Commentary:
About as far
as we can go?
Recently I have been thinking about that old "Oklahoma!" show tune, "Everything is up to date in Kansas City," and, in particular, the line, "We've gone about as far as we can go."
Have we "gone about as far as we can go" in Hillsdale?
Some might even ask, have gone as far are we
should go in Hillsdale?
In my worst moments, I sometimes think we have. No need to get into specifics, but my discouragement usually results from awful communication.
I'll get back to that in a minute.
Have we gone as far as we can go? Or worse, are we sliding backwards?
Just when I think we've stalled out, along comes something like this:
Whole Foods, based in Austin, Texas, buys out Wild Oats, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and immediately closes the Hillsdale Wild Oats grocery, the anchor of commercial activity in the Hillsdale Town Center.
The store is too small for Whole Foods' grandiose corporate visions. In effect, Whole Foods says, "Hillsdale has gone as far as it can go - grocery-wise."
But within weeks, a small, local organization with a different vision and purpose, Food Front, looks at the store and Hillsdale and says "That's EXACTLY where we want to go!"
For Food Front, a cooperative, one of the great attractions of Hillsdale is that we have reshaped ourselves in the past few years. We have a strong community identity, and, in particular, we are home to a thriving farmers market. In many ways the market has become our major civic institution. Its spirit got us where we are.
Now Food Front and our involvement with it (buy shares!) promise to move us forward.
The word "cooperative" is worth noting. What has stopped us in our tracks is usually a lack of cooperation. He trouble most often starts with terrible communication, or no communication at all.
It's a given that you can't cooperate if you aren't communicating.
A corollary: when you communicate by yelling or rudeness or by stony silence, you have worse than no cooperation; you have hostility.
Recently a couple of people have complained that I have not presented their sides fairly in this publication. I've concluded they were also victims of the very problems cited in the preceding paragraph. That didn't help. Think "hostility."
In any case, they didn't tell me of their problems with The News until I tried to interview them for stories and they refused to comment. Believe me, silence is not golden when it comes to community journalism. It only makes matters worse. I'm terrible at mind reading.
So here's some advice that will help us all. If you have a problem with something written here, call me, (503) 245-7821, or e-mail me, editor@hillsdalenews.org. Or if you prefer, write a letter to the editor telling your 377 fellow readers what is bothering you. If your letter is no longer than 200 words, isn't libelous and can be read to the whole family, I'll print it.
A letter-writing tip: after laying out problems, offer practical solutions.
So, back to the question: Have we gone as far as we can go? Only if we stop. Stop communicating, stop caring, stop getting involved.
Have we gone as far as we
should go? Only if we don't believe in a future for us, our children, our community and - because we are all connected - our world.
Rick Seifert
Editor
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Food Front is coming
to Hillsdale
The Hillsdale Food Front store is a go.
The co-op's board of directors has given its thumbs up on a lease for the space once occupied by Wild Oats in the Hillsdale Shopping Center.
The official announcement will be on Monday, May 12, at 10 a.m. in front of the Hillsdale store. The public is encouraged to attend, said Tom Mattox, Food Front's community outreach and marketing director.
Work on the new store will begin May 19, said Food Front manager Holly Jarvis, who will manage both stores for now. (Holly is pictured on the left in front of Food Front's Thurman Street store.) Food Front hasn't decided yet whether the Hillsdale store will have a separate manager, Mattox said.
Food Front hopes to have the store, with its 6000 square-feet of retail space, open in August.
The co-op has budgeted an estimated $1.17 million to ready the store for opening day. Half the money will be spent on physical improvements such as new flooring, lighting and shelving. Much of the rest will be spent on stocking the store, which the Wild Oats chain closed last October after Wild Oats was bought out by Whole Foods.
The co-op's 3,000 owner/members will be invited to lend money to cover some of the costs, Mattox said.
The new store will be referred to as "Food Front Hillsdale," to distinguish it from Food Front's only other store at 2375 NW Thurman. That store will be referred to as "Food Front Northwest," Mattox said.
He emphasized that the two stores will be run by one organization with a single board. And member/owners will own the two stores equally. For more on becoming a Food Front member go to the co-op's web site.
Mattox encouraged expectant patrons of the Hillsdale grocery to visit the Thurman Street store and to comment on what they like about it as well as what they would like to see different in the new store.
Mattox said that 55 full and part-time employees will work at Food Front Hillsdale, 10 fewer than the number employed in the NW Thurman store. Some staff at the northwest store will transfer to Hillsdale, he added.
Mike Roach, co-owner of Paloma Clothing and president of the Hillsdale Business and Professional association, said that the timing is perfect for a co-operative in Hillsdale.
"In the 33 years that Paloma has been in business, I have seen the Hillsdale and Multnomah communities develop to the point where a cooperative can thrive in Hillsdale," He said.
He added that prior to the opening of the Hillsdale Farmers Market, that wouldn't have been the case. "The market has built a whole community centered around food issues. Now that community will have a place in Hillsdale to shop beyond Sunday."
Food Front's Mattox said that the biggest difference over previous stores that have occupied the Hillsdale Shopping Center site in recent years is that Food Front Hillsdale "will be owned by people rather than a corporation that will sell it to someone else."
"As long as the people want Food Front, it will be there," he said.
He added that Food Front, founded in 1972, "can be more responsive to people's wants and needs. That's what our mission is."
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Neighbors, hikers at odds
over path route
The right-of-way that is at the core of a bitter neighborhood confict is just to right of the orange figure
A narrow strip of publicly owned land has become a flash point of controversy in the area around Seymour Drive and 25th Avenue.
Hikers, who for years have passed through a 100 foot-long right-of-way located between SW 25th Avenue and Seymour Drive, had to use crude steps on adjacent private property.
Recently, the property owner, David Barberis, concerned about liability issues, removed the steps, effectively blocking access to the right-of-way. That change and an effort by SW Trails to put in steps, has brought the issue to a boil.
Those who used the 100-foot long pass-through route want the strip made accessible to pedestrians. They say the passage makes for a safer, easier and more pleasant walk.
But immedate neighbors, including Barberis, cite erosion problem, liability issues, strangers wandering by and costs to the taxpayers. They want the strip closed to hikers.
The issue came before the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association at its May 7 meeting. After a debate, a large majority supported using the right-of-way for a pedestrian connection.
The vote was 27 to nine, with one abstention,
The issue arose when on March 9 when a SW Trails crew built steps up the steep public property embankment using creosote rail ties. When neighbors complained to the City that the stairs were not up to code, the city ordered the new steps removed. Neighbors have since replanted junipers, removed by SW Trails. The plantings block the route, but the neighbors maintain the shrubs are needed to check erosion.
Speaking in support of opening the right of way to pedestrians, Celeste Lewis presented a petition signed by 27 neighbors in the Washouga Street/Dosch Road area to the north.
Lewis said the route was much safer than alternatives along busy Sunset Boulevard. Don Baack, chair of SW Trails and president of the neighborhood association, said that the short connector created a pedestrian-friendly route because it closely follows the topography of the area. Others spoke of the convenience of the route as a way to get to the Hillsdale Town Center and the farmers market.
But Joy Pendergrass, who also lives on Seymour Drive, said that an alternative route to the Hillsdale Town center doesn't require going on Sunset. Hikers can simply use 19th Avenue, she said. Barberis said that Seymour neighbors had timed the two routes and that the alternative took only 5 to 12 seconds longer and is no less safe than the cut-through route.
Opponents of the right-of-way said 16 Seymour-area neighbors had expressed opposition to the pedestrian connection.
Installing up-to-code steps would cost "tens of thousands of dollars," Barberis said. "Think of it, tens of thousands of dollars to save five seconds. How would that look in the eyes of the public? "
After the vote, Mark Lear of the City transportation department's pedestrian office said it would be taken into account as the city decides what to do. But, he added, "It is not an easy decision to go against the desires of adjoining property owners."
Liability questions also need to be clarified and addressed, he said. "There are compelling issues on both sides to work through."
Lear said that a "small working group" of the interested parties ought to be formed to address the problems. "We want to make this a win/win," he said.
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PPS approves permanent fence
at Rieke
Construction of the outfield fence around the women's softball field behind Rieke Elementary School was resumed and the permanent fence completed during the week of May 12.
Portland Public Schools had halted construction in late April to investigate whether the fence could be made temporary to allow for other events.
But Bryan Winchester, head of PPS's Facilities and Asset Management, concluded, "a temporary fence would cost several thousand dollars more than the current planned fence."
The permanent fence is being paid for by the parents, players and supporters of the teams using the field. The cost is roughly $13,000.
Winchester also concluded that the school district couldn't provide maintenance, storage and moving costs associated with a temporary fence.
Some in the community, led by Hillsdale Neighborhood Association president Don Baack, had objected to the lack of community notification abut the permanent fence installation. Baack expressed concern that a permanent structure could interfere with other uses.
The softball community, which wants the field used exclusively for the sport as well as Little League games, have been in conflict with those who would like to see an amphitheater share the space.
Baseball supporters and players insist, as parent softball parent Thomas Benke wrote The News in October, that amphitheater uses are "at odds with use by the Wilson softball and Little League baseball programs. It is not just that the field would be over-scheduled, but that the field itself would be damaged, creating hazards for the players."
But Facilities manager Winchester, in a written notice about the resumption of the work on the permanent fence, literally left a gate open to on-going debate by announcing that "to address all the community needs, two gates will be installed that will allow shared use not to conflict with scheduled sporting activities."
At the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting May 7, Baack said he was pleased with the inclusion of the gates to allow access for other potential activities.
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Briefly:
Wilson presents
"Alice in Wonderland"
Wilson'sdrama students take you down the rabbit hole in this adaptation,directed by guest director Matthew Zrebski. Moving away from theclassic Disney film and back towards Carroll's original story, JuniorKorey Sasse plays Alice, dealing with Caterpillars and Twins, Hatters,hares, rabbits, and Queens, on her way back to the real world.
Performances run May 8-10, 7 p.m.,with an afternoon matinee on the 10that 2:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $8/$5 Studentsand Faculty. Seating is limited, so come early for this all-ages show.
Book donations for Hillsdale sale
begin June 29 at market
Collection of donated books for the Hillsdale Alliance Summer Book Sale will begin at the Hillsdale Farmers Market on Sunday, June 29, and continue for the three following markets.
The sale will be Sunday, July 27, at the annual Hillsdale Customer-Appreciation Pancake Breakfast. Sale hours will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The sale site will be next to the breakfast.
DVDs, videos and CDs are also welcomed. Organizers ask that almanacs, dated reference materials, computer manuals, textbooks, magazines, and items in poor condition not be dropped off as there is no market for them.
Donors are encouraged to bring donations in cardboard boxes if possible. The drop-off site is at the north (Capitol Highway) end of the market.
Contributions are tax-deductible.
This summer's sale will be the fifth held by the Hillsdale Alliance, a coalition of Hillsdale organizations and institutions including the three Hillsdale public schools, the library, the Farmers Market, Neighborhood House, SW Trails and the Hillsdale Business and Professional Association.
Proceeds will be used to establish a Hillsdale Community Foundation serving the community through the Alliance members.
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Rick Seifert
Editor, Hillsdale News
(503) 245-7821
editor@hillsdalenews.org
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