Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
local news Vaughn Benefit Block Party continued from page 1 members have been searching for her ever since. Mayor Sam Adams was at the scene Friday and comforted her mother with a hug before telling reporters he hoped this would bring a small amount of closure to the fam- ily after their tragic loss. Murder suspect Parrish Bennette’s lawyers say he panicked after accidentally shooting her. Prosecutors paint a grimmer picture, saying forensic evidence suggests she was beaten and that the gun was shot twice. The Oregonian reported that the defense team and the judge met last week privately, and family believe Bennette disclosed the whereabouts of the girl’s remains. After the bail hearing Shaquita Louis wrote a public let- ter to Bennette begging him to disclose the location of her daugh- ter’s body. Previous searches at the spot near 92nd Avenue and Rocky —supporter Butte Rd., did not succeed. Portland Police, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and state rifice, then your job has been complete.” Vaughn was a student at Helensview High police worked together on the search. School when she went missing March 19. Her mother Shaquita Louis and family that. “Your situation is different from most, because of your age, plus being a young female, but the same outcome, death, and not many seems to care about that anymore, but you’ve started to change that,” he con- tinued. “You’ve brought unity where their was none, meaning your life was not in vein, because if just one child changes his or her life, because of your involuntary sac- PhOtO By ANDIE PEtkuS PhOtOgrAPhy ‘You’ve brought unity where their was none, meaning your life was not in vein, because if just one child changes his or her life, because of your involuntary sacrifice, then your job has been complete’ The annual Summer Block Party to benefit Planned Parenthood of the Columbia willamette is Friday, July 29, from 5-8 p.m. at the Regional Service Center at 3727 Ne Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Food, beer, live music from Lookbook, performances by the Sprockettes bike dance troupe, fire dancers, games and activities for the whole family. Advance admission is $10 at www.ppcw.org. Admission at the door will be $15. Admission price includes two drink tickets. All funds go to family planning services for area women. Math continued from page 1 include Caulin Washington, Arjun Ratnathican and Dylan Jackson, working with adults and youths at the Sankofa office. Hyman says the most important thing is creating a fun and relaxing environment for her students, which is why she doesn’t require homework but rather comes up with games and activities to make learning fun – and get rid of math fear for good. “I want to give back to community and I wanted little Black kids to see there is somebody like them who loves math at school,” she says. “I think it’s important for parents to realize they play a very big part in how their child gets educated, and that if there are free opportunities they should do it.” Math coaching lab hours for adults and kids in fifth grade or higher are $9 per hour, with half-price scholarships available for up to 18-year-olds. The scholarships are being paid by an unnamed donor who wants to make sure young people can afford the pro- gram, Jackson says. “Our pledge is to offer top-quality math instruction, redressing math anxieties and poor fundamentals, by partnering with bright and aspiring young people (high school and college), those strong in math and capable of being a wit- ness to others regarding the ability to know and master mathematics,” Jackson says. For more information or to sign up call 503-583-2251, email derry@sankofallc.com, or go to www.sankofallc.com. Oden-Orr earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA, and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law. There he was honored with the Rickert Award for public service. NAMC-Oregon members issued statements of support for the move praising Oden-Orr’s vision on expand- ing the organization’s operations with day-to-day oversight lacking in the past. “Over the past few months that the Board has considered the need for an director, he has provided —Melvin Oden-Orr executive thoughtful input on that person’s role and the direction of the organization,” He has taught courses in Race and the said Faye Burch of Faye Burch and Law at the Northwestern School of Law at Associates consulting, a founding member. “We have an aggressive plan moving for- Lewis & Clark College. This year President Barack Obama named him a “Champion of ward,” said NAMCO Board President Mark Matthews of Pacificmark Construction Change” in the transportation industry. Corporation. “Establishing NAMC-Oregon as the voice of minority contractors throughout Oregon; better supporting our members’ development; and continuing to advocate for greater opportunities for certi- fied minority firms by leveling the playing field and removing barriers to their ability to participate on both public and private construction projects in meaningful ways.” “Melvin brings to the role of executive director, not just the intellectual horse- power of a first-class attorney, but a passion for working with our people: minority busi- nesses,” said founding member James Posey, owner of Workhorse Construction, Inc. For more information on NAMC-Oregon go to the group’s website, www.namc-ore- gon.org. with,” she said. “Once you know multiplication you can move to division, but if you didn’t learn multiplication you can’t move to division, and if you don’t know multiplication and division you cannot move to fractions — and so that’s the key,” she said. “So they’re turned off by math, but once I show them little tricks and they get turned on by math, they say, ‘that’s not hard at all.’” Jackson said he was moved to create a math and technology coaching program because it is a simple, yet critical way to uplift the Black community. “Most people will tell you the smartest person in their class is usually the one that’s the best mathematician,” he says. “Our goal is to turn our students into valedictorians and make them mathematicians in their class, in their school, and by doing that in a profound way that makes it personal to them so they actually can be comfortable and come to love math.” An important part of the math program is to get rid of the fear and stress most people associate with the subject For the summer, Hyman is coaching the youngsters at Reflections, but she also works with women in the Passage for Higher Education program, and fellow stu- dents at Concordia. She says most people just need a brush up, which they can do in a session or two. “What I’ve seen with the people that I have had is that most of them – even if they have gaps or holes in other concepts – most- ly its multiplication they have problems Jackson said he was moved to create a math and technology coaching program because it is a simple, yet critical way to uplift the Black community NAMC-O continued from page 1 taged businesses, Oden-Orr says he’ll con- tinue to maintain his law firm while helping lead the organization in new efforts to tight- en its operations and recruit new members. Oden-Orr told The Skanner News that plans are under way to revamp NAMC-Oregon’s website; flesh out new programs; create an annual statewide conference on contracting equity; and put together more opportunities for its members to come together with their public works partners “to provide focused attention on increasing the utiliza- tion of certified firms,” he said. “One of our big efforts is going to be membership – we want to establish the value of the organization to our members as part of the recruitment,” he said. “It is a leap into the future and it’s a future that is focused on increasing the capacity of our firms and helping them further develop.” A member of the organization since its inception, Oden-Orr is a former corporate counsel for TriMet and the Portland Development Commission. ‘It’s a future that is focused on increasing the capacity of our firms and helping them further develop’ July 20, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 3
