Fall 2010

Wilkes East Neighborhood NewsletterGresham, Oregon USA“Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together we can make a difference!”WE

wilkeseastna.org

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Are You Ready For A Winter Storm?Cold Temperatures, Snow, FreezingRain and High Winds are Dangerous.Winter is quickly approaching, so now isthe perfect time to start thinking aboutwinter storm preparation.

2010, Wet and wild winter predicted.A recent story in the Portland Tribunesaid Portland area residents are in for awet and wild winter according to aseries of forecasts presented bymembers of the Oregon chapterAmerican Meteorological Society.

Two years agoan arctic blastbegan Decem-ber 14, 2008that kept a gripon the area forover twoweeks. Lows inthe teens and20’s were com-

mon throughout the valley. Portland re-ported six days where the temperaturenever got above freezing with high winds,blowing snow, and numerous road clo-sures. Portland General Electric estimated60,000 customers were without electricityon December 21st. And, on December 23,the airport reported a whopping 10" ofsnow in one day making it the snowiestDecember on record.

BRRRrrrrThe 2010 Farmers’ Almanac claims thiswinter will see more days of shivery condi-tions: a winter during which temperatureswill average below normal for about three-quarters of the nation. Western Washing-ton, Oregon, and northwest Californiashould expect above-normal snowfall inmost places. The coldest (and snowiest)periods will occur in mid-December andmid- to late February.

WINTER, page 4

It's official. East CountyCourts will be built!New three-story facility willhouse courts and county’sdata center.

After more than 40 years theEast County Courts will be builtin Rockwood. Ground breakingon the new court facility willbegin before year's end.

Unanimous Approval

Commissioners voted unanimously Octo-ber 28, 2010 to approve final plans for con-struction and financing of a new EastCounty Courthouse in the Rockwoodneighborhood of Gresham. Approval tobuild the facility culminates years of effortto replace the current leased courthousespace in Gresham, which is leaky, crampedand inadequate.

resident, I am very excited to see thiscourthouse finally become a reality,” said

District 4 Commissioner Diane McKeel.“This project will create new jobs and pro-vide a catalyst for economic growth anddevelopment in Rockwood and EastCounty.”Promise Fulfilled

for fulfilling a hope to replace the crampedGresham court facility.

COURTHOUSE, page 2

Multnomah County Board ApprovesConstruction and Financing Of NewEast County Courthouse

Mark Your Calendar!

St Aidan’s Church174th & NE Glisan

Wilkes East Neighborhood

NEXT MEETINGMarch 2011

Don’t ‘Leaf’Debris In TheStreet

Using machines toblow leaves in thestreet causes prob-lems and expense.

in the street is a vio-lation of City code. The street sweeper isnot able to sweep up large piles of leavesat the curb, which can be a dangerous roadhazard.

effect on the City’s stormwater drainagesystem, which can result in high water,clogged catch basins, slippery and unsafesurfaces and rotten vegetation.The City recommends these tips:

and then deposit in yard debris containers.

debris collection included with your gar-bage service.

for an extra cost of $3 each.

clers, 23001 NE Marine Dr, Fairview.503-667-5497.

spread the mixture over flowerbeds forwinter. The nutrients in leaves arebeneficial.

Did You Know?of streets, over 20,000 signs, 7,500 streetlights, and 96 traffic signals. There are also1,635 fire hydrants.

December 23, 2008 Portland OR

East County Courts revised design, Rockwood 185th & SE Stark

Wilkes East Neighborhood Association - 2Fall 2010

Wilkes East NeighborhoodAssociation Newsletter

Published quarterly. Over 1500 copiesdistributed throughout Wilkes East.

The Wilkes East Neighborhood Association(WENA) is a non-profit organization in Gresham,Oregon. Deadline for submission is the 10th ofthe month prior to publication. Submit materialto info@wilkeseastna.org. WENA reserves allrights, and all copy will be edited for clarity andlength. PDF version of this newsletter isavailable online at: www.wilkeseastna.org.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

President .............................. Kris Freiermuth

Vice President ................... Marc Thornsbury

Secretary ................................. Nancy Pyburn

Treasurer ................................ Billy Simmons

Land Use Chair ............................. Curt Duval

Members-at-Large .................... Dan Clement

BOARD MEETINGSBoard meetings are held on the fourth Monday ofeach month at 6:30PM. See website for details.

SPECIAL THANKS

NE Glisan St

NE

162

nd A

v

Wilkes EastNeighborhood

NE

181

st A

v

NE Sandy Blvd

door-to-door rides for seniorsand people with disabilities.

503.226.0700

FREE, LOW COST TRANSPORT

wilkeseastna.org

Dear Neighbors

Forty Households cleaned out their garagesand yards, and we assisted with disposing ofthe their unwanted items and yard debris.Fourteen volunteers kept the cars rolling andloaded the dump boxes. We had a vendorwho took metal and an agency that tookelectronic equipment. The volunteers leftthe HB Lee parking lot much cleaner thanthey found it. The clean-up is in partnershipwith Metro and is the only fund raisingproject WENA has to help pay fornewsletters, flyers, stationary and officesupplies.

City of Gresham to help defray the cost ofthe quarterly newsletter and for the use of aportable potty for clean-ups at NadakaNature Park. United Sites Services wasgenerous in giving us an additional discountfor the use of their portable sanitaryequipment. Because this is a matchinggrant, it is important for us to document thetime donated by volunteers to deliver flyers,the quarterly newsletter and work at theNadaka and Nelson properties.

and generous in supplying bagels for theclean-ups.

Parkrose Hardware falls in this samecategory as a neighborhood supporter in abig way. Third Place Coffeehouse hasposted materials, meeting dates and givengenerously of their excellent coffee.Starbucks Coffee at 181st has been mostliberal in providing refreshments for clean-ups and meetings. Growers Outlet hasalways been willing to provide fresh fruit.

all of these businesses – they are greatcommunity supporters.

the big-box issue along with several land-use items. We have recently been madeaware of transients moving into vacantproperties. If you see anything strange orout of the ordinary such as broken windowsor transients loitering near vacant properties,call the Police or Code Enforcement 503-618-2463.

Your neighbor,Kristen Freiermuth

COURTHOUSE (Page 1)

Third Floor & Data Center Added

built on county-owned property at Southeast185th Avenue and Stark Street and includethree courtrooms, security, the county's datacenter, office space for the MultnomahCounty District Attorney’s office, and roomfor growth. Officials estimate the courthousewill cost $19.6 million to build. Roughly $15million of the costs will be paid for withRecovery Zone Economic Development(stimulus) Bonds. The remaining portionfunded from the 2008 sale of the SouthEdgefield property.'Green' Construction

Certification standards and the Architecture2030 Challenge, requiring the building to usegreen and energy reduction technology suchas solar, eco roofs and geothermal groundsource heating.Site Preparation Begun

existing buildings on the site is complete.County leaders and court officials will breakground on the new courthouse in early 2011,with an expected public opening in thespring of 2012.

Background

statute to provide court facilities in the city ofGresham for violations that occur east of122nd Avenue. In 2008 alone, an estimated27,000 defendants went through thecourthouse in Gresham, mostly for trafficand other misdemeanor offenses. Full story at: wilkeseastna.org/node/629

Graffiti Problems Continue To Rise.Report Tagging Immediately.

Don't let vandalscontrol yourneighborhood!Graffiti damagesproperty and castsa bad light on ourcommunity.

24 hours of graffiti appearing:

Line at 503-618-2463 to report graffiti.Free Graffiti Removal Kits are available.

Call 503-618-2582 for more information.

Fall 2010 Wilkes East Neighborhood Association - 3

wilkeseastna.org

Filing a Police Report Just Got Easier

Gresham Policeoffer new onlinereporting ofnonemergencycrimes.

Department haslaunched a newcrime reporting

service that allows residents to file policereports online. The new service allows people tofile certain reports at their convenience. Thesereports include: vandalism (including graffiti),lost property (excluding firearms andprescription medications), theft from vehicles,theft (excluding firearms or prescriptionmedications), vandalism to a motor vehicle, andadditional property Information (supplementalinformation to a prior report).

Full story at: wilkeseastna.org/node/621

Free Child ID Kits Available By Request

take a DNA cheek swab and fingerprints. See: wilkeseastna.org/node/553 for details

Beverage Container Redemption CenterOpens in Wood Village

Cha-Ching!Wood VillageRedemptionCenter includesEZ Drop forgreaterconvenience.

beverage containerredemption center

since the inception of the Oregon Bottle Billopened in late September.

Center, located at 3345 NE Halsey St., is opento the public from 9AM to 6PM seven days aweek. Operated by Oregon Beverage RecyclingCooperative the facility has reverse vending-machines and employees available to count upto 200 containers per person per day and issueimmediate container-deposit refunds.Changes Ahead

Village Fred Meyer and Cherry Park Safeway,will no longer accept beverage containerreturns. Consumers should take their refundablecontainers to the Wood Village RedemptionCenter or to smaller retailers in the area forcollection.

$200 Rain Garden Grants Available

Planning newlandscape? Add arain graden.

catching on to raingardens, a shallowdepression in ayard that collectsrainwater and

sports a variety of flowers, shrubs and grasses.

landscape to manage stormwater from yourhome, you could be eligible for up to $200 fromthe City and East Multnomah Soil and WaterConservation District. Free assistance available.

Nadaka Nature Park VegetationManagement Plan Nears Completion

Protecting aNatural Resource.

meeting in August 2010, RicCatron, City of GreshamParks Planner provided in-formation about this Plan forNadaka Nature Park. Its pur-pose is a balance of protec-tion of natural areas andfuture park development,restoration of the site and

creating diversity for native wildlife and provid-ing passive recreation.

source Inventory, Current Management Practic-es, Maintenance Costs, Management Goals,Landscape Management Recommendations forthe forest, meadow, eco-lawn and a future com-munity garden. It also contains Volunteer Priori-ties, Staff Priorities and MonitoringRecommendations.

draft form but should be available on the City ofGresham website within the next few months.Threatened by Disease

Root Rot (LRR) disease which has beenidentified on approximately 13% of the DouglasFir trees in Nadaka Nature Park. LRR is causedby a fungus that is widespread in SouthernBritish Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northernCalifornia and western Montana. Full story at: wilkeseastna.org/node/604

Did You Know? Gresham has 116.74 miles ofbike lanes in the city.

Got an interesting story to share?Email it to: info@wilkeseastna.org

AdvertiseHere

Your messageseen by more than

1500 neighbors!info@wilkeseastna.org

NadakaNature Park17500 NE Pacific St

Volunteer.Help restore oururban habitat.

Check our websiteor the info box atthe park entrancefor cleanup events

Zimmerman Park17111 NE Sandy Blvd

Fairview-Rockwood-WilkesHistorical Society. frwhs.org

A lasting vestige ofEast Multnomah County's

agricultural roots

1874 Victorian Farmhouse• TOURS 10-3, THIRD SATURDAY •

Bottle Drop Center, Wood Village

Rain gardens protect area streams

Fall 2010 Wilkes East Neighborhood Association - 4

wilkeseastna.org

WINTER (Page 1)

tardi is predicting that the worst of winter's cold and snow will befrom the Pacific Northwest to the western Great Lakes. "That willput cities like Portland and Seattle colder and snowier this year."Make a plan. Be prepared.

site for a complete set of winter storm checklists. Full story at: wilkeseastna.org/node/631

WINTER STORM CHECKLIST

Emergency supplies should include enough food, water andsupplies to last four days without power or help.

Personal Checklist

soups and stews, cereal, and energy bars

warm clothing

and a hat that covers your ears

Household Checklist

and steps less slippery

from freezingCAUTION: CARBON MONOXIDE KILLS!

Never use a generator, grill, camp stove, propane, natural gasor charcoal-burning devices inside a home, garage, basement, orany partially enclosed area.

"Big Box" Retail Design and Development StandardsCode Nears Completion.Enactment by City Council set for Nov 16, 2010.

dards for its three town Centers, and its Corridor Districts.

Nadaka Nature Park: Audubon Reintroduces WesternScreech Owls, Dogipot® Pet Station Added

Back to the Wild

bon Society of Portland released twojuvenile Western Screech Owls atthe meadow in Nadaka Nature Park.About a dozen people from theneighborhood watched as the twoowls took flight. Both owls cameinto the Portland Audubon’s WildlifeCare Center as fledglings. Unfortu-

nately they had signs of head injury. After recovering, the owlswere placed in a flight cage to build up strength and learn tohunt. The Audubon Society decided they were ready to be in thewild once more and agreed on Nadaka. Look around. You justmight see them.Pet Station Installed

Nadaka Nature Park and contains litter bags to be used for dogwaste. Recycle your unwanted plastic grocery bags here.

Is There Crime in YourNeighborhood? Think Again.Visit CrimeReports.com

Wind chill is not the actual air temperature, but is based on the rate of heat lossfrom exposed skin by the combined effects of wind and cold

NeighborhoodWatch Group

Support YourPrevent Crime

Wilkes East Neighborhood Association

would like to express its gratitude to the

following organizations for their generous

contributions & continued support:

• Jazzy Bagels, Main St & Powell

• Parkrose Hardware, 106th & Sandy

• Third Place Coffeehouse, 172nd & Halsey

• Starbucks Coffee, 181st & Glisan

• Growers Outlet, 162nd & Glisan

• SOLV, Bringing Oregon together

• United Sites Service, Clackamas

• And, all the many volunteers!