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MORE STORIES FROM
AUGUST'S ISSUE OF THE BEE! |
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| The historic Johan Poulsen House in Brooklyn benefits from a new paint job and restoration work, under the direction of current owners Steve and Paula Frisbie. (Photo by Rita A. Leonard) |
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Brooklyn’s historic Poulsen House updated
By RITA A. LEONARD
for THE BEE
The striking Poulsen House at 3040 SE McLoughlin Blvd, sometimes referred to as “the castle at the east end of the Ross Island Bridge”, is being repainted, and is undergoing some much needed repairs.
Owners Steve and Paula Frisbie are doing a major facelift to return the historic residence to its stately origins.
Built by early Brooklyn lumberman Johan Poulsen in 1892, the home is a seven-bedroom Queen Anne Victorian, with a prominent round tower and extensive gingerbread décor.
The home was a showcase for the output of the Poulsen Lumber Mill, which was located in the early 1900’s near the junction of S.E. Woodward Street and the Willamette River. At the time, his was the largest sawmill in the area
Poulsen’s partner, Charles Inman, once had an identical residence just north of what is now Powell Boulevard. However, that home was torn down to facilitate access to the Ross Island Bridge (built in 1924), and to McLoughlin Boulevard (completed in 1932). These transportation links effectively cut off access to the Poulsen House garage, and eliminated what used to be a lovely sloping lawn that acted like
a pedestal to the mansion.
The Frisbies have owned the home for six years, and recently decided it was time for some restoration.
“We’ve got some fairly major repairs on the front, back, and side porches,” reports Steve. “We researched several Victorian house books and other material on Portland architecture. We wanted to brighten up the home while maintaining its vintage look. We’re not making any huge changes in the original color palette, but we are adding a few complementary colors to help bring out the fine line contrast details.
“To that end, we commissioned a local artist, Steven Musco, to coordinate color changes and schemes.”
Frisbie owns Steve’s Auto Restoration, a business that does award-winning custom car painting for clients across the country. David Brost, a Graphic Design graduate from OSU, is a designer and color coordinator for the company. Brost has a keen interest in automotive design as well as Portland architectural history, frequently researching in the Oregon Historical Society library. He was excited to help the couple with their project.
“We wanted to wake up the original house colors but not make it gaudy,” Steve continues. “The main colors will be ‘beeswax’ (a yellow-orange) with off-white ‘tea light’ trim. Two muted blues and dark brown fine line detailing will lead viewers’ eyes across the classic architectural details, while hints of gold will highlight finials and rosettes.”
Restoration on the home began in June, with some initial painting followed by several weeks of structural repairs. Painting will continue through the rest of the summer.
“Eventually we hope to restore more of the interior,” says Steve. “It’s obvious that Poulsen loved wood. The woodwork inside is very ornate, with narrow slat wood and parquet floors. The banisters and fireplaces display a lot of intricate hand carving.”
Another unique aspect of the Poulsen House is the huge Camperdown elm tree growing on the northwest corner of the lawn. “It’s at least 100 years old; it’s a Heritage tree, the largest and oldest of its kind in the state,” says Steve. “It’s a product of Dutch and American elm grafts, and can’t reproduce on its own. When we bought the house, we had to sign an agreement to care for the tree. We spray it regularly, and have injection treatments done on the soil surrounding the trunk.”
For well over a century, the historic Poulsen House has served as an elegant gateway to the Brooklyn neighborhood. Restoration and maintenance of the house and grounds will ensure that visitors enjoy the site for years to come.
Sellwood artist assists at scene of July 27th Mt. Hood tragedy
By RITA A. LEONARD
for THE BEE
Sellwood artist Lonnie Feather had planned on a simple Sunday hike up Mt. Hood’s Cooper Spur Trail with a friend, Bill Weismann, on Sunday, July 27th. Little did she know that by midday the two would be assisting a traumatized young climber whose father had been struck and killed by a falling rock, which then tumbled the body into a steep crevasse at Elliot Glacier.
Feather and Weismann had completed their ascent and were coming down the trail around 2:30 pm when they heard 20-year-old Devin Lee somewhere below them, calling for his father, Eugene oncologist Dr. Gary Lee. “We weren’t quite sure at first what was going on,” recalls Feather.
“The Lees had come down a different route from ours, and no one else was on our trail. We heard Devin calling, ‘Dad? Gary -- where are you? If you can hear me, please answer.’ Then we heard him say, ‘I’m going down to get Mountain Rescue,’ and we knew it was something serious.”
Feather saw Devin Lee with his father’s hat, which he had retrieved from the snowfield, and yelled, ‘Do you need help?’ Devin explained that his father had been struck in the head with ‘a watermelon-sized rock’, after which he had rolled down a snowfield and dropped into a steep gulley. Devin had picked his way over to try to assist his father, but could neither see nor hear him.
“We weren’t sure [then] if the father was alive or not,” says Feather. “We walked up the trail a ways to see down into the gulley better, and called his name, but there was no answer. We hoped he hadn’t fallen down the Elliott Glacier, which was much more dangerous, but it turned out that he had.”
As a member of the Mazamas, Feather knew it was a serious accident. “I’m part of the Mazamas’ Critical Incident Debriefing Team, and immediately decided to call 911 by cell phone and ask for Portland Mountain Rescue,” she said. “After giving them details, we next called Dr. Lee’s wife, Dr. Stephanie Harris, so Devin could tell her what had happened. He was not injured, but he was pretty upset.”
Devin and the two hikers remained at the scene until about 6:30pm, staying in contact with authorities by cell phone. They watched the Hood River Sheriff in an airplane circling the area. “They were trying to locate Dr. Lee before sending a rescue crew to the scene,” says Feather.
“We were in a safe place, but while we waited, there was a pretty dramatic rock avalanche that went down into the Elliott Glacier from a different place than where the Lees had been climbing. This was part of the reason that the rescue team was having such a hard time.”
“By about 6:30, it began to get cold and windy, and we felt there was not much else we could do at the top of the trail,” says Feather. “Devin walked with us down the trail. About an hour later, we met the members of the Command Center at a lodge at Cloud Cap Campground and told them what we knew. Eventually a helicopter with infrared search equipment located Dr. Lee later that evening, but the rescue crew retrieved him later on when it was safer.”
Weismann and Feather remained with the distraught youth throughout the ordeal. “Devin wanted to go to his grandparents’ home in Southwest Portland, so we took him there, and then went home,” says Feather. “There wasn’t much else we could do.”
The kindness and help of strangers during a traumatic time can sometimes be the most useful thing of all. Cellular phones played an important role in the recovery of Dr. Lee’s body, who had climbed Mt. Hood over 40 times during his lifetime, and who always enjoyed climbing with his son.
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| Slowly and carefully the span is moved into position. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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New span bridges the lake in Reed College Canyon
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
Reed College has recently been completing new dormitories on the east side of the campus – and till now, there has only been one narrow footbridge over the lake which forms the headwaters of Crystal Springs Creek, to connect the new dorms to the halls of learning. So that students won’t be tempted to cut through the ecologically-sensitive canyon that divides the campus, Reed has installed a second footbridge to accommodate the cross-campus commute.
On July 9, THE BEE was invited to watch, as a construction crew with a giant crane lowered into place the largest segment of the new 10-foot wide bridge, featuring a concrete walking surface, and weathering steel box girder construction.
Officials on site told us the crane used to move the bridge section from its transport trailer on to the concrete pilings was the largest mobile crane in the Pacific Northwest.
After attaching lift cables, the engine of the mighty crane roared to life. A single steel cable hoisted the massive bridge structure into the air and slowly swiveled about 180°, gliding it over the tops of the trees that line Reed Canyon.
When it reached its destination, steelworkers wrangled the bridge section into place by pivoting the well-balanced load with ropes.
“Our new pedestrian and bicycle bridge spans Reed Canyon west of the existing Reed Bridge,” said the school’s media relations director, Kevin Myers. “It connects our new dormitory, ‘The Grove’, with the main campus.”
In addition to increasing intra-campus connectivity, the bridge will help preserve the canyon’s ecology, Myers added. “We’ve been doing a lot of restoration of the canyon. In fact, the new bridge goes over the spot in the lake where they found salmon last year. We want to be as eco-friendly to the canyon as possible.”
A lot of thought went into the design process, commented Myers – even to the extent of planning how the pre-constructed bridge span could be threaded between the trees. The bridge installation was designed in such a way that only one tree had to be removed to accommodate the new 393-foot- long structure, arching 35 feet above the canyon floor.
During the evening, the new bridge is illuminated with a continuous direct lighting system.
It remains to be seen this fall if the new, wider bridge will indeed discourage students from taking destructive shortcuts through the environmentally-sensitive canyon area on the way to and from class.
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| It isn’t “phantom freight trains” that activate the crossing signals and gates at S.E. 17th Avenue and S.E. Ochoco Street – just older sensing equipment, which sometimes gives false alerts. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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“PhantomTrains” irk Garthwick neighbors at S.E. Ochoco Street crossing
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
Although trains from the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company certainly do occasionally cross the intersection of S.E. 17th Avenue and Ochoco Street, right on the line between Multnomah and Clackamas Counties, neighbors say the railroad crossing lights flash, the bells clang, and the gates sometimes even come down – when there is no train in the area.
“The lights flashed with no train coming for the last four months,” maintained Joe Johns, a neighborhood activist who lives just inside the nearby gate to the Garthwick section of Sellwood, within sight of the crossing. He told THE BEE he has been reporting the problem to railroad, state, and federal regulatory agencies.
In late June, Johns said he observed the crossing arms come down at 2 o’clock in the morning, with the lights flashing until 8 am, which was when a crew arrived to disable the crossing signal apparatus.
“I believe I was first contacted toward the end of April,” agreed Alan Sovey, ODOT Rail Crossing Safety Inspector. “Along with a federal rail inspector, we inspected the crossing in June. The lights flashed for a moment and then went off. At that time, the gates did remain in the upright position. We call that a partial false activation.”
Sovey explained that railroad crossing signals are designed to “fail to the safest position”. That is, if the electronics detect a problem, the system protects the intersection by activating the signals.
“This crossing’s signals use 20-year-old, vintage solid-state equipment,” Sovey added. “Dick Samuels, the railroad’s owner, had circuit cards with him during our visit, and swapped them out. General Electric, who manufactured the cards, says they’ll service them, but they are no longer being made.”
Oregon’s rail inspector added that he has since been back past the intersection, and it hasn’t given a further false signal at any time he was there. “No one else [other than Joe Johns] has notified us of this problem,” Sovey added.
The Federal Railroad Safety manager for the region, Gary Beasley, declined comment, referring us to the Washington DC offices. Officials there promised THE BEE they’d “look into it” and contact us – but, at press time, we had not yet heard from them.
“We’ve been working on the problem,” Dick Samuels, owner of the local railroad line, told us. “We’ve put a different circuit board module into the control unit. We replaced it Thursday (July 17), and it hasn’t malfunctioned since.”
Samuels said he knew that to be true, because at the same time he also installed a radio transmitter in the crossing control unit, which signals him every time the crossing signals activate. “So far [since July 17th], it hasn’t activated without a train present.”
At deadline, though, Johns told THE BEE that he still suspects that the false signal activation problem persists.
So, if the crossing gate on S.E. 17th at Ochoco Street comes down – and if there is NOT a train approaching or crossing S.E. 17th at the time – call the railroad at 503/659-5452.
You can also call ODOT Rail Crossing Safety at 1-503/986-4272 to report any problem with what is officially designated “railroad crossing #46A-004.55”.
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| This 60’ x 16’ mural in Brooklyn, part of a student-mentoring program, features five leaders in social justice. (Photo by Rita A. Leonard) |
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New Brooklyn mural salutes inspira- tional leaders
By RITA A. LEONARD
for THE BEE
A 60’ x 16’ outdoor mural focused on leaders in social justice has been painted at 3111 S.E. 13th Avenue in Brooklyn.
Central to the mural is a large Portland Rose, the petals of which feature the faces of five leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Chief Joseph, Cesar Chavez, and Mahatma Ghandi. Other images of freedom are also included in the mural.
Designed by artist Hector Hernandez, Director of Art & Culture Services, the mural is a project of the Oregon Leadership Institute at Portland State University. The project highlights a volunteer high school mentoring program primarily focused on Latino youth. The program is funded by the Portland Children’s Investment Fund, which also funds a variety of after school youth programs.
Students from four Portland high schools and four middle schools participated in rendering the painting.
Project Coordinators Eddie Moreno and Simone Rede supervised the student crews. “Neighbors and local businesses were very supportive,” says Moreno. “The Blue Dragonfly at 1195 S.E. Powell Boulevard donated space for our June 28th celebration. We invited students, families, community partners, and support staff from each participating school to the dinner event. The Brooklyn Action Corps also supported our project, and paint was provided by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.”
The mural is painted on the east side of the building that houses Hernandez’ studio. “On days when it was too hot to paint, we toured other murals in the city to study their styles and workmanship,” says Rede. “The students learned all aspects of muralism, ranging from community building to beautification. The OLI also awards high school volunteers with one school credit after completing 130 hours of community service.”
Hernandez initiated the mural project last fall when he met to plan with the RACC. Dr. Jose Padin, Director of OLI and Sociology Professor at PSU, felt it would be an ideal project to help promote student self-esteem and community service, while providing the beauty of public art in public spaces.
Anna Mendoza, a Madison High School student who has participated in the leadership program for four years, was recognized for her contributions at the June event.
Public art that focuses on community values strikes many as a great addition to our city. This project extends the concept by including student participants in a mentoring project that benefits participants, as well as art aficionados.
Woman stabbed during attempted robbery
A 31-year-old Portland woman was stabbed Monday afternoon, July 7th, during an attempted robbery in Southeast Portland.
Portland police said the woman had a non-life-threatening injury. She was taken to Oregon Health and Science University Hospital for treatment.
Police said that at 4:48 pm on that date, officers from the Southeast Precinct responded to a call in the 3600 block of S.E. 39th Avenue, just south of Powell and near S.E. Lafayette Court, where they found the injured woman.
She said the suspect approached her with a knife and demanded money. When she refused, there was a struggle, and she was stabbed.
The suspect ran away after the attack, police said.
Robbery detectives are still investigating the incident.
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| At this former gas station site, it developed that very little contaminated soil was found, but contractors dug up and removed three 10,000 gallon gas tanks. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Volunteers turn former Southeast ‘crack shack’ into community center
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
Several years ago, Mt. Tabor area neighbors were horrified to learn that the “Drive Thru Wake Up”– located right across the street from Atkinson Elementary School – was selling more than just cups of steaming coffee. A drug investigation and bust showed that this run-down convenience store was also peddling street drugs.
Many of those same neighbors stepped forward, and have diligently worked to turn this former neighborhood eyesore, previously reported on in THE BEE, into a community asset they call “Tabor Commons”.
The building was originally built as a gas station. The first step to reclaiming the property was to dig out the still-buried tanks, and to check for contamination.
“Under the supervision of ‘GeoEngineers’, Anderson Environmental Contracting (AEC) found and removed three large 10,000 gallon tanks and the related pipes that ran from the tanks to the former dispenser islands,” reported the project’s spark-plug, and Southeast Uplift’s current coalition chair, Paul Leistner.
“After pulling the tanks, AEC removed the modest amount of contaminated soil – much less than we expected – and filled the hole with crushed rock, and then clean soil,” Leistner said.
As AEC graded the lot outside, five workers from Oregon Tradeswomen (O.T.) were busy working on the interior renovation.
“Our mission here today,” explained trainer Mary Dzieweczynski, “is to get all the metal framing done. It’s quite challenging, considering the uniqueness of the space. Every wall is slightly different. We’re dealing with complicated structural math problems, and having to do a lot of ‘work-arounds’. It’s a good training experience.
“O.T. is an organization that helps women enter the trades,” Dzieweczynski told us during our June 11 visit. “In this program, our students gain practical experience, while they’re helping other nonprofit organizations get remodeling and making repairs done.”
According to Leistner, the next steps in turning the old gas station and former convenience store into “Tabor Commons” are:
- Putting on a new roof,
- Finishing the interior renovation,
- Creating the “Cafe au Play” kitchen area, and,
- Installing a garage door in the back of the building that will open onto a patio.
Additionally, he said, they plan to plant an “eco lawn” next to the building, and create a public terrace and buffer garden in front.
“We’re still looking for donations to help us pay for the roof [$5,000],” Leistner said, “and the garage door [$3,200].”
If all goes well, this band of dedicated volunteers hope to have the building renovation completed by the end of the summer.
To get involved, contact Leistner by e-mail at: paulamy@teleport.com. Or call him at 503-232-3888; or visit the Cafe au Play Internet website: http://www.cafeauplay.org.
Motorcyclist injured in latest crash on Holgate Blvd.
A motorcycle rider was hurt in a crash late Sunday night, July 20th, on S.E. Holgate Boulevard at 26th. Emergency crews were dispatched after a report that a motorcyclist had crashed into a car.
Police closed the heavily-used road while they investigated. A neighbor said crashes on Holgate just east of the viaduct, between 26th and 28th, are common.
“I was sitting making dinner when I heard racing going on, which always happens here, then I heard the biggest bang I’ve ever heard,” Blane Finell told a “Fox 12 News” reporter at the scene. “I came running out and there was a motorcycle laying on its side, a car had spun around, and a guy [was] laying on the ground.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Due to recent federal privacy laws, the condition and the identity of the motorcyclist are unknown.
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| If you forget which color signifies which use, the green cart (“Portland composts”) is for yard debris, while the blue one is labeled “Portland recycles”, and is for metal, paper, and plastic recycling. |
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New recycling carts arrive at homes in Southeast
By ERIC NORBERG
Editor, THE BEE
For THE BEE, their arrival was midday on Friday, July 25th. The large new recycling carts are arriving all over Southeast Portland, if they are not already there. The blue one is for general metal, plastic, and paper recycling, and the green one is for yard debris.
And the handsome booklet with the Trailblazer on the front, distributed with the carts and prepared by the city to explain the program, leaves a lot of unanswered questions. THE BEE called Heiberg Garbage and Recycling to get some answers.
If you remember hearing that food waste would be placed with yard debris for composting, that yard debris would be picked up weekly, and that garbage collection would correspondingly drop to every other week, you will look in vain in the booklet for any mention of that. And, it turns out that all those concepts are still for some time in the future. There are surprisingly few changes, for now.
The main changes are that the sorting of paper into one bin, and plastics with metal in another, is no longer necessary; it all just goes into the blue bin. And, for a bonus, a few plastics which could not previously be recycled at the curb – “cottage cheese type tubs and yogurt cups” 6 ounces or larger, plastic buckets, and plastic plant pots – now can go into the blue bins too. But NOT the lids that come on these tubs and cups. And NOT other types of plastic containers, such as the clear plastic take-home containers some restaurants and supermarkets offer.
No plastic bags. And NO Styrofoam. All of those still go in the garbage can, unless you recycle them through other merchants and programs, which you are still encouraged to do. Garbage will still be collected weekly from your regular garbage can, same as before.
Recycling is still collected weekly too, but if it takes a few weeks for you to fill up your LARGE blue rolling cart, you can wait till yours is full to roll it out for the weekly collection. But since the bin is capable of holding a lot of weight, if you wait till it’s full, you may find it quite unwieldy and dangerous to roll out to the curb. You may want to put it out regularly, even if it is far from full.
The green rolling carts are for yard debris, with the previous rules for what does and does not go into them still completely in effect. And, the pickup of these containers is still every other week, on the same schedule as before. Their only real advantage, at the moment, is that you can get more yard debris into the big green cart than you’ve probably been able to recycle in your former yard debris container.
Remember that plastic bottles with necks can be recycled, same as before, but – just the same as before! – corks and caps should be removed from them and put into the garbage, since these are still not recyclable.
Flattened cardboard goes in the green cart (or next to it, if it’s too large to fit), but pizza boxes and other recyclable containers which are contaminated with grease and food waste are still NOT recyclable, and wax-coated cardboard isn’t either, so these still go into your garbage can.
Although one of the touted benefits of the new system is eliminating the need to sort the paper and cardboard separately from the plastic and metal, that was never much of a bother for most people. THE BEE finds the new blue cart impossible to use on our porch – when filled, it would be difficult to get it safely down the front steps – so we will continue to sort recyclables in the handy yellow bins on the porch as we always have, and then at the end of the week we’ll put the contents of each bin into the green cart by the driveway, and carefully roll that out to the curb. At least, the big new carts have lids to keep the contents dry in wet weather.
Glass is still to be recycled separately. You’ve received a new “glass only” sticker in your instruction booklet to label one of your old yellow bins for glass, but if you don’t need that much space for glass, you can continue to use whatever bucket you already have labeled for glass. And if you don’t want to keep both of your former yellow recycling bins, you can label one to be recycled too, and leave it at the curb with your blue bin.
If you have more questions of your own about the new carts and rules, you are invited to call your hauler. Or you can log onto the appropriate city Internet website to see if you can find answers there: www.portlandonline.com/osd/carts.
U of O announces local students on Dean’s List
A number of Inner Southeast students were among the 1,113 students at the Eugene university earning a position on the Dean’s List, with a at least a grade-point-average of 3.75, on a scale on which a 4.0 is a straight-A average.
In the 97202 ZIP code, the list includes seniors Amy Johnson, Nicolette Peterson, Jordan Anderson, and Kimberley Crowther; juniors James Foty, Killian Kleffner, and Mary-Elise Smilek; sophomores Analesa Zimmerman and Michael Pierce; and freshman Karen Fan.
In the 97206 ZIP code, the list includes senior Christina Li, sophomore Xin Li, and freshman Carolyn Moffenbier.
DePaul University honors local student
DePaul University student Diana Hay of Inner Southeast Portland (97202) was named to the Dean’s List for the 2008 Spring Quarter, the university announced in July.
To receive Dean’s List commendation, fulltime students must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, on the standard four-point scale.
DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the country, and is located in Chicago.
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| 49-year-old Jeffery Todd Jones |
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Inner Southeast resident arrested on extortion charges
On Thursday, July 3, 2008, Portland Police Bureau Robbery Detectives arrested 49-year-old Jeffery Todd Jones near S.E. 38th and Holgate Boulevard on one count each of Theft by Extortion, Burglary in the First Degree, Robbery in the Third Degree, and Kidnap in the First Degree, in connection with an extortion investigation. Bail was set at two million dollars.
The investigation began in early March, when a family member of a recently deceased man received a call from an unknown suspect who threatened to kill family members if he did not receive a large amount of money. The victim called the FBI, who initiated an investigation. The victim had no further contact with the suspect.
However, on the morning of July 1st, another member of the same family was attacked and restrained by a male suspect armed with a weapon as she left her home in Southeast Portland. As in the first incident, the suspect demanded a large amount of money and made threats to kill family members. This victim also called the FBI, who notified the Police Bureau.
Portland Police Detectives and Special Agents from the FBI began a joint investigation and, while conducting surveillance on Thursday, July 3rd, arrested Jones near the victim’s home.
During the subsequent investigation, detectives located the profiles of several other individuals in the suspect’s home. Investigators believe the suspect was using daily obituary notices to identify potential victims. Detectives are currently contacting the other families whose profiles were found during the investigation. They are also attempting to identify anyone who may have received or paid money to a suspect after receiving death threats shortly after the death of a family member.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Portland Police Detective Brent Christensen at 503/823-0842.
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| “Natural gardener” John Caine says he was happy to share his secrets with guests who came by, during Metro’s Gardens of Natural Delight” tour. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Sellwood “natural gardener” star of Metro tour circuit
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
The pursuit of beautiful flowerbeds and a lush, green lawn leads many homeowners to get out and use chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers.
“But, more citizens nowadays are interested in keeping their yards safe for children and pets,” said Carl Grimm, Metro’s Natural Gardening and Toxics Reduction Specialist, as he told us about the tenth annual “Gardens of Natural Delight” tour on Sunday, July 13th. “They’re also interested in protecting our waterways from harmful and polluting garden chemicals.”
Thirty gardens throughout the tri-county area offered free, self-guided tours on this day. Grimm suggested we visit John Caine’s garden in Sellwood.
“Welcome to the banana-belt of Portland,” John Caine grinned as he welcomed us – and hundreds of others, throughout the day – to his backyard paradise on S.E. 7th Avenue in Sellwood.
“Need proof?” challenged Caine. “I have a banana orchard over here.”
As guests circulated in his garden, oooing and aaahing over his colorful plants, greenery, and Koi pond, Caine explained that his purpose was to show folks that they could get great results while maintaining a garden organically.
“People are surprised at how luscious a garden one can have, using organic gardening methods. You don’t have to use chemicals,” Caine said.
We asked Caine how he got involved in organic gardening.
“I’ve been in the nursery industry and the landscaping industry for 35 years,” he said. “After spending so much time in greenhouses where so many chemicals were used, I quit. I was afraid of being hurt by all the chemicals.”
About 10 years ago, he added, he started down the organic path, by using hot pepper wax spray on his roses to keep aphids off them. “I had such good luck; I really got into organic gardening. I’d used compost all my life, but this was a turning point away from using chemicals. I soon found all kinds of other natural gardening methods were available.”
“A compost pile is one of the best sources of fertilizers that you can have,” declared Caine. “You recycle the nutrients right in your garden. And, by not using quick-dissolving fertilizers, you keep unwanted nutrients out of our rivers.”
Additionally, the master gardener said, he thinks organic fertilizers actually work better than chemical nutrients – and offered his own garden as proof. He continued, saying that some commercially-available natural fertilizers, like “Dr. Earth”, add positive fungus that helps plants grow and fend off diseases.
In place of using commercial chemical insecticides, he recommends using natural products that can be found at area mass merchandisers.
“Last year, I picked up some garlic oil at Fred Meyer,” recalled Caine. “Instead of killing insects, it keeps them from coming up onto the plant’s foliage. Garlic oil also works as a fungicide. I use it on my roses to get rid of ‘black spot’.”
Caine said the best part of being part of the tour was seeing the reactions of visitors as they walked around his house and through his back yard. “When they see the results of natural gardening, they believe they can do it, too.”
In addition to the conversation, signs and displays around the grounds provided visitors with information.
Westmoreland residents, and natural gardening acolytes, Esther Westbrook and Russel Callen said they had learned a lot by visiting Caine’s garden.
“We’re looking for tips on doing natural gardening,” Westbrook said. “This garden is a good example of how beautiful a natural garden can be.”
More honors for “Shadow Project” creator
Christy Scattarella of Eastmoreland, founder and president of “The Shadow Project”, was selected in July as a winner in Nabisco’s “Celebrating 100 Extraordinary Women” contest.
Scattarella was chosen from thousands of nominees for her collaborative work with teachers that has helped thousands of special education students succeed in school.
Scattarella, whose son has learning challenges, started “The Shadow Project” in 1997 in two classrooms of Duniway Elementary School in Eastmoreland, naming the program after her son’s puppy, Shadow.
Driven by a passionate belief that all children can succeed, she has volunteered 10,000 hours to bring about sustained change in vulnerable boys and girls. In classrooms that use “The Shadow Project”, academic achievement, attendance, and confidence has increased.
The program serves 1,100 students in Portland and Yamhill County, and is expanding to Hillsboro in Washington County. Two-thirds of the participants are from homes at or below the poverty level.
As previously reported in THE BEE, in April the Oregon Education Association named Scattarella its 2008 statewide “Education Citizen of the Year” for her impact on education with this project.
In October, Scatarella and the other Nabisco winners will be featured in national Time Inc. magazines – including People, Entertainment weekly, InStyle, Real Simple, Cooking Light, and Health.
For more information on “The Shadow Project”, visit the Internet website: www.shadow-project.org.
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| This car, with a “For Sale” sign prominently displayed in its rear window, was left randomly parked in front of a house in Woodstock for days, until Parking Enforcement came and left a ticket on its windshield for its owner. (Photo by Merry MacKinnon) |
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FINES QUICKLY ACCUMULATE
The street: An unwise place to try to sell your car
By MERRY MacKINNON
for THE BEE
It wasn’t the smartest thing to do – leaving a car displaying a “For Sale” sign parked for days on a residential street – especially since a neighbor saw the stranger park that Ford Explorer in front of another neighbor’s Woodstock house, get out, and climb into the back seat of a different car with a woman behind the wheel, who then drove away.
Trying to sell a vehicle by parking it on a Portland public street is against the law. “It has to be completely off the public right of way,” explained a Portland Bureau of Transportation Parking Enforcement representative. “You can park it in your own driveway.”
And that little maneuver with the vehicle for sale in Woodstock, which, as the sign posted on the Explorer’s back window advertises, is 14 years old, could end up pretty costly for its current owner.
The fine is $35 or $40 a day for the first 30 days it’s parked -- and then double that, per day, thereafter. So, the total fine, in addition to the $200 it will cost to get it back if the city has it towed, could cost more than the car is worth.
“It’s illegal to use the street as a ‘For Sale’ lot, and we ticket them every day,” assured Margaret Trotzuk, office support specialist with the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Parking Enforcement division. “We’re pretty much on top of it.”
Parking Enforcement homes in on the problem, which has persisted over the years, because many neighbors know to call Parking Enforcement when a strange car with a “For Sale” sign in its window sits on their street for days.
“You can call us and ask us to come out and ticket it,” Trotzuk invited.
In this particular Woodstock case, Parking Enforcement was contacted, and the Explorer was ticketed the same day – four days after it was parked there. “You can call us every day it’s out there," Trotzuk assured. “And we’ll ticket it.”
Meanwhile, the phone number on the “For Sale” sign was called, and the man who answered said he was in Utah and didn’t know it was illegal to try to sell a car by leaving it parked on a Portland public street.
However, he must have associates in Portland, because the car, which had Oregon license plates, disappeared from Woodstock soon after the phone call. But the fines have already accumulated, and will have to be dealt with before title to the vehicle can be transferred.
Parking Enforcement’s number is at 503/823-5195.
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| After showing their ID, to prove they are adults, guests Carolyn Blumensen, Becky Wethern, and Jordan Gladow check into the event with OMSI’s Amanda Thomas. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Grown-up fun on tap at ‘OMSI After Dark’
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
For decades, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) has been one of Portland’s quintessential family attractions. It has grown to be even more so, since its move to larger headquarters on the Willamette’s southeast waterfront, just north of the Ross Island Bridge.
But on July 9th, after its regular operating hours, the museum came to life in a new way, as the new “OMSI After Dark” event welcomed a different crowd of visitors – all adults.
“That’s right – this is a 21-years-and-over event,” explained Amanda Thomas, coordinator of adult programs at OMSI, as she welcomed guests to the event. “It is an opportunity for adults to experience the museum without having to watch their own children, or make way for other people's kids.”
Thomas added that many of the guests remarked that they enjoy seeing and playing with the exhibits, and loved having the opportunity to learn without being a “child-wrangler”.
“We consider this event important,” Thomas said, about the affair. “It’s because OMSI is a great resource for science education, but not just for children – but for adults as well! So, it’s a great opportunity for people who have never been to our museum to come and experience it for the first time.”
We found the museum filled with grown-ups truly enjoying themselves. We watched as they turned knobs, adjusted demonstration equipment, and pulled levers that made objects shoot in the air, roll down inclines, and create patterns – all in the pursuit of science, of course.
Activities for the evening included a “Dino Speed Dating” program, in which experts gave brief talks about the dinosaurs in their featured exhibit, “Dinosaurs: China’s Ancient Giants”.
Michael and Heather Lindberg came from Vancouver, Washington, to take in the event. “The best part is, there are no second-graders here,” Heather said. “My husband teaches second grade. When we visited, it was with his class. For me, it’s more fun without the kids.”
As for the teacher, Michael reported, “It’s a little odd, but it’s fun.”
The only area off-limits was the children’s playroom. Some folks tested its door, and looked disappointed they couldn’t frolic among the games contained therein.
OMSI members entered the party for free; guests paid a cover charge – but found it a great value.
More than discovering the secrets of science alone, guests also tasted – and learned the science behind – food and beverage favorites from local gastronomical artisans, including Moonstruck Chocolate, Full Sail Brewing, Portland Roasting, Hip Chicks Do Wine, Bon Appetit, and Clear Creek Distillery.
In the courtyard tent, tables were festooned with appetizers ranging from fruits and cheeses to decadent cookies and brownies. Since it was an adult event, a tended bar was available to offer spirited cheer.
If you missed it, you will have another chance; this wasn’t a one-shot event, Thomas assured us. “Judging by the turnout, we’ll have another all-adult event, probably in conjunction with the opening of a new exhibit like ‘Mind-Bender Mansion’. Look for it in late January or early February of 2009.”
For more information, check the museum’s Internet website: www.omsi.edu.
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