Selected articles from the Concordia News are published on the website, but the entire paper is available for download as well. Here’s the Concordia News – August 2008 Edition – hot off the presses (pdf ~2MB).
Concordia News – July 2008 Edition
Selected articles from the Concordia News are published on the website, but the entire paper is available for download as well. Here’s the Concordia News – July 2008 Edition – not so hot off the presses (pdf ~2MB); apologies from your webmaster for the late post.
Keep Colwood Green – Update
As we’ve reported previously, the current property owners of the Colwood National Golf Course want to rezone 116 acres of the site from Open Space (OS) to General Industrial 2 (IG2). On May 15, 2008, Greg Frank, BDS Hearings Officer, made a recommendation to deny the applicants’ requested zone change. However the proposal must go to the Portland City Council for final determination.
The location of this open space is along the Columbia and Whitaker sloughs. These areas are sensitive wildlife areas that include fragile riparian zones and important buffers to these zones. A significant amount of riparian habitat in this area has already been lost. Losing even more of this habitat is not supported by the Comprehensive Plan’s goals for the local environment, Metro’s goal for the area, or local neighborhood plans.
The transition of this open space and habitat area to industrial use would also have a pronounced effect on local health. North and Northeast Portland already suffer from the long-term effects of environmental injustice resulting from existing and historic industrial uses in the area. The significant impact of new air and water pollution sources on the health of local residents in addition to the effects on local wildlife should not be discounted.
The CNA passed a formal resolution in opposition to the rezoning in March and remains strongly opposed to the rezoning of Colwood. CNA opposition is powerful, but we also need to participate as individuals to make our voices heard.
The Portland City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on September 17, 2008, 6 pm at 1221 SW 4th, prior to making a final recommendation. You can show your support to Keep Colwood Green by speaking at the hearing or submitting written testimony to the Council before September 17th. Write to Portland Council Council, 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 or Fax: 503-823-3588.
You can find more information, including email contact info for all the Portland Council members, at keepcolwoodgreen.com.
Free Shopping Bags
Coming soon, some of you will get a free cloth shopping bag, compliments of the Green Team, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Les Schwab Tire Center on 122nd and Division is purchasing advertising for some of our bags. They want to work with kids, so the SUN School program at Faubion School will have a contest for an environmental drawing for the outside of the bag. Alberta Cooperative Grocery Store will be sponsoring some bags for the kids contest, too. They’re also purchasing advertising for their business on another batch of bags. We are projecting delivery of the bags to start sometime between the first and middle of July. There will also be something special” in the bags for you. We will be knocking on your door to give you a bag, but if you’re not home we’ll hang it on your doorknob. Join us at a Green Team meeting, always the fourth Tuesday of the month in the Community Room at the Kennedy School. We always have room for more people committed to our environment.
Click on the link below to read another story from the Green Team about the effect cows and their methane output have on climate change.
Wading Pool Fun & Volunteer Opportunity
We are looking for volunteers to supervise the Fernhill Park Wading Pool again this summer. It is super easy…all you need to do is attend a half hour training, complete a background check, and commit to a two-hour shift of helping at the Fernhill Park Wading Pool. You are welcome to help as often as you would like, but we are so happy even when you can only help one time. When we work together, we can provide so much more for the children. The plan is to have the wading pool open on Tuesday and Thursdays, 12:00 to 4:00, July 1 through August 21st. If we get a lot of volunteers, we can keep the pool open longer on Tuesday and Thursday or possible add other days. Please give me a call if you have any questions or to put you on the volunteer schedule.
Contact: Melody Winn, 503.282.6574
Also, we have a few dollars left from the playground fund that we are going to use to purchase water toys. We always welcome donations of water toys or other things (soccer balls, hula hoops) children can use in the park. I am looking for someone to donate a badminton/volleyball net and all the supplies. Our volunteers can put them up on Tuesday and Thursday during the pool hours. There is arranged storage for all the items when they aren’t in use.
Summer Concerts in Fernhill Park 2008
The Concordia Neighborhood Association, in conjunction with Portland Parks and Recreation, is very excited to bring you another year of FREE concerts this summer. The community sponsorship and neighborhood attendance has been greater than we could have ever imagined.
Concerts are on Fridays, starting July 11th through August 1st from 6:30 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., and conclude with a special Neighbors Night Out on Tuesday, August 5th. Concerts are free to attend and you are welcome to bring your food and drink, but note there will also be food vendors, Aladdin’s Café and Hot Dog Ernie’s, at the events. We will pass the “watering can” during intermission for you to donate any amount to ensure we can continue this event in the future.
Follow the link below for a complete schedule of dates and performers:
Continue reading
Youth Safety Courses, Vernon School, July 8-10
Two youth safety courses open to the public will be held at Vernon School.
Course 1: Babysitting (an American Red Cross course)
Participants ages 11 to 15 learn the basics of babysitting including professionalism, interviewing, child development, positive guidance, appropriate toys/activities and how to recognize and respond safely to common emergencies of infants and children.
When:Tuesday, July 8th and Wednesday, July 9th, from 12:30-4:30pm , this is a two-day course.(Registration required)
Where: Vernon SUN School, 2044 NE Killingsworth
Cost: $35.00 per child (cash or check made to “Community Upgrade”), includes participant book, first aid kit and snack
Course 2: When I’m In Charge (Registration required)
Details: Children learn valuable safety skills especially useful while unsupervised.
When:Thursday, July 10th from 12:30-3:30pm
Where: Vernon SUN School, 2044 NE Killingsworth
Cost: $20.00 per child (cash or check made to “Community Upgrade”), includes participant book, first aid kit and snack
Need more information?
Please call Shantel Waddell, Vernon SUN Manager at 503-916-6559.
June Chair’s Corner
by Katie Ugolini, CNA Chair
As many of you know, the Concordia Neighborhood Association held two special elections in 2008 to replace vacant Board seats. In January 2008, Jennifer Neth Warberg was elected to serve on the Board for the next two years as one of our two SW Quadrant representatives. Additionally, Don Francis was just recently elected to fill a vacant At-Large position and will serve from May 2008 through December 2008, but may run for a full two-year term in November. As Chair of the Concordia Neighborhood Association, I am very pleased to have Jennifer and Don join our Board and feel they are excellent assets to the CNA. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Jennifer Neth Warberg and Don Francis to Concordia neighbors.
Jennifer Warberg and her husband Brent have lived in the Alberta Arts district for over a year and couldn’t be happier about their move from SE Portland to Concordia. In March, they welcomed a new addition to their family, a four-year-old black lab named Dink. Jennifer notes, “Our long walks with the dog and trips to the dog park have reinforced what we already knew about this neighborhood – it is a beautiful place, full of kind and engaging people.”
Jennifer is an associate attorney with Meyer & Wyse LLP in downtown Portland where she primarily practices general litigation and employment law. Her firm’s representation of many wonderful non-profit organizations inspired Jennifer to get involved in her community. “Working at the neighborhood level to improve the quality of life here is a wonderful way to make a difference.”
Before being elected to the CNA Board, Jennifer became involved in the CNA Land Use and Livability Committee. Currently, Jennifer is working primarily on neighbor-developer relations.
Don Francis grew up in Northwest Portland where, he states, he was displaced by gentrification. A longtime environmental advocate, Don worked for several nonprofit organizations before starting Willamette Riverkeeper in 1996. Willamette Riverkeeper works to keep the watershed healthy for fish and wildlife, and safe for fishing and swimming.Currently, he owns an environmental consulting and contracting company named EcoTech located in North Portland. Don resided on NE 10th Avenue near Ainsworth for several years before moving to the Concordia Neighborhood in 2001. Don and his wife, Katy Brooks, have twin four-year-olds, Abby and Thiel, whom are lifelong Concordia residents!
Don is very interested in both land use and environmental issues and, thus, is interested in becoming involved in the Land Use/Livability/Transportation Committee (LULT) and the Green Team.
I hope you will all join me in welcoming Jennifer and Don to the CNA Board! Like Jennifer and Don, if you value community activism, I urge you to consider becoming involved in the Concordia Neighborhood Association, if not as a Board member, then as a volunteer on a CNA committee or for a CNA-sponsored activity. If you are passionate about nurturing and giving back to the Concordia community, then the CNA needs you!
*The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the author(s) in the Chair’s Corner do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Concordia Neighborhood Association.
Local Group Seeks Health Insurance For Kids
“Why Not Portland?”
This simple question is both the name of and driving force behind a grassroots campaign to bring low-cost health insurance to the children of Portland public schools.
“It’s terrible that anybody is uninsured, and having uninsured children in our community is unacceptable,” says Dr. Gregg Coodley, the WhyNotPortland campaign’s chief petitioner and co-founder of the Fanno Creek Medical Clinic. “Every kid deserves access to a good doctor.”
The goal of the WhyNotPortland campaign is to provide city-funded health care for the approximately 9000 uninsured kids attending Portland public schools. To reach this goal, Coodley has been raising funds and gathering the 28,000 signatures required from City of Portland voters to officially place the initiative on the November ballot.
Enjoy Some Urban Hikes
Although Mt. Hood, the Gorge, and the Coast are always calling, we are lucky here in Portland because we can enjoy the great outdoors and stay close to home. Here are two “in-city” family-friendly hikes that let you stretch your legs in the great outdoors without having to fill your gas tank.
Macleay Park to the Audubon Center
Park at Macleay Park and hike the Lower Macleay Trail to the Wildwood Trail (the junction is at the Stone House, continue straight at that point – don’t go up the hill). The trail stays level as it follows Balch Creek and briefly heads uphill before reaching a parking lot. Head west 1/10 mile from the parking lot to the Audubon Center. Audubon offers a nature center and rescued birds on display. This scenic hike is approximately 1 1/2 miles each way.
The Interlakes Trail at Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area
From the parking area walk a little west to access the Interlakes Trail. Be sure to explore the fun stone sculptures in the parking area as well as the unique “trees” with bird and bat houses.
The trail provides access to viewing blinds for both Smith and Bybee Lakes. The trail is paved and level, perfect for a family stroll. Wildlife in the area includes turtles, fish, beavers, herons, ducks, snakes, rabbits, countless dragonflies, and much more.
Happy trails!