Portland, OR. This Red Panda is one of many animals that had a chance to play with pumpkins this October at the Oregon Zoo. The zoo is also encouraging parents to bring their costumed kids to ‘Howloween’ for treats and fun. The zoo provides a safe setting for this Halloween tradition, where costumed trick-or-treaters learn about healthy habitats for wildlife in a fun scavenger hunt throughout the zoo.
Treat bags are available at the end of the scavenger hunt for an additional fee of $3 per participant. In keeping with the zoo’s mission. Activities are best suited for children ages 2-12, but all are welcome.
Here’s a video with those cute animals playing with their pumpkins:
Here are some snapshots of the animals:
From Oregon Zoo:
What’s different for Howloween this year?
Make sure your costumes include masks that cover your nose and mouth.
Instead of collecting candy and toys throughout the zoo, Howloween participants may purchase pre-filled treat bags that can be collected at the end of their scavenger hunt. Treat bags are $3 each; tickets for the treat bags will be available for purchase online.
All tickets must be purchased in advance, in timed-entry segments. Please note that due to capacity restrictions, even infants need to be counted. Infants are free with a paid adult admission, but must have a ticket.
Portland, OR. The theme for the October 16th virtual benefit, “Weathering the Storm” addressed the challenges many have faced navigating the pandemic. INCIGHT navigated its own rough waters during the past 18 months and yet the nonprofit stayed buoyant. Dan Friess and local TV personality Natali Marmion were hosts for the event, which raised $130,000. INCIGHT is dedicated to “Changing Hearts and Minds,” “Leveraging Obstacles,” and “Unlocking Potential” for those with disabilities through education, employment, and independence.
Julie Resk, Mair Blatt and friends Weather the Storm together.
Storm watchers Gary Buczkowski, Rosemary Buczkowski and Meagan Kimball host a house party in support of INCIGHT.
INCIGHT co-founder Scott Hatley reports from Majestic Cape Meares in Tillamook County.
The INCIGHT team enjoys the success of the night.
The event showcased stories of success and highlighted the important partnership with Hood-to-Coast Relay which helped keep INCIGHT on its feet during COVID by providing pro-bono office space.
The virtual benefit featured reports from remote locations such as Cape Meares in Tillamook County and Charbonneau in Wilsonville, Oregon.
We could not have held this event without the generosity of our presenting sponsor, the Safeway Foundation. Other sponsors for our event include:
INCIGHT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has been Unlocking the Potential of People experiencing disabilities for more than 17 years. INCIGHT’s services have influenced thousands of students, job seekers, educators, parents, employers, and community members. The INCIGHT mission is one that invites and challenges everyone to think, feel and behave with more equity and expectancy.
Grand Ronde, OR. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde redevelopment project at Willamette Falls is slated to receive $2 million in federal funding toward infrastructure improvements at the former site of the Blue Heron paper mill. The news comes out of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley’s office, which announced plans for an upcoming Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.
Senator Jeff Merkley said, “I’m pleased I was able to secure this $2 million in support of the Grand Ronde Tribes’ ongoing effort to clean up and restore the Blue Heron site at Willamette Falls—a location that holds significant historical and cultural significance to tribal nations. I will continue to advocate for this funding as it moves through Congress, and do everything I can to support the sovereignty and self-determination of tribal nations in Oregon.”
Here’s a video about the project:
The site is located in the center of Oregon City, Oregon, at the majestic Willamette Falls, the second largest waterfall in the United States by volume. It suffered years of heavy industrial use at the Blue Heron paper mill, which closed in 2011.
The demolition at the Blue Heron site in Oregon City kicked off in September. As demolition occurs, everything is being sorted so it can be recycled.
As a part of the broader redevelopment effort, which kicked off with demolition in September 2021, Grand Ronde will use this federal funding to improve street infrastructure and utilities on-site. These infrastructure improvements will cost around $3.7 million. This work will include new public access streets and an extension of Main Street from downtown Oregon City into the site. The previously vacated Water Avenue will be constructed from 99E to 4th Street, and 4th Street will be extended from Water Avenue to Main Street. Along with new streets, new public utilities will be installed to serve the development, including sanitary and storm sewers, a water main and facilities, streetlights, and traffic signals.
“Since its foreclosure, the old Blue Heron site has sat empty and abandoned. The funding allocated to the Grand Ronde Tribe under the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill will allow us to make significant improvements to the property’s infrastructure and take this project one step closer to welcoming family and friends back to Willamette Falls,” said Cheryle A. Kennedy, Chairwoman of the Grand Ronde Tribal Council. “We want to thank our Senators for work they’ve done to highlight this important project.”
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill also includes support in a variety of other areas, including affordable housing and homelessness services. The bill is the basis for negotiations with the House, as Congress works to fund the government for fiscal year 2022.
Senator Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee, considered to be one of the most powerful on Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making.
The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon includes over 30 tribes and bands from western Oregon, northern California, and southwest Washington. For more information, visit www.grandronde.org.
Portland, OR. Over 150 guests gathered to cut the ribbon and officially open the new De La Salle North Catholic High School. The school is located at 4300 NE Killingsworth Street in Northeast Portland. The new facility includes state-of-the-art science labs, a visual arts center, and a new gym. It will serve up to 350 students—significantly more than the 280 who attended at the previous location on North Fenwick Avenue.
Amanda Weingarten ’05, Lech Kaiel ’05, Jonna Frater ’06, and Nik Tucker ’14.
Former Principal Tim Joy along with Lisa Bendt and Charles Leverton from the Multnomah Athletic Club.
Oscar Leong, Brother Chris Patiño and Tim Joy pose next to the statue of St. John Baptist de la Salle.
The Kelley Family in the Michael Kelley Gymnasium.
Board members Cyndy Maletis and Mary Boyle, and guest Gay Jacobsen.
Mary Boyle, the honorary co-chair of the Capital Campaign Committee, said “When we found out that we needed to have a new campus, our own campus, we started looking around and working with the architects and trying to see what kind of campaign we could do, and what we could raise, $30 million was out in the air and we said no way can we raise that amount of money, maybe $15 million? Little did we know, with an incredible campaign committee and all our donors and supporters that we were able to complete a full gym and renovate this whole school and raise $26 million during a pandemic.”
De La Salle North Catholic High School opened in 2001 to provide a faith-based, college preparatory high school education to underserved students from the Portland area. These families needed and wanted a viable and affordable choice of schools to send their student. Other private high schools in and around Portland were not an option for most of them because of the cost and the distance their student would have to travel to go to school each day. They spoke out and said, “put your school right here in our neighborhood.”
De La Salle was the first school to replicate the innovative Corporate Work Study Program pioneered by Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. There are now more than 37 schools throughout American cities that model their school on this Cristo Rey model.
De La Salle North Catholic is sponsored by The De La Salle Christian Brothers and is a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland/Western Oregon. A nationwide, independent rating agency has identified De La Salle North Catholic High School as the most diverse private high school in all of Oregon.
Students at De La Salle North Catholic High School attend class four days per week and work for a local company one day each week as part of the Corporate Work-Study Program (CWSP). The CWSP provides work experience, business contacts, and helps offset the cost to educate them. This school exists to provide this unique educational opportunity to families who would not be able to afford a private, Catholic education. Our goal is to develop tomorrow’s community leaders by making high-quality education accessible to motivated young people in a learning environment that values cultural, spiritual, and ethnic diversity. We don’t turn away any capable, motivated, or interested students because they cannot afford our modest tuition.
Portland, OR. 170 supporters attended the Oregon Episcopal School (OES) ‘Ties & Tennies’ event on October 16th. The celebration, held in an outdoor tent, was designed to thank the school’s major donors, particularly supporters of the expanded and remodeled 42,000 square foot athletic center. The OES community raised $13.5 million for the new athletic center, which was constructed during Covid, and completed in June 2021. Longtime supporters Don and Alicia Morissette, seen above, are parents of four OES alumni and Capital Campaign co-chairs. They were presented with a framed piece of the former gym floor as a thank you for their leadership. A new athletic space in the facility is called Morissette Court after the family. It honors their passion to give back to future generations of athletes. Morissette Court has full-size basketball and volleyball courts, and two basketball and volleyball practice courts when the bleachers are retracted. OES Head of School Mo Copeland explained, “The family has been all-in as champions and supporters of OES and we are in their debt for their efforts in inspiring donors and the community to forever make this spectacular building a reality.”
Parents Jeanine Fukuda and Kevin Walkush connect with OES Head of School Mo Copeland
Copeland explained, “The building is truly a game-changer for our students and campus and our community.”
A court remodeled from OES’s previous gym is named for Kris Van Hatcher ‘70 (second from left), who celebrated with son, Addison ‘06 (left), Missy Smith, associate athletic director (second from left), and Dennis Sullivan, athletic director.
Oregon’s Episcopal Diocese bishop, The Rt. Rev. Diana Akiyama, and husband, Michael L. Jackson.
Oregon Episcopal School’s donor thank you event was held outside in a tent with its newly expanded and remodeled athletic center as a backdrop.
Here’s a video about the new facility:
The new athletic facility almost doubles the school’s indoor physical education and athletics capabilities, enhances OES’s already successful and inclusive no-cut athletics programs, and creates a new hub that meaningfully connects the entire school community.
The “old gym” was also upgraded and the space was named for OES’s first student to graduate with 12 varsity letters, a longtime coach, and athletic director Kris Van Hatcher ‘70. Van Hatcher was joined at the event by his wife, Karen, son Addison ‘06, and his wife, Laura.
“The strength of our inclusive and winning athletics program is in large part thanks to Kris and it is only fitting that we recognize his incredible influence at OES by naming our west gym in his honor,” said Copeland.
From OES:
Among the woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife of the hills of Southwest Portland lies the unique educational experience that is Oregon Episcopal School. The school occupies a 59-acre campus where 880 students in Pre-K– Grade 12 share an excellent faculty, a college preparatory curriculum, and a strong sense of community.
Offering a true liberal arts curriculum, OES is dedicated to scholarship and an enriched academic environment of “learning by doing” that strives to help each individual reach his or her fullest potential. Small classes provide intimate learning environments that allow teachers to instill in each student a love for learning and the joy of discovery. Learn more about our Academic philosophy and Essential Competencies.
The oldest Episcopal school west of the Rockies, OES values developing the spirit as well as the mind. Though steeped in Episcopal heritage and tradition, the school welcomes students of all beliefs. We provide instruction about all major faiths, and encourage individuals to discover their own spiritual path. Learn more about our Episcopal tradition.
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