Great American Cleanup a Huge Success Thanks to Hanks ROTC

 Click on all images to enlarge.

Once again, Great American Cleanup was a huge success in our neighborhood.  This year members of the Hanks High School ROTC pitched in to cleanup in and around the park and three neighborhood homes.  

NPNA President, Becky Friesenhahn praised the Hanks group:  "Wow what an incredibly successful cleanup we had this past Saturday! The Hanks High School ROTC and Ms. Eileen Williams made this event the success that it was. This group of kids cleaned the park, the playground area, assisted with trash pick up from neighbors, cleaned the front yard of three neighbor's homes and all done with a smile!!!!  What an incredible group!  Thanks hanks high school ROTC. We could not have done this without you!!!!! 

Becky Friesenhahn Is New NPNA President!

There are new members and new officers on your Newman Park Neighborhood Association Board:

Becky Friesenhahn,        President

Violet Urquidez,               Vice President

Robert Taylor,                   Treasurer

Jim Tolbert,                        Secretary

Orlando Arriola

Andrea Baca

Alma Foreman

Lisa Garibay

Ana Reyes

Sally Sauli

The El Paso Department of Transportation has announced a two week closure of Scenic Drive except for Scenic Sundays from 6 to 11 a.m. when the road is available to walkers, runners, hikers, bicyclists and even Chihuahuas (accompanied by a human):

The public is advised that Scenic Drive will be closed to the traveling public for two weeks effective September 17^th to allow for roadway improvements.  The City of El Paso Department of Transportation (EPDoT) will be making repairs to the concrete pavement, rock walls and roadway striping from September 17^th through the 29^th.  During this period, Scenic Drive will only be open to the public on Sundays for participants of Scenic Sundays.  Proper traffic control measures will be in place to direct the traveling public through this area for this period. Traffic will be detoured through nearby streets. The project schedule is a plan that may be modified due to the weather or other unforeseen events.

Our neighborhood library has turned a new page in its history.  Acting Branch Manager Laurel Indalecio invites you to the Expansion Celebration to be held at the Memorial Park Library, 3200 Copper, on Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 2 p.m. Be sure to book this event.

Finally, City Council Representative Steve Ortega has published a fact sheet about Triple A Baseball in El Paso. You can read it here.

Vaya con Dios!

¡Hola Vecinos!© is an emailed newsletter for the people and businesses in the Newman Park neighborhood of El Paso, their friends and other interested persons. It is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

Please visit www.newmanpark.blogspot.com and www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com.

The mission of the Newman Park Neighborhood Association is to improve the quality of life in the Newman Park neighborhood through care and attention to the park and surrounding areas, and to build a community network of care, watchfulness and concern for each other and our beautiful desert environment.

This is Volume 7 and Number 28 published on September 15 , 2012

A Sign Coming Our Way

A sign similar to this will soon adorn Newman Park

Newmanistas will soon have a beautiful new sign for Newman Park.

City Council members voted 8-0 to approve the latest round of Neighborhood Improvement Program requests amounting to $500,000 for sidewalks, parks and signs in several neighborhoods including our own. Spearheaded by Association Vice-President, Becky Friesenhahn, the Newman Park Neighborhood Association applied for and was awarded $14,800 for a new sign for Newman Park. It won't be just any sign. It will be similar to the beautiful signs that you see at the entrances of Scenic Drive.

Neighborhood Improvement Program funds come from Certificates of Obligation. The current NIP funds are from 2008 CO's. The City is not spending money that is used for the current fiscal year budget. Nevertheless, the El Paso Times ran an editorial today opposing the NIP funding. They asked, ". . . should $14,800 be spent so that Newman Park in Central El Paso can have a sign similar to those marking the entrances to Scenic Drive?"

Ah . . . yes.

Should the El Paso Times ever be taken seriously? Give them credit for Louie Gilot and Maria Cortés Gonzalez and a good story about the Poppy Festival in Tiempo today. That's all I'm going to say.