Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith is holding three open houses and information sessions about senior health care issues and how to access Multnomah County services.

Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith holds a series of Town Halls on senior health care.

Learn how to protect elders from financial fraud or abuse.

The first one is today at St. Rita Catholic Church, 10029 N.E. Prescott St. from 2 to 3 p.m.

The other one east of the river is at the Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 N.E. 40th Ave., on Friday, May 10 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The May 2013 edition of the Mid-county Memo posted online.

Feature stories and news about east Portland, all right here.

LaShawn McCarthey, Prescott Elementary SUN site manager, poses with some of his students, from left, fifth grader Anthony Green, first grader Rickiya Overton and fifth grader Forrest Clark. Students participate in up to 45 minutes of daily homework help.

This month’s feature stories are: Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) shines at Prescott Elementary in the Parkrose School District; a Top Notch labor dispute at Yaw’s restaurant in Gateway; East Portland Sunday Parkways kicks off in outer southeast this Sunday; the East Portland Neighborhood Office and the East Portland Action Plan face budget cuts; Parkrose school board candidates answer a question and, how do Mid-county restaurants rate?

To increase coordination and partnership between faith communities and Multnomah County on issues focusing on family support services, health education and disaster preparedness, the county’s Interfaith Initiative is hosting an event Thursday, April 18 at Parklane Christian Reformed Church, 16001 S.E. Main St. in outer southeast Portland

The goal of the event, Commissioner Diane McKeel said in a news release, is is to provide speakers and resources so attending congregations will receive a greater understanding of the professional support Multnomah County provides.

Presenters from the county’s Interfaith Initiative recently provided an overview of the county’s approach to collaboration with faith communities on their shared goals of improving resident’s health and well being.

The April edition of the Mid-county Memo posted online.

Feature stories and news about east Portland, all right here.

DOUG BEGTHEL/THE OREGONIAN
The David Douglas High School wrestling team celebrates first place in the 6A team title of the OSAA 2013 Wrestling State Championships at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The March issue of the Mid-county Memo is posted online.

Feature stories and news about east Portland, all right here.

Vancouver residents Cindi and Dave Fooshe travel to east Portland monthly to dance the night away at Ballroom Parkrose.

This month’s edition features: dancing with the professionals at Ballroom Parkrose; a co-op grocery store is forming in Montavilla, construction on the I-205 Airport Way interchange improvement project; city budget cuts proposed and, how do Mid-county restaurants rate?

Memo Departments — Memo Pad, Business Memos, Memo Calendar and the monthly Meals on Wheels People menu — are full of items of interest about what east Portlanders are doing; local business news and the many activities in March.

If you are curious about icons or have ever wondered how they were created and what the symbolism is all about, master iconographer Sherry Lynch is offering a 12 week icon painting class at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 11229 N.E. Prescott St. beginning, Saturday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.

Lynch trained in Turkey and was acknowledged as an iconographer by His All Holiness Patriarch Athenagoras, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1948 to 1972.

COURTESY MARLA McGARRY LAWRENCE
Master Iconographer Sherry Lynch will share her skills and knowledge in a 12-week course.

The holiday season lived on at the 13th annual Epiphany Choir Fest, a Jan. 6 benefit at Rose City Park United Methodist Church that raised $4,406 for the Human Solutions Homeless Families Program.

The total includes a contribution from Pacific Power, that matched the first $1,500 donated.

PHOTOS COURTESY SARA FISHER, HUMAN SOLUTIONS
Nine church choirs and one community choir combine to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah at the annual Epiphany Choir Fest, a benefit that raised $4,406 for Human Solutions’ Homeless Families Program. Pacific Power matched the first $1,500 in donations.

The January edition of the Mid-county Memo is posted online.

Tim Price, Parkrose high school head football coach, was fired in November. Over his five seasons, he had an 18-26 record.

Feature stories, news and events about east Portland people, all right here.

This month’s edition features: a Christmas tradition of giving at SnowCap Community Charities; Parkrose sacks head football coach Tim Price;

Parkrose school district buys a piece of property from the Rossi family for $240,000;

the Portland Planning and Sustainability Bureau holds Comprehensive Plan Workshops in east Portland;

The December edition of the Mid-county Memo is posted online.

Feature stories, news and events about east Portland people, all right here.

Read all about Hazelwood Plaza, a new, 59-unit apartment building slated for Northeast 102nd Avenue, between Glisan and East Burnside streets, in this month’s edition.

This issue features: Fall activities roundup from midcounty schools; the Grotto celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Lights; a groundbreaking story on Glisan Commons, a social service agency headquarters and low-income housing development in Gateway; a Lee Perlman piece on Hazelwood Plaza, an apartment development on Northeast 102nd Avenue, gets a second look at the Portland Design Commission; a Laotian leader seeks a community center for immigrants; and, after being homeless for more than two years, Parkrose Community United Church of Christ finds a permanent home in Gateway

Change is constant, often difficult. To cope, people seek comfort in family, friends and faith; they visit familiar places and stay occupied with hobbies.

When support structures themselves change, what do you do? What soothes? What helps when you must leave the home, the garden, and the church that embodied your way of life, and turn toward an uncertain future?

Seeking a permanent home since 2010 when they sold their church building and land, the Parkrose Community United Church of Christ congregation recently purchased the failing Eastminster Presbyterian Church and land in the Russell neighborhood. PCUCC continues many Eastminster ministries, including housing a Winter Family Shelter nightly, from November through April.