MAY 2004

Please join us for the fifth annual "Down By the Riverside" project in Columbia City! We are looking for volunteers to assist us with this project in Pixie Park and Datis Park on Friday, May 21, 2004, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers will be removing blackberry bushes and debris, planting, painting, and sprucing up the parks as needed. If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact City Hall, or just show up at one of the parks, ready to go to work!

The Rose Festival Fleet Week is June 9 - 13. Ships from the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the Royal Canadian Navy will be sailing up the River for Rose Festival. The ships usually sail by Columbia City the first two days of that week, but there are no specific times for their arrival.

The plans for the new transfer station will be discussed at a public hearing on Thursday, May 20^th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at the Tech Center located at 375 S. 18^th Street, St. Helens.

The City is looking for many good volunteers. The Parks Committee and the Street Committee need additional members. Serving on one of these committees is a great way to meet other residents and to donate some time to your community.

Meetings are scheduled as needed, and members are notified by phone and/or mailed an agenda. The Parks Committee also has work parties on specified Saturdays to develop and maintain the City's parks.

If you would like to volunteer for one of these committees, please call or stop by City Hall.

FOOD DRIVE

On May 8^th, Help Inc. will have a barrel at the Post Office for donations of non-perishable food items. Please visit the Post Office and bring a donation of food for those in need.

We'd like to extend a very special thank you to:

Bernadette Albertine, Gloria Chinell, Jo Detloff, Dorothy Greyell, Dolores Heinz, Phyllis Moss, Jane Munson and Helen Sandstrom for helping with newsletters and utility bills in March.

Dixieline Lumber Company for using their equipment to help clear logs from the Highway after an accident on April 20, 2004.

Remember between April 15^th and September 30^th, weeds and grass cannot exceed 10 inches in height within the City limits. Additionally, blackberry bushes cannot extend across property lines or into the City’s rights-of-way, including streets, alleys and sidewalks. Property owners or other persons in charge of the property must keep weeds, grass and other noxious growth, such as poison oak, cut and maintained to prevent them from becoming unsightly and a fire hazard, and to prevent them from maturing and going to seed. Violators can be cited into Municipal Court. Additionally, the City may abate the nuisance and lien the property for the costs. To report violations, please contact City Hall.

Public Works employees are working very hard to keep the grassy area along Highway 30 and the bike path looking spiffy. It is very hard to mow when grass clippings and yard debris are thrown along the bike path. Dumping yard debris on public property is illegal. Please be respectful of other people's property, and report violators to City Hall.

Library hours: Monday and Wednesday

4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Phone: (503) 366-7588

Location: 2000 Second Street

Monday, May 3^rd - 7:00 p.m. - Bedtime Story

Dress comfy and bring your teddy bear

Monday, May 17^th - 7:00 p.m. - Friends of the Library Meeting

Monday, May 24^th - 6:00 p.m. - An open invitation to join a small quilting group which meets in the Library

Monday, May 31^st - The Library will be closed on Memorial Day

Check out our landscape design books: Stone walkways, water gardens, decks, trellises and arbors, the ever-blooming garden, and more.

Learn how to garden organically or rid your garden of pests with safe household products.

The Friends of the Library are seeking volunteers to fill the offices of secretary and vice-president for the remainder of the term until September. Please call if you are interested in serving.

MEET JULIAN (J.R.) RIBERA, OUR NEW UTILITY WORKER

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest employee, J.R. Ribera, who recently joined our Public Works Department as a Utility Worker. J.R. and his wife, Eleanor, live in Warren with their three children - two daughters ages 11 and 9, and a son age 7. J.R. and his family enjoy working on their mini-farm, where they raise chickens, geese, rabbits and goats. They also raise a garden and tend to a variety of fruit trees in their orchard, and Eleanor is particularly fond of her large berry patch. J.R. comes to us with a strong background (25 years) in utility construction, and he's served as a superintendent, foreman, pipe layer and operator for various companies throughout his career. We are very pleased to have J.R. join our team!

The City has a very special group of volunteers who help get the monthly utility bills and newsletters ready for mailing. The volunteers are contacted by phone one to two days prior to the day of work. Usually, the work is done on one of the last two work days of each month either in the morning or afternoon. This is a fun time and a chance to get to know and visit with other residents in the City. Without these volunteers, additional staff time would be required to get the bills to the Post Office. If you think you might want to help with the newsletters and utility bills, please contact City Hall.

May 1 - 9:00 a.m. - Spring Clean-Up - Columbia City School parking lot

May 5 - 12:00 noon - Harvard Park Dedication

May 6 - 7:30 p.m. - City Council Meeting at City Hall

May 10 - 7:30 p.m. - Municipal Court at City Hall

May 11 - 7:00 p.m. - Planning Commission Meeting at City Hall - cancelled

May 17 - 7:00 p.m. - Friends of the Library Meeting at the Library

May 20 - 7:30 p.m. - City Council Meeting at City Hall

May 21 - 9:00 a.m. - Riverside Clean Up - Datis and Pixie Parks

May 24 - 7:30 p.m. - Municipal Court at City Hall

May 31 - CLOSED - City Hall will be closed on Memorial Day