August 2021 Updates

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SPCA Summer Kickoff Event Was Successful

The event was well-attended. It felt good to get together as a community once again. We’d like to thank our good friends Congressman Quigley and Alderman Nugent for sponsoring the event and spending time with us. We’d also like to thank Caldwell Food and Liquor for donating the beer and The Learning Experience Sauganash for the toys, fitness packs, and science kits that were given to our children. We also appreciate the members of the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band that performed for us.

We hope that you had a good time too. But either way we want to hear about it.  You can use this form to share feedback with our board about the event. We will review it at our next board meeting in September. Speaking of which, now is a great time to consider joining the SPCA board. Contact us if you are interested in working more closely with us.

Membership Cards Have Been Distributed

The SPCA has partnered with six local businesses: Alarmist Brewing and Taproom, Dakota 94, Donna’s Garden, Chai Asian Bistro, Sauganash Grill, and The Learning Experience Sauganash. These local business are providing discounts and benefits to all card-carrying SPCA members.

We have finished distributing our membership cards to all current members who paid their dues as of July 26th. If you didn’t receive your card, and you paid your dues, maybe we made a mistake. Contact us and I will be happy to look into things and get your membership cards to you. Also, if you haven’t joined our association for this cycle yet, now is a great time to join.

Thank you for being our neighbor!

July Updates | New Membership Cycle Begins

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New SPCA Membership Cycle Begins Today

 

Today is the first day of the 2021-2022 SPCA membership cycle. I hope that you received our mailing. Our membership cycle runs from July 1st until June 30th. Our membership fees remain just $30 a household ($20 for seniors).

You can pay your dues by credit card online.

Or mail a check to our PO Box:

SPCA Treasurer
PO BOX 46174
Chicago, IL 60646-0174

We also have two upcoming events at which you can pay in-person. Your dues allow us to function. Please support your neighborhood association with your membership.

Membership Card Program

New For This Year: SPCA member households will receive two membership cards. These cards can be used to receive discounts and bonuses at local businesses. Here is an overview of those benefits:

Alarmist Brewing and Taproom – 10% off for SPCA Members

Dakota 94 – 10% off for SPCA Members

Donna’s Garden -10% off for SPCA Members

Chai Asian Bistro – Free appetizer for first-time customers (up to $6.00 in value) with order of two entrees

Sauganash Grill – 10% off for first time customers

The Learning Experience Sauganash – Enrollment Fee Waived for SPCA Members

This is our first year trying a membership card program. We thank our current partners for offering our members these discounts. We also hope to expand and improve this program in the coming years if it proves both manageable and valuable to our members and partners.

You will receive your membership cards immediately if you pay in-person at an upcoming event. Otherwise we will begin delivering membership cards to homes mid-July.

UPDATED July 4th Parade in Sauganash

 

The parade route has been updated. The flag raising ceremony WILL take place near Hiawatha and Forest Glen after the parade. This is where the parade traditionally ends.

The parade starts at Thorndale and Kostner at 9:30 AM. Meet us there if you want to march with us. Look for our Sauganash Park banner. I will be marching in the parade with some of our board members. The parade will end near Hiawatha and Forest Glen. The flag will be raised and there will be a few speeches. Also, we will have our SPCA booth set up at the end of the parade if you’d like to pay membership dues in-person.

SPCA Summer Kickoff Event on July 10th

The SPCA is looking forward to our Summer Kickoff Event on Saturday, July 10th from 11:00 – 3:00 PM. It will be held on Glenlake between Kedvale and Keeler.  We invite all our neighbors to celebrate the summer with us.

This event is sponsored by the SPCA and our friend Congressman Quigley, who will be at the event visiting with our neighbors at 1 PM. Alderman Nugent is also expected to attend. Here is the agenda:

11:00 – Start Time
12:00 – 1:30 – Face-painting
1:00 – Congressman Quigley visits
1:30 – 3:00 – Ballon Artist
3:00 – End Time

We will have games and food for all our neighbors. The event will feature impromptu performances from a kilted bagpiper with the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band.  We are all looking forward to that!

The event is FREE FOR MEMBERS. We are asking for a $10 donation from guest families. This is also a great event to pay your dues in-person, if you’d like. We will be distributing SPCA membership cards at this event.

We hope to see you there!

Updates on the Parade and Summer Events

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July 4th Parade in Sauganash

The permit for the annual 4th of July parade through Sauganash has been approved. That means that this event WILL BE happening this year.

Our friends from the SCA have invited us to march in the parade. I will be there with some other SPCA board members. We will have our banner. You are welcome to march with us. We think it would be a lot of fun for children. And it’s a great day to decorate bicycles with patriotic trimmings.

Don’t feel like marching? Come and watch!

The parade will begin at Thorndale and Kostner at 9:30 AM. The parade will follow its traditional route (shown below). AND (updated) the flag raising ceremony WILL take place AFTER the parade.

We will have our booth set-up at the end of the parade if you’d like to renew your membership with the SPCA at that time.

SPCA Summer Kickoff Event on July 10th

The SPCA is planning a Summer Kickoff Event for Saturday, July 10th from 11:00 – 3:00 PM. We have requested permits to close Glenlake between Kedvale and Keeler.  We invite all our neighbors to celebrate the start of summer with us.

This event is sponsored by the SPCA and our friend Congressman Quigley, who will be at the event visiting with our neighbors at 1 PM. Alderman Nugent is also expected to attend. Here is what the agenda looks like currently:

11:00 – Start Time
12:00 – 1:30 – Face-painting
1:00 – Congressman Quigley visits
1:30 – 3:00 – Ballon Artist
3:00 – End Time

We will have games and food for all our neighbors. The event will also feature impromptu performances from a kilted bagpiper with the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band.  So that should be a lot of fun.

The event is FREE FOR MEMBERS. We encourage a $10 donation from guest families.

We are also looking for volunteers to help us cook hotdogs, popcorn, and cleanup. If you’d be willing to pitch in and help your neighbors, sign up here. We could use you!

Praying Mantis Egg Delivery Has Concluded

The praying mantis eggs have been delivered. If you signed up for praying mantis egg delivery and were a dues-paying SPCA member for the 2020-2021 cycle, you should have received your praying mantis eggs. If you didn’t receive them, contact us now.

Also, as a reminder, don’t let them hatch in your house! I’ve heard some stories…

New SPCA Membership Cycle Begins July 1st

The SPCA membership cycle runs from July 1st until June 30th. Our new membership cycle begins next month. We will have membership booths at both of these events. You are welcome to pay your dues in person. You should also receive a mailing from us by the start of next month. We hope that you decide to join or renew your SPCA membership for the 2021-2022 cycle.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

Don Morton
SPCA President

June 2021 Updates

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July 4th Parade in Sauganash

Historically, the SPCA has partnered with the SCA on the annual picnic-in-the-park event to celebrate the 4th of July.

Due to the lingering effects of Covid-19, the party in the park event WILL NOT happen this year.

But, the SCA is still organizing a parade. And they have invited all members of Sauganash Park to share in this event on Sunday, July 4th.

The SPCA will be marching in the parade with our banner. Neighborhood children and interested parties are welcome to march alongside us. Decorating bicycles is suggested and encouraged.

We will send another email with the exact start-time and parade route as the event gets near.

We thank our neighbors from Sauganash for including us in this event and hope to join them in the park again next year.

SPCA Summer Kickoff Event on July 10th

The SPCA is planning a fun summer event to begin our new membership cycle. Details about the event will be relayed as it gets closer. But I can promise you that there will be food, friends, and community at this event.

In the meantime, save the date: Saturday, July 10th. 

Praying Mantis Egg Delivery Begins This Week

Egg distributions will begin this week. Everyone who signed up for praying mantis egg distribution should expect to receive their eggs in the next two weeks. They are headed your way!

Thank you for being a part of our community!

May 2021 Updates

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Praying Mantis Egg Delivery at End of the Month

The SPCA has received hundreds of praying mantis eggs. We will distribute them to dues-paying members who sign up for distribution. It is not too late to sign up but time is running out. We will finalize the distribution list by the end of next week.

Praying mantis are voracious eaters and provide natural insect and pest control. We intend on delivering the eggs at the end of May. Watch for them around the neighborhood in June and July!

Grad Ads in The Sounds

Do you have a graduate in your home this year? Would you like to honor them by including them in our neighborhood paper? You can do this by making a donation for $37 here.  You will also need to email one or two photos of your graduate to [email protected]. You can also feature your pet for just $12.

Summer Camp at TLE Sauganash

Our friends at TLE Sauganash are now accepting students for their summer camp program. This may be a great fit for some families because they are right in our neighborhood. They accept all children from 6 weeks to 8 years of age. Contact them today!

Register for Fall Enrollment at Sauganash School

CPS is returning to full-time in-person learning this fall. New students may now register for Fall. All currently attending students will automatically be enrolled, but if you have a child that will be new to Sauganash School or know someone who does, please contact Ms. Vickie.

Summer SPCA Event Update

We are very much looking forward to hosting neighborhood events this summer. We love to bring our community together. We are already planning events for when the city begins issuing permits once again. We hope to see you in person soon.

April 2021 Updates

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A Word From Peoples Gas Regarding Streets and Sidewalks

Neighbors have been concerned about the conditions of the streets and the sidewalks in many parts of Sauganash Park. We contacted the Ward Office and they contacted Peoples Gas. Here is the response from Peoples Gas:

“We know there is a lot of restoration work to do and it will be starting soon.

KS hopes to get out to Pulaski & Devon area to begin concrete restoration as early as next week or the following, waiting on some construction work to wrap up.

The plan will likely be to work from North to South, starting on Keystone from Devon to Granville and pick up what is available along Pulaski just east from Devon to Granville as well. From there we would work our way over to Karlov from Granville to Glenlake and finally KS will move one block west to Kedvale from Glenlake to Peterson.

Once the concrete crews get rolling we expect this work to move along quickly. Soft restoration won’t happen until transfers/cutoffs are completed likely in mid-May.”

Praying Mantis Egg Sign-Up Continues

Each spring the SPCA delivers praying mantis eggs to members on our distribution list. These eggs are placed in backyards throughout Sauganash Park and provide natural mosquito control. We have ordered the eggs and plan to distribute soon. If you are an SPCA member and would like us to deliver praying mantis eggs to your home this spring, sign up here.

Earth Day Cleanup Event Scheduled

The SPCA is planning an Earth Day cleanup event on Saturday, April 24th at 9 AM. Neighbors will meet at the underpass by Granville and Lowell. A second group of volunteers will also meet at the same time on Glenlake and Keystone to clean the other trail. The alderman’s office will provide us with additional garbage cans for the event. Let’s hope for great weather!

“Slow Down, Children Playing” Signs Available

Alderman Nugent has “Slow Down, Children Playing” yard signs available to 39th Ward neighbors. If you would like a sign for your yard, you can pick them up at 4200 W. Lawrence Avenue, Monday-Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.  You can also request a sign by calling 773.255.4498 or via email at [email protected].

Spring General Meeting for the SPCA

The SPCA holds a General Meeting annually on the third Tuesday of April. We invite all interested community members to attend. Our Spring General Meeting will be held by ZOOM this year on April 20th at 7 PM.

Congressman Mike Quigley from the US House of Representatives will join us. Also Jenise Celestin from Sweedish Hospital will share the latest information about vaccinations for Covid-19. She will also teach us how to get vaccinated.

Here is the link to the meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87516110095?pwd=bW54QklnL1VEOTBkc0JOOFEyK0VVZz09

Meeting ID: 875 1611 0095
Passcode: 744745
Phone: +13126266799

We hope that you can join us!

March Updates

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Request for Feedback on Snow Plowing

Members of the SPCA board are interested in gathering community feedback on our snow plowing operations. We want to hear from you. Are you happy with our current performance? Should we make changes to the program? How can we improve? Please let us know.

Praying Mantis Egg Sign-Up

Each spring the SPCA delivers praying mantis eggs to members on our distribution list. These eggs are placed in backyards throughout Sauganash Park and provide natural mosquito control. If you are an SPCA member and would like us to deliver praying mantis eggs to your home this spring, sign up here.

39th Ward Public Safety Meeting

Alderman Nugent is hosting a virtual community safety meeting on Tuesday, March 23rd at 6:30 PM. She and Chicago Police from the 16th and 17th Districts will answer questions and address safety concerns. You may submit questions before the meeting to [email protected]. You must register in advance to attend the meeting: https://bit.ly/30ORlGA

SPCA E-Neighborhood Watch Program Update

We now have nearly twenty volunteers for our E-Neighborhood Watch program. If you have a camera system on your home, you may sign up here. If you experience crime in our neighborhood, you can request camera footage here.

Spring General Meeting for the SPCA

The SPCA holds a General Meeting annually on the third Tuesday of April. We invite all interested community members to attend. Our Spring General Meeting will be held by ZOOM this year on April 20th at 7 PM. I will share the link to the meeting with you as the date approaches.

Congressman Mike Quigley from the US House of Representatives will join us. Also Jenise Celestin from Sweedish Hospital will join us. She will share the latest information about vaccinations for Covid-19. She will also show us how to get vaccinated.

We hope that you can join us!

Don Morton
SPCA President

Snow Plows Dispatched

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We try to avoid calling for private snow plows. The service causes a lot of frustrations for our neighbors and depletes our treasury. Due to record snowfall, however, we have once again called for private snow plows. They should arrive in Sauganash Park by 10 AM to clear the center of our streets.

NO End-to-End Clearance

We are NOT asking our neighbors to coordinate the movements of their cars. This is because we are not plowing the streets end-to-end this time. The plows will simply come through our neighborhood and clear the center of our roads. We hope that this allows residents and service providers to freely enter and exit our neighborhood.

The SPCA and The Economics of Snow Plowing

The SPCA Board is a group of neighborhood volunteers. We work to make our neighborhood a better place, and we do so because we care. Sometimes we fail to meet the expectations of our neighbors. That is ok. We invite these neighbors to volunteer as well if they feel that they can help us improve.

We are charged hourly by the plow company. Last time we called we were charged for 25.5 hours. They charge us a rate of $225 an hour. So the last snow plowing job cost our association nearly $6000. That’s the amount in membership dues that we receive from 200 households!

Our funds are provided by our members. There are around 750 homes in Sauganash Park. Just over 200 of these homes have joined our association during 2020-2021. Barely a quarter of the families in Sauganash Park are dues-paying members. Our membership cycle runs from July 1st to June 30th. Please consider joining for 2020-2021 if you haven’t already.

Remember that we are all neighbors. If you see a neighbor struggling in this weather, and you have the energy to help, please do. We are in this together. We will get through this together.

Thank you!

Don Morton
SPCA President

Some Updates from the Neighborhood

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Snow Plow Updates

We try to avoid calling plows, but when cars get stuck in the street, it seems like the right thing to do. We called for plows this weekend, and they helped us get out of the snow. Unfortunately, not all our neighbors received the same level of service. I apologize directly to our neighbors on Kildare and Glenlake, who seem to have received the worst service. I know how frustrating it is to follow a plan, do your part, and still experience a service failure.

We have taken action to avoid this in the future. The problem was caused by a new driver and the unique layout of our streets. If we call for plow drivers in the future, we will provide them with these maps, which show optimal routes for clearing east and west streets and north and south streets. Next time we will prepare our drivers to succeed.

Update on Our E-Neighborhood Watch

Our E-Neighborhood Watch program has seen an uptick in neighbor participation. Here is a general coverage map, which shows the approximate locations of our volunteers.

If you have cameras on your home or business, and would like to volunteer for our program, you can sign up here.

Here is how the program works:

1. If you witness or are victim to a criminal offense in Sauganash Park, you can request camera footage from your neighbors here.

2. We (the SPCA) will receive your request.

3. We will check it against our index of neighbors who have volunteered to help.

4. We will relay your request to neighbors nearby and ask them for footage.

5. They may choose to share their footage. If they do we will send it to you.

We hope to spread greater awareness of this program. As the weather gets warmer, crime in our area usually increases. I suspect this year will be no better. We should prepare in the ways that we can. Please participate if you are able by volunteering or educating your neighbors about our program.

Participatory Budgeting

SPCA board member Iram McGill has been tirelessly representing our neighborhood in the 39th Ward Participatory Budgeting Process. Alderman Nugent created this program, which allows community members to spend some of the ward’s discretionary menu money. Last year, voters chose to get our underpass at Lowell and Granville repaved.  Now it’s time to vote for this year’s projects.

I don’t want to influence your voting. I just want to give you some sample projects that are on the table this year:

A Left Turn Lane at Devon and Pulaski

Improvements to the Baseball Diamonds at Sauganash Park

Bus Stop Benches at Pulaski and Rogers/Sauganash Ave

There are 22 total project proposals from across the 39th Ward. Let’s make our voices heard! All votes must be cast by February 12th. There are only 9 days left to vote. Register to vote now!

Thank you for being a part of this community and contributing in the ways that you do!

Update on Snow Plowing

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Our friends at American Snow Removal have concluded their work in Sauganash Park. We believe that the operation was largely successful.

We also found some spots where we can improve. The East and West streets did not get plowed according to our schedule. Also, some areas of some streets did not receive complete end-to-end clearance. We apologize to those affected.

In the future we will provide our drivers with maps of our neighborhood clearly detailing our blocks and boundaries.  By communicating more effectively with drivers, we will lessen our reliance on dispatch to convey all the necessary information.

Parking in The Learning Experience Lot

Our neighbors at The Learning Experience, located at 4110 W. Peterson, have generously offered to share their parking lot with us in case of another weather related emergency.  However, they ask that we keep the space in front of the building open, so that parents can drop off their children. Also, it’d be neighborly to reserve spots close to the building for the teachers. Again, it is so nice of them to share the lot with us in such a time. Let’s try our best to respect their needs.

Thank You!

A blizzard on-top of a pandemic is uniquely stressful. Yet, it was great to see our community come together and handle the problem. People made sacrifices. They shoveled out snow-blasted cars. They cleared alley entries and drive-way openings multiple times. It was a lot of hard work, but it felt pretty good seeing it happen too.

Thank you so much for being a part of our community and contributing in the ways that you do!

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