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NEWS
Cutler Bay SERVING SOUTH DADE
JULY 14, 2009
‘Bay Area Mentors’ program brings community together BY GARY ALAN RUSE embers of the MiamiDade Police Department, including some from the Town of Cutler Bay Policing Unit, have united with members of the Cutler Bay Business Association (CBBA) to form the “Bay Area Mentors” (BAM) to assist area youngsters and improve community relations. During the new program’s orientation meeting on Monday, June 15, at the South Dade Regional Library in Cutler Bay, police, business people, students, parents and town officials came together to get the ball rolling for the special summertime basketball league. Students from four area schools middle schools — Centennial, Cutler Ridge, Mays and Richmond — are enrolled in the program. Bill Meiklejohn, treasurer of the CBBA, said he is excited about bringing different groups within the community together for a worthwhile purpose, and
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Tree planting program makes town ‘greener’
Trees are planted along SW 212th Street between SW 85th and SW 87th avenues. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
he Town of Cutler Bay has begun an aggressive Tree Planting Program similar to one conducted last year, greening up a number of roadways in the community. An additional 272 Florida native trees (Live Oaks) are being planted throughout town-owned swales and medians, thanks to the fact that the town council, in the past two fiscal years, appropriated $150,000 per year to increase the town’s tree canopy, which was lost as a result of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and other storms in 2005. “Community-based tree planting programs, such as the one underway in Cutler Bay, help foster a sense of community by creating attractive and engaging meeting places, therefore promoting further community
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(Photo by Bill Meiklejohn)
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See
MENTORS, page 4
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BY GARY ALAN RUSE
Pictured (l-r) are Miami-Dade Police Officer Jonathan Ruiz; Brandon Stokes, reading his qualifying essay, and MDPD Major Ariel Artime.
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pride,” said town manager Steven J. Alexander. Providing several environmental benefits, the native trees protect water quality, reduce air and noise pollution, provide energy-saving shade and are a habitat for wildlife. Trees also are known to increase property values and are aesthetically pleasing. Residents will be more likely to enjoy their afternoon walks and jogs along the newly tree-lined streets, which create a cool shaded canopy. Additionally, trees provide storm water runoff prevention by reducing the overall volume of water pollutants affecting area canals and Biscayne Bay as much as 12 percent. The Public Works Department has planted more than 544 Live Oak trees throughout the town since Cutler Bay was incorporated.
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