All posts in Miller Creek Neighborhood
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a little poem by Shel Silverstein called “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. My grandmother read it to me often when I was young and it goes like this…
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
I am delighted to see the sidewalk project on Lower Miller Creek Road finally get completed. The sidewalk and road improvements link Linda Vista with the roundabout that was completed last year and create a safe place to walk and bike to and from our neighborhood. I think the part I like best about the sidewalk is that I feel like I got a great deal because I didn’t have to pay for it with an additional tax. I did get my property tax statement this week and I am sure that hidden among the line items is a tax that funded the sidewalks…but I still really like the Miller Creek sidewalk project.
BUT, what if I had to pay 100% of the cost to build a sidewalk in front of my house…would I still love it? Concrete is cheap but sidewalks are very expensive!
There is a debate going on with City Council and the Pedestrian Connection Committee on a proposed sidewalk project for 23rd Street. Everyone agrees that it would be wonderful to have sidewalks going up 23rd Street in the South Hills- BUT who should pay? Is it the City? Is it the homeowner that owns the property where the sidewalk could be located? Should there be a Special Improvement District (SID) formed to finance the project and how many homeowners should be included in the SID area to make the project more affordable? If the City goes through all the trouble of upgrading the sidewalks, should they also upgrade the paving and drainage?
These are all part of the discussion going on with the City Council and your opinion matters. What do you think?
Japanese Garden
There is an unexpected suprise at the corner of Jaiden Lane and Scott Allen Drive that is really worth seeing. A few years ago Bill & Kioko Cooper moved into a regular looking house and have transformed the front and back yards into a gorgeous Japanese garden. The garden has interesting statues, gor and plants that are trimmed to perfection. The Coopers are just about the cutest elderly couple you can imagine and I can only image how much work must go into their amazing work of art!
MCNC Held Public Meeting
Despite the threat of rain, a small group of neighbors got together last night to enjoy ice cream sundaes and lemonade. This was the 1st meeting of the newly reformed Miller Creek Neighborhood Council which stretches from Upper Miller Creek Road west toward the Bitterroot River and includes Upper and Lower Linda Vista and sections of Maloney Ranch. Mayor Engen was on hand to visit with residents, as were the City Council reps.
The group elected a committee and representatives to the Missoula Neighborhood Council Forum, which meets every 4th Thursday at 7pm in City Council chambers. The rain and wind did come before there was much opportunity for public comment – so please contact us if you have a comment. What needs to be changed in Miller Creek? What is great about the neighborhood and how can we make it even better? Here is a link the Missoula Neighborhood Council’s webpage. http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/index.aspx?nid=298
If you would like to added to the Miller Creek Neighborhood Council email distribution list, please send your name, address and email to: montanaamy@hotmail.com
Miller Creek Neighborhood Council
ICE CREAM SOCIAL
JUNE 29th 6-8 pm
MARILYN PARK on Linda Vista Blvd
The 1st Annual Miller Creek Neighborhood Council invites everyone in Miller Creek, Maloney Ranch, and Linda Vista to an ice cream social. Mayor Engen will be there from 6-6:30. Jane Kelly from Msla Neighborhood Council office will explain the function of the neighborhood councils.
Volunteers needed for the council board – very minimal time commitment.
Ice Cream Social
The recently formed Miller Creek Neighborhood Council is planning the 1st Annual Ice Cream Social for Wednesday, June 29th from 5:oo-8:00 pm in Marilyn Park along Linda Vista Blvd.
This will be an opportunity for everyone from Upper and Lower Linda Vista as well as Maloney Ranch and the Lower Miller Creek Road folks to get together and enjoy the Splash Deck at the park and some music and ice cream. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be a gorgeous evening. There will be a very limited agenda: nomination of new Miller Creek Neighborhood council members and public comment.
Plan to join the fun and let us know if you want to help. www.maloneyranchHOA.com
Oh Dear…what about the Deer?
My Mother’s Day cheer was diminished Sunday morning when I realized the few remaining tulips in my front yard had been munched off by the deer! The deer came through about a month ago and ate most of the new shoots and I foolishly thought that putting a wire cage around the last remaining bulbs would somehow keep them safe! Boy, was I wrong. Am I alone in thinking there are too many deer in Miller Creek? Seriously…I want to know if other people are as frustrated as I am.
In my opinion, The deer pack has grown larger and larger over the last 5 years. These urban deer are completely at home lounging on our front lawns and lunching on our bushes and trees. Last week a couple does stood on the grass near my car and watched me make a fool of myself trying to shoo them away! The are fearless! I had to get my 90 pound bassett hound, Daisy to stand on the front porch and Woof a couple times just to get a reaction from the deer and all they did was saunter down to a neighbors yard. The neighborhood deer are generations away from the forest, they have forgottem their roots. They have no idea that they don’t belong living in our yards! The deer have no natural enemies and a terrific food source….they are living the good life. What rights do property owners have against these giant rodents?
I am a true animal lover…I would rescue anything except a mouse….but I am really over the deer. They need to go back home to the fields and forests. Tell me what you think.
Spring Closet Cleaning for Kids
LiveMissoula will be collecting coats, gloves, and school supplies over the summer to give to schools in the fall. LiveMissoula hopes to have collection boxes placed in many real estate offices over the next few weeks. In the meantime, please clean out your closets and bring any new or used shoes, in all sizes, to the MOR office, 1610 South 3rd Street West, Ste. 201, or give us a call and we will arrange pick up. Tax deduction forms for charitable contribuitions are available.
**If you are not familiar with the new MOR4Kids project…please give me a call me and I will tell you all the details! Amy 207-1712
New Maloney Ranch Website
The Maloney Ranch Homeowners Association recently put up a new website to provide information about the neighborhood and link homeowners with community resources and the Miller Creek Neighborhood Council. Visit the website: www.MaloneyRanchHOA.com The Upper Linda Vista Homeowners Association also has a website: www.UpperLindaVista.com
Hooray for Sidewalks!
The City of Missoula contracted with D J & A, P.C. to build curbing and sidewalks along the south side of the Lower Miller Creek Road. Construction should start about mid-June and last until about the end of July. This will a welcome addition to our area and improve the safety of walkers and bikers.
GO GRIZ
The Montana women’s basketball team is plenty proud just to be playing in the NCAA tournament. But indications are it wants more.
The Lady Griz (18-14) will be a decided underdog Saturday in shooting for their first NCAA win in 16 years. Seventh-ranked UCLA (27-4) is bigger, stronger and more athletic.
But the 4:40 p.m. game is in Spokane, Wash., just a three-hour drive from Missoula. The Lady Griz will enjoy a homecourt-type advantage at a cozy venue they visited just last season – Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center.
“Any time you’re in the NCAAs you’re playing against girls with bigger bodies, more athletic coming from top-notch conferences,” said Montana senior Sarah Ena, who has been a part of two Lady Griz teams that lost in first-round tournament games. “But Montana State played UCLA this year at UCLA and ended up losing by 10.
“Anybody is beatable. They’re going to be a really tough team to play but I think it will be good for us.”
Montana split with the Cats this season, winning the second meeting on Jan. 29 in Bozeman. MSU trailed UCLA by just six points with four minutes left on Dec. 10 before fading, 54-44.
Of course a lot has changed since December and UCLA lost to just two teams this season: LSU and second-ranked Stanford. The loss to the Tigers came in late December, 55-53. The Bruins lost three times to Stanford, most recently on Saturday when UCLA blew a 30-21 halftime lead and dropped a 64-55 decision in the Pac-10 tournament final.
“I know they’re really good defensively,” Selvig said. “We’ll find out more this week.
“They have been in the Top 10 pretty much the whole season so we’re going to have our hands full. But what I like is it’s a neutral floor. That’s good.”
Unlike UCLA, the Lady Griz enter the game on a serious roll. They have won four games in a row, including victories over the top two seeds in the Big Sky Conference tournament, Northern Colorado and Portland State, in Portland, Ore., this weekend.
“I think we played some of our best basketball of the season away from home in a tournament atmosphere,” Selvig said. “We gained some confidence from that.”
Defense has been critical to Montana’s late-season surge. The Lady Griz have held their last five opponents to 60 points or less.
“We didn’t have the flashiest year,” Ena said. “We had a lot of tough losses. There were times that people doubted us.
“We were really young but we battled and persevered through it all and peaked when we needed to peak the most, came together as a team. It’s not how you start it’s how you finish. We’re looking for this to be a great finish to our season no matter how it ends up.”
Notes: The Montana-UCLA game will follow a 2 p.m. contest between No. 6 seed Iowa and No. 11 Gonzaga. The winner of that game will play the winner of Montana-UCLA on Monday in Spokane at 7:30 p.m. … Montana has been allotted a small number of tickets for Saturday’s two-game session. Those tickets will be made available first to Grizzly Scholarship Association members Tuesday. GSA members can either place their order in person at the Adams Center ticket office or by phone at 1-888-666-8262 … The ticket office will take down order information, then contact prospective purchasers Wednesday about whether they will receive tickets. Any leftover tickets that are not purchased by GSA members Tuesday will go on sale to the general public starting Wednesday.
Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net