January 26 2009

An important message to all District 5130 Rotarians:

Last Saturday night, a gunman fired into a group of Youth Exchange students standing outside a youth club in Portland, Oregon, killing a youth exchange student from Peru and an outbound student from Portland. Seven others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Rotary leaders from Portland and Rotary International are in place to help families and students deal with this mindless act. Our District is in contact with Rotary leaders with the offer of assistance. It is very important that we reach out to the youth exchange students and families in our district to reassure them of our support and compassion for this tragic loss.

Remarks to my fellow Governors of Zone 23 and 24 appear following update below.

Ed

This is a Jan 26 news update from oregonlive.com

WHITE SALMON, Wash. -- Rotary officials this morning confirmed that the family of the 17-year-old Peruvian girl killed in Saturday night's downtown rampage has been informed of the girl's death.

Martha Paz De Noboa is from the Peruvian city of Arequipa and has been staying with a White Salmon, Wash., family since September.

A representative of the Peruvian consulate in San Francisco said the Peruvian government is awaiting the outcome of the investigation before making any comment on the incident. Peruvian authorities have been in contact with the victim's family.

Ashley Lauren Wilks, 16, a Clackamas High School sophomore was killed and seven others were wounded in the shooting outside The Zone, an underage nightclub in downtown Portland.

Scott Bieber, youth protection officer for Rotary District 5100, this morning told The Oregonian that the girl's mother has been told of her death.

He said the parents of another student who was shot, are en route to Oregon from their home in France. Anne Sophie Rialland, 16, of Labaule, France, attends West Linn High School. No hospital would confirm Sunday whether she is a patient.

Bieber said as of this morning three Rotary exchange students remain in the hospital with what he described as non life-threatening injuries.

He said Rotary officials are trying to arrange trauma counseling for all exchange students in the program.

He said none of the remaining exchange students has expressed a desire to return to their home countries. "I know we may be fielding those requests," he said.

Meanwhile, gunman Erik Salvador Ayala of Milwaukie, remains hospitalized at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A police bureau spokeswoman said this morning that Ayala's condition remains critical.

Governor’s Comments.

There were many aviation tragedies during my career as a pilot but as soon as the dust cleared, we were back in the air again. We learned from each incident and now, aviation is the safest mode of travel in the world.

The Youth Exchange program is our path to world peace and understanding. Today we pause to mourn these courageous young explorers. Tomorrow, we pick up their banner and continue our work to created a better world for future generations.

Instead of retreating we should join together and begin a Scholarship honoring these brave young students. They are our children and we must not let this tragedy end their dream.

“He who fears something gives it power over him.”

Ed and Carol