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Vol. 2, No. 14
Friday, July 7, 2000
[Home]
There will be an important meeting of the play structure committee on Tuesday, July 11, 2000 at 7:30 PM. The meeting will be at the Miller's home, 377 Waltham Street, West Newton. Access to the house can also be made from the end of Princess Road.
The main task of this meeting will be to make color selections on the play structure. We will also review plans and look at the options for a new swing set based on budgetary constraints. We need to make decisions on these issues since we need to place our equipment order this month to insure delivery in time for our September 16 build date. Our plans also need to be reviewed by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Our selected vendor, GameTime, has local structures at the Learning Prep School near St. Bernard's and at the Jackson School (behind the Jackson Homestead).
There has been a considerable amount of discussion of the color scheme for the structure, and input from you is still solicited. The colors for the structure are still to be determined and color samples will be available at the meeting There are three sets of color choices corresponding to plastic color (slides and some panel components), metal color (posts/fence), and deck color (punched metal floor). The roof style that was selected comes with slats only in gray. This may be a consideration in selection of the other colors.
The structure picture is available for viewing in color on the website at "http://wellingtonpark.8m.com/ps.htm". Please take a look at it. The details of the panels and components are in the GameTime catalog which can be viewed at the meeting. The possible colors for plastic, metal, and deck are available for viewing at "http://wellingtonpark.8m.com/pscolor.htm". This is a scanned version of the GameTime color selection brochure. The color selection brochure also includes sets of palettes, which are some suggested color combinations that work well together. These palettes have been scanned and are on our website at "http://wellingtonpark.8m.com/pspal.htm". There are twenty example palettes provided. These are also posted at the park bulletin board. Of course, you could come up with your own palette color scheme . You are urged to take a look at these palettes and, if you wish, give us a rank ordered list of your top 5 choices. If you have a little more time, in addition, you could assign a quality rating to each one, with 0 being the lowest, 10 being the highest, and 5 being neutral. You can email your responses to wellingtonpark@aol.com or leave them on the answering machine at 969-6222 or drop them in the envelope on the park bulletin board or at 24 Henshaw Terrace. These responses will be taken into consideration by the play structure committee at the meeting. Thanks to those who have already provided feedback!
The question of having a low fence around the structure is also open and feedback is still solicited on this point as well. The city has informed us that they have some extra 4 foot black fence material which they may hold for our possible use around the structure.
Come out and play a little hoop on Wednesday evenings at the Wellington Park Court. Our basketball activities are organized by Anny Myers, nearby resident, coach of the Newton North High School girls basketball team, and owner of the talented dancing dog, Maggie. Sure the courts a little bumpy but hopefully a new court is in the future (2001 city budget item). The weather was great for the inaugural evening and it stays light til about 8:30 PM now. So don't be shy - come on out and play! Tell your friends. By all reports, folks on the inaugural evening had a great time. Some of these players are very competitive!
Come out and play some grass volleyball this summer at Wellington Park. We will try around 7 PM on Thursday evening, July 13. For more information please contact Ted Kuklinski at 969-6222 or WellingtonPark@aol.com.
During the day on Thursday, July 6, a nefarious miscreant cut down the park bulletin board. In order to do this, they had to intentionally cut about 12 plastic tie wraps, so it was not an accident. If you have any information on this heinous crime please let us know so that we can inform the police. If you see such an event in the future in progress, please let us know immediately at 969-6222 or call the Newton Police (911). In previous weeks in separate incidents, a hole was punched in the bulletin board and the plastic sheet covering it was cut off. The bulletin board is placed on the fence with the permission of the Newton Parks and Recreation Department in order to keep everyone informed about Wellington Park events and especially the new play structure. It is maintained on a volunteer basis and such vandalism is counterproductive to the sense of community we are trying to foster in the neighborhood.
If you haven't sent in a contribution yet, please do so. Our fund is currently approximately $3500. This, along with the city's allocation of $12,500, gives us about $16,000 to work with. We are taking steps to have the city transfer the allocation to our NCSC park fund account so that we will be in a position to place a purchase order with the vendor in time for September delivery.
Your contributions are tax deductible thanks to our sponsorship by the Newton Community Service Center (www.ncscinc.com). 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
Thanks to new donors, Sharon Engelhardt and Aaron Gornstein (Princess Road) for their recent contribution! Remember, there is still time for you to make a difference.
The system of having dog bags at all the park entrances seems to be working well. Everyone (including non-dog owners) is requested to help keep the supply bags filled. You all probably have a collection of newspaper bags (Tab, Globe, etc.) and grocery bags sitting in your house. Bring them to the park next time and keep the supply bags stuffed. They are definitely getting used. If you see another dog's poop, please pick it up. Likewise if you see trash on the ground, please place it in one of the barrels. Studies have shown that trash left around breeds more trash since it gives the impression that people don't care. So care! Please note that we have the best deskunking recipe on our website in the Canine Corner just in case your pet has been sprayed.
The day lilies planted last spring as part of our Newton Serves effort are finally popping forth along the mulched section by Kilburn Road! Don Ambrosio reports finding the occasional four leaf clover in the grass near the swings. So if you want to have some good luck check out the Wellington Park grass. The city has been doing a nice job on keeping the grass mowed.
It is a good time of year to check any of your hemlock trees or shrubs for the pest known as Hemlock Wooley Adelgid, a tiny sucking insect that has been devastating the hemlock forests in the Northeast. This insect has been present in Newton for about 7 years and there are infected trees in the vicinity. It shows itself as white cottony masses at the base of hemlock needles. I recently found some evidence on some ornamental hemlocks in our yard and snipped off the infected branches. A tree killed off by this pest is evident on South Gate Park on the left just after the split off Waltham Street. Check our website (Nature Notes Department) for further information and links about this insect in the near future.
Speaking of insects, has anyone ever seen a firefly in this neighborhood? If you have lived here a long time, do you ever remember seeing them around here in the past? One theory is that the use of lawn pesticides has killed them off since they live in the grass. To its credit, the City of Newton uses IPM (integrated pest management) and, as a policy, pesticides are not used on city fields. Wellington Park would seem to be a good habitat for fireflies. Perhaps we can try a firefly reintroduction next year. If you have any firefly remembrances or insights please send them to firefly@wellingtonpark.8m.com.
Found - a silver bracelet engraved with the name "CURTIS" found near the Henshaw Street entrance. Please contact Ted at 969-6222 or TKuklinski@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.htm 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. Please report any vandalism of the bulletin board to the police and to us at WellingtonPark@aol.com or 969-6222.
We have also started using clipboards at each entrance for meeting notices in order to not have the need to trek over to the bulletin board. This system makes it easy to change notices easily.