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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 March issue are due by Friday, Feb. 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail editorial 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.
Carrier retires from Parkrose route
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| Tim Harmon makes one of his last mail deliveries in Parkrose last December. |
| MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN |
Harmon signed on with the post office in 1978. His initial training was at the Creston station in southeast Portland. After that he worked routes in Tigard and Lents before settling in at Parkrose in 1998.
Upon his retirement on Dec. 31, Harmon said, “I will miss all my customers, they have been so good to me...I enjoyed delivering their mail all these years.”
He and his wife will cruise the Caribbean in March, tour Alaska and Canada in their RV in June and travel across the continental U.S. before settling down somewhere warm for the winter.
Students rewarded with pizza
Parkrose Middle School recognizes students each month for excellence in citizenship, academics, improvement and demonstration of a life skill, which might include an act of caring, integrity, flexibility, patience or the like. Four students from each grade level — 6 through 8 — are honored at a monthly pizza party. According to Barbara Bradshaw, school secretary, Round Table Pizza has provided free pizza and drinks for these students of the month since 2001. She went on to say that “students really look forward to the pizza party. When the business community works with our schools in this manner, the opportunities for students are endless. I want to thank Round Table for honoring our students month after month.”
Become a volunteer coach
The David Douglas Community Sports program needs adults who are willing to volunteer as coaches. No experience is required. If you are interested in coaching or co-coaching a baseball team, or have other Community Sports questions, contact the building coordinator at your child’s school or call 503-261-8206.
IRCO helps young families
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| Maria Rodriguez and her young daughter have a bright future because of programs and support provided by IRCO. |
| MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN |
IRCO offers free in-home parent education and child development services to any parent who lives in Multnomah County. Called the Healthy Start program and funded by the Multnomah County Health Department, this program serves many mainstream clients, and staff can also serve clients in Cambodian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Thai, Laotian and Mien languages. Families may receive these services from birth until the child is three years old.
Maria Rodriguez is an example of how, with the support of a Healthy Start family support worker, a parent can emerge from a downward spiral toward disaster to a healthy, happy and confident situation.
Rodriguez entered the program as a single parent when her daughter was two weeks old. When IRCO got involved in March of 2004, she was in an apartment alone with no furniture or food, no money and no job. She had just been turned down for public assistance and was developing serious depression.
Rodriguez’s IRCO family support worker, Siv-Heng Ung, set up a successful appeal with the Department of Human Services for public assistance and connected her to other services for food, furniture, utility assistance, domestic violence services and rental assistance. IRCO provided diapers, baby clothes, toys, books, emotional support and counseling to help her develop a career plan. Ung helped Rodriguez get into school to become a medical assistant.
In October 2005, Rodriguez secured a job with Multnomah County Correctional Health. Because of her work there, she became interested in criminal justice and is now pursuing a college degree in that field, with dreams of ultimately becoming a criminal investigator. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average.
In the meantime, she is supporting herself and her daughter, being a good mom and taking her classes online so she can spend as much time as possible with her daughter.
“Without (Ung) I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” Rodriguez said. “I had no role model because I lost my mother when very young. (Ung) advised me on discipline and how to handle behavioral situations. But the emotional support has been the biggest piece. I didn’t have anyone else to lean on.”
Parkrose vocalists receive honors
Steven Ennis, Julie Johnson, Stephanie Levine and Kiet Tran of the Parkrose High School Choir were selected to perform with the Oregon Music Educators Association All-State Honors Choir in Eugene last month at the OMEA annual conference. Students were privileged to work with nationally renowned choral director Bruce Rogers from Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, Calif.
Derek Herman of the PHS Jazz Choir was selected for the OMEA All-State Jazz Choir. He too worked with nationally renowned choral directors and performed at the OMEA conference in Eugene.
Music, theater student honored
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| Rebecca Ellingson Peacock, a David Douglas High senior, receives Teenager of the Month honors from Gateway Elks Lodge Activities Chair Mike Finch (left) and Exalted Ruler Jim Schuermyer. |
| Submitted Photo |
As member of the National Honor Society, Peacock maintains a grade point average of 3.71, which places her in the top 15 percent of her class. In addition to academic excellence, she is involved in her school, her church and her community. Peacock is president of Students Against Destructive Decisions at David Douglas. She is an integral part of the David Douglas music program and belongs to the Troubadours, the school’s elite, audition-only choir, and performs with the school’s theater group.
In past years, Ellingson was captain of the junior varsity soccer team and a member of varsity soccer and track. Eventually she opted to focus her energies on performing arts and most recently was involved in the school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Peacock also plays guitar and enjoys recording original folk and country music with her twin sister and her arts and communications teacher, Jeremiah Franzen.
Peacock volunteers at Portland Adventist Hospital; is involved with fundraising for the Invisible Children Club, which fights against human trafficking of children in Uganda; is active in her church and volunteers as an Outdoor School camp counselor.
Teachers and counselors praise Peacock for her positive attitude, warm personality and willingness to take leadership roles in the school and community. Becky, as friends and family know her, is the daughter of Paul and Amy Peacock.
SnowCap experiencing driver shortage
A lack of volunteer drivers at SnowCap Community Charities threatens to curtail weekend distribution and delivery of food to needy families and individuals in east Multnomah County.
The agency has an immediate need for drivers to pick up food supplies from the Oregon Food Bank and from area restaurants and grocery stores that donate to SnowCap.
“It is no exaggeration to say we will have to stop Saturday services if we cannot secure someone to drive a truck to the Oregon Food Bank on Saturday mornings. We also need a second person to ride along and help collect the food,” said Judy Alley, SnowCap executive director.
The Saturday service started a year ago and is dependent on having a steady stream of food from OFB. “We have needy people waiting every Saturday morning for food boxes,” Alley said.
In addition to lacking drivers for retrieving food from OFB, SnowCap is short of volunteer drivers to pick up daily donations from area restaurants and grocery stores. Donated food is driven to SnowCap’s facility where it is assembled into nutritionally-balanced food boxes and disbursed to seniors and shut-ins.
“More restaurants and groceries would donate food if we had drivers to promptly pick up food before it winds up in the landfill,” Alley added. “Many seniors rely on the faithful delivery of these vital food boxes.”
In addition to the delivery of food boxes, drivers become a link to the outside for shut-ins.
“Drivers develop relationships and help ease the isolation of many seniors and disabled persons,” she said.
A good driving record is necessary, and some lifting is part of the job. No special endorsements are required.
Screening information and sign-up forms are available from Danni Mooney at 503-674-8785, ext. 19, or danni@snowcap.org.
NW Motorsports funds scholarships
More students in the Mt. Hood Community College automotive technology program will be able to complete their degrees thanks to a generous donation from the Northwest Motorsports Association. A check for $11,200 was presented to the MHCC Foundation to fund scholarships for automotive technology students. The money represents proceeds from last August’s Rockin’ Around the Block car show.
“The Northwest Motorsports Association is a loyal supporter of the college and its students. They are always willing to give of their time to help our automotive technology students succeed,” said Jerry Lyons, automotive technology instructor. “The group has helped with the retention of students and with the purchase of tools and equipment for their co-op dealership experience. They have established both short- and long-term scholarships for our outstanding industry-driven programs.”
Each year the Northwest Motorsports Association scholarship awards two automotive technology students with a two-term scholarship. Including this year’s contribution, the Northwest Motorsports Association has donated a total of $94,200 to the MHCC Foundation.
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