What Else?

SECA T Shirts Selling Like Hotcakes!

There are only a FEW of our colourful  Tshirts left!

Kid Sizes

• 1 Med Yellow
• 1 Blue Large

Adult Sizes

• 1 each Large in Lime, Red,  Blue
• 3 XL in Lime, 1 XL in Black

 

All $20 each

If you want a Tee shirt please call Sandra Zuccolini at 753-1394.

 

Yoga Donation

What a surprise it was to receive a whimsical card from the “Bendover backwards” Yoga Peace Practice along with a $120 donation.  The card read: “Dear Southenders: Blessings to you for your celebration and strengthening of health and vitality in Nanaimo’s South End.” We have to admit that we didn’t celebrate peacefully at all, we whooped it up in the meeting!  We REALLY appreciate your thoughtfulness!  Thank you so VERY much.

“Identity Theft Prevention” Workshops

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about reducing your risk and vulnerability through awareness, planning, and positive action.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 (5:30 pm to 7:30 pm)

Downtown – location TBA

Cost? FREE !  But seating is limited. Reserve your seats by calling Sharon Welch at the Community Policing Station (250-753-3777).

Want Ads

Still Looking for a place to call home sweet home: a solid responsible professional – 30ish- wants to live in the South End.  Looking for a decent 1 bedroom suite, up to $650/month.  This is the kind of tenant that good landlords are looking for and the kind of young man you’d like your daughter to bring home (bright, responsible, no visible body piercings.)  Willing to wait for the right place; needs to give notice to existing landlord. E-mail SECA at southendcommunityassociation@gmail.com and we’ll link you up.

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2008 – A Year in Review

Never a dull moment in the South End…as they say, and 2008 has been no exception. My sincere thanks to the SECA Executive and the many members of the association who have been so very generous with their time and efforts on behalf of the association. As you can see from the list below, it’s been a busy year and we have continued to grow in the scope and reach of our many activities.

2008 15th Annual Miners Heritage Picnic

Our marquee event was as big and successful as ever, sponsored by local business that contributed close to $5000 that paid for a wonderful day for south end children and families.

Chase River Estuary Park Day

S.E.C.A continues to promote public awareness and use of this lovely park. Our annual celebration includes guided walks, “fishing” in the river for smelt and family bbq

Litter Campaign

SECA is tackling the litter on our streets in three ways. Our annual litter pick up, sponsored by the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange, is a one day large scale community clean up which annually collects an amazing amount of trash from our streets and lanes. In addition we have instituted a monthly, (last Saturday of the month) pick up for approximately one hour, with local restaurants hosting our breakfast gathering and then disposing of the litter collected.

Thirdly, the Art Bin Project continues to grow and develop. A recent community painting day has added a further 12 bins to the ten already located throughout the neighborhood. It’s a great little project that just keeps growing…

The SECA monthly Newsletter

Many thanks to Barbara and Larry for all their hard work in producing such a fabulous on-line newsletter and community blog. This project has really revolutionized the way we connect and share information in the neighbourhood and beyond. We also produce a hard copy for the non-computer savvy that is available at various locations in the neighbourhood

2008 South End Election Blog

The South End Community Association hosted an on-line forum for prospective mayoral and council candidates in the lead up to the recent civic elections. This innovative strategy allowed South End voters to pose questions to candidates regarding issues of concern to us. It was an excellent process that informed the voting public and raised our profile as a neighborhood association with the new administration. Many thanks to Anne Thompson and Barbara for their great work on this project

Balmoral Hotel

CMHA and VIHA amended their plans for the old Balmoral Hotel following widespread opposition within the neighborhood to locate the Living Room at the site. The neighborhood came out in force and was duly heard. Thanks to Councilors Diane Brennan, Merv Unger, CMHA and VIHA for responding to our concerns and we look forward to supporting and sharing in the success of the new social housing project.

Deverill Square Park Improvement Project

This project has been the cornerstone of our efforts to build upon our strengths and resources as the best way to address the social problems that persist in the neighborhood. Thanks to tremendous support from the City, the project is now well under way with new equipment being installed, floodlit soccer and lacrosse most nights of the week, $10,000 donated by the Gyro Club towards the project, $50,000 by the Rick Hansen Foundation, other fund raising pending. Many other upgrades in and around the park are planned, including a redevelopment of the Irwin / Milton barrier with a possible art installation and community bulletin board. Thanks to Kirsty MacDonald for all her efforts on behalf of Parks and Recreation.

Beer and Burger Fund Raiser

Our second annual fund raiser for the association was held just last weekend at the old Jolly Miner, now the Filling Station, and raised an astonishing $1500 dollars for the association. They have both been great events, bringing together the neighborhood as well as raising invaluable funds for the association. We are now required to carry insurance for the association at an annual cost of approximately $700, so this kind of fund raising is increasingly important.

S.P.A.C. Grant

SECA applied for and received $2000 from the City to support our activities in the neighborhood. This has been placed in our general revenue account and has contributed to recent art bin costs as well as other administration costs so far. We now have a healthy balance in the account and we can afford to fund some new projects that support our mission.

S.E.C.A. T shirts and art cards.

Yvonne vander Kooi’s Haliburton Street inspired image adorns the new and extremely popular SECA “T” shirts that have been selling like hot cakes. $20 for a T shirt and the cards sell for $3. See Sandra for details.

R.I.P. Gino Sedola

Gino passed away a couple of months ago and is sadly missed by many of us who cherished his friendship, wisdom and encouragement. He was a great champion of the South End, was enormously proud of his neighborhood, and spent his life giving to the community in a way that can inspire us all. SECA plans to honor his memory by planting a tree in Deverill Square Park

Looking Forward to 2009

Neighbourhood Plan

Subject to final council approval we will shortly be embarking on a formal neighborhood plan for the South End. We have been working towards this for many years and it is a unique opportunity for the neighborhood to shape a vision that will guide planning and development in the south end for many years to come.

Drug Problems

The number one concern in the neighborhood is the entrenched street level drug activity which has anchored itself in the alley between Nicol and Haliburton. SECA is committed to working closely with the RCMP and the City to address this complex problem. We are interested in hosting a forum of property owners and residents who live adjacent to the lane with a goal of addressing some of the physical characteristics of the lane that contribute to the problem. Thanks to the RCMP and By Law Services for there continued support. Our job is to continue to strive for the kind of neighborhood that promotes pride and caring as the best way to deter this kind of activity.

International Paper Industries

This company and its expanded recycling operation continues to create an intolerable noise and air pollution for those that live adjacent to it. SECA plans to renew our efforts to seek some redress for these problems in the New Year.

NEXT SECA MEETING

Wednesday January 7 at 7 PM. Princess Royal Family Centre.

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What’s up in the Neighbourhood?

New Condo Starts on Haliburton

CMC Engineering has received preliminary approval from the city for its five-storey condominium project, The Aurora, at 119 Haliburton St. Construction could begin after Christmas. The project, originally planned as a 24 unit building, was presented at a SECA meeting last fall as 30 units, and now adjusted to 35 units. You can read the Nanaimo Daily News articles by clicking on these links:

Condos could revitalize Haliburton Street

Tapping potential of south end has started

 

Deverill Park refit Underway

 

The washrooms in Deverill Park are lonely, now that all the playground equipment has been removed.   The new equipment is here and should be in place this fall.

The Gyro Club has generously donated $10,000 toward park development.  A huge THANK-YOU from all of us in the South End!

 

The Neighbours of Nob Hill installed their new playground equipment this past weekend, with 35 people showing up to help.  Well done!

 

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Deverill Square Park Update

This fall should witness the beginning of an ambitious redevelopment plan for Deverill Square Park, one of Nanaimo’s oldest and best loved parks. The city of Nanaimo will begin upgrading all the play equipment in the park and installing state of the art equipment that will be accessible for both able and disabled children.

The Rick Hansen foundation has donated $50,000 to the project and the Gyro Club of Nanaimo have pledged a further $20,000 towards the effort. There are plans for a multi use court for the old basketball site, a walking path around the park, improvements to the curbs and parking, and a redevelopment of the North East boundary that blocks Irwin at Milton.

SECA has been talking with various groups including the Chinese Cultural Society, Snuneymeux First Nation and the Labour Council about developing a series of themed gateways into the park that would add aesthetic appeal and honour the rich history of the park and the cultural and industrial influences that shaped the neighbourhood.

In the meantime, new floodlights have been installed, youth soccer and the VI raiders are regularly using the park, various neighbourhood gatherings have taken place in the park over the past few months including our 15th annual Miners Heritage Picnic.

Watch for an open meeting with Parks and Rec this fall to brainstorm these and other ideas.

Deverill Square Park is the gem in our neighbourhood. The best way to keep it safe is to invest in it, show our pride in it, and play in it! For more information, call Douglas Hardie at 754.0677.

 

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Art Bin Update

We’ve just passed the 20 Artbin mark, a pretty good feat for a grassroots project that started with no money less than a year ago….just with the advice from the RCMP that a clean neighbourhood doesn’t attract people who tend to make it dirty.

Thanks to the core group of brave souls who stepped up to paint and host bins, and to even fund them…you know who you are! And to the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange, Pacific Prime Painting, and Three Hour Sail for paint donations, and to Home Hardware for the deal on bins. We are really grateful for your support.

We’ve got enough learning now to begin placing them in the most-needed places, and are now ready to invite the city and local businesses to get involved.

Some of the bins have been produced at Artbin Painting Parties, and some people have preferred to paint on their own. Our next painting event is planned for October.

If you’d like to paint an Artbin, or to volunteer to look after one, please call Barbara at 740.0123. We’d like to find someone who can help organize and manage this effort as well.

In the meantime, check out this photo display of some of the Artbins in the neighbourhood, or watch this clip from the Hidden Heroes TV feature:

http://nanaimo.shawtv.com/

Click on the Our Shows tab near the top of the page —  then click the Hidden Heroes logo— and select South End Community Assn from the list of stories.

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Thanks for reading!  Want to comment on our newsletter? E-mail us HERE

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