Look around any public school classroom and you'll see something that cuts across lines of race, class and creed — boys growing up with absent fathers. All too often, the lack of a strong male influence can lead such boys into drugs, crime and lack of educational achievement.
But it doesn't have to be that way, said J.W. Doncan, a Jefferson High School language arts instructor and the author of Fatherless Boys and Mothers on Their Own (Authorhouse paperback, $9.80).
"Across the board, boys are having difficulties," Doncan said, "because maybe our society nurtures boys and men to move away from familial responsibilities."

Members of the Self Enhancement Inc. Drum Line strut their stuff Aug. 1 at the Concordia neighborhood National Night Out celebration.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has settled a sexual and racial harassment lawsuit against U.S. Bakery Inc., which operates Franz Bakery, after a federal judge ruled that the company was responsible for sexual and racial harassment.
The commission settled its lawsuit on behalf of four women — three White and one African American — through a consent decree that gives the commission monitoring power over the local employer for three years and court enforcement if necessary. The women resolved their individual claims through separate, confidential agreements with U.S. Bakery.
Better known as Franz Bakery, the company is the largest family-owned bakery west of the Mississippi River and serves grocery, restaurant, food service and institutional customers in Oregon, Washington, Northern California and parts of Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
All of the women were in their 30s and 40s at the time of the sexual and racial harassment. Three of the women worked on the production floor of the bakery, while the fourth worked in the office.

Steve Bullock is the new interim director of the Office of Emergency Management for Multnomah County. Bullock was appointed to the post by Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn.

To receive one free circus ticket, bring three cans of food to The Skanner's offices, 415 N. Killingsworth St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Please, no phone reservations or pick-ups for other families.

Mariah Kelly of Eugene scales the climbing wall at the recent Trail Blazers Street Jam, held July 28 at the Rose Quarter.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is adopting new administrative rules that require health insurance policies to cover the treatment of chemical dependency, mental or nervous conditions at the same level as other medical conditions.

Portland Mayor Tom Potter and Oregon State Sen. Avel Gordly, I-Portland, will lead the African American Health Coalition's Fourth Annual Wellness Within REACH Walk, Saturday, Aug. 19, at Dawson Park in North Portland.
Hundreds of Portlanders are expected to walk in celebration of the community's health and in support of the coalition's free physical activity classes program, which serves more than 1,500 Portland-area African Americans each year.

Members of the Sabin Community Development Corp.'s Community Land Trust gather for an open house celebration outside of the neighborhood group's Northeast Portland headquarters last week.

Oregon will have 2 million more residents in 30 years; the equivalent of the entire population of New Mexico will be moving to Oregon by 2040. Where and how do we want to grow as a state?