To fully serve the community, the Memo offers this free section to showcase celebrations of milestones in our readers’ lives, those seemingly small accomplishments that often do not receive the recognition they deserve, and everyday events that should be shared with friends and neighbors. The Memo Pad highlights these triumphs for the community.

If you’re sending a submission, include details that apply and a contact name and phone number. If you have photos, send them. Deadline for the September issue is Monday, Aug. 15. For best results, e-mail editor@midcountymemo.com or mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230. Call 503-287-8904.

Historical society fades into history
The board of directors of the David Douglas Historical Society announced the dissolution of the Society effective June 30, 2016. Ted Condon, Society president, cited declining membership, lack of interest and embezzlement of funds by a one-time board member as causes of the group’s demise in the Society’s final newsletter.

The Society was created by a resolution of the David Douglas School Board in 1976. Over the years the Society worked to identify sites of historical significance in the district, created a historical replica of an early classroom and provided tours to student groups, helped create a time capsule that was buried in Howard Horner Performing Arts Center and published “History and Folklore of the David Douglas Community” in 1989. The book is a collection of life stories told by families who resided in the David Douglas community that illuminate their contributions to the area’s growth and development. These stories, along with historical facts about the area and the events that led to the school district’s creation, describe how the community came into existence.

The David Douglas Historical Society was organized as a nonprofit organization. All remaining funds in the treasury will be turned over to the David Douglas School District.

Kim Hill graduated from Portland Christian High in 2008. This month she will represent the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics. COURTESY USA VOLLEYBALL

Kim Hill graduated from Portland Christian High in 2008. This month she will represent the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
COURTESY USA VOLLEYBALL

Local girl on her way to Rio
Kim Hill, a 2008 Portland Christian High graduate, has been named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic volleyball team. Hill, who grew up in the Argay Terrace neighborhood with her parents Bradd and Terri Hill and three sisters (“Ahead of the game” MCM Aug. 2007), led the Royals to state titles in 2006 and 2007.

The 6-foot-4-inch outside hitter left Portland to attend Pepperdine University, where she was the first and (so far) only student-athlete to make the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American first-team roster in both indoor and sand volleyball during the same academic year (2011–2012). In 2014 she was named the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Most Improved Player, and she was named MVP at the FIVB World Championships while leading the U.S. team to a gold medal.

She was named MVP of the Turkish League in 2015–16.

The 2016 Rio Olympics open Friday, Aug. 5. Volleyball tournament games are scheduled Saturday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 21.

EPA grants help clean contaminated properties
The Portland Brownfield Program is getting help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify and clean up contaminated properties. A pair of $200,000 EPA grants will allow the Brownfield Program to give free technical and financial assistance to Portland property owners concerned about possible contamination on their land. Free technical assistance is available for brownfields anywhere in the city, but the grants will provide financial assistance for brownfields in the target area of east Portland. Similar grants have helped fund several brownfield projects in the past, including the Dharma Rain Zen Center at Northeast 85th Avenue and Siskiyou Street. The nonprofit Buddhist institution is converting a former quarry and landfill into its new campus with facilities for meditation, classes and living quarters. A brownfield is a site where past usage has left the soil or groundwater contaminated, or where concern about contamination prevents the property’s reuse. The sites of former gas stations, metal-plating facilities and dry cleaners are common examples of brownfields. Many sites now considered brownfields once provided jobs and helped fuel the economy. Redeveloping brownfields stimulates the economy while protecting water quality, greenspace and public health. For nearly 20 years, Portland has provided technical and financial support to help property owners, developers and community members recover neighborhood lands. Portland was a recipient of one of the first EPA brownfield grants in 1998. A 2011 EPA grant helped Portland establish a Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund available to property owners to clean contaminated soil on their land. In addition to managing the loan fund, the Portland Brownfield Program offers free technical and financial assistance to property owners and developers. For more information, contact the Brownfield Program at 503-823-7764 or visit brownfield.org.

Call for student musicians
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has announced its call for entries for the 2017 Young Artists Competition. One of the VSO’s most highly anticipated events, the Young Artists Competition ranks among the area’s best musical contests and is the annual gathering for many outstanding local young musicians, who often use it as a launching pad for a lifelong career in music.

Students 18 years of age or under as of Jan. 1, 2017, who reside in Oregon and Washington and are currently studying with a private music instructor are eligible to compete. Categories are piano, strings and brass/woodwinds/percussion.

Initial judging is done from CDs. The top three candidates in each category compete Jan. 8 in front of an audience at Trinity Lutheran Church, 309 W. 39th St. in Vancouver. Scholarships are awarded in the amounts of $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place.

First-place finishers then perform their winning selections with the VSO at its concerts on April 22 and 23 at Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 N.W. 139th St. Additionally, in an opportunity offered for the first time this year, selected Young Artist Competition winners may be invited to perform a solo as part of the VSO Chamber Music Series.

Complete information and an application are available at vancouversymphony.org. The deadline for all submissions is Dec. 4, 2016. Please note that every submission must be approved by the VSO office. It is recommended that applicants get the approval of the organization early in the preparation process. No unapproved submissions will be accepted. For approvals, please e-mail orchestramgr@vancouversymphony.org. No phone calls please.

Protect yourself from phone scams
The Portland Police Bureau wants community members to be aware of a variety of phone scams that are active in the Portland Metro area.

Officers have received reports from people who stated that callers would claim to be members of a police department or sheriff’s department and state that the victim had missed jury duty, had outstanding fines or had a warrant for their arrest that could be taken care of over the phone with a payment.

Other victims have reported callers claiming to be public utilities, the IRS, charities and home repair companies.

Some of these scams will include spoofing a legitimate police agency phone number and using a real name of a law enforcement officer in an attempt to gain the trust of the victim.

Callers typically instruct the victims to purchase reloadable cards and call them back with the card numbers. Recent scam callers have asked for iTunes gift cards to be used as payment.

The Portland Police Bureau reminds you to be aware that:

• The Portland Police Bureau or any other legitimate law enforcement agency does not call community members seeking payment for outstanding traffic citations or warrants. This includes claims of unpaid federal or state taxes.
• The Portland Police Bureau does not call individuals and demand money from community members under any circumstances.
• Individuals claiming to collect debts may try to instill fear in potential victims to persuade them to forward money.

MoneyPak/Green Dot and Vanilla Reload have online tools to allow purchasers to request a refund if the scammer has not yet cashed the card.

For more information, please visit moneypak.com/refundrequest.aspx for MoneyPak/Green Dot and vanillareload.com/refundStep1.html for Vanilla Reload.

If you are a resident of Portland and fall victim to these scammers with a financial loss, you are encouraged to file a report by calling the Portland Police Bureau’s non-emergency line at 503-823-3333.

Tips to help avoid becoming a victim of this scam include:

• Never give personal or financial information to an unsolicited caller or e-mail.
• Be suspicious of callers who demand immediate payment for any reason.
• Stay private. Regularly update privacy settings for social media sites. Scammers often make their stories more believable by trolling for personal information on Facebook, Twitter and similar sites.
• Utility companies and government agencies will never contact you for payment by GreenDot, MoneyPak or Vanilla Reload.
• Remember that anyone who has the number on a prepaid card has access to the funds on your card.
• Never wire money or provide debit or credit card numbers to a stranger.

The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) advises that courts may use an independent collection service to collect unpaid monetary judgments and fines. If someone believes they are being scammed regarding an alleged unpaid traffic citation or other court-imposed financial obligation, they can:

• Ask the collector (caller) for information specific to the alleged warrant or unpaid traffic citation. The caller should have the court case number, date of ticket and vehicle license number.
• Verify the debt or confirm other details by calling the OJD collections hotline at 1-888-564-2828.
• Use OJD Courts ePay to directly pay money owed to state courts for most traffic citations, civil fees or criminal fines (for more information, go to courts.oregon.gov/ojd/onlineservices/epay/pages/index.aspx).

If you receive a similar call, disconnect without providing any information or taking any instructions from the caller. Contact your local law enforcement agency.

The Oregon Department of Justice has a tremendous amount of information and resources available to protect consumers. Information can be found by visiting doj.state.or.us/pages/index.aspx.

For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Scam Alert website at consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts.