MIDTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
December 1996
Message from the President
We had another great turnout at our November meeting with lots of new faces, which is very exciting. I liked how many people hung around and talked after the meeting. That to me is the key to the whole thing—when people want to stay afterwards and visit with each other—then I think we are serving our purpose. Please think about areas in which you might volunteer your time, either at School or for the Association. We do need your input if we are going to continue to be successful!
Angel of the Month
Let us count the ways…Midtown has been in totally Christmas mood ever since October! First, our Principal Angel and all her Teacher Angels worked overtime (14-hour days) at Wright School to put on our FABULOUS Halloween Fest (more later). And there was Martha Cooper who single-handedly organized the most impressive display of heavy equipment ever seen in Midtown for our Neighborhood Cleanup in November. She was assisted by countless Angels from the City and Midtown (more later). A neighbor reported her truckload of debris was unloaded into the Very Big Dumpster for her by one or more Anonymous Angels while she was busy talking to a friend. Margaret Leonard reports on the exceptionally angelic behavior of Angels Kari Garcia and Carri Rondeau who showed up unannounced one Sunday morning to help her plant Midtown’s wildflower farm. Thanks to them, we will have a scintillating selection of stunning and surprising wildflower seeds to distribute at next October’s Street Tree Planting. And…the Word is Out! Midtown News has bested the National Enquirer—we actually have a picture of "Angels at Work" during our October Tree Planting. From left to right, these Angels bear a remarkable resemblance to Kari Garcia (Our Lady of the Mulch) and her two cherubim John Cotherman and Michael Eddelman—two total sweetie pies. They spent all Saturday morning on Tree Planting Day distributing mulch (what would life be without it?) and helping people plant trees. And finally, our unsung hero Guy Cloutier personally planted 12 trees on Linden Street—this Tree Angel was last seen headed east on Linden Street with a wheelbarrow, a beatific countenance, and an aura dramatically backlit by the western sun.
In the Spirit of the Season…Some jolly old souls have decreed that December Neighborhood meetings must be Christmas Parties Forever. We obligingly give in and heretofore and hereinafter announce that Christmas Cheer, Christmas Carols, and Christmas Cookies in abundance await you at our December meeting. We’re meeting a week early (on December 10 at 6:30 p.m.) in order to avoid holiday stress and to fend off holiday blues. Come One, Come All! Share your Christmas Spirit and your flu bugs. Bring Christmas Cookies, and tune up your vocal chords. We will have a potluck and cookie exchange and socializing and Christmas carols and let our business wait until January. Tiffany, Age 9, says: "At Christmas we should have two trees and less presents because Christmas is about getting together and not about presents."
P.S. We need a piano player.
Carri Rondeau’s Christmas Story…courtesy of Leo Buscaglia. "There is a tale describing the difference between Heaven and Hell. In both places there are tables laden with the most delicious food but the eating utensils are four feet long. In Hell the people are starving and angry because they cannot get the long eating utensils into their mouths. But in Heaven the people are satisfied and joyful because they have learned to reach across the table and feed each other."
For those of you who weren’t there, an estimated 500 to 600 people came to Midtown’s first annual Halloween Block Party…no kidding! The cafeteria was at capacity, and so was the courtyard. The D.J. played rap, and danced and gave away door prizes. There were angels, devils, monsters, football players, princesses, gypsies, superwomen, ghouls, ghosts, vampires, witches, moms, dads, aunties, uncles, nanas and grampas in abundance. And we owe it all to Wright School staff, many of whom put in 14- hour days decorating, organizing booths and games in advance of the Fest. If you’d like to express your appreciation, call TUSD at 617-7338 (Governing Board); 617-7336 (Superintendent of Schools, and 617-7356 (Area Supervisor) and let them know how great our Wright teachers and Principal truly are!
Lisa Langford, Wright School’s wonderful New Principal says: "The first annual Halloween Fest was a huge SUCCESS. Kristina Rustici did a fantastic job of coordinating the evening. There was face painting, games, music, door prizes, hot dog dinner, popcorn, sno-cones, and lots of fun. Our dedicated and committed staff set up booths, decorated, worked in the booths, and cleaned up afterwards. We could not have done it without their help. The neighborhood association was instrumental in making the Fest so successful. You worked side by side with our staff and got donations for the dinner and door prizes. We received many positive comments. The evening strengthened our partnership with parents and the neighborhood and proves that together great things can happen at Wright School for children."
**Kid Interviews** FROM MIDTOWN’S HALLOWEEN FEST:
Midtown: What is God’s favorite color? And why?
"Red. Because I like it." Jorge (13)
"Blue. Because the sky is blue and that’s the color you see everywhere." Antoni (13)
"Black. It’s the sum of all colors." Sandra—Antoni’s Mom (33)
Midtown: If kids ran the world, what would be different?
"More funnier. Pizza every day." Timmy (11)
"No grownups. No rules. No war. Loud music." Antoni (13)
"There would be no school." Chris (11)
"Everyone would have to play." Lucus (6)
"More parties like this." Brandon (10)
Midtown: What would make this neighborhood a more fun place to live?
"Not a lot of gangs." Brandon (10)
"More safe. No shootings and stuff." Elisa (10)
"Rides." Adrienne (6)
"If there were lots of candy—in the street! Drop candy from the sky!" (She executes a perfect pirouette and dances away.) Shayna (10)
"Halloween every day." Tacho (8)
"No school." Diane (7)
"A park at Wright School. With dogs." Katie (10)
Midtown: What’s your favorite animal and what could we do to make this neighborhood a nicer place to live for that animal?
"Elk. Don’t know." Leland
"Dog. Take the Pound away." Albert (12)
Giraffe. A zoo and grass and trees." Robin (6)
"Cats. Slower cars." Katie (10)
"Tiger. Hot Dog." Keith (5)
Midtown: "That’s my hot dog Keith. Wouldn’t you like your own hot dog? Why don’t you ask your dad to buy you one all your own?"
Keith: Hot dog. Hot dog." (Exit Keith and dad in search of Hot dog).
What are some smart things grownups do?
"Take care of their kids." Daniel (8)
"Take you shopping." Jeff (4)
Martha Cooper Ruminates on the Veteran’s Day (November 9-11) Neighborhood Cleanup…
"We are either the dirtiest neighborhood in town or the cleanest! We generated 124 TONS of debris and cleaned out eight easements! Even though individual property owners are responsible for cleaning out easements, the City generously provided trucks, a chipper, a front loader, and manpower to help with our cleanup. Additional labor came from Adult and Juvenile Probation. (We fed the workers 144 hot dogs and punch; Fry’s contributed chips and apples.) In the easement cleanups our ultimate goal was to improve the safety for water meter readers—mission accomplished. While there were several minor incidents (don’t ask, I’ve got a headache), overall the project was a HUGE success. We know that many people weren’t able to use the dumpster because of over-loading—so we were thinking of doing it again in the spring. Anybody willing to make a few phone calls to set this thing up in April or May? I’ve got instructions, a few frozen hot dogs, and lots of aspirin. Call me. 327-4733."
Zoning Alert!
If someone were to rezone property near you, Tucson’s zoning laws do not require them to notify the Neighborhood Association. In addition, the notification area is very limited—only within 300 feet of the subject property. If you receive any kind of rezoning notice in the mail, let us know! We can research the issue and make sure the residential integrity of your property is taken into consideration. Call 323-5049 or 327-4733 with information about any rezoning notices/requests you receive and we’ll work with you! (P.S. A zoning map of the neighborhood is now on view at our monthly meetings).
Pima Street Update
City Transportation has been conducting detailed traffic studies all along Pima from Alvernon to Swan. From these studies, traffic flows will be determined and City Staff will recommend a 2 or 4-lane configuration for the street. (The Neighborhood Association wants a 2-lane configuration with a turn lane in the center). Preliminary meetings with the Pima Street Advisory Council will then be scheduled to test the waters and begin initial dialogue between city staff and neighborhood representatives. Thereafter, the process will open up to public hearings, probably some time in March. More later. If you’ve got questions or input in the meantime, call 323-5049.
Get Ready for Officer Elections at our January Meeting
Nominations will be taken and votes cast. (Let’s just hope somebody runs!) David Kha has nominated Martha Cooper "for life" which she claims will shorten it. Aw, Martha, c’mon…we need you!
Census Report for Midtown
According to the 1990 Census, the square mile area bordered by Grant/Speedway and Alvernon/Swan had a total population of 5,927 souls with 2, 981 households in 1990. (No wonder it’s noisy here!) 35% of these households were owner-occupied and a whopping 65% were renter-occupied. In 1990 renters paid an average $353 per month in rent (about $74 million in yearly rental revenues). If $74 million a year in wealth is going out of this neighborhood then what, if anything, is coming back in? If these statistics are in our past—what is in our future? Is this neighborhood following the seemingly "inevitable" decline mapped out by other inner city neighborhoods? More rentals, more traffic, more transience, more crime—less community? And what about Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who said "Oh Auntie Em! Whether You Rent Or Whether You Own…There’s No Place Like Home!" Just what difference would a Neighborhood Library make for this place we call Home? With a learning center and computer lab? And a community garden? Gee Whiz! Maybe it’s time to…
Put your Mouth where your Money is…(now just what do they mean by that?)
It’s simple. Every year you pay a pile of money in property taxes. (If you rent, your rent goes to pay those taxes.) A lot of that money goes to TUSD, trifling amounts go to the fire and water and library districts, and a whopping 40% of that money goes to Pima County Government, you know, those guys out there in the County who don’t have anything to do with us—or do they? In the spring the County is going to ask our permission to incur lots of new debt for new bonds—but are we going to see any of the benefits of that spending?? Maybe it’s time to put your mouth where your money is already being spent and urge our County Supervisor Mike Boyd to remember us—the taxpayers of Midtown!
Studies have shown that our neighborhood is in desperate need of a library and a neighborhood center. The nearest facilities are miles away—too far away for most children and neighbors to reach conveniently. Sample letters to Mike Boyd, our district 1 Pima County Supervisor, are available from Martha (327-4733) or David (323-8278) who urge people to write Mr. Boyd (130 W. Congress, Tucson 8570l) or phone Mr. Boyd (740-8126) as soon as possible. Mr. Boyd needs to hear from Midtown! 1) Urge him to include midtown in the County’s bond package for a library and neighborhood learning center; and 2) This library/center must be south of Grant Road so that our children do not have to cross a dangerous street to get there. Your phone calls and letters do make a difference; we’ve already seen that with Pima Street. We hope you act on this opportunity to win back some of our hard-earned tax dollars—for our neighborhood and for our future!
Wright School Park…We hope that construction will begin about mid-January. Keep your fingers crossed!
Internet Hits…Stian Jahren says: "If everyone in the world would do the same as you do in your neighborhood, the world would be a better place. Making activities for the citizens, let the youths and adults play together, having fun together, learning from each other, taking care of each other, it all makes the world a better place to live. And last but not least, it helps to keep the kids away from drugs. After reading this homepage I want to move to your neighborhood, but since I live in Norway, I think it will be a little difficult. I would love to come and visit you all, though, and maybe I will sometime in the future. Well done and good luck to you all.
Let’s Talk about What’s Working…like the Pima County Attorney’s "Abolish Chronic Truancy Now" (ACT NOW!) Program. The Problem: 7l% of all truants will get involved in the criminal justice system. The Solution: Enforce truancy laws. Under the law it is a Class III misdemeanor for parents to fail to send their children to school. The goal is not to criminalize parents but to keep the kids in school. How it Works: 1) Notify parents of chronically truant children (defined by Wright School as two unexcused absences) of the truancy laws and the consequences of ignoring them. (In test programs, out of 1,600 notifications, 1,200 parents responded and got their kids back in school. Reasons for truancy were surprising: pregnant 12-year olds kept home, kids without adequate clothing such as coats, shoes and socks kept home, kids kept at home to babysit younger kids. The ACT NOW Program thus alerted schools to families in trouble who were able to get help as a result.) The remaining 400 non-complying families were referred to a Center for Juvenile Alternatives and placed under the supervision of case managers. (At Wright School, because of a lack of case managers, Kathi Finfrock and Lisa Langford have volunteered to be case managers with the assistance of the County Attorney’s office). If and only if families remain non- responsive after all these alternatives, then and only then are parents prosecuted under the law. Out of a total 1,500 test cases, only 18 were cited, and ultimately only 3 went to trial.
Wright School is forging new ground. They are one of the first schools in TUSD to test the ACT NOW! Program. Because of a lack of funding and the large numbers of people to be served, they have used old-fashioned ingenuity to craft a special approach for Wright: Wright School has its very own "J. B. Wright Deputy County Attorney" with the authority to enforce the truancy laws at Wright School. Her name is Mary Beth Saddle, an attorney in private practice who has volunteered to help us out. Mary Beth meets with Kath, Lisa, and the families, to counsel them on the truancy laws and the consequences of disobeying them.
Best of All…we are learning something wonderful—how to apply incentives such as attendance awards (pizza parties and movies for instance) for students meeting attendance quotas, and competitions between classrooms for the best attendance (creative use of peer pressure). In the test cases, when incentives were regularly used, kids started helping each other out, homework got turned in, and overall grades improved. (It seems that focusing on the positive really does work!!).
Ssshh! Grant Writers at Work
Martha Cooper (the lifeblood of Midtown) and new grantwriting recruit Anna Marie Patti, are applying for CDGB funds for 1) Parenting classes, 2) Household Conservation (lowering utility bills), 3) Computer classes (keyboarding and Internet) and 4) a Neighborhood Center! More later!
All you closet artists out there—Wright School needs volunteer art teachers and is willing to train them…Call Lisa Langford at 318-2290 to find out more!
Congratulations to Tim Jull who won the November door prize! (We’re not telling what it was, you have to come to the meeting to find out!)
Kathi Finfrock asks the kids: If you were principal for a week, what new subjects would we learn at school?
Zoology Kim (4th grade)
French Brandon (5th grade)
Soccer Dillon (3rd grade)
Kickball Christopher (2nd grade)
--Peace-- Nestor (4th grade)
WE WISH YOU PEACE. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.