September 2009

Hello Garden Tract Neighbors!

I want to share what happened at another good meeting on August 31st. We had 43 neighbors present, began with a slide show of our past meetings and activities, and thanked Cypress School for their partnership and support. Teacher Molly Stimpel told us about her progress on the school garden and said they have managed without utilizing the neighborhood help we have offered. She does still hope to call the names on her list when the next big push comes - possibly in the spring.

Monique Gaido, yours truly-and chairperson, mentioned there are some easy ways for us to support Cypress School with very little effort. 1) Save boxtops from cereals and other grocery products that say "Boxtops for Education." I keep a baggie on my bulletin board and bring them to the school office. Teachers can redeem them for classroom materials. 2) Escrip.com - go to this website and register your Safeway club card number to donate 10% (I believe) of your spending to the school of your choice. Cypress Elementary is registered and Sequoia's band and choir are registered. I do not carry my Safeway card and did not know the number. This problem is remedied by calling the 800 # on every Safeway receipt and giving them your phone number. They will give you your club card number. Please encourage your whole family and friends to register their cards. It's a one-time 15-minute project and all schools will benefit!

Next on the agenda, our neighborhood organization has won the attention of others in the community! The Churn Creek Bottom Homeowners Organization was represented by Mary Ocasion and Michele Schroeder. They spoke about their opposition to another potential commercial development near I-5 and Knighton Rd. This is potentially productive agricultural land and they do not wish to see it paved for a new Costco when so many empty warehouse buildings (Mervyn's, Gottschalks, etc) are available. Also the new development would apply its wastewater to another 6-10 acres, potentially impacting groundwater quality. Now I made it clear to our Churn Creek friends that our group is new and we would love to hear about their efforts and become more informed about the activities of other homeowner groups, but that we have not yet defined our voting structure and priorities. Several neighbors agreed we should establish our group's structure and priorities before endorsing efforts outside our neighborhood. These issues will be discussed at our next group meeting (October 5th).

Also in terms of community development issues, Shasta Forward is a group funded by Caltrans and the City to formulate 50-year development scenarios and encourage the community to vote on which priorities they would like to see in the regional development and planning. Ballots are available at the library, Turtle Bay, City Hall, among other key locations. Everyone must vote by September 30th. One neighbor informed us that KIXE runs a show that explains the Shasta Forward effort. This show is run quite often.

Jim Kennedy spoke for the Neighborhood Cleanup Committee about his and Gil Murray's efforts to improve our existing Neighborhood Watch signs. They have now all been refurbished and look great. Our next Neighborhood Cleanup Day is Saturday, October 10th. Meet at Monique's (795 Lincoln) at 10 am to get gloves and a walking route. This is first and foremost a laid-back, easy and fun event. We'll have prizes for the most unusual and most disgusting piece of garbage found, and above all, (after we all wash our hands thoroughly) we'll have a potluck in our driveway (795 Lincoln). Please join us for the potluck, even if you can't help earlier (12:30 pm). We will distribute flyers for this event sometime next week.

Crime Watch Groups: The crime throughout Redding has been a sad reality. There have been many day-time breakins all over our neighborhood, and all over Redding. The police advise us to report suspicious behavior and call 911 immediately if you see someone entering a home or backyard when you know your neighbor is out. Be a good neighbor and pick up mail or newspapers if your neighbors are out. Change your lighting, move your cars, keep a radio or TV on when you are not at home. Change your routine. Some neighbors felt there was a homeless camp along the canal. This has since been investigated and any folks sheltering their have been cleared out to the best of my knowledge.

Land Use committee - Our neighborhood traffic patterns are going to change. The Community Health Center on Placer and Continental is expanding, the new medical facility on Continental is in progress, the West Venture building may be leased by CalTrans in the near future, and a new Social Security office building is planned for the lot by the Dollar Store. These changes and potential increase in traffic flow through our neighborhood may give us an edge to push the City toward traffic calming solutions on South, Locust, and/of Garden Streets.

Thank you all for attending and caring about our community. We look forward to our next social event (the Cleanup day on October 10th) and to establishing our goals for the next 1-2 years at our next general meeting at Cypress School, on Monday evening, October 5th, at 7 pm.

Sincerely,

Monique Gaido
Chairperson