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| Vol. 19, No. 9 • Mailed monthly to over 12, 400 homes in the Gateway & Parkrose Communities Free • JANUARY 2004 | ||||||||
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FEATURE ARTICLES | |
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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.
To ensure publication in the Memo Pad, please send submissions for each month by the 15th of the previous month. Memo Pad submissions for the February issue are due by Thursday, January 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail editorial 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.
Church prepares to welcome new leader
The congregation at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Parkrose is eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new priest, Fr. David Humphrey. He, his wife Rachel, and their children will be joining the St. Matthew’s family this month. His first service will be on Sunday, January 18.
Prior to accepting the call from St. Matthew’s, Fr. David was Vicar at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Standon, Ware, England. He is a United States citizen who went to seminary in England and was ordained in the Anglican Church. He and Rachel have two sons, Johnny age 3 and Daniel age 1.
St. Matthew’s is a conservative, Bible-centered church. Congregates believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, and their mission is to follow Jesus’ teachings with love and compassion. St. Matthew’s doors are open to all who are searching for a Jesus and Bible-centered, liturgical church to worship at. Holy Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday at both the 8 and 10 a.m. services, with children’s Sunday School and baby sitting available at the 10 a.m. service.
St. Matthew’s is located at 11229 N.E. Prescott St. Church office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to Noon. The phone number is 503-252-5720.
Li named Teen of the Month
The Gateway Elks Lodge is proud to introduce Iris Li of David Douglas High School as Teenager of the Month of January.
Li has demonstrated a desire to learn and she is serious about her education. She is a junior and currently is earning a Grade Point Average of 3.63. She has already completed her first and second state mandates for graduation.
Li is enrolled in advanced classes including Advanced English and College Chemistry, and her focus is in the Health Sciences area.
Li has received academic recognition by being named a member of the National Honor Society in grades 9, 10 and 11. She has been on the Honor Roll for all three years she has been in high school. She participated in the county All Stars Academics.
In addition to her success in academics, Li has made a commitment to volunteering in the community. These activities include school based service organizations, which include the Asian American Leadership Club. She also served in community operations such as Providence Portland Medical Center.
Li has done projects at two local elementary schools, Gilbert Park Elementary and Lincoln Park Elementary.
David Douglas health instructor Sharon Webster writes, “It is evident Iris realizes the significance of helping others and has made this a priority in her life.”
Li is planning on a health-related career and has been in contact with Oregon State University concerning courses leading towards becoming a pharmacist.
Li spends her recreational time with family and friends; she also enjoys comedy, especially humorous movies. She also likes to swim.
Iris lives with he parents, Angeline and Wallace Li.
Rossi Farms, McKnight receive awards
In what mayor Vera Katz called “one of the nicest, most fun days of the entire year,” the Portland City Council bestowed Spirit of Portland awards on volunteers and groups. Among those so honored this year were Rossi Farms, named “Small Business of the Year,” and Russell neighborhood activist Bonny McKnight.
Farm manager Joe Rossi regularly holds fundraisers for worthy causes, including the annual Barn Dance, at the farms. He also used his influence to have the pocket park now being developed at Northeast Prescott Street and 112th Avenue named Senn’s Dairy Park, as community members wanted, rather than Prescott Park as the Park Bureau initially decreed. The farm, which still sells fresh vegetables, once included what is now the Parkrose School District. Rossi noted that when the family first started farming in 1880 it was in what would become Ladd’s Addition in southeast Portland. He noted that his father Aldo is “like any retired farmer; he gets up early and works hard every day.”
Rossi told Council, “I’m honored; I wasn’t expecting this.”
McKnight has emerged in the last year as a champion of the city’s citizen involvement process and land use laws. She led the fight against procedures that allowed higher density development in the R5 single family zone, and changes in the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Both activities brought her into conflict with Commissioner Randy Leonard, and there are rumors that she will run against him when he seeks re-election this year. (McKnight insists she is undecided about this.)
Katz recalled meeting McKnight when she worked for former governor Betty Roberts and said, “She is one wonderful lady...I don’t know how many people are interested in the intricacies of the zoning code. This lady not only knows it all, but she gets others involved. She focuses on public policy, the big picture, getting the work done. She keeps us on our toes, keeps us honest, and lets us know how she feels. She’s sometimes confrontational, but we listen because she’s right 99.9 percent of the time.”
“I’m very proud to be from East Portland, McKnight said. “We almost had our own city, and I still think it was the right thing to do.” To Council she said, “We need your respect, we need your support, we need for you to welcome us as partners.”
New crime prevention specialists selected
Teri Poppino is back, but Katherine Anderson replaced Roseanne Lee as the Office of Neighborhood Involvement assigned Neighborhood Crime Prevention specialists last month.
At the behest of Randy Leonard, commissioner in charge, the popular volunteer support program was reorganized to take in new responsibilities. As part of this, the existing staff was laid off and encouraged to apply for new positions. Six of the ten “incumbents,” including Anderson, Lee and Poppino, were rehired.
Lee has been assigned to work out of the Southeast Uplift office. Anderson, the veteran of the program with 11 years of experience, was reassigned from the Central Northeast Neighbors office to East Portland, a post she has held before.
Art Hendricks, manager of the program, says staff was assigned based on how their skills met the needs of the individual office, and the preferences of the specialists.
Fish and wildlife habitat protection impacts
At the end of October, Metro Council approved a broad analysis of the economic, social, environmental and energy impacts of protecting — or not protecting — fish and wildlife habitat in the region. The approval completes the first half of the second of three steps in the agency’s process to develop a fish and wildlife habitat protection plan.
The first step, completed in 2002, was to conduct an inventory and to map regionally significant fish and wildlife habitat. Development of a program to protect fish and wildlife habitat in the region will be the final step.
During the past year, concerned residents and members of several different advisory committees have spent unprecedented hours learning about and weighing in on the findings — and the fairest way to evaluate a range of options to protect habitat.
In the next phase of the analysis, Metro will consider varied levels of habitat protection by applying consistent economic and environmental values to a small range of options. Staff will determine how the options affect distinct areas used by people (residential, industrial, etc.) and by wildlife (habitat), and will identify the consequences of different levels of protection. Evaluation results will show the effect of everything from allowing development on the least environmentally sensitive land to prohibiting development on the most sensitive land and it will also assess the importance of the land for economic and other uses.
Removed from the mix of options were the extremes of never allowing any use of the habitat (overhead electrical lines, fire roads and other minimal uses) as well as allowing development that overlooked all environmental considerations in all the habitat areas.
Citing that one size does not fit all, the council voted against implementing a standard protection zone around streams and habitat because such an approach does not take into account significant environmental and economic differences of varying lands.
In addition to evaluating regulations to protect habitat, Metro is considering non-regulatory tools such as education, incentives and acquisition.
Results of this additional analysis are expected to be available for community review and discussion next spring. Council approval of a preliminary recommendation outlining how and where habitat areas should be protected is planned to take place following community input.
To find out how you can be involved, visit Metro’s web site at www.metro-region.org/habitat or call Metro’s information line at 503-797-1888.
Volunteer action training
On Saturday, January 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stop Oregon Litter & Vandalism or SOLV is sponsoring a volunteer training workshop at Albina Youth Opportunity School (Corner of N. Mississippi and Beech). The workshop is free with a commitment to organize a SOLV project.
SOLV wants to help you organize a volunteer project in your community, neighborhood, or park this spring. Staff will show you how, and help you organize a project as part of SOLV IT on April 24, 2004. This workshop is aimed at an audience that is relatively new to volunteer coordination. There will be a focus on designing a good project and building community support. It’s primarily aimed at those who will be nominating sites as part of SOLV IT on April 24, but is also open to others.
This workshop will teach you how to make a volunteer project happen in your neighborhood, community, park, or natural area. SOLV folks will show you how to get organized, how to engage community volunteers, and how to turn great ideas into great on-the-ground improvements. And will work with you to make sure your project is a success on April 24th. The exact project is up to you.
SOLV helps with a wide variety of projects, such as litter and illegal dumpsite cleanups, park and neighborhood enhancements, planting and noxious weed removal, habitat enhancement, community gardens, and more.
Please register in advance with the form you will find at www.solv.org/volSolvCup.shtml and return it to neil@solv.org.
As to why is SOLV doing this training, they strive to build leadership in every corner of Oregon. One goal is to help Oregonians who want to be involved in their communities turn this interest into action. They help people turn their ideas into real, hands-on projects that improve their neighborhoods, parks, and communities.
The training is free. In exchange, SOLV asks that each person who attends help plan a hands-on volunteer project in his or her neighborhood as part of SOLV IT, on Saturday, April 24. The project could fit several categories, such as cleanups, tree plantings, neighborhood or park enhancements, watershed restoration, or other needed volunteer efforts.
You must develop your project idea and complete a SOLV IT Site Nomination Form by Friday, February 13. SOLV will help you refine your idea between the training and February 13. Please be aware that due to ever-increasing demand, SOLV cannot accept all SOLV IT nominations. However, if your project can’t be part of SOLV IT, they will still be able to help you through other SOLV programs.
While you need not know what your project is now, having some ideas will help. Part of the workshop will focus on how to turn some of your ideas into projects that can be completed on April 24.
We encourage people to work together on projects to share the load. Some projects already exist that will need help coordinating. You may also team up with others who are at the workshop on January 10.
SOLV will help you by recruiting and signing up volunteers, providing ongoing advice, materials, pre-event publicity, dumpsters, and some coverage of hauling and disposal costs. Some sites may also receive a reimbursement of up to $125 for other “on the ground” costs of your SOLV IT projects.
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