provide scholarships

Rotary Club of Florissant to provide scholarships

The Rotary Club of Florissant announced that they will fund a scholarship program for five senior students in the rotary area, which includes the boundaries of the Hazelwood and Ferguson-Florissant School Districts. Each of the five scholarships will be for $2,000 and will be paid for one year to the accredited college, university or vocational school the student chooses to attend.

Students in private, parochial, vocational or public schools are invited to apply.

The scholarship has a minimum 2.5 GPA requirement for eligibility. It is not primarily an academic scholarship nor does the criterion for selection include financial need. The scholarships are targeted at students who have demonstrated excellence in service to their school and community.

For additional information and applications, visit the Rotary website - www.florissantrotary.org

All applications must be mailed to: Rotary Club of Florissant, P.O. Box #1188, Florissant, MO 63031, and must be postmarked by March 15.

After many years of planning, Florissant Mayor Tim Lowery, members of Accessible Play, Inc. and members of Unlimited Play, Inc. are pleased to the announce a ground breaking and check presentation ceremony for Angie’s Inclusive Playground. The ceremony will take place on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. at Manion Park located at 170 Manion Park Drive.

In October of 2008, a small group of Florissant residents led by Gary Behlmann came together to form Accessible Play, Inc., a nonprofit corporation with an interest in building an inclusive playground in Florissant. In 2011, Florissant passed an ordinance to allow Accessible Play, Inc. the use of Manion Park as the site that would be known as Angie’s Playground. In 2017, the city began applying for a St. Louis County Municipal Park grant to begin the process of turning Manion Park into a park that could accommodate an inclusive playground. Thus in 2018, a new enlarged parking area and water retention work was completed. In 2019, a new larger accessible restroom and seating areas were added. The city is now entering the construction phrase of the playground which an anticipated completion date sometime in late June of 2021.

This inclusive playground will be for all children in Florissant and in North County, a first of its kind in the area. It will be specially designed to remove physical and social barriers so all children, with or without disabilities and/or critical illnesses, can play side by side with their peers and families.

Unlimited Play, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that helps to plan, design and build fully accessible playgrounds. Unlimited Play playgrounds allow all children- regardless of their abilities – to play together. For more information and if you would like to help and make a monetary donation or donate any goods or services such as concrete, fencing, shrubs, etc. visit their website at www. unlimitedplay.org.

Due to the recent mandates that were issued by the St. Louis County Executive, masks will be required and social distancing guidelines will be enforced. The ceremony will be on Facebook Live and will be shared on all of the city’s social media outlets.

Free community COVID-19 testing available in St. Louis County and St. Louis City

The Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services is offering The dates and locations for both jurisdictions are included below. free community COVID-19 testing to Missouri residents through Feb.12 in St. Louis County and St. Louis City. The test is a PCR test done by a nasal anterior nares swab to determine if there is an active COVID Testing Date COVID Testing Times COVID Testing County COVID Testing Address infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This Feb. 10 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. St. Louis County NAACP St. Louis County Building, 26 North Oaks Plaza, St. Louis, Missouri 63121 is not an antigen or antibody test. Feb. 10 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. St. Louis County James J. Egan Civic Center, 1 James J. Egan Drive, Florissant, Missouri 63033

Individuals seeking this testing opportunity should visit our Feb. 11 12 – 3 p.m. St. Louis County The Access Foundation, 12504 Lusher Rd., St. Louis, Missouri 63138 website at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest for a listing of events and a link to register. Individuals are encouraged to visit Feb. 12 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. St. Louis City CareSTL Health, 2425 Whittier St., St. Louis, Missouri 63113 this website frequently as new events will be added regularly. While registration for with State CARES Act dollars. Please share this with your community and/ guarantees testing, walk-ins to the event will be accommodated if registration or businesses that could use this service. slots are still available. This is completely free for Missouri residents and paid