By Dan Metully, Chairman, Lone Rock School Board of Trustees
As a result of past community meetings in the winter of 2011, many great things got started, and though at first blush it might seem a small thing, a senior group was formed. This senior group however, may represent the beginning of one of our largest accomplishments as a community. These folks have been meeting for coffee and breakfast three times a week, and as a result of their friendship and dedication to the area, they’ve decided to start a fundraising effort to build a community center at the Ambrose Creek Park grounds.
This center is not intended to be a senior center alone, but truly a community center, where folks of all ages can gather for dance lessons, movie nights, bingo, BBQ’s, 4H, Scouts, you name it.
This facility will not be built or supported by tax dollars, but will come to be, and operate, on donations, memberships and grants. The senior group is establishing a non profit organization to facilitate the effort, and there is money being raised for this as we speak.
There is one very important thing that this group wants to see going forward though, and that is a broad base of support from the local community. In other words, the seniors want younger residents of the area to be involved from the beginning as well. Toward that end, we’ll be having a community breakfast and meeting at 8 a.m. at the Lone Rock School. Following the breakfast, we’ll have a meeting to explain the concept as it exists, get ideas from the community, and most importantly, find folks that are willing to become a part of the organization board that will help steer the project forward.
Please come join us in the lunch room at Lone Rock School on Saturday, the 19th at 8 a.m. for biscuits, gravy, hashbrowns, hot coffee and juice. The meeting will follow breakfast. Tell us how you feel about the plan, give us your ideas. This facility can benefit all of our community’s residents for many years to come, and this is a goal we can accomplish. As Chair of the Board of Trustees at Lone Rock, I will be taking the opportunity during the meeting to discuss measures that Lone Rock administration is taking to heighten school security in the aftermath of the tragedy at Newtown, CT and, though we’re no more prone to it than any other school, I’ll be talking about an anti-bullying program we are looking at instituting to make sure that our kids can learn in an atmosphere where they feel safe from physical or emotional harm or distress. If you would like to be involved but cannot make the meeting, please call me at 240-1492 and we’ll find the best way to keep you in the loop as we progress on these issues.