Not sure who this guy is, but I did have a need to recycle some fluorescent bulbs today. Naturally, all 4 in the laundry room looked shot, so I zipped on over to Home Depot and picked up a few packs. (sorry Ace/ BiMart – I had to go out that way anyway)
A few hours later, as my laundry room lit up like Qwest Field again, I now faced the problem of what to do with the old tubes. My natural reaction – toss them in the can, and then toss something on top so they all shatter. But no – that would not be – well – green like now would it? Let’s see if we can recycle.
My first internet search turned up this wonderful factoid – you can recycle fluorescent tubes at – wait for it – HOME DEPOT! Now why didn’t I look this up BEFORE I bought the new ones? Sheesh, back to Home Depot again. And then I thought – wait a minute – am I really helping the environment, by using even more gas and oil – just to go back to Home Depot – again – just to recycle these silly things? There’s got to be another way.
There was. And it was just a phone call away. Our own Forest Grove Waste Management. The nice lady behind the phone informed me they DO take fluorescent bulbs. There’s just a bit of work to get them ready.
- Do NOT break the bulbs. They contain mercury, and the glass can be hazardous to our garbage men.
- If your new bulbs came totally encased in a cardboard package, simply put your old bulbs back in this package and set it out next to your bin on trash day.
- Do NOT put the bulbs IN your bin. But rather lay them on the curb beside it.
- If your new bulbs did NOT come in a cardboard box, but cellophane (like mine), then simply wrap the bulbs in newspaper. Tape it all shut and then sit it out on trash day. Either way, use a permanent marker and label the package FLUORESCENT BULBS so the guys know what they are handling.
- That’s it. No fuss really. And no extra trips back to Home Depot either.
Thank you Waste Management !
So if you did not know you could recycle fluorescent bulbs – now you do. It may not seem like much, but a whole lot of little things (like this) do add up to make our environment a safer place to live. Resuse. Reduce. Recycle.
As I was coming home from grocery shopping today I saw a few new signs around town…
FOR LEASE signs.
Last month it was Basco’s Burgers in Cornelius. Thirty years in the business and then gone, just like that.
Today I saw Triple Point Biologics was empty. They were the protein lab located between Dr Tidwell’s Dental Office and Napa Auto Parts. I don’t think they closed, but just moved. According to their website they are now on Douglas, in the old building that used to be Jim’s Automotive. Cheaper rent maybe?
While discussing this with my wife she noticed another business gone. Signmesiters. The entire store located next to OK Floral was empty. And sadly, I don’t think this business moved, or sold, or anything else but just closed up completely. No signs in the window, no nothing. I remember when Tamra and Vern opened this business. They were located in one of John Hamilton’s buildings over on Main St – pretty close to where The Urban Decanter is now…. They were a nice couple, and hard workers. Their two dogs were always excited to see me. And now? Another sign of the economy?
Good luck Tamra and Vern, wherever you are. We will miss you.
I remember when I first moved to Forest Grove in ‘97. There were at least 3 video stores. Video USA was in the Safeway Shopping Center, Movie Madness was in my old strip mall next to Da Boys. And I think there was a smaller video store next to Scotty’s that rented harder to find movies.
And then came Blockbuster.
It was no surprise when one by one the video stores began closing, leaving us with just the big blue label. It’s not that I particularly hated Blockbuster, I was just sad to see another corporate giant move into town and do away with the smaller mom and pop shops. But I did still give them my business. In fact, I was just there last night to pick up a couple of movies for “Pizza and Movie Night”. I have never tried Redbox, nor do I have a Netflix account. But after last night, I’m afraid that will change.
Beginning today, March 1, all movies (new release or older films) will be $5 for 5 days. If the movies are not returned within 5 days, a late fee of $1 per day will be tacked on, up to 15 days. Then you automatically buy it with your credit card that just happens to be on file.
Five bucks? For an older movie? Are they kidding?
Let’s see, with Netflix I can rent 1 DVD at a time, keep it as long as I want, and exchange it as many times as I want, for $9 a month. Plus they have a 2 week free trial. Hmmmmmm, tough decision.
I realize Blockbuster is having trouble. Both Redbox and Netflix have been putting the pressure on Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. In fact, it’s so bad that Hollywood just closed a bunch of stores last month. I have a feeling Blockbuster will be next.
Blockbuster plans for its total 2009 store closures to amount to 580 to 685 stores and for 2010, the retailer expects another 230 to 275 store will close. The retailer is avoiding lease termination costs, as many of the stores will close as leases naturally expire. In its January 2009 annual report, Blockbuster said it had 4,585 U.S. stores, so it has already closed 229 this year. During 2008, it closed 270 U.S. stores and during 2007, it closed 339 U.S. stores.
I wonder when our store will be next.
Blockbuster, I will miss you. I was sad when you came because you closed down the smaller shops. And I’ll be sad when you leave, because I liked going to a video store and browsing all the titles. And when you’re gone, we’ll have nobody.
But when you start charging $5 bucks for a movie, even older movies that used to be $.99. Well, I think it’s time I cut up my card.
Netflix here I come.
Where do we go from here?
That was the question posed at the Forest Grove Town Meeting last month. Although I did not have a chance to attend, there has been a lot of discussion on the bulletin boards around town. Suggestions like turning Forest Grove into a Wine gateway, adding a Town Center, or bringing in more Arts.
These are all good suggestions – assuming everything is back to normal and our main goal is to attract more people / business to boost our local economy.
But is everything normal? We are still in the clutches of a major economic recession. Many people are still out of work. Job are getting harder and harder to find. Every day more and more businesses are closing their doors for good. Hollywood Video closed a dozen Oregon stores just last week. Basco’s Burgers in Cornelius is closing after 30 years. Rumor has it that Horton’s Office Supply could be closing soon.
In Colorado Springs, CO the city just turned off a third of its streetlights and has police helicopters for sale on the Internet. City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good in March. California is near bankruptcy. Nevada’s budget is so far out of balance that by one account the state could lay off every worker paid from the general fund and still be $300 million in the red. Prisons may be closed, entire colleges shuttered and thousands left without jobs. And in Utah, facing massive budget cuts, one school district is considering eliminating the 12th grade altogether.
No, I’m sorry. This does not sound like everything is back to normal. And I really doubt if inviting people out for wine tasting will help.
Well then….what should we do? Where should we focus? Becoming a better bedroom community?
As I said, encouraging more people and/or businesses to move to Forest Grove is a good idea – Continue reading ‘The Future of Forest Grove’
I remember the first time I heard them. It must have been about 12 years ago, right after we moved here. “What in the heck is that!?” I asked my wife. She said it sounded like a baby was crying. Sounded more like some poor woman was screaming at the top of her lungs to me. Bone chilling is what it was. I thought, what kind of neighborhood is this!
Well, it wasn’t a baby, or any kind of evil doing going on in the hood. It was the famous Forest Gale Peakcocks.
Peakcocks?
According to the local rumor mill – a local farmer used to raise them nearby, long before Forest Gale Heights was fully developed. I’m not sure what happened to the farmer, but his brood of peafowl remained – and multiplied. At one point in time they were everywhere. Oh sure – they are pretty to look at. But once you get woke up by them screaming at 5am, or have to clean up after them, you may change your mind. I’ve had them on my roof, in my lawn, on the sidewalk, and everywhere in between. And they don’t just leave typical little bird droppings when they go. Oh no. Think more like – hairballs. Lots of them. Nasty.
Peacocks and peahens—are members of the pheasant family. Although most people Continue reading ‘Forest Grove Peacocks’
For all of us older folks, do you remember some of the things you grew up with, that have disappeared over the years? Things like the 8-Track player? Or how about the Betamax? I remember as a teenager going to the music store to buy the latest record album. (that’s those big, round, vinyl things us old folks played to listen to our music). Just 10 years ago I would have been typing this over a dial-up Internet connection.
My, my, how things have changed.
I was reading an article this morning from MSN Money about some of the current technologies that may too end up in the forgotten pile. The list may surprise you.
- DVDs. Thanks to services like cable On-Demand and Netflix, DVD rentals may soon be gone. Blockbuster has said it plans to close more than a fifth of its stores by the end of 2010. Adding to Blockbuster’s demise are those cute little red boxes that have sprung up everywhere. If nothing else, Blockbuster may soon be Blue Ray only, as it seems everything is going High Def.
- CD’s. Do you remember the last time you went to a music store to buy a CD? I sure don’t. Napster was the beginning of the end for music sales. Then of course came Continue reading ‘Going, going, gone’
If you like good dance music, pop on over to the Visitation School Gymnasium in Verboort on Friday, Feb 5.
At 6:30 dance lessons will be provided by the Banks Dance Academy. Come on, I know you’ve always wanted to learn a little Salsa Dancing, admit it. It all turns over to dancing at 7:30 with music provided by the Lake Oswego Dance Band. Two of our members from Everybody’s Hometown Band, Kip and Maureen Van Dyke play in this band, and from what I’ve heard, they are simply outstanding. Even if you’re not into dancing, you can at least stop by for some good music.
Admission is $5 for adults, $10 for the whole family. All proceeds go to Visitation School Tuition Assistance.
Open Enrollment for grades 1st through 12th
January 15th , 2010 through April 1st, 2010
503-359-4600
www.fgcschool.org
information@fgcschool.org
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The Forest Grove Community School is a free public charter school that engages students in scholarship, stewardship and citizenship with the goal of educating for sustainability. We provide a caring, smaller school environment that challenges students to reach their highest potential through learning rooted in the local community. Forest Grove Community School, like all public charter schools, is a school of choice intended to offer a unique educational program.
What led to the creation of this new school? On top of the normal challenges of growing into adults, we foresee that our children will face environmental and cultural challenges that are unprecedented in scope and that will require intelligent and flexible response. We believe that to meet these challenges our children will need the ability to adapt to change, knowledge of environmental systems, and an understanding of how to live sustainably.
As a result, we must prepare our children by teaching them the skills they need to assess and respond to information, to set and accomplish goals for themselves, and to develop strong community bonds. Scholarship, Stewardship, Citizenship Life lessons are learned by living. So, we created a school in which the students and teachers take the classroom into the world.
Yes, they will study reading, writing and arithmetic (and much more), but the lessons will be held in the school garden, the wetlands, or downtown as well as in the classroom. These lessons will have impact, meaning, and lasting value because they are hands-on, here at home, dealing with real life issues.
I love Forest Grove. But there is one subject I complain about when it comes to my town – and that is the selection of Grocery Stores. Namely the ONE and ONLY grocery store. Safeway.
I guess I’m just one of those people who loves to hate Safeway. Sure it’s local, and been in town a long time, and I try really hard to support my local businesses, but………… Every time I go to Safeway, I usually wish I had taken the extra trip out to Freddy’s. Why? Well – first it’s a giant corporation. I’m not too fond of giant corporations. Remember when they completed their remodel? Starbucks? That was like a slap in the face to all the local family owned baristas in town, including BJ’s just a few doors down. Second – their prices are steep, especially compared to say Winco. Third – I can usually find a much greater selection – especially with more Continue reading ‘Forest Grove Groceries’
Christmas and New Years have now come and gone, time to start taking down the decorations. But what do you do with that tree? Here are some options for Forest Grove.
Option 1: Recycle
Many nonprofit organizations offer pickup services or locations where you can take Christmas trees and wreaths to be recycled. They will charge a small fee or request a donation. These nonprofit groups accept trees at least one day on the weekend after Christmas. Nonprofit organizations provide this service as a fundraiser for many worthwhile projects and as a community service. Once these groups are finished with tree recycling projects, the yard debris processing companies in the region will still accept them.
Here in Forest Grove, the organization that has handled this for us over the last 25 years is Continue reading ‘Christmas Tree Recycling’
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