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/Community
C td e n d a r
Mexico Community
Celebration
Celebrate the colorful heritage o f
Mexico at the free Spring in Mexico
C om m unity Celebration, Friday,
June 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
Holladay Park Plaza Retirem ent
Com m unity, 1300 N.E. 16lhAve.
RSVPs are appreciated by calling
503-280-2216.
Restoring Wood Workshop
Learn about the Four R 's o f V in­
tage W oodwork: Restore, Repair,
Replace or R enovate? Saturday,
J u ne 3 from 9:30 a.m . to noon at the
Architectural Heritage Center, 701
S.E. Grand Ave. Admission is $ 10
for AHC m em bers and $ 15 for the
general public.
Hawthorne Second Thursday
Hawthorne Avenue will stay open
a little longeron Thursday, June 8,
w ith p a rtic ip a tin g b u sin e sse s
hosting open houses, local artists
and other special events for Sec­
ond Thursday. For m ore inform a-
w w w .th in k h a w
tio n
v isit
thom e.com .
Business
Association Meeting
North/Northeast Business A sso­
ciation Board meets the first M on­
day o f each month from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. at Albina Community Bank,
2002 N.E. MLK Blvd. Food and
refreshm ents provided by Pizza-
A-GoGo; RSVPat 503-284-9013.
Cycle the Well Field
Join the Portland W ater Bureau
and C olum bia Slough W atershed
Council for a bike tour through
Portland’s G roundw ater Protec­
tion Area, Saturday, June 10 from
9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Parkrose
Transit Center, N ortheast Sandy
Boulevard and 95th Avenue. To
register call Jill Wall at 503-281-
1132orem ailjill.w all@ colum bia
slough.org.
Run/Walk for Arthritis Help
The first annual 5K run/walk for
the Child A rthritis and Rheum a­
tology Research Alliance will kick
off on Sunday. June 11 at8:30a.m .
at the Main Street Plaza on the
Eastbank Esplanade in Portland.
To
p r e - r e g is te r
v is it
w w w .signm eupsports.com and
fo r m o re in f o rm a tio n v is it
www.CARRAgroup.org.
‘How's Your Memory?’
A free com m unity forum hosted
by the P rovidence C enter on A g­
ing addresses the topic o f aging
and fo rg etfu ln ess, 7 p.m . on
T hursday, June 15 at Providence
St. V in cen t M ed ical C e n te r,
S o u ther A uditorium , 9205 S. W.
Barnes Road. For m ore inform a­
tion call Renee K ing at 503-513-
8404.
Vancouver Junior Symphony
Advocating for Minority Business
Sam Brooks
honored for
lifetime
dedication
A strong advocate for m inor­
ity, w om en and em erging small
business in Oregon and the re­
gion has been recognized for his
lifetime dedication to advancing
business and individual success
Portland State University Presi­
dent Daniel Bem stine presented
the 2006 Vanport Legacy Award
to Samuel Brooks in front o f a
cro w d that inclu d ed B ro o k s'
friends, colleagues and co-w ork­
ers attending the recent Oregon
Association o f M inority Entre­
preneurs Annual Luncheon.
The second annual award spon­
sored by the PSU School o f Ex­
tended Studies honors outstand­
ing contributions to com m unity Sam Brooks of the Oregon Association o f Minority Entrepreneurs is bestowed the Vanport Legacy
success.
Award from Portland State University.
MMMHMHMMMI
continued
on page AS
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Housing Site to F ace Park, Light Rail
TriMet picks
design team
Plans are set for redevelopm ent
o f a large parcel o f land ju st south
o f the Killingsworth MAX station,
Patton Square Park and the Inter­
state Firehouse Cultural Center.
TriM et, the metro area’s transit
agency, announced that REACH
Com m unity Development wil 1 lead
a team to design new housing on
the property in the 5200 block of
North Interstate A venue, currently
home to the Crown Motel.
“REACH shares Tri M et’s com ­
mitment tocreating new housing in
the Killingsworth MAX station area
that will be an asset to the neigh­
borhood and provide housing op­
tions for households affected by
rising housing prices in north and
northeast Portland,” said TriM et
G eneral M anager Fred Hansen.
“We want all the exciting things
happening around light rail to be
accessible to everyone in our com ­
munity.”
Since 1982, REACH has devel­
oped more than I ,(XX) units o f af­
fordable housing in Portland, most
recently com pleting Station Place
T ow er in the Pearl District, a 14-
story building providing 176 units
o f m ixed-incom e housing for eld­
erly people.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
The Crown Motel on Interstate Avenue will give way to new housing just across the street from Patton Square Park and steps away
from both the Max Killingsworth Light Rail Station and Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center.
“We are excited to have this
opportunity to be part of the renais­
sance on Interstate Avenue," said
Dee Walsh, REACH executive di­
rector. “The potential is enorm ous,
so it’s critical to do the first projects
well and set a high standard.”
The redevelopment site is across
the street from Patton Square Park.
The Crow n Motel currently occu­
pies half the site. The rem ainder o f
the property is vacant. TriM et pur­
chased the site with federal funds
designated to stim ulate station area
development. The money was made
available w hen the Interstate MAX
light rail project was com pleted
under budget and ahead o f sched­
Support the future o f music in
s o u th w e s t W a s h in g to n at a
fundraising concert for the Junior
Sym phony o f V ancouver, featur­
ing Bach, Handel and others, S at­
urday. June 17. Early auction be­
gins at 7 p.m. and concert begins
at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, avail­
able at the door or by calling 360-
696-4084, extension 5.
ule in May 2004.
SER A A rchitects and W alsh
Construction Co. will be part o f the
REACH team. The architectural firm
d esigned a 14-story residential
building on the North Park Blocks
in 2004, and the current Civic rede­
velopm ent project at Southw est
19th and Burnside.
The new North Interstate project
program and design, including the
num ber o f units and sizes, com m er­
cial com ponents, height and style,
will be developed in consultation
with the surrounding com m unity
and in response to available re­
sources. The team hopes to com ­
plete the project by September 2008.
Distinguished
Service Award
Loaves and Fishes Lunch
Sixth Grader leads by example
S en iors, jo in the C herry B los­
som C enter L oaves and F ishes
for lunch, M onday through F ri­
day from 11:30a.m. to 12:30p.m.
Each meal includes salad, bread,
b ev erages, your choice o f tw o
en trees and d essert, fo r the su g ­
gested donation o f $2.75. C herry
B lossom C en ter is in the East
Portland Com m unity Center, 740
S.E. 106*.
community service
“W e are recognizing individu­
als, programs and organizations that
reflect our com m itm ent to the com ­
m unity, and Sam truly reflects that
com m itm ent,” said Bem stine. "By
engaging with the com m unity we
ensure Portland State University is
a great place not only for learning
and research, but is supportive o f
our com m unity’seconom ic growth
and
liv a b ili ty .”
After four years in the Navy, Brooks
has spent the rest o f his life advo­
cating for sm all, w om en, minority
and em erging small businesses.
H e founded and operated S.
Brooks and A ssociates, a north­
east Portland em ploym ent agency,
and in 1987 form ed the Oregon
Association o f M inority E ntrepre­
neurs, w hich has grow n to becom e
the largest m inority and most d i­
verse business association in the
Pacific Northwest.
Under Brooks' direction, OAM E
now provides technical assistance
and access to capital, m atching
Erin Chamberlain (left) who led an effort that brought $30,000 worth of gifts and money to
Hurricane Katrina first responder families in Mississippi, receives the Portland Police Bureau's
Distinguished Service Medal from Chief Rosie Sizer.
Eleven-year-old Erin Cham ber-
lain proved that with a little spiritual
guidance and a lot o f kindness,
anything is possible.
Cham berlain,a6'h Grader at Dex­
ter M cC arty M iddle School in
Gresham , led an effort that brought
$30,000 in gifts and donations to
children o f first responders in the
Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas of
Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss.
Her trem endous work in bring­
ing smiles to these devastated fam i­
lies, and, in dem onstrating true
com m unity spirit, earned her the
Portland Police B ureau's D istin­
guished Service Medal.
“I felt God wanted me to help the
children who suffered through the
hurricane," said Chamberlain, whose
father Scott Chamberlain is a detec­
tive for the Portland Police Bureau. “I
felt he wanted me to take care o f the
children o f the rescuers.”
During Hurricane Katrina, the
shock felt am ong G ulf Coast police,
firefighters, em ergency m edical
technicians, dispatchers and other
first responders doubled. Many
saw their own hom es dam aged,
fam ilies displaced, or lives d is­
rupted ju st like the people they
were trying to help. Their dual sta­
tus o f victi ms and responders made
“E rin 's Project” much more than an
em ergency supply mission.
W ith the additional sponsorship
from A laska A irlines, w hich do-
continued
on page A5
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