04/20/08 Around the Valley

Free legal services assist immigrants

About 30 people showed up to take advantage of free immigration-related legal services offered Saturday.

The services were held by volunteers at Vida Nueva Church from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for immigrants eligible for naturalization. After a screening process, those who qualify are given free legal assistance to fill out paperwork that might prove too complex to figure out without an attorney.

"There's a real need for legal services because immigration is so complicated," said Seattle immigration attorney Karol Brown, site coordinator. "And there's not enough of those services here in Yakima."

Organizers said last year an estimated 230 people showed up statewide to get help with their immigration paperwork. Yakima was one of eight locations across the state to offer the free workshops, which involved more than a dozen organizations, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Catholic Refugee & Immigration Services, and the Hate Free Zone of Washington.

Rear-end accident hurts 3

ZILLAH — A woman and two children were injured after their vehicle was struck from behind by a Toppenish man near Zillah on Friday evening.
Washington State Patrol said Elvia Roman, 48, Yanira Vela, 13, and Jaquilin Mendoza, 8, all of Granger, were taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where they were treated and released. All three were in a 2004 Ford F150 when they were hit by a 1997 Ford Taurus about two miles east of Zillah at 8:25 p.m. After the impact, both vehicles let the road, and the truck rolled down a dirt embankment and came to rest on its side.

The driver of the Taurus, Rodney Fitzpatrick, 48, of Toppenish was uninjured. Troopers said they are investigating the cause of the crash and that it appears alcohol or drugs were involved.

Artist leads workshop

Denali Granholm, the artist who creates the bronze portraits for Nike’s “Walk of Fame” at its corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., will lead a “Sculpture in Motion” workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Larson Gallery on the Yakima Valley Community College campus, South 16th Avenue and West Nob Hill Boulevard.

Participants in the workshop will make their own kinetic, or moving, sculpture. Cost is $77.50 for Larson Gallery members and $85 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, call the gallery at 574-4875 or visit www.­larsongallery.org.

Information for parents

East Valley GEAR UP will host another parent night in a series devoted to informing parents of their students’ school programs.
The session will be held Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the East Valley High School library.

The session will include time for parents to get to know one another before a presentation by Officer Joe Salinas of the Yakima Police Department. It will be an informative session for parents about recognizing the signs of gang involvement among youth.
Spanish translation will be provided.

For more information and to secure a spot for the presentation, contact Luis Cordero at 573-7478.

Land swap meeting to be in Ellensburg

ELLENSBURG -- A public hearing about a proposed land exchange between the state Department of Natural Resources and state Department of Fish and Wildlife will be held Tuesday evening in Ellensburg.

The hearing will run from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Hal Holmes Community Center, 201 N. Ruby St., but staffers from both agencies will be available from 6 to 6:45 p.m. to present information and answer questions.

The proposal would swap up to 117,000 acres of Natural Resources land for 55,000 acres of Wildlife-managed land. It's just one of several such exchanges involving one or both agencies working to create larger blocks of land to be managed by a single agency, instead of the checkerboard ownership historically prevalent over much of the state's public lands.

Other public hearings on the land exchange will be held Monday in Omak and Wednesday in Tumwater.

Maps and other information about the exchanges are available online at www.dnr.wa.gov, and public comment is being taken on the exchanges through April.

Perry Tech offers open house

Perry Technical Institute will host an open house for prospective students and interested community members Thursday from 3:30 to 7 p.m.

Visitors will have a chance to tour each of Perry's nine specialized training programs:

* Automotive technology

* Computer applications and medical office assistant

* Computer applications and office administration

* Electrical technology

* Graphic technology

* Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technology

* Instrumentation and industrial automation technology

* Machine technology

* Telecommunications and limited energy technology

Perry instructors, staff and students will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about the school. Hot dogs and soft drinks will be served.

Perry is at 2011 W. Washington Ave., across the street from the Yakima Air Terminal. For more information, call the school at 453-0374 or toll-free at 888-528-8586.