Hope To See You At This Summer's Concerts At The Park!

The Friends of the Monona Senior Center is putting on three free family concerts at Winnequah Park this summer.



LeeDing Zeros

Monday June 27th, 7:00 p.m.

Sponsored by the Monona State Bank and the Ultimate Spa and Salon

 

New Horizons Swing Band

Monday July 18th, 7:00 p.m.

Sponsored by: Dennis and Nancy Kugle

The Banned Wagon

Monday August 8th, 7:00 p.m.

Sponsored by Vendura Solid Surfaces

 

Free concerts open to the public!

Families are encouraged to attend. Bring lawn chairs, blankets,and snacks to enjoy an evening of music.
Popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase.

Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Monona Senior Center.

Tonight 4:30 to 6:30: The Grand Opening Of The Winnequah Children's Garden!

From the Monona Elementary PTO:

Stop by the Winnequah Children's Garden today between 4:30-6:30 for the grand opening party. Watch Mayor Miller cut the red ribbon, see Whole Foods present a check for the $500 grant, enjoy snacks from Whole Foods & Taco Palace, listen to live music, sign up to volunteer, and craft with the kids. Bring lawn chairs or blankets and get comfortable in your school garden!

Pinto Stampede!

The Elusive Monona Pinto is elusive no more! The owner of this beautiful piece of wonderfulness and Monona resident, David Kawa, graciously tracked me down and took me for a spin a couple of weeks ago. He even let me drive, which further illustrates his good nature as I have been in two fender benders in the past two weeks. David bought his '78 Pinto Cruising Wagon new and has since restored it to it's original glory. Probably almost as fun as driving this car is appreciating the double-takes, thumbs-ups and out-of-the-window-cell-phone-photography that it inspires on the roadway.

David and several of his fellow Pinto enthusiasts joined the Monona Memorial Day Parade, an event that apparently made me the world's most uncool mother as I was shouting out "the Pintos are coming, the Pintos are coming!" Imagine my surprise when Dave brought over half of his fleet after the parade! One was a friend who had driven down from Canada in quite possibly the world's most perfect all-original baby blue Pinto. Not even a Matchbox car has a cleaner engine. Also over for a visit was the Cookie Man in his '78 Pinto, complete with Cookie Monster strapped into the passenger side. I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a Sesame Street episode when I was behind the wheel. And just in case you are wondering why I am hanging out in all these Pintos topless, I was wearing a strapless sundress. I love Pintos, but not quite that much!

David and his Pinto buddies left yesterday morning for the Pinto Stampede in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they will join up with thousands of brother and sister Pinto lovers.

 

From http://www.pintostampede.com/:

The Pinto Stampede and the Pinto Car Club of America have joined forces to coral Ford Pinto owners across America and celebrate the 40th anniversary of our beloved little pony, the Ford Pinto. The stampede starts in Denver, Colorado on Sunday May 29th, 2011 and will wrap-up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Thursday June 2nd, 2011. At our final stop Carlisle Events will be hosting the Carlisle Ford Nationals June 3rd, 4th & 5th, 2011 and helping to Celebrate the birth of the Pinto with a special 40th anniversary display.

Check out this awesome live stream of one owner's journey to the Stampede.

Please Join Me In Supporting Vicky Selkowe For State Assembly!

It was announced today that Governor Walker has called for a special election in the 48th Assembly District and the Primary Election will take place on July 12th. I am excited to endorse Vicky Selkowe for State Assembly and hope that you will join me in supporting her!

 

From the candidate:

Dear Neighbor,

I’m running to be your representative for the 48th District in the Wisconsin State Assembly because we need an effective, experienced champion in the legislature.

I have more than a dozen years experience standing up for Wisconsin’s families and bringing people together to get results.

I am a public interest attorney, a workers’ rights advocate, and an anti-poverty public policy expert. I am currently the Chief of Staff to an Assembly Democrat (Cory Mason from Racine) and I have a proven track record of highly effective leadership.

In these challenging times, when there is a new attack on our progressive values every day, there is far too much at stake to have a representative with a learning curve. My background and experiences mean that I will be able to hit the ground running in the Capitol.

There is too much at stake in Wisconsin to have a representative who merely cares about supporting working families, ensuring affordable health care, enhancing our public schools, fighting for workers' rights, creating good jobs, and safeguarding our natural resources: we need a state representative who has also worked on and been a leader on all of these issues. I am excited, and more than ready, to put my skills and experiences on these important issues to work for my neighbors in the 48th Assembly District.

Please contact me explore my website to learn more about my background and my positions on the issues you care about. I would be honored to earn your support.

Vicky

Monona Grove Board Of Education Meets Wednesday May 11th At 7pm.

The Monona Grove Board of Education will meet this Wednesday evening at 7pm in the GDS IMC. Our meeting will follow the MG Shareholders Forum scheduled at 5pm in the same location.

A couple of agenda items of note:
Unfinished Business

B. Discussion of Scope and Responsibilities of Standing Committees. (20 Min)

D. Discussion and Possible Approval of Dismissal of Winnequah Students June 8 Due to Building Consolidation (10 Min)

G. Update on Continuous School Improvement Process - Deb Lyons & Christa Macomber (10 Min)

XI. New Business
A. Presentation on T4K – Connie Haessly and Christa Macomber (45 Min)

G. Discussion and Possible Approval of a General Contractor for the Winnequah and Taylor Prairie Schools Remodeling Project for the Summer of 2011 (15 Min)

I. Board Member Update on White Privilege Conference - Susan Fox (5 Min)

E. Approval of Gift Donations

• Photo Lighting Equipment donated by Dr. Gary Williams for the Art Department at MGHS
•  $3,000.00 donated by the Madison English as a Second Language – Thai Project to Glacial Drumlin School
•  $3,200.00 donated by the Cottage Grove PTO to Cottage Grove School for purchase/installation of SmartBoards
• $475.10 from the Monona Elementary PTO to Winnequah School
• $3,898.00 from the Monona Elementary PTO for the purchase of SmartBoards for Winnequah School
•  $2,100.00 from the Monona Grove Education Foundation for the purchase of SmartBoards for Winnequah School
• 10 Spruce trees for Glacial Drumlin School donated by Kathy Loniello
• $3,200 donated by the Cottage Grove PTO for the purchase of SmartBoards at Taylor Prairie School

Thank you for all of these generous donations to the district and our children!

Winnequah Children's Garden Work Day This Saturday 10am to 4pm!

Know how to build a raised bed, a pumpkin trellis or a compost bin?

Garden organizers Maggie Baum and Erin Staver stake a claim.

 Organizers of the Winnequah Children's Garden will break ground this Saturday morning at 10am and can use your help! Food, drinks and good vibes will be provided for workers.

Email questions to Chris Marsh at chris.marsh4@gmail.com

And also visit http://winnequahgarden.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Also on tap is a fundraiser at Chipotle on East Washington Ave. on May 22 from 4 to 8pm.

Easter Egg Hunt Tomorrow At 10am - MY Dream Park!

Ok, I know it's a little (a lot) late, but I just couldn't pass up mentioning the annual Monona Easter Egg Hunt at the Dream Park tomorrow morning. It has been one of my most favorite things about Monona and is also a convenient excuse to post one of my favorite photos.

From the city website http://www.mymonona.com/:

The Monona Parks & Recreation Department and Monona Grove Optimist Club are proud to announce the 13th Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 23rd in Winnequah Park near the M.Y. Dream Park playground. (If the weather makes it impossible to be outside, the event will be held inside at the Monona Community Center) The hunt begins at 10:00 a.m. SHARP! Don’t be late or you’ll miss all the fun. There will be candy, prizes, lots of fun, and possibly a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny. The hunting grounds will be divided into separate areas for ages 1-3 years, 4-6 years, and 7-9 years. Please come and join us for this free community event. If you have questions please call the Monona Parks and Recreation Department at 222-4167.