The Portland Community Gardens program has scheduled an organizational meeting about the new community garden to be installed this spring at the Hazelwood HydroPark at N.E. 117th Avenue and Holladay Street.

The meeting is today, Thursday, February 28, 2008 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 NE 117th Ave., adjacent to the Hazelwood HydroPark.

Anyone interested in the design and layout of the community garden, or who might be interested in renting a plot there once it’s constructed is encouraged to attend.

Hazelwood Neighborhood Association activist Linda Robinson, Chair of Parks, Open Space and Environment Committee is in charge of this effort. To reach her call 503-261-9566, or e-mail her at lrobins@pacifier.com.

Arleene Freecke from (the new) Faithful Savior Ministries invites the community to a showing of the film “Passion of Christ” at their church on Good Friday, March 21st.

Faithful Savior Ministries is at 11100 N.E. SKidmore St. They offer a complimentary dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. with the movie beginning at 6. A 30 minute intermission halfway thru the movie will include dessert and a question and answer session with Faithful Savior Pastors.

This event is free, although donations will be accepted. Call Arleene at 503-256-3570 today to reserve your dinner.

To learn more about the new and improved Faithful Savior Ministries read the story in the February issue of the Memo.

We received a note from Portland Christian Jr/Sr High School Chess Team Coach Alan Svehaug announcing they won the 2A Championship this weekend.

It follows:

Portland Christian Chess Team Won the 2A State Championship trophy this weekend in Roseberg, Oregon.

Varsity Team members were Steven Koch, Chance Rossi, Raymond Cho, Andy Harding, Ryan Harding, Dylan Gardner, and Isaiah Rowlett.

Steven Koch Won the All State plaque for a perfect score on Board 1
Ryan Harding Won the All State plaque for a perfect score on Board 5

On the board of the Parkrose Business Association for the last three years and 2007 Vice-President, Jon Turino announced his resignation as PBA president after only two months in an e-mail to the Mid-county Memo.

In response to the monthly “advertising deadline e-mail reminder” sent current and prospective Mid-county Memo advertisers, Farmers Insurance agent and Memo advertiser Jon Turino replied with some sad news.

“I am basically putting my Farmers agency to sleep beginning March 1st.  I will continue to service my existing clients but will cease soliciting new business. I have accepted the position of Executive Director for the APNBA (Alliance of Portland Neighbohood Business Associations), so I won’t be doing any more advertising this year.

A special event has been slated for next month at two businesses housed in one location.

The businesses are the Bungalow Rose Floral & Gift Shop, and Addie’s You and I Travel, both located at 7545 N.E. Sandy Blvd in east Portland.

The two businesses, along with the Northwest Christian Chamber of Commerce, will host an open house tour of the Explorer Coach from Holland America. The Explorer Coach is a tour bus used for Holland America travel packages; no ordinary bus, it features leather seats, more legroom, individual LCD monitors and in-seat audio.

The Memo receives a plethora of e-mails from individuals, organizations and all levels of govenment notifying us of a number of things. We wanted to pass this one, from Mary Volm, media contact at the City of Portland’s Management & Finance Bureau along; supplying residents with one of the many reasons why Portland is such a great city to live and work in.

Here it is:

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United Sates and Canada has presented Portland with its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This award represents significant achievement by the City in meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. The City of Portland has received the award for 18 consecutive years.

East Portland neighborhoods are sponsoring a series of workshops to increase understanding of communication across cultures. The workshops will be presented by the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization’s International Language Bank.

The first workshop will be held at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 NE 117th Ave., Wednesday February 20, at 6:30 p.m.

Topics covered: Culture and Communication; developing cultural competence; Portland as a multi-cultural city; and the importance of cultural competence.

The second workshop, Monday, March 31, will be about the Russian and Eastern European Cultures.  Additional workshops to be scheduled.

A neighborhood meeting is being held at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 N.E. 117th Ave. on Tuesday, February, 26 at 7:00 p.m. to answer questions about the local improvement district (LID) process. Interest has been expressed in improving Sotheast Kelly Street from 82nd to 85th Avenues. This street is unpaved and lacks curbs, drainage and sidewalks.

If a local improvement district were formed, the City of Portland would improve the street to provide proper drainage and pedestrian access. The goal of street improvements is to increase the usable width of the street, improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, eliminate stormwater flooding and erosion problems, and enhance neighborhood livability.

The Portland Office of Transportation has been asked by neighbors to explore the possibility of using an LID to fund this project. An LID is a formal process for property owners to join together in building needed transportation infrastructure.  Alternatives to LIDs will also be discussed.

The Save Madison South/Save Roseway Coalition (www.savemadisonsouth.org), a non-profit organization created to fight the proposed Northeast Portland development of a ‘Big Box’ retail store, announced that SmartCentres, a Canadian development firm known for developing Wal-Mart SuperCenters, has withdrawn its option to purchase the 26-acre parcel of land adjacent to Madison High School on Northeast 82nd Avenue and Siskiyou street. The developer’s decision follows a one-and-a-half-year fight led by the coalition, and energized by the involvement of thousands of concerned neighbors.

St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church at 17405 N.E. Glisan St. will host a variety of events open to the public during Lent, which is from Ash Wednesday, Feb. 6 through Easter Sunday, March 23. For information on any services, please contact the church at 503-252-6128.

On Ash Wednesday there will be three events: the Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m., followed by a Simple Supper at 6:30 p.m., finishing with a study of St. Francis of Assisi for an hour.