By Diane Redd, MTNA president
More than 500 Mt. Tabor house-holds (out of about 4,300) responded enthusiastically to the green survey enclosed in the spring newsletter. This is a better than 10 percent response rate, which will provide the neighborhood association with good information on what issues matter most to area residents. More...

By Larry LaBeck
The boundary wall and hedges of the St. Andrews Care Center contain a quiet world within its borders, one block wide and two deep. The graceful building at 7617 SE Main is a gift from the past. More...

By Gayle Marechal
On May 15, 22 volunteers descended on the parking lot of Mt. Tabor Middle School to help with the annual neighborhood clean-up. Volunteers worked from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. helping to unload all sorts of debris from 167 vehicles, many pulling small trailers. The collected debris filled nine large drop boxes. The recycle and swap area, run by Mary McFadyen, got lots of business, and many who came to the clean-up went away with some unexpected treasures.

As vehicles entered the parking lot, John Wish greeted the drivers and set a price for the load each vehicle was carrying. Bunny Marechal then collected the fee, and traffic coordinator Diane Redd lined up vehicles to wait their turn to be unloaded by the seemingly tireless volunteers. Workers did get an extra boost of energy from the free pizza provided by Figaro’s Pizza on East Burnside.

During the course of the four-hour clean-up, MTNA collected $2,385.21, and after expenses were deducted, made a net profit of $1,868.85, which it will use in a variety of ways to benefit the neighborhood. In appreciation for the use of its facilities, the neighborhood association voted to donate $100 to Mt. Tabor Middle School. MTNA would like to thank SEUL for supporting the clean-up, both financially and otherwise, as well as Flannery Drop Box for providing the dumpsters. Thanks to everyone involved for making this year’s clean-up a successful neighborhood project.

By Bill Guthrie
In keeping with MTNA’s history of communication through tools such as this newsletter and neighborhood surveys, the MTNA officially launched its own website (www.mttaborpdx.org) in May. The improved web presence provided by the new site serves neighbors with up-to-date information and provides a link between the neighborhood and the MTNA. In addition to information about the neighborhood association and its activities, visitors to the site will find the latest on neighborhood-related news and events. The site also provides a list of links to other neighborhood-related web resources and a section detailing the neighborhood’s history. www.mttaborpdx.org serves as a way of uniting Mt. Tabor residents, allowing them to submit comments and events information, as well as newsletter articles, directly to the MTNA. If you have not yet visited our new site, please do so soon and let us know what you think.

By Dave Hillman and Larry LaBeck
Several changes recently took place in Portland Parks and Recreation, including the shifting of park assignments and staff. The Mt. Tabor Park staff—in addition to two people who were already on the crew, east district supervisor Don McTaggart and park technician Bill Daniels—now includes gardener Phil Young and park technicians Eric Payne, Vicky Burwell, and Pamma Shields. McTaggart’s district has been reduced from 41 properties to 27 in the overall city parks realignment.

Friends of Mt. Tabor Park is holding its annual summer picnic on Tuesday August 17, at 6 p.m. The featured entertainment is Heather Pearl, a clown of renown. Stilts will be walked, tricks taught, items juggled, and dance acrobated. Worth noting that it is free and the kids will have a ball. So come on for the entertainment, meet some of the foot patrol folk, have some fun, offer suggestions for improvement, or sign up and become a new member.

Many of you have asked about our Friends of Mt. Tabor Park t-shirts. We sold out with our initial order, but have now restocked. If you would like to purchase one or more, please call Dave or Guin at 503/254-5931, and just like the pizza man, we’ll deliver. The shirts, available in all adult sizes, are medium green with a small FMTP logo on the front. The cost is $15 each, but only $12 for members. Our four-color posters, at $5 each, are also a popular item. They are 11 x 18, printed on heavy stock for hanging as is, or for framing.

By Megan J. C. Bouslaugh, M.A.
A handful of the world’s population can be found in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood, at the WorldView Center building on Southeast 60th & Yamhill. WorldView is a Christian international training organization made up of a residential facility and the WorldView Institute. The residents of WorldView Center are graduate students studying at seminaries and universities in the Portland area.

The WorldView Center building was bought from Adventist Medical Center in 1995. Thirty-five students moved in almost immediately. Since then, the residents have formed a distinctive community of international, graduate level students, training in Portland. The WorldView Center not only facilitates a portion of their training, but also supplies their housing, meals, and a safe, supportive community. WorldView Center gives its residents—both internationals and Americans—a truly intercultural experience.

By Linda Eggiman
A fifth year of drought—and I understand from your emails and calls that the loss was worse than I thought. This winter showed the value of putting borderline plants in pots to be moved for winter protection. However, I feel about that the way I feel about digging bulbs— forget it. A friend of mine lines her ceramic and terra cotta pots with bubble wrap before putting in the planting soil and plants. It does a double duty by insulating the root system and preventing the insides of the pot from absorbing water, which freezes and causes breakage. Forget about putting rocks or broken shards in the bottom of your pots: a layer or two of landscape fabric will address drainage problems much better.

The DIG drip system at Home Depot is easy, inexpensive, and well documented. Take a look at it when you have browsing time, and take the booklet home and study it. The system can all be done from your hose bib with a quick-connect systems of brass or plastic without costly trenching and electrical installation. Just try one area at a time, and install the $8 backflow preventer. It is required by law for professional installations for a reason—to prevent you from getting poisoned.

Do not hit your lawn with a heavy dose of granular fertilizer in the summer; that should have been done in May. If you wish to fertilize, use a liquid or the granular at 1/3 to 1/2 strength and then water well.

Questions? eggie@teleport.com, 503/254-1814..

• Soccer league kicks off
• New hours for Belmont Library
• Mayoral hopefuls meet the public in the park
• Emergency team supplies stolen
• Mt Tabor email list brings up-to-date news

More...

By Marcia Dennis, city graffiti abatement coordinator
If your property is vandalized by graffiti, there are some things you should know.Check out the graffiti abatement website at www.port landonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=28984&, where you can report any graffiti you see on public or private property.

More...

By Diane Redd
Elmyra Kline, my 86-year-old neighbor, walks the neighborhood sidewalks twice a day. Seb, her husband of more than 60 years, passed away last summer. Myra, as she likes to be called, does not drive. Without her lifelong shopping, fishing, and camping companion, she needs recreation and exercise closer to home. She finds negotiating many sidewalks difficult, though, because neighbors have not maintained the sidewalks to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Myra is especially challenged by plants allowed to grow over the sidewalk and trees that have low-hanging branches. Portland city code’s Title 17 details specific guidelines about how property owners must maintain the sidewalks on their property to “provide an environment for walking.” The code states that owners must provide a minimum of three feet of clear passage, which should allow two people walking together to be passed easily by a third person. Tree limbs and branches should be trimmed to leave seven feet six inches clear above the sidewalk. Myra hopes to continue her walks well into her 90s. Tripping over plants and shrubs growing over the side-walk could cause a fall from which she might not recover. This need not happen to Myra or another older neighbor. Please check and prune your plants, shrubs, and trees growing around and above your sidewalks.

By Dave Hilts, MTNA land use coordinator
I talked on the phone with Richard Piacentini, the owner of the lot at 60th & Belmont, who lives and conducts business from the Seattle area. Piacentini told me that there are no immediate plans for development on this lot, and that he would let me know if this should change. I told him that the neighbor-hood was very interested in this site for future development, and we would be happy to work with him.

The northeast corner of 60th & Belmont is zoned CO1, which is an office commercial zoning used for small sites in or near residential areas. This designation is intended for low-intensity, small-scale offices that serve nearby neighborhoods with few detrimental impacts. Development is intended to be of a scale and character similar to the surrounding area and is oriented to pedestrians along transit streets and in pedestrian districts.

The CO1 zone allows functions such as household living, limited group living, office use, community service, and schools. It does not allow retail use as do the CN1 and CN2 zones (the old Seaton’s Pharmacy site has a CN1 zone).

Richard Piacentini indicated that he is not especially interested in applying for a zone change and that his company would not develop the site unless they had a signed lease for the development.

By Maureen Wright
A symbol of unity, community, and pride, the Montavilla Library opened its doors at 211 SE 80th Avenue in 1934 as a branch library. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the children of Montavilla and Vestal Grade Schools sacrificed their pennies and nickels for their new library. When economic hardships crushed individuals and the nation, ordinary people pulled together for the common good—a neighborhood library built by a combination of public and private funds. As leaders, the Kiwanis Club of Montavilla persuaded elected officials to create the Montavilla Library with a deed restriction in 1934. The library served for almost 50 continuous years, only to close when the government wrongfully removed the deed restriction. More...

By Larry LaBeck
Brendan McGuire is the neighborhood response officer for the Mt. Tabor, South Tabor, Montavilla, and center neighborhoods. “The job of the senior neighborhood officer is to work with the community to solve chronic nuisance activities that affect a given neighborhood,” he explained. “This ranges from drug houses to parking... and anything in between. We are uniformed officers who respond as needed to emergencies but are not responsible for responding to cold, non-emergency calls. We also have the ability to work special missions and plainclothes assignments.”

An affable young father from a farming town east of San Francisco, McGuire came to Oregon to go to the University of Portland 12 years ago and has been here ever since.

I asked if the Tabor area presented him with unique challenges. “The unique geography of Mt. Tabor Park certainly has the potential to present quite a few problems,“ he admitted. “The area is so large an urban park and so heavily wooded that it could provide an excellent location for any number of activities requiring secrecy.” But he notes two reasons it isn’t a mecca for criminal activity: “First, the park is so heavily used. Unlike most parks within the city, Mt. Tabor attracts people from all over the metro area, and for the most part, bad guys don’t like lots of people around.”

The second reason, according to McGuire, is that “Mt. Tabor has been the beneficiary of immense public support when compared to other city parks, in everything from maintain-ing the landscape to keeping it safe. This dedication keeps the problems we do face in the park more on the nuisance level, and rarely do we see a genuine threat to safety.” Officer Brendan McGuire is our advocate; you may call him at Southeast Princinct, 503/823-2143.