Bookcase/hutch for sale

A neighbor is selling a beautiful hutch or bookcase on craigslist today. Take a look.

Clean, Collect or Commune tomorrow (May 31)

There are plenty of events going on tomorrow (Saturday, May 31) if you are looking to do the right thing, whether that thing is creek cleanup, crime prevention or waste disposal. Pitch in if you can!

• Richland Creek Watershed Alliance creek cleanup,
  10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Metro Public Works hazardous waste collection,
  9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• DoSnitch.com Community Day in North Nashville,
  10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  

Pick up after your pets

Pet owners (that includes me), take note: A neighbor wrote this week to ask that neighbors make a more concerted effort to pick up waste while walking their dogs:

"[O]wners [need to] pick up after their dogs when they walk them... It seems that many use our alleys as toilets, which is not only smelly and disgusting, it's potentially hazardous... I have asked several people to clean up the pet messes and even provided a bag a time or two. Since we live near McCabe Park, we get a lot of people who walk by with their dogs. I have dogs as well and would not even consider taking them out without appropriate bags.

This is good neighborly advice, and it's the law. Please remember to pick up after your pets!

Barbara Lamb to play Take121 Arts tomorrow (May 29)

Neighbor and SPNA member Barbara Lamb (above), who also happens to be a very talented musician, will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow night, May 29, at Take121 Arts downtown (map). Here's some background information that you may not have known about Barbara, courtesy of Take121:

Her lyrics are uncanny, her electronic looping of percussions, pseudo voices, bow licks, and even chickens clucking is mystifying. Fiddler Barbara (Babs) Lamb performs her solo show with percussion, looping, fiddling, singing and nerves. She's a one-woman phenom!

After taking somewhat grueling classical violin lessons for three years, Barbara's teacher "fired" her because she had learned a Swedish dance tune by ear and played it much better than her assigned lesson stuff. "I was so proud of learning that little tune as an 8-year-old," she said. "It annoyed my teacher to no end. I took the hint. I switched to a teacher who played a lot of Scandinavian dance music." She learned quickly, listened to records by Jim and Jesse, Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs to name a few. "It was so much different from playing in contests and playing for dances in the early years," she said. Since then, she has played with some of the greatest in bluegrass.

Free concert at Dragon Park Sunday (June 1)

Metro Parks and the Hillsboro West-End Neighborhood Association are partnering to present Dragon Music Sundays three times during the month of June. The shows are free concerts open to the public. All of the shows begin with opening at Metro Parks Jam Bands at 3 p.m., and the headliners take the stage at 4 p.m. The concerts will be held at Fannie Mae Dees Park (or the Dragon Park).

June 1 J Fred Knobloch w/ Jelly Roll Johnson
June 15 Delicious Blues Stew
June 29 David Olney & Sergio Webb w/ Jack Irwin

For more Information, call (615) 262-8400. Please note that there are no rain dates for these shows. [Image source: Jude Adam]

RCWA creek cleanup May 31

Richland Creek Watershed Alliance will hold a creek cleanup on Saturday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More information is available in this flier. Email rcwa[at]comcast.net to sign-up.

Public Works Hazardous Waste Collection May 31

Metro Public Works will host a hazardous waste collection and education day on Saturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following locations: Hillsboro High School, the Bellevue MTA Park & Ride and Dupont Hadley Middle School. The following items will be accepted:

• Small batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, button)
• Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes
• Cell phones
• Mercury thermometers (in exchange for digital thermometers)
• Over-the-counter and prescription medications

Car batteries, tires, paint and other hazardous waste not listed above will not be accepted. Those items can be deposited at the East Convenience Center at 943-A Richard G. Adams Drive. The Public Works Web site has more information about household hazardous waste.

MNPD sobriety checkpoints planned for Memorial Day weekend

From the Metro Nashville Police Department:

Metro police officers, including those working extra duty through a grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, will be conducting sobriety checkpoints during the Memorial Day weekend. Locations being considered for checkpoints are Murfreesboro Pike near the airport, Harding Place near I-24, Nolensville Pike, Hillsboro Road, Main Street, Gallatin Pike in the Madison area, Lebanon Pike near Old Hickory, and 8th Avenue near downtown. Typical checkpoint hours are 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

In 2007, more than 40 percent of all fatal crashes in Davidson County were caused by impaired drivers. The police department conducts sobriety checkpoints as an enforcement tool to identify and arrest intoxicated and/or impaired drivers.

School Board Candidate Forum May 21

The Nashville Neighborhood Defense Fund will hold a forum and endorsement meeting for candidates for the 2008 Metro School Board elections on Wednesday, May 21. The forum will begin at 6 p.m. in the Education Building at Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum (636 Farrell Parkway).

There are contested races in Districts 1, 3, 7, and 9. District 5 Board Member Gracie Porter is unopposed. The elections will be held on August 7. The Metro School Board Forum will be open to the public and the news media. There will be a Q&A session with the opportunity for attendees to ask the candidates questions.

Charlotte Avenue-Richland Park Corridor Meeting Monday (May 12)

The latest public meeting regarding the Charlotte Avenue/Richland Park Detailed Corridor Design Plan is scheduled for Monday, May 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting is free and open to the public, and it will be held at Breen Hall in St. Ann Catholic Church's Parish Life Center (5101 Charlotte Avenue).

A draft plan for the area, which has been prepared based on input from local residents, will be shared at this meeting. More information is available on the Metro Planning Commission's West Nashville page.

Please note that SPNA will hold its monthly membership meeting at 8 p.m. to accommodate this meeting.

SPNA Yard Sale Saturday (May 10)

SPNA will hold its Annual Spring Yard Sale this Saturday (May 10) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. There's still time to register, but hurry!

SPNA will provide:

• A large ad in The Tennessean on Friday and Saturday publicizing the sale and indicating where customers may obtain maps to the sale locations.
• Bright balloons on your mailbox to identify your sale.
• Maps with specific address listing special items of interest as provided by the participants.
  

The cost of the Yard Sale is $15.00 for SPNA Members and $30.00 for Non-Members (which includes SPNA membership). For more information contact Wendell Goodman at (615) 385-2276 or goodmanwg@bellsouth.net. A registration form is included in the latest issue of the SPNA newsletter.

RCWA stormwater drain stenciling

The Richland Creek Watershed Alliance (RCWA) is tackling the important task of stenciling "No Dumping" on area storm drains in order to reduce the amount of garbage that is deposited in the drains. If you are interesting in assisting with this project, please email rcwa[at]comcast.net.

This is a great opportunity for family participation, as kids will find this interesting and fun. Some RCWA goals are to educate children to the effects of pollution entering our streams from contaminating stormwater run-off. This will be an on-going activity, as there are 100 drains to stencil.

MTA may end Sylvan Park bus service

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is considering removing the #13 bus route that runs through Sylvan Park. Neighbors are encouraged to voice their opinions and concerns about this potential change by attending public meetings scheduled for this week. Here are the dates, times and locations:

• Thursday, May 8, at 6 p.m. at the Madison Library (610 Gallatin Pike)
• Monday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Easley Community Ctr. (1000 Edgehill Avenue)

Neighbors can also email concerns and comments to mta.publichearings@nashville.gov through May 14, call (615) 862-5950 or send letters to 130 Nestor Street, Nashville, TN 37210.

Nashville Hiking Meetup on the Greenway this Sunday (May 11)

From the Nashville Hiking Meetup group. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Join us for a short, easy hike at Richland Creek Greenway and ice cream afterward at Bobbie's Dairy Dip on Charlotte! Plan on hiking about an hour and a half.

Everyone welcome! Family, friends, kids on bikes or in strollers, dogs on leashes.

After the hike we'll either walk or drive to Bobbie's Dairy Dip, 5301 Charlotte Ave. The fine people at Bobbie's have given us a limited number of discount coupons and we'll give these out at the trailhead.

Sunday, May 11, at 1 p.m.
Richland Creek Greenway - Wyoming Ave. Trailhead
51st Ave N & Wyoming Ave
Nashville , TN 37209

Bring your mom or your kid! Bring the whole family!Celebrate Mother's Day outdoors with your hiking buddies.

Meet at the Greenway map/sign at the trailhead. A few of us will be wearing Nashville Hiking Meetup shirts. See the group's Web page for more details.

Bike-to-Work Day this Friday (May 9)

From the Metro Public Health Department:

Be healthy, be green, and save money! Downtown workers from across Nashville are invited to try commuting in to town on two wheels for Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 9. If you don't work downtown, you are still more than welcome to join. Walk/Bike Nashville will have ride leaders departing various locations between 6:30 and 7:15 a.m. and arriving at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center around 7:30 a.m. Leaders will share their favorite routes into town while avoiding the gridlock of the busier streets whenever possible. Refreshments will be served. No registration required, but helmets are mandatory.

Sylvan Park/Murphy Road
(Call 615-668-6003 for more information on this location.)

• Richland Park Library (on Charlotte Pk.)—6:50 am
• McCabe Community Center (near the Richland Greenway)-7:00 am
• Elmington Park-7:10 am
• Join Hillsboro/Belmont Route on 16th Ave at 7:25 am

May Membership meeting time change (May 12)

Please note that SPNA will hold its May membership meeting next Monday night, May 12, at 8 p.m. in the basement of the Cohn Adult Learning Center at the intersection of 48th and Park Avenues.

The meeting will be held one hour later than the typical meeting time in order to allow members to attend the final Charlotte Avenue/Richland Park Corridor Design meeting, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Please plan on attending both meetings if you are able.