High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Make a Tree Grow in Maxwell Park

If you always wanted a sidewalk tree in front of your house, and you're willing to take care of it, Nommi Alouf, Maxwell Park Neighborhood Council's beautification chair, has made it easy. The city prefers to group many applications, so Nommi will provide an application and submit the completed forms to the city. But hurry, because applications are due to her by November 7.

Don't be discouraged if someone paved your street to the sidewalk. Maxwell Park neighbors are looking at cheap ways to remove the concrete.

Contact Nommi at Nommix\@yahoo.com, or 599-5533.

Walk to Elisabeth Sherman School

Early in October you could have seen Councilmember Desley Brooks doubling as a school crossing guard near Elisabeth Sherman Elementary School. Sherman was selected as the featured school in District 6 for Walk Your Child to School Day. Sherman neighbor Jane Stallman reported that the children were interested in careers on public safety. They were also enthusiastic about the attention their school was getting at the annual event, designed to make children conscious of safe practices walking to school.

From Art to Football at Brookdale Rec

I'm always delighted when Brookdale Recreation Center manager Danni Gamidge tells me that someone checked out her programs after reading this column. In this case, the family chose the art class, which meets on Monday at 4 p.m. Its first project produced a jungle of amazing paper animals. Future classes will include working in clay and other media.

The Brookdale drill team was proud to march in the Black Cowboy Parade on October 2. There still is room on Mondays and Tuesday for beginners (6 p.m.) and more experienced youngsters (7 p.m.).

Boys and girls in the third through fifth grades are welcome to join football practice Tuesday through Friday, from 4 to 5 p.m. Games are on Saturday. The Center is hoping not to have to charge a fee. Drop in, or call 535-5632.

The Club Is Jumpin'

When we drove by 3300 High Street the other evening, we could tell that the joint was jumping. Executive Director Cal Stanley confirmed our impression that daily attendance is well over 100 youth, participating in a broad variety of programs. Volunteers with a wide range of skills are welcome. Since it's United Way time, Cal reminded me that payroll deductions can be directed to the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland, Agency Number 3306.

New Books and Stories

Thanks to measure Q, Oakland's library branches will experience a sudden influx of new books, CDs, and DVDs under the "splash" program. The Melrose Branch is especially pleased to be adding books in Spanish on parenting, health, and do-it-yourself projects such as auto and home repair.

If you have preschool children in your home, the Melrose Branch invites you to attend storytime Tuesdays, at 10:30 a.m. The staff plans an outreach program to let neighbors know of this free resource at the branch, on Foothill Blvd. and 48th Ave.

Adelle Foley can be reached at jasfoley\@aol.com.