Saturday, June 16, 2018


Summer, June 2018, Newsletter:
Chairman’s Column
Toraj Khavari


Happy Birthday Bull Mountain Park!
The Bull Mountain Park was dedicated, June 21, 2012. The park was purchased by the City of Tigard using some of bond measure 34-181 funds. All funds and projects for park development were raised and managed by the Friends of Bull Mountain Park. Progress, changes and transitions shape our lives.



Ø  Park transition: 6 park entrances, ADA friendly hard surface trails, picnic shelter, Nature Play Ground, toolshed, bathroom, signs, soft trails, picnic tables, benches, etc. have been added since 2012. The latest nature play area has been a great accomplishment. Since Oct. 15, 2017, the Nature Play Area dedication day, every day has dozens of children of all ages using the park. My delight and absolute joy are when I see little kids try to master the Nature Playground area and climb the play structures. Absolute fun is to see young adults place their electronics aside and enjoy the nature, look up, and look around. I cannot help but smile; thinking of when the new crop of apples on the trees, basking under sun, will taunt the local deer.

Our phantom orchids are in full bloom, beautiful as ever. However, there are fewer of them this year! No worries, phantom orchids will stay dormant for years, sometimes more than ten years. They will show up. Scientist have not learned how to transplant phantom orchids or grow them. These beautiful plants, need our protection, as they are on endangered species watch list.

Ø  Friends of park transition: Friends of Bull Mountain Park was formed 1Q2011, 18 months before the park dedication. Bull Mountain Park physical large-scale development projects are coming to an end. The projects are getting capitalized / transitioned from Friends of Bull Mountain Park to City of Tigard. The projects warranty period is concluding soon. There are opportunities to continue building our community by providing education programs, coordinating events, maintaining and making additional enhancements. It is time for new ideas and new leadership.

I am stepping down as the chair and president of Friends of Bull Mountain Park, 4Q2018. My wife, Irene and I will continue our community support and involvement. 

Friends of Bull Mountain Park will continue as a grassroots organization.

Ø  City of Tigard transition: The City of Tigard mayor / leadership is changing. In the past 6 years, I had the pleasure of working with Counselor Dirksen, previous mayor, and Mayor Cook. Mayor Cook is retiring his mayoral position at the end of his term; well deserved.

Bull Mountain Park, Friends of Bull Mountain Park leadership, and City of Tigard mayor are changing. Changes are bitter sweet.
I encourage you to embrace and welcome changes. Sometimes, changes may show up like an unexpected storm. However, be part of the acceptance and solution.
 Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”  Please consider joining the leadership in the Friends of Bull Mountain Park. The grassroots organization has done a great job in the Park. Now that the City of Tigard Park levy did not pass, the Bull Mountain Park needs “Friends”.  If you are interested email Sarah Soper (Editor and Project Coordinator), snsoper@mac.com or toraj.khavari@gmail.com before Sept. 1, 2018.

You can be part of the solution.  Margaret Mead says it the best, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  Friends of Bull Mountain Park, is a perfect example.

Enjoy the Park and join us for the special upcoming events.  See you in the Park!!
“Friends to the end”,
Toraj


Volunteer Projects
By Sarah Soper

Spring has been a busy one for the FBMP.  Volunteer Days included finishing our Landscaping Plan and Spring Cleanup. Native Oregon plants were donated by George and Sara Kral, owners of Ash Creek Forest Management.  

Rock Engraving
By Sarah Soper

We have completed our Rock Engraving project. Early June brought Lenny Huiras with On The Rocks Engraving and his dad, Jeff to engrave the basalt rocks!  The Rock Engraving campaign was a big FBMP fundraising project. 

Mark your calendar for July 11th for the Engraving Celebration.



Thank you to all donors
Check made to:
Tualatin River Watershed Council or TRWC
Check Memo line: 
Friends of Bull Mountain Park Project or FBMP Project
Send to:   
April Olbrich
Friends of Bull Mountain Park (FBMP) Projects
Tualatin River Watershed Council (TRWC)
PO Box 338
Hillsboro OR 97123-0338

Chairperson and President: Toraj Khavari   toraj.khavari@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor: Sarah Soper   snsoper@mac.com

The BMP soft trails start at multiple (6) entrances: SW Greenfield Drive, SW Benchview Place, SW Woodshire, SW Alpine Crest Way, SW Fernridge Terrace, and SW Ridgefield Ln.

      Come and enjoy the park, be active, be healthy, and be green. Bull Mountain Park area photo and trail maps:

Connect with the FRIENDS of BMP at the following sites:
                                                            Facebook® - http://www.facebook.com/FEBMP
                                                            FBMP Blog Post: http://fbmpblogs.blogspot.com/
                                                            Yahoo® User Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FEBMP/
Park Address - 13950 SW Alpine Crest Way, Tigard, Oregon 97223




Sunday, November 19, 2017

October 2017 Newsletter:
Chairman’s Column
Toraj Khavari

Bull Mountain Park Development for Nature Play Area, Picnic Shelter and  trails are completed, open and available. On Sunday Oct. 15, 2017, the  development dedication and ribbon cutting were celebrated. Many of us  have anticipated that day for years, and never gave up on the hope that it  would come. As is true of many of life’s surprises, the reality far exceeds the vision.

It is a great pleasure to hear the sound of construction equipment replaced by children’s laughter. Seeing young and young at heart use the trails brings me absolute joy. Young couples visiting around picnic tables and parents watching children play are delightful. I anticipated seeing them, hearing them, and at times visiting with them for a long time. Our community has a brand new Nature Play Area, the first of its kind in Tigard! What fun.

New grass fields are quickly replacing the construction excavation effected areas. The deer, birds, squirrels, and other flora and fauna are re-claiming the park, once again providing a natural setting. Construction debris are removed. Native growth and flora are taking over their rightful area. I am grateful for everyone’s involvement to make this project successful. 

Bull Mountain Park is now more enabled for children of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures to enjoy and have outdoor activities.

Enjoy the Park and go play!

Friends to the end.


Eagle Scout Project 
By Tristan Parkinson

When I had finished my chemistry merit badge, and my mom was driving me home, she told me, “Since you are finished with the Eagle required merit badges you should start thinking about your Eagle Scout project".

We decided to look for good potential Eagle scout projects when Dad’s coworker said he had a few projects to pick from. So, on May 1st, I met with Toraj Khavari. We reviewed 5 projects, but in the end, I chose to build a retaining wall. After donations, a fundraiser, and a purchase of 8,000 pounds of rock, the project was ready to start. One of the biggest setbacks to the projects: The rock delivery truck couldn’t back up far enough. The result: all the rock I had witnessed crashing down on top of each other had to be moved further back towards the trailhead, by hand, another 40 feet. So, mom and younger siblings, we spent the next 2 days moving the 4 tons of rock. We were all very sore. 

The following week my fellow scouts, family and I started moving rocks via wheelbarrow down the steep path towards my project site. Throughout the following week I enlisted in the help of 7 other volunteers to create the foundation. I had people tamping, loading up wheelbarrows, and driving wheelbarrows filled with rocks and heavy boulders down the narrow trail. Then, after moving all the rocks down to the wall site, I finally constructed my retaining wall and added finishing details to complete my Eagle Scout project before the new school year started. It was a lot of hard work, heavy lifting, sore muscles - but it was still a good experience.

This project has taught me that if you have a good attitude and willing helpers, anything can be accomplished. I may not grow up to be a landscaper, but it was in interesting process to learn. By working on this project and learning how the Eagle Scout process works, T hope I can help other scouts in my troop and encourage them to reach for Eagle and beyond.



Eagle Scout Project
By Chris Tento

Over the past months, I have been working towards my Eagle rank in Scouting. In the process of looking for an Eagle project to pursue I came across Bull Mountain Park and the Friends of Bull Mountain Park, who had several ideas for things I could do to support the park and the community. As I had worked on several other projects at Bull Mountain Park and wanted to help complete the vision that the community had for the park, I decided to help by replacing an old retaining wall that had been falling apart for quite some time. While the project got delayed at points, I was able to coordinate with both the City of Tigard and the Friends of Bull Mountain Park to get everything in order for the project just so we would be able to begin work. 

Unfortunately the day I had chosen to begin work was on one of the first very rainy days of the season and we came very close to delaying once again, but thanks to some very dedicated hard working volunteers from my troop,  school, and family we were able to finish all of the  “dry” stacking in only one very wet day. 

In the next  weekend, myself and another volunteer from my troop put the final touches on the project by planting ferns just below the rock wall to keep the soil from eroding  in the future and to cover the small open area. Once  again, I would like to thank everyone from the Friends of Bull Mountain Park, Troop 799, Westside Christian, and the City of Tigard for helping to make this happen.


Project Status
By Sarah Soper
We have completed most of our current projects. The contractor has wrapped up, the Friends of Bull Mountain (FBMP) finished up the picnic shelter with the help of City of Tigard. Thank you to all the volunteers and for the volunteers that fed everyone! The park is open!

We have a few more projects to complete but we are mostly done until spring.

Thank you very much


Major Underwriter and Grants 
      Metro Nature in Neighborhood
      Friends of Bull Mountain Park
      City of Tigard Capital Improvement Plan
      Oregon Community Fund
      Juan Young Trust

Donors and Sponsors
      Bonnie G. Conger (Legacy Donor)
      Toraj & Irene Khavari (Legacy Donor)
      Scott & Loni Parrish – A-dec (Legacy Donor)
      Pearson Financial Group, Conrad Pearson  (Legacy Donor)
      Anonymous (One family, Visionary Donor)
      Robert & Sarah Soper (Visionary Donor)
      Ken & Joan Austin (Patron Donor)
      Mike & Cheryl Druding (Patron Donor)
      Jake Egger (Patron Donor)
      Paul & Sarah Messenger (Patron Donor)
      James & Lorraine Clauss (Patron Donor)
      Synopsys (Patron Donor)
      Irene M. Khavari, Sunstone Distributors (Patron Donor)
      Renee M. Johnson (Patron Donor)
      Tim Pepper (Patron Donor) Intel (Patron Donor) employer match
      Memory of Carroll  E. Smith by Marianne C. Poole (Patron Donor)
      Mike & Claudia Grover (Patron Donor) Shell Oil (Patron Donor) employer match
      Linda & Steve Shaw (Patron Donor)
      Ronald & Ruth Hartford (Patron Donor)
      Kathleen Egger Sherwood (Patron Donor)

Please support our generous Corporate Donors and Sponsors
      Mr. Tree (Visionary Donor)
      Trees Restaurant, Sherwood, Shannon Johnson (Patron Donor)
      The Kelly Group Real Estate (Patron Donor)
      Blakeslee Vineyard Estate, Sherwood (Patron Donor)
      Casa Lola Kitchen de Mexico, Beaverton  (Patron Donor)
      State Farm Insurance – Gus Nadelhoffer, Tigard  (Patron Donor)
      Prudential Financial Services, Inc. Randall Barkhurst, Tigard (Patron Donor)
      Talbots Bridgeport (Patron Donor)
      Greatbatch Inc. (Patron Donor)
      Fulcrum Logo - Brian & Lorraine Otis (Patron Donor)
      John and Steve Barker/Barker Construction (Patron Donor)
      Parr Lumber (Patron Donor)
      Pacific West Roofing, Stan Robinson (Patron Donor)
      The CarMax Foundation (Patron Donor)
      Tigard Burgerville (Patron Donor)
      Tigard Sherwin-Williams, Nate McNeely (Patron Donor)
      Washington Square Dental, Dr. Rashidi (Patron Donor)
      Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Dan Murphy and Sharon Maroney (Patron Donor)
      Dr. Timothy Hubbard D.C., Sherwood Chiropractic (Patron Donor)
With great appreciation for all participating Friends of Bull Mountain Park

Make Your Donations 
Check Memo line:  Friends of Bull Mountain Park Project or FBMP Project
Send to:     

April Olbrich
Friends of Bull Mountain Park (FBMP) Projects
Tualatin River Watershed Council (TRWC)
PO Box 338
Hillsboro OR 97123-0338

For more details about the FBMP’s projects and BMP concept plan refer to the following documents.
                             City Of Tigard -  http://www.tigard-or.gov/community/bull_mountain_park.php
                                    FBMP Nature Play Projects Information - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FEBMP/files/Nature%20Play%20Projects%20Information/

FBMP Contacts
    Chairperson : Toraj Khavari   toraj.khavari@gmail.com
    Newsletter Editor: Sarah Soper   snsoper@mac.com
    Tigard Park and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) Liaison: Tim Pepper  tpepper@gmail.com
    Trail Masters: Tim Pepper  tpepper@gmail.com and Jenn Eaton  jennilynn311@yahoo.com
    Volunteer and Event Coordinator: Linda Shaw  lindashaw13178@msn.com
    
FBMP Meetings

Please mark your calendars and join us.

Time and Dates: 7 PM to 8:30 PM
January 25, 2018
Where: Fire Station #50, located at 12617 SW Walnut St. Tigard OR, 97223

The BMP soft trails start at multiple (6) entrances: SW Greenfield Drive, SW Benchview Place, SW Woodshire, SW Alpine Crest Way, SW Fernridge Terrace, and SW Ridgefield Ln.
Come and enjoy the park, be active, be healthy, and be green. Bull Mountain Park area photo and trail maps: 
Connect with the FRIENDS of BMP at the following sites:
                                                Yahoo® User Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FEBMP/

                                                Facebook® - http://www.facebook.com/FEBMP
Park Address - 13950 SW Alpine Crest Way, Tigard, Oregon 97223