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HARC Report 3/29/09 - submitted by Gene Howell

Veterans Memorial - We stopped by yesterday and the large tree stump at the Veterans Memorial has been removed! The other stumps on the property were also removed. We want to give a big thank you to Wheeler's Tree Service and their family members for the voluntary removal of the tree stumps! What a blessing! 24 roses are on order for the Memorial and are scheduled to arrive soon. There are flower plants in the greenhouse to fill in the beds.

City Hall - The 4 flower beds at street level on 5th Ave. and the 8 planters on the steps were replanted on Friday and Saturday afternoon with pansy, viola, dwarf snapdragons and creeping phlox for spring. We lost a lot of plants over the cold winter. All the plantings at City Hall have been fertilized.

9th St - The tulips at 9th St are starting to bloom. Some of the pansy plants at 9th St. and 4th Ave. survived the winter and are coming back. The pansy plants here have not been replaced. If you ( HARC members) would like to replace some it would probably take 2 flats ( about $20 ). Let me know if you want to take this on yourself.

Harris Riverfront Park - Harris Riverfront Park planters ( 22) were replanted on Thursday to fill in where plants were missing from vandals, theft and the cold winter. The planters were replanted with pansies. All the planters at HRP have been fertilized. White Alyssum and Johnny Jump Ups will be added to the planter borders over the next week.

25 Ostrich Ferns ( 4' to 5'), 25 Astilbe Thunbergii Straussenfeder ( pinky coral, 4' ) , and 25 Astilbe Thunbergii Red Straussenfeder ( 4' ) have been ordered for a perennial shade bed at the park. The area we will be planting is next to the 10th St. restrooms which is in total shade to partial shade all year. To the plantings that are ordered we are going to be adding Hosta, shade Impatiens and white Caladiums ( grown as annual in this climate) and other shade loving plants. This area is now bare ground. If you have shade loving plants in your garden that you would like to add to the bed let us know. We will need a pick up truck of compost from the mulch site from the city. We have no way to load or haul this. If the city would do this for us it would be appreciated. It can be delivered right to the spot and unloaded. The bare root plants should arrive with in the next few weeks. I will need help transplanting the Hosta. If you would like to help let me know.

The plants in our greenhouse are coming along nicely. The seeds that were planted in January will be ready to plant within the next several weeks for spring. The tulips are starting to bloom and once they are finished the roundabout will be replanted with spring and summer flowers sometime after Easter. Plants from the greenhouse will be added to the planters as they become mature enough to transplant and the warmer weather arrives. The roundabout will be planted in flowers from the greenhouse.

We have on order 100 Sun Patiens for HRP. We still have not received a delivery date but it will most likely be in late May.

Thank you for your dedication to our projects. Without you it couldn't be done. The next 2 months will the busiest of the year for planting. We will let you know when we have planting days.

Thank you and may the Lord bless you.

- Gene & Robin

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Calling All Local Artists!
An active artistic group, part of the greater Create Huntington group, is putting together a community art show set to open in April. Please share this information to help us find artists who are interested in submitting work for consideration.

Art opening scheduled for Friday, April 18, 2009.

Show location: The Caldwell Building, 848 4th Avenue, Huntington

Duration of the show: approximately three (3) months.

Exhibitors must acknowledge and accept that neither the owners or tenants of the Caldwell Building, nor the organizers of the show hold any responsibility for security or supervision of work displayed.

All Exhibitors display work at their own risk. The Caldwell Building is typically open during the business hours of 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday, with the exception of the opening reception scheduled for the evening of April 18th.

Interested Artists, Designers and Craftspeople may submit up to six (6) images (72 dpi jpegs) of work to be considered for display.

The following information must be included for each work:
Title, Dimensions, Medium, Date, Price/Insurance value, Artist Name and Contact Information

Deadline for Submissions: Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Please email all images to: c.h.artistsgroup@hotmail.com

Please direct any questions to this address as well

Show organizers will jury submissions and notify artists no later than Friday April 8, 2009.

All wall mount work must be framed and/or include hanging hardware.

Artists will be responsible for delivery and pick-up of their work.

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Huntington Featured at Create West Virginia Conference
The progress Huntington is making as a Creative Community was highlighted at the recent Create West Virginia conference held at Snowshoe Mountain in the fall of 2008. Members of the community were featured on panels and in workshops, and the City was highlighted as one of the most progressive creative communities in the state. A video presentation about Huntington was played during the closing plenary session of the conference.

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Create Huntington Celebrates 2008
On December 16th, 2008 community Create Huntington volunteers gathered at the Marshall Hall of Fame Café to celebrate the successful activities of 2008 These included:

2008 activities have been reported to the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. The report shows that more that $200,000 worth of donated services and funds were raised by the community in the implementation of a $50,000 grant. Please thank your neighbors for their wonderful support of our community!

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Create Huntington Team Visits Tupleo and Oxford, MS to Share Community Development Lessons
Submitted by Phoebe Patton-Randolph
In November of 2008 an 11 person delegation from Huntington visited Oxford and Tupelo, Mississippi on a trip hosted by Dr. Vaughn Grisham, Director of the George McLean Institute for Community Development.  The delegation visited with key people from Oxford, Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), and Tupelo.  Similar to the Tri-State area, Northeast Mississippi's ecomomy has been largely based on manufacturing jobs that are now threatened by the changing global economy.  During their visit, the group learned about the importance of adapting to change, building relationships and trust between leaders, establishing common goals, and communicating and working together to accomplish those goals.  One lesson from Oxford was that quality of life often is a greater draw than jobs (especially considering today's technology which allows many professionals can work anywhere they like.)  Both Oxford and Tupelo have coordinated their Chamber of Commerce and economic development efforts, and are reaping the benefits of that collaboration by providing an exceptional level of service to existing business as well as successfully marketing their area to potential industries.  In order to develop a skilled workforce and improve the area's educational attainment statistics, they developed strong dropout prevention programs and nearly every county in Northeast Mississippi offers a tuition waiver for any student who is accepted to community college.  The group also visited and learned from Haven Acres, an African-American neighborhood that was once crime ridden, but successfully implemented community-based crime prevention through their neighborhood association and community center.  Create Huntington is developing a presentation based on the information that they gained during this visit. To schedule a presentation, e-mail Phoebe Patton Randolph at .

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Adopt Your Block Project is 1500+ Volunteers Strong!
Submitted by Richard Cobb
12/08 - The Mission of Adopt YOUR Block - Be a Litter-Gitter is to have every Huntington neighborhood free of street litter and blowing solid waste.  Our strategy is to recruit at least one person in each block to be responsible for keeping their block free of cigarette butts and litter and to encourage others to maintain clean and attractive neighborhoods. Additionally, our project goal is to foster sustainability in building clean and attractive neighborhoods. We began the year with 1,213 volunteer "litter-gitters". As of December 7, 2008, our project has 1,503 volunteers. We have seen significant improvement in the reduction of litter in many of our neighborhoods. We will continue recruiting citizen volunteers, while promoting the involvement of all of our citizens in service to the City of Huntington community. To be a part of this project, click here.

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Huntington Area Revitalization Committee Brings Beauty to Huntington
Submitted by Robin Howell
12/08 - HARC ( Huntington Area Revitalization Coalition) accomplished much at Harris Riverfront Park during 2008. Our 15 volunteer members were instrumental in turning the park around into a place where  citizens could enjoy the beauty of the river and the colorful flowers. We had hundreds of compliments about the flowers from the people of Huntington and visitors. We were able to curb in some ways the negative situations that are ongoing there. However much is still left to be done.

Accomplishments at Harris Riverfront Park 2008

  1. 2,000 Tulips and  200 Pansy border were planted in the 10th Street roundabout which  bloomed in spring of 2008. In summer the roundabout was replanted in Marigolds, Rubeckia, Dahlias, and dwarf Marigolds. The roundabout was replanted with 2,000 Tulips this fall along with a border of 200 Pansy plants.
  2. 23 large concrete planters have been kept constantly in bloom since fall of 2007. They were replanted each of the 3 seasons ( spring, summer and fall) with Pansy, Petunias, Dahlias, Zinnias, variegated Ivy, Paragoniums, Canna Lilies, Calla Lilies, Impatiens, Chrysanthemums and Marigolds depending on the season.
  3. 4 rose beds were created and 64  David Austin, English roses were planted with borders of 250 Lavender plants.
  4. A perennial bed was created of Iris, Geranium, Agapanthus, Lilies, Forget Me Nots and annual Pansy ( spring) and Marigold borders ( summer).
  5. One annual and perennial bed was created of Impatiens, Foxgloves, 10 Peonies, 10 Astilbe.
  6. 5 Japanese Yoshino Cherry trees,  1 Oak Leaf Hydrangea,  and 1 Crepe Myrtle were planted in various areas.
  7. 9 Evergreen shrubs were planted.
  8. Weeded, fertilized, soil amended and watered throughout the year. Watered twice a week in summer.
  9. All hoses and other equipment, including tiller rentals were provided by HARC members.
  10. 2 dump truck loads of mulch were spread over the beds and under picnic tables.
  11. Graffiti was removed from concrete walkways and walls by pressure washing.
  12. Debris was constantly removed from the riverbank and park by 2 volunteers.

Accomplishments at City Hall

  1. 6 large planters were purchased and given for the entrances to City Hall. The planters have been kept in bloom since they were planted and 7 flower beds were created and planted with Evergreen shrubs, 3 David Austin English roses, Pansies, Petunias, Ivy, Sweet Potato Vine,  2 Knock Out Roses, Chrysanthemums, various ferns, Impatiens, Agapanthus, Day Lilies, Marigolds and various spring bulbs. There was no vandalism at City Hall. All plants were planted, fertilized, watered and maintained by HARC members.

Accomplishments on 9th St.

  1. 300 Tulip bulbs and 100 Pansies were planted in various areas of 9th St. between 4th and 5th Ave. this fall for spring bloom in 2009.

Accomplishments City Wide

  1. This fall 2,000 Tulip bulbs were given (at no cost) to different civic organizations and Huntington Parks and Recreation for the beautification of the city. They will bloom in spring 2009. All plants, fertilizer, equipment, soil amendments, and potting mixes were provided at no expense to the city. Monetary donations were given by 2 members of HARC for expenses. A $ 120 donation was given from the public. Total volunteer work hours exceeds 1,056.

HARC is still in its planning stage for 2009. We will continue beautification throughout the city as the new city administration allows and according to the number of volunteers we have available.

To participate in this project, click here.

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Hope for Huntington Flyers, Block Party – a Success on the Southside
Submitted by Jenn Williams
12/08 - Our project was called "Hope for Huntington" and we put out 300 flyers around the Southside area.  The flyers listed ideas for creating a sense of community in our area and reminded our neighbors of things that they can do to make Huntington safe and beautiful.  This is a grass roots effort to remind the people in our area that it is our personal responsibility to make sure that our town is what we want it to be.  If we each do our small part, then we can create for ourselves the town of our dreams.  Along with this project, we had each person tape the flyer to their door to show their commitment to Huntington and to have it there for Halloween to show children where the safe houses are to Trick or Treat.  It was a real success.  We also had our first bi-annual Block party and we had over 125 guests and many local restaurants and stores donated to help us with supplies.  We look forward to continuing to work with the people of Create Huntington to make our town into the beautiful, safe and creative culture that we all desire.

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Create Huntington Image Campaign Generates Good Ideas, Plans for 2009
Submitted by Janina Michael
12/08 - The Create Huntington Image Campaign committee has been newly formed, and held our first meeting in the Fall of 2008.  We have had 3 meetings to date, and members of the committee have attended and been active participants in the Create Huntington Citizen Forums held throughout the city, as well as the Vaughn Grisham Leadership sessions. Members of our committee are: Anne Durham, Brandi-Jacobs Jones, Connie Akerley, Janet Dooley, Allyson Goodman, Sylvia Lancaster, Linda Goldenberg, Liza Caldwell and Janina Michael. Our committee has also been working with Marshall University's Journalism Department on preliminary research for an upcoming full-fledge advertising campaign to "roll out" in 2009.This will coincide with our idea to possibly renew the "Jewel City" slogan for Huntington, and also falls in line with the upcoming on-line contest designed by Collective Impact for the Create Huntington website. We have connected with Huntington's Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and are on target to hear research for the ongoing strategic planning for Create Huntington.

To volunteer for this project, click here.
To view a MU student Image Campaign proposal, click here.

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Huntington Underground Website Developed by Music in the Streets Project
Submitted by Sean Knisely
12/08 - The recently formed "Music in the Streets" team has been discussing the exciting potential for live music in Huntington.  For the first step in promoting Huntington music, we have formed a web site at MySpace.com/HuntingtonUnderground that provides a calendar of all Huntington live music events and a music player that showcases some of the best local music.  For the near future, we are exploring the potential for creating more live music events both indoors and outdoors, and we are planning a local music sampler CD to be distributed to Marshall students and to businesses around the city in order to make local music more widely known and accessible.  To volunteer for this project, click here.

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United Way’s Day of Action Mobilizes Volunteers
Submitted by Deborah Somuano
12/08 - On the National Day of Action, June 21, 2008, a group of citizens helped clean the entrance to Huntington that runs along Hal Greer Boulevard where the Welcome to Huntington sign is located. Also there was flower planting and cleaning in the corner of Hal Greer Blvd. and Washington Ave. A diverse group of volunteers came together, the mayor joined the group as they began to work to commend them for their vision of making Huntington a better place. The volunteers worked under the instructions of Jay Bowen. Afterwards there was a picnic at Ritter Park to thank everyone for their effort. There were 22 volunteers which translated into 122 hours of hard work.

A group of citizens got together and decided to paint the street markers in the city and surrounding areas. They got city maps, counted how many street markers were per neighborhood, contacted the city and neighborhood associations, found a sponsor for the materials and got to work on Saturday October 4, 2008. There were around 15 volunteers that translated into 90 hours of work.

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Westmoreland Neighborhood Association Addresses Issues of Community Concern
Submitted by Joyce Clark
12/08 - The main activity of Westmoreland Neighborhood Association has been to work to prevent a 200 barge mooring facility from locating on the Ohio River on the banks of Westmoreland.  Many letters were sent to US Senators, Congressmen as well as the US Army Corps of Engineers and WV Legislators asking for intervention on our behalf.  We also attended many meetings where the proposal was discussed. This is an ongoing battle for the association and takes up most of our efforts. In an effort to keep our neighborhood informed of issues and candidates, we hosted a "Meet the Candidates" for the general election.  Many candidates for state wide races as well as city and county attended and spoke with residents about their concerns.

To volunteer with this organization, click here.

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Old Main Corridor Ideas Presented
Since August of 2006 the American Institute of Architects' West Virginia Chapter, in partnership with Huntington city officials and the Chapter's Livable Communities Committee, have met with architects, business owners, property owners and Marshall University personnel to generate design ideas for improving the Old Main Corridor. After three public meetings and a survey of Marshall students, the committee presented conceptual drawings of the ideas developed from the forums. Suggested improvements include increased lighting, traffic pattern changes, surveillance cameras and sidewalk restoration and extension. The Corridor is envisioned as a place of unique business, outdoor eateries and garden spaces. The possibility of a trolley was also incorporated into the design suggestions.

Click here to see an overview of the project.
Click here to see the design plan.
Click here to view the Marshall Student Survey.
Click here to learn more about architects and livable communities.

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Downtown Live
The Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce has initiated a committee called "Downtown Live!" that is going to plan events downtown and help existing events connect with the entire downtown business community.  Their first event is called "CAFE!" or Children's Art Festival Extravaganza and will be held on the 9th Street plaza on Saturday, June 28.  The Chamber has secured private funding for these activities and are running the operation out of the Chamber Foundation. The purpose of the initiative is to improve Huntington’s creative environment and bring customers to downtown businesses and restaurants. The Chamber's  "Downtown Live!" committee has partnered with the City, Cabell County, Pullman Square, the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the Empowerment Zone, TTA, Marshall University, and several downtown property owners and businesses.

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Vaughn Grisham Gives Huntington Economic Development Advice
Vaughn Grisham, Director of the McLean Community Development Institute, recently visited Huntington to work with community members and inspire citizen activity that improves Huntington. More than 100 residents participated in the series of workshops and meetings. Many agreed to take on short term projects to be completed before Dr. Grisham returns to Huntington in October 2008. Portions of his presentations will soon be airing on Huntington’s cable access channel.

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Create Huntington Team Visit Morgantown, Paducah
Teams from Create Huntington committees went on the road in April to learn more about how successful communities make things happening. A trip to Morgantown provided valuable information about the importance of a community visioning and planning process. In Paducah, Create Huntington representatives learned about their “Artist Relocation Program” that has revitalized blighted neighborhoods and elevated economic development through the arts.

Click here to see photos of the Morgantown visit.
Click here to see photos of the Paducah visit.
To learn more about Paducah’s Artist Relocation Program, go to www.paducaharts.com.

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This site made possible by a grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the service of community volunteers and the City of Huntington.