November 19, 2014
Building with bonds Recipes
Savory Holiday Traditions
Around Town
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Chorus Honors Veterans
Learn & Play Photo courtesy Parkway School District
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Recipe for Happy Babies
These new science labs were built for Parkway high schools with money from the 2008 bond issue. The 2014 bond issue will provide funds for similarly upgraded science labs at the five Parkway middle schools.
Initiatives passed around St. Louis County will fund several community projects By Sara Hardin On Nov. 4 several bond issues were placed on the ballot to help fund the purchase of new equipment, safety features and renovations for several areas of the community. Parkway School District passed a $94 million bond issue which will be put in place to restore outdated parts of its facilities. Parkway School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Marty expressed excitement over the opportunities that this bond issue provides. “This gives us a wonderful opportunity to do what we had planned to do with our facilities for the next several years,” said Marty. Projects for updating the school facilities have been prioritized within the last couple of years that will now start progressing with the bond issue in place. “We’re very excited to be able to stay on schedule and start that work in the summer of 2015. A lot was accomplished with the 2008 bond and there is still a lot to do to keep up with the facilities in the district.”
Along with improvements to the outdated roofing and sidewalks, Parkway plans on putting a lot of focus on updating security features in its schools. Some new additions include classroom doors that can lock both internally and externally, and a protective film on glass surfaces to prevent it from being easily shattered at school entrance areas and on classroom doors. “Security and safety is certainly on a high level of importance,” said Dr. Marty. “A lot of that is going to really be focused on some of the new issues like Sandy Hook and other places that really require us to think differently about how we secure our buildings and keep our students safe.” Woodson Terrace also passed a $1.5 million bond issue to support the construction of a new community center. This will replace the old city hall building, which was built in the 1950s and is functioning as the current community center. The new building will be located in John L. Brown Park and will provide updated amenities for hosting community events. “This one will be better equipped,” explained Woodson Terrace Mayor Law-
rence Besmer. “Thinking down the road, we’re going to have a concession stand, a storage room for tables and chairs, a small office for our park guards and some storage for our park equipment.” See BONDS page 2
Over the Fence
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What’s a Vortex?
Interstellar photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
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