Filtered water stations have been installed at Park View and Ripona elementary schools thanks to the Ripon Rotary Club.

Rotary President Rob Wagner visited the schools with a small team of Rotarians Thursday morning and met with the students some of whom had made personal thank you cards for club members.  Ripona School and Park View Schools have the water stations already installed that will accept plastic water bottle at a spout on the top of the dispensers.

Ripon Unified Superintendent Ziggy Robeson was also in attendance. She helped mount silver name plates to the top of the water stations acknowledging Rotary’s generosity.

Wagner said he used the Rotary International grant program that welcomes club’s sponsorships of valuable gifts to the community and matches the amount local clubs are paying for their effort in helping the public.  

At Ripona School the Student Council welcomed the Rotarians in their multi-purpose room with applause for the new water station.  At Park View across town Kathy Woodson’s second grade class were seated outside their multi-purpose room where the water station had been installed at an interior walkway.

Rotary’s traditional educational project in past years was that of providing dictionaries to all third-grade students.  This year that gave way to the water stations.  At Park View alone there have already been over 1,400 bottles filled by students and teachers at the school. 

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.