Adapted Community Recreation Saved For Now

Today the City Manager's Budget for FY2010 came out and on page 278 is it showing as the Adapted Community Recreation Program will be fully funded to the amount of last years budget. Roughly about $72k.

It is not over by far yet everybody so keep in tune here and with Sarah and Sean to be sure you are keeping up on what is going on.

Sean:
"Sean Spence" seanspence@earthlink.net

Sarah:
"Sarah Bowman" slbowman@gocolumbiamo.com

Keep on praying for this program everybody.

The ongoing trash issues along Paquin Street

Ok this article here was the beginning:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/03/04/city-seeks-solution-early-trash-east-campus/#c

I added a new post to it today with my complaints.

If you like sign up for a free Missourian account and voice your own views on this subject.

Highway crash kills Oak Towers resident

A 63-year-old Columbia man was killed yesterday morning in a head-on collision in Monroe County.

Gerald “Jerry” Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene of the three-vehicle collision on Highway 24 six miles east of Paris, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

The fatal wreck occurred at 8:25 a.m. yesterday when a westbound 2003 Chevrolet Impala crossed the centerline, hit an eastbound pickup truck and then continued in the eastbound lane, striking head-on a 1994 Ford Tempo that Lewis was driving, the highway patrol said. Lewis was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

Lewis had lived the past three years in Oak Towers, a public housing retirement community in central Columbia. He had served as a resident representative for the building and on the Columbia Housing Authority’s formal hearing panel, housing authority CEO Phil Steinhaus said.

“He didn’t have much, but he had just a fabulous attitude,” Steinhaus said. “We’re going to miss that guy. He was kind of everybody’s friend over here.”

Steinhaus said Lewis “always had a kind word and liked to talk a lot.”

As a veteran of the armed forces, he always wore a ball cap in support of veterans.

“Any time he met a fellow veteran, he always thanked him for his service,” Steinhaus said. “That was one of the things that really mattered to Jerry.”

Lewis had planned a trip to visit family, Steinhaus said, but he did not know why he was driving on Highway 24.

The highway patrol identified the driver of the Chevrolet as Patsy Rice, 44, of Palmyra. Rice suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Moberly. She was wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the pickup truck, Erica Keeling, 16, of Madison, was wearing a seat belt and was not injured, the highway patrol said.

Highway patrol Trooper Jason Mattingly said the collision likely would be attributed to driver inattention and there is no indication that alcohol or drug use was involved. A citation against Rice was pending, Mattingly said.

Source and More:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/22/monroe-county-crash-kills-columbia-motorist/#comments

Sleeping With The Enemy (bed Bugs)

AFTER virtually disappearing for decades, bed bugs have made a comeback throughout the nation, with particularly bad infestations in densely populated apartment buildings.

Encouraged in part by the banning of DDT, the insects have become so prevalent that the Environmental Protection Agency held a National Bed Bug Summit in April.

Rather than wait for a Washington task force to do something, though, people with an infestation probably want to take immediate action. So this column is all about what consumers can do to avoid being bitten twice — first by the vermin and then by a venal exterminator.

While in most cases an infestation is more a skin-crawling nuisance than serious health problem, in some people severe reactions to bed bug bites can include asthma, generalized hives and even a life-threatening allergy attack that requires emergency treatment. Regardless of the medical consequences, though, bed bugs can be expensive to banish.

It’s not unusual for the typical afflicted family to spend $5,000 or more on inspections, exterminator fees, cleaning and storage, according to Jody L. Gangloff-Kaufmann, an urban entomologist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University. Landlords of large apartment buildings have been known to spend as much as $80,000 to get rid of the pests, she said.

The insects, which are about the size of an apple seed and resemble ticks, are hard to detect and even harder to kill. The most successful efforts include a combination of a thorough cleaning and sorting, along with repeated professional applications of pesticides and other bed bug treatments.

But the bed bug boom has attracted fraudulent exterminators peddling money-wasting treatments that do not work. And because even reputable exterminators charge a wide range in prices and offer a variety of services, it can be hard to know what’s worth the money and what’s hype.

Here, then, is some calm advice from experts on what you can expect to spend and what you should — and shouldn’t — pay for.

Source and More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/health/11patient.html?_r=1&ref=health

Paquin Tower program might get funding after all

After having its funding cut last year, the Adapted Community Recreation Program at Paquin Tower could have its funding restored.

Boone County Family Resources and the Department of Parks and Recreation have proposed a funding agreement, in which Family Resources would provide the program at Paquin Tower with $16,000, and the city will maintain its current funding of $72,000.

Mike Hood, Parks and Recreation director, said city staff is reviewing the agreement as part of the 2010 budget process.

“In essence, BCFR is looking to restore/replace the funds that were cut from the program’s budget during the FY09 budget approval process,” Hood said in a report about the proposed agreement.

Participants in the program have noticed a change since funds were cut last year. Paquin resident David Dollens, said he noticed when the activities became more limited, and there were fewer supplies and limited staff.

Staff recently conducted a survey, program supervisor Karen Ramey said, and there were suggestions for more activities after 3:30 p.m. to accommodate participants who work during the day. But they cannot currently provide all the activities suggested, because of lack of funding, she said.

“With the funding we have, we’re doing what we can,” Ramey said.

Les Wagner, executive director of Family Resources, said that if the agreement passes, it will evaluate the activities and participation at the end of the year with Parks and Recreation. He also said he’s open to a providing funding for a second year.

Wagner said “it made sense” to offer the funding after it was reduced last fall.

A few changes at Paquin Tower have already been made to improve the program. Parks and Recreation staff recently changed the name from the “Paquin Tower Recreation Program” in order to let people in the community know that it is open to everyone, not just Paquin Tower residents.

Hood said they had already been considering the name change before the proposed agreement. The program has always been available to anybody in the community.

“We’ve been working on it anyway to make sure people know what we have to offer,” Ramey said. “We have had calls from other groups, wanting to know more about the program.”

Don Burkett, a program participant and resident of Paquin Tower, said he would like to see more people who live in the building participate.

“There are a lot of people who live here who don’t come,” he said. “You can’t think for people. You can only think of ideas to get them interested.”

Ramey and Wagner both emphasized that coordination and communication is important for the success for this program.

“It’s just the beginning,” Ramey said. “It’s a work in progress. It always takes time to change things, and I think we’re working toward it."

Source:
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/07/02/bcfr-offers-funding-adapted-community-recreation-program/