Friday, December 7, 2012
Caledonia has great people, involved in important local causes. Today is your last day to tell us who you think deserves the honor of being Person of the Year.
It's the end of the year, and we've had the privilege of meeting some amazing people, doing great things. There was: Dan Johnson, who owns Danny's Meats,: he's always helping Halo. He held a fundraiser/homeless awareness day for Halo, helped rehab a home for the homeless, and of course he and Ray Stibeck ran the Thanksgiving Day community meal. Christie Kern, who owns Racine Community Acupuncture: she's held a benefit for a boy who has leukemia, held fundraisers for the Lakota Sioux Indians, and is planning a cultural event as outreach for the Sikh community. Roger Chernik, of the River Bend Nature Center, who brought people together and helped acquire the facility from the YWCA. But we know there are people doing good that we've never …
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
For quite some time, officials with the YWCA were trying to sell the River Bend Nature Center and in February they sold it to Racine County. But officials said they really didn't want to run a park, so a volunteer group formed River Bend Nature Center Inc
It’s official; the River Bend Nature Center now has a new owner and operator. The YWCA purchased the property in 1959, but they recently wanted to sell the property because it no longer fit their mission. Earlier this year, Racine County bought it, but officials didn't really want to run a park. Now, a newly formed non-profit group - the River Bend Nature Center Inc. - will lease the property from the County for a nominal cost and operate the facility. Spearheaded by Roger Chernik of Mount Pleasant and several members of other conservation groups, their primary purpose will be to keep the facility open and offer a wide variety of programs. The County is leasing the River Bend to Chernik’s group on a 10-year renewable lease, which requires…
42.764329
-87.821659
River Bend Nature Center
3600 N Green Bay Rd, Racine, WI
/articles/volunteer-group-now-has-agreement-to-lease-river-bend
1831008
/locations/7074052
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Even though the County has yet to formally purchase River Bend, the group that plans to operate the facility has already started to figure out what needs to be done.
Big plans are being made for the River Bend Nature Center. Volunteers interested in seeing River Bend continue operating learned about the work that needs to be done -- fund-raising and cleaning up the place. A meeting, led by Roger Chernik, was held last night. Chernik heads a group called River Bend Nature Center Inc., the group that will operate River Bend once the Racine County Board approves the county purchase. Currently the YWCA owns the property. To read more, click here. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Roger Chernik at rogerchernik@sbcglobal.net.
42.764329
-87.821659
River Bend Nature Center
3600 N Green Bay Rd, Racine, WI
/articles/river-bend-volunteers-talk-about-the-work-that-needs-to-be-done
1831008
/locations/6584918
Monday, February 20, 2012
Newly formed group wants to see River Bend become fully operational again and they are working on a plan to make that happen.
Roger Chernik’s face brightens when he remembers how his 5-year-old daughter, Anne Chernik, crouched close to the ground lifting up rocks in his backyard looking for bugs. In 1984, girls were supposed to think bugs were icky. But Anne didn’t, thanks to what she learned in an environmental education class at the River Bend Nature Center, he said. This is when Chernik, of Mount Pleasant, began to have an emotional attachment to River Bend. He no longer thought of the 80-acre parcel as just a place to go cross-country skiing. The property, which embraces the Root River, became a magical place to fall in love with nature, one that captured his family’s hearts. But the facility, owned by the YWCA, has fallen into disrepair and is barely …
42.764329
-87.821659
River Bend Nature Center
3600 N Green Bay Rd, Racine, WI
/articles/loving-and-saving-river-bend
1831008
/locations/6415004
P
10:14 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
River Bend was, and will be again, a lovely asset to the community. I and many people I know have fond memories of buckwheat pancakes, cattails, and walking on trails looking at the lovely scenery. Thank you so very much to all those who have put their time and effort into restoring this valuable resource. more ›