Belhaven News: What's Happening In Your Neighborhood!

Historic Preservation Review Process Information (downloadable PDF)
Application For Certification Of Appropriateness (downloadable PDF)

Henry LaRose is also a member of the Code Enforcement Committee of the BIA, and he often reminds readers of the purpose of this important committee.

We exist to help protect and support the property values in this historic area by encouraging property owners, as well as renters, to tend to their property. Unkept yards and curbs are the greatest eyesore. If we all simply cared for the condition of our house or apartment directly in front of our house, by sweeping the leaves (!Not into the storm drain!) collecting trash and mowing or edging whenever necessary, our streetscape would improve immensely.

Next, we also look for houses which need maintenance, and send friendly letters to owners to notice the deterioration, and take action to rectify the problem. See, unpainted wood deteriorates at a much greater rate when exposed. Most owners appreciate this reminder. But when owners ignore the problem which has been brought to their attention, we remind them once more and then report the problem to the City.

Finally, we encourage you to report any property which is in need of repair, a streetlight which has quit, an abandoned vechile on the street or in a yard, or any other item which detracts from the expected condition of our historic area.

Yes, call or email Henry at any time. (601) 454 6645 cell / 949-9999 office or <henry@netdoor.com>

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

An under-35 professionals group is forming in Belhaven! Wilson Hood, Ruffin Lowery, Mary Ellen Lawrence and Anna Stuart Williams are organizing a group of Belhaven neighbors under 35 that want to get to know each other through social gatherings and want to be a part of activities that will improve the neighborhood. They want to have periodic social gatherings - like meeting at Fenian's the third Wednesday of every month or once a quarter and they want to do some sort of event that is a fundraiser for the neighborhood.
Basically, they want to be a part of the neighborhood in a civic sort of way and also get to know other people in the neighborhood that are the same age as they are. The group will include women and men and may appeal more to singles and young married couples who want to socialize together. This group's organization is in its infancy so there are not a lot of details to share. The kickoff on October 1st at the Fairview is the first meeting and we are hoping for feedback from the people that attend on what they would like to do. If you are interested in joining the group, please send your contact information to bsmithson@greaterbelhaven.com.

Plans are shaping up for the first-annual Belhaven Halloween Block Party, on Belvoir on October 31. Belhaven Garden Club president Christine Barron asks if anyone has access to a trailer that could be borrowed for hay rides during the event, and if anyone has a good source for cheap/free hay. If you do, please contact Christine at christine@barronhouse.com. The Halloween Block Party is sponsored by the Belhaven Garden Club, GBSA, GBNF, and BIA.

Recycling pickup is Friday!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Miss Welty! Today is the 100th anniversary of Eudora Welty’s birth, and in honor of this great event, there’s a birthday cake, of course! The Welty House Museum would love to have a lot of neighbors at the birthday party: Governor Haley Barbour will cut the cake at 10:00 a.m. and the Museum will be serving cake and lemonade throughout the day. Director Mary Alice Welty White says, “We would love to have a lot of our neighbors present at 10:00”, so please stop by to help celebrate!

Also tonight, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra presents an intimate candlelight concert with Alon Goldstein (piano), with Marta Szlubowska (violin) and

Ben Randman (cello), at the Ford Academic Complex at Millsaps College, followed by a Posh Postlude Party at a private home near Millsaps. The recital is $25/Students $5, and the party is $20. Tickets available on-line at www.msorchestra.com or call 601.960.1565.

On Wednesday, April 15, from Noon-1 p.m., the History is Lunch series of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History continues the celebration of the centennial of Eudora Welty's birth, with a showing of the film "A Confluence of Memories" (the orientation film for visitors to Eudora Welty House). Welty scholar Pearl McHaney, Georgia State University, will talk about her two new books on Welty from University Press of Mississippi. Art historian and Welty friend Patti Carr Black will talk about the inclusion of the Welty House into the Southern Literary Trail. Emcee for the event will be Mary Alice White, director of the Eudora Welty House. Bring your lunch. Coffee and bottled water available. William F. Winter Building, 200 North Street, Jackson. Information: 601-576-6857.

The Greater Belhaven Yard Sale is coming up on April 25. Info here: http://greaterbelhaven.com/gbnf/YardSale.php

Several Belhaven residents who work at the Mississippi Museum of Art want to remind their neighbors that the Mississippi Museum of Art is not far away and that it features artwork by Belhaven artists including Miriam Weems, Vidal Blankenstein, and David Lambert. PLUS two new exhibitions entitled Eudora Welty in New York and American Masters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast open April 11. Also on view is the spectacular exhibition, Raoul Dufy: A Celebration of Beauty. Lunch is available at the Palette Café by Viking Tuesday – Saturday. Consider having your child’s birthday party at the Museum! It is a family friendly and fun place to visit! Go to www.msmuseumart.org for more information.

Neighbor Rose Casano has extra plants free for anyone who wants to come dig them up: elephant ears and tall yellow Louisiana iris bulbs as well as other volunteer plants - horsetail, eleagnus, sycamore trees, nandina, ivy, umbrella plants and some potted black bamboo as well. Email md1rose@jacksonsinus.com if interested.

Neighbor Melody Moody invites everyone in Belhaven to the Pickin’ and Paddlin’ Outdoor Festival, an Americana music festival held on at Mayes Lake park (Lakeland Entrance to Lefleur’s Bluff State Park) this Saturday, April 18th. The festival will feature performances from The Scramblers (old-time), Rhonda Richmond (jazz/blues), The Vrai Boys (Cajun) and the Zydepunks (Zydeco, Klezmer, Cajun). Several Belhaven residents will be part of the musical entertainment lineup, and while the music provides the backdrop for the festival, there will also be all day outdoor activities for all ages! Music, Canoe /Kayak races and children’s activities will begin at 10:45am. Bring the kids for face painting and a 52 foot obstacle course, sign up at the raffle booth to win prizes from Bass Pro shop and other local businesses! General Admission is $10, includes a BBQ lunch from Chimneyville Smokehouse and kids 12 and under get in free! Canoe/Kayak race passes and T-shirts will be sold for additional $10 each. All proceeds will benefit the Neighborhood Christian Center’s educational programs to underprivileged youth. Come out and support a great cause while spending a beautiful day with your friends and family out by the lake! For more information, visit www.nccjackson.com. Also, Melody needs volunteers to help out! Anyone interested in volunteering at the festival should contact her at melodymoody@gmail.com to sign up! Volunteers shifts are available all day and Volunteers will receive free admission to the festival and a Pickin & Paddlin’ T-shirt.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Just a reminder about the Belhaven Heights Community Association’s Meet the Mayoral Candidates event, in Belhaven Heights Park on Saturday, March 28th from 2-4 pm. If you are interested in volunteering, lending a tent, bringing or donating food or beverages, or giving money as a sponsorship to help cover costs for food and set-up, please contact belhavenheights@gmail.com –and please come out to support BHCA's first park event and also take the opportunity to meet the Jackson mayoral candidates.

15 of the 18 candidates will be there and each will have a tent. Confirmed include: Robert Amos, David Archie, Dorothy Benford, Marshand Crisler, Eddie Fair, Joyce Harper, John Horhn, Robert Johnson, Harvey Johnson, Frank Melton, Faye Peterson, Charlotte Reeves (dropping by), Brenda Scott, Jabori Toins, and Rick Whitlow. Other groups are joining in (GBNF, GBSA, The Belhaven Market, Downtown Neighborhood Association and North Mid-town) so we hope all Belhaven residents will join stop by!

Music by The Dixie Nationals and Friends and Johnny Bertram and from 97.7 and WJSU, with our own Heights neighbor Othor Cain as MC. There will be pizza from the Pizza Shack and drinks provided by McDades. Thanks to Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation, Nejam Properties, Old House Depot, Belhaven Properties, and Entergy for their support!

Charles Turnage is offering a reward for the return of his 3 peek-a-poos (mother and two puppies – mom is white as is one pup, the other is grey and white). Call Charles at 601-594-4274 with info.

After sorting through 225 submissions of new plays, New Stage Theatre will present readings of three new plays in the Eudora Welty New Plays Series on March 20 & 21 at 7:30 p.m. and March 22 at 2 p.m. The readings are open to the public and admission is free. No reservation is required.

The Scutley Papers, written by Jamie Wax of Baton Rouge, La., will be presented on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. Directed by Diana Howell, The Scutley Papers follows one woman’s journey through an abusive relationship to her discovery as a creative writer. The audience becomes her imagined readers, as she unspools her tale with drama, warmth and surprising humor. We share in her self-discovery as she finally gains the strength to leave—or maybe not. Solving Sunflowers, written by Patricia Milton, will be presented on Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. Directed by Tony Poston, Solving Sunflowers is a fanciful comedy that follows Nessa, a recent widow, on a journey from grief to recovery. The play illuminates the themes of surviving a random universe and how an outsider can redeem a town. Thea’s Turn, written by Mary Queen Donnelly of Canton, Miss., will be presented on Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m. Directed by Chris Roebuck, Thea’s Turn is a play based on the life of Sister Thea Bowman, an African-American with Protestant origins in Canton, Miss., who became the only black nun in the Catholic religious congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Cross, Wis. For more information please contact the theatre’s box office at (601) 948-3531.

Millsaps Community Enrichment offers a class on Beginning Songwriting, a lighthearted look at the craft of songwriting, this course includes: basic lyric/music construction; copyrights/contracts/licenses; what makes a song a hit; and producing demos that attract music publishers/producers. Writing for the theatre and how to create a “jingle” for radio/television advertising will also be discussed. Knowledge of music is not required. Cost: $90; Mon., April 6-27, 6:30-7:30 p.m.; 4 wks; instructor is David Womack, an ASCAP award winning songwriter/publisher. He is the two time recipient of the Eudora Welty New Play Series and received a Parents’ Choice Award for his children’s cd “Hold Your Nose When You Swallow a Goat”. He is the children’s music teacher at Galloway United Methodist Church and performs in various venues around the state.

Mississippi Celebrates Architecture is an exhibit displaying Mississippi’s favorite architecture, artwork by the state’s architectural community, and a photographic exhibition of Mississippi architecture and award winning buildings over the last 10 years. Accompanying the exhibit is America’s Favorite Architecture, a national traveling exhibit featuring buildings chosen by U.S. citizens as America’s favorite architecture. The exhibition is held at the Arts Center of Mississippi (former home of the Mississippi Museum of Art) and runs through April 11th. Saturday morning Downtown architecture tours are held at 10am. For more information on the free exhibition, lectures and tours call Joe Blake at 601-360-0082 or click here.

Our very own Fairview Inn is the host for the St. Andrew's Presents....Living Green Luncheon featuring Jillian Pritchard Cooke who will address the subject of “Wellness Within Your Walls - Green Design Concepts for the Home." A renowned author and public speaker, Cooke’s work has been published in several national and international publications. They will also have several local and Atlanta merchants with STYLISH ECO FRIENDLY ITEMS FOR SALE. The luncheon will be from 11:30-12:30 on Friday, March 27th. You can reserve a ticket for lunch with Cooke and all other events for the Living Green Weekend at www.gosaints.org.

History is Lunch: Neighbor Jere Nash will talk about his new book "Mississippi Fried Politics: Tall Tales from the Back Rooms." Lots of political stories told by one of our most popular History Is Lunch speakers. March 18, noon- 1 p.m. at the William Winter Archives & History building. For information, 601-576-6857.

The Spa at St Dominic provides services that work in harmony with traditional medical care. Our goal is to help you balance the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of well-being. Our peaceful environment and highly trained staff ensure a calming, rejuvenating and enjoyable experience. We are offering Belhaven residents this introductory rate of 25% off any one spa service for the month of April. We want to you to get to know us and let us be your neighborhood spa! The Spa @ St D also offers an wide selection of relaxation and self-care gift shop. Gift certificates and Spa parties are available. Come on in and let us take care of you!

Thank you to everyone who has renewed your memberships or joined BIA for the first time! Please keep ‘em coming – if you are not sure if your membership is up to date for 2009, please contact BIA’s Treasurer, Ron Aldridge, at aldridgeron@earthlink.net While you’re at it, let him know if you need a recycling bin(s) – he’ll need your name, address, phone and email address. Thanks!