NENA Update October 26, 2011 Art & Craft Street Fair Cancelled for Nov. 5th Dear NENA Neighbors, Unfortunately, we do not have the volunteers needed to successfully carry out the Arts and Craft Street Fair scheduled for Nov. 5, 2011 and it is necessary to cancel the event. The majority of the NENA Board, that normally helps with this event, are not able to participate, due to previous commitments. I don’t feel that a couple of volunteers can carry out this event that requires significant effort. Additionally, there were simply not enough vendors that had committed to participating in the event. I have suggested to the Board that we convene in January for a planning meeting and determine whether we can reschedule the event for the Spring. We will need to ensure that there is interest and that this effort is directed from a Committee working together. The past two Arts & Craft Street Fairs have been very successful and I know that future events like this can also be successful, provided there are committees working on the details and not one individual person driving the event. This has been a huge lesson for me and I assure you as we move forward, planning meetings and committees will be a part of any events that NENA conducts. Realizing that not everyone gets the NENA emails (about 150 households do receive them) a cancellation notice will be placed on the flyer that will go out to neighbors reminding them that the St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive will take place on Nov. 12th. Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 21, 2011 SUPER BLOCK SALE TOMORROW! Are you Donating your Leftover Items to Charity? Flag Volunteers Being Recruited NENA Arts & Craft Sale, Nov. 5th SUPER BLOCK SALE TOMORROW! The NENA Super Block Sale will take place this Saturday, October 22, 2011. Our big, beautiful signs have been placed at the primary entrances to NENA and an advertisement has been placed on Craig’s List too. Are You Donating Yard Sale Leftovers to Charity? If you plan on donating your leftover yard sale items, please email me with your name and address ASAP at nmkirkeby@cox.net I have a wedding that I will be attending in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and will not be able to take calls to add you to the list on the day of the sale. The Phoenix Christian Thrift Store, located at 1307 W. Camelback Road, will be picking up leftover items from families who wish to donate at the end of the sale. If you do not reach me in time to be added to the list you can contact Shane (from Phoenix Christian Thrift Store) at 623-221-7341 directly on the day of the sale. He will be picking up between 2pm to 4pm. Please discard any items that are broken and not “sellable” at a thrift shop prior to pick-up. A receipt will be provided to those donating. This information is also printed on the NENA receipts that Sara will be providing neighbors who participate in the block sale. Thank you for your generosity in helping this charity! Sara Murphy, our Flag Coordinator, will be collecting the $5 donation from those who are holding a yard sale to help support our other NENA events. Flag Volunteers Being Recruited While Sara is collecting the $5 from neighbors participating in the Super Block Sale, she will also be asking neighbors if they might help out with placing flags during the 5 holidays that we place flags through out NENA. Ideally, we hope to have 2 persons from each street in NENA, so that one person can put flags up in the morning and the other take them down at the end of the day, or have each set of volunteers alternate the holidays that they will place flags, so they can both not be “tied” to having to be home to put up or take down flags. I do the flags for my street and it usually takes me less than 20 minutes to put them up and about 10 minutes to take them down. NENA Arts & Crafts Street Fair, Nov. 5 The NENA Arts & Craft Street Fair is just around the corner and I’d like to have a good idea of how many vendors will be participating. Vendor registration forms are due by October 29th, but I’d like to hear from you, if you plan on participating. There is a lot that goes on to make this event successful and we can always use some extra helping hands. If you would like to help please let me know and we’ll find something that is to your liking. We will be placing signage through out the neighborhood, setting up tables, chairs, raffle table, getting the grilling area ready, placing trash cans, blowing up balloons and placing street closure signs. We would welcome any and all helping hands! Contact Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 16, 2011 SUPER BLOCK SALE Next Saturday! Are You Donating Yard Sale Leftovers to Charity? NENA Arts & Crafts Street Fair, Nov. 5th Lost Cat…Have you seen Kikitu? SUPER BLOCK SALE Next Saturday! The NENA Super Block Sale will take place this Saturday, October 22, 2011. Our big, beautiful signs will be put out at the primary entrances to NENA at least a day prior to the sale, if not earlier. St. Gregory’s is including the info in their Sunday bulletin and the event will be advertised on Craig’s List as well! Sara Murphy, our Flag Coordinator, will be collecting the $5 donation from those who are holding a yard sale to help support our other NENA events. Hopefully the weather will cool off a bit before Saturday. I hope everyone has a GREAT Sale! Are You Donating Yard Sale Leftovers to Charity? If you plan on donating your leftover yard sale items, please email me with your name and address ASAP at nmkirkeby@cox.net I have a wedding that I will be attending in the middle of the afternoon on that day and will not be able to take calls to add you to the list on the day of the sale. The Phoenix Christian Thrift Store, located at 1307 W. Camelback Road, will be picking up leftover items from families who wish to donate at the end of the sale. They are a non profit 501(c)3 charity and will begin pick-up at 2 p.m. Please discard any items that are broken and not “sellable” at a thrift shop prior to pick-up. A receipt will be provided to those donating. NENA Arts & Crafts Street Fair, Nov. 5 The NENA Arts & Craft Street Fair is just around the corner and I’d like to have a good idea of how many vendors will be participating. Vendor registration forms are due by October 29th, but I’d like to hear from you, if you plan on participating. There is a lot that goes on to make this event successful and we can always use some extra helping hands. If you would like to help please let me know and we’ll find something that is to your liking. We will be placing signage through out the neighborhood, setting up tables, chairs, raffle table, getting the grilling area ready, placing trash cans, blowing up balloons and placing street closure signs. We would welcome any and all helping hands! Contact Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net Lost Cat…Have you seen Kikitu? Julia and Dan’s indoor cat, Kikitu, snuck out on Thursday night (10/13) and has not returned. She is small, gray, has bright green eyes and is wearing a pink collar. She loves people but may be skittish if she's scared. Kikitu is not used to being outside in the city and they are very concerned about her safety. If you may have found Kikitu please contact Julie and Dan at 602-363-2467 or email jacha00@gmail.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update September 26, 2011 Aluminum Can Recycling - Saturday, Oct. 1st Pictures of Gwen the Lost Cat Aluminum Can Recycling Day this Saturday, October 1st Don’t forget to save your aluminum cans and drop then off to June and Ellis Kane’s home located at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. We usually raise about $20 a month through this effort! Let’s help keep NENA GREEN and encourage recycling! Gwen the Lost Cat Attached are pictures of Gwen the lost cat. Contact Debbie at debhinessmith@yahoo.com or at 623-670-0262. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update September 5, 2011 Flags Fly for Labor Day NENA Meeting this THURSDAY @ 7PM 2011 AZ Statewide Citizen Corps Workshop Correction on Date for Super Block Sale Flags Fly for Labor Day A big thank you goes out to all our Flag Volunteers who placed flags through out NENA to celebrate Labor Day! A special thank you to Sara Murphy, our Flag Coordinator and to our Flag Section Leaders, Sue Corbin (Section A), Dorthy Frazier (Section B), Gini Sater (Section C) and Ceci Andrews (Section D), who oversee the volunteers in their respective sections to ensure flags are displayed. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend! Labor Day celebrates the efforts of organized workers who helped bring about safer work practices, the weekend, better health insurance and a host of other benefits by joining together to form Unions. NENA Meeting this THURSDAY @ 7PM Our quarterly meeting will be held this Thursday, September 8th at 7pm at Phoenix College. The room had not been confirmed by the college as of Friday, so another hotline will go out before the meeting letting you know the location. It will likely be in OSW 105 which is on the NE corner of 11th Ave and Flower Street in the classrooms located on the west side. I will bring one of our sandwich board signs and place it outside of the classroom to make it easier to find. Our Community Action Officer, Julie Smith with attend along with her Commander, Glen Gardner. We will also hear from Manny Tarango from the U.S. State Attorney’s office who will be speaking on mortgage fraud. 2011 AZ Statewide Citizen Corps Workshop Collaboration: The Key to Citizen Corps Success Join government leaders, emergency management personnel, local Citizen Corps, partner program representatives, affiliates and volunteers at the 2011 Statewide Citizen Corps Workshop. Hear from respected leaders in the emergency services field how collaboration is an essential and effective tool for building successful programs to prevent, protect, respond, mitigate and recover from emergencies or disasters. Space is limited. Register at http://citizencorpsworkshop.eventbrite.com before Friday, September 23, 2011 Desert Willow Conference Center 4340 East Cotton Center Boulevard Phoenix, Arizona 85040 September 30 – October 1, 2011 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Registration 7:30-8:30 a.m.) Correction on Date for Super Block Sale In the last newsletter, I had put the date of October 14th as our Super Block Sale date and it should have been October 22nd. It will be stated correctly in the October newsletter. My apologies and I hope this mistake doesn’t cause anyone to not participate. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update August 31, 2011 Recycle Aluminum Cans Wednesday, September 1 NENA Quarterly Mtg Changed to Thursday, Sept 8th Submit your Point of Pride Nominations Deadline for Advertising in Newsletter is Sept. 16th Recycle Aluminum Can Drop off on Wednesday, September 1st Don’t forget to save your aluminum cans and drop then off to June and Ellis Kane’s home located at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. We usually raise about $20 a month through this effort! Let’s help keep NENA GREEN and encourage recycling! NENA Quarterly Meeting Changed to Thursday, Sept. 8th Due to a scheduling conflict the NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place next Thursday, September 8th at 7pm at Phoenix College. The exact location will be sent out as soon a our room is confirmed. Our Community Action Officer, Julie Smith with be attending along with her Commander, Glen Gardner. We will also be hearing from Manny Tarango from the U.S. State Attorney’s office who will be speaking on mortgage fraud. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about where home owners are caught off guard. I hope many of you can make it to this meeting! Submit your Point of Pride Nominations If you see a home in NENA that you think deserves to receive the Point of Pride Award, be sure to get your nomination to Jim Jeffries. The deadline for articles for our October newsletter is Sept. 16th and Jim will need time to select the winner and interview and take a picture of their home for the newsletter. Jim’s email address is jlsk766751@aol.com. Deadline for advertising in Newsletter is Sept 16th While the deadline for submitting advertisements for the October NENA newsletter is September 16th, this means Deanna Fusco must have the ad in her hands and the ad must be paid for before she places it into the newsletter. So anyone who wishes to advertize in the upcoming newsletter should be getting their ads together in time for submission. A business size ad is $35 and a double sized ad is $70 and a full page is $140. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update - August 16, 2011 Bulk Trash Placement Starts this Saturday, August 20th Deadline for Advertising in NENA Newsletter Sept 16th Free Workshops on Planting Trees and Forester Training Opportunity Bulk Trash Placement this Week August 20th through the 29th neighbors may place bulk trash items in their alleys. The City of Phoenix will begin picking up bulk trash during the week of the 29th of August. For information on what items ARE and AREN’T acceptable for placement in the alley visit http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshcoll.html Deadline for Advertising in NENA Newsletter Sept 16th Anyone who is interested in advertising in our next NENA newsletter must have their payment and ad info in by September 16th. A business size ad is $35, a double sized ad is $70 and a full page ad is $140. I have attached an ad form with this email. The newsletter is full color and delivered to approximately 430 homes in NENA. Free Workshops on Planting Trees and Forester Training Opportunity Tree Care Workshop This free workshop teaches the fundamentals of tree care from design to long-term maintenance. Taught by an award winning arborist this class gives students the tools to design and care for a beautiful landscape. Students will get hands on instruction and learn how to properly choose and plant trees to reduce energy bills and increase home values. At the end of the workshop students will receive a $25 off coupon, good at select local nurseries. Space is limited, sign up today! Registration code: 72640 To register go to www.phoenix.gov/parks or call 602-261-8793 Citizen Forester Training Love trees and have a desire to make your neighborhood a greener place? Citizen Foresters serve the community by helping City staff properly plant and care for urban trees. They help lead tree plantings, teaching volunteers how to plant and maintain trees, as well as spread the word about the value of the urban forest. The Parks and Recreation Department is seeking committed volunteers that are willing to dedicate two days or more a year to planting trees at local parks. Attend a Tree Care Workshop and Citizen Forester Training and become a Citizen Forester today! Registration Code: 75302 To learn more visit: http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/citforest.html To register go to www.phoenix.gov/parks or call 602-261-8793 Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 NENA Update July 29, 2011 Aluminum Can Drop Off this Monday, August 1st Bulk Trash Placement Coming in August “Meet The Candidate” event for Mayoral Candidate Wes Gullett Recycle Aluminum Can Drop off on Monday, August 1st Don’t forget to save your aluminum cans and drop then off to June and Ellis Kane’s home located at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. We usually raise about $20 a month through this effort! Let’s help keep NENA GREEN and encourage recycling! Bulk Trash Placement Coming in August Saturday, August 20th through Sunday, August 28th neighbors may place bulk trash items in their alleys. The City of Phoenix will begin picking up bulk trash items on Monday, August 29th. For information on what items ARE and AREN’T acceptable for placement in the alley visit http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshcoll.html Meet The Candidate Event for Mayoral Candidate Wes Gullett NENA neighbor, Dan Schay asked that the following information be sent out to our NENA neighbors. As politics can be a “sensitive issue” I would like to offer other NENA residents, who have event information about other candidates running for Mayor of Phoenix an opportunity to share date and event information about other candidates. If you have a candidate event that you would like to share, please forward it to me at nmkrkeby@cox.net and I will do my best to get the information to our neighbors. Dan Schay will be hosting a “Meet The Candidate” event for Mayoral candidate Wes Gullett on Tuesday, the 2nd of August, at his home at 1539 W. Flower Circle S. Wes is being supported by our District 4 Councilman, Tom Simplot, amongst many others. No matter what your politics, Dan encourages you to come out and show Wes and Tom that North Encanto is an engaged and active neighborhood. He promise three things – 1. Short duration; 2. Decent wine, and 3. Ample snacks – if folks RSVP… The event information is attached with this email along with RSVP information. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update July 22, 2011 Four Crimes Committed in Past Two Weeks in NENA Phoenix Police Department CSI Training July 26th August Mountain View Precinct Newsletter Four Crimes Committed in Past Two Weeks in NENA During the past two weeks I have received reports from three neighbors detailing the following crimes taking place in NENA and witnessed a fourth crime taking place in NENA. Remember to call Crime Stop at 262.6151 to report a crime that has already occurred. If the crime is currently taking place call 911 for an immediate response. Susie Thompson reported the following: There was a theft of a mountain bike from 1540 W Flower Circle N on Saturday July 16th in the afternoon, while the owners were at home! Access to the back yard was available by going thru the laundry room to the back patio. (The owners suspect the new lawn servicemen... but as there is no way to prove it, they didn’t report incident to the police). Please send a reminder to our NENA neighbors that we need to keep an eye on each other’s properties day or night and to report any suspicious activity. It is also wise to add compact florescent lights to all exterior lights and consider leaving them on 24/7. It only costs pennies a day for these light bulbs and they deter thieves. Motion detector lights and locked access to back yards are additional steps in making our homes less attractive to theft. Jim Jeffries reported: The vacant house at 2924 N. 17th Ave, that has been remodeled and being cared for, was broken into sometime on July 19th. While walking my dogs down the alley I saw the French door ajar and a small wall A/C unit missing from detached Apartment. Crime stop was called and the Phoenix Police department has been out to the house. Deborah at 1515 W. Catalina Drive reported: Someone entered my SUV and stole misc. items such as cash amounting to less than $20, an old cell phone no longer in use, etc. I thought I had locked the doors on the vehicle but no windows were broken so perhaps due to being fatigued the lock button did not engage correctly. The SUV was parked in the driveway about 3 feet from the master bedroom window. I was out late photo-shopping photos with a friend. And I heard a noise around 3 AM and turned some back bedroom lights on. Neither my dog nor my neighbor's dog barked. The objects from both my glove box and center console were rummaged through--objects were left on the floor and passenger seat. I noted the theft around 1 PM today--Tuesday, July 12th. Nicki Kirkeby reported: I witnessed a person in the alley between Osborn/Mulberry Drive by the apartments close to 15th Ave. stripping the copper from several lengths of tubing. The man was not concerned about me seeing him and made no effort to take off after I stopped and gave him a hard look. I called 911 and reported what I saw so officers could follow up. Phoenix Police Department CSI Training July 26 Now you can experience the real thing. The Phoenix Police Department invites neighbors to participate in a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) training on Tuesday, July 26th from 9am to 10am. You’ll learn how the PPD’s Crime Lab supports criminal investigations. See the attached flyer for details. August Mountain View Precinct Newsletter Attached with this email is the August Mountain View Newsletter. You’ll find articles on the history of our Phoenix Police Department, How to Recognize Your Child is Part of a Gang, Details on an Organized Retail Crime Bust and information on the implementation of the HAWK (High Intensity Activated CrossWalk). Hope everyone is enjoying our toasty weather! Warmly, (literally and figuratively) Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net   NENA Update 7-3-2011 Happy 4th of July HPO Historic Window Replacement and Repair Give Your Input on Historic Preservation Direction APS Shade Tree Program Hi Neighbors, Happy 4th of July As we celebrate our nations Independence Day I hope you all have a safe and wonderful weekend. Many we will be heading out of this heat and up into the cooler country, so for those who remain at home, please be extra vigilant about watching neighbors homes’ who may have left for the weekend. Also take care of your pets with the loud noises from the firework happenings. HPO Historic Window Replacement and Repair Attached with this email is an extensive guide to replacement and repair for windows in Historic Districts. Below is information from Barbara Stocklin, a Historic Preservation Officer. If you are considering ANY window repair/replacement please be advised that you need to discuss your plans with the Historic Preservation Office prior to making any changes. Beginning a repair/replacement without proper permits can cause major delays and costs in getting your job completed. Update from Barbara Stocklin UPDATE ON WINDOW REVIEW IN HISTORIC DISTRICTS Window replacements in historic districts continue to require building permits and HP office review for the present. The Historic Preservation Commission did recommend changes to the city's historic preservation window repair and replacement policy/guide on June 6, 2011. We have been "test driving" the new policy and would like to bring some additional proposed modifications back to the Historic Preservation Commission at their annual worksession on Monday, August 15th at Memorial Hall, Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road at 3:00 p.m. for consideration. Once we have a revised draft available (late July or early August) I will send you out a separate email to let all of you know that it is available for viewing on our website and provide the link. This will give you an opportunity to review the policy prior to the Historic Preservation Commission worksession. We will have hard copies of the revised draft policy available at the worksession meeting as well, and you are welcome to come and provide additional input and comments at the meeting. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ANNUAL WORK SESSION As noted above, the Historic Preservation Commission is holding their annual worksession on Monday, August 15th at Memorial Hall, Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. At this meeting, the Commission adopts its annual work plan and priorities for the year. This is a great opportunity to provide input and comments on the city's historic preservation program and its direction, and to have direct dialogue with the Commission and HP staff. APS SHADE TREE PROGRAM OFFERS UP TO 3 SHADE TREES TO HISTORIC HOME OWNERS APS would like to spread the word about their Shade Tree Program at an upcoming event at the Rio Salado Audubon Center (3131 S. Central Ave.) on July 23rd. Information on the event is provided in the link below. This is a great opportunity for historic homeowners to add shade to their homes and to improve the energy performance of their homes without altering the windows or other historic features of their homes. What is it? APS is offering qualified Maricopa County residential customers up to three free five-gallon shade trees after attendance at a free APS Shade Tree workshop (about one hour either at 8:30 a.m. or 10:00 a.m.). APS customers can receive up to two Palo Verde, mesquite, desert willow or chaste trees for homes built 1980 or later and three trees for homes built prior to 1980. While the workshop and trees are free, program participants are responsible for picking up the trees at a distribution event and planting and maintaining the trees. Please visit http://www.aps.com/trees for more information. Benefits to the Community/Residents APS is offering a free educational seminar and free trees. When asked to rank the educational workshop value overall, 83% of the program participants ranked the educational workshop as a 9 or 10 (on a 10 point scale). Other benefits include: “If you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%”-Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research “Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value.”-USDA Forest Service quotes obtained from the Arbor Day Foundation Thanks and have a great July 4th! Barbara Stocklin City of Phoenix, Historic Preservation Officer Planning & Development Services Department 602-262-7468; fax 602-534-4571 barbara.stocklin@phoenix.gov web site: phoenix.gov/historic Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 6-27-2011 Feral Cat Roundup Results Aluminum Can Drop Off Friday, July 1st Flags Displayed on Monday, July 4th NENA Website Pets Should Have Tags with Owner Identification Newsletter Coming to Your Door You Can Be Fined for Placing Bulk Trash in Alley Outside of the Bulk Trash Pick-up Dates Councilman Simplot Mtg – June 28th at the New Phoenix Children’s Hospital Feral Cat Roundup Results I would like to thank the over 25 NENA volunteers for the tremendous job you all did with the Feral Cat Round-up! I have to give an especially BIG SHOUT OUT TO MARVIN DINGES, who took over for me with about an hours notice, when I found out at 4pm that I needed to be at the hospital at 6pm for surgery to drain an infection in my finger at 8pm. Volunteers were scheduled to arrive at my house at 6pm. Without missing a beat, Marvin came right over, got a quick 15 minute briefing on how to set up the traps and run the show. He handled the process from start to finish and that was no easy task. It is really something to be proud of to see neighbors come together the way you all did. I think this experience has made us wiser for understanding the process and I think on our next round it will go even more smoothly. Our newsletter will be delivered around the 1st of July and there is a rather lengthy feral cat article in there from me and a more humorous one from Connie about the escapades on 17th Drive. The final count for the round up was 20 cats with 13 being spay or neutered, 5 having their ears tagged (they had been neutered already) and two already had their ears tagged and had been sterilized. All of the cats received vaccinations. We should have about $900 left in our fund (we haven’t received the invoice from the Vet yet), so we will be able to keep up with getting cats neutered as folks see “untagged” ferals, strays, kittens or have pets that haven’t been sterilized. I think it would be a good idea to purchase a couple traps to keep on hand for the neighborhood to utilize. Aluminum Can Drop Off Friday, July 1st Please drop off your aluminum cans to June & Ellis Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Flags Displayed on Monday, July 4th This Monday our Flag Volunteers will place U.S. flag in front of homes throughout our NENA neighborhood. If your street is missed, please try contacting the Flag Section Leader listed for your area and if you are not able to reach the Section Leader please contact the Flag Coordinator. These individuals can be found on the newsletter and can also be found on our NENA website www.northencanto.comm under the contacts page. If you are unsure of what section you live in, this is also on the last page of the newsletter or on the website’s homepage which displays a map of NENA and the different sections. NENA Website The NENA website is a great resource for all neighbors to utilize for a multitude of issue. On the front page of our site you’ll find the phone numbers for will find a list of the volunteers who serve in different positions on the Contact Us page, on the NENA Updates you can review past updates that have been sent out, the Newsletter page has newsletters from 2008 to present, the Community Links page will provide all kinds of City agency contact info, the Calendar of events lists NENA meetings for the year, Bulk Trash dates, Coffee with a Cop, Book Club dates, Super Block Sale, Street Fair and other events that are taking place, the Discussion Forum (a highly under utilized page) allows neighbors to post topics for discussion. It seems that this page has not been used much by neighbors. It does seem that neighbors like using the Facebook page for this same type of discussions. Bookmark our NENA website to your favorites page, so you can easily access it. Many thanks to Brian Clark who does an amazing job of keeping our website fresh and user friendly! Pets Should Have Tags with Owner Identification We’ve recently had several dogs & cats that have been lost in the neighborhood, causing much anxiety not only for the pets’ owner but also for those who have housed the pets temporarily until the owners can be found. It would be a good idea for all pet owners to invest in placing a tag on your pet’s collar with the owners contact info. Tags can be made inexpensively at local pet stores or ordered for as little as $6 a tag from http://www.petidtags.org . Fortunately, all the dogs/cats that have been lost have been reunited with their owners! Newsletter Coming to Your Door NENA volunteers will soon be delivering the quarterly newsletter to your door steps. Please hang on to the newsletter and refer to it for upcoming events and contact info. Once again Deanna Fusco has done an outstanding job creating a visually exciting newsletter. I would like to thank all the volunteers who submit articles for the newsletter on various topics and invite anyone to submit articles they feel they would like to share with the neighborhood. You Can Be Fined for Placing Bulk Trash in Alley Outside of the Bulk Trash Pick-up Dates As a gentle reminder to everyone….it is not appropriate to place bulk trash items in the alleyways at this time. We just had our Bulk Trash Pick-up about a month ago and placing items in the alley at this time invites traffic in our alleys to see what is there and also creates a fire hazard. If you have placed items in the alley, please carry them back into your yard until the next Bulk Trash pick-up date which begins August 20th. If you have a neighbor who you know has placed bulk items in the alley, respectfully ask them to move them into their yard. You may want to even offer to help them move the items back into their yard. If your neighbor is not compliant then it is appropriate to contact the City at the Report Blight number 262.7844 and file a complaint. The City will then inspect the location where the trash has been placed and then serve a notice to the individual giving them a certain number of days to correct the problem. The City will then re-inspect the area and if the home owner has not complied to the Notice of Violation, the homeowner will be ticketed. Tickets range from $157 to $2500 depending on the extent of the violation and the history of the violator. Please be respectful of everyone’s space in the alleyways and help keep them free of debris! Reverse Lanes Update Reverse lane changes are coming soon this summer. Councilman Simplot was pleased to see his fellow Phoenix City Councilmembers join him on a vote Wednesday night to address traffic safety concerns on the "Sevens," including the installation of a new left turn signal at 7th Avenue and Camelback Road. This is the first major change on these streets in 30 years! In addition, Streets Dept. will install new flashing beacons/lights and replace old signs with signs featuring universal traffic symbols. You can see a mock-up of the new signs below. This contentious issue was difficult to negotiate and he appreciates your support, participation and comments during this long process. Although elimination of the reverse lanes was the ultimate goal, he felt strongly about and fought hard for the left turn signal at this major intersection to help ease cut-through traffic in our neighborhoods. Once implemented, he would appreciate hearing your thoughts on whether these upgrades improve traffic concerns on the “Sevens” for our central city residents and businesses. Reminder - Councilman Simplot's Town Hall Councilman Simplot will be holding a town hall on Tuesday, June 28th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will take place at the new Phoenix Children's Hospital building, located at 1919 E Thomas Road. We will be in the 2nd Floor Conference Room, and staff will direct you from Main Building Lobby. Parking is available in the Thomas Garage West, and you can access this garage by traveling south on Children's Way right off of Thomas Road. You can view a map of the campus below or visit the Phoenix Children's Hospital website for an interactive map. Bring your questions, concerns and ideas about District 4. City staff from Police, Neighborhood Services, Public Works and other city departments will also be in attendance. Following the meeting, there will be a special tour of the new Phoenix Children's Hospital tower! Contact his office at 602-262-7447 or council.district.4@phoenix.gov to RSVP or to request special accommodations. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 6-6-2011 Female Chihuahua Dog Found Feral/Stray Cat Round-up This Weekend What should you do if your pet cat is missing on Friday? Dear Neighbors, On June 2nd the Layton family found a female Chihuahua with no tag and no chip. The dog was found at 18th Ave and Earl and is very friendly. If you’ve lost this little cutie please contact: Kelcy at 602-252-5177. I’m happy to report that we found the home of the Pit Bull puppy that was found last week! TNR Feral/Stray Cat Round-up this Weekend By now you all should have received flyers on your doors making you aware that this Fri/Sat/Sun we will be making a concerted effort to Trap/Neuter/Return the feral/stray cats through out NENA. This is no easy task and much work has already gone into the planning for this operation. I am so pleased with the number of volunteers who are helping this weekend and also so pleased that all our feral/stray cat providers are onboard with withholding food beginning on Thursday morning and continuing to withhold through Saturday evening. Without their help in withholding the food, the cats would not be as hungry and less likely to enter a trap (the traps DO NOT harm the cats) for food. What should you do if your pet cat is missing on Friday evening? There are 5 primary feral cat colonies that I am aware of in NENA. We will be trapping in all 5 of these areas. Additionally, there are about 4-5 other locations where feral cats come into neighbors yards regularly and these neighbors will be trying to trap these individual cats. All of the traps will be marked with the location where the cats were trapped. After they are trapped we will move them to Marvin Dinges’ home where they will spend the night in his garage. If your cat is missing and you think we may have trapped him/her please call Nicki at 480-586-8556. We can have you come over to Marvin’s home and look at the cats that have been trapped in that specific area. I hope that all neighbors will appreciate the effort that is being undertaken by so many volunteers. I believe this is the beginning of a strong feral/stray cat management plan for NENA. Hopefully neighbors will not resent our caregivers who feed the cats, as there are no other legal or ethical choices rather than taking care of the feral cats. And by conducting a TNR for the cats on a regular basis we help control the fighting, marking and reproduction of cats in our neighborhood. The following areas are where we will be conducting our primary trapping in NENA: 1622 W Flower Cir N 1807 W Osborn Rd 18th Ave & Earl 2917 N 17th Dr 2938 N 17th Dr Big Thanks to everyone who has contributed to getting this project underway!!! If you would like to help out with this effort this weekend….it is not too late. Contact Nicki at the number below. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 05-28-2011 Lost Puppy Feral Cat Round-up Rescheduled Happy Memorial Day Aluminum Can Drop Off Wed., June 1st NENA Elections at Meeting on June 1st Dear Neighbors, Pit Bull Puppy Found A dark chocolate and white female Pit Bull puppy, about 5-6 months old, weighing 20 lbs and wearing a puppy collar with no name tag was found on West Flower Circle. She is leash trained and appears to have been well taken care of. If you are missing this puppy please contact Deb below: Deb Smith debhinessmith@yahoo.com cell: 623-670-0262 Feral Cat Round-up Rescheduled Unfortunately I heard back from Karen from the Animal Defense League of Arizona (ADLA) and June 4th will not work for Vet appointments. Karen has said that June 11th will work and I have emailed her back to see if she can book us for that weekend. I will put an email out as soon as I confirm that we have appointments confirmed for June 11th. This will actually give us more time to place door hangers and speak with neighbors about this effort. Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Weekend! Thanks in advance to all our Flag persons who will be placing flags in front of NENA homes on Monday, June 30th! Your efforts are much appreciated by all! Recycle Aluminum Can Drop off on Wednesday, June 1st Don’t forget to save your aluminum cans and drop then off to June and Ellis Kane’s home located at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. We usually raise about $20 a month through this effort! Let’s help keep NENA GREEN and encourage recycling! NENA Election Meeting June 1st The NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place this Wednesday, June 1st at 7pm in Phoenix College classroom OSW-105. This is located on Flower Street & 11th Avenue just north of the Willo room (where we have normally met) in the classrooms on the west side. If you park in the lot off of Osborn and 11th Ave the classroom will be on your right about in the middle of the building. Our yearly officer elections will take place at this meeting. Currently no one has expressed an interest in running for Vice President, Advertising Coordinator or Section C Coordinator (delivering the quarterly newsletters). If your schedule allows you to become more involved with your neighborhood, we would love to have your help. Please let me know (nmkirkeby@cox.net) if you are interested in one of these positions. Additionally, our Treasurer and Section A Coordinator are willing to continue in their positions, but would welcome anyone wishing to take their place. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 05-24-2011 Bulk Trash Placement this Week Feral Cat Round-up Councilman Simplot’s Community Meeting Thurs. Flags on Display Memorial Day (Mon. May 30) Election Meeting June 1st You’ve Got Mail….or do you? Point of Pride – Nominate your Favorite Home Dear Neighbors, Bulk Trash Placement this Week May 21st through May 29th neighbors may place bulk trash items in their alleys. The City of Phoenix will begin picking up bulk trash on Monday, May 30th and likely not until the 31st with Memorial Day being observed on the 30th. For information on what items ARE and AREN’T acceptable for placement in the alley visit http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshcoll.html Feral Cat Round-up Now that we’ve raised the funds to pay for Trap/Neuter/Release for the feral cats in our neighborhood, we need to start making arrangements for doing the actually trapping. Ideally, it would be great to be able to get this done before it gets too terribly hot. This is not something that can be done by a few persons, but by many helping hands. The project will include setting traps (the traps DO NOT harm the cats) mid afternoon, monitoring the traps and once a cat has been caught, documenting where it is caught, marking the cage and removing the cage to a holding area until it is moved to the Encanto Boat House for the evening. The following day the cats are delivered to a veterinarian’s office to be sterilized. I believe they are released the same day after being cared for with water and food. I am available to help with this project on June 3rd and 4th (Fr & Sa) or on Jun 24th and 25th (Fr & Sa). If you can volunteer to help with this project please let me know by emailing nmkirkeby@cox.net. This has been an issue that has caused much angst through out our neighborhood and now we have an opportunity to help mitigate the problem. We will need all hands on deck for this project. The second phase of dealing with the feral cats will be to establish feeding stations and caregivers that will tend to the feeding and watering of the cats. Councilman Simplot’s Community Meeting Thurs. Reminder - Councilman Simplot's Community Meeting for May This month's meeting will be held at the Bret Tarver Learning Center on Thursday, May 26th at 8:00 am. State Representative Chad Campbell will be our guest speaker. The learning center is located at 1516 N 35th Ave (SW corner of 35th Avenue and McDowell Rd). RSVP to my office if you plan to attend @ council.district.4@phoenix.gov Flags on Display Memorial Day (Mon. May 30) On Monday, May 30th our flag volunteers in each section will take time out of their day to display our U.S. flags in front of each home in their respective section. If you see a volunteer out placing flags be sure to thank them for this effort. Ideally, we would like to have two volunteers per street, so that one volunteer places the flags early in the morning and the other takes the flags down before sunset. If you would like to volunteer to help with your street please contact our Flag Coordinator Sara Murphy at 703.9717 or email her at sara.murphy@phoenix.edu. Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day was established as a United States federal holiday honoring soldiers and is observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). It commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars. Be sure to take time in your day to remember those who have died while serving our country, as well as those who are currently serving in our armed forces. NENA Election Meeting June 1st The NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 1st at 7pm in Phoenix College classroom OSW-105. This is located on Flower Street & 11th Avenue just north of the Willo room (where we have normally met) in the classrooms on the west side. Our yearly officer elections will take place at this meeting. Currently no one has expressed an interest in running for Vice President, Advertising Coordinator or Section C Coordinator (delivering the quarterly newsletters). If your schedule allows you to become more involved with your neighborhood, we would love to have your help. Please let me know (nmkirkeby@cox.net) if you are interested in one of these positions. Additionally, our Treasurer and Section A Coordinator are willing to continue in their positions, but would welcome anyone wishing to take their place. You’ve Got Mail….or Do You? A neighbor suggested that residents place an address label on the exterior of the mail drop into our homes or place inside mailboxes, so that when we have someone delivering our mail, other than our regular mailperson, they will deliver it to the correct home. The Section B mailperson has been on a leave for a short time and in her absence some mail has been delivered to the wrong home. Seems like a simple enough solution. Point of Pride (POP) – Nominate your Favorite Home It’s that time again to nominate a home in NENA that you think deserves to be honored with our Point of Pride award. POP winners have the beautiful NENA POP sign displayed in their yard for 3 months and also receive a $25 gift certificate to Southwest Gardener. Nominate a home by emailing Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 05-02-2011 NINE - Order your Tickets by Tuesday at 5pm Mayor Debate – May NINE - Order your Tickets by Tuesday at 5pm Deadline for ordering tickets for the NENA Phoenix Theatre Fundraiser is Tuesday, May 3rd. Tickets are $45 with $5 of each sale going to NENA’s general fund. NENA neighbor Dan Schay, who is also the Managing Director of the theatre will be providing wine and appetizers before the show and a tour of the theatre to follow the show. Tickets can be ordered at: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com Please let me know if you are attending, so we’ll know how many to expect nmkirkeby@cox.net Mayoral Debate, Tuesday, May 3rd at Phoenix Theatre Mayor Gordon, our present mayor, is termed out and cannot run again. The election for his replacement takes place on August 30, 2011. To insure a bright future, one in which Phoenix strives to reach its true potential, it is important to elect a mayor who will lead and represent all of the citizens. Citizens For Phoenix has scheduled a mayoral debate on Tuesday May 3rd which will be attended by all 5 of the following active mayoral candidates: Eichenauer Gullett Mattox Neely Stanton Details as to time and place for the debate are as follows: · Date – Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 · Place – Phoenix Theatre, 100 East McDowell Road in Phoenix · Time – Doors will open at 6:00 pm – 7:00 to 8:30 Mayoral Debate Special Guest Moderator – KTVK’s Frank Camacho – Host of “Politics Unplugged” This will be the FIRST debate in which the just recently announced Peggy Neely has appeared with the other candidates. This makes it SPECIAL. You won’t want to miss it. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 04-20-2011 TNR Yard Sale this Friday NINE Phoenix Theatre Fundraiser Councilman Simplot’s Community Mtg Tomorrow Message from our Community Action Officer TNR Feral Cat Yard Sale this Friday Friday, April 22nd from 8am to 4pm NENA will hold a yard sale to raise money to conduct a Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) effort with the feral cats living in our community. Donations can be dropped off after 4pm on Wednesday or Thursday at my home at 1539 W Mulberry Drive. If you are donating clothing, please make sure that the clothing is clean. Clothing does not do as well as other items at yard sales, especially if it is dirty and wrinkled. I could use help marking items on Thursday evening and will also need help opening and running the sale and moving tables onto the driveway. Please let me know if you are able to help out with either/both of these dates. I will get the event posted to Craig’s List along with a listing of some of the items we have received. Thanks so much to all who have contributed! NINE Phoenix Theatre Fundraiser I hope you will join with other neighbors to attend Phoenix Theatre’s NINE on Friday, May 6th. Tickets are $45 with $5 of each sale going to the NENA general fund. Dan Schaay, Managing Director of the theatre and NENA neighbor, is graciously providing a meet and greet (7pm to 7:45pm) for NENA prior to the show with wine and appetizers. The show begins at 8pm and afterwards, Dan will treat us to tour of the theatre! Nine is the story of a celebrated film director Guido Contini and his attempts to come up with a plot for his next film as he is pursued and haunted by hordes of beautiful women from his past who won’t leave his mind. Seductive, outrageous and exquisite! Winner! 1982 Tony® Award for Best Musical Winner! 2003 Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Musical Go to http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com  to book your seats for our NENA group. Councilman Simplot’s Community Mtg Tomorrow http://phoenix.gov/district4/news/index.html Message from our Community Action Officer Attached with this email is the Mountain View Precinct's April newsletter. Please take a few minutes to review some of the articles. There is valuable information enclosed on the new Solicitation Ordinance along with information on Phoenix Neighborhood Patrol and the City of Phoenix Blight Busters! If anyone has feedback on what type of articles you would like to see in upcoming newsletters or would like to submit your own articles, please contact me. I would also like to extend an invitation to any NENA resident to do a ride along with myself or one of our patrol officers! Ride alongs are not only exciting, but a chance for you to get to experience police work. If you would like to schedule a ride along please call or email me and I will set up a date and time that work with you. Again, thank you for all you do! Officer Julie Raines #7880 Community Action Officer - 73 South Mountain View Precinct (602) 361-4501 City Cell julie.raines@phoenix.gov Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 04-09-2011 Vigilance in the Neighborhood TNR Feral Cat Yard Sale Fundraiser Phoenix Theatre Fundraiser – NINE Junior Drama Club Academy to perform “Motown Revue” Vigilance in the Neighborhood I want to thank everyone for their continued vigilance in looking out for possible crime in our neighborhood. Sometimes we may diminish that what we are seeing is actually significant enough to report…but if you get the feeling that something doesn’t look right, it vital that you call in what you see to Crime Stop and let them send someone to check it out. That is exactly what neighbors have been doing and these actions may well have stopped a crime from happening. Just a few days ago I received the following concern from Jed Balce: On April 7th in the early evening, I was home when the doorbell rang. A young man, dark hair, fairly good looking, probably mid 20s, wearing cargo shorts, a cap and company emblemed polo shirt was at my door. He stated he was with an alarm company, going around to houses in the neighborhood, seeing if people were interested in "upgrading" their alarm system to a "Cell unit" alarm system, in which you could operate your alarm from your cell, or computer. Alarms would be wireless and not be dependent on phone lines. I told him I wasn't interested and that I already had an alarm. He continued to ask me questions, trying to get information about my alarm. Again I told him no. He then stated that he also spoke with my neighbor next door and that they were possibly interested in upgrading. Well after he left, I actually went over to my neighbor, and confirmed that he did visit them, but unlike his story, they too were NOT interested and that's what they told him. The young man, after leaving my house, went into a white Nissan Sentra (as the passenger) and drove off. Jeb wanted neighbors to be aware that the are people going around the neighborhood posing as alarm people, with no business cards, no company car with logo on it, who may be checking out houses for future break-ins or trying to see if anyone is actually home. TNR Feral Cat Yard Sale Fundraiser On Friday, April 22nd, before it gets too hot, we’ll be holding the NENA TNR Feral Cat Yard Sale Fundraiser. Anyone who has something donate please contact me via email or phone to coordinate dropping items off or letting me know that you can help set up the sale the day before and work the sale on Friday. I have already received emails from a few neighbors with furniture items they are donating. This is just the start of our fundraising to reduce the reproduction and control of feral cats in our neighborhood. I must say it feels good to be working towards a solution for an issue that causes so much angst for those affected by these colonies. We will discuss this issue further at our June 1st meeting and hopefully have some details worked out on an Encanto Duck Race to fund TNR! NINE Phoenix Theatre Fundraiser I hope you will join with other neighbors to attend Phoenix Theatre’s NINE on Friday, May 6th. Tickets are $45 with $5 of each sale going to the NENA general fund. Nine is the story of a celebrated film director Guido Contini and his attempts to come up with a plot for his next film as he is pursued and haunted by hordes of beautiful women from his past who won’t leave his mind. Seductive, outrageous and exquisite! Winner! 1982 Tony® Award for Best Musical Winner! 2003 Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Musical Go to http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com to book your seats for our NENA group. Dan Schaay, Managing Director of the theatre and NENA neighbor, is graciously providing a meet and greet (7pm to 7:45pm) for NENA prior to the show with wine and appetizers. The show begins at 8pm and afterwards, Dan will treat us to tour of the theatre! Junior Drama Club Academy to perform “Motown Revue” NENA Neighbor Stephanie Ringler wanted everyone to know about the upcoming Junior Drama Club Academy’s performance of “Motown Revue”! Tickets are $7 and will take place on Saturday, April 30th at 7pm at 4805 N. 7th. Avenue. Stephanie will be there supporting the junior drama club academy theater group. For more information click on the following link: www.jdcaweb.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 03-23-2011 Encanto Palmcraft Historic Home Tour this Sunday Recycle Aluminum Cans Friday, April 1st Feral Cat Task Force Meeting Encanto Palmcraft Historic Home Tour Sunday, March 27th 10am to 4pm Advanced Ticket Sales You may purchase Advance Tickets online before March 24, 2011 by using PayPal, your debit or credit card account by going to http://encantopalmcroft.org/home-tour/admission-mass.html Advance Tickets are only $14.00 each - a savings of more than 22% off of our 'Day of Tour' ticket price. Tickets can be purchased on Tour Day for $18.00 with cash or check only. Encanto-Palmcroft Home Tour Ticket Booths will be located at Monte Vista & 9th Ave and at the Phoenix College parking lot - NE corner of 15th Ave & Thomas. Shuttle buses will transport ticket holders from PCC to our Encanto-Palmcroft Tour Homes and Street Fair. The entire neighborhood will be closed to vehicle traffic and no street parking will be available. Children 12 and under are welcome and free when accompanied by ticket holding adult(s). Recycle Aluminum Cans Friday, April 1st This is no April Fools Joke J Drop your cans off to June and Ellis Kane’s home located at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. We usually raise about $20 a month through this effort! Let’s help keep NENA GREEN and encourage recycling! Feral Cat Task Force Meeting Last night we held our first Feral Task Force meeting at Phoenix College. Carla Jewell from the Foundation for Homeless Cats did a presentation on why some methods like removal, relocation and banning food are not effective and why the Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) program does work. Neighbors in attendance were Margaret Gossage, Jim Breithaupt, Vern Sutter, Jan Sherwood and myself. Jan is the Regional Park Manager for the Central Division for the City of Phoenix and has been dealing with significant ferel cat issues at Encanto Park. She created a feral cat management plan for the park and has been able to implement a feeding station for the cats. Providing a specific place where the cats are consistently fed helps alleviate the feral cats from roaming the area in search of food. This alone has helped with the management of these colonies of cats. The bigger problem to solve is getting all cats sterilized; this includes household cats who are allowed out of their homes. As Jan aptly put it at our meeting…love’m or hate’m if we do nothing about them, our problem is just going to escalate. Once a cat is sterilized they usually won’t roam more than 250’ from their feeding area and if they do spray the smell is much less offensive, due to the lack of hormones. There are agencies that assist with TNR programs that will loan traps and make arrangements for the sterilizations at reduced costs, usually $20 a cat. But considering the numbers we may have in the neighborhood, this cost adds up quickly. We discussed several ideas on fundraising to pay for a TNR effort and thought we would start with a NENA Yard Sale…we scheduled it for Friday, April 22nd, before it gets too hot. Please contact me to coordinate dropping off items for the yard sale. If you would like to help with pricing items and conducting the sale, please let me know as well. Feeding Station @ Encanto Park Jan had a great idea for a “Duck Race” at Encanto Park and said that she would be willing to work together to raise money for TNR for both NENA and Encanto Park. Ducks would be sold for $10 a piece and the winners would receive a significant prize that we would seek from the community businesses (hotel package, dinners, gift certificates etc.). This effort may be able to be run through a non profit organization that works with Encanto Park, so donations would also be tax deductible. This is the start of the plan, but much more is needed. There will future meetings planned to move forward with creating workable solutions. Many thanks to Carla, Vern, Margaret and Jim for all your input last night! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 NENA Update 03-16-2011 Mountain View Precinct Open House this Saturday First Precinct Newsletter Mountain View Precinct Open House Saturday, March 19, 2011 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 2075 E. Maryland Avenue Precinct First Newsletter Below is the Mountain View Precinct’s first newsletter. It features information on the services offered by the precinct, introductions to Community Action Officers and valuable tips on keeping our homes and neighborhood safe. Please take a moment to browse through it. There is also an opportunity for feed back on what classes the public may be interested in having offered through the precinct.   Attachments:   First Precinct Newsletter Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net   NENA Update 3-8-11 Avenue Q…NENA Fundraiser this Saturday! Feral Cat Task Force Meeting Tues., Mar 22nd Don’t Miss “Avenue Q” Saturday, March 12th! NENA’s second Phoenix Theatre fundraiser event is Avenue Q…a show about real life, sex, the internet and finding your purpose. Lots of fun and fur (puppets), but definitely for an adult audience. The play begins at 8pm and afterwards NENA neighbors will be treated to a back stage tour of the theatre by NENA resident and Managing Director, Dan Schay. Tickets are $45 each with $5 of each purchase going to NENA’s general fund. To order tickets go to the special link created just for NENA at: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com Please also RSVP to Nicki, so she can coordinate those attending for taking the tour! (nmkirkeby@cox.net) Feral Cat Task Force Meeting Tues., Mar 22 On Tuesday, March 22nd, neighbors who are concerned about feral cats wandering our neighborhood will come together to discuss options to reduce and minimize their impact on homes in NENA. Carla from the Foundation for Homeless Cats will speak ways to deal effectively with this situation. I hope that all who have a passion for taking caring of these pets will attend this meeting, as well as those who are being affected by the feral cats living in their area. I believe that collectively we will be able to reduce homeless and feral cats in our neighborhood. While this is a difficult subject, we will put minds together and respectfully talk about solutions. We will meet at Phoenix College and a location there will be announced after I confirm the space with the college. Please RSVP to nmkirkeby@cox.net if you are able to attend the meeting. Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 NENA Update 03-01-2011 Recycle Aluminum Cans TODAY Tues. March 1st NENA Meeting TOMORROW Room 105 by Willo Room Coffee with a Cop in OUR PRECINCT, March 2 Free Auto VIN Etch Event, Mar. 3rd POINT OF PRIDE….Nomination Time! Avenue Q NENA Fundraiser, Mar 12th ________________________________________ Recycle Aluminum Cans Tues. March 1st Tuesday, March 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Please drop your aluminum cans at June & Ellis Kane’s home (1630 W. Flower Circle North). NENA Meeting this Wednesday, March 2nd NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at 7pm in Room OSW-105, adjacent to the Willo Room at Phoenix College located on Flower Street & 11th Avenue. Our Community Action Officer, Julie Raines, will be attending the meeting. Squaw Peak Precinct’s Coffee with a Cop Our CAO, Julie Raines, wanted us to know that the Squaw Peak Precinct's "Coffee with a Cop" is Wednesday, March 2nd at 08:00am!!!!! It will be held at Maizies Cafe and Bistro located at 4750 N. Central Ave. The owner of Maizies is generously donating AMAZING coffee and pastries to anyone who attends! Free Auto VIN Etch Event, Mar. 3rd Brought to you by The Arizona Auto Theft Authority, And The Phoenix Police Department’s Central City Precinct Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Target Department Store 4515 East Thomas Road, Phoenix AZ. You are invited to stop by and have your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) etched onto your windows, discuss with officers other safeguard measures you may utilize to protect your vehicles and receive additional crime prevention information to help protect you and your property. The first 25 participants to sign up for the “Watch Your Car” program will receive a free steering wheel “Club”, theft deterrent device! For more information please call Officer Doreena Wiegert 602-534-6313 POINT OF PRIDE….Nomination Time! It’s time to nominate a home in NENA for the next Point of Pride Award for the April newsletter. If you have a home in your area that you believe deserves to be recognized, please contact Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com or 268.1184. The winner of the POP award receives a $25 gift certificate to the Southwest Gardener! Alley Clean-up Thank You! During the Alley Clean-up on March 19th, NENA neighbors bagged 38 trash bags of debris and trash in five alley ways through out NENA. Additionally, Marvin Dinges, our Block Watch Chair, cleaned the alleyways east of 18th Avenue. Many thanks to: Connie James, Sara Murphy, Yvette Alexander, Ginger Baron, Valerie Rossman, Gini Sater, Sam Melendez, George Holusha, Marvin Dinges, Tom Finnerty and Kara Rosseaux. Thankfully, the rain cooperated and held off until we finished our work. I forgot to include Sara Grisham who also helped out with the alley clean-up, but didn’t make it in the picture….so sorry Sara! Avenue Q, Saturday March 12th @ Phoenix Theatre NENA’s second Phoenix Theatre fundraiser event is Avenue Q…a show about real life, sex, the internet and finding your purpose. Lots of fun and fur (puppets), but definitely for an adult audience. The play begins at 8pm and afterwards NENA neighbor will be treated to a back stage tour of the theatre by NENA resident and Managing Director, Dan Schay. Tickets are $45 each with $5 of each purchase going to NENA’s general fund. To order tickets go to the special link created just for NENA at: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com. Please also RSVP to Nicki, so she can coordinate those attending for taking the tour! (nmkirkeby@cox.net) Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 02-28-2011 Recycle Aluminum Cans Tues. March 1st NENA Meeting this Wednesday Coffee with a Cop, March 2nd Alley Clean-up Thank You! Avenue Q NENA Fundraiser, Mar 12th Recycle Aluminum Cans Tues. March 1st Tuesday, March 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Please drop your aluminum cans at June & Ellis Kane’s home (1630 W. Flower Circle North). Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! NENA Meeting this Wednesday, March 2nd NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at 7pm in Room OSW-105, adjacent to the Willo Room at Phoenix College located on Flower Street & 11th Avenue. This is a great opportunity to hear what is happening first hand and to bring issues that are of concern to you to the attention of other neighbors. Our Community Action Officer will report on crime in our neighborhood. We’ll report out our financial status and discuss upcoming events. I hope many of you will attend and meet your fellow neighbors! Coffee with a Cop, March 2nd REMINDER!! Central City Precinct’s “Coffee with a Cop” Come by “The Original” Bill Johnson’s Big Apple, 3700 East Van Buren at 8:00am the first Wednesday of each month, next meeting being March 2nd , 2011 . Meet with officers of the Central City Precinct, you may purchase coffee, tea, even some breakfast if you like. We look forward to spending some time getting to know you better. See you there! Alley Clean-up Thank You! During the Alley Clean-up on March 19th, NENA neighbors bagged 38 trash bags of debris and trash in five alley ways through out NENA. Additionally, Marvin Dinges, our Block Watch Chair, cleaned the alleyways east of 18th Avenue. Many thanks to: Connie James, Sara Murphy, Yvette Alexander, Ginger Baron, Valerie Rossman, Gini Sater, Sam Melendez, George Holusha, Marvin Dinges, Tom Finnerty and Kara Rosseaux. Thankfully, the rain cooperated and held off until we finished our work. As a reminder, please be mindful of placing items that may cause harm to sanitation workers (like glass, sharp objects etc.) in safe containers that will not injure those who have to pick up items left in the alleyways. Broken glass can be placed inside a cardboard box to enclose sharp edges. Avenue Q, Saturday March 12th @ Phoenix Theatre NENA’s second Phoenix Theatre fundraiser event is Avenue Q…a show about real life, sex, the internet and finding your purpose. Lots of fun and fur (puppets), but definitely for an adult audience. The play begins at 8pm and afterwards NENA neighbor will be treated to a back stage tour of the theatre by NENA resident and Managing Director, Dan Schay. Tickets are $45 each with $5 of each purchase going to NENA’s general fund. To order tickets go to the special link created just for NENA at: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com. Please also RSVP to Nicki, so she can coordinate those attending for taking the tour! (nmkirkeby@cox.net) Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 02-17-2011 Puppy Found in NENA Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th 8am to 11am Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection February 17-19th Flags Displayed Monday, Feb 21st (Presidents Day) Avenue Q, Saturday March 12th @ Phoenix Theatre March 2nd NENA Quarterly Meeting 7pm ________________________________________________ Puppy Found in NENA NENA resident, Stephanie Ringler has found an adorable puppy with no tags and no collar. She is a sweet white puppy with black spots on her face and one on her eye. If anyone is missing this little cutie…please contact Stephanie at 602-222-9175 or my cell- 480-371-0899. Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th 8am to 11am Volunteers will meet at 1539 W Mulberry Drive at 0800 for coffee and then get right to work. RSVP to Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net or 480-586-8556. Afterwards we’ll have pizza and refreshments at Nicki’s! Bulk Trash Placement Next Week Beginning on Saturday, February 19th through February 27th neighbors can place bulk trash in the alley. During the week of February 28th bulk trash will be picked up. For information on what is acceptable and what is not please visit http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshcoll.html Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection February 17-19th Drop of household hazardous waste at Palmcroft Baptist Church from 8am to 2pm to 15825 N. 35th Avenue (SE corner of 35th Ave. & Marconi Ave.) HHW events are FREE for Phoenix residents. When bringing your HHW don't forget ... Proof of Phoenix residency required. (Bring your current Phoenix municipal services bill showing solid waste fees AND a matching photo ID with same Phoenix address) No commercial or large residential quantities can be accepted at these events. Residents of other cities should call your local solid waste authority for information. A maximum of five over-the-road-tires per resident will be accepted. No tractor or oversize tires will be allowed. Residential appliances, electronics and computers are also accepted. Flags Displayed Monday, Feb 21st (Presidents Day) This Monday, the 19th, our NENA Flag volunteers will be placing flags through out our neighborhood to honor the current and past presidents of our nation. Be sure to thank these volunteers when you see them setting up or taking down the flags. Thanks so much Flag Volunteers…you make our neighborhood shine! Avenue Q, Saturday March 12th @ Phoenix Theatre NENA’s second Phoenix Theatre fundraiser event is Avenue Q…a show about real life, sex, the internet and finding your purpose. Lots of fun and fur (puppets), but definitely for an adult audience. The play begins at 8pm and afterwards NENA neighbor will be treated to a back stage tour of the theatre by NENA resident and Managing Director, Dan Schay. Tickets are $45 each with $5 of each purchase going to NENA’s general fund. To order tickets go to the special link created just for NENA at: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com March 2nd NENA Quarterly Meeting Mark your calendar for the next NENA quarterly meeting. It will take place on Wednesday, March 2nd at 7pm at Phoenix College in classroom 105 which is near the Willo Room on Flower Street and 11th Avenue. Our Community Action Officer, Julie Raines, will be attending and we hope to have a speaker on feral cats. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 01-27-2011 Aluminum Can Drop Off Tues. Feb 1st Groundhog’s Day Potluck Saturday, Feb 5th Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th Encanto Sports Complex Spring Brochure Now Available NENA Neighbor in ASU Ceramic Research Centers Guided Tour _____________________________________________________ Aluminum Can Drop Off Tuesday, February 1st Tuesday, February 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Don’t forget to drop your aluminum cans off to June & Ellis Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Groundhog’s Day Potluck Saturday, Feb 5th Saturday, February 5th from Noon to 3pm we’ll be gathering for our annual Groundhog’s Day Potluck. The event will take place on Catalina Drive between 16th Drive and 17th Avenue. The street will be blocked off to traffic and there will be games for the kids, music and lots of good food. We’ll have a 16’ Dry Slide for the kids! It is the perfect time to stop by and meet some new neighbors. Councilman Simplot will be attending and so will the Phoenix Fire Department!. If you are able to help with the setup for the event or help with cooking hotdogs and burgers, please let Nicki know at nmkirkeby@cox.net.  Hope to see some new faces at this very fun event! There is no cost for this event or for the food! If you would like to bring a dish to share with neighbors that would be appreciated, but not required! Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th We still need volunteers for the Alley Clean-up that is scheduled for Saturday, February 19th from 8AM to around 11AM. We’ve coordinated the event to coincide with the Bulk Trash Pick-up, so we’ll leave the bags of debris next to the trash cans for the City to pick up the next week. The City of Phoenix provides gas powered weed eaters, gloves, rakes, bags, goggle and clippers to make this task go quickly. We’d like to have 4 teams, one for each Section of NENA, so we’ll need about 16 volunteers. We do this once a year and it really makes a difference in how our neighborhood looks. After we’re finished we’ll return to Nicki’s for refreshments and pizza! Please let me know ASAP if you are able to help out with this event. We’ll meet at Nicki’s (1539 W Mulberry Drive) at 0800 for coffee and then get right to work. RSVP to nmkirkeby@cox.net   Encanto Sports Complex Spring Brochure is Now Available NENA neighbor Jan Sherwood wanted to let everyone know that the Encanto Sports Complex Spring Brochure is now available at: http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/encanto.html Spring Registration (March, April, May) opens Saturday 2/5/11 at 10:30am. We will be offering: youth, teen and adult tennis lessons, youth soccer leagues and adult tennis leagues. Jan Sherwood, Park Manager, Encanto Park City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department 602-261-8991 NENA Neighbor in ASU Ceramic Research Centers Guided Tour NENA neighbor, Deborah Hodder, will be a host at her studio for the ASU Ceramic Research Center's Self-Guided Ceramic Tour on the last weekend of February. Deborah’s work will be displayed in her strudio at 1515 West Catalina Drive from 10AM-to 4PM.  Also, her show at 515arts Gallery on Roosevelt St. will be showing the month of April. To view the brochure with other artists on the tour go to: http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/studiotour/ Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 01-27-2011 NENA Data Base Deleted Aluminum Can Drop Off Tues. Feb 1st Groundhog’s Day Potluck Saturday, Feb 5th Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th Welcome New Section B Coordinators! Feral Cat Task Force NENA Data Base Deleted Shortly after sending the last update out, I was adding a new contact to the data base and accidentally deleted the entire NENA data base from my Oulook address book. For those of you who work with distribution lists…I know you feel my pain. I personally think we all need our own IT person. I have restored what I can of the list, but may have added names of those who have left the neighborhood or had a change of email address. If you’ve received this email and no longer live in the neighborhood and wish to be removed please email me at nmkirkeby@cox.net and I will take you off the list. I will be asking our Crime Alert Coordinator, Connie Tyler, to send a message out after I sent this update out. Anyone who didn’t get this message, should get Connie’s and they will be asked to send me their email addresses, so I can add them to the data base. This should get everyone back on the email list. I will move more cautiously when using the delete key moving forward. Aluminum Can Drop Off Tuesday, February 1st Tuesday, February 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Don’t forget to drop your aluminum cans off to June & Ellis Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! We have seen consistent funds of approximately $20 a month! Thanks everyone!  Groundhog’s Day Potluck Saturday, Feb 5th On Saturday, February 5th from Noon to 3pm we’ll be gathering for our annual Groundhog’s Day Potluck. The event will take place on Catalina Drive between 16th Drive and 17th Avenue. The street will be blocked off to traffic and there will be games for the kids, music and lots of good food. It is the perfect time to stop by and meet some new neighbors. Councilman Simplot will be attending and we’re hopeful that the Phoenix Fire Department will be there will a truck. If you are able to help with the setup for the event or help with cooking hotdogs and burgers, please let Nicki know at nmkirkeby@cox.net.  Hope to see some new faces at this very fun event!    Alley Clean-up Saturday, Feb. 19th Alley Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, February 19th from 8AM to around 11AM. The weather couldn’t be more perfect for doing a little sprucing up in the alleys and we’ve coordinated the event to coincide with the Bulk Trash Pick-up, so we’ll leave the bags of debris next to the trash cans for the City to pick up the next week. The City of Phoenix provides gas powered weed eaters, gloves, rakes, bags, goggle and clippers to make this task go quickly. We’d like to have 4 teams, one for each Section of NENA, so we’ll need about 16 volunteers. We do this once a year and it really makes a difference in how our neighborhood looks. After we’re finished we’ll return to Nicki’s for refreshments and pizza! Please let me know ASAP if you are able to help out with this event. I’m a bit delayed in getting notice out in a timely manner, due to losing my database.   We’ll meet at Nicki’s (1539 W Mulberry Drive) at 0800 for coffee and then get right to work. RSVP to nmkirkeby@cox.net   Welcome New Section B Coordinators! I am very please to let everyone know that Kyle & Ashley Voris (kvorris@irr.com) have volunteered to serve as the Section B Coordinators! Thanks so much for stepping up to help out with the delivery of our newsletters!   Feral Cat Task Force Just a reminder that anyone wishing to look into possibilities for reducing the number of feral cats in our neighborhood should let me know of their willingness to serve on this task force. The first step will be to coordinate a meeting date that works for the majority of those interested. While this subject can cause great emotion, we’ll have civil conversations and look for ways that we can effectively reduce the number of feral cats in our neighborhood. Please let me know if you are willing to work towards a solution by serving on the task force. Contact Nicki nmkirkeby@cox.net Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update - January 1, 2011 Newsletter to be Delivered Aluminum Can Drop Off Today Hazardous Waste Collection Jan. 13-15 NENA Book Club Jan. 23rd 3-5pm Section B Coordinator Position Open NENA Newsletter to be Delivered in Next Few Days The quarterly newsletter will be delivered in the next few days to NENA neighbors. Please take some time to read through it and hang onto it for referring to upcoming dates. There are also a few coupons in the newsletter for folks to use at local restaurants too! I would like to thank all those who contribute to the production of our newsletter with writing articles, editing and placing on our website, along with our Section Coordinators who hand deliver the newsletter each quarter! Your efforts are much appreciated by all! Aluminum Can Drop Off Today!  Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011 Saturday, News Years Day, January 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Don’t forget to drop your aluminum cans off to June & Ellis Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! Hazardous Waste Collection Jan. 13-15 The City of Phoenix will be accepting hazardous waste at the following location on Jan. 13-15th Desert West Park 6602 W. Encanto Blvd. (NE corner, 67th Ave. & Encanto Blvd.) (Enter from Encanto Blvd.) Acceptable HHW Materials at Collection Events • Computers/printers • Air conditioners/heat pumps • Varnish/turpentine/linseed oil • Pool chemicals • Pesticides/herbicides • Brake/transmission fluids • Gasoline/diesel fuel/additives • Refrigerators/freezers • Five tires per household (rims OK) • Washers/dryers/water heaters ●No oversized tires • Evaporative coolers • Televisions (no console TVs) • Car batteries/lead acid batteries • Stoves/dishwashers • Antifreeze, paint, oil, solvents, adhesives • Fire extinguishers/propane tanks Unacceptable Materials at Collection Events • Regular refuse and bulk trash. • Commercial waste. • Compressed gas cylinders such as oxygen, helium and acetylene. • Medication, sharps/syringes, biomedical waste. • Residential appliances/small metal appliances, such as toasters, irons, pots and pans, can be placed in your blue Phoenix Recycles container. • Large quantities of residential or commercial waste. • No more than 20 gallons of paint. Contact private disposal companies for disposal of both commercial waste and large quantities of residential waste. When bringing your HHW don’t forget to... • Bring your current municipal services bill showing solid waste refuse fees and matching photo I.D. with the same address. NENA Book Club Jan. 23rd 3-5pm On Jan. 23rd from 3pm to 5pm NENA neighbors will gather at Ginger Baron’s home to discuss the book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pell Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. If possible please let Ginger know you will be attending, so she can provide enough seating. You can RSVP to Ginger at 423-3496 or through our NENA Facebook page. If you end up having the day open and have not RSVP’d please feel free to attend as well. It is not necessary to have read the book. You might enjoy hearing what others have to say about the book to inspire you to read it. The NENA Book Club meets six times a year. Section B Coordinator Position Open We are in need of filling the Section B Coordinator position, so if you live in Section B and would like to help with the quarterly delivering of the newsletters please let me know at nmkirkeby@cox.net. This is great way to get out and meet neighbors and to check out what is going on in the neighborhood. I hope everyone had a blessed holiday and wish you all a healthy and joyful new year! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update - Sunday, November 21, 2010 Bulk Trash Placement Nov 20-29th NENA Quarterly Meeting, Wed. Dec 1st Phoenix Theatre “Hairspray” Fundraiser, Dec 3rd St. Gregory’s Art Show, Dec. 4 Thanks to all who made the Street Fair a Success! Nominations for POP, Recipes for Newsletter Encanto Park’s 75th Birthday Celebration Bulk Trash Placement Nov 20-29th Neighbors may place bulk trash items in their alley from Nov. 20th through the 29th. The City of Phoenix will begin picking up these items on Monday, November 29th. For a list of items that you can place in the alley visit: http://phoenix.gov/GARBAGE/trshmain.html If you are ever in doubt of when the proper time for placement of bulk items is taking place, you can find it on our NENA website under the Community Links page at the top of the site. This is a great service offered to our community through our city taxes. NENA Quarterly Meeting, Wed. Dec 1st NENA Quarterly Meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at 7pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College located on Flower Street and 11th Avenue. This is a great opportunity to hear what is happening first hand and to bring issues that are of concern to you to the attention of other neighbors. Our Community Action Officer will be invited to attend to report on crime in our neighborhood. We’ll report out our financial status and discuss upcoming events. I hope many of you will attend and meet your fellow neighbors! Dec. 3rd….Phoenix Theatre “Hairspray” On Friday, December 3rd, NENA residents will get together for the Phoenix Theatre production of Hairspray. The tickets are $45 each with $7 going to NENA’s general fund. These are weekend tickets in the first tier of seating. Neighbors will be treated to a special tour of the theatre after the show by NENA resident and Managing Director of the theatre, Dan Schay. Below is a special link has been created just for NENA residents to order their tickets. Dan attended the street fair and said this production is fabulous! This is an intimate theatre and a wonderful way to spend an evening while helping support our NENA fund. I hope to see many of our NENA residents for this entertaining show! http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com St. Gregory’s Art Show, Dec. 4 On Saturday, Dec. 4th St. Gregory’s will hold an Art Show in the Gordon Hall Building from 9am to 3pm. There will be a variety of artists, including some who participated in the NENA Street Fair. Thanks to all who made the Street Fair a Success! Thanks so much to all the vendors who beautifully displayed their wares for our second annual Arts & Craft Street Fair. We had a gorgeous day for the event and it was well attended. A big thank you to all the volunteers (Mike Sanders, Tom Denny, Sara Murhpy, Gregg Grisham, Sara Hesch, Ginger Baron, Mason Hite, Gini Sater, and John (who lives next to Tom Denny…sorry I don’t you’re your last name John) who helped set up and break-down for the event, as well as Chris Devine who performed and Nicole Schaan who painted faces. A good time was had by all who attended and some lovely wares were purchased by those who attended! Nominations for POP There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations must be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com by December 10th to be considered for the January Point of Pride Award. Recipes for Upcoming Newsletter The deadline to send your favorite recipe to be considered for publishing in the next NENA newsletter is also December 10th. Send recipes to Mason Hite at masonoid@slywiz.com Encanto Park’s 75th Birthday Celebration Encanto Park is celebrating its 75th birthday, Saturday November 27, 2010. It is the premier park destination and one we can all be proud. The event is from 10 am to 8 pm. More information is available at http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/75bd Music and artistic entertainment all day, fireworks at 7:00 p.m., games organized by Downtown YMCA and ASU, bounce zone, pony rides, dedications of new park features, C.P. Huntington Train, the Flying Jenny, food and drinks....and much more! Please visit the official City of Phoenix website link below for details. The park lake is being cleaned, a new red bridge, to replace the old one, is being added. Local NENA resident and artist, Rosemary Holusha will have her painting studies, that were completed at Encanto, on display at he club house. Schedule of Events Please join the Birthday Party in the Park 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Music, clowns, inflatable fun bounce zone, butterflies, face painters, balloon twisters, pony rides, art vendors, petting zoo, dance performances, fireworks, food, refreshments, and more will create a uniquely enchanting community celebration! Featuring: Red Bridge and Encanto Entrada dedications and Garden of Dreams vision and plans 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Family fun activities for all ages hosted by the Downtown YMCA and ASU Recreation students 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Friends of Encanto Park fund-raising reception at the Historic Clubhouse to benefit Encanto Park 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. Taylor & Associates Fireworks Extravaganza at 7 p.m. Enchanted Island Amusement Park will be featuring local musicians and entertainment on the main stage at the picnic grove. Radio Campesina Stage Entertainment Schedule 10:00 to 11:05 Descen Dencia 11:20 to 11:45 Phoenix Children's Chorus 12:00 to 12:45 City Jazz 1:00 to 1:45 Miguel "El Renegado" y su Grupa 2:00 to 2:45 Whisperlights 3:00 to 3:45 Country Justice 4:00 to 4:45 Tobie Milford 5:00 to 5:45 Haymarket Square 6:00 to 6:45 Consider This 7:00 Taylor & Associates Fireworks Spectacular! Friends of Encanto Park fund-raising reception at the Historic Clubhouse to benefit Encanto Park. 4:00 PM to 9 p.m. Featuring the artistic and culinary excellence of Historic Downtown Phoenix- favorite local restaurants, full bar, art auction, with musical and theatrical delights. Clubhouse space is limited. Advance tickets are available now for $50 at www.friendsofencantopark.com or $75 at the door. FREE Park & Shuttle service from Phoenix College parking structure on 15th Ave just north of Thomas. Shuttle begins at 9:30 a.m. with last shuttle leaving Encanto Park at 8:30 p.m. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update - Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010 Thursday is Veterans Day. Flags on Display Arts & Craft Street Fair this Saturday! Thursday is Veterans Day. Flags on Display Tomorrow is Veterans Day and NENA volunteers through out our neighborhood will be posting flags in front of all homes in NENA. If you have your own flag, be sure to display it as well to honor the men and woman who have served our country, as well as those who are currently serving. If you are veteran, Applebee's is offering a free meal for any veteran! We solute your service and hope you have a wonderful day being appreciated for all that you have done! Arts & Craft Street Fair this Saturday! I hope you all will make it by the Arts & Craft Street Fair this Saturday from 11am to 4pm. It will take place on Catalina Drive, between 16th Dr and 17th Ave. The local businesses have been terrific about donating to our raffle that will include gift certificates to La Pinata, Pei Wei, McGurkees, Southwest Gardeners, Mi Patio, My Mothers, Pizza A Metro, Hamburger Works and gift items from Ace Hardware, Starbucks, Purple Lizard, Super Star Videos and much more!!! We'll have burgers and dogs on the grill and music to entertain you with. Mike Sanders has painted some incredible signs that are sure to bring shoppers into our neighborhood! So stop by and check out the beautiful wares of your local artisans! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 31, 2010 Get the Word out About Arts & Craft Street Fair Pass on your Referral Dear Neighbors, Get the Word out About Arts & Craft Street Fair Our Arts & Craft Street Fair is less than 2-weeks away and we need to get the message out to all possible venues to make it a success. Sara Murphy and Gregg Grisham are delivering 13X19 color posters to local businesses and leaving flyers with businesses to promote the event. I am leaving about 250 flyers on my front porch (1539 W. Mulberry Dr) so neighbors and vendors can pick up and distribute to their family, friends and businesses. We can order more flyers, so please take what you need and I will have more printed if necessary. Click here for the flyer, so neighbors can email to their contact lists as well. If you have a facebook page or twitter….please post our event there too. We will advertise the event in both the Friday and Saturday AZ Republic and also on Craigs List. If you are involved with your church, school or any other local community center, please ask them to display the poster and/or include it in their bulletin. Thank you all for helping get the word out about the Arts & Craft Street Fair! There is still space available for vendors. Anyone who is interested can contact me at the email listed below. It’s going to be even better than last years’ event! Pass on your Referral Shortly after the October 5th storm I forwarded a list of handymen and contractors that were referred by local neighbors. By now I am sure that a great many have had estimates and have had work completed by these and other workers. If you have been pleased with the professionalism and the work that has been done on your home, please forward the contact information for the person or business and I will compile a list to send out to NENA. No one likes to pick a service person out blindly, so this list would be most helpful for those who have not had an opportunity to find workers to repair their windows, roofs and air conditioners. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 28, 2010 Take Survey on 7th Ave. Reverse Lanes Drop your Aluminum Cans on Monday, Nov. 1st St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive Success Oct 5th Hail Storm….Check out your Roof & AC Units! Arts & Craft Fair Dec. 3rd….Phoenix Theatre “Hairspray” Reverse Lanes Survey Set To Close Oct. 31 The city's Reverse Lanes Task Force will close the online survey for the Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street reverse lanes on Sunday, Oct. 31. Responses from the online survey, public comment cards and e-mails will be submitted to the task force in November, and through consensus, the task force will present written recommendations to the City Council no later than Dec. 31, at which time the citizen task force will sunset. Please take the survey very soon if you haven't already. Thank you! Visit http://phoenix.gov/news/102610reverselanes.html for more information. Drop your Aluminum Cans on Monday, Nov. 1st Monday, November 1st is NENA Aluminum Can Recycling Day. Don’t forget to drop your aluminum cans off to June & Ellis Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive a Success! A BIG thank you goes out to Sara Murphy, her parents and Joanne Babich for coordinating the collection of the St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive. Thanks so much for those who were able to donate to this great cause! Collectively, we donated 81 pounds of food through the drive! Great job everyone! Oct 5th Hail Storm….Check out your Roof & AC Units! It’s a good idea to call your home insurance provider to have an adjuster come out and inspect your property. I spoke with one neighbor who replaced his entire roof less than 5 months ago and is now having to replace the entire roof because of the hail storm on October 5th. I also heard back from one neighbor, whose roof is less than 2 years old and appeared to be fine, but also needs to be completely replaced. The Phoenix are has been declared a Catastrophic Area, due to 3 Hail Storms that went thru the Valley on TUES OCT 5th. Insurance companies consider it "an Act of God"and will NOT use the "2 strikes and you're out rule”. You cannot be dropped because of claim due to this damaging storm. An adjuster can also inspect your air conditioner and any other property that might have been damaged (patio furniture, storage sheds, etc.) NENA Arts & Craft Street Fair There is still space available for vendors for the upcoming Arts & Craft Street Fair. The space is $25 with the vendors providing their tables and shade cover if desired. There will be live music, face painting, grilled food and lots of advertising for the event. If you know someone who is interested in participating please have them fill out the registration form that is attached with this email. This was a great event last year and will be even better this year! Dec. 3rd….Phoenix Theatre “Hairspray” On Friday, December 3rd, NENA residents will get together for the Phoenix Theatre production of Hairspray. The tickets are $45 each with $7 going to NENA’s general fund. These are weekend tickets in the first tier of seating. Neighbors will be treated to a tour of the theatre after the show by NENA resident and Managing Director of the theatre, Dan Schay. Below is a special link has been created just for NENA residents to order their tickets: http://nenaatphoenixtheatre.yolasite.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 22, 2010 St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive on Saturday, 23rd NENA Resident Running for School Board Watch Your Small Animals in your Back Yards Still Room for More Vendors for the Arts & Craft Fair St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive on Saturday, 23rd NENA is holding its 3rd Annual St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive tomorrow, Saturday, October 23rd. Please set your donations in a bag outside your front porch before 12 pm (noon) that day and attach the orange half sheet that was placed in the last NENA newsletter to your bag. If you do not have the orange sheet, please just mark your bag for St. Mary’s or NENA. The bags will be collected shortly after noon. Thank you for your generosity in donating to the St. Mary’s Food Bank! If you have any questions, please contact Sara Murphy at 602-703-9717 or e-mail her at sara.murphy@phoenix.edu NENA Resident Running for Osborn School Board One of our own is running for a School Governing Board position for the Osborn District. When I asked Sue to give me some background on why she was running for this position, this is what she told me. “I have been a resident of our neighborhood since 1958. I attended Encanto and Clarendon Schools fourth grade through eighth grade. All three of my children went all nine years through Osborn School. I started working for the Osborn District in 1983 and just retired October 2009. I have a great love for the district - and it has been a part of my life for many, many years. I know how the district was, how it is and how it could be. The supplies that the teachers get for their classrooms has greatly diminished and they are spending more and more out of their own pockets. I believe the need for physical education, music, and art are essential for the growth and development of the children and will do everything I can to get those classes back into the schedule on a more regular basis. I would greatly appreciate the support of my NENA neighbors. Osborn has been a great school district and we have the potential to again become a premier district of choice in Phoenix AGAIN.” No matter how you vote, please vote on November 2nd or be sure to send in your early ballot. Good Luck Sue! Watch Your Small Animals in your Back Yards Last week June and Ellis Kane’s goose was killed in their back yard. They have a 6’ fence around their yard and are uncertain if it was a coyote or a hawk. Please keep an eye out for your small animals when they are in your backyard. Their goose had been with them since 2000 when Ellis received it as a retirement gift. Our condolences go out to June & Ellis. Still Room for More Vendors for the Arts & Craft Fair There is still space available for vendors for the upcoming Arts & Craft Street Fair. The space is $25 with the vendors providing their tables and shade cover if desired. There will be live music, face painting, grilled food and lots of advertising for the event. If you know someone who is interested in participating please have them fill out the registration form that is attached with this email. This was a great event last year and will be even better this year! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 8, 2010 Recovering from the Storm Is Someone Missing a Cat after the Storm? Dear NENA Neighbors, While I was out of town for the Hail Storm that tore through NENA, I have heard from many neighbors reporting the damage to trees, window and fencing. It looks pretty devastating through out the neighborhood. I have requested street sweeping for our area, which should take place sometime early next week. It will be helpful to the street sweepers, if neighbors park cars in their driveways in order to clean more area of the street. Please do not sweep the debris into piles (unless you plan to pick it up yourself), as this makes it more difficult for the sweeper to pick up. To dispose of storm damage material, residents may request a free voucher this week for one of the city's transfer stations at 27th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road or North Gateway Transfer Station off of Interstate-17 and Dixileta Road. Residents should cover their loads and bring a city water bill and driver's license for proof of residency. As a reminder our bulk trash pickup is not scheduled until November 20 through the 29th, so please do not place tree debris in the alley. A few neighbors have forwarded me referrals of persons that do handyman work and I am including this info with this email. When situations like this occur the NENA Message Board would be a great place to exchange this information. I encourage neighbors to start utilizing this resource. When you sign up for the message board, you will receive a confirmation from our webmaster, Brian Clark, upon his receipt of your email signing up for it. Barbara & Dan Schay referred: Bill Parker, aka Beep's Handyman Services Cell: 602 576 9356 Home: 602 277 7908 Sara Murphy referred: Our handyman is Jamie and his number is 602-687-2216. He has done a lot of projects and fixes roof leaks. He has been our superman! Nicki Kirkeby refers: Jim Benavidez 623-628-8152 Jim has taken care of my yard for years, but also does brick work and all general maintenance. He is reliable and does great work. My neighbor Don Wuebbels has used his services for years and raves about him! Nicki Kirkeby also refers: Tony Roe with M and H Building & Remodeling at 602-380-7426. Tony and his team did my entire roof, installed French doors and windows on the back of my house, replaced a window with a full lite door, built my beautiful patio with all kinds of lighting. I cannot say enough good things about them. They are reliable, journeymen, who do the job right the first time. Sue Corbin has trouble with her air conditioning unit after the storm and referred: A-Quality HVAC - phone number 623-853-1482. She had this to say about the company: As I told you this morning, my air conditioning wasn't working. I called the company about 7:00 this morning. He called me back around 8:00 and told me he would have someone here between 9 and 10. The man arrived at 9:15. He explained what happened in terms I could understand, and it was fixed and he was on his way by 10:00. I have known the owner of the company for close to 30 years. He used to work in the maintenance department at Osborn School District and left there about 1993-94 to start up his business. I would recommend him to anyone!!! Is Someone Missing a Cat after the Storm? After the storm there is a big orange and white cat hanging around my house and it appears it has been fed and possibly has an owner. I am reaching out to you to see if someone has a lost their cat. Ben Weisenberg bweisenberg@cox.net I hope this information has been of help. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update October 1, 2010 Aluminum Can Recycle Collection Today, Oct. 1st Phoenix Library Website Feedback Please Don’t Trash the Alleys! NENA Newsletter Coming to Homes in Next Few Days! Dear Neighbors, Friday, October 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! Now that the weather is hotter, we’ll all be drinking more beverages from aluminum cans….please save them for NENA! Sorry for getting this notice out on the same day as the drop off. Phoenix Public Library Website Revamped! Kristl Chavez, who serves as the Community Relations Web Content Librarian for the Phoenix Pubic Library did a presentation at our last NENA meeting and let neighbors know that the library’s website has been revamped and has some new exciting features that make it easier to use. Visit the library’s website at www.phxlib.org and provide your input on how you like it and provide Kristl with any ideas you have for making it even better! Provide your feedback to Kristl at kristl.chavez@phoenix.gov Please Don’t Trash the Alleys! Each household is responsible for taking care of the space directly behind their homes in the alleyway. Each quarter the City of Phoenix provides home owners the opportunity to place larger items that need to be disposed of, in the alley (Bulk Trash Pick-up) behind their homes. An entire week is designated for homeowners to place these items and the following week the City picks up these bulk items. There are specific parameters for allowable items and you can view this list by going to http://phoenix.gov/GARBAGE/trshmain.html Please be respectful of your fellow neighbors and keep our alleyways clear of unsightly items. It is against the law to dump or dispose of items outside of the bulk trash timeframe. I received an email from a NENA resident who had items strewn across the back of her home. Kindly hold onto your items until the appropriate time to place them out. The dates are always listed on the last page of the NENA newsletter. See attached photo of dumping situation in alley. NENA Newsletter Coming to Homes in Next Few Days! The NENA quarterly news letter is at the printers and will be delivered to home very soon by our Section Coordinators. Thank you Mason, Chris, Joanne, Mary and Jim! It is already on our website (thank you Brian!) Brian will be adding information that is referred to in the letter from the President regarding complete responses I received from the City and State Historic Preservation Office. This should be on the website shortly. Once again it is a beautifully designed newsletter, (great job Deanna!) with wonderful articles contributed by NENA residents. Please hang on to your copy as there are reminders for upcoming events and numbers to use for police, graffiti and such. I hope you all enjoy it. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update September 19, 2010 Super Block Sale Oct 16th Lost Cat in NENA Arizona State Fair Info Super Block Sale Oct 16th Mark your calendar for the upcoming NENA Super Block Sale on Saturday, October 16th. This coincides with the opening weekend of the AZ State Fair. Neighbors who participate are asked to contribute $5 towards the NENA general fund. This is great time to clean up and clear out unwanted items and make a little extra money in the process. It’s also a great time to visit with neighbors as you travel throughout the neighborhood shopping. Yard sale signs will be placed around the parameters of NENA late in the afternoon on Friday to draw traffic into the yard sales. The weather should be cooling down and about perfect for holding a yard sale! Have you seen Tino in the Neighborhood? Megan Geston’s pet cat, Tino has been lost in the neighborhood and she’s hoping someone has seen him. Tino is a black neutered male, with yellow eyes and is approximately 2 years old. He has a significant line of fur on his belly, likely from being fixed. If you’ve seen Tino please contact Megan at 602.265.3595. Arizona State Fair Information below. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! http://editor.ne16.com/he/vo.aspx?FileID=dda3d35b-8b6b-4656-ab68-771fdd9a7878&m=02e1821d1f46ac48b298f6d701fc5a74&MailID=13470555 Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update September 11, 2010 Are You Receiving the Crime Alert Messages? Book Club Sunday (To Kill a Mockingbird) Oct. 6th Deadline for Exterior Grants from HPO Droid & iPhone Applications Available for Reporting Blight Councilman Simplott’s Newsletter Are You Receiving the Crime Alert Messages? If you see a crime being committed or see something of a suspicious nature your first call should be to 911. Your second action should be to email our Crime Alert Coordinator, Connie Tyler at contyler@yahoo.com. Connie will dispatch an email to the neighborhood ASAP. Connie keeps a separate data base for the neighborhood, so if you receive these NENA updates, but didn’t receive a Crime Alert message earlier today, please click on Connie’s email link above and provide her with your email address, so that you receive these important emails. In less than 3 weeks there have been two homes burglarized in NENA. Both were approached from the alley in broad daylight. It is concerning that NENA has been the target of two burglaries in such a short span and I will contact our Community Action Officer about this. I encourage all neighbors to keep a watchful eye for suspicious activity, especially in the alleyways. If you have a security system in your home, please be sure to activate it when you leave home. If you are leaving for a few days contact Marvin Dinges, our Neighborhood Patrol at madinges@hotmail.com and let him know, so that he can keep a closer eye on your property. Make sure window and doors are locked in the daytime and the evening and let your neighbors know when you are out of town for awhile as well. Book Club Sunday, Sep. 12th (To Kill a Mockingbird) Tomorrow the NENA Book Club will meet to discuss To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Neighbors will meet at 3 p.m. at Jim Jeffries at 2941 N 17th Avenue Oct. 6th Deadline for Exterior Grants from HPO For neighbors who have been thinking about applying for an Exterior Grant from the Historic Preservation Office the deadline to do so is Wednesday, October 6th. The Historic Preservation Office (HPO) has decided to continue allowing exterior rehabilitation grants for roof replacements including asphalt shingle and built up roof materials (used on flat roofs). For more information visit the HPO at http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/HISTORIC/index.html Droid & iPhone Applications Available for Reporting Blight Droid-type phone users may download the application for free from the Droid Market by searching for the keyword “myphoenix” and then clicking on My Phoenix. Once installed, users will simply open the application and follow the prompts to take a picture of the violation and then tap “submit.” Using built-in global positioning system technology, the application will attach a location to the picture and send the complaint to the Neighborhood Services Department. Residents also can choose an option to receive updates on the status of their request. The My Phoenix Android app follows the June launch of an iPhone app, which was enthusiastically received by residents and neighborhood groups, resulting in more than 1,000 downloads to date. Reminder for iPhone users: download the myPhxAZ application for free from the iPhone App Store by searching for the keyword “myPhoenix” and selecting myPhxAz. For those who don’t own smartphone technology, no worries – Phoenix residents may continue to report blight to Neighborhood Services by e-mail at blight@phoenix.gov and by phone at 602-262-7844 Councilman Simplot’s Newsletter - September 2010 In this issue: Morning District Meeting Councilman Simplot Rappels from Roof of One Lexington for Special Olympics! AIDS Walk Phoenix & 5K Run Moonlight Movie in the Park Reminder Morning District Meeting This month's Morning District Meeting will be held at the Bret Tarver Learning Center on Thursday, September 9th at 8am. Our guest speaker will be the new Maryvale Precinct Commander, Rob Handy. The learning center is located at 1516 N. 35th Ave. (35th Ave. and McDowell). Tom Simplot Rappels from Roof of One Lexington for Special Olympics! On November 10th, I will be rappelling from the 17th Floor of the One Lexington building in Central Phoenix! All proceeds from the Over the Edge event will benefit Special Olympics Arizona, and I need your help to reach my goal of at least $1000! Please visit my webpage to support this great cause. Proceeds from the 2010 AIDS Walk Phoenix & 5 K Run, an Aunt Rita’s Event, will support 19 Valley-based agencies providing support, resources and services. The Walk is scheduled Sunday, Oct. 3 in downtown Phoenix. Councilman Simplot is looking forward to the event and encourages everyone to participate. You can visit aidswalkphoenix.org for more details and registration information. Moonlight Movie in the Park Reminder Our Moonlight Movies in the Park program is back on October 16th! In partnership with Cox Communications, we will be showing the all-time classic, "Wizard of Oz." The movie will be shown at the Steele Indian School Park amphitheater at sundown. Steele Indian School Park is located at 300 E Indian School Rd. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update September 1, 2010 NENA Meeting Today! Need Help with Flags in Section A Super Block Sale – Oct. 16th Food Drive Update on RONS Club Dear Neighbors, I would like to thank several of the neighbors who brought to my attention a few items that I didn’t mention in the last update. Our email updates have proven to be a useful tool in keeping neighbors informed and I’m grateful that everyone is reading them and providing feedback. The following are events I didn’t mention. Meeting Reminder: Tonight (Sept.1st) at 7pm I hope many of our neighbors will be able to attend our NENA quarterly meeting this Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00 pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College, located at 11th Ave and Flower Street. Our new Community Action Officer, Julie Smith will be attending and we will also hear from Kristl Chavez, who serves as the Community Relations Web Content Librarian for the Phoenix Pubic Library. She is seeking input from the community on what they would like to see from the library’s online website that would make their experience more rich. Visit www.phxlib.org and see what is offered and think about what you would like to see made available. Need Help with Flags in Section A If you live in Section A and can help out with the upcoming flag placement for this Monday, September 6th please contact Sara Murphy. Our Section A coordinator is having to step down. If you are able to help with the flags in Section A for this Monday and/or are interested in taking over as the Section A Flag Coordinator please contact Sara at Sara.Murphy@apollogrp.edu These are the streets that are still in need of flags being placed: 1. S. side of Osborn from 19th Ave to 17th Ave 2. W. side of 17th Ave from Osborn to Earl 3. Flower from 17h and west to 18th Ave 4. 18th Ave from Earl to Osborn NENA Super Block Sale – Saturday Oct. 16th It’s time to start your Fall cleaning and get ready for our NENA Super Block Sale. This annual event correlates with the Arizona State Fair, so there is a lot of traffic from those attending the fair. Street signs will be posted the day before on all the main thorough fairs into the neighborhood. The event will also be placed on Craigs List, our Facebook page and in the newspaper. Neighbors participating are asked to contribute a $5 fee that will off set advertising and help to support future NENA events. This is a very fun event where neighbors have an opportunity to visit their fellow neighbors and pick up some great items and those holding the yard sales have an opportunity to make some extra money from items that would be given away. We will look for a charity to pick up the left over items from the event. If anyone has a particular charity they would like to suggest, please email Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net Food Drive – October 23rd We will also be conducting our annual Food Bank Drive to support the St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive on Saturday, October 23rd. For this event neighbors are asked to place their food out by noon and then volunteers pick up the food items by 5pm the same day. We’ll send reminders of the event as it get’s closer. Food banks have been really hit hard with these tough economic times, so a collective action by the neighborhood is wonderful way to support those through out community in need. RONS Club Update On August 20th the RONS Club was put up for auction and was purchased by a group of young men for $120,000.00. They plan on fixing the property up and flipping it. I would like to thank all the neighbors who took the time to participate in the online survey and also those who took the time to participate in the meetings that were conducted to discuss the viability of purchasing the club for the neighborhood. It was an exciting topic for sure and one that neighbors felt very passionate about. Unfortunately, the sustainability of maintaining and fixing the property at this time as a community did not seem feasible. It is great that someone is fixing up the property and hopefully it will bring value to our neighborhood. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update August 29, 2010 Aluminum Can Recycle Collection Sept 1st NENA Meeting this Wednesday Burglary in NENA Phoenix Library Website Feedback September Book Club- To Kill a Mockingbird Opportunity to Capture NENA’s History Hazardous Waste Collection November Arts & Craft Street Fair Dear Neighbors, Wednesday, September 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! Now that the weather is hotter, we’ll all be drinking more beverages from aluminum cans….please save them for NENA! NENA Meeting this Wednesday, September 1st I hope many of our neighbors will be able to attend our NENA quarterly meeting this Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00 pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College, located at 11th Ave and Flower Street. Our new Community Action Officer, Julie Smith has been invited to speak. This is not confirmed, but hopefully she will be able to make it. A full agenda will be sent out on Tuesday. Burglary in NENA Please keep a vigilant watch in our neighborhood and report ANYTHING that looks suspicious to Crime Stop! Your call to the police may deter a neighbor from having their home robbed. If anyone saw anything that may be of help in apprehending the criminals who broke into her home please contact Kim at 02-377-6587 or at kimberlyannjames@yahoo.com On Thursday, August 26, 2010, NENA resident Kim James’s home (1543 W. Flower Circle South) was burglarized. The robbery took place sometime between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. When she arrived home, she noticed lights on in her house. She entered the house and immediately saw that the house was ransacked and many items were missing, including a 50-inch Toshiba flat screen television. The suspect(s) gained access through her back gate off the alley and attempted to crowbar her garage door inside the backyard. It appears they did crowbar the backdoor to the house, which appears to be the way they entered the residence. Kim feels the suspects must have parked in the back alley. Her backyard is easy to see from that vantage point as the surrounding wall is low and the house sits on a corner lot. Kim is hoping that someone in NENA noticed the suspicious activity and is hopeful anyone who did will call her to report what they observed. SAFETY TIP: NEVER enter your residence if you observe anything suspicious. ALWAYS call police first at 9-1-1. You have no way of knowing if the suspect(s) are still inside and by entering, you could put yourself in extreme danger! Phoenix Public Library Website Feedback Kristl Chavez, who serves as the Community Relations Web Content Librarian for the Phoenix Pubic Library, is seeking input from the community on what they would like to see from the library’s online website that would make their experience more rich. She is leaving the door wide open to any sort of online experience and would like neighbors to be as honest with her as possible. What does the community need in their lives’ that is quick, easy and interesting? It is then her job, to try to translate that to meaningful web content. Please visit the library’s website at www.phxlib.org and provide your input on how to make it even better. The design of the site will be changing sometime in mid-September, so while the content will essentially be the same, the new site will do much fancier things that are easier to use. Krisit will be attending our NENA meeting this Wednesday and will be available to hear your feedback. If you are unable to attend the meeting you can provide your feedback to Kristi at kristl.chavez@phoenix.gov Opportunity to Record NENA’s History in Paperback Last month I was contacted by Jared Jackson of Arcadia Publishing who offered our community the opportunity to publish our NENA history. The Arcadia Publishing company is a full service publisher looking for local historians who have collected vintage picture photographs and information to display in their Images of America Series. They offer an effective template for the author to lay out the photographs. The only cost to the author(s) is their time. Royalties are paid to the author twice a year, at a rate of 8% of the net profits, which averagees out to about a dollar a book. While it is not a get rich opportunity, it is an opportunity to capture the history of our wonderful neighborhood and it is not necessarily something that has to be done by a single peron’s efforts. Arizona’s Buckeye book will be available at the Wednesday meeting for neighbors to check out. NENA Book Club Discusses To Kill a Mockingbird On September 12th at 3pm, Jim Jefferies will host the NENA Book Club at 2941 N 17th Avenue, Phone 602-265-1184 Please R.S.V.P. by Friday, September 10th via our Facebook events page or by phone if you plan on attending. If you do attend and are interested in hosting a future book club get together, please bring the title of a book that you would like the group to read as we will be drawing names at both book club meetings for November and January. Hazardous Waste Collection September 16-18th Please visit: http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trashmain/html for more information. November Arts & Craft Street Fair If you are interested in participating in the NENA Arts & Craft Street Fair please mail the attached vendor participant form along with your payment of $25 to the address listed on the form. The event will take place on Saturday, November 13th. Last year’s event was a great success and we hope to make this years even more successful! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update August 6, 2010 Bottled Water Drive for St. Vincent de Paul’s RONS Club Update Community Bottled Water Drive Summer in Phoenix is brutally hot and this year has been one of the hottest on record. Though many of us are fortunate enough to have air-conditioned homes to take refuge in, some people do not have this option. There are thousands of homeless people in Phoenix and even more living under the poverty line who don’t have access to air-conditioning or clean drinking water. Many of these people become sick and can even die due to dehydration and heat stroke. My name is Taylor Kelly and I am going into my senior year at Xavier College Prep. As my summer senior service project I am organizing a water bottle drive to help replenish St. Vincent de Paul’s supply. Please help fight the unbearable heat by donating water bottles: a pack, a case, or whatever you are able to give. On SATURDAY AUGUST 7th, just leave your water bottles in your front yard before 10:00 AM and I will pick them up and take them to the food bank. If water bottles are inconvenient for you, the food bank also accepts money and gift-card donations. If you want to donate money or a gift-card, please contact me and I will make special arrangements to pick those up. Thank you so much for your consideration and your help in this fight against the heat! Taylor Kelly 602.263.1940 NENA resident for 18 years RONS Club Update On Wednesday, July 28th, the sub-committee met to discuss the feasibility of purchasing the RONS Club with St. Gregory’s Neighborhood Association and revitalizing the property. One of the primary concerns with this project is determining whether membership income will be adequate to maintain the property on a month to month basis. Greg Goodrich put together figures with the estimated costs of water, electric, insurance and hiring staff to run the property. It was estimated that it would take approximately $14,000 a month to operate for a total of $168,000 a year. This amount would not include paying for the property and doing the work to restore it. Looking at various dollar amounts for membership, it was estimated that it would take 140 households paying $100 per household for 12 months to just cover the maintenance of the property. This was a very sobering number and those in attendance felt that it was a very high number to achieve in these difficult economic times. The group felt that it was not feasible to raise enough money from selling memberships to cover the maintenance without knowing more definitively the interest level of neighbors as well as how much neighbors are willing to pay for membership. Thus far there have been 46 persons that have responded to the survey, so there are a substantial number of people in our community that we have not heard from yet. We do feel there is still an opportunity to make this work possibly through an investor with NENA leasing the property. So for now, I would like to ask those of you who receive the NENA updates to talk with neighbors when you are out walking or about the neighborhood. The committee felt it important to not provide too much detail to those you speak with, but rather listen to what their thoughts are on the property, how much would they be willing to pay for membership if the club offered amenities that fulfilled their needs and then find out what amenities they would want to see available at the club. Please make note of who you’ve spoke with and forward the info to me. When the weather cools off we may focus on a door to door effort to gather information from the neighborhood. If you haven’t taken the online survey yet, please take a few minutes to do so at www.northencanto.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update July 31, 2010 Recycle Aluminum Cans Tomorrow Phoenix College 90 Years of Educating Celebration Dear Neighbors, Recycle Aluminum Cans Sunday, August 1st Please drop off your aluminum cans to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. The proceeds from the cans help to pay for other events that NENA holds through out the year. Recycling cans is good for the environment and good for NENA. Many thanks to June for handling the recycling project for NENA. Phoenix College 90 Years of Educating Celebration Save the Date! Please plan to join Phoenix College for a special celebration commemorating 90 years of teaching, learning, and student success! The celebration will showcase "Phoenix College through the Decades", and will feature live performances by renowned PC alumni, faculty, staff, and students. "PC through the Decades" When: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. on September 13, 2010 Where: Bulpitt Auditorium at Phoenix College, 1202 W. Thomas Road Be Part of History! After the production, you're invited to a don commemorative t-shirt and take part in a group aerial photo as we form a "90" to mark this grand occasion. Gather at the Ed & Verma Pastor Plaza (in front of Bulpitt Auditorium) at 2:30 p.m. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net Past Updates NENA Update July 24, 2010 Take the RONS Club Survey Arts & Craft Street Fair – Nov. 13th Dear Neighbors, YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED: As you may know NENA and St. Gregory’s Association are looking into the feasibility of joining together to purchase and re-invent the RONS Club property located on the SE corner of 17th Ave. and Osborn. While we’ve heard from many of our NENA neighbors, we are hoping that EVERYONE that receives this email will take a few minutes to complete the survey and tell us whether you think having a “club” designed to meet the neighborhoods’ needs is a valuable asset to the neighborhood. The response thus far has been very favorable, but we need to get a good sense of whether this is something that neighbors are committed to supporting. There are a multitude of ways to set up the “new club” (running it as a non profit, not for profit, LLC etc.) and the Investigate Committee is working through what means will be most beneficial to achieving our goals. Please let us know if a “new club” is something that would be desirable and something that you would be willing to financially support through some type of monthly or yearly membership. The survey is available on our website at www.northencanto.com. Thank you for taking a few minutes to express your opinion! ARTS & CRAFT STREET FAIR: On Saturday, November 13th NENA will hold its’ second Arts & Craft Street Fair. The street fair will take place on Catalina Drive between 17th Drive and 18th Ave. The street will blocked off to traffic and will take place from 10 AM to 3 PM. A registration fee of $25 per space, will be charged with the funds going to the NENA. Vendors will have a designated space and will be responsible for setting up their individual spaces. Proceeds from the Arts & Craft Street Fair will be donated to NENA’s general funds. Attached with this email is a form that can be used to print and mail/drop-off your vendor forms. We will have live music and face painting, along with barbecue items for sale. Last years’ event was a great success and we hope to make this year’s event even more successful! Please mail/or drop off your vendor form and check A.S.A. P., as space will be limited to 20 vendors. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update July 10, 2010 RONS Club NENA Meeting this Wednesday Dear Neighbors, NENA Quarterly Meeting: This Wednesday, July 14th NENA will hold its’ quarterly meeting at 7pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College located on Flower Street and 11th Avenue. The agenda will include: ● Approval of notes from last meeting ● Financial Report ● Details of the approved Block Watch Grant ● NENA events planned for the next fiscal year ● Community Action Officer, Al Knecht, report on crime in the area ● RONS Club Discussion ● New Business   RONS Club Survey: In the last NENA update I asked for your feedback on looking into the neighborhood purchasing the RONS Club property and restoring it into something that reflected the desires of the neighborhood. The response was very positive and a meeting was held on June 30th to further explore this idea with those who expressed an interest in serving on a committee to research this project. There were 25 persons in attendance, including Megan Schmitz from Councilman Simplot’s office and three neighbors from St. Gregory’s neighborhood.   In order to evaluate what neighbors’ level of interest in creating a New Club and what neighbors are willing to invest (voting shares, monthly, yearly membership etc.) the committee came up with a survey. The survey is now available HERE. I encourage everyone to please take a few minutes to weigh in on this project. At our July 14th meeting we will be discussing the means in which to gain the feedback from those in the neighborhood, who do not have internet access. This is an incredible opportunity for us to undertake as a neighborhood and it will only be successful if we garner the insight from those in the community. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update June 15, 2010 RONS Club Councilman Simplot’s Town Hall Tomorrow Dear Neighbors, I would like to thank everyone who provided their input on purchasing the RONS Club and restoring it for the neighborhood. Collectively I have heard back from about 35 neighbors (which is an amazing response in such a short period) and there are some great ideas, as well as concerns that all need to be looked at. There are about 10 persons who have expressed an interest in participating in a committee to research this proposal and I have emailed them with information on our first meeting which sill taek place on June 30th at 7pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College. If anyone wishes to serve on this committee please let me know. I’ve contacted Councilman Simplot’s office and they will be providing details on what permits, zoning issues and other details we may face with this project. They are also looking into what it would take to use part of the building as a police sub-station, to help offset the cost of maintenance. The Historic Preservation Office is also doing a bit of research for us too. Our NENA quarterly meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 14th at 7pm in the Willo Room at Phoenix College and this will be discussed in detail at that meeting. The NENA newsletter will be coming out the first week in July and this topic will be covered, so I think we will see a very good turn out for the meeting on the 14th. I hope many of you will be able to make it! Councilman Simplot’s Town Hall is scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm at the Community Church of Hope. The information is listed below. This is another great opportunity to speak directly to our representative on the City Council. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 NENA Update – Aluminum Cans, Patsy Cline & Flags! June 1, 2010 Dear Neighbors, Wednesday, June 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day: Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! Now that the weather is hotter, we’ll all be drinking more beverages from aluminum cans….please save them for NENA! “Always…Patsy Cline” this Friday, June 4th at the Phoenix Theatre - Don’t wait to purchase your tickets which are $40 each with $8 of this going to NENA as a fundraiser. Order tickets by calling Lindsay Halvorson 602.889.5283 or  l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com. Please order your tickets soon, as seats that are being held for NENA will be released to the public on Wednesday, June 2nd. If you like Patsy Cline music you will love this show. I saw it last week with my family and will be going again with our NENA group. The actor playing Patsy Cline does an incredible job of performing her music and the story as told through her friend, Louise Seger is highly entertaining!   Thank you Flag Volunteers! On behalf of our new Flag Coordinator, Sara Murphy, many thanks to all the flag volunteers who took time from their morning and evening to make sure our neighborhood displayed flags in front of each home, honoring the men and women who have served and who are serving in our nations military! It looked great and I know it is very much appreciated by all in NENA! If you would like to help out with placing flags in your section please contact Sara at sara.murphy@phoenix.edu. There is always a need for more help in this area! Thanks again to all the flag volunteers and to Sara for coordinating this effort! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update – Always Patsy Cline Next Friday! May 27, 2010 Dear Neighbors, Don’t wait to purchase your tickets for the NENA Fundraiser at the Phoenix Theatre, Friday June 4th “Always…Patsy Cline”. If you like Patsy Cline music you will love this show. I saw it last week with my family and will be going again with our NENA group. The actor playing Patsy Cline does an incredible job of performing her music. Please order your tickets soon, as seats that are being held for NENA will be released to the public early next week. Always... Patsy Cline is based on the unlikely true story of the legendary country singer's friendship with Houston housewife, Louise Seger. As seen through Louise's eyes, the show offers old fans and new ones a chance to see the American original and dazzling star that was Patsy Cline. An intimate look at the woman behind the legend, as only a true friend could tell it filled with all of her greatest hits including Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams and Crazy.the true story of legendary country singer’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger. Tickets are $40 each with $8 of this going to NENA as a fundraiser. To order tickets contact Lindsay Halvorson 602.889.5283 or l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com Thank you NENA Volunteers for Helping with our Alley Clean-up Please join me in thanking Marvin Dinges, Sara Murphy, Dorthy Frazier, and Ginger Baron for volunteering their Saturday morning to help clean-up our NENA alleys. We also has a volunteer, Adrian, who was doing community service, lend a hand. We tackled the alleys between 16th and 18th Ave north of Thomas and also cleaned the alleys that travel north from these alleyways. These were probably our most troublesome alleys and they are looking much better, thanks to the efforts of these volunteers. I was inspired to clean my entire alley when I got home from this project, due to having all the right tools to do the work that the City supplied. If anyone wishes to borrow the tools over the weekend to work on their alleys, please let me know. I will be returning the tools to the city next Tuesday. This week is our designated week to place bulk trash items in the alleyway. For more information on what items can be placed in the alley during bulk trash pickup visit our website at www.northencanto.com and click on the Community Links tab at the top. I hope that all NENA neighbors will remember that the alleys behind our properties are our responsibility to maintain. Thanks again to Marvin, Sara, Dorthy and Ginger for your help! Wednesday, June 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day: Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! Now that the weather is hotter, we’ll all be drinking more beverages from aluminum cans….please save them for NENA! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update – Don’t Forget to Vote Tomorrow! May 17, 2010 Dear Neighbors, Proposition 100 - Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 18th) voters will go to the polls and determine whether or not to approve a 3-year temporary 1% sales tax increase. While it wouldn’t be proper to weigh in on how I am voting….I hope that everyone will make it to the polls to cast their vote. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Voting location for our neighborhood is: PHOENIX CENTRAL 7TH DAY ADVENTIST CHR Facility Address: 821 W FLOWER ST , PHOENIX 85013 Facility Location: WEST OF 7TH AVE NORTH OF THOMAS RD Voter Identification Every qualified voter is required to show identification at the polling place before receiving a ballot. The following are the acceptable forms of identification. LIST 1 – Photo Identification with voter’s name and address* (ONE REQUIRED) Valid Arizona driver license Valid Arizona non-operating identification license Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification Valid United States federal, state or local government issued identification OR LIST 2 – Non-Photo Identification with voter’s name and address** (TWO REQUIRED) Utility bill that is dated within ninety (90) days of the date of the election. A utility bill may be for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, cellular phone or cable television Bank or credit union statement that is dated within ninety (90) days of the date of the election Valid Arizona Vehicle Registration Indian Census card Property tax statement of the voter’s residence Tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification Vehicle insurance card Voter Registration Card or Recorder’s Certificate Valid United States federal, state or local government issued identification Any “Official Election Material” mailing bearing the voter’s name and address NENA Alley Clean-up this Saturday, May 22nd 8am to 11am It’s not too late to help out with our alley clean-up. We’ll be meeting at Nicki Kirkeby’s home at 1539 W. Mulberry Drive (btw 15th and 16th Ave. one block south of Osborn) at 0800. I’ll have coffee & light breakfast items available at 0730 for anyone who would like to come early. I’m suggesting that neighbors wear light weight clothing, perhaps long pants, as dust and debris will be flying with the weedeating. I know Marvin has a truck, but if anyone else has a truck it would be helpful to have two. We’ll load equipment (wheel barrels, weed eaters, rakes, shovels etc.) into the truck and then drop off in three different alley locations and break into three groups. So far the following persons have signed up to help out on Saturday: Nicki Kirkeby, Dorothy Frazier, Ceci Andrews, Ginger Baron, Sara & Megan Murphy, Marvin Dinges, Sam Melendrez and Jim Breithaupt At 11 am we’ll clean-up and enjoy pizza and refreshments at Nicki’s home. Contact Nicki to volunteer at nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA PHOENIX THEATRE NIGHT – FRIDAY, JUNE 4TH “ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE Always... Patsy Cline is based on the unlikely true story of the legendary country singer's friendship with Houston housewife, Louise Seger. As seen through Louise's eyes, the show offers old fans and new ones a chance to see the American original and dazzling star that was Patsy Cline. An intimate look at the woman behind the legend, as only a true friend could tell it filled with all of her greatest hits including Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams and Crazy.the true story of legendary country singer’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger. Tickets are $40 each with $8 of this going to NENA as a fundraiser. To order tickets contact Lindsay Halvorson 602.889.5283 or l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com. Please mention NENA for our special seating. NENA’a Bookclub The first meeting of the Book Club will be on Sunday May 23rd at 3pm, hosted by Chris Devine and Mason Hite who live at 3301 N 18th Ave. Light refreshments will be provided by your hosts. Please RSVP to masonoid@slywiz.com or on our NENA Facebook page so Chris and Mason will know how many neighbors will be attending. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update May 9, 2010 Dear NENA Neighbors, I hope all our mothers out there are having a wonderful Mother’s Day! MESSAGE BOARD READY TO USE I wanted to let neighbors know that our NENA Message Board is up and running and ready for neighbors to post on it. To sign up for the message board go to our website at www.northencanto.com and click on Message Board at the top left side of the menu board. Follow the prompts for creating a username and password. The board is easy to navigate and will allow neighbors to post yard sales, items for sale, restaurant reviews, refer a business service, ask questions of other neighbors and a variety of other topics. If you have a suggestion for another topic that you’d like to see added to the board, please forward your request to Brian Clark, our webmaster, at brianphxaz@cox.net. I hope neighbors find the board a useful tool to advertize, ask questions and exchange information! Many thanks to Brian for setting the board up for NENA! NENA ALLEY CLEAN-UP – MAY 22ND  Saturday - 8am to 11am I hope you will consider signing up to help out with this project. The clean-up is scheduled in conjunction with the city’s quarterly alley pick-up, so we’ll be able to bag all the cuttings and leave them in the alley for picking up. The city is supplying all the tools….we just need to supply the manpower. Following the clean-up we’ll have pizza and refreshments at Nicki’s home. So far the following neighbors have signed up: Nicki Kirkeby, Dorothy Frazier, Ceci Andrews, Ginger Baron, Sara & Megan Murphy. We’ve got the “girl power” going and would love to see some “guy-power” helping that day too. Volunteer by contacting Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net or 480-586-8556.   ALLEY VIOLATIONS: As I rode through our neighborhood last week I saw that many of our alleys have large piles of tree trimmings, cardboard boxes and construction debris from home projects. As a reminder it is violation of the City of Phoenix code to dump items in the alleyway when it is not the week allocated for placing these items in the alley. The result of neighbors not respecting the timeframe for placing items in the alley for pick-up is a neighborhood of alleyways that look a mess and that invite the homeless and criminals to wander the alleys looking through what’s left there. Please be considerate of your fellow neighbors and only place items in the alleyways during the week allocated to do so. If you are not sure what week has been allocated, you can find it on the back page of the latest NENA newsletter. If you didn’t save your NENA newsletter you can go to our website and click the tab for newsletters to find the info. I would like to ask those who have debris placed in their alleyways right now to please move the debris inside your yard area until the week of May 23d through 31st. This will make the NENA Alley Clean-Up Day go much more smoothly with volunteers not having to work around piles of debris that were left out at an inappropriate time. Thanks everyone for respecting all neighbors areas in the alleys! NENA PHOENIX THEATRE NIGHT – FRIDAY, JUNE 4TH “ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE Always... Patsy Cline is based on the unlikely true story of the legendary country singer's friendship with Houston housewife, Louise Seger.  As seen through Louise's eyes, the show offers old fans and new ones a chance to see the American original and dazzling star that was Patsy Cline. An intimate look at the woman behind the legend, as only a true friend could tell it filled with all of her greatest hits including Anytime, Walkin' After Midnight, She's Got You, Sweet Dreams and Crazy.the true story of legendary country singer’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger. Tickets are $40 each with $8 of this going to NENA as a fundraiser. To order tickets contact Lindsay Halvorson  602.889.5283 or  l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com. Please mention NENA for our special seating. Don’t miss this fun event! PHOENIX COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT CERMONY Community members are invited to join the Phoenix College family at the college’s 88th annual commencement ceremony at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14, 2010. Please join us as we congratulate the 2009-2010 graduates, honor the accomplishments of staff and faculty, and highlight the milestones of Phoenix College. Approximately 825 graduates will earn a certificate, associate degree, or transfer degree. s. Sheila Polk, a Phoenix College alumna and the first female County Attorney in Yavapai County, will be our keynote speaker. In addition, students Alexis Trujillo and Jessica Flores have distinguished themselves as salutatorian and valedictorian, earning the honor of addressing attendees.   We also would like to notify all of our campus neighbors about the traditional closing fireworks display. To celebrate and honor our students, Phoenix College will end the commencement ceremony with a very brief fireworks display at approximately 9:00 p.m, on the north side of Hogan Field at Hoy Stadium. We apologize for any disturbance or inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 602.285.7842. REMEMBER TO SAVE YOUR ALUMINUM As the weather warms up neighbors will be drinking more beverages that are in aluminum cans. Please save these cans and donate them to NENA on the 1st of each month. June Kane, who lives at 1630 W Flower Circle North places her trash can out in front of her home and then takes the cans in for recycling. The price for aluminum has gone up….so this is a great way to help with our funds! Thanks everyone! Nicki Kirkeby – NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update May 1, 2010 Dear Neighbors, Saturday, May 1st Recycle Aluminum Day: Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! NENA Alley Clean-up Saturday, May 22nd 8am to 11am: Please consider signing up to help out with this project. The clean-up is scheduled in conjunction with the city’s quarterly alley pick-up, so we’ll be able to bag all the cuttings and leave them in the alley for picking up. The city is supplying all the tools….we just need to supply the manpower. Following the clean-up we’ll have pizza and refreshments at Nicki’s home. Contact Nicki to volunteer at nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA’a Bookclub: Read any good books lately? Interested in meeting your neighbors? Join the NENA Bookclub. The inaugural book that will be discussed at the May meeting is “The Electric Michelangelo” by Sarah Hall. Neighbors will choose one book you would be interested in reading with the group. It’s often best to pick one you haven’t read yet, but if you have a fantastic one that you haven’t read in a long time and think would be worth a re-read, that’s OK, too. Names will be drawn to pick the next book and its host, then start a rotation so everyone knows in advance when their turn will be to choose and host. The first meeting will be on Sunday May 23rd at 3pm, hosted by Chris Devine and Mason Hite who live at 3301 N 18th Ave. Light refreshments will be provided by your hosts. Please RSVP to masonoid@slywiz.com or on our NENA Facebook page so Chris and Mason will know how many neighbors will be attending. NENA’s Recipe Swap: The deadline to send your favorite recipe to be considered for publishing in the next NENA newsletter is June 23rd. Send recipes to Mason Hite at masonoid@slywiz.com Join NENA’s Facebook Page: If you like to keep up with what’s going on in the neighborhood go to www.northencanto.com and scroll down to the Join Us on Facebook and click on the link to join NENA’s facebook page. Know a New Neighbor in NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board. Point of Pride Nominations due June 23rd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 4-14-10 At tonight’s general meeting the following neighbors were elected to serve on the NENA Board: NENA Board Members Thank you all for your willingness to participate in planning and coordinating events for NENA! I’d like to extend a special welcome Sara Murphy, who moved into our neighborhood about 2 weeks ago and has volunteered to get involved with NENA and serve as the Flag Coordinator! Now that’s enthusiasm….thanks Sara! Some of the highlights from the meeting: Our Community Action Officer, Al Knecht, spoke to us about crime in the neighborhood and asked us to be vigilant in reporting suspicious activity, especially around vacant homes. If a crime is happening and there is eminent danger….call 911. If the crime has already been committed and there is no immediate danger….call Crime Stop. ALERT: Officer Knecht made us aware of a peeping-tom in the area of 16th Avenue and Thomas around the hours of 3am - 4am. There have been several calls made on this peeping-tom….so be aware and call in any suspicious activity. Also be aware of transients wondering the neighborhood and alleyways. Officer Knecht stated that not all transients are criminals, but many are suspects in burglaries, rapes and some are sex offenders. To see if there are sex offenders living in the neighborhood visit: http://www.city-data.com/soz/soz-85015.html to see a list of registered sex offenders living in our zip code area. When you click on the link that says “Based on this official offender page” under the name and address of the registered sex offender, you’ll see a picture of the person. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS PROVIDED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, OR HARASS. MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION Household Hazardous Waste Collection is taking place April 15-17. Please visit: http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshmain.html and click on 2010 Bulk Trash Pickup & Other Solid Waste Schedules for the exact location and items accepted. NENA Alley Clean-up Saturday, May 22nd – 8am to 11am. Please consider signing up to help out with this project. The clean-up is scheduled in conjunction with the city’s quarterly alley pick-up, so we’ll be able to bag all the cuttings and leave them in the alley for picking up. The city is supplying all the tools….we just need to supply the manpower. Contact Nicki to volunteer at nmkirkeby@cox.net If you are concerned about a home (vacant or occupied) that has very high grass or weeds (blight) you can call Neighborhood Services at 262-7844 to file a report. They will come out and speak with the homeowner or in the case of a vacant home, contact the homeowner to make them aware of the need to clean up the property. It’s important to keep the neighborhood free of blight. Some neighbors are choosing to mow these yards or spray them with weed killer, which is also an effective way of dealing with this problem. City Historic Preservation Office (HPO) in threat of being integrated into the newly merged Development Services & Planning Departments. Right now the HPO operates independently and reports to the city managers office. A public meeting will be held on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 4:30 pm at the Historic City Hall, 2nd Floor Subcommittee Room (enter on west/city side), 17 S. 2nd Avenue for those who might wish to provide their input to the future of the Historic Preservation Program. Message Board Almost Ready for Neighbors: In just another week or two the NENA Message Board will be available for neighbors to post their messages. It is in the testing phase right now and will soon be available. This will provide a wonderful means for neighbors to advertise their events, yard sales, and share information with other neighbors. Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 NENA Update 4-11-10 Dear Neighbors, NENA General Meeting this Wednesday: Please plan on attending the NENA general meeting this Wednesday, April 14th at 7pm in the Phoenix College, Dome Conference Room which is located on the NE corner of 11th Ave and Flower Street. Board elections will take place, our Community Action officer, Al Knecht, will be speaking and answering questions and we will be discussing issues of concern and future NENA events. Open Positions for NENA Board: While most of the neighbors serving in positions for NENA desire to continue, there are still a few positions that need to be filled. Below are the positions that still need to be filled: Advertising Chair - Visit local businesses to solicit advertising in our newsletter, maintain data base of advertisers and track when ads are due to expire, collect payment from businesses, deliver payment to treasurer and coordinate this information with newsletter editor. Flag Coordinator - On four holidays honoring service men and women flags are placed in front of each home throughout NENA. The flag coordinator works with each section coordinator to ensure they have enough flags for their section and reminds the flag section leaders that the holiday is approaching. Volunteers are willing to continue in the positions they are holding, but would WELCOME someone volunteering for their position: Section A Coordinator - Deliver the quarterly newsletters to respective sections There are four sections with approximately 100 homes in each section. Please let me know (nmkirkeby@cox.net or 480-586-8556) if you are interested in serving in any of the positions, so that your name may be added to the ballot for Wednesday’s meeting. NENA’a Bookclub: Read any good books lately? Interested in meeting your neighbors? Join the NENA Bookclub. The inaugural book that will be discussed at the May meeting is “The Electric Michelangelo” by Sarah Hall. Neighbors will choose one book you would be interested in reading with the group. It’s often best to pick one you haven’t read yet, but if you have a fantastic one that you haven’t read in a long time and think would be worth a re-read, that’s OK, too. Names will be drawn to pick the next book and its host, then start a rotation so everyone knows in advance when their turn will be to choose and host. The first meeting will be on Sunday May 23rd at 3pm, hosted by Chris Devine and Mason Hite who live at 3301 N 18th Ave. Light refreshments will be provided by your hosts. Please RSVP to masonoid@slywiz.com or on our NENA Facebook page so Chris and Mason will know how many neighbors will be attending. City of Phoenix April Pipeline – Attached with this email is the April edition of the City of Phoenix Pipeline newsletter. Pipeline comes out each month and we’ll start forwarding this to NENA neighbors and post it on our website as well. The newsletter lists events that the city is sponsoring, along with helpful tips for keeping your home and neighborhood safe. NENA’s Recipe Swap: The deadline to send your favorite recipe to be considered for publishing in the next NENA newsletter is June 23rd. Send recipes to Mason Hite at masonoid@slywiz.com Join NENA’s Facebook Page: If you like to keep up with what’s going on in the neighborhood go to www.northencanto.com and scroll down to the Join Us on Facebook and click on the link to join NENA’s facebook page. Know a New Neighbor in NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board. Point of Pride Nominations due June 23rd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 3-31-10 Dear Neighbors, Thursday, April 1st Recycle Aluminum Day: Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thanks everyone! NENA Newsletter – By now you should have received the latest NENA newsletter. Thanks to our wonderful graphic designer, Deanna Fusco and the contributions of NENA neighbors…..the newsletter is evolving into a really great read. We’re pleased to welcome Mi Patio and Mulligan’s Restaurant at Encanto 18, as yearly advertisers. Mulligan’s is offering some great discount coupons for Mulligan’s and Enchanted Island at www.enchantedisland.com/nena and Mi Patio is offering a buy one dinner get one free coupon in the newsletter. We’re also pleased to see Southwest Gardener renew their ad for NENA. This shop offers an array of unique items, many from local artists, and some wonderful workshops. Open Positions for NENA Board/ NENA General Meeting: On April 14th at 7 p.m. in the Dome Conference Room at Phoenix College, NENA will hold its’ general meeting and elect officers and board positions for the next term which begins May of 2010. The newsletter listed in detail the duties associated with all the positions. While most of the neighbors serving in positions for NENA desire to continue, there are a few positions that need to be filled. Please let me know if you are interested in serving in any of the positions, so that your name may be added to the ballot. Volunteers are willing to continue in the positions they are holding, but would WELCOME someone volunteering for their position: Vice President                                                 Section A Coordinator Flag Section Leaders A & C The following are OPEN positions: Advertising Chair Flag Coordinator                                                         Block Watch Chair Section B Coordinator The events that NENA holds are successful because of the tremendous involvement of our neighborhood. It is not one person that makes these events successful, but many working together. I hope that if you have desired to become more involved with your neighborhood, you will considering running for a position with NENA! Join NENA’s Facebook Page: If you like to keep up with what’s going on in the neighborhood go to www.northencanto.com and scroll down to the Join Us on Facebook and click on the link to join NENA’s facebook page. Block Watch Workshop: We currently have an open position for the Block Watch Committee. This is a vitally important position that deals with the essence of why NENA was created….to make our neighborhood a safe place to live. The city of Phoenix is offering a free 2-day Block Watch Leader & Phoenix Neighborhood Patrol Training on April 13 & 14th (Tuesday & Wednesday) from 6pm-9pm. If any neighbor is interested in taking on this position, the training would be a very valuable asset. Space is limited to 40 participants. If you are interested in attending please Contact doreena.wiegert@phoenix.gov  to reserve a space for this workshop. Attached with this email is a flyer on the workshop.   Know a New Neighbor Who’s Moved into NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board. Point of Pride Nominations due June 23rd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com  Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 2-28-10 Aluminum Can Drop Off First Block Watch Signs Installed Dear Neighbors, Monday, March 1st is Recycle Aluminum Day – Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! On average we receive about $12 a month from recycling. Thanks so much June for overseeing this venture for NENA! First Block Watch Signs Installed: BIG Thanks to Marvin Dinges and Jim Breithaupt who volunteered their Saturday morning to install our first Block Watch Signs. There are 10 locations that now have signs. It was a great effort and we had a lot of fun talking and getting to know each other as we placed the signs. We’ll schedule another date to put the rest up (about 15 other locations). The signs are a good way to let others who don’t live in the neighborhood know that we watch out for each other and report crimes happening or suspicious activity. Thanks again Jim and Marvin! Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update 2-21-10 Alley Pick-Up This Week Help put up Block Watch Signs Next Saturday Deadline for Advertising in Newsletter March 19th Coronado Historic Tours next Sunday Update on Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction Dear Neighbors, Alley Pick-Up This Week February 20-28th Neighbors can place bulk trash in your back alleyways from February 20th through the 28th. The City of Phoenix accepts: tree limbs, branches and stumps 4’ in length or shorter and 12” or less in diameter, palm fronds, grass & yard trimmings must be bagged or boxed and securely tied, appliances that do not have refrigerant/CFS’s (washers, dryers, stoves and heaters are ok), televisions and stereos, furniture, and carpeting. The City does not accept: appliances using DFC’s or refrigerants, glass (windows, shower doors, mirrors), demolition debris, bricks, dirt, rocks, roofing, tires or metal atom parts greater than 20 pounds. On March 1st the City of Phoenix will start picking up in our area. Once the bulk trash has been picked up please DO NOT place bulk trash items in the alley until the next Bulk Trash Pick-up Time. If you see items left in the alley after bulk trash pick-up, please call Neighborhood Services to report it. They will contact neighbors in the area to see if they have placed the items in the alley or determine outside of NENA has dropped the items illegally in the alleyway. For more information go to http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshmain.html  Volunteer for Block Watch Sign Installation Saturday, Feb 27th This Saturday, February 27th NENA neighbors will get together to put up our first 18 Block Watch signs throughout the neighborhood. These signs will be placed back to back (so there will be nine total locations) and attached to No Parking signs in our most troublesome areas in NENA. If you have input as to a No Parking sign in your area that could use a Block Watch sign please contact Nicki at the email address on the bottom of this email. It shouldn’t take more than 3 hours to put these signs up and we are most grateful to Campus Vista neighbor, Marty Huber, who has graciously agreed to help us with this effort. Marty put up all of Campus Vista’s Block Watch signs and is willing to help us do ours. We’ll meet at Nicki’s at 0900 and after we’re done with our work enjoy pizza and refreshments. To volunteer contact Nicki at nmkirkeby@cox.net   Deadline for Advertisements for NENA March 19th If you would like to advertise in the next NENA newsletter please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net This is a great way to get the word out for a business or upcoming event. Ads run $35 for a business card size. Coronado Historic Home Tour On Sunday, February 28 the Coronado Historic Home Tour’s will take place. There will also be a table available to gather more signatures (as well as enjoy the day’s festivities and tour) For more information on the tour visit: http://www.gcna.info/homeTour.php Update on Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction I have sent the letter and signatures that we collected at the our NENA Groundhog’s Day event to Senator Cheuvront and have also emailed him on the issue. I have not heard back from him as of yet. If anyone has heard from our Senator please forward his response to nmkirkeby@cox.net I know that Senator Debbie McCune Davis has been very responsive to concerned citizens in her district. The following is an update from Jim McPherson from the Arizona Preservation Foundation. Courtesy of the Arizona Preservation Foundation Fact Sheet & Fiscal Analysis at http://www.azpreservation.org NEWSFLASH! NewsChannel 3 reporter Kirsten Joyce reports homeowners moved into Phoenix's historic districts because of a big tax incentive, but in order to generate more money for the state those homeowners may be forced to give the incentive up.  View the news segment at http://bit.ly/bIQ7hV   We Oppose SB1166! Taking a formal stand against Senate Bill 1166 are the groups below.  Arizona’s preservation community thanks them for their support. Mayor and City Council of the City of Phoenix (2/9/10) Mayor and City Council of the City of Tucson (2/9/10) Board of Directors of Valley Forward (2/17/10).  This association (http://www.valleyforward.org) brings business and civic leaders together to convene thoughtful public dialogue on regional issues and to promote cooperative efforts to improve the environment and livability of Valley communities. Signatures Collected at Willo Home Tour A strong outpouring of support for Arizona’s heritage was demonstrated this past Sunday.  Over 800 signatures of individuals opposed to SB1166 were garnered at the February 14 Willo Home Tour.  Stopping by the booth to lend their personal support were Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski, State Representative David Lujan, State Representative Kyrsten Sinema, Justice of the Peace Steven McMurry, and candidate for State Representative Ken Clark.  Special thanks to Brad Bauer (Willo), Nicki Kirkeby (North Encanto), Steve Procaccini (Coronado), and Martin Vogel (Encanto Palmcroft) for helping to organize this grassroots effort!  Great tour by the way! Next on the Docket Then on Sunday, February 28 it’s on to the Coronado Historic Home Tour to gather more signatures (as well as enjoy the day’s festivities and tour): http://www.gcna.info/homeTour.php As some of you may know, SB1166 was initially scheduled to be heard by the Senate Finance Committee this morning, but it was pulled from the agenda.  The Legislature has been given one more week to introduce legislation, so it’s quite possible it (SB1166) could return.   Today in History: February 17, 1977 The following note and linked attachment (http://www.box.net/shared/fdfnk84h86) were provided by Phoenix attorney Robert Warnicke.  It’s quite a coincidence that the linked document concerning the origins of the state historic tax classification program was written exactly 33 years ago today.  Hmmmm…. prophetic?  Thanks so much to Robert for going “above and beyond,” like so many of you who receive this communiqué, to protect our state’s historic resources.   “Attached please find the interesting bits of the legislative history on what I believe is the original bill that ultimately became A.R.S. § 42-12006(1) and A.R.S. § 42-120101(2) as they exist today.  I don't know if you or anyone else looked at it or even knew where to look for it, but it is what I do when I find myself trying to figure out "legislative intent."  Sometimes legislative history is helpful, sometimes, not so much.   I believe this is one of those more helpful times.     They hoped to stabilize historic areas and maybe even reverse a trend: I think we can show just how effective the program was without too much trouble.  The nice part is that we can now show this was the entire purpose of the law and that it worked as planned.  We can now actually quote from the legislative history.   There is also some raw numbers analysis of property value comparisons that could be useful to show how it was then, and how it is now.     What I found particularly interesting is the analysis that many of the properties had value that was separate from the historic buildings, and that by lowering the tax they were creating an incentive to saving the buildings and stabilize the neighborhood.  I suppose it is obvious, but it presents the issue in a much better way than I think it has been discussed.  It also gets us away from Senator Gray's focus on the tax break should be justified with actual dollars spent on the property (although I doubt many of us will have trouble with that).” “Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends” In conversations between neighborhood advocates and state legislators opposed to SB116, it’s been noted that Senator Linda Gray could attempt to amend any other legislative bill with SB1166 language and opponents wouldn't know until the last minute.  To “level the playing field,” it’s recommended that you, your friends, neighbors, and leaders of historic districts and collegial organizations continue to contact their state senators and ask to be kept informed if SB1166 or bills with SB1166 language come up for a vote at any time.  As noted by one state senator, “Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends.”   How to contact your legislators Senate Finance Committee The Honorable Ed Bunch, 602-926-4916, ebunch@azleg.gov (NEW!) The Honorable Ken Cheuvront, 602-926-5325, kcheuvront@azleg.gov The Honorable Ron Gould, 602-926-4138, rgould@azleg.gov The Honorable Jack Harper, Chair, 602-926-926-4178, jharper@azleg.gov The Honorable Barbara Leff, Vice Chair, 602-926-4486, bleff@azleg.gov     The Honorable Debbie McCune Davis, 602-926-4485, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov        The Honorable Richard Miranda, 602-926-5911, rmiranda@azleg.gov   The Honorable Russell Pearce, 602-926-5760, rpearce@azleg.gov   Your District’s Legislators If you would like to express your views to your own State Senator or State Representative (if they are not listed above), visit http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update February 4, 2010 Groundhog’s Day Event This Saturday Update on SB1166 Legislation  Dear Neighbors,  Groundhog’s Day Potluck This Saturday This Saturday, February 6th from 11am to 2pm (Catalina between 16th Dr & 17th Ave) Come join in the fun as neighbors get together to enjoy each others company and eat some great food. Councilman Tom Simplot will be arriving at 11am to visit with neighbors. The Phoenix Fire Department will be joining us with their fire engine….how cool is that! Chris Divine will be singing and will provide recorded music when not performing. There will be some “special” activities too! Don’t be shy….come meet your NENA neighbors!  Donations or pot luck dishes are OPTIONAL NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, water, sodas and lemonade! Update on SB1166 Legislation Below is the message forwarded to me by Brad Brauer, Willo President, who attended the stakeholders meeting on Monday, Feb 1st to discuss SB1166.  Friends and Neighbors, I spent the afternoon at the AZ Senate meeting with Senator Linda Gray to discuss her bill to reclassify our Historic Properties.  What I take away from this meeting will probably not surprise a lot of you – the AZ Legislature is looking for money wherever they can find money.  The proof that this system has been successful in creating neighborhoods, increasing property values (and tax revenues) and cleaning up years of deterioration does not seem to have an effect on Senator Gray.  In a meeting with approximately 15 people, including representatives from Medlock Place, Willo, Encanto Palmcroft, FQ Story, the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation, the City of Glendale, AZ State Historic Preservation, Maricopa County Assessor, the AZ Association of Realtors, a Tucson historic neighborhood resident and a representative of the Arizona Education Association – only two people were supportive of this bill.  Senator Linda Gray and the Rep from the AZ Education Association.  The state budget is slashing the education funds, so it’s not surprising that the AEA is supporting Sen. Gray. A great group of people truly explained the benefits of these neighborhoods, to their Cities and the state, the limitation put upon homeowners by HP and the difference between maintaining and restoring these homes versus the simple slab homes built in the 60’s , 70’s and today.  It was brought up that the increase in a tax to historic neighborhoods would provide a negligible increase to the state.  Also that without the tax break there is nothing to require homeowners to retain the historic character of their homes, but none of this information really changed Senator Gray’s mind.  She asked for suggestions from the meeting on how to prevent fraud, a sunset on the tax break or a reduced reduction.  The response from the group was that a sunset was unacceptable as was a reduced tax break (example – 25% instead of 40-50%).  It was suggested that we somehow prove annually to the county that we are putting money into our homes and that they are a primary residence not a rental.  I’m sure that the county would be unable to accommodate that request, as they can’t afford the staffing to review homes that are coming up on their 14th year in this program.  Rentals are not supposed to receive the tax benefit, but Keith Russell, Maricopa County Assessor, could not find that requirement in the statute nor could the State HP director, they just assumed it’s in there. Leaving the meeting -  it is apparent to me that we will see some form of amended version of this bill before some committee in the AZ Senate.  If this stays with the Finance Committee – we have “no” votes currently from Sen. Leff, Sen. McCune-Davis, Sen. Russell Pearce, Sen. Miranda and most likely Sen. Gould.  Currently, Sen. Cheuvront has stated that he would vote against this bill as it is written, but if amended, we may lose our Senator’s vote.  Senator Waring and Senator Gorman have resigned to run for the US House in Shadegg’s place.  That leaves Sen. Steve Pierce and I’m not sure how he will vote.  I think we still have all the votes necessary to kill this bill in committee, but will need to keep our eyes on it to prevent it from advancing under the radar.  Contacting your Senator and other Senators on the Finance Committee is highly encouraged.    Brad Brauer, President The Willo Neighborhood Association  Additionally, Brad wrote Representative Debbie McCune Davis and here is what she responded: The bill may reappear on the Finance committee agenda when Senator Gray has language to amend the bill. The feedback from the stakeholders would not indicate an agreement among participants. This means that Senator Gray cannot represent an amendment as a consensus proposal. Keep working with the other members of the committee to prevent this bill from advancing.   When asked if there is any way that Senator Gray could attach this to another bill and slide it under the radar, her response was: Yes. We'll have to be vigilant. Nothing is dead until the legislative session ends.  So we need to keep communicating with this committee and specifically, Senator Cheuvront. For those attending the Groundhog’s Day Event, we will have a letter you can sign on to and we’ll mail to the Finance Committee. Brad also mentioned that Robert Pela (FQ Story) will be writing something in the New Times, regarding the short sightedness of this bill.   Here are contact numbers for all the Finance Committee  Members Position Phone E-mail Ken Cheuvront Member 602-926-5325 kcheuvront@azleg.gov Pamela Gorman Member 602-926-5284 pgorman@azleg.gov Ron Gould Member 602-926-4138 rgould@azleg.gov Barbara Leff Vice-Chairman 602-926-4486 bleff@azleg.gov Debbie McCune Davis Member 602-926-4485 dmccunedavis@azleg.gov Richard Miranda Member 602-926-5911 rmiranda@azleg.gov Russell Pearce Member 602-926-5760 rpearce@azleg.gov Jim Waring Chairman 602-926-4916 jwaring@azleg.gov Warmly,  Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 C# nmkirkeby@cox.ne NENA Update January 30, 2010 Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction Update Recycle Aluminum Cans Monday, February 1st Groundhog’s Day Event (Bring a dish or a donation or just come over!) Know any New Neighbors who’ve moved into NENA? Nominate a home for the Point of Pride Dear Neighbors, Elimination of Historic Tax Reduction Update – I’d like to thank everyone who wrote emails and/or attended the Senate Finance hearing this past Wednesday regarding Senate bill 1166 that proposes the elimination of the tax reduction for historic homes.  The meeting was well attended with several NENA neighbors (June Kane, Marvin Dinges and Steve Weiss to name a few) in attendance. The bill was introduced by Senator Linda Gray of District 10. She expressed the following concerns about historic tax reductions; how long should residents continue to receive these perks; how large will historic districts be allowed to go; and who checks to make sure that the owners of these residents are actually living in the properties and not renting them out? The committee heard from Willo President Brad Brauer (a 25 historic district resident) who spoke about how the historic areas in the 80’s and 90’s were not desirable areas and the tax reductions and the historic grants helped to convert these areas into safe, thriving neighborhoods. GG George, who established the first Historic Neighborhoods Coalition, spoke eloquently about living in a piece of Arizona history. Louisa Stark, a Board member of the Phoenix Elementary School District asked if the monies raised from this legislation would go directly to the Phoenix Elementary School District. Senator Cheuvront explained that there would be no financial gain from this legislation, but that the % of taxes would be evenly distributed to all home owners. While Senator Cheuvront expressed that he did not believe it was right to subsidize the taxes of residents of historic districts, he said he is not in favor of this bill. He does believe there needs to be more accountability in regards to owners who rent their properties who take advantage of the tax reductions (the reductions are only for owners occupying their residence). Senator Cheuvront went on to explain that the school district would have their bond increased and would not see a tax increase. Ms. Stark expressed that even if the school district received an increase in their bond, the School Board would not be in favor of eliminating the tax reduction for residents of the historic districts. She stated that residents of the historic districts have been supportive of school legislative issues and the Board believes it would put an unfair burden on the residents of these areas. There was no vote taken at this meeting and Senator Gray had arranged for a “stakeholders” meeting to take place this Monday, February 1st. Unfortunately, Senator Gray did not have the benefit of hearing the concerns of the residents attending the hearing, as she had to leave after introducing the bill, as she serves on another committee. Following the hearing, several of the attendees were seeking to be invited to the stakeholders meeting, but there was no one there that could say residents would be allowed at the meeting. Several of the attendees were planning on visiting Senator Gray’s office to request being at the meeting. I have written Brad Bauer to see if he knows if any residents will be allowed to participate. It would only seem appropriate to have representatives from the various historic districts, as we certainly have a “stake” in this. As soon as I hear back from Brad I will let neighbors know the status of this meeting. The bill requires an affirmative two-thirds of both the Senate and House before being able to pass this legislation. There will be a letter at the Groundhog’s Day Potluck that residents can sign onto to voice their opposition to this legislation. Monday, February 1st Recycle Aluminum Day – Don’t forget to drop your recycled aluminum cans off to June Kane’s home at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! On average we receive about $12 a month from recycling. Thanks so much June for overseeing this venture for NENA! NENA Groundhog’s Day Potluck: Next Saturday, February 6th neighbors will come together for a family cook out, games and socializing. The event takes place from 11 am to 2 pm and will be held in the same location as the arts and craft street fair on Catalina between 16th Dr & 17th Ave. There will be special activities and contests (that means prizes) for the children, as well as the adults. Vice Mayor Tom Simplot has confirmed his attendance and we’re hoping the Mayor and the Phoenix Fire Department will be able to attend as well.  We’ll hear the music of Chris Divine, who played at our Street Fair too. We realize that times are tough right now for many of our NENA residents, so NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and waters. Anyone wishing to bring a dish or make a donation to the NENA fund is welcomed to do so, but don’t worry if you’re not able to do either…..there is always plenty to go around and we really just want neighbors to meet other neighbors! See you Saturday! We’ll be starting our set-up around 9:30 am if anyone would like to help out. Know a New Neighbor Who’s Moved into NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board. Point of Pride Nominations due March 23rd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com  Warmly, Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA Update January 1, 2010  Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Friday, January 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!   NENA Groundhog’s Day Potluck: Mark your calendars for the Groundhog’s Day Potluck on Saturday, February 6th from11 am to 2 pm. The event will be held in the same location as the arts and craft street fair on Catalina between 16th Dr & 17th Ave.  There will be special activities and contests (that means prizes) for the children, as well as the adults. Mayor Phil Gordon and Vice Mayor Tom Simplot will be invited to attend and so will the Phoenix Fire Department. We hope to hear the music of Chris Divine, who played at our Street Fair too.   NENA will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and waters. Everyone attending is asked to bring a dish to share with others. There is a $10 per household donation requested that will help offset the cost of this event and help fund future NENA events.   NENA Newsletter: You should have received your January NENA newsletter. Be sure to hang on to it to refer to for upcoming events.  Know a New Neighbor Who’s Moved into NENA? Be sure to pass along names and addresses of any new residents moving into NENA to our Social Chair, Trish Hermann at teherrmann@gmail.com. Trish will contact the new neighbor(s) and welcome them to the neighborhood and also give them a small welcome package from NENA. The package has our latest newsletter, menus from local restaurants, a Block Watch sign and referrals to businesses in the area from the NENA Board.   Eco Spartans Yard Sale: A NENA resident thought neighbors might be interested in participating in a yard sale put on by Camelback High School’s Eco-club. Neighbors can pay $10 for a space with a table provided and keep all the proceeds from their sales or drop off a donation for the event. Attached with this email is a flyer with more information for those who may be interested.   I wish you all a healthy and happy 2010!   Warmly,  Nicki Kirkeby NENA President nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556 NENA Update November 30, 2009  Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Tuesday, December 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! NENA Quarterly Meeting this Wednesday, December 2: The meeting begins at 7pm, but neighbors are encouraged to come 15 minutes early for a meet and greet before the meeting. There will be holiday treats and refreshments and if you’d like to bring your favorite holiday treat to share please feel free to do so. We’re also trying a holiday gift exchange at this meeting, so if you’d like to participate please bring a unisex gift valued at no more than $5. It does not need to be a new gift, but can be something you have around your home. At the end of our meeting we’ll put numbers on the gift packages and those participating will draw. The agenda for the meeting is attached to this email as well as follows the end of this message. We hope to see a GREAT turn out for the meeting! Phoenix City Manager Seeks Budget Input from Citizens: Rosemary Holusha forwarded the following information for NENA neighbors. The Arizona Republic recently reported that the new city manager is soliciting input for the budget. Cindy Hernandez, editorial writer at the Arizona Republic, has emailed Rosemary saying: "I am always accepting letters to the editor from readers giving their ideas on how to balance the budget. Letters are limited to 200 words; columns limited to 500 words. Please let your Association know.” Cindy's email is: cindy.hernandez@arizonarepublic.com    It appears that programs such as the Electric Light Parade; Shemer Art Center and the Phoenix Art Center have been kept due to the great attendance at the meetings.  Others were not so fortunate – as the pools closed earlier and maintenance has been drastically cut back at Encanto Park.  As has been library hours and obtaining new books. You can give your ideas to Vice Mayor Simplot’s office or call new City Manager Cavazos’ office at 602-262-694l.  You can also email his office at david.cavazos@phoenix.gov  This article also talked about MORE cuts to fire, police along with libraries, neighborhood services, parks & recreation, children's sports, etc. from the General Fund. The new city manager's salary is $280,000 plus $600 monthly car allowance & other payments. Public hearings begin in February.   It does make a difference to comment.   Point of Pride Nominations due December 22nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com  Deadline for Ads for NENA Newsletter December 22nd: The deadline for submitting an ad for the NENA newsletter is December 22nd. Please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net   Agenda for next NENA Meeting  NENA Quarterly Meeting Agenda Wednesday, December 2, 2009 7 pm @ Phoenix College Willo Room Welcome  Acceptance of previous meeting notes Financial Report (Sara Hesch  Ongoing Business Block Watch sign installation (Jack & Sally Brusco) 30 Block Watch signs purchased with grant money 9 locations on telephone poles & 9 on no parking signs Need volunteers willing to help install when weather cools off Point of Pride nominations (Jim Jeffries) If you have a home you wish to nominate contact Jim at jlsk76651@aol.com Newsletter Ads for NENA newsletter due by Sept 22 Contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net  New Business Groundhog Day Potluck Saturday, Feb 6th Planning Committee Peter Piper Fundraising Week Announce week in Jan after newsletter delivered Stop Sign on 18th Ave & Mulberry Drive What do we need to do as an association to accomplish this Home on SW Corner of 16th Ave & Thomas Discuss options to change zoning to Business Zoning Good & Welfare Holiday Gift Exchange & Holiday Treats NENA President Nicki Kirkeby nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556 Dear NENA Neighbors, This Saturday, November 14th NENA will sponsor our first Arts & Craft Street Fair from 10AM to 3PM. The event will take place in the same location where our Ground Hog Day event takes place, which is on Catalina between 16th Dr. and 17th Ave. The street will be barricaded off for our event.  We have a wide variety of artisans participating and some of the arts and crafts you will be able to purchase include: a mix of jewelry, metal yard art, unique paintings in mixed mediums, stained glass, quilted items, belts, handbags, aprons, scarves, clothing, framed photography, stationary, scrap book materials, note cards and much more!   There will also be live entertainment provided by Chris Divine (a NENA neighbor), as well as recorded music, grilled hot dogs, chips, sodas and waters. If you would like to donate a dessert to the NENA food table it would be welcomed. The proceeds from the food sales go into our NENA fund to support future events.   The event will be advertised in the Arizona Republic in the Arts/Craft/Bazaar section, as well as on Craig’s List. The sandwich boards will go out early this week to remind neighbors of the event and on the day of the event the signs will be moved to the parameters of NENA and will have bouquets of balloons attached to them drawing attention to our event. I will also be printing 1,000 flyers and will distribute some to local businesses for their front counters and will also have flyers on my front porch for neighbors to pick up if they would like to distribute at their place of work. I have attached the flyer for our event with this email, so please feel free to forward to your friends and families. My address is 1539 W. Mulberry Dr (one block south of Osborn between 15th and 16th Ave.) for anyone who wishes to pick up flyers.  It’s not too late to participate as a vendor. Contact me at the info provided at the bottom of this message.   This is going to be a great event for our neighborhood! I hope everyone will make it over to support the vendors who are presenting their beautiful wares! If you would like to help out as a volunteer for the event please contact me at the number below.  Can’t wait for Saturday!!!   Nicki Kirkeby NENA President 480-586-8556 nmkirkeby@cox.net NENA 2nd Annual Food Drive This Saturday, October 24th, volunteers will pick up donations from NENA neighbors for the St. Mary’s Food Bank. Please place your donation out by noon and volunteers will pick them up before 5pm. These are difficult times for many in our community, including neighbors who live in NENA who have lost their jobs and are having difficulty securing work. The St. Mary’s Food Bank provides an amazing service to the community. If you would like to volunteer to help collect the donations (one person drives a vehicle while the other person walks the block bringing donations to the vehicle) please contact Barb Simpson at 602.672.1614 bwitzke_rdh@qwest.com Additional helping hands will make the pick-up much easier. Thanks so much Barb for overseeing this event again!   Successful Super Block Sale 36 households participated in the Super Block Sale this past weekend earning $180 for NENA.  Many thanks to Ceci Andrews who rode the neighborhood on her very cool bicycle (I think she had a few offers for it in fact) and collected the $5 donation to NENA! Thanks Ceci.  Do You Know Someone New Who Has Moved Into the Neighborhood? If you have someone new who has moved into the neighborhood in the last month or so, please let Trish Hermann know at 602.669-7336 or email her at tehermann@gmail.com Trish is ready to deliver a welcome gift bag with information on NENA and will also find out a bit of information about our newest neighbors to share in the next newsletter. Thank you Trish for welcoming our newest neighbors to our community!   Aluminum Can Pick-Up Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Sunday, November 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Thank you June for overseeing the can collection!   Point of Pride Nominations due December 22nd There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com  NENA President Nicki Kirkeby nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556 NENA Update September 29, 2009 Aluminum Can Recycle Day: Please drop your aluminum cans to June Kane’s residence on Thursday, October 1st at 1630 W. Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds! Curtains A Big Hit with NENA Neighbors: Over 20 NENA neighbors, friends and family attended the NENA fundraiser, Curtains, at the Phoenix Theatre this past Sunday. NENA neighbor and Managing Director for the theatre, Dan Schay, treated neighbors to wine and appetizers before the show and after the show gave us all an amazing tour of the theatre. We visited the backstage, the costume productions room, stage set area where they construct the sets from steal. We learned about the history of the theatre and expansion plans for building a state of the arts theatre soon. The theatre is seats less than 400 people, so every seat is spectacular. The theatre offers a “dip your toe in the water” type package for $99 that includes tickets for 3 shows. What a great Holiday Gift Package! Contact Lindsay Halvorson for more information at 889-5283 or email her at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com Oh and the show….. tremendous! Great actors with amazing voices, costumes and a hilarious script! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped raise money for NENA and BIG thanks to Dan for being such a wonderful host to our event! www.phoenixtheatre.com Check out our New Website: The NENA website has a fresh look with easy navigation and appears full screen on your computer. Check it out at www.northencanto.com A Discussion Board will be added to the website in the near future. Many thanks go out to Deanna Fusco (who creates our fabulous newsletters) for the graphics on the website and to Brian Clark, the webmaster for the Association of Flight Attendants Council 66 who designed the website. NENA Newsletter: The October edition of our NENA newsletter will be delivered to your homes in a few days. It will have details on our upcoming events including: Ice Cream Social & Raffle Saturday, October 10th 4pm to 6pm 3018 N. 15th Drive (Ellen Perkin’s Home) Celebrate good times, good neighbors & great ice cream! NENA Annual Super Block Sale Saturday, October 17th $5 fee will be collected from each household participating Signs will be posted prominently around the perimeter of the neighborhood NENA’s 2nd Annual St. Mary’s Food Bank Drive Saturday, October 24th Attach the flyer you receive in the October newsletter to your donation & Set donation out by noon on the 24th Donations will be picked up by 5pm the same day Our goal is to exceed last year’s amount of 544 pounds! NENA’s First Arts & Craft Street Fair Saturday, November 14th 10am to 3pm $25 per vendor Vendors providing their own tables Will be raffles, face painting, music & lots of great shopping Contact Event Coordinator: Nicki Kirkeby at nmkirkeby@cox.net Point of Pride Nominations due December 22nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com I hope to see you all at our upcoming events! NENA President Nicki Kirkeby nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556 September 10, 2009 Dear NENA Neighbors, During our last two NENA meetings our Community Action Officers have spoke about new precinct boundary changes that will be taking place next year. NENA may be moved into the Maryvale precinct or possibly into the Squaw Peak precinct. NENA residents may wish to attend one of the meetings scheduled below to learn about how this may affect our neighborhood. There were concerns raised by NENA neighbors who attended the meeting who did not want to be included in either the Maryvale or Squaw Peak precincts. These informational meetings will help us understand fully what to expect and what we can do to influence keeping us in the Precinct we currently are in. Below is the message from the City of Phoenix “Pipeline” newsletter. It is also attached with this email for those who would like to download it to read. New Precinct Boundaries Community Briefings Throughout the remainder of 2009 and culminating in July 2010, the Phoenix Police Department will be realigning precinct boundaries and staffing to accommodate for the addition of two brand new police precincts. Many items have been taken into consideration and many studies completed on how best to affect these changes. In an effort to keep the public informed of the police precinct boundary changes and all criteria that has been part of this decision making process, several informational, Town Hall type, community briefings have been scheduled in each section of the city. They are as follows: Desert Horizon Community Groups Cowden Center 9202 N 2nd Street Thursday 9/10/2009 5:30 p.m. Cactus Park Community Groups Cholla Library 10050 Metro Parkway East Tuesday 9/22/2009 5:30 p.m. Squaw Peak Community Groups All Saints Episcopal School 6300 N Central Avenue Wednesday 9/23/2009 5:30 p.m. Central City Community Groups City Hall Assembly Rooms 200 W Washington Street Thursday 9/24/2009 5:30 p.m. We hope that you will plan to attend one of these briefings so that you will have a clear understanding of this process. Some communities will not see any changes, many others will. Please rest assured the service from your police department will remain seamless; when the time comes for the new boundaries to take affect, each community leader will be notified as to their new precinct personnel contacts such as: Precinct Command Staff, Community Action Officers, Crime Free Multi Housing Officer, Abatement Detective, Community Programs Officer, and Neighborhood Enforcement Teams. We look forward to the addition of the two new precincts in anticipation that we will be equipping ourselves better to address the needs of our citizens. We hope to see our Central City neighborhood leaders on Saturday, September 24th. Phoenix Theatre NENA Fundraiser: Don’t forget to order your tickets for the Sunday, September 27th performance of Curtains, a musical, murder mystery at the Phoenix Theatre. There will be a wine & cheese reception at 6:00 p.m., hosted by NENA neighbor, Dan Schay, who is the Managing Director for Phoenix Theatre. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a back stage tour of the theatre. Tickets are $45 ($13 being donated to NENA) and can be ordered at 889.5283 or email Lindsay Halvorson at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com Let’s make this a BIG success! Point of Pride Nominations due September 22nd: There are some amazingly beautiful and unique homes in our neighborhood and the Point of Pride is a great way to recognize a NENA neighbors efforts. Point of Pride recommendations can be sent to Jim Jeffries at jlsk766751@aol.com Deadline for Ads for NENA Newsletter September 22nd: The deadline for submitting an ad for the NENA newsletter is September 22nd. Please contact Kate Cross at johnmayhew@earthlink.net NENA President Nicki Kirkeby nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556 NENA Update July 29, 2009 Aluminum Recycles: Please drop your aluminum cans to the Kane residence on Saturday, August 1st at 1630 W Flower Circle North. Recycling not only helps our environment, but also helps increase our NENA funds!   Sliding Parts for Double Hung Aluminum Windows: If anyone is interested in parts for double hung aluminum windows a neighbor has replaced their windows and is offering the left over parts to anyone interested. Kelcy Layton will only be holding onto these parts for the next 2-weeks, so contact ASAP if you are interested by emailing: kelcylayton@hotmail.com   Phoenix Theatre NENA Fundraiser: Don’t forget to order your tickets for the Sunday, September 27th performance of Curtains, a musical, murder mystery at the Phoenix Theatre. There will be a wine & cheese reception at 6:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by a back stage tour of the theatre. Tickets are $45 ($13 being donated to NENA) and can be ordered at 889.5283 or email Lindsay Halvorson at l.halvorson@phoenixtheatre.com   November Arts & Craft Street Fair: So far there have been 7 neighbors who have expressed an interest in participating in an arts and craft street fair. Please email nmkirkeby@cox.net if you are interested in participating as a vendor. Vendors will contribute $35 to NENA and vendors will provide their own tables/tents.   NENA Website: The revamped website is almost complete and will hopefully be unveiled within a week or two.   Block Watch Sign Progress: 5o Block Watch signs have been purchased with Block Watch Grant Funds. Unfortunately, the business that had provided a verbal installation bid increased their bid dramatically and made it impossible to cover installing all 50 signs with the remaining funds. Hardware to install 9 signs on telephone or light poles have been purchased with the remaining grant and plans will be made when the weather cools to coordinate a volunteer neighborhood installation. We can get firm bids from sign installers for next years grant and plan accordingly when applying for future funds.  NENA President Nicki Kirkeby nmkirkeby@cox.net 480.586.8556