PUBLIC EVENT
coffee conversation with
Great Rivers Environmental Law Center
at Rolla Panera, Tuesday, July 30 1:30-3:00pm
Share your environmental concerns
and hopes for the future of Rolla.
Open forum with Bruce Morrison,
incoming President and lead attorney in
11-year battle to save Rolla's Buehler Park.
And welcome
Kathleen Henry, retiring President, and Linden Mueller, our new Director of Outreach and Development.
Everyone is invited — No set agenda
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July 25, 2019
Dear Friends of Buehler Park:
In this newsletter is:
1. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER TO VISIT ROLLA
2. UPGRADES TO BUEHLER PARK: BATHROOMS, NEW ADDITION, LANDSCAPING
3. DOG-PARK
4. TREES
5. CAR WASH NEXT DOOR
6. PHOTOS
7. CONTACT INFO FOR CITY OFFICIALS
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1. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER TO VISIT ROLLA
Great Rivers Environmental Law Center will host an informal coffee conversation at Panera in Rolla from 1:30 to 3:00pm on Tuesday, July 30. Everyone is welcome. No fixed agenda. See box above for details.
Great Rivers is the public-interest law center that saved Buehler Park from being turned into a restaurant and won a landmark victory when the Courts ruled for the first time since 1910 that users of public property have standing in Missouri's Courts to maintain that public use.
Great Rivers has just won an amazing victory without even having to go to court. For years Valley Park Motomart has been dumping e-coli, oil, grease and other pollutants into the Meramec River. Great Rivers gave them a 60-day notice of intent to sue and they cleaned up their act fast. Great Rivers has Missouri's polluters running scared.
If you have not done so recently, please consider making a donation to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. Checks can be mailed to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, 319 No. Fourth St., Suite 800, St. Louis, MO 63102. Great Rivers is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Donations can also be made online from Great Rivers' website. Please help Great Rivers so they can continue to help others as they helped us.
2. UPGRADES TO BUEHLER PARK: BATHROOMS, NEW ADDITION, LANDSCAPING
The new bathrooms are completed and open. It has been 12 years since BuehlerPark has had fixed bathrooms.
The area between Buehler Park and the newly constructed Highway 72 extension has been added to Buehler Park. Landscaping along Hwy 72 and Howard Johnson Dr. has been completed. A new retaining wall has been added along Howard Johnson Drive. The new grass is growing well. Kudos to Steve Hargis and the Public Works Department and Floyd Jernigan and the Parks and Recreation Department for a job well done. Lacking is a safety fence between the park and Highway 72.
3. DOG-PARK
Protective cylinders have been placed around the young trees that lie within the dog runs. The dog-park is getting some usage. The 5 ft. chain-link fences (not 5 1/2 as previously reported) look out of place in Buehler Park. The trees close to the fencing improve the appearance. Perhaps more trees can be planted close to the fence.
4. TREES
One of the 11 dogwood trees we planted close to the pavilion blossomed this Spring for the first time. Dogwood blossoms are a most welcome addition to Buehler Park.
Most of the young trees that we have planted in Buehler Park since the Courts ruled in 2007 that Buehler must remain a park have survived the construction and are doing well. The cool wet Spring has been a boon to the trees.
We lost five beautiful mature pine trees and a few other trees due to construction, however, the Public Works Department and Rolla Municipal Utilities have worked hard to minimize the damage.
One mature pine tree has been vandalized recently. Someone cut a huge gouge into the tree. We hope it will heal. If you witness any vandalism in Buehler Park or anywhere else, please call 911 immediately and report it.
Most of our tree shelters were stolen or vandalized too. We have replaced a few of them around the smallest trees and plan to replace more.
Here is a little known fact about trees: Some researchers estimate that if all the unused land available in the world were planted with climate-appropriate trees, when they reached maturity in 40 to 100 years they would sequester a whopping 205 gigatons of carbon, which is equivalent to about 2/3 of all the carbon dioxide released by human activity since the industrial revolution.
5. NEW CARWASH NEXT DOOR
City Administrator, John Butz has discussed the noise from the carwash with the owner and reports that the owner of the carwash will be installing mufflers on the blowers which should deaden the noise and make visiting Buehler Park a more peaceful experience.
6. PHOTOS
New photos of BuehlerPark have been posted here.
7. CONTACT INFO FOR CITY OFFICIALS
Follow this link for contact information for City officials:
Click here
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If you don't wish to receive occasional notices about Buehler Park and related topics, let me know and I'll take you off this list.
If you want to be added to this list, let me know.
Have a great day and thanks for your support for Buehler Park.
Tom Sager, Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster/Editor
Citizens for the Preservation of Buehler Park
yushasager (at) yahoo.com
http://buehlerpark.org
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