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.”
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