Join your neighbors at the annual Fairfield Crest Block Party!  Just bring your favorite appetizer or finger food to share.  You’ll also want to bring a lawn chair.  We’ll provide tables, picnic supplies, & beverages.  Hope to see you there!

Fall Yard Sale:  Saturday, Sept. 25 at 8am

Starting at 8am, there will be a yard sale throughout Fairfield Crest.  Also participating are Fairfield, West Branch, Christianstead, and Nottingham Green.  This event is scheduled the same day as the Fall Flea Market at the George Wilson Center, so there should be good traffic.  We’ll provide advertising in the newspaper and post signs around the community.  Please consider participating.

Dues for 2010 are $10.

Please indicate on your form or e-mail or call us if you have any concerns or ideas for the civic association, any resources/skills that you would like to provide or that you recommend, and if you are interested in assisting with community events such as the Halloween Parade, Easter Egg Hunt, or Block Party.

We have recently activated our civic association email distribution list.  The intent of this mailing list is to share important community announcements and information in an efficient manner.  We will not share your email address with anyone outside of the civic association and we will not flood your inbox with unimportant messages.  However, if you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please let us know by responding to this message.

Please be aware that our membership dues will be collected in February.  In the next week or two you will be getting your dues notice in the mail.  Please take care of your dues in a timely manner.

Our next newsletter will be distributed in March.  Keep posted for information regarding social events and neighborhood announcements.

Election of new officers will take place this spring.  Please contact Minda Watson (minkoval@hotmail.com) if you are interested in running for office.  Information about the election will be included in the newsletter.

At the city council meeting on Monday January 26, the council will address concerns from residents about the excessive speed of vehicles on Rt. 896, and the possibility of acquiring a speed camera.  Please consider attending this meeting to voice your concerns.  All meetings are held at 7:30 at City Hall.

Best Regards,

Laurie B. Hanich, Civic Association President
Pat Gros, Civic Association Vice-President
Art Baddorf, Civic Association Treasurer
Minda Watson, Civic Association Secretary

National Night Out

On Tuesday August 5^th, 2008, neighborhoods throughout Newark are being invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the “25^th Annual National Night Out” (NNO) crime and drug prevention event. National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and co-sponsored locally by the Newark Police Department, will involve over 11,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world. In all, over 35 million people are expected to participate in ‘America’s Night Out Against Crime’ on August 5^th. NNO 2008 is being supported in part by TARGET, the national corporate sponsor.

National Night Out is designed to: (1) Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; (2) Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

From 7 to 10 p.m. on August 5^th, 2008, residents in neighborhoods throughout Newark and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police. Many neighborhoods throughout Newark will be hosting the porch light vigils, visits from the police and a flashlight walk through the neighborhood. A limited number of glow sticks and hats will be handed out to children.

Please join us by participating in “National Night Out.”  There will be various “social stations” set up on the front porches/sidewalks of different homes in Fairfield Crest.  Grab a flashlight, take a walk, and grab a drink at one of our stations.  We look forward to seeing you!

Being a lifelong resident, Mr. Stritzinger has a strong interest in working with the community to make this a project that will do justice to this beautiful site, and he is open to ideas and suggestions from residents that would be legally and financially possible to enhance the development.

I realize that there are many residents that are upset at the thought of losing the beautiful Country Club, myself included, as it has always been so nice to drive by and see that open green space with all of those beautiful trees. There are a lot of “would have, should have, and could have” comments being made and there are certainly a lot of fingers being pointed at individuals and groups that are considered to blame for the loss of the Country Club site, but it has happened, and the project is now a City of Newark approved development. This is now water under the bridge and it would be best if we all try to work together to make this development as attractive and as least disruptive to the city and residents as possible.

We are fortunate to have a local developer who has a concern and appreciation for life in Newark heading up this project. The Country Club site could have easily been purchased by a big developer who was bottom line motivated and who had no concern or appreciation for the residents of Newark. I hope that we can all work together to make this a beautiful development that will do the site proud and also have a minimal impact on the existing traffic problems that we currently have in Newark.

The West Branch Civic Association has set up a public meeting with Bill Stritzinger to give us all more information and exchange ideas pertaining to the Country Club Development, and we hope that many of you will attend and participate in this meeting.

The meeting will be held:
April 23, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
George Wilson Community Center –
303 New London Rd.

The meeting will be moderated by Marty Valania (Editor of the Newark Post)

The Wilson Center was the largest facility that we could obtain at this time, and we hope that it will accommodate all the folks who would like to attend. The seating capacity is rated at 150 people, so I would suggest getting there early to secure a good seat.

I do want to stress that this meeting is not intended to be a venue for individuals to voice concerns in an attempt to prevent this project from happening; this is a done deal, and now is the time to come together and work with the developer to enhance the project.

Steve Purvis
9 E Mill Station Dr.