City Announces Great Indy Spring Cleanup ToxDrop Event

The City of Indianapolis will offer a special Great Indy Spring Cleanup ToxDrop Event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, May 3, 2010. The Great Indy Spring Cleanup is a citywide effort to beautify and strengthen our communities that aims to achieve litter abatement through neighborhood-driven initiatives.

“I am committed to growing a sustainable and livable city,” said Mayor Greg Ballard. “Every family can make a difference by not only picking up and pitching litter, but making the effort to dispose of waste properly. Let’s come together and take pride in improving our city to make it a brighter and safer place to live, work and play.”

The ToxDrop Program provides an opportunity for residents to properly dispose of all their unwanted and unused household hazardous waste. For a detailed list on acceptable household hazardous waste items, please visit www.sustainindy.org/toxdrop.

“I encourage everyone to participate in this special ToxDrop event,” said City-County Councilor Christine Scales, who collaborated with the City of Indianapolis to organize the May 3 ToxDrop. “Properly disposing of household hazardous waste improves our environment and creates a stronger, safer community.”

WHAT:

Great Indy Spring Cleanup ToxDrop Event

WHERE:

AMC General Cinema Parking Lot

4016 E. 82^nd St.

WHEN:

Monday, May 3, 2010

5 to 7 p.m.

About ToxDrop

ToxDrop is an Indianapolis/Marion County program managed by the Department of Public Works, located at 2700 S. Belmont Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46221. Through year-round Saturday collection site locations and periodic ToxAway Day events, the ToxDrop program has made significant advancements to help residents properly and safely dispose of household hazardous waste. For more information about the ToxDrop, including sites near you, visit www.sustainindy.org/toxdrop.

To learn more about Mayor Ballard’s vision of making Indianapolis the most sustainable city in the Midwest, visit www.sustainindy.org.

City Dispatches Mowing Crews to Neglected Properties

The City’s Department of Code Enforcement (DCE) dispatched mowing crews to neglected properties today. Nearly 800 notices of violation have been sent to properties with weeds and grass over 12 inches in height.

“High weeds and grass calls to the Mayor’s Action Center are among the top calls each season, and the City is prepared to tackle these issues before they become a public nuisance,” said Mayor Greg Ballard. “Effectively addressing high weeds and grass and other property maintenance issues can mean the difference between a blighted neighborhood and a vibrant, safe, thriving neighborhood – the kind every citizen deserves.”

Property owners receiving a notice of violation will have five days from the date of the notice to cut their overgrown property. If a property owner fails to mow the property, the City will dispatch a mowing vendor to cut the property and will bill the owner a minimum of $291 for the mowing service. Additional costs can be assessed for lots over an acre or for additional clean-up.

The City is only required to issue one notice of violation per calendar year for a property in violation of high weeds and grass. If a property owner fails to keep the property in compliance, the City will continue to mow the property without further notice and bill the owner for each time the property is mowed.

Property owners who fail to pay a mowing invoice will have a lien attached to their property tax bill.

“DCE is equipped with a full-time inspection staff and 12 contract mowing vendors to tackle problem properties this season,” said Rick Powers, Director of the Department of Code Enforcement. “Major process improvements made last year enabled us to respond more quickly to a record number of high weeds and grass cases, investigating 14,114 properties, completing 9,101 mows, and decreasing the average call-to-cut time from 42 to 16 days.”

To report a property with high weeds and grass, please contact the Mayor’s Action Center at 327-4MAC (4622). Be prepared to provide an exact address and any identifying features of the property. A weekly report of properties in violation will be updated every Monday to the DCE website and can be accessed at www.indy.gov/dce. To track the status of a high weeds and grass case, please access the case research tool at www.indy.gov/dce/research.

Join us to exchange ideas on how to plan, market and recruit for a successful community event in Indianapolis

Get Neighbor-Powered!

This topical peer-to-peer discussion forum is a follow up event to the 2009 Neighbor Power! gathering where more than 250 Indianapolis residents came together to share ideas about how to make their neighborhoods better places to live, work and play. At Neighbor Power! more than 100 people expressed an interest in continuing a local conversation on particular topics. This "MAIN Event" forum is the second of a series of topical peer-to-peer discussions to network local leaders to one another, highlight good neighborhood work, and inspire further community action.

Explore our newly updated website at www.neighborpowerindy.org. Browse 2009 session videos and resources on topics such as abandoned housing, youth engagement, and neighborhood events.

Who: Anyone interested in creating a new community event (from small block parties and neighborhood cleanups to a full scale parade), volunteer recruitment strategies, the vendor selection process or improving an existing event.

New to the community events scene? Come learn about what's happening in your neighborhood. Learn tips on how to improve your event from top to bottom.

We'll have experts on hand for a panel Q&A session to answer all of your event questions.

What: Get Connected! Join your peers and learn about community events, share

ideas, and plan actions.

When: Thursday, May 20th from 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Where: Harrison Center for the Arts (Underground Room)

1505 N. Delaware Street

Snacks will be provided. Space is limited for this event. RSVP to Jon Berg at Jberg@lisc.org or 317.396.0588 ext 15.

FREE Skin Cancer Screenings

May 1 Hendricks Regional Health No Appointment Needed
May 1 St. Francis Hospital 317.782.4422
May 3 Methodist Hospital, 317.916.3525
May 3 Indiana University Hospital 317.274.7744
May 5 St. Vincent Hospital 317.338.2273
May 6 St. Francis Hospital 317.782.4422
May 6 Community Regional Cancer Care North 800.777.7775
May 8 Hendricks Regional Health No Appointment Needed
May 12 Clarian North Medical Center 317.916.3525
May 12 St. Vincent Hospital 317.338.2273
May 13 Community Regional Cancer Care East 800.777.7775
May 15 Central Indiana Cancer Centers 317.356.2422
May 17 St. Vincent Mercy Hospital 800.450.4548
May 20 Ball Memorial Hospital 765.741.1073
May 22 Witham Health Services at Anson 765.485.8120
June 1 Clarian West Medical Center 317.217.3627
Call a location near you to reserve your FREE skin screening.

Do you know a child with a disability or a chronic illness? Maybe you know a child who is struggling in school?

Most families are given the diagnosis but receive no guidance on how to help their child. Indiana families of kids with special needs can find help with accessing healthcare options, financial aid, educational supports, respite, medical equipment, special education law, state and federal programs, support groups and all other issues related to children with special needs… by calling About Special Kids (ASK.) ASK can help… FREE of charge.

One of the parents we helped said, “I used to cry because I didn’t know what to do to help my child. Once I found ASK, I never cried again. I never cried from not knowing.”

Call 800-964-4746

Shepherd Community Health Fair

May 22, 2010

9am – Noon

As part of their leadership development curriculum, Shepherd Community Center’s Middle School Academy students have organized a health fair that will take place on Saturday, May 22^nd from 9am – Noon. The health fair is open to the community. Representatives from the American Heart Association, Diabetes Association and Fit City will be on hand, as well as a dietician and other health specialists. Bring your family and friends and stop by and take part in these free health screenings, and support our students! Contact Amy at 375-0203 for more details.

Mayor Ballard, U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood and Rep. Carson to Participate in “Safe Routes to School” Event

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Mayor Greg Ballard, and U.S. Rep. Andre Carson will participate in a local Safe Routes to School program by walking to school with St. Thomas Aquinas students and their families on one of their “walking school bus” routes on Friday, April 23. The Safe Routes to School program is part of the Department of Transportation’s commitment to livable communities and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative.

The Safe Routes to School program encourages walking and biking to school by making routes safer and more appealing for students and their parents. St. Thomas Aquinas received a Safe Routes to School grant in 2007 and now operates two daily “walking school bus” routes as well as three other routes that operate two or three times a week. Walking school buses are operated by parent volunteers who supervise each route, with the goal of alleviating parent concerns about safety and encouraging more students to walk and bike to school.

Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, also will lead a “bike train” to school that same morning. He will meet students and grandparents at the corner of Pennsylvania Street and 58^th Street at 7:30 a.m. Information on the school’s SRTS program can be found at http://www.staindy.org/school/section.php?page=3-84.