I just got this note in from Jennifer Smith, who is active in my neighborhood’s events:

To: Windsor Forest Neighborhood
From: Jennifer Smith
Re: Meeting on Wed 5/2 6:00-8:00
re: the 40,000 sq ft gym proposed for Durant Nature Park

I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the proposal for Durant Nature Park and the meeting for public comment. The City Council is proposing a 40,000 sq ft gym and multi-use courts (no tennis courts or basketball courts as were proposed earlier) be built south of the playground that backs up to Astwell Ct (off the bottom of Hobhouse Circle). The entrance will be from the south (I would assume the South Entrance for Durant Nature Park which comes off of Gresham Lake Road).

I talked with David Shouse, the City of Raleigh contact on the letter that was sent to some WF residents notifying them of the meeting. He stated that the building would be 600 feet (or two football fields) from the houses on Astwell Ct and the bottom of Hobhouse. If you are interested in commenting on this plan, the public meeting will be this Wednesday, May 2nd from 6:00-8:00 PM at Campbell Lodge. It’s an open house format, so you can stop in as you have time and they will show you the plans and answer your questions. If you can’t come, you can email your comments to richard dot lee at arcadis-us.com (the plan developers). Thanks!

When I first learned of the City’s plans, I was a bit concerned. I expected Jessie Taliaferro would be bulldozing over all the trees of our wonderful neighborhood nature park. Fortunately, the law keeps her from doing that: due to the federal and state grants used for its purchase, Durant Park must by law remain natural. However, an adjacent, 15-acre piece of city-owned property has no such restrictions. It is for this site that the proposed park is being discussed.

Folks in Windsor Forest have informally discussed among themselves adding possible common area amenities like a playground or a clubhouse, and this exact piece of city-owned property has been eyed for just this. The discussed plan was to purchase the property from the city and build the clubhouse using homeowners’ fees.

While I was opposed to putting a gym in the middle of our beloved nature park, when I found out that

• Raleigh may wind up building our rec facilities for us.
• Our homeowners’ fees won’t be paying for it.
• The gym will not be in Durant Nature Park, but next to it.
• The gym will be within easy walking distance to the neighborhood.

…well, now, I’m much more interested in this proposal!

The only real question I have regards the North Wake Landfill. Its long been proposed as a site for recreational facilities once it closes (if it ever does, that is). Does Raleigh need two large recreational facilities right next to each other? Why can’t a Raleigh gym wait to be placed on landfill property? If building a gym at Durant makes a park at the North Wake Landfill redundant, how else will the landfill property be used once it closes?

Thanks to everyone who donated to our team for this year’s March Of Dimes WalkAmerica. Thanks to your generosity we raised close to $1,700! This money will go toward research to prevent premature births, a cause we hold quite dear.

We feel privileged to have such generous friends. While we were just short of our goal this time, thanks to you we pushed our total higher than any other year.

Thanks for your donations, as always. It’s nice to know that together, we can make a difference.

I’ve ranted about it before here at MT.Net. I’ve written two notes to the N.C. Department of Transportation. Its been two months since I first got so fed up abuot the trash on the western side of the I-440 Beltline that I decided to tell someone about it. The responses I’ve gotten back from NCDOT have been polite and claim to do somethng but little seems to get done. Are the inmate crews too busy that they can’t be bothered to work the roads, in spite of the recent beautiful weather?

Tuesday morning I saw an NCDOT cleanup crew picking up trash just north of the Crabtree exit, yet the mound of trash that irks me the most is still there. The section of median between the Hillsborough Street and Wade Avenue exits looks like a landfill. Trash is wrapped around the guardrail posts and scattered all along the roadside. Each day more of it piles up. This piece of road is one of the most visible in Raleigh: right next to the fairgrounds and the Wade Avenue Extension of I-40. It is a gateway to Raleigh, and its trashed all to hell.

Since its obvious my pleas have fallen on deaf ears, I’ll have the chance to increase my involvement next week as the state DOT kicks off its annual Litter Sweep, a two-week statewide campaign to clean up trash. Citizens like me who are fed up with trash will be given an opportunity to do something about it. NCDOT will provide safety vests, gloves, and trash bags for citizens to use in collecting the tons of trash that line our highways. DOT work crews will then pick up the bags of trash that are produced.

Though it promises to be hard work, I look forward to personally cleaning up this trash. It really, really bothers me that much. My only regret is that volunteers are not allowed to clean the medians, where much of the unsightly trash exists.

If you’re interested in joining me in this effort, see the Litter Sweep lkink or call the Litter Sweep Hotline at 800-331-5864. Together we can clean Raleigh up!

The Duke Lacrosse case is done. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all remaining charges against the former Duke students.

No word on whether criminal charges will be filed against the accuser, Crystal Gail Mangum for filing a false police report. She is surely facing a civil suit or two.

According to WRAL, there will be two local events to remember Jason Ray, the UNC student who portrayed UNC mascot Rameses who died after being hit by a car last month:

A celebration of the life of Jason Ray will be held Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Carolina Club of the George Watts Hill Alumni Building.

Also, a concert in his honor will be performed at the Cat’s Cradle April 17th. The show will raise money for the Jason Ray Memorial Fund.

If you haven’t donated to our WalkAmerica effort, there is still time. We’ve raised $835 so far and there’s still eleven days to go!

Please visit our WalkAmerica page and donate whatever you can. Together we can prevent premature births!

I came back from running errands at lunch to see two Raleigh Police officers patrolling the neighborhood on bikes.

“I’m glad to see y’all out!” I told them and waved as they passed by. They seemed pretty happy to be out, too.

The office for most cops is their car. Cops on bikes have the great outdoors! The odds a thief could win a footchase with a cop on the biking beat would be pretty low, too, I imagine.

One of the things I noticed last year in Holland and Australia is how accessible police in those countries seem to be. They’re visible. They walk the sidewalks. They’re interacting with the citizenry. American cops spend too much time in their cars. Cars may get them around faster but they get quantity at the expense of quality.

Having police cruising their beats on bicycles builds stronger community ties and that makes everyone safer.

Jason Ray’s funeral will be held this weekend in Concord, NC. You can find details and directions here.

UNC student Jason Ray, who potrayed mascot Rameses during game days, passed away this morning at 8:38 AM, according to reports. He was 21 years old.

Donations can be made to the Jason Kendall Ray Memorial Fund, Concord Christian Church, 3101 Davidson Highway, Concord, NC 28027.

[Update: 3/29] Jason’s funeral will be held this weekend in Concord, NC. Find details here.