Public Notice: Naming Request For The Ahuska Park Football/Soccer Field

From Park and Recreation Director, Jake Anderson:

This is a public notice of a request made by Monona Grove Youth Football to name the existing Football/Soccer Field at Ahuska Park Haukereid Field. This would be to honor Morrie Haukereid as one of the founders of the Monona Pee Wee Football program and current organizer over the past 42 years.

Attached is the request from the Monona Grove Youth Football group, current park/park facilities naming policies and an art rendering of what the football field entrance would look like. Per our policy, the public has time to comment on the naming request before the Parks & Recreation Board will make a recommendation at the February 8th meeting. Tentatively City Council would take the proposal up at the February 21st meeting. Individuals or groups that would like to comment on the naming process are welcome to email me or contact members of the city council or Parks & Recreation board by going to http://www.mymonona.com/.

The Sharpest Stack Of Knives

I overheard someone say the other night that they "weren't dealing with someone with the sharpest stack of knives". It reminded me of another bizarre conversation I recently had with a service rep for Airtran Airlines that went a little something like this:

Me: Hi, I need to reschedule my flight connecting through Atlanta today.

Rep: Ma'am, your flight has not been cancelled. If you can't make your flight, I'm sure any number of travellers would be happy to book it. There are thousands of people stranded at the Atlanta airport.

Me: So these people stranded at the airport, their flights have all been cancelled? Because the airport has been shut down for the day?

Rep: Correct.

Me: So the Atlanta airport is closed, Airtran.com has announced that all flights in and out of Atlanta are cancelled, and no one is getting anywhere today?

Rep: Correct ma'am. The weather is unbelieveable over there!

Me: But despite all these inconveniences, miraclously, my flight through Atlanta is still on?

Rep: Correct

Me: Really? I'm not sure I understand. You are telling me that all flights are cancelled, except mine, which is scheduled to fly out of an airport that is closed?

Rep: I can only go by what my computer tells me is so. Is there anything else I can help you with ma'am?

Me: I'm not sure how to answer that one.

Rep: Well, you can reschedule your flight for tomorrow, but if I were you, I don't think I would chance it.


I don't know if my flights were the only ones to arrive and depart the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that day, but because perhaps some cosmic force was shining down on me, or maybe because I was travelling with a five-month-old and only two diapers, my flight did indeed leave. And I was on it. I have long since learned that when you're dealing with someone who doesn't have the sharpest stack of knives (or does!), you don't ask any questions but just keep moving through the terminal. (PS to the city of Atlanta: it's called global climate change; buy some more snowplows and a little street salt!)

Speaking of sharp knives, what in the world is going on in Cottage Grove? Doug beat me to a blogpost about the bizarre EMS meeting conspiracy. Really? And I thought serving on the school board could get bad...

The Monona Grove Board of Education met this past Wednesday evening at Glacial Drumlin. While the intrepid Adam Mella predicted that we would convene around 3am, the Board called it a wrap at the shocking hour of 8:30pm. The Herald-Independent had an article about our budget reduction process here.

Happy Holidays!

School Board Race Welcomes Dean Bowles.

Dean Bowles, longtime Monona resident, has taken out nomination papers for the Monona Grove Board of Education.

Special Board of Education Meeting Tonight 7pm

The Monona Grove Board of Education will meet tonight at 7pm in the Winnequah School cafeteria to vote on the consolidation of Maywood Elementary and Winnequah School. The Board will first convene at 6pm in closed session to revisit the matter of the payroll over-payment of about 45 teachers.
 

A Couple Of Evelyns and Their Grandpas

My grandmother Evelyn and her grandfather Adolph.

And my little Evelyn and her grandfather Darrell.

A Whole Bunch Of Information.

In Monona Park and Recreation News:

This Tuesday evening the Monona Park and Rec. Board conditionally approved a two year probationary agreement with the Monona Warriors semi-pro adult tackle football team to use Ahuska Park as their home field. You can learn more about the league at http://www.midstatesfootballleague.com/. The Warriors' information should be available on-line soon. Park and Rec. Director Jake Anderson hopes to develop a joint partnership with the team and MG Youth Football to act as stewards of the field and to work on and fund site projects, such as bleachers, sound and storage systems and a press box. Speaking of the MG Youth Football program, the Board also heard their first formal request to name the Ahuska Park football/soccer field Haukried Field after longtime founder and director Morrie Haukried. There will be thirty days of public input before any recommendation will be made to the Council by the Park and Rec. Board.

From the Snowshoe Department:

From the Monona PTO:

 Kelly Bethke, Maywood PE teacher, needs some help this week! She sent out this request: "I am looking for parent volunteers to help the Maywood students put on and take off snowshoes during our snowshoe unit in PE. We have adult sizes, so the volunteers could join us. We will be going out Thursday and Friday morning between 8:30-11 am. Classes start at the beginning of each half hour." Please reply to Ms. Bethke if you are able to help for any portion of those times. Her email address is kelly.bethke@mgschools.net.



In the "Local Boy Does Good" category:

From an email from Jeff Otto, tech and engineering at MGHS, regarding Board member Jill List's son, Connor Stevens:

Connor Stevens recently produced a video that he has entered into Fox 47's MSG 2 Teens contest. He is currently one of the five finalists. The video is well done, and he has a chance of winning a laptop computer along with a $2500 grant for the school. The school with the most votes will be the winner, and their video will be aired on Fox47. If Connor wins, he will choose where the grant money will be directed. Voting is very quick and easy. You can vote by CLICKING HERE!

There will be an email link on the district's website shortly.
Here is the direct URL for voting: http://www.fox47.com/sections/contests/msg2teens/videos/vid_1.shtml

Good luck Connor!

In the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" category:

This morning I attended what is likely to be the last Maywood Elementary Holiday Concert. Always one of my favorites, the concert was lovely and bittersweet. Music teacher Paul Backstrom does an amazing job with our little ones and it is so wonderful to watch them perform. I sat in front of second grade teacher Barb Trapp's parents, who have been attending the Maywood Holiday program for the past twenty-four years. Barb's class always does a presentation of A Flea on Santa's Tree and her father gave us a run-down of her room's successes over the years.

In the "Gee, Things Could Be A Lot Worse" category:

From necn.com:

Investigators search for motive in Florida school board shooting


A lot of people still talking about a frightening shooting caught on camera in Panama City, Florida.
No one was hurt in the shooting, but the gunman later shot and killed himself.
All of the moments were caught on tape (warning- it's pretty disturbing), as school board members in Florida were staring down the barrel of a gun as the shooter, 56-year-old Clay Duke, opened fire on them before killing himself.
Investigators believe Duke may have been planning the incident for quite some time. They say they found a calendar in his home with the date of the shooting circled.
The suspect first spray-painted a "V" in a circle on the wall, and then told the women in the room to leave, including a board member who returned and tried to knock the gun out of the suspect's hand with her pocketbook.
School board members said they were fortunate to be alive after seeing the bullet holes in the room where the shooting took place.

And finally, in the "Who's Crazy Enough To Run Now" category:

After that video, who knows? Susan Fox is the only (that I know of) candidate running for the Board of Education this year. Jill List didn't have plans to run for re-election this last time I spoke with her. With two open seats this period, this election season could turn out to be rather boring, maybe not such a bad thing...