Thanks to a band of young volunteers

Kinston’s alleys get needed clean ups

TRAILER OF TRASH: Youthful volunteers filled a trailer with trash Saturday (Nov. 1, 2008) collected from Spruce Alley in support of Pride of Kinston campaign to improve the appearance of downtown. The volunteers were members of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) chapter at North Lenoir High School, and a student at Lenoir Community College. Lined up to admire their handwork were (left to right): LCC student Thomas E. Ipock, Jr., Pride employee Sammy Aiken, Corri Hill, Amber Abrams, Harley Cox, team leader Nolan Perry, and Kevin Sanderson.

A campaign to clean up some of Kinston’s alleys which often look like abandoned trash dumps was launched Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 by a hardy band of young folks. They teamed up to support Pride of Kinston’s drive to improve the appearance of the downtown community.

Five members of North Lenoir High School’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) organization picked up trash and debris which had collected in Spruce and Tull Alleys. They were joined by a Lenoir Community College (LCC) student and Pride of Kinston’s activities coordinator Sammy Aiken to clean the thoroughfares mostly hidden from public view.

The North Lenoir AVID students, led by senior Nolan Perry, 17; were Amber Abrams, 15; Harley Cox, 16; Corri Hill, 16; and Kevin Sanderson, 17. The high schoolers were joined by LCC students Thomas Ipock, 24. The students plan to devote time over the next few weeks to clear downtown alleys of trash and debris.

Pride director Adrian King lauded the students’ interest in volunteering to help improve Kinston’s downtown appearance. “Their participation in civic endeavors is an example for the entire community,” King noted. “A clean town is an inviting town,” he added.

Area paddlers enliven the Neuse

Photo courtesy of Charles Buchanan, Kinston Free Press.

Possibly not since the Neusiok and Tuscaroran Indians relied on the Neuse River as a means of transportation has so many kayaks and canoes converged to paddle in formation on the ancient river.

Some 60 paddlers in 54 boats, canoes and kayaks took to the Neuse Oct. 11, 2008 for the Neuse River Paddle and Nature Hike for an 11-mile journey which ended at Kinston’s Neuseway Nature Center. There, participants hiked through a trail in the park set to become a link in the State-wide Mountains to the Sea Trail.

The event was sponsored by the Lenoir County Paddler’s Association, with the county’s Tourism Director Lucy Marston, and Lower Neuse Riverkeeper Larry Baldwin. Ms. Marston called the outing a “rousing success.”

Riverfront project win $25,000 in grants

Neuse River Waterfront Project Update

Pride of Kinston’s drive to convert the city’s stretch of the Neuse River into an economic development asset for the community continues to make progress.

The Kinston Waterfront – Now! special task force, headed by Dr. Lyn Turner, recently received grants totaling $25,000.00 towards its first priority, a pedestrian bridge connecting Neuseway Nature Center with shops and stores in downtown Kinston.

The North Carolina Arts Council awarded the task force a grant of $15,000.00 to support the work of husband-wife artistic team, Jim Hirschfield and Sonya Ishii of Chapel Hill, in designing the proposed bridge.

In addition, the Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority has given an grant of $10,000.00 to support the bridge project. The artists were selected by a special panel earlier this year following a regional competition for design proposals.

In like manner, the Raleigh engineering firm Kimley-Horn & Associates has been selected to lead the engineering planning for the bridge, in cooperation with Hirschfield and Ishii. The plan is to seek input by the engineering and artists team from area residents for design ideas.

Candidate meets with downtown Kinston business leaders

Perdue Campaigns for Main Street

Gubernatorial hopeful Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue came to Kinston Oct. 22, 2008 to highlight her support for North Carolina’s Main Street program, visiting with several downtown business owners who have been supported by Pride of Kinston, Inc.

Pride is one of 57 Main Street programs coordinated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Candidate Perdue’s campaign platform includes a provision to increase the State’s Main Street budget from the current $450,000.00 to $2.25 million.

As a Main Street program, Pride supports downtown revitalization, historic preservation, incentives to improve the appearance of the business district, and promotes events—such as Sand in the Streets outdoor concerts and the Kinston 8000: Run for the River 8K race—to attract visitors to downtown.

During her stop in Kinston, the Lieutenant Governor—seeking to become the State’s first female chief executive—met with a group of downtown business owners at Christopher’s Restaurant, and then toured the business district on Queen and Herritage Streets.

Meeting with Perdue were: Herbert Lewis, Sweets Coffee Shop; Susan Sykes, Adriana’s; Barbara Rose, Barbaros; Isaac Hines, Photographic Expressions by Isaac; and Vivian Howard and Ben Knight, Chef & the Farmer.

In a release about her Main Street proposal, Ms. Perdue said “North Carolina’s small cities and rural towns are the heartbeat of our state. Their vitality is critical to our state’s economic expansion.”

Pride director Adrian King told the lieutenant governor that it is “gratifying that our work is receiving major attention at the highest political level.”

Mitchelltown Real Estate Being Promoted

Residential properties for sale in Kinston’s Mitchelltown Historic District is being promoted by Pride of Kinston’s website in support of efforts by private groups and the Historic District Commission to transform the neighborhood into a community of renovated, owner-occupied homes.

The website, www.downtownkinston.com, under the Real Estate tab, has promoted the sale or lease of commercial properties in the downtown for a number of years. Addition of Mitchelltown Historic District properties which are for sale is a new venture to support those who hope to transform the community into a place of owner-occupied residences reflecting the architecture of its historical past, according to Pride director Adrian King.

“The health of our downtown is surely tied to the health and viability of our nearby neighborhoods,” he said. “Mitchelltown is an economic diamond in the rough which deserves new polish…and Pride aims to help.”