1. AFTERSCHOOL DILEMA
2. CHALLENGE KARATE TOURNAMENT (Benefits American Cancer Society)
3. STATEWIDE SURVEY re: Juvenile Justice
4. SUMMER ACTIVITIES FAIR
5. ALACHUA COUNTY RECREATION MASTER PLAN
6. POE SPRINGS Update
7. DATE CHANGE--Great Strides Walk
8. HELP GET A LOCAL GRANT
9. GRADES 1-6: NATIONAL KEEP YOUR CAT INDOORS POSTER CONTEST
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WEBSITES
www.womenssportsfoundation.org (grants, info, for girls and women)
http://www.royalridingacademy.bigstep.com (therapy riding)
CALENDAR
Mar 10 Sawgrass Fiddle Contest, Paines Prairie 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
(Kids and Teens)
Mar 10 Moonlight Canoe Trip--Poe Springs
Mar 12 Newberry Rec. Advisory Board Public Meeting 6:00 p.m. Municipal
Bldg
Mar 17 Poe Springs Fishing Tournament, 10 am
Mar 17 Hawthorne Area Baseball season starts--need volunteers
481-2834
Mar 24 Challenge Karate tournament, Kanapaha MS, Reg. 8 am, (Benefits
Am. Cancer Society)
Mar 25 Summer Activities Fair, 1-4 p.m. Florida Museum of Natural History
Mar 31-Apr 7 Sustainable Agriculture Week celebrating local
farms, farmers, and food:
Mar 31 Haile Plantation Farmer's Market (5300 SW 91 Terrace) 8-1pm
Apr 2 Healthy Families Nutrition Forum Sidney Lanier Cafeteria,
312 NW 16th St 6:15-8:15 pm
Apr 4 Union St. Farmer's Market (Hippodrome) 4-7pm
Apr 7 Farmer's Market, Bloom and Berries Spring Festival (corner
of 441 and 34th St.) 8:30-1pm
Apr 7 Poe Springs Moonlight Canoe Trip
Apr 14 Poe Springs Art-N-Park 10 am
Apr 21 Cheerleading sign-ups @ Alachua City Rec. Center
May 12 Poe Springs Moonlight Canoe Trip
May 19th Great Strides Walk registration 8:00 am, the walk at
9:00 Kanapaha Park
Jun 9 Poe Springs Moonlight Canoe Trip
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AFTERSCHOOL DILEMA
After-school programs are held at all 24 of Alachua County's
elementary schools. However, more than 300 children are unable
to attend because their families can not afford the $16/week fee.
For too many of these children, no after-school program means
no adult supervision and no organized activity for 4 or more hours
every afternoon.
The Consortium for Family, School, Community Collaboration and
the Extended Day Enrichment Program of the School Board of Alachua
County seeks funds to put more children into a structured after-school
setting. Supporting one child for an entire year costs $500. For
more information, contact Elizabeth Bondy bondy@coe.ufl.edu or
Liz Stark <starkef@sbac.edu>.
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CHALLENGE KARATE TOURNAMENT
On March 24,2001 I will be hosting the Gainesville Challenge Karate tournament at Kanapaha M.S. on Tower Road. Proceeds to benefit the American Cancer Society. Registration at 8 am, event starts at 10:30 am. Admission is $35 pre-registration $45 at the door. Spectator fees are $5 per /person under 5 free.
--Keith Teller tellme@gnv.fdt.net
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STATEWIDE VOTER SURVEY RESULTS
Voters across Florida disagree sharply with the direction of the Department of Juvenile Justice in the battle against juvenile crime according to a poll released March 1 by the non-partisan Florida Children's Campaign.
"Every demographic group polled, across party affiliation, age, income and ethnicity, expressed reservations about the priorities and policies promoted by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice," said Roy Miller, Director of the Florida Children's Campaign. "While the voters clearly want a balanced funding approach, DOJJ persists with plans to cut the front end of the system in order to fund expensive expansions in youth prisons and lock-ups."
Voters also disagree with the Department of Juvenile Justice on the priorities assigned to the allocation of resources and where to focus the most attention in the fight against juvenile crime. The following portrays a comparison of the voter opinion poll and DOJJ budget goals:
Crime Fighting Area Voter Opinion DOJJ Priority
Recreation/Education Programs HIGH PRIORITY LOW PRIORITY
Crisis Intervention Services HIGH PRIORITY LOW PRIORITY
Support/Counseling Services HIGH PRIORITY LOW PRIORITY
Reduce School Drop-outs HIGH PRIORITY LOW PRIORITY
More prevention services HIGH PRIORITY LOW PRIORITY
Build youth prisons LOW PRIORITY HIGH PRIORITY
Punish More Kids LOW PRIORITY HIGH PRIORITY
For More Poll Results visit www.floridakids.com
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SUMMER ACTIVITIES FAIR
Sunday, March 25, 1-4 pm,
Museum of Natural History on the UF Campus.
Between 50 and 70 Summer camps, clubs, and programs displayed
for your children. Everything from established to brand new opportunities.
Sponsored by the PTAs of Glen Springs, Hidden Oak, JJ Finley,
and Littlewood schools, and open to the public. Some programs
fill up within a week of this Fair!
If you've never attended, now is a good time!
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ALACHUA COUNTY RECREATION MASTER PLAN
The Alachua County Recreation Master Plan completed the public input phase, and is solidly into data compilation and evaluation. Public input was eye-opening. It's clear Alachua County has a wide range of interests and a large volunteer base to pass on our favorite pass-times. I'm proud of all of us for our diversity, and dedication to our leisure pursuits.
What was clearly lacking was coordination. More than once at these meetings, groups with similar interests met each other for the first time, and forged bonds to further both groups. Frustration was expressed between groups competing for similar facilities.
Facilities and maintenance was the other big problem. All activities, recreation to competition level, and all age groups, had trouble securing adequate facilities. Volunteer coaches do a large share of the maintenance in many cases.
Another round of public meetings in April or May will display
initial findings of the Master Plan. Comments will be incorporated
into a final plan due early this summer.
--Alison Law
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POE SPRINGS
Moonlight Canoe Trips down the Santa Fe River will run once per month from March to November. Dates are tentative and trips are reservation only, so call ahead. (386) 454-1992
Poe Fishing Tourney is March 17 from 10 am to 2 pm. Age categories are from 2 years and up. Bring your own bait and tackle.
Art-N-Park is April 14, 10 am to 4 pm Art and Craft vendors as well has local student displays and projects.
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DATE CHANGE--Great Strides Walk
We had to change the date and location of our Great Strides
Walk due to 3 significant events conflicting with the walk. It
is changed to May 19th at Kanapaha Park. I would really appreciate
it if you would be willing to email the change to everyone that
received the initial message.
--Carrie Godfrey
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HELP GET A LOCAL GRANT
Hello all... to all who have ever visited or attended any function
at Cafe Dorje , 20 West Univ Ave. We need your help, specifically
a letter of reference...We live in such a wonderful community...
we should take a minute to appreciate it and each other.
We are applying for a state grant and really need your help in
generating as many letters of reference that we can get to qualify
for this grant. It is from the state of Florida's Bureau of Historic
Preservation which usually grants to non-profit organizations.
We could be denied the grant unless we can show that we are doing
a lot of work that benefits the community and prove our 'worthiness'
in obtaining the grant. The state board member said that all community
based activities should be presented to them for their consideration
and that we should get as many letters corroborating these activities
as possible... That's where you come in.
We now need to have a LARGE pile of such letters from anyone who
has ever benefited from the activities going on in this building.
If you have ever attended an event here, been given one of the
65 free computers we have distributed, used the space for any
kind of meeting or benefited in any other way from the activities
we have sponsored in this building, we would REALLY appreciate
your help in qualifying for this grant.
We need all these letters to be in our hands by March Monday March
12th which will then give us a few days to submit them before
the hearings start in Tallahassee.
Please reply if you plan to help us out. angela@fortibet.org
--Angela Pate
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NATIONAL KEEP YOUR CAT INDOORS DAY 2001 POSTER CONTEST: GRADES
1 - 6
American Bird Conservancy and Wild Bird Centers of America announce a nationwide contest to determine the official poster of National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day 2001.
Every year millions of birds and small mammals are killed by domestic cats, allowed by their owners to roam wild and uncontrolled. Every year the lives of these same free-roaming cats are cut short when they are run over by cars, attacked by dogs and wild animals, contract diseases or poisoned. National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day, May 12, 2001, aims to educate cat owners that both cats and wildlife benefit when cats are kept indoors.
The first national poster competition was held last year and attracted over 300 entries from 28 states, with winners featured in the local press. The entries for this year's contest will yield winners in three age categories, one of which will be determined the overall winner and the official poster of National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day 2001. Prizes will be provided by Wild Bird Centers of America, Inc. and include a $200 gift certificate for the overall winner, with an additional $150 gift certificate for the school, nature center, scout group, or other institution with which the child is associated. Winners in the other age categories will each receive $100 gift certificates.
Competition Rules
The poster should depict a happy, safe, indoor cat.
The deadline for competition entries is May 1, 2001.
Entries should be mailed to
American Bird Conservancy,
1834 Jefferson Place,
NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Entries cannot be returned. Age categories are: Ages 6-7; 8-9;
10-12.
Artwork must be on heavy white paper no larger than 18" x
24" and must be able to be scanned for the Web. Each poster
must have the name, age, address and phone number of the entrant
ON THE BACK, as well as the name, address and phone number of
the school or other institution. Winners will be announced by
May 12 on American Bird Conservancy's Web site http://www.abcbirds.org>http://www.abcbirds.org
. Contact: Linda Winter, Director, Cats Indoors!, American Bird
Conservancy (202)452-1535 FAX (202)452-1534 lwinter@abcbirds
--Forwarded by M L Anderson m2vison@atlantic.net
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Thank You,
Alison
The intent of the RecConnection e-letter is to unite recreation efforts and information in Alachua County. Your comments, articles, and information are vital to our success. We reach over 1,000 people via email.
Websites: http://alachua-recreation.gru.net
http://www.afn.org/~recreate
GRASSROOTS:
Middle School Programming: Carl Harness Harnesscs@ci.gainesville.fl.us
Elementary Afterschool Scholarships: Elizabeth Bondy <bondy@edu15.coe.ufl.edu
Cone Park (Gainesville): Tom Hawkins thawkins@atlantic.net
Greentree Park (Gainesville): ACTION, Dave Hill dnbhill@digital.net
Hawthorne: HARA, Werner P. Schuman <hara@afn.org
Jonesville: Debbie Kennedy, 332-5713, and ACGARPA, Tom Trscabinets@aol.com
462-4902
Squirrel Ridge Park Gretchen Howard Gch@sa.co.alachua.fl.us 337-6174
Waldo: Henry Drake <SagoDr@aol.com (352)468-2298
Windsor: Juanita Biles jkbracin@bellsouth.net 373-2812, 538-3235
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..to become more than you have ever been or ever dreamed of
being; to reach beyond your own reach; to remember that nothing
is beyond reach....
--Neale Donald Walsh
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