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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2012)
February 2012 NEWS Roberts Previews South Corridor Project Fulton Park Community Center (Continued from Page 4) (Continued from Page 1) mal at best.” He called for South Portland to have a seat on an ad- visory committee. “The City talks about Barbur, but we live here 24/7, and we may know a few things that are useful to know,” Danneman said. Board member Jim Davis added, “The jurisdictions hire experts, and they come up with the answers. This entire neighborhood has been impacted by flawed transportation planning. We have to be protected politically, because we can’t be pro- tected from the bureaus.” Roberts replied, “I can’t go back and redo history, but I’ve been on both sides of the expert tables. If you can’t trust your political leaders, it doesn’t matter what the experts say.” According to Roberts, “We get a lot of advice from experts, but we also get input from citizens. We seldom get a unanimous vote, but we do get a consensus. Keep talking to your elected leaders, and not just at public meetings. We would like to know your ideas as soon as you figure them out.” particular component. However, Robinson said, “We were told that to get the savings called for we’d have to close at least one community center.” Fulton, one of the oldest and smallest such facilities in the city’s parks system, seemed a logical choice. So did Buckman Pool, which is owned by the Portland School District and operated by Parks. Pier Park in North Portland was on the short list for potential closure, but its operations are subsidized by non- bureau funds that would be lost if operations ceased, Robinson said. Kirky Doblie, chair of the South- west Neighborhoods, Inc. Parks Committee, had anticipated pos- sible closure of Fulton at the Decem- ber SWNI board meeting and voiced vehement opposition to the idea. The space is well used and “in- credibly vital,” she said. Moreover, she added, neither Multnomah Arts Center nor the Southwest Com- munity Center in Gabriel Park is in a position to absorb the activities and patrons of Fulton in addition to what it is already doing. Accordingly, a large contingent of Fulton supporters was among the 240 people who showed up at a public forum last month, plead- ing for the center to remain open. Whether they achieved their aim was questionable. Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong, public information officer for the Park Bureau, told The Post, “What this showed was that the supporters of Fulton Park [Community Center] are well-organized and vocal. It Stromer Sentenced (Continued from Page 6) dollar. Ginny betrayed the trust of an entire community. She hurt the neighborhood chairs, the seniors and the children who trusted her.” Bogert said she herself has worked 70 hours a week, and volunteers have contributed 1500 hours of service to the office, “to meet our commitments and regain trust.” To allow Stromer to perform com- munity service in lieu of jail “would only put others at risk,” she said. Many people wrote letters on Stromer’s behalf. Shen said Stromer did good things “primarily to fill a void, and doing good was sec- ondary.” Commenting on the let- ters and testimony, Shen said that Stromer “didn’t steal from them; she stole from SWNI over and over and over.” Judge You thanked all testifiers for “helping me make an enor- mously challenging and difficult decision.” She said she found Stromer to be “a kind and gener- ous person. I believe you are truly remorseful. On the other hand, you committed an enormous betrayal of trust of a huge magnitude. “It was not only a betrayal of personal trust, but involved huge sums of money. I do not think a probationary sentence with com- munity service is appropriate.” Beyond this, the judge placed a strong emphasis on restitution, saying all court fees should go to SWNI. Stromer will be able to re- ceive therapy at the Coffee Creek correctional institution, she said. After the hearing, Multnomah County sheriff’s deputies hand- cuffed Stromer and led her away. The Southwest Portland Post • 7 Neighborhood coalition office hires new staff Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. has hired two new part time staff. Susan Haley will be the non-profit’s book- keeper, while Sharon Keast will be newsletter editor and communications assistant. Keast, who has served as Ash Creek neighborhood’s board representative and SWNI’s Second Vice President, resigned from both positions to take the job. SWNI was expected to elect a new second vice-president at its Janu- ary 25 meeting. doesn’t necessarily mean that the center is more important to more city residents than other Parks pro- grams, such as splash pads [circulat- ing water features].” Robinson added, “None of the (proposed) cuts are good. But un- less we can somehow persuade City Council to give parks a smaller share of the cuts, we have to either reduce expenses or find a new source of revenue. The money has to come from somewhere.” Burdick and Devlin meet with voters (Continued from Page 1) state should do more to focus and coordinate economic development funding, Devlin said. Most of those at the meeting did not live in Hillsdale. None discussed topics specific to the neighborhood or southwest Portland. Doug Plambeck, a neighbor of Devlin’s in Tualatin, came “to hear what the senator had to say.” “It was more like an update on the legislature and a history of how we got here,” said Plambeck. “It was very informative.” Plambeck is a board member of Community Partners for Affordable Housing, the nonprofit that built the Watershed senior housing center where the meeting was held. Burdick said she expected much of the feedback she got from vot- ers during the hour-long town hall session. “People are concerned about edu- cation and protecting the vulnerable population from the budget crisis,” Burdick said. “People understand we have to spend limited dollars wisely to get through this crisis.” PoSt a to Z BuSineSS CaRd diReCtoRy 503-244-6933 PRECISION HOME REPAIR & DRYWALL JON A. GOSCH Phone: 503-643-3517 Cell: 503-781-8792 E-mail: precision17@frontier.com Quality work at affordable rates! 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