WWBT12 News has coverage of a meeting on Saturday between several dozen North Richmond residents and city officials to discuss issues facing the Highland Park community.
[Ellie] Fitzell was one of dozens of Northside residents who attended this meeting to find out about some redevelopment plans for this community.

That number is 646-7964.

The Ginter Park Residents’ Association rings out 2007 six weeks early with their November 15 general meeting. The meeting will include elections for the 2008 board officers, an update from the Richmond police department, door prizes and an overview of planned 2008 activities.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 pm at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church at the corner of Hawthorne and Walton Avenues. Dinner will be served at 6:30 pm, and attendees are encouraged to bring a side dish, salad or dessert item to share. Child care will be provided by the church from 6:30 until 8:00 pm. For more information, visit the GPRA website.

Eliza B. Askin’s calendars have been popular gifts for and from Richmonders for years — her pen and ink drawings of Richmond landmarks now number more than 1,000. Askin’s 2008 calendar features Northside’s Kitchen 64 on the cover and is available for purchase at her website. Askin also offers individual prints, including a number of Northside landmarks — St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Dot’s Back Inn, Union Theological Seminary and the Lewis Ginter Recreation Center, among others.

Askin will hold an Open Studio on November 17 and 18 at 1519 Westwood Avenue in North Richmond.

Lisa F. Townes, our 3rd District council liaison, reminds North Richmond residents that the city’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program’s deadline is fast approaching. If you know of neighbors who might qualify — especially as heating costs are on the rise — and might not have access to the Internet, please pass the word:

As the weather gets cooler and we begin to put on our sweaters and turn up the heat, please be aware that there is assistance for individuals that may not be able to meet the cost of heating their homes. The Department of Social Services offers assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The last day to apply for heating assistance is FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2007. To find out how to apply, contact the Richmond Department of Social Services at (804) 646-7046.

As always, please share this with your neighbors that may not have computer access. This is especially important for our senior citizens who are the least likely to use a computer but more likely to need this service.

Fuel Assistance

The Fuel Assistance component helps eligible households with the costs of heating their homes. To be eligible for fuel assistance, there are certain income guidelines, resource maximums and living arrangements that must be met. The household must also be responsible for paying the heating bill. Fuel Assistance applications are accepted from the second Tuesday in October through the second Friday in November at the Department of Social Services. Fuel Assistance applications are processed as soon as possible, and applicants should expect notification of their eligibility determination by mid-December.

More than 20 merchants along historic Lakeside Avenue will host a two-day Christmas Open House this weekend, November 9 and 10.

“It’s A Holly Jolly Christmas On Lakeside Avenue” will feature refreshments in the stores, door prizes, roaming carolers and other performers, and a reproduction trolley car that shoppers can ride up and down the avenue from shop to shop on Friday night! The trolley is reminiscent of the original trolley line that serviced Lakeside Avenue in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

The Lakeside shop owners have been busy stocking their stores with the very best holiday decor, antiques, great gifts, festive food and more! You’ll find unique clothing, jewelry, handbags, consignments, pet gifts, home and garden goods, and so much more! Come visit this very unique part of Richmond where small independently owned specialty shops are the norm…they await your visit anytime during the holiday season!

Friday evening, enjoy the seasonal sounds of the Moody Middle School Chorus Group from 5:00 until 6:30 pm and the Lakeside Singers from 6:30 until 8:00 pm.

For more information visit Discover Lakeside.

A website dedicated to Confederate general A.P. Hill has details on the ongoing restoration project of the statue (and the general’s gravesite) located at the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road:

A.P. Hill was buried for the third and final time underneath a memorial in Richmond, Virginia that features a bronze likeness of the General. The community where the monument is located is known as Bellevue. The monument is located at the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road.

I am happy to report that Bellevue appreciates their local history and A.P. Hill. They are currently in the process of restoring A.P. Hill’s monument. The Bellevueweb.org site even has posted some photos of the work in progress.

Restoration work will cost $10,000.00. The Bellevue community is seeking donations to help pay for the restoration. If you would like to donate, make a check payable to the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation and mail it to: Historic Preservation Guild, P.O. Box 9756, Richmond, Virginia 23228.

The Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit, organization so your donation is tax deductible.

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will be holding an Artisan Gift Sale from November 17 through December 22 at the Pine Camp Arts and Community Center.

Proceeds from the sale will go toward youth art scholarships provided by the city for youth participating in Parks and Recreation art programs. Artists and craftspeople from the Richmond area have contributed a wide variety of items for the sale, including pottery, jewelry, scarves, and works in glass and wood. The artists will donate 25 percent of their sales to the department’s Art Scholarship Fund.

The Artisan Gift Sale provides an excellent opportunity to purchase unique handcrafted gifts for the holidays, showcases the work of Richmond’s local artists, and aids the department in providing art scholarships for many of the talented, young aspiring artists in Richmond.

This is the third annual Artisan Gift Sale sponsored by the department’s Art Advisory Council to help fund scholarships for young artists. Last year, the department’s scholarships enabled more than 30 children and teens throughout the city to participate in art classes and summer art camps.

Pine Camp Arts and Community Center is located at 4901 Old Brook Road in Richmond’s Northside. Shopping hours will be from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm on Saturday, November 17 (opening day). The sale will continue Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm and from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm, and Saturdays from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. The sale continues through December 22.

Don’t forget to rake your leaves next weekend. The City of Richmond’s fall leaf collection sweeps through Northside during the week of November 12. Please remember that leaves should be raked to the property line before the date listed on the schedule and delays may occur due to inclement weather and equipment failure.

The following neighborhoods are scheduled for collection: Bellevue, Ginter Park, Washington Park, Broad Rock and Brookbury.

Northside and Highland Park are scheduled for the week of December 17.

Complete leaf collection information can be found at the Department of Public Works website.

The popular Canine Cafe Happy Hour — with its Western theme of “Git Along Little Doggie” — returns to the Richmond SPCA’s Robins-Starr Humane Center this Thursday, November 8, from 6:00 until 9:00 pm.

Bring your dog(s) for an evening of fun with music, food and more! Human tickets are $10; canines get a free ride. Your pet should be up to date on his shots and leashed (no flex leads please).

For tickets and additional information, visit the Richmond SPCA website.

One of Virginia Commonwealth University’s most popular professors, Dr. Cliff Edwards, will speak at Union Theological Seminary (Union-PSCE) this Friday, November 9, at 7:15 pm.

Edwards, professor of religion and arts at VCU and author of three books on Vincent Van Gogh, will discuss his latest book, “The Mystery of Van Gogh’s Night Café,” at a public lecture in Watts Hall on the Union-PSCE campus. Edwards will discuss the tortured spiritual search of the artist Van Gogh as exemplified in his painting “The Night Café.”

The lecture is being held in conjunction with “The Body of Christ,” a juried art exhibition sponsored by the Washington Theological Consortium; the exhibit is on display through December 14 in the William Smith Morton Library on the campus of Union-PSCE. Following Edwards’ lecture, several of the artists will be present to speak about their work during a dessert reception in the library.

For more information, visit the Union-PSCE website.

Imperial Plaza, one of North Richmond’s retirement communities, invites the public to a chicken and dumplings dinner on November 19 from 4:00 until 6:00 pm. Admission for the dinner is four canned goods for the Salvation Army. Reservations are required at 264-1380. Imperial Plaza is located at 1717 Bellevue Avenue.

As the Richmond Council of PTAs launches its Build Schools Now campaign, North Richmond School Board member Carol Wolf asked for new North Side school be added to the South Richmond-weighted plan. The Times-Dispatch reports:

The draft plan suggests phased-in new construction, renovation and closings that would ultimately touch every school in the district. Updating the 2002 facilities plan is the School Board’s first step toward Mayor L. Douglas Wilder’s “City of the Future” plan.

Last night, School Board members Chandra Smith and Carol A.O. Wolf asked for a new North Side school to be added to the plan, while others pushed for speedier attention to schools in their districts.

Earlier in the evening, PTA council members urged cooperation between school and city leadership and presented their list of new schools to build and where. Also in the first phase, the council wants to include the construction of an elementary school in the Fulton area.

The PTA council also calls for new Summer Hill and Broad Rock elementary schools and for revamping the Richmond Technical Center to address the business community’s desire for high school graduates who are better prepared to enter the work force, Burton said.

The complete minutes from the October 16 meeting of the Bellevue Civic Association can be found at Bellevue Web. Highlights:

The Bellevue Civic Association’s website has details on the somewhat complicated process of replacing a dead tree on city property, such as the buffers between city sidewalks and streets.

Our neighboring community weblog — Carver and Jackson Ward News — has a comprehensive overview of the October report on police section 413, which runs from Broad Street to Bryan Park to the west and Broad Street to Pine Camp to the east. The key message from Lieutenant Lisa Drew: “Violent Crime was down 50% this month. We are still continuing to have a problem with property crimes (mainly thefts from autos) but even property crime was down 6%.” A link to the full report is available at CJWN.

There will be a Veterans Day Commemoration held this Saturday, November 10, at 2:00 pm at the Carillon, Byrd Park. The Program begins with a concert on the Carillon bells, followed by the Franklin Military Academy Color Guard posting the colors, and a salute by the American Legion Memorial Rifles, and keynote speaker Lt. Col. Rodney Palmer of the 266th Quartermaster Battalion, 23rd Brigade, Ft. Lee.

The city will hold a free drive-through flu shot clinic at the Arthur Ashe Center (3017 N. Boulevard) from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm on Saturday, November 17. Passenger vehicles only. Adults 18 and older. Requires pre-registration. Call 646-3137 or visit http://vdhweb/LHD/richmondcity for a registration form.

Don’t forget to come out tonight (Friday, November 9) and help celebrate Lakeside’s Christmas Open House with music, a trolley, refreshments, door prizes and plenty of holiday shopping with the many Lakeside merchants along the Lakeside corridor from Bryan Park to Lewis Ginter. Discover more details at North Richmond News or at Discover Lakeside.

Last night, the Henrico Planning Commission overwhelmingly endorsed a proposed Farmer’s Market in Lakeside; the proposal goes to the Board of Supervisors on December 11. The Times-Dispatch reports:

Peter Francisco is proposing the farmers market on nearly 3 acres in the parking lot of Lakeside Towne Center. He hopes to open next spring with 11 vendors selling fresh produce a couple of days a week. Other details, including the schedule, vendors and fees, have not been set. The market would be subject to annual approval by the county.

Earlier this week, the Times-Dispatch had a longer news feature on the planned market:

Don’t forget to make plans to visit the Artisan Gift Sale at Pine Camp Arts and Community Center, starting next Saturday, November 17. Click here for more details on the sale, which benefits an arts scholarship fund for city students.