Page 22
October 2013
Tennis
Barking Dogs,
Neighbor
Con?icts May Be
Resolved
Through
Mediation
The summer weather brings
people out into their yards and
neighborhoods to garden, walk,
sit, read and enjoy the air. Imagine yourself out on a back yard
deck, surrounded by blooming
plants and butterflies.
You hear a dog barking in a
nearby yard. The neighbors' air
conditioning unit kicks on next
door. The neighbor across the
street starts up a skill saw for a
home improvement project. The
neighbor boy shows up to mow
your lawn.
So much for your quiet relaxing moment. You begin to feel irritated, frustrated and angry.
Neighbor-to-neighbor conflict
can easily arise from situations
such as this one. When you find
yourself repeatedly irritated by
something that involves a neighbor, but you don't know how to
approach the conversation with
that person, community mediation services can help.
Since 1992, Clackamas County has provided help and relief to
residents experiencing conflict in
their communities and neighborhoods.
Mediation is a voluntary and
confidential process that is offered to county residents free of
charge. The process begins with
a third-party mediator talking to
each person individually over the
phone to hear both sides of the
situation.
The mediator is either an employee or a professionally trained
mediator who volunteers time
helping people to resolve their
own conflict. Neighbors are assisted in resolving their own
conflict without involving an
enforcement agency, which can
sometimes escalate the situation.
Resolution of conflict can occur with the help of the mediator
during a series of phone calls between people in conflict. Preferably, mediators encourage people
to attend a face-to-face session
The Charbonneau Villager
Continued from page 6
Men's 7.0: Jack & Austin
Berkey defeated Don Patch
and Fritz Hostetler in the finals
6-3, 6-3 and Andy Sommer and
Brian Staneart defeated Tom
Knapp and Rick Springer in the
consolation finals 6-4, 4-6, 1-0.
Men's 8.0: Lance Berkey &
Tom Lonergan defeated Peter
Schulte and Jeff Hammonds in
the finals 7-6, 6-1 and Cary and
Jason Lemeiux defeated Ethan
and Austin Berkey in the consolation finals 7-6, 6-1.
MEMBER NEWS
that brings them together to talk
about all issues between them and
develop their own agreement that
each person signs.
This provides a document that
will help guide future interactions
and restore a friendly and neighborly relationship.
Issues that are addressed
through community mediation
may include noise, animal control, boundary disputes, easement
issues, property maintenance,
landlord/tenant issues, consumer/
merchant issues and manufactured dwelling park issues.
Clackamas County resolution
Services also provides mediation
services for small claims cases
through the courts, youth and
family mediation for parent/teen
and for adult children and elder
care issues and family law services including mediation and parent
education classes.
To reach a community mediator and discuss service options,
call Clackamas County resolution Services at 503-655-8850.
Leave a message and an employee
or volunteer will return the call.
e-mail is available at CCrS@
clackamas.us. visit the website
at http://www.clackamas.us/ccrs/
mediation.html.
To reach a mediator for family
law issues, call 503-655-8415.
This article is reprinted with
permission of Clackamas County’s Citizen News.
Craig Koessler, the Charbonneau Tennis Club tennis professional, was born and raised in
Tacoma, Washington as the second oldest of four boys. He attended Henry Foss High School
and Pacific Lutheran University
(PLu). He played high school
tennis and basketball, making the
state tournament in both sports
twice. His tennis coach at PLu,
Mike Benson, was his strongest
tennis influence. He wasn't really
an ‘X's-and O's guy’ who taught
stroke mechanics or in-depth
strategy. His strength was his
mental and emotional approach
to getting the best out of his players, which was strongly grounded
in his Christian faith. Craig was
a conference and district doubles
champion. His team qualified
for the National Association of
Intercollegiate Atheletes (NAIA)
national tournament each year he
competed (his highest finish was
ninth place).
He graduated in 1983 with a
degree in communication arts,
with an emphasis in print and
broadcast journalism.
Craig and his brothers started
in tennis in the early 70s. Having
three brothers spawned a natural
competitiveness in all of them.
One of the most exciting times
of his tennis upbringing was in
the mid-70s when American express sponsored the PNW Summer Circuit, and several great
pros and college players came to
play in his area. In those days,
club members housed the players in their homes, and his mother
www.charbonneaucountryclub.com
Craig Koessler
was the housing chairperson for
the Tacoma event. Many strong
players and interesting personalities stayed with them in those few
years, some of whom he still sees
at tennis conventions and tournaments to this day!
His daughters, Becca and
Bella, lettered four years in tennis at Tualatin High School. Both
attend the university of Oregon
where Becca is a senior, studying
psychology and anthropology.
Bella is a freshman.
Craig played a few PNW open
events after college without much
success; but when children came
along, serious competing was put
on the back burner. When they
got older, he started to compete
more regularly, first in the section, then in some national tournaments. He found good partners
who helped him to win two national doubles events and become
a finalist in another.
He has been an officer on the
PNW Board of the u.S. Professional Tennis Assoc. (uSPTA),
including holding the office of
president for six years. He has
taught training courses and conducted exams for those wanting
to become certified teaching professionals by the uSPTA. He has
been on two uSTA/PNW committees, Schedule and Sanction
and Junior Team Tennis. He has
taught tennis clinics in several
elementary schools as part of the
uSTA schools program.
He enjoys his other job teaching at the Multnomah Athletic
Club, playing golf, spending time
with his daughters and learning
how to better use a Mac computer.