Friends of FIre Station No. 9 (Left)|
Fire Station Festival ...cont'd from page 1
neighborhood, a MUCH smaller project than the more controversial garage project on Speedway. Newly elected Co-President Bruce Nadig introduced the afternoon shift of Station # 9 as well as Police District Representative Brent Dupre who had led the parade in his patrol car, to the delight of the child participants. We were also honored by the presence of an Assistant Fire Chief, which we take as an indication that the Fire Department leadership takes some note of our devotion to our station. State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, Representative Elliott Naishtat and County Commissioner Karen Sonleitner all attended and each said a few words about the importance of the fire and other emergency services in our unsettled times. Commissioner Sonleitner reminded the crowd that recent redrawing of Commissioner's Precinct borders now puts most of Hyde Park within her County Precinct Two. Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who attended last year, was unable to do so this year since Congress has been pondering matters of war and peace, but sent an aide to read a message. All in all, this was probably one of the more successful years in terms of integrating the fire fighters from the station into the celebration. As usual they were generous with their time in showing their engine and its equipment to kids of all ages. A highlight of the festival was an account by neighborhood legend Dorothy Richter of how the large tree just east of the Station building was saved from a bulldozer in a quickly-cancelled parking lot expansion project . This was many years after the first attempt to close the station. Constant vigilance is price of preserving neighborhood treasures, whether big trees or public safety assets. I recently received some additional information from Dr. Agnes Edwards about the 1972 battle with the city administration over keeping the station open. Dr. Edwards helped Mrs. Richter to analyze the city's own data about population density, engine response |
time etc. They noticed that the three-minute response time circles on the
maps got bigger as the controversy went on: the response time had been
redefined from the time a call came in until an engine arrived at the
scene to the interval from when the call was entered into the computer
system until the trucks arrive. The net effect was to exaggerate the area
a given station could cover. The tradition of cooking the data to win the
bureaucratic battle goes back a long time; however, Dorothy and Agnes
persevered, did their homework and pressed persuasive arguments on the
city council, even waiting outside the city hall men's room for then-mayor
Jeff Friedman who had been reluctant to grant them a formal meeting
to make their case. As in past years, a central part of the Festival was presentation of awards to people who have made a contribution to the neighborhood. This year's recipients included Karen McGraw, for her work on the Hyde Park Plan and the NCCD ordinance; Stan Kozinsky for his work on the arch and wall in Shipe Park; and Suzee Brooks for raising the money for the arch and wall project. A special Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Bob Breeze for his service as Co-President. The officers of the neighborhood association for the year beginning with October were also introduced. In addition to Bruce Nadig, Gary Penn continues as Co-President, as does Glen Coleman as Secretary and Mike Capochiano as Treasurer. There are many people to thank again this year, including Harry Pape, who helped organize the children's parade; Bob Breeze, Bruce Nadig, Stan Kozinsky; Jeff Hughes of Chaparral, who provided music; Captain Qackenbush's Bakery; all the other people who brought food, helped set, serve and clean up afterwards; as well as all the children and their parents who participated in the parade; the Police Department, the Fire Department and the men and women of Station Number 9.
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