Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Cherry Grove Church, Washington County, OR Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31: 8-9. In writing about many counties in Oregon, the problem with sheriff and police departments being understaffed has come up repeatedly. There has been a problem with officer shortages in many places, putting stress on the already overworked law enforcement staffs. With higher than average turnover among the police, this has been a problem for the past five years. Recently Governor Kotek and the DPSST (Department of Public Safety Standards and Training) announced that the police training backlog has been eliminated. They have increased the number of officers who can be trained and reduced the time to wait for Basic Police training. Less than a year ago, the legislature voted for additional resources and supported a concerted effort to reduce the shortage. This is good new...

Cherry Grove Church, Washington Co. I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Isaiah 1:26 County Focus : Our recent look at Multnomah and Clackamas Counties puts us back in the state's North West Region, which includes Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, and Columbia Counties, and the main population center, Portland. Washington County, which includes part of Portland, is our prayer focus this week. The United States has 30 counties and one parish named after George Washington. With a population of over 600,000, Washington County, Oregon, is the second-most populous in our state and has the highest population of any of the other Washington Counties in the country. Hillsboro is the county seat. Washington County, Oregon The government is a Council-Manager form with the five-member board having legislative responsibility, and the administration delegated to a Boa...

  Mt. Hood from Washington County, OR Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31: 8-9 NIV The city of Portland lies within three counties, Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington. Washington County is mostly made up of the Tualatin Valley which is separated from the northwest edge of Portland by the Tualatin Mountains. One of the smart things Portland did in 1850 was to build a plank road to connect Portland with the Tualatin Valley, ensuring the commerce of Oregon centered on Portland rather than Oregon City. The Tualatin Valley, which contains larger towns such as Beaverton, Forest Grove, and Hillsboro (the county seat), is surrounded by mountains. The Chehalem Mountains separate it from the Willamette Valley itself, and it is bordered on the north and east by the Coast Range. While much of the area is urbanized and Washington County is the second mos...

For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4 Washington County is one of the oldest counties in the state. Originally called Twality, it was established by the first Provisional government in 1843. Washington is one of the triumvirate of counties that make up the Portland Metropolitan Area and includes some of the larger communities and suburbs of the city of Portland such as Hillsboro (the county seat) and Beaverton. Forest Grove is the oldest city in the county, and therefore one of the oldest settlements in the state. With all that rich history and current bustling activity in the county it would seem “going deeper” would not be hard, but it was difficult at first to find a focus. However, I eventually noticed that my research kept going back to the Sheriff’s Office. The current Sheriff of Washington County is Pat Garret...

Tualatin River You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it;  The river  of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.  Psalm 65:9   “The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray.” Robbie Burns said that, although his poem was in the Scottish dialect. My intended schedule for writing blog posts was once again upended by outside events. Due to the series of ice storms in our area we were without power for five days and without internet for another four. This was followed by the hospitalization of a family member (who is home healing now).  So…here is what I was working on when so rudely interrupted:    Washington County is the second most populous county in Oregon second only to Multnomah, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The largest city and county seat is Hillsboro.    In July of 1843 the Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the original four districts: Clackamas, Mario...