This issue brought to you in partnership with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services
ISSUE 2/VOLUME 3 SPRING 2019 A free publication from Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
HEY NEIGHBOR! This newspaper is a free publication brought to you Our River, Our Future by the Northeast Coalition of By Mischa Webley, Neighborhoods (NECN) NECN Staff Writer
he same year that MISSION STATEMENT: the Environmental Northeast Coalition of T Protection Agency designated an 11-mile Neighborhoods (NECN) section of the Willamette increases neighborhood River a toxic Superfund livability through highly site, Donovan Smith inclusive civic engagement was a grade schooler in and grassroots community Northeast Portland. He building. NECN believes didn’t know much about in creating healthy the river other than the neighborhoods by engaging basic rule that most young Portlanders heed: people to become directly don’t swim in it. It was involved in determining how only some years later
their neighborhood evolves. after he chanced into an MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO encounter with the Port- Portland Harbor runs along both sides of the Willamette River, from the Broadway Bridge (pictured) land Harbor Community to Sauvie Island CONTACT NECN: stretches north along it a priority Superfund day and fight for the fu- 4815 NE 7th Ave “Those both sides of the Wil- site, the designation for ture of Portland’s central Portland, OR 97211 industries, lamette, from the Broad- extremely polluted areas. river. It’s the recognition way Bridge on up to Nineteen years later, that caring for the well- 503.388.5004 however, Sauvie Island. It is the with cleanup planning being of the Willamette [email protected] haven’t always past and present home accelerating but yet to is not just about being an www.necoalition.org to a wide range of in- begin, the federal gov- environmentalist. Rather, been friendly dustries, many of which ernment’s definition of it’s a matter of seeing facebook.com/NECoalition to the river” helped give birth to the “priority” is, clearly, fluid. the environment itself as city in the early 20th cen- The thing that clicked the chessboard that the Coalition (PHCC) that tury. Those industries, that day for Donovan, hot-button issues which something clicked, and however, haven’t always now the Media and Out- define our society such he began to see the river been friendly to the river, reach Coordinator for as race, class, homeless- in a new light. and in 2000 the Envi- PHCC, is the same thing ness and gentrification, What’s known today ronmental Protection that drives his colleagues play out on. See OUR RIVER pg 3 as the Portland Harbor Agency (EPA) declared there to show up every PPS Prepares for the ‘Big One’
to buildings and teaching earth- quake response to students. Drills are held twice each year in each school. Called “drop, cover and hold,” PAID students shelter themselves under US Postage Portland OR Portland Permit 2235 Permit their desks – or tables or against Non-Profit Org interior walls – to be shielded from falling objects. “Part of the issue is whether you’re better off to leave,” said Ver- non School principal Ben Keefer. “A lot of that’s going to be based on situational awareness, espe- cially with our building. The brick fascia and glass windows hold See PPS pg 3
PHOTO BY NANCY VAREKAMP NANCY BY PHOTO IN THIS ISSUE Portland Public School students practice earthquake drop, cover and hold precautions twice each year. Demonstrating how they would take cover under tables in the Vernon Resident Profile...... 2 School library are students (left to right) Mabel Graham, Diaminique Barker, Harley SHAPED BY WATER, Rose Almeter and Elijah Pitre. DRAWN BY HAND...... 5 Things to Do ...... 6 By Nancy Varekamp an earthquake with a magnitude Concordia News Editor as severe as 9.0 – to hit within the Community Clean-Ups...... 7 s various local groups and next 50 years, so does Portland Water Storage ...... 7 individuals continue to Public Schools (PPS). Crossword...... 8 Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods Coalition Northeast 4815 NE 7th Ave OR 97211 Portland A prepare for the “big one” – The focus is on adding safety MY NE PORTLAND RESIDENT PROFILE: Bob Boyer
By Mischa Webley, NECN Staff Writer ob Boyer never thought he’d be here. A former boxer Bfrom West Philadelphia, he was a young man in the Air PHOTO BY MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO Force, just past 20 years old, Bob Boyer RUDY SPEERSCHNEIDER RUDY when he was transferred to the vehicle maintenance division at grandkids); linchpin of the com- As he moved up the ranks of the NORTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD the airbase here in 1961. At the munity; a keeper of local history union to become shop steward ASSOCIATIONS time, the state of Oregon wasn’t that we can all learn a thing or and then president, it gave him Alameda a welcoming place for African- two from. a taste for politics that he never 2620 NE Fremont St. Americans, having only then He’s grateful for the opportu- lost. It suited him well for the [email protected] begun to finally upend the many nities that he’s been afforded, troubles facing the neighborhood www.alamedaportland.com segregationist laws here. But a and cites the saying, ‘when one at the time. Boise tight-knit black community had door closes, another opens,’ as a In the 1970’s, 80’s, and even 4115 N Mississippi Ave. formed nonetheless in Northeast, slogan of sorts for his life, while through the 1990’s, it was hard [email protected] and after he was discharged Mr. www.bnapdx.com adding that you really have to to get the city government to pay Boyer quickly found work in an look for those openings. As a attention to the needs of North- Concordia autoshop on Union Avenue and east Portland, but it wasn’t for 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. made himself at home. He’s been lack of trying. As a member of Kennedy School Community Room “Mr. Boyer and [email protected] here ever since. the Planning Board for the Model www.concordiapdx.org At his age, Mr. Boyer doesn’t others helped Cities Initiative, an outgrowth of need a resume, but if he did, it Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty Eliot organize the first 120 NE Knott St. would read more like a short program, Mr. Boyer and others [email protected] novel: boxer, Airman, auto me- neighborhood helped organize the first neigh- www.eliotneighborhood.org/association chanic, railyard worker, shipyard associations in borhood associations in North- Humboldt foreman, union boss, car sales- east, which together created the 804 N Alberta man, community organizer, Northeast” Northeast Coalition of Neigh- [email protected] property manager, small business borhoods (NECN). Through the www.humboldtneighborhood.org owner, president of his neighbor- property manager who knows a power of this unity, the Northeast Irvington hood association, vice-president thing or two about construction, community found a way to speak 1320 NE Brazee St. of the region’s NAACP, and state it seems he may have also built a as one to demand positive change [email protected] senator, to name just a few of few of them himself. One thing is from the city, and they started www.irvingtonpdx.com the titles he’s held. But to get to certain: when Mr. Boyer comes racking up wins quickly. One King know Mr. Boyer is to understand in the door, he steps all the way of their most enduring efforts 4815 NE 7th Ave. that some things don’t fit very through. But he also makes sure was the successful campaign to [email protected] easily on a resume, even one as to leave it open for those coming change Union Avenue to Martin www.kingneighborhood.org impressive as his. After nearly 60 behind him. Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Lloyd years spent living and working in While pounding spikes in the It seems that few things have Visit www.lloyddistrict.org for Northeast, it’s the other things, railyards, working the docks as happened in recent Northeast meeting schedule and location the intangibles, that matter more: a longshoreman, and starting a history that Bob Boyer wasn’t Sabin husband and father of 8 (and 18 family in the 1960’s, he found somehow involved with. People 3535 NE 15th Ave. time to get such as him, and so many others, [email protected] his associ- paid their dues to this area by www.sabinpdx.org ALBERTA ABBEY ate’s degree always putting the needs of the Sullivan’s Gulch AN AFFORDABLE HOME FOR THE ARTS from Cascade larger community first and find- 1548 NE 15th Ave. 126 NE ALBERTA STREET Christian Col- ing common ground with a wide [email protected] lege (whose variety of people and embracing www.sullivansgulch.org WWW.ALBERTAABBEY.ORG name, by the unlikely allies. In all of his work, Vernon way, he and it was this eagerness to build 5431 NE 20th Ave. others later relationships with just about any- [email protected] HOURLY www.vernonpdx.org successfully one that led him to work closely MEETING STARTING AT $15/HR lobbied to with many notable names and Woodlawn *50% OFF YOUR 1ST AIRPOT have changed community members that helped 817 NE Madrona St. SPACE (10 CUPS OF COFFEE/TEA FOR $20 $10!) [email protected] to Portland shape Northeast and the city at www.gowoodlawn.com Commu- large: Avel Gordly, Dick Bogle, nity College). Charles Moose, Bud Clark. The Northeast Coalition of Never missing way he sees it, if you want things Neighborhoods (NECN), founded in a day of work, to be different, you have no VISIT OUR CAFE 1975, is an independent nonprofit he would choice but to dive right in. And organization. NECN is one of seven MON-FRI 9A-5P SAT 9.30A-1P continue his when you dive in, you just might neighborhood coalitions in Portland, make history along the way. which are primarily funded by education at the City’s Office of Neighborhood Marylhurst Now almost 80 years old and Involvement. NECN identifies *FIRST COFFEE OR TEA FREE University, not quite retired from any of his and takes on hyper-local issues to JUST MENTION THIS AD WHEN YOU COME IN and became endeavors, he says Portland has increase neighborhood livability and the first treated him very well and that’s civic engagement. NECN’s service African- it’s been a blessing. With a large, area includes 12 neighborhoods in American to beautiful family, a successful inner North/Northeast Portland: graduate from small business and decades of Alameda, Boise, Concordia, Eliot, 400 SEAT AUDITORIUM Humboldt, Irvington, Lloyd, King, EVENT 2500 S.F. BALLROOM there in 1977 active community involvement, Sabin, Sullivan’s Gulch, Vernon, FOR MORE INFO OR TO SET UP A TOUR with a degree he is blessed indeed. and Woodlawn. Any person that RENTALS EMAIL [email protected] in business Not too bad for an ex-boxer resides or works in North/Northeast management. from West Philly. Portland can get directly involved! *Promotions expire 6/30/19
Page 2 Hey Neighbor! A free publication by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods MY NE PORTLAND
Our River cont’d from pg 1
After all, the majority of benefits generated by that industry went only to a certain few, while the impacts of its pollution have been felt most acutely by those whose voices are often marginalized, and whose communities tend to lie closest to polluted areas. The elevation of these impacted communities in that conversa- tion is central to PHCC’s mission. As Hayley Cron, an intern with PHCC, puts it, “We don’t talk enough about the relationship between social justice and environmental justice.” Adds Alejandra Ruiz, an organizer, “It’s bigger than Portland. It’s a global issue now with climate change.” The rubber hits the road when PHCC leader & Right2 Survive Executive Director Ibrahim Mubarak, walks the riverbanks to meet with the many hidden houseless communities that use the river as a lifeline. “They have gardens, they’re growing vegetables in the [riverside] sediment, but the soil is toxic,” he says, and adds that people commonly fish and bathe in PHOTO BY MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO “We don’t talk enough Left to right: Donovan Smith, Alejandra Ruiz, Hayley Cron, Ibrahim Mubarak, Cassie Cohen about the relationship between social justice and lack of trust historically for government agen- of what’s possible there. As these plans come cies.” There are a lot of setbacks, she says, and together, PHCC knows it will be an uphill battle environmental justice” progress is slow. Yet in spite of that, they have to ensure that things like open greenspace, developed a steady track record of some wins affordability, river access, and job training are on enhancing EPA’s cleanup plan and convinc- a part of that development package. But the the river as well. Part of PHCC’s mission is ing the City to address the burdens of impacted goal underlying all their work is for something to shed light on the needs of this community, communities while acknowledging the commu- more profound than a clean waterway, and less among others, and to fight for those needs to be nities’ expertise. wonky than workforce development programs. met as the cleanup progresses and plans for its “It’s really about rethinking our relationship future are made. with the river,” Donovan says. “There’s a whole Their work isn’t easy. On any given day, the “It’s really about rethinking generation who still has that unhealthy relation- PHCC crew might be rallying people to a public our relationship with ship with it.” forum on the cleanup; hammering out a com- The Willamette is at an inflection point, as munity benefits agreement with the City of the river” is the city itself, and for PHCC this moment is Portland; or hosting a feedback session with an opportunity for Portlanders to renew that representatives from the EPA. “It’s tiring work,” Looking north upriver from the Albina area, sense of possibility and responsibility around says Cassie Cohen, Coalition Coordinator and it takes some imagination to think of a future its boundary-defining river. It’s a chance to chal- a founding member of PHCC, who lists keep- waterfront that doesn’t include abandoned lenge the narrative that this waterway is only a ing up the morale of their coalition partners factories, aging docks and the rattle of freight tool of commerce and instead reimagine it as a as one of their biggest challenges. “People get trains nearby. Although new development is place that welcomes all and provides opportuni- exhausted by it because it’s so political. It can still a long way off, many eager planners and ties that are distributed fairly. Cleaning the har- be discouraging for some folks who have a investors are already lining up with their vision bor is only the first step. The future of the river will be shaped by how big we dare to dream. PPS cont’d from pg 1 some issues.” Teachers and staff train in situational awareness to make those judgment calls. Walkie talkies are based throughout the building to support com- munications. And, for evacua- tions, the playground blacktop is marked for classes to meet and roll call. Design plans for Jefferson High School are underway, financed by a 2017 bond, and will also include a seismic retrofit. In PPS offices, earthquake preparedness efforts tackle the included in all maintenance, withstand the shaking caused resilience of school buildings. reconstruction and repair by an earthquake.” Financed by bond measures, plans. There’s no end in sight. That was the case at Jeffer- aging schools are being mod- Vernon and Rigler elemen- son in 2016 when work was ernized. Madison High School tary schools are not yet on a required on a TV studio build- is next, beginning this sum- list for overall modernization. ing wall. Seismic reinforce- mer. And assuring the building However, any improvements ment was part of the job. meets current life safety seis- and/or replacements made at “All of our buildings, except mic codes is a major element those schools would include the ones we’ve modernized, of that work. seismic attention, according to could use more,” he added. Faubion modernization PPS spokesman Harry Esteve. “We do it as we can, and as we completed in 2017 brought the For instance, Rigler will get a have funding.” school up to current seismic new roof this summer. “When code. Design plans for Jeffer- we replace a roof, we make Nancy Varekamp is semire- son High School are under- sure it is seismically strength- tired from her career in jour- way, financed by a 2017 bond, ened,” he said. The whole roof nalism, public relations and – and will also include a seismic is tied together, then connect- her favorite work engagement retrofit. ed directly to the walls, making – writing and editing targeted Seismic reinforcement is it stronger and better able to newsletters.
Hey Neighbor! SPRING 2019 Page 3 From your Neighborhood Working with neighbors to protect and restore to the River our rivers and streams for fish, animals, and Portlanders—one neighborhood at a time.
Portland is famous for our rainfall – 37 inches in an average year. In nature, soil and plants would absorb the rain, but in a city, rain runs off paved surfaces like your neighborhood streets and sidewalks and becomes stormwater. Stormwater can cause flooding or fill sewers to capacity, which leads to backups into basements or overflows onto streets or into the Willamette River. Stormwater also picks up oil, dirt, and other pollutants that can harm water quality. Environmental Services – Portland’s sewer and stormwater service provider – combines sewer repair projects with green infrastructure like green street planters, trees, and rain gardens to solve Portland’s stormwater problems. Green infrastructure helps reduce overflows, backups, and flooding while protecting and improving overall watershed health. Clean rivers start in your neighborhood From disconnected downspouts to tree plantings and rain gardens, Environmental Services forms partnerships with schools, businesses, community groups, and residents to find natural tools to manage stormwater runoff from Fifth graders from Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School plant the new nature patch at Lillis- Albina Park. The new nature patch will manage stormwater naturally. In addition, native plants neighborhood roofs, yards, and parking lots. One example require less watering to thrive while creating healthy habitat for wildlife. is the new Nature Patch at Lillis-Albina Park. For the last two school years, Boise-Eliot/Humboldt fifth graders have rolled up their sleeves and braved the cold to Which watershed do you live in? plant native plants at Lillis-Albina Park. The new nature Neighbors may orient themselves according to streets, but do you know your watershed? patch – a partnership of Environmental Services, Portland A watershed is an area of land named for the lake, river, or stream to which it drains. Public Schools, and Portland Parks & Recreation – will Northeast Portland drains to the Willamette and Columbia Slough watersheds. serve as a natural tool to manage stormwater. These types of project partnerships provide multiple benefits. They green up our neighborhoods and add habitat for birds, bees, and other wildlife. Similar green projects include: • Boise Eliot Native Grove • Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary Stormwater Projects • Vernon Courtyard Stormwater Infiltration Project • I-5 Sound Wall Planting Sewer repair projects combine grey and green solutions Your Northeast neighborhood has a combined sewer system, which mixes wastewater from homes and businesses with stormwater runoff from streets in the same pipes. Environmental Services’ projects, like the Eliot Sewer and Stormwater Project, upsize, repair, or replace deteriorating public sewer pipes and build green street planters in key locations to increase sewer capacity and keep stormwater out of the combined Eliot’s green street planters system. This helps will divert 1.9 million gallons reduce the risks of combined sewer of stormwater each year from overflows to the entering the sewer system. Willamette River, street flooding, and sewage backups to streets or homes. Construction is underway and is on track for completion in summer 2019. To learn more or sign up for email updates, go to www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/construction.
This page prepared by the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
Page 4 Hey Neighbor! A free publication by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods MY NE PORTLAND Shaped by Water, Drawn by Hand
By Mischa Webley, these scars. As local historian NECN Staff Writer Doug Decker outlines in his (ex- cellent) blog, Alameda Old House ou wouldn’t know it to- History, these gulches and gullies day, but if you walk down presented some major obstacles Y the 15th Avenue hill near to early city planners and builders. Prescott Street, you are skirting In one case, there was a mas- the edge of a massive geological sive gulch in the area around the event. This humble hillside that the Portland Public Schools building Number 8 bus traverses daily was, near Interstate Avenue. As early along with most of the Willamette real estate speculators in Portland Valley, carved out and shaped by looked eastward to grow the city the massive Missoula Floods, a after annexing the town of Albina, series of catastrophic movements this enormous hole in the ground of water that were unleashed from and its swampy surroundings a glacial lake some 15,000 years proved prohibitive. For many years, ago. this land was considered nearly This wall of water, over 400 feet uninhabitable and builders strug- gled to work around it until finally MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO high when it reached the Port- NE 15th and Skidmore land area, laid siege to our Valley engineering technology advanced dozens of times over many centu- enough to overcome its difficult ries, leaving behind the dramatic geography. The gentle slopes of geography that today our region the pavement there today mask the is well-known for. The Columbia enormous efforts required to make Gorge may be its finest result, but everyday use of it. Northeast Portland also holds many of the flood’s geographic signatures. The entire Alameda Ridge - which begins near Rocky Butte and terminates offi- cially near MLK Boulevard, is one of those signatures. As the raging waters ripped around the Butte, they laid a deep but narrow 6-mile finger of Montana sediment ARCHIVES PORTLAND PHOTO: onto the valley floor, upon Looking up NE Lloyd Blvd with view of Sullivan’s Gulch in background, 1938. which the Ridge’s wind- PHOTO BY MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO ing streets and Craftsman The 15th Avenue hill. homes are built. Today, it is an almost unremarkable feature of Northeast, but the Ridge remains “In the late 1800’s a another important marker: for wooden pedestrian bridge was needed to “‘These gulches and span the treacherous gullies presented (and often garbage- some major obstacles filled) gulch that to early city planners split the ground and builders’” for blocks across this unassuming stretch of the Lloyd much of its length it serves as the neighborhood” dividing line between the two wa- tersheds that make up Northeast.
After a rainstorm, water that hits MISCHA WEBLEY BY PHOTO the ground near that same hillside Nearby, on what is today NE 3rd NE 3rd and Broadway on 15th Avenue will either trickle and Broadway, the solution was down the north face of this ridge less technological. While today we have automated lights to make 1948 saw the Columbia River wipe land in ways we cannot control and towards the Columbia River, out Oregon’s second largest city in or predict or even imagine. The or it will find the southern route crossing the street effortless, in the late 1800’s a wooden pedestrian what is today the Delta Park area. most impacted areas will be along and empty into the Willamette. The This event cemented the status of the rivers, where loose sediment countless different paths to the bridge was needed to span the treacherous (and often garbage- the Albina area as the main hub of creates unstable grounds beneath rivers taken by this precipitation African-American life in Portland. some of the most valuable land in over millennia has given shape to filled) gulch that split the ground for blocks across this unassuming Black ship workers who lost their the city, and what is waterfront to- the land that Portland was built on. homes in the floods were pushed day might very well be underwater Rainfall produces streams which stretch of the Lloyd neighborhood. Eventually it was filled in, and into Northeast and not allowed, tomorrow. carve out gullies that create the due to discriminatory redlining, to As we look forward with ambi- contours and details that our roads the streetcar lines that run along Broadway there today mask any live elsewhere. The ripples in the tious plans such as the Albina today rise and fall along. In other historical waters from that event Vision to reimagine and redevelop areas, enormous gashes were cut hint of the invisible canyon that once caused so many headaches are still felt today. the waterfront area around the from the ground by the floods and Water rarely sits still, and chang- Rose Quarter, it’s important to left open like a knife wound in for early Portlanders. Water has shaped the entire Wil- ing currents always lurk just below respect the fact that we are not the the flesh of the Earth. One of the the surface. Whereas before it ones who ultimately shape our city; largest of these deep cuts we know lamette Valley throughout history, but in North and Northeast Port- was glacial floods that carved our that’s nature’s role. And the waters today as Sullivan’s Gulch. corner of the universe into what of our two rivers are, in the end, Closer to the water in the Rose land that process has been acute, and recent. The Vanport floods in it is today, eventually the Casca- the ultimate deciders on where Quarter lies more evidence of dia earthquake will reshape this Northeast begins, and ends.
Hey Neighbor! SPRING 2019 Page 5 THINGS TO DO
search for candy and eggs. Please Community Conversation: Cost: Free, RSVP requested: Events & join us and make sure to bring Won’t You Be My Piera, [email protected] your own basket or bag! Neighbor? Opportunities: http://gowoodlawn.com Good in the Hood Festival Saturday, May 4, 2019, 4–5:30 p.m. Spring 2019 Friday, June 21 - Sunday, June 23 McMenamins Kennedy School King School Park Engaging Neighbors in Community Rm, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. Reforming Portland’s How Relationships Affect the Good in the Hood Parade Commission Government Places We Live: A free discussion about our relationships with our Saturday, June 22, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. with the Portland City Club neighbors Parade starts at Legacy Emanuel Wednesday, April 10, 6:30-8 p.m. Event Sponsors: Alberta Co-op Medical Center on the corner of N. Grocery and Northeast Coalition Williams and N. Russell Streets McMenamins Kennedy School of Neighbors in conjunction with www.goodnthehood.org Community Rm, 5736 NE 33rd Ave. Oregon Humanities
Environmental Protection Agency Portland Harbor Community Collection Events Public Forum Treebate Season: BRING: Wednesday, April 17 Get Credit for Portland State University planting Trees For more information contact Trees help keep rivers clean and Laura Knudsen knudsen.laura@ people healthy. Environmental epa.gov. Services is investing with you in Furniture, mattresses, kitchenware, lamps, clean linens (sheets, a cleaner, healthier Portland, one blankets, towels), irons, fans, alarm clocks, canes, crutches & medical Woodlawn Neighborhood tree at a time. Get a one-time credit gear. Association Easter Egg on your City of Portland sewer/ Hunt stormwater/water utility bill for planting a tree in your residential Saturday, April 20, 11 a.m. until the yard. Purchase, plant, and apply eggs are gone. before the April 30th deadline. For more information about Woodlawn Park Treebate, go to portlandoregon. gov/bes/51399, email treebate@ Annual Easter egg hunt. Kids portlandoregon.gov, or call 503- 12 & under are welcome to come Wood (no treated wood, but paint and nails ok) and large branches. 823-7640 Lumber in 5 ft lengths or longer (no nails), doors, usable building materials, scrap metal. Tools (yard & home).
Appliances, TVs, phones, computers, and anything with a cord. Household Junk
NOT ACCEPTED: Hazardous or chemical wastes. Motor oil, paint. Cement or bricks. Ceiling tiles (asbestos hazard). Tires, commercial by-products, batteries. Curbside recycling or yard debris. NO COMMERCIAL LOADS. Alameda Neighborhood Sabin Community Saturday May 11 Sunday, May 12 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Good in The Hood Returns With a New Board The Madeleine Parish School Maranatha Church Good in the Hood (GITH) Multicultural Music & Food Festival 3240 NE 23rd Ave 4222 NE 12th Ave has been throwing the best party in Northeast for 27 years, Concordia Neighborhood Vernon Neighborhood and they’re back in June for more. This three-day music festival Saturday, June 1 Saturday, April 27 opens with a community parade at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. travels through Northeast to end at King School Park. Last year PCC Workforce Training Leaven Community Center over 30,000 residents enjoyed three days of music, food and Center 5431 NE 20th Ave celebrating community. 5600 NE 42nd Ave Woodlawn Neighborhood This year the GITH team welcomes their newly elected board Humboldt Neighborhood Saturday, May 25 President Angie Harris, Vice President Simone Carter, Secretary Saturday, May 18 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Denise Milhollen and our Treasurer Deborah Roache, who all 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Henry V Parking Lot bring with them a wealth of knowledge, history, and community Emmanuel Temple 6360 MLK Blvd roots. 1033 N Sumner St In 2018, GITH granted $5,000 worth of scholarships to youth and Irvington Community adults from Northeast. & Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhoods SPONSORS: This year’s event will also include health screenings, farmer’s Saturday, May 11 market booths and more scholarships. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Join the fun at King School Park June 21-23 to celebrate 27 years Bridgetown Church Northeast Coalition of “Keeping Unity in the Community.” 2120 NE Tillamook of Neighborhoods To register to walk in the parade, sign up to be a vendor or to volunteer, visit www.goodnthehood.org or call 971-302-6380 See you in the hood!
Page 6 Hey Neighbor! A free publication by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods COMMUNITY The Rule of Three
By Amy Gard, Team Leader, life-giving juice to our Neighborhood Emergency Team “Water storage is homes and bubblers (NET) for Concordia/Vernon/ will be catastrophi- Woodlawn the #1 thing that I cally damaged. f you do a google search for emphasize when Estimates for how “rule of three,” you’ll find it doing outreach” long it will take for I shows up in everything from water and sewage mathematics to Wicca. In the systems to be up or icy water fairly infrequently. We realm of emergency preparedness, and running again in also boast one of the best water though, it’s about survival: you can Portland vary from resources around - the Bull Run survive about 3 minutes without one month to one Watershed - and even public bub- oxygen or submerged in icy water. year! We will need to blers that serve fresh water up In a harsh environment, you can be our own for all. However, in the Store 14 gallons of water per person in your household. expect to survive about 3 hours saviors, aftermath of a major without shelter, and in normal cir- at least earthquake (which has disaster. cumstances, you can expect to last for the first weeks. As a 37% chance of hap- What do I need to do, you ask? about 3 weeks without food. But long as you stay out pening within the next I’m so happy you inquired! in the same, ‘normal,’ situation, of icy water and can 50 years, and in fact, if it Answer: Store 14 gallons of wa- you’re only going to make it about find a safe structure had followed the aver- ter per person in your household. 3 DAYS without WATER. in which to shelter age of the 10,000 year Beg, borrow, or buy two 5-gallon Here in Portland, we can gener- (following our Rule of geological record, would buckets. One will be dedicated to ally take oxygen for granted and Three), water is going have already occurred urine (generally sterile), that can our relatively mild weather puts to be your top survival in 1947!), the conduit be dumped into the soil away from us at risk from extreme weather 5 gallon BPA free water priority. system that brings that storage container For this reason, living quarters. One will ideally be water storage is lined with a heavy-duty garbage the #1 thing that I emphasize bag for solid waste. Shredded What a Difference when doing outreach for Port- paper, dry leaves, sawdust, etc. can land’s Neighborhood Emer- cover each ‘deposit’ to encourage a Year Makes! gency Teams. Our district of composting and discourage smell. nearly 67,000 residents will When full, these bags can be stock- all be meeting nature’s call piled for disposal once services are without indoor plumbing. This up and running. is a recipe for a second- For more guidance please visit: ary health crisis and https://www.regionalh2o.org/ it’s why I also (water storage) https://www. emphasize that portlandoregon.gov/pbem/ every household article/394125 (pee/poo should have a 2-bucket system). plan for human Or contact your neigh- waste manage- borhood NET: https://port- ment in the event of a landprepares.org.
By Andrine de la Rocha n just one year, Boise Eliot Na- tive Grove has transformed a I grassy dumping ground into a thriving native pollinator habitat and education space. Located on N. Ivy St. north of the Fremont Bridge ramp, the Grove is now An Environmental Justice Dinner Series planted with over 500 plants A un raiser ene itin am E S nc representing 40+ species of native plants and 9 species of trees, along April 18, 2019 from the neighborhood, schools, m m with logs, stumps, snags, boul- businesses, and SOLVE volunteer oste Dinner Drin s ders, educational species signs & program. ree S re uire interpretive signs featuring Eng- The ReBuilding Center Commu- A un ant i e urc om ar St lish, Latin & Chinuk Wawa plant nity Outreach Program has teamed names. up with the Grove to design a six- Camp ELSO in partnership with Sox & Sandals podcast will host Greenline Community members Andrine sided bench being built by Oregon in honor of Earth Day. At the event we will interview and live stream on the Sox and Sandals podcast- two local environmental leaders of color Amira de la Rocha and Howard Patter- Tradeswomen, Portland Youth son are Boise-Eliot neighbors who Streeter- Natural Resources Policy Advisor to Governor Kate Brown and Builders, Self-Enhancement, Inc, Edward Hill-urban planner and community systems designer. designed and implemented the The Q Center, and other commu- Native Grove project. Working with nity groups. Additionally, Oregon These leaders will discuss and share their perspectives on pressing PBOT, Bureau of Environmental Potters Association is working environmental issues impacting communities of color and vulnerable Services, East Multnomah Soil & with a group of students from communities in Portland, share their personal journey to becoming Water Conservation, Xerces Soci- environmental leaders in Oregon and the need for environmental STEM Boise-Eliot/Humboldt School on a role models from historically underrepresented communities. ety for Invertebrate Conservation, ceramic sculpture which will serve & others, they have organized over as a directional marker and fea- 1300 hours of volunteer labor to tures the life-cycle of the salmon. SPONSORS: sheet mulch, apply compost, install The 2nd Annual Earth Day Work rocks & logs, plant seeds, trees and Party is April 20, 2019, when the plants, weave a willow structure, bench and ceramic sculpture will water, and design & install signage. be unveiled. Meanwhile, come take Volunteer hours include 170+ from a walk and learn about the little students at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Camp ELSO is a community based environmental education focused nonprofit that uses native ecosystem in your neighbor- the natural world to connect children from underrepresented communities to STEM. School and The Ivy School, and hood. Or visit us at www.NativeG- Learn more www.campelso.org. more than 80 adult volunteers rovePDX.org.
Hey Neighbor! SPRING 2019 Page 7 COMMUNITY
! Hey Neighbor! " # Crossword Puzzle ACROSS $ 3 Bull ______, source of local water supply 4 Model ______Initiative % 7 Second word in original name of Portland Community & ' College 8 Environmental Protection ______9 Name of Bridge hit by steamer ship in 1941
( 11 Amy ______, NET leader 13 Alameda ______, formed by 4 down DOWN
) 1 ______of Three 2 Former State Senator Bob ______!* 4 First word of 7 across 5 ______Floods !! !" 6 Cassie ______of PHCC 7 Steamship Pilot M.A. ______10 ______Decker, author of Alameda Old House History blog !# 12 Alejandra ______of PHCC Answers located at www.necoalition.org/newspaper
Bridge Meets Ship – Encounter a “Draw”
By Margaret O’Hartigan cause of mechanical fail- negligent operation of the ortland owes its ex- ure, opting instead to sim- bridge. istence to the Willa- ply suggest that a danger While the Burnside P mette and Columbia signal be sent immediately Bridge continues to operate rivers, and the people who to approaching vessels to this day, the Coast Miller make their living on those upon the first indication wasn’t so lucky. One of 86 waters despite the very that anything appeared to ships loaned to the Soviet real risks that work entails. be amiss. Union during World War II, Accidents – sometimes Damage to the Coast it was illegally retained by fatal – occur. The following Miller resulted in $22,810 the Communists after the is an account of an accident for repairs, according to war, and as of June 1949 which luckily resulted in no This image originally appeared on the front page of the Saturday, R.W. Tucker of the board was reported by Charles physical injuries to anyone. February 1, 1941 Oregonian. of marine underwriters in Marshall -- general man- San Francisco, and repair ager of the United States On the evening of Janu- The caption reads: “The 5500-ton steamer Coast Miller is shown here ary 31, 1941, the 5500- work occurred at the Albina Maritime Commission – to as she looked Friday night when she crashed into the draw span of the Engine & Machineworks. be irretrievably lost. ton steamer Coast Miller Burnside bridge while bound upstream to dock. Pilot M.A. Cloninger collided with the Burnside said that the draw span lifted at his signal and then dropped as the Coastwise Line – owner Margaret O’Hartigan Bridge. Five cargo booms, ship was partly through the draw. Bridge Operator W.A. Wrenn said of the Coast Miller – filed a is a King Neighborhood the mainmast and the stack the span was closed when the ship struck it and blamed mechanical claim for $50,000 against resident and author of the on the 336-foot long ship failure of the span.” Multnomah County for walking guide “Walnut were damaged. The bridge damages, contending Park Revealed”. Steel Bridge at the time he fied that the bridge had was out of commission for FREE! whistled for the Burnside opened but then lowered hours with the west portion Bridge to open. But Wrenn as the ship approached. of the drawspan elevated maintained that the Coast Various members of the 5 feet by the impact of the Miller was upstream of the ship’s crew corroborated ship. Steel Bridge at the time it that testimony. whistled, and that the Burn- Supposition of sabo- “Wrenn side then failed to respond tage -- based on a finding to Wrenn’s operation of the that the electric switches maintained that levers. Cloninger asserted controlling the bridge the Coast Miller that the bridge only sig- drawspans had been naled an alarm when the pulled open and that the was upstream of ship was within 15 feet of bridge was consequently the Steel Bridge the it , and that he’d al- inoperable -- was de- ready reversed engines and rided by both master and at the time it dropped the ship’s stern pilot. whistled” anchors. Commander John Four days later, the Beckwith, chairman of Burnside Bridge failed the state board of pilot The operator of the once again to open for an commissioners, called bridge was W.A. Wrenn - a approaching vessel, but the bridge a “menace to resident of what is now in this case the pilot man- navigation”. King neighborhood - who’d aged to stop the ship before On February 18, worked at the bridge for 13 striking it. A preliminary Lieutenant-Colonel C.R. years, six of them as opera- investigation the follow- Moore with the Army tor. ing day was conducted by Corps of Engineers The ship had been under District Attorney James submitted a report to the guidance of Columbia Bain. The ship’s master the Multnomah County river pilot M.A. Cloninger. -- Captain L.A. Rasmussen Commission which did According to Cloninger, -- and Cloninger both testi- not address any possible he was downstream of the
Page 8 Hey Neighbor! A free publication by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods