Mid-county Memo Blog

The Wilkes Community Group meets tomorrow, from 7-9 p.m. in the Margaret Scott Elementary School library, 14700 N.E. Sacramento St.

Rod Park, Metro Councilor, District #1 is the guest speaker at tomorrow night’s meeting. You’re invited to join them and share ideas or suggestions. For information, contact Alice Blatt at 503-253-6247 or aliceb@pacifier.com.
Wilkes neighborhood boundaries are, roughly, from Northeast 148th Avenue to the City limits and from the Columbia River to Halsey St.

Right now, today — from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. — there’s a Fix-It Fair being held. Fix-It Fairs are free events designed to save Portlanders money and connect them to resources. Join your Mid-county neighbors and talk to experts about how to spend less and stay healthy. Fix-It Fairs are crammed full with resources for helping you to create a healthy home, including:  How-to classes on various home and garden topics, money-saving, cost effective tips and free giveaways. Bring your bicycle, free, minor tune-ups and flat tire repairs are available for students and families.
Fix-It Fairs are held 3 Saturday mornings during the winter at various locations around the City of Portland from November to February.
The 2009-10, 23rd Annual Fix-It Fair season Is presented by The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability with support from these sponsors: Energy Trust of Oregon, Pacific Power,  Portland Development Commission, Portland Lead Hazard Control Program, and Portland General Electric.

We received a note from the Portland Police Bureau about a rash of burglaries at Portland schools, and in east Portland at David Douglas and  Parkrose schools. If you have any information, call Detective Mary Wheat at 503-823-0010.

“Portland Police are investigating a series of burglaries at schools in the Portland area that began in early December. Investigators believe that twelve burglaries have occurred at various schools and that the burglars are attempting to steal laptops and computer equipment.”

We received a note from SnowCap Community Charities in outer east Portland with a special plea for volunteers on the upcoming holiday. SnowCap Community Charities is a philanthropic organization created to provide food, clothing, advocacy and other services to the poor in a large part of east and outer Portland, including Gresham, Wood Village, Troutdale and Fairview.

“Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an ideal occasion to volunteer for community service and SnowCap Community Charities is setting aside Monday, Jan. 18 for special helpers.

A recap, with links, to the January 2010 issue of the Mid-county Memo follows.

A feature story about Multnomah County Sheriff’s office personnel adopting residents of a skilled nursing facility, a MCSO neighbor, is on this month’s front page.

Lee Perlman asks Mid-county business leaders, school and social service agency administrators to reflect on 2009 and what they see for 2010.

A story by Heather Hill about shop classes and vocational training for Parkrose High School students provided by a partnership with the Northwest College of Construction.

We received a news release from Portland Police Bureau about a shooting incident in outer east Portland last night. It follows:

“Last night (Tuesday, Jan.5) at 12:45 a.m., Portland Police Officers responded to the 100 Block of Southeast 160th (Ave.) on a report of a person being shot. Before officers arrived, 911 dispatchers received information that the victim was being driven to the hospital by a friend. The victim, 21-year-old Cherie Thompson, was taken to Emanuel hospital and received treatment for non-life threatening injuries from two gunshot wounds.

Interested in the City parks east of the river?

The East Portland Parks Coalition meets Thursday, Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 N.E. 117th Ave.
Contact Alesia Reese, 503-253-4414 or e-mail her at: alesiajmr@yahoo.com with questions.

Links and a recap of feature articles from the December 2009  edition of the Mid-county Memo online version follow:

Latest photos and full story about the world’s largest choral festival, The Grotto’s twenty second annual Festival of Lights in east Portland.

Full story about east Portland neighborhood association leaders examining the different ways other neighborhood offices are run.

Latest photos and full recap of fall high school spots in Mid-County.

Latest photos and full story about Hall of Fame wrestling coach Marc Sprague joining the David Douglas Mat Club.

Mid-county Memo Neighbor of the Year (1994) William “Bill” Winge’s obituary.

An e-mail forward from neighborhood association doyenne Bonny McKnight, via East Portland Neighborhood Office’s Teresa Hatfield, urging us to take a survey from the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission follows.

“Mt Hood Cable Regulatory Committee can be a resource we don’t get much from right now but can be a great outreach partner if we would explore how to use it. We should fill out the survey to let them know how we can use it on behalf of our Neighborhood Associations in our individual roles as members/officers/etc.

“Please take a few minutes to do the survey.  The deadline for us to meet is December 18.

A news release from the Portland Police Bureau about a fatal stabbing in outer east Portland follows:

“On Saturday December 5th 2009, Portland Police Officers from East Precinct responded to a call of a female stabbed in the chest at Papa Sons Bar located in the 12500 hundred block of Southeast Powell Blvd. The victim, a female in hear late 20’s, was transported to a local hospital where she later died of her injuries.

“Homicide detectives responded to the scene and are in the early stages of conducting their investigation. Investigators are still attempting to locate and interview witnesses for this incident. The autopsy on the victim will be performed later on today.