Maggie Blackwell's Advice to NOMA

Hi Neighbors & Friends!

We mentioned, in a long list of other activities, that Maggie Blackwell visited our neighborhood meeting this past July. Maggie is best known for (1) her work her work with the Fulton Heights neighborhood where she was the driving force behind the creation and installation of their Centennial Park, (2) her candidacy for City Council (election day Nov 3rd 2009), and (3) her writing ~ having authored many articles for the Salisbury Post and other publications.

We had not yet shared the many insights she gave us to help us here in the North Main Neighborhood. Here are some of the many items she discussed with us:

• Maggie said the Fulton Heights neighborhood is NOT an official non-profit agency holding 501 (c) (3) status. We were surprised because this has often been recommended to us. She said in obtaining their grants and contributions for the Centennial Park, that the checks were written directly to the City and earmarked for the Park.


• Fulton Heights sends copies, five to be exact, of their newsletter to City Council.


• Now folks, newsletters are perhaps our most expensive endeavor. We had one distributed last year very successfully, however we did not touch the Old North Salisbury coffers to do it. One person paid privately for postage and another did most of the printing and folding. With over 400 households here in the North Main community, postage alone becomes quite costly. The Fulton Heights neighborhood EMAILS most of their newsletter. They can do this because they have gathered quite a list of neighborhood email addresses. This is why we are now encouraging folks to send us their email information on this site. (see right top corner)


• Maggie says the Fulton Heights community uses their extensive email list to communicate to one another. Birth announcements travel this way, news of folks who are ill and may need community help travels this way, news of any undesireables in the neighborhood travels this way. They have created a wonderful way to communicate with one another! This is definitely something we can work on . . . . again the need to develop a list of email contacts here in NOMA.


• Maggie suggested we try to focus on one topic at a time for the neighborhood. . . . to perhaps address one emotional issue and cover it before we move on to something else.


• If illegal drug issues crop up in our neighborhood, as they do in nearly every neighborhood, Maggie suggested we meet regularly with the "head drug guy" at the Salisbury Police Dept. She said to REQUEST patrolling here. She also said asking for and getting NO PARKING signs to go in front of houses that perhaps have a lot of in-&-out traffic as a method to be able to contact police when cars are there. The NO PARKING acts as a deterrent.


• Maggie strongly suggested we get children involved and engage families with children. We've often talked about perhaps a Halloween Party or Christmas holiday event, and Easter Egg Hunt but we've thus far never gotten these off the ground. Maggie says that by engaging children and families with children we get to KNOW more of our neighbors, and know who should be in the neighborhood and who should not.


• Maggie reinforced something we've supported all along - the appearance of the neighborhood. She called out the "Broken Window Theory" where someone sees a broken window and then throws another rock to break yet another . . . the downward spiral begins. Appearance is important. She recommends getting Salisbury Code Enforcement involved, and perhaps even before that, appointing individuals in our neighborhood to keep an eye out for properties that are falling out of code. This could be as simple as overgrown lawns, cars in front lawns, backyard junkers with no tags . . . or could be more complex as in rentals that don't look up to code, empty houses that are being neglected, etc.


• Maggie's neighborhood, and several others here in Salisbury, have a Neighborhood Watch program in place. We had one here - the signs are out - but we do not meet regularly on the topic. Maggie suggested we find some local handymen who may put up security lights for us. We actually can recommend someone if you email us at oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com, but this person is for hire. If we could find someone to donate the installation, while each individual purchases their own lights, this might be another way to give back to the neighborhood.


• Maggie recommended establishing relationships with the churches in our neighborhood. This may have been done in the past because several past social events were held in church yards and gardens, but we should perhaps get back on track with that.

Lastly - the most valued advice Maggie gave us: She offered to us that each of us is gifted in some way . . . that each of us brings our gift to the community. Our neighborhood is a diverse community of painters, photographers, teachers, doctors, chefs, musicians, shop owners, business people, gardeners, lawyers, accountants, students, tailors, landscapers, and so much more. While one may be a good blog writer, another is a good fund-raiser. While some may enjoy the camaraderie of meetings, another may prefer not to be involved publicly but may enjoy creating neighborhood flags or signs. Another may be the watchful eye on neglect or crime while another may be the event planner. Some can go to SNAG meetings and City Council meetings, while others may just enjoy to spread the work of the neighborhood association by word of mouth to their friends and next-door neighbors. Find these people and let them know we need and appreciate their gifts!

We can't thank Maggie enough for the gift of her time to our association. Thank you, Maggie Blackwell!

PS: Maggie gave us a nice plug talking about her visit with us in her Campaign blog on her website:
http://maggieblackwellforcouncil.com/thecampaign.html