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Monthly Group Meetings (continued)
Help revitalize your community
Neighborhood Associations are the glue that holds neighborhoods together. Now is the time designated by the City of Portland to update the guidelines that shape our neighborhood associations. A taskforce of neighborhood leaders, the Guidelines, Review, Empowerment, and Assessment Taskforce (GREAT), meets twice a month to discuss updates to neighborhood organization guidelines and also to redefine the responsibilities of the City’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI).
The Guidelines apply to Neighborhood Associations, District Coalitions, Business District Associations, Communities beyond Boundaries, Alternative Service Delivery Structures (i.e. the North and East Portland Neighborhood Offices) and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Task force participants are charged with recommending to the city Commissioner in-charge suggested changes, revisions, additions, and/or deletions to the Guidelines. Final recommendations for Guidelines changes are submitted to City Council for final approval.
A few recent decisions include the decision to create general public involvement guidelines for city agencies to ensure that city agencies incorporate the neighborhood system in their public involvement process. The have also established the following guidelines for neighborhood offices. A neighborhood office shall:
•Facilitate communication between people and government
•Provide training and orientation, information and support services to neighborhood associations within the area of neighborhood associations served
•Promote citizen participation within the area of neighborhoods served on issues of livability, safety and public policy
•Promote, encourage and support the participation of members of diverse communities within the area of neighborhoods served.
•Operate the neighborhood office in accordance with the adopted standards.
•Establish a grievance procedure.
The public is welcome to come to the meetings and make brief comments during the public comment agenda time. Written comments are also encouraged. The meetings will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Meetings this month will be held Tuesday, Aug. 13 and Tuesday, Aug. 27 in the Lovejoy room of City Hall, 1221 S.W. 4th Ave.
You can also receive minutes and agendas by contacting Brian Hoop at 503-823-3075, TTY 503-823-6868, or visiting www.myportlandneighborhood.org.
School Corner
Support your school and the environment
Every month, the Parkrose High Bronco Boosters give local residents a chance to support the school. Instead of setting out your recyclable cans and bottles for the trash men to pick up, save them to donate to Parkrose High. Contribute to our children’s education and protect the earth at the same time.
The Bronco Boosters accept donations of soda and beer cans and bottles in the east parking lot of Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. Bronco Boosters will be in the parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug 3 to collect donations. For more information about donations or how to help, please call Sharon Mershon at 503-252-7139.
Take part in your child’s school
Get involved in our local public school systems and learn about our centers of education. Help ensure the future of our community by making sure our children have everything they need to become the leaders of tomorrow. Local school board meeting dates and locations are listed below.
•David Douglas School Board meets on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. in the David Douglas District Office Boardroom, located at 1500 S.E. 130th Ave. For more information, please call 503-252-2900.
•Parkrose School Board meets for a business meeting on Monday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. in rooms L13 and L14 of the Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. For more information, please call 503-408-2100. There is a regularly scheduled period for public comment during each board meeting.
Can’t quite fit the Parkrose Board meeting into your schedule? No problem - each meeting will be aired Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. on cable channel 27.
Visit a piece of history
The Zimmerman Heritage Farm House was donated as a historical site by Isobel Zimmerman. She taught math and science at Franklin High School from 1930 through 1961 and kept many of her student’s projects, reports and much memorabilia from her years of teaching. Now is your chance to see a vintage 1874 farmhouse and see how life was for Oregonians of the past.
The Zimmerman Heritage Farmhouse is open for touring 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the third Saturday of every month. This Queen-Anne style farmhouse not only shows the everyday details of one family’s early settler life, it is also on the National Register of Historic Places. There’s even a gift shop open during touring hours.
The Zimmerman Heritage Farmhouse is located at 17111 N.E. Sandy Blvd (near 171st and Sandy). Admission is $3. Please call 503-261-8078 to arrange a group tour or for more information.
Senior Resources
Seniors - take advantage of free services
The Senior Services Program Office hosts many free informational clinics and health checks. Senior Services offers a free law clinic every Friday with half-hour consultations. Make your appointment for these free services today!
Medicare advice is available as well, through Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA). Volunteers help both seniors and people with disabilities to understand their rights, make informed choices on how to receive their benefits, and file claims and appeals. Appointments are required.
The Senior Services Program Office is located in the East Portland Community Center at 740 S.E. 106th Ave. For more information or to schedule an appointment with any of these programs, please call 503-988-6073.
Help a child and yourself
The Foster Grandparent Program is looking for seniors sixty years and up on a limited income to help at-risk children in Portland. These children need positive role models to help them with reading, developing social skills, and much more. Not only do the foster grandparents get to help a child, but they also receive two hundred dollars a month tax-free. The program offers other benefits, including meal and travel compensation, paid time off and sick leave. No experience is necessary, just the desire to better a child’s life. For more information, please call Randy Lucas 503-232-0007 ext. 202.
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