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Mollala Pioneer
‘Life is communicating’
(CLACKAMAS / MILWAUKIE) — When Grace Saad graduated from college, she took a risk and moved across the country from Mississippi to Oregon to work for the United States Forest Service. She’d never been to the location she’d applied for and, in hindsight, laughed at the idea there was a time when she didn’t know anything about Timberline Lodge. “Timberline kind of just fell in my lap. It just happened...
Living a life of giving back
(MOLALLA) — Giving back isn’t just a catchy phrase. It has been a centerpiece in the life of a Colton woman — a philosophy she’s lived by. It’s the philosophy behind Rebecca Kollias’ lifelong desire to help others, even when life had sometimes dealt her a bad hand. Kollias, the director of Colton Helping Hands, knows something about giving back. Because of that passionate philosophy, she’s been named the area’s...
Make your pond 'pop' by adding plants
Water features can be relaxing and eye-catching additions to outdoor spaces. According to the online gardening resource Garden Know-How, a water feature is any landscape enhancement that uses water and other materials to bring tranquility and beauty to a space. Thanks to their soothing sounds and aesthetic appeal, water features like ponds and fountains are often included in healing gardens. However, they can be used in any landscape. Homeowners can...
Our TV picks for Thursday, August 22: The Little Foxes; Alone; Christina on the Coast
The Little Foxes TCM 3 p.m. Bette Davis takes center stage of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars marathon with this classic 1941 film that sees Davis star as the greedy Regina of the ruthless and rich Hubbard clan. “Another’s Man Poison,” “The Letter” and more follow. Alone ...
National election forecaster predicts Democratic supermajorities in Oregon House, Senate
A national analysis group that correctly predicted the Oregon Legislature’s partisan split after the 2022 elections is now forecasting solid Democratic majorities. CNalysis, the country’s only elections forecasting group that forecasts legislative elections, is predicting a 39-21 Democratic majority in the state House and an 18-11 split in the state Senate. Those margins would give Democratic leaders breathing room as they try to negotiate a new transportation funding package during...
Oregon Sen. Wyden: Fate of Kroger-Albertsons merger could be decided in days
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden D-Oregon, a vocal opponent of a proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores, said key decisions regarding the merger could arrive within days. The Kroger chain includes Safeway, Albertson and QFC. Speaking from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Wyden told the Portland Tribune that a lawsuit to block the merger and a counter-suit are both winding their way through courts. ...
Opinion: Democrats' 2024 Chicago convention nothing like 1968
I’ve heard a lot of speculation lately about whether Democrats are tempting fate by holding their 2024 nominating convention in Chicago after the riots that marred the 1968 one. Even the moderate The Hill political news website posted an opinion piece on the opening day of the convention headlined, “The 1968 DNC protests gave us Nixon. We don’t need a 2024 repeat.” At the risk of sounding like the aging...
Serving as honorary grandparents for the neighborhood
(ALOHA) — Marjie and Ed Ramirez are known as their neighborhood's abuela and abuelo. The common refrain in their yellow home at the end of the cul-de-sac is that the duo is only one phone call away from their grandchildren — biological or chosen family. Photos of familial and honorary grandkids — including the Ramirezes’ 10 grandchildren and a few of the neighborhood children — line the walls of their...
Paula Siverly has made education her main cause while serving the Sandy community
(SANDY) — For the better part of the past two decades, Paula Siverly has made mortgages her business, but her biggest overall passion is advocating for education. While she grew up in Vancouver and Portland, Siverly has lived in the Welches area for 25 years. It’s where she raised her son, who graduated from Sandy High School in 2022, and where she has long been involved in a myriad of school- and Oregon Trail School District-related endeavors. ...
Gresham’s 'accidental' neighborhood advocate
(GRESHAM) — A somewhat new resident of the Kelly Creek Neighborhood on the east side of Gresham, where homes were built atop former nursery land, found herself thrust into a position of leadership. Carol Rulla began getting involved in 2005, at a time when meetings were still announced via mailed postcards. While homeschooling her kids, she became interested in the various developments around her. “I went to a couple of...
Being on call for fellow residents
(PORTLAND) — Looking at his own heart and motivation, Wesley Mahan talks about the evolution of why he wanted to be a good neighbor. Today, he lives in The Empress Building at 20 N.W. 16th Ave. in the Alphabet District, and Mahan has developed a reputation as the go-to neighbor—ask Wes, he’ll know, ask Wes, he could do it. Mahan will do household fixes and errands for people in the five-floor, 73-unit building, and the condominium owners learned to count on him, to the point...
The Mayor of Seminole Estates
(BEAVERTON) — When Judy Martinez moved to the Pacific Northwest from Texas, she hesitated to lay down roots. The cost of living is so much higher out here, she thought, and she didn’t want to settle for buying a house she didn’t love, and it rains all the time. She kept to herself inside her apartment for three years, working 60-hour weeks to distract herself. “I wasn’t fully invested in...
An 83-year-old difference maker
(WOODBURN) — Born in West Virginia and raised in northern Ohio, Sara Buckingham was the youngest of 8 children. By her teenage years, she became used to caring for elderly people in need. Today, the 83-year-old Woodburn resident still does. Buckingham is also a willing participant in taking care of a segment of local history or anything else that her hands can tend. ...
Wilsonville woman looks out for her neighbors
(WILSONVILLE) — If you see flower baskets in the front yards of Wilsonville’s Fox Chase neighborhood, they may have come from resident Kathy Kennedy. Kennedy is known for watching over the neighborhood in various ways, from tending to people’s gardens to keeping an eye on a home while someone is out of town. She said being helpful is part of her nature. “I try to make people feel special,” Kennedy...
Portland man fosters a safe environment for kids and community
(PORTLAND) — Jay Williams is a dad of two girls, a football coach, a husband, and a "regular ol' guy." He wears multiple hats, but his servitude to the Portland community and its youths is the hat he wears with the most pride. "I'm a person who really doesn't need much. I would give the shirt off my back to other people so they would have," Williams said. "I'm not a material person. I'm someone who wants the best for everyone." ...
Couple does just a 'little bit of everything' to help locals in need
(GRESHAM) — Jim and Tari Card are quite the couple. Of their 41 years of marriage, the couple has spent 12 of them volunteering for the community they were raised in. The idea to volunteer with SnowCap Community Charities came from an experience years before their volunteering endeavor when they recalled bagging onions for the organization. The two were "Eastside kids"— both raised in Gresham — and, as retirement approached,...
Building a place for reflective contemplation
(NEWBERG) — Ciarán Hynes is a busy guy, and his industriousness has proved to be a benefit to the Newberg community. Despite being the father of three, an administrator at A-dec and an adjunct professor at George Fox University, Hynes has devoted his spare time to constructing the Newberg Peace Garden adjacent to First Presbyterian Church. The native of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States in 2000, has led...
Selling clothes, and supporting veterans
(GARDEN HOME) — Tanya Hawkins has spent the past 15 years helping people, including veterans, through her Gung Ho Ministries’ GHM Boutique in Beaverton. Sales of used clothing and other items go directly to veterans who have been assigned to her via Veterans Affairs. She has raised more than $100,000 each of the past two years, which goes directly to veterans. Hawkins, who lives in the Garden Home neighborhood, had...
Guiding high schoolers to better horsemanship
(ESTACADA) — Janeen Parries loves horses. She owns a ranch with a riding arena, rides as much as she can in her spare time and has spent 13 years as the volunteer coach of the young athletes on Estacada High School’s equestrian team. She started coaching the Ranger riding team when her daughter entered high school and continued volunteering after her daughter graduated. She finds it gratifying to help kids excel and fall in love with horsemanship. ...
Breaking down barriers, bringing people together
(HILLSBORO) — A local woman’s journey from adversity to advocacy is paving the way for inclusion. Joy Duncan faced remarkable hardships growing up. At just 16 years old, the Washington County native was forced out of her home. “My school secretary took me in and risked her job to help give me a stable place to live,” she recalled. “I then moved in with my now husband and his parents...
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