Newsline, April 1, 2012

Submitted by agnes on Sun, 04/01/2012 - 6:59pm

Skyline Rural Watch Newsline

Mailbox: newsline [at] srnpdx [dot] org
Urgent: alert [at] srnpdx [dot] org
Phone: (503) 621-3501

April 1, 2012

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS:

It's your neighborhood association: Be a part of it!

Skyline Ridge Neighbors is a nonprofit, all-volunteer neighborhood association that serves rural northwestern Multnomah County, Oregon. Our neighborhood encompasses approximately 17,000 acres and 700 households. Through a variety of educational programs and events, we strive to keep residents informed and involved for the betterment of our community.

Any interest in joining the SRN Board? Contact us and/or come to a board meeting*. We'd love to meet you!
Next board meeting is Thursday April 12th, 7:00 pm, at Brooks Hill Historic Church.

* note that all SRN Board meetings routinely held the 2nd Thursday of each month are always open to the public.

Grange Plant Sale

Pre-Order Natives NOW to Pick Up @ Grange's Tree & Native Plant Sale

Date: Deadline for pre-order submission is Saturday, April 14 at 3 p.m.

Details: 64 native species to select from. Chosen to thrive well in our area. Request Pre-Order Form and Description of Plants at skylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com<skylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com (mailto:skylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com)> or pick up copy at Plainview Grocery. Description includes each wildflower, shrub and tree's preferred habitat (sun, soil, water needs, etc.). Pick up order and pay during the Sale on April 20-21. Desire a plant not on the list, request it and we will see if we can obtain it for you.

Volunteer to Help at Grange's Tree & Native Plant Sale

Help with set-up on Wed.-Thurs, April 18-19; with Sales Fri.-Sat., April 20-21. Choose to work with bareroot trees and shrubs or with native plants, choose the time that works for you. The Sale is a pleasure- two days of chatting about soil, slugs and plants with people who love to chat and learn more about soil, slugs and plants. You do not need to be an expert to help. Find a task that suits your interest. Contactskylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com<skylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com (mailto:skylinegrange894 [at] msn [dot] com)> for information and tasks.

ENVIRONMENT:

SOLV Neighborhood Cleanup.

Save the date!

When: Saturday April 21st will be the annual SOLV neighborhood clean up.
Where: NW Multnomah County - From the Forest Park Neighborhood thru to Multnomah / Columbia County Line
Sound like a lot of area? Yep! But with the help of our neighbors and SOLV donating dumpsters, every year we get a lot of roadside litter cleaned up. Once again, Forest Park Neighbors Assciation and Skyline Ridge Neighbors will be supporting SOLV by putting together an organized effort to pick up litter. Come help us.

What you can do right now -
- Save the date
- Save some time, let us know you're coming by pre-registering at SOLV.org for your neighborhood.
- Decide how you can help (walk the roads to pick up and bag litter?, use your pickup to pick up and drive litter bags to the dumpster?, help prepare snacks or donate snacks for the pickers?)
- Keep and eye out and report problem areas where we can send a clean up crew

Note that although we do clean up problematic areas, we are encouraged by Multnomah County to report illegal dumps.

To report illegal dumping in Multnomah County, call the MC Health Dept. at (503) 988-3464. Dave Thomson (ext. 229) handles dumping incidents. If the dumping occurs within the City of Portland limits, then call Metro at (503) 234-3000.
If the dumping incident is in progress (“hot”), you should call 911. If the dumping incident is “cold”, please provide the following information:
*Location, as exact as possible. Closest address, if possible, a milepost estimate (MP 1.3), north or south side, over embankment approx. 50’, etc. are examples of helpful location information.
* Approximate size of dump and general description of dumped materials (pickup load of demolition material and waste tires, for example)
* Any suspicious vehicles or people in vicinity near dumping location.
* Name, address and contact information of reporter.
Please do NOT disturb or attempt to clean up an illegal dump; it is a crime scene.

Salmonella at Bird Feeders

Last week The Oregonian published an article about an outbreak of salmonella poisoning in the metro area among songbirds visiting bird feeders. Pine siskins, small finches that live in western Oregon year-round are particularly susceptible. Also cats can contract salmonellosis by catching infected birds. If you realize birds are sick or dying, you should take down feeders for 2 weeks and clean up seeds spilled on the ground. Scrub the feeder with a disinfectant solution of 9 parts water to 1 part bleach. The article refers readers to http://www.wildcarebayarea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TakeAction_Salmonella_Outbreak<http://www.wildcarebayarea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TakeAction_Salmonella_Outbreak> to learn about prevention and dealing with salmonella outbreaks. This is an annual outbreak. When other food sources become available in the spring, songbirds are not so dependent upon birdfeeders, thus the outbreak subsides.

Spring in the Woods

Yellow Streambank violets are beginning to bloom, a sure sign of spring. They are a favorite wildflower not only to humans, but also for birds and butterflies. So if this sloppy, grey, stormy weather is getting you down, take a walk and look for these cheerful, colorful plants. They will be available for pre-order or for sale during the Grange's upcoming Tree & Native Plant Sale.

English Ivy Talk 4/6

Now that you've found ivy, what are you going to do with it? Three years of test plots and lessons from the field by will presented byToby Query, Natural Resource Ecologist, Watershed Revegetation Program, Environmental Services - City of Portland. This is part of The Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium (UERC)'s First Friday Brown Bag presentations for 2012. It is held in Room 370 at Metro, 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 6. All are welcome to attend.

Got Scotch Broom? SRN Able to Lend Weed Wrenches Again!

No, we did not find those that mysteriously disappeared. SRN is so dedicated to supporting good land stewardship that it again has purchased 2 replacement Weed Wrenches for local residents to borrow free of charge. They didn't arrive a moment too soon. Soon Scotch broom will be producing seed pods which will scatter seeds that can be viable in the soil for decades. So if you have Scotch broom, borrow it asap before they go to seed. The Weed Wrench is an excellent tool for uprooting many invasive and nuisance saplings and shrubs. It will work on virtually all woody plants. One case where Weed Wrench will not work is root suckers. It will work on some herbaceous plants if the stem is fibrous and tough enough so the roots pull out before the stem is crushed to the breaking point (such as burdock and some thistle species). It will pull wooden tree stakes for re-use, but not for pulling steel fence posts as that will eventually damage the gripping surface on the jaws. It will not work on soft-stemmed plants (such as blackberries). It will not work on plants which growing in a clump like pampas grass or bamboo, although it has been used successfully to control bamboo runner. Learn more about the Weed Wrench at:

http://www.weedwrench.com/weedwrench/how_to_use_weed_wrench.cfm. To schedule a time to borrow the Weed Wrenches, call Sen at 503-621-3331 or sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com. It will be on display at the Grange's Plant Sale.

COMMUNITY LINKS:

Skyline Grange: http://www.srnpdx.org/skyline-grange-894-0
Forest Park
Neighbors: http://www.forestparkneighbors.org
Conservancy: http://www.forestparkconservancy.org/

Linnton Community Center: http://www.linnton.com/lcc.asp

Skyline School: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/skyline/

Lincoln High School: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/lincoln/

FROM SKYLINE RIGDE NEIGHBORS WEBSITE - SRNPDX.ORG

Community Calendar

Classifieds:

Resource Directory:
As a service to neighbors, SRN publishes a listing of local government agencies and businesses in the Skyline Resource Directory. Follow the links in this section to view its contents and learn how to add a business or agency listing.
Listing of organizations and businesses herein does not imply any endorsement of SRN nor does it imply a lack of endorsement for similar organizations or businesses not included.

About the Newsline: Skyline Rural Watch Newsline is a part of Skyline Ridge Neighbors (SRN) and has been produced since June 1994 as a means to communicate neighborhood information. The Newsline is produced by Laurel Erhardt (editor) with help from Miles Merwin, Libby Merwin, Sharon Barthmaier, and Sen Speroff
The Newsline depends on you as a source of accurate information about local crimes, upcoming events, and other news pertinent to the area. If you have information you would like considered for the Newsline, you may do so by e-mailing the information to newsline [at] srnpdx [dot] org, or leaving a message at (503) 621-3501. Urgent, timely items (crimes, lost pets) should be emailed to alert [at] srnpdx [dot] org.
If you would like more detailed information about any item on the Newsline, request that information & SRN will e-mail it to you if available.
You can subscribe to the Newsline at the Skyline Ridge Neighbors Website, SRNPDX.org. Tell your neighbors about this free Newsline service.

About Skyline Ridge Neighbors: SRN is a neighborhood association serving much of unincorporated northwest Multnomah County and some adjacent areas within the city of Portland. SRN is registered as a neighborhood association within Multnomah County, registered as a non-profit public benefit corporation with the State of Oregon and approved as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the IRS Code. SRN is operated by volunteers and with donated funds entirely.
If you would like to donate to SRN in support of its activities, such as this free Newsline service and the publication of its quarterly Skyline Ridge Runner, send your donation to “Skyline Ridge Neighbors”, c/o Karen Garber, 16238 NW McNamee Rd., Portland, OR 97231 Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Publication date:

Sun, 04/01/2012