Arbor Day Celebration in NOMA Today ~ A Smashing Success!

It was like the sun came out just for us today in the North Main Neighborhood of Salisbury NC! It started out to be a rainy, cold morning, but right at 11:30 the sun came beaming out...right in time for the City of Salisbury's Arbor Day Celebration on our very own Miller Street...the new gateway to the City Parks!
Our City Councilman Brian Miller came out to read Mayor Susan Kluttz's Arbor Day proclamation. Urban Forestry Specialist Eric Muecke, N.C. Division of Forest Resources, attended and presented the Tree City USA designation to Salisbury for the 24th consecutive year! He said that not many cities in North Carolina have this distinction! Following the brief service, NOMA residents, volunteers from other parts of the city, and Salisbury Tree Board members joined together to plant ornamental flowering crab apple trees along West Miller Street between City Park and North Main. The public was invited to attend and participate in tree-planting activities.

West Miller Street was selected to allow tree plantings to complement our brand new sidewalks installed during 2009. The sidewalk project was funded through a Fit Community grant of the North Carolina Health & Wellness Trust Fund.
The City's Senior Planner Janet Gapen, who has been an enormous help to us here in NOMA, was also in attendance. In the news release for today's event, Janet stated, “Together, the new sidewalk and street trees will assist in fulfilling a goal of the North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA). NOMA was instrumental in the city’s receipt of grant funding to construct the Miller Street sidewalks. In the near future, an additional phase of the Fit Community sidewalk project will offer the installation of sidewalks along Lake Drive, completing a 1.5 mile connector between NOMA and the Salisbury Greenway.” She explained that NOMA serves as a volunteer organization that meets monthly and works to complete neighborhood improvement projects, and (here is the best part):
“NOMA is dedicated to building a stronger, safer, and more vital Salisbury community for all.” Thanks, Janet!

City of Salisbury Landscape Division Manager Mark Martin was out there today to direct the crews and assist us in planting the trees. He gave a wonderful talk on proper tree care and planting. Mark explained that there are quite a few wonderful services the Salisbury Landscape Division can provide city residents. If you helped plant a tree today, you not only got to take home your gloves, but you got a free "Trees are Good" t-shirt or mug. Mark is also the Liaison to the Tree Board. If you would like more information the Salisbury Tree Board or the Landscape Division, please contact Mark at 704-638-5255. We may even have Mark speak at a NOMA meeting!

So take a drive down W Miller Street on your way to City Park, or for a pleasant cruise around the neighborhood. You'll see our brand new sidewalk and newly planted trees! Next spring, when these ornamental flowering crab apples are all a-bloom, You will also see what makes this neighborhood one of the very BEST in Salisbury ~ NOMA!

Arbor Day Celebration in the North Main Neighborhood! ~ Friday April 23rd @ 12 noon!

The City of Salisbury Tree Board has selected the North Main Neighborhood for its 2010 Arbor Day Celebration! On Friday April 23rd at 12:00 noon, we welcome all to attend the lunch-time Arbor Day tree planting event in the two blocks of W. Miller Street between N. Main and N. Jackson Streets. The Haps Hot Dog Cart will be there to sell hot-dogs, drinks, and chips. The City will have pre-dug the holes for the flowering crab apple trees and will provide shovels, gloves, etc. for anyone who would like to participate. This is a great event for children so we hope you can come out! The City will receive a TREE CITY award at this event, and there will be guest speakers and other fun stuff! So please come join the fun - plant a tree - revitalize a neighborhood!

Friday April 23rd
11:30 ~ 1:30 PM

W. Miller Street Salisbury NC

See you there!

This Weekend in Salisbury - Cool Stuff!

April 16th - Come out Friday April 16th for Salisbury's Earth Night Out. As usual, the streets of downtown Salisbury will be alive with entertainment, shops open, and fun activities for kids. The festivities start at 5:00 and go til 9:00!

April 17th - The Salisbury Farmer's Market opens for the first time this season on Saturday - the hours are 7:00AM til NOON. The Farmer's Market is open Wednesdays and Saturdays. This early veggies season will offer cool weather crops such as lettuces, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, Swiss chard, spinach and other leafy greens. Spring and summer bedding plants including vegetable transplants, herbs and flowers will be available. Baked goods, local meats and handmade crafts will also be featured at this year's market.

The market is located at the corner of South Main and Bank streets in downtown Salisbury. The market can easily be located by two large green shade canopies where local producers will be selling local produce and meat, flowers, baked goods and local handmade crafts.
April 17th & 18th - The first BUY HISTORY! - historic home open house being held in all historic districts around Salisbury. From 1PM to 4PM on Saturday and Sunday, the Historic Neighborhood Alliance and local realtors have teamed up to bring our beautiful historic homes to light. There are 23 homes being shown over all - (2) right here in NOMA. Here is a link to the homes being offered:
http://buyhistory2010.blogspot.com/

Annual Spring Spruce Up Week is Coming! April 19th ~ April 24th

Hi Friends & Neighbors!

You can tell its Spring in beautiful NOMA! The springs blooms are popping out everywhere and the grass is growing! Time to dust off the lawn mower and get out the flower pots!

Spring also means that Salisbury's Annual Spring Spruce Up Week is just around the corner. This year, Spring Clean-Up will be:

April 19 ~ April 23

In our neighborhood, it will coincide with our normal trash pick-up day. The city will pick up old appliances(REFRIGERATOR, FREEZER, STOVE, HOT WATER HEATER, AIR CONDITIONER, WASHER, DRYER),tires (without rims), and any extra bagged trash. Place items at the curb on your regular collection day (for many of us this is Tuesday Morning). If you have items you would like to discard and you are not sure if they fall within the city's guidelines for pick-up, you can call 704.638.5260 and ask if they will pick up special items. The city wants our neighborhood clean as much as we do!

Please note that building materials are typically not part of the pick-up. If you have carpet, padding, sheet-rock, windows, lumber, commodes, sinks, etc., you may wish to contact the city to see how you should best dispose of these.

If you still have leaves to get rid of, the City has a few rounds of leaf-pick-up left this week! If you can get your leaves to the curb, the city will get them picked up for you.

Remember Earth Day is April 20th! Help us take care of our little piece of this earth ~ the North Main Neighborhood!

Salisbury / Rowan Crime Stoppers ~ Yard Sale Fundraiser April 10

The Salisbury / Rowan Crime Stoppers will have a yard sale fundraiser April 10 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind Wells Fargo (City lot) across from the Farmers Market on Bank St.

The Salisbury-Rowan Farmer's Market is located on the corner of South Main and Bank Street in Salisbury, under the big green tents. It is about 2 blocks south of Salisbury Square near the Meroney Theater in Downtown Salisbury.

Donations welcome—volunteers welcome!

Traffic on W. Henderson Street - Stop Signs Requested

The City Park Neighborhood, which adjoins our North Main Neighborhood at W. Henderson and N. Jackson Streets, have been talking to the City about traffic concerns on W. Henderson, which seems to be becoming a thoroughfare. NOMA President Sue McHugh was invited to attend their last meeting last Thursday where they presented their concerns of speeding traffic on Henderson Street to Councilman Paul Woodson. They also recently met with Dan Mikkelson, Director of Engineering & Development Services for the City, and Ms. Wendy Brindle, Traffic Engineer, to review the newly established priorities. The group agreed that the end goal is to slow traffic that transverses the City Park (and North Main) neighborhood. The number one priority is to install four-way/three-way stop signs at several intersections along West Henderson St. These signs would ultimately divert traffic to other primary streets (Mocksville Ave., Mahaley/Confederate Ave., Club House Dr./11th Ave.) surrounding the neighborhood.

As a result of the meeting, Mr. Mikkelson & Ms. Brindle have requested a face-to-face meeting with all the citizens of the City Park neighborhood. Their goal is to have as many neighborhood citizens attend as possible. We strongly believe that NOMA residents should attend this meeting as well. What happens in City Park neighborhood will assuredly affect NOMA!

The proposed meeting date is:

DATE: Thursday, April 22, 2010

TIME: 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm

PLACE: Conference Room or Activities Room (depends upon number attending) in the Rec Center at City Park

Please make every effort to attend. If you could RSVP with a note to themainneighborhood@gmail.com, we'd appreciate it!

NOMA February Meeting: A Smashing Success! New Ideas!

Hello All -

We had a great February North Main meeting back on the 25th! A BIG THANKS to Koko Java coffee shop for letting us meet there! They extended us a discount on our coffee beverages and stayed an hour later than usual to accommodate us. (They are also serving wine now - a bit of a treat!). We will more than likely meet there again for future NOMA meetings because it was so nice...and they were so great to us!

We had so many ideas hit the table - it was inspired and inspiring.

With so many ideas hitting the table, we ended up narrowing our 2010 goals down to (5):

1) We are going to be organizing a "NOMA Night Out" or a "Fork & Cork" night out where we will house-hop for drinks and appetizers. More to come on this later ~ But mark your calendar for April 10th!

2) We are going to organize a NOMA Train Trip to the State Fair in September. A dedicated train takes us there..and waits to take us home! Details to follow.

3) We have a small subcommittee reviewing our 'dark' corridors (Church Street for example) to see where we might petition the city to install more street lighting for our pedestrians.

4) We have the opportunity to develop the small plot of land we gained at the corner of W. Miller and N. Jackson Street. There is a FABULOUS idea on the table to incorporate a public art project to create a 'Welcome to the NOMA' pocket-park at this site. We are working on proposal details right now. This should be an opportunity for possible grant funding. Donations to the project would be tax-deductible. We are very excited about the potential here to make a nice entryway to our neighborhood from the Parks.

5) We are going to stake out a neighborhood spot for the Pops at the Post.

OK ~ so those were the 5 big ones! We also had a wonderful idea to go "Guerilla Gardening". This is where a bunch of us sneak out at night (or sometime) with plants and "pretty up" a spot that need

s it. Doesn't that sound like fun! shhhh! don't tell!

We will also try to organize a table at the Friday-Nights-Out to advertise North Main and what a great place it is to live. Maybe this will help us fill some of those empty houses. We have already got permission from our neighbor who owns 'Hot Junk' in town. Great!

And last, instead of waiting until later in the year, we are going to schedule our events like our Annual Celebrate NOMA Fall Picnic ~ and additionally a Christmas Party and maybe a 4th of July event - more details to come on this as well.

As always, you are urged to speak up at City Council meetings about any neighborhood issues that you are aware of. We are told time and time again that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

And the last thing we mentioned was to go online to http://www.historicsalisbury.org/ to sign the Shober Bridge petition. The neighborhoods really must look after one another and that neighborhood is petrified about the pending changes that will so greatly impact their area in a very negative way!

So - you can see it was a very energetic meeting, as they usually are!

The next meeting will be held WEDNESDAY MARCH 24th - 6PM - KOKO JAVA!

See you then!

No January Meeting: Next Meeting Thursday February 25th

Hello Friends and Neighbors...

Well it looks like we took a little winter nap here in NoMa! Lots is happening behind the scenes and we can't wait for you all to hear about it and get involved.

There will not be a January NoMa Meeting. BUT>>> We will have our regularly scheduled 4th Thursday of the month meeting in February! NEW TIME! NEW PLACE!

Next Meeting:

Thursday February 25th

6:oo PM

At: Koko Java, corner N. Main St. and E. Kerr St.

The owners at Koko Java have extended an invitation to NoMa to hold our meetings there. They are even offering us a discount on purchased beverages! We think this is extra special of them and want to extend 0ur most grateful appreciation.

We'll circulate an agenda in the coming weeks, but get this meeting our your calendars. We will want to try to beef up membership this year, so tell your friends and neighbors. We want to try planning some special events ~ all ideas are welcome!

More news to come!!!

NoMa News

Hello Neighbors & Friends ~

Here's hoping you all had a fantastic Halloween weekend! We hope you made it downtown to the Halloween Fun Fest. We know some of you made it to the Fulton Heights Neighborhood to join in their Halloween Festivities.

We have a few updates from around the neighborhood:

Newly Wed:
Please join us in congratulating Jenni and Brian Pfaff who married Halloween evening at their home on Henderson Street! Much Love from NOMA, Brian & Jenni! Jenni will be opening her new yarn shop, Tranqwool, very soon! We can't wait!

Newly Born:

• Please join us in welcoming Hiram Newton Teeter, born to our neighbors Scott and Heather Hopkins Teeter of 11th Street. Welcome Hi!
• And we also welcome Bromly Earnhart born to Keith & Carol Earnhart of Henderson Street. Welcome Bromly!
• We are much delayed in welcoming Brice Schwalm, born to of Thomas & LoriAnn Schwalm of N. Main Street. YAY Brice!

Newly moved away:
We are sad to announce that one of our #1 volunteers, Jason Raymer, has moved away from NOMA. If you got a flyer in your doorway this spring, summer, or fall, chances are very good that Jason delivered it to you. Jason was probably the most diligent in hand delivering our flyers than anyone we've known. Good luck in your future, Jason!

Meeting with Downtown Salisbury Inc.:
We met with DSI last week for a most interesting meeting. While DSI cannot legally use their funds for improvements in NOMA (they are locked by strict boundaries limiting their work to a very specific downtown area), they are willing to express support for NOMA in such areas as the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan and other areas. They gave us some good ideas on how to proceed with our attempts to move this project the forefront with the City.

Election Day:
Salisbury's municipal election day is only 2 days away! Please make your plans to vote on November 3rd. Check with the Rowan County Board of Elections (www.co.rowan.nc.us/government/departments/boardofelections/) if you don't know if you are registered or where to vote. NOMA is in what is known as the North Ward. Our polling place is the City Park Recreation Center on Lake Road.

Next NOMA Meeting:
Our next neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Thursday November 12th at 7:00PM at Sue McHugh's home at 910 N. Main St. Watch your inboxes for an agenda.

See you all soon!

Waterworks Visual Art Center - Big CHILLi - Nov 6th

Hi Friends & Neighbors!

Waterworks Visual Arts Center will host their first BIG CHILLi cook off on Friday, November 6 from 6:30-10:00 p.m. in the F&M Trolley Barn. There will be 15 cooks competing, which means 15 yummy recipes to choose from. The cost is $20 per person and that gets you chili shots, beer, wine or other beverages, side items and dessert, plus 3 tickets to vote on your favorite chili recipe. The recipe with the most votes will be the winner of the BIG CHILLi Award. Waterworks is at:

123 East Liberty Street, Salisbury, NC 28144 (704) 636-1882

And . . .

Don't forget to bring the kids to the Fulton Heights neighborhood this Saturday for the Halloween Parade!

NoMa has a Facebook Page now!

Hello All ~

NoMa has a Facebook page now. If you use Facebook for networking or communication at all, you may want to sign up to be "our friend"!! Check www.facebook.com and search for NoMa with the email address: oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Fulton Heights Neighborhood Invites NOMA to Halloween Festivities

The Fulton Heights Neighborhood holds an annual Halloween Parade & Trick or Treat Fest and this year the North Main Neighborhood is invited!

On Saturday October 31st, the festivities will kick off at 4:30 PM in the 200 block of Mitchell Avenue. There will be face painting and the annual costume parade and contest. Children in the Fulton Heights Neighborhood have been enjoying this event for years. They get quite involved in their costumes and floats for the parade. There are prizes awarded in 6 costume categores - so come dressed as your best! The HAPS hot dog trailer will also be out serving their famous 'dogs, so no ghoul or ghost will go hungry. After the costume contest and parade, the little ones will scurry out into the 'hood for a night of tricks & treats! It will be SPOOK-TACULAR!!!

It is so nice of the Fulton Heights group to include NOMA this year in their festivities! We hope you can make it! (Take notes! Maybe NOMA can do something similar in years to come!)

How to get there:

Head south on Main St.

Turn left on S. Fulton St.

Turn left on Mitchell Ave.

Have loads of fun, NOMA!

NOMA Attends the HNA Candidate Forum Last Night

The Historic Neighborhood Alliance held their first inaugural HNA Candidates Forum yesterday evening. It was a smash success with over 100 attendees, the largest assembled forum yet on the campaign trail! We had an excellent turn-out from the North Main Neighborhood. It is wonderful to see our neighbors showing this level of support and concern for the direction of our city government and how the new City Council will affect the neighborhoods.

The questions posed to the candidates were indeed tough and thought-provoking. The answers to the questions, or the lack there-of, were most illuminating. Although here & there some missed the point of a question, others did an A+ job of not only answering but demonstrating that they had done their homework. In addition, the candidates had the opportunity to reveal something about themselves - an alternate goal of the event. The entire event was video taped so if anyone needs clarification on any of the responses, the HNA may be able to get transcripts in the near future.

This was a true grassroots movement to get our City Council, incumbents or not, to THINK about the pressing issues their historic districts face EVERY DAY! Salisbury's Historic Neighborhoods are the jewels in her crown. We sincerely hope the candidates understand the issues that are unique to the historic districts ~ A Preservation Plan above and beyond the Land Ordinance, the 2020 Plan, and the Downtown Master Plan ~ Tougher ordinance language and enforcement to address the demolition-by-neglect syndrom ~ and the installation of a Housing Commission with a Rental Property registration and inspection program to protect both landlords and renters, to ensure minimum housing standards, and to address any criminal activity in a more consistent manner.

Be sure to place your informed vote this election! Absentee voting by mail opened October 2nd and continues. Thursday, 10/15/09, voters can come to the One-Stop Early Voting Site at the Rowan County Board of Elections, 130 W. Innes Street, Salisbury, NC to vote early for the upcoming Municipal Election. Hours will be from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Thanks, NOMA, for caring!

City Council Candidates Forum ~ Tuesday Oct. 13th ~ 6:30PM

-->The Historic Neighborhood Alliance is sponsoring a Forum to learn the Candidates’ positions on critical issues which impact our historic neighborhoods.

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Tuesday October 13th

6:30pm - 8pm

Salisbury Station

215 Depot Street

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The Candidates will be asked to provide answers to questions surrounding these 3 exclusive topics:

· Ordinance enforcement/stronger ordinance language for historic districts

· Landlord registration and a Housing Commission

· A Preservation Plan for the City of Salisbury

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Who is the Historic Neighborhood Alliance? The Historic Neighborhood Alliance is a non-profit organization with representatives from each of Salisbury’s Historic Districts that encourages support of continuing revitalization of our neighborhoods; serves as an open channel of communication among our neighborhoods; and identifies issues of common concern ~ working to facilitate the resolution of those issues.

Please visit www.thehna.blogspot.com for more information about the Historic Neighborhood Alliance.

One or more representatives from the North Main Neighborhood (NOMA) attends the monthly meetings of the HNA. NOMA President Sue McHugh, among others, has been very involved in organizing the Candidates Forum. We need the support of the NOMA community to attend this event. The topics profoundly effect our neighborhood.

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Please attend this special opportunity to know where the candidates stand on our issues!

NoMa Fall Celebration a Whopping Success!!!

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

We sure had a wonderful NOMA Fall Celebration yesterday. Thanks so much to all who came out! We had a really pretty day (thanks to the cosmos for holding off the rain until today!) and a great turnout! Once again we had a great outpouring of help from our neighborhood community! Fred Aggers contributed the awesome huge table for the food, Jacqueline Milligan donated the use of the tent to keep our food dry in case it did decide to rain, and she donated all the paper products too! Stelia's restaurant (118 N. Main St ~ www.steliacafelounge.com) donated a fabulous german potato salad, and the Park Avenue neighborhood donated sausages and rolls! WOW ~ even our fellow neighborhoods are in support of NOMA!!

There were lots of children this year - so great to see - so next year we will try to do some kid-friendly activities. Although it will be tough to compete with the wagon-rides Jessica & Marc's girls gave to all the kids! We had folks show from every corner of the neighborhood, from Henderson to the 1600 block of N. Jackson and all points in between. We met new neighbors who have just moved to the community and rejoined with our long-term neighbors. It was the perfect day.

Many, many thanks to Edward & Nancy Clement for the use of the lawn at Scales and Miller. It could not be a more perfect setting for our gathering! And many more thanks to Susan Hurt for opening her lovely home so that we didn't have to rent potties! Awesome!

Thanks again to all our friends and neighbors who came out to celebrate the North Main Neighborhood!

Today's the Day!
The NOMA Fall Celebration! ~

A celebration of the neighborhood, our friendships, and our community.

The NOMA Fall Party:
Sunday October 4th 3:00 - 6:00 PM Corner of E. Miller St. and Scales St. Please bring a covered dish to pass.
NOMA will provide hot dogs, rolls, & condiments, water & iced tea.

See you this afternoon!!

Hello Neighbors & Friends! We are all really looking forward to the NOMA Fall Picnic this weekend! While you're getting ready for the celebration ~

Please consider running in the Historic Salisbury 5K race next weekend, which is being held in conjunction with the Fall October Tour. Here is a link to information about the race on their website: http://www.historicsalisbury.org/OT_5K_2009.htm

Historic Salisbury Foundation really needs our support right now!

Join us on Saturday, October 10, 2009 for a pleasant 5K run or a half mile fun run/walk through Historic Downtown Salisbury and the West Square Historic neighborhood.. As you stride through a mixed flat and hill course, you will be able to witness the town's history and preservation efforts! After the race, enjoy Salisbury's weekend festivities! Join Historic Salisbury Foundation’s Annual OctoberTour of Historic Homes and Bank Street Activities.

Cost:

Pre-registration: $20 includes a T-Shirt and a pair of Wrightsocks guaranteed to First 100 Participants!

Race Day registration: $25

Check-in and Race Day Registration: 7:00-7:45 a.m.

Starting and Registration Location: 507 South Fulton Street

5K Race Start Time: 8:00 am October 10, 2009

Parking: Available at Rowan County Library, 201 West Fisher and First United Church of Christ, 207 West Horah

NOMA Fall Party! This Weekend! Come One ~ Come All!

Hello Neighbors and Friends!

It's the count-down! 4-Days to go til our Fall Celebration! A celebration of the neighborhood, our friendships, and our community.

The NOMA Fall Party:

Sunday October 4th
3:00 - 6:00 PM
Corner of E. Miller St. and Scales St.

Please bring a covered dish to pass.

NOMA will provide hot dogs, rolls, & condiments, water & iced tea.

See You Sunday!!!!

Things to Do Today ~ This Weekend!

Hello Friends & Neighbors! There are loads of fun things to do in Salisbury this weekend! Starting today!

Did you know that today, September 17^th is Constitution Day? There are many celebrations planned all around the nation, including right here in Salisbury at the Rowan Museum, 202 N Main Street Salisbury. The local Elizabeth Maxwell Steele Chapter of the DAR will be at the museum celebrating this event with a reading of the Preamble to the Constitution every hour on the hour. If you are in downtown Salisbury today, take a minute and drop by to listen and celebration the Constitution of our great country.

It’s an “Artsy” weekend in downtown Salisbury with several galleries all within walking distance of one

another open this Friday evening, September 18^th. At the Waterworks Visual Arts Center, 123 E. Liberty St., there is a free public reception 6-8 p.m. with artists Jenn Gardner Selby and Frank Selby for the exhibit "There, Not There."

Just around the corner, a couple of blocks down in the Rail Walk district, at 405-407 N. Lee St., Looking Glass Artist Collective (LGAC) opens a new exhibit of members' work. The gallery's overhead door will open at 5 p.m. so those following the art trail can come in, view the art and meet the artists. LGAC will also be the site of the Blues Showcase, hosted by Rowan Blues and Jazz Society and presented by the Charlotte Music Awards at 8 p.m. In addition, Rail Walk Studios and Gallery, 409–413 N. Lee St., will be open 6-8 p.m. with a reception for "A Mutual Passion," an exhibit by Patt Legg and Sharon Forthofer.

Have a great weekend!

City Council Candidates Forum - North Main Neighborhood is Invited!

Sidewalk Update - Driveway Aprons are Poured!

The driveway aprons were poured on W. Miller Street yesterday.

Announcing Celebrate NOMA Fall Social - Oct 4th

Come One ~ Come All!

NoMa is having their annual Fall Social ~ Celebrate NoMa !!!

When: Sunday October 4th

Time: 3:00 PM ~ 6:00 PM

Where: The grassy lawn at the corner of E. Miller St. & Scales St.

NoMa will provide non-alcoholic beverages and hot dogs.
Please bring a covered dish to pass.

Bring Your Friends ~ Bring Your Neighbors ~ Celebrate!!!