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September, 2010 -- Vol. 105, No. 1
Memories of THE BEE's first one hundred 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 this special retrospective!
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| This paving machine picks up hot asphalt and deposits it in a uniform, smooth, black ribbon two inches deep and 12.5 feet wide. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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Noise in the night: Repaving McLoughlin Blvd.
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
In the midnight hour, residents along the S.E. McLaughlin Blvd. (Oregon Highway 99E) from the Ross Island Bridge south to S.E. Harold Street, normally hear only the sounds of traffic passing by – or the shuttling of trains in the Brooklyn Yard.
But, for a couple of weeks in August, the evening air was filled with the sounds of jackhammers, giant asphalt munching machines, huge dump trucks driving in and being positioned, and the paving machine – followed by the ground-shaking rumble of giant vibratory diesel rollers.
It may have been a substantial disturbance to residents – particularly on the west side of the Brooklyn neighborhood – but it amounted to a remarkable ballet of heavy machinery, and we were invited by ODOT to witness it for BEE readers.
Because 55,000 vehicles pass through this 1.9 mile stretch of highway every day, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) experts decidedd it was time to repave this well-used “super highway”. The City of Portland granted ODOT a noise variance to grind and pave at night to minimize the impact on commuters and daytime truck traffic.
“With as much traffic as this highway carries,” said ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson, “it would cause tremendous traffic jams if the resurfacing crew closed lanes during the daytime.”
THE BEE witnessed the “resurfacing caravan” just before midnight on Wednesday, August 18, as it traveled northward from Ross Island Sand and Gravel at about 5 mph. “While residents along the highway experienced the noise of the grinding and paving equipment as it moved past their homes, it passes by relatively quickly,” Thompson suggested.
Typically paving contractors prefer to grind off all the top pavement for the full width and length of the project, Thompson said. “But, that would leave the road surface very uneven, and difficult on which to drive. One of the reasons we chose Granite Northwest Inc. as the paving contractor is because they’ve mastered the art of choreographing surface grinding, and laying asphalt as a continuous process.”
With that, as the sun set, the intricate ballet of people and giant machinery began.
An army of workers, machines, flaggers, high intensity work lights, and trucks appeared. “The project depends on good timing – making sure the trucks are ready to take away the grinding debris, and ensuring that enough asphalt arrives at the site, just on time, and at the correct temperature,” explained Thompson.
Weeks before the actual repaving begun, a crew surveyed the project, locating access points to water, sewers, gas and other below-street utilities, and marking them with paint on the roadway.
We watched as the big-as-a-house ROADTEC RX900 machine ground off a 12-foot-wide and two-inch-deep swath of existing roadway, shooting the debris up a heavy-duty conveyor belt, and depositing it into a large semi-trailer dump truck which matched the pace of the grinding machine. It filled up another trailer about every five minutes.
The steady roar of the grinding machine was punctuated air horn blasts. One blast signaled the truck to move forward; two blasts told the truck driver to stop; and, three blasts signaled the truck driver that the trailer had been filled, and to leave so another could take its place.
Occasionally the behemoth grinding machine came to a stop. The crew raised the grinding heads high enough to clear the marked in-road utility openings, moved forward, and resumed grinding.
A crew came along behind the grinding machine, one worker armed with a jackhammer, to chip out the sections of roadway around the utility access points. Two workers shoveled this debris into a waiting front loader.
Then, an industrial-sized street-sweeping truck cleaned up the debris left behind by the grinding truck and the jackhammer crew.
When the huge Blaw-Knox Paving Machine came to a brief halt, crew member “Red” hopped off the back and described for us how their rig is was set up for continuous paving.
“A ‘belly-dump’ truck deposits in a row, looking like an ‘inverted V’, down the center of the strip,” Red explained. “Our paving machine is equipped with a pickup auger on the front that deposits hot asphalt into the paving machine – instead of having to have the asphalt bin be reloaded by truck after truck.”
The automatic paving machine measures the depth of the existing pavement bed, senses how much asphalt it needs to lay down, and then sensors confirm the new asphalt’s depth.
Finally, those vibratory diesel rollers come by. The ground shakes from the low-frequency vibrations produced by the rolling machine. “The weight of the rollers, combined with the vibration, compacts the surface of the asphalt laid down, to make it hard and smooth,” Red said.
Thanks to good planning, and good weather, Thompson said the paving portion of the $1.1 Million resurfacing job was completed on time – all that remained, as THE BEE went to press, was the installation of new signalization for a new pedestrian crossing being installed opposite Ross Island Sand & Gravel, just north of the Holgate Boulevard intersection.
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| 44-year-old Patrick Wayne Livingston of Southeast Portland received a prison term for running down and injuring two students in a crosswalk in front of Franklin High last January. (Photo courtesy Portland Police Bureau) |
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Four years in prison for man in Franklin High crosswalk hit-and-run
On Friday, January 22nd, at about noon, according to Portland Police spokesperson Detective Mary Wheat, Franklin High students Nicholas Tully-Fern, age 17, and Tyler Elsesser Luba, age 18, were in front of the school in a marked crosswalk on S.E. Woodward Street.
A line of traffic had stopped for them as they crossed – when a hit-and-run driver pulled out from the back of the line, and sped around the other drivers in the opposite lane of travel – striking the teenagers.
Detective Wheat reported that Luba sustained multiple broken bones, and required hospitalization; doctors now suggest he may be in pain for the rest of his life. The second student escaped with minor injuries.
Police officers shortly afterward located the car parked at a curb, but the driver was not in it. The vehicle was described as an older-model silver Jaguar. But they had an idea who he was, because a passenger in the car asked to be let out, then reported the crime.
On Monday evening, January 25th, at approximately 8:40 pm, Portland Police Officers arrested 44-year-old Patrick Wayne Livingston of Southeast Portland for the crime – while he was attending a Trail Blazers basketball game. He was charged with Hit and Run and Assault in the Second Degree.
On August 4th, in a plea bargain, Livingstone appeared in court in downtown Portland to plead guilty to two counts of Assault in the Third Degree. The Hit and Run charge was dismissed. He admitted he had been drinking at the time of the crime.
Multnomah County Judge John Wittmayer expressed irritation at Livingston’s lack of contrition and sentenced him to four years in prison, and ordered him to pay $188,000 to Luba and his insurance company for his medical expenses arising from the crime.
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| With the start of school looming on the day after Labor Day, workmen busied themselves with finishing work on doors and windows of the new portable classroom at Llewellyn Elementary. (Photo by Rita A. Leonard) |
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Llewellyn Elementary handles student influx with portable classrooms
By RITA A. LEONARD
for THE BEE
Westmoreland’s Llewellyn Elemtary School, rated as one of Oregons "Outstanding Schools" on the 2010 Schools Report Card, is bursting at the seams.
Not long ago threatened with closure because of PPS’ projections of declining enrollment, the projected enrollment this fall is about 450 students, according to Principal Steve Powell.
Consequently, additional classroom space was created during the summer by installing a portable classroom on the south side of the 75-year-old building, near the covered playground area.
Four modular units arrived at the site in mid-August, ready for assembly on the pre-formed concrete foundation. Several different contractors working at the site were planning to complete the $300,000 project prior to the first day of school.
“The portable is sited where the two former play structures were originally located,” says Powell. “Those will be relocated somewhere else on the playground.” Although construction equipment and materials blocked off some access to the playground during the summer, visitors were still able to use the grassy and covered areas.
Llewellyn is one of six schools in the Portland Public School District receiving modular classrooms this summer. Amid the district’s cost-cutting measures, the portables are a “last choice scenario” for adding classroom space to alleviate crowding.
Powell has been working closely with PPS Project Manager Dan Jung. “The portables are slated for use by second graders,” reports Powell. “This will allow me to not have to make any more staff cuts.”
At the end of August, work crews were still working on details such as flooring, tile, and a cement ramp. Powell told THE BEE, "We have a contingency plan in place if students are unable to move in when school starts [September 7], but we are hopeful the project will be complete by then.”
Llewellyn’s active science and band programs are just two of the features that draw community and parent interest. “Green” programs at the school encourage student exploration of environmentally-friendly practices and procedures. A site at the front of the school is designated an "Official National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat", equipped with native plants, bird houses and shelter options.
Currently, the school is collecting surplus silverware in a box by the office. These utensils will be used in the cafeteria this fall, to allow discontinuation of the use of “throw-away” utensils.
Students are reportedly pleased with the focus on their ideas for “going green”. A sign in the front hall of the historic grade school encourages, “Aspire, Achieve, Pass It On”.
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| Steve Cox, chairman of OMSI’s Board of Trustees, takes a spin on the battery-powered, motor-assisted bicycles which Sanyo donated to the local museum. (Photo by David F. Ashton) |
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New OMSI “Solar Canopy” powers cars, bikes
By DAVID F. ASHTON
for THE BEE
If Portland is to become an electric-vehicle Mecca by 2020, as Mayor Sam Adams predicts, there’d better be a lot more places to charge up these vehicles’ batteries – like the new one just installed at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).
The new “solar canopy” charging station was dedicated in the museum’s south parking lot on July 30 at high noon.
“This station will service electric cars, e-bikes, and most portable personal electronic devices,” said OMSI spokesman Lee Dawson. “This marks the first ‘solar canopy’ installation to be used to charge electric vehicles in North America.”
Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogan was all smiles, as he stood in the shade of the huge south-sloping canopy containing thousands of high-efficiency, double-sided solar cells.
“When we’re having tough times, it’s good to celebrate good news,” Cogan began. “Today, at this event, this is big news, this is good news, and we’re really celebrating!
“Our community and our country have been struggling through the worst economy since the 1930s. Our species, and our planet, through global warming, are currently facing the biggest challenge to our survival that we have ever had,” Cogan went on. “Today, with this charging station, we offer a big part of the solution to both of these challenges.”
During the last year, the County Chair stated, he’s been involved with the Governor’s workgroup, with the aim of making Oregon a leader in electrically-powered vehicles. “I have learned that electric vehicles are a huge part of our solution to global warming – no matter what the source of power is.
“And, when the source of power is renewable power – like this glorious Oregon sunshine – the ‘win’ for the environment is monumental. The result is obvious; and it is not just a win for the environment, it is also a win for Oregon’s economy.”
This charging station, Cogan pointed out, was designed and constructed by Portland-based InSpec Group, using Sanyo solar cells which were manufactured in Salem, only 45 miles away.
“We are happy to present this Solar Canopy project,” Mitsuru Homma, Executive Vice President of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., told the group gathered. “We hope that this will become a symbol for cooperation, and a noted landmark.”
The charging station is powered by 42 of Sanyo's most powerful solar panels, explained Homma. “These are unique two-sided panels that can absorb light from both sides of the panel. The system can generate 19.1 Watts on a ‘standard’ day.”
Following his remarks, Homma presented three $2,200 Sanyo “Eneloop” battery- powered bicycles to OMSI. He said the company was donating the motor-assist hybrid bikes because of Portland’s reputation for being the most bicycle-friendly city in the nation.
The project is a joint venture of Sanyo North America Corporation, InSpec Group, and Portland General Electric, as well as the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which is located on the east bank of the Willamette River, on S.E. Water Street, just north of the Ross Island Bridge.
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| Kenneth Wayne Mroczek, 44, of Southeast Portland, the passenger and the man whose car it was, was arrested on multiple charges. (Photo courtesy Milwaukie Police Department) |
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Kid driver stopped on Johnson Creek Boulevard
On Saturday evening, August 21, at about 10:28 pm, a Milwaukie police officer pulled over a vehicle driving erratically – swerving, halting, careening – near S.E. Johnson Creek Boulevard and S.E. 32nd Avenue.
Thinking the driver might be intoxicated, the officer approached the driver’s window – and was surprised to find a 13-year-old boy at the wheel. And, next to him in the front passenger seat, was an intoxicated man with an open container of alcohol in his lap, and a 12-pack of beer on the floorboard.
The officer’s investigation determined that 44-year-old Kenneth Wayne Mroczek from Southeast Portland had allowed a 13-year-old neighborhood boy to take him on a driving excursion in his car through the streets of Portland and Milwaukie.
The joyride included not only residential streets, but main thoroughfares, and even Interstate 84. The shift supervisor commented, “The driver’s seat was pulled so far forward, it almost touched the steering wheel.” This permitted the boy’s feet to reach the gas and brake pedals. This was the first time the 13-year-old had ever driven a car; under the circumstances it appeared that he had done pretty well; at least there was no collision.
However, the passenger had not. Kenneth Wayne Mroczek was arrested for Recklessly Endangering, and also was issued citations for Providing Vehicle to Unlicensed Driver, and Open Container of Alcohol.
The youthful driver, whose name was not released, was not charged.
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| Osprey lands atop the antenna, above its nest on a transmission tower near McLoughlin Boulevard at Ochoco Street. (Photo by Rita A. Leonard) |
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Osprey nest fascinates, near McLoughlin Boulevard
By RITA A. LEONARD
for THE BEE
Although ospreys are no strangers to the area in and around Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, a nest sited lower to the ground than usual is offering clear views of the birds’ fascinating behavior.
The nest is located just east of McLoughlin Blvd. atop a radio transmission tower on O.D.O.T. Grounds, near the junction of SE Ochoco and Main Street – very near where a water main break closed McLoughlin for the better part of a week in early July.
Jim Zagone, service rep for Z-Pro Company, is located just across the parking lot from the nest. “We usually have a pair of binoculars here at the front desk to watch them,” he smiles.
“They came back again in March, but earlier we got to watch them build their nest. It’s exciting for us to see them taking fish up there to eat. Sometimes the fish are still flapping.”
Ospreys are large, noisy fish-eating hawks that dive into the Willamette for food. Although they resemble eagles, their wings are bent at a more acute angle, while their white underwings have rows of speckles and black “wrist” spots. Occasionally, crows and bald eagles have been seen harassing them for their catch.
Local osprey nests have previously been seen in Oaks Bottom and on top of a water tower near the Highway 224 overcrossing at McLoughlin Boulevard, but the Z-Pro nest is easier to see.
“We've been watching the two young ones learn how to fly, out in the parking lot,” says Zagone. “By July, they were nearly the size of the adults. They’d take ‘training flights’ between their nest and a big tree across the lot.”
In the adjacent Holman building, the secretaries have enjoyed watching the osprey family outside their windows. “They have a real following here,” comments Kathy Shadle. “We used to see their heads just peeking over the top of the nest, but now the babies fly almost as well as the adults, and you can see them flapping their wings up there. They’re sure noisy, too!”
In addition to the ospreys, there are also several pairs of small brown and white killdeer nesting in the same area. These small birds resemble sandpipers, and have a distinctive call that sounds like their name. Killdeer build their nests on the ground in gravelly areas, where the eggs blend in almost perfectly with their surroundings. If you happen to come close to a nest, the adults will feign injury to draw you away.
Between the ospreys on the tower and the killdeer on the ground, that particular stretch of McLoughlin Boulevard near Ochoco is currently a birder’s paradise. “It’s part of the beauty of working in Portland,” says Zagone. “You get to see all these fascinating forms of wildlife right in the urban area.”
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