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Kabuki ShakespeareHillsboro’s Bag&Baggage takes bloody Titus to the street

— See A7

Gaston gets a logoNew city seal will be displayed on police car

— See A9

TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012 • MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN WESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY SINCE 1886 • WWW.FGNEWSTIMES.COM • VOL. 128, NO. 25 • 5O CENTS

INSIDECommentary ................... A4Concours ......................... A2Calendar ......................... A6

A&E ................................. A7Obituaries ..................... A10Police Log ....................... A9

Sports ........................... A12Classifi eds .................... A12Weather .......................... A6

Though two high-profi le incidents seem fueled by language, no pattern of problems

TriMet works at Latino outreach

By LAURA FRAZIERThe News-Times

With a TriMet investigation still underway, there are sev-eral unanswered questions about last week’s revelation — fi rst reported by the News-Times — that a bus driver on the No. 57 line was involved in a second incident involving a mother with crying children.

Did the mom, as a passenger suggested, instigate the late-night verbal sparring on June 7 that ended only when a police offi cer arrived?

Why did the driver refuse the offi cer’s request to let the family back on the bus?

And was this, indeed, the same driver, Claudeen Hen-d r e n , wh o served a 10-day suspension af-ter a similar in-cident last Sep-tember?

The similari-ties between the two inci-dents are as-tounding — and in both cases it seems a lan-guage barrier may have fed rising tensions between Hen-dren and Latino

passengers. That raises another question:

does Hendren have a history of confl icts with Latinos?

A review of her lengthy disci-plinary fi les shows no such pat-tern (See box, page A10).

What’s more, although less than 5 percent of bus drivers are Latino, it’s clear that the transit agency has taken several steps to ensure TriMet drivers have the tools to interact with riders who may speak English as their second language.

TriMet doesn’t track com-plaints based on race or ethnic-ity, but agency spokeswoman Mary Fetsch she hasn’t seen a trend of incidents involving His-panic or Spanish-speaking pas-sengers.

“It doesn’t rise to a level I am aware of,” Fetsch said.

Jonathan Ostar, the executive director for OPAL Environmen-tal Justice Oregon, a non-profi t that advocates for transit riders, said that when Latina women report issues with bus drivers, it’s usually because they are try-ing to ride with children and strollers.

“It may be a language barrier [or] it may also have to do with a lack of understanding or aware-ness,” he said. “We try to en-courage greater understanding between bus riders and driv-ers.”

Martin Gonzalez, TriMet’s multicultural program manag-er, said he does hear the occa-

See TRIMET / Page 10

“We try to encourage greater under-standing between bus riders and drivers.”

— Jonathan Ostar, OPAL

Environmental Justice Oregon

Joseph Gale Elementary, the Forest Grove School District’s jewel, is cutting edge

A cool new school

By NANCY TOWNSLEYThe News-Times

Someday when they sit down to lunch, students at Jo-seph Gale Elementary School in Forest Grove will bite into hamburgers topped with fresh tomato slices from a garden located just outside the cafeteria.

That’s a scenario principal Melissa Carter says will come true in due time. At the moment, mounds of dirt are piled where raised beds will eventually yield vegetables cultivated by stu-dents’ own hands.

“This is going to be the coolest school,” said

See School / Page 16

CARTER

By JIM REDDENThe News-Times

It’s not hard to see why the 1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 300SL was picked for the poster for the 40th an-nual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance, which celebrates the fa-bled German automaker. It’s not just one of the most impressive Mer-cedes in the world. It’s also one of the most signifi cant automobiles ev-er built by any manufacturer.

Anyone who sees the car, which will be one of 300 cars on display at the July 15 show, will appreciate its classic style. But for car buffs, this particular Mer-cedes is extra special.

“This is one of the most historic Mer-

cedes-Benz automobiles in the world,” said Allen Stephens Jr., president of Portland’s Mercedes-Benz Club of America. “We are very fortunate to have this incredible automobile as the centerpiece of the Mercedes-Benz dis-play at the Forest Grove Concours.”

The specifi c car coming to the show won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952 heralding Mercedes’ triumphant post-

war return to sports car racing. The W194s and the other 300 SLs

campaigned that year included distinc-tive gullwing doors and other features that inspired the road-going “Gull-wing” 300SL’s produced from 1955 to 1957 — a true automotive icon that Mercedes recreated with the glamor-

A fabled 1952 Mercedes-Benz will be a centerpiece of the annual classic car show on July 15 Mercedes-

Benz’s gullwing icon started as a race car before it hit the road. On July 15, the car that won Le Mans will visit Forest Grove.COURTESY PHOTO

See MERCEDES/ Page 3

One of the world’s ‘historic’ cars coming to Forest Grove

IN WESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY SINCE 1886 • WWW.FGNEWSTIMES.COM • VOL. 128, NO. 25 • 5O CENTS

After a decade of fi zzle, the sizzle of fi reworks is returning to Forest Grove this Fourth of July.

Bursts of color will light up the night sky above Tom McCall Upper Elemen-tary School Wednesday night as blanket-cov-ered spectators celebrate the nation’s Inde-pendence Day while uttering “oohs” and “ah-hhs” of appreciation.

That’s what Dave Nemeyer, public informa-tion offi cer for Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, is expecting during the fi rst July 4 pyrotechnics

show in his hometown in 10 years.“I don’t know why it stopped, but it was

likely because of the costs involved,” said Ne-meyer, who’ll be on site along with other FGF&R offi cials who want to promote the re-ignition of local fi reworks as a community event residents can look forward to each year.

“This is something the city needs — I hope the fi elds are packed,” Nemeyer added, not-ing the show will begin around 10 p.m. at the Tom McCall track. People are welcome to ar-rive around 8:30 p.m. to listen to musical en-tertainment by Josh Smith, grab a few snacks and peruse racks of T-shirts fi refi ghters will have for sale.

Smith, a Gaston High School grad, was a volunteer fi refi ghter with FGF&R before join-ing the military and deploying to Iraq. Back at home in Washington County, he plays “south-

ern outlaw rock” with a twist of patriotism, Nemeyer said. “He’s got a really unique

■ Thanks to the fi refi ghters association, Forest Grove is bringing back its Fourth of July Fireworks display

STORY BY

NANCY TOWNSLEY

Pyrotechnician Chris Sutton (above), owner of Carpet MD, drove all the way to the eastern Oregon border last week to procure 1,700 pounds of sizzle-worthy products for Forest Grove’s fi rst Fourth of July fi reworks display in 10 years. The festivities happen Wednesday night on the fi eld adjacent to Tom McCall Upper Elementary School.NEWS-TIMES PHOTO: CHASE ALLGOOD

“We believe a fi reworks show is something we can use to raise funds for the association as well as have something nice and patriotic on the Fourth of July.”

— Dave Nemeyer, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue public information offi cer

RE-IGNITION!RE-IGNITION!

See DISPLAY / Page 17

A SOLDIER’S TALEA local dad tells the story of his

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