It hardly mattered.
Her score of 15.700 meant she
merely needed to avoid disaster
on her second vault to win. In-
stead, she almost stuck her Cheng,
which requires a roundoff onto the
springboard, and a half twist onto
the block followed by 1 1/2 twists
while doing a forward somersault.
The 14.9 she received meant the
fight for gold was over.
Biles has 10 career medals, tied
for the third most by a female gym-
nast in Olympic history. Two more
before she heads back to Texas and
she would find herself all alone in
second behind Larisa Latynina,
who piled up 18 while competing
for the Soviet Union in the 1950s
and ‘60s. Catching Latynina seems
unlikely. Not that it matters much
to the “Greatest of All Time.” She’s
gained something far more valu-
able anyway: silence.
Funny how the critics who
pounced on her after Tokyo sud-
denly find themselves speechless
after watching her win her third
gold medal in Paris.
“They’re really quiet now,” she
said with a touch of sarcasm, “so
that’s strange.”
A student with their backpack surrounded by school supplies
Some Back-to-School
Items Needed this Year
Continued from Page 4
Thursday, October 17
6–8 p.m.
PRE-K TO GRADE 5
(PARENTS/GUARDIANS ONLY)
Sunday, October 20
1–4 p.m.
GRADES 6 TO 12
(PARENTS & STUDENTS)
OPEN
Learn more at
oes.edu/openhouse-po
admit@oes.edu | 503-768-3115
CHE CK I N G & S A V I N GS • HOM E L OANS • AUTO L OANS
CR E DI T CA R DS • BUSINESS SERVICES
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After all, we live here too.
For over 90 years, OnPoint has been a part of the Pacific Northwest. In that time,
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Drop by one of our 57 branches. We’d love to introduce you to the financial tools
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Rose Haven, a day shelter,
lists several drop-off locations
for school supplies at its web-
site rosehaven.org/helping/do-
nate-school-supplies. For more
information, call 503-248-6364,
ext. 0303 or email Angel at as-
tech@rosehaven.org.
The Portland Refugee Support
Group, at https://tinyurl.com/2xf-
hw96r, is also sponsoring a drive
for backpacks filled with supplies.
The website suggests residents get
a school supply list from a neigh-
borhood school, fill the backpack
with supplies and put a tag on in-
dicating what grade it is for. For
more details, contact Kristi at
JustServeRefugees@gmail.com.
Since 2018, Operation Back
to School has provide 650 ful-
ly loaded backpacks to children
in Washington and Multnomah
counties, by monetary donations
through its website at opera-
tionbacktoschoolcmh.org.
The nonprofit Impact NW
(impactnw.org/news/school-sup-
ply-drive-donations) which is
focused on preventing home-
lessness, is also holding a school
supply drive through donations,
buying supplies from the orga-
nization’s Amazon wish list, or
dropping off school supply items
at the Dancing Tree Family Cen-
ter at 10055 E. Burnside.
The Gresham Salvation Army
is also working to donate school
supplies, underwritten by a re-
cent $29,000 donation from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
terday Saints for back-to-school
supplies for kids in Multnomah,
Clackamas and Washington
counties, as well as shoes and
socks for women, children
and veterans living in shel-
ters. Details at https://tinyurl.
com/34w2r8x3.
The Free Store for Teachers
(https://schoolhousesupplies.
org/programs/shopping)
pro-
vides school supplies at no cost
to classrooms in the Centennial,
David Douglas, Gresham-Bar-
low, Parkrose, Portland Public
and Reynolds school districts.
Teachers at schools where 50
percent or more of students qual-
ify for free and reduced lunch are
also eligible to shop. For more
details, contact info@school-
housesupplies.org. The store ac-
cepts cash donations and is also
supported by more than 20 local
businesses and charities.
There may be other entities,
including churches and local
grocery stores, that also sponsor
back to school programs. Fred
Meyer, for example, partners
with both Salvation Army and
KGW-TV.
Supply lists vary from school
to school, so check with your
local school district to see what
is needed. Back-to-school sup-
plies for each of Portland Pub-
lic Schools’ 86 schools can be
found at the website https://app.
teacherlists.com/browse/city/
Portland/Oregon.