2010 Hillsdale News FLAG
Issue #123
Posted September 1, 2013  
Also in This Issue
* Sunday Parkways to avoid main streets
* Artists' studio moves to Hillsdale
* New housing project construction progresses

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Commentary 

Dogs that don't bark in Hillsdale

 

Olympia Typewriter

You are probably familiar with the Sherlock Holmes story "Silver Blaze," which featured the tell-tale watchdog that didn't bark, and hence revealed, through his silence, the villain.

 

I've always been intrigued by "the dog that didn't bark" as it relates to journalism and the news. Sometimes the news is what doesn't happen, not what does. And yet most journalists are locked into a world of "news events."

 

Contararian that I am, I try to stay attuned to non-events  - the dogs that don't bark.

Often it pays off.

When I was a teaching I lectured about an imaginary day when "nothing happens." No murders, no robberies, no press conferences and no celebrity deaths or political scandals.

Would journalists notice?

I suppose if all wars suddenly stopped, someone might pay attention. And that's the point. The day "nothing happened" would be the biggest news day EVER.

Think of what it would be like if NOTHING HAPPENED.

Of course when nothing happens, a lot happens. The science fiction classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" comes to mind. If everything stops, including the good (think of electricity, stoplights, the internet, UPS deliveries etc.)  it causes problems, even catastrophes. Those tend to be considered "newsworthy."

The irony would be that on this big "nothing" news day, the power to disseminate the news would disappear. We'd have blackened screens, silent radios, stilled presses.

We'd end up talking and reporting to each other, face-to-face. And that's not such a bad thing.

* * * *

What does all this have to do with Hillsdale and The Hillsdale News?

Last month I wrote about several street improvements planned for this summer that I suddenly realized weren't happening. When I called city officials, the story turned out to have interest beyond the non-event. There was so much summer construction work going on that too few contractors submitted bids for work. As a result the bids that did come in were too high, leading to the delay

The non-story turned into a story about the state of the local economy...in microcosm.

There's another dog that's not barking at the long-vacant lot just east of Baskin-Robbins. Nothing seems to be happening at the site. To be exact, nothing VISIBLE is happening to this prime commercial site.

But the fact that nothing is apparent, actually belies the fact that there is a lot happening that isn't apparent. It's just that no one is in a position to talk about it, including me.

Here I invite you to summon your inner Sherlock Holmes.

Let me explain.

I got involved with the site when I openly opposed JPMorgan/Chase Bank's plans to build on it. During that opposition, which was joined by dozens of others, some of us felt obligated to find positive alternatives to Chase. No one wants an empty, ugly, prominent lot in an otherwise vibrant commercial area.

Our small group managed to attract the interest of a credit union. The fact that we in Southwest live in a "credit union desert" is another quiet-dog, non-event of economic import.

The credit union has asked not to be named until there's a signed agreement. But it is newsworthy that the credit union remains exceedingly interested in the site, so I periodically report on the continued interest.

I remain in contact with the parties concerned - the property owner, the credit union and other business interests. I'm watch-dogging the story and letting you know, Sherlock, that something is indeed happening where there is no visible evidence that anything is.

Curious, is it not, Watson?

    Rick Seifert

Editor/Publisher

  

 

Letters to the editor are always welcome. Write [email protected]
 

Flagger makes Sunset delays
a friendly respite
    
Hordes of commuters have been avoiding Sunset Boulevard between Dewitt Park and 18th Drive these days.

The two-block-long stretch is a mess as crews with heavy equipment excavate and pour concrete for new sidewalks. The work should be complete no later than September 23.

But detouring the stop on Sunset and its day-glo-vested flaggers also means failing to meet the exuberantly affable Ray Shaun Smith, a flagger with a distinct flair.
Ray portrait
Ray Smith stops traffic with a smile.


He tells a story that few Sunset commuters have time to hear.

Smith is half of the two-person flagging team that has, odd as it may seem, put smiles on the faces of hundreds of inconvenienced drivers, walkers and bicyclists.

Smith and teammate Meighan Hastings, a 25-year flagging veteran, are both understanding and relentlessly affable. Smith exuberantly, so.

His face is home to a constellation of freckles. His smile seems ever-present. It comes with chipped teeth ("It's no Hollywood smile" he jokes, smiling broadly to make his point).

Five and a half weeks into his eight-week stint in Hillsdale, Ray says unabashedly that the job here is "beautiful, man! I love it!"

But then he loved his previous flagging job on Sandy Boulevard. He's not sure about the next one, downtown on Clay, but he's glowingly optimistic.

Now he's talking into his walkie-talkie to Meighan. "Do you want me to send this big diesel truck down or do you want me to wait?"

Keeping watch on the queue of backed-up cars, he chats with the stranger on the shoulder.
Ray on the job
Ray is all about friendly engagement.


He can talk and still give priority to commuters. He  greets drivers as he spins his sign from "Stop" to "Slow" sending them on their way.

"You have a good day now," he yells out to a regular.

The neighbors have come to know him simply as "Ray." He's infectiously friendly. Folks have brought him cookies and bagels. One lady gave him a bag of pears. Another brought tomatoes from her garden. A man who was moving from the area offered items he wasn't taking. Ray offered to help him move in return.

"Some people might think this job is boring, and sometimes it is, but, you know, people make your job better."

Sure, a few who are grumpy and agitated by the delay, but Ray knows what to do. He turns on the charm. "I walk up to them and say, 'How's your day?'"

Suddenly there's a connection. "I've never had it fail," he says. "It's hard to resist a smile, a genuine smile."

Ray also welcomes the seemingly boring times when traffic vanishes.

"It gives you time to reflect," he says. "The day just flies by."

Reflections for Ray include a youth shaped by the mean, gang culture of Chicago. "Back there it was just assumed that we'd all do time." That's time in prison. And Ray has been there - four times. The last time was for selling drugs and manslaughter ("It should have been self-defense," he says with a shrug.)

His seven-year term at the Snake River Corrections Institution in Ontario ended last December. While at the eastern Oregon prison, he turned a corner, he says. He took community college courses offered at the prison. "I read hundreds of books, I changed my philosophy...." He learned, he said, that "whatever you think about...you bring about."

Now he is thinking about a white Lexus SUV he's signaled through his stop. "Hey there, beautiful!" he says to a familiar face.
Warning signs
Signs alert motorists.


One of the things he thought about in prison was prison itself. "I got tired of going back and forth to prison."

And he also thought of getting married. When he shared that desire with a fellow inmate, the inmate mentioned his sister-in-law. One thing led to another...Ray and Bonnie where married while he was still serving time.

When he got out last December, he landed a job selling memberships to a downtown fitness club. He loved the work, he says. "I've been selling stuff all my life; it was just the wrong stuff."

But the fitness job's pay was low, so he jumped at the much better paying flagging job with Tri-Star Flagging, which has contracted with R&R Construction. R&R, in turn, has the City contract for the Sunset work.

Tri-Star didn't hold his past against him, Ray says. "They offer you a chance. I'm blessed."

 And he's set on keeping the work. He arrives early, he says. "If you come right on time, you're already late."

The work day starts at 9 a.m. and lasts until 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. The work day's end "depends on what the excavation crews hit in the ground," he explains.

The work is fulfilling and rewarding. "I'm not getting rich yet," Ray says, "but I'm providing a service."

"I still make mistakes," he confesses, "but I make a lot less!" The confession, like everything Ray has shared during his Hillsdale stint, comes with a smile. 

2013 parkways map
Sunday parkways route will avoid major streets

Details are being finalized for the big Sept. 29 Southwest Sunday Parkways that will bring thousands of hikers, joggers, runners, bicyclists and other Parkway participants to select streets and trails between Hillsdale, Multnomah Village and Gabriel Park.

This will be the second year for the Parkways program here, and  first-year problems have been addressed this year.

For instance, the 2013 Parkway event will not rely on major streets such as Vermont, and half the Hillsdale Shopping Center's parking lot will remain open to cars, from Baker & Spice east. Shop owners complained that last year's event hurt sales.

Most of the east and west traffic will be on Troy Street in the Multnomah neighborhood. An out-and-back trip, starting either in HIllsdale or Multnomah Village will be six miles long - three miles in each direction.

A special walking route that relies in large part on SWTrails pedestrian routes is a 4.5-mile round trip. "The walking portion is really popular," said Diane Dulken, public information officer with the Bureau of Transportation. She noted that many organizations will have booths at three highlighted destinations: Gabriel Park, Multnomah Village and Hillsdale.

"The idea is to open up streets in order to connect neighbors " she said.

The event will last from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Between 10,000 and 15,000 participants are expected. 
Heather in Studio
Students have created all kinds of art at Heather Bellamy's studio.
Artists' studio moves
into old Korkage space


When Heather Bellamy opens the Bellamy Art Studio in the old Korkage space on Sept. 3, she'll bring with her a following of 30 students, several of whom live in the Hillsdale area.

She is welcoming new students to the cozy space next to the Hillsdale Veterinary Hospital.

"People come in with a project in mind. I help them make their ideas tangible," says Bellamy, who has had a "working" studio for nine years in Garden Home.

Before that she worked nine years in a studio in Northwest Portland.

As a student at University of California, Santa Cruz, she studied art and remains an avid artist. She often works on her own projects as she encourages and advises her students.

She sees her role as being "catalyst, advocate, inspiration and enabler of creativity." Students work in all media, she says, pointing to sculptures and collages and paintings.

One section in the space will be devoted to students' work, should they choose to display them.

Bellamy lives in Garden Home, but the previous location of the studio there next to the Old Market Pub lacked a community feel, she says. Hillsdale has that needed feeling, she says, plus the smaller size of the old Korkage space, at 6351 SW Capitol Highway, is a better fit for her small classes.

The two-hour class sessions, which usually have six or seven students, are $25. Students tend to come once a week to work on projects, she says. Student projects often take a minimum six weeks to complete.

Classes on Saturday or after-school will cater to children four years old and up.

For more information call Bellamy at (503) 789-1820 or e-mail her at [email protected]. In the next few weeks, a web site, bellamyartstudios.org will be on-line.


Stephen's Creek Crossing under construciton.
Stephens Creek Crossing taking shape
 
Stephens Creek Crossing, which will have 122 low-income apartments, is slated to open in January. The complex, in the gulch behind Hoot Owl Corner at Vermont and Capitol, is a project of HomeForward. The new complex replaces the old Hillsdale Terrace, which had half the number of units. In addition, the complex will include an early childhood center that will front on Vermont at 26th Avenue, just across the street from the Mittleman Jewish community Center. The center will be operated by Neighborhood House.

Multnomah honors Hillsdale resident. What gives?
 
Nitti in parade What's a resident of Hillsdale doing leading Multnomah's big Aug. 17 parade? Rick Nitti, of Hillsdale, is also executive director of the Multnomah Village-based Neighborhood House, reason enough to be grand marshal in the annual Multnomah Days parade. Note Rick's finely tuned wave. Friends know the smile comes instinctively. 

Date Book    

Tuesday, Sept. 3

'Home Tour' Concert and Lunch

11 a.m., the Watershed Building, 6388 SW Capitol Highway. Live concert and lunch. Singer-songwriter Mary McBride founded The Home Tour as a way to bring live performance to folks who otherwise may not get to experience it. In Portland, McBride and her band will perform live concerts at The Watershed, and three other affordable housing sites. Mary has also served as a cultural envoy for the U.S. Department of State in 17 countries since 2011. The Wall Street Journal describes the Home Tour as "a way of highlighting how communities can be nurtured, whether by sharing shelter, stories or live music."

 

Wednesday, Sept. 4

Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting

7 p.m. St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. Plans for the new Habitat for Humanity project in Hillsdale will be presented.


Saturday, Sept. 7

Usual Suspects

9 a.m., meet at the Food Front "front porch" for an hour of fun litter patrolling in the Town Center.


Sunday, Sept. 8

Chalk Art Festival

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hillsdale Farmers Market on the sidewalk in front of Rieke Elementary School, the Wilson Area Arts Council hosts the 6th annual Chalk Art Festival.  Free.


Saturday, Sept. 14

Free Community Dinner at St. Barnabas

5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church,2201 SW Vermont. Free dinner and a chance to meet neighbors.. The second Saturday of every month. Wheat-free and vegan options are available.


Saturday, Sept. 28

Paella Benefit Dinner

6 p.m to 9 p.m. at the Fanno Creek Clinic's parking lot at 2400 SW Vermont (near Capitol Highway) Proceeds benefit Hillsdale Main Street. $80 per ticket until Sept 15. $90 after that. Live music, famed local chefs, including Seasons & Regions' Greg Schwab and chocolatier Ted Coonfield. Sponsored by A-Boy, Wyse Kadish Attorneys and Z'ivo Wines, a Willamette Valley winery, along with Baker & Spice, Food Front and Salvador Molly's. For details, go to the Hillsdale Main Street web site.

PRO BONO

Help needed to bring turf fields to Wilson

Organizers are seeking matching funds for the Wilson Fields Improvement Project. Donations will be matched dollar for dollar until September 30 up to a maximum of $100,000 coming from the family of Robert and Marcia Randall. Pledges must be converted to a cash donation prior to March 31, 2014 to qualify. To donate go to http://wilsonfields.org/Donate.html

Contributors may also show support with a gift to the Wilson Stadium Plaza Bricks campaign. In appreciation, Wilson Fields Improvement Project will install a brick engraved with the donors personalized message at the Wilson Plaza in the Wilson High School stadium. Two sizes are available 4x8 $100.00 and 8x8 $250.00. Deadline is September 30. Visit:
http://wilsonfields.org/Events.html

In the Bag: Benefit for Wilson Arts

New and gently used purses, bags, clutches, wallets, and brief cases are needed for the next  benefit sale at Wilson on Nov. 10.
Drop off sites are Key Bank (Hillsdale), Switch Shoes & Clothing (Multnomah),Paloma Clothing (Hillsdale), Gabriel Park Veterinary Clinic (4421 SW Vermont St) and Korkage Wine Bar & Shop (Hillsdale)

Proceeds benefit choir, drama, band, orchestra, and visual arts at Wilson. Contact Linda Doyle, [email protected]

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