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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.

Memo Pad submissions for April issue are due Tuesday, March 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.

Russell Academy tops in state
Russell Academy literacy staff, from left, Beth Lawson, Rachel Stevens, Jen Chen, Londa Sundin, Sue Landreth, Debbie Ebert, Wanda Hennelly and Heather Bailey accepted the Oregon Reading Association 2011 Exemplary Reading Program award at the annual ORA convention last month.

COURTESY BETH LAWSON
Russell Academy in the Parkrose School district has earned the Oregon Reading Association's 2011 Exemplary Reading Program Award. The elementary school was selected from a group of three finalists for its professional staff, dedication to literacy and individual student learning.

The selection committee also found the Russell Rocket Writers publishing company commendable. Londa Sundin, who is responsible for the publishing company, said she “sees firsthand how thrilled students are to see their stories in print and to have others read them.”

Feted at the annual ORA convention last month, Russell staff members were invited to present their story at the national convention in Orlando, Fla. in May. ORA past President Ann Marineau commented that “Russell Principal Debbie Ebert has quite a story of pulling this school together, working toward the needs of each individual child.”

Parkrose senior steps into role of Gateway Elks March 2011 Teenage of the Month
Gateway Elks Teen of the Month and Parkrose High senior Jessica Davison, center, shares the spotlight with, from left, father Steve, brother Cameron, grandmother Shirley Corcoran and mother Kelli.


RALPH HARTMANN/GATEWAY ELKS
As vice president of Parkrose High Thespian Troupe #1783, Jessica Davison is used to the spot light. She is currently taking bows as the February Gateway Elks Lodge Teenager of the Month. Other roles have included Goneril, in “King Lear” and Mrs. Popov in “The Boar.” She narrated the school's production of “Jungle Book,” had minor roles in “Comedy of Errors” and “Bronco Cabaret” and was the assistant stage manager for “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet.”

A senior with a 3.7 GPA, Davison is member of state champion Parkrose Elite dance team. She takes advanced placement classes in literature and government, plays in the band and participates in the mock trial and model United Nations programs.

Each year at Halloween, Davison and fellow thespians go door-to-door collecting non-perishable food items for Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat. This activity followed naturally behind several years of service to Meals on Wheels with her grandparents.

In addition to acting, singing and dancing, she enjoys reading, jogging and spending time with friends. Lewis and Clark, Willamette and Gonzaga are on her short list of colleges. She plans to major in theater arts and would like to be a drama teacher some day.

Jessica is the daughter Steve and Kelli Davison.

The Gateway Elks Teenager of the Month program is open to juniors and seniors enrolled in Parkrose, David Douglas, Madison, Portland Christian and Marshall high schools as well as Portland Adventist Academy. To learn more, call 503-255-6535 or visit gatewayelks.com.

Royals hoopster grabs spotlight
Brittaney Niebergall, basketball standout at Portland Christian High, was a finalist for the Johnny Carpenter Female Prep Athlete of the Year 4A-1A. Awards were announced at the end of January at the annual Oregon Sports Awards.

Tayla Woods of Santiam Christian High School won the award.

The Oregon Sports Awards pay homage to Oregon's rich sports legacy comprised year after year of outstanding athletes, teams and coaches from many levels and a wide range of sports.

PHS grad wins academic honors at UW
Elizabeth Lee, a sophomore at the University of Washington and a graduate of Parkrose High, has been named to the dean's list for autumn quarter 2010. To qualify for the dean's list, a student must be taking at least 12 graded credits and have a grade point average of at least 3.5 out of 4.0. Elizabeth is the daughter of Karen Lee.

Community garden plots available
If you live in Mid-County and love to garden, but don't have the space where you live, if you would like to learn more about gardening and want to become part of that enthusiastic community, or if you are one of a growing number of Portlanders who simply want to add fresh, nutritious and affordable produce to your family's diet, Portland Parks & Recreation community garden plots are available in three area neighborhoods: Powellhurst-Gilbert, Parkrose and Madison South.

Being a part of a community garden is an exciting, affordable way to meet your neighbors, spend time in the outdoors, and bring home delicious fresh vegetables. Water is provided, and the gardener works the soil using organic gardening methods.

Four hundred square foot plots are available at Gilbert Community Garden, Southeast 130th Avenue and Boise Street, and Senn's Community Garden, Northeast 112th Avenue and Prescott Street, for $75. Madison Community Garden at Madison High School, 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave., has 200 square foot plots for $38.

You can sign up for a plot at one of these gardens by enrolling on a short wait list online at portlandparks.org. Select the nature tab at the top of the page and continue to community gardens. The Community Garden Program will contact you when a garden plot becomes available. For more information, or to find out if you might be eligible for a community garden scholarship, call the program at 503-823-1612.

Parkrose community supports scholarships at PHS
They have homework, activities, athletics and work obligations, but many seniors at Parkrose High School are clearly focused on the March 7 deadline for the Parkrose Community Scholarships program. The Community Scholarships program introduces college-bound students to local organizations with scholarship opportunities. “In past years,” high school career counselor Meg Kilmer explains, “each club or association made their own application form, and they all had different deadlines. When I asked them to all consider accepting a common form and agree to one due date, everyone seemed happy to help. It saves the students a lot of stress because they can concentrate on just one deadline.”

The Parkrose Business Association, one of the first groups to agree to accept the universal scholarship application, has tripled the number of applicants they review. The Rotary Club of NE Portland and Pacific NW Credit Union also award scholarships under the Parkrose Community Scholarships program. Students compete for additional scholarships awarded by families with deep roots in the Parkrose community, including the Calcagnos, Dueltgens and Wellmans.

Kilmer, now in her seventeenth year at the school, has seen the demand for scholarships increase as college costs spiral up. She is intent on growing the Alumni Scholarship Fund. “Small gifts from alumni certainly add up,” she says, “but we wouldn't turn down any large gifts!” Individuals or organizations interested in helping Parkrose students with additional scholarships can contact Meg Kilmer at Parkrose High School, 503-408-2681. Students seeking application forms can find them in the school's College & Career Center.

Rose Festival selects school courts
Area high schools will select their Rose Festival Princesses from the following candidates:
From David Douglas High School: Natasha Tsopko, Chloee Timmons, Cassandra Hamann, Katherine Westmoreland and Jennifer Nguyen.

Representing Madison High School: Inanna Hencke, Umulkher Abdullahi, Minh-HaoTran, Katie Manwell and Jenna Supplee.

From Parkrose High School: Taylor Ballard, Aurora Dan, Kim Nguyen and Eshley Toledo.

Final selections will be made in the next several weeks. Each selected princess will be awarded a $3,500 scholarship.

Good news comes at good time for families in need
SnowCap Community Charities Valentine dinner and auction co-chair Tom Weldon, left, and procurement chairman Charlie Ross lured players into a Texas Hold'em poker party at the annual event held last month. Proceeds support food pantry, food box delivery, and clothing services at SnowCap.
COURTESY SNOWCAP COMMUNITY CHARITIES
Longtime advocates and first time attendees agreed the success of the 9th annual SnowCap Community Charities Valentine dinner and auction fundraiser came at a good time given the current economic recession.

Even a false fire alarm at Mt. Hood Community College failed to dampen the bidding as the agency raised more than $60,000. These funds will be used to meet an ever increasing demand for basic human services to families in east Multnomah County and will support food pantry services, food box delivery to seniors and shut-ins, children's clothes closet, energy assistance, showers for homeless and other advocacy efforts.

Janice Pelster, who has attended all nine SnowCap dinner and auction events, made note of the full house of attendees. “To see this level of community support is rewarding,” she remarked.

Generous bidders purchased vacation packages, hotel accommodations, restaurant gift certificates, fishing trips, barbecues, personal and professional services and many handmade products.

SnowCap Executive Director Judy Alley noted that money raised will help respond to an overwhelming demand for services. “Halfway through our fiscal year we have expended the whole year's food budget. Our utility fund was exhausted. We still need donations of children's clothing and blankets,” she said.

Meals-on-Wheels delivered in compostable bamboo trays
Loaves & Fishes is the first Meals-on-Wheels operation in the country to adopt the daily use of compostable bamboo trays for its meals. Manufactured by Bamboo Eco-Enterprises in Clackamas, the black three-compartment trays were manufactured specifically for Loaves & Fishes to meet the specifications of existing equipment located in its central kitchen. The trays are used for the hot portion of the 2,700 meals sent out each weekday to homebound seniors throughout the greater metropolitan area.

Loaves & Fishes used Styrofoam trays for its meals for more than 30 years and switched to a recyclable tray a few years ago. “We knew we needed to get away from a polystyrene product, but until recently, there was not another product on the market that held heat as well and was cost-effective,” said Food Services Manager Tom Maier. “The recyclable tray we used for a few years was very expensive and the seniors did not recycle them. This new compostable tray is cost effective, better on the environment and is more visually appealing than the trays we were using previously.”

Each compostable tray costs 17.6 cents per unit compared to 14 cents a unit for Styrofoam and 24 cents a unit for the recyclable tray. Maier estimates that the bamboo tray will save the nonprofit organization up to $39,000 a year in packaging costs.

Share you views with Metro online
Making a great place takes the involvement of lots of different people with a variety of viewpoints. Metro needs to hear from you. But it can be hard to find the time to join a committee, attend an open house or write a letter to your Metro councilor. Now there's an easier way to tell regional leaders what's important to you.

Join Opt In, Metro's new online opinion panel. Complete two or three short online surveys each month about topics that affect you and your community. Contribute your ideas about schools, housing, sustainability, parks, community centers, clean drinking water and more.

Share only what you want. Metro selected the opinion research experts Davis Hibbits & Midghall to host the Opt In panel and conduct the surveys. All personal and demographic information you submit will remain confidential. Metro and its partners will receive only anonymous, aggregate reports of participants' survey responses. That means your private information stays private, while you help improve programs serving your community.

Connect with Metro on your terms in your spare time. It is increasingly clear that traditional methods of gathering public opinion, such as public meetings, are no longer sufficient to engage many residents who will be most affected in the decades to come by the decisions we make now. Fortunately, the Internet provides exciting new solutions. Opt In is just one of the new online tools Metro has created to reach you where you live online. You can engage with Metro on Twitter and Facebook, subscribe to e-mail updates and RSS feeds, and track news stories on Metro's Web site metro-region.org.

Opt in now. Weigh in for the future. Go to optinpanel.org to add your voice to the Opt In panel. You'll be entered into drawings to win gift cards, event tickets and more.
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