The View 38002 June/July 2015

**************ECRWSS**** PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID EDDM RETAIL LOCAL POSTAL CUSTOMER inform. educate. connect. Arlington & Lakeland’s Community Newspaper 38002.com June/July 2015 theview theview “Wildcat Games” Bring Smiles to Bolton HS Students Rally to Plan Field Day for Special Needs Students By Lily Donaldson, Special to THE VIEW 38002 When Bolton junior Gavin Bishop learned that Bolton High School special education students could not participate in a local Special Olympics event, Bishop took to social media. “Something needs to be done about this situation,” Bishop posted. Bishop knew how important the field day was for the students in the Special Needs classroom where he had been volunteering since the fall semester. His experience with special needs individuals at Bolton and Camp Barnabas in Missouri also lead him to start a chapter of the national peer group Best Buddies at the high school. Sophomore Miranda Swift answered Bishop’s call for action the next day, and together they started creating their own special education field day for Bolton. With help from Bolton teachers Dodie Mize, Jessica Continued on page 15 Upcoming June/July Events (visit www.theview38002.com for full community calendar) 6 20 Photo by Cathy Roberts Athletes and volunteers enjoyed the first annual event. For more photos from the Wildcat Games, see back page. Lakeland School Board Approves Middle School Plan By Terry Louderback A year to the day after the Lakeland School Board voted on June 3, 2014 to proceed with a Capital Improvement Plan for a new middle school, they did it again. Forced to re-group after the April 16 defeat of a resolution to issue municipal bonds, Lakeland Superintendent presented a revised CIP request at the June 1 work session. The proposed Lakeland Middle sits on the same 94 -acre property considered for the 6-12 grade Lakeland Prep, but comes with a price tag just under $20 Municipal Ballots Thin as Qualifying Deadline Looms By Terry Louderback million—a $30 million reduction from the joint middle/high school plan. Lakeland Superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell confirmed that the purchase of the property from landowner Rudolph Jones will proceed. The school system has sent a letter to Jones indicating that they are ready for to move forward with a sale/purchase agreement, Horrell said. Horrell also clarified that the land purchase will not be made with CIP funds from the Shelby County Commission. A Continued on page 9 With the qualifying deadline for returning petitions to the Shelby County Elections Commission fast approaching, several races in the September 17 municipal elections for Arlington and Lakeland will be decided at noon on June 18 unless last-minute candidates appear. At press time. Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman, Arlington School Board Chair Kay Williams, and Arlington School Board Member Barbara Fletcher are all unopposed. For the three Arling- ton Aldermen seats up for grabs, perennial candidates Larry Harmon, Jr. and Brian Elder (Groves) have both pulled petitions for Position 1, currently held by Glen Bascom.. Bascom has not declared whether he will run for re -election. In a statement, he said that he plans to make a decision next week. Brian Elder has also pulled a petition for Position 2, currently held by Gerald McGee, who is running to keep his seat. Lee Mills has also submitted a petition for that Continued on page 9 27 Lakeland Fishing Rodeo — 8:00 a.m., IH Managerial Park Music on the Square —7:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m.; The Masters of Harrumpf performs at Arlington Depot Square Star Spangled Spectacular,6:00p.m. Arlington Sports 4 18 Complex. Independence Day Celebration, 9:30am - noon at the HughesCollege Hill Park on Chester Street, Arllington Music on the Square —7:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m.; Twin Soul performs at Arlington Depot Square Looking for a summer camp or VBS? Don’t miss our listing of Summer Activities on page 15 and online at www.theview38002.com. It’s not too late to add your camp or VBS to our digital listing; go to www.theview38002.com/summer to submit your information. Inside this edition... Sprouts Farmer’s Market Grant Opening, p. 5 New Investments in Depot Square, p. 7 School News, starts on p. A Boston Marathon Diary, p. 19