News
2009 Edna Graf Memorial Scholarship
We were pleased to be able to award six $500 scholarships to island residents this year. We appreciate all of those who submitted an application and know they made it a very difficult decision because all of them were worthy of our support. The 2009 recipients were Madeleine Morawski who will be attending Georgetown University; Adam Seay, for advanced study at Concordia University for his Masters in Teaching; Stacy Sprando will be attending medical school at the Oregon Health Sciences University; Anna Tomlinson and Jorie Ruud will both be attending the University of Oregon; Ashley Woolbright will at studying at Portland Community College. Our best wishes to all of these outstanding young people. Their names have been added to the educational plaque recognizing their achievement within our community.
4th of July Volunteers Needed
Every year we have supported the Fire Fighters 4th of July Half Marathon by serving delicious Sauvie Island strawberries and ice cold water to runners. If you would like to volunteer to help man a water station on the race route, please contact James Pimley, jpimley00@gmail.com or 503-703-9632. They need 21 volunteers and the Grange is the perfect group to fill this need. It’s just a couple of hours on the morning of the 4th. It’s a great way to show how much we appreciate their work. This year the Association made route improvements that will significantly reduce the congestion at the bridge. Traffic should be back to normal at the bridge shortly after the last runner has gone by. The Fire Fighters work very hard to minimize the impact this race has and we appreciate their efforts. This is a great event that provides the Association with funds to buy equipment and training above what is provided by our tax base. Get involved and sign up to volunteer today.
Law Enforcement for Sauvies Island
With our visitor count increasing every year, we are now faced with reduced law enforcement on the wildlife properties. Now is the time to contact Representative Brad Witt and Senator Betsy Johnston for help in maintaining our police coverage. Cuts in both Multnomah County and Columbia County budgets have left us open for increased response times. There is a meeting on Thursday, June 18, 6:00 pm at the Columbia County courthouse. Attend if you can and write letters today.
September Grange Open House
It’s not too early to plan on attending our annual open house on Monday, September 14at 6:00 pm. It’s a potluck dinner with the Grange providing the main entrée, which hasn’t been determined yet and dessert. We know what we’ll do for dessert, we are going to feature the famous Sauvie Island Ladies of the Grange Pies. They are the best and you must come to enjoy. Come to learn about Grange and meet your neighbors. It’s fun and fantastic!
Next MeetingGrange on Monday, July 13th
GWA on Wednesday, July 15th 1:30 pm
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Immersion in the Spanish language and culture for incoming kindergarten through 4th grade students is being offered at Sauvie Island Elementary School this summer. It is not a school-sponsored program. Private instructor is Claudia Mesa. For information, contact her at 503-492-1700, or www.kidslikelanguages.com. Cost is $120 for a five-day, 9 a.m. to noon class.
Sauvie Island Boosters Community Association
April 23, 2009
7 PM
Grange Hall
1. Metro Representative: Dan Kromer will give us an update regarding Howell Territorial Park. He will share with the community the measures they are taking as stewards of the grounds and buildings to assure the longevity of this historic place. There have been rumors regarding new activities planned for the grounds this summer and fall such as weddings and events - Mr. Kromer will address this as well.
2. Multnomah Co. Planning: Chief Planner, Derrick Tokos and Mike— will be in attendance to discuss the process of obtaining a permit in the County for various businesses and activities; defining such terms as ‘ conditional use’, etc. This is your opportunity to ask questions of anything you are not clear about with the codes and zoning of Multnomah County. They will be here for your benefit- please come prepared with questions that have been nagging at you! There are people concerned about Big Island Marina, the farm markets on the Island, and events happening without permits (such as the two day walking event where the organizer uses the school property, does not provide restrooms, permission for property use, etc.) Everything that causes people to come to the Island adds to traffic and 911 responses for our volunteer fire dept.,Sheriff, State Patrol, AMR. We expect record numbers of visitors to the beaches this summer and the impact was extremely noticeable last summer!
Have you thought about having a business in your home or on your property? Do you believe everyone should obtain the appropriate permits?
Having the facts in front of us is a powerful thing!
3. Sign and envelope committee report. Dave Koennecke, Dave Kunkel & Ron Creswick have combined efforts to build a frame to hold the big sign. Polly Holbrook has been calling people to get the updated info on businesses and other changes to make to the map. Still waiting to hear from some people who will miss the deadline if they don’t get back to Polly. Sign installation date to be announced.
4. We need a secretary for the Association- then you would receive nicely written minutes of each meeting…
Review of March meeting:
We had a big surprise! Sheriff Skipper, the Undersheriff, two other officers, all came to talk about the critical funding issues and invited us to attend the meeting later that week. Note: Several residents did attend that meeting and shared ideas with the standing room only crowd!
a. Sign committee formed to choose materials, etc. and update information
b. Traffic concerns around the Wappato area brought up by Barbara Scot. Discussion ensued regarding high speed vehicles in various areas and what might be done about it. Signs, electronic signs, large speed bumps, radar, lack of funding and personnel, (I selflessly volunteered my black hair dryer and only got groans…) Polly H. remarked that traffic was much better this past October than in the past- many agreed and thanked the Farmers markets who paid for traffic control people.
c. Events without permits discussed.
d. It was moved, seconded and unanimously voted to dedicate our sign at the parking area to someone extremely special. You missed the meeting? You can wait to see the sign.
Note: The new flag at the parking area will be managed by Megan Hoffart with Austin Eggers.
5. Multnomah Co. urban and rural reserves (Urban Growth Boundary for the next 50 years) update. Also, see “Open House Dates” attachment which gives you opportunity to attend and see the maps, etc. the committee has been working on.
6. Old and new business- please let us know of any subjects you are interested in having speakers address.
7. May meeting - Subject of interest: Invasive weeds!
Sauvie Island Elementary School will hold Kindergarten Round-up on Wednesday, April 29 from 2:00-3:00pm. Please come and meet our teacher, Mrs. Murphy. The school district is considering full-day kindergarten for a cost of $275/month. They are interested in knowing how many parents would consider this option for their child. Call the school with questions or to sign-up…..503-621-3426
In a letter to Sauvie Island residents, the island’s elementary school parent-teacher organization reports on the latest budget committee’s thoughts for the school year of 2009-2010.
This year will be particularly difficult for the Scappoose School District. We face $1.7 million in cuts (approximately 15%). The committee is working through some potential cut ideas, including middle school programs, high school programs, physical education instructors, library staffing, electives, shorter school years, etc. Included on this list of budget items to be considered, as usual, is the closure of Sauvie Island School. The closure will impact 87 children, 7 teachers, and our community. The savings is listed at a mere $145,000. As we all agree, the savings does not outweigh the long-term impact on our children/community.
The budget committee is holding a public hearing at the Scappoose High School gym on April 8th, 2009 at 6:30pm. We would love your support if you have the time on Wednesday night. We have several parents lined up to give testimony, focused on the low savings vs. the high cost of closure. One of the strongest argument will be the lack of classroom and seat space for our children at the other Scappoose Schools. The impact of closure will be felt on every child in those schools in Scappoose. Another strong argument is the excellent condition of the building. It is an excellent asset in a district with too little space and buildings facing high repair costs. In addition, the Sauvie community has continued to be supportive of the Scappoose School District, and we have seen the difficulties the Yankton district faced when their school was closed (though that school was aged and required significant repairs unlike our building.)
Thanks for your support. If you have an opportunity to write a letter showing your support for our school, the positive impact it has on the community and how the Sauvie Island community has continued to support our school systems even when times are tough, we’d appreciate it. You can send your letters to Sauvie Island resident and school board member Diane Kunkel (d-dkunkel@msn.com)
