Comment:
Redoubling
As I prepare to hit the "send" button on this second issue of the Hillsdale News, the computer program tells me that 30 of you will be receiving it.
That's double the number of recipients of the premier issue, which I sent out two weeks ago.
When I put out issue #3 in another two weeks, I'd like to send it to at least 60 readers - once again, doubling the numbers. And so on through issues four, five and six. which should get us to nearly 500 readers.
That may be optimistic. We may not reach 500 that fast, but I hope we are there before the end of the year.
Growth will depend on two things:
· Making the Hillsdale News interesting and informative. That is largely my responsibility although you are invited to help with submissions and suggestions.
· Getting the word out. That's where you can make a big difference. If you know folks who would like another source of news about our community, please direct them to the hillsdalenews.org web site where they can join the free subscription list.
Thanks,
Rick Seifert
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Links to Alliance Members
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Walkway opens Nature Area
Dozens of volunteer hours and about $6,000 in donations have resulted in an attractive, low walkway over Stephen's Creek in the Hillsdale nature park.
The final plank in the low bridge was screwed into place Monday, July 30.
The bridge, along with the volunteer-built steps leading down to it from both SW Capitol Hill Road and Bertha Boulevard, make the creek and its forest far more accessible to the public.
The parks bureau has plans for other paths branching off the main trail.
The project was organized by SW Trails, which develops, builds, maps, marks and maintains miles of trails in Southwest Portland.
Don Baack, SW Trails president, said that City of Portland estimates for a major bridge across the creek bed came to a prohibitive $900,000.
Community volunteers did the job more modestly for a fraction of the cost.
The decking for the new bridge is made from Trex decking, a combination of reclaimed wood and plastic. According to the manufacturer, the plastic shields the wood from moisture and insect damage; the wood protects the plastic from UV damage and gives your deck a solid, natural feel.
During the height of very heavy winter rains, the surface of the bridge may be beneath the water level of the creek.
Southwest Trails is a member of the Hillsdale Alliance.
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Neighbors who banded together to preserve a parcel of wilderness next to their homes near Fairmont Boulevard have marked the accomplishment with a new sign.
Several neighbors and two staff members of the Three Rivers Land Conservancy installed the sign at the entrance to the newly named Nicolai Woods on August 2
The woods are named after neighbor and attorney Tom Nicolai, who donated his legal expertise to put together the complex land deal.
Thirteen families and individuals contributed $224,000 to buy the 1.6 acres abutting the north side of 18th Drive trail. The trail, maintained by SW Trails, joins 18th Place with Fairmount Boulevard.
After the purchase, the neighbors donated the property to the conservancy. The deal closed last December.
The Nicolai Woods group is enlisting other neighbors and trails volunteers to help maintain the property.
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Hillsdale Metro meeting set for Nov. 29
In a first for Hillsdale, the elected Metro Regional Council will meet here late this fall.
The meeting, set for Nov. 29 at 5 p.m., will provide a forum for community desires to make Hillsdale a "model town center." The meeting's location has yet to be determined, but Wilson High School is the expected choice.
Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, who represents our district, initiated the Council's meeting here after he broached the idea to the Hillsdale Alliance in early July. He and his colleagues are interested in the town center concept because it originated with Metro as a way to absorb regional population growth in a planned way.
The three-county metro region has 27 town centers. Hillsdale is seen as being among the most vibrant and promising to be a model for others.
Before the November Metro meeting, community leaders hold open meetings to plan Hillsdale's presentation. The times and places of the meetings will be announced in the Hillsdale News when they are set.
Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten also has asked to speak at the November Metro session. Sten, who took a Hillsdale walking tour Thursday, July 26, wants to discuss recently approved plans to help families continue to live in neighborhoods they may no longer be able to afford. The city assistance would help reverse the flow of families to the suburbs with their crowded schools and would help keep Portland's schools open.
The threatened closure of Rieke Elementary School last year resulted, in part, from a shift in enrollments both to the suburbs and to private or religious schools.
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Book sale brings in $4000
The July 29th Hillsdale Benefit Book Sale raised more than $4000 for the Hillsdale Alliance an d its nascent Hillsdale Community Foundation.
The total for the foundation now tops $9400, all of it raised by the three Alliance-organized book sales.
Another sale may be held in early December, depending on whether the old Estby Gas Station can still be used. The station is slated for demolition once the Department of Environmental Quality determines that the site is safe for new construction.
Community members donated thousands of books for the sale, which was held in conjunction with the annual Hillsdale Business and Professional Association Blueberry Pancake Breakfast.
The Hillsdale Alliance, which sponsors Hillsdale News, consists of the major Hillsdale civic organizations, including the neighborhood association, the business association, the farmers market, SW Trails, Neighborhood House, the library and the three public schools.
A vintage typewriter, the same model used by Ernest Hemingway, was raffled off at the sale and won by Deb Wolff.
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Undergrounding gains possible at Watershed
As architecturally striking as the new Watershed Senior Housing project is, it suffers from one blemish - above-ground utility wires across its façade and a utility pole that obstructs the view of the building's landmark tower.
Community Partners for Affordable Housing, the developers, tried to address part of the problem by laying underground conduit next to the building along SW Capitol Highway. While PGE undergrounded using the conduit, Comcast and Qwest chose not to and their wires res will main part of the clutter.
Recently local underground activists Wes Risher and Rick Seifert confronted executives from Comcast and Qwest about the problem. Risher and Seifert's job was made relatively easy because the two companies are on course to be competitors for cable service in the city.
On July 30, top executives were readily available and receptive to the public at a Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission Hearing at the Multnomah County Building.
After entreaties from Risher and Seifert, both firms are reconsidering their decision not to underground in the provided conduit.
Moreover, Risher and Seifert have asked PGE, Qwest and Comcast to share the costs of removing the pole in front of the tower.
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Rick Seifert
Editor, Hillsdale News
(503) 245-7821
editor@hillsdalenews.org
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