Click hear to hear sound clip!

Ok, I’ve had it with bad news on the 24/7 news shows. It’s time to have some fun. I’m declaring today officially NbNW Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day! We will have other days for other funny stuff throughout the year. Please send me suggestions.

This is from the movie Elf. If you haven’t seen it, go buy it and watch it immediately. It’s funny and it will give you some Christmas Spirit! We should all be a bit more like Buddy!

Have some fun with it!

About 2 weeks ago there was a presentation on gangs and what parents and teachers should be looking for. Are there gangs in Bethlehem?

Here are some gang members posing in front of Liberty High School in front of a police car flashing gang signs and wearing gang colors. This picture was posted on a myspace page of one of the members.

Yes, there are gangs in Bethlehem.  Gangs that you have heard of: Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings and some local groups that usually end up affiliating with a national gang over time.

The danger time for entering a gang starts around 10 years old. The Bethlehem Gang Task Force Members would be happy to do another presentation so parents can see what to look for at home and teachers can see what they should be looking for at school. Perhaps we could do that prior to a movie night or maybe at Nitschmann or Northeast MS.

One teacher was grading some homework and there were doodles on the pages. The teacher wrote a compliment about the “artwork”. Turns out it was the crown for the Latin Kings. Parents and teachers need to know what to be looking for and what to do to keep your kids out of gangs.

Yes, it sounds gross, but you will all learn to love this graffiti removal product. It’s green, sticky, gooey and you need gloves and eye protection when using this but it does what it says it will do!!!

We ran a little test Friday afternoon over at Fairview Park on the NW corner of the park. There is a concrete wall that got hit pretty hard last week so it was a good chance to test it out. The wall is now clean (mold is gone as well!) There is more to do up the wall on the west side but I’d like to do that with some volunteers as a training to show how the product works.

Basically, it’s a brush-on product. You let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Less time if you have a pressure washer vs regular hose. I would always recommend the pressure washer. Even less time if it’s either warm out or you have a hot water pressure washer available. I’d say it took a half hour but that’s cause I had to search out a source of water. Thank you to the nice woman who lives close by who let me hook up to her hose outlet for water!

If you are interested in being a Graffiti Buster, call or email me at 610-997-5732 or apitsilos@bethlehem-pa.gov or reply here!

Luminaria Night is quickly approaching. Block Captains are receiving their packets this week. Look for letters stuffed in your mailbox starting on November 12th. Luminaria Night is a night where people put luminaria out on the sidewalk in front of their houses. Luminaria Night has been going on for 10 years. Last year there were 55,000 luminaries out on Bethlehem streets.

This year we are looking to make a splash with luminaria night in the North by Northwest Neighborhoods. If you don’t get a letter and want to participate or you are interested in being a block captain, contact Debbie Delgrosso at 610-865-3757 or ddelgrosso1@juno.com.

The kits are $10 bucks and have 10 luminaries. They are spaced every 3 feet on the sidewalk so one kit will cover 30 feet. If you need additional kits, they are $5 each. The kits have the candles and the sand to hold the bags as well.

So, talk to your neighbors, plan a social event, get those cameras ready and don’t forget to clean up the bags on the morning of the 14th! In case of rain/snow, the inclement weather date is the 14th. For more info visit www.newbethanyministries.org.

Ok dog owners, seriously, is it that difficult for you to carry a plastic bag with you? You are responsible for your dog. Kids play here! On their hands and knees, hands that end up in their mouths alot!! Can you please have some consideration for others. At least stay out of the park.

To aid you in your responsibility, we will be installing a Dog Litter Bag Dispenser on the West Market Street side of Fairview Park and the E. North Street side of Friendship Park.

Ok folks, we have a project idea put forward by the Fairview Park Blockwatch. How about we have a gigantic/enormous yard sale at Fairview Park in the spring. Maybe early May? We can do a park cleanup in April to spruce up and get ready for spring summer and of course Season 2 of Movies Games & More!!

We need volunteers, we need neighbors who have lots of treasure in the attic/basement. I know my basement is jammed full of stuff. Maybe we can get a local band to play some backround music, get a puppet show for the kids, the blockwatch to sell coffee and donuts….just brainstorming here.

Anyone interested, give me a call or email me or comment here! 610-997-5732

That’s right, North by Northwest Neighborhood Initiative is on Facebook. Another great way to get the word out on what’s up in the neighborhood. If your not on Facebook already, it’s easy to set up. Look for us under Groups. We are a small but growing group!

See ya out there,

AG

Hello Neighbors,

The 11th Annual Luminaria Night is scheduled for December 13th, 2008. There were roughly 60,000 luminaria bags used last year in Bethlehem with very few of those being in our neighborhoods. Let’s change that! We need some help……

This is not a complicated project but we need a few people to help out as “Block Captains”. Relax, don’t run and hide behind the couch, it’s really not very difficult. Here is what you need to do…..

Start by watching this video?

After that, email me at apitsilos@bethlehem-pa.gov and I will put you in touch with Connie Glagola our Regional Block Captain for the NbNW Neighborhood and we will help you get this done in your neighborhood!

It’s a great chance to meet and interact with your neighbors and it looks beautiful when everybody on a block does it. Just watch the video and see.

We will be asking people if they want to be involved at the movie nights as well.

Thanks,

AG

It’s that time again. Time for our second annual Elm Street Survey. This is a state required survey for Elm Street Funding. It will also be mailed to all the residents within the target area. You can also take the survey online - (which is nice for me since the results are automatically tabulated.

We are hosting the survey on the city’s website here. If you live within the target area, work within the target area or have some interest in the target area, please take our survey!

Survey Update 10/2 - We have about 115 paper surveys back so far, not counting what’s been done on the web.  That’s more than last year. Look for a pdf report on the survey results. Always happy to have your input.

Thanks,

A.G. Pitsilos

Think back folks, where did you (do you) sled ride here in Bethlehem? Back in the stone age when I was on a sled, it was actually on a frozen street but now it’s all coasters and tubes.

I’ve seen kids o the hills at Nitschmann Middle School, I would imagine the hill behind Memorial Pool on Illick’s Mill Road gets some action and there is a pretty good sized hill at Rockland Park.

What am I missing? I’m sure there are a ton of stashes I haven’t heard about. Where do you sled and what’s your fondest memory of sledding in Bethlehem?

To the right here is the Hammerhead. Probably the ultimate sled. Check it out at http://www.hammerheadsled.com/ Another hot one is here: http://www.captainavalanche.com/