August 13. 2008 (Tl, r|Io rtla « b © bseruer Celebrating Diversity Page A3 Tool Library Makes Repairs Affordable Borrowed tools free of charge Have a house or yard project you are putting o ff for lack o f the right tools for the jo b ? Procrasti- with com m on hom e-repair and g a rd e n in g to o ls th a t c a n be checked out on a w eekly basis. For the first few m onths reser­ vations and returns must be done in person, but phone and online reservations will be available in the Kenton neighborhood of north Portland and several cities across the country, the tool library encourages residents to take pride in their living spaces, properties, and neighborhoods by making re­ pair and beautification tools and lords are fixing up their proper­ ties, new businesses m ove in, and over time the feel o f a street and even a whole neighborhood can change. It shows people care about where they live.” Not having even basic hand toolscan inhibit many people from repairing or sprucing up their homes or apartm ents, a situation the tool library hopes to correct. "In studying other tool librar­ ies, we found out that the most frequently borrow ed item is a simple screwdriver," said Tom Thom pson, a contractor who will with grants and tool donations. m anage the L ibrary's tool inven­ Parr Lum ber agreed to donate tory. "The next m ost-borrow ed supplies at cost. item ? A ham m er." "Response from the com m u ­ The N ortheast C oalition o f nity has just been aw esom e," said N eighborhoods offered to spon­ Fair-Laymen. sor the new tool library and m ade Donated tools are w elcom e and the first donation o f tools to start can be dropped off during busi­ the collection. ness hours at G arden Fever, 3433 R edeem er L utheran Church N.E. 24th; B uffaloG ardens, 3033 agreed to let the library store its N.E. A lberta and H ankins True tools rent-free in an unused g a­ Value Hardware, 3942 N.E. Martin rage. S ev eral o th e r n o rth east Luther King Jr. Blvd. neighborhood associations have For large donations, call Tom pledged to support the Library Thom pson at 503-539-1756. Advance. Grow. Succeed. For every Portland police officer, there is a story... photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Woodlawn resident and high school teacher Eric Fair-Layman invites the community to use the new public tool library at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 5431 N.E. 20th Ave. nate no longer! The Northeast Portland Tool Library lends out tools free o f charge to residents o f N ortheast Portland on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. T he library's tool shed, located at R edeem er Lutheran Church at 5 4 3 1 N.E. 20th Ave., is stocked soon. As its tool collection and funding grow , the library will ex ­ tend its hours o f operation, ex ­ pand to serve m ore northeast Portland neighborhoods, and of­ fer com m unity education classes on hom e m aintenance, rem odel­ ing, and gardening. M odeled on anothertool library skills affordable and accessible. "It's am azing what happens when one or two people in a neigh­ borhood that’s seen better days fix up their houses," said Eric Fair- Laym an, a high school teacher, W oodlaw n resident, and lead coordinator o f the new library. "Soon other ow ners and land- The Portland Police Bureau encourages diversity among its officers, and among their assignments; Join us and write the next chapter. Bikes Take Over City Bridges More than 18,000 people soaked in the views from Portland's bridges on Sunday for the 13th annual Providence Bridge Pedal and Stride, the second largest organized bicycling event in the country. Great reasons to join us: Contact: • Salary after six months: $51,917. • Education reimbursement. • Diverse assignments. • Excellent training. • Opportunities for advancement. Personnel Division 1111 SW 2nd Ave., Ste. 1542 Portland, OR 97204 503-823-0333 Accepting applications from Oct. 6 - 27, 2008. Tentative test date: Nov. 8, 2008 www.joinportlandpolice.com Transit Expert Focuses on Access For elderly and people with disabilities T ed Newton has joined T ri Met as the new director o f Accessible T ransportation Program s with special responsibilities on ser­ vices to the elderly and people with disabilities. He brings decades o f experi­ ence in the transportation field, w orking most recently as Direc- em ploying high quality custom er service. “W ith baby boom ers begin­ ning to retire, w e're going to see more and m ore people needing accessible transportation in the future, and Ted will help us meet that increasing d em and,” said TriM et operations executive d i­ rector Steve Banta. N ew ton began his career in transportation after graduating front North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in political science. He joined the A ir Force, w here he was trained in various traffic and vehicle operations, m anagem ent and maintenance. He later worked for Seattle Public Schools as the D irector of T ransportation, follow ed by an­ other D irector o f T ransportation position at the North C arolina Ted Newton Zoo. W hile there, he com pleted a tor o f Transportation for Dayton m aster's degree in public adm in­ Public Schools in Ohio. istration with an em phasis in cu s­ Newton will oversee LIFT ser­ tom er service. vices which provide d