Ribbon Cut at New Library Park

The fountain located in the new Maxwell Library Park.

A group of some 50 residents gathered on Sunday, August 20, to celebrate the opening of the new Maxwell Library Park adjacent to the main branch of the Tillamook Library in downtown Tillamook.

The park was the vision of Stu and Clarice Maxwell, longtime community volunteers, who also made the park’s creation a reality with a bequest from their estate.

“We are here because two people, Stu and Clarice Maxwell, were visionaries,” said Ruth LaFrance, president of the Tillamook Library Foundation.

Before their passing in 2014, the couple envisioned a new park that would serve as a gathering place for the people of Tillamook County. When they passed, they bequeathed over $130,000 from their estate to the library foundation, which purchased the lot on Third Street west of the library’s main branch in October 2014.

The foundation then worked on crafting plans for the park with the same architect who had designed the main branch building, Richard Turi. Turi’s designs incorporated the three elements the Maxwells had wanted to include in the park: a fountain, a place for quiet contemplation and a stage with seating area for community events.

Over the years following the property purchase, the project came together with help from a wide range of sources. Funding came from grants from the county government’s transient lodging tax revenues, the Tillamook Urban Renewal Association, private donations, bookstore sales at the foundation’s main branch location and several private foundation grants. More than 30 local businesses also contributed to the construction effort.

“Maxwell Park has always been seen as a park by the people of Tillamook County for the people of Tillamook County,” LaFrance said.

The new park came in with a total budget of $322,000 and ticked each of the desired elements off the Maxwells’ checklist. There is a fountain, featuring two children under an umbrella that rains on them, a contemplative area with benches nestled in the shade and a stage with a large seating area.

In addition to LaFrance, Tillamook County Library Director Don Allgeier, Nestucca Valley School District Superintendent Misty Wharton, Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skaar and State Library of Oregon Program Manager Buzzy Nielsen spoke before the ribbon cutting.

Wharton said that the new park was a great example of what civic minded individuals could initiate in a community.

Bronze Children's Fountain

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Altrusa Sculpture Approved for Four Corners Park

This is the design selected by Altrusa for the northwest section of Four Corners Park from the Yonkers sculpture studio of Randolph Rose Collection.

Altrusa will erect a sculpture in the northeast quadrant of Four Corners Park without the controversy that faced plans for another sculpture in the southeast quadrant last fall.

The Coldwater City Council approved the installation on March 25 of the classic Randolph Rose Collection bronze sculpture "Reading Buddies."

According to past president Carrie Stout, the 47 current local members of Coldwater Altrusa International raised $19,000 for the art piece featuring a boy and a girl reading at each end of a bench with space in between for people to sit.

Stout said, "Bronze is an incredibly durable material that withstands all sorts of weather conditions, and it assures us the sculpture will be around for generations."

Altrusa presented the sculpture to the city to encourage literacy. The group gave the sculpture, "As a symbol of our commitment to the community and to its improvement, both through continued beautification of our Four Corners Park."

The group adopted that corner of Four Corners Park in 1984 and maintains flowers there.

The corner is also home to the Farmer's Market for 13 weeks during the summer.

Another sculpture proposed for the park's southeast quadrant did not receive a similar enthusiastic welcome last November.

Councilman John Petzko and his two daughters provided seed money for the fountain to honor his late wife and their mother, councilwoman Maureen Petzko.

The family suggested, with City Manager Keith Baker, a stylistic modern 15-foot sculpture by Fritz Olsen from the 2023 Grand Rapids Art Walk.

This is the design selected by Altrusa for the northwest section of Four Corners...

Honoring The Late Ward D Councilman Michael Yun

Michael Yun Custom Bench Statue

Jersey City is inviting the public to attend the unveiling ceremony of a bronze statue in celebration and in memory of late Ward D Councilman Michael Yun.

The statue, known as “Achieving the American Dream,” will be erected at 366 Central Avenue in the Heights on Saturday, April 6 at 10 a.m., four years to the day since his passing. At its most recent meeting in March, the Jersey City Municipal Council adopted a resolution accepting the statue as a donation from the family and friends of Yun. According to the resolution, the bronze statue is meant to beautify the Central Avenue streetscape while simultaneously celebrating the American Dream and Yun’s memory.

The statue was created by the Randolph Rose Collection, who has been committed to creating the finest work of bronze art for homes, gardens, and public spaces since 1972.

The bronze statue sits on a bench approximately 6 feet wide, to be unveiled on the sidewalk on Bowers Street next to 366 Central Avenue at the request of the family and friends of Yun. The resolution states that he chose to begin his American Dream in Jersey City, while sitting on a bench on the corner of Central Avenue and Bowers Street, thus the sentimental statue placement.

In the Heights, Yun embodied that dream, being a small business owner and community leader for over three decades. He eventually became a public servant, elected as the Ward D Councilman and serving from 2013 until his death in 2020. Yun was unfortunately one of the many lives lost in Jersey to COVID-19 amid the viral pandemic.

The resolution states that Yun’s memory and journey to achieve the American Dream is an inspiration to the next generation of Jersey City residents seeking to start their own dream in the City. At the March 20 meeting, Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh said the council worked to make this happen ahead of the four-year anniversary of his passing on April 6.

“It is our solemn duty, and I know for my council colleagues who worked alongside Councilman Michael Yun, it’s an honor for us to be able to push this forward,” Saleh said. “This bronze statue… it’s going to be a welcome and beautiful presence in the Heights. Public service is very hard… his family sacrificed a lot. Michael Yun sacrificed so much for this City, and this is a beautiful way to remember him. He is the shining example of the American Dream and may he be an example for everyone else in Jersey City and inspire… anyone else to not just start a business but get into public service and serve their community.”

Jersey City is inviting the public to attend the unveiling ceremony of a...