Holiday Potluck-- Next Meeting

Holiday Potluck!
Next Meeting
December 7th, 6:30 P.M.
Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave.


All Historic Old Town NIA residents are encouraged to attend the annual neighborhood holiday potluck dinner Thursday, December 7th, 6:30 P.M. at Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave. While some neighborhood business will be on the agenda, this evening is primarily about socializing and recognizing neighborhood improvements in the past year.


Everyone in attendance is asked to bring a covered dish (meat, vegetable, salad, or dessert). Table service and drink will be provided.

Historic Old Town Cookbook!

Do you have an original recipe that you’d love to share? Do you have an heirloom recipe passed down for generations that needs to see the light of day? Here is an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of the dietary habits of your fellow man. Or, better yet: you can help Historic Old Town NIA raise some much-needed funds. Please dig, beg, borrow, or steal recipes (but we draw the line at plagiarism) to be included in an all-neighborhood cookbook to be on sale in the near future. And, please do not limit yourself to one recipe if you’d like to submit more. We only ask that they be kitchen-tested at least one time. Thanks, and happy hunting!!

Historic Old Town Flags!

Would you like to purchase an Old Town flag? The flags will be 22” x 36”, in a two-color weather-resistant fabric, in one standard approved design. They will read “Historic Old Town”, and will cost approximately $30 each.

If you would like a flag, please print this page and fill out the registration blank to place your reservation. It should be forwarded to Melissa Powers at 817 SW Lincoln, or be brought to the next NIA meeting. You can also forward the information by email to oldtownnia@yahoo.com. The flags will be ordered soon, so please make your reservation today.

Name __________________________________

Address ________________________________

# of flags ________________________________

Your New State Representative

Annie Tietze, Representative-elect for the 56th District, is grateful for the votes she received, and wants the residents of the district (which includes most of Historic Old Town) to know that she does not plan to wait until the next election to communicate with you! She would like to hear from you, and give you updates on what is going on at the State House. Send her your email address at atietze@cox.net.

At the Last Meeting

At the November meeting, a community police officer updated us on happenings in the area. There have been a number of car burglaries, so Officer Reynard urged everyone to not leave anything in your car that could be seen by a burglar. Even small change left out could be too tempting for a would-be burglar, who would have no problem at all smashing your window and taking what he (or she) liked.

Mayor Bunten stopped by. The mayor briefly discussed his ideas for strengthening the Code Compliance department. A recent trip by city staff to Little Rock gave them some ideas. Little Rock has 35 Code Compliance officers, but our city only has ten!

John McFarland of Cair-Paravel Latin School spoke to us about the changes underway there. The building and the institution will look very different a few years from now, he assured us. We will work together for positive changes in their area.

Our Target Funding Committee has come up with an idea to make a difference in the Target Area. It’s still got rough edges, though, and perhaps not yet fit for publication.

Useful Web Sites

Local Crime Stats
http://www.topeka.org/crimestats/Map.aspx
This shows crimes reported by the Topeka Police Department. It is searchable by type of crime, address, date, and NIA.

Sex Offender Site
http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi/ro.shtml
This is the State of Kansas site with information on sex offenders, including maps.
http://www.familywatchdog.us/Search.asp
This is a national site that draws information from state sites (and is more user-friendly).

Property Owners
http://www.co.shawnee.ks.us/ap/default.shtm
This is the Shawnee County Appraiser’s website. Click on ‘Residential Search’, agree to the disclaimer, and put in the address. This is very useful for finding owners of ‘problem’ properties.

Court Records
http://www.shawneecourt.org/
Click on ‘Case Info: Public Access’ on the left side. This has the records from the local branch of the State District Court.

Police Scanner
http://www.scannerbuddy.com/
Listen in to police scanners through the internet.

Gang Information Meeting

The Topeka Weed and Seed program, in conjunction with the Topeka Police Department, will be sponsoring a Gang Information Meeting December 7th from 5:30 to 7:30. The meeting will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan.

The meeting is intended to provide general gang information for Topeka and the Weed and Seed area. The first half of the program will provide an overview of the issue in Topeka and the second part will be an open discussion where attendees will be able to talk with representatives from the Topeka Police Department.

For additional information, contact Jeff Alvarez, Weed and Seed Project Coordinator, at 266-4606 ext. 31, or by email at jalvarez@safestreets.org.

Holiday Fire Prevention

Christmas trees that glitter with lights and tinsel symbolize the joyous spirit of the holiday season. The American Red Cross urges Americans to remember that the trees also symbolize the potential fire hazards that can be a tragic part of this time of celebration.

About 600 fires a year are started by ignition of Christmas trees. The months of December, January, and February are bad months for house fires, including those associated with holiday decorations. More than 40 percent of home fires occur during this three-month period, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Many fires could be prevented. Take a look at the following fire safety tips, and save them on your refrigerator of family’s bulletin board. The tips will help you make sure you and your family avoid fires while enjoying seasonal decorations safely in the coming weeks.

Decorate Christmas trees only with lights approved by Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL).

Unplug Christmas tree lights when leaving home or going to bed.

Do not decorate metal trees with lights.

Do not decorate trees with candles.

Keep candles away from decorations and other combustible material, and make sure they are not left burning unsupervised.

Place trees away from heat sources and exits.

Water trees daily.

Make sure chimneys are inspected before the holidays and cleaned if necessary.

(from the American Red Cross)