OKNA Overlook Neighborhood Email 10/4/13

OKNA Overlook Neighborhood Email 10/4/13

1) Portland Marathon Weekend
2) Friends of Overlook Bluff Work Party (10/5)
3) Overlook Livability Team Cleanup (10/5/13)
4) Carrot Mob at Garden Fever! (10/6)
5) Portland Harbor Citizen Group (10/9)
6) Parke Diem! Volunteer for Your Parks (10/11-10/12)
7) Sustainable Overlook Fall Social (10/10)
8) Schools Forum – Get Current With Contracts (10/16)
9) Overlook House Unveiling Party (10/18)
10) Volunteer Now for Holiday Half Marathon (12/16)

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1) Portland Marathon Weekend

Reminder: The Portland Marathon runs this weekend; cheer on the crowds or get out of their way as they dash through North Portland! Information: http://portlandmarathon.org/information/marathon-weekend/schedule/

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2) Friends of Overlook Bluff Work Party (10/5)

We have cardboard, compost, collected seeds and an clear forecast. What more does an oak meadow installation need? You!

Friends of Overlook Bluff needs your participation this Saturday morning from 9am-1pm to help restore the bluff’s natural order. Be part of the steps to create field populated with native flowers and grasses. Take time to change the course of North Portland’s natural areas. We will also remove invasive species on the beautiful oak woodland on the slope above Greeley with the expert supervision of Jim Schiller from Portland’s Environmental Services.

Meet at the Heritage White Oak tree in the 3900 block of N. Overlook Terrace.

Snacks provided. Wear appropriate protective clothing and shoes. For more information contact us at friendsofoverlookbluff@gmail.com or look to our website www.overlookbluff.org

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3) Overlook Livability Team Cleanup (10/5/13)

Your volunteer cleanups are noticed and appreciated!

Dear Overlook Neighbors, I live in Irvington and bike commute through your neighborhood for appointments at Kaiser. What a delight to ride up the ramp of the Failing Street Bridge this afternoon and discover that it had been swept clean! My thanks and kudos to the neighbors who took the initiative to make crossing the bridge an extra pleasant experience – and safer, too! Best wishes, Cynthia C

This Sunday Overlook Livability Team will be meeting at DiPrima Dolci Trattoria (1936 N. Killingsworth @ Denver) at 9am for resupply and OLT clean up. I will be working the Killingsworth Corridor, others will focus on Interstate/Greeley/Failing St. Bridge. All are welcome, all supplies provided. Please let me know if you have any special requests so I can stock up appropriately.

The weather is changing so ensuing clean-ups should be relatively easy. Weather for this weekend looks great to get some work done. Whether it’s an hour or 3 that you are able to give, please don’t worry–we’ll take any help we can get!

It’s a lot of fun, you can grab a pastry/coffee at Di Prima prior to the event, or even an entire breakfast if that’s your style. Encourage your neighbors to show up, the more we do as a community, the better the neighborhood gets. And judging by the sales prices in Overlook, people really want to live here and be engaged with their neighbors!

Please let me know, graffiti@overlookneighborhood.org. Thanks, I look forward to meeting new members and new neighbors. Lelio, OLT Team Lead

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4) Carrot Mob at Garden Fever! (10/6)

A Carrot Mob is a new way to reward merchants and this one sounds great! From Sustainable Overlook – a Transition neighborhood: Save the date for The Carrot Mob at Garden Fever! Sunday, October 6 from 12 – 4 pm.
Bee Friendly Portland is hosting an event at Garden Fever Nursery to thank them for pulling neonic pesticides and other toxic chemicals off their shelves. Join us in showing support for retailers who are committed to healthy and safe gardening and lawn care by refusing to sell systemic pesticides!!

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5) Portland Harbor Citizen Group (10/9)

You are invited to attend the Portland Harbor CAG meeting; join us for discussion on Monitored Natural Recovery (MNR) in the Draft Feasibility Study for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site with Jim McKenna, Carl Stivers and Barbara Smith, on behalf of the Lower Willamette Group.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013, 6-8pm
6543 N. Burlington Avenue (Portland BES Water Pollution Control Lab)

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6) Parke Diem! Volunteer for Your Parks (10/11-10/12)

Greetings from the Portland Parks Foundation, an independent nonprofit founded to support our parks. You are invited to take part in an exciting event: the largest volunteer effort EVER in support of parks. Parke Diem presents an amazing 70 volunteer projects at over 55 locations citywide, in partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation and 40 fantastic, park-supporting groups.
There are lots of incentives to join in; check them out here http://www.parklandia.org/parke-diem/swag
There is a work party scheduled for the Beach Community Garden as well as some other North Portland projects. Go give our parks some lovin’!
http://parklandia.org/parke-diem/north-portland

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7) Sustainable Overlook Fall Social (10/10)

Connect with your neighbors about sustainability/community issues over a glass a wine or hot apple cider. Bring ideas for green projects, seeds to swap, an appetizer to share, or just yourself!

Thursday, October 10, 2013
6:30pm until 8:30pm
Daybreak Cohousing
2525 N. Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217

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8) Schools Forum – Get Current With Contracts (10/16)

The Schools Portland Students Deserve — A Community Forum —

Speakers: Gwen Sullivan, president, Portland Association of Teachers; Lluvia Morello, Woodlawn School parent; Rose Murdoch, Beach School teacher; and a Jefferson HS student

Wed. Oct. 16 – 7 – 8:30pm
Jefferson High School, 5210 N. Kerby (@ Killingsworth & Alberta)

Come hear about, question and discuss the teachers’ bargaining proposal preamble "The Schools Portland Students Deserve" which calls for

· Reduced class sizes and caseloads
· More electives, music, art, physical education, libraries, and world languages
· Wrap-around support services, including counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, second-language and special education teachers
· Equity in allocation of resources to high poverty schools
· Maintenance of enrollment rather than school closures
· Use of standardized testing as only one tool for assessment of students
· Academic freedom and collaboration for professional educators

Portland Public Schools (PPS) refuses to bargain over these issues in a meaningful way. PPS should continue negotiations without declaring impasse. PPS should settle a contract which provides for adequate compensation and benefits, fair workload and preparation time, because teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions.

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9) Overlook House Unveiling Party (10/18)

Save the date: Friday Evening October 18th, from 5:00 till 8:00. Autumn is a "Season of Change" — come help us celebrate the recent transformations at the Overlook House. The carpet has been removed and the original hardwood floors have been refinished. The walls have been repainted in period-appropriate colors and furnishings have been upgraded — The Overlook House looks great ! !

Meet your neighbors and celebrate this milestone. Help us look to future projects that will continue the trend toward a real community center. We will celebrate with Beer, Wine, Hors d’oeuvres, music, and a raffle drawing at 7:00. Babysitting (age 4 and up) will be provided. See you there ! !

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10) Volunteer Now for Holiday Half Marathon (12/16)

Enjoy running and marathon events? Want to help our environment? Then become a volunteer at the fourth annual Foot Traffic Holiday Half Marathon and 5K December 15th!

The Holiday Half Marathon and 5k needs volunteers to support over 4,000 runners, all decked out in their best holiday-themed running attire! Volunteers not only get to work behind the scenes, helping with event execution, but also get first row seats to the race, stationed alongside runners to cheer them on! Volunteers gain an awesome opportunity to network, receive some freebies, and get rewarded with an end-of-race after party with seasonal craft brews, hot cider, eggnog, local food, and festive live music!

Sounds amazing, right? Even more amazing: proceeds of this event benefit The Freshwater Trust, an action-oriented 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that restores rivers and streams throughout Oregon. They work with the community throughout Oregon to improve our habitat, planting thousands of trees, restoring dozens of river miles and keeping billions of gallons of water flowing in Oregon’s waterways.

Holiday Half Marathon and 5k

When: Sunday, December 15, 2013 (opportunities to serve pre-race as well!)

Where: Adidas North America Campus, 5055 N Greeley Ave

Who Can Volunteer? Anyone who loves helping the environment, free food, and free stuff. This is a great event for different types of volunteer groups, from youth to corporate.

What Do Volunteers Do? Cheer loudly, pass out water and snacks, help us maintain green event standards, and more!

This sounds close to amazing. Who do I contact? Email volunteer@thefreshwatertrust.org and make sure to indicate any preferences!