Local News
Multnomah County Burn Ban and
Crackdown on Illegal Fireworks
Charges Dropped for Activists
Arrested After Last Thursday
S
By Donovan M. Smith
Of Th e Skanner News
tarting July 1, Portland Fire and Res-
cue has issued a limited burn ban for
Multnomah County. No open fi res
are permitted, including ceremonial and
recreational fi res. Barbecues are allowed
in approved devices such as outdoor grills,
but not in natural areas .
Legal fi reworks are allowed. Portland
Fire and Rescue urge people to use caution
and follow the following safety rules:
• Use only in open areas over non-com-
bustible surfaces such as concrete or
asphalt
• Have water available to extinguish
fi re or cool burns
• Use a clean metal bucket to place ex-
pended fi reworks
• And never attempt to re-light a dud
The ban covers the entirety of Mult-
nomah County which includes areas in
Gresham, Corbett and Sauvie Island. High
temperatures and dry weather prompted
the agency to issue the limited ban.
Portland Fire Chief Erin Janssens is
asking residents to be on the lookout for
illegal fi reworks and to report them to
503-823-BOOM (2666), a new hotline to
report illegal fi reworks. If it is an emer-
gency, such as a fi re or emergency medical
problem, call 9-1-1.
Oregon law bans possession, use, or sale
of any fi reworks that fl y, explode, travel
more than one foot into the air, or more
than six feet on the ground. Fireworks pur-
chased from another state are likely to be
illegal.
Law Enforcement Scams Continue
T
he
Washington
County
Sheriff’s
Offi ce and local po-
lice agencies have received
numerous complaints from
the public concerning a
warrant or jury duty scam.
The person would ask for
a payoff to avoid arresting
the person that supposedly
had a warrant, missed jury
duty or had other fi nancial
issues.
According to the Wash-
ington County Sheriff, if
a person has a warrant for
their arrest, a law enforce-
ment offi cer is required
to take them into custody
and not take any type of
payment to clear the war-
rant. The Sheriff’s Offi ce
is advising anyone who
receives a call like this to
report it immediately.
Other local law enforce-
ment agencies have re-
ceived reports with similar
circumstances.
This scam is a variation
of other incidents where
scammers will call or email
with the promise of some-
thing in exchange for cash,
Green Dot prepaid cards,
money wires, or any other
form of payment that in-
volves urgency.
Investigators are seeking
the public’s help regarding
similar scam cases.
If you have any infor-
mation, or have recently
received a solicitation that
seemed suspicious, please
call the Washington Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Offi ce at (503)
629-0111.
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
labor union to better the
lives of all people working
in the building trades
through advocacy, civil
demonstration, and the
long-held belief that work-
ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
ens families, but also allows our communities to become
stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens'
needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people work-
ing in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard-
less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious be-
liefs.
T
wo activists arrested after aiding one
of the victims of a shooting at the Last
Thursday festival in May have had all
charges dropped after entering respective
“no contest” pleas.
Marcus Cooper, 26, and Loren Ware, 23,
(a popular Portland rapper who performs as
Glenn Waco) each faced two counts of in-
terfering with police in addition to a harass-
ment and disorderly conduct charges.
Cooper told The Skanner that after read-
ing the police report from the May 28 inci-
dent, he determined that pleading no contest
would be better than entering a guilty or not
guilty charge for both himself and Ware.
“I took the plea, mainly because if I took
it to trial I’m not jeopardizing the risk of me
having to explain to a [likely] all-white jury
why me being Black is valid,” he says.
Cooper and Ware have both been involved
with the anti-violence group Don’t Shoot
PDX nearly since the time of its inception
about a year ago.
Despite all charges being dropped, the
two will have to complete 24 hours of com-
munity service to appease the courts.
“At the end of the day, small victories
like this is what they throw at us to feel like
we’ve won everything but in actual reality,
I’m still going to wake up tomorrow and be
Black in Portland,” Cooper says.
Cooper says due to the trauma sustained
back in May, and the association of Last
Thursday with gentrifi cation, he will avoid
the event in the future.
The shooting garnered national attention
after two 15-year-old Jefferson High School
students and a 25-year-old woman were
shot at the event, which manages to draw
close to 10,000 in the summer months.
Another teenager, 16-year-old Turon
Lamont Walker, of Vancouver, Wash.,
stands as the lone accused shooter in the
case and three counts each of attempted
murder with a fi rearm and unlawful use of
a weapon.
Attempted murder is a Measure 11 of-
fense, which means Walker is being charged
as an adult.
Walker has pleaded not guilty to all
charges.
Police dubbed the gunfi re, even with one
of the victims being friends that came to the
fair together, as “gang-related,” bumping its
gang violence response calls up to 64, up
more than a dozen from last year at the same
time.
With the shooting close to a month in
hindsight, all victims have survived and are
in various stages of recovery.
Though happy to have his charges
dropped, Cooper says, the problems he and
the community are fi ghting exist beyond the
legal system and beyond that May evening
on Thursday.
“I can win my case, Glenn can win his
case, we can get dismissed, we can get rich
off of this, but we’re not going to be remem-
bered for that,” Cooper says. “We’re re-
membered due to the gang violence. That’s
what we’re going to be remembered as, and
that is the issue.”
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July 1, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9