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School Notes* Two students from Dodge Middle School, 5831 E. Pima St., have won awards in the annual Polly Rosenbaum Writing Contest. Kylee Moses won third place and Keila Strauch won honorable mention in the grades 7-8 level of the competition. More than 200 students in grades 7-12 submitted entries to the contest, which is named for a former state representative and teacher who is celebrating her 102nd birthday this year. Rosenbaum started the contest 30 years ago. | |
Neighborhood BriefingDivorce Recovery, a program of the Family Counseling Agency, is presenting Education for Life Winter 2001 classes. Classes have been ongoing since January, but you can still attend two. "Anger Management" begins Monday, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This class will help you understand your anger and find effective ways of handling it. The cost is $40 for four sessions. "Preventing Burnout" will be taught 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Learn to overcome burnout, specifically for caregivers and assistants. Class is free, but donations are accepted. Both classes will be held at 209 S. Tucson Blvd., Suite 2. Call 323-3952 to register. | |
Public notification* Landlord outreach Landlords who would like more access to potential tenants and increased rental income are invited to a workshop 2-4 p.m., today at the Community Resources Sentinel Building, 320 N. Commerce Park Loop. Topics will include fair housing information, lease-associated legal actions, and the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. There also will be time for comments and discussions with current and prospective landlords. Call the city's Community Services Department at 791-4739, Ext. 1334, to RSVP or receive more information. * Tucson Police Department recruitment Potential police officers can learn more about hiring, interviews, academy expectations, and the realities of law enforcement 7-8:30 tonight at the TPD Main Station, 270 S. Stone Ave. Call Wendy Adkisson or Joe Wakefield at 791-4499, ext. 1614 or 1610 . * City Court closed on Saturdays Tucson City Court will be closed for three Saturdays - March 3-17 - for remodeling. The court will reopen for Saturday business March 24. For sentence enforcement information, call 791-5066 . * Transit solutions Sun Tran and the DIRECT Center for Independence will provide free one-on-one bus-ride training, including how to use the bus schedule, where to buy passes, and role-playing. The training will be offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Tucson House, 1501 N. Oracle. Lunch is provided. Call 624-6452 for reservations. | |
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Proposed facility will be especially beneficial to kids, local boosters sayBy Megan RutherfordARIZONA DAILY STAR A trip to the library won't be a trek across town for many
Midtown residents once a new library and learning center is
finished, supporters say. Tucson and Pima County are teaming up to build a new center at
the southwest corner of North Catalina Avenue and East Fairmount
Street, said Midtown Neighborhood Association President Brad
Holland. The site is smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood with a high
number of rental properties and subsidized housing, Holland said.
The center is needed at that location, Holland said, because "we
have a lot of kids in transition and at risk in this neighborhood."
In December, the county Board of Supervisors approved buying the
1.7-acre parcel for $251,000 from Sylvia and Louis Ornstein, county
records show. The 7,000-square-foot library and learning center is intended to
especially benefit children, and will be shared equally by the city
Parks and Recreation Department and library staffers, said Carol
Clark, aide to Ward 6 Councilman Fred Ronstadt. Enough room will be
available to expand the center to 10,000 square feet, if that
becomes necessary, she said. Ronstadt said he's hopeful construction will begin this year
after an intergovernmental agreement is approved. The agreement is
due for a vote by the City Council in March, Clark said. "It goes back to providing a real opportunity for kids," Ronstadt
said of the project. The $2.6 million project will be funded with 1997 county bond
money, $150,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds and
$450,000 from last year's city bond election, Clark said. "We want to build the best children's library in the city," said
Martha Cooper, vice president of the neighborhood association. She said neighbors decided focusing on children would be a good
idea because the local elementary school, John B. Wright, has a
booming enrollment of more than 600 children, most of whom live in
the neighborhood. Cooper said a steering committee made up of neighbors, city
staff, area students and local business people is hammering out what
services the center will offer. Committee members already have suggested locating the
neighborhood's computer program and bike club at the center, Clark
said. The space available would not allow for a full-fledged adult and
children's library and other services, so residents chose to focus
less on adult library services, Cooper said. Some books will be available for adults, and neighbors also want
to develop some senior citizen activities for the center, Clark
said. "This has been a big fish to land," she said. Holland said neighbors, city and county workers narrowed down
three sites for the center last year. The Ornsteins offered the best
price, he said. Ronstadt said the library is needed because the nearest one for
most Midtown residents is the Himmel Park Branch, 1035 N. Treat Ave.
Although Mark Blakely will live a few houses away from the new
center, he agreed that the services of a library and learning center
are needed. "I'm supportive of it. I have kids who could use (the library),"
he said. Another neighbor up the street from the site said a library
within walking distance for her family would be a treat. "My two children would use (the center)," Ann Arnold said. * Contact Megan Rutherford at 573-4176 or at meganr@azstarnet.com.
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People* Katherine C. Pearson has been promoted to full professor with tenure at the Dickinson School of Law, at Pennyslvania State University, effective July 1. She received her bachelor's degree with honors in 1974 from the University of Arizona. * Air Force Airman 1st Class Donald S. Gettman has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He is the son of Mae Cantrell of Tucson. * U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., will be honored March 13 in Washington, D.C., at the South West Transit Association Legislator of the Year Awards Ceremony. The honor recognizes Pastor's work in promoting public transportation in Arizona and the nation. * Armando J. Bravo has been promoted to Marine master gunnery sergeant. He is a 1976 graduate of Rincon High School. * Pfc. Jennifer Dunn Foreman has completed Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. She is a 2000 graduate of Rincon High School. * Saleela Salahuddin has been designated a Rufus Choate Scholar at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. She is a graduate of University High School. Has someone you know been recognized with an award? Maybe your son or daughter has won an award in college, received a military promotion or been honored by a local organization. Drop us a line at People Column, Neighbors, P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726; send faxes to 573-4140 and e-mail to severson@azstarnet.com. Please title your e-mail or fax "Neighbors" and in all correspondence, and include your name, address, a daytime phone number as well as the same information for the person you are nominating - and that person's connection to Tucson or Southern Arizona. |
Neighborhood QQUESTION: * Is your local library in a convenient location? How many miles and how much time do you spend traveling to the library? * Should city and county officials make building more libraries a priority? * Tell us - and your neighbors - by writing to the Arizona Daily Star, Midtown Neighbors, Attn: RuthAnn Hogue, Neighbors Editor, P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726-6807; 573-4140 (fax); or e-mail townq@azstarnet.com. Responses will appear on a future Neighbors page. Include your full name and the name of your neighborhood. |