Blossom Valley Neighborhood Association

	BLOSSOM VALLEY
	NEIGHBORHOOD
	ASSOCIATION
May 1999	Promoting Friendship, Beauty and Preparedness in Blossom Valley

Take a Look at Your Neighborhood

What are YOUR concerns about YOUR neighborhood? Speeding cars on streets where children live and people walk? Graffiti on neighborhood mail boxes, power boxes, fences, etc.? Strays cats and dogs? Burglaries? Grocery carts left by others in front of your home? Neighbor's trees that drop leaves and bugs all over your lawn? Front yards uncared for? Swimming pool safety as we move into summer? Too many cars parked on the streets? Michele Sierra from Councilwoman Charlotte Powers office will attend the meeting on Wednesday, May 19th to answer your questions and to help you know who you can call with specific problems.

On the other side of things, would you like to come tell everyone what you like about the neighborhood, why you choose to live here, and what ideas you have to maintain and even improve the quality of life we enjoy? We would like to promote some open, but polite discussion of this area we call our neighborhood. Come be a part of the "Look at You Neighborhood" meeting on May l9th.

Special invitations have been sent to block captains to attend the meeting and to be recognized for the contribution they make by delivering the newsletter to your door the weekend before each meeting. Cubs from Pack 234 will present the colors and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the meeting.

NEIGHBORHOOD
MEETING

Wednesday, May 19th
Miner School Cafeteria

7:00 p.m - Cookies, Brownies & Visiting
with Neighbors

7:30 p.m - Honoring Our Block Captions;
Open discussion of neighborhood concerns.

Thoughts About the March Meeting

-by Beverly Moffitt

Rereading the March newsletter about Emergency Preparedness, I was impressed with all the helpful information included by Ray Batchelor in the front page article. That made me really wonder why more people did not attend the meeting to learn more about this vital subject. As we view on TV the devastation by tornadoes in Oklahoma or flooding or fires or earthquakes in various parts of the country and the world, does it not motivate us to prepare ahead to face such problems? Getting to know and working with your immediate neighbors is one important aspect of being prepared. Hopefully, even if you did not attend the meeting, you read the article and decided to DO SOMETHING to better prepare your household for emergencies. AFTER something happens it will be too late to prepare. Thanks, Ray, for a good job of helping us know how to prepare.

Get Ready for the July 4th Celebration

( held on Monday, July 5th!) Parade

decorate bikes, strollers, wagons, people
build a float with friends and neighbors (on a wagon for example)
be creative
all ages encouraged to participate
ribbons to all participants
prizes for best theme, most decorated, most patriotic

Picnic

bring your own lunch
root beer, lemonade and watermelon provided
old fashioned celebration and sing along

Games

for kids ages 3 to 12
carnival prizes

WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE STANDING ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE AND JOINING IN THE FUN OF A NEIGHBORHOOD PARADE!

STILL NEEDED

ADULTS OR TEENAGERS: Magician, clown, balloon sculpture - someone to entertain the crowd as the parade lines up!!!!
JR. HIGH KIDS: To help make signs a few weeks before the event. We also need your ideas for other activities or games
Help with parade - judging, passing out ribbons, etc.
HIGH SCHOOL KIDS: To help run the games and give out prizes.

If you can help, please call Linda Boman at 225-0180.

MUSICIANS: Anyone who plays guitar, banjo etc. who would be interested in helping supply the music for this years picnic please call Bruce Mann at 226-4585.

Disaster Drill!

This years city wide disaster drill was held on April 17th. We did not have a real good turnout from our neighborhood (7 people) but the drill went very well. Our communications worked as planned and we had a few good "situations" to report to the Emergency Operations Center. We will be starting on our disaster "Ark" soon. The city called today and the "check is in the mail". Anyone with equipment or supplies to donate, or anyone who wants to help with this project call Ray at 226-5428 or Bruce at 226-4585. Also we need more neighbors to take the San Jose Prepared training. We will be able to help pay for the training, so please call the numbers listed above.

Blossom Valley Wind Ensemble

Blossom Valley Wind Ensemble - The final concert of the 1998-99 season of the Wind Ensemble, partly sponsored by BVNA, will be held on Monday evening, May 24th at 8:00 p.m. in the auditorium of Herman School on Blossom Avenue and Shawnee. Admission is free and families are welcome. Music by Grainger, Sousa, and Themes from OKLAHOMA and STAR WARS will be among the numbers performed by the twenty-member ensemble. Come enjoy and support your local musicians.

HAM Radio

At our last meeting the representative from R.A.C.E.S. (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) seemed to be getting a lot of questions from the audience. If anyone is interested in learning more about Ham Radio or R.A.C.E.S. please call Bruce Mann at 226-4585. If we have enough interest we will schedule him to come back or have a special meeting.

UNSCC Reorganization

To make United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County more user friendly to the participants, they have reorganized how they operate. There is now a Board of Directors comprised of up to 10 member neighborhood general members that meets to conduct the business part of the operations. On the alternate months the members at large meet to exchange ideas and concerns in their neighborhoods. If any of our neighbors would like to attend any of these meeting to offer input, they are welcome. The general meetings are the third Thursday of every even numbered month, the next one being June 17, 1999 at 7PM. The meeting place is at 2150 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose. If you would like any additional information contact Raybatch@aol.com.