Fresh off an appearance in the Big City at Carnegie Hall, the Patrick Henry High School Orchestra will be at Roanoke’s Jefferson Center for a free performance.  Come see the stars this Sunday, May 6 at 3 pm.  Did we mention it’s free?  Because it is.  Free.

Earth Day festivities will take place this Saturday, April 21, in Grandin Village.  Come down between 10 am and 4 pm for music, food, crafts, and informational displays by environmental organizations.  The best way for local residents to visit the Village is to walk; Grandin Road will be closed between Westover and Memorial, so parking will be at a premium.

Please join us this Thursday, March 8, at 7 pm, for the Council Candidates Forum.

It’s election season in Roanoke and City voters will hit the polls on May 1.  The Greater Raleigh Court Civic League is providing an opportunity to hear what the candidates have to say at our Candidates Forum next Thursday, March 8 at 7 pm.

We could use your help.  What are the issues that are important to you?  What questions would you like to have asked of the candidates?

We are in the process of preparing for the Forum, and your input is important.  You can forward your burning-est questions for the candidates to chadbraby12@gmail.com.

Signs are sprouting on front lawns, so it must mean Roanoke City election season is here.

Congrats to Lynn Pagans, Librarian at Fishburn Park Elementary School. She is the winner of Greater Raleigh Court Civic League’s $1,000 Classroom Grant. She’ll use the funds to purchase sustainability-themed books for their library.

Her winning grant application was chosen by a selection committee of five Civic League volunteers.  It was a difficult decision, as a number of fantastic projects were proposed by the four local elementary schools that participated in the pilot grant program.

The check was presented to Ms. Pagans at the Fishburn library in a surprise event.  It certainly brightened up a cold, rainy, Monday morning.  City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop and School Principal Judy Lackey were also in attendance at the surprise presentation.

The Classroom Grant project is a new effort of GRCCL, and serves to help strengthen the ties between our neighborhood and local schools.  We’re thrilled with the outcome and look forward to expanding the program next year to involve Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Patrick Henry High School.

The Greater Raleigh Court Civic League is a regular participant in the City of Roanoke’s Neighborhood Development Grant program. The grant money is available for physical improvement projects that make the neighborhood more livable. Recent successfully funded projects in Raleigh Court include:

• Murray Run Greenway construction and improvements
• Playground equipment at Virginia Heights Elementary
• Public Art installations
• Seasonal banners in Grandin Village (partnered project with GVBA)

If you see a need or a place where money could be spent on your street or elsewhere in the neighborhood, and are interested in spearheading the effort, we’d love to hear from you.  Please contact Chad Braby (chadbraby12@gmail.com).

Courtesy of RNA (Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates):

• Are you tired of looking at tall weeds and grass?
• Is there an abandoned car on your street?
• Does the curb look like a dump when someone gets evicted?
• Are you concerned about the health, safety, and welfare of the people in your neighborhood?

If you answered yes, to any of these questions and you want to learn more about what you can do to help, please come to the Code Enforcement Workshop 102 hosted by the Division of Code Enforcement to be held Monday, November 7 from 6p-8p at the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building, EOC Conference Room (Room 159), 215 Church Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24011.
The City of Roanoke needs your help to make your neighborhood a better place to live. By attending this
FREE workshop, you will learn what is a code violation and how to report it anonymously as well as track the progress of your report.

Please contact the sponsors of this workshop below if you have any questions about attending.
Office of Neighborhood Services 540.853.5210 or the Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates 540.467.0540

Please mark November 10 on your calendar, as GRCCL will host an important conversation with Roanoke City Schools Superintendent Rita Bishop and Board Chairman David Carson.

Thursday, Nov. 10, 7 pm at the Raleigh Court Child Development Center