Updates from City of Newberry District 5

Dear District 5 Residents,

Happy New Year everyone! I would like to wish everyone a prosperous and healthy new year. It’s a blessing to witness another new year, in spite of all our continued challenges with COVID-19. It is still my pleasure over the past 16 months, as your councilwoman to share with you the information, activities and events in District 5. We continue to have some celebrations and obligations met, promises filled, initiatives begun and always progress to chart.

A new year is here, 2022! I encourage everyone to continue to be safe and aware of their surroundings. Each season brings changes, and we all have our favorite season. The City of Newberry is always planning and doing things that would be of interest to all of us. I encourage you to be aware of all the different events and activities that are going on in the City of Newberry, by going to cityofnewberry.com.

The “Dressing the Town” contest, (aka the stuffing and dressing cook-off), was an excellent way to kick-off the holiday season. It was a very good event, that had everyone in attendance smacking their lips. There were great dressings to sample from all contestants, fun and conversations to be enjoyed by those in attendance. Mrs. Brenda Kinard won first place and Ms. Rebecca Allen won second place. Thanks to all those who participated. We look forward to an even bigger event next year.

I’m still attending meetings, ceremonial city events, returning calls, answering emails/text messages, out in the neighborhood, helping those in need, and responding to your needs with immediacy. If you have any concerns or issues, please do not hesitate to contact me, and as always, my goal is to respond within 12-24 hours. I can be reached at 803-321-1000 or email me at jholmes@cityofnewberry.com

I will be attending the Advance Municipal Elected Officials Institute, for my second class out of a total of four in February, which will be held in Columbia. This will allow me to continue to learn and grow as your elected city councilwoman. I strongly believe in the fact that, “he who does the work, does the learning.”

During the months of October-December, I continued to deliver food to those in need. If you, or someone that you know needs food please contact me and I will do whatever I can to make sure that those residents are taken care of in a timely manner. The food that I deliver along with is provided through Greg’s Groceries, which is packed and brought to Newberry, by members of the Newberry Police Department.

God Abundance for All People (GAAP), which is a ministry out of O’Neal Street United Methodist Church, provided food boxes also. For Thanksgiving, I was able to deliver hot Thanksgiving meals, on Thanksgiving Day. These dinners were freshly prepared and boxed up by the New Vision Ministries Inc., under the leadership of Pastor Adrian Pitts.

Many, many thanks to the pastor and his church family, for giving back to those in need. Also, teachers from Newberry Middle School, along with myself and Officer Mike Hawkins, delivered all the trimmings for a delicious Thanksgiving meal, to student’s families from Newberry Middle School. Thanks to the administration and those teachers, who gave up their afternoon, on the last day of school before Thanksgiving.

In July 2021, I attended the annual South Carolina Municipal Association Conference, that was held in Hilton Head. I attended meetings, met many other councilpersons. I gained a lot of good information that will be very useful to me as a councilwoman.

I am still seeking and asking for funding to do some updates to the Scout Hut at Willowbrook Park. Per Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT), Willowbrook Park is scheduled for updates in 2023, but prayerfully, I will be able to get some funding etc., to redo needed things inside the Scout Cabin. We have a window air conditioner unit for the Scout Hut, which prayerfully will be replaced with a central heating and air conditioning unit.

We completed our second neighborhood litter pick up on Saturday, November 20. It was a great success. Thanks to all who participated and special thanks to residents of District 5, Mrs. Crista Lukoski, from the Newberry Soil and Water Conservation District, Chief Kevin Goodman, Mayor Foster Senn, and Sigma, Sigma, Sigma from Newberry College, who came out on a very chilly morning to help pick up litter. Litter is a problem, and you can be fined for littering. Please do your part to not litter and keep our neighborhood clean and beautiful. Also, to avoid unwanted animals from getting into your dog food or trash, please don’t leave food etc. out in the open, and make sure that your lids are secured on your trash can.

The West End Home and Neighborhood Watch have applied for a grant to spruce up Willowbrook Park and Dr. Julian Grant Park. It will include things that everyone can take part in. We will soon look deeper into discussions for bringing Arts in the Park. This is another way to allow involvement and ownership in your neighborhood.

If you have recently moved to District 5, you will need to change your voter registration address, and if you are not registered, you will need to register. You can register in person at the Voter Registration and Elections Office, next to Piedmont Technical College on Wilson Road, or you can go online to scytl.com.

The following are still my concerns, and I am willing to hear from each of you:

• Grocery store

• Family restaurant

• More housing

• Movie theater/bowling center

• Road conditions

I am looking forward to having a neighborhood town meeting, so that we can meet and share ideas about any concerns that you may have and ways that we can continue to strengthen our neighborhood. Due to COVID-19 increase, I will continue to monitor and adjust everything accordingly, before planning this meeting.

Upcoming events:

• Voter registration drive

• City Council Meetings are held every second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for January 11.

• Juneteenth planning

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade – January 16 at 2:00 p.m.

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March – from Bethlehem Baptist Church to Memorial Park- January 17 at 10:00 a.m.