September 23, 2010
The DMN e-News and an occasional hard copy DMN News are published by the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association (DMNA) on an “as-needed” schedule. The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association, Inc. has been working to unite neighbors to solve mutual problems and promote fellowship among neighbors since 1973.
President, Jeff Glazer, president@dunnsmarsh.org 277-1778
News contact, Mary Mullen, communications@dunnsmarsh.org 298-0843
Website: http://www.dunnsmarsh.org
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/note.php?note_id=378988848623
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Calendar
Friday, Sept. 24, 10 am-noon – Senior Adult meeting and free brunch. Boys & Girls Club, 4619 Jenewein Road.
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 7 pm – Hear Arboretum representatives describe how the Verona Road project will affect the Arboretum, Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona.
Free Monona Terrace events – Several dates in October. See article 14.
Sat., Oct. 9, 9:30 am – Neighborhood Chicken Coop Tour. Meet in front of Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona.
Wed., Oct. 13, Public Hearings on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Verona Road/Beltline Reconstruction project. 12 noon-3 pm at Boys and Girls Club; 6-9 pm at Cherokee School.
Book Discussions – Many dates. See Article 12.
Thursday, Oct. 21– Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association Social and Annual Meeting. 6:30 pm for chili & dessert social, 7 pm sharp for meeting. Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona.
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ARTICLES
Events in the Neighborhood
1 - Senior Adults Invited to Brunch September 24 (Attachment: 1 Senior BGC flyer)
2 - Neighborhood Chicken Coop Tour, Sat. October 9
3 - Do You Have Chickens?
4 - Verona Road/West Beltline Environmental Impact Statement Available
4a - Meeting Planned to Tell Verona Road Project Effects on Arboretum, Sept. 28
5 - Verona Road Reconstruction Hearings, October 13
5a - Survey: Did Your Household Get a Notice About the Verona Road Hearings?
6 - DMNA Annual Meeting Set for Thursday, October 21 (Attachment: 2 DM Neighb areas.doc)
Neighborhood News
7 - “School Friends” is Option for Big Brothers Big Sisters
8 - Bike Route to be Marked on Frontage Roads in 2011; Signage Request Added
(Attachment: 3 bikesign request9-22-10.doc)
9 - New Path in Park Completed; Gardens on the Wane (Attachment: 4 col Marlb Park 9-13-10.jpg)
10 - Receive Neighborhood Crime Reports Online (Attachment: 5 Crime reports)
11 - Keep Your P Out of Our Lakes
12 - Calling All Readers (Attachment: 6 col books.jpg)
Additional Opportunities
13 - University Offers Grants and Assistance to Adults Wanting to Attend Less Than Half Time
14 - Free October Events Offered at Monona Terrace
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ARTICLES
Events in the Neighborhood
1 - Senior Adults Invited to Brunch September 24 (Attachment: 1 Senior BGC flyer)
The Boys and Girls Club (BGC) is working to create activities for senior adults. Attend a meeting at BGC to learn about suggested activities and to suggest others. The date is this Friday, September 24, from 10 a.m. until noon. A brunch will be served.
As the flyer says: “Come meet and greet if you want to meet and greet those you may not know but have the same interest like computers, sewing, exercise, Bingo and other activities with your input.”
2 - Neighborhood Chicken Coop Tour, Sat. October 9
In San Antonio, TX, it’s common to wake to the sound of roosters crowing at the break of dawn. Although that’s not true here in the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood, don’t kid yourself, chickens are being raised here. What’s more, they are legal in small numbers as long as a rooster isn’t among them.
Are you curious about the neighborhood chickens? If so, join your neighbors on Saturday, October 9, on a walking tour of neighborhood chicken coops. The tour group will meet in front of Prairie UU Society, corner of Whenona and Crawford promptly at 9:30 a.m.
by Mary Mullen
3 - Do You Have Chickens?
The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood may have more residents raising chickens than our Chicken Coop Tour Guide knows about. If you raise chickens, but haven’t been contacted about the October 9 tour, please contact Jo Kelley. 276-8010 or jokelley@tds.net <mailto:jokelley@tds.net> to learn about the tour. You can then decide if you want to have your installation be a part of the tour.
4 - Verona Road/West Beltline Environmental Impact Statement Available
The Verona Road/West Beltline Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) has been published and is available within the neighborhood, at the Fitchburg City Hall, at some local library branches, and on the DOT website. It’s something you will definitely want to take a look at before the public hearings, scheduled for October 13, 2010.
The place in the neighborhood to find it is at Faouzi’s Restaurant on the Beltline Frontage Road – 4245 West Beltline, the old Blarney Stone. Ask at the counter to see it or sign it out. Hopefully, most people will take the time to look at it right on the spot so that it can be available to others.
Additional copies are at local library branches. The Meadowridge Branch on Raymond Road and Monroe Street Branch down near the stadium both have copies. Ask at the reference desk. Although the DOT website says that Sequoya Library (near Midvale and Tokay) has a copy, when I called yesterday, they looked and found only the 2004 EIS.
Access the 2010 SDEIS at http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d1/verona/environment.htm#sdeis
Scroll down to the middle of the page to where it says Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (Posted September 22, 2010). This section of the website also lists 9 public libraries that are supposed to have hard copies.
Individuals can also ask for hard copies. Contact Larry Barta at 246-3884 or larry.barta@dot.wi.gov
by Mary Mullen
4a – Meeting Planned to Tell Verona Road Project Effects on Arboretum, Sept. 28
David Liebl, from the UW Arboretum, will speak on how the Verona/Beltline Road project will affect the Arboretum. The meeting will be at 7 pm, Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Drive. Neighbors and friends who want to know about this prior to the public hearing should attend the meeting.
5 - Verona Road Reconstruction Hearings, October 13
Two formal hearings will be conducted about the Verona Road/West Beltline Reconstruction project on Wednesday, October 13. One hearing will be from 12 noon until 3 pm at the Boys and Girls Club on Jenewein Drive in the neighborhood. The other will be at Cherokee Middle School, 1301 Cherokee Drive (just off Midvale) from 6-9 p.m. that same day.
People are urged to look at the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement beforehand. It is a thick 2-volume set of descriptions of what’s planned and the predicted impacts from the reconstruction. Check the previous article for places to find the SDEIS.
5a – Survey: Did Your Household Get a Notice About the Verona Road Hearings?
When the DMNA Council members polled each other on September 21, we found that only half had received the 4-page flyer announcing the availability of the Verona Road SDEIS and the hearings on October 13. That left us wondering how spotty the coverage might have been of this brochure that was mailed out by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Let’s check. Send me an e-mail to let me know whether you did or did not receive this flyer in the past week or so: mmullen@chorus.net
The brochure is 8 ½ x 11 inches with a blue masthead containing the WDOT symbol. A map of Stage 1 and 2 improvements is located on the bottom right hand side of the front page.
by Mary Mullen
6 - DMNA Annual Meeting Set for Thursday, October 21 (Attachment: 2 DM Neighb areas.doc)
It’s that time again – time for the annual meeting of the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association. It’s a chance to learn more about initiatives in the neighborhood in the past year, an opportunity to bring up ideas and concerns, and a time to volunteer to work with the DMNA in the coming year. This year it’s also a time to socialize and eat beforehand.
The doors will open at 6:30 on Thursday, October 21 at Prairie UU Society, 2010 Whenona Drive (corner of Whenona and Crawford). Residents arriving at this time will be rewarded with a cup of President Jeff Glazer’s prize-winning chili and assorted other sweet treats. The meeting itself will start at 7 p.m. sharp.
It is hoped that all the “paperwork” that goes with the annual meeting will be out of the way before the 7 p.m. starting time. Paperwork consists of signing in, indicating whether you wish to be considered a DMNA member for the coming 2010-2011 year, and checking out the minutes of the 2009 annual meeting and any assorted maps and other displays.
Special this year will be the appearance of several guests representing organizations that serve the neighborhood. We hope to have Susan Corrado to talk about the Allied Wellness Co-op, Michael Johnson who is the new director of the Boys and Girls Club, and Dora Zuniga representing Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Very BRIEF reports from DMNA Committee chairs will be followed by a half hour open floor discussion where Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood residents can bring up concerns and ideas for bettering the neighborhood.
The final order of business is electing the DMNA Council for the coming year. “Caucuses” of residents from each of the 4 parts of the neighborhood can choose up to 3 people from their part of the neighborhood to represent the area. The areas can best be seen on a map (attached), but in words, these are the areas:
1. Marlborough - the English and flower-named streets that are sandwiched between Seminole Highway and Marlborough Park
2. Crawford - area north of Marlborough Park and west of Whenona Drive and including Avalon Village
3. Allied - Allied and Carling Drives and the first block of streets that go east but only as far as Rosenberry Road, including the newly developed streets adjacent to Allied
4. Belmar - the entire Fitchburg portion of the neighborhood from Thurston Lane south to Crescent Road.and along Seminole north to Sentinel Pass and also including the Renaissance development west of Red Arrow Trail and the the streets west of Marlborough Park.
If an area does not choose its quota of 3 representatives, additional representatives from any area will be selected by all the voting members at the annual meeting. However, if an area chooses no reps, a space must be left for at least one representative from that area. A total of twelve Council members will be chosen at the meeting. Officers are selected by the Council from among their number at the first Council meeting after the annual meeting.
In provisions added to the DMNA bylaws last year, these are the expectations of Council members: to attend DMNA meetings; help with DMNA work such as distributing newsletters, joining a committee, contacting officials, and/or attending hearings; willingness to have name and contact information published in neighborhood communications and websites; and adherence to the bylaws of the DMNA.
by Mary Mullen
Neighborhood News
7 - “School Friends” is Option for Big Brothers Big Sisters
Dora Zuniga from Big Brothers Big Sisters gave a brief presentation at the September 21 DMNA Council meeting. She especially highlighted the opportunity for volunteers to mentor a child at Cherokee Middle School in the Big Brothers Big Sisters “School Friends” Program. This program allows the volunteer to get his or her feet wet in the BBBS program by working with and socializing with a Cherokee middle schooler for an hour once a week right at school.
Big Brothers or a Big Sisters can make all the difference in the world in the life of youngsters. The “Littles” can learn to model themselves after a responsible, loving adult. Little Sisters and Little Brothers experience adults who can “be there” for them. The “Bigs” introduce their Littles to worlds they might never otherwise have access to.
Dora Zuniga plans to be one of the presenters at the DMNA annual meeting on October 21, 2010. See the special article about the meeting for other details.
by Mary Mullen
8 - Bike Route to be Marked on Frontage Roads in 2011; Signage Request Added
(Attachment: 3 bikesign request9-22-10.doc)
The DMNA’s request to the city of Madison for painted bike lanes on the Beltline and Verona Frontage Roads will be at least partially honored next year. In response to the Association’s request and nudged by 10th District Alder Brian Solomon, Mark Winter sent an e-mail on September 9 detailing bike lanes on both sides of Verona Road.
He said, “Marking the bike lanes along the Frontage Rd from Seminole Hwy to Atticus Way as well as Hammersley Rd from Whitney Way to Home Depot is planned for next year. This year’s funds are already accounted for. Other facilities such as bike boxes (probably not RED though) will be included as appropriate.” The DMNA had asked for the lanes to extend all the way to Red Arrow Trail which is the next street beyond Atticus Way. Atticus Way is the street that leads to Avalon Village and Walgreen’s.
At its September 21 meeting, the DMNA Council authorized a request to put bike route signs on the route from Atticus Way west to the sidewalk near the head of Allied Drive that leads to the Southwest Bike Trail and then further along Verona Road and eventually to the Military Ridge Bike Trail. In a e-mail sent on September 22, the DMNA also asked Winter to clarify if “marking the bike lanes” means painting the lanes as was requested.
The purpose of these requests is to make biking safer and also to make sure bikers know efficient routes to connect to the named, more lengthy bikeways.
by Mary Mullen
9 - New Path in Park Completed; Gardens on the Wane (Attachment: 4 col Marlb Park 9-13-10.jpg)
The new handicap path from the lower (easternmost) leg of the Marlborough Park path to the shelter and then onto the upper path has been completed. The new blacktop looks great.
As the long days wane to equal time for light and dark, the gardens in the park are in their final stages. Sunflowers stand like giants and some amazingly tall corn still waves in some gardens. Butterflies are enjoying the flowers. By the end of October all the fences and stakes should be out of the plowed garden. Gardeners using the no-till gardens that are southernmost in Marlborough Park do not have to remove anything from their gardens.
This summer conditions have improved after complaints drew orders from the Madison Real Estate Department. Volunteers were tapped to take care of litter and garbage on a weekly basis, and more mowing was done as well.
by Mary Mullen
10 - Receive Neighborhood Crime Reports Online (Attachment: 5 Crime reports)
Crime report maps, updated weekly, are available online. Sample what they look like by clicking on the attachment. The document also tells you a lot about the information that appears on the map. Go to www.crimereports.com <http://www.crimereports.com> to sign up.
It’s also easy to compare our neighborhood to others using the map since one can scroll north, south, east, and west and can also enlarge or make the scale of the map smaller.
Astute viewers will notice some labeling mistakes on the map. For example, it labels and shows the Renaissance development as “Dunn’s Marsh Park.” It also calls the Belmar (Fitchburg) area of the neighborhood as the “Allied Community.” Previous attempts to get Google to correct the map have been unsuccessful.
by Mary Mullen
11 - Keep Your P Out of Our Lakes
Phosphorus (or P for you chemists out there) is important for the growth of plants. It is commonly found in lawn fertilizers. It is also found in the beautiful fall leaves that homeowners rake each autumn. It is possible to take advantage of this nutrient by mulching the leaves with your lawn mower, then either leaving them on your lawn, raking them into your gardens, or tossing them into your compost bin for use next spring as fertilizer.
If you have too many leaves to use on your own property, then rake them to the terrace for city crews to collect (or haul them to the yard waste collection sites). Please be careful they don’t end up in the street – they can clog storm drains that could lead to flooding. They may also end up in our lakes, providing nutrients for weed and algae growth.
The leaves don’t even need to move from the street to cause problems. As storm water flows through a pile of leaves, it creates a nourishing “leaf tea” for unwanted weeds and algae.
It is good to appreciate the beauty of fall leaves on the trees, and wise to appreciate their potential contribution of nutrients for your lawn and garden. It is also important to appreciate the negative impact they may have to the quality of our lakes.
Remember: Love your lakes, don’t leaf them.
For more information, or for a Love Your Lakes, Don’t’ Leaf Them yard sign, go to www.myfairlakes.com <http://www.myfairlakes.com> .
From Genesis Steinhorst, Water Resource Specialist
City of Madison - Engineering
210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Room 115
Madison, WI 53703 (608) 266-4059
12 - Calling All Readers (Attachment: 6 col books.jpg)
Although one may sometimes wonder whether book reading has a future – what with Facebook and Twitter and computer games and TV – you’d better believe that there are some of us who can’t put a good book down, and what’s more, love talking about the books we read. For those of us like that, the nature of problem may be more correctly stated: “So many books, so little time.”
OK, that’s a long introduction to an article about several book clubs to choose from, both in and near our neighborhood.
Prairie Book Club Meets in the Neighborhood
Let me first put in a plug for the Prairie Book Club which meets once a month right at Prairie UU Society in the neighborhood. It’s an open, drop-in book club which you may attend even if you haven’t completed the book or don’t belong to the church. This is a book club for readers who are interested in a wide variety of books. both fiction and nonfiction, some current best-sellers, some on current topics, some by local authors, but all available in paperback. Books are selected for the next few months by the members several times a year. It meets on Sundays, starting about 11:45, and attendees bring finger food or a dish to share.
Books and dates for the Prairie Book Club are:
Sunday, Oct. 17 – Now and at the Hour, a fiction book by local author Martin Drapkin, is the story of 3 people who meet in Ward B of a state institution: a 12-year-old with a football brain injury, a 54-year-old man with cerebral palsy, and a young aide. The author will attend this discussion, and the book is available for $6 through the book club.
Sunday, Nov. 21 – River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey, a nonfiction book by Candice Millard, is about Roosevelt’s journey to the Amazon after his defeat for a third term.
Sunday, Dec. 19 – White Like Me : Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son , by Tim Wise, is a personal account of how the author became aware of white privilege and racism.
Sunday, January 16 – Rabbit Redux is a novel by John Updike that takes place in 1969 when the nation was in chaos (Vietnam War). Major characters are Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, working a dead-end job in Pennsylvania, his 12-year-old son, an African American Vietnam vet, and a wealthy white teenage girl.
Since the Prairie Book Club meetings sometimes get rescheduled due to church events that take precedence, please sign up to be on the book club e-mail list at mmullen@chorus.net
Go Big Read, Discussions in Many Locations
Would you like to try a community-wide read instead? Then Go Big Read, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s common book program, might just be your ticket. Go Big Read is not just for students or UW faculty; it is for the entire community. There are many opportunities to join discussions as well as the chance to attend a presentation by the author, for free. Readers can also suggest questions for the author
Here’s some information on this fall’s selection for Go Big Read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Every so often a book comes along that does more than gets people reading … it gets them talking! And that’s exactly what The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot does. Skloot recounts the little-known story of the origin of the “HeLa” cells, which have directly aided many advances in modern medicine. The story of Henrietta Lacks, the poor African-American Southern tobacco farmer and cancer patient who was the unwitting donor of the cells, will provoke discussions on issues related to bioethics and diversity.
Plan to attend author Rebecca Skloot’s lecture on the UW-Madison campus on Monday, October 25, 2010, free at the Kohl Center, 7 p.m.
While many discussions are located on the UW campus, several are at nearby public library branches, including two that serve our neighborhood.
Wed., Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m. - Meadowridge Branch, 5740 Raymond Road
Thur., Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m. – Monroe Street Branch, 1705 Monroe St.
To find out about the many other opportunities to join a discussion, learn more about the book and author, or check out the blog ,go to http://www.gobigread.wisc.edu/events/
Public Library Book Clubs
Most public library branches have book discussions. Here are some discussions at the branches closest to the Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood: Sequoya on Midvale Boulevard and Meadowridge in the Meadowood Shopping Center.
If mysteries are your genre, check out the Sequoya’s books and discussion, 7-8 pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Wed., October 6 is Erin Hart's book Haunted Ground.
If you just want to talk about any books you’ve read lately, try the third Monday, 7-8 pm at Meadowridge.
Are you free during the day? Then Thursday afternoons at 1 pm at Sequoia might be your choice. Various types of books up for discussion at Sequoya. Thursday, October 28, is Blame by Michelle Huneven. It’s “a spellbinding novel of guilt and love, family and shame, sobriety and the lack of it, and the moral ambiguities that ensnare us all” according to the publicity.
To access details about the books and discussions, go to the Madison Public Library Program Calendar - http://host.evanced.info/madison/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?ag=&et=&dt=mo&df=calendar&cn=0&private=0&ln=ALL <http://host.evanced.info/madison/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?ag=&et=&dt=mo&df=calendar&cn=0&private=0&ln=ALL> Make your search easy by clicking on the Search button and choosing the Locations, Event Type, and Age Groups you’re interested in.
by Mary Mullen
Additional Opportunities
13 - University Offers Grants and Assistance to Adults Wanting to Attend Less Than Half Time
Are you considering returning to school? Each semester, UW-Madison's Adult and Student Services Center offers grants to provide financial assistance to adults who have experienced a significant break in their formal education and are entering UW-Madison on a less than half-time basis. The funds are provided by tax-deductible contributions made by organizations and individuals to the UW Foundation Continuing Education Fund.
Resident tuition grants for one class, up to five credits, for undergraduates and special students and one class, up to three credits, for graduate and capstone certificate students for the fall and spring semester. Resident tuition grants for one three credit course in the Summer Session (excluding the Three Week Intersession) for undergraduate, graduate, capstone and special students. An individual may receive the grant a maximum of two times.
The recipients of the Continuing Education Grant will be selected primarily on the basis of financial need, clearly expressed educational goals, and significant interruption (usually five years or more) in formal education. The balancing of such factors as the number of degrees already completed, length of interruption in education, proximity to completion of educational goal, recent academic performance and other indications of potential academic success at UW-Madison, etc. will result in the allocation of grants as funds allow in any given semester.
For more information about the criteria, deadline or to apply please visit http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/info/finanserv/ce-grant.htm. You can also call 608-263-6960 or email me, the grant coordinator, at amchugh@dcs.wisc.edu with questions about the grant information on the website.
Please note the deadline for the spring semester is November 1, 2010.
14 - Free October Events Offered at Monona Terrace
Madison is a haven for free high-quality cultural events. We’re the envy of more rural and less forward-thinking areas. Here are the free October events at Monona Terrace, the convention center on Lake Monona.
Full Speed Ahead After 50/5 For 5 Walk on Wed., Oct. 6, 9-11 am. Includes information booths. Outside if weather is good, in Exhibition Hall if inclement weather.
Tunes at Monona Terrace Features the Don Peachey Band on Wed., Oct. 6, 5:30-7 pm. in Exhibition Hall. Come to listen or dance to polka music. Parking is $4.
Wright Lecture Series “Buildings We Love to Hate” on Thurs., Oct. 7, 7 pm, Lecture Hall.
Moon Over Monona Terrace is a chance to look at the moon and other celestial objects through the powerful telescopes provided by members of the Madison Astronomical Society on Friday, Oct. 14, 7-9 pm, on the rooftop.
Family Concert – Richie’s House of Jazz featuring Richie Cole and Five By Design on Wed., Oct. 27, 7 pm in the Madison Ballroom.
See more at http://www.mononaterrace.com/community/all-programs
-- End of the Sept. 23, 2010 Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News. Thanks for reading! --
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