07/09/09 - City Council Newsletter

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constraints precluded the funding agreement from continuing. The main exhibit focus at GATA continues to be on presenting original work of local and regional artists. The gallery has also featured presented works from collections of local and regional institutions or artwork by outside artists when related to a major event in the Eugene area. The Japanese festival doll exhibit will be on display through September. For more information, contact Airport Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Cathryn Stephens at 682-5430 or cathryn.e.stephens@ci.eugene.or.us. City Manager to Read at Library Storytime Eugene’s City Manager Jon Ruiz, and his wife Barbara, will celebrate Summer Reading as guest readers at Eugene Public Library’s free Preschool Storytimes. They will join the programs at the Downtown Library on Wednesday, July 15, 10:15 and 11:00 a.m., and on Wednesday, July 29, 10:15 and 11:00 a.m.. Preschool Storytime is for children ages three to six, accompanied by adults. Storytimes are fun and more. Professional Library staff design the program to support children’s developing literacy skills. While enjoying stories and songs with the children, parents and caregivers also learn everyday ways to encourage reading success. In addition to Preschool Storytime, Eugene Public Library holds weekly storytimes for babies, “tots,” and toddlers, as well as Family Music Time on Saturday mornings. For more information about events for children and families at all Library locations, visit the Library’s calendar at www.eugene-or.gov/library or call the Library at 682-8316. Neighborhood Park Campout Proves Popular and Fun Some 57 adults and children participated in Recreation Services’ first Staycation Eugene Neighborhood Park Campout over the Fourth of July weekend. Held in Amazon Park, the event gave families who may be having trouble making ends meet, the opportunity to experience camping in town for just $5. The event included a family barbeque with Jon Ruiz and his wife, Barb, in the kitchen, and many typical camping activities such as swimming (at Amazon Pool), games (badminton), singing and story-telling around a campfire, homemade ice cream, and one not-so-typical event: a fire-spinning performance to wrap up the evening. Local food vendors Organically Grown Coop, Albertson’s, COSTCO andHumble Bagel donated food. Two more Neighborhood Park Campouts are planned this summer. The campout in Sladden Park on August 8-9 will include a float on the Willamette River; on August 22-23, the campers at Petersen Barn Park will be able to try tree-climbing. For more information, contact Sandy Shaffer at 682-6348. Outdoor Program Takes Kids “Into the Wild” Recreation Service’s Outdoor Program led the program’s largest-ever, 10-raft flotilla down the Willamette River for students at the Arts and Technology Academy (ATA) at Jefferson Middle School on the last day of school. Students in kindergarten, first and fourth grades floated the river to Alton Baker Park, where they stopped for lunch and then continued the float to a “takeout” near the River House Community Center. The trip was inspired by the Outdoor Program’s Project Full Moon Rising that connects young children to nature. For four weeks each quarter, Project Full Moon Rising takes fourth graders at ATA to nearby natural areas. In the fifth week, students take an all-day trip to the mountains or the coast. Research has shown that spending time in nature helps children become more creative and promotes healthy activity and development by providing a fertile mix of things to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. The raft trip was provided with assistance from the University of Oregon Outdoor Program. For more information, contact Aimee Goglia at 682-6358. Developing a Master Plan for East Ridgeline Extension EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 July 9, 2009