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Spring Neighborhood Cleanup

By Justin Adams

Please join the 12South Neighborhood Association for its Spring Neighborhood Cleanup on Saturday, April 8. This cleanup has two components:

1. Dumpster Day. Dumpsters will be available at the 12South Car Wash at 12th and Gilmore. The dumpster opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. So that more neighbors can use this service, each household is limited to one load of non-hazardous household junk; please do not bring construction and demolition debris, chemicals, batteries, motor oil, gasoline, paint and the like. This service is free to 12South Neighborhood residents, but you are requested to make a donation to Second Harvest at the dumpster site. You will be requested to provide proof of residence, such as a driver¹s license.

2. Street & Alley Pickup. Come by the 12South Car Wash at 12th and Gilmore between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to pick up a garbage bag or two and team up with other volunteers to walk our streets and alleys.

We need volunteers! You can make your neighborhood a cleaner, safer place by pitching in a couple of hours on a community project that provides the instant gratification of seeing junk disappear from our streets and alleys. We need volunteers to supervise the dumpster site (two 2.5 hour shifts of four volunteers each). We need neighbors to walk the streets and alleys picking up garbage, and we need neighbors with pickup trucks to cruise the streets and alleys to remove large junk items and take them either to the dumpster site or the East Recycling Convenience Center. If you can give a couple of hours, please do. Many hands make light work and many volunteers make good company!

For more information, please contact Justin Adams at 12southneighbors@bellsouth.net or 463-2795.

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12South Neighborhood Tour

It¹s time to get ready for the third 12South Neighborhood Tour on Saturday, April 22.

If you don¹t know much about the tour, we want you to understand a couple of facts. First, the tour isn't just a chance for a few of us to show off our houses; it¹s a neighborhood tour designed to showcase our unique blend of homes, businesses and public places and, most importantly, the people who make up the community we all love.

Second, the tour isn¹t just about showing off our neighborhood; it¹s about making it even better. The funds we raise through the tour will be reinvested in our neighborhood to fund projects that benefit the community, like making our streets and alleys cleaner, expanding the ever-popular Montrose in May community celebration, and distributing our free neighborhood newsletter as broadly as possible.

Many neighbors have already helped by placing their homes on the tour or volunteering to serve as docents. Please consider putting your home on the tour, too.

If you¹d like to put your home on the tour, contact Leeann Lambdin at lambdin@bellsouth.net or 463-2445.

If you¹d like to be a docent, contact Todd McEachern at todd@jecrain.com or 642-8107.

Another way you can help is by pitching in for some neighborhood spring cleaning on April 8, the Spring Neighborhood Cleanup. You can also help by placing an advertisement for your business or organization in tour materials or making a Friend of 12South donation. For more information about advertising and donations, please contact Tricia Frantz at 12sna@comcast.net or 297-9294.

Finally, you can help by planning to take the tour!

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Who¹s Got Your Back? Your Neighbor.

By now, most neighbors have heard that last month, a neighbor on Montrose Avenue was awakened by a man who had broken into a house and demanded money.

Fortunately, the neighbor escaped and was unharmed. Unfortunately, the burglar escaped as well and has not been identified.

This home invasion and its aftermath illustrate a couple of truths. One is that bad things can happen in good neighborhoods. The other is that when those bad things happen, neighbors are the first line of defense.

The neighbor on Montrose was unharmed because she ran to another neighbor¹s house for safety and because other neighbors came running to her aid. The police came swiftly because six neighbors called 911 when they heard her cry for help.

These neighbors who helped another neighbor in need cannot be praised enough. They didn¹t ignore trouble, they didn¹t assume someone else would deal with it. They acted decisively and compassionately. These neighbors'

response is as heartening as the crime was unnerving because their actions tell us, unequivocally, that people in this neighborhood are looking out for one another. That¹s the essence of neighborliness. That's what has made this a safe neighborhood in the past and will continue to make it a safe neighborhood in the future. We cannot guarantee that bad things won¹t happen in good neighborhoods. But we can guarantee that we¹ll come running to our neighbors¹ aid when they do.

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Carr¹s Big Chance by Kim Green

12 South neighbor Jeff Obafemi Carr, of 1105 Paris Ave., seems to be hitting his stride. Playwright, actor, singer, and self-styled Renaissance Man, Carr co-stars with Michael W. Smith in indie-filmmaker Steve Taylor¹s new film, ³The Second Chance,² which opened on Friday, Feb. 17th.

Carr plays Jake, a black pastor in an inner-city church who goes head-to-head with Michael W. Smith¹s character Ethan, a white pastor from a televised mega-church. In one scene, Jake refuses the mega-church congregation¹s big bucks, asking instead for some hands-on help with his youth ministry:

³This is how we fix problems in America‹roll down our windows, toss out some money, and drive awayŠif you aren¹t willing to come down and get a little gravy on your shoes, just keep your d--- money!²

In an interview on NPR¹s show ³News and Notes with Ed Gordon,² Carr says the film tackles the question, ³How do we form the nature of service in our own hearts and our walk in life? Is it OK to just write a check?²

Carr told NPR he identifies with Jake because of his own background in ministry and his youth in an urban neighborhood. ³Growing up in South Nashville, which is kind of where most of the movie was shot, I know a lot of the neighborhood and a lot of the people there, so there were some experiences that I could draw upon for the character.²

Taylor had hoped to cast a big-name Hollywood star as Jake, but once Carr read for the part with Taylor and his co-writers, they knew he was their man. The film¹s producer Coke Sams concurs. ³Jeff¹s the real thing,² he says. ³He¹s serious leading man material.²

³The Second Chance² plays at Green Hills Cinema 16 and Hollywood 27 through March 2. For more information about the film, or to read Carr¹s blog about the film¹s release, go to http://jeffobafemicarr.com/.

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12South Moms Group

Moms (and dads!): contact Jordana Adams at jordana@tundra.org of 463-2795 to learn more about 12South Moms, a group that organizes play groups and events for parents and children.

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Newsletter

If you have trouble receiving the newsletter or would like to help distribute it, contact Bill Compton or Barbara Whiteman at 385-4507.

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E-mail List & Website

Join the 12South Neighborhood Association¹s e-mail list by sending an e-mail to 12SouthNeighborhoodAssociation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. View the Association¹s web site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12SouthNeighborhoodAssociation/, or go to 12South.net for more neighborhood information.

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March Calendar

March 14: 12South Neighborhood Meeting, 7 p.m., 1004 Montrose Ave.

March 17: Happy St. Patrick¹s Day!

March 27: Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Meeting

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Homes for Sale

by Alyssa Gilliam

1515 Gale, $545K, 2,452 sq.ft., 292-7300

941 Inverness, $539.9K, 2,808 sq.ft., 333-7400

933 Caldwell, $519.9K, 3,408 sq.ft., 263-4800

836 Glen, $499.9K, 3,034 sq.ft., 778-1818

829 Clayton, $499.5K, 2,524 sq.ft., 327-0754 1100 South Douglas, $475K, 2,772 sq.ft., 297-8744

1006 Gale, $449.9K, 2,800 sq.ft., 321-0577

935 Gale, $419.9K, 3,048 sq. ft., 297-8543

922 South Douglas, $419K, 2,300 sq.ft., 254-1897

1707 Gale, $395K, 2,618 sq.ft., 376-5123

853 Bradford, $367.2K, 2,736 sq.ft., 370-8282

1016 Caldwell, $309K, 2,165 sq.ft., 297-8744

928 South Douglas, $279.9, 2,400 sq.ft., 360-3600

1401 Kirkwood, $275.5K, 1,981 sq.ft., 771-6620

831 Glen, $264.9K, 1,328 sq.ft., 383-7914

906 Knox, $259.9K, 1,200 sq.ft., 298-9800

1105 Bate, $229K, 1,507 sq.ft., 383-2050

1203 Kirkwood, $215.9K, 1,987 sq.ft., 385-9010

622 Benton, $82K, 1,226 sq.ft., 228-3723

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3 is the Magic Number

It is very important that every incident of crime be reported to three phone numbers.

1) Police Non-emergency: 862-8600

2) Sgt. Connie Tripp: 862-7747, ctripp@police.nashville.org

3) 12South Neighborhood Association: 463-2795, 12southneighbors@bellsouth.net

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Clip & Save: Important Phone Numbers

€Bulk-item pick up: 880-3897

€Report illegal dumping, sewage, excessive vegetation & littered vacant lots to the Metro Health Dept. (Metro will investigate within 24 hours.):

340-5644

€Councilman Ronnie Greer, Dist. 17 (east side of 12th Ave. S.):

ronnie.greer@nashville.gov, 385-2893

€Councilwoman Ginger Hausser, Dist. 18 (west side of 12th Ave. S.):

ginger.hausser@nashville.gov, 783-0106

€Police: Non-emergency: 862-8600

€Larry Cole, Metro¹s Vector Control (rodent problems): 340-5668 €Abandoned Cars (on street/private property): 862-6590

€Call-before-you-dig: 1-800-351-1111

€Animal Control: 862-7928

€Chipper Service: 862-8971

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Advertise With Us!

Make the most of your free, widely distributed, neighborhood newsletter‹ advertise your business and classified items with us! Business rates: $20 / month or $200 / year for a display ad; $10 / month or $100 / year for a three-lined classified ad. Resident rates: $5/ month for a classified ad.

Please send a jpeg of any artwork/business card, etc. you would like the ad to include. The deadline for the April newsletter is 5 p.m., Friday, March 24. Send ads or questions to Melanie Moran at melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu or call her at 297-8204.

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The 12South Neighborhood Association is a Tennessee non-profit membership corporation governed by a board of directors. The board holds neighborhood meetings each second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at locations published by newsletter and e-mail. Anyone living in or owning property or a business in the 12South Neighborhood (generally, areas adjacent to 12th Ave. South between Wedgewood Ave. and Gale Lane) may become a voting member of the Association by paying annual dues of $10 per person or $5 per person if 65 or older. The Association¹s meetings, events, and e-mail list are open to everyone in the 12South Neighborhood regardless of membership. Contact Justin Adams at 12southneighbors@bellsouth.net or 463-2795 for more information. Send neighborhood news to Melanie Moran at melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu or 297-8204.

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Officers/Staff

President: Justin Adams, 463-2795, 12southneighbors@bellsouth.net

Treasurer: Bernadette Welch

Secretary: Kim Carter

Newsletter Editor: Melanie Moran, 297-8204 or melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu Newsletter Designer: Wendy Stamberger