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By Kepper Petzing | Contributing Writer

Pandemic Puzzle Passion

The daughter of a professional chess player, Sonya Kaidanov has always known that playing games are in her genes. When the pandemic began, she found it was jigsaw puzzles that became her passion. “Puzzles helped me thrive while inside. I would do eight puzzles monthly.”

Tired of spending money on new puzzles and wanting to share her puzzle joy, she was inspired to begin a puzzle library exchange in August 2022. She found a free cabinet at Rerun Thrift Store on Fremont Street and installed the puzzle library on her porch. Visitors borrow and return her puzzles like they would books at a library, and sometimes leave their puzzles for others to try. Her puzzle library has at least two visitors each day, sometimes more. She encourages people to come as often as they can.

Kaidanov estimates she owns 100 puzzles. With so many puzzles, she is happy for people to take multiple puzzles, even if they don’t have one to give in return. Although her sign says, “Puzzle Swap”, Kaidanov clarifies; “I want people to take more puzzles. Sometimes people look, don’t take anything, and it bums me out.”

Her passion is working with kids, so Kaidanov wants the puzzle library to cater to them. Easier puzzles for children occupy the right side of her cabinet while more complex puzzles are on the left. Visitors of all ages and puzzle abilities are welcome to come and look over the offerings. “I put in new puzzles almost daily.”

A few months ago, she was googling Portland puzzle meet-ups and made an amazing discovery: an official Portland Puzzle Exchange. The Portland, Oregon Jigsaw Puzzle Trading Cooperative started in 2006 and now meets monthly to puzzle and trade on the first Saturday of the month from 11–1 at the Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott St. More information about the Portland Puzzle Exchange can be found at portlandpuzzles.org.

About Sonya

Kaidanov is completing her Masters in School Counseling. “In my future office, I will have a puzzle out on my puzzle board for kids and then one for me to do on my lunch break.” When we get overwhelmed, she says, puzzles require a focus that can help reduce stress and anxiety. It’s a brain workout that is self-competitive, not competitive with others. Plus, it’s fun. She appreciates the satisfaction and pride that comes from completing a challenge and “seeing what I can do alone.”

In addition to the puzzle library, Kaidanov has a TikTok account at @ThePuzzleAddict and an Instagram account @TheAddictedPuzzler, with hopes of getting free puzzles!

Kaidanov hails from Lexington, Kentucky, moved to Portland in 2013 and has lived in Concordia for five years. Her other hobbies include dogs, chess, piano, gardening and embroidery. She is a native Russian speaker and would love to meet neighbors to speak Russian with. You can visit her puzzle swap at 3031 NE Rosa Parks Way.

Kepper Petzing has lived in Concordia for 40 years, where, with their partner Lowen, they raised two children. They are nonbinary. They love community and are grateful for Concordia News.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

When asked whether her clients at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry hope to get free turkeys for Thanksgiving this year, Catherine Perkins noted that’s not the case. “Most of the people in the population we serve don’t have a large enough oven to cook a turkey or can’t afford to cook a turkey that long.”

Perkins is president of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 5310 NE 42nd Ave. The conference is part of an international Catholic group devoted to serving the poor and pays a nominal rent of $1 yearly to St. Charles for pantry space.

Perkins said as many as 27 to 30 individuals or families currently visit the pantry weekly. The pantry, located in the same building that houses the church, is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon and Mondays 4–6 p.m.

Clients can fill a box monthly with 60 pounds worth of food items from the pantry, and some visit weekly to get snacks, nutritious food bars or soup pouches, including homeless folks who can’t provide an address that shows they live in the pantry’s service area, from Northeast 28th to 82nd avenues.

“You don’t have to be Catholic,” Perkins said, adding that many clients are seniors on fixed incomes with children and grandchildren living with them. “You just have to be a person who needs a little help. We don’t say ‘No’ when people show up.”

Inflation blues

Perkins and others who serve the hungry in Concordia and its neighboring communities said the rising costs of rent, utilities and groceries are some of the reasons folks are seeking food assistance.

The Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez, pastor of Ainsworth United Church of Christ, 2941 NE Ainsworth St., said her church members are feeling the pinch of inflation. “A lot of people aren’t used to asking for help, but I know that with inflation it’s been harder on people,” she said.

The church is home to the HIV Day Services Center, operated by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, an interdenominational organization. Among its services, the center provides breakfasts and lunches to its clientele, says Chautauqua Cabine, program coordinator.

Like Pastor Smouse Lopez and Perkins, Cabine said the spike in food prices has affected the people the center serves. “We have a lot of clients running out of their Food Stamps a lot quicker,” she said. “A lot of our clients can’t afford meat products.”

Both she and Perkins noted their food programs now don’t get as much donated meat products as they once did. Where once her food pantry could provide beef, pork, sausage and fish to clients, now it’s mostly only chicken she can give, Perkins said.

Food bank insights

Jason Stephany serves as director of strategic communications for Oregon Food Bank, which supplies food to such area programs as the pantry at St. Charles, as well as One H.O.P.E. Fellowship, 5425 NE 27th Ave. and Sharon Seventh Day Adventist Church, 5209 NE 22nd Ave. Stephany said economic disruption, starting with the Covid lockdowns coupled with shocks to global supply chains by such events as the Ukraine War, have made the world inside and outside Concordia hungrier.

“Nearly one in four Oregonians experienced income- and job loss over the past two-plus years,” he said. “We saw an unprecedented need for emergency food assistance in rural, urban and suburban communities alike in 2020 and 2021.”

Stephany said these disruptions have made struggling folks suffer even more than usual. “The cost of groceries in our communities is up at least 10% overall, even higher when we look at the cost of meat, fish and dairy,” he said. “And this is happening at a time when lower-income households already spend more than a third of their budgets on food.”

Fortunately, one bright spot amidst the current turmoil is that benefits from SNAP, the federal food assistance program, increased 12% last month. For example, the maximum food benefit for a household of four has increased from $835 to $939. “This will at least ensure most families won’t face a loss of cash to spend on groceries at the same time prices are increasing,” Stephany said.

Giving, receiving

Joann Whitten has seen both sides of the hunger equation, getting help from the Vincentian pantry at St. Charles as well as volunteering there to help others.

A divorced mother who lives with four family members, Whitten wanted folks to know she has always been employed and that she and other food pantry clients are not just “takers.” Currently she works as a kitchen aide at an area school.

“I’ve always had low-paying jobs where the money I made was barely enough to pay the bills,” she said, adding there’s no feeling quite like that of getting a food box when you’ve run out of money to buy groceries. “It feels so good if you get home with food and you haven’t had any.”

Most of the people she serves at the pantry are like her, folks with children and grandchildren who just need help. “Everyone needs help sometimes,” she said, adding her spirit is buoyed by those who give to the pantry. “There’s a lot of good people in this world.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: To find a food program in your area, visit OregonFoodFinder.org.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

The Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) Board of Directors has three new members, joining three re-elected directors and six at mid-term.

Leading the board for a one-year term beginning in January is Peter Keller as chair. John Fitzgerald and Brittany van der Salm were elected to two-year terms. Re-elected to two-year terms were Amelie Marian and Sonia Fornoni.

The two-year Southwest 2 position was not filled during the election, and plans call for the CNA board to appoint a Concordian to fill it at the Jan. 6 meeting. The only criteria is that you are 14 years or older and that you live, work or own property between 22nd and 33rd avenues and between Killingsworth Street and Alameda.

If you’re interested, contact Chair@ ConcordiaPDX.org.

By Astrid Furstner | CNA Chair

‘Tis the season! Can you believe we made it to the end of the year? Seeing as this is my last Chair’s Corner, I would like to thank and acknowledge those who have made a contribution this year.

The 2020 board and committee members: Chris Baker, Robert Bowles, Matt Boyd, Kathy Crabtree, Donn Dennis, Joel Dippold, Steve Elder, Sonia Fornoni, Tamara Anne Fowler, Tami Fung, Will Goubert, Ike Harris, Lloyd Kimeldorf, Gina Levine, Amelie Marian, John McSherry, Vanessa Miali, Ali Novak, Truls Neal, Heather Pashley, Gordon Riggs, Marsha Sandman, Erik Van Hagen, Nancy Varekamp, Karen Wells, Carrie Wenninger, Dan Werle, Tara Williams and Garlynn Woodsong.

Our neighbors and volunteers who have attended meetings, sent emails, called or offered words of advice: Miguel Acuna, Mary Barrett, Tanya Bushnell, Bette & Wayne Bauer, Sigrid Casey, Allison Cassing, Belinda Clark, Isabel Clop, Keith Daellenbach, Gabrielle Drinard, Ben Earle, Kimasue Garrison, Jeff Geisler, Ann Griffin, Marilee Hankins, Molly Hanlon, Nathan Hanzelka, Elizabeth Hildebrand, Jeff Hurt, Bernadette Janet, Christina Lane, Jordana Leeb, Michael Morrow, Michael Nagy, Greg RochPlease remain involved ford, Shawn Seebach, Thea Sanchez, Pat Sheans, Jack Slocum, Madeline Small, David Sussman, Elizabeth Swanson, Benjamin Taylor, Addie Virta and Erwin Washington.

I’m sure I have missed a few and to those I apologize.

Isn’t this amazing? So many neighbors have cared about Concordia and have reached out to participate at some level. At our November annual meeting, we had 34 people in attendance – that is impressive!

I hope you all keep up the participation and continue to be involved.

At our November meeting, we held elections and I am pleased to announce that Peter Keller was voted as our 2021 chair. See Page 4 for the other new board members.

Congratulations! I am certain that Peter’s enthusiasm for the position and care for Concordia will be evident in the meetings.

While I will not be the chair, I will still be your neighbor. I hope to say hello to you while out for a walk. My hope is that you continue to reach out to your neighbors – old and new.

Keep looking out for one another. Be kind and understanding. Together we build community. Together we are strong. Together we are Concordia.

I am thankful for my time of service, but more important, I am blessed to be among such great neighbors!

Many blessings to all.

Astrid Furstner is a mother, a wife, an immigrant, a local artist and an artisan. She lives with her luthier husband, Brent, and her artist-in-the-making daughter, Luciana. Together, they call Concordia their home.

By Karen Wells | CNA Media Team

While on a neighborhood bike ride, I noticed a brightlycolored mural at the corner of 15th Avenue at Sumner Street. Bold flowers bloomed on a sun-bright yellow background.

A caption, “Empathy is not Allyship” runs along the border. Names of slain African Americans encircle three of the six vibrant blossoms.

The artist – find him at Instagram. com/jamjamart – chose six blossoms as images of peace and hope. Imagine they represent the people: Asian, Black, Latinix, Native, white and the ancestors.

Witnessing the names, caption and visual intensity of the mural sparks the question regarding the current social justice movements: “Empathy is not enough?”

A child as young as 2 shows empathy toward another child who is crying. They try to soothe by offering a toy or hugging. This feeling of empathy pushes them into action to aid someone outside of their immediate world.

Feeling empathy can be a starting point for social justice engagement and change.

I followed up by contacting the muralist and spoke with several neighbors, including the homeowner who commissioned the mural. Several themes surfaced.

At the top of the list: adults are more complicated than 2 year olds. We want concrete reasons why we should feel empathy toward others, especially those who are outside our social circles.

Next, there is concern: is it OK to feel empathy? Then follows self-doubt as to how to proceed, and inaction.

This introspection can feel bothersome — easier to do nothing or simply become absorbed in feeling empathetic. Use empathy to embrace being an active ally.

Take a moment to suspend the notion that you know all there is to know about being an ally. Take a moment to breathe this in. Let it wash over you.

You can always start tomorrow, yet starting today supports neighbors who are trying to live their best lives today.

• Good news: it’s OK to start with small actions. Here are some to get you started:
• Check your privilege at the door, show up and listen
• Engage, speak up, stand up to demoralizing comments of others
• Volunteer your time, donate resources
• Get informed, examine different viewpoints, look for common ground, educate yourself on the needs
• Be authentic in your actions

Think about this quote from Angela Davis, PhD. “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”

Empathy is not enough? Thanks for asking.

Editor’s note: Karen has several resources to offer to further explore this theme. Check Facebook.com/groups/ ConcordiaPDX, where she’ll post them in mid-December.

CNA respects the views and beliefs of all cultures and faiths. The views expressed by this writer do not necessarily reflect the views of CNA.

Karen Wells is a retired early childhood communit y educator, health and safety trainer.

By Garlynn Woodsong | CNA Board Member, SW1, CNA LUTC Chair

“Our house is on fire; we should act like it.” Those are the words of Greta Thunberg. She’s the Swedish school-age climate activist known for protesting the inaction and insufficient response of governments to the threat of climate change. And she’s referring to the urgency to act on climate change immediately.

In Concordia, we’re certainly no strangers to the ill effects of climate change. Smoke from last summer’s wildfires caused us to shelter in place for two weeks. There is wide scientific consensus the wildfire season was worsened by global warming.

But if our house and our forests are metaphorically and literally on fire, what can we do about it?

One thing we can do is embrace urbanism. In this sense, urbanism describes the interaction between inhabitants of urban areas (that’s us) and their built environment (that’s the buildings and transportation systems that surround us).

The author Peter Calthorpe, in his book “Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change,” finds the average American household today travels around 24,000 miles each year by car. The UrbanFootprint software that Peter and I codeveloped shows the average Concordia neighborhood household only drives 10,985 miles per year, or 62% less than the average American household.

That means that the average household here is:

• Consuming at least 62% less gasoline – 569 gallons rather than 1,482 – each year, assuming our vehicle fleet is exactly as efficient as the average American vehicle fleet. And that may not be the case. As city dwellers, our vehicles are likely to be more efficient
• Emitting 62% less in greenhouse gases – 4,731 pounds per person per year, rather than 11,182 pounds.

By the way, within the neighborhood, residents of the East district – between 33rd and 42nd avenues – drive the most each year, at 5,356 miles per person per year. Northwest district residents – west of 33rd Avenue and north of Killingsworth Street – drive 4,588 miles Southwest district residents drive the least, at 4,115 miles per year per person.

This all makes intuitive sense, as the Southwest district straddles Alberta Street, with all of its walkable destinations. The East district includes fewer sidewalks or retail destinations, and the Northwest district is just slightly farther away from everything.

These internal differences within the neighborhood are slight, however, compared to the 11,000 miles driven by the average American person each year.

Embracing urbanism means leaning into our low-carbon lifestyle. That’s made easy by the inherent high-quality urbanism of our neighborhood. By default, we’re encouraged to walk, ride bicycles, take transit and drive short trips for our most regular journeys.

For those of us with the means and the desire to do more, we can always do better. We can fuel switch our cars. And we can add solar panels to our roofs for space and water heating to move away from fossil fuels in our homes.

We can also welcome new neighbors to our neighborhood, confident every new resident of Concordia is somebody who is saying “yes” to the low-carbon urbanism that we already enjoy.

Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.

By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor

Do you want to help make the holidays a bit brighter for some of the Concordians hit hardest by pandemic quarantining?

Sojourn Church is calling for letters, cards and art to deliver to the 39 longterm care residents at Fernhill Estates.

Crystal Endreola is organizing the effort of Sojourn Church members – and all Concordians – to provide her with items to distribute later this month at the facility.

“Everyone’s feeling isolated during the pandemic,” she explained. “I think that’s heightened during the holidays.” It not only affects people like the Fernhill Estates residents, but people who enjoy volunteering.

“I think everyone is dying to do something. I know I’m eager for an opportunity like this.”

Crystal lives near the care facility that’s two blocks southwest of the park. Last December, she planned a party for the residents with others in a Facebook group of local parents. “We took our kids, played music, had food — all the wonderful things we can’t do this year.”

She hopes there will be enough items contributed to provide more than one to each resident and even the 40 employees who care for them – physically, medically and emotionally. Contact Crystal at Crystal@SojournPDX.org or 818.564.7311 for details and/or to contribute items.

“Fernhill Estates said we can contribute gifts for the residents too,” Crystal reported. Those might include calendars, gloves, scarves, lap blankets and other items to cheer residents during the continuing quarantine.

People of all ages and locations are welcome to contribute their efforts to the project. Crystal said it’s an especially good activity for budding young artists like her own 2 year old.

“I think it teaches our children there’s a world beyond ourselves and expands their minds to consider other people’s situations.

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.

By Steve Elder and Nancy Varekamp | CNA Media Team

This neighborhood picked up its moniker from the school that opened its doors here in 1905. Although the institution matured from parochial school to university status, the name Concordia persisted.

Now the site in northwest Concordia neighborhood is vacant. Should neighborhood association retain its name?

That was the question posed to more than 30 participants in November’s Concordia Neighborhood Association annual meeting. Concordian Dan Werle offered a presentation outlining what factors should be considered.

Why should the name change? What people and businesses might be impacted? Would it be helpful, problematic or not make a difference? What would the new name be?

Former neighborhood names have included Irvington Park, Town of Creighton, Heidelberg Addition and Foxchase Addition.

“My intent isn’t to slam the [Lutheran] church or the university,” Dan explained “It’s a pivotal time in our world, nation, city and neighborhood,” he added, pointing to the Movement For Black Lives; online, verbal and physical attacks and threats toward women; and more racial, social and economic challenges.

“Names matter. Buildings, streets and neighborhoods reflect our values, and they improve our sense of history and our relationship with community,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to honor an individual who has – or people who have – lived in the neighborhood or contributed to the neighborhood.”

It could pay tribute to a marginalized or under-represented individual or group, increase community involvement and/or inspire and reflect inclusiveness.

Considering the possibility of a name change was greeted with interest at the meeting.

One participant commented, “Your initial thought about changing the name is ‘no,’ but, when you get the context, it softens things a lot.”

“I really appreciate the thought,” reported another. “Makes sense to me to cut the tie with Concordia University and come up with a name that reflects our values.

“Love the idea to honoring a BIPOC who made an influence,” she added. “An idea is looking into what the Indigenous folks called this place in the past.”

Another offered his opinion on a new name. “I’d vote for an Indigenous person,” he said. “They’re even ahead of my own race – African American – in being persecuted.”

Chair Astrid Furstner appointed Dan to chair an ad hoc committee to engage in research and community involvement.

Other committee members are: Mary Barrett, Ike Harris, John McSherry, Elaine Oliver, Brittany Taylor and Addie Virta.

View the PowerPoint presentation here, To contact the committee, email Chair@ConcordiaPDX.org.