Category Archives: Uncategorized

The FPNA 2014 Garage Sale started with good traffic. We had 9 locations in all with 15 participating households. The rain didn’t hold off for as long as we would have hoped but everyone said they had good sales up until 10:30 a.m. when the downpour really started. The weather is the one thing we can’t control unfortunately. The deluge lasted until just after 1:00 p.m. and those who willingly stuck it out reported that patrons returned and the afternoon was quite nice indeed with sales picking up toward the end. We all know there are those die hard Garage Sale-ers who won’t let a bargain pass them up. The Bake Sale at 407 Glen headed up by Michelle Mutchler-Burns also did a brisk business until the storm hit. Thanks to everyone who donated baked goods, beverages, ice, food boxes and coolers to the event. I hear the Krispy-Crème donuts were snatched up fast as folks were looking for that sugar rush to carry them to the various locations. All participants welcomed the chance to earn a little petty cash and off load some of those larger items that have been piling up in the basement, garage, hall-closet etc. CLICK HERE to view the photos of this event

The Fairmount Park Neighborhood Association (FPNA) has received an excellence in newsletter achievement from the Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) national organization. We entered two of our 2013 issues into the competition in May of 2014. The acknowledgment was awarded at the annual conference in Eugene, Oregon which took place on May 21-24. This goes along with the FPNA being a finalist in the Neighborhood of the Year competition (NOTY) in which we submitted our identification banner/flower basket/pole project in the beautification and improvement category. Please see attached award.

Kirn Park Fitness boot camp will be held in six week sessions starting Tuesday June 3rd. It will be every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 am. We will more than likely designate one day (Wednesday?) as a rain makeup day. Location will be Kirn field right in our neighborhood. Brett Ray is our trainer, he is currently a personal trainer and does mostly private one on one appointments but is willing to do this group event throughout the summer.

If interested please contact Melissa at Issy1997@aol.com or 712-242-5038 as she is trying to ensure we have enough people to be worth Bret’s time. Cost is $100 for the whole six week session or you can pay a drop in fee each class at $10 a class if that works better. This will be tailored to fit all levels of fitness and a great way to get in shape this summer and meet our neighbors!

The Carruthers’s, 331 Park Avenue, car was broke into Thursday night for a fourth time since moving in a year ago. They got a check book and a lot of children’s things. Also the outside door was propped open so they attempted to gain entry into the house but fortunately did not.

There was an incident at 439 Glen Avenue where the one of the doors to the carriage house was bashed in with a brick and graffiti painted on the other door. There have also been a series of people getting their house egged. The Garrigan’s at 433 Glen have been the most recent incident.

Additionally, a person representing himself as a magazine subscription salesman was working his way up Glen Ave. He said that the sales would benefit organizations in the area such as Boys Town. Although this man was very well spoken, he was also very aggressive and attempted to talk people into spending large sums of money on these subscriptions, in one case as much as $450. Channel 5 in Omaha did a story about this group, but said these salesmen were blanketing the Omaha Metro area. Apparently, they are also in Council Bluffs. The company they represent has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. The Omaha Police Department recommended that people call the police if they are approached by any of these salesmen. This is good advice however we urge you to call and register a complaint to the City Clerk at 712-328-4616. The clerk will contact the person who took out the sellers permit.

I want to relate how well the June FPNA Food and Clothing Drive went for the Care and Share House on 600 Main Street. We collected numerous items from all over the neighborhood on two separate Saturdays. I want to personally thank Andre and Melissa Vandervelde (328 Glen Avenue) they donated three large garbage sacks full of clothes and shoes. That was very much appreciated.
We ended up with four large boxes of clothing and three medium boxes of food for the Care and Share house that we dropped off in early July. Margarite Goodenow, who owns the building and is a board member of the Care and Share program run by the United Methodist Church, received the donations and gave us a tour of the facility and related all the programs that they offer.
We were all immensely impressed at the dedication and determination that the Care and Share house consistently shows in providing food and clothing to those that are in need. The Care and Share house maintains a full food pantry as part of their program and the food that is donated by individuals and organizations like the FPNA is intended to supplement the food pantry offering. They also have an area where all the clothes, shoes, furniture and house hold items are displayed for purchase by individuals and families during store hours.
I want to thank everyone who donated this year. You seized this opportunity and chose to give back which will make a difference to folks right here within our community.

Thank you for visiting the Fairmount Park Neighborhood Association website. Everything you need for our neighborhood, as well as the surrounding community and City of Council Bluffs, can be found here.