High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Heads Up on Video/DVD Policy When I stopped in at the library to say hi to Melrose Branch Manager Sandra Toscano, she was still catching up after her maternity leave. The biggest change ask anyone who has experienced implementation of computer software is the library's new online catalogue system. Members of the public using the online catalogue to find and reserve library books after Halloween will be logged onto the Millennium System by Innovative Software. We'll notice a new look and new functions, and the library hopes we'll find it easier and more up-to-date to use. Sandra also told me about the new Video/DVD policy. The separate video borrower's agreement has been eliminated. Anyone with a library card, including children, can take out any video or DVD; parents and guardians of youngsters will need to take full responsibility for (and monitor) restrictions the library may place on the videos and DVDs their children borrow. The PASS program has been busy doing more than homework. They have planted a vegetable garden behind the library and are waiting for the first green shoots to appear. The staff was delighted to receive the 10-volume set of Ingl?s Sin Barreras (English Without Barriers). Each volume has a book along with a CD or videotape. These popular guides to English as a second language are snapped up as soon as they are returned. Golf, Spelling Bees, and Elections On a weekday afternoon in October, the Boys & Girls Club was busy as ever, but the teens at the desk took the time to greet me and help me locate site manager Maribel Corral. Maribel was excited about the annual golf tournament held earlier that week. The tally wasn't complete, but it looks as if they raised over $100,000 and beat the 2005 record. November will be a month of spelling bees and civics. Club members will practice words provided by Laurel and Maxwell Park elementary school teachers, then each group from grades one through eight will compete, with the final competition on November 10. We'll let you know the winners next month. On Election Day (November 7) the teenagers will join with the Allendale NCPC to encourage neighbors to exercise their right to vote. The youngsters will go door-to-door to the homes of those who have not yet voted, to get out the vote. Members of the teen leadership Keystone Club will also choose their own officers on Election Day. Did You See It, Too? Did you see the piano on Brookdale near Monticello? We wondered who put the upright piano on the sidewalk and if it still made music. We had visions of a community sing beside the Maxwell Park pillars, or music improving our daily commute. But alas, one day it was gone. And we hadn't even taken a picture! Then one Saturday, just at dusk, two horses crossed our path as we waited for the light on Redding. An African American man (a black cowboy?) rode one horse and led the other one. They were heading up High Street. An upright piano Stood abandoned (?) on Brookdale. Gone without a trace. Cowboy on horseback Leading a riderless horse Slowly, up High Street. Adelle Foley can be reached at jandafoley\@sbcglobal.net.