Cherokee Park Neighborhood Association

Garage Sale Reminder!

As you know from the sign, our Cherokee Neighborhood Garage Sale starts this Friday and goes through Saturday, May 14th and 15th. Everyone can participate by getting your salable items out on your driveway or front yard by Friday. We have placed ads in the newspapers and expect a lot of visitors coming into our neighborhood to buy what we have to sell. Good luck! For further information, or to volunteer to help, please contact the event coordinator, Marilyn Boyle.

Free Cherokee Jar Opener to All Our Neighbors

Attached to the newsletter is your free gift from our Cherokee Neighborhood Association. It is a Cherokee Jar Opener, provided as an incentive to pay your $25 annual dues. We will continue to reward dues-paying members with other gifts throughout the year. Please enjoy your free Cherokee Jar Opener! Dues paying members will get an extra one plus other nice prizes and incentives! Coming soon - Cherokee Neighborhood T-Shirts!

Speeding

Several neighbors want us to do something to stop the speeding in our Neighborhood, mostly on Comanche Way, Menomonie Lane and Burning Wood Way. Please contact Bill Lorge with your ideas. As of right now, '"Speed Bumps" or "Intersection Planters" are the main things being discussed, other than asking the Police to do radar here or just putting up "Slow Down" signs. Any other good ideas? Contact Bill Lorge and, of course, let's all slow down for safety's sake.

Cherokee Neighborhood Sign Unveiling

Come one, come all! Don't forget to join Madison's Mayor and our Cherokee neighbors on Thursday, May 20th at 4 PM for the unveiling of our new Cherokee welcome sign at the corner of Wheeler Road and Comanche Way. See you then for the group picture!

Cherokee T-Shirts are Coming!

Get ready! Our Cherokee Neighborhood Association will have Cherokee T-Shirts for sale at our future events, starting with our 4th of July Picnic. The T-Shirts will have the Cherokee Logo on them. More details to follow.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday, April 10, about 40 children with their parents and some with their grandparents, gathered at Cherokee Park for the 5th annual Easter Egg Hunt. The kids could hardly wait to race off to the designated areas to collect the eggs. It was such a treat to again have the Easter bunny stop by. She dazzled many of the children with her snow white suit while handing out yet more candy. Parents were able to enjoy coffee and donut holes while catching up with neighbors they hadn't seen over the winter months.

We had some helpers who worked to make this event fun. Dayna Dalton has faithfully worked with me the last 4 years and I really appreciate her assistance. Sandy Martinson is the best Easter Bunny ever – what would this event be without her? Danielle Nelson, Vaughn Porter and Charlie Shimeall were a big help when they showed up at the park to 'hide' all 300+ eggs for us. And, thank you to the parents, too, for your kind words about the hunt. It makes it all worthwhile.

Cherokee Park Commission Formed

We are starting a new project to focus on our beautiful little park by the lake. The Cherokee Park Neighborhood Association has formed a "Park Commission" that you can serve on this year to help raise money that will be matched for improvements to our park. Our President Bill Lorge has been in contact with City Officials on this and is looking to appoint someone to be the Chair of this project. For more information and to sign up, please contact Bill by the end of June. This project is ready to roll - all it needs are a few volunteers who will be dedicated to raising the matching funds and then prioritize where the money goes.

This Commission was formed at the request of many parents who want our children's playground area improved, so that will be the main focus for the first year. Other park improvement concerns will also be handled by this new Commission, such as improving our Soccer/Baseball Fields, the Beach area/Lake frontage, the Basketball court, as well as staying on top of the mowing and other matters.

Anybody who is interested should contact Bill Lorge soon. The first meeting of the Cherokee Neighborhood Park Commission will be held in July.

Art Cart Coming to Cherokee on June 23rd

Madison School & Community Recreation is sponsoring a FREE Art Cart that is coming to our Cherokee Neighborhood Park on Wednesday, June 23rd from 9 AM - 12:15 PM. The Art Cart is a free traveling art program that began in the 1970's and continues to provide a creative, outdoor art-making experience to children ages 5+ and their families. Activities are varied, including both group and individual projects with a variety of materials. Be sure your children dress to protect their clothing from messy materials. Groups larger than 8 people must pre-register by calling 608-204-3021 at least 48 hours in advance. This event is Co-Sponsored by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and is supported by your Cherokee Park Neighborhood Association. See you there!

City of Madison's Comprehensive Planning Process Needs You

On Monday, May 24th from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM at the Lakeview Branch Library, our Cherokee Neighborhood is hosting one of Madison's Comprehensive Planning Process meetings. We invite you to join us. This is a unique opportunity for us to get involved with shaping the city's future in the Madison Comprehensive Planning Process. The city of Madison is currently developing a plan that will provide the framework and specific recommendations to guide the future of growth and development in Madison. The city has invited groups within the community to become involved with the process through community discussion groups. This is an exciting opportunity for us to help shape the future of Madison and surrounding areas. This meeting will focus on our ideas about how best to deal with dynamic situations that occur in Madison. We will choose two or three areas to discuss related to housing, city services, transportation, economic development, the environment, growth and community design. Our goal is to provide a forum for our neighbors to interact and discuss issues facing our community, while helping shape the future of Madison's Comprehensive Plan. To join the group, just show up, but to be appointed to the MCPP group, contact Bill Lorge.