Robinwood Neighbor gauging interest in starting neighborhood association
Robin Young, a resident of the Robinwood Neighborhood, is trying to reach other neighbors to measure interest in reviving the Robinwood Neighborhood Association. A list of streets included in the neighborhood are: Aldershot Drive, Cardiff Lane, Cardigan Court, Birkenhead Drive, Birkenhead Court, Saginaw Court, Berwin Court, Ramsgate Court, Maidstone Court, Tisdale Court, Fogo Court, Crewe Court, Fraserdale Court, Merrimac Drive, Havelock Circle, Mellinocket Court, Kedgewick Court, Ipswich Court, Bathurst Court, Twillingate Court, Retrac Road and Clays Mill Road.
Young said the expansion of Clays Mill Road, which is adjacent to the Robinwood Neighborhood, was one of the reasons the neighborhood association needed to be established.
Young asks that anybody interested in the potential association to contact her at (859) 224-3388 or e-mail robin.young@insightbb.com.
Beaumont neighbor recognized for dance moves and cultural commitment
Beaumont neighbor Cheryl Pan, the artistic director of the Kentucky Chinese American Association and the first Chinese dance artist recognized by Kentucky Arts Council's Performing Art Directory and Art Education Roster, was recognized by the Kentucky Senate on Feb. 3 and received a legislative citation for her expertise in Chinese dance and culture, and for her leadership in directing and hosting large-scale Chinese cultural events, such as the 2011 Chinese New Year celebration on Jan. 29.
Pan has mastered dozens of traditional Chinese dances, including over 20 styles of ethnic dances representing Chinese minority groups, such as Uygurian, Mongolian, Yi, Bai and Miao. She conducts many workshops and residence programs in schools and colleges throughout the year, and has been invited to perform for many prestigious ceremonies, such as the World Music and Dance Festival and the Governor's Derby Breakfast.
(Visit www.southsideremagazine.com and search for Cheryl Pan to read our past feature about the dancer.)
 
South Lexington Babe Ruth registration now open
Sign-ups for the spring 2011 season of South Lexington Babe Ruth are now open. Parents may register their children online at www.slbr.net or in person at two public events: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Feb. 12 at Dicks Sporting Goods in the Fayette Mall, and 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at the South Lexington Babe Ruth complex in Shillito Park.
The league is for ages 13 - 15 and 16 - 18. Visit www.slbr.net for more information and eligibility requirements.
Beaumont Middle School takes first in national fitness challenge
In December, students from Beaumont Middle School were awarded a first-place trophy for their efforts in a nationwide pilot program called "World Fit: Olympians for Worldwide Fitness." Winburn Middle School, another Lexington school, took second place.
The object of the challenge, during a six-week period last spring, was to walk the equivalent to England and back, the site of the 2012 Summer Games. Both schools quickly surpassed that mark, with students walking a total of some 376,400 miles.
Micki King, the 1972 springboard diving gold medalist, presented the first-place trophy to Beaumont in a ceremony on Dec. 16. The World Fit program, founded by the U.S. Olympians Association, aims to fight childhood obesity by getting students outdoors and moving every day.
Neighborhood sustainability grants available
Applications for the 2011 Neighborhood and Community Sustainability Grant program through the city's Department of Public Works and Environmental Quality are being accepted through March 14.
Grants are available for a wide range of projects, including rain gardens, green roofs, community gardens, streamside restoration, recycling programs, exterior beautification projects, rain barrels, the cleanup and restoration of illegal dumpsites, litter projects, planting street trees and other projects that are determined to improve the environmental health of the community and meet the principles of sustainability.
All neighborhood and homeowner associations that are incorporated and have a complete slate of elected officers, as well as churches and public and private schools are eligible to apply for a grant.
Eligible applicants may apply for a maximum of $2,500 - these are 100 percent matching grants. A match can be materials or in-kind services or a combination of both.
For more information, or to download an application, visit www.lexingtonky.gov/environmental.
Keeneland Library receives preservation grant
The Keeneland Library has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions to aid in preserving two special collections involving photographer Bert Morgan and caricaturist Pierre "Peb" Bellocq.
The grant will enable the preservation project to purchase supplies to properly house the collections as they are being inventoried and assessed. The project will specifically target 20,000 of the 200,000 photographic negatives in poorest condition contained in the Bernard Stanley Morgan Photographic Negative Collection, 1935-1961, and 4,000 works of art from the Pierre Bellocq "Peb" Drawings, Caricatures and Cartoon Collection, 1945-present.
Established in 1939, the Keeneland Library is a research/reference library that serves as one of the world's largest repositories of information related to Thoroughbred racing, housing more than 225,000 photograph negatives, thousands of newspaper articles, 10,000 volumes and 1,500 videotapes.
Community art project challenges locals to create art book from recycled materials
Local artist Mary Rezny will be accepting submissions for the community art project EcoBook Challenge through April 15. The EcoBook Challenge encourages all residents of Fayette County to create a book from recycled and reused materials, with the goal of creating a cherished treasure from items that are habitually thrown away. The project was made possible by the LFUCG Dept of Environmental Quality EcoArt grant.
Entries will be juried by nationally known book artist Emily Martin, with cash awards given in two categories, student and adult. There is no fee to enter. Juror-selected entries will be on display during the June 17 Gallery Hop at M. S. Rezny Studio/Gallery and included in an exhibition catalog. Entry forms and more information can be found at www.mrezny.com.