Fall in the Heart of the Westside brought a number of events and activities. We started off the season with a Neighborhood Clean-up day in September. The neighborhood collected eight dumpsters of trash and two dumpsters of brush, making it a very successful event. We are thankful for our volunteers and Community Partnership of the Ozarks for all their work. A special shout-out to Billy Cockrum and Dave Miller, who took their trucks around the neighborhood for curbside pick-ups.
Our October meeting was quite eventful as we had Dr. Lora Hopper, principal of York Elementary, as a guest speaker. Dr. Hopper shared excellent information on the strides that York has made in the past years to greatly improve the student performance in reading and math. In fact, York is now second in the district for its math performance! Additionally, Dr. Hopper discussed the change in student expectations and enforcement, as well as, a new award system throughout the school. The focus for York in the coming year is on attendance.
Also, Dr. Hopper relayed information about the upcoming bond increase in the next City election. This bond issue will benefit the schools, which include the Facilities Review Committee’s recommendations for York and Bissett schools.
Heart of the Westside Neighborhood joined the drive to help each York child go home with a family board game as a Christmas present. Our focus was specifically providing Sorry! games for the fourth-grade class.
The November neighborhood meeting welcomed firefighters from Station 8 for a very informative presentation that detailed calls for service from our area. This was a great opportunity to learn how our association can help with education in our neighborhoods.
Plans for 2019
The Heart of the Westside board met to map out plans for the upcoming year. Some things to watch for include:
Heart of the Westside website (Coming Soon)
Includes upcoming events, frequently asked questions, board member bios, neighborhood boundaries and more!
The website can tentatively be found at https://jaydeanmiller.wixsite.com/heartofthewestside.
Planned speakers for the 2019 meetings
Adult education, Elite School, renter information, our Zone 1 Representative Phyllis Ferguson and a meeting with several resource contacts for recovery and addiction.
New meeting format
We will have traditional meetings every other month with events planned for the opposite months. Events planned at present time are a January movie/game night on Jan. 11 at Passion Assembly of God, March 10 3-on-3 basketball tournament and a May graduation/promotions celebration. More to come!