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Your neighborhood, committed to positive change and neighborliness November- 2014

Next Neighborhood Meeting: Thursday November 20 7-8:30 pm Unitarian Universalist Church, 4505 E 18th Street. Please come!

What you need to know about your neighborhood:!!!Next Neighborhood meeting will include electing new neighborhood Officers. Nominated for office:!Cynthia Powers- Chair Sharon Gutz- co-chair Derya Ruggles- co-chair and newsletter editor Micheal Meidinger- Treasurer Marible Todd- Secretary

On Saturday, October 18th, a neighbor reported seeing a car prowler in a “beat up white Honda” A young male wearing a hoody, was witnessed pulling over in his car on E 15th and seen allegedly walking around and prowling for unlocked vehicles. Neighbors challenged him, and then chased him off. Although it may not be safe to approach, it is always advisable to be aware of what is happening on your street, communicating suspicious activity to neighbors, and calling police with as much useable information as possible. Thanks to Jason and Megan, our neighbors on E 15th for keeping us updated.

Maplewood Neighborhood Holiday Bazaar:!!Saturday, December 13 Firstenberg Community Center 10-3.!!Sharon Gutz has created and organized this fundraiser for the second year for our neighborhood . Thanks, Sharon! !!Maplewood is honoring local businesses by creating a certificate of appreciation for contributing to a healthier, more livable community. Our first business is Julia Bakery. “Julia Bakery is Vancouver's first artisan bread bakery. We predominantly use organic ingredients and all our baked goods are fresh and made from scratch.Come enjoy your purchases in our cozy sitting area equipped with wireless internet internet.”http://www.julia-bakery.com/ Do you know a local business that makes Vancouver a better place to live? We are taking nominations at our neighborhood meeting Nov 20. See you there!

Josh Beanman The new Director of Safe Communities is our guest speaker at the November 20th meeting.The Safe Communities Task Force mission is to reduce violence and gang involvement in Clark County through collaboration among local government, schools, law enforcement, social service providers, and the general public. We provide a hub through which resources can be developed, implemented, accessed, and evaluated. This approach is designed to reduce duplication of services, eliminate resource gaps, and improve cooperation among key agencies.

! Arnada,Carter Park,Columbia Way, Esther Short,Fruit Valley, Harney Heights, Hough, North Image, Northwest, Riverview, and Shumway have joined Maplewood in officially opposing the proposed oil terminal that would bring dangerous, explosive oil through our town.The increased use of hydraulic fracturing — fracking — has made oil that was previously inaccessible available to drillers. There’s a boom in North Dakota, and the crude has to make its way to refineries,and roughly 60 percent of it travels by rail. Tesoro-Savage (recently changing their name to “Vancouver Energy”) intends to build an oil terminal at our port, despite consistent public outrage, to disperse this oil to other places at great profit to them, and terrible risk to us. There have been eight significant oil train accidents in the U.S.

The opportunity to choose or become a Neighborhood Leader at your next neighborhood meeting-Nov 20 !!!What are Grants and how can they help our neighborhood? Come to the November 20th meeting and find out!!!Meetings are the third Thursday of every month and you are invited.!!

and Canada in the past year involving trains hauling crude oil, including several that resulted in human death, toxic, huge fires, profound degradation to the environment, and massive clean up of spilled toxic crude oil. As Eric La Brant, Fruit Valley neighbor, stated to the Port Commissioners,“You get the profit we get the poison.” Please contact: Don Steinke, Washington State Sierra Club Beyond Oil Campaign at crvancouverusa@gmail.com or call 892-1589. Don is our neighbor, a dedicated volunteer, and a science and math teacher of 27 years. He is a great resource, and very organized. He makes it easy for you to be a hero. Come to Port meetings, City Council meetings. Join us in being an active citizen, participating in democracy and protecting your town. No experience necessary to become a great citizen! Start now, do as much or as little as you choose. We are waiting to welcome you!

http://www.forestethics.org/ for national updates.

Do you have a problem property near you? To report a City of Vancouver code violation, including property maintenance or solid waste violations, call the automated Code Compliance hotline at 360-487-7810 The Code Compliance Team is charged with maintaining the safety, health, welfare and livability of neighborhoods through the use of various Vancouver Municipal Codes, including the Minimum Property Maintenance Code, the Building Code and Zoning Ordinances.The Code Compliance Team's goal is to gain voluntary compliance through education and assistance. If voluntary compliance cannot be achieved, civil or criminal penalties may be imposed to the violator.

Who can you call to remove graffiti? City of Vancouver Operations at 360 696-8177 for public property. Call immediately. This discourages more tagging or graffiti. Maplewood experiences very supportive, positive results, usually within 24-36 hours for removal once the call is made. If you see it, call it in. !Local Community Partners:

Vancouver Action Network is a local community group working to expose polluting corporations and hold them accountable by scientifically monitoring and reporting their findings. Find out more by attending meetings every Thursday, 6:00 pm, Blind Onion Pizza 2900 Mill Plain Bl. vancouveractionnetwork.blogspot.com !Safe Communities Task Force if you have a gang-related concern and don't know where to go for help, give us a call. We'll do our best to point you in the right direction. And if you're here because you want to be a part of the solution, also give us a call. We'll find a way for you to help. ttp://www.safecommunitiestaskforce.org/

!Friends of Trees: A 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to bring people in the Portland-Vancouver, Salem and Eugene-Springfield metro areas together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces.Through our Neighborhood Trees program, homeowners buy discounted trees to plant with their neighbors at weekend plantings. ww.friendsoftrees.org Get beautiful, hand selected, discounted trees, more information, or volunteer to be a Neighborhood Coordinator. ! !

Where can you go for free classes on learning computer skills, or getting resume and job search help in a welcoming, dedicated place? Your local library! The downtown library at 901 C Street and Evergreen has ongoing classes every Tuesday 11:00- 1pm and Saturday. 10:00 to noon. No registration needed. Just come in! This month at your library- Are you a writer or maybe secretly wish to be? All this month, make yourself comfortable at your library while you write your novel. It is National Novel Writing month, or NANOWRIMO. Lots of free events are waiting for you! Check it all out at fvrl.org !

Your Neighborhood Leaders: Cynthia Powers, Chair 360 694-2459 Steven Powers, Co-Chair 360 694-2459 Derya Ruggles Co-Chair 971 506-1730 City Liasion, Peggy Furno 360 487-8604 Neighborhood Police Officer, Cpl Duane Boynton (NPC) Vancouver Police Department: 360 487-7359 !The City of Vancouver supports the Neighborhood Associations in their effort to share vital information with residents to create a more informed public. However, the information provided and the opinions and views expressed in the Neighborhood Association newsletter or other documents do not necessarily represent the position of the City of Vancouver, nor does the City determine whether the information published is accurate or appropriate. Printed by the City of Vancouver Office of Neighborhoods. !!Say NO to this nightmare in Vancouver! Say NO to proposed oil terminal at our port! !