Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 107

Central Phoenix Downtown East Phoenix North-Central Phoenix South Phoenix THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Wednesday, April 16, 1997 school eetfli 1 i mi speezee omit It sbyteiM won't renew facility's lease HITS C7F of time. Officials are trying to find a way to stay open. The spring session ends May 30, and on June 9, the summer session is to begin. Eckert said the school wants to stay in downtown Phoenix because of the convenience for parents who work downtown and to offer a diverse student body. Many of its students live in the downtown area and attend on scholarships.

The school also offers discounts to many students, Eckert See CHURCH'S, Page 7 By Jennifer Netiwifay The Arizona Republic" 'JZTZZZZJZZ'Zl. PHOENIX The fate of one of the least expensive and most diverse private schools in downtown Phoenix remains unknown as its lease expiration steadily approaches. First Presbyterian Academy has been leasing space from First Presbyterian Church, 402 W. St, since 1982. In December, the church notified the school that the lease would end in June because of expansion from both die church and the school.

"We're just competing for space" school director Marjorie Eckert said. The church plans to expand its after-school program and needs the school's space. "They've been growing, and their needs have expanded," Pastor Dayle Parker said. "We have the best of intentions and the best of hearts about it all." School officials had found a site on Washington Street that they were going to move to In June. But they recently were told someone else had purchased it "Somebody else came by wanting it, and they had the cash," Eckert said.

Now, Eckert said, the school is running out Phoenix Elementary School District marks its 125th birthday this month. The district opened its doors for the 1871-72 academic year, decades before Arizona became a state. It's older than Phoenix by 1 0 years and all other Valley school districts. "That's why it's called the Phoenix Elementary School District Number 1," said Ruth Marston, principal at Kenilworth Elementary School. John Alsap served as the first su-perintendent.

The district now has 18 campuses and an alternative school. Papago fvluck Plenty Park site to get new vegetation Sports Complex may be test for full replanting with his puck 1 v. I A south Phoenix charter school received $30,000 from Weils Fargo Bank for its education program. Future Development Education and Performing Arts Academy opened in September to 250 at-risk students. Besides reading, writing and mathematics, the charter school also emphasizes music, dance and drama.

Winston Tease, the charter school's president, said that to qualify, his school had to show its community-service projects. FESTIVAL FUU It's confirmed. There will be dancing horses at this year's Fiesta Pri-mavera, the Garfield Neighborhood's spring festival, beginning at noon Saturday in Verde Park, Ninth and Polk streets. There also will be a Best Salsa and Best Pie contest, a youth soccer tournament and a farmers market. Guest star is Olympic silver medal-winning boxer Michael Carba-jal, who will referee a match with oversized, low-impact gloves.

For more information, call 256-3220. I33 rr ByBillBertolino The Arizona Republic The Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department last week approved a plan to revegetate a comer of butte-studded Papago Park. The revegetation of the Papago Sports Complex near McDowell Road and 64th Street will begin this fall. Parks- -officials contend that the area is depleted of native plants, which were destroyed by pedestrian traffic and the construction and removal of buildings. In November, Valley residents shot down a proposed ice rink in the area covering more than' 6 acres.

After the defeat, the Parks Department proposed the revegetation plan in hopes of cooling angry residents and giving them a revitalized park. Because the plan was not in the budget the money will come from private donations. Bill Johnson, project chairman, estimates the costs will reach $20,000 an acre. If successful, the 16-acre sports complex, could prove to be a model for revegetating the entire park. Many private groups have stepped forward and are willing to donate time or money to help beautify the park, said Jim Colley, director of the Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department In addition to private money, APS has See 15 ADVISORS, Page 4 LL A massive Chinese garden is in the works for this year near the COFCO Chinese Cultural Center.

The new garden, expected to cost more than $1 million, will feature pagodas, pavilions, bridges and other landmarks from five southern Chinese cities. It will sit on 35,000 square feet of land at 668 N. 44th St. When the garden is completed, it will become a historical and cultural landmark in the Valley, said Kurt Reu-man, a spokesman for BNU Corp. Chinese Cultural Center.

BNU a subsidiary of COFCO, a top company based in China, plans to open the garden in December. Madam Ye Ju Hua, an expert on traditional Chinese gardens, will guide the project. Madam Ye designed and constructed a Suzhou-style garden for the Metropolitan Museum in New York. you ioiv? Mona ReederThe Arizona Republic fan makes his way across the ice at America West Arena as he and other little guys perform during a break between A pint-size hockey Coyote game. The others were ready and waiting for him after all, he's holding the puck.

periods at a recent Figures of speech: Winners handle tough topics Speech contest winners in the Washington Elementary School District are (from left) Bess Stillman, 13; Kaysie Hunt, 12; and David Lusk, 10. They presented their speeches before the school board. for the third- and fourth-grade division. Kaysie Hunt won the fifth- and sixth-grade7 division. She is a sixth-grader at Moon Mountain, 13425 N.

19th Ave. And Bess Stillman won top prize in the seventh- and eighth-grade division. She is an eighth-grader at Cholla Middle School, 3 120 W. ChollaSt. The annual contest is intended to teach students how to write, prepare and deliver a speech before an audience.

District spokeswoman Nedda Shafir, who helped organize the contest, said the program also is to help youngsters See FIGURES, Page 7 By Ryan Konlg The Arizona Republic PHOENIX A thousand years from now, what will archaeologists think when they rummage through our ruins? Will they think our movie stars were leaders? Will they be appalled by the size of our landfills? Will they mistakenly conclude that Elvis actually was a king? Those were some of the questions David Lusk raised during a recent speech contest in the Washington Elementary School District. Lusk, a fourth-grader at Moon Moun-. tain Elementary School, won top honors It costs American taxpayers an estimated $8 billion a year to fight graffiti, says the Graffiti Abatement Institute of North America. The group is sponsoring a conference May 1 and 2 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center, where national graffiti experts will gather to learn from each other about how to cope with taggers of freeways, buildings and bridges. Such topics as understanding the graffiti culture and symbols, laser technology to remove graffiti and the Phoenix police "Graffiti Busters Reward Hotline" program will be cov-ered.

Heard something, interesting Let us know, we 'II spread it ArounaTown. Call us at 271-8855, fax us at 271-8367, e-mail us at RepcentralCdl.aol.com or drop us a note to Around Town, P.O. Box 2243, Phoenix, AZ 85002. "''i1 1 Janet TrenVThe Arizona Republic i I I "a'I'Wf fc Ipn rt sJLJLisJ UJlfeJjsd-aiJ PAGS OF VEEIC What: The Heard Museum Where: www.heard.orgINDEX.html pTlGf end CanyefG VUltlng Celebrities JJSr.tlJ!hJLJkJLtL Nap Heard home page is helpful but can't beat real thins T7 I 1 impress your out-of-town guests, you take them to the Heard Museum. But not everyone knows that if you visit the Heard online first, you could impress them with your own docent-quality tour of the Nicolas Reanda paintings in the muse- 0, MtviH Otrnnntuwri picterttimg, ItfO-llW) from tht trt utrymj tint Aru Conation I060U 8 By Pat Kossan and Jennifer Netherby The Arizona Republic The Internet: Sure, it's great for the esoteric, the far-flung attraction the obscure database.

But its also a way to get a read on what's happening in our neighborhoods, our schools and our institutions. Starting today, we bring you Web sites of the local variety, created by Phoenix residents, Phoenix groups and Phoenix schools. If you know of a site we ought to write about, phone us, drop us a line via snail mail or use our e-mail address Repcentralaol.com and tell us about it. Everyone knows that if you want to See HOMEPAGE, Page 4 0f tun to IflMinil.iliLifiUlMl; I th- CraH Uaruoi, I at n. imartct Online: Arizona wnu gn tha Internet- vwwazcentral.com .11 111 it! til n.mrantraisaui.w" nnuw".