To serve the community fully, the Mid-county Memo offers this section to showcase celebrations of milestones in our readers’ lives, those seemingly small accomplishments that often do not receive the recognition they deserve, and everyday events that should be shared with friends and neighbors along with opportunities to participate in the community. When you send submissions, please include all details that apply: full names of any individuals mentioned, details of the milestone and everyone impacted by the event, and a contact name and phone number or email address. Send a photo if you have one. Please identify each individual from left to right (large group shots can simply be identified by the group name) and provide the name of the photographer so we can give proper credit. Memo Pad submissions for the November issue are due Wednesday, Oct. 15. For best results, email Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave, Portland, OR 97230. To leave a phone message, call 503-287-8904. The Mid-county Memo fax number is 503-249-7672.

 

Shirts and ties for job seekers

Bob and Jeanette Dimick, from left, along with members of Montavilla Kiwanis deliver dress shirts and ties to SnowCap Community Charities for its clothes closet.  COURTESY DANNI MOONEY/SNOWCAP

Bob and Jeanette Dimick, from left, along with members of Montavilla Kiwanis deliver dress shirts and ties to SnowCap Community Charities for its clothes closet.
COURTESY DANNI MOONEY/SNOWCAP

SnowCap Community Charities helps families with food boxes and utility bills, but this linchpin of support to our community’s most needy residents steps up in many other ways as well. Recently SnowCap collaborated with Montavilla Kiwanis and its Builders Club at Mt. Tabor Middle School to provide dress shirts and ties to the SnowCap clothing room so that clients can appear for job interviews looking their best. Kiwanis members gathered gently used dress shirts and made sure they were cleaned, pressed and ready to wear while the students held a necktie drive that brought in 45 or so ties to be paired with the dress shirts. Appearing before a prospective employer in a well pressed shirt and tie surely helps the job seeker feel confident and ready for the interview.

 

Gateway Elks Lodge for sale
In a move to save its chapter, the Gateway Elks Lodge’s Board of Trustees voted to present an offer to buy the lodge building and 5.2 acres of property for $4.1 million dollars to its members.

“We, as Gateway Elks are on the brink of total disaster or salvation,” said Ed Schuldt and Tom Frazey, respectively, board of director’s chair and current Exalted Ruler, in a letter sent to their membership. “We are looking at a future bright with hope or dimmed by the loss of another once great Lodge,” the letter continued. “It is the duty of you, the members, to determine our course.”

With the board recommending the offer’s acceptance, they referred it to a full membership vote in September.

A closing is anticipated January 2015 if approved.

Since the chapter has no resources available for purposes other than sustaining its current facility, it cannot secure a new lodge until realizing the proceeds from the sale, according to the letter.

Last year, lodge membership voted to offer part or all of the property for sale.

After an initial appraisal of $2.8 million for the lodge and property, an offer to buy was received and subsequently rejected.

Currently zoned for high-density residential, the property is in the heart of the Portland Development Commission’s Gateway Regional Center Urban Renewal Area.

At the board of directors meeting in September, local realtor Fred Sanchez presented the offer, with the buyer depositing $10,000 into an escrow account as earnest money for the purchase.

Sanchez said the buyer wishes to remain anonymous at this time but gave the board assurances the buyer is a respected entity in the community.

 

Pirates paddle the slough

Pirates searched for treasure on the Columbia Slough lat month at the 12th Annual Aquifer Adventure. Memo photo/Tim Curran

Pirates searched for treasure on the Columbia Slough lat month at the 12th Annual Aquifer Adventure.
Memo photo/Tim Curran

On Saturday, Sept. 13, more than 500 pirates of all ages joined the Portland Water Bureau and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council for an event like no other, a pirate-themed groundwater education festival. Now in its twelfth year, Aquifer Adventure teaches families about an underground treasure—not gold, but groundwater—a precious resource that flows beneath our feet.

The event featured a groundwater obstacle course, water conservation activities, information on green household cleaners, edible aquifers made from ice cream, canoe rides on the Columbia Slough and more. Attendees also had the chance to explore a drinking water well site and learn how a real aquifer works from Portland Water Bureau experts.

What makes groundwater so important? Groundwater from the Columbia South Shore Well Field is a secondary source of drinking water for Portland and is a critical component of the region’s drinking water system. Groundwater is used to help meet higher summer water demands and to provide water during emergencies or when Portland’s primary drinking water source, the Bull Run watershed, is not available. Having a back-up water supply source also helps the city avoid having to construct and operate a water filtration plant for the Bull Run source.

Aquifer Adventure is a part of the outreach efforts of the Portland Water Bureau’s Groundwater Protection Program. The cities of Portland, Gresham and Fairview have implemented this program to protect the Columbia South Shore Well Field, a drinking water source for more than 900,000 Oregonians. One of the main goals of the groundwater protection program is to educate people and businesses about how to prevent pollutants and chemical spills from seeping into the ground where they could impact our drinking water. The cooperation of everyone living and working in the protection area is crucial to keeping our drinking water safe.

Since it began, more than 4,000 attendees have learned about the importance of groundwater through this free event. The response from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. It is exciting to see connections even a three-year old can make about where their water comes from. And of course, it’s fun to dress up like a pirate. There’s nothing like putting on an eye patch and bandana to get you excited about groundwater.

 

Golfers raise big bucks for homeless

Dennis 7 Dees’ owner Dean left, and Dave Snodgrass, presents a big check of more than $100,000—money raised at the East County company’s annual golf tournament—to Human Solutions Executive Director Jean DeMaster, from left, and board members Carla Piluso, and Terry Ciecko.

Dennis 7 Dees’ owner Dean left, and Dave Snodgrass, present a big check of more than $100,000—money raised at the East County company’s annual golf tournament—to Human Solutions Executive Director Jean DeMaster, from left, and board members Carla Piluso, and Terry Ciecko.

At a very critical time, event sponsors made a tremendous push to reach their $100,000 fundraising goal through the Dennis’ 7 Dees Annual Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Human Solutions. In September, the tournament exceeded that goal raising $102,860 generating more than a quarter million dollars since its inception six years ago.

What once was a small vendor and employee golf outing sponsored by the owners of Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping and Garden Centers has now evolved into a significant fundraiser that benefits homeless families in east Portland and east Multnomah County through Human Solutions’ programs and services.

“There is so work much to do at Human Solutions that needs immediate funding,” Dave Snodgrass, president of Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping and Garden Centers said. A new 120-bed family winter shelter is in the planning stages; staffing and supplies will need to be ready Nov. 1 when the emergency winter shelter opens. The proceeds from this year’s golf tournament ensure Human Solutions’ Family Winter Shelter stays open until May 1, 2015.

“People think that because the economy is improving that homelessness is also on the decline,” said Human Solutions Executive Director Jean DeMaster. “This simply isn’t true. There is a huge shortage of shelter and housing throughout the tri-county area. The weather is growing colder, and the rain will soon start; during this time, the number of homeless families seeking shelter always increases.

“We are so grateful to the staff at Dennis’ 7 Dees, particularly the Snodgrass brothers, Dave, Dean and Drew for recognizing the plight of these homeless families and doing something about it. These funds will go directly to getting kids and their parents a safe, warm place to stay.”

Human Solutions promotes self-sufficiency for the homeless, low-income families and individuals in outer east Portland and east Multnomah County. The agency’s four primary program areas are homelessness prevention, affordable housing, employment and economic development and safety net services, such as rent and utility assistance. For more information, visit www.humansolutions.org.

 

Pageant win could mean cash and prizes

Parkrose Sophomore Fifteen-year-old Kalani Wagner vies for Miss Jr. Teen Portland. COURTESY KIMBERLY WAGNER SABANG

Parkrose Sophomore Fifteen-year-old Kalani Wagner vies for Miss Jr. Teen Portland.
COURTESY KIMBERLY WAGNER SABANG

Kalani Wagner, a Parkrose High sophomore, is participating in the 2014 Miss Jr. Teen Portland pageant competition Sunday Oct. 12. If Wagner is selected Miss Jr. Teen Portland, she will represent Portland at the national competition in Orlando, Fla. Contestants modeling and interviewing skills are assessed, and personality is judged during all phases of the competition. Winners receive cash prizes and gifts.