Announcement

Dusty Galaxy MHCC Planetarium website

Greatest Telescopes Hits When: Mon Apr 2, 2012 Show Times: 7:00PM and 8:15PM Where: Mt Hood Community College Planetarium Sky Theater 26000 SE Stark St Gresham, OR Get Map!

Admission $2. MHCC students are admitted free.
The Sky Theater is wheelchair accessible.

The Greatest Hits of the Greatest Telescopes
The first telescopes were developed in the Netherlands in 1608 by three spectacle makers in Middelburg. The following year Galileo greatly improved the refracting telescope's design.

Since then telescopes have evolved from lenses and mirrors to to sophisticated high-tech instruments capable of sensing ultraviolet, x-ray, infrared and submillimetre wavelength light to produce images with incredible detail.

Join us as we view spectacular images from some of the worlds greatest telescopes including land-based telescopes and space-based observatories like Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, Kepler and more.

All shows are presented under a realistic representation of the night sky, featuring the latest galactic, stellar and planetary images.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions during each 45-minute program. Children are welcome to attend.

Future site of Rockwood police precinct

What's Your Vision? When: Mon Apr 2, 2012 5-7PM Where: Rockwood Building 123 NE 181st Av Gresham, OR Get Map!

Share Your Ideas
Gresham city officials want to hear from the public about the design of the new Rockwood police station. Project architects want to gather community preferences to guide the aesthetics of the new building.

This will be an interactive, drop-in style event (it’s fine to come anytime between 5 and 7) with the project architect on-hand. The purpose of the event is to give the design team a good sense of what the community’s preferences regarding the appearance of the building exterior and grounds. We will have a Spanish-language interpreter on hand, and refreshments will be served.

Plan to attend this visioning event and share your ideas for this important addition to our neighborhood.

Do We Really Need This Fountain? When: Tue Apr 3, 2012 6:00PM Where: Gresham City Hall Council Chambers 1333 NE Eastman Pky Gresham, OR Get Map!

$1.5 million Children's Fountain Loan Application
A couple of weeks ago, the City of Gresham posted an obscure 24-page document titled "Five Year FY 2011-2016 Consolidated Plan Amendment / Amendment to the One Year Action Plan 2011-2012" on the City's "Children's Fountain" webpage (http://greshamoregon.gov/city/) by following the Read More link. The key part of this lengthy HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) application document is on the back page, where it says that the City "intends to utilize HUD Section 108 Loan Guarantee assistance to create a Section 108 Loan Pool" and that the City "intends to apply for a Section 108 Guaranteed Loan in 2011-2012 to develop a Children's Fountain in Gresham's downtown......for $1.5 million to aid in the elimiation of slum and blight in downtown Gresham."

It turns out that the City intends to pay back the loan ($110,000/yr. for 20 yrs.) from it's annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds (currently $900,000) from HUD. These CDBG funds typically pay for things like affordable housing and public improvements in qualified neighborhoods.

At a recent Community Development & Housing Subcommittee meeting committee members questioned:

• why the City was building a fountain at this time,
• whether the fountain would really bring more shoppers to downtown,
• how downtown qualified for a Section 108 loan,
• why the fountain costs $1.5 million,
• what would happen if HUD again cut the City's CDBG funds & the City couldn't repay the loan with them,
• what the annual maintenance costs for the fountain (not part of grant) would be.

You'll find the City's 2-page Children's Fountain project flyer here. You can find a 5-page Case Studies of other such fountains (Jamison Square-Portland, Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Maryland) compiled by City staff here. We encourage neighbors to take a few moments to review these documents. Written public comment due no later than 4:30pm Tuesday, April 3, 2012.

(Click 'Read More' link below for more details and project concerns.)

East County Courts Building. Click to enlarge

Grand Opening Event When: Tue Apr 10, 2012 10AM Where: 185th & SE Stark St Gresham, OR Get Map!

Completion of the new $19.6 million East County Courts project signals the beginning of Rockwood Town Center's redevelopment.

Join the Celebration
You are cordially invited to attend the grand opening celebration for the long-awaited East County Courthouse in the heart of Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood.

Join us Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 10:00am 'rain-or-shine' at the new East County Courts building, 185th & SE Stark St, as elected officals from Multnomah County and City of Gresham kick-off the event.

Light refreshments will follow the speaking portion of the program. Event includes self guided tours of the new facility.

Frogs, frogs & frogs! When: Wed Apr 11, 2012 5PM-6PM Where: Columbia Slough Water Quality Facility 19595 NE Sandy Blvd Get Map!

Join the fun
Bring the whole family to a hidden wetland in Gresham in search of cold, slimy, and fun frogs.

With amphibian scientist Laura Guderyahn from the City of Gresham, learn about a frog’s life cycle and use a net to hunt for amphibians in the water.

Recommended for kids aged 4+ with their parents; pre-registration requested. $5/family suggested donation to host Columbia Slough Watershed Council.

Lincoln. Click to enlarge

Have you seen me? My name is Lincoln and I'm lost I need your help to find my way home

My Family Misses Me
Looking for “Lincoln” or any information that may bring him home.
Long hair, Siamese, Blue eyes, Brown hair on body, he needs medication twice a day. He is very friendly, very loved, and very missed. Lincoln is 10 years old and is 'micro chipped'. REWARD FOR HIS SAFE RETURN.

When: Wed Mar 21, 2012 1-2PM Where: Rosewood Cafe 609 SE 162nd Av Portland, OR Get Map!

The Rosewood Initiative monthly community meeting is Mar 21st from 1-2pm at Rosewood Cafe, 609 SE 162nd Ave. Everyone's invited to attend.

Here's what's on the agenda

• Public safety, what's going on with all the police in our area? Neighborhood Response Team, Special Enforcement Team, Gang Enforcement Team, gang outreach and partnership work between Portland and Gresham Police across the 162nd divide.
• Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative partnership with Portland Development Commission- our vision for the Rosewood neighborhood and 10 years of support from PDC!
• Rosewood Cafe- really, when are we going to start construction?? and we got a piano!
• Youth activities- Youth Night, possibility for open gym at Oliver Elementary, Backpack Project partnership with Oliver and Parklane Elementary Schools and local churches, connecting Lewis and Clark college students with Centennial Learning Center HS students for college readiness mentoring
• Bike fair in May?
• Mural project on the 76 Gas Station for summer 2012?
• April 14th celebration of partnerships
• Funding...a quick summary

It sounds like a lot, but these are going to be quick updates because we want to make sure you all connect with one another on the work that's happening.

Of course, you can always check rosewoodinitiative.org to keep updated, but there is nothing like coming out and taking part in this!

After decades of delays and missteps the new courthouse receives the finishing touches as it prepares to open for business.

A long-awaited East County Courts project in the heart of Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood could be just what's needed to jumpstart the town center's redevelopment. Completion of the project represents a commitment to an area left behind long ago.

East County Courts Bldg, 185th & SE Stark St. Opening April 2012. Click to enlarge

The new $19.6 million 40,000-square-foot three-floor facility will have three courtrooms, with room for future expansion to six, an office for the district attorney, a sheriff's department security office, court business office, a data center in the basement and a drop-in child care facility for visitors.

The courthouse will serve people being adjudicated for misdemeanors, violations, small claims, landlord and tenant actions, ex parte hearings and document filing for all civil and domestic relations actions - many of which were previously filed at the overcrowded downtown Portland courthouse. The new courthouse is only for civil matters. It will not include a detention facility, nor will felony cases be heard.

Funding for the new courthouse includes $15 million from Recovery Zone Economic Development (stimulus) Bonds. The remaining portion will be funded from the 2008 sale of the South Edgefield property.

The Great Conjunction March 2012: Jupiter, Moon, Venus MHCC Planetarium website

Mars and Venus at Their Best When: Mon Mar 5, 2012 Show Times: 7:00PM and 8:15PM Where: Mt Hood Community College Planetarium Sky Theater 26000 SE Stark St Gresham, OR Get Map!

Admission $2. MHCC students are admitted free.
The Sky Theater is wheelchair accessible.

Mars and Venus at Their Best & Spring Sky Highlights
If you enjoy gazing at the night sky, it’s a “planet-a-palooza” this spring at the Mt. Hood College (MHCC) Planetarium.

“Mars and Venus will be at their brightest this spring and all of the other classical planets can be easily found in the night sky,” says Pat Hanrahan, Planetarium director.

“It is a rare time that we can see so many of our planets in the same night sky,” adds Hanrahan. “Even the shy planet Mercury will be visible shortly after sunset. In late spring, we will see the rare Transit of Venus. If you miss this event, you will have to wait another 105 years before it will be visible again.”

All shows are presented under a realistic representation of the night sky, featuring the latest galactic, stellar and planetary images.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions during each 45-minute program. Children are welcome to attend.

Board Meeting, Public Welcome When :Tue Mar 6, 2011 6:30-8PM Where: Margaret Scott Elementary School 14700 NE Sacramento Portland OR Get Map!

Save the Date
Wilkes Community Group is holding their March Board Meeting on Tuesday Mar 6th from 6:30-8PM at the Margret Scott Elementary School Library.

Agenda

• 6:30 PM   Call to order
  Minutes - Joyce Ley, Secretary
  Treasurer’s Report
  Police Report - Neighborhood Response Teams:
  East Precinct - Louis Seals, Tim Mast, Steve Albert
  North Precinct - Eric Zajac, Kelly Kindrick, Pete McConnell,
  Miguel Olmos, Brad Kula
• 6:45 PM   Graffiti clean up date --- Discussion and Vote
• 6:50 PM   Mailer to all Households in the Wilkes Community --- Discussion
  (Please bring pictures and ideas for content)
• 7:20 PM   WCG Board Secretary Appointment
• 7:25 PM   Expenditure of Wilkes Community Group’s funds --- Discussion
  IRS requirement (990-N)
• 7:40 PM   Movies in the Park current budgets --- Update and funding request
• 7:50 PM   Presentations for April and June
• 8:00 PM   Adjourn

WCG meetings (Board or General) are always open to any & all interested community members. Come share your ideas or suggestions for Wilkes.