Announcement

Summer Meeting Notice When: Mon Aug 11, 2025 7PM-9PM Where: Moose Lodge 16411 NE Halsey St Get Map!

Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday Aug 11th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2025 Summer Meeting being held at the Moose Lodge, 16411 NE Halsey St

Agenda

Download the Summer 2025 meeting agenda here!

• Jan Hann
  President Gresham Outdoor Public Art
  Sliders Return to Nadaka
• Janet Unruh
  Secretary, Wilkes East Neighborhood
  Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”
  and Impact on Gresham
• Neighborhood news and more!

Download the Spring 2024 meeting minutes here!

Who should attend?
Participation is open to all residents who live, own property or a business, organization, church or government agency within our boundaries

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Watch for these red & white Meeting Signs the week before our meeting. The signs were purchased with assistance of the City of Gresham Neighborhood Grant Program, and with volunteer hours to set them out and retrieve them. Signs Now NW also made a generous contribution to this project.

Mark your calendar. See you there!

Questions or comments?
Contact Wilkes East Neighborhood by email at info@wilkeseastna.org

Great News For Families In Our Community!

By Alma Landon, Wilkes East Neighbor

Oregon Senate Bill 692, which focuses on expanding access to maternal health services, has been enrolled. This bill aims to make it easier for new and expecting parents to get the support they need, including services like doula care and lactation consultations, with a special focus on making sure these services are culturally specific and competent.

As a mother and doula with Native roots, I understand how challenging it can be to find culturally specific services. That's why I'm passionate about supporting our community with knowledge and education, and I'm excited to share this important update with you all!

For more information please visit https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Analysis/SB692

Don't Let Old Paint Cans Get In Your Way - Recycle At These Locations!

Recycling old paint offers several benefits, including resource conservation, landfill space reduction, and potential reuse for others. It helps prevent environmental pollution from toxic chemicals and reduces the need for new paint production, saving energy and resources.

For residents of Wilkes East, the primary locations for dropping off unwanted paint for recycling is:

• Habitat for Humanity ReStore
  610 NE 181st Ave
  (503) 575-7336
• Sherwin-Williams
  18179 NE Halsey St
  (503) 666-1258

Quantity accepted varies between 20-25 gallons per visit. Both sites accept latex and oil-based house paint, stains and varnish in containers up to 5 gallons in size.

They do not accept aerosols (spray paint or other spray products), containers without original labels, or containers that are leaking or empty. Contact store for details.

For more paint recycling info visit PaintCare at https://www.paintcare.org/drop-off-sites/

Did You Know? You can toss opened and fully dry paint cans in your weekly trash.

Neighborhood Board Meeting Zoom Online Meeting When: Mon May 12, 2025 6:30PM-8:00PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81396104837?pwd=XKRqLX0OOYDA1yN0dU6HwSM6IUbLFC.1 Meeting ID: 813 9610 4837 Passcode: 262967 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbcIIKhFJv

Download meeting minutes here.

Board meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM via Zoom

For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

* General Meeting. Everyone's invited. Please attend.

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230

Gresham City Councilor, David Widmark, GOPA Board member Joan Albertson, and artist Rip Caswell unveil Slider in 2017. Click to enlarge

By Charlotte Becker Gresham Outdoor Public Art About eight years ago, Joan Albertson, a member of Gresham Outdoor Public Art’s (GOPA) board, brought the idea of art in Nadaka Nature Park to the board. GOPA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an all volunteer board. The group’s goal is to commission and install permanent art in Gresham’s public spaces. Most of the permanent art, up until 2016, was in and around Historic Downtown, so Joan’s idea got wings…as well as fur and a tail.

But first, a group from GOPA, along with Wilkes neighborhood champion Lee Dayfield, met at Nadaka to see what might be a good fit for the park. A path of rocks resembling a meandering stream bed seemed like home for some kind of water-loving creature. And a nearby towering timber could be the perfect perch for a squawking bird. Board member, David Baumann, said he had something at home that the group might like.

A few days later, the group got together again at Nadaka to see David wheeling in a bronze otter on a hand truck! It was created by Troutdale artist Rip Caswell, and it was perfect. Then the project really got off the ground, when we met with Rip and his son, Chad, who agreed to create a life-sized Raven to perch atop the timber.

The otter and the raven were installed in the park in 2017 with help from the City of Gresham. Neighborhood families came to see the unveiling, and children entered a contest to name the creatures. That’s how the otter became “Slider” and the raven became “Seeker”. Nadaka was to be their permanent home.

Until 2024, when Slider disappeared. It seemed someone needed him more than the neighborhood did. The word went out with the hope that Slider would be returned, but not even Seeker could find him. Not giving up, GOPA President, Judy Han, met with a representative from the City to discuss how to replace Slider. Rip Caswell told GOPA he had created an additional otter, the last of his kind, and would offer it to GOPA at cost. Once again, the pieces came together to bring Slider back to Nadaka.

GOPA and the City of Gresham plan to return Slider to his meandering stream in June, 2025. We’ll provide more information on the date as it is known. Visit Gresham Outdoor Public Art’s website, www.greshamoutdoorpublicart.com, to learn more about GOPA, the project at Nadaka and other projects in Gresham.

Spring 2025 Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Spring 2025 Newsletter Inside This Issue: Slider the Otter returning to Nadaka Wilkes East Land Use Update Youth Activities in Gresham Quirky Shops in East County Advocating for Maternal Health

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

¡Descargue nuestro boletín en español aquí!. (incluye enlaces web activos)

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 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our general meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

Neighborhood Board Meeting Zoom Online Meeting When: Mon Feb 10, 2025 6:30PM-8:00PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88498344381?pwd=h93BRY1rgbOAyU4LnyA051zd3p2udX.1 Meeting ID: 884 9834 4381 Passcode: 488070 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc2nTPucWZ

Download meeting minutes here.

Board meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM via Zoom

For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

* General Meeting. Everyone's invited. Please attend.

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230

Neighborhood Board Meeting Zoom Online Meeting When: Mon Jan 13, 2025 6:30PM-8:00PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89228605543?pwd=iBm4ZfpMBuJzOIwrYhXXo9sFsbqIn9.1 Meeting ID: 892 2860 5543 Passcode: 959536 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc2nTPucWZ

Board meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM via Zoom

For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

* General Meeting. Everyone's invited. Please attend.

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230

Fall Meeting Notice When: Mon Nov 18, 2024 7PM-9PM Where: Moose Lodge 16411 NE Halsey St Get Map!

Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday Nov 18th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2024 Fall Meeting being held at the Moose Lodge, 16411 NE Halsey St

Agenda

• WENA Board Elections
• Cook Plaza Homeless Center
• Habitat for Humanity
• Spring Cleanup Volunteers Needed
• Neighborhood news and more!

Download the Summer 2024 meeting minutes here!

Download the Fall 2024 meeting agenda here!

Who should attend?
Participation is open to all residents who live, own property or a business, organization, church or government agency within our boundaries

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Watch for these red & white Meeting Signs the week before our meeting. The signs were purchased with assistance of the City of Gresham Neighborhood Grant Program, and with volunteer hours to set them out and retrieve them. Signs Now NW also made a generous contribution to this project.

Mark your calendar. See you there!

Questions or comments?
Contact Wilkes East Neighborhood by email at info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: Wilkes East Neighborhood, 17104 NE Oregon St, Portland Oregon 97230

Neighborhood Board Meeting Zoom Online Meeting RESCHEDULED When: Wed Oct 16, 2024 6:30PM-8:00PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82421538175?pwd=aooCSEIL1inVjone5AQeinGLgbjCvT.1 Meeting ID: 824 2153 8175 Passcode: 465190 One tap mobile +16699006833,,82533819212#,,,,*465190# US (San Jose) +17193594580,,82533819212#,,,,*465190# US Meeting ID: 825 3381 9212 Passcode: 211437

Board meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM via Zoom
For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

* General Meeting. Everyone's invited. Please attend.

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230