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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2019)
JUNE 5, 2019 Audit: ‘Fixing Our Streets’ Program Needs Work Delays, budget issues, hamstrung oversight have hampered tax- funded safety rollout By R. Dallon Adams Of The Skanner News L ast week, Portland’s Audit Ser- vices released a report on Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Fixing Our Streets program highlight- ing delays, over-budget projects and a hamstrung oversight committee. Pedestrians represented 14% of all United States traffic fatalities, in 2014; AP PHOTO/GERALD HERBERT See STREETS on page 3 World War II veteran Johnnie Jones, Sr. poses for a portrait at his home in Baton Rouge, La., May 28. The Role of Black Troops on D-Day page 11 The Skanner’s Entertainment Columnist Kam Williams Dies page 10 INSIDE: CAREERS JACKIE WINTERS DIES Colleagues remember pioneering legislator By Saundra Sorensen For The Skanner News L ongtime Oregon state legislator Sen. Jackie Win- ters (R-Salem), the first African American Republi- can to be elected to the state Legislature, died May 29 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 82. House Speak- er Tina Kotek an- nounced Winters’ death from the House floor, where the news was met with an outpouring of grief from both sides of the aisle. Col- leagues remembered Winters as a force of nature, and de- scribed her tenure in Salem as one marked by passion. Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) called Winters “a noble soul.” “She was a pioneer- ing woman in the Oregon Legislature, a true historical fig- ure,” Courtney said in a statement. “I’ve lost my partner in public service. The Legislature and Or- egon has lost a dedi- cated servant. We’ve lost the best of the best.” Winters was re-elected to the Senate in 2018, and though her declining health kept her from the capitol for the last couple months, she had seen her work for juvenile justice reform cul- minate in the pas- sage of Senate Bill 1008, which would substantially reform Oregon’s juvenile justice system and mitigate mandatory minimum sentenc- es for youth, a week prior to her death. Winters was wid- owed in 2008. In re- marks submitted to a public hearing for SB 1008 last April, she recalled her per- sonal connection to the bill. “My late husband, Ted Winters, was sent to an adult pris- on when he was 17 years old,” Winters wrote in a statement. “He was deemed be- Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, died at age 82 on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 after a battle with cancer. yond redemption by a tough judge. I know if Ted were here today he would be the first to tell you that adult prison hardened him and taught him how to be a better criminal, not a better person...He is proof of how youth can and do change. The most important lesson Ted taught me -- taught all of us -- is that redemption is possible with a sec- ond chance.” After the passage of SB 1008, Winters had thanked Rep. Jennifer Williamson for being a central force behind the bill. “I am heartbroken,” Williamson said in response to Winters’ death. “I was not only fortunate to call her a friend, but fortunate to have her as a part- ner in the charge for a more just criminal justice system. I am not quite sure what we will do without her.” Born in Topeka, Kan., Winters at- tended Portland Pub- lic Schools and Ore- gon State University. According to her of- ficial legislative bi- ography, she began her ca- reer in government in 1959 in the Ore- gon Health Sciences University medical records unit, then worked for the Port- land Model Cities Program. In 1979 Gov. Victor Atiyeh appointed her om- budsman of the Of- fice of Economic Opportunity’s New Resources Program, where she was a driv- ing force in the cre- ation of the Oregon Food Share Program. She opened Jackie’s Ribs, which would become a small chain See WINTERS on page 3 Parkrose Hero Honored By City Keanon Lowe said he returned to Portland after his friend’s death By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News A t the May 31 meeting of the Community Peace Collabora- tive, which meets biweekly at the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct Building, youth vio- lence prevention director Antoinette Edwards started by asking those present to introduce themselves and say who their heroes were. Most named family – mothers, grandmothers or other relatives who sacrificed themselves to help their family. Many named family members who’d made an impact on the world, like parents and grandparents who’d desegregated neighborhoods or spaces like swimming pools. Later in the meeting, Edwards called the theme of heroism back again. See PARKROSE on page 3 PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY Delays, budget issues and hamstrung committee oversight have hampered the tax-funded Fixing Our Streets program, according to a recent city audit. Portland and Seattle Volume XLI No. 36 News .............................. 3,10,11 Opinion ...................................2 Calendars ...............................4 A & E ........................................9 EDITION 2019 Classified ...............................11 PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE PHOTO COURTESY PBOT CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW 25 CENTS Last week Keanon Lowe (speaking), the Parkrose High School coach and security guard who tackled an armed student on campus, was presented an award for heroism by youth violence prevention director Antoinette Edwards (left).