December 2014
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
Hillsdale residents discuss wildfire danger
By Janet Goetze
The Southwest Portland Post
DANCING A JIG: On a beautiful autumn day with clear, blue sky, musicians and
dancers appeared outside Village Beads as the store celebrated their 10th anniversary in
Multnomah Village. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
HOW SOUTHWEST VOTED
(Continued from Page 3)
voted for Measure 92, which would
require labeling of genetically modified
foods (GMOs). At press time, votes were
still being certified for signatures and are
too close to call.
Kadish brought up the word
“moderacy” several times. He
discussed how divisive Congress is
even within the own ranks.
“It’s either extremist—the Tea Party
for example—or too moderate,”
Kadish explained.
Not conservative or liberal? “It’s
either too extreme or too moderate,”
he repeated.
H e d i d n ’ t v o t e f o r M e a s u re
91(marijuana legalization) and he
didn’t care, although he mentioned
that both Alaska and the District of
Columbia passed similar measures.
Kadish was in favor of Measure
90 (open primaries). “I’m in favor of
policy, not politics,” Kadish said.
Karen, an interior designer from
downtown, said she was a recovering
Republican. She was concerned that
when casting votes, she’s not sure how
her vote is applied if it passes.
“I’m still confused by the arts
tax,” she contemplated. Karen, as
others, could not really name her state
representative or senator.
Karen’s friend, Rachel, from Raleigh
Hills, seemed bewildered on the issues
herself but nonetheless voted. As an
Oregon Health & Science University
nursing student, she is registered
Democrat.
“I really didn’t really follow the
election,” she confessed.
Vicki Wise, who lives in Multnomah
and teaches at Portland State
University, admitted she didn’t
know who her state legislators were.
Southwest Portland’s steep hills
could intensify fire danger for
residents, especially in cul-de-sacs
with only one road for entering and
escaping, Hillsdale residents agreed at
November’s neighborhood association
meeting.
Don Baack said he has urged
planners who are updating the Portland
comprehensive plan to add pedestrian
routes as a way to increase safety in
times of emergencies. He also has
trimmed trees so they don’t hang over
his house and become a fire hazard.
Glenn Bridger said he expects safety,
especially fire safety, to be discussed at
the January meeting of the Hillsdale
Alliance, a consortium of non-profit,
educational and business groups. The
She discussed Measure 86 allowing
statewide funding for post-secondary
education.
Wise also shared her views on
Measure 88 - driver cards for illegal
immigrants. The southwest precincts
approved it by 59 percent, but lost the
general electorate by 66 percent.
Wise is for general amnesty and
wants to make the system fair but was
surprised by those who voted against
labeling GMOs.
“You will now know what’s in your
marijuana,” Wise said, “but not in
your food!”
She voted no on Measure 91 stating
that “there is still not enough research
on how people will behave and not
enough info about how the measure
will play out.”
Because of lack of knowledge about
individuals, participants unanimously
agreed they voted along party lines for
all local, state, and national candidates.
meeting tentatively is planned for Jan.
21 at 7 p.m. at the Watershed Building
meeting room (Southwest Bertha Court
and Capitol Highway).
A wake-up call for him, Bridger said
at the neighborhood meeting, was the
September grass fire that swept up a
hillside near the Terwilliger Boulevard
and Capitol Highway intersection,
producing enough smoke to set off
nearby fire alarms. Fortunately, he said,
the fire stayed near the highway where
fire trucks could reach it, and the flames
were quickly extinguished.
“If that fire had been in George
Himes Park, where fire trucks couldn’t
get to it, it could have moved up the
ravine to Hillsdale and Wilson High
School,” Bridger said in an interview
after the meeting.
The possibility of fire spreading in the
neighborhood was a personal concern
to him, Bridger said, because he lives on
Vincent Place at the end of a cul-de-sac.
At the time of the Capital Highway
fire, he said, “We heard the sirens and
we smelled the smoke, but we didn’t
know where it was coming from.”
Bridger said several city bureaus
should be brought into discussions
about safety, including the Office
of Emergency Management, which
assists Neighborhood Emergency
Teams with information and training.
NET preparations emphasize how to
respond to a major earthquake, Bridger
said, but fire safety could become a part
of training, also.
He said the people who attend
Hillsdale Alliance meetings need to
educate themselves about fire and
other safety issues. Then they need to
take information to the groups they
represent.
“By having a discussion, we can
better educate ourselves and learn
what the best solutions are,” Bridger
said.
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