Written by Bryan Aptekar (Lands Stewardship Operations Coordinator ) for PayDirt, the City Employees bi-monthly newsletter.
“Thanks to a grant from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, and partnership with several community groups, we have a much improved, much safer archery range in Washington Park. The new improvements provide a fixed shooting line and movable targets, increasing safety and functionality as compared to the past where fixed targets required archers to stagger themselves when shooting or wait their turn to shoot from different distances safely.
If you stop by the range any time soon, you’ll see many happy archers, and hear many thanks from them. This effort represents a large collaboration with several partners and staff from around the bureau. Work ranged from working through our grant agreement, review and production of signs, from determining the best layout of the range improvements to the hard work on the ground of building and installing the targets, the shooting line, and markers.
Thanks and recognition go to a range of [Parks and Recreation] staff including:
Robin Akers, Bryan Aptekar, Mike Barckley, Dave Blado, Bill Bridges, James Brown, Omar Cedillo,
Shane Crone, Jessica Dederick, Gerardo Garcia-Lopez, Glen Greene, Joan Hallquist, Matt Hill,
Shelly Hunter, Tara Lampson, Barry Masiello, Don McTaggart, Rafael Olea-Barrios, Don Roberson,
Doug Rolls, Rolando Ruiz, Earl Straley and Bill Zanze.
Special thanks also go to our community partners, Jules Leach, and Laurie and Dave Robinson with the Wildwood Archery Collective, and Kate MacQuarrie and Michael Margadona with Portland Archery, all of whom provided expertise, advice, and rallied the volunteers to help with the building and installation of the targets.
Additional special recognition goes to Chris Willard and his agency, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, for the grant itself, and their patience, persistence, and vision to see this project through to completion.”
