Vol. 19, No. 9 • Mailed monthly to over 12, 400 homes in the Gateway & Parkrose Communities Free • JANUARY 2004
FEATURE ARTICLES Memo Calendar Memo Pad Business Memo's Loaves & Fishes Letters Home
Parkrose students ASPIRE to secondary education
Commission prescribes 75-foot height for 102nd Ave. development
A guide to winter wildlife watching
Tire guy helps community go around

About the MEMO
MEMO Archives
MEMO Advertising
MEMO Web Neighbors
MEMO Staff

© 2004 Mid-county MEMO
Terms & Conditions
Business Memo's...

Significant forces in any community are its neighborhood businesses. The Mid-county MEMO offers this section to our business neighbors for news, advancements, promotions, expansions and other noteworthy events to be shared with the community at large. To ensure publication, please send submissions for each month by the 15th of the previous month. Business Memo submissions for the February issue are due by Thursday, January 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or you can also mail editorial submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR, 97230. To call or leave a phone message, dial 503-287-8904. Mid-county MEMO fax number is 503-249-7672.

Bookseller exchanges store for retirement
Sally Mumper closes the book on her Paperback Exchange bookstore after almost two decades of operation.

MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN
After 18 years in our community, the Paperback Exchange used bookstore may be doomed for extinction. In addition to facing the challenges of a forced move in 1998 when the Menlo Park Plaza shopping center changed hands, owner Sally Mumper also faces some health issues and has decided to retire. The store is for sale, but if a buyer is not found, she will simply close the doors and move on to a new life chapter in her life.

Growing up in Albany, Mumper came to the big city in 1964 to seek her fortune, or at least a job. Along the way she has owned her own advertising and marketing business and was a grocery checker for Safeway.

Mumper says her love of books began as a small child, so it was fitting that in the 1970’s when an opportunity to work in publishing presented itself, she jumped at the chance. As a publishers representative she sold new books to bookstores for nine years.

In 1985 attorney Bill Whitney opened the Paperback Exchange in Menlo Park Plaza on Northeast 122nd Avenue and Glisan Street installing wife Jeannie as manager/operator. A year later, when Jeannie became ill, Mumper stepped in to run the store, purchasing it from Whitney when Jeannie died in 1988.

Mumper’s life -long love of books and people made this her dream job. She is proud of the fact that she was able to triple the business in two years and add 3 part time employees. She describes Laurel Phillips, Sandy Reese and Lynn Rosenthall as “long-time, faithful employees and I could not have maintained without them.”

After a decade in the shopping center, changes were afoot that forced many merchants to move. Sally selected a site at 11404 N.E. Halsey St. in 1999, but found her customers did not follow to the new location as she had hoped.

As Sally Mumper turns a new page, she wants to thank the faithful friends and customers acquired over the life of Paperback Exchange and says she will miss the daily contact with each and every one of them. Perhaps one of them will step in to carry on to share Mumper’s love of books with our community for years to come. If you are interested to learn more, call her at 503-253-7099, or better yet, stop in to browse and chat.

Japanese food and Korean service come to Mall 205 area
Chimin and Grace Ha, originally from South Korea, have established a presence in the Mall 205 area. Bon Teriyaki Restaurant is located at 10308 S.E. Washington St. Charbroiled and grilled Japanese food is served from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Providing extra service to customers is part of day to day operations for this hard working couple and their staff of seven.

The Ha’s established themselves 10 years ago with the opening of the Bon Teriyaki in Gresham. Grace Ha says they decided to add the Mall 205 location because they see the area as one that is growing and improving. A third Bon Teriyaki Restaurant is located on Southeast 82nd Avenue.

Call the Mall 205 location at 503-281-8886 to find out more.

Credit union makes a difference
Oregon Telco Community Credit Union has announced its recent fundraiser generated $3800.00 for Snow CAP.

Snow CAP provides assistance to needy families in Mid-Multnomah County. During a six-week period in November and December, the credit union donated $5.00 to Snow CAP for every new savings account or new checking account opened.

In addition to the $3800 cash donation, Oregon Telco’s 107 employees also held a staff food and diaper drive. The food-drive generated over 2,400 cans of food and 48 packages of diapers that were donated to this worthy organization.

Founded in 1937, Oregon Telco Credit Union serves 43,000 members and offers some of the best interest rates around. They opened a branch in the Mall 205 area in 2002. And, as a community credit union, those who live or work in Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Marion, Polk or Yamhill Counties can join and enjoy the many benefits of credit union membership.

Oregon Telco Community Credit Union is located at 10555 S.E. Washington St. The credit union is pleased to be part of the community and are proud of their efforts to make a difference.

Employees and retirees set donation record for third year in a row
Portland General Electric or PGE employees and retirees are doing their part to make sure the winter holiday season is a little warmer and brighter for those in need. Their gifts come in the form of charitable donations to nonprofit agencies and schools through the company’s annual Employee Giving Campaign. This year, PGE employees and retirees set a new record for their generosity and pledged almost $850,000 (including PGE’s 50 percent match) during the campaign’s four-week span.

“Year after year, my colleagues continue to show compassion and dedication to the communities where they live and work,” said Peggy Fowler, CEO and president of PGE. “The Employee Giving Campaign provides a tremendous opportunity for PGE employees and retirees to make contributions to nonprofit organizations that are greatly deserving of financial support.”

The 2003 PGE Employee Giving Campaign totals $848,022 (with the company match), up more than 10 percent from the previous record of $759,289 set in 2002. With the theme of All Aboard, Full Steam Ahead, the 2003 Employee Giving Campaign ran from Oct. 13 to Nov. 7. PGE’s 2,800 employees and 1,000 retirees could designate any charitable nonprofit or accredited school to receive their pledges, and PGE matches their contributions by 50 percent. Since the company match program started in 1999, PGE employees and retirees have contributed $3,439,455 to their communities.

Donations are being distributed to 622 diverse groups primarily in Oregon, including the PGE Foundation, United Way locations in 10 counties, Oregon Food Bank, Earth Share of Oregon, Oregon HEAT, Black United Fund of Oregon and SOLV.

The Oregon Burn Center/Emanuel Medical Center Foundation continues to be the campaign’s top recipient. This year’s donation totals almost $100,000 and benefits the new Oregon Burn Center Therapeutic Garden sponsored by Portland General Electric, PGE employees and IBEW Local 125.

PGE employees and retirees also gave freely of their personal time. As of Sept. 30, they had reported 71,940 hours of volunteer time working in local charities, schools and community service projects this year alone.

PGE is Oregon’s oldest and largest electric utility and serves more than 750,000 customers. PGE’s rich history in Oregon is also marked by its commitment to supporting the community through a variety of innovative charitable, volunteer and environmental stewardship efforts. To learn more, visit PGE on the Web at www.PortlandGeneral.com.

Mortgage banker recognized
MBank is pleased to announce that Cory Williamson, Mortgage Banker with MBank Mortgage has been awarded the “Best of the Best” distinction from First Franklin Financial Corporation. Ms. Williamson was among 15 recipients of the award given to mortgage bankers across Oregon and Southwest Washington for the third quarter of 2003. Qualification for the award is based on the number of brokered loans in the quarter.

“Cory’s pledge to finding the right loan for her clients is demonstrated in her earning this distinction,” said Carlene Lodeski, Vice President, MBank Mortgage. “We’re proud to have mortgage bankers like Cory who exemplify our commitment to the communities we serve.”

If you really want to lose weight in 2004
These tips from Weight Watchers can help keep your resolution on track. Whether your goal is to get rid of a little holiday weight gain or to improve your health in the New Year, sticking to a weight-loss resolution post-January can be a challenge. New research shows a flexible approach, rather than a rigid regimen is linked to successful long-term weight loss. Weight Watchers offers the following ten real-world suggestions to help keep your New Year’s weight-loss resolution:

Concentrate on getting started; don’t worry about every detail of a weight-loss program. Remain focused on the steps immediately before you. Don’t be overwhelmed by the weight you feel you must ultimately lose. Remember, just getting started is an important achievement.

Make your first major goal to lose 10 percent of your current body weight. Not only has a 10-percent weight loss been proven to medically significant, it’s also an achievable goal. Sustaining a 10-percent weight loss has multiple health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Don’t go to extremes. Cutting our food groups and crash dieting inevitable leads to feeling deprived, which in turn leads to overeating and then the weight snaps back. In other words, ‘deprivation is fattening’. The key to long-term weight control is to learn how to eat in moderation.

Be flexible. If you find yourself overeating at a special occasion, just eat less at the next meal or ramp up your exercise a tad. Learning to be flexible by adjusting your eating and exercising up or down is an important strategy for losing and maintaining your weight.

Learn to count your successes. Celebrate every pound you’ve lost as you move toward your weight goal. Don’t fret about the weight that you haven’t shed. Keeping a positive, balanced perspective is key.

Don’t be discouraged if you plateau. Weight loss is never a consistent process. In the first three weeks you may lose more weight due to water loss. Expect your weight loss to vary from week to week.

Give yourself breathing room. Take simple, small steps to improve your lifestyle. If you know you need to be eased into a routine, then change your habits gradually. For example, walk an extra five minutes a day and increase the pace gradually.

Accept that you will make mistakes along the way. What you do about any mistake is what’s important. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue with your healthy eating habits. If you succumb to that pile of French fries or that dish of chocolate mousse, don’t despair and give up. Lapses are normal. Knowing you can get back on track is an empowering skill to learn.

Dieting does not have to equal deprivation. You don’t have to give up your favorite foods. Many of the foods you love and that you may have thought of as weight-loss saboteurs can be eaten in good conscience and good health. Remember that a flexible approach to losing weight allows you the freedom to incorporate all foods and food groups into your food plan.

Recognize that new habits take practice. Practice them until they become your own. Give yourself time for lifestyle changes to feel natural and automatic.

The Weight Watchers meeting sites nearest Mid-County are in the Tillamook Park Bldg., 2108 N.E. 41st Ave; Temple Baptist Church, 1319 N.E. 7th Ave; and Timberline Dodge, 2510 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
Memo Calendar | Memo Pad | Business Memo's | Loaves & Fishes | Letters | About the MEMO
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home