Newsline, February 12, 2011

Skyline Rural Watch Newsline

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

February 12, 2011

PUBLIC SAFTEY:

Important Meeting Feb. 16 on Road Safety Issues

Most of us who live near one of the county roads in our neighborhood have witnessed speeding and reckless driving, by both cars and motorcycles. Some people from outside the 'hood are using our roads as a race track, largely because they know they are not likely to get a speeding ticket. When speeders and drifter cars pass through, this creates a dangerous situation for folks who live here, especially on windy and narrow portions of our roads.

Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 PM there will be a public meeting at the Skyline Grange to discuss some possible ways to reduce the problems of speeding and unsafe driving. There will be representatives of several Multnomah County agencies (Sheriff, Roads, Commission) present to help us find workable solutions and to answer questions. The goals of the meeting are to prioritize the solutions we want, and to identify a core group willing to voice those demands to the appropriate county officials at a later time. Eliminating the problem will not be easy given the current budget and staffing realities of county government, but hopefully this meeting will be a useful first step in taking back our roads.

If you are concerned for your own and your family's safety as you travel our neighborhood roads, please come to the meeting and help us get these concerns addressed by Multnomah County.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS:

Skyline Grange News:

1. Brunch at the Grange "Pancakes, Etc"
Date:    Sunday, February 27
Time:   9:30-11:30 a.m.
Menu:   Pancakes, waffles, frittatas, quiches, fresh fruit, breakfast meat and breakfast baked goods.  Homemade and delicious.
Details: Back by popular demand.  Bring your family, neighbors and friends.
Suggested donation of $5/person or $12/family.
If you would like to help, contact Sen at 503-621-3331 or sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com<sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com (mailto:sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com)>.

2.  Spring Garage Sale
Date:    Friday-Saturday, March 4-5
Time:   9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Details: Sale has a uniquely Skyline flavor with a mix of practical and zany, plus equipment useful for semi-rural living. Household items for every part of the house, including furniture, kitchen wares, piano, linen, & decorations.  Items for home repairs, gardening & landscaping.  Books, DVDs, CDs, & records.  Kids' section.  Office supplies.
Donate Items:  We are taking items now.  We are particular need of furniture, kitchen items, children's items, books and DVDs. Items should be clean and in working order.  (Sorry, we do not accept children's car seats, bicycle helmets, televisions, computer components, large exercise equipment, or audiotapes.)
Donation Times:  We will accept donations until Wed., March 2 at noon.  Call Sen to set up a convenient time for you to bring donations or bring them on Sun., Feb. 27 (noon to 1 p.m.), Mon, Feb. 28 (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.), Tues., Mar 1 (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.), or Wed., Mar. 2 (11-noon).
Volunteer to Help:  Need people to set-up Sun.- Thurs. (Feb. 27-Mar. 3), to man the sale (Fri-Sat, Mar 4-5) and to clean-up on Sun, Mar. 6 (9-noon)
Contact Sen (503-621-3331 or sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com<sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com (mailto:sensperoff [at] hotmail [dot] com)>) or Sharon (503-286-1261 or barthmaier [at] comcast [dot] net<barthmaier [at] comcast [dot] net (mailto:barthmaier [at] comcast [dot] net)>) if you have items to donate or if you would like to volunteer to help.

3.  Woods Work Party
When:  Saturday March 5
Time:   9 a.m. to noon
Details: Please join us with gloves, tools, saws & willingness to address the poor scrubby neglected woods around our building. We've met four times this winter & we're all agreed FREE firewood & the time it takes to harvest it is FUN!
Questions? Tracy Waters at bluewaters [at] pcez [dot] com<http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SkylineRidgeNeighbor/331529ba45/193df2380e/109ceda806/mailbox=INBOX&index=30>

4. Monthly Meeting Date Change
To: Tues., Feb. 15
Time:   7:30 p.m.
Note:    This is not our usual 3rd Monday of the month date due to President's Day on that Monday.

The Forest Park Conservancy
All Trails Challenge and Earth Day Events:
In this edition:
    * All New! All Trails Challenge
    * Earth Day Events: Discovery Hike, Crew Leader Training & Day of Stewardship
    * Nature Night at Audubon Society of Portland featuring Marcy Houle
    * January's favorite Tales from the Trail

ENVIRONMENT:

 Solarize Update
I received many questions about the Solarize Northwest campaign after the meeting at Brooks Hill Historic Church.  I hope that writing some answers to the questions here for you all will help encourage people to sign up! You can sign up with a show of interest from now until March 31st at www.solarizenorth-nw.org.
There are some land use overlays in the Skyline Ridge Neighborhood, these county land use regulations require additional permits, which will add time and an expense of around $800 to your project.  As far as I could find out, the land use zones do not prohibit solar panel installation.  The contractor will work with you and the County to ensure proper permitting.  
The program Is open to residents of NW Portland, SW Portland and unincorporated counties near the borders. The contractor will make the final decision on who can participate, but for other programs people within a large geographic radius were able to participate. If you are hoping to participate, but don't know if you are too far away-sign up!
Your roof needs to have ten years of life left to install solar.  You can also install systems on outbuildings, or opt for a ground-mount system.
If you have questions about the Solarize Northwest Program feel free to contact me.  Our website is also updated regularly with more information.

Thanks,
Alison Wallisch
Community Support Coordinator
Neighbors West-Northwest

FARM & FOREST:

Well Water Tests and Class Offered
OSU Extension Service is coordinating an opportunity for well water testing for bacteria at a reduced rate. This will be followed up with a free, educational program to provide homeowners with basic information on how to care for their drinking water well and septic system.  
Well owners can pick up bottles and instructions for well water tests from a number of locations throughout Washington County now.  A fee of $25.00 for bacteria tests must be paid when picking up a test bottle. Water samples are to be returned to the pickup sites on either March 3 or 10 before 10:00 am. for transportation to the lab.  The class is scheduled Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 10:00 am – noon at the Washington County Extension Office, 18640 NW Walker Road, Beaverton. This is at the corner of 185th and Walker Roads, 1 mile south of Hwy 26 off 185th Ave. Water test results will be returned at the class. You do not have to have your water tested to attend the free class.  
Mike Gamroth, OSU Professor and Extension Service Water Quality Program coordinator will review well water maintenance and safety issues and how to protect and improve your water quality in the class. This workshop may also be of interest to landlords and tenants of homes with wells and septic systems, realtors and potential home buyers.  Gamroth will address issues including well head protection, pump maintenance, recommended testing, septic tank pumping and drain field maintenance.  There will be time for questions and discussion.  Free nitrate tests will be offered at the class for participants who bring along a sample of their water.  
There is no charge for attendance or materials, but pre-registration is requested so that we can prepare adequate materials.  Walk-ins will be welcome. For more information and to pre-register, call OSU Extension Service, 503-821-1150.
Sites that have water bottles for bacteria tests are:  Ace Hardware, Forest Grove; Jim’s Thriftway, Banks; North Plains Hardware; Petrich General Store, Scholls;  and OSU Extension Service, corner of 185th and Walker Roads, Beaverton.  
Oregon State University Extension Service
Washington County Office
18640 NW Walker Road #1400
Beaverton, OR 97006-8927
503-725-2300 | 503-725-2100 (fax)
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/washington 

Gardening eNews from OSU Extension Service and the OSU Agricultural Experiment Station February 2011 (volume 10, no. 2) is now online at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/enews. Topics include:

GET OUTDOORS AND PRUNE YOUR TREES
*It's February and time to prune*
A 16-page illustrated guide from the OSU Extension Service explains the basic principles of training and pruning apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut, filbert apricot, and sweet and sour cherry trees. It's called "Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard"
*Fertilize and prune early to help cane berries produce more fruit*
It's not too early in the year to begin doing a few simple chores to help raspberries and blackberries stay healthy and bear more fruit.
*How to prune blueberries for more fruit*
If you prune your highbush blueberries every year, it can make the difference between a mediocre and a bumper crop and help produce consistently high-quality fruit.
*For more specific pruning information,*the 22-minute OSU Extension videotape "A Grower's Guide to Pruning Highbush Blueberries," (DVD 2) is for gardeners and commercial growers. Cost is $19.95 plusshipping and handling. Order online or call 800-561-6719.
ADVENTURES IN THE COOL AND DAMP
Mushrooms can mean healthy soil
Mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and may indicate healthy soil for trees and other plants.
*Got moss in your lawn? Try these tips.*
Whether you live on the wet or dry side of Oregon's Cascade Mountains, moss can infest your lawn. To discourage its growth, OSU Extension turfgrass specialist Rob Golembiewski suggests asking yourself several questions.
*Tips for growing vegetables in Oregon's colder regions*
Although summer vegetables can be a challenge to grow in these short-season areas, many fearless gardeners enjoy bountiful harvests just the same. OSU Extension horticulturist Janice Cowan shows how to do it.
*WHAT'S NEW*
Oregon's agricultural sales rebound 3.8 percent in 2010 after dismal  2009
Oregon's farmers and ranchers grossed $4.3 billion in sales last year, a 3.8 percentrebound from a dismal 2009, according to estimates in an Oregon State University report.
OSU study finds optimal treatment for fast, healthy putting greens
Researchers at Oregon State University believe they've come up with  a winning formula for making putting greens fast and healthy – and they have the numbers to prove it.
Gift from founders of Bob's Red Mill will launch new OSU center
A $5 million gift from one of the world's most prominent advocates for whole grains and healthy eating will launch a new research and outreach center *OSU GARDEN CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY*
Things to do in your garden this month.

SKYLNE SCHOOL
What: McMenamin's Rock Creek Tavern Family Night Out!
When: Tuesday February 22nd, 5-10pm
Where: 10000 NW Old Cornelius Pass Road, Hillsboro, OR 97124 (503) 645-3822
Invite your Friends & Bring Your Families! This is our biggest and best Family Night Out of the year due to the great food, atmosphere, and generosity of Rock Creek Tavern. Simply show up and enjoy a great meal and you will be helping our school! Rock Creek Tavern generously donates 50% of the evening's proceeds to the Skyline Foundation. This is by far our most profitable Family Night Out of the year, not to mention the most fun!
Please contact Becky Janasik m_janasik [at] yahoo [dot] com with any questions.
 

OTHER:
Update on Brooks Hill Historic Church: To my friends and neighbors - I've been getting a lot of questions about my property, Brooks Hill Historic Church, across the street from Skyline Elementary. Here is a summary and update. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support. I would not have gotten this far without your help Cindy  http://tinyurl.com/4z89uor

SRN Classified Ads

SRN Resource Directory

The SRN Resource Directory is published as a service for Skyline area residents. It lists a wide variety of businesses that are either located in our area, or whose owners live here. It also lists many governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide services to the Skyline neighborhood.

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, Rich Edwards, Libby Merwin, Sharon Barthmaier, Jennifer Jenkins, Sara Bowersox 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.