Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, November 20, 1976, page 6 (of 24)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
opinion
| editorials | commentary | letters
Dead end plan?
The cul-de-sac at Miami Heights Elementary School for which the homeowners fought so hard with Metro, may be built and then again it may not. The PTA, in all good faith, has said that it first would like to see a simulation before the actual construction of the permanent cul-de-sac takes place. So now, workmen will be out building the imitation for who knows how long and when done it will be temporary for 60 days. Sixty days because the parents want to make sure it's going to be safe. So what if it turns out not to be safe? They'll probably have to go through many more months of hard work to get approval for whatever alternative design they come up with. (There are already six months of red tape behind them.) Not only that, but temporary barricades are easily moved about so that the test will more than likely not be fair. The PTA should have realized that the with Metro a bird in the hand is worth everything.
A losing battle
Well, it wasn't as if they weren't warned from all sides that the Bazaar concept of stores in Coral Gables would not be a bed of roses. The group of 58 original stores is no longer in residence. Instead, there are about half that many. Why? Many problems are cited. They're at the end of the Mile. The Merchant's Association did not want to back them from the very beginning and probably have not done much to help them since. And then there's the parking problem. Who wants to keep feeding parking meters while shopping? As one merchant notes, other shopping centers have huge, free parking lots so why not go there? Now, the Gables parking director is saying that if the merchant's had checked with him first, he would have advised against the Bazaar. Too bad he didn't step in and try to help when the entire idea was conceived. The concept was good. There is room in the Gables for this sort of thing but apparently the merchants were fighting a losing battle when they began. They hope to make a go of it through the holidays but the future is uncertain. More than likely, with the lack of cooperation they're getting, they'll be looking at the same old, empty shell that the Bazaar was after Modernage moved out. Not a very nice Christmas present for them.
An early Christmas story to brighten up the season
edwin night It's a little early for Christmas stories. They usually don't appear until a day or two before Christmas, accompanied by Christmas hymns in front of a lit up Christmas tree. But the Christmas spirit touches some folks earlier than others, and I thought I'd pass along a Christmas story of what two area businessmen are doing to make Christmas a little more enjoyable for some 39 youngsters from the poorest of families. Imagine if you can 39 bicycles, some with missing pedals, some with bent frames and fenders, some without handle bars and others with so many missing parts that they can hardly be called bicycles. These bicycles have been found over a period of time by cruising South Miami police officers. They were thrown into the trunks of patrol cars and taken to city hall. At city hall, they were tossed into an enclosure which resembles a chicken coop more than anything else, where they were left to be reclaimed by their owners. The bicycles aren't much good to anyone in their present condition. Many have been stripped after having been stolen, and they remain as they were in the chicken coop for months in the sun and the rain. The City of South Miami has a unique method of getting rid of these bicycles. Most cities would have auctioned them off long ago. But South Miami got permission from the court some years ago to have the bicycles repaired and donated to underprivileged youngsters. For a number of years, firefighters in the Metro fire station behind South Miami city hall repaired the bikes in their spare time. But this practice has been stopped. So, woefully, South Miami City Manager Jack Present said last week that there wasn't anyone to repair the bikes this year. He asked me to put a little something in the paper, asking if some club or organization would undertake the repair of the 39 bicycles. Well sir, the little piece in the paper did its job. The happy city manager called to say that some Scout Master had read the story and volunteered to fix the bikes. "His name is Arthur McKeehan. Here's his phone number," said the city manager. "Call him, you may be able to get a story." Next was a call to McKeehan, who owns Art McKeehan's Air Conditioning and Appliance. He's also the father of boys 12 and 14 and is the Scout Master of Webelos Pack 361. McKeehan formerly owned the Junior & Arthur's Mower & Cycle shop and knows something about repair of bicycles. "We've already started to repair the bikes. Got 'em out back right now. The city just brought them over," the energetic McKeehan announced. "How long will it take to put the bicycles in like-new condition, ready to be put under the Christmas tree for some youngster who would not have otherwise gotten a bicycle for Christmas?" I asked. "It'll take from now until Christmas, but they'll be beautiful when we're finished." McKeehan figures that he'll have to supervise the repair of the bikes. And who will do the work? "Well, between my Webelos pack, some Boy Scouts who are trying for merit badges and some of the guys in my air conditioning company, we'll get the job done. Not a lot of air conditioning business this time of year. "And listen, if you're going to put something in the paper, mention the guy who donated all the parts for these bicycles. He's the owner of Mack's Cycle Shop. His cost's about $1,000. Gotcha. His name is Thad Mack, and he owns Mack's Cycle Shop, 5995 Sunset Dr. But alas, McKeehan said he isn't doing this for nothing. After repairing the bikes, he wants to have the pleasure of delivering them to the homes of the indigent families on Christmas Eve. "I want to see the looks on the kids' faces when they see their new bikes. That's the reward for doing all this. But golly, I can't deliver 39 bicycles on Christmas Eve. I don't move as fast as Santa Claus." So once again, if you're not doing anything on Christmas Eve and you want to get tears in your eyes by seeing the look of pleasure in some youngster's smile, give Art McKeehan a call. You can get him at 264-7657. And that's my Christmas story. Thanks to some concerned South Miami citizens, 39 underprivileged youngsters will not have to dream of owning a bike this Christmas, there'll be one under the tree.
the gables publishing company
serving south dade and coral gables since 1926 jim storey general manager bea moss managing editor bill mc hugh circulation manager address: 4627 ponce de leon blvd. coral gables, fla. 33146 telephone: 666-7981