UFNA children and luminaria outside a Hamilton Street home, December 2000. Photo courtesy of the Terhune family.

Light up the night

ight up the night during UFNA's annual neighborhood-wide luminaria lighting.

Our tradition is to light luminaria all over the neighborhood at dusk on a December Sunday. This year the date is Sunday, December 16. 

It's a good night to take a walk or drive through the neighborhood to enjoy holiday decorations.

For the neighborhood lighting, please start at dusk on December 16 and place the luminaria along the side of the sidewalk nearest the street.

Most homes will use milk jug luminaria, but if you would like to use different containers, please do so.

To make the luminaria, you will need: 

• Gallon plastic milk jugs (enough to line your sidewalk – more if you want to do your driveway, too). You'll need 10-20 jugs or so.

• Kitty litter, sand or bird seed (enough to stabilize the milk jugs, about 1-2"). Filling the jugs part way with water and letting it freeze is another way to weight the jugs.

• One votive candle per jug.

Cut the middle of one side of a milk jug with a sharp knife to make a large flap in a 'U' shape. This will make a window through which you can insert sand and a candle. Recycle the lid.

Please be a part of this beautiful event in a year when a show of community spirit is especially meaningful.

Letter from the President

Have you heard the news?  We're getting a park on DuBois Street!  

In August, officials from the City of West Lafayette and Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) announced an agreement to trade parklands for infrastructure. PRF is giving several tracts of land to the city, including the six lots on DuBois Street. In exchange, the city will extend Win Hentschel Boulevard with streets, sewers, and lights so that PRF can develop the research park.

UFNA Vice President Steve Knecht, DuBois Park Committee Chair Joe Anderson, and I attended several meetings, representing U. Farm. We expressed our gratitude to the people who made this all happen.

Now comes the task of creating a park. Please don't expect a fully equipped playground to sprout overnight next spring. It might take a year or two to plan the park, procure funding, and install whatever structures and landscaping is decided on. If you have ideas and/or can help on the park committee, please contact Joe Anderson.

One group we want to work with on the park is the newly formed West Lafayette Youth Council. Scanning their membership list, I see 10 of the 19 members are residents of U. Farm. The Youth Council will be a valuable resource when planning what should go into the park.

In other news, Steve Knecht and I attended the first organizational meetings of the West Lafayette Neighborhood Coalition. The New Chauncey Neighborhood Association invited representatives from all the neighborhood associations in West Lafayette to join together to discuss issues of common interest. The group meets on a quarterly basis. We'll keep you posted.

--Marilyn Augst
463-9370
augstmf@gte.net

Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) is donating  six lots on Dubois Street to the City of West Lafayette for use as a city park. This transfer is still in progress and the city should be given the title sometime this winter.

This donation was announced at the UFNA Ice Cream Social in August, at which time we provided a suggestion box for park use ideas. A number of people suggested a swimming pool at the park. But it is clear after discussions within the Park Committee and with the city Parks and Recreation Department that this is not feasible. The park is not large enough for a pool of sufficient size, dressing room facilities, and the off-street parking required by the building codes. 

The UFNA Park Committee has discussed the pool suggestion and a number of others and met recently with the West Lafayette Parks and Recreation Department staff to obtain their input and suggestions. During discussions, the Park Committee identified several planning elements; among them:

• this park should compliment the existing park

• the park should be designed towards an age group ranging from age 7 to 17

• if possible, it should have components that can be used throughout the year

• the area for the park is approximately two acres.

Using these points as guides, a very preliminary list of ideas for the site includes:

• playground equipment that is multi-age and multi-ability,

•  sand volleyball that can be converted to an ice skating rink during the winter,

•  loops from the sidewalks that can have roller blade/skateboard features,

•  bathrooms,

•  general-use sport field,

•  basketball net with small pad,

•  shelter, picnic tables and a variety of seating around the park,

•  small community center building. 

This list will continue to change as the design process occurs. If you have thoughts on the park, contact Park Committee Chairman Joe Anderson.

–Joe Anderson

Debbie Miethke of Hamilton Street has volunteered to fill the position of association treasurer. She has a degree in finance and has worked as an accountant. She served as treasurer for the Cumberland Parent Council for two years, and currently works at Cumberland as a substitute teacher. Thank you so much, Debbie, for helping us out!

The six-month experiment to try weekend cardboard recycling in U. Farm has not been as successful as hoped for. The first two weekends (Aug. 18-19 and Sept. 15-16) ended with full bins. The third weekend (Oct. 20-21) produced only half a bin of recyclables. Also, we had a problem with the bins being placed directly across from driveways.

At the September meeting of the West Lafayette Recycling Committee, I asked the committee members to find a better location for the bins. At the October meeting, Dave Downey, WL street commissioner, reported he had asked School Superintendent Batagiannis if the city can place the bins in the ballfield parking lot off LaGrange Street, which is school property. Dr. Batagiannis will take the matter to the School Board.

Other projects discussed by the recycling committee include curbside cardboard recycling, recycling efforts at the schools, Wildcat district programs, pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) option with toters, and TV advertising donated by Kitchen Art. One distressing statistic offered by Mr. Downey is that resident participation in curbside recycling in the city has decreased in past years. Only 42 percent of residents currently participate in curbside recycling; down from 56 percent. The next recycling committee meeting is November 28 at 4:30 p.m. in City Hall. The public is welcome to attend. Weekend cardboard recycling in U. Farm continues Dec.15-16 and Jan. 19-20.

–Marilyn Augst

To everyone who participated in our annual dues drive in September and October:

• Thank you to Mary McKay for organizing it.

• Thank you to all our street coordinators for canvassing your streets.

• Thank you to all residents who paid your dues and filled out the directory forms.

Now, Jean McLuckey, Ann Broughton, and Mary McKay will begin the task of producing updated directories with the newly gathered information. We hope to distribute the new directories in a few months.

If you are wondering why your dues check hasn't cleared the bank yet, please be patient. Since we were without a treasurer for two months, that process has been delayed, but we'll be up and running again soon!

Street coordinators for all streets

We have had an influx of new street coordinators this summer and fall. Some of them volunteered after reading pleas in previous newsletters; the UFNA president recruited others.

As you can see on the leadership list, we have all streets covered. According to old newsletters, we have not had all streets covered since September 1995. Thank you to all street coordinators, both new and old‚ for doing your part with the dues drive and directory distribution, and for welcoming new neighbors.

Did you know that Indiana has 
teenage curfew laws?

Welcome new residents

The officers of the 
University Farm Neighborhood Association 
wish you all happy holidays and 
a healthy new year!!