In May, 2010, the Volunteers of America Men’s Residential (MRC) awarded their Al Forthan Memorial Recovery Scholarship. This scholarship has been awarded annually since 2006 in honor of Al Forthan. Al was a heroin addict and crime lord in inner northeast Portland for almost 30 years. He entered treatment at the MRC, took his recovery seriously, and changed everything about his life. He continued on to Portland Community College and entered their program to become a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. After he graduated, he was hired by the MRC: the first client to come back and be a staff member. Al was a phenomenal, life-changing counselor for ten years before passing away in 2006. He epitomized that anyone, no matter what his or her past, could have a healthy and happy life and change the world for the better.
Foodshare Fund Northeast
Foodshare Fund Northeast, a project of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN), is in full swing. For the second year they are providing matching funds for neighbors using food stamps to buy fresh, local food at the King Farmers Market. This year, in response to a growing and urgent need, they’ve expanded the program. Nearly one in five Oregonians are now receiving food stamps, 39% of them children. Foodshare Fund NE provides funds from the community — businesses, community groups, neighbors — to match food stamps spent dollar for dollar, up to $10 per week. Last year, the average match was $234 per Sunday. This year it has been $896.
Solar Power in Eliot: A diary
Written by Shara Alexander
SolarCity- So Far, So Good
In late March we contacted Solarize Northeast to see whether it was feasible to put solar panels on our roof. SolarCity was the contractor selected by Solarize Northeast to do the installation and technical support. The company started in Australia, but is currently the leading residential installer in the U.S. The competition in solar installation is strong and you do get the sense as a residential customer that you are being wooed, but I was given the information I needed from SolarCity without too much sales pressure.
Oregon Action Healthy Kids
All children need health care. Unfortunately, too many kids don’t have health coverage, which means they don’t get the health care they need when they need it. That’s why Oregon Healthy Kids, a newly expanded health coverage program for uninsured children, will help make sure every child in the state has health insurance.
King Farmers Market Reopens May 2
The King Farmers Market will open its second season on Sunday, May 2, at 10:00 am at NE 7th and Wygant. The market will continue every Sunday, 10 am to 2 pm, through October 31.
Port City Digs New Garden
Port City Development will plant a vegetable garden this spring on a vacant lot near Williams and Tillamook. The half-acre lot is being loaned free-of-charge by Jim Howell, a retired architect and building planner. Port City Development is a non-profit organization in Eliot that serves adults with developmental disabilities.
Al Forthan Memorial Recovery Scholarship
The Volunteers of America Men’s Residential Center (MRC) is again offering their Al Forthan Memorial Recovery Scholarship. Eight scholarships, totaling $9,500, will be awarded in May 2010 to Portland-area graduating high school seniors.
Last Chance to Solarize
Registration for the extraordinarily popular Solarize Northeast project closes April 15. Solarize Northeast is a volunteer-driven, community-based volume purchasing project for solar electric panels organized by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods. More than 600 homeowners have already signed up for the opportunity to purchase solar panels at a 35% discount from market rates.
Making Eliot Greener
178 trees planted…
Hundreds of volunteers…
4 NE Portland neighborhoods…
Numerous new acquaintances and friendships made.
It’s the annual Friends of Trees (FoT) Planting in NE Portland! The event commenced Saturday morning February 13th. The day began rather dreary but as my husband rallied the crowd to a chant of “It never rains on planting day!” the drizzle stopped for a few hours while about a hundred people came together to help plant trees.
Volunteer to Help Plant Trees
The Eliot Neighborhood Friends of Trees planting will be on Saturday February 13th. Volunteers are needed to help make this planting a success. It’s a great way to get to know your neighbors and help improve the neighborhood.
The Story of the Neighborhood Owl
The owl turned up on Tillamook Street right before Thanksgiving.
My wife, Shara, noticed some crows having a fit about something in an old birch tree in our yard on a Monday morning. To her surprise, there appeared to be a Great Horned Owl sitting on a branch 30 feet up. She told my cousin, Liz, an avid birder who lives behind us on Thompson Street. We pulled out the binoculars. We gawked. We pointed it out to passersby, including a troupe of children from a nearby pre-school. It wasn’t just the crows who were upset. A pair of hummingbirds that live in our yard buzzed the owl repeatedly. But the owl — he? she? — barely flinched. At one point, it moved its neck suddenly and — I swear — a crow that was squawking at it jumped. We saw the owl’s talons through the binoculars. They looked sharp and powerful. We figured a predator like that isn’t easily perturbed. I called the Portland Audubon Society. They were impressed. They said Great Horned Owls are rarely seen in the city. Shara and I continued to tell everyone we could find. The owl was still in the birch tree at dusk when our daughters got home from school, so they got a chance to see it. Liz had the great fortune of seeing the great bird fly off before the sun completely set.
Solarize Northeast Kicks Off
Would you like to save money, save energy, and help save the planet? An exciting new initiative can help you and your Northeast Portland neighbors do all that and make your home more comfortable at the same time.
Sign up for a Tree!
Get a tree for just $30 through the Friends of Trees neighborhood planting. Eliot neighbors and Friends of Trees will plant trees Saturday February 13. Your deadline to sign up is December 21st! Sign up now at www.friendsoftrees.org . Click the “Order Street and Yard Trees” button to start.
23rd Annual Fix-It Fair
Now in their 23rd year, Fix-It Fairs are FREE events designed to help Portland residents save money, live healthier and connect to valuable resources. Fix-It Fair offers day-long exhibits, hourly how-to classes and free giveaways. Three fairs are available this winter season at various locations around the city.
M.I.K.E. Program Mural
In the past year the west wall of the Northeast Portland Renal Center on Northeast Seventh Avenue at Hancock Street has undergone a dramatic change, from solid white to an explosion of color. Its many images each convey a message, while the total enterprise, the work of many people, meets so many purposes.
Eliot Neighborhood 