ROTARY PARK WORKDAY
SAT, MAY 17, 9:00 AM – NOON
Bring your shovels and spades to the Rotary Park this coming Saturday, May 17th and help put out over 200 plants that need to be put in the ground before summer arrives. Even if you can’t be there for the full three hours, any help would be appreciated. For more information, call Steve Mills at 232-1263.
NMCA COMMUNITY FAIR
There was a good turnout for the Community Fair meeting last month with many fresh faces. Special thanks to Violet and Tommy Stephens for furnishing the refreshments. Steve Mills presented plans for the Rotary Park and discussed the problems being faced by lack of city funding for finishing the project. A motion was made and passed to purchase plants to replace those lost last year due to the drought and heat. Joyce Murphy gave a description of the beautification committee’s projects putting in plantings at various public and visible sites in the neighborhood. Nell Stewart discussed some of the areas of concern, such as gang activity and break-ins, that are being given attention by the public safety committee. A history of the need for and formation of Band of Angels was described by Evelyn Angeletti and guidelines for the function of the committee were discussed. A presentation of the current issues, such as traffic calming and the underground cable burial by Duke Energy in the city, was made by Bob Bainbridge, chairman of the community development committee. He also discussed the need to develop a community plan to keep the unique character of the area intact.
PUBLIC SAFETY
We have had some break ins and thefts in our area recently which brings me to remind you of some precautions to avoid them. We have had situations in our own neighborhood for each of these. (The one with the large sum of money was from a nearby neighborhood, but smaller sums have been stolen in our own.) Nothing will make us totally safe from such situations, but we can thwart some of them.
Be sure to lock all doors and windows in your home when you are away — if only away for a short time. Use deadbolt locks on the doors, especially when the doors have glass in them — and NEVER leave the key in the lock on the inside. You may wish to keep a key nearby in case of an emergency, but store it in a place out of sight and out of reach of a potential thief.
Install locks on windows if you don’t have them and use devices that will allow you to raise the window for air circulation, but not high enough for someone to get through it.
Keep cars locked, even when in your driveway or garage. And never leave valuables in the car where they can be viewed. If it becomes necessary to leave something in the car that a thief would like to have, put it out of sight in the trunk. Also, do not leave a key to the car or house in the car (or even a car key hidden on the outside of the car. Several automobile break ins have occurred in the Greenville area where laptops, jewelry, purses, and even large sums of money were stolen. One victim said his “traveling money was stolen” which was a large sum. Also be aware that one should not leave valuable items in the bed of a pickup truck. Such action invites the theft of that item.
And be good neighbors – even nosy neighbors when the safety of someone or their property is concerned. If you see something suspicious, check with the neighbor. If they are not home, call the police. If all is legitimate, no harm is done; if not, you may prevent a theft there and other places in our wonderful area.
Nell Stewart
STONE ACADEMY DROP-IN
Stone Academy of Communication Arts will be having a retirement drop in for Dot Sanders (28 years of service) Debbie Roper (31 years of service) and Arlene Antonio (11 years of service) from 2:00-4:00 May 18 at Stone Academy. This event is being sponsored by the PTA. Friends are invited to come and wish them well.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Things do get done! The traffic calming island is in at East Hillcrest and McDonald. (See photo.) There are new stops signs, and traffic has clearly slowed down. Places for plants have been marked with bright spray paint, but are not planted yet. Some additional curb repairs were also completed further down McDonald.
I received an invitation to a pre-construction meeting on the East Montclair Avenue Stormwater Project which will be held on Thursday, May 15, 2008 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the first floor conference room at City Hall. I will be there, but all those interested are welcome. The contact is Philip R. Lindsay, Engineering Services Manager, 467-4593. This explains the construction at East Montclair and Bennett, and may mean that we are finally going to get curbs and gutters on E. Montclair!
I also attended the first meeting of the Plan-It Greenville Neighborhood and Corridor Identity and Stability Theme Committee on Tuesday, May 6. (Nancy Fitzer and Dale Reeves were also there.) Most of the meeting was about commercial corridors, with some discussion of neighborhood revitalization as at the Jesse Jackson Townhomes site. We will have two more meetings, and I will reinforce comments I made about insuring the stability of solid neighborhoods like North Main.
Let me know about any projects underway in your areas of North Main.
Bob Bainbridge
ONLINE NEWSLETTER INPUT
The purpose of the online newsletter is to communicate all items of interest and benefit to as many people in the North Main area as quickly and accurately as possible. If you have news or an interest that you would like to share with your neighbors, please submit it to Jean Martin. We do not have an exact timetable for sending this newsletter out at this time but it will be published monthly.
