Help Us Clean Up the Neighborhood

To keep our neighborhoods safe and attractive, the City of Bowling Green is continuing its Target Area Neighborhood Service Project. With your participation and partnership in this project, we can make a difference in the appearance of your neighborhood, which will result in a more attractive environment, eliminate blight, and provide additional pride in our city. The City will provide several services free of charge for a limited period. Call 393-3102 to schedule a service.
Services include:
• Wrecker Service to remove junk or abandoned vehicles.
• Removal of trees that have fallen to the ground.
• Installation of handrails or ramps for disabled residents or residents age 65 or older.
• Exterior home repairs for disabled residents or senior citizens age 65 or older who own and live in their property. These will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
• The Fire Department will conduct inspections on smoke detectors in your home to make sure that they are functioning properly or that your home has an adequate number for your fire protection safety.
• Removal of graffiti painted on buildings or other property.
• City of Bowling Green’s Police Dept. will conduct a free “Police Security Survey”. This survey will increase your knowledge in areas of crime prevention and improve security in your home.
• Trucks and labor to haul off discarded tires, appliances, furniture, and yard debris. Each
item must be in separate piles. Example: do not mix tires with yard debris. You DO NOT CALL for these pickups. Simply place the items at curb-side for pickup on the appropriate dates:
APRIL 12-16
Yard debris Tires Appliances Furniture

HURRY UP to APPLY for WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM !!!

1. Purpose: Weatherization and o CARES provide benefits to eligible households in the form of energy conservation improvements to the dwelling to reduce energy costs and give the occupants a safer and healthier environment

2. Who Can Apply: Individuals who own their home or rent may be eligible for weatherization assistance. Single family homes, multi-family homes and mobile homes may be weatherized

3. Eligibility: To qualify, the total annual household income must be at or below 200% of the federal income guidelines for the current year.
The household has a member who has received SSI or K-TAP sometime during the twelve month period prior to eligibility determination

4. How to Apply: For specific information on program services, contact the appropriate county office (270)782-4437 Resource & Development Center 171 Center Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (8:00 am - 4:30 pm)

1. Providing ownership verification
2. Total household income for one year or last month (<1200 usd)
3. Names and Social Security Numbers of all household members
4. Fuel usage information-vendor's name, address, customer's name
& account number for the past 12 months (print out if possible)
5. Making appointment with Resource & Development Center to stay in line

300 applications have been turn in.
The sooner you apply, the earlier you are served.

5. Funding Sources: Federal funds are distributed to each state from the Department of Energy through the Cabinet for Families and Children, Division of Family Support, Atmos Gas CARES (Community Action Residential Energy Services) and private contributions.

6. Benefits: The benefits are designed to reduce heating costs by making the dwelling more energy efficient, and to provide a healthier, safer and more comfortable living environment. Heating systems are also evaluated for safety, energy efficiency, fuel leaks and carbon monoxide.

Studies have shown that a household saves approximately $400-$600 annually in energy costs.

To find out more or to apply for weatherization, visit www.communityactionky.com or call 1-800-456-3452

NEW Community Compost Bin!

Hello Lovely Neighbors!
We are very excited to announce the launch of a community compost bin. Compost is a combination of decomposed plant and animal materials and other organic materials that are being decomposed into a rich black soil.

We'd love to have you all contribute to our compost by bringing your compostable materials into the bin this includes:

• egg shells,
  
• fruit and vegeatable scraps
  
• shredded paper
• yard waste.
  
• Please no meat products, as it attracts animals.

Composting is a fun step to becoming environmentally friendly, because instead of winding up in a plastic bag in a landfill, this organic material is going back into the earth in the form of soil.

Sunday Dinner

While the Hill House has participated in many great projects, I have always felt that dinner was the best way to engage community. I’ve been participating in Sunday Dinners in different forms for close to three years now. It’s not a meeting. It’s not a program. It’s dinner.
The first Sunday dinner was at my friend Julie Gunn and Emily Gillespie’s house. Julie and Emily cooked all vegan dinners that they cooked by themselves. We always knew that what was happening was special. There were people of many different faiths, so rather than say grace we just went around a circle and something for which we were thankful. For me, however, those Sunday Dinners were over almost as soon as they begun. I only started coming around right before Julie moved away.
Over the next year, my friends and I got very busy. There was a presidential election and we registered over 500 voters. We went to Powershift with youths from across the nation to learn about how to repower our nations future. We started working on passing fair housing legislation in Bowling Green. It seemed the busier we got, the less time we had for each other. It was time to start Sunday Dinner again. My friend Nick and Emily started to have it again. Nick said, “We just kind of did it. We really liked the whole concept of it. We had a good place for it with a huge living room.”
When I moved into the Hill House, Nick had gone to India and Emily was in a one bedroom apartment. It became clear to me that there could be no better project than a regular dinner to build community. I think at that moment, I needed Sunday dinner more than it needed me. My closest friends were studying abroad. I was living by myself in a huge house. Eating food with all of my friends once a week nourished more than just my body.
Sunday Dinners have spread. Some friends from the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition in Murray have their own. My friend Becca told some of her friends who go to school at William and Mary and they had some. Friends at Transylvania said they were going to try and use their cafeteria.
So if you’re feeling stressed, tired, lonely, or just hungry you should stop by my house this Sunday. We try to eat at 7:30. If you want, bring a dish to share. If you can’t, please come anyway. We try to avoid meat but we’re not all vegetarians. Just leave your agenda at the door and come inside. We’ll have something warm ready in just a minute.

Advanced Service Learning Course Meets in House

On Tuesday nights from 6:15-9:15pm, you may see 7 students and one professor sitting around the living room of the Hill House talking. This is Dr. Bernie Strenecky's Advanced Service Learning class! The class meets weekly in the house with the hopes of utilizing it as a labratory for service to the community, which is what the class is about.

The course is focused on service learning, which is a course based, community service process designed to integrate student's academic pursuits with the needs of the community in which they learn.