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Parks Committee Update - February 8th, 2007:

Hi Neighbors!! The Parks Committee is still chugging right along with the Fountain Garden Project.  There are meetings scheduled with the City of Roanoke and The Whitesell Group (Landscape Architect) in the following weeks to discuss our next stage in the process.  As most of you can tell there has been a great response to the last update on the website in regards to removal of plantings in the garden currently, and I’d like to thank all that helped.  One thing I do need to request is that if you did spend time at the Fountain Garden removing or just cleaning up things, if you could drop me an email with your name, amount of time and date (roughly) you spent doing the removal and or cleaning.  This information is necessary for our part of the Fountain Garden Grant 20% “sweat equity”. Thanks again to all that have come out and helped with this project.  I’ll be needing more volunteering as we get closer to construction/renovation of the Garden.

Jeff Campbell - Parks Committee Chair

Roanoke City Leadership College Spring Session Information:

How much do you actually know about the city in which you live?  For example, what is our city's Vision for the future?   Who do you call to
have a street lamp repaired? or a sidewalk or section of curbing repaired? How are events booked at the Civic Center?  How does someone run for City Council?

All of your questions on how our city operates and the services provided will be answered during the City Of Roanoke's 8-week Leadership College program scheduled to begin on March 29 and continuing on each consecutive Thursday evening through May 19, 2007 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Roanoke Higher Education Center.  A light dinner is also served and the program is FREE. Several Old Southwest residents have attended and recommend The Roanoke City Leadership College. This program enables citizens to enhance their knowledge of the city and how it operates through interaction with many of our government leaders. Become a resource for your neighbors! 

The Leadership College was developed by the City of Roanoke to teach and increase the level of effective communication between the city government and its citizens. Classes are interactive, practical, and engaging series of discussions, incorporating lectures, role-play, and team building activities that help participants:

• Understand city procedures

• Understand the functions of and services provided by city departments and meet the people providing these services

• Learn best practices in organizing your community

• Gain basic team-building and conflict-resolution skills

Participants are provided with tools and information on how to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods and assists them in becoming leaders in their community. The goal of the Leadership College is to increase participants’ understanding and knowledge of city government services, and assist them in becoming reliable sources of information for their neighbors. 

Register on-line at the City of Roanoke Web site, www.roanokeva.gov/leadershipcollege, or complete and mail the registration form available below for your convenience.  The Leadership College is only open to residents of the City of Roanoke and city employees. For additional information, please feel free to call the Roanoke Housing & Neighborhood Services at 540-853-1286.

Download the City of Roanoke Spring 2007 Leadership College Brochure and Application

Safety Committee Update - January 30th, 2007:

Dear Neighbors,

Old Southwest is committed to ensuring that we have one of the safest neighborhoods in the City of Roanoke. We have been working with the Roanoke City Police department to identify and eliminate potential safety and home security issues. One area the we are looking at is home security. Statistics show that many break-ins are crimes of opportunity. With the holidays past us, homes have a stronger potential to become targets due to the addition of expensive electronics over the Christmas season. Here are a few affordable and simple steps that you can to better protect yourself and your home:

• Lock your doors and windows! Take a few minutes to go through your house and ensure that all your windows are securely locked and fastened.

• Install a security bar on sliding doors. This simple piece of tubing can prevent the door from being pried open or lifted off its tracks.

• Clear away trees, branches, and other brush from windows and doors around your home. These items can provide visual “shelter” to people attempting to gain access.

• Install and upkeep security lighting and motion sensitive lights. Basic dawn-to-dusk or motion sensitive spot lights can be purchased for less than $30 at any major hardware store and are relatively simple to install. The additional light provides both resident awareness and a deterrent to crime.

• Get to know your neighbors and watch out for suspicious activity! We are our own best security system! By living in the neighborhood we know what is typical and what is unusual. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity and don’t be afraid to call 911 if you see something that looks like it isn’t quite right! The police rely on timely reports from residents as the best source of information about crime or suspicious activity in the city.

Though continued efforts by both residents and the city’s police force, we can make Old Southwest one of the safest and attractive neighborhoods in the state of Virginia!  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Safety Committee at safety@oldsouthwestinc.com or the Safety Committee chair (Josh Shields).

2007 Board of Directors Update - January 13th, 2007:

With the new year brings a new Board of Directors to Old Southwest, Inc! Your newly appointed board and officers look forward to making 2007 a memorable and successful year for Old Southwest. We have many new ideas on ways to encourage positive growth and progress in our community and to encourage more participation in our organization. We're always available to the membership - feel free to drop us an email if you have any questions or concerns.

Some of the Board of Director Objectives for 2007:

• Improve the timely flow of communications between the board of directors and the general membership, particularly outside of the normal membership meetings.

• Establish better communication methods utilizing a combination of email, telephone tree, and internet/website improvements.

• Improve the functionality of the Old Southwest, Inc website, to allow members greater access to information and interaction, as well as ensure that news, events, and updates are posted in a timely manner. Create a members area on the website that provides additional incentive for joining our organization.

• Distribute educational materials that help residents of our community better understand the various processes and considerations that come with living in the H2 Historic District. This includes information about interacting with the Architectural Review Board and other city officials, as well as materials about how to enhance and protect our neighborhood.

• Establish a "welcome committee" that will provide new residents with a welcome basket and information about the neighborhood, city, and our organization.

• Continue to promote our neighborhood and the Old Southwest, Inc organization via various media and public forums to better improve our visibility within the City of Roanoke and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Continue the great success of our Holiday Parlor Tour event! It will be difficult to follow last year's act, but we know that this year's tour can be even better!

• Continue to encourage neighborhood growth through resident involvement and fellowship. This will include planning and organization of various neighborhood activities including the "food and fellowship" gatherings, community service oriented events, and special events such as the St. Patrick's Day parade.

• Continue prior OSW objectives set by the previous Board of Directors, including the revitalization and improvement of the Alexander/Gish house, trash can installation project, lighting improvement project, and Highland Park fountain restoration.

Parks Committee Update - December 12th, 2006:

The Parks Committee is well underway with the Fountain restoration project.  We are currently working with a landscape architect from right here in the neighborhood.  Estimates should be arriving soon with total cost for the fountain restoration and getting water service established to it.  In the meantime I wanted to ask for some assistance.  The garden is currently filled with flowers, herbs, small shrubs, etc.  If you have any personal interest in the items around the fountain garden (i.e., Flowers, herbs, shrubs, etc.) please feel free to remove them, as they will be removed before construction/renovation begins.  The cut off date for removal of these items will be March 31, 2007, after that point we will be removing all items from the garden.  We hope that construction/restoration will begin in the early spring timeframe, once warmer weather begins to set in. After completion of the fountain renovation we will be replanting select items in a “simple” / “easy to manage” manner around the fountain.  If you are planning to remove items from the garden, or would like additions information, please contact the Parks Committee chair (Jeff Campbell) at 540-343-5758.  Thanks for your assistance and cooperation!

Roanoke Citizen Police Academy and Senior Police Academy:

The Roanoke Citizen Police Academy provides an excellent opportunity for citizens to gain a better perspective of the day-to-day operations of the Police Department. The academy is open to citizens who live and/or work in Roanoke, as well as family members of police officers. A number of Old Southwest residents have enjoyed and recommend this program as a benefit to our Public Safety efforts. Participation is free and a meal is provided each night. More information regarding this twelve-week program and application instructions may be found from the Police Community Outreach page of the City's website. When surfing here, note the great picture of Officer Barak Plogger, our 2005 Officer of the year, with some of our own Old Southwest youth.

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