BY JENNIFER BAILEY
Commercial-News
DANVILLE —
New, colorful planters and a new flower garden will brighten up the Meadowlawn neighborhood a little bit more this summer.
Meadowlawn Area Neighborhood Association president Ken Cox has the group’s first new planter in a corner of his yard in the 500 block of Meadowlawn Drive.
A wooden split-rail fence borders an oak barrel planter with orange marigolds and purple petunias inside.
The neighborhood association plans to put another planter across the street at vice president Ryan Lane’s home and two more in other yards that will be randomly selected from the membership.
The city provided the group $300 to purchase the posts and barrels. The funding comes from the city’s capital improvements fund.
City Comptroller Gayle Brandon said the city has a line item for Neighborhood Associations. It has $5,000 earmarked for projects.
“Each individual family is responsible for the flowers,” Cox said of the planters. “We hope to just keep doing this every year.”
The neighborhood association also received a Keep Vermilion County Beautiful grant for a flower garden at the corner of Robinson and Meadowlawn.
Work will start next month.
The neighborhood association has been in existence for about a year.
Neighbors formed it to bring the neighborhood closer together. The neighborhood includes 105 homes on the streets of Meadowlawn, Roselawn, Lawndale, Robinson and Chandler.
Cox said other projects the group has been working on include: trying to get lights along a walkway off Meadowlawn that residents use to go to the monthly group meetings; and National Night Out.
From 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday on Meadowlawn, the group will participate in the national event to fight back against crime and drugs.
Cox said the night will serve as a law enforcement appreciation night, too.
There will be refreshments including coffee, a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle, in addition to the meet-and-greet with some city police and Vermilion County Sheriff’s Department officers.
Other upcoming neighborhood association activities: a blood drive with a van set up on Meadowlawn from 8 a.m. to noon on Sept. 25; a food drive in October; and also a cap and mitten drive to help a local school.
“We’re trying to give back what they give us,” Cox said about the city’s help.
The neighborhood association also has started a neighborhood block watch and block watch patrols. Cox said residents walk the neighborhood two to three nights a week looking for anything unusual.
“We have very little problems out here. We had one incident in a year,” Cox said. “We want to keep it that way.”
He said the homeowners in the neighborhood take pride in their properties.
“Everybody takes care of their property out here,” Cox said.
The group continues to meet monthly, with about 25 regular attendees. It also has potlucks and other scheduled activities throughout the year.
“(The residents) are very energetic and want to do things,” Cox said.
