From the Crotch - LNA Flyers - November 25, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH!

So I received a call from a person that had this in their mailbox this morning. Looks like the whole block had them in their mailboxes. This is the second time folks have complained about being contacted by the LNA on an issue that has already been resolved yet they feel some need to have a meeting about it. Last month the LNLA had WestRock at the meeting and due to the hard work and push from resident Renee Goeckritz-Dutton they worked out a plan. A few days later ex board member Bader claimed gave some kudos to the LNA board for this success. We pointed out that not only did the LNA have NOTHING to do with it, one resident feels harassed. Emails, phone calls and now flyers..on an issue that has been resolved. without their input.

None of this surprises me. Nothing seems to have changed. Bogus elections. no interest by residents and more false claims about exactly what this group really does??

24 folks showed to your first election 18 to the next.... are you getting the hint?

Earth to LNA Board....This issue was resolved. There was a meeting on it a month ago with all interested parties present at the LNLA meeting..don;t you have by laws to finish that have been in the making for over a year ?

You folks on the board may want to read this. I am sure you will be getting a letter from the Postal Inspector.....

Is putting something in a mailbox against the law?

The U.S. Code for crimes and criminal procedure prohibits the placement of unstamped flyers in any mailbox. Title 18, section 1725 states that any person who knowingly deposits "mail-able matter" without postage in an established letter box shall be subject to a fine.

From the Crotch - Robin Hood Lives! - November 21, 2018

First I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you all get to spend time with those you love.

Our Turkey Dinner operation went great. Instead of 25 we wound up giving out 32 dinners. Our apologies to Kelly Head Start Program for not having any resources left however we did notify Kelly School a month ago. We will gladly get you on next years list. Might want to check and see where the miscommunication was? Hmmm. Hope all the families we helped have a wonderful day.

Thanks to Penny, Char, David, Cliff, Julie and Kathy for delivering them!

ROBIN HOOD IN MY HOOD!

With Mental Illness

Yesterday I got a call there was a tent in the alley. My son and I drove back there only to find a couple that had set up camp. While there a neighbor from the other side of the alley came out. We told the guy he needed to move. I gave him a bunch of numbers and addresses to ask for help,

While there I noticed that next to the tent there was a compound bow as well as several nasty hunting arrows. I asked him what he was carrying that for and he did not respond

I then asked him what his problem was? Why are you on the streets? Are you strung out? Alcohol? He told me that he has issues adjusting. I said, “then you have mental issues?” He said, “Yes.”

I then said, Well can you see why I might be concerned about a person who has mental issues behind my house with a very deadly weapon? He agreed. He was taking down his tent when we left and I told him to get rid of the bow before he gets his butt shot by a resident or officer that may think he is going to hurt someone.

A special THANKS and HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our Mayor, who I am sure will enjoy a lovely quiet dinner,,,without campers, mentally ill or compound bows.

Next : Bogus Elections / A failed grievance system.

From the Crotch - November 2, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH!

Trick or Treat

This year we saw the fewest amount of kids in our neighborhood. Go over to Laurelhurst or other areas outside Lents and there are dozens and dozens of kids out. Not here. 
There are few areas left they trick or treat at. Sad!

STOP CRIMINALS NOT PROTESTERS!

Talk, talk, talk about how to solve the problem with the violent and destructive protesting. Very simple solution Prosecute the criminals. We must have a whole lot of jail space as it seems there are few crimes left to get arrested for.

Example: Guy in my alley sitting on a cardboard box with a broken piece of a car mirror trying to fix in his neck. I yell out the window “What are you doing?” He replies, “F^&K you!”
I told him to move on and take his garbage with him. We are sick of cleaning your crap up! He is now angry because I am interrupting him from getting high. He drops his pants and craps, picks up a paper bag wipes himself and smears it on the fence. Do I call the police? No. Why...because they can do little. Even if they did.. he would be out before they did the paperwork.

So ...Mr. Mayor.....

Go to YOUTUBE and play all the videos of people breaking the law during those protests. Arrest the ones that destroyed property, prosecute them and after they get out of jail make them pay for the damage.

Get all of the folks that were involved in assaults and charge them with a Measure 11 crime. Guarantee others following will think twice.

Those folks that stop cars, prevent pedestrians not involved in the protesting to have free movement on the streets and sidewalks. Charge them with false imprisonment or in some cases even kidnapping. Protesting should never be limited ... only the behavior at one. 
Like the Star Wars adage Ted...... Use the force!

LNA ELECTIONS:

Last month there was an election for board members. 24 residents voted and they could not fill all the seats required. 

Last week they had a continuation of that election. 18 residents showed. That is a drop of 25%. In total we have had 42 voters to seat 8 folks ...or just over 5 residents per seat. 
Is that a Lents wave????. If 100 folks come to a meeting and there are only 11 residents.. you are a failure. You had a grand opportunity to start fresh and you blew it! The proof is in the numbers. 99.99 % of Lents residents can't be wrong. By the way; technically since I got 1 vote (even though I did not run) and another person got one vote but she was elected to another seat; I am the Treasurer. I hereby call for an audit and respectfully resign.

NEW BUSINESSES IN LENTS!

Many probably read the rant on a local Facebook page concerning new businesses coming to Lents. The bigoted comments it drew got a few replies.

I cannot speak for those businesses but I am sure they do not want to be connected to the hate speech and racist remarks concerning white males or any racial or gender discriminatory remarks. I believe that either business involved will gladly do business with all residents.

Obviously these are ignorant statements by those who have no idea what is involved in running a business. A successful business person cares less about gender, race, political affiliation, or religious belief.

This is nothing new here. Last year the Revolution Church put on an event at the park and there was a post about religion on that same page. I guess when they say diversity they mean..except for white males and religious organizations, or folks not in their political party...

From the Crotch - October 25, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH!

This was posted on Nextdoor. It will probably be removed as the content will no doubt upset the snowflakes. Below the post is my response

Tell me something good....

My husband and I just moved to the area, and we love our new house and the neighbors seem to be lovely. HOWEVER, and maybe I was super naive in moving here, but ever since getting on Nextdoor I have been shocked at the number of car and house break-ins (too close for comfort to our address!) in this area. Its daily and the fear is beginning to get to me. I'm anxious leaving for work wondering if I'll come home to a burglarized house (my one and only concern there is our dog getting loose and lost).

I knew this area had some crime, but this is something else. There seems to be (understandable!) frustration in the community.

I guess I would like reassurance that this neighborhood isn't all bad- I want to love it here. Please tell me good things about this neighborhood- I need some positivity! (Also: ideas on how I can get involved in making this neighborhood a safer place are welcome!).

-New Neighbors

Dear New Neighbors

Welcome to Lents. Sorry you had to find out the hard way. Had you went on the LNJ page or the LNLA page you would have probably given it a second thought before moving here.

I used to try and post the number of squatter houses, and the issues going on here on the I Love Lents page or the Neighborhood Assoc. page but was blocked from both long ago with countless others.

I have lived here over 20 years. It has never been perfect, but it was doable. No more. I often wondered if realtors were kicking something down to admins for making this place sound like a quiet little neighborhood.

The NA board and the I Love Lents page do not provide any factual information on conditions here.

Three years ago when things started going south we tried to get the NA involved. They denied the issues even existed. No different now. These groups receive money and rewards from the city so expect little truth in what they say.

Don't feel bad. I have a neighbor across from me that was told by the realtor he bought from that this area was going to be the next Hawthorne. That was almost 13 years ago....and if you check, that line was use for at least the last 2 decades.

If you live in one of the new construction buildings you were probably led to believe the same. Well, I am sorry.. they lied to you.

Lents has been on a steady downfall for the last 3 years. Crime, homelessness and drug use is everywhere, Some areas worse then others. I know of at least 14 different folks that were decent hardworking people that finally just gave up and left. Your post is not the first time I have read about folks feeling they were deceived ... just a little.

I live just off 83rd and Foster. If you noticed my post says “From the Crotch”.... that is not meant to be funny. It is a very real and honest description of that area.

You can go to either the Lents Neighborhood Livability page or the Lents Neighbors for Justice page and ask folks on there. You might not like what you hear…but it will be the truth.

I am sorry this happened to you and your family. You’re not the first and you will not be the last. My advice is however to go somewhere besides ILL or the NA page for what is going on.

My advice. Be very aware of your homes chances of being broken into. Be aware that they also steal pets in this area. Your vehicle and anything left outside at night. .If you have packages coming get a neighbor to hold them for you. 

Be careful of needles. They wind up in your yard, the parks and throughout the neighborhood. Feces and urine are also pretty common even in public places.

Had you asked on our pages….you may have at least had a better understanding of what it is really like...

Welcome to Lents!

NA Meeting

Does anyone have information on who was elected if anyone? No website, silly irrelevant posts on the Facebook page. Still censoring comments.. We are also waiting for the "New Bylaws" that we heard they were going to get passed quickly...Seems like now it is going to take awhile. In fact it was one of the reasons they used to rush the election. 

Geez, perhaps it is impossible for this neighborhood to get any board members to follow though with anything in a transparent and responsible way. This is what happens when you continue to have a board made up of city employees, or folks looking for a job or stipend from government.

Neighborhood Associations should be independent. Should not seat any employees and not be overseen by anyone but residents of the neighborhood.

TURKEY DINNERS!

We reached out to 3 schools in Lents. We got 10 names from Oliver P. Lents School and we had 3 already. We did not hear back from Kelly School so we offered the remaining 12 to Earl Boyles School and should have the remaining names soon.

Thanks to Char and David for all their work. To Penny who worked a couple of extra shifts at Shimmers 😎, Bob Field, Stuart Schmaltz, Brian Jeanseau, Mary Oxford, Carmelina Wills, Krista Dennis, Julie and Cliff Whitmore, Kathi Gibson, Michelle Matthews Crawford, Daryl Turner’s Office, East Precinct, Fred Meyer and everyone else at our meeting who gave generously to our cause. I apologize for forgetting people’s names. I can't remember everyone there are so many. You guys are going to make Thanksgiving a little better for 24 families.. You rock!

By the way... All of this was done by community members with NO proceeds coming from city, county, state or federal government...that is why it goes so smoothly!.

PS: By the way the author of this article is purchasing the 24 turkeys along with the dinner rolls. THANK YOU ROBERT SANTANGELO!

Portland Oregon or Portland Michigan??

FROM THE CROTCH !

Today is was announced on the news that the city of Portland Michigan had to put out a PSA letting folks know that it was Portland Oregon and not their city that had allowed such horrible behavior during a protest.

We sympathize with they folks in Michigan as the LNLA group as we too sometimes find ourselves in that situation. Being confused with the other guys can be a real problems at times.

Anyone who watched that on the news should have been horrified by the way innocent bystanders and folks on their way to and from work were treated by protesters. Folks not involved in the protest were attacked and verbally assaulted.

They have this on video, so I cannot see any reason that the Mayor would not give PPD the okay to go and arrest those folks and charge them.

In other news the Mayor states that they are going to crack down on this behavior and forbid and limit groups involved in violence. The ACLU has already stated they will fight any ordinance by the Mayor to do so.

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...Here I am stuck in the middle with you"

Stealer Wheel

From The Crotch - October 9, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH !

Nancy Cat brought up the subject of skunks and ferals today on the page. As long as we are talking about things that smell, might as well discuss the upcoming second election of our new self appointed NA board.

The board members, all nominated by one person and seated with a mandate landslide of votes (between 20 and 22 ). The problem is that they have not filled even the required amount of seats to be an NA.

At a general election they failed to fill the mandatory board seats.

Everyone that has read the pages saw that we asked, requested and even pleaded to postpone the election until October to give folks more time. Nope we got a bunch of bullshit excuses as to why it HAD to happen.

Well, now they are having another election in October????? because they cannot get enough folks to even want to belong.

Big question? Why did they not just wait? That answer will be clear soon, however I am waiting for phase II of this sham to unfold

By the way, like the last election you will not know who is running or have an opportunity to meet and speak with them. You only need to take the word of those now running the show, that everything is under control. Heavy emphasis on the word “control.”

Today is October 9th and as of yet there are no names. But don't concern yourself with details, THEY have everything under control.

Yep, we can detect the smell of ferals and skunks as it is not a very common odor. The smell of this sham however is very familiar to the nostrils of most in Lents.

I am sure that the city agencies that run and control our board have given them their blessings.

If you would like to make a difference please come attend an LNLA meeting. No bosses, no egos, no drama, just a community meeting not controlled by the city. Where folks discuss Lents issues and get involved in helping Lents residents. Run by and for the people who reside here.

Open, diverse, transparent and independent!

We are not alone. There are many neighborhoods that are frustrated by the behavior of their NA's. I, for one believe it is discrimination for them to acknowledge one community group over another, especially if they are the controlling entity.

Community groups should be recognized for the work they do and should not be penalized or ignored because they are independent of city control.

Read the article about the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

From the Crotch and much more! - October 7, 2018

Thomas Legg

Comcast Bill

FROM THE CROTCH!

The Brood Boys / Thomas Legg / SQUATTER HOUSES / and other nonsense!

We had a house two years ago in the triangle that we noticed had some squatters in it. Thomas and I went there to see what the story was. The folks we talked to on the trail told us that one girl who was supposedly the girlfriend of the gang leader who was in prison. There were also 2 names we were given that belonged to two of the three males staying there. They were on parole after just getting out of prison.

We found from researching that the owner was not only in foreclosure but he was in the hospital dying. 

We drove and and made our plan. I grabbed a Comcast bill that was on my dashboard. We banged on the door and they answered telling us that they had permission from the owner. They even knew his name. They said he was allowing them to fix the place up while they lived there.

Tom and I told them we had purchased the place months ago and I held up the Comcast bill stating it was a deed. 

I then said to the gentleman, Aren't two of you guys on parole?

The story changed immediately. They did not want the police involved and said they would move out. Now these squatters did not just have blankets and clothes….They had literally moved in beds, couches and stuff and had set up housing there.

They were pretty scared as this would have been a parole violation and back to the joint they would have went. 

We told them we would give them 3 days to move. We also said they had to leave it clean or we would file a report. 

We went by everyday and like they said, They were moving out. When Tom and I went over on the 3rd day they were gone.

There was a note saying they finished the painting on the outside, cleaned up all the trash and they even cut the grass and cleaned the yard. 

We found the brother of the guy who owned it and he moved in. Never had a problem with that house again. 

Amazing what you can get done with an old Comcast bill.

Hope to see a lot of you on the 20th of October at the Thomas Legg Memorial ........

LNA USE OF OUR PAGES!

Since the sham election there have been 3 attempts to post by the new self appointed board. All were removed and the following was explained.

The pages began when folks had no where they could voice their opinions. On ILL and on the LNA pages folks were blocked, censored or had their posts deleted if they did not conform to whatever crap was being pushed.

If you as a newly appointed member of the LNA wish to post on either LNJ, I Love Lents 2 or the LNLA page you can do so, as soon as the LNA page is open for posting and commenting to all residents of Lents.

In all three cases I got no response back.

SQUATTER HOUSE 103RD AND KNIGHT!

David Potts and I went by there last night. You can see from looking in the windows that this place is still pretty active, The house is filled with garbage that they have hauled in. How horrible this neighborhood has to put up with this. We spoke to the guy who lives close by that just moved here last year. He said they are in and out all night. Other neighbors are terrified and worry about leaving their homes alone even to go to work. If you folks get a chance call this one in 10326 SE KNIGHT. I will be posting pictures later.

CAMPERS
86th Court and Insley

The woman who was concerned about the campers in her alley just texted me stating they have moved. After 3 visits by David, Char and myself we convinced them that they needed to move to a different location. When I was there at 3:30 am there were 6 folks there and I told them if they were not gone in the morning that we were going to gather neighbors and call in the media. I know about half of the folks that were hanging there… not anyone you would want within a half mile of your home. Glad they are gone so these folks who live in that area can relax...

LNA
LET IT DIE PEACEFULLY!

We, as can be verified from the numerous posts on the subject all but begged these few folks pushing for a quick fix to slow down. We heard many excuses:

1. Someone was running they did not want on the board I will not post his name. False
That person claims he never ran, nor did he ever tell anyone he was. And even if he did, what type of board is this to choose who can run? 
. 
2. Lets have the election now and you can vote yes or no to those who run.? False
There is no provision to vote NO. Since there were only 4 positions with nominees all it took was one vote.

3. We have to hurry as we will not have a board. False
There is no board now. This boards first action as a board is to violate its own rules, You had a general election where you could not fill the mandatory seats required. Game over.

4. No need to wait…everyone knows the elections are on September. 
Which means they chose not to vote.

There was no hurry. In fact waiting and slowing the process down may have had much better results then the 24 total that showed for a general election.

Fact is they could not even fill the open required seats with nominees. Both our By Laws and ONI standards require that the 7 seats SHALL be filled. This board is not legitimate. The inability to fill the 7 required seats speaks for itself. We have a board that was nominated by one person and voted in by a max of 24 votes!! Really ?

Now they claim they are going to have another election to fill the seats. Where does it say you can do that? Remember these are the same folks that said we could not put the election off for one month..who now come back and say they are having an election in one month. The hypocrisy oozes.

So lets be factual. The membership did not show. The board could not fill the required positions. We have no LNA Board. Most did not know they existed before.... I am sure very few will be aware of its absence. If it takes a vote to convince you, that can be easily arranged.

Let's put in on the agenda for the November meeting and vote to keep it... or dig a hole and bury it! I will bring a shove!

From the Crotch - Thomas Legg | Daryl Turner - October 5, 2018

Daryl Turner PPS

FROM THE CROTCH!

About a month ago both Hing Ming’s and the Space Age gas station were broken into on 84th and Foster. I did not post anything as I did not want to give a heads up to the bad guys. We have since been given the names of the three that did this and passed it on to the owners who I assume will notify the police. One of them is the person we have identified twice as shooting guns off in the alley. This guy needs to get a vacation behind bars.

I hear these same names involved in various crimes and incidents around the hood.

The alley between 83rd and 84th is on its second week of being clean. Outside of a few needles and a little trash it has stayed reasonably clean....

Don't forget the Thomas Legg Memorial on the 20th. It is posted on the page. Tommy dedicated the last 3 years of his life to the SWT and the Lents neighborhood in making it a better place to live.

He was sadly taken from us after a liver transplant. All that knew him come celebrate his life. If you did not know him.. come and find out who he was.

Sgt Randy Teig, East Precinct

On the 11th we have Daryl Turner coming to the meeting at KingPins. Come to a meeting where you actually get to engage, it is refreshing.

I was on the By Laws Committee for the LNA until the election...suddenly there is no more activity. Plenty of contact previously..but then again.. who believed anything would change. From the attendance only 24. No problem. Just let me know when they are passed as there are some removals of board members that need to be addressed.

There is a camper living at the dead end street of 86th Ct off Insley, It is our old friend Renee. I went by there telling her that people were concerned and she claims there are guys that come around at night uninvited. If you live by that camp and can get any pictures please do. There has already been a car break in not 50 ft from it in the NAYA parking lot.

You folks that care please call this in. There are some folks that live by there that are frightened. I guess they have called and as of yet no results. Lets help them out.

From the Crotch - Reedway Rally - September 30, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH !

Reedway Rally .. and the Legend of Tommy Salami!

You all remember the Reedway Rally. That was when Nick Fish was scouting the Lents area looking for a place to put a camp. We were given a heads up by our source and the 4 locations. Thomas and I went out to all of them and came to the conclusion that Reedway would be the spot.

Thomas then made several night trips to that area to talk to campers. I remember we found that there were at least 2 maybe more LNA board members that were aware of this but did not disclose it to the neighborhood. One of those folks resigned within months, the other just last month.

We printed up 500 flyers and Tom, Jessica Ard and myself handed them out at Fred Meyer for 3 days straight. We posted them on every page we could and we spread flyers even outside Lents.

Thomas took another 300 flyers and drove all over Portland giving folks flyers and it paid off the day of the rally. We had well over 300 folks show for that and with the help of Neola Larsen we had every news station as well as some radio stations and neighborhood papers.

It was a big success and it killed any further attempts to move a camp in Lents. We came up with the slogan "No Tents in Lents" and they knew we meant it.

Folks like Thomas Legg never cared about recognition. Some months later a person would claim they put that rally on. 

Tom's reaction was let them, our goal was to stop it...not to benefit from it. I can attest as can dozens of others that the person had zero to do with anything except show up at Reedway and walk with us through the neighborhood for 5 minutes

The majority of work done on that Rally was the footwork of a man despite being sick with cancer made sure that the word got out and folks showed. You folks in that area should never forget the reason there are no tents in your neighborhood.It was because of the effort Tom put in. Don't get me wrong others were involved but Tom was a driving force in that rally being a success.

I remember the smile he gave me at the rally when the streets were packed with folks and signs telling them we were not going to allow it. He smiled that Thomas smile and said “Brother we did good!”

Later this month we will have a Memorial for Thomas which will be listed on the page. I hope that anyone who was touched by this man while he was alive attends this on October 20.

I plan on posting more information and stories about my time with Thomas and invite you to do the same. I only knew Thomas for 3 years but he had a hell of an impact on this old fat mans life. I lost a true friend and brother and we all lost a very dedicated advocate for Lents when he left us. Please come out and remember him.

Next Story : Thomas and I meet the Brood!

From the Crotch - September 28, 2018

FROM THE CROTCH !

ELECTION or REJECTION? / WAPATO AS A SHELTER?

The board held it's annual election. We will not go through all the games, deception and manipulating, it is tiring and redundant .

The night before last approximately 24 residents out of 22,000 elected a new board. Yes 5 members were seated with a max each that could be obtained of 24 votes. That means 99.99% stayed home. I am told another six attended that were city employees to perhaps help with the election I am not sure if the 24 includes them, however with or without them added the response to what these guys were selling was dismal as best. More folks slept in my alley this week.

We were told come vote for me or vote against me. There is no system to vote against. That was very misleading and not factual. You had 5 choices for 5 seats. The only way you could have prevented a member from being seated is if they did not vote for themselves, as they ran unopposed.

I was told...folks know there is an election so we do not have to put it off. Remember that point.

5 of the 24 there were vying for seats on the board. There were I believe 11 openings. None had any opposition. What that means LITERALLY is that 1 member of the community could have elected all 5 members. I do not think that is an election

We asked for this process to be slowed down. Take your time. Get folks involved. I saw no argument from anyone except those running. There was no reason to hurry, at least any legitimate one.

So they had the election. For every board member elected there was an average of 4.8 members at that meeting ...counting them.

A mandate! A referendum! 99.99% of Lents residents did not show.

Now we get back to the statement that folks knew there was an election and no reason to delay. If that is true.. then what you had was a NO CONFIDENCE showing by the community for this board and those that ran. They chose not to show.

After all by their own words.. People needed no more time... they were aware. 
We have these elections every year at this time.

I know from our admin records over 250 folks from the pages were reading the posts about the elections even given the short notice on the circumstances that were not known yet, until just days before.

They will now say we are negative. Not a new ploy. They will argue that they represent change, when all can see they are just a continuation of the old...from the start. They will in fact do everything and perhaps more then their predecessors while now defending it.

That now we cannot disagree, because it's them. They will band together and again decide that they know what is best for the neighborhood of 22.000 folks because 24 people said so.
And they will do it with a straight face. The very folks that condemned this behavior from others before, now own it. But remember…it's different now ..because it's them!

We had a By Laws committee that had some very good by laws in place. I hope those rules are not changed in that draft to protect board members from being accountable. I urge the board to vote on them quickly so that we might start implementing some of them immediately.

No fresh start... just more of the same!

WAPATO AS A SHELTER!

On another note the meeting put on by the Police Union was very good. Very good ideas. A very well run meeting. Daryl Turner of the PPA put out some good info and got a lot of feedback. It is still a possibility and would hold 600 folks.

Not everyone agreed but for the most part it was civil. One person kept talking behind us so that it made it hard for the rest to hear, but other then a little lack of manners it was a good meeting. I encourage folks to get involved and bring their ideas to the next meeting which we will posted.

These politicians will do little unless we unite to get this problem resolved. I agreed with and enjoyed his reasoning. The crazy thing is that the facility that we just sold for a huge loss could have still been ours when implementing this.

Please attend the meeting on the 11th of October and hear what he has to say. It is posted on the LNLA page.