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Group hopes picnic builds membership

By LORRIE LYKINS
Published June 18, 2006

The Central Oak Park Neighborhood Association's membership has dwindled to less than 30 and its coffers are nearly bare.

Now the group is planning a comeback in the form of a picnic planned Saturday for new and returning members with the help of other area associations.

The picnic will be at North Central Park at 35th Street and Ninth Avenue N from noon to 3 p.m.

Police and fire department representatives will be on hand and information on hurricane preparedness will be available. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided although picnickers are asked to bring a dish to share and a chair.

Neighboring groups have agreed to pitch in to make the picnic happen, including the North Kenwood Neighborhood Association, the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association and the Disston Heights Civic Association.

"They're helping us out by bringing grills and helping to get the food prepared," said Linda Y. Phillips, the newly elected president of the Central Oak Park group. "We're coming together as a community and the support of the other neighborhood associations will really help."

Phillips said she volunteered to serve as president to get the ball rolling again.

"We need to regroup and build up our membership and make up for lost time," Phillips said of the association, which has been quite active in the past and participated in several successful neighborhood improvement projects.

Central Park is bounded by 34th and 49th streets between 13th Avenue N and Fifth Avenue S.

One initiative the group plans to revive is its "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" program, which extends volunteer assistance to neighbors with such tasks as house painting and yard beautification. In return, recipients are expected in some way to pitch in, such as helping to stuff envelopes for mailings or make phone calls.

"It's a give and take thing that worked out really well when we did it before, and it's time for us to get back together, rebuild and make some good things happen," Phillips said.

Meetings

The Jungle Terrace Civic Association will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Walter Fuller Recreation Center, 7891 26th Ave. N. Refreshments at 6:45 p.m.

The Central Oak Park Neighborhood Association will meet Tuesday at the Chalet on the Lake condominium, 3850 13th Ave. N. The crime watch meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the regular meeting will begin at 7.

Guest speaker Judy Ellis will discuss noise abatement and living wills.

The Crescent Heights Neighborhood Association meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at American Baptist Church, 2812 Eighth St. N. Dale Armstrong, Florida Yards and Neighborhood Program coordinator, will speak about Florida-friendly landscaping.

The Edgemoor Neighborhood Association will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mangrove Bay Golf Course, 875 62nd Ave. NE. Items on the agenda include neighborhood grants, neighborhood clean-up report and hurricane preparedness.

The Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 126 11th Ave. NE. Don Strobel of Strobel Building will present a workshop on the latest options for repairing, replacing, and hurricane-protecting windows in older homes.

Sample windows will be displayed. The workshop is presented by the Old Northeast Local Historic District Committee.

The Council of Neighborhood Associations will meet Wednesday at the Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7.

The Northeast Park Neighborhood Association will not hold an association meeting this month.

Also, today is the last day of the Pinellas Living Green Expo at the Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www. pinellaslivinggreenexpo.org.

Readers wishing to submit information for the Neighborhood Notebook can contact Lorrie Lykins by e-mail at SPTimeslistings@ yahoo.com or writing Neighborhood Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731-1121.

[Last modified June 18, 2006, 07:33:25]