CHNA meeting Oct. 26, 7pm

Posted on Oct 26, 2015 by Clara Kelly

College Hill Neighborhood Association meets tonight at 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.  All are welcome to attend.

The minutes from August and the Agenda for tonight are attached.

CHNA August 2015 Minutes copy

CHNA_Oct.26_2015Agenda copy

 

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College Place United Methodist Church Chili Festival!

Posted on Oct 07, 2015 by Clara Kelly

An invitation to the neighborhood from College Place UMC.  Click on the link for all of the details!

Chili Festival Flyer – sent to neighborhood newsletter groups

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UNCG provides homecoming schedule and noise impacts

Posted on Oct 04, 2015 by David Arneke

The university has thoughtfully provided a schedule of its 2015 homecoming events and expected noise impacts (PDF). Most of the events, including fireworks, will be held on Saturday October 17.

Highlights from Jim Settle, associate vice chancellor for student affairs:

  • Traffic: Expect increased congestion beginning in the morning of Saturday, October 17.  The annual 5K race/run/walk/roll will include on-campus street closures, which may cause traffic to divert to nearby neighborhood streets.  The main homecoming events start at 4 p.m. and will generate significant traffic into the campus.
  • Fireworks:  After the men’s soccer match on Saturday, October 17. “Although we cannot determine the exact time for the start, we expect fireworks will start around 9 p.m. and take approximately 20 minutes,” Settle says.  “We have asked the company to limit the number of ‘flash-bang’ fireworks, but the licensed operator selects the actual fireworks based on weather and atmospheric conditions, so we have limited control.”
  • Band/Music: On Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17, a DJ will play music outdoors until 9 p.m.  Friday, the music starts at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
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Greensboro College debuts its greener-than-grass soccer field

Posted on Oct 04, 2015 by David Arneke
Soccer game on new AstroTurf-brand plastic and rubber field

Greensboro College, in white, plays defense against Averett on its Technicolor-green, AstroTurf field.

The Greensboro College men’s soccer team played the school’s inaugural game on its AstroTurf field Saturday. The Pride romped all over their new rug, pulverizing the hapless Averett Cougars, 5-0.

The $1 million field was installed in less than two months.  The all-weather turf is made of very green plastic grass; filling in for dirt is black “crumb rubber,” little rubber beads recycled from pulverized tires. Like dirt, they get into the clothes, shoes, hair, noses, mouths, cuts and scrapes of players, especially those required to dive into the turf often, like goaltenders. It has been used to cushion artificial turf since the early 2000s.

Graphic on pros and cons of synthetic turf

Washington Post graphic. Click the image to see it clearly and larger; click here to see a Post article on the issue.

Earlier types of synthetic turf were blamed for many knee and leg injuries. The fields were basically concrete with a thin plastic cover that would occasionally snag your cleats and rip your knee apart. And don’t forget turf toe.

Those concerns seem to be a thing of the uncushioned past, though. Now questions have arisen about whether crumb rubber causes cancer in youth soccer players. The AstroTurf company and industry groups the Safe Fields Alliance and the Synthetic Turf Council contend that no scientific research has linked the product to the cancers that have stricken 38 young American soccer players in recent years. Despite being a self-serving claim by parties with major economic interests in the issue, that does appear to be the case, since national media coverage doesn’t cite any and Internet searches don’t turn any up.

Concerns persist because the crumbs do contain arsenic, benzene, carbon black, lead and other chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic. The company and trade groups say the amounts are harmlessly minute. They consider the scientific case for their products’ safety to be conclusive  (“There’s an incredible amount of misinformation out there.”). Nevertheless, some customers are choosing organic alternatives despite their higher price.

Continue reading →

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Following up on Saturday’s downed tree and the new sign

Posted on Sep 27, 2015 by David Arneke

SUV damaged by falled tree on Mendenhall StreetThe tree that fell yesterday on Mendenhall Street damaged a very unlucky SUV, but the power lines and street light across the street were spared. Much of the tree remains in the front yard of 117 South Mendenhall St. It caved in the hood of the SUV and broke an outside mirror. The vehicle may be able to move away on its own, though, unlike the remains of the tree, which the city left for the absentee landlord clean up. UPDATE: The city actually did come back on Monday and haul the rest of it away. Who would have guessed?

New neighborhood sign under construction at Market and MendenhallUnrelatedly, work has resumed on the new College Hill sign at Market and Tate streets. Progress was stalled for several weeks by unanticipated difficulty in securing the granite. There were other problems as well, but now that the granite has been delivered, work has resumed with the stone being applied to the cinder block base. The sign is being paid for with money from College Hill’s Municipal Service District funds.

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Rain brings down large tree on Mendenhall Street

Posted on Sep 26, 2015 by David Arneke

Tree down in the 100 block of Mendenhall StreetA tree at 125 South Mendenhall Street 117 South Mendenhall Street (corrected 9/27) was brought down by the weekend rains. It fell mid-afternoon Saturday, blocking the street. By 4:30, Greensboro police had the street blocked at Rankin Place and West Market Street. Greensboro received 2.11 inches of rain Friday, a record for the date, and more throughout the day Saturday. There were no particularly strong winds, though.

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We have a new polling place beginning with October primary

Posted on Sep 25, 2015 by David Arneke
New polling place: 501 West Washington St.

New polling place for College Hill, Precinct G44: 501 West Washington St. (Photo by Google Street View)

The Board of Elections has moved the polling place for Precinct G44, which includes College Hill. We’re now voting at the Guilford County Schools administration building, 501 West Washington St., at the corner of Washington and Spring Street. It’s across Spring Street from Weaver Academy.

The Board of Elections says the Province cancelled on short notice, forcing them to find a new location. They say post cards with notice of the change were sent out earlier this week.

The GCS building on Washington is the same location where the neighborhood voted several years ago before moving to the Reynolds Center and then the Province, where we wore out our welcome in just a couple years.

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CHNA Meeting – Monday, September 28, 7 p.m.

Posted on Sep 24, 2015 by Clara Kelly

Here are the minutes from July and the agenda for our September 28th meeting. Hope to see you on Monday. We meet in the Fellowship Hall at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 501 S. Mendenhall St.

CHNA July 2015 Minutes copy

CHNA_Sept28_2015Agenda

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September agenda for Historic Preservation Commission has three COA applications from College Hill property owners

Posted on Sep 24, 2015 by David Arneke

The Historic Preservation Commission has three applications for certificates of appropriateness from College Hill property owners this month. The commission will meet Wednesday September 30, 4 p.m., in the Plaza Level Conference Room in the Melvin Municipal Building.

Click here for the preliminary agenda for the meeting.

The College Hill Neighborhood Association will discuss the requests at its regular monthly meeting Monday, September 28, 7 p.m., at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Fellowship Hall, 501 South Mendenhall Street. All neighborhood residents and property owners are welcome. Applicants for COAs are particularly invited to attend to answer any questions neighbors may have about their projects.

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Primary election for City Council and mayor on October 6; incumbents Vaughan and Outling both have 2 challengers

Posted on Sep 23, 2015 by David Arneke
Photo of old Guilford County courthouse

Early voting for the October 6 primary will be held at the old Guilford County courthouse on West Market Street.  (Photo by Google Street View)

The primary election for city offices will be held in less than two weeks, on Tuesday October 6. Early voting begins tomorrow, Thursday September 24, and runs through Saturday October 3 (closed Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27). The only early-voting location is very convenient to the neighborhood, the old county courthouse on West Market Street.

The election-day polling place for College Hill (Precinct 44) is the clubhouse at the Province on Spring Garden Street the Guilford County Schools administration building, 501 West Washington St., across from Weaver Academy (updated 9/25). If you’re not registered to vote, it’s too late to register for the primary, but you can register for the November 3 general election until 25 days before the election. Click here for information on how to register.

Registered voters in College Hill can vote in two primary races — mayor and City Council District 3. Mayor Nancy Vaughan has two challengers. Our new City Council representative, Justin Outling, has two challengers as well. Outling was appointed in June after Zack Methany resigned to become the head of Downtown Greensboro Inc.

Click here for information on the candidates from the League of Women voters.

Click here for background on the District 3 race from the News & Record.

The candidates’ online presence appears mostly to consist of Facebook pages. The mayoral candidates:

The District 3 candidates:

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