WASHINGTON COUNTY NEWS

Oregon local news from Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and more

Hillsboro has plenty of elbow room to grow, and property owners to the north face the prospect with glee or dread

HILLSBORO -- They each have their attachments to the open land. It may have been a place for adventures in the middle of the night with a twin brother, fertile soil on which one rode tractors as a teenager, or ground on which others built their family home, raising children and sheep.

They all came for a life in the country. Now, farmers, retirees and others who live on prime, verdant land north of the city face a turning point: sell or stay put.

Unlike many other cities in Washington County that are boxed in by tracts of buildings, Hillsboro has plenty of room to spill over into rural landscapes.

And that's what the city, now the county's most populous at 88,300, is doing.

Continue reading "On the land, awaiting 'progress'" »

HILLSBORO -- Red-light cameras could soon make their debut in Hillsboro.

The city's transportation committee -- composed of Councilors Ed Dennis, Aron Carleson and Olga Acuna -- will consider the plan Tuesday.

Lt. Henry Reimann of Hillsboro police said the city is particularly interested in promoting safety at four intersections in Hillsboro that consistently make the Oregon Department of Transportation's Top 15 list for most accidents: 185th Avenue at Northwest Walker Road and at West Baseline Road, and Cornell Road at Northwest Cornelius Pass Road and at Northeast Brookwood Parkway.

Continue reading "Hillsboro considering red-light camera test" »

TUALATIN -- A bronze sculpture that was tentatively scheduled to arrive in December will be dedicated at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the plaza at the Tualatin Public Library, said Becky Savino, program coordinator in the city Community Services Department.

The Colorado foundry that completed the work of sculptor Linda Prokop had a space in its schedule and moved up the casting, Savino said. Prokop, who lived in Washougal, Wash., when a city committee selected her proposal, now resides in Loveland, Colo.

The life-size sculpture, titled "The Storyteller," shows a woman, seated on a stool, telling stories to four children. The work will be fixed with rebar on an 8-foot circular pedestal in front of the library at 18878 S.W. Martinazzi Ave.

The $55,000 bronze is one of seven new artworks selected for the library from a $100,800 budget. The 22,000-square-foot building, which opened in August, is a community gathering place, and a focus for culture and learning, City Councilor Ed Truax said. Art makes the place more inviting, he said.

Turkey trots, relays and charity races attract young and old on Thanksgiving Day

Few holidays can bring out runners quite like Thanksgiving.

Some want to burn a few hundred calories before sitting down to a big feast. Others want to raise money for charity. Many families say they like to have a laugh together or squawk about to let off steam.

They'll find several opportunities this year in and near Washington County, including Sherwood's Give n' Gobble, a popular 5K fun run and walk that supports area food banks.

Continue reading "When did running become a T-day staple?" »

Beaverton district shifts janitors to even the workload

BEAVERTON -- Zach Kodroli arrives at Findley Elementary School about 5:30 a.m., 30 minutes early, so he can get a jump on his custodial work. When he works past his shift, the school's principal has to tell him to go home.

Kodroli said he takes pride in his work.

"I don't feel good that day if I don't come in early or don't have things done," Kodroli said. "I am the kind of person that I don't like to do things next week."

But at an 850-student school, which is larger than some of Beaverton School District's middle schools, his daily tasks are too much for one shift, he said. He has to rotate cleaning up classrooms and relies on fifth-grade students to recycle so he and one other custodian can focus on each cleaning more than 39,000 square feet every day.

Continue reading "School staff custodians reassigned for duties" »

Julie Kasper, Century High School's activities director, has been named Oregon high school adviser of the year by the Oregon Association of Student Councils.

The award was announced during the association's recent fall conference in Seaside.

Kasper has been the adviser at Century for the past 10 years. She also teaches English and coaches the dance team.

As the Oregon winner, Kasper will be considered for the national high school adviser of the year award.

Jennifer Cournia, a science and mathematics teacher at Jesuit High School, was one of 30 secondary school teachers nationwide chosen for the Toyota International Teacher Program. About 1,000 teachers applied for the program.

The program will be held Nov. 22 to Dec. 6 in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. The educators will observe environmental projects, exchange ideas with community experts and participate in group learning activities that emphasize global environmental conservation and protection.

Cournia and her colleagues were chosen after a competitive application review by the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit exchange organization based in Washington, D.C. The institute administers the program on behalf of Toyota.

For more details, see www.iie.org/toyota.

Sherwood Middle School Principal Anna Pittioni has resigned, citing personal reasons.

Pittioni, 40, started with the district in 1999 as an assistant principal at the middle school and was named principal in 2002. She resigned Nov. 12.

Continue reading "Pittioni resigns as Sherwood Middle School principal" »

The Beaverton School District, along with two of its schools, received the biggest grants for the 2007-08 school year from the Intel Volunteer Matching Grant Program.

Grants are awarded on the basis of volunteer hours donated by Intel employees to school districts and schools in Oregon.

Beaverton led districts with $157,980, followed by the Hillsboro School District with $97,450 and Portland Public Schools with $38,840.

Westview led all high schools with a $46,620 grant, and Jacob Wismer Elementary School was awarded a leading $16,010 in funding.

For details, visit http://tinyurl.com/5vbk79; then click the link for the "Matching Grant Program."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a complaint about Hillsboro Aviation, which grounded all of its planes for about a week in mid-September after one of its helicopters ran into trouble in Texas.

Owner Max Lyons said the helicopter failed a ramp check, a routine aircraft inspection. He would not elaborate because the incident caused him to fire employees, and he said he doesn't discuss personnel issues. He said there was a problem with documentation in the plane's logbook.

Continue reading "FAA checking aircraft complaint" »

Two Sherwood Police officers were honored for valor in the line of duty at the recent International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, held in San Diego.

Officers Ben Humphrey and Jason Newton won runner-up candidate spots for the Parade Magazine/IACP Officer of the Year award. In November 2007, they rescued three people trapped in a burning car after a motor vehicle accident.

Humphrey has worked for the city since January 2007, and Newton worked there four years before accepting a position in February with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

To read more about their story, log on to http://tinyurl.com/5q5s3g.

ALOHA
Police:
DVDs were taken Oct. 27 from a business in the 17500 block of Southwest Farmington Road.
Lawn equipment was taken before Nov. 1 from a shed in the 17800 block of Southwest Washington Drive.

Continue reading "Police and court log" »