Eric Norberg, Editor & General Manager Brian Monihan, Publisher Sandy Hubbard, Independent BEE      Advertising Representative Molly Filler, Page Design Jaime McClaren, Accounting Eric Norberg:     Sandy Hubbard: Call: 503 / 232-2326    Text: 971 / 407-7942 fax: 503/232-9787 text: 503/757-0014 "Community Classifieds" want ads: 503/620-7355 Circulation/subscriptions: 503/620-9797 Accounting/Billing: 971/204-7712 Carpenter Media Group Editorial and Sales Address: 1837 S.E. Harold St, Portland, OR 97202-4932 Remit bill payments to: Accounts Receivable Department P.O. Box 22109, Portland, OR 97269-2109 e-mail: ReadTheBee@Outlook.com September, 2024 - Vol. 119, No.1 Scroll down to read this issue! Memories of THE BEE's first 100 years! In 2006, THE BEE celebrated its centennial of serving Southeast Portland!  A special four-page retrospective of Inner Southeast Portland's century, written by Eileen Fitzsimons, and drawn from the pages of THE BEE over the previous 100 years, appeared in our September, 2006, issue. Click here to read the special centenary retrospective! _________________________________________ BEE SUBMISSION AND AD DEADLINES Next BEE is our October issue, with a deadline of September 19. (The November issue has an ad and copy deadline of October 17.) INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? CLICK HERE FOR RATES AND INFORMATION!      ____________________________________ Want to subscribe to receive the PRINT version of THE BEE in the mail? Email circulation@pamplinmedia.com -- or telephone 503/620-9797, during weekday business hours. The 12-issue annual print subscription is $25 per year for addresses anywhere in the United States.. International rates are available; inquire via the e-mail address or the telephone number two lines up!  _________________________________________________________________________ Daily news!  The Portland Tribune is updated a number of times every day, to bring you the latest news of the Portland area and Oregon.  Click on the banner at left to read the Tribune online! THE BEE has a second website -- searchable for past stories.  The content for the current month includes what is on this one, presented in a different format.  To visit our newer website, click the banner at right! GDPR NOTICE: The owner of this website, www.ReadTheBee.com, collects no information on this site from any reader, and never has. SUV soars off McLoughlin into Oaks Bottom An ODOT “Incident Response” truck was parked near where a 2008 Lincoln Navigator SUV drove off S.E. McLoughlin Boulevard at Holgate, up and over the berm, and plunged part-way down the steep embankment on the other side. Part of the highway was closed during the subsequent high-angle rope rescue by Portland firefighters. (Photo by David F. Ashton) By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Early Thursday evening, August 8th, Central Precinct officers and PFR emergency first responders converged on the intersection of S.E. McLoughin and Holgate on the report of an incident described as “a blue truck, nose down toward the Springwater Trail, about 50 feet down the embankment.” Apparently the vehicle had run up the substantial berm on the “jug handle” exit from southbound Highway 99E exit to Holgate, and had gone up over the edge. Scrambling down the steep embankment, PF&R rescue crews reported seeing a man crawling out the back window of the vehicle. Eventually, by means of a high-angle rope rescue, they managed to get the man up the hillside and into an awaiting ambulance above on McLoughlin Boulevard, so he could be rushed to a hospital for treatment. Later, PPB Public Information Officer Sergeant Kevin Allen filled in the story for THE BEE, from the Police Bureau’s records. “This was a single vehicle crash. A 2008 Lincoln Navigator left the road, and went down the hill on the west side of S.E. McLoughlin Boulevard toward the Springwater Corridor Trail. The driver was rescued from the steep incline by firefighters from Portland Fire & Rescue. “Strangely, officers reported that the same driver had been in a previous car crash a couple of hours earlier, a few hundred feet east – on S.E. Holgate Boulevard, just west of Milwaukie Avenue. However, he was driving a different vehicle in that incident.” Although the driver was taken to a hospital by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries, “he was uncooperative with police and hospital staff, so it’s unclear what led to the crash,” Sergeant Allen told THE BEE. “The driver was not cited or arrested.” The lack of a citation or arrest indicates that there was nobody seriously injured in the crash, and that there is currently no reason to believe that the crash was anything but just an accident. But two crashes in the same vicinity by the same driver in two different vehicles on the same day is certainly a curious situation – so the incident is still under investigation. If you or someone you know witnessed this strange accident, please email – crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – and make reference to Case No. 24-199156. After a team practice in the “Alex Rovello Memorial Courts”, here assembled for a team photo were [from left]: CHS Tennis Coach Nate Raphael, Finley Vleer, Olin Doyle, Asher Roth, Spencer Maddux, Andy Boyd – and Bill Henderson, Assistant Coach. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Concert celebrates 10th anniversary of ‘Rovello Memorial Tennis Courts’ By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE A “Celebration in the Park” took place on Saturday, July 27, at PP&R’s Berkeley Park in the Eastmoreland neighborhood – it included a family-friendly concert to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the dedication of the “Alex Rovello Memorial Tennis Courts”. Alex Rovello was a participant in Cleveland High School’s only state championship tennis team, and was a nationally-ranked Junior Player in the United States Tennis Association. He went on to be a star tennis player at the University of Oregon – until his sudden accidental death in a diving mishap in the Cascades, in May of 2013. “Alex started learning to play tennis when he was two years old, here at Berkeley Park,” his mother, Geri Rovello, recalled at the celebration. “He went on to win four state singles titles while in high school.” She pointed out that these particular tennis courts have long been the place where Cleveland High and LaSalle High School tennis players practice. “We established the Alex Rovello Memorial Foundation, which paid for the renovation of the tennis courts here in the park, with contributions from about 1,400 individuals and organizations, under a Memorandum of Understanding with Portland Parks & Recreation,” recollected Rovello. “And, the foundation also pays for the upkeep of the courts.” About the celebratory concert – she explained that her husband, Jim, “loves jazz music, and it’s helped us recover from a lot of grief. So, this concert by ‘smooth jazz’ artist Brian Simpson is our ‘thank you’ to all of our supporters – the Foundation is covering all the costs for this.” Guests also enjoyed sausages from Otto’s Sausage Kitchen in Woodstock, prepared by the store’s owner – Gretchen Eichentopf – and Aidan O’Brien. If you’re not familiar with Berkeley Park, and these tennis courts, you’ll find them at the intersection of S.E. Bybee Boulevard and Chavez Boulevard (the former S.E. 39th Avenue). Even if you don’t play tennis, they’re really worth a visit. “Blitzen Trapper”, a Portland band for more than 20 years, will be inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 12th, at the Aladdin Theater in the Brooklyn neighborhood. (Courtesy photo) ‘Blitzen Trapper’ among 2024’s inductees into Oregon Music Hall of Fame By JASON VONDERSMITH Carpenter Media Group The Oregon Music Hall of Fame has named its new class of inductees, led by Portland band “Blitzen Trapper”. The 17th annual ceremony will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, October 12th, at the Brooklyn neighborhood’s Aladdin Theater – on S.E. Milwaukie Avenue, a half block south of Powell Boulevard. Other inductees include Laura Viers, Exploding Hearts, Tony Lash (Heatmiser), Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists), The Obituaries, and more. “It’s a real honor to be chosen for induction to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame,” said Blitzen Trapper’s Eric Earley. “Having lived in Oregon my whole life, and watched the music scene’s ever-changing evolution over many years, it’s so great to be a part of that history and the fabulous sounds generated in this weird, unique corner of the world.” The band has been touring this summer in support of its new album, “100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions,” out now on Yep Roc Records. The 12-track album follows nearly four years after 2020’s “Holy Smokes Future Jokes”. Blitzen Trapper has been an active band for more than 20 years, and originally broke out with the album “Furr” in 2008. The Oregon Music Hall of Fame awards includes a concert, featuring Blitzen Trapper, Laura Veirs, and The Obituaries. It will also feature a live auction, with autographed guitars from Peter Frampton, Elvis Costello, The Decemberists and more. Proceeds from this event help support the nonprofit Oregon Music Hall of Fame’s “music in the schools” programs as well as its scholarship program. Other inductees are Robbie Laws, Gary Fountaine, the late Darcelle (Walter Cole), Steve Reischman, John Nilsen, and Bob Dietsche. The Artist of the Year is “Portugal. The Man” – a band originally from Alaska which has been based in Southeast Portland for several years. Once again this year, the Master of Ceremonies at for the evening will be Tony Starlight. Tickets for the evening are available at the Aladdin Theater box office, or online at – https://www.aladdin-theater.com The first Portland Fire crews documented their arrival with this photo – showing Mt. Scott-Arleta’s “The Arleta” apartment building on fire. (PF&R photo) Morning fire burns nine Mt. Scott-Arleta apartments By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Near dawn on Saturday morning, August 3rd, many residents of “The Arleta” apartment complex, at 5224 S.E. 72nd Avenue near Mitchell Street, suddenly smelled smoke – and some saw flames. Many frantic calls to the 9-1-1 Center sent multiple Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) crews their way. Lents Station 11’s Engine and Rescue Companies arrived first, at 7:07 a.m. “Responding crews communicated to dispatchers that they saw a smoke column – a ‘header’ – on their way to the location,” PF&R Public Information Officer Rick Graves told THE BEE. Woodstock Fire Station 25’s Ladder Truck Company pulled up just after responders from the Lents Station; their crew planted their truck in the center of S.E. 72nd Avenue, and extended their aerial ladder to allow firefighters could access the roof. As they arrived, crews saw an attic fire with heavy dark smoke pushing from the eaves and vents within the structure. The Commander directed the first-arriving engine to begin an “offensive fire attack”, taking hose lines to the interior of the building to extinguish the fire. “The dispatchers told crews that there might possibly be a trapped victim in an identified apartment, which added the need for an ambulance to the fire call, in the event of injuries,” Graves continued. “Firefighters searched the affected structure thoroughly and fully, but no victims were located inside the building.” “Fire was present on both levels of the garden-style apartment complex, with the fire growing in the second level independent apartments,” said Graves. With each apartment having separate its own entrance – on the ground level and on the second level – firefighters needed to put out the fire in each unit individually, and then drag the hose out and on to the next one. A “second alarm” was quickly dispatched to bring in more firefighters to move the hose in and out of each individual living space, and to work on opening the roof to access the fire in the attic. “Crews from PF&R and Clackamas County District #1 were able to control this fire, which affected nine of the twelve apartments in the building, in about 20 minutes – with no reported injuries to responders or occupants,” Graves reported. And what stopped the fire from burning down the entire building? “A concrete fire wall, extending from the ground through the roof, did its job, keeping the fire from spreading to the attached set of apartments to the east,” Graves responded. Because of the fire, fifteen residents were displaced. The fire is under investigation, with no cause yet determined. Riders looked to be in high spirits as they headed west on the Sellwood Bridge – their third bridge crossing of the seven, on the 2024 Providence Bridge Pedal. (Photo by David F. Ashton) Thousands on bicycles roll across Sellwood Bridge in ‘Bridge Pedal’ By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE Gray skies and cool temperatures didn’t discourage either avid or casual bicyclists from making their run in the 2024 Providence Bridge Pedal on Sunday morning, August 11. Smiles prevailed on the faces of the riders as they cruised briefly into Inner Southeast Portland, heading under the Ross Island Bridge southward along the Springwater Corridor Trail, in this the 28th annual bike event. Meantime, those driving cars were relieved to see that the Sellwood Bridge wasn’t closed off for the duration of the event. As in during the past two Bridge Pedals, to avoid traffic, participants stayed on the Trail until they’d crossed under the Sellwood Bridge, then east on S.E. Umatilla Street and then north along 6th Avenue, before turning west onto the Sellwood Bridge to head west in the eastbound bike lanes. Although the Sellwood Bridge was only their third of the seven bridges they were to cross, some of the non-electric bike riders already appeared to be a bit tired as they reached the apex of this, the southernmost bridge on the tour. “I think next year, I’m going to be doing this on an electric bike,” mused Sellwood participant Sandy Smith, as she “refueled” with an energy bar while looking out over the Willamette River from the bridge. The loop from the Springwater Trail around onto the Sellwood Bridge was the only presence of the Providence Bridge Pedal in Inner Southeast, but thousands of riders making that loop turned it into a major event in Sellwood on a Sunday morning. Now watch, as thousands of Portland's “Bridge Pedal” riders loop under, and then around and over, the Sellwood Bridge – in this brief and exclusive BEE VIDEO – here they come, and, there they go!...  Comments? News tips? Click here to submit! Trying to remember or locate a BEE advertiser? Click here to e-mail us, and we'll help! Fair warning:  We have so many great photos on page 2 this month, it may take a moment or two to load on slower connections!  Now, prepare to enjoy what we have for you on page 2! READY TO TURN TO PAGE 2 -- FOR "MORE NEWS"? Click here! Note to readers: At some point, this, our original Internet website, may be replaced at this web address by our new website, as part of the Community Newspapers group. At that time, you will still be able to access this, our original -- and smartphone-friendly -- website, if you save this address:  www.sePDXnews.com. 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