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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2024)
Page 2 April 3, 2024 Trees Planted to honor Heat Wave Victims Paper Hearts Marked with the Names of the People that were Lost During 2021 Killer Heat Wave (AP) — Family members of some of the people killed by re- cord-breaking heat in the Port- land, Oregon, area three years ago gathered over the weekend to plant trees across Multnomah County in honor of its 72 victims. The event, coordinated by county and local officials and a nonprof- it group, drew scores of volun- teers to a nature park in suburban Gresham where a ceremonial hornbeam tree was planted. Fam- ily members placed paper hearts marked with the names of the peo- ple they lost into the ground with the hornbeam, which was among 72 trees planted Saturday. Dozens gathered at Nadaka Nature park in Gresham Oregon to hold a tree planting event in memory of those who died during the heatwave of 2021. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP) “I didn’t think a lot of people still cared about what happened to people’s families in the heat- wave,” LaRome Ollison, whose 68-year-old father, Jerome Olli- son, died during the June 2021 heat wave, told The Oregonian. “Now I see that the county cares, and we appreciate it.” Three consecutive days of ex- traordinary temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, which usu- ally experiences mild summers, shattered all-time records. Tem- peratures in Portland reached tri- ple digits for three days, peaking at 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius) as records fell across Oregon, Washington and Brit- ish Columbia, Canada. On the third day of that heat, Jerome Ollison’s daughter, NaCheryl, Save more for your adventure of a lifetime The NEW Intelligent High-Yield Bundle NEW POPULAR Exclusively at iQ Credit Union Explore more at iQcu.com/intelligent-savings *APY= Annual Percentage Yield. Intelligent Savings: Qualifying 3.50% APY accurate as of 02/01/2024. To earn the qualified Intelligent Savings Rate, you must have an Intelligent Checking Account and meet all monthly qualifiers. If account requirements are not met, the non-qualifying rate will be 0.05% APY. Existing savings accounts cannot be converted to an Intelligent Savings—a new account must be opened. Intelligent Checking: Qualifying 5.50% APY is accurate as of 01/09/2024 (up to $25,000; amounts over $25,000 earn 0.25% APY). To earn the qualifying rate, your Intelligent Checking must meet the following monthly requirements: twelve (12) debit or credit card transactions, direct deposit of at least $100 per month, log into online banking at least once per month, and receive e-statements. If account requirements are not met, the non-qualifying rate will be 0.05% APY. New accounts will receive the qualifying dividend rate for the first statement cycle. All requirements must be met with transactions posted and cleared by the close of the business day before the last day of the month. ATM transactions do not count toward the 12 debit card transactions. Bundle: Dividend paid on the last day of the month in which it is earned. Qualifiers must be on the Intelligent Checking account that is within the same membership as the Intelligent Savings account. There is no monthly fee for these accounts. Only one Intelligent Bundle per membership. All rates are subject to change. Insured by NCUA said she knew something was wrong when her father didn’t answer his phone. She said she went to his apartment building in southeast Portland and found him dead on a couch, with only a small desk fan to contend with the heat. Oregon blamed 116 deaths statewide on the heat, Washing- ton state reported at least 91 and officials in British Columbia said hundreds of “sudden and unexpected deaths” were likely due to the soaring temperatures. More people died from the heat in the greater Portland area that June than in the entire state over the past 20 years, authorities said. Three of the victims hon- ored with tree plantings died later that summer. Scientists said the deadly heat would have been virtually impos- sible without human-caused cli- mate change that added a few ex- tra degrees to the record-smashing temperatures.The deaths prompt- ed better preparation for extreme conditions across the state in the years that followed.Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Peder- son said Gresham and the Portland neighborhood of East Portland have the fewest trees in the coun- ty, but more are being planted. “They will cool us down when the summer is hot, and they will help us save future lives that might otherwise be taken from us in similar events,” she said. The Ollison family used to go to their father’s apartment build- ing each year to release balloons in Jerome’s honor. Now they have a new place to pay their respects. “This is more personal,” LaRome Ollison said of the nature park. “It’s a beautiful spot.”
