Gresham, Oregon | November 30, 2012 | Volume 48, Issue 10
advocate the
The independent student voice of Mt. Hood Community College
www. advocate-online . ne t
Assault and knife incident
for the
Mike Mata The Advocate
hopeful
MHHS club President Ashley Bright and member Allen Burchell climbed onto the roof of one of the duplexes at a Habitat for Humanity event on Nov. 17. Above: a Habitat employee is working wih sheeting.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck The Advocate
Eight Mental Health and Human Services (MHHS) club members at MHCC put on their work gear and braved the rain to help build local homes as a part of a Habitat for Humanity project. “It’s muddy, but it’s fun!” club member Mary Jane Doran said of the Nov. 17 Habitat team effort. Habitat for Humanity has been working in Portland for 31 years and has built more than 200 homes locally. Internationally, volunteers have built more than 500,000 homes. Each home is adapted to fit the needs of the partner family, local architecture and local culture. The 10 homes the MHCC club helped to build are at the corner of Southeast 106th Avenue and Stark Street and will consist of two triplexes and two duplexes. Ten families will move into the homes once they are completed within a year. The club worked alongside one future “partner homeowner,” Luis. He was diagnosed with cancer, yet has canceled doctor’s appointments due to lack of money. “The bill is coming at home and I don’t have money to pay it,” he said. Luis is living in a trailer park with his wife and two sons while his Habitat home is being built. However, his trailer is very cold and contains mold, which contributed
Unsung Hero Awards presented to
aquatics, facilities and Political science personnel page 3
Photos by Jeff Hannig/ The Advocate
An MHCC club worked alongside future homeowners and volunteers to build ten homes.
to his cancer diagnosis, he said. His four-day workweeks do not generate enough income to provide safe housing for his family and pay the bills, he said. His wife is unemployed and disabled. Luis spends his Saturdays compiling his necessary partner hours to earn the new Habitat home. He hopes the finished house contains “a ramp for the wheelchair and no mold,” he said. A native of Mexico, he moved to the U.S. in 1998. “It’s difficult here; in (Mexico) it’s worse,” he said. The MHHS club chose to participate in this event to help address the immediate need for housing for families now in substandard housing. Club President Ashley Bright said, “I am happy doing whatever is needed,” while lifting wood onto a stack nearly as tall as she. The volunteers started their day with a briefing by Ev Hu and other Habitat employees. They then began moving lumber to allow heavy machinery to enter the homesite for construction. Hu began volunteering in the mid-1990s and “got hooked,” she said. She has been working for Habitat for three years. Bright is similarly enthused. “I like working and building and doing stuff with my hands,” she said. “It’s going for a good cause and helping people, which is something I’m also passionate about.”
See “Habitat” on Page 3
The victim of an assault with a metal rod shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday is good condition after sustaining non-life threatening injuries according to Director of Institutional Safety & Security Gale Blessing Wednesday afternoon. “He had an injury, we treated with him ice and he didn’t want to be transported to a hospital, he was later taken by a family member to a hospital,” said Blessing, adding that the injuries were not life threatening. This incident was in addition to another involving someone with knife in the gym Tuesday afternoon. According to a press release from the college sent on Tuesday just before 10 a.m., the victim, a male student, was assaulted in parking lot J by a male person with a metal rod after the two were exchanging words in regards to one of them speeding on campus. The male person then, according to witnesses, grabbed a metal rod that the student was carrying for his class and then hit him, causing injuries to the head and hand. Automotive Tech Instructor Steve Michener saw the incident and reported it to Public Safety immediately, who responded to the scene and provided first aid. Witnesses in this case described the suspect as being a white male standing at six feet tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds, with grayish hair and a “scraggly beard,” wearing a grey beanie hat, dark waist-length jacket and dark backpack. “At this point, we don’t know who assailant is, the victim did not know, none of the witnesses who were present knew the assailant,” said Blessing. “He [Michener] did exactly what he was supposed to do, which is great. Any time anyone sees anything suspicious or a crime in progress, he did exactly what we ask our community members to do, then we can respond quickly and engage local law enforcement,” said Blessing. The other incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon around 1:40 p.m. at the basketball courts, where a man who lost a game during the open recreation time “brandished a knife in a menacing manner,” according to another press release. Dean of HPE Kim Hyatt alerted Public Safety about the incident, who then arrived at the scene and interviewed eyewitnesses and looked at surveillance videos. Witnesses in the gym say the man then left the gym. He was described as being five feet, four inches tall, around 120 pounds, slender with long dark hair styled in two buns on the top of his head. Witnesses told Public Safety he appeared to be of Pacific Islander descent and was wearing jeans and See “Assault” on Page 6 white t-shirt.
Men’s basketball
Scrooge Lives Annual CRAFT Sale
First regular
season game today page 5
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