WWW . THESKANNER . COM
J UNE 1, 2011
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIII, N O .31
25
CENTS
i NSiDe
Police Diversity?
page 4
‘Uncaged Eagle’
page 5
Anti-Violence Events
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
Rose Fest
Parade
June 4
page 2
Rosefest
Starlight run, Fleet
Week all add to
festivities this month
PHoto courteSy oF tHe roSe FeStivaL
I
t’s that time of year again. Rose Festival
season. The time of year when people
from across the Portland metro region
descend into downtown and pray that it
doesn’t rain.
So far for this weekend’s big Starlight
Parade, the news is looking upbeat with
meteorologists predicting sunny skies
across the region. This will hopefully make
it a lot easier for people to bike, bus or take
the train into the city center for the festivi-
ties.
The festival is running all week, with the
CityFair open from June 2 to 5 in Tom
McCall Waterfront Park. On June 4, the
KeyBank Starlight Run will kick off at 8
p.m. at Lincoln High School (ontherun-
events.com/starlight). Thirty minutes later,
the PGE/SOLV Starlight Parade will begin
in Downtown Portland. The route will snake
from the Park Blocks at Burnside, east to
4th Avenue, south to Salmon, west to
Broadway, north to Stark, west to 10th
Avenue, and south to Taylor, where the
parade will disband at Lincoln High School.
As always, you are encouraged not to
drive into the City Center and expect a park-
ing spot. With the good weather prediction,
it should be much easier to bike, bus or take
a train to enjoy the festivities. Buses and
trains will continue to run through Fifth and
Sixth avenues throughout the weekend and
during the parade.
Next week, on June 8, the Fred Meyer
Junior Parade will begin at 1 p.m. on 51st at
Sandy Boulevard in the Hollywood District.
The parade features 30 area marching
bands, Grand Marshal Scooby Doo, the
bumbling cartoon dog detective. The parade
will end at 40th Avenue and Sandy.
After the parade, make it downtown for
the first day of Fleet Week, which runs until
June 12.
Fleet Week features U.S. Coast Guard and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, joined on
June 9 by U.S. Navy and Canadian
Maritime Forces ships. The ships – at the
The festival is running all week, with the CityFair open from June 2 to 5 in Tom McCall Waterfront Park. On June 4, the
KeyBank Starlight Run will kick off at 8 p.m. at Lincoln High School (ontherunevents.com/starlight). Thirty minutes later,
the PGE/SOLV Starlight Parade will begin in Downtown Portland. The route will snake from the Park Blocks at Burnside,
east to 4th Avenue, south to Salmon, west to Broadway, north to Stark, west to 10th Avenue, and south to Taylor, where
the parade will disband at Lincoln High School.
Seattle Library Appoints New Director
Marcellus Turner says he looks forward to returning to the Northwest
by Helen Silvis
of The Skanner News
T
he Seattle Public Library
board
has
named
Marcellus Turner as its
new City Librarian. Turner,
who comes to the job from
Jefferson County library system
in Colorado, will manage a
budget of $50 million and 640
employees in 26 branches.
Originally from Mississippi,
Turner earned his master’s
degree from the University of
Tennessee. He has 20 years of
See roSe FeSt on page 8
iNDeX
News ..................2,3,8,
Opinion .....................4
A & E .........................5
Food..........................6
Bids/Classifieds ..........7
experience in libraries including
three years supervising the ref-
erence library in Tacoma. the
Skanner news caught up with
him this week in this phone
interview.
the Skanner news: What are
your thoughts about coming to
Seattle?
Marcellus
turner:
Professionally it is a wonderful
opportunity to come and work
for and with a group of staff and
citizens and community who
love libraries and the role that
we play in the community. I
think the city is right for what
libraries do and I’m just excited
to be in that environment.
Personally I am really excited to
be returning to the Northwest. I
lived and worked there from
1997 to 200 I think and I just
fell so in love with the
Northwest. I don’t mind the rain
at least I didn’t in the three years
I lived there. It’s a wonderful
city and I’m fortunate to be part
of such a successful library pro-
gram.
the Skanner news: Have you
plans for what you want to do.
One of the first things I want
to do is get out and meet with
the staff and visit the libraries.
Being in the library field I’ve
heard about the libraries but I’ve
not visited all of them, so that
will be one of the first things
that I want to do. I also want to
get to know the staff and get to
know what they are interested in
and what they are trying to do.
Third, I’d like to understand the
culture in Seattle. Every library
system has its own culture
which is a combination of how
See Library on page 3
WWII Vet Recalls Fight in South Pacific
Russell Jones, 90, endured abuse, but still loved his military career
by brian Stimson
of The Skanner News
A
t 90, Russell Jones is a portrait of
health. The World War II vet is spry
and could outwalk most 80-year-
olds in his downtown Vancouver apartment
building.
While he’s been retired for some time
now, Jones spent a considerable amount of
time serving in the U.S. Army.
Enlisting in the months prior to the out-
break of the United States’ involvement in
World War II, Jones said his time in the mil-
itary shaped his life.
Despite mistreatment from southern
White officers, having ammunition confis-
cated before battle and watching tons of
food go to waste as Black soldiers were told
their rations sank at sea, Jones says he stuck
with the military.
Now living in downtown Vancouver, Wa.
near his daughter Sandy, the veteran decid-
ed to tell at least part of his story to The
Skanner News.
SiGNiNG uP
See vet on page 3