Prairie Hills Neighborhood Association

If you remember, last year there was a period where no one was sure the annual Southwest Madison fireworks event would take place. Well they are definitely a go for 2009, sponsored by Woodman’s and Q106. Here are the details from the Q106 website:

Woodman’s Elver Park Fireworks

Queen Anne’s Catering will be grilling brats, hotdogs and prime rib sandwiches!

There will be tons of FREE games for the kiddies starting at 6 pm. They can jump in the bounce houses, get their hair braided, their face painted and join in on some sing-a-long songs!

Be sure to grab your spot, relax and have a good time… the fireworks start at dusk thanks to Woodman’s Food Markets!

Come on out and enjoy dinner at the park! Pizza from Papa John’s will be sold starting at 5 pm!

You no longer have to head downtown to navigate the farmers’ market crowds to buy fresh produce and local food products. Beginning June 24, the Southwest Community Farmers’ Market will bring those goodies to your neighborhood.

You will find the market in the Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ parking lot at 1501 Gilbert Road from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday from June 24 through October 28. (Hours during the fall will be adjusted, but those are yet to be determined.) “ORUCC has graciously agreed to host this brand new market, which reflects the members’ community spirit and support,” says Marlys Miller, planning committee member.

Market manager, Robert Pierce, also a farmer, estimates that 10 to 15 vendors will offer their fresh food products for sale during the market. “Of course, its success depends on the community supporting the vendors and buying food there,” he adds.

Wednesdays beginning June 24 through October

3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Orchard Ridge UCC Church (ORUCC) – Parking Lot, 1501 Gilbert Road

Stop by for fresh, locally grown produce direct from the farmer.

Stay for some community socializing, entertainment and much more!

(QUEST cards will be accepted)

On opening day, even Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Steve Hartley, MMSD School Superintendent, plan to stop by to check out the this landmark event.

At the market, a process will be implemented to accommodate people shopping with Quest vouchers. Those participants will be able to exchange their Quest funds for farmers’ market tokens, which they can then use to purchase food-stamp-approved products such as fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and more.

“This is a community effort to make fresh fruits and vegetables and other wholesome food products available to the Southwest community,” says Lisa Veldran, planning committee member.

The planning committee has plans to feature some of the area neighborhoods’ talent and entertainment during the market. So plan to stop by to pick up something fresh and tasty, socialize with neighbors and enjoy some entertainment and community spirit.

For more information, you may contact the planning committee at mmskyumah@aol.com.

From neighborhood police officer Mike Hanson:

Greetings Safety Walkers!
For those of you who could not attend this week’s meeting, below is a re-cap of some of the information we discussed. We have decided to do a few things differently for our 2009 Safety Walks and below are a list of some changes:

Below you will find our schedule for each Safety Walk this summer, so you can make plans in advance to join us, or catch us on the next walk.

We will bring our MPD traffic safety vests to wear during the walk to help show presence again.

I will be issuing $298 citations to the chronically dirty yards that leave their rubbish all over; so please do not plan on picking up trash (unless you want to enhance the beauty).

I will make every effort to attend the scheduled walks and in my absence Lt. Patterson will inform patrol officers of the walk for the night.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to help in the neighborhood. In both neighborhoods, the kids ask daily on when the walks will begin! For the time that we walk, the n’hood seems to calm down.

Stay safe.
Mike Hanson
Madison Police

Hammersley area (meet at Hammersley/Prairie)

5/20 6:30 p.m.
5/29 7 p.m.
6/1 7:30 p.m.
6/10 7 p.m.
6/17 8 p.m.
6/25 8 p.m.
7/7 7 p.m.
7/15 6:30 p.m.
7/21 7 p.m.
8/4 8 p.m.
8/13 6:30 p.m.
8/18 7 p.m.
8/26 6:30 p.m.

From a  flyer from Wisconsin Youth Company:

Celebrate Urban Birds!
Saturday, May 9th | 12:00-5:00pm  (Free)
Wisconsin Youth Company – 1201 McKenna Blvd.

Want to learn more about what your kids spend all their time doing on the internet? The Madison Police Department wants to help. Here is information from a recent MPD press release:

Next month, the Madison Police Department will host the second in a series of community meetings aimed at educating the public about the explosion of social networking.

Sgt. June Groehler will lead a discussion about Facebook, My Space, twitter, text messaging, cell phones, and the Internet.

The second gathering will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 15th in the Community Room of the Madison Police West District, 1710 McKenna Blvd.

Earlier this year, Sgt. Groehler hosted a similar public forum at the East District. It was well attended, and many indicated information shared was much appreciated, as many parents look to learn more about popular communication networks used by their children.

“This is an effort to build collaborative partnerships between our educators, parents, and the community about the benefits and problems with social networking,” said Sgt. Groehler. She pledged, prior to the initial seminar, to host more – if it appeared there was a need.

The May meeting will focus on public safety issues stemming from the rapid growth of electronic social interactions. Problem solving techniques – to proactively address these issues – will also be discussed.