Greentrees Civic Association

March 2005 Newsletter

Sep 05, 2007

Charles Lambert-EditorGreentreesCA@aol.com
Pam Brown, Webmaster,grntrees@earthlink.net
Mary Margaret Ware, Lost/Found Pets 756-5826 waremmj@msn.com
Election of Officers for 2005
At the January 18, 2005 the proposed slate of officers (listed in the December newsletter) was elected. At that Meeting Shelby County Mayor, A.C. Wharton, spoke to the over one-hundred attendees. The mayor discussed some of his plans and hopes for the coming year(s), including, he says, an end to county property tax hikes as a source of county income. He favors a ?“head tax?” on the population as an alternative. The fact that such a tax would not be based on income, makes this approach more feasible than the controversial income tax proposals that have been defeated over and over by the legislature as unconstitutional. He made it clear that the discretionary budget for county services, after debt and salaries, is very small. Wharton made a very positive presentation and answered questions from the audience at the end of his talk.



Note: At the February 22, 2005 meeting of the Greentrees Board, the association?’s Webmaster, Pam Brown, was unanimously voted onto the Board. This reflects the ever-increasing importance of the Internet to our organization. Welcome, Pam!



Security Issues



The Board continues to be interested in pursuing measures to ensure the safe condition of the neighborhood. After a wave of thefts and other incidents in late 2004, the situation seems to have stabilized for the time being. But your Board is still pondering the feasibility of hiring a professional security service to patrol the neighborhood every night. The dilemma is that many of the thefts took place during the day when people were not at home. It would not be cost-effective

to have a day and night service.



A second measure is the use of volunteers in the neighborhood to drive their own vehicles around the environs of Greentrees with a light on the top of the car/truck and a magnetic sign announcing their presence on the side of the vehicle.. This would cost nothing except the expense for signs and lights. Each driver would have his/her cell phone to call police in case anything suspicious occurred during the patrol. This volunteer force could drive through anytime, day or night, and without any regular schedule. There are definite advantages to this option.



The use of the City Watch ?“Phone Tree?” system will make it easier to contact people promptly of anything of significance, such as break-ins or suspicious activities. We used a similar phone service to announce our last meeting. It will be used as needed in the future. ANY GREENTREES RESIDENTS WHO DO NOT WISH THEIR PHONE NUMBERS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE SYSTEM SHOULD NOTIFT THE ASSOCIATION AND WE WILL EXCLUDE THEM FROM THE LIST AND FROM FUTURE CALLS MADE ON THE SYSTEM. CALL ANN BROWN AT 754-8699 OR WRITE GreentreesCA@aol.com TO HAVE YOUR NAME REMOVED. PLEASE RESPOND BY MARCH 20, 2005.



Finally, our third measure is to remember the three L?’s:



LOOK - Be aware of strangers, strange vehicles in the area and call the police if you think there is a suspicious activity at play.

LOCK - Lock doors, storage rooms, put away valuable tools and other items to discourage thieves. And, again, take in garbage cans and newspapers (special emphasis on the blue wrapped weekly paper), as these items in front of your home indicate that you may be away. Thieves love empty houses. The best safeguard is an alarm system and a sign announcing it clearly displayed. Estimates say you can decrease your likelihood of being burglarized by up to 90% if a security sign is in your yard.

LIGHT - Keep those porch lights burning. MLGW may love you for adding to their coffers but you are really doing yourself a favor. A lighted house with curtains closed on to the street does not look nearly as attractive as a dark house where interiors are exposed to view.



CALL (911) FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY; CALL 545-COPS (5452677) FOR FASTEST RESPONSE IN A NON-EMERGFENCY SITUATION. THAT IS THE DIRECT LINE TO THE POLICE DISPATCHER; FOR ROUTINE MATTERS, CALL THE EAST PRECINCT AT 795-3131.THE PRECINCT WILL CALL THE DISPATCHER FOR A PATROL CAR SO YOU ARE BETTER OFF CALLING THE DISPATCHER DIRECTLY TO GET THE FASEST RESPONSE TO YOUR CALL.



Recent Sales



Recent sales of properties in the Greentrees neighborhood are encouraging from price standpoint. In the last six months the average price houses sold for is $280,091, which averages over $85.00 per square foot, using 3260 as the average size home sold during the period. The only negative to this trend is the possibility that our property taxes may be affected by higher prices. A mixed blessing, I guess!



Yards of the Month



Congratulations to the winners of the nicest yards in Greentrees to:

?· Earl and Gwen Sears (January)

2174 Thornwood Lane

?· Roland and Margaret Wills (February)

2338 White Ash Cove

?· Dick and Flo Gadomski (March)

6841 Honey Locust Cove



Kirby Parkway Traffic



President Hill and Bob Renshaw are working on contacting the city about a uniform speed limit on Kirby Parkway from the Bill Morris Parkway/385 to Wolf River Parkway. The limits now vary from 35 to 45 on different segments of this major roadway. If a uniform speed is not possible, a request will be made for ?‘Reduced Speed Ahead?” signs for those areas of Kirby Parkway that have a lower limit. A request for ?“Children Playing?” signs on Hickory Crest has routinely been refused due to the fact that it is a main outlet for other streets in the neighborhood, but we plan to ask again.



PACA Representatives



The neighborhood representatives to the Police and Citizens Association this year are Art Herr and Bill Phillips. If you have information or business that ought to be discussed at these monthly meetings, contact Bill or Art. They are listed in the Greentrees phone directory.



Upcoming Events



White Station Library Speakers Program



Curtis White, President of the Friends of PWS Library has alerted us to three upcoming speakers at the library who may be of interest to our residents:



March 10 ?– Patricia Toarmina, Executive Director of ?“Exceptional Children and Health Services?” for the City School System will speak on ?“Caring for Exceptional Children?”, which includes autism, hearing impaired, mental retardation, multi-disabled, emotional disturbed, special learning disabilities, speech/language, visual, and intellectual giftedness.
April 14 ?– Dr. Richard Cooter, Jr., Professor of Reading Education at the U of Memphis, will lecture on ?“How to help your child become a better reader?”.
May 12 -Kathy Cooter, Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at U of Memphis, will discuss early literacy practices for the family. Her lecture is entitled, ?“Give Your Child a Million Dollars?”.


Each lecture begins promptly at 11:30 AM and runs for one hour unless the speaker wants to go until 1:00 PM. People feel free to come and go as their work schedules allow. All are welcome!



The Greentrees Garden Tour will take place on May 21 this year. Mark your calendars.
Fourth of July Parade in Greentrees. This year we will invite First Responders who cover Greentrees (police, fire, paramedics, and ambulance services) to be our guests at the annual picnic. This is similar to what many civic associations do to develop a strong rapport with these important people. This year?’s Chairpersons will be Joan Vegezzi and Connie Davidson.


Recommended Services



Polly?’s Greenhouse 9092 Goodman Road in Olive Branch, MS. Phone (901)794-5726 or 1-662-890-4689. This company performed several thousand dollars of landscaping for one of our Greentrees neighbors and he highly recommends them for their ?“top quality and honest workmanship?”

.

Magic Touch Mobile Carwash and Detail Call Gary Dabney at (901)481-9249 or cell ((901)864-2419. The service will come to your home to wash, wax, detail, and do auto upholstery work. Hours are flexible and prices reasonable. A very satisfied Greentrees customer recommends this company to us.







Art Herr



Art Herr, our most recent past president was born in Lancaster, Pa. His ancestors built the first stone house in America in 1719. The ?“Herr Haus?” still stands and is now a Mennonite historical museum. Art attended Rutgers University and was an Ag major. He was a naval aviator from 1954-75. The mission of his last squadron was in support of aviation and science in Antarctica, ?“Operation Deep Freeze?”. His service-related travels over the years took him to Europe, Africa, and the Far East. He received the Navy Air medal, and is a member of the Explorer?’s Club and the British Antarctic Club. Art holds a Masters Degree in Education from the U of Memphis. He taught science for Shelby County schools and was Teacher of the yaer in 1990 at Germantown High School where he taught physics.



When Art took the position as President of the GCA in 2004, he spoke of his goals of continuing to support the traditional activities such as the Garden Tour, the Fourth of July Celebration, the continuing development of Holmes Park, and a stronger Block Captain program, among other things. A year later, all of these programs and projects are in good working order and Art?’s diligence has made the association stronger and more meaningful to this neighborhood community. His keen interest in the security of the neighborhood is of special significance.



Over the years Herr has loaned his talents to various civic organizations, professional activities, service clubs, educational reform efforts, and other vital enterprises. We are grateful that he took a large chunk of his time and gave it to GCA. He served in a conscientious and vigorous manner and we are all the better for his efforts. We expect to call on Art for his guidance and insights and we are sure he will respond in his characteristically positive manner. Thanks, Art. We appreciate you!



Welcome



We have some new neighbors:

Clayton Holliday

6757 Poplar Pike



Mel and Daphne Vescovo

6786 Robin Perch