OCTOBER 2019 EDITION

S P E C I A L N E I G H B O R H O O D M E E T I N G

In this issue:• Oct. Meeting Location• Newsletter Ads • Park Name Change• Meet our Neighbors• Sidewalks & Right of Ways• Neighborhood Cleanup• Veteran’s Day History• Message From the Chair

The next neighborhood meeting’s date and location have changed. This will be a joint neighborhood meeting, in partnership with the Maplewood and Rose Village Neighbor-hood Associations, to be held in the cafeteria at McLoughlin Middle School on Wednesday, October 30th, from 7pm until 8:30pm.

The Harney Heights Neighborhood Associa-tion has invited local candidates for a nonpartisan, informal Meet and Greet. This is a great way for neighbors to engage in conversation with the candi-dates concerning the topics that matter most to them. This informal format will let neighbors come and go as their schedules permit, giving them a chance to make a more informed decision as to whome they would like to support.

All candidates have been invited, and to date, quite a few have RSVP’d, with more expected to attend. This October meeting will take the place of the regu-larly scheduled November meeting. Because multiple neighborhoods will be in attendance, the Harney Heights Neighborhood Association will forego the nor-mal free raffle, but will pick it back up again at the next meeting, which will be held on January 8th.

N E W S L E T T E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T SUnfortunately, for the second time since the start of the program the Harney Heights Neighborhood Association has not been able to fill the advertisements spots for the newsletter. Although local businesses had been contacted through various means, they are experiencing a slowdown in their business cycles, and are unable to participate.

Per neighborhood vote, the advertisements are to be included with the newsletter with the con-dition that all spots have been filled. All avenues have been explored and all means have been ex-hausted. Because the Neighborhood Association Board feels that all future endeavors to fill the advertisement spots would be fruitless, all ef-forts forward will cease.

P O S S I B L E P A R K N A M E C H A N G EIn the past several issues of the newsletter, and during the last several neighborhood bi-monthly meetings, the topic of renaming St. Helens Park in honor of a neighbor, Neatha LaFever, had been brought up. Consideration for the name change had been made in error.

James Conright, Chair of HHNA, had mistakenly referred to the City’s policy on renaming a park, when this action

falls under the City’s policy of naming a park in someone’s honor. The correct policy states that five years must have passed from the date of the honoree’s death before the park can be renamed. As it has only been just over one year since Neatha’s passing, any consideration, motion, or votes would be null and void. To be clear, St Helen’s Park will retain its name.

With the demolition of King Elementary, the neighbors have been left without a neighborhood meeting space until the new facility is completed next year. Although the City had offered to pay for meeting space at Ogden Elementary, the Vancouver Baha’i Center, which is located within the neighborhood, directly across from St Helens Park, had opened their doors for the neighbor-hood meetings.

M E E T O U R N E I G H B O R S

Wayne W., Secretary for the Vancouver Local Spiritual Assembly, hosted the Harney Heights Neighborhood Association’s September meeting in the neighborhood’s Baha’i Center. The building itself is a well maintained, renovated house, with a modest meeting space and kitchen. In place of a traditional lawn back yard, the Center has a large, raised bed garden, lending a sense of serenity upon entry.

Although the Bahá’í Faith was not discussed during the neighborhood meeting, Wayne was receptive to questions afterward. Fundamentally, it is a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people. In other words, just like the Harney Heights Neighborhood Association, it values all people of varying backgrounds, ethnicity, and faiths.

The neighborhood association looks forward to the continuing partnership with the Vancouver Baha’i Center for a long time to come, and is grateful for its welcoming presence in the neighborhood. All neighborhood association meetings held at the Baha’i Center will be conducted as open public meetings and all are welcome to attend.

N E I G H B O R H O O D C L E A N U P S U C C E S S

S I D E W A L K S A N D R I G H T O F W A Y SMany of Harney Heights’ residents have been enjoying the beautiful greenery along McLough-lin, and its accompanying side streets. They can be spotted walking their dogs, pushing a stroller, or just walking leisurely along by themselves, all hours of the day.

While the west side of the neighborhood offers sce-nic views of the mid-century homes, it also offers a

safe place for pedestrians, on its sidewalks. However, many parts have become overgrown, making it impossible for neighbors to pass without having to walk in the street. The question arises, “Who clears the sidewalks?”

The simple answer is that in the City of Vancouver, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain the sidewalks. Properties extend to the physical street, and the sidewalk itself is part of the home owner’s property, although it is a right of way. This means, that the homeowner must ensure that all vegetation has been trimmed back to allow neighbors access to the full width of the side-walk. This even includes ensuring that debris and vehicles do not park on the sidewalks. Please help keep neighborhood sidewalks clear.

If there are questions concerning this, or if someone is unable to clear their sidewalk, please email James Conright at HHNA.Chair@gmail.com, and he will provide assistance.

while the wood chipper was operating continuously throughout the morning. The neighbors even dedicated a “free” pile, in which anyone could deposit or remove items. A toddler’s power wheel Jeep, playset, and inflatable life raft were among items donated and reclaimed by neighbors.

Because both neighborhood associations had met certain criteria, they have each received a check from the City for $100. Also, because of the metal

On Saturday, August 3rd, the Harney Heights and Maplewood neighborhoods teamed up for an annu-al cleanup event. Waste Connections provided six garbage trucks and a metal recycling bin, while the City provided a wood chipper.

Throughout the morning, neighbors brought bulky trash to be thrown away, including remodeling de-bris, mattresses, couches, and even a kitchen sink. The large metal recycling container was filled to the roof with burnt – out BBQs, bikes, and bed frames,

N E I G H B O R H O O D C L E A N U P S U C C E S S ( c o n t . )recycled, each association has received an additional check for $84. Altogether, there was 14.14 tons of bulky trash, and 3.3 tons of yard debris collected. While anyone of those are great benchmarks showing a successful event, the most telling was when neighbors who had never met, helped each other out unload, making the neighborhood a cleaner, friendlier place to live.

The approaching Holidays this year bring with them an event that has many people excited: The elections. From the soap opera worthy drama at the federal level, all the way down to our city elections, folks have been charged up like rarely seen before. While this has brought many of us to follow the issues more closely, it has also helped to polarize each other. Yet, many of our goals are the same, despite the paths we choose to achieve them, or who we choose to vote for. As political candidate signs show up in our neighbor yards (even obnox-iously large ones), I’d like you to remember just one word; sonder.

The Dictionary describes sonder as “The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own...” Every one of us has our own experiences to draw from, which have helped formed our opinions of how this world should work. For me, my time in the Navy has helped define my outlook on life, and thusly has helped me choose who I will vote for. However, I realize that not everyone has had the same experience, and will see things differently.

My message is simple: Remember that everyone has their own reasons for supporting the candidates and policies that they choose, but also remember that they most likely have common goals in doing so. Be active, and have civil discussions in trying to find common goals, rather than differences. You may just be surprised at what you discover.

A N A B R E V I A T E D H I S T O R Y O F V E T E R A N ’ S D A Y

This holiday had originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to living

veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Veterans Day occurs on November 11 every year in the United States in honor of the “elev-enth hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918 that signaled the end of World War I, known as Armistice Day. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Currently, according the US Census, there are 18.2 million veterans alive in the United States.

M E S S A G E F R O M T H E C H A I R

James ConrightChairhhna.chair@gmail.com

Ryan LopossaNeighborhood LiaisonCity of Vancouver Public Works360.487.7706ryan.lopossa@cityofvancouver.us

F I N D U S O N L I N E

Instagramharneyheightsneighborhood

Twitter@HarneyHeights

FacebookHarneyHeightsNA

NextdoorHarneyHeights

Visit our NEW website:Tinyrurl.com/harneyheights

Questions? Comments?hhna.comment@gmail.com

MaryLynn CunninghamCo-Chair

Jennifer Hawks-Conright Secretary / Treasurer hhna.sec@gmail.com

Sammy AbdalaNeighborhood Police OfficerCity of Vancouver NPO District 2360.487.7359Sammy.Abdala@cityofvancouver.us

The Housing Rehabilitation Program provides financial assistance through 3% loans with no payments required until the house is sold of up to $25,000 to qualified low income homeowners to complete basic home repairs.

https://www.cityofvancouver.us/ced/page/housing-rehabilitation-loan-program

When: Wednesday, Ocober 30th at 7:00pmWhere: McLoughlin Middle School Cafeteria

Meeting Agenda:

• Update from Neighborhood Police Officer• Update from Neighborhood Liaison• New Items• Informal Meet & Greet with local candidates

U P C O M I N G E V E N T SOctober 19, 10 am

Felting Workshop: Blue-bird & Nest

Fort Vancouver Historical Site

$40

October 24, 7 pm

Beer + Bbq dinner

Double Barrel Taphouse

$45www.eventbrite.com

October 25, 10 am

Fall Color Tree Walk

Esther Short Park

Urban Forestry

October 25 - 30

Downtown Vancouver Haunted Tours

Clark County Historical Museum

$18

October 30, 7 pm

HHNA Meeting with local candidates

McLoughlin Middle School Cafeteria

October 31

Halloween

November 9

Veteran’s Parade

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

November 11

Veteran’s Day

November 15 - 17

Jurassic Quest

Fairground Event Center

$20 - $36www.jurassicquest.com

November 28

Thanksgiving

November 29, 4 pm

Community Tree Lighting

Esther Short Park

November 29 - December 1

Holliday Market

Hilton Hotel

The City of Vancouver supports the Neighborhood Associations in their effort to share vital information with residents in order to o create a more informed public. However, the information provided and the opinions and views expressed in Neighborhood Association newsletters or other documents do not necessarily represent the position of the City of Vancouver, nor does the City determine whether the information published is accurate or appropriate. Printed by the City of Vancouver Office of Neighborhoods.

H&H Wood Recyclers, Inc. 8401 NE 117th Avenue, 360-892-2805

Hours: 7 am to 6 pm Mon-Sat (in Oct) 8 am to 5 pm Mon-Sat (in Nov /Dec)

9 am to 4 pm Sun (all months) Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas

Closes early Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve

Leaf Recycling Disposal Locations Mcfarlane’s Bark

8806 NE 1 17th Avenue, 360-892-61 25 Hours: 8 am to 5 pm Mon-Sat (in Oct/Nov)

9 am to 4 pm Sun (in Oct/Nov) 8 am to 5 pm Mon-Sat, Closed Sun (in Dec)

Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas Closes early Christmas Eve

West Van Materials Recovery Center 6601 NW Old Lower River Road, 360-737-1727

Hours: 6 am to 6 pm Mon-Fri8 am to 4 pm Sat

Closed SunClosed Thanksgiving & Christmas

Closes early Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve

Triangle Resources 61 2 SE Union Street, 360-834-7253

Hours: 8 am to 4:30 pm Mon-FriClosed Sat & Sun

Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas Closes early Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve