Preserving Local Homes, Neighborhoods continued from Front " T h e re ’s an ongo in g struggle for this black h isto ry ,” she says, g estu rin g o ff her porch to the building that once held Mt. O livet B a p tist’s congreg atio n . "W hen I first cam e to P ortland (in 1948), all o f this w as housing. W e ’re com ing into a phase now w here w e co u ld h av e an o th e r negative-equity situation that will d estroy the rem n a n ts," she says. B ut the e ffo rts to p re se rv e P o rtla n d ’s black legacy w ill not en d w ith people like B radford, if n e ig h b o r h o o d h is to r ia n R oy R oos g ets his way. R oos, 45, w ho q uit his fulltim e su rv e y o r jo b d u rin g th e ‘9 0s b u ild in g b o o m to b e c o m e a handym an specializing in historic- resto ratio n , takes the loss o f c u l­ tural sig n ifican ce to heart. “ It’s so depressin g how if you lo o k th r o u g h th e a d s in ( P o r tla n d ’s firs t b la c k -o w n e d n e w sp a p e r) the A d v o c a te , all those busin esses are gone, gone, g o n e ,” he says. T ak in g p articu la r care in d ig ­ g ing up w hat evid en ce he can o f this A frican-A m erican heritage, R oos searches ev ery th in g from O regon H istorical Society records to a series o f rec o llec tio n s g a th ­ ered by the B osco M illigan F oun­ dation. H is d ec ad e-o ld volum e on the Irvington n eig h b o rh o o d p roduced in c re ase d aw a re n ess that becam e a key fa c to r in h is­ toric co n serv atio n . “ H istory is te ch n ic ally su p ­ posed to help m ake sure that we d o n 't m ake the sam e m istakes again," says B radford. "I h a v e n ’t seen m any lessons learn ed by those d ealing in A lb in a.” R o o s' "H isto ry o f A lb in a” re ­ search will also have personal significance w hen he ex p ects to publish it in ab o u t tw o m onths. He lives in a V icto rian house that had served M t. O liv et for the m any d ecades th at the p arso n ­ age hosted every black p o litician w ho cam e thro u g h tow n. W hen develo p ers th reaten ed to te ar it dow n, he m oved the 1899 stru c ­ ture six blo ck s north to a safer fo undation. W hile h isto ric reg istry now protects that V icto rian , the sam e level o f preserv atio n is not guar- I’lio r o in R aymond R endi . eman /T iie P orti xnd O b s ir m r R o y R o o s a n d P auline B radford h a ve c r e a te d a pow erful p a rtn ersh ip w h e n it c o m e s to p ro tectin g local A frican-Am erican h erita g e like th e fo rm er B a p tist church n e a r th e R o s e Q uarter co lise u m . anteed for B ra d fo rd 's p roperties that w ere built by the F low ers, one o f the first A frican -A m erican fam ilies in Portland. T h e c ity h a s i d e n tif ie d B ra d fo rd 's land as m ore suitable for h ig h -d en sity co m m ercial and industrial uses req u irin g p ro x im ­ ity to m ajo r th o ro u g h fares. S erv ­ ing as extra in cen tiv e to tu rn o v er th e re sid e n c e s, a s se ss o rs sent h er notice o f o v er $ 3 0 0 0 ad d i­ tional she can ex p ect to pay in taxes due to the a re a 's prop o sed streetcar system . B radford agues that g o v e rn ­ m ental p o licies should be fo r the b e n e fit o f e v e ry o n e an d th a t p ro g ress is carried too far w hen it com es at the ex p en se o f m inority g ro u p s. B elieving "she w o n ’t let those houses go for an y th in g ," R oos, a self-d escrib ed “h ard co re history b u f f , ” a ls o w o r r ie s a b o u t B ra d fo rd 's stren g th w an in g in the fight against th e ir d e stru c ­ tion. "If it com es dow n to it. I'm not going to let any d ev e lo p e r get aw ay w ith w hat w ould am o u n t to m u rd er," Roos says. Lead Paint Dangers Abound at Home Make sure your family is safe Free Help to Reduce Lead, Test Kids S arah G ourde Lead-based paint is very com ­ mon and very toxic. Industry has used it in everything from gasoline, jew elry, make-up, toys, household paint, and a num ber o f other appli­ cations for thousands o f years. It is relatively cheap and its properties m ade engines run sm oother and paint colors more vivid and du­ rable. Great for industry, toxic for all living things. G iven that lead is so poisonous, many parents o f young children are very concerned that lead is still A child p la y s n e a r a w indow th a t currently used in m any every day objects in and around the home, orapartm ent was built before 1978, it may contain lead-based paint. If including their child’s toys. W hile lead -b ased paint w as lead-based paint is intact or cov­ banned from residential use in 1978, ered over by many layers o f paint, recent stories o f toys recalled for it usually is not a hazard but if it is lead-based paint and garden hoses disturbed, it has the potential to made with lead containing plastic create a dangerous situation espe­ have many people asking how they cially for young children and preg­ can m ake sure that their family is nant women. W ater leaks, daily wear and tear, safe. T he first step is to assess painted friction on doors and w indow s, or surfaces in your home. I f your home deterioration can all lead to paint by co u ld c o n ta in le a d paint. failure and the creation o f lead dust. Even a little lead dust is enough to poison a child and it is the dust that you c a n 't see that is the most dan­ gerous. It will take a concerted and sus­ tained effort but knocking out lead poisoning is vital to the health of the youngest am ong us. Sarah Gourde is the lead grant- program coordinator fo r the Port­ land Development Commission. Goal is healthier, safer homes ing prevention w orkshops that p rovide a good overview . PDC does screenings for lead at m any n eig h b o rh o o d e v e n ts an d the public is en co u rag ed to bring je w e lry , pottery and toys to be screen ed . Fam ilies can address all three steps at the Lents Lead Event on T hursday, April 24 in Lents at Kelly Elem entary School, 9030 S.E. C ooper, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m . P IX ’ will be there w ith free dust w ipe kits and toy sc reen ­ ing. T he Josiah Hill III C lin ic will provide blood lead testing an d th e C o m m u n ity E n erg y Project is co n d u ctin g a free lead poisoning prevention w orkshop. HOST HOMES AT H ELENS Helping Low Income Seniors C om m unity Energy Project has received a grant from the M etro North Portland Enhancem ent Fund to provide safety-related yard de­ bris removal, guttercleaning, smoke alarm testing, household hazard­ ous-w aste removal, and door and w indow -screen m ending for 30 qualified north Portland house­ holds. The project will run from April I to May 31. To qualify, a household must meet the income guidelines and have members who arc 55 and over orhaveadisability.T ofindoutifyou qualify or to sign up for this free service, call Com m unity Energy Project at 503-284-6827 or e-mail Homes*" (> immunity EnetgyPn »ject.i xg. W eatherization services are ben­ eficial year round: from keeping the heat in during the w inter to keeping the air cool in the summer. It’s a good idea for those inter­ ested in taking advantage o f C om ­ munity Energy Project program s to sign up for service during the warmer months. Staff and volunteers in­ stall sm all-scale w eatherization materials for senior citizens and p eo p le w ith d is a b ilitie s , both hom eow ners and renters. The w arm er m onths are also a C linic and the M ultnom ah County H ealth D ep a rtm en t o ffe r free b lood lead testing. W hen you have your ch ild ’s blood lead tested, it is im portant to know the num ber o f the result. M any doctors still tell parents only that the result is normal but since lead is a poison, it is im portant to know the exact am ount. W hile zero is probably not realistic given that there is so m uch lead in our environm ent, you w ant that num ­ ber to be closer to zero than to 10. T he third step is to becom e educated about the other sources o f lead that may be in the hom e and how to repairan older hom e safely. T h e C o m m u n ity E n e r g y P roject offers free lead p o iso n ­ T here are a few w ays you can assess the risk from lead in y o u r hom e. O ne is to determ in e if you qualify for a lead grant from the Portland D evelopm ent C om m is­ sion. T he p ro g ram o ffers grants o f up to $ 10.(XX) to low -incom e hom eow ners i n p r e - 1978 hom es w ith children u nder 6 or so m e ­ on e pregnant in the hom e. A n o th er w ay is to request a free dust w ipe kit available at th e P D C w e b s ite , p d c .u s / le ad h a za rd o r at m any local c h ild re n 's resale shops. T he second step parents and health care providers should lake is to have y o u r c h ild ’s blood lead tested. T he Jo siah Hill III E W Two, three and four bedroom floor plans ranging from $196.000 to $243.(XK). Located on NE Killingsw orth and 64th • Sales office at 9454 N W oolsey Ave Open Sundays from 2-4pm or by appt. Up to $5,000 in closing cost assistance P lastic s h e e tin g h e lp s k e e p th e h e a t in during w inter a n d th e air co o l in th e su m m e r. great time o f year to schedule small safety repairs such as installation o f sa fe ty g ra b b a rs, b a th tu b benches, handheld show erheads, and m inor carpentry repairs to stairs and porches. As rem odeling sea- son begins, fam ilies should be aw areofhow toprotectthem selves. All HOST Homes at Helensview include front yard landscaping, kitchen appliances, gas fireplaces, tankless water heaters, window blinds, designed for LEED certification, ten year limited warranty, insulated vinyl windows and much more. LEED u HOST Home Ownershi fo'HOMES a Street at a Tim e Make Portland Home PDC’s loan specialists can help you buy or repair a home of your own. ltne