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EVENTS
Hear a story with your pancakes
There will be an all-you-can-eat Viking Pancake Breakfast and Children’s Story Time on Sunday, Feb. 10 at the Sons of Norway Grieg Lodge, 111 N.E. 11th Ave. In addition to the pancakes, you will be served eggs, sausages, fruit and more for only $5, $3 for children to age 12.
Breakfast will be served from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Story telling begins at 11 a.m. To learn more call 503-236-3401.
Sign up for Parkrose baseball, softball
Signups for Parkrose Little League are well underway, but it’s not too late. The deadline is Saturday, Feb. 9. Call the league at 503-255-4740 to learn more.
Spring baseball signup at David Douglas
Attention David Douglas students in kindergarten through nine years of age: It’s time to sign up for spring baseball. All boys and girls of all ability levels are welcome. You’ll have fun learning to play or refining your skills in the David Douglas Community Baseball Program. This in-district league stresses good sportsmanship and skill development. Registration begins Feb. 11 at the elementary buildings. No tryouts or proof of age required. See your building coordinator for a registration form. The fee is $45.
Spring soccer registration
The David Douglas Soccer Club will be holding spring soccer registration at Pizza Barron on Southeast 122nd Avenue at Division Street for pre-K through eighth grade. Registration will be on Wednesdays, Feb. 13 and 27 and March 12 and 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and Saturdays, Feb. 9 and 23 and March 8 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The last day to sign up will be Saturday, March 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can also register online at www.ddsoccer.org. Cost is $40 in person, $35 online. If you have questions, please call 503-839-0896 or e-mail reg@ddsoccer.org.
Funeral service program offers student help
For most people, the stress of making funeral arrangements after a loved one passes away can be an overwhelming experience. The Mt. Hood Community College Funeral Service Education program is offering its expertise to make the situation a little easier.
The annual funeral arrangement exercise is offering exclusive appointments with a second-year student to answer questions and discuss funeral service options, including cemetery prices, urn and casket selections as well as choice of music.
“This event helps students prepare for actual funeral arrangements. It also has been very helpful for the bereaved participant, in that it has helped them learn a great deal about what is necessary and what is possible when making disposition arrangements,” said Doug Ferrin, FSE director.
Appointments are available in one-hour time slots between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and Wednesday, Feb. 20. This exercise will be held in the Town and Gown Room at the Gresham campus of MHCC, 26000 S.E. Stark St. It is free and open to the public. For more information or to make an appointment, call FSE student John Krake at 503-901-6021.
Father/Daughter banquet
For 50 years, the David Douglas Dads’ Club has maintained the tradition of having an annual father/daughter banquet. This event gives members of the David Douglas community an opportunity to spend the evening with their
loved ones.
This year the theme is Key to My Heart. The banquet will take place at the high school, 1001 SE 135th Ave. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. A professional photographer will be on hand at that time. The night includes dinner, dancing, local entertainment and a raffle. Tickets for the banquet are $10 per person and are available
beginning Feb. 14.
To purchase tickets, or for more information, you may contact Kara Kauble in the Activities Office at 503-262-4409.
Tree plantings set for area neighborhoods
Friends of Trees has scheduled community plantings in our area this winter. The plantings for Wilkes, Russell, Parkrose, Parkrose Heights and Argay neighborhoods are Saturday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Montavilla area plantings will be on Saturday, March 8. If you would like to help plant trees, please arrive before 9 a.m. to register and be assigned to your team before the planting begins.
In addition to support from the city of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Parks & Recreation, the Wilkes, Russell, Parkrose, Parkrose Heights and Argay plantings are sponsored by IKEA; the Montavilla planting is sponsored by the Joinery.
A Portland State University study shows that tree canopy has grown in neighborhoods where Friends of Trees has planted over the past 18 years. However, in areas such as east Portland, where Friends of Trees has had fewer projects, the canopy is shrinking. Through its Greening the Eastside Project, Friends of Trees is bringing its tree-planting model, which successfully builds community and canopy by helping neighbors work together to improve their community, to all the neighborhoods of east Portland over the next two years.
Nobel Laureate Al Gore often points out that planting trees slows climate change. In addition, according to a city of Portland study released in October, Portland’s trees intercept 25 million pounds of air pollutants and half a billion gallons of stormwater a year, greatly reducing river pollution and saving the city millions of dollars in stormwater management costs. Since 1989, the more than 340,000 trees and shrubs that Friends of Trees has planted in the Portland-metro area have provided increasing benefits as they grow, cleaning more of our water and air and slowing climate change more each year. To learn more, visit www.friendsoftrees.org.
NEIGHBORHOODS
Improvements to 117th Avenue, Couch Street
A neighborhood meeting is being held to answer questions about the local improvement district process. Interest has been expressed in improving Northeast 117th Avenue from Burnside to north of Couch Street, and Northeast Couch Street from 114th to 117th avenues. These streets are unpaved and lack curbs and sidewalks. If a local improvement district were formed, the city of Portland would improve the street to provide proper drainage and pedestrian access. The goal of street improvements is to increase the usable width of the street, improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, eliminate stormwater flooding and erosion problems, and enhance neighborhood livability.
The Portland Office of Transportation has been asked by your neighbors to explore the possibility of using an LID to fund this project. An LID is a formal process for property owners to join together in building needed transportation infrastructure. Alternatives to LIDs will also be discussed.
The meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 N.E. 117th Ave.
PHAN board to meet
The Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors board will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Parkrose United Methodist Church, 11111 N. E. Knott St.
Five-year plan promotes community involvement
Community Connect, a project initiated by Mayor Tom Potter, has completed a five-year plan to increase community involvement in Portland. This plan is focused on strengthening involvement in Portland’s neighborhoods and communities, increasing the voice of under-represented groups and invigorating the partnership between community and government.
“Portland has earned a national reputation for its strong tradition of neighborhood involvement and participatory democracy,” said Cece Hughley-Noel, executive director of Southeast Uplift and the chairperson of the Community Connect workgroup. “However, it’s been a long time, 30 years, since our community involvement system was first developed. A lot has changed in our city, including increased diversity in the people who make their home here. It’s time for an updated vision and a new plan.”
Community Connect analyzed the ideas of thousands of Portlanders in a two-year process. This extensive listening project formed the basis for the ideas in the five-year plan.
“We heard from both people who participate in the system and those who don’t,” said Amalia de Morris, director of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement and a member of the Community Connect workgroup. “We heard that we need better strategies for engaging people and that our current system of involving people needs to be updated,” she said. “Portlanders want to feel more connected. Our neighborhoods and community groups want a stronger voice at City Hall.”
Community Connect’s five-year plan is designed to foster the creation of a more inclusive city through specific strategies to make sure all Portlanders have the opportunity to be heard. The inclusion of more voices will result in better decisions that have broader support.
“Our intention in Community Connect is to strengthen the work of the neighborhood associations while broadening our community involvement system,” said Linda Nettekoven, a Community Connect workgroup member and a leader in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. “We hope we have honored the tremendous work being done in our neighborhoods and community organizations with this plan to build their capacity.”
ONI has successfully piloted some of the recommendations in the five-year plan, including a leadership academy for underrepresented communities. ONI’s budget request to the mayor’s office includes reallocated and new funding to implement aspects of the first year of the plan.
Community Connect will present its final report to City Council on Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. This report, including the five-year plan, is available online now at www.portlandonline.com/mayor/communityconnect.
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