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May 2013 -- Vol. 107, No. 9
Memories of THE BEE's first 100 years!
In 2006, THE BEE celebrated its centennial of serving Southeast Portland! A special four-page retrospective of Inner Southeast Portland's century, written by Eileen Fitzsimons, and drawn from the pages of THE BEE over the previous 100 years, appeared in our September, 2006, issue.
Click here to read this special retrospective!
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BEE SUBMISSION AND AD DEADLINES...
The next issue will be our June issue, and it has a deadline of May 23. (The July issue has an ad and copy deadline of June 20.)
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But, if you would rather not do it online, you can E-mail circulation@CommNewspapers.com or telephone 503/968-6397. The 12-issue annual subscription rate is $14 per year for addresses located in Multnomah County, Oregon; and $24 for anywhere else in the U.S.(it's based on the differential postage rates for our class of postage). For international rates, enquire via that e-mail address just above!
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| Daily news! The all-new daily PORTLAND TRIBUNE website is updated throughout the day, every day, when news breaks out. Click the banner at left to keep up to date on the banner news throughout the Rose City!
THE BEE has a second website -- it's searchable for past stories. The content for the current month is similar to this one, presented in a different format. To visit the other website, click the banner at right!
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| Before the morning rush hour began for the day, Portland Police shut down S.E. Powell Boulevard for several blocks, to deal with an armed and dangerous fugitive, holed up in the Motel 6. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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POWELL CLOSED
Fugitive racks up arson charges during Motel 6 capture
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
While making a routine check of the guest register at the S.E. Powell Boulevard Motel 6, at 3104 S.E. Powell Boulevard, in the early hours of April 22, Central Precinct police officers made a startling discovery.
One of the guests had outstanding parole warrants for a 2003 Assault in Clark County, Washington, and also a 1977 Homicide in Clark County, Nevada.
When officers tapped on the motel door of 57-year-old Terry Glenn Mortensen, at about 3 am, he was not receptive to coming out of the room.
Police started quietly evacuating the other motel guests, shut down S.E. Powell from 28th to 33rd Avenues – and activated the PPB Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT). Access was retained to the main entrance of Cleveland High School, however, just west of the closed section of Powell.
“A guest at the motel was scheduled for surgery that morning,” PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson revealed. “Officers gave the patient and family a ride to the hospital, so they could be on time for the surgery.”
Crisis Negotiators arrived and contacted Mortensen by phone. They talked with him for more than two hours, Simpson later said. He still refused to exit.
As THE BEE arrived at the standoff, the police radio crackled with the incident commander’s instruction to stop loud-hailing, after the negotiations had broken down.
Having learned that Mortensen might be armed with a shotgun, a hatchet, and several knives, the SERT squad set an “explosive breach” to blow open the motel room door, giving them a clear view of the room – and to “further encourage” Mortensen to surrender.
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| After surrendering, the fugitive, strapped to a gurney, is rolled to the back of a waiting ambulance. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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“Mortensen then lit the room on fire,” Simpson said. “And he started throwing knives – and a hatchet – at SERT officers, who were still outside the room at a safe distance. SERT officers then broke the front windows of the room and deployed tear gas into the room to encourage Mortensen to exit and surrender.”
At 6:21 am, Mortensen came to the window and started climbing out; officers rushed up to him and pulled him out of the window and away from the fire. He was taken into custody, and immediately given medical treatment.
A Portland Fire & Rescue Engine 25 from Woodstock was on standby, and because of the commercial fire report, Truck 25 and Engine 9 joined it at the scene. Firefighters quickly extinguished the motel room blaze.
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| Fugitive 57-year-old Terry Glenn Mortensen. (MCDC booking photo) |
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After being medically discharged, Mortensen was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center at 9:30 am, where he remained as THE BEE went to press, on two U.S. Marshall Fugitive holds.
He also racked up an impressive combined bail of $500,750.
He now faces new charges for two counts of Arson I, Criminal Mischief, and being a Criminal in Possession of a Weapon.
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| Looking at what’s left of the inside, it’s clear that this will never again be a rolling railcar. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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RAILCAR FOUND
“Brooklyn Diner” discovered during demolition
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
In the beginning, the process of demolishing a small, ordinary-looking, green one-story building that recently housed a historic photo reproduction studio in Brooklyn seemed like nothing special.
TriMet had purchased property last summer for $531,000, and started clearing the lot to begin construction of a power substation for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project.
But, as workers started peeling off siding and plasterboard, they discovered buried in the walls a vintage rail car, made oak and with mahogany trim, TriMet Real Property Specialist Nick Stewart told THE BEE at the site on March 27.
“We invited people from the Oregon Rail Heritage Center,” Stewart said. “Their representatives made a list of items they’d like to have. There's an etched glass window, some fixtures, metal plates – things that are difficult to reproduce or find.”
A faded, but still legible, “car number” above one of the doors gave rail historians the key they needed to look up this rail car’s history.
“It was a Central Pacific passenger rail car,” Stewart said.
The Central Pacific line was part of the “First Transcontinental Railroad” system, but their right-of-way was leased to Southern Pacific in the late 1800s until formally merged into Southern Pacific in 1959.
“The car was built of wood, between 1895 in 1899. It would’ve traveled between Salt Lake City and Portland – and probably carried riders for many thousand miles.”
The clickety-clack ride over the uneven rails took a toll on wooden-built railroad passenger cars, shortening their lives. And, with the advent of new metallic “fireproof” coaches, it wasn’t long until wooden cars were retired.
“It probably rolled into the Brooklyn Yard on its wheels,” Stewart commented. “From there, it was likely trucked the short distance to this site, where it became the ‘Brooklyn Diner’.”
Up through the 1970s, the Brooklyn Diner served cheeseburgers, gravy fries, milkshakes – and, some say, even pizza – to hungry railroad workers, and employees of the Portland Railway Co. (later to become TriMet).
“Their trolley barn was right across the street from the diner,” Stewart pointed out. “It’s where the TriMet bus barn is now.”
After it served its last “Blue Plate Special” the building was remodeled into an appliance repair shop. “Everyone who purchased the property did something to the building; expanding it. Eventually, this railcar was all covered in sheet rock and siding.”
Once the news got out, Stewart mentioned, many former diners came back to take a final look. “A lot of people come up to me and said, ‘I remember eating breakfast there when I was 16 years old.’ I guess nobody expected that the railcar was still ‘inside the building’.”
Although the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation volunteers were able to salvage some items, the century-old railcar was close to disintegrating; it has since been removed. “It'll probably come apart and three large chunks,” Stewart speculated. “Then it will be taken by our contractor to their yard, to be stored while we figure out what the next steps are for it.”
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| Although planked with wooden beams, this “work bridge” is sturdy enough to support a massive crane. The vertical rails installed on the old pier will support a water saw that will cut it into pieces. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Foundation construction underway for new Sellwood Bridge
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
With little publicity, the very quiet blasting near the west-side approach of the new Sellwood Bridge, reported on in the last issue of THE BEE, ended in April.
But, activity has picked up considerably in the east end, just north of the Sellwood Harbor Condominiums. Multnomah County project spokesman Mike Pullen told THE BEE. “Contractors are starting to build the foundations for the new eastern approach.”
The old bridge’s approach, Pullen pointed out, was supported by many vertical columns. “The new bridge will only have about four columns in this area, and will have longer spans. It will open up a more efficient use of space for Sellwood Harbor after the construction has been completed.”
Standing on the south side of the bridge’s east-end approach, Pullen pointed out a huge steel casting – it looked like a metallic circle – in the ground, near the railroad tracks.
“A contractor used machinery to vibrate this casing into the soil,” Pullen said. “The vibration was so intense, people could feel it in our project office blocks away. The impact on the ground was substantial.”
Further to the west, contractors were using a different method to slip a steel casing into the ground.
A huge machine grasped the casing, and slowly rotated the steel cylinder about 30° in one direction, stopped, and then slowly rotated 30° back in the other direction. The machine kept ratcheting constant downward pressure, causing the casing to eat its way down into the earth – this time, with no vibration.
At the same time, a huge ball-shaped excavator reached down in the casing, removing a half-dump-truck load of dirt with every mighty scoop.
“When the casings have been sunk down to bedrock, contractors will lower steel rebar cages into the casings, and they’ll be filled with concrete,” Pullen pointed out. “Putting in these foundations will progress from east to west.”
Walking into the worksite, next to the river, the enormity of the east side “work bridge” – built just south of the old bridge – became apparent. From a distance, it appeared as if the work bridge was decked with wooden 4x4s. A closer inspection reveals the decking to be comprised of much bigger 12” x 12” wooden beams.
When we looked up and eastward, another crew was busy, sinking smaller foundations to install a shoring wall for the column that will be closest to the river.
Contractors are scheduled to begin removing the old Sellwood Bridge bents, or concrete piers, in the river. Special “tracks” have already been installed on one of the bents, on which a “water saw” will ride, as it slices the piers into manageable-sized chunks that can be hoisted into barges.
“It looks like that work will begin in May,” Pullen said. When the work has been completed, the piers will be removed down to the mud line of the river, he added.
Keep up-to-date with the process of this monumental project through Multnomah County’s dedicated website – it includes two live web cams – at: www.sellwoodbridge.org
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| Firefighters made sure the car fire was completely extinguished. That bit of metal protruding from the beam at lower right is about all that’s left of the crushed car. (Courtesy Greg Muhr, PF&R) |
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TriMet girder, bound for Southeast, crushes car on Marquam Bridge
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project came up one girder short of their expected half-dozen delivery on April 23, when the missing beam ended up on its side on its overturned truck, atop a car, on the Marquam Bridge.
The 168-foot-long, 37.5 ton, pre-stressed steel rebar-reinforced concrete girder toppled the “double driver” northbound rig carrying it, at about 3 pm. The crash occurred on Marquam’s top deck, high above OMSI, in the process crushing a Volkswagen Tiguan next to it in the left lane.
Both the big rig and the smashed car then started smoldering.
The driver of the rear steering unit – it’s like the tiller driver on a fire truck – was 28-year-old Mark Cole.
Witnesses said Cole hopped over the tumbled beam, reached in through the broken windshield of the crushed car, laboriously unfastened the seatbelt of 23-year-old Dana Kay Buice, freed her arm, and then pulled her out of her car, moments before fire erupted in the vehicle. She was rushed to a hospital but was expected to recover; nothing much was left of her car, but she suffered only relatively minor injuries.
Heavy traffic had slowed Portland Fire & Rescue rigs dispatched to scene, but other fire engines set up on the ground below the bridge, and started pumping water up the dry standpipes, making it available to crews when they arrived.
“Cole, and driver 67-year-old James Pennington, cooperated with the investigation,” Portland Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson told THE BEE.
It wasn’t high-speed maneuvering or inebriation that caused the wreck, Police Traffic Division investigators determined – the transporter was traveling only about 10 mph when the accident occurred.
Instead, the wreck that blocked the freeway for more than 12 hours was actually caused by the truck’s slow speed – which was the result of the heavy afternoon traffic – coupled with the banked freeway angle. It just fell over.
The fallen girder, damaged in the mishap, was laboriously cut into four pieces overnight and trucked away. The freeway reopened just in time for the morning commute the following day.
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| TriMet Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project Community Affairs representative Jennifer Koozer shows added crosswalks to come, on S.E. Bybee Boulevard. These will help pedestrians have more visibility for crossing, and will help to slow traffic, creating a bit of a gateway for the bridge station environment. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Westmoreland neighbors see final MAX Bybee Station plans
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
At a public Open House held at Westmoreland Union Manor on April 23rd, Westmorelanders got a good look at the approved design of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project Bybee Station and its surrounding infrastructure.
“The station is already under construction,” assured TriMet Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project Community Affairs representative Jennifer Koozer. “Crews have finished pile-driving the foundations for the station’s bus pullouts.”
The design shows that the bridge will be widened on both the north and south side, as originally proposed. “This will provide a pullout for buses and lift vehicles on both sides of the bridge, and a station entrance on each side of the bridge, with stairs and elevators,” Koozer told THE BEE.
Some attendees commented on “quick drop” areas on either side of the bridge. “These are driver-remains-at-wheel spaces, where light rail riders can be picked up or dropped off,” explained Koozer.
People using the bridge this summer will find intermittent, alternating sidewalk closures for several months, Koozer said. “This summer, or fall, we will see some traffic lane closures, controlled by a flagger, while they are working on one side or the other, as they are building the bus pullouts.” However, she assured, at no time will the bridge be completely closed to traffic.
Project Director’s report
TriMet’s Project Director for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project, Rob Barnard, was on hand, and gave THE BEE an update on the overall project’s progress.
“We're currently spending about $1 million a day in construction,” Barnard revealed. “The project is currently 40% complete.”
There'll be a lot of construction activity the summer, he said. “This is a year of civil construction; on the roads, the rail crossings, and installing large beams for our crossing structures. This fall, we will bring in our systems contractor, who is busy fabricating all the [electrical and signaling] components for the system.”
With their agreements now in place, Barnard said TriMet is well-positioned to complete the project. “There is $745 million contracted with the federal government. In terms of the local share, somewhere between 93% and 97% is in place.”
Completion is expected in the fall of 2015.
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Note to readers: At some point, this, our original Internet website, will be replaced at this web address by our new website, as part of the Community Newspapers group. At that time, you will still be able to access this older, but still operative, website, if you save this address: www.southeastPDXnews.com. Right now, it leads you to our new website. Eventually, it will lead you back to this old one! You'll still have your choice of which one to visit!
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