Liquor License Application: Rochelois

On Wednesday, January 19th, the BCA received notice of a liquor license application for an establishment in the Buckman neighborhood. Any comments or concerns with this application can be forwarded to Theresa Marchetti at theresa.marchetti(at)portlandoregon(dot)com or at (503) 823-3092, by February 17th, 2011.

Establishment: Rochelois

License Type: Applied for a Wholesale Warehouse sales license, which allows the sale and distribution of malt beverages and wine off premises.

Address: 111 SE Belmont Street

Hours of Operation: Not open to the public

Entertainment/Food: N/A

Soap Box Derby!

In the spirit of community-building, collaboration and FUN, SE Uplift is offering to facilitate a coalition soap box team to enter in the annual August PDX Adult Soap Box Derby at Mt. Tabor Park.

On Monday, January 31st, SE Uplift will host a meeting to explore the feasibility of a SE Uplift Soap Box Derby Team. We need, at minimum, 10 volunteers to commit to involvement between March and August. Expectations and roles will be decided on as a team. SE Uplift will serve as a teammate, organizer and facilitator, as needed – but individual teammate commitment, reliability, and follow-through will determine the fate of the SE Uplift Soap Box Derby team. Other than planning and building meetings (scheduled by the team), teammates will participate in the mid-April registration process, as well as the actual Soap Box Derby itself in mid-August.

If you are unable to attend this meeting but you are interested in participating on the team, please email soapbox(at)southeastuplift(dot)org. For details on the 2010 Derby, view the Racer Packet here.

We look forward to creating, building, toasting and laughing with you!

Meeting: Monday, Jan. 31st, 7-8pm, SE Uplift offices (3534 SE Main St.)

Bicycles for Humanity

In April of 2010, the BCA was contacted by Jenny Leonard, a student at Reed College. In 2008, while studying in South Africa, Jenny met Mercy, a 16 year old high school student who walked for three hours each way, every day, to get to school. The experience inspired Jenny. Partnering with an organization called Bicycles for Humanity, she set out on a mission to collect donated bikes and send them to impoverished students in South Africa.

On New Year’s Day, we received an update from Jenny via e-mail:

This year has seen a lot of good things. The container that shipped 300 bikes from Portland, Oregon to Cape Town, South Africa now stands at the Oval Noord High School in Mitchell’s Plain.  All 300 bikes have been distributed, the majority going to schools in the Mitchell’s Plain area.  The container itself will be made into a bicycle shop and will be providing the mechanical support needed to keep the bikes going for a long time.

There are many adventures in store for your bicycles.  They will be used by school children, carry precious cargo, and they might even compete in sports and races.  As for me, I also have adventures planned.  I will be attending the University of Cape Town to get my Master’s in Creative Writing. And I’m starting a new project.  I want to write a novel addressing current environmental issues, specifically related to globalization, sustainability and culture.  If you are interested in this idea please follow my link to Kickstarter, a website that provides a funding platform for creative projects: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/931725995/storytelling-an-environmental-perspective.

I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your support during the last year and a half. There were many times I thought I would give up. But with each bike donated, each dollar given, each stranger that showed their interest and support, my confidence grew. And look what we were able to accomplish. Hundreds of kids now have access to better transportation to and from school.  Thank you for making this possible.  Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.

 

Donate to Transition Projects

SE Uplift is collecting items to donate to Transition Projects in an effort to provide warmth and basic necessities to community members experiencing homelessness. If you have items you would like to donate, please bring your donations to: SE Uplift, 3534 SE Main Street, Monday-Thursday 10 AM to 3 PM, now through February 25th, 2011.

Wish List:

Hygiene products (any size; unused)

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Razors
• Shaving cream
• Lotion
• Feminine hygiene products

Linens (gently used is fine)

• Blankets
• Towels
• Twin-sized sheets
• Pillows

Clothing (for adults; gently used is fine)

• Clothing (seasonal, to the extent possible)
• Underwear and socks
• Shoes
• Shoe strings
• Belts

To learn more, visit the Transition Projects website: http://www.tprojects.org.

 

Worst Day of the Year Ride

Next month, Buckman and several other Portland neighborhoods will host the 10th annual Worst Day of the Year Ride. This bike ride will result in several street closures on the day of the event, Sunday, February 13th. Last month, the BCA was contacted via e-mail by Jensi Albright from Good Sport Promotion with information on the ride, including course route and street closures. Read on for details:

 

We are writing to notify the Buckman Community Association of an upcoming annual event that will be going through your neighborhood.  This 10th anniversary Worst Day of the Year Ride is a fundraising community bicycle ride event benefiting the Community Cycling Center’s safety education programs for low income children and adults.  The Worst Day of the Year Ride will take place on Sunday, February 13, 2011.

The urban course will be the same as last year starting and ending at the Lucky Lab Brewpub on SE Hawthorne, first going into Northwest Portland to the NW Johnson REI store back over the Broadway Bridge into Northeast Portland up to the Community Cycling Center on NE Alberta St, along the Alameda Ridge and over to the NE Sandy Bike Gallery store back over to SE Portland for a meal of hot soup and fresh-made bread.  The 40 mile course option adds a loop from REI in NW Portland out to the Hillsboro REI and comes back on the Germantown Rd and over St Johns Bridge and up into NE Portland to join back into the urban course.  Please see attached course map.

We anticipate approximately 3,000 riders to participate.  We will release the riders at the start in waves over 2 hours to ensure they will be spread out on course and will have course marshals in place at important intersections to ensure safety and we will also have motorcycle escorts on the course.  Please see the attached course map for affected streets and neighborhood areas.

The event begins at 8:00 am, comes back to the Lucky Lab by 11:00am and by 5:00pm will be cleaned up and broken down.  There will be a street closure for the start/finish line on SE Madison between 9th and 10th from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on SE 9th between Madison and Main from 5 am to 5 pm.  There will be a longer street closure for SE 9th between SE Hawthorne and SE Madison which will be closed from 10am Saturday February 12 to 6pm Sunday February 13th.  There will be a street closure for the REI rest stop on NW Kearney between NW 15th and NW 16th.  There will also be a street closure for the Community Cycling Center rest stop from 7am to 1pm on NE 17th between NE Alberta St and NE Wygant St.  These are the street closures for this ride – all participants receive heavy messaging in the website, event flyers, emails, and at the ride start regarding respectful shared road/path usage and they commit to abide by this as ride participants in their rider registration.

There will be amplified sound at controlled levels at the Lucky Lab Brewpub start/finish line on ride day starting at 8am and finishing at 4pm, there will be a syncopated drum corps playing the riders off at 9am and in addition to the finish line meal, there will be an additional beer station outside of the Lucky Lab Brewpub in the closed streets to serve the volume of returning riders.

This is a wonderful community event celebrating the quirky fun spirit of Portlanders in winter and benefiting an important organization in our community – I encourage you to come participate or cheer riders on as they go by.

Thank you for your cooperation!  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 503/459-4508, Jensi(at)ORbike(dot)com.

 

For more info, including course maps, you can visit their website at http://www.worstdayride.com.

WAMO Status Meeting Re-Scheduled

We posted recently about an upcoming meeting hosted by Portland Parks & Recreation to discuss the status of the Washington High School community center project. We learned this morning that the meeting, originally scheduled for this coming monday, January 17th, has been postponed. Here’s the scoop from PP&R Community Engagement and Public Involvement Manager Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong:

As many of your already realized – Monday is a holiday.  This meeting was intended to coincide with the completion of the Washington High School Community Center Report.  Completion of that report was delayed.  It will be complete and available for public review by Monday, January 24th.

Additionally, PPS will have completed its work on the contracting process and we will have a better sense of how that work may impact this project.

New Meeting Date/Time
Thursday, February 24th
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Location TBD

Childcare is available – please request childcare no later than February 17.

We’ll keep you posted on the meeting location when we’re updated.

BCA Awarded Grant for 2nd Annual Picnic in the Park

First things first: Happy New Year!

Secondly, the BCA got some great news today when we learned that our application to the Neighborhood Small Grant Program for a grant to help fund our 2nd annual Buckman Picnic in the Park had been approved!

The Office of Neighborhood Involvement’s (ONI) Neighborhood Small Grants Program funds a wide variety of community projects in Portland’s seven neighborhood districts each year. The goal of the program is to provide neighborhood and community organizations the opportunity to build community, attract new and diverse members, and sustain those already involved.

Each year, a grant selection committee convenes to review applications in depth. The committee then makes recommendations on grant approval to the SE Uplift Board of Directors. Our grant application was one of those recommended to and approved by the SE Uplift Board.

Last summer saw the inaugural Buckman Picnic in the Park, which was a rousing success. This year, the BCA applied to the Neighborhood Small Grant Program for a $4000 grant to help fund the second installment of the picnic. We were awarded a $2000 grant. The money will go a long way towards ensuring that this year’s event is even bigger and better.

The Picnic in the Park is held the second Sunday of every August from 4-8pm at Col. Summers Park, SE 17th and Taylor Street.  We’re always looking for volunteers to help plan, coordinate, and staff this fun, active family event.  Please contact the BCA at buckmancommunityassociation@gmail.com if you’re interested in helping.

Read more about the grant on Southeast Uplift’s website: http://www.southeastuplift.org/content/2011-neighborhood-small-grants.