Posted January 27, 2012
Pinckney School Update
Our school consolidation working group has another important meeting coming up this Monday, January 30th, from 7:00-9:00 PM at Lawrence Public Schools’ District Office, 110 McDonald Drive (meeting room is upstairs, no childcare is provided). We will be reviewing data the district’s analysis firm, RSP and Associates, has prepared based on proposed consolidation scenarios our group submitted two weeks ago.
As you may have read in the newspaper or online at the district’s website, at least one of these scenarios involves Pinckney closing. The review of RSP’s analysis and the discussion to follow is sure to be a lively conversation, to say the least.
Please consider attending the meeting Monday night to help show your support for Pinckney. And don’t be afraid to contact the individual school board members and our superintendent, Dr. Rick Doll, to let them know what you love most about our school and how its closure would affect you and your neighbors:
http://www.usd497.org/Contact/
Here is the address [not a live link] of the revised consolidation scenario which Pinckney has proposed:
http://www.usd497.org/Consolidation/documents/PinckneyRevisedScenario.pdf
Other groups’ scenarios may be viewed here [also not a live link; paste this in your browser]:
http://www.usd497.org/Consolidation/
If you have any questions, please contact a Pinckney Consolidation Working Group member–they are more than happy to fill you in on what they have been up to for the past five months:
Andrea Albright aalbright@treanorarchitects.com
Karla Hughes karlahughes@sunflower.com
Alison Nye ajnye@usd497.org
David Unekis uneek3000@gmail.com
Stacey White staceyswhite@gmail.com
Thanks for your support, we need to stand tall and united with our community as this process moves forward. To contact the Superintendent and the members of the school board, use
Posted January 24, 2012
Honored for Service
OWLA’s own Steve Lopes, along with Marci Francisco, will receive recognition as part of the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods (LAN) 25th Anniversary celebration! The event will be on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Visitors’ Center in North Lawrence. All are invited to come share this moment with Steve and Marci.
Steve is an OWLA past president and long-time member. He was one of the founders of LAN, and has also given immeasurable and varied service to OWLA and other Lawrence neighborhood associations over the years. Lawrence is a much more liveable place because of Steve and Marci.
Meeting coming up!
Saturday, Feb. 11 , 2012 at 10:30 a.m.
In the community room, lower level of the Watkins Community Museum, 11th and Massachusetts
Please mark your calendar! Watch this space for more information.
Neighbors,
Did you know Pinckney Elementary is still at risk of closing? Here’s how you can help.
Several proposals the consolidation working group is discussing involve the closure of Pinckney. These proposals will be discussed during the next meeting Monday, December 19, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Lawrence Public Schools Administrative Building (110 McDonald Drive). The public is welcome to observe, but may not speak. It has also been noted that the room is not accommodating to children, so please make other arrangements. Having Pinckney parents, neighbors and friends in attendance would be a great way to show our strong community support! We don’t need to break out the banners, t-shirts and chants (for now), but it would go a long way to have you at the meeting.
Any questions or comments? Please contact:
- Andrea Albright andreaalbright@sbcglobal.net
- Karla Hughes karlahughes@sunflower.com
- David Unekis uneek3000@gmail.com
- Stacey White staceyswhite@gmail.com
Thanks in advance for your support. Let’s show everyone how important Pinckney is to us!
Posted December 15, 2011
OWLA Membership Meeting – Nov. 5
Our next general membership meeting will be on Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Auditorium at the Lawrence Public Library. Our agenda has two main items:
9:30 a.m.: Dennis Domer and his team of curators will present the results of their 2010 OWL Survey. Neighbors will begin to learn how this database works, how to use it, how to update it, correct it, modify it, and keep it as a community-building tool for the neighborhood.
10:15 a.m.: We will discuss the status of the initiative to consolidate elementary schools in central and eastern Lawrence.
[posted Oct. 27, 2011]
From President Carttar:
I want to use one more post to thank all the people who made OWL Day a success. I know the morning’s rain complicated people’s early plans, so thanks and congratulations to everyone who managed to go ahead with their sales.
Also, I want to give credit to the following individuals:
• Phil Minkin and Tresa Hill, for organizing the garage sales;
• Linda McKay, for rallying the artists;
• Karen Kressin, Steve Lopes, and all the block workers, for getting the word out;
• Burdett Loomis, for encouraging neighbors to support our neighborhood and its Association;
• Mary and Eric Kirkendall, for picking up and returning tables and chairs;
• Rick Frydman, Dale Slusser, and Ford Ballantyne, for setting them up;
• Pam Tull and Dave Crawford, for showing up to help before they’d even finished moving to the neighborhood;
• Steve Maceli, for lending us all the white tablecloths;
• Nora Murphy, Andrea Albright, Janice Poull, and Rosalea Carttar, for providing table decorations;
• Andrea Albright and Lance Adams, for securing the coolers from Pinckney’s PTO;
• Richard Andrade and Michael Morley, for supplying and manning their grills;
• John Naughton, for offering extra help on the grills;
• Hilary Brown, for donating the veggie burgers;
• Sherri and Dan Riedemann, for setting up the ice-cream wagon and supplying it with “confections and novelties”;
• All the kids who helped serve up ice cream;
• Bruce Pfannenstiel, for serving up the music;
• Claudia Olea and Gabriela Carttar, for supplying the kids’ crafts;
• Dennis Domer and Brenna Buchanan, for sharing the results of their OWL architectural survey;
• Jodi Lee, for storing last year’s leftover paper goods and flatware, and for sticking around to load up this year’s as well;
• Janice Poull, for loading up leftover food and taking it to LINK;
• Phil Minkin and Nora Murphy, for offering help wherever needed;
• Sherri Riedemann and Bruce Pfannenstiel, for collecting and contributing knowledge from years past;
• and everyone who contributed to OWL Day by hosting a garage sale, opening their studio, preparing a dish for the pot luck, making a cash contribution, or otherwise helping out along the way.
What a great way to celebrate OWLA’s 50th anniversary!
[Posted Sept. 19, 2011]
SUCCESS! We have concluded another well attended and FUN potluck picnic on OWL Day! Thanks to everyone who contributed time and labor, everyone who brought delicious food to share, everyone who gave donations in support, and EVERYONE WHO CAME! It was fantastic! . . . And the weather stayed dry all evening. Whew!
Thanks also to everyone who held a garage sale or art sale. We hope all had a profitable, if a bit wet, morning. Old West Lawrence rocks!
[posted Sept. 17, 9:30 p.m.]
THE PICNIC IS A GO!! After careful scrutiny of maps on weather websites such as weather.com, and 6newslawrence.com/weather/, the OWL officers have decided to hold the picnic as scheduled this evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
So put on a jacket, grab your hot dish, salad or dessert, and we’ll see you on the 700 block of Mississippi!
[posted Sept. 17, 2:00 p.m.]
OWL Day is this Saturday, September 17!
Garage Sales and Art Walk in the morning, throughout our neighborhood. Bake sale at Lawrence Community Nursery School, 645 Alabama.
Potluck picnic at 6 p.m. on the 700 block of Mississippi.
If you can help, please have a look at the list below, and let president David Carttar know where you would like to pitch in. Call 691-8001, or write to david@carttar.net.
· Pick up tables by 3:00 PM (you will need a truck)
· Table decorations: bring 1-2 potted mums, or vases with flowers from your garden
· Set up tables at 3:00
· Cover/decorate tables at 5:00
· Bring and set up grills at 4:00
· Set up at 4:00 or 5:00
· Grill at 5:00 or 6:00
· Host at 6:00 or 7:00
· Host/clean-up at 8:00 or 9:00
· Return tables on Sunday afternoon (you will need a truck)
We hope to see you on Saturday!
Old West Lawrence Association 