Street improvements planned

The City Council gave the green light to one of two new city street improvement projects discussed at last week’s Council meeting as part of the city’s six-year Transportation Improvement Plan.

A crosswalk and center refuge island allowing pedestrians to stop mid-street was selected from three options for the 3200 block of Island Crest Way. That block will be resurfaced and sidewalk and curb replaced. Bidding for the project will begin in May and construction is slated to be completed by Labor Day, at an expected cost of about $400,000. A Federal Highway Administration grant will reimburse a portion of that cost.

A second project, on S.E. 24th Street, will have to wait until planners can provide a more complete design and cost analysis, which would include adding the bike lanes approved for that street at the previous Council meeting. Despite the delay, that project also should be completed this year, the council agreed.

Free shuttle service to City Council retreat

There will be two round-trip shuttle trips on Saturday and one on Sunday from Luther Burbank Park to the City Council retreat, which is scheduled Friday through Sunday at the Maple Hall Conference Center, 108 Commercial St., in La Conner. Anyone wanting to attend the council meetings can ride free on the shuttle, which leaves from the north parking lot of Luther Burbank Park.

The shuttle will leave the park at 7:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., Saturday and arrive in La Conner at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Return shuttle service will leave La Conner at 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and arrive at Luther Burbank Park at 12:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. On Sunday, the shuttle will leave the park at 7:15 a.m. and arrive in La Conner at 8:30 a.m. The return shuttle will leave La Conner at noon and arrive at the park at 1:15 p.m.

For more information on the shuttle service, call the Parks Department at 236-5325.

An agenda for meetings planned at the council retreat is online at the city’s Web site, www.ci.mercer-island.wa.us

VOICE Program

Applications for current eighth- through 12th-graders will be available Friday, April 1, for the 2005 V.O.I.C.E Program. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 27.

In 2004, 135 Mercer Island students volunteered over 7,000 hours of service throughout the greater Seattle community. Volunteers accepted to the program must attend a mandatory informational meeting.

For information or an application call 236-7293

Applications will be available at Mercer Island Youth and Family Services, the R&R place at the high school, the Mercer Island Library, Islander Middle School and the VOICE Web site, www.mi-voice.com.

Summer Volunteer Program

The Summer Volunteer Program, open to current sixth and seventh graders is back. The SVP introduces young volunteers to community service and social service issues around the larger community. All service projects are structured group activities.

Applications will be available Friday, April 8, and the program will run from Monday, June 27 through Monday, August 25. For more information or to get on the mailing list, call 236-7293

Sister City Association scholarships

The Mercer Island Sister City Association is offering scholarships for its new summer exchange program to Thonon les Bains, France. Two high school students — one boy and one girl – will be selected to go to Thonon during the month of July, where each will live with a host family. The students will experience life in a typical French family, improve their French language skills and enjoy the beauty and ambiance of the beautiful city on the shores of Lake Geneva. Then the corresponding French student will come to Mercer Island to live with their host family during the month of August.

Students must be residents of Mercer Island, proficient in French and able to host the corresponding student during the month of August. The selected students will each receive a $500 scholarship to help defray expenses of the trip.

The application deadline is April 8. For information and an application, call Jane Meyer Brahm, 232-0701 or e-mail meyermi@comcast.net.

JCC partner in UW study

The Stroum Jewish Community Center’s Parenting Center has partnered with the University of Washington’s Center for Infant Mental Health Development (CIMHD) to launch a research project at the JCC. Carla Hershman, the JCC Parenting Center clinician, is the project coordinator. Parents with children in the Early Childhood Services program will take a survey to determine levels of family stress, and the social and emotional development of children.

The information will be evaluated by faculty at CIMHD to determine areas where parents may need support. This information can be used by the JCC to tailor programs and services to suit families’ needs.

Assistant professor of Family and Child Nursing, JoAnne Solchany is leading the study for CIMHD. Solchany will speak at the JCC’s upcoming Baby and Family Event on Sunday, April 10.

Solchany is an expert in the area of infant mental health, with particular emphasis on the relationship between children and their primary caregivers. She is the author of the award-winning book “Promoting Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy.”

For questions about the project, contact Carla Hershman at 232-7115, ext. 304.

Senior Foundation accepting applications

The Senior Foundation of Mercer Island is accepting grant applications/proposals from individuals or organizations which benefit Mercer Island senior programs and is open to the public; addresses unmet program needs; assists existing Mercer Island agencies and programs to increase the health, safety, and well-being of seniors; and acts as a catalyst for educational programs that raise community consciousness on aging.

Call Leslie Scott at 232-4597 for an application form. Submit completed proposals to PO Box 51, Mercer Island, WA, by June 15.

Meals on Wheels program available

The Meals on Wheels program provides frozen meals to homebound seniors who are age 60 or older. Meals on Wheels participants are also eligible to purchase liquid supplements, such as Ensure.

If you would like additional information about the Mercer Island Meals on Wheels program, please call 236-3545.

Preschool scholarship

Mercer Island Youth and Family Services has partial scholarships available for families seeking tuition assistance for September 2005 through May 2006. The scholarship is provided through the Mercer Island Preschool Association.

Scholarship criteria includes that the family lives on Mercer Island, is low income and enrolls their children ina licensed Mercer Island preschool.

Contact Sharon Broz at 236-3532 for applications and information.