First of all, thanks to everyone who pitched in and donated food and money during the challenge by CenturyLink during the week of June 3-7. Due to the generous matching by CenturyLink, the Bonney Lake Food Bank will soon be able to start a modified summer feeding program. Watch for details.
And don’t forget, the Snack Shack at Allan Yorke Park is open during the many free events in the park. Your patronage helps support both the Bonney Lake and Prairie Ridge Food Banks. And, during the farmer’s market at Allan Yorke on Wednesday evenings, you can buy luscious corn on the cob for $3 with the proceeds going to the food banks.
And Hot August Nights is coming up on August 24 at Allan Yorke Park between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Did I ever tell you that in high school I drove a metallic green 1969 Chevy Nova jacked up with headers, dual exhaust, chrome tips, mags and chrome wheels?
But I digress.
• Gnomes vs. Trolls
This spring a project was started in parks called the Bonney Lake Gnomes. There were more than 300 likes on their Facebook page. It added some fun for families visiting Bonney Lake Parks. Councilman Tom Watson was the carpenter behind the project and he and I spearheaded the project after seeing a similar phenomenon on the news about Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Scott Anderson, park board member, set up the whimsical website and maintained it. Anderson and I funded the first set of doors.
GPS coordinates determined by Park Board Chair Jim Bouchard led geocachers to doors and were posted on the city website.
And then came the trolls. They kicked in the doors. They stole the doors. The constant destruction and maintenance was not anticipated but involved much work to rebuild and replace the doors. The first one was installed in Cedarview Park and destroyed within 30 minutes. And then there were the detractors who proceeded to call anything fun, different, or park oriented stupid because they have a difference of opinion. The Wikipedia definition of a troll is:
In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
But I digress, again.
Watson was willing to make the doors, but needed help with more donations of wood and a paint crew. The Chamber of Commerce was consulted, but declined, stating they were intrigued. There was a wood donation. The little elves at the senior center have been painting the doors. While no one was willing to take over the Facebook page, the city is going to maintain a Gnome page on the city website for this caprice.
The gnome doors may be seasonal or ongoing. There was discussion at the last council workshop of how the gnomes could fit into the arts or economic development. There is a cultural element in the comprehensive plan. Mayor Neil Johnson said after the election, providing he is re-elected, he plans on setting up an Arts Commission to form and start work in January 2014. And the Park Board has this on their work plan.
Anybody want to have a gnome parade at Bonney Lake Days? Atlanta Georgia has one. People dress like gnomes or carry their yard gnomes in the parade. In the 2010 Stanwood- Camano Community Fair gnomes rode on the fire truck in the parade. Perhaps they will ride on the city float? The Grand Cinema just had a free showing of the Smurf Movie. Maybe that could be shown at Friday Night Flix?
• Senior Center Bus
You see, the industrious elves, I mean senior citizens, had yard sales, used their bingo money, sold plants, and raised enough money to help purchase a new bus for the Senior Center. But, it has been in the shop getting some bugs worked out, so the old bus has been handy as a backup.
This was another topic of discussion at the last council workshop: should the old senior center bus be surplused and sold, or retained as a back-up? There are a group of seniors who think it should be retained and are willing to pay to fix up the old bus.
The Bonney Lake Senior Center serves not only the city but the plateau. Some of the seniors live out in the county and the bus picks them up. As you know, Pierce Transit no longer serves this part of the county. It really should be renamed Tacoma Transit.
There I go again, digressing.
Some cities restrict their services to city limits only. Like the Bonney Lake Senior Center, the Bonney Lake and Prairie Ridge Food Banks do the same; serve all who come through the door.
My opinion: hungry people are hungry people whether they live inside or outside the city limits. If users are within our commute area, they shop here, they are in our utility service area, live in one of the two school districts that serve this city, they go to the doctor and dentist here, eat at our restaurants and live on this plateau or they work here, they expect and should get services at the food banks or senior center.
But I digress yet again.
Someone suggested the seniors buy the old bus from the city. Use their non-profit to insure it. Some council members seemed concerned that the free bus that is being piloted in this area may feel the senior center bus was competition. Well, are they going to pick up non-senior citizens, like the youth that cannot ride the free bus service? Or has that issue been resolved?
Personally, I am very proud of the self-sufficiency of the creative and industrious seniors of the Bonney Lake plateau. I am pretty sure they will put their heads together and craft yet another positive outcome. With age comes wisdom. Maybe they are willing to take over the Bonney Lake Gnomes Facebook page?
