Mountain View
Woodburn Independent
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...
Pitching in across Columbia County
(ST. HELENS) — It’s hard to keep track of Judy Thompson, a mainstay in St. Helens. If you don’t see her volunteering for the St. Helens Kiwanis or the National Alliance on Mental Illness, you’ll likely see her acting as an ambassador for the South Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. The St. Helens resident moved to Columbia County around 1980 and worked as an armed guard at the Trojan Nuclear...
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...
Serving small businesses in Scappoose
(SCAPPOOSE) — Marc Knutson is known for his passion for making positive connections and supporting the local business communities. Using his business prowess from former jobs, Knutson, a Scappoose resident, now advises small companies and spreads the word about the South Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. Until recently, Knutson, who has lived in Columbia County for about seven years, worked as a Unitus Community Credit Union mortgage loan officer. Before...
West Linn woman helped grow Trillum Creek garden
(WEST LINN) — While reveling in the impressiveness of Trillium Creek Primary, one of the first things Charity Hudnut noticed when she first visited the school after moving to West Linn with her family in 2012 was its garden beds. After her daughter had been at Trillium Creek for a year, Hudnut noticed nothing was being done with the garden beds. So, with her daughter heading into second grade, Hudnut and another mom got permission from the school’s principal to plant some starters in the...
Pushing for sustainability in Lake Oswego
(LAKE OSWEGO) — Dorothy Atwood frames the golden rule — treating others how they would want to be treated — in a futuristic way. She would like people to treat people who have yet to be born with the same compassionate care that they would want for themselves. For the last three decades, Atwood has lived up to this mantra by helping to found the Lake Oswego Sustainability Network, working...
Banks store owner is all about community
(BANKS) — In Banks, they talk about being “Banks guys and girls.” Mark Ward is a “Banks guy,” and his long-standing commitment to the town in which he grew up is being recognized. The 57-year-old owns Jim’s Market, the primary grocery store in town. While helping to provide the Banks residents with food and supplies for their everyday wants and needs, he believes his responsibilities to those same people and the town in which they all live go beyond the owner/customer relationship. ...
Stepping up when people need help
(PRINEVILLE) — Marilyn Malloy is pretty easy to spot in Prineville, especially in places where help is needed. She volunteers at the Prineville Senior Center serving meals, she oversees the chemo quilt program for the Crook County Quilt Guild, and she volunteers for Christmas in the Pines, a drive-thru holiday lights display, focusing on repairing and upgrading the features. But believe it or not, as busy as she has been...
Grandmother inspired Bill Wienert's life focused on giving
(MADRAS) — Inspiration by his maternal grandmother led Madras resident Bill Wienert to live a life of giving. Growing up, there was always a kettle on the stove, and Wienert’s grandmother never turned anyone away. The coastal town of Toledo, Oregon, on Yaquina Bay, was home. After working in the paper mill to earn money for college, he set off to Oregon State University for a bachelor's degree and later OHSU to study laboratory medicine. He earned a certificate as a Medical Technologist. He was...
Building trust, inclusion in community
(FOREST GROVE) — As a teacher, business owner and active community member, Jodi Blue is a strong advocate for her beliefs. The Forest Grove resident has dedicated the past two decades to teaching special education, facing challenges with an unwavering passion for helping others. Blue's journey began in California, where she discovered her love for education while working in the classroom. ...
Clearing the path behind you
(CORNELIUS) — Angeles Godinez-Valencia knows firsthand how important it is to center access in programming. Today, she’s the Director of Education for Centro Cultural, but not too long ago, she was the child whose parents had to say no to after-school programs. “It’s not because she didn’t want me to do it, but because she just wasn’t in the financial position to do it,” she said. “So I think my...
‘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...
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...
Cleaning up the streets of Tigard
(TIGARD) — When John Minick and his partner, Tami Wadleigh, started going on walks around Tigard two years ago, Minick recalls seeing trash everywhere he looked. “And it became a bit too much. So, I just decided that if you want change … you have to take action because you can talk all you want. Nobody out there listens to somebody if all they do is talk,” said Minick, a retired contractor and military veteran. ...
Providing dental care across countries
(TUALATIN) — When she was young, Dr. Julie Spaniel recalls how her mother enjoyed traveling to developing countries. One of those places was Jamaica, where she remembers eating at a fancy restaurant on top of a mountain, complete with white tablecloths and chandeliers. “I remember as a second grader, I walked out on this veranda because we were waiting for our food to come, and everybody's all dressed up. And...
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...
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...
Party guy brings light, liveliness to Oregon City
(OREGON CITY) — After high school, the Marines and college, Cyrus Zamani moved to Oregon City. He became a DJ, spinning records for beer money while figuring out what to do. Almost 20 years later, his DJ gig has turned into one of Oregon City’s top event services and rental spots with the recent acquisition of the old Larsen’s Creamery building in Oregon City’s Trestle District. Zamani’s business, Party Factory, might pay the bills, but his true passion is the Oregon City community and working...
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...
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