West Gresham

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Find out what's happening     in your neighborhood INSIDE THIS ISSUE East County Courts Open in April Is There Radon In Your Home? New Police Precinct Coming 2013 Reynolds Seeks Superintendent Rosewood Applies for PDC Grant Nadaka Update, SOLV Earth Day Earth Day Recycling Event Apr 21

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Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

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Got a story to share?
Wilkes East residents are encouraged to submit articles for the newsletter. Articles should be limited to 300 words and may be subject to editing. Send articles by email to: info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: PO Box 536 • Fairview, OR 97024.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 By James Mayer, The Oregonian Source article

The next Reynolds School District superintendent should respect teachers, be a knowledgeable educator and, most important, not already be working for the district.

That was the message delivered Tuesday afternoon by about two dozen teachers who spoke anonymously to the consultants hired to conduct the superintendent search.

"I am begging you, don't hire anyone in the district," one teacher said.

Reynolds School District has been in turmoil for several years, and the next superintendent will be the fourth in less than 10 years. The district and its teachers have been locked in a bitter contract battle since May (2011).

Stranger Danger Alert A message from HB Lee Middle School:

Early Tuesday afternoon January 17, 2012 an HB Lee Middle School student reported being accosted by an unknown person while walking home from school through Columbia View Park. Get Map.

Fortunately, the student was able to return to the school and report the incident to school personnel. The City of Gresham Police Department is investigating the matter. If you have any information about the incident please contact Gresham Police at (503) 823-3333.

Click to enlarge

Drop-in's Welcome When: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays 4-6PM Where: Community Room Human Solutions - Rockwood Building 124 NE 181 Gresham, OR Get Map!

Free Behavioral Support Group
The Talk it Over support groups are for parents, caregivers, and siblings of a child or teen with a serious behavioral disorder, and is a free public service of Trillium Family Services. This new group will be more accessible to families in East Multnomah and Clackamas Counties and more convenient to public transportation.

Groups meet twice monthly on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday from 4PM-6PM in the Community Room at the new Human Solutions Rockwood building located at 124 NE 181st, Gresham, Oregon (one block north of E Burnside MAX Blue Line Station).

Open to the public. FREE. Drop-in's welcome

When: Wed Jan 11, 2012 7-9PM Where: Rockwood Community Office 18709 SE Stark Gresham, OR Get Map!

Public Welcome
The Gresham Redevelopment Commission Advisory Committee meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. Meetings are open to the public.

The purpose of the Gresham Redevelopment Commission Advisory Committee (GRDCAC) is to advise the Gresham Redevelopment Commission (GRDC) on the implementation of urban renewal plans.

Public participation is welcome and encouraged.

Agenda

• Election of Officers
• Public Safety Facility Discussion
• Report to GRDCAC: 2011 GRDC Work Plan
• 2012 GRDC Work Plan
• Annual Report to GRDC
• Projects/Program Updates

When: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:000PM Where: Rosewood Cafe 609 SE 162nd Ave (just south of Stark next to Sam's Restaurant) Portland, OR Get Map!

Building Community - Neighbors helping neighbors

Our next monthly Rosewood Community Meeting is around the corner, join us for a conversation about safety in our community: Wednesday, January 18th at 1pm at Rosewood Cafe- 609 SE 162nd Ave (just south of Stark next to Sam's Restaurant)

In the recent past, this community meeting has covered a variety of topics, but we see the need to bring this back to a focused conversation on public safety in our area. We will give brief updates on our progress with the Rosewood space and our partnership with Portland Development Commission on economic development, but the majority of this meeting will focus on how we can continue making the Rosewood neighborhood a safe place for everyone to live, work and play.

We need your perspective to make this a positive and productive conversation. Hope to see you there!

Jenny Glass, The Rosewood Initiative

Nelson Master Plan. Click to Enlarge

Nelson working group When: Thu Dec 8, 2011 10AM-Noon Where: St Aidan's Episcopal Church 17405 NE Glisan St Portland, OR Get Map!

Meeting Notice
Friends of Nadaka Nelson property working group will meet Dec 8, 2011 10AM-Noon at St Aidan's Episcopal Church, 174th & NE Glisan. Public welcome to attend.

Friends of Nadaka and it's community partners are working to secure funding to develop the approved Nelson Master Plan which includes a community garden area, orchard, rain garden, berry patches, naturescaping and more. When complete, the Nelson properry will join Nadaka Nature Park (adjacent directly north) as a unified neighborhood park.

1874 Zimmerman House. Click to Enlarge

A Victorian Holiday Evening When: Tue Dec 13, 2011 5PM-8PM Where: Zimmerman Park 17111 NE Sandy Blvd Gresham, OR Get Map!

An Evening at the Zimmerman House
If you've enjoyed the Zimmerman House during the day, you should see her at night! The historic Zimmerman House was built in 1874 and was home to three generations of the Zimmerman Family. Their furnishings and personal articles remain in this two-story Victorian home. The first ever evening tour will be held on Tuesday, December 13th, from 5PM-8PM.

There will be carols played on the parlor piano, family recipes on exhibit and ginger snap cookies from the family recipe to take home. No reservations required. Suggested donation is $3 per person.

Medcure breaks ground, Sep 2011

The City of Gresham is finalizing building permits for the creation of a Surgical Training Center at the northeast corner of 181st Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.

State-of-the-art facility
Ground breaking for the new facility happened September 7th. The new Surgical Training Center will be a six-station, state of the art bio-skill laboratory. Surgeons will utilize the center to develop and practice the latest in minimally invasive surgical procedures on persons who have donated their body after death, to support advancements in medical science. This kind of surgical training is critical in developing competency in procedures before performing these operations on living persons.

“The location is ideal for us because of the proximity to the Portland International Airport and area hotels,” says Valere Beck, Marketing Director for MedCure. “This allows surgeons to access the center with ease.”

The opening date is expected to be in February 2012.

Max rider, 162nd & Burnside

Neighbors helping neighbors The Rosewood Initiative is a non-profit organization launched in 2009 dedicated to making the Rosewood area a safe and desirable place to live, work, and play.

Working Together
To accomplish this goal, they are partnering with residents, apartment managers and owners, businesses, churches, government agencies, social services, neighborhood associations, and public safety agencies.

Rosewood is a roughly 15-block area around the intersection of NE 162nd & E. Burnside. The neighborhood is most commonly defined as SE 157th to SE 165th and NE Holiday to SE Alder. About 70 percent of the area’s 6,500 residents live in 46 apartment complexes.

Unfortunately, many residents in the Rosewood area are at risk due to the influence of gangs, drugs, and human trafficking activities in and around the community. For that reason, the Rosewood Initiative is developing an outreach program called RISE (Rosewood Initiative Sisters Empowered) to help identify at-risk youth and connect them to appropriate mentorship and service programs.