Recent Posts

I am unbale to attend the Oct 1st meeting. Could someone who attends the meeting post some information?

Their has been some reported break ins and suspicious behavior in the neighbor hood recently. If you see anything please report to the police.

Also, posting information on this forum will ensure that all the neighbors are able to be kept informed. So if you have any information please share. I am sure everyone would appreciate it.

I am glad you are keeping everybody informed about plans for the park. It is a very important part of the neighborhood and although I have moved out of the "hood" as of this summer, I still care about its future. Thanks, George.

The second public meeting for the Crane Park Master Plan is set for Oct 01, from 6-8 at Mayor's Riverfront Park. An initial plan will be presented.

The master plan is not about selling the property, developing the property, or drastically changing the use of the Crane Park. It is about exploring what needs to be done to make the park better and to cement its future use. The plan that will be presented will include thoughts and ideas that were discussed at the first open public meeting. The Parks and Rec. dept. have been in the process of creating master plans for all of the city parks. Due to the new condo development next to the park, it was in the best interest for everyone that Crane Park was moved to the top of the list of city parks needing master plans.
 

[Please use caution. Do not answer your door to strangers. Do not give money to strangers in the neighborhood. Call Public Safety 337-8139 for suspicious people in our neighborhood or 337-8120 for non-emergencies. Please call me if you have other suggestions or concerns.]

This email alert came to me from Judy Sherrod with a request to post it to our site

Dear WEB Neighbors,
 
This is not a joke.  Today I received a call and an email from a neighbor about the following important information:
 
"Late this morning, a man on a bicycle stopped at our neighbors (1431 Edgemoor) to "introduce himself as a new neighbor;" however, our neighbors were not at home but someone in the house said they would be back later in the day.
 
The man then came to our house (2715 Lake Chevy Chase Dr, on Pikes Pond) and "introduced himself as a new neighbor who had just moved into a house on Edgemoor ... but, he had a problem with his car and did not have cash for repairs & gas, etc."   He offered to work for cash and to repay it.  My husband was not home and part of the man's story sounded plausible; I did give him a small amount of cash and he biked off.
 
When my husband listened to my story, he was not happy that I had believed the person; we checked the address given (1024 Edgemoor) and it does not appear that anyone is moving in there.  Later in the day, I spoke with Public Safety who re-iterated all the precautions one should take if a stranger comes to the door.  I should never had opened the door and should have just turned him away immediately ... and called Public Safety right away if I thought there was something suspicious.
 
Several calls went back and forth to the immediate neighbors alerting them to the situation.  The man did return next door in the late afternoon and used the same story ... but ... a slightly different name in claiming to be a new neighbor.
 
So, be aware that a person has been in the neighborhood trying to get some cash.  With me, he used the name Edmund (Ed) Campbell; with the neighbors, he used Edmund Harrington.
 
He is African-American, maybe 35-40 yrs., has a slender build, approx. 5' 7", wearing glasses (today).  He was quite pleasant to talk with and seemingly quite earnest.
 
The neighbors said that this afternoon, he was not as "together" as he was in the morning.  Perhaps he wants the money for drugs ... and that could be a bad situation.
 
H.G. Piatkowski
2715 Lake Chevy Chase Dr."
 
Please use caution.   Do not answer your door to strangers.   Do not give money to strangers in the neighborhood.  Call Public Safety 337-8139 for suspicious people in our neighborhood or 337-8120 for non-emergencies.    Please call me if you have other suggestions or concerns.
 
Linda Wienir, President, WEB Neighborhood
381-3497

The public meeting for the Crane Park Master Plan is set for September 3, from 6-8 at Mayor's Riverfront Park

A planning meeting with the city parks dept. for a Master Plan for Crane Park will be announced soon. The meetings will be sometime in September or October. As soon as the dates and time are finalized it will be posted on the website.

WMU has a grant from the US Department of Education to conduct a study of the impact of the Kalamazoo Promise.  We'd like to talk to young people about their opinions on the changes in their schools since the Promise was announced. Since its summer, our strategy has been to contact the neighborhood associations and request their help.  I've phoned a few numbers that I found, but they seemed dated, so I am following up with this e-mail.

We're asking if each association could identify four or five students living in the neighborhood, between the ages of 13 and 17, that we could sit down with for an interview.  The interviews have been taking about 20 minutes.  We'll furnish pizza, pop, and a WMU t-shirt.

If you think you could help, please reply to this e-mail or phone me at the number below to discuss logistics.

Thanks,


Stephanie Higdon Evergreen
Research Associate
The Evaluation Center
4405 Ellsworth Hall
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5237
 
tel. 269/387.5985
tel. 269/387.5920 (direct)
fax 269/387.5923
email: stephanie.evergreen@wmich.edu

The Kalamazoo Area Foreclosure Prevention Partnership* will present a Foreclosure Prevention Forum on Thursday, May 22, 9:00am - 11:00am at Mayors? Riverfront Park (251 Mills Street) in the Parks & Recreation Department Conference Room. The Forum will offer local service providers information about foreclosure prevention resources in our community.  Please take a minute and check out the attached flyer and agenda.  Your clients will be glad you did, as many of them are feeling the direct or ripple effects of the housing/foreclosure crisis!
 
In Kalamazoo County, over 2400 homes are in some stage of foreclosure.  And, there are even more people on the edge of foreclosure and unaware they need to act sooner rather than later to avoid a housing crisis.  Homeowners and renters alike are increasingly seeking help and are unsure of where to start.  The Kalamazoo Area Foreclosure Prevention Partnership wants to help you point your clients in the right direction.
 
We need your help to get the word out that an ounce of prevention is better than?well you know the rest of that saying!  So please plan to join us on May 22 to learn about available foreclosure-related resources?and to inform others if you have resources to respond to this crisis as well.
 
Questions can be directed to the City of Kalamazoo?s Community Planning & Development Department at 337-8044.  If you are unable to attend the training and need help with foreclosure issues, please contact 211.
 
* Kalamazoo Area Foreclosure Prevention Partnership:
City of Kalamazoo | Greater Kalamazoo United Way | Housing Resources, Inc.
Kalamazoo County | Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services
Legal Aid of Western Michigan | Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Northside Association for Community Development | State of Michigan Department of Human Services

The City has requested funds for a master plan for Crane Park. If the funds are available the Parks and Rec dept will be looking for input from the neighborhood. Anyone interested in helping should keep checking the website for further information. It could happen as early as mid summer.