Updates from City of Newberry District 5

Dear District 5 Residents,

Happy spring everyone! I can’t believe that school is almost over, and summer is right around the corner. I believe in the saying that time flies when you are having fun. It seems as if we just rang in the New Year, but May is already here. When you are having fun and doing those things that you enjoy, time flies. It is a blessing to witness another change of season, despite all of our continued daily challenges, good or bad, we can continue and face a new day. It is still my pleasure as your councilwoman, over the past 32 months, to share with you the information, activities and events in District 5. We continue to have some celebrations and obligations met, promises filled, initiatives begun and always progress to chart.

A new season is among us. I encourage everyone to continue to be safe and aware of their surroundings. Each season brings changes, and we all have our favorite season. The City of Newberry is always planning and doing things that will be of interest to all of us. I encourage you to be aware of all the different events and activities that are going on in the City of Newberry by going to cityofnewberry.com.

Paint and Plant the Park, phase three, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 13, 2023, in Willow Brook Park from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Join us for our third creative community gathering. There will be free food, an ice cream truck, live music by Five on Fire, arts and crafts, flower planting, mural painting, books to give away, clothing donation boxes, as well as free gifts for all the moms and grandmoms, since this is the day before Mother’s Day. The West End Home & Neighborhood Watch Group was instrumental in hosting this event for the third time. It was a great event in the past two years that was enjoyed by all who came out. The crowd always leaves wanting to know when we are going to do this again.

There were many locals on hand to greet and share with the kids throughout the event. The Newberry Literacy and Newberry County First Steps groups will be on hand to greet the kids and give out books. The Newberry Girl Scouts Troop 1789 will be assisting the kids during the event. Haven Newberry will again help the kids throughout the day and wherever they are needed. The Divine Nine will also be throughout the crowd to lend helping hands wherever needed. The Newberry Police Department Chief, Kevin Goodman, will be our grill master for the day. Everyone loves his famously grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Officer Scott and Officer Abrams will be on hand to talk about safety and give special treats as well. The Newberry Fire Department will share with the kids about fire safety as a special treat for all the kids. I am encouraging the kids to bring a towel and some clothing to change into, if they would like to enjoy the big water sprinkler from the Fire Department. If the firefighters get a call, they will have to leave and go take care of our city.

Come on out and enjoy this event and celebrate spring with the following Newberrians: Newberry City Council, West End Community Volunteers, Newberry Police Department, Newberry County Sheriff’s Department.

Newberry Made will also be helping with the event. They will handle all the arts and crafts with the kids. This outstanding group consists of Robert Matherson, Amy Matherson, Nancy Burnhardt and Darby Samargo. Also, Stephanie Thanabouasy and Heather O’Dell will be available to help community members who are in need of help/assistance with some daily needs.

I am still attending meetings, ceremonial/city events, returning calls, answering emails/text messages, out in the neighborhood, helping those in need, and responding to your needs with immediacy. If you have concerns or issues, please contact me as always. My goal is to respond within 12-24 hours. I can be reached at 803-321-1000 or email me at jholmes@cityofnewberry.com

I have graduated from the Advance Municipal Elected Officials Institute, during the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown Legislative Action Day in February. The Municipal Association offers the advanced institute exclusively to graduates of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. Created in 2014, the advanced institute provides elected officials with continuing education through classroom instruction and interaction with experienced peers.

This milestone will allow me to continue to learn and grow as your elected city councilwoman. I am looking forward to attending the continuing education classes, as well. I am taking care of potholes, litter and those things that take away from the safety and aesthetic beauty of our neighborhood. You can help me out if you see bad potholes etc., by reporting it as well. Please be mindful of litter. Litter is bad for everyone, as well as illegal.

From January through April, I continued to deliver food to those in need. If you or someone you know needs food, please contact me, and I will do whatever I can to ensure those residents are taken care of promptly. The food boxes I deliver in the community come through the City of Newberry Police Department, provided through Greg’s Groceries, packed by Officers throughout the state, and brought to Newberry by members of the Newberry Police Department. A special thanks to the City of Newberry Police Department for seeing and understanding the need to be a part of this community project.

For those in need of food, there are several local food pantries willing to assist you. God Abundance for All People (GAAP), which is a ministry out of O’Neal Street United Methodist Church located at 501 O’Neal Street, Newberry. Living Hope Food Pantry also helps those in need of food. The pantry is at 1830 Nance Street, Newberry. The pantry is open on Thursdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

A Little food pantry box has been placed in Dr. Julian Grant Park, located at 1719 Vincent Street, and is going well. This box is constantly being replenished with nonperishable food items and personal hygiene items. Please get what you need from the box, and if you do not need anything, you are welcome to place nonperishable food items in the box for those in need. A special thanks to those who donate items to the box.

We are looking at options for funding to make some updates to the Scout Hut at Willow Brook Park. Willow Brook Park is scheduled for updates in 2023, according to the park renovation listing. I will be monitoring this situation very closely. Everyone is encouraged to continue to rent the cabin for special events. This will increase the need to seek funding for necessary repairs.

The West End Home and Neighborhood Watch applied for another community garden grant. This is also another way to allow involvement and ownership in our neighborhood, here again, from the youngest to the oldest. We will patiently wait for the grant’s outcome, with all hopes that we will be awarded it.

If you have recently moved to District 5, you will need to change your voter’s registration address, and if you are not registered, you will need to register. You can register in person at the Voter’s Registration Office, next to Piedmont Technical College on Wilson Road, or you can go online to scytl.com

The West End Home and Neighborhood Watch continues to meet monthly at the Scout Hut located at 714 CrossCom Street. If you have any interest in contributing in ways that we can continue to do things that will be in the best interest of all the community members, we would like you to join us every third Thursday of each month at 5:00 p.m.

The following are still my concerns and are not being overlooked. There are ongoing talk/discussions about some of my on – going concerns listed below.

• Grocery store

• Family restaurant

• More housing

• Movie theater/bowling center

• Road conditions

•Gun violence

• Litter

Upcoming events:

· City Council Meetings are held every second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for May 9.

· Juneteenth – Downtown Newberry from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

· Applications for vendors, artist & craft vendor, community corner, and lemonade stands (kids only) are now online. Go to newberryjuneteenth.com.

· West End Home and Neighborhood Watch Group meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 5pm. The next meeting is scheduled for May 18.

· Neighborhood Litter Pick up Day- TBD.

· May 9 – Senior Luncheon- 12:00- 2 p.m.- call 803-321-1022 in advance to get your name on the list.

· May 26 – 8-10:00 p.m.- Moonlight Movie Night- Memorial Park.