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Today's Date is Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |
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Read the recent article in the Peoria area InterBusiness Issues magazine on our Mayor! -the article below is provided by Sharon McBride Have you noticed the neatness to our neighborhoods and the fact that they are basically free from litter on our streets and sidewalks? People in the City of Peoria complain about all their litter. Much of our neat appearance belongs to a woman who I see walking in the mornings and picks up litter that she spots on her walks. Many thanks to this individual for making our area neat. Join us in the 2008 Jamboree Race on Saturday, June 7! If you would like to volunteer for this early morning event, please contact Krystiana, 674-1993. Volunteers are needed from approximately 6:00-9:00 a.m. The race starts promptly at 7:00 a.m. Runners and walkers: Pick up your race entry form at the following locations: Haddad's, South Side Bank, Geier Florist, Alwan Pharmacy, The Hair Shoppe, West Peoria City Hall, Farmington Road Hardware, Joe's Barber Shop, the Riverplex, Franciscan Recreation Complex, Running Central, and more! See you on race day! The West Peoria Residents Association will have a Parking Lot Sale, Saturday, May 3, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Deal Insurance Parking Lot, corner of Sterling & Barker. If you have any items to donate to this event, or if you are able to donate an hour of your time to help on the day of the sale, please contact Maggie Moore at 673-0535 or Loretta Fehl at 637-0326. Another May 3rd event is the Hazardous Waste Disposal Event sponsored by Peoria County Recycling and the Illinois EPA at Exposition Gardens. The event will run from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Now is the opportunity to clear your residence of many items that can cause potential problems. Some of the household materials accepted are: oil-based paints, paint thinners, stains, varnishes, aerosol products, hobby chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, pool chemicals, cleaning products, auto (lead-acid) batteries, mercury thermometers, old gasoline, used motor oil, antifreeze, household batteries, florescent lamps, cell phones, driveway sealer, pharmaceuticals and medications. Among materials not accepted are: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, agricultural wastes, business and institutional wastes, biological wastes, tires, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and propane tanks. If you have any questions, call 681-2550. Take advantage of this opportunity because this event will not be returning to the area on an annual basis. West Peoria real estate tax bills will be mailed the first week of May. Tax Collector Imelda Kelch will begin collecting taxes at her residence, 2206 W. Barker, once the bills are received. Hours will be 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first installment is due June 10, 2008. Installment stubs from your tax bill are now required at the time of payment. Anything after June 10, 2008 needs to be mailed to: the Peoria County Courthouse. The Neighborhood Watch at this time has nineteen streets with organized block watch programs. Community Watch signs have been ordered and will be placed on each street in the program. The goal is that every street in West Peoria will be involved in the Watch program. If you are interested in organizing a "watch" on your block, contact Maggie Moore at 673-0535. The next Neighborhood Watch meeting will be held May 15th at 6:00 p.m. at the West Peoria City Hall. Deputy Chris Watkins will discuss criminal issues. The next West Peoria Residents' meeting will be May 15th at 6:30 p.m. at West Peoria City Hall following the Neighborhood Watch meeting. The public is welcome. The West Peoria City Council approved a new ordinance defining and restricting garage sales. Garage sales shall not be conducted more than one time or for more than three consecutive days each calendar quarter. In no event shall a garage sale be conducted either before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on any one day of sale. Residents are advised that all public works projects are almost impossible to reschedule and will proceed as planned, regardless of garage sales. It is recommended that residents check with City Hall about planned public works before scheduling a garage sale. All garage sale advertising shall have the date, time and address of any such sale included thereon. All signs advertising any garage sale shall be removed within 24 hours after the conclusion of the sale. To view the entire ordinance, visit http://www.cityofwestpeoria.com/new_ordinances.asp. Please contact West Peoria City Hall with any questions at 674-1993. The City of West Peoria realizes the value in encouraging residents to help keep West Peoria an attractive place to live. In an effort to promote the beautification of its residential districts, the City has established a Paint Program for residential property owners. This paint program offers reimbursement of paint costs to residents who wish to paint the exterior of their homes or accessory structures (sheds, storage units, or garages). Reimbursement will be granted for exterior paint only. Participants who purchase paint in the City of West Peoria will receive reimbursement of 50% of total paint costs, up to a maximum of $250. If the paint is not purchased in West Peoria, the maximum amount reimbursed will be 30% of total paint costs, also up to $250. Paint is available in West Peoria at Ace Hardware at 2504 W Rohmann Avenue and Farmington Road Hardware at 2600 W Farmington Road. Reimbursement of receipts will be received upon completion of project. Please contact West Peoria City Hall with any questions at 674-1993. Curbside landscape waste pickup for 2008 has begun. Have lids on your garbage cans as required by City ordinance. And remember, if it poops, you scoop! Please be courteous to your fellow residents and pick up your dog’s waste. The Code Enforcement Office would like to remind residents they are responsible for cleaning and maintaining their alleyways and disposing of all garbage and debris. The Code Enforcement Officer will send out violations and fines to all who fail to comply with city ordinances in a timely fashion. Most fines start at $50.00; legal action will be taken against violators who fail to pay the fine. In order to promote the public health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the citizens of the City, West Peoria is in the process of initiating a Property Maintenance and Occupancy Code. This code will serve to prevent and control blight and pertain to the upkeep of residential and commercial structures and property in West Peoria. The code will likely take effect sometime in May or June 2008. If you have any questions, please call West Peoria City Hall at 674-1993. The City of West Peoria has an interest in pursuing a beautiful, clean and safe community all the while, continually striving to make West Peoria a better place to live and hope this is a goal shared by all community members. Thus, they have implemented a program to improve the quality of life for residents by focusing on one target area at a time. The code enforcement officer, community police officer and animal control specialist will be inspecting your neighborhood in the future. This team will survey the neighborhood, provide resources, will issue violations if they deem necessary and will be available to answer any questions. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact West Peoria City Hall at 674-1993. Attention West Peoria entrepreneurs! The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University hosts free monthly workshops on Starting Your Own Business and Writing a Business Plan. Visit www.bradley.edu/turnercenter/events for more information and to register for upcoming workshops! For businesses operating out of homes: Remember that all businesses in West Peoria operating within a residential building are required to complete a Home Occupation Permit. This permit can be found online at: http://www.cityofwestpeoria.com/permits.asp or at City Hall. The accompanying fee is $75. (A home occupation annual renewal permit is also required whereby the fee is $25). Interesting information learned at the Annual Town Meeting: 1476 Meals on Wheels were delivered to seniors in our community by the Rural Peoria County Council on Aging in 2007. If you or a neighbor would like to become part of this effort, contact West Peoria township supervisor, Robert DeSutter. West Peoria Government Day, a program for local students at Manual, Notre Dame, Calvin Coolidge and St Mark’s Schools to visit both township and city government, was held Friday, April 11th. Forty-one students and four teachers participated. The City had them run a mock city council meeting on recycling. The township offered the opportunity for the students to run a mock township caucus. On April 12th, Bradley students and Bob DeSutter spent three hours picking up twenty-seven bags of litter on Swords and Pierson Hills and Farmington Road. The students from the Alpha Phi Omega Service fraternity are: Chad Miller, Ricky McAdams, Brandy Payne, Alexa Davis, Angie Roccasalva, Robin Flick, Linda Pineda, Jake Seger and Steve Bannon. Their hard work is very much appreciated and these areas of West Peoria look much better. Think twice before throwing litter in our community. Many hours of hard work is spent keeping our area clean that could be prevented by simply taking your litter/waste to your home and disposing of it there. West Peoria Garden Club members and guests are invited to the home of Bob Monier on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. to create their own hypertufa pot or stepping stone. There is a cost of $5.00 associated with the project if you were not part of last year’s efforts. Work has already begun on revitalizing and redesigning the corner garden at Western, Heading, and Main streets. June, July and August are garden tour months for the club. 2008 dues remain $10/individual and $18/families for the West Peoria Garden Club. If you are interested in joining please mail a check to Pat Sharp, 609 N Swords Ave, West Peoria, IL 61604. The community of West Peoria, Troop and Pack 11, the West Peoria Lions Club all extend an invitation to join them in the annual 4th of July Parade and Flag Raising Ceremony. The parade steps off at 10:00 a.m. from the corner of Waverly and Moss Avenues and concludes with the Flag Raising Ceremony at the United Disciples Christian Church on the corner of Kellogg and Cedar. Pastor Dwight Winnett, United Disciples Christian Church, will deliver the invocation. Troop 11 and Pack 11 will lead the flag raising. West Peoria mayor, Jim Dillon, will be the guest speaker. You are all encouraged to attend this very special event. If you would like to take part in this year’s parade or nominate a grand marshal, contact Mark Wrhel at mwrhel@insightbb.com or 472-4258. Join the Largest Service Organization in the World and become a Lion. As a Lion you can help a child see, hear, or send that child to camp for a week this summer. Save our planet Earth by recycling glasses, hearing aids, keys, cell phones, ink cartridges, aluminum cans and tabs. Enjoy the companionship of friends and neighbors while working on projects together for the betterment your community. The West Peoria Lions are currently selling 100% Soy Candles and Tart Warmers. The candles come in many fragrances and will be available at the West Peoria Residents Association Sale on May 3rd at Sterling and Barker (parking lot beside John Deal’s Insurance office). Stop by and buy. Watch for the Lions at Haddad's Market on May 24th for Tootsie Pop Day. Proceeds from this event help the Hearing and Visually Impaired in your community. For more information call Linda 673-6409 - Jim 208-3516 - Carolyn 208-3815. |
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