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Vol. 2, No. 12
Friday, May 19, 2000
[Home]
There will be a meeting of the Wellington Park Play Structure Committee on Wednesday evening, May 24, at 7 PM to further discuss play structure options. Everyone is invited to attend. Prior to the meeting, we would like to get some community feedback on a few pressing issues relative to the play structure. One is the color scheme of the structure. The other is whether or not we should fence in the structure.
Color: The main choices are between a "Green and Beige" scheme that is predominant in Newton, for instance the Webster Common Playground. The Parks Department recommends this scheme for aesthetic and maintenance purposes - it also is favored by some of the park abutters. On the other hand, there are some arguments for a more "primary color" scheme which it is argued may appeal more to children. And there may be the possibility of some in-between color scheme.
Fence: The play structure as currently planned will be built in a "raised fashion" surrounded by timbers filled with a foot of Fibar wood chips. There is the possibility of surrounding this play area with a 4 foot black vinyl fence as is done at the Webster Playground. It was thought by some that it would be helpful in keeping out stray basketballs and canines, and keep small children from wandering onto the court. The black vinyl is also less conspicuous. On the other hand, some argue that a fence degrades from the open look of the park and represents an additional expense (over $1K for just materials).
We would like to get some community feedback on these issues before next week's meeting. Please reply to this email or send email to WellingtonPark@aol.com with your comments. They will all be considered carefully at the next meeting.
The Newton Serves Volunteer Day originally schedule in April but rained out is now scheduled for Saturday, June 3 with a raindate of June 4. If it is completely rained out that weekend it will be held the following weekend, June 10 (June 11). The main tasks are to paint the fence, pick up glass in the park, clean up around the edges, and to finish using up the dirt pile in a productive way. You may be getting a specific email about this in the near future. Please let us know (by email if possible) if you are willing to help. Send email to WellingtonPArk@aol.com and let us know what hours may be possible for you on June 3. We are hoping that some of the Newton Community Ed volunteers originally scheduled in April, will be able to come back to help. Thanks for your help!
Our play structure build date has been chosen!!! Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 16, 2000. This is the second weekend after Labor Day. The raindate will be Sunday, September 17. If the weekend is rained out, it will be the following weekend (September 23-24). While it would be good to have it built in the summer, it was thought that with vacations in July and August it may be harder to line up volunteers. This will give us time to get an order in and have it manufactured and shipped in time. Please reply to this email to indicate an interest in helping with the build. Watch for further details.
There was an important meeting of the Wellington Park Play Structure Committee on Wednesday evening, May 17, at 7 PM to discuss the choice of play structure vendors. A report on this meeting will be given in the near future. We made a lot progress in moving forward towards a play structure including selection of various important dates.
Response to date to our fundraising drive has been very heartening. To date, we have received $3485 in generous donations to the Wellington Park Fund. Do you think we can get to $4000? If you were thinking of making a donation, please do it soon so that we will have a better idea of just how much we can allocate for the play structure. Your contributions are tax deductible thanks to our sponsorship by the Newton Community Service Center. They have been most generous with our organization. If you wish to make a donation to the Wellington Park Fund, please make out your check to NCSC, Inc. and write "Wellington Park Fund "on the check and send it to:
Newton Community Service Centers, Inc.
Wellington Park Fund
492 Waltham Street
West Newton, MA 02465
Ann Dorfman has a wooden swing / play structure set that she would be willing to give to someone who could use it. Give her a call at (617) 244-9321 if you are interested. (Editor's Note: perhaps the recipient would even be willing to make a small contribution to the Wellington Park Fund).
A silver bracelet with the name "CURTIS" inscribed on it was recently found near the southwest (Henshaw Street) entrance. If you can describe the reverse inscription, it's yours. Please contact Ted at 969-6222 or WellingtonPark@aol.com.
The Newton Community Service Center's Child Care (Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and After-Kindergarten) Programs are looking to hire full or part time teachers (or subs). Please see their website www.ncscinc.com/jobs for details or call 969-5906 and speak with Lonnie (x123) or Margie (x132).
Please get on our email list. You will receive the Wellington News directly by email. It is the fastest and easiest way for our organization to keep in touch. Just send an email to WellingtonPark@aol.com or call (617) 969-6222 and leave a message. Or if you wish to be removed from the list let us know the same way. And of course, check out our web site http://wellingtonpark.8m.com. All back issues of Wellington News are available online.
If you are not wired, just read our high tech cork bulletin board at the park. You are most welcome to submit items for publication here (childhood remembrances about the park, opinions, yard sale notices, etc.) by email or regular mail (Wellington Park News, c/o Ted Kuklinski, 24 Henshaw Terrace, West Newton, MA 02465-1632).
Please make sure the Velcro tape is sealed along the side of the plastic cover so that rain doesn't get into the board. Lately, we have had a lot of information on the bulletin board related to the play structure not leaving too much room. If you have other notices, please try to keep them small enough to fit in the currently available space and keep them under the plastic cover.