Life in the Park is a Picnic.

Join your neighbors for the Kirkwood Park Fall Picnic! Meet new neighbors and visit with old friends as we enjoy dinner together in Lions Park. This year's Fall Picnic is Sunday, Sept. 27th at 5:30 p.m. in Lions Park Pavilion. The Board will provide the main dish and beverages. Each family attending should bring a side dish to share, along with their own plates and tableware.

In addition, the evening will feature an ice cream social. The ice cream and toppings will be provided thanks to our neighbor, Mary Ellen Kellogg. Mary Ellen recently won the Edy’s Slow-Churned Neighborhood Salute — a contest that celebrates great neighborhoods across America. Her winning essay from July 2009, which explains many of the reasons why we all love living in Kirkwood Park follows:

We live in an older neighborhood that represents all walks of life from seniors to babies. People watch out for others, helping when they can. It’s always great to be welcomed by our gorgeous big ol’ trees when driving in from work on the worst of days and then being able to walk our neighborhood and see old and new friends, sharing stories of the winter survival. What’s really neat is the fact that we have so many children coming back to live in Kirkwood Park once they’ve grown up because they like the addition so much. We knew when we moved in 17 years ago it was a great place to raise our boys — safe, friendly, fun, and a gorgeous environment. It’s not new, shiny, or the latest in fashion, but it fits like an old comfortable pair of jeans. Everyone tries the best they can to care for their place and help their neighbors as well! Everyone would love this opportunity you are offering. Thanks!

Make it a great day,

Mary Ellen Kellogg

Garage Sale update

The neighborhood garage sale will be held Saturday, September 19 from 8 am – 3 pm.

During this time, we encourage you to participate in our neighborhood-wide sale. Ads and signs will be placed to promote the event, and we encourage you to clean out the back of those closets and make a few extra dollars along side your neighbors.

Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Hot dog!

From Karen Goldner:

With the cool weather we are having now it is hard to think of the "dog days" of summer. But that isn't the only kind of dog day: Shoaff Park will host the Northeastern Indiana Kennel Club's Responsible Dog Ownership Day on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Information on various breeds, safety around dogs, and lots of information from groups and businesses that serve dogs and their people will be available. Bring your dog (on a leash) and come out!

More information is available here: http://www.neikc.org/

And remember the 2nd District Community Meeting will be this Wednesday, September 2, 7 p.m. at Shoaff Park Riverlodge. Our guest speaker will be Mark GiaQuinta, President of the Fort Wayne Community Schools Board of Trustees.

2009 Kirkwood Park Garden Walk

Join your neighbors for an Ice Cream Social/Garden Walk on Sunday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. The evening will begin with an Ice Cream Social at the home of Judy Wagoner.

Immediately after ice cream, the Garden Walk will begin. Some of the homes included on the tour include Kim and Patty Tisland, Phil and Joy Hudson, Tom and Jeane Wagner, Jerry and Diane Burch, Paul Sust and Heather Acero, Charlene and Bob Schrader, and Joni Weber. And if the weather’s not great, so what? Don’t let a little rain stop you from dropping by. Judy has offered her garage and summerhouse to use as back up.

If you’re interested in participating, please contact Judy at judithwagoner@hotmail.com.

What a great way to spend a summer evening!

Money may not grow on trees, but trees can grow for only $35!

From the Parks Department:

May 28, 2009

Contact: Natalie Eggeman (260-427-6028)
Chad Tinkel (260-427-5203)

One Month Left to Order Street Trees

Fort Wayne, IN: June 30th is the last day residents can apply for a street tree, which the City would plant adjacent to their property, on the street right of way this fall.

The street tree program has been offered annually for more than 15 years. Trees are offered at $35 on a first-come, first-served basis. This year, the City hopes to plant up to 1000 trees through this program, depending upon the species that are planted, and the funding available.

Neighborhood organizations are encouraged to spread the word and can work with program staff to plant in multiple locations. Also, the $35 fee per tree may be waived for applicants whose incomes fall below certain limits.

“It’s important to us to continue our tradition of being a green city, here in Fort Wayne,” said Chad Tinkel, Parks and Recreation Manager of Forestry Operations. “Planting trees is great for the environment and providing trees with sturdy branches that are resistant to storm damage ensures the community can enjoy them for a long time.”

One tree alone can absorb more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, helping Fort Wayne achieve EPA air quality standards. Trees absorb rainfall, helping reduce the release of sewage into the rivers in heavy rains.
Studies show how shade trees reduce energy consumption in summer by reducing air conditioning loads.

Street trees cool the streets and neighborhoods with their shade and studies have shown that trees increase property value in well planted neighborhoods.

Residents can download an application from www.fortwayneparks.org home page, or call 427-6400 to have an application mailed to them.

Some trees are better than others for planting along streets. They’re considered “good neighbor” trees with deep root systems that aren’t considered invasive to sewer systems. These strong, disease-resistant trees include various Maple, Oak, Honey Locust, Gingko, Linden, and Plane varieties, among others, listed on the application.

For more information about street trees and the benefits of trees, visit www.fortwayneparks.org, click on Parks Maintenance then choose the street trees link.

Info from Karen Goldner

On Monday at the 2nd District Community Meeting, someone asked me to send out the TinCaps website, where you can buy tickets to see our team play at Parkview Field. The site is http://tincaps.com/, and if you haven't been to a game you should go check it out.

Many people ask me about the impact of federal stimulus money in Fort Wayne. I will summarize by saying that the amount we are getting is, in a word, underwhelming. However, you can get more specific information at the next Community Services Council (CSC) Special Public Forum which will be held Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (Room 126/128 of the City County Building, One Main Street). Speakers will include representatives from various city departments including Public Works, Community Development, City Utilities, Energy and Public Safety. In addition to direct funding to the City of Fort Wayne, there will be information presented on funding for Citilink, schools and non-profit organizations.

RSVP is not required, but if you'd like additional information on the meeting you can contact Denise Porter-Ross, denise.porter-ross@cityoffortwayne.org.

High Speed Rail in Fort Wayne?

If you attended the annual meeting, you heard our 2nd District Councilperson, Karen Goldner, advocate for the return of passenger rail service to Fort Wayne. According to the Downtown Improvement District's counts, more than 800 people attended the recent "Rally for Rail", held at the Baker Street Station.

A group has formed to help advance this important cause. The Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA), is part of the Invent Tomorrow Initiative. They are the folks responsible for the Rally for Rail. They have a web site, http://nipra2rail.wordpress.com, where you can find updated information, and links to e-mail addresses and contact info for the Governor and our legislators.

It's especially important that we take a moment and contact the Governor. President Obama has put money aside in the stimulus bill for the expansion of high-speed rail. We need to make sure that Fort Wayne is part of that plan.

Mark your calendars: Annual Meeting on April 16 at Concordia High School

It’s that time again. The Kirkwood Park Annual Meeting will be held in the cafeteria at Concordia High School on Thursday, April 16, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. Dinner will be provided.

Guest speakers will include: Our 2nd District City Councilperson, Karen Goldner; Mary Jane Slayton from City Utilities and Denise Porter-Ross from the Northeast Area Partnership.

At the meeting, we will be electing several new board members. If you don't receive the printed copy of the newsletter, download one from the link provided and bring your ballot with you to the meeting. If you won’t be able to attend, please submit the form in a sealed envelope to Board Secretary Laura Stronczek, at her home on 2609 Merivale Street, prior to the meeting.

In addition to the election, important updates will be presented and door prizes will be awarded. You won’t want to miss it!

Ben Franke receives a Citizen Action Meritorious Award

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported this morning Ben Franke, son of Wade and Karen Franke, was honored with a Citizen Action Meritorious Award on Monday, March 23 at the 2008 Fort Wayne Fire Department Service Awards, held at the Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana. He was one of 13 firefighters and citizens recognized at the event.

"Ben Franke was given a Citizen Action Meritorious Award for helping his neighbors, Dean and Eleanor Shideler, escape a fire in March 2008 at their Rolston Avenue home.

The Shidelers attended the ceremony to personally thank Franke.

When Franke learned of the blaze, the first thing that went though his head was “just get over there and help them,” he said after receiving the award.

“It’s great,” Franke said. “It feels good.'"

2nd District News

Our next 2nd District Community Meeting will be Monday, April 27, 7 p.m., at Shoaff Park Riverlodge (straight west off of St. Joe Road, past the golf course). Our speaker will be Mayor Tom Henry, so please come for this opportunity to talk with our mayor.

Wednesday, March 25, 7 p.m., will be the first episode of a new show on "City TV" (Comcast 58/FIOS 28) called "Constructive Thinking." This will focus on the many and varied things that our Public Works and City Utilities departments do, hosted by yours truly. The 30-minute show will air on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., alternating with "Council Call-in." The first show is "Water, Water Everywhere" and includes discussion of the recent flood, flood control projects, repairing sewers and fixing potholes (which are caused by water if you think about it). In addition to some in-studio interviews we have filmed some interviews in the field so I hope it is interesting to watch. The April show will feature a rain garden theme and will include some how-to advice. We are trying to see whether we can get this podcasted so that people without Comcast or FIOS service can watch, because we know that this is going to be THE show of the season (just kidding on that last part.)

ABC’s EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION SEARCHING FOR HEROIC FAMILIES
From ABC:

Do you know someone whose home deserves an Extreme Makeover? If so, the producers of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition want to hear from you! Ty Pennington and his crew have been all across the map and they are ready to drive that famous bus into the Fort Wayne Indiana area!

What does it take to be picked for an Extreme Makeover?
We are in search of true Heroes - people who have amazing strength of character and who put their own needs aside to help others. Whether it’s a mom, a soldier, a teacher, or a fireman, we think a hero is anyone who inspires those around them. In addition, the producers are looking for families whose houses need major alterations or repair- homes that present serious problems for the family and affect the family's quality of life.

To be eligible: A family must own their own single family home and be able to show producers how a makeover will make a huge difference in their lives.

Interested families or those who wish to nominate another family should e-mail a short description of their family story to
castindiana@gmail.com

Nominations/submissions must include:
1. The names and ages of each member of the household
2. A description of the major challenges within the home.
3. Explanation of why this family is deserving, Heroic, or a positive role model in their community.
4. Photos of the family and a photo of the home
5. Don’t forget to include a contact phone number.

The deadline: for nominations is (April 2nd). BUT Don’t Delay! Please send story submissions as soon as possible!

For more information on how to apply please visit our website at: http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply

Kirkwood Park invaded by Mad Ants

Have you ever considered how much we rely on our Public Service officials? The Mad Ants have, and so they are honoring them with a special Local Heroes Night.

On Friday, February 20, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants will be playing the visiting Dakota Wizards. After the game, teams from the Fort Wayne Police Department and Fort Wayne Fire Department will play in a championship basketball game.

Kirkwood Park has purchased 50 tickets to this Local Heroes Night and is making them available to residents on a first come, first served basis.

If you’re interested in attending, please contact board president, Joni Weber at jparweb@aol.com.

Sewer Update

The Sewer Reconstruction project is part of a $240 million dollar Citywide project that will be spread out over the next 18 years. There will be many of these same projects taking place all over the City of Fort Wayne during the summer. There will be no special assessment to Kirkwood Park or any of its residents for this project.

Our contractor is Geiger Excavating. Ray Wigfield is the Construction Manager, Ron Sheppard is the Program Manager. The project began on Thursday, February 5, 2008, and should be wrapped up by the end of August, by Labor Day weekend. Once this project is completed, this will wrap up the entire sewer reconstruction for Kirkwood Park.

The construction will start at the Springfield at Crescent Ave. extrance, going east to Kirkwood Drive, north on Kirkwood Drive to the end, and curving around to go over to Merivale, where one block (from Kirkland Ave. to to Rolston St.) is slated for the sewer construction.

All of Kirkwood Drive and the one block portion of Merivale will have all new concrete. However, concrete will NOT be poured until the weather breaks — in the interim, there will be stone/gravel placed for residents to travel on. The contractor does not anticipate any construction or concrete pouring to go any further than the right of way or driveway approach of affected each residents property.

Once the concrete is poured, affected residents will not have access to their driveways for one (1) full week. Residents will then be directed to street parking nearby their homes.

If the need arose for any type of utility shut-off, affected residents would be notified 24 hours in advance.

Kirkwood Circle will have portions of cement replaced — this is due to extra CEDIT funding coming available to us via our 2nd Disctrict Councilperson, Karen Goldner. This repair should take place something during the construction project.
This project will serve ALL of us and will only bring better property values to our neighborhood.

Construction Contacts are:
Ray Wigfield,
Construction Manager
Phone: (260) 427-2704
FAX: (260) 427-6234
E-MAIL: ray.wigfield@
ci.ft-wayne.in.us

Ron Sheppard,
Program Manager
Phone: (260) 427-2705
FAX: (260) 427-6234
E-MAIL: ron.sheppard@
ci.ft-wayne.in.us

Storm Stories...

MAYOR HENRY SEEKS STORIES FROM THE STORM
Mayor Looks for Heart Warming Stories of Those Who Went the Extra Mile to Help During the Ice Storm

Fort Wayne, Ind. – During the December ice storm that left thousands of Fort Wayne residents without power, some for many days, Mayor Tom Henry continued to ask citizens to check on their neighbors to help ensure no one was in danger.

During and the since the storm, Mayor Henry says he hears story after story of people who made big efforts to reach out to friends, family and even strangers. “People offered help and hope to individuals and families who were cold, tired, and hungry,” said Mayor Henry. “It’s these stories that make me proud to be part of this community.”

Saying he would like to acknowledge and possibly publicly recognize many of those who went to great lengths to help others, Mayor Henry asked citizens to send him a note on the City’s website to tell the stories they know, where warm hearted individuals made a difficult situation a little more bearable for others.

Submissions can be made until February 2 at www.cityoffortwayne.org/warmhearts. Mayor Henry would like to thank all of those who made such an effort and helped avoid a terrible storm becoming a tragedy.

Upcoming 2nd District Events

The holidays are over and we're now all working on a schedule again. In that spirit, here is the schedule for our 2nd District Community Meetings for 2009. Please join your neighbors for these meetings, to learn more about what is going on in our community and to have an opportunity to share your ideas and concerns.

All meetings are at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, February 18, Psi Ote Barn Lower Level (Northside Park, enter off Parnell and go just past the tennis courts)
Monday, April 27, River Lodge (Shoaff Park - enter the park and go straight back, past the golf course)
Wednesday, September 2, River Lodge
Monday, November 2, Psi Ote Barn Lower

The February 18 program will be a (short) State of the Second District speech, and then time for any questions, ideas or concerns you want to share.

The other programs are being finalized but I wanted to get the dates out. Stay tuned for more information.

It's Dues time again...

Once again, it's that time of year — your Kirkwood Park Association, Inc. annual dues are currently due.

In accordance with the By-Laws of the Kirkwood Park Association, Inc., each homeowner must pay their mandatory association dues of $30.00 to the Board Treasurer by January 31st of each calendar year.

Forms will be distributed the week of Jan. 5. Please complete and mail with your check in the amount of $30.00, made payable to Kirkwood Park Association, no later than January 31, 2009. Send to P.O. Box 5354, Fort Wayne, IN 46895. If you misplace your form, a pdf is available in the links section of this blog, or by clicking here.

Thank you for your anticipated prompt response. Your cancelled check with serve as receipt of payment.

Happy New Year to all of our residents — stay warm and healthy during this winter!