20,000 crocus bulbs to be planted at former Occupy parks
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two downtown Portland parks that were once the home of Occupy protesters will be getting 20,000 crocus bulbs in the next few weeks.
Portland Parks & Recreation and a team of volunteers are planning to plant the bulbs at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares, just northwest of City Hall, on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
"It's a pretty eye-popping number - 20,000," Lance Wright, a horticulturist for Portland Parks & Recreation, said in a news release. "In the wintertime and early spring, these colorful crocuses will give the parks a splash of life, color and energy."
It's been a year since Occupy Portland protesters camped out in the parks. They were there for five weeks before police moved in and cleared them out.
Since then, work has been done to restore the parks, which had been damaged. Fences were put up for a while to keep folks out during the restoration process, but have since been taken down and the parks are open to the public.
I was hoping those that illegally occupied and damaged the parks would have been reported as such. Instead KATU apparently wants to glorify the vandals by renaming the parks after the illegal encampment group.
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And, I was hoping the Occupiers would be pushing up daisies, not crocuses. Or is it croci?
Is the next crop of Occupiers going to eat them? This is a crock of crocuses!
Great news reporting Katu.....I think I'm going to be sick. This trash is news?
Right to protest "peacefully"...yes
Right to destroy public or private property ...NO!
Right to impede traffic or be a hindrance to people going on streets or on sidewalks...NO!
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That is great someone decided to clean up the mess and put some flowers in!!
the occutards will eat the bulbs
Those pesky protesters exercising thier rights... what do they think, it's a free country or something.
 @!!! I'm guessing you don't pay taxes and you live in your mother's basement.
@HenryBowman @!!! Or below it!
Zingers are fun but not very useful. I've liked some of your posts HenryBowman, but left field assessments just make you look silly. Â
What about the rights of the people trying to get to work when the occutards blocked the roads?What about the rights of the people trying to use the parks as they were intended? (Not fun to take your young children to a park just to see some mutt pi**ing on the ground). What about the rights of productive citizens that pay taxes seeing their money spent on something other than babysitting a bunch of destructive fools and then spending a grip more cleaning up and restoring? Get a life, get a job and get @#$%^& !
@iamtroglodite I don't agree with the destruction and I also don't agree with your hostility. One day you may be destitute and singing a different tune.  Some take advantage of movements, and thatâs exactly what happened here.  Unfortunately there wasnât enough guidance, leadership or direction and the movement fell short and the opportunists slid in, hoping to reap any undeserved reward.Â
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Anger can be a useful substitute for courage but why stop at the substitute, you should go all the way - it takes courage to defend a just cause despite the opportunists wanting their albeit undeserved piece. Just as it takes courage to calm the angry and educate them.
@OliverNicholas I WAS "destitute" more than once in my life, but have managed to drag MYSELF out of it.I survived; not by ruining other peoples day but by busting my own tail. When I was homeless I always managed to find a dry place to sleep and food to eat WITHOUT destroying property or acting like the world owed me a free living. Sure I am angry. It is because the country owes these fools no more than it owes me, you, my dog or the neighbors cat.I spent many nights in peples barns and garages sleeping and left no sign I was there. The part that makes me angry is the fact that there is homeless people out there that are trying to survive and get thete life together, but this crap gives them a bad name. There are many men, women and whole families that are homeless that don't want to be associated with a bunch of destructive, look at me, the world owes me a living trash!
 @!!! It is certainly their right to protest. It is not their right to destroy or damage public property.
 @!!! Destruction of public property is a right?Â
"Former Occupy parks"? KATU?
"home of Occupy protesters"? KATU?
Don't you remember your own reporting? These people were breaking the law. They were squatters in more ways than one. The weak mayor wouldn't stand up to them and enforce the law.
Once the bulbs are planted, the protesters will move in again and crush them.
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Those 2 parks are soooo beautiful; it was heartbreaking to see the damage that was done to them last year... These crocuses will be just GORGEOUS when they come up next spring; might even be worth making to the drive to Portland to see them..! Â :-)
Thanks for the kind words Margay1, we think they are pretty special too. Next spring I'll try to post photos on our facebook page Volunteer Services, Portland Parks & Rec. Give us a 'Like' and stay in touch!
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Steve
PP&R Volunteer Program Coordinator
 @PP&R; Volunteers ~  Hi Steve... Well, I don't subscribe to facebook, but maybe KATU will run another story with some nice pics when the crocuses make their appearance next year..!   :-)
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You know, I was one of many people who donated to the funds for clean-up and restoration of these parks... I don't live in Portland, but when I was going there regularly (work), we used to drive right by them - and I always looked forward to seeing them... The parks look beautiful again, and I know it took a lot of money and hard physical work to clean and restore them. Â I can't speak for anyone else, but I will be VERY unhappy if the City of Portland's powers-that-be allow Occupy, or anyone else, for that matter, to do a "repeat" of last year..! Â Â I firmly support free speech and peaceful protest, but what Occupy did to those parks was NOT "free speech" or "peaceful protest". Â
 @margay1 Well said; free speech does not include property damage. I appreciate the hard work the city has put into making the parks beautiful again.
It's good to see beauty is being restored to the parks damaged by the protesters.
Until they destroy it again! And I'm sure they will!Â