Downtown Restaurants Get Into Composting

Compost is the natural scientific process that starts with almost any organic waste – from leaves and grass clippings to horse manure and kitchen scraps – and turns it into the dark, crumbly humus that gardeners love. JONAH, which stands for “Joining Our Neighbors Advancing Hope,” is taking action to help reduce our community’s waste. JONAH’s Environmental Sustainability Task Force is partnering with downtown restaurants to create compost for the Phoenix Community Gardens. With help from restaurants, community members, and volunteers, JONAH’s task force is hoping to create awareness about the value of composting. Regular pick-up and delivery to the composting site will be conducted by volunteers and taken to Forest Street for collecting, delivery, and “turning.” If you have a passion for gardening or curiosity about composting has gotten the best of you, JONAH is sure turning “garbage into gold” will forever change the way you look at food scraps.

An Important Keynote at Art Education Conference

Both the arts and education took hits at the state level this year, and creativity is more important than ever to our economic and cultural livelihood. So it’s fitting that the 61st Wisconsin Art Education Association Conference’s theme this year is “Tools For Creativity” and the open-to-the-public keynote from Rep. Kristen Dexter and Wisconsin Arts Board Director George Tzougros will address “creative environments.” The statewide conference this year takes place in Eau Claire on Oct. 27 and 28. Roughly 200 arts educators from across the state will take part in the more than 50 workshops and presentations, many taking place at Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, and a few at the library and school administration building. If you’re not an art educator, the highlight is the keynote address on Oct. 27, at 7pm, that is free and in The State Theatre. For more info on the conference, visit wiarted.org.

Locust Lane Gets Blue Ribbon

A commitment to excellence in education is not new for Eau Claire’s Locust Lane Elementary School. But what is brand new is the well-deserved recognition for that excellence. Locust Lane received the coveted National Blue Ribbon Award this year. With more than 100,000 schools across America, being 1 of the 308 schools to receive the award is extraordinary. The nomination and subsequent award resulted from years of hard work. The staff at Locust Lane focused on children with specific needs, created interventions for those students, and incorporated additional instruction through the Title 1 program for reading and math. The increased effort along with constant evaluation of the data and goal-setting led to higher than average scores on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations for the last three years in a row. Locust Lane has a lot to be proud of.\

Stout Debuts All-New Mascot

A mascot is like the ultimate cheerleader. Its goal is to inspire the student body and faculty with school pride. Now, UW-Stout has its first official mascot. Designed by Megan Jurecki, an art and design student, to resemble the current Stout nickname, The Blue Devils, the mascot made its debut at the September 22 football game versus UW-Oshkosh. It was approved by Chancellor Charles W. Sorenson last December, and supported by 152 of 160 students surveyed by the Stout Student Association. The unveiling was just in time for Stout’s homecoming, which took place September 26 through October 2, where the UW-Stout football team celebrated its 100th anniversary.

UWEC Goes Mobile

Raise your hand if you have a smart phone. How about an iPod touch or other wi-fi device? I bet most of you raised your hand. But even if you don’t have one, you should know by now that the way we are getting information is changing. It has to be quick and easy for us busy bees out there. Now UW-Eau Claire is joining in, making its information accessible from the palms of our already overworked and stressed out hands by joining the app market. The free UWEC Mobile App allows remote access to items like McIntyre Library resources, grades, and campus dining menus. Head to UWEC.edu/mobile.htm to see the variety of services it offers. And you go-getters can get the app from the android market or iTunes, and then breathe easy. It’s here to save the (to-do-list-crammed-to-the-margins-of-your-planner) day.

Carson Park Baseball Museum Gets Voted  Down

Two unanimous votes against the project have caused Eau Claire Express owner Bill Rowlett to discontinue his efforts to obtain the approval for a team office/baseball museum in Carson Park. Both the landmarks and parks commissions turned down the proposal. Opponents of the proposal do not approve of having a for-profit business on city-owned property. Others, including Commissioner Jeff Guettinger, would like to see new designs that include more space allocated to the museum. Supporters of the proposal argue that having the team offices in the building will provide staffing and supervision for the museum. They also mention that the city has previously allowed a similar business to exist when the Eau Claire Bears’ team offices were located in Carson Park during the late 30s/early 40s. Despite this, Rowlett has no future intentions of redesigning or resubmitting the plans.