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To fully serve the community, the Mid-county Memo offers this section to showcase upcoming special events, 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.
Memo Pad submissions for the September issue are due by Friday, Aug. 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230. To leave a phone message, call 503-287-8904. The fax number is 503-249-7672.
PBA awards scholarships
The Parkrose Business Association has awarded six Parkrose High students college scholarships. Renae Brown, Natasha Rose, Toyin Oyemaja, Casar Pina and Tru Tran were each awarded $1,000. Justin Garvin received $500 from PBA as matching funds for the $500 he was awarded by Dollars for Scholars, a nationwide nonprofit, private-sector scholarship and educational support organization.
Brown will study psychology at Mt. Hood Community College. She plans to become a social worker.
Rose will begin her college career at MHCC studying secondary English. Her goal is to teach high school English.
Oyemaja has her eye on a career as a nurse practitioner. She will major in nursing at Portland State University.
Pina will enter Mt. Hood Community College in the fall. Ultimately he seeks to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree as he works toward his dream of becoming an animator.
Tran will attend Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., to study political science and pre-med.
Garvin plans to use his scholarships to attend Oregon State University.
These scholarships represent an ongoing effort by PBA to support the continuing education of Parkrose High graduates. Meg Kilmer, director of the PHS College and Career Center, is the liaison between students and PBA.
EPIC links police, citizens
The East Precinct Involved Citizens is a program for citizens working with officers and command staff of the city of Portland’s Police East Precinct to promote crime-free, livable neighborhoods.
EPIC is a collaboration between the police and the community to create bonds of trust and reliance between the police and the public. It identifies and solves community problems to enhance the safety and quality of our neighborhoods.
The group meets in odd-numbered months (January, March, May, July, September and November) for two hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at the East Precinct community room, 737 S.E. 106th Ave. At each meeting there will be a keynote address to enhance the understanding of the role of the community and the police working together. There is always time to meet and interact with other like-minded community members and police officers.
Formal training in foot patrol, neighborhood watch and apartment watch is arranged through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, 1120 S.W. 5th Ave., or call 503-823-4519 for those wishing to pursue it.
All members of our community who are concerned about neighborhood livability and crime reduction are encouraged to attend.
If you would like to be notified of upcoming meetings, please contact Dave Smith, coordinator of the EPIC, at dsmith@portlandpolice.org.
Backyard gardeners urged to share harvest
Midsummer harvests by backyard gardeners can help improve the dietary requirements of needy individuals and families, especially children, according to Judy Alley, executive director of SnowCap Community Charities.
“Many home-growers find their gardens are overflowing, while SnowCap is in need of fresh vegetables to help feed low-income families,” she said.
SnowCap is a volunteer-driven, faith-based nonprofit agency that provides food, clothing, seasonal energy assistance, English language instruction and other advocacy services for low-income and disadvantaged families and individuals in east Multnomah County, including the Parkrose area.
Donors can drop extra garden harvests at Drake’s Seven Dees Garden Center, 16519 S.E. Stark St., or Portland Nursery, 9000 S.E. Division St. SnowCap drivers will pick up the donated fruits and vegetables and deliver them to the SnowCap warehouse facility, where volunteers will make food boxes for same-day delivery.
“The cost of food is rising rapidly and the economy is slowing,” Alley said. “Many minimum-wage workers have less chance for overtime to help pick up the slack, and many aren’t getting full-time work anymore. When you add in the high price of gas, it means that many families don’t have the cash to put wholesome food on the table. We hope folks tending their home gardens will feel they can help make a difference in the health of their community.”
For more information on where and how to donate excess crops, contact SnowCap Community Charities at 503-674-8785 or judy@snowcap.org.
RID Patrol investigates illegal dumping
It’s unsightly, dirty and dangerous. No one likes it, but someone’s putting it there: It’s the mass of tires, garbage, old furniture or worse that’s being illegally dumped along public property, parks, streets and streams. Metro’s Regional Illegal Dumping Patrol wants your help.
Metro’s RID Patrol partners with local governments and law enforcement to help clean up public property. It also handles investigations and prosecutions of illegal dumping on public or private property. The program clears out more than 1,500 illegal dump sites each year across the Metro region, and the public can help RID Patrol prevent new ones.
It’s easy to report illegal dump sites. Call RID Patrol at 503-234-3000, send an e-mail to ridpatrol@oregonmetro.gov or report a dump site at www.oregonmetro.gov/ridpatrol.
If you would like Metro staff to make a presentation at your neighborhood association meeting about RID Patrol and how you can discourage dumping in your neighborhood, contact Tiffany Gates at 503-797-1867 or tiffany.gates@oregonmetro.gov.
PP&R holds Parklane planning session
About 50 people, young and old, turned out to provide input on how the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation should develop a proposed enlarged Parklane Park. The southern five acres of the land forms a triangle at Southeast 155th Avenue and Main Street and has some park facilities. Another 20 acres to the north, a former airfield and quarry has remained vacant since the city purchased it in 2002. So far, park planners and members of a citizen advisory committee have decided that what is installed should “complement other parks but also be something unique,” Citizen Advisory Committee member Bo Nevde told the gathering at Parklane Church. Other area parks are either heavily wooded or devoted mainly to athletic fields. The bureau will hold a second open house between 5 and 8 p.m. on Aug. 5 (National Night Out), this time at the park, to review and expand on the input received.
Clatsop Butte open house
In a process similar to that employed at Parklane Park, the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation is inviting ideas and comments at an open house on the development of Clatsop Butte Park. The session starts at 6 p.m. on Aug. 5 at the park, Southeast 152nd Avenue and Aston Loop.
National Night Out
This year’s National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 5 is a time when public safety officials encourage citizens to have public outdoor gatherings after dark. The idea is for the good guys (you) to symbolically reclaim public places such as streets and parks, and by your presence make them safe places to go.
The Argay Neighborhood Association has a particularly elaborate NNO party this year. The fun begins at 6 p.m. at Argay Park, Northeast 141st Avenue and Beech Street. Cheeseburgers, chips and drinks will be only $2, courtesy of Burgerville. Music is presented by the Cooltones Classic Rock Band. Shaver Elementary School Principal Cindy Bartman and her staff will supervise children’s games and face painting; goodies donated by Target Stores will be available for the little ones. Representatives from the Portland Police and Fire bureaus will be present, and booths from other public and private agencies, organizations and businesses would love to see you.
Other NNO gatherings, big and small, are scattered throughout mid-Multnomah County. Call the East Portland Neighborhood Office at 823-4550 to find out what’s happening near you. If nothing is, or if you prefer, you can do a gathering of your own; the neighborhood office can help with this too. If nothing else, leave your porch light on through the night to help your neighbors walk home safely.
The ABCDs of community organizing
Mike Vander Veen is the newest addition to the East Portland Neighborhood Office staff. A volunteer with the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association, he is working on a concept called ABCD, or Asset-Based Community Development.
The idea, he said, is to use community projects to bring all parts of a community together. “Instead of saying to people, ‘This is what we’re doing, and we’d like you to help us do it,’ you say, ‘Hey, what would you like us to do together?’ The goal is to get everyone involved, even if that takes a little longer. These relationships are necessary to any kind of successful work.”
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