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Memo Pad...

To fully serve the community, the Mid-county Memo offers this section to showcase upcoming special events, 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. Memo Pad submissions for the March issue are due Wednesday, Feb. 15. For best results, e-mail 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 fax number is 503-249-7672.

Active volunteer named Teen of the Month
The February Gateway Elks Teenager of the month is David Douglas High senior Merna Labib.
COURTESY YEHIA AYAID
The February Gateway Elks Lodge Teenage of the Month is David Douglas High School senior Merna Labib. Labib carries a 3.94 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, serves as a teacher's assistant in the English as a Second Language program and is active in the drama and arts departments. As captain of the DDHS American Red Cross volunteer team, she helps at local blood banks. She also volunteers at the Portland Rescue Mission, Oregon Food Bank, SnowCap Community Charities, Oregon Humane Society and OMSI.

She is active in the St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church choir and studies the liturgical language of the Church.

Labib is still weighing her post high school education options, but plans to study biology as an undergrad before heading off to medical school. She is the daughter of Yehia and Eva Labib.

Choir fest raises $2,500 for homeless families
Area churches raised more than $2,500 for homeless families served by Human Solutions at the 10th annual Epiphany Choir Fest.

Eight local church choirs and one community choir sang traditional Christmas anthems and carols and combined to perform the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel's Messiah at the event, held Jan. 8 at Parkrose United Methodist Church.

Choirs from eight local churches took part in the 10th annual Epiphany Choir Fest, a Jan. 8 fundraiser for Human Solutions' programs for homeless families.
COURTESY SARA FISHER, HUMAN SOLUTIONS
Participating churches include those who help support Human Solutions' shelter for homeless families - Daybreak Shelter, a year-round, 15-bed facility, and Family Winter Shelter, a 60-bed, winter-only facility located at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.

“We want to thank our partner churches for once again coming together to help local homeless families. We couldn't bring families in from the cold or help them rebuild their lives without community support,” said Jean DeMaster, Human Solutions executive director. DeMaster issued a special thank you to retired local pastor Charlie Ross for his longtime leadership of the annual event.

Donations collected at Epiphany Choir Fest will not only provide emergency shelter, but will help Human Solutions purchase a new van for shelter use. “Providing transportation will be huge for families who need to travel from the day shelter to the night shelter each morning and evening . Human Solutions hopes to raise enough money for a new van by spring,” DeMaster said.

Choirs from the following churches and community groups participated this year:

Ascension Catholic, Central Nazarene, Colonial Heights Presbyterian, Eastrose Unitarian Fellowship, Gethsemane Lutheran, Parkrose United Methodist, St. Timothy Lutheran, and Voice of Hope Community Choir from Tualatin.

Human Solutions builds pathways out of poverty by promoting self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income families and individuals in East Portland and East Multnomah County. The agency's four key program areas are homeless prevention, affordable housing, employment and economic development, and safety net services such as rent and utility assistance. For more information, visit humansolutions.org.

Grants for youth projects available
The youth of Portland now have a chance to fund their great ideas. Thanks to a partnership between the city of Portland Youth Planning Program, Portland Community College Students4Giving, PCC Foundation, the Multnomah Youth Commission, Global Citizen Corps of Mercy Corps, and the office of Mayor Sam Adams, outstanding youth proposals will be awarded a total of $10,000 for projects that help improve Portland for youth.

Anyone aged 21 and under who lives, goes to school, works or plays in Portland is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $1,000 to improve Portland.

These Youth Action Grants support new and creative youth-initiated and youth-led projects, particularly those that engage large numbers of youth, broaden youth skills and involve new youth leadership. Grants will be awarded to projects that prioritize a specific article of “Our Bill of Rights: Children + Youth,” a document written by and supporting area youth in 2006. Multnomah County and the city of Portland have adopted this bill acknowledging that children and youth have rights and have made the commitment to uphold those rights. A copy of this document is available at web.multco.us/ccfc/our-bill-rights-children-youth.

The strongest proposals for projects will be awarded funding in March, and the projects will be conducted in spring 2012. Applications are due by Feb. 9. Information about the program and applications are available at portlandonline.com/bps/youth.

Fire damaged office reopens to serve community
Low-income and homeless people in East Portland can once again access social services from Human Solutions' office at 12350 S.E. Powell Blvd. An October fire caused extensive smoke and water damage to the building, displacing 17 Human Solutions employees and requiring homeless and low-income people in need of services to travel to the agency's newly opened Rockwood Building, about five miles away.

“We know that the closure of our Portland office caused a hardship for some of our clients who didn't have the transportation to travel to our Rockwood location or had to find a ride,” said Jean DeMaster, Human Solutions executive director. “We're very relieved to get the building repaired and reopened to start the new year.”

Services provided to low-income and homeless individuals and families at the Powell location include homelessness and eviction prevention, shelter and housing, energy assistance, and employment counseling. Human Solutions is the largest provider of services to homeless families in east Portland and East Multnomah County. In addition to providing a wide variety of social services, the agency also owns and operates approximately 600 apartment units for low-income households. More than 30,000 people each year are served from the agency's Portland office, and demand increases during the winter, according to DeMaster.

Human Solutions' Powell office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Community Room in the building is available free of charge seven days a week during the day and early evening. The phone number is 503-548-0200. For more information or to make a donation to help homeless and low-income families, visit humansolutions.org.

Plant a tree for your Valentine
During the month of February, Friends of Trees will share the love by taking 25 percent off the price of gift trees. For the entire month, use discount code TREELOVE to show your love for the people in your life and the earth. FOT will plant a tree in your loved one's honor and send a personalized gift card. Not only will your gift show your loved one how much you care, it will also clean your Valentine's air and water. (Trees do that you know.)

All gift trees ordered by Feb. 10 will arrive in time for Valentine's Day. Friends of Trees' gift trees are planted in the Collins Sanctuary adjacent to Forest Park during one of two annual gift tree plantings. All who give or receive gift trees for Valentine's Day this year will be invited to plant their trees at the planting on March 25. With the TREELOVE discount, Friends of Trees will plant a gift tree for a tax-deductible donation of $26.25 or a gift grove of six young native trees for a tax-deductible donation of $75.
Gift trees restore a forest in our city and support Friends of Trees' Green Space Initiative, a program that guides volunteers in restoring green spaces throughout the Portland-Vancouver and Eugene-Springfield metro areas.

Since 1989, Friends of Trees' thousands of volunteers have planted nearly 430,000 trees and native plants. To learn more or to order gift trees, go to friendsoftrees.org/gifttrees or call Emma at 503-467-2531.

Metro seeks public comment on federal transportation projects schedule
Residents of the Metro region are invited to view and comment on the upcoming four-year schedule of federal transportation investments in the Portland area. The four-year schedule, known as the 2012-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program, encompasses all federal spending on transportation, including highways, public transit, pedestrian and bike projects in the three-county metropolitan area. Public comments are being accepted through noon, Monday, Feb. 13.
The MTIP includes all federally funded transportation projects in the Portland metropolitan area, including projects planned by TriMet, the Oregon Department of Transportation and local agencies receiving federal funds allocated by Metro.

The comment opportunity also describes Metro's determination that the region will continue to meet federal and state air quality standards. The period provides an opportunity to comment on the capital program of Wilsonville's SMART transit agency as well.

The documents are online at oregonmetro.gov/mtip. If you are unable to download the documents, call 503-797-1750.

Some discussions of the MTIP are controversial and involve decisions about how much to spend on highways, public transit or bike facilities. That's not what this comment period is about-instead it's intended to let the public weigh in on project schedules. The Federal Highway Administration requires Metro and other regional agencies nationwide to gather public comment on the schedules.

Local agencies may find the schedule particularly informative and may have comments about the appropriate timing of project phases. The general public may find the document helpful in tracking the progress of transportation projects that are years in the making.

The Air Quality Conformity Determination estimates carbon monoxide emissions and precursors of smog from cars and trucks in the greater Portland air shed to the year 2035, assuming all the transportation facilities in the Regional Transportation Plan are built. The estimate must not exceed a budget approved for the region by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The capital program for SMART shows Federal Transit Administration funded projects and the federal amount to be expended, as well as the time period established for public review of and comment on these projects.

Comments on all the MTIP, air quality and SMART documents can be made by email to trans@oregonmetro.gov with MTIP Comments in the subject line, or by mail to MTIP Comments, c/o Dylan Rivera, Planning Department, Metro, 600 N.E. Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97232-2736. Comments must be received by Metro by noon, Monday, Feb. 13.

Noise Review Board has opening
Portland's volunteer Noise Review Board currently has a Citizen at Large community representative vacancy.

The board is comprised of five members including three Citizen at Large positions, a representative from the construction industry, and a professional in the field of acoustics. Appointments to the volunteer Noise Review Board are made for a three-year period.

The Noise Review Board normally meets once a month on the second Wednesday evening of the month. The board is charged with making decisions on noise variances for projects that range from nighttime construction projects to large outdoor concerts. The board also works to develop long-term objectives for achieving reduction of sound levels in the community.

If you have further questions regarding the Noise Review Board, contact the city of Portland Noise Control Officer, Paul van Orden, at 503-823-5829. Interested parties are encouraged to file an official application for the city of Portland Noise Review Board and attend a Noise Review Board meeting. The next scheduled meeting is Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. Applications are available through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement website: portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=38616, or contact Kathy Couch at 503-823-3992 or kathy.couch@portlandoregon.gov. Completed applications must be filed by no later than Friday Feb. 15.
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