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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2018)
MARCH 14, 2018 Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 24 25 CENTS News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 NRA Gives to Schools ......8 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW STUDENTS WALK OUT THE SKANNER NEWS READERS POLL Should Portland Public Schools change the name of Jefferson High School? (451 responses) YES 129 (29%) NO 322 (71%) Seventy-one percent of respondents to a The Skanner News poll favored keeping the name of Thomas Jefferson High School intact. Alumni association circulating a petition opposed to name change PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED POLL RESULTS: 71 Percent of The Skanner’s Readers Oppose Jefferson Name Change Hundreds of students from Washington Middle School and Garfield High School joined students across the country in a walkout and 17 minutes of silence to show support for the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida Feb. 14 and to let elected officials know that they want stricter gun control laws. By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News T he results of a poll by The Skanner News, which opened Feb. 22 and closed Tuesday, favor keeping the name of North Portland’s Thomas Jefferson High School. Of 451 responses, 71 percent respond- ed “no” to changing Jefferson High School’s name and 29 percent respond- AP PHOTO/RAMON ESPINOSA, FILE See POLL on page 3 In this Sept. 30 file photo, the foundation of a heavily damaged house stands amid broken trees in the mountains after the passing of Hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico. Oregon Introduces ‘Gun Violence Restraining Orders’ Law prohibits a person who poses a deadly threat from possessing a gun The Skanner News I n the midst of a national debate on gun control fueled by last month’s Florida shooting, Ore- gon’s elected officials are working to publicize a new- ly enacted piece of legisla- tion which makes it more difficult for dangerous per- sons to access firearms. Passed by the state legis- lature in 2017, Senate Bill 719 calls into law Extreme Risk Protection Orders. Essentially, an ERPO al- lows courts to temporari- ly suspend a person from possessing guns or any deadly weapon, “if law en- forcement officers, family or household members can show the individual pos- es a significant danger to themselves or others,” according to Multnomah County. Also known as “gun vio- lence retraining orders,” ERPOs have already been issued to three individuals in the county since the law get into effect in January of this year. Once a family member or police officer can prove that a person’s behavior is threatening, the respondent must sur- render all firearms within 24 hours, including a con- cealed handgun license and any weapons that can be used with deadly force. Charles Sparks, chief deputy at Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, said he’s confident that a claim made against a potentially harmful per- son will be truthful. “This happens all the time with stalking orders and Family Abuse Prevention Act restraining orders,” Sparks told The Skanner. “Parents in some ways are uniquely credible. As a parent, you want what’s best for your child. You’re not going to come in and fake this. They’re going to be legitimately concerned that their son or daughter is going to hurt themselves or someone else.” On a side, it’s also a crime to falsely obtain an ERPO. In other words, if a fami- ly member, roommate or police officer lies to have a gun de-possessed from a person, they could be pros- ecuted themselves. See GUNS on page 3 The Skanner News Staff and Wire Reports A Trump Questions Violence in Video Games page 7 uthorities lifted all evacu- ation orders for Northeast Portland residents about 5 p.m. Tuesday after a Monday-morning five-alarm fire caused schools, clinics and streets to close. Up to 4,000 residents were asked to evacuate Monday because of unhealthy air. At least four residences, includ- ing a duplex and two single-fami- ly homes, were destroyed. There were no human casualties, but at least a dozen pets were killed in the fire. Portland Fire & Rescue said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. The evacuation order was lifted shortly after the fire department announced that the smoldering fire at a salvage yard on Killing- sworth had been extinguished. The five-alarm fire started near the intersection of NE 75th Ave- nue and NE Killingsworth Street on Monday, causing schools, clin- ics and streets to close and forced evacuations of the neighbors. At See FIRE on page 3 DAVE KILLEN/THE OREGONIAN VIA AP) Crews Work to Northeast Portland Residents Return Home After Fire Rebuild Puerto Cause of scrapyard fire at NE 75th and Killingsworth is still unknown Rico’s Natural Wonders page 9 A large, black plume of smoke rises into the sky in Northeast Portland March 12 as a pile of scrap cars burns in the area of 75th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. The fire eventually spread to a nearby apartment building and duplex, burning some units.