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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2018)
March 14, 2018 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 least four residences, including a duplex and two single-family homes, were destroyed. The county evacuated residents closest to the five-alarm fire — those living between 72nd and 76th Ave, from Kill- ingsworth to Alberta streets. More than 145 people and 15 pets stayed at a temporary shelter, opened Monday night by Multnomah County and the American Red Cross. According to a Mult- nomah County press re- lease, the Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality Northwest Re- gion Clean Up said the agency will coordinate with Multnomah County and the Environmental Protection Agency on next steps. Paul Seidel, Acting Manager for the Oregon Department of Environ- mental Quality (DEQ ) Northwest Region Clean Up said the agency will coordinate with Mult- nomah County and the Environmental Protec- tion Agency on next steps. ‘Enough is Enough’ At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, about 50 students and teachers gathered at the Portland Community College Cascade Campus as part of a national school walkout to honor the 17 victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. A group of student protestors from Rosemary Anderson High School joined the crowd at PCC, marching behind a hand-painted “Enough is Enough” banner. After passing around a megaphone and sharing thoughts on gun reform, campus climate, and the Florida tragedy, a moment of silence was held. Khaleia Black, a Rosemary Anderson student, spoke about the lack of resources at RAHS. “We’re at an alternative school, and there’s no therapist,” she said. “There’s nobody there to talk with us about our problems.” High school students in particular were encouraged to take the megaphone, and clipboards were at the ready with voter preregistration forms for 16- and 17-year-olds. Sources estimated about 100 students walked out of Jefferson High School, and schools around the area joined what the Associated Press estimates was one of the largest student protests since the Vietnam era, with tens of thousands of students around the country joining in. In a Wednesday-morning press release, Portland Public Schools said it supported the students and would hold “student- centered activities around the topic of safe, supportive and inclusive schools and classrooms.” cont’d from pg 1 ed yes. In a Tuesday morning press release, the Jefferson High School Alumni As- sociation announced it had taken a po- sition against changing the name and would circulate a petition to that effect. The group will also hold a community discussion for “current Jefferson High School students, Jefferson High School alumni and the Jefferson High School community” at 7 p.m. March 21 at Unite Oregon, 700 N. Killingsworth. Light food and beverage will be provided, and those interested in attending are encourage to RSVP to Richard Hunter at (503) 964-9137 no later than 5 p.m. March 19. That conversation is the continuation of discussions at two public meetings earlier this year, both hosted by the Humboldt Neighborhood Association – one hosted by the Humboldt Neighbor- hood Association Feb. 14 at Portland Guns Community College’s Cascade Campus and one at the North Portland Library Jan. 29. At the same time, Portland Public Schools — responding to a complaint about Franklin High School’s mascot, “ I just think it’s inappropriate to have a statue of a White supremacist and slave baron at the front of a public school “I just think it’s inappropriate to have a statue of a White supremacist and slave baron at the front of a public school,” said Walker, who graduated from Jefferson in 1961. LaBorde said she has heard an “in- spiring and enlightening” range of comments and opinions on the subject. “There are those who look at the his- torical reference and implications and there are those who look at their own personal identity and legacy,” LaBorde said. “Then we have some wonderful- ly out-of-the-box students who said we identify with the name Jefferson, but not with Thomas.” “What I’m most concerned about is our legacy,” said 1978 graduate Marvin Sanders. “The poetic irony of a Black high school being named after a slave owner -- I just love that.” the Quakers — has announced a poten- tial policy change that would make it easier to change the names of schools and mascots. That policy, available on the school district’s website, is under public com- ment until March 20 and revisions may be made before it is adopted; comments can be sent to schoolboard@pps.net. According to Anne LaBorde, the cur- rent chair for the Humboldt Neighbor- ers who did not respect equal opportu- nity for all.” That policy was renewed in Novem- ber 2017. Clifford Walker, a longtime resident of the Humboldt Neighbor- hood, where Jefferson is located, was part of the discussion on both occa- sions, and has also recently testified be- fore the Multnomah County Commis- sion regarding his concerns about the name of the school. Homicide attributes to almost 35 percent of all gun deaths, while sui- cides make up 62 percent. Children and young adults under the age of 24 con- stitute 38 percent of all firearm deaths and non-fatal injuries, according to Giffords. It’s statistics like these that have en- ton state, California, Indiana and Connecticut. “If District Attorney Rod Un- derhill had not believed that this was useful, we wouldn’t have taken this concept down to the legislature,” said Sparks. “We see tremendous value in this, not only to the commu- nity that would be protected from an individual, but actu- Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill during ally the individual himself or meeting on Extreme Risk Protection Orders on Feb. 9. herself, as they’re often the by Everytown for Gun Safety, which person most in need of the protection.” looked at mass shootings in the U.S. While Sparks added that this tool is from 2009 to 2016. It found that rough- in no way a silver bullet solution to gun ly 42 percent of them include evidence violence, he said that typically after that the shooter had exhibited danger- a mass shooting, warning signs tend ous warning signs before the attack. to surface. “People will say, ‘I saw this The county also looked to the research coming, I heard him say things that re- of Dr. Jeffrey Swanson at Duke Univer- ally scared me. I tried to get help but I sity, who estimates that over a 15-year couldn’t.’” period, “for every 10 to 11 gun-removal An ERPO could be that helpful tool. cases collected, one person’s life was Multnomah County cited an analysis saved.” cont’d from pg 1 By default, the ERPO will hold for one year unless a judge — with clear evi- dence that the person no longer poses a threat — decides to lift the ban earlier. The ERPO can also be extended if the risk remains after the order expires. That said, respondents are able to ar- gue against the order (or its renewal) and have 30 days to request a hearing to contest it. Once the temporary order does go into effect, it’s entered into Oregon’s Law Enforcement Data System, which then blocks any attempts of the respon- dent to purchase a firearm during a routine background check. According to the Giffords Law Cen- ter to Prevent Gun Violence, death by guns has reached warzone proportions in the U.S. Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 Amer- ican soldiers. That’s less than the num- ber of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average period of two years. hood Association, the neighborhood association adopted a policy in 2012, reading, “This board is opposed, as a matter of policy, to retaining names of schools and other public institution names for former slave owners or oth- “ Death by guns has reached war- zone proportions in the U.S. couraged Oregon legislators, law en- forcement, judges and regional part- ners to come together and find ways to increase awareness about gun violence restraining orders. Oregon’s ERPO measure – which was first proposed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office – was inspired by similar laws in Washing- MOTOYA NAKAMURA/ MULTNOMAH COUNTY Poll “And we’ll be working with the owner on next steps including: possi- ble waste management disposal, soil sampling, assessing water quality — and impacts to ground water quality,” said Paul Seidel, acting manager for the Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality. “We won’t know what’s required, until we find out about the site.” The Environmen- tal Protection Agency had been aggressively monitoring air quality since burning tires and salvaged vehicles sent a black plume of oily smoke over the area. EPA Randy Nattis, EPA on- scene coordinator, said at 2 p.m. Tuesday air monitoring and all the values were coming back down to typical air quali- ty standards. The Red Cross is hand- ing out clean up supplies of mops, buckets and oth- er household items. Cleaning kits are avail- able at the evacuation shelter 1415 SE 122nd Ave. For more tips and information: multco.us. PHOTO BY KATE NACY Fire Read the full story at TheSkanner.com
