Parkrose High School Community Center is the site for the final competition of Portland Parks & Recreation’s Portland Teen Idol Competition.
PP&R announced the twelve finalists for the fourth season of Portland Teen Idol, the teen talent program modeled after the national television show American Idol. The finals will be held tomorrow, Thursday, July 1, at Parkrose High School.

Admission is free and the twelve finalists are Jeyonna Barr, Michelle Brayson, Tabitha Card, Bliss Croton, Carly Dillon, Alex Hall, Gracie Heacock, Patience Murphy, Natalia Orozco,Jackie Salzinger, Blake Slover, and Kayla Wonderly.

A release from the Portland Police Bureau about today’s Special Emergency Response Team call-up follows:

“Update: The suspect wanted in today’s SERT activation has been found in the area of 120th and Ash. He was locating hiding under bushes.

“The suspect involved in today’s SERT callout has been identified as Leslie Ward Petersen.

“On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, the Portland Police Bureau’s SERT was activated in the area of 121st and Burnside after the U.S. Marshals attempted to arrest a suspected armed robber who was in a residence in the area.”

Busy day for the boys (and girls) in blue today. Another release from the Portland Police Bureau follows.

“Portland Police SERT has been activated in the area of SE 117th and Ankeny. The Portland Police Public Information Officer is responding and the media staging area is at the Ventura Park parking lot located at SE 113th and Stark Street.

“Additional information concerning the incident will be released at the scene.”

A news Release from the Portland Police Bureau about their response this morning to a shooting at 2:15 a.m. in “a parking lot at Northeast 122nd and Halsey.” That would be the Refectory Restaurant.

“Last night at around 2:15 a.m., Portland Police responded to a parking lot at Northeast 122nd and Halsey on a call of shots being fired in the area.

“When officers arrived, they discovered that a shooting victim had left the scene in a friend’s vehicle.

“A few minutes later, officers responded to a call at Northeast 102nd and Halsey on a call of a vehicle that had just crashed into a gas pump at a gas station located at that intersection.

East Portland Community Center, 740 S.E. 106th Ave., hosts the 13th Annual Independence Day Parade Thursday, July 1.

Festivities are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The parade is from 11:30 a.m. to noon-12

Pre-parade activities include face painting, temporary tattoos, free popcorn, a rock climbing wall, crafts and live music.

The parade has become a favorite community event over the years with decorated tricycles, bikes, wagons and scooters with participants of all ages.

Call Ali Rice, 503-823-3456 for more information.

We received a news release from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office about the Kyron Hormon case today. His mother, Desiree Young, asked the MCSO to release a leter she wrote to her son. It follows:

“Dear Kyron,

“I am so soooooo sorry that this has happened. I am sorry that I was not there to protect you.  I will never be able to forgive myself for being so many hours away when you needed me the most.

An early morning fire Sunday destroyed multiple units of an apartment complex in the 130th block of N.E. Prescott Drive at 130th Avenue. 12 persons were assisted by Red Cross volunteers with temporary lodging, food and clothing in the 2:30 a.m. fire.

Photo courtesy American Red Cross.

A note from Portland Parks & Recreation Information Officer Beth Sorensen about free summer swim lessons follows.

“Did you know that Portland Parks & Recreation offers FREE swim lessons to the public every summer?  No catch!

“Anyone 3 years or older qualifies for five free swim lessons for beginners June 21-25 at any of our thirteen local PP&R neighborhood pools.  Last summer we taught more than 3,100 Portlanders how to swim during our free swim lessons and we’d like to teach even more this year.

Here’s a link to a composite sketch of the suspect from Thursday’s sexual assault in Parkrose Heights.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2010 around 12:30 a.m., a woman was sexually assaulted outside of her vehicle in the area of Northeast 116th and Sacramento. The man was armed with a box cutter and threatened the woman with it.

The male suspect is described as being Hispanic and in his late twenties or early thirties with short wavy hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of letters or numbers on his upper right arm and numbers or dates tattooed between the joints of his fingers on the right hand.

He was last seen wearing jeans, a grey sweatshirt and black steel toed boots. Anyone with information concerning this suspect is asked to call Detective Brendan McGuire at 503-823-1063.