Montavilla Neighborhood Association Newsletter – July 2011
- The Montavilla Neighborhood Association will be on hiatus for the month of August. There will be no general or topic meeting so there will be no notes to tell you what you missed. We all look forward to seeing you in September.
- The Montavilla Neighborhood Association still has a number of positions open on its board of directors, including secretary and community events chair. For details call Brian Wong at 971-221-4718 or e-mail him atwong.brian@yahoo.com
- Montavilla Neighborhood Association yard signs have arrived. They’re bright yellow, they announce the monthly meetings and you can be the first person on your block to have one by contacting Lew Scholl at lewscholl@msn.com
- The Portland Sunday Parkways offer a unique opportunity to ride a bike along closed streets on routes that connect parks. The Southeast Portland ride takes place on Sunday, Aug. 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Northeast Portland ride happens on Sunday, Sept. 25 from noon to 5:00 p.m. To check out the route and plan your day, please visithttp://portlandsundayparkways.org/ (no “www” required) or call the Portland Bureau of Transportation at 503-823-5185.
- Thatcher’s annual brew festival takes place on Saturday, Aug. 20 from noon to 9:00 p.m. at 7906 S.E. Stark St. In addition to good beer, the festival will feature music, food, billiards and, hopefully, some genuinely summer-esque weather. If you feel a tinge of guilt about spending a Saturday afternoon at beer-based event, just remind yourself that Thatcher’s donates the proceeds from this event to the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, which awards it to an organization or individual working to make a positive impact on the quality of life in Montavilla.
- If there’s a disaster of any type, knowing how to shut off your natural gas is important. To learn more about this and other subjects that are critical during an emergency, please visit www.portlandonline/oem
The Montavilla Neighborhood Forum:
If you’re a Montavillan who owns a Toyota truck, beware. During a Portland police officer’s update on local crime trends, it was revealed that thefts of catalytic converters from these particular vehicles are on the rise. Should you be unfortunate enough to experience such a theft, please contact the Portland Police Bureau at 503-823-3333 immediately. The bureau is monitoring the theft of scrap metal, which is on the upswing, and trying to determine if the thefts are the handiwork of practitioners who have been released from jail or if there’s a new crew on the scene.
Attendees at the July Montavilla Neighborhood Association voted to donate the money raised at Thatcher’s annual beer festival to the efforts underway at the former Wilcox Elementary School, which is located on N.E. 74th Ave. between N.E. Glisan St. and N.E. Halsey St. and is currently used as a service center for people with special needs. The project commenced nearly a year ago and has been driven primarily by input and enthusiasm from the neighborhood. The group originally wanted to install a cob bench but, due to exorbitant costs, switched to a wood model that, according to one of the presenters, “can be brought in and installed with no drama.” In addition to building and installing the bench, the group will use the proceeds donated by Thatcher’s to build and install two poetry posts, the content of which will be maintained and regularly updated by neighborhood volunteers.
The Montavilla Neighborhood Association meets twice each month at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, located at 232 S.E. 80th Ave., where parking is both free and plentiful. The general meeting takes place on the second Monday of each month* at 7:30 p.m. and includes free childcare services. On the fourth Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., the association hosts a meeting dedicated to delving deeply into one specific topic or issue. To request a spot on the agenda of either meeting, please contact Brian Wong at wong.brian57@yahoo.com. To participate, the only requirement is your presence.
*There will be no meeting on Aug. 8 or Aug. 22, 2011
