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10,000 turbans and counting
East Portland Action Plan adopted amid lovefest
ACE Academy: A work of progress
Bill’s Steak House revamps, remodels
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Memo Calendar

The Memo Calendar is your vehicle to publicize community events. Let your mid-Multnomah County neighbors know about events of interest, meetings, fundraisers and the like. Calendar submissions for the April issue are due Monday, March 16. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail your 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.

SCHOOL CORNER
Plan now for preschool
Gethsemane Lutheran Preschool, 11560 S.E. Market St., is accepting registrations for the 2009-10 school year. Preschool is offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11:30 a.m. for children who will be 3 or 4 years of age by Sept. 1. Tuition is $125 per month, with extended care available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for an additional fee. Call Karla Hills, preschool director, at 503-256-1835 for more information or to register.

ASPIRE at PHS seeks volunteers
The students at Parkrose High School are ethnically, culturally and economically diverse, but what unites Parkrose students is their drive to succeed. To that end ASPIRE, a statewide mentoring program, pairs students with adult mentors to help navigate a path from high school to higher education.

ASPIRE can be especially significant for students who will be the first in their family to consider a college education.

Volunteer mentors must pass a background check and have some knowledge of the college system. They will be paired with a PHS junior or senior and will meet with the student weekly to assist in making decisions about school choices and funding options. The mentors also serve to keep students on track and motivated.

Previous mentoring experience is not necessary; all ASPIRE volunteers are trained and supported as they develop their approach to mentoring.

To become an ASPIRE mentor, contact Perry Eising, assistant to the Parkrose ASPIRE program, at 503-408-2642 or perry_eising@parkrose.k12.or.us.

Free ESL classes
Multnomah University offers free English as a Second Language classes on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Classes meet in the library at 8435 N.E. Glisan St. New students are always welcome. All classroom materials are provided. To learn more, contact Kristen Hubert at 503-251-6412 or khubert@multnomah.edu.

MEETINGS & SEMINARS
County seeks public budget input
The Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners and the Citizen Involvement Committee will hold two public meetings to gather public input on the county’s fiscal year 2010 budget.

Meetings will be held between 6 and 8 p.m. Monday, March 2 at the Multnomah County East Building, 600 N.E. 8th St. in Gresham, to discuss Health and Human Services and on Monday, March 16 at the Multnomah Building, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland, to discuss public safety.

County leaders will share the latest updates about the reduction in revenues and the increased cost of doing business. The meetings are intended as informal, small group discussions to gather the community’s priorities, input and questions. They will examine the trade-offs that come with these hard funding decisions and will provide more detail on the county’s annual budget process.

“Successive budget reductions have cut programs to the bone, and we have no easy choices left,” said Chair Ted Wheeler. “The difficult nature of the decisions in front of us makes citizen engagement more important than ever.”

Multnomah County faces deep budget cuts in light of a projected $35 million general fund shortfall, because of sharp decreases in the county’s major revenue sources due to declining economic conditions and the rising costs of doing business. The projected shortfall could increase even more, and likely cuts in state funding further exacerbate the situation.

The general fund shortfall represents nearly 10 percent of the county’s general fund, of which roughly one-half is used to fund public safety services and one-third is used to fund Health and Human Services. Decreased revenues will force Multnomah County to cut a range of services and programs.

The public’s input will help shape Wheeler’s executive budget, which will be released in late April. After that document is released, the full Board of County Commissioners will deliberate its content, accepting further public testimony at meetings in May, and ultimately adopt the county’s fiscal year 2010 budget in early June.

Public board meeting
The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, which covers Multnomah County east of the Willamette River, will hold its regular monthly board of directors meeting on Monday, March 2 at 6 p.m. in the district’s office, Conservation Corner, 5211 N. Williams Ave. The meeting agenda will include discussion of the district’s work plan and cooperative projects with Gresham, an update of facilities improvements and other items of business.

Conservation Corner is ADA accessible and is served by bus lines # 44, 72 and 6. For information, please call 503-222-7645, ext. 114.

Herb Tarlich lives
If this reference is meaningful to you, then you must attend the Russellville Kiwanis meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 11:45 a.m. at the Refectory, 1618 N.E. 122nd Ave. For those of you not in the know, Herb Tarlich was a character on the television show “WKRP in Cincinnati” that aired from 1978 to 1982. Tarlich wore leisure suits and very ugly ties.

Each year Russellville Kiwanis holds an ugly tie auction to raise funds for its service projects that include DayBreak Family Shelter, Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp for Disabled Individuals, SnowCap Community Charities, Ronald McDonald House, Shepherd’s Door and others. Dig out an old tie and join the fun. You may decide to join the club.

Meetings are held every Tuesday. Same time, same place. If you would like to learn more, contact Charlie Ross at 503-252-1570.

Rainwater harvesting systems
Learn about an alternative method of providing water to your landscape at the monthly Lunch and Learn Brown Bag series offered by the Portland Bureau of Development Services. Join BDS staff on Friday, March 13 at noon downtown at 1900 S.W. 4th Ave., Room 2500-A. Rainwater harvesting will be defined, you will learn how such a system relates to sustainability, and resources and contact information will be made available.

Lunch and Learn seminars are free.

Become a Master Gardener
Flower Lane Garden Club will meet on Tuesday, March 17 at the East Portland Community Center, 740 S.E. 106th Ave. The business meeting will begin at 10 a.m. A guest speaker will explain the Master Gardener program.

For answers to your questions, call Isa Hogue at 503-253-4071.

Free parenting seminar
Participation in a Love and Logic seminar will give you access to a practical, low-stress way of communicating with your child. Parents, educators and others who work with children of all ages will benefit from this seminar.

If you have ever wondered how to get kids to stop arguing and talking back, to stop bickering and fighting with siblings, to make more respectful and responsible decisions, to do their chores with no reminders and no hassle, or to be successful in school and life, this seminar is for you.

Put the fun back into parenting. Sign up now for two evenings that can help produce happy, responsible children. Designed for parents with children of all ages, this seminar will be held on March 17 and 19 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Parkrose High School, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. The facilitator will be Kathy Scott, PHS assistant principal. She can be reached at kathy_scott@parkrose.k12.or.us or 503-408-2641.

Gangs and our neighborhoods
East Precinct Involved Citizens will meet on Wednesday, March 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the East Precinct Community Center, 737 S.E. 106th Ave.

Lieutenant Mike Leloff, head of the Portland Police Bureau’s Gang Unit, will be the keynote speaker. Leloff will explain how gangs are affecting our communities, which gangs are moving into our neighborhoods and what you can do if you witness gang activity. Join EPIC in its commitment to keeping our neighborhoods safe and livable.

For more information, contact Dave Smith at dsmith@portlandpolice.org.

Garden club celebrates anniversary
On March 26 Villa Garden Club will celebrate its 61st anniversary. A potluck luncheon and anniversary cake will be shared after a 10:30 a.m. business meeting. The guest speaker, Kristin VanHoose of Hydrangea Plus, will share her knowledge of this different group of flowering plants. You are invited to this anniversary celebration as a guest of the club. The event will be at Savage Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1740 S.E. 139th Ave. Call Leona Connelly 503-287-4517 to reserve a seat.

CHURCHES
Lenten study group
Deepen your experience of Lent by attending a series of study groups at The Grotto. Each session will include commentary on the Sunday lectionary readings and reflection on relating our everyday life to scripture. The groups meet from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in The Grotto library on Thursdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26 and April 2. Donations are appreciated. Call 503-261-2430 for more information.

The Grotto is located at Northeast 85th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. For more information, call 503-254-7371.

FUNDRAISERS
The show must go on
The Parkrose School District Music in Our Schools concert featuring Michael Allen Harrison that was canceled due to inclement weather in December has been rescheduled. This concert, a major fundraiser for district choir programs, is now set for Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. in the high school theater, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. According to Lesley Bossert, the choir director, ticket holders from the canceled December concert will get preferential seating.

Tickets are still available: $10 for students and seniors and $12.50 for adults. To learn more or to buy tickets, contact Bossert at 503-408-2695.

Michael Allen Harrison benefit concert
The Grotto will host an intimate evening of music and conversation with Michael Allen Harrison on Sunday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. This concert will be limited to just 60 guests, and tickets are $50 each. Guests will enjoy views from the Meditation Chapel as well as beautiful music as they are guided through The Grotto’s grounds after dark and escorted to the cliffside elevator for the journey to the upper level. Light hors d’oeuvres and selected wine will be served.

For more information, contact The Grotto at 503-254-7371 or events@thegrotto.org.

The Grotto is located at Northeast 85th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.

THE ARTS
Watercolor workshop — tricks of the trade
Portland Fine Arts Guild meets on the first three Mondays of the month at the Russellville Grange, Northeast 121st Avenue and Prescott Street, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for instruction classes and demonstrations.

Classes for March 2, 9 and 16 will be taught by Bea Greening, a guild member for over 20 years who likes to work with light and color applied with a loose action and just enough detail to pull the viewer’s eye into the painting. She will be demonstrating in watercolor, but you are welcome to work in the medium of your choice, but no thinners or toxic solutions please.

The first class will include a short study on color and the color wheel, learning basic techniques along with a few tricks of the trade.

Supplies needed include 1 sheet of 140 lb. watercolor paper, 3 brushes (1” or larger flat, #4 or #6 round or flat, and a liner), paper towels or rags, spray bottle, hair dryer, tape, drawing or tracing paper, transfer paper, pencil and kneaded eraser, and paints in the three primary colors plus burnt sienna and indigo or Payne’s gray. If you have questions you can call Greening at 503-654-6496.

Classes are $12 for nonmembers and $10 for members; however if you are a first-time visitor, the class fee will be waived. Coffee is provided. Please bring your own lunch or visit one of several fast-food restaurants nearby. To find out more, please visit www.portlandfineartsguild.org.

Wilder comedy staged at DDHS
The David Douglas High School Theater Department will present “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder at the Howard Horner Center for the Performing Arts, 1400 S.E. 130th Ave, at 7:30 p.m. March 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14.

This Tony Award-winning comedy is the story of a miserly old merchant who seeks the services of a matchmaker to help him find a suitable mate.

Tickets, $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, are available at the box office from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. An order form is available at www.ddouglas.k12.or.us.

Miller drama staged at PHS
"The Crucible" is one of playwright Arthur Miller's best known works. He takes on the political leaders of the 1950s, namely Joe McCarthy and his quest to eradicate the United States of communism, and he infuses this with chronicling the Salem witch trials of 1692. Fear and ignorance led to drastic consequences.

Please join the Parkrose High School Theater troupe as it explores these issues onstage. After several showings in February, the final two performances are at 7 p.m. on March 6 and 7 in the PHS Theater, 12003 N.E. Shaver St. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students 18 and under and for seniors. To learn more, call 503-408-2718.

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