Monthly Archives: July 2011

Photo by Natalie Maynor (NatalieMaynor) of Flickr Creative Commons

If you’ve driven along W. Capitol Street lately, you’ve notice something that is almost painful to watch. The former Capitol Street Methodist Church is crumbling. So much so that part of it has already fallen into the dirt (or shall we say concrete). Barricades are up to protect pedestrians and a fence will be installed to keep those pedestrians safe from the inevitable fall of the building.

So what’s next? Voice of Calvary Ministries was granted use of and, ultimately, ownership of the building several years ago. Phil Reed, the organization’s Executive Director, estimates that it would take $6 million to shore up the structure for reuse–money the organization does not have.  The company through which the building is insured is currently making arrangements for complete demolition of the structure. Citing safety concerns of the building’s possible collapse, Phil has indicated that the city suggests the same course of action.

Phil is hoping that the bricks from the old Methodist church can be salvaged and reused for other purpose. That sounds much better than the alternative option of wrecking the building and hauling its remnants to the city dump. Regardless what happens, it’s sad to see a building with so much potential die of natural causes. And while its stained glass windows were long gone, the church still possessed some gorgeous wooden pews. With its balcony and sliding walls (used to adjust the number of seats in the sanctuary), its safe to say that they don’t make churches like this anymore…and they probably never will.

For more details on the former Capitol Street Methodist Church, along with photos of the building’s current condition, visit the blog of our friends at Preservation in Mississippi.

If you’ve worked in a hospital, you were more than likely  required to take a TB test. That’s cool and all, but what is TB and how in the world does one even get it? The Mississippi State Department of Health wants to answer these questions for you tomorrow during their forum on Tuberculosis.

The forum is free and open to the public, and it will take place at the Mississippi Arts Center (201 E. Pascagoula Street) from 1-3 p.m. For more information or to pre-register, contact Heather Ivery at 601-949-3540 or hivery@stewpot.org.

(Special thanks to West Jackson resident, Heather Ivery, for informing us of this event)

We’re going to try to do better with getting these loaded, but video converting, editing, and uploading is time consuming! Nevertheless, here’s the video from last Friday’s forum (July 8, 2011). The discussion centered around the prevention of domestic violence and highlighted the JFP Chick Ball–an event that is held to raise money for prevention. For more information, read the Jackson Free Press’s July 6th feature article.

Enjoy!

Sandy Middleton explains the role of The Center for Violence Prevention.

Donna Ladd explains how the JFP Chick Ball raises money for The Center for Violence Prevention.

Photo by brittany0177 of Flickr Creative Commons

Dear Summer,

Despite making an early appearance and making our sweat glands work overtime…we forgive thee. However, we refuse to let you bother us at this Saturday’s Ice Cream Safari where we’ll get to sample 17 delicious, animal-inspired flavors of ice cream and sherbet–each served up by 17 different local media celebrities. No thanks to you, Summer, but much thanks to Blue Bell for donating coolness on a cone.

So, Summer, do what you wanna do, but from 11 a.m. until 2 at the Jackson Zoo, we’ll be in refreshingly cool, ice cream bliss.

Sincerely,

The Whole West Side and neighbors in every direction

*Zoo admission is $9.00 for adults, $6.00 for children ages 2-12, and $8.10 for senior citizens (65 and over). Children under the age of 2 and Friends of the Zoo members are admitted free of charge. If you’re interested in participating in the ice cream tasting, taste tickets are an additional $2.

Also, while you’re there, whip out your smart phones and participate in Sal & Mookie’s SCVNGR Hunt. Details on the photo below:

So you’re in the market for a house, aye? With the cool developments underway downtown, seems like the place to be is at the core of the city. But you’d prefer a house with a lush lawn and flowery shrubbery right? Well, we have your solution–consider West Jackson as home with WESToration.

If you’ve been following the blog, we’ve mentioned WESToration before. It’s a program that’s being promoted by various partners to encourage homeowners and home buyers alike to use less of their income on a mortgage/energy costs while having the modern appointments of their choosing. This means having the home that you’ve dreamed of for less.

If you own a home or are looking to purchase one, we invite you to participate in this Saturday’s WESToration event (9 a.m. – 11 a.m., Koinonia Coffee House). We’ll have a light breakfast for you at Koinonia and will take you on a trolley tour of some of the neighborhoods on the West Side. We’ll also introduce you to the FHA 203K program that allows you to bundle the costs of acquiring and rehabbing a home to your liking in a single mortgage.

For those who already own a home and just want to make some improvements, this is for you too. We’ll show you how you can use the program to knock out that honey-do list of yours while making improvements that will save you money on the ever-increasing costs of energy.

For more information on WESToration, visit the FAQ page. To RSVP to this Saturday’s event, click here.

The JSU Center for University-Based Development is one of the partners in this effort.