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2000 Midtown StatisticsCrime * Total violent crimes - 2,098 * Total property crimes - 20,860 Violent crimes include murder, rape, aggravated assault, non-negligent manslaughter and robbery. Property crimes include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson and criminal damage. Schools Tucson Unified School District * Dropout rate - 5.53 percent * Student-to-teacher ratio - 19.4 to 1 Traffic Intersection counts Average daily traffic * East Speedway and North Campbell Avenue: 96,648 * East Broadway and Craycroft Road: 87,047 * East Speedway and North Alvernon Way: 85,815 Sources: Tucson Police Department, TUSD, Pima Association of Governments | |
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Pupils benefit from Midtown residents' efforts to provide helpBy Megan RutherfordARIZONA DAILY STAR Midtown residents say maintaining good relations with the 25
public schools and several private and charter schools in their
neighborhoods is important. Almost half of the 53 Midtown residents who filled out the recent
Neighborhood Checkup Survey seemed optimistic about area schools.
Many Midtown neighborhood associations have close relationships
with local schools and programs in place to help improve them. "It does take a whole community to raise kids properly," said
principal Dick Sniegowski of Sewell Elementary School, stressing the
importance of school-neighborhood bonds. He said neighbors in the surrounding Sewell Neighborhood
Association - north of Park Place on East Broadway - are forming a
grandparents' tutoring club to help children at the school with
their classwork. Until now, Sniegowski said, he would see neighbors only when they
held meetings at the school. He thought it was important to
establish a closer relationship. "Now we're forming a real bond," he said. A few miles west, the pupils at Wright Elementary School, 4311 E.
Linden St., enjoy playing in a nature park that the Midtown
Neighborhood Association installed on the school grounds a few years
ago. "The No. 1 goal (of the neighborhood association) is to make sure
Wright has everything it needs," said Parent-Teacher Association
President Kris Ryan. Ryan, who has been president of the PTA for two years and has a
child who attends Wright Elementary, said residents surrounding the
school are generous and caring. She said the neighborhood association recently donated $2,000 for
a new school sign. "A lot of people say it's a low-income area, but I don't think
that matters when you have neighbors that care," Ryan said. Children in the area will enjoy yet another contribution of the
neighborhood association in a couple of years when the new Midtown
learning and library center opens. Neighborhood Vice President
Martha Cooper said her goal is to make the center the best
children's library in the city. Charlotte McEldowney, a member of the Corbett Neighborhood
Association, said her community donates bicycles to Corbett
Elementary School kids who have perfect attendance throughout the
year. The school is at 5949 E. 29th St. McEldowney, a survey respondent, said the neighborhood
association's close relationship with the school is one reason her
community will only get better with time. Corbett's principal, Jane Klipp, said neighborhood support has
brought the schoolchildren more than new bikes. The association also
upgraded playground equipment, and members clean up the park, tutor
students and patrol the area to make sure kids are safe. The neighborhood-school ties don't benefit only the elementary
schools. Students at Catalina Magnet High School, 3645 E. Pima St., will
take part in the North Dodge Neighborhood Association's April Fun
Day at Doolen Middle School, 2400 N. Country Club Road. Students in the band, the booster club and drama department will
play music, paint faces and sell T-shirts at the event. Doolen's
principal, Larry McKee, will be in the dunk tank. "Overall, we try to respond to neighborhood concerns and needs,"
McKee said. Those concerns include neighbors' worries about student activity
in the community. The school partnered with the Tucson Police Department to provide
three bicycle officers who patrol the area around the high school
and respond to neighbors' calls about students, McKee said. And at Blenman Elementary School, 1695 N. Country Club Road,
surrounding neighborhoods raised money for the community's new
neighborhood park at the school. During the Christmas holidays, principal Bobbe Woods said,
vandals hit the campus with graffiti several times. She
hand-delivered letters about the problem to neighboring homes in
order to warn residents to keep an eye out. "I feel like we're together in all of this," Woods said of her
and the neighbors' dealings with community issues. * Contact Megan Rutherford at 573-4176 or at meganr@azstarnet.com.
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Neighborhood BriefingCity Court judge The Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers will present its Award of Excellence to Tucson City Court Judge Barbara Sattler at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Viscount Suite Hotel, 4855 E. Broadway. Awards also will be given to others in the community who stand out in the field of social services. The Award of Excellence recognizes Sattler for implementing a local version of Stand Down, a national multi-service, community-based intervention program designed to help the nation's homeless veterans. Grant applications Each quarter, the Tucson Medical Center Foundation's Grant Awards Committee reviews applications for grant money submitted by community organizations and by departments within Tucson Medical Center. The foundation is accepting proposals for the next round of grants. Applications are due by 5 p.m. April 2 and will be considered at the April 2001 Grant Awards Committee meeting. The foundation considers requests covering a broad array of charitable purposes in health, social services, education and public welfare and that support TMC Health Care's core services. Application packets are available at the foundation office in
TMC's Patio Building, 5301 E. Grant Road, or on the TMC Web site:
www.tmcaz. |
Fun Day offers a chance for neighbors to meetThe North Dodge Neighborhood Association is getting into the spirit of neighborliness next month with its second annual April Fun Day, April 7. Food, drinks, booths, games, entertainment and face painting are planned for the event, which involves a collaboration of the neighborhood association, the city and local schools. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Doolen Middle School, on the northeast corner of East Grant and North Country Club roads. Students from both the middle school and nearby Catalina Magnet High School will perform. Other performances include a concert by the high school band, a folklorico dance and a play, said Catherine Land, who is helping to organize the event. The neighborhood association also will have a plant-exchange table set up for residents to trade clippings, bulbs, seeds and plants. Pictures of the neighborhood's garden will be on display. Students will have the opportunity to soak the principals of Doolen and Catalina schools at the dunking booth. Residents can compete in several free raffles. One prize will go to a person in the crowd who has lived in the neighborhood the longest. Another prize will go to the owner of the oldest home in the area, Land said. Land coordinated last year's event. At that time, Cabrini Neighborhood Association was not a part of the North Dodge Neighborhood Association. About 80 people attended. She is expecting an even bigger turnout this year, now that the Cabrini and Dodge Flower neighborhoods joined forces with North Dodge. "We're just really excited about everybody getting to know each other," Land said. She said she thought of organizing a "fun day" after residents at meetings or in surveys said they wanted to get to know more members of the community. "We're just trying to get positive things going," Land said. Businesses are donating prizes, food and refreshments for the event. Other businesses or groups that want to take part should call 881-2253. Megan Rutherford |