local news
Missing
continued from page 1
no contribution button or PayPal
link.
A spokesperson for Washington
Attorney General Rob McKenna’s
office says that certain types of
consultant services do not techni-
cally have to register with the
state.
“There’s a threshold where if
you are a nonprofit charitable
organization you are going to have
to – depending on how much
money you are bringing in – you
would have to be registered,”
spokesperson Kristin Alexander
says.
But in this area Bart’s efforts are
far from harmful.
Also not registered as a business
in either Oregon or Washington is
Harry Oakes and his company K9
Search and Rescue, who was boot-
ed from the April 2 police search
scene for Vaughn’s remains at
rugged Rocky Butte Park in
Northeast Portland.
Law enforcement contacted for
this story had a lot of griping to do
against Oakes, who comes from a
law enforcement background but
has no positive standing with
police or sheriff’s deputies.
“Any family of a crime victim
who has someone approaching
them saying I will do this for you
– some of them can be very good
and very helpful and some of them
have ulterior motives,” says Lt.
Pete Simpson of the Portland
Police.
Oakes’ website has a PayPal
donation button, as does a
Facebook page his supporters
have set up called The Private
Search for Kyron Horman. The
problem with that is – Horman’s
family never asked him for help
and does not sanction any of his
efforts.
Nevertheless Oakes has item-
ized his “search” work for Kyron
on his blog, listing how much he
would be charging for the services
if he were paid.
Kyron’s family foundation is
registered with the Oregon
Shaquita Louis was at Holladay Park Saturday. Louis is the
mother of Yashawnee Vaughn, the 14-year-old Helensview high
school student who disappeared March 19. A benefit to
support the search is 8 p.m. thursday, April 21 at the good Call
on SE 110th and Division Street. Ages 21 and over. A gospel
music celebration of Yashawnee’s life is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday
May 6 at Maranatha church, 4222 Northeast 12th Ave. Hosted
by rev. J.W. Friday. If you know something, call 503-823-HELP.
Secretary of State’s charitable
organization database, which is
searchable on the web.
Vaughn’s family foundation has
a registered tax ID number, Crime
Stoppers is administering the
$1,000 reward money for informa-
tion in a resolution in her case, and
US Bank is hosting the Yashanee
Vaughn Search Fund.
Bad Business practices
A standout in the area of missing
children charities is the Everett,
Wash.-based Operation Lookout
National Center for Missing
Youth. Their motto is, “Every
missing child deserves the chance
to be found” – and the words
“Operation Lookout” appear with
a registered copyright symbol.
Operation Lookout’s website is
packed with missing child lists,
photos, widgets and search
engines, and a custom contribu-
tion button in one corner urges
donors to give as much as $500. It
says, “Every minute matters!
Every dollar counts!”
The nonprofit organization eval-
uation website Charity Navigator,
however, gives it 0 ratings for
“efficiency,” “capacity,” and
“overall” – a rare feat among non-
profits listed there.
The group’s website says it has
been around since 1984, but
online public records only go back
to 2006.
The database shows that of the
$2,034,149
total
revenue
Operation Lookout declared in its
most recent report in 2008,
$1,663,524 – 82.9 percent — was
spent on “fundraising.”
Program expenses were pegged
at 12.6 percent.
With liabilities carried over on
its debit sheet since 2006, the
group ended 2008 with negative
$44,821 in working capital.
“We are committed to locating
missing children through active
casework investigation, assisting
law enforcement agencies, and
preventing
child
abduction
through education and public
awareness,” Operation Lookout’s
Charity Navigator listing says.
“Since 1984, our resolve has
been to remain involved through-
out the duration of a case until the
child is recovered and not close a
case until authorized by law
enforcement or the searching fam-
ily.”
Also rated are The Committee
for Missing Children, in Georgia
(0 stars out of a possible 4 stars);
California-based
Find
the
Children (1 star); the National
Child Safety Council in Missouri
(1 star); and the National Center
for Missing and Exploited
Children in Virginia (3 out of 4
stars).
Robert Lowery, executive direc-
tor of the Missing Children’s
Division of the National Center
for Missing and Exploited
Children, told The Skanner News
“Nine
Most
Mismanaged
Charities in America” list in
November, 2010.
Basic financial guidelines
Klaas created the KlaasKids
foundation to support the parents
of missing and murdered children
through services and education on
how to navigate the painful after-
math of a family tragedy.
He said part of his recent work
has been to establish best practices
for how families can work togeth-
er with authorities to find missing
kids without being ripped off.
“Every two-bit con artist within
a hundred mile radius is going to
angle for a slice of the money pie,”
he writes in his online guide for
parents.
Klaas suggests a four-part strate-
gy to deal with fundraising in con-
nection with any missing child
case:
— A local financial institution
should tightly control funds raised
to assist the family or recover the
child.
— Accounts should be estab-
lished for specific purposes and
withdrawals should require two
signatures: one from a family
member and one from an objective
third party.
Every two-bit con artist within a
hundred mile radius is going to angle
for a slice of the money pie’
— Marc Klaas
that families have to find a way to
look into the backgrounds of the
people who offer to help them.
“Our ‘Team Hope’ may provide
advice on what a family is facing,”
he said. “It has a tendency to bring
out a lot of people who want to
help – it’s good to check out the
background for the family”
Operation Lookout was named
by the 24/7 Wall St. blog on its
— The missing child’s family
should sanction fundraising activi-
ties and money that is raised
should be immediately deposited
into the relevant accounts.
— Media should be scanned for
bogus fundraising activities and
law enforcement should be con-
tacted when they are discovered.
For more information go to
www.klaaskids.org .
Unemployment
continued from page 1
alone.
“There are over 200,000 unemployed
people right now,” Beleiciks said. “It’s not
even enough to put a dent in the rate.”
Luckily, the seasonally adjusted unem-
ployment rates for Multnomah County
show a steady improvement over past two
years. The economy in Multnomah and
Washington counties has officially stabi-
lized, according to the Oregon Employment
Department.
For all industries, except the financial
industry, job growth since mid-2009 has
remained positive, adding jobs throughout
the year. The most jobs have been added in
professional and business services, adding
nearly 4,000 jobs over the year.
Beleiciks said even the finance industry
has improved since the end of 2008, if ever
slightly. Industries included in this label
include some of the biggest losers in the
housing bubble and technology sectors –
from the banks and realtors who profited off
the housing market to all those workers who
once stocked and managed the libraries of
DVDs at Blockbuster, Hollywood Video
and other failed rental business models.
He said the slow decline in unemploy-
ment – calculated by a comprehensive sur-
vey of households in the state – is natural
following the steep rise in joblessness at the
beginning of the recession. He said that in
some cases the unemployment rate can
actually rise slightly following a recession
as more people reenter the job market look-
ing for work.
In Region 2 – which consists of
Multnomah and Washington counties – sea-
sonal hiring in the spring might include jobs
in construction, real estate, retail and leisure
and hospitality.
The other industry that seems almost
recession-proof is the all-mighty health care
industry. According to Jessica Nelson,
Oregon employment economist, that indus-
try is riding high due to a number of factors,
including a large number of older people,
the higher incidence of illness and injury in
that age group, improvements in treatment
which prolong life, and decreased use of
dentures.
Nelson does say that the industry may hit
a snag or two in the near future, as govern-
ment budgets – still strained from the Great
Recession – may impact the growth of
health care.
And despite the fact that the health care
industry posts good average wages, those
numbers can be smoke and mirrors to many.
Like most of the jobs being created now,
many in health care are low wage, accord-
ing a recent report by the National
Employment Law Project. Without
advanced education and training, it’s
unlikely that many in the unemployment
lines will obtain the $73,000 mean wage
that some of the odd 24,000 registered nurs-
es in Oregon earn.
chrome rims and tinted windows.
As Hampton was struck by the shots, the
rest of the crowd fled from the area. None of
the group that was originally with Hampton
remained at the scene to talk with detec-
tives. Police say they consider the people
with Hampton to be “potential victims” and
want
to
speak
with
them.
Anyone with information about the investi-
gation, witnesses to the shooting or infor-
mation about the persons with Shiloh, or the
listed vehicle are asked to contact
Detectives Paul Dolbey or Rico Beniga at
503-823-0457.
Shiloh
continued from page 1
into the crowd of his friends near a park on
Northeast 11th Avenue and Multnomah
Street.
Witnesses say the shots came from a low-
ered late 1980s white Mercedes with
April 20, 2011 The Portland Skanner page 3