TEN SIMPLE WAYS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNITY
(adapted from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center)
1) Buy goods & services wherever possible from local businesses
2) Attend and Support community celebrations & festivals
3) Eat at a Downtown restaurant at least once a week
4) Support efforts to keep the community clean
5) Run your errands and activities in town where possible
6) Walk, don't drive, to see new businesses and building projects
7) Volunteer with youth on activities in the community
8) Meet with friends in town - meet for coffee
9) Participate in community discussions to improve Lewistown
10) Invest time supporting community non-profit organizations
e-mail Downtown Lewistown @ jim@downtownlewistown.com
Five Points/East End Neighborhood Revitalization Project
For Information on the Five Points/East End Neighborhood Revitalization Project go to Neighborhood Plan
The continued step in the revitalization of the Five Points/East End Neighborhood is the implementation of the Strategic Plan. With the receipt of a contract for $250,000 in Residential Reinvestment assistance from the PA Department of Community & Economic Development, work is beginning to distribute applications to home and property owners in the Neighborhood, initial design work for the Five Points corner, and ramped up Committee activities in the area. These Committees meet to discuss details related to design, safety, improvement of the image of the area, and the economic betterment of residents and businesses in the neighborhood. Call 248-9606 for information on how you may help in this effort.
Downtown-Neighborhood Blog
Check out the Neighborhood blog for residents and visitors alike elmstreetneighborhood.blogspot.com
2010 Downtown-Neighborhood Discovery Contest Results
The Downtown & Neighborhood Discovery Contest, featuring 34 large cardboard eggs "hidden" throughout Downtown & Five Points/East End Neighborhood businesses, storefronts and upper floor windows, drew 188 correct entries from children and their families throughout all locales of Mifflin County. From these 188 correct entries, 58 children received prizes as a reward for their efforts (representing 31% of the entrants winning). The intent of this contest is to encourage families to spend time together while at the same time learning about offerings of the various businesses, seeing firsthand the improvements that have occurred and discovering new businesses that have located to the Downtown and Neighborhood.
Historic Walking Tour Guide Available
The Historic Walking Tour Guide is now available at the Downtown Lewistown Inc., Juniata Valley Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, and the Mifflin County Historical Society offices located in the Historic Courthouse On The Square.
This guide, completed summer 2007, features descriptions and photos of historic buildings in Downtown Lewistown building the awareness and appreciation for the undiscovered history of these sites and educating residents and visitors of the architectural heritage of the community. The printing of this guide is made possible through a grant from the PA Partners in The Arts regranting program administered locally through the Community Partnerships RC&D Council.
Adopt a Neighborhood Project Update
The latest visible improvement in the partnership of Downtown Lewistown, Inc. (DLI) and the Borough of Lewistown was the work of teens and young adults working in a "Summer Employment Experience" through the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11Community Education Services and funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act administered by the Central PA Workforce Development Corporation. These youth groups worked to prepare and paint the mall areas on East Market Street while another group of teens helped to maintain and plant perennials along the banks overlooking Rec Park. These efforts join the endeavors of community-minded organizations and businesses in "adopting" public spaces in the Downtown and Five Points/East End Neighborhood.
Several businesses have stepped forward in "adopting" key landscape areas. Caretaker LLC with offices in Downtown Lewistown, Heller-Hoenstine Funeral Homes in Burnham & Lewistown, Bushmen Landscaping and Deihl's Flowers of Burnham, Bryson's Stuff of Granville, and Metzler Forest Products of Belleville have been providing regular maintenance to the landscaped banks along Montgomery Avenue adjacent to Rec Park.
Previous concentrated maintenance work details provided by the Mifflin-Juniata United Way Day of Caring Program and participating employee volunteers from local businesses has been a positive force in the community. In 2007, Mifflin County GIS and Planning Departments along with employee volunteers from Mifflin County Children & Youth provided extensive maintenance at the Rec Park location with on-site expertise facilitated by Penn State Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program. Once again, in 2008, the United Way Day of Caring with 28 employee volunteers from GE Inspection Technologies provided maintenance at the Rec Park Overlook and adjacent areas. Visit the United Way of Mifflin-Juniata website at www.mjunitedway.org for more information.
In addition to these concentrated work parties, Borough employees, interns, Neighborhood and Community residents have also assisted with periodic maintenance throughout the summer. Geoff Burke, Rhonda and Matt Walters, Ron Napikoski, and Jon Zimmerman of Downtown Lewistown, Inc.- Five Points/East End Neighborhood lent a hand to weed select areas and Kevin Morgan of Community Partnerships RC&D provided technical assistance in identifying a problem weed at the site. Our thanks to each of these individuals for helping to revitalize the Downtown and Neighborhood.
On the other side of town, the "diamond" at the corner of Juniata and West Market Streets and the intersection of the River Bridge is an important entry into the downtown. The evolution of this project began in 2000 when DLI identified this key intersection as a target for improvement. Working through the Borough of Lewistown, DLI leveraged funding through PennDot to consolidate highway directional signing, add soil, provide plants, and finish with a river stone mulch. The planting, completed in Summer 2003 by Moon Brothers Landscaping, has become established and provides an attractive entry into the Downtown.
Since this early planting, several individuals and organizations have helped with the maintenance of this area including Bible Baptist Church and Downtown Lewistown, Inc. Effective Fall 2008, Barger's Landscaping has "adopted" this area pledging to maintain this site as a beautiful entry into the community.
Neighborhood Banners Developed through Work of Residents
The Neighborhood banners that now adorn Montgomery Avenue Extended represent the work of a sub committee that was formed from the Image & Identity Committee of the Five Points/East End Neighborhood. This committee is working with Downtown Lewistown Incorporated and the “Elm Street” Project for the sole purpose of solidifying an identity for the neighborhood and its residents. This logo design was developed by identifying and highlighting specific characteristics and qualities of our community. This logo will be visible throughout the Five Points/East End Neighborhood and will be used on literature, publications, correspondence and other promotional pieces. The banners were designed by Media X Creative incorporating the ideas of the following neighborhood residents:
Rhonda Walters – Chair
Sam Price
Kris Bradley
Robert Jim Clark
The banners are a tangible result of the good work of these residents and is representative of the creativity and spirit of the Neighborhood.
The Friends of the Embassy hosted the first ³Night at the Movies² in 2009 in conjunction with the Downtown Cruize-In. The Friends are planning another movie night in 2010. Look here for more details as the plans are secured. The movie is expected to be shown in the parking lot next to the theatre, not in the theatre itself. Admission will be free, but the Friends are requesting a donation of $2 per adult to help defray the cost of the movie and other incidental costs.
Be sure to bring your own chairs.
"An Evening Of Comedy" to benefit Embassy
An Evening of Comedy featuring five stand-up comedians will be staged at the Stone Arch Players Theatre in Derry Township Park, Saturday, August 14, at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets must be reserved from the Stone Arch Players in advance with first come first served seating the night of the event. If enough interest is shown, the Players will book a second performance at 10:00 p.m. Tickets are $20.00 will proceeds to benefit the Embassy Theatre Restoration Project
Neighborhood/Community Watch Meeting
Meets second Thursday, 6:30 PM, at Burgard Apartments
120 Chestnut Street.. The public is invited to meet with residents and law enforcement professionals, as well as the Community Watch Coordinator for Mifflin County Communities That Care, Chuck Dicken to learn of initiatives in the Neighborhood and actions residents may take to increase safety in their homes specifically and the Neighborhood in general. Meeting space made possible through a partnership with the Mifflin County Housing Authority and a coordinated outreach effort of the Neighborhood Safe, Clean & Green Committee whose goal is to maintain safety & security in the Neighborhood .
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