Neighbors celebrate the Nelson addition to Nadaka Nature Park. Click to enlarge

Rain didn't dampen the spirits of community festival guests Celebrating the Nelson addition On June 18th, 2011, the Wilkes East Neighborhood held a community festival at Nadaka Nature Park to celebrate the Nelson property addition which was purchased with local grants.

The new addition which added 2 acres to this wonderful nature park has allowed the opening of the south gate -- improving accessibility to all of our neighbors and visitors as well as making room for the master plan that will include community gardens and more.

Rain is our sunshine
June 18th was a very wet cloudy day, typical of Oregon spring weather. Despite the rain, 58 volunteers with SOLV arrived at 9AM at Nadaka Nature Park for a park clean-up event. Participants removed invasive plant species as well as trash and debris. Volunteers came from HB LEE Middle school, SUN Community Schools as well as GGAPP Peer group and Catholic Charities.

The festival started at 12 noon and lasted until 3PM. Constant rain didn't dampen the spirits of the several hundred guests that attended the festival.

Freshwater mussel

Volunteer Opportunity Last year the Johnson Creek Watershed Council partnered with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to conduct surveys for native freshwater mussels in Johnson Creek — with your help, we want to continue this work.

Spots are filling up quickly so RSVP today! All ages welcome. Saturday, July 16* — Gresham Woods Saturday, August 6th — Ambleside Saturday, September 24 — Bundy Reserve Time: 10:00am-1:30pm

Searching for freshwater mussels

Volunteers will learn about the biology and ecology of native freshwater mussels, and the many ways in which these animals benefit water quality and fish habitat. Native mussels are sensitive to pollution and disturbance, so exploring mussel distribution and the age structure of mussel beds provides insight on the biological conditions of Johnson Creek. Native Western pearlshell mussels were found in both stream reaches surveyed in the upper watershed, and native floaters were present in the lower watershed.

The event represents a unique opportunity for the general public to assist with field research

"A tranquil place in the heart of the suburbs"

Nadaka Nature Park, Gresham OR Click to enlarge

This lovely little park feels so Oregon We received this letter from a Gresham resident expressing the uplifting effect Nadaka Nature Park has on their life and the lives of others, and we though we'd share it with you...

Road repairs, 165th & NE Russell Click to enlarge

Street Repairs Underway, Now through Fall 2011 Pothold Hotline Available Beginning this week and through the Fall five hundred individual street sections will be repaired within the boundaries of the City of Gresham.

Increased funding = More neighborhood repairs
Twenty-five percent of the five hundred scheduled repairs this summer will be residential. This is all made possible due to the increase in the gas tax and licensing fees. In total $3 million dollars will be spent on this project. In the past Gresham has only had $1 million dollars available at a time to repair city streets.

Got a Pothole? Give'm a Call
An adjunct to this project will be a Pothole Hot Line. Call 503-618-2626 to report potholes in your area.

Homes needed for 3 girls and 1 boy, ages 12-15 When: Jul 22-Aug 5, 2011 Where: Your Home! Gresham, OR Download Host Family Application (below)

Sharing Our Cultures

Thank you for your interest in hosting a high school exchange student from our Sister City of SokCho, South Korea. This is one of our two active student exchange student programs, with SokCho sending students to the Gresham area every other year opposite of the years students from Gresham travel to SokCho. The students come during the summer break approximately July 22rd through August 5th

Neighborhood Connections is a publication from the City of Gresham
Communications & Community Outreach offering City of Gresham news, Public Safety information, Community Activities & Events, Training & Workshops, Volunteer Opportunities, and more.

Inside this Issue

• Are You Ready? Workshop - Jun 18
• Crime Reports
• Music Mondays Return to the Center for the Arts Plaza
• Trees in the Summer = Lower Energy Costs
• Multnomah County RSVP
• Cellphones for Soldiers
• Project Linkage
• Summer Programs Available Through SUN
• Do Your Surroundings Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living - Jun 28
• Hollybrook Park Summer Festival - Jul 22
• Dcip-5: Institutional Master Plans - Jun 22
• Experience is the Best Teacher, and You Have a Lifetime’s Worth
• Downtown Plan Review - Jun 30
• Calling All East County Residents
• Springwater Trail Spur Project
• Neighbors Benefit from Mediation Tips
• Free Summer Activities at the Library
• Little Change Can Make a Big Difference
• Low Cost Summer Activities Through the PAL Youth Center
• Rockwood Standard Community Forum - Jul 7
• Block Party Time
• Transportation System Plan Update Community Forum - Jul 26
• Last Chance to Order your FREE SmartTrips Travel Tools!

Keep up with what’s Happening in your City!

Facebook - Read more
Twitter - Read more
Subscribe to City media releases - Read more

Gresham Neighborhoods listing

For more information, visit the Neighborhood Associations page at GreshamOregon.gov or contact Cathy Harrington at 503-618-2482, or email Cathy.Harrington@GreshamOregon.gov.

UPDATE: Prowler strikes June 2 Neighbors Beware Sometime between 9PM Monday May 23rd and 6AM Tuesday May 24th a prowler ransacked several cars in the Capri Terrace area stealing receipts, vehicle manuals, registrations and insurance cards.

The next morning neighbors woke to find discarded items strewn across their lawns by the thief as he moved from house to house searching for unlocked vehicles. Locked cars were undisturbed and no car alarms were heard.

At 167th & NE Hoyt the thief ransacked several cars from three adjacent properties, rummaging through the glove compartments and throughly checking underneath and in-between the seats for items with name & address information.

The Gresham Police was called to the scene Tuesday morning after neighbors realized they had been robbed overnight.

Click to download

Summer 2011 Newsletter is here. Download your copy today. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Nadaka Community Festival Disc Golf, Columbia View Park Reynolds 2011-12 Budget Recycling TV’s and Computers HB Lee MS, Sun Outdoor Club Nadaka Happenings 2011 Saturday Family Walks & Rides and more...

Download the full-color edition here!

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.
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Looking for a past issue? Check out the newsletter archive.

Got a story to share?

Wilkes East residents are encouraged to submit articles for the newsletter. Articles should be limited to 300 words and may be subject to editing. Send articles by email to: info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: PO Box 536 • Fairview, OR 97024.

Neighborhood Connections is a publication from the City of Gresham
Communications & Community Outreach offering City of Gresham news, Public Safety information, Community Activities & Events, Training & Workshops, Volunteer Opportunities, and more.

Inside this Issue

• Crime Reports
• Are You Ready? Workshop - June 18
• Multnomah County RSVP, a Program of Metropolitan Family Service (MFS)
• East Gresham Community Information Fair - May 25
• Project Linkage
• Join Girl Scouting and Make a Difference in a Girls’ Life
• Music Mondays Return to the Center for the Arts Plaza
• Healthy Soil for Healthy Plants May 22
• Building Healthy Soil and Compost Class June 4
• Home Stuffy in Summer? Drafty in Winter? City Helps You Make the Fix
• SmartTrips Continues Through Summer
• Leaky Toilet? Wasting Water? Free City Service Provides Answers
• Experience is the Best Teacher, and You Have a Lifetime’s Worth

Keep up with what’s Happening in your City!

Facebook - Read more
Twitter - Read more
Subscribe to City media releases - Read more

Gresham Neighborhoods listing

For more information, visit the Neighborhood Associations page at GreshamOregon.gov or contact Cathy Harrington at 503-618-2482, or email Cathy.Harrington@GreshamOregon.gov.

Jordan Beehler, Eagle Scout Click to enlarge

What began as a bird house project quickly turned into a passion Making A Difference Wilkes East resident Jordan Beehler is a young man with a warm smile who's interested in making the world around him a better place -- not only for himself, but for others in his community too. Jordan, an Eagle Scout with Boy Scouts of America Troop 606 is a senior at Central Catholic High School in Portland and plans to attend Oregon State University this fall.

In August 2010 Jordan began work on his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project. This project is the opportunity for an Eagle Scout to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of the community. This is the culmination of the Eagle Scout candidate's leadership training and requires significant effort on their part.

For his project Jordan choose to improve Nadaka Nature Park