Hawthorne/Jordan "Clean Sweep" Was A Whole Lot Of Garbage! Photos of Neighborhood Revitalization Footsoldiers, MORE!

Photos By John Hoff, Jeff Skrenes 

The 2009 Hawthorne/Jordan Neighborhood Clean Sweep had new faces as well as some very familiar long-time participants. (Standard stock sentence true of most neighborhood events, too early in the morning for literary creativity, possibly revise later, etc. etc.)

In the top photo, a declassified photo of the S.S. Minneapolis, the vessel used by the elite "Let's Roll" tire recovery unit. In the second photo... 

Housing Director Jeff Skrenes unloads beverages provided by the Pohlad Foundation, something like ten cases. The beverages were some kind of nutritional soda, and it was pretty good. The beverages had names like "Calm" and "Flex." In the next photo, Jeff poses with a can of the "Flex."

Next, another photo of SiSi Mitchell with her garbage grabber thingie. Below SiSi, one of the volunteers clowns around with a plastic bag, wearing it like a skirt. In the photo at the bottom, some participants in the Jordan cleanup. So many members of the "New Majority" Jordan board arrived to volunteer, I imagine somebody must have worried at some point about having an accidental quorum.

I'm sure Chairman Kip Browne didn't allow that to happen.

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Hawthorne/Jordan "Clean Sweep" Was A Whole Lot Of Garbage! Photos of Neighborhood Revitalization Footsoldiers

Photos By John Hoff, Jeff Skrenes 

What is a neighborhood event without numerous photo opportunities? Here are some photos of the many participants in this successful yearly spring clean up. More to follow!

(Do not click "Read More")

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Hawthorne/Jordan "Clean Sweep" Was A Whole Lot Of Garbage! The "Let's Roll" Elite Tire Unit Makes The Rubber Hit The...Well, The Back Of The Truck

Photos By John Hoff, Jeff Skrenes 

So here are a bunch of images from the Hawthorne/Jordan "Clean Sweep" activity over the weekend. The job of picking up discarded tires isn't...

...harder than the other rubbish picking, but it does require a couple of the more sturdy volunteers. I did tire picking along with Housing Director Jeff Skrenes, and our truck driver, Elliot, who had a great sense of humor. Often we ran off to document some situation needing attention from 311, and at the end of the day I sent off an email to 311 about 13 different properties. 

I've logged a lot of 311 calls in the past, but I don't remember making 13 on any particular day, so....PERSONAL BEST.

From top to bottom: me and my friend Jeff. Second, our truck driver, Elliot. Elliot joined us for lunch after we recovered approximately 68 tires, not counting small bike tires and pieces of tires. (We'd estimate and add up fragments into one tire, for record keeping)

In the third and fourth photo, Jeff demonstrates his tire-throwing style. Any excuse to wear a tank top and show off his muscles.

Fifth, Elliot uses the truck radio to call in some kind of mess in the alley, something requiring pick up by another truck. We called in one mess after another. Lots of mattresses.

The second to last photo shows our catch. As we were turning around, and taking a brief accidental foray into the McKinley neighborhood, we found a few more tires and added these to our total.

The last photo shows me with the trophy catch of the day.

Ain't she a beauty? I think I'll have it MOUNTED.

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Hawthorne Housing Director Injured In Phonebook Mishap

Unwanted phone book dumping--which up to now has been merely annoying and environmentally unsound--has finally caused a serious injury in the Hawthorne Neighborhood of North Minneapolis. A couple days ago Jeff Skrenes--Hawthorne's dedicated Housing Director--was hit by a flying mass of phone books one physics expert estimated to have the approximate force of a falling old growth tree 30 feet in diameter.

Skrenes was....

...reported to be in critical condition, but still conscious and lucid enough to vow vengeance on behalf of the neighborhood association against companies like Dex.

"Read...Ed...Kohler's...blog...The Deets," Jeff managed to whisper, through lips that were bloodied but still (according to one eyewitness) quite kissable. "Must...protest...must take...direct action."

In the wake of heated emotions in the neighborhood after the injury of Skrenes, there was loose talk of gathering up truckloads of phone books and taking them right back to where they came from, only in a much more rain-soaked condition than when they arrived, unwanted, on the steps of houses which have been vacant for as long as two years.

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ALL OUT, ALL OUT, ALL OUT FOR SPRING CLEANING IN HAWTHORNE, JORDAN NEIGHBORHOODS!!!!

Photo By John Hoff

Tomorrow, Saturday May 9 is one of the most important events of the year in the Jordan and Hawthorne Neighborhoods: the spring clean up, which involves citizens going out in hardworking crews to pick up all the accumulated litter and trash they can find, some of it rather....er, interesting.

People wear gloves for this. Enough said.

Individuals who have obtained property in Hawthorne and Jordan--or who are actively trying to buy property and anticipate being super-involved in neighborhood activism, once they MEET everybody--should arrive with bells on to pull their portion of the collective burden and show their new neighbors what they are made of.

Hawthorne's event starts with a breakfast at the Farview Park building at 8 a.m., followed by everybody walking the streets at 9 a.m. And by "walking the streets" I mean in a good way, but did I mention people wear gloves? Yeah, I think I mentioned it.

The Jordan neighborhood's event starts later and ends later. Here is a non-live URL that will take you to the information about that event in Jordan.

http://jordanlivability.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/clean-sweep-this-weekend/

This will not only be a cleanup but...

...a "sister neighborhood" event with Jordan, which has in effect borrowed money from Hawthorne to pull off its event in the wake of (alleged) financial shenanigans with the "Old Majority" executive board and former executive director, Jerry Moore, now actively involved in the Kenya McKnight city council campaign.

In addition to picking up litter, participants walking around on the street are known to get very active calling 311. Last year, the tough and gritty aspect of the Eco Village area was obvious to volunteers, but this year we have seen two months with no reported crime in the wake of extensive demolition in that part of Hawthorne, so it is anticipated litter pickup will go easier since "pro litter forces" are now in what might be best described as panicked headlong retreat, with a triumphant revitalization army hot on their heels.

Be there tomorrow! And, in response to the inevitable question which will arise in the wake of this blog posting: No, we will not be serving Wild Irish Rose with the 8 a.m. Hawthorne breakfast event.

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The Problem With Big Police Corruption STrib Stories In "Dead Tree Only" Format

Photo By John Hoff 

I hear people are buzzing about today's story in the STrib about a police corruption probe. I actually received an email from one guy who wanted to sit down and have a MEETING with me at Broadway Pizza JUST TO TALK ABOUT THIS BIG STORY.

Only one problem...

Where the heck am I supposed to get a copy of this bankrupt paper on its last legs? See, the newspaper rack in front of the building that I frequent on campus has FRIDAY'S paper in the rack. The one in front of Acadia Cafe--where I just concluded weekend visitation with my child a moment ago--has SATURDAY'S paper on the rack. If I walked to the little Somali-owned grocery store never Riverside Plaza, they don't sell the STrib. And the drugstore the OTHER way down the street is closed on Sunday.

I guess I'll have to wait until Housing Director Jeff Skrenes pawns off his newspaper recycling on me, or walk ALL THE WAY TO THE HARVARD MARKET EAST just to buy a freaking newspaper.

Great idea, Star Tribune. What's next, CARRIER PIGEONS?

Is it any wonder bloggers EAT YOUR LUNCH on a daily basis?

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