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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1986)
May 21. 1986. Portland Observer. Page 3 Neighborhood Rebuilds, Funds Available l>\ Huh l.tuhnm Danny Chavez and friends »ere ready to lease for a holiday dinner on the jliem oon of Jan I Chavez had his hand on a doorknob in his house, lo- caled fx-t»een Northeast Fremont and Beech on ItXh Ase . »hen a huge exp losion ble» the door out ot its traineand kixxkcd Chjsez across ihe nxim A halt bios k away on Beech St . IX>n Nickerson, unemployed and de pressed, had turned his house into a giant bomb by Tilling it » ith natural gas Niskerson died in the expkision. uhich sk-stroyed five houses and dam aged IK ' Miraculously. no one else »as killed or seriously injured A large vacant lot at the comer o f litth and Beech occupies the site »here Nukerson's and surrounding homes once stood A child's toy remains »edged into a cyclone tcnce, and a pair ot pants flutters in the breeze high in a tree across ihe street — mute reminders o, ihe power ol tire explosion Some neighborhood residents moved, others stayed and repaired their damaged houses Chavez and others have had trouble getting insurance set dements Many renters in the neighborhood had no insurance to cover the loss ot personal possessions and the cost ot relixaling Several homes remain boarded up I he pastor ot a neighhortxxxl church uorried that the vacant houses »ould attiact transients and lurther blight the Io»-income neighborhixxl He »ants t lx* m torn down tin the bright side, contractors con tinue extensive renxxlelmg »ork on the damaged homes, »ork »orth thousands ol dollars A group of investors is inter eled in putting up row houses on the former homesites. and the city has an nounced that up to S54XI may he availa ble lor minor repairs on houses not co vered by insurance Those unable to receive help else» here turned Io the Red Cross The Oregon Trail Chapter distributed $19,000 to 82 families affected by the blast through March 2 1. including $-1.44X1 given to Nickerson's wife and live children len neighborhtxxl residents »ere slightly injured in the blast, including Chavez and his seven-month old daugh ter. Chavez and his family are living at another house while they »ait for an insurance settlement Glass and debris lies scattered in the living nxim o f their vacant boarded-up house Plaster has (alien from the ceiling and walls A vacant lot next door where a house stood before the expkision is now home to a pair o f mean-kxiking Gennan shepherds. "W e 're having a lot o f problems with insurance." Chavez said A con tractor sent by their insurance company estimated $b,(XXI for Ihe damage, he said. » hile other estimates ranged up to $18,000. The fig u re is being negotiated, Chavez said They had hoped to move back in Feb ruary, but now their family hopes for sometime later this spring Around the corner, the small wood-frame home that was once home to Barbara Sailas and her two daughters stands askew on its foundation, its windows boarded up Houses nearby display tor rent and for sale signs Sailas remembers debris flying through the air, and "w ires dangling overhead My daughters thought it was the end ot the w o rld ." she said about the blast They laid on the floor until alter a third explosion, then discoverd that their rented house had been kmxked o ff its foundation Sailas and her daughters had no in surance to cover the loss ol furniture, clothes and other personal effects, or to pay for the move to another house tw o ' TO FIND OUT WHY. CALL: from the cits for a needs assessment survey ot ncigl.lx- IxxxJ irsidenis at tested by the blast League vice piesick-nt Carol lentz said a k>ng lime neighborhcxxl resident »as hiied Io go elixir to ckxx in tlx- six b lix k area to ask residents »hai ihev need I entz said that giants o f up to $5tX) per household aie available through the Poitland Bureau ot Community IX- velopnx-nt lor minor outside repairs to houses ix>t covered by insurance and whose owners aie unable to do tlx- re pair work tlx-mselves W hat we re trying to do is tmd out how extensive the damage w as," lentz said H opelully. the city » ill take the inlonuation aixl provide some kinds ot programs so that ,x*o|'lc can gel their belore the blast Portland IX-velpment Commission representative Cindy Roach said a technical ads isory group w iih represen Ulives from several city agencies is nx-eting to develop a strategy " lo r re building Beech Slreet " Roach said S»®*“ OVER M rs. C ’s W igs Mie t u r i W eak« “it ’• a u m ' BUY AT WHOLESALE NO LIMIT! Nite o f January I expkiskin Ihal killx-d I person and left others homeless. Photo by Richard J. Brown blocks away That house »as also dam aged, and Sailas. »ho hurt her back last year and lost her job. does repair »ork on the house to pay the rent ' ‘ I've just kind o f basically started o ve r.'' she said Other homeowners had better luck » ith insurance settlements and things are more or less back to normal lor them M j I x -I W ilbom and her husband, for example, »ho have lived in the house across the street from the Chavezes for 42 years, sullercd SI2.1XX) in damages to their house She refxvrted "not one bit o f trouble" »ith the insurance company Remodeling on their house is already complete, she said \ ix.-» greenhouse tvjx- window ex tends from the south vide ol Coleen Pearson's house, kxated three lots north ol the blast site oil ItXh f or the most part, everything’ s fx-en taken care o l. " Patterson said Rev W G Hardy. pastor ot Ml Sinai Chuuh ol (n xl in Chust at the coiner ol ItXh aixl Beech, said that in addition («extensive damage caused bv ihe blast, tlx- church has lost nx-mbers and its schixil »as deccititicd. creating a lin a ix i.il buiden He aixl his w ile. Anorvia Hardy, hojx-d that the vacant houses across the street could fx.- lorn down belore they attiact transients Meanwhile Ihe I rbail I e.iene ol Portland has received a SCI C giant 62ri ol the homes damaged in the bias were rentals " A lm o s t 50% ol homeowner» had no insurance cover age." she said I lx- broker said that plans involve buvmg up six contiguous kits, but he stressed that nothing is definite 8c lb. Hour 49 c Itina Fish b ‘ i oz 3$1 Alpo IXighxxl, 1 5-oz Dry IXighxxl Name brand mix $8 49 50 lbs 59c 4 )J. frozen 12 oz * A LSO * $24 99 Cosco Baby Stroller Huffy Workhorse' $129 95 Exerciser FOODST AMPS .W ELC O M E! r - * $8.95 Belt»C»6ina Propnatix 10-50% o ff Wxjs. Hairpieces, Braxls. 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