WWW . THESKANNER . COM
M Ay 18, 2011
P ORTLAND & S EATTLE
V OLUME XXXIII, N O . 29
25
CENTS
i nsiDe
Editorial: Bad Regulators
page 4
Portland Peace Prize
page 2
Real-World Finances
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
County’s
Black Men
Speak Up
page 9
Backpack Drop
Commissioner Loretta
Smith reaches out to
underserved residents
by brian stimson
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO cOurTesy Of Jean LOOmis
W
hen it comes to budget decision
making, there’s an old saying: The
squeaky wheel gets the grease.
And last week, when Multnomah County
Commissioner Loretta Smith held a meeting
directed at African American males from the
ages of 12 to 25, there were a lot of squeaky
wheels.
The meeting hall was packed. Drawing in
many more – and older — men than intend-
ed.
“They felt they had something to say,” she
told the Skanner news.
And say they did. For more than two and
a half hours both attendees and scheduled
experts talked about many of the long-
standing issues plaguing the Black commu-
nity and what was needed of government,
individuals, schools and the community to
help solve the diverse range of problems.
Many of the men were students, express-
ing their frustrations with a school system
that didn’t challenge them enough; students
who were unaware of the health services
provided free of charge; difficulty in finding
mentors; frustration with classmates who
didn’t anticipate their future, difficulty of
landing a summer job, etc.
For many expert panelists, there was no
one or simple solution.
Dr. Harold Briggs, Portland State
University: “We don’t have skills for suc-
cess embedded in education systems or
spheres in life we frequent.”
Dr. Daymond Glenn, George Fox
University: “Everyone’s looking for a sim-
plistic answer. If we just do this, our prob-
lems will be solved, if we just do that, our
problems will be solved. Let me tell you
something, the problems plaguing our com-
munity are complex. It’s going to take a lot
of different answers to solve our problems.”
Aldis Hodge, actor on “Leverage”: “You
have to be willing to sacrifice, look at your-
Local Delta Sigma Theta sorority member Jean Loomis was with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this last week when
they dropped off school supplies, toys and treats during Operation Backpack Drop.
“The opportunity to experience the Afghan culture and to show a different view of Americans to young children was
a great way to spend Mother’s Day,” said Loomis, an administrative assistant here deployed from the Portland District
Corps of Engineers. “I hope that by showing the young people we are concerned about their well being we made
a lasting impact. I can’t think of a better way to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people than to help the
children. The smiles and thanks we received were great Mother’s Day gifts.”
Local Delta Helps Afghan Kids
Operation Backpack Drop provides supplies, money for schools
J
ean Loomis assists the
Army Corps of Engineers
to give orphans school
supplies
Local Delta Sigma Theta
sorority member Jean Loomis
was with the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers this last week
when they dropped off school
supplies, toys and treats dur-
ing Operation Backpack
Drop.
“The opportunity to experi-
ence the Afghan culture and to
show a different view of
Americans to young children
was a great way to spend
Mother’s Day,” said Loomis,
an administrative assistant
here deployed from the
Portland District Corps of
Engineers. “I hope that by
showing the young people we
are concerned about their well
being we made a lasting
impact. I can’t think of a bet-
ter way to win the hearts and
minds of the Afghan people
than to help the children. The
smiles and thanks we received
were great Mother’s Day
gifts.”
Many of the donations came
Aged 5 to 18, the children
are all considered orphans from AED-N member’s home
because their parents are districts, like Sharon Schwab
from Waynesville, Ohio who
either dead or disabled.
Each of the 160 students is a senior electrical engineer
that attend the all-boys Ostad technician over special proj-
Khalil Ullah Khalili Orphans ects here with the Quality
Branch
and
Education Center located in Assurance
from
the
Kabul received a new back- deployed
pack filled with pens, paper, Huntington, W. Va District
pencils, notebooks, crayons, Corps of Engineers.
“I sent out emails and post-
erasers, rulers, sharpeners,
toys, a puzzle and candy ed on Facebook that we were
delivered by members of the looking for puzzle donations,”
Afghanistan
Engineer
see backPacks on page 12
District-North.
see fOrum on page 3
inDeX
News .........2,3,9,10,12
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ......................6,7
Food.......................8,9
Bids/Classifieds ........11
Army Will Review Medal of Honor Bid
Will Black WWI hero finally receive America’s highest military award?
by Helen silvis
Of The Skanner News
L
ast weekend, Sen. Charles Schumer
of New York sent a letter to Army
Sec. John McHugh requesting
America’s highest military award, the
Medal of Honor, for WWI hero Sgt. Henry
Lincoln Johnson. It was 93 years to the day
after Johnson fought off a band of 20 enemy
soldiers in the dead of night. A member of
the famed 369th, the Harlem Hellfighters,
Johnson fought on after his rifle jammed
and despite his wounds, using his bolo
knife, rifle butt and bare hands to save a
comrade and repel the attack. PHOTO: Sgt.
Johnson's son Tuskegee Airman Herman
Johnson (right) accepting the Distinguished
Service Cross for his father with Vietnam
Veteran John Howe (left)
“On this momentous occasion of the 93rd
anniversary of the legendary Battle of
Henry Johnson, I am deeply honored and
humbled to recommend this brave and self-
less hero of World War I for our nation’s
highest award: the Medal of Honor,” writes
Sen. Schumer in the letter.
see meDaL on page 3