Mid-county Memo Blog

The July issue of the Memo was posted earlier this week.

This month’s feature stories include: a story by Heather Hill about the schism at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Parkrose; Lee Perlman reports on the progress of PAC, or the Gateway Regional Center Urban Renewal Area Program Advisory Committee; Perlman also reports on the wrapping up of the Portland International Airport’s Master Plan; finally, this month’s Perlman’s Potpourri, a beat reporter’s round-up of news and information in Mid-Multnomah County.

As always, the Memo Calendar, containing east Portland’s most comprehensive listing of community events.

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.

Parkrose High School Community Center, 12003 N.E. Shaver St., hosts Mayor Sam Adams’ Education Summit this Saturday, April 10 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Held to discuss critical issues facing schools in Portland, hear about actions underway to increase graduations rates and access to post-secondary education.

What would help the educational opportunities in Portland? Air your concerns, offer solutions at Saturday’s summit.

The Parkrose Neighborhood Association holds their general meeting tonight, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

The east Portland neighborhood association meets at Faithful Savior Ministries, 11100 N.E. Skidmore St.

For an agenda, or more information contact PNA Chair Mary Walker, 503-252-2146 or e-mail her at parkrosephoenix@gmail.com.

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 Melissa Ritchie (MMRitchie@columbia.com), a Parkrose Middle School Outdoor School booster, about a fundraiser this month in support of PMS Outdoor School. It follows:

“Please join us for an all day fundraiser at Parkrose Burgerville, 4229 N.E. 122nd Ave. (near the High School) on Thursday, Jan. 21st.

“Proceeds from the sales of the day will benefit Parkrose Middle School’s Outdoor School when you present them with a flyer or let your server know you are supporting Parkrose.  Dine in or Take out!

“Thank you so much!!
~Melissa”

We received an e-mail from Scott Bradley, pastor of Abundant Life Church in Parkrose, requesting publicity for an upcoming marriage seminar at his church. It was too late for the print version of the January edition of the Memo by the time it was received (editorial deadline: 15th of every month),  so I told him we’d place the notice on our blog site; it follows.

“Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage! Register now for a 2-day marriage seminar. This is a wildly entertaining and informative marriage event designed to bring hope and positive change to marriages. Cost is $35 per couple or $18 per individual.

Donate your returnable bottles and cans to for a a good cause.

The monthly Parkrose Middle/High School Bronco Boosters can collection, is this Saturday, Jan. 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Parkrose Middle School, 11800 N.E. Shaver St. in east Portland.

Donations of refundable cans and bottles support the PHS Scholarship Program. Call Dave Luce at 503-255-3745.

We received a note from Rev. Chuck Currie of the Parkrose Community United Church of Christ, 4715 N.E. 106th Avenue in Parkrose.  Currie is on the cutting edge where it comes to recognizing injustice, and man’s inhumanity to man. The subject of this Sunday’s sermon is about the gun-totin’ Kentucky man of the cloth, and, apparently, the bullet. Rev. Currie’s press release follows:

“Recently, a pastor in Kentucky had his parishioners bring their guns to church for a special celebration of guns and God.  “I don’t see any contradiction in this,” the Rev. Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church, told The New York Times.

Parkrose Varsity Football Head Coach Tim Price called recently to let us know that last season’s starting quarterback, Nick Magrone, received a partial scholarship to play football at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande based on his performance leading Price’s team last year.

Price was tickled. “It’s always good to prove to these kids this can happen. It shows that what we’ve been saying to these kids, ‘work hard, play hard, you have a chance to go to college’ (on scholarship), is true.”