December 2008
The Southwest Portland Post • 9
fEatuRES
Ainsworth playground would honor memory of Julia Reimann
By Kate Bennett
Special to The Southwest Portland Post
At the Southwest Hills Residential
League (SWHRL) meeting on Novem-
ber 19, Nancy Zadoff and her committee
gave a PowerPoint presentation on a
proposal to build a new playground at
Ainsworth Elementary School to honor
a student who was killed in a plane
crash last August.
With passion in her voice, Zadoff
stated that the Ainsworth School Play-
ground Proposal Committee members
want to “create a memorial field for
Julia Reimann.”
For those who are unfamiliar with the
tragedy that struck the Reimann fam-
ily, in early August, the Reimanns were
hosting a family reunion and vacation
in a beach rental in Gearhart, Oregon.
Around 6:30am on August 4th, a Cessna
172 crashed into their house.
[Editor’s Note: The pilot and a passenger
who had been on board the plane when it
crashed were killed. The pilot was identified
as Jason Ketcheson, 36, of Cannon Beach.
His passenger was Frank Toohey, 58, of
Warrenton.]
Ruth Johnson-Reimann, 47, Christo-
pher Reimann, 13, and Sarah Reimann,
11, all of Southwest Portland, were seri-
ously injured.
The Reimann’s youngest daughter,
Julia Reimann, 10, died in the accident.
Julia’s cousins Hesam Farrar Masoudi,
12, and Grace Masoudi, 8, both of Den-
ver, also died in the accident.
Zadoff explained why the commit-
tee wants to create a field at Ainsworth
School. “A field always gives back,” she
remarked. She also stated that it would
be “in celebration of Julia.”
Committee member Matt Reimann,
Julia’s father, stated that the plan is
to “upgrade the existing blacktop to a
multi-use synthetic turf.” The turf will
have shock absorbing properties that
will facilitate safe play. Reimann noted
that the school children have not been
able to play tag for four years due to
the blacktop.
Jim Thayer, President of SWHRL,
asked the committee whether they had
thought about the spring that runs
underneath the blacktop. He explained
that the spring has been an issue for
a “long time” and that the reason the
school laid the blacktop was to prevent
water from rising to the surface.
Committee member and Ainsworth
parent Katy Disbrow noted that they
will speak with the engineers about
this, as well as the necessity of leveling
the field.
According to the presentation, green
practices will be used on the project, as
the 13,000 sq. ft. synthetic turf will slow
storm water run-off into existing sewer
system. They are also looking into
directing run-off into the neighboring
Tanner Creek tributary.
The estimated project cost is between
$350,000 and $380,000. Reimann stated
that they would like to have the project
done by August 2009.
The project, although in its early
stages, has been well-received. Accord-
ing to the presentation, Portland Public
Schools supports the project and is pro-
viding staff assistance. Portland Public
Schools has also agreed to incorporate
this project into their monthly reviews
with the Bureau of Design Services.
The committee has already received
over $100,000 in in-kind donations, with
WRG Design, Inc. providing civil en-
gineering and Robinson Construction
providing site preparation. Fundraising
will continue in sequential phases, first
with corporations and foundations,
then with the public through broad
events.
The group is also working on a web-
site (www.juliareimann45.org) that will
allow people to donate through PayPal.
The committee is very excited about this
project, and as Zadoff remarked, “We
want 100 percent of the school families
involved in some way.”
The next general membership meet-
ing is scheduled for January 21 st , 2009.
SWHRL is contemplating the option of
hosting the Reimann project committee
at that time.
South Portland neighbors disagree on pedestrian
trail to OHSU
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
The Portland Office of Transporta-
tion is currently working on plans for
a proposed pedestrian bridge from
the South Waterfront to the Lair Hill
communities underneath the aerial
tram along the Southwest Gibbs Street
right of way.
Less well publicized are plans for
a designated path that would allow
pedestrians and bicyclists to continue
uphill to the Oregon Health and Sci-
ences University – and there is some
disagreement about where this should
be.
Original plans called for the path to
follow the Gibbs right of way. How-
ever, at last month’s South Portland
Neighborhood Association meeting,
several people said it would make more
sense for the route to jog one block
south to Southwest Whitaker Street for
at least part of the way.
Architect John Perry, who has been
working on the pedestrian path plans
on behalf of the neighborhood, pushed
for the original plan. Due to the tram,
and improvements on the land below
it, “Gibbs has taken on a unique char-
acter, and is the obvious route.”
There is virtue to having the route
pursue a straight line, he said.
Jennifer Daniluc, a board member
and owner of the Ross Island Grocery,
disagreed. “Nobody crosses First
Avenue at Gibbs; every body crosses
at Whitaker,” she argued. “Why not
improve the (existing) trail at Whitaker,
where it’s safe?”
“The trail is terrible,” Perry retorted.
Board member Jim Gardner agreed that
the existing trail is dark, “meanders,”
and in places comes within a few feet
of private property. However, he said,
the Gibbs route would involve utilizing
a stairway with 50 steps, which would
be difficult for bicyclists.
TriMet changes
(Continued from Page 7)
come at the expense of the older neigh-
borhood to the west. The National Col-
lege of Natural Medicine has added its
voice to the opposition for the same rea-
son. “We’re as geographically isolated
as any place in the city,” vice-president
Sue Yirku said.
TriMet is also considering altering the
#8 bus line to give more direct service to
Terwilliger Plaza, Mills said. To
facilitate movement and loading, the
agency plans to ask the city to remove
a loading zone. In exchange, TriMet
would remove an existing bus stop,
for a net gain of “one or two” parking
spaces, Mills said.
South Portland Transportation Com-
mittee chair Bill Danneman said his
committee didn’t see it that way. Ac-
cording to Danneman, the neighbor-
hood was never consulted about, and
never agreed to, installation of the bus
stop in the first place. The route change
will “exacerbate an existing traffic prob-
lem,” he said.
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