ALUMNI TO BE WELCOMED HOME - Thevillagesinc.org

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Preserving Nature - Dr. Karl’s Vision “The whole world — not only a few frantic individuals — seems bent on committing suicide. We have been warned repeatedly of this. Yet we go right on living as we always have. We deplore the bad news, the bad air, the dirty water, the dying fish. We pick up a few beer cans and sign some petitions for smoke abatement. But in general, ruthless self-interest and greed relentlessly pursue their goals with impunity. They have cut down our forests, killed off our wildlife, polluted our lakes and rivers, gouged ugly holes in beautiful hillsides, wasted our precious fertile soil and poisoned the atmosphere we all have to breathe. They murder our rivers with needless dams, our lakes with filth and chemicals, and befoul even the vast oceans. We read about this great threat to our world in all the magazines . . . if the doom of our race and our planet is to be averted, all of us must join in the effort. The Villages has a great opportunity. Our hope lies in the possible involvement of the coming generation of youth. They know something about this; they sense something of great danger and they are responding. The worst of all corruption and pollution and waste has been that of our youth. In the conservation villages I have been describing, the pervading spirit and atmosphere will be toward the reversal of this world-wide propensity for destruction. This is the central idea of our project. It is as if we said to our boys: ‘You, you who were exposed to such terrible surroundings can understand what it means to improve the environment in which one lives. You saw other boys crippled and deformed and embittered by the surroundings in which they lived and the ideas they there acquired. Now you live in a home with people opposed to all that. They love one another; they love you. One day you will go forth from here on your own career. We believe you will feel a special need to help not only other neglected children, but our dirtied, damaged earth, our raped and ravished planet. You will go out with our love and the assurance of our help. You will go with a commitment to help save the world.’” (These words were written by Dr. Karl Menninger on July 27, 1970 during the first year of The Villages.) Still Going Green at The Villages: The Villages has taken several steps over the past few years to reduce the impact of the programs on the environment. In 2003 one of the first priorities for the ‘Another 40 Years’ renovation project was the replacement of inefficient heating and air conditioning systems. Next came new energy efficient windows, insulated siding and added attic insulation. These improvements have yielded lower costs and a reduced ‘carbon footprint’. Youth and house parents have renewed a commitment to recycling which has led to the reduction in landfill dumpster loads from 3 per week to one per week. The Villages / Stone Nature Center Green Team has man- aged the recycling and also recently has begun a hazardous waste recycling project for The Villages homes and office. Green Team members have also built and deployed monofilament fishing line recovery tubes at popular fishing sites throughout the region. The goal is to reduce the impact on wildlife of fishing line left in the environment. The Green Team also participates in exhibits in the community in support of protection of wildlife and the environment. Stone Nature Center staff are working on the monumental task of eliminating invasive species, including lespedeza sericea and musk thistle, from The Villages property. Finally a new goal by the end of the year is to do all printing on 100% pcw (post consumer waste) recycled paper.
CELEBRATING GRADUATIONS Two graduation dinners have been held since the last newsletter in December. A mid-year celebration honored five youth who graduated or completed their GED during the fall semester and this spring, three graduates were celebrated. With young people coming to The Villages for shorter and shorter periods of time, completing high school is both a big challenge and worthy of a big celebration! Asia graduated from Lawrence High School in May. She will be attending Cloud Community College in Concordia next Spring where she will study nursing. Marissa passed her GED exam on 5/12/10. (the word came just 1 day too late for her to attend the regular ‘graduates dinner’ so a special dinner was arranged.) She is continuing her studies by attending B Street Cosmetology School. Nathaniel graduated this May from WRHS and also completed the first year of a two year program in Electrical and Heating and Air Conditioning repair at Washburn Tech. He would like to continue his studies in science at Washburn University and eventually do something in Technical Engineering. Chris earned his GED in September ’09. Chris completed The Villages program in February with plans to attend Job Corps. Heather graduated from WRHS in December. She is currently enrolled in B Street Cosmetology school. She plans to move to Manhattan after she graduates in August. Jessica graduated from WRHS in December and is currently at Bridges Independent Living program in Wichita. Ryan graduated from Lawrence High School in December and started at Johnson County Community College in January. Edgar attended Freedom Choice credit recovery and GED preparation program and earned his GED. He moved home but came back with his parents to participate in the Freedom Choice graduation ceremony. Below left Nathaniel with house parents Jodi and Rob Bolivar; Center: Sylvia Crawford (executive director), house mom Amy Houk, Asia, Social worker Sheila Tinsley; Right: December Graduates Graduate Dinners Volunteers The Villages VOLUNTEERS & IN-KIND DONORS SHINE! Contributors who give of their time and possessions fill a vital need at The Villages. Volunteer groups this spring have included Callahan Creek Advertising which painted the Bartle Cottage exterior trim. National Service Corporation regional conference volunteers helped at the Nature Center sealing picnic tables and the front stairs and creating new perches for the birds of prey. BNSF employees trimmed trees away from the road in Topeka and laid flooring in the garage at the Jones Cottage to create a ‘pool room’. Groups from AVIVA have sanded and applied polyurethane to bedroom furniture— which truly needed it after 30 years of use by teenagers. Also this spring two very significant in-kind donations came from Zack Taylor, Inc. and Payless. Both are a result of Zack’s retirement after “making payroll every month for 41 years and 4 months”. His company was the warehouse/supplier for materials for building and remodeling Payless Shoe Source stores across the country. With the closing of Zack’s warehouse, Payless/ collective brands found thousands of square ft. of flooring, etc. that was no longer needed. It has been donated to many community <strong>org</strong>anizations including The Villages. In the center bottom picture above you can see BNSF employees sitting on the floor they installed using some of this donation. In the center above is Zack flanked by his warehouse people, Steve Meggison and Deloris Kennedy who not only helped load the payless donations, but Zack subsequently also donated several large rolls of carpet. The result will be new floors in garages, the Nature Center and throughout the office.
Page 1: Spring 2010 The newsletter of The V
Page 5 and 6: Thanks to These Contributors! Adopt

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