Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner August 30, 2017 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Jeff Trades an Unknown Known for a Known Known Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor W Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar y • y toda ! • L i ke u s on F ac it WAKE OF VANPORT SCREENING Coming in Sept. ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n Opinion hen Pat and I moved from Portland to Central Oregon, I felt confident that trad- ing a Rumsfeldian unknown known risk — that an earth- quake will devastate Portland at some unknown time in the next 500 years — for a known known risk — that wildland fires threaten homes in Cen- tral Oregon every year — was a good bet. Until last week. That’s when the sheriff ’s of- fice ordered us to evacuate immediately as the number one priority fire in the entire country bore down on our little development. Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of fire- fighters over many days, the fire appears to have spared us but it has gotten me thinking about how one manages risk in life. I operate on a fairly straight- forward risk calculation — size of risk X probability of event occurring within a given time period = risk quo- tient; compare two options and choose the less risky. OK, sounds good, but wait, our house just nearly burned down and Portland is proba- bly going to be intact for my lifetime! What has worked out for me since moving here is get- ting back into horses. Last year, my boy, Cimarron, and I had the best ‘limited distance’ (25 – 35 mile courses) record on any horse and rider in the entire Northwest region — Jeff Tryens Guest Columnist five first place race finishes and four coveted ‘Best Condi- tion’(BC) awards for Cimar- ron. Woohoo! And true to the horse world, this year has been a wreck. Cim and I start- ed out beautifully coming in third against very stiff com- petition in our first ride and “ Our house just nearly burned down and Portland is probably going to be intact for my lifetime then winning the Klickitat Trek against 48 other horses. (See photo.) “Oh no”, vet tells me Cim is “not right” when we stand for BC at Klickitat. $1,000 later, for a limp I can’t even discern, a big shot lame- ness vet says Cim is confined to bed rest for at least 90 days (the entire riding season) for an injury he is unable to pin- point. So an endurance teammate Jeff Tryens on his horse Cimarron (I’m a WhoopA$$er.) kindly offers me her CMK Arabian (fancy horse) requesting that I get this green trail horse to the point that she can handle an endurance race. Sweet, gorgeous Cara — how hard could that be? Well, turns out Cara has a couple of really bad habits — when she doesn’t want to go forward, she backs up really fast without looking where she’s going and when that doesn’t work she stands straight up on her hind legs — think Silver, but out of control — and, finally, falls over on her rider — me. With a burst of humility, I recognize that Cara is out of my league and return her to my teammate. Then, hearing of my misfor- tune, my chief competitor from last year of- fers me her horse for the next Cen- tral Oregon ride while she rides a teammate’s 50- mile horse in her quest to move up from 25s to 50s - so I’m back in the sad- dle. And to think, two years ago I was a total stranger in this world. Here’s my big news. As of July, I am an elected pub- lic official. How, you might ask, could that have happened? Well, I’ve been a parkie for many years, so, when an uncontested seat on the parks and recreation district appeared on the May ballot, I said, “What the hell”. I swept to victory with 61 write- in votes. Turns out we don’t actually manage any parks and 25% of the population has never heard of us despite be- ing around for 20 years but, hey, we have taxing authority. Overheard at the gym in my semi-liberal town in a red county — “Of course I voted for him. What choice did I have?” I hope the Dems can do better next time around. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb, right now, and be the first public official in the country to endorse Biden/ Obama for 2020! When You Educate a Girl, You Educate a Nation A s I write this, I am pre- paring to travel with my colleagues to Nige- ria, where I will have the honor of meeting some of the Chibok girls who were released after two waves of negotiations between Boko Haram and Nigerian govern- ment officials. It is my fourth trip to Nigeria since April 14, 2014, when the terrorist group shocked the world by abducting nearly 300 school- girls from their dormitory rooms. More than three years later, 113 of the original 276 Chibok girls are still being held captive. Many of the girls who es- caped their kidnappers on that fateful night or have since been released have re- markably not allowed this hugely traumatic ordeal to di- minish their determination to pursue an education. It is my mission to help ensure that they, and indeed every girl in Nigeria, have the opportunity to go as far as their desire to learn will take them. Before Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office, the pres- ident-elect wrote in a New York Times op-ed about the urgent necessity to educate girls so that “they will grow Frederica S. Wilson Congress– woman (D-Fla.) up to be empowered through learning to play their full part as citizens of Nigeria and pull themselves up and out of poverty.” He rightly surmised that the country owed at “ push for them to receive the “best possible education” that Buhari promised in his opin- ion piece. They will in turn ensure that their children— boys and girls—are educated, which as the proverb suggests will greatly benefit both their families and ultimately the nation by equipping it with a workforce that is prepared to help undo the extensive dam- age that has occurred during Boko Haram’s reign of terror. A lack of education has been A lack of education has been a key factor in Boko Haram’s ongo- ing ability to successfully recruit young men and boys least that much to the Chibok schoolgirls, whose fate at that time was gravely uncertain. I look forward to working with the nation’s activists and gov- ernment leaders to examine ways to help Buhari keep that pledge. There is an African proverb that says, “If we educate a boy, we educate one person. If we educate a girl, we educate a family — and a whole nation.” Fifty percent of Nigeria’s population is female, so it borders on the absurd to not a key factor in Boko Haram’s ongoing ability to successful- ly recruit young men and boys and continue to replenish losses incurred in battle with the Multinational Joint Task Force. While the insurgents teach boys, that “Western ed- ucation is sinful,” educated mothers are living examples of the critical role education plays in determining one’s fu- ture success. Those boys grow up viewing a world full of possibility and opportunities and are therefore extremely unlikely to see the appeal of becoming a terrorist. Girls can change the world and there is no better exam- ple of that than the young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was famous- ly shot in the head at age 16 for daring to question the Taliban’s efforts to deny her right to an education. In ad- dition to becoming the first recipient of her country’s peace prize, being named one of Time magazine’s most in- fluential people, and receiv- ing the United Nations Hu- man Rights Award, she is the world’s youngest Nobel laure- ate. Malala has earned global acclaim for championing ed- ucation for girls around the world, including Nigeria, and after completing her studies at Oxford University will re- turn to her native Pakistan to continue those efforts. It is my hope that the Chi- bok girls, some of whom met with Malala this summer, will be inspired to follow her path, one on which tragedy is turned into triumph. Frederica Wilson represents Florida’s 24th congressional district, including parts of Mi- ami-Dade and Broward coun- ties. You can follow Rep. Wil- son on Twitter @RepWilson. nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve