Author: Tom Eblen

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s annual meeting, which will include election of officers for the coming year, will be Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.  Because of concerns about coronavirus transmission in indoor spaces, the meeting will be held online. More information about how to attend will be forthcoming.

Officers and board members serve one-year terms. If you are interested in serving and would like to place your name on the ballot, please email nominations committee chair  Shelby Reynolds no later than Oct. 15. Nominations also will be taken from the floor at the meeting.

If there are any neighborhood issues you would like to discuss at the meeting, please email President Ann Olliges to be added to the agenda. The association hasn’t been able to have social events since the pandemic began in March, but the board is seeking ideas at the meeting for safe, socially distanced outdoor activities.

There’s a box of free books on the front porch of 52 Mentelle Park. These are newly published titles. Most are advance reader copies, but a few are store-damaged finished copies. Come take a look and add a few to your reading stack. You can’t beat the price!

Many locally owned businesses have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this difficult time, the Mentelle Neighborhood Association is happy to help promote businesses operated within our neighborhood or owned by residents of our neighborhood. In that spirit, here is an update about Selma’s Catering and Liberty Road Cafe from Mentelle resident Selma Owens:

In addition to soups, salads and sandwiches, we have increased our grab-and-go area and added new items we are excited to share, including Sunrise Bakery bread and Boar’s Head meats, cheese by the pound and other popular Boar’s Head products.

We also are adding a new display case that will feature take-and-serve prepared foods. Additional items in our freshly prepared frozen entrees and sides include chicken tetrazzini, meatloaf, lasagna and mac and cheese. Always available in our refrigerator grab-and-go: homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese, beer cheese and potato salad.

We have new hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.  For more information, call (859) 971-2763 or order online at Selmascatering.com.

 

Check out the new book box on the Mentelle Park median and take or leave a book. Thanks to the Lexington Herald-Leader for providing the box and to Marilyn Swann for the patriotic paint job.  Thanks also to Ray and Jill DeBolt for arranging the whole project and installing the new box. What a great way to repurpose a newspaper box — and remind us of those pre-internet  days when they were everywhere.

A decade ago, some neighbors put together three architectural scavenger hunts to highlight the diverse architecture and house features in Mentelle Neighborhood. It’s fun for both adults and kids. Click here to download three different photo quizzes featuring different streets in the neighborhood. Have fun!

While waiting for the libraries to open, Becky Eblen has more advance reader copies of new books for you. Most are adult fiction, but there are some non-fiction and memoirs as well a box of books for ages 8 to young adult. They will be in boxes on the front porch at 52 Mentelle Park. Please help yourself and check back; as some books are taken, more will replace them.  The boxes will be out from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each non-rainy day until all of the books are gone.

The Ginkgo Tree Café at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, will have a special grill-out day Thursday, with menus for lunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and dinner (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.). The Café, run by Mentelle Neighborhood resident Selma Owens, will give a portion of the proceeds to Ashland. Take a short walk for a great meal!

 

You’ve run out of reading material and the libraries still aren’t open?  Here’s a solution:  Becky Eblen, a former Joseph-Beth employee, has several dozen Advance Reader Copies of books in a box on her front porch at 52 Mentelle Park.  As some books are taken, more will replace them.  Please come help yourself.  The box will be out there from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. each day until they are all gone.

From a City of Lexington news release:

The city will resume weekly yard waste collections next week, on the same day as garbage and recycling pickup. Yard waste collections were suspended March 23 because of the danger posed by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The City is now cautiously optimistic that, with the public’s help, it can collect yard waste safely.  Unlike trash and recycling carts, which are mostly emptied by mechanical arms on the collection trucks, yard waste collections are done by crew members, who roll carts to the truck, touching both the cart’s handle and lid. “That made it difficult to provide the service and protect our employees,” Mayor Linda Gorton said.

Since the virus struck, the Division of Waste Management has been working to secure appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies to allow for safe operation of the yard waste service.

“We have implemented several practices to allow for weekly cleaning of all trucks, inside and outside,” said Nancy Albright, Commissioner of Environmental Quality and Public Works. “We have a steady supply of the types of PPE needed for employees, allowing us to resume regular service.”

In rolling their carts to the curb, Gorton urged citizens to protect Waste Management employees and themselves. Wipe down the handle and lid after placing the cart next to the curb, and then wipe the handle and lid down again before returning the cart back to your home.

“The Division of Waste Management appreciates everyone’s patience as we navigate these new working conditions and follow all safety measures to keep our employees protected,” said Waste Management Director Tracey Thurman.

For more information, contact LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255.

Locals’ Craft Food & Drink, at the corner of Walton and National avenues in the Warehouse Block, is among the Lexington restaurants put out of business by the coronavirus pandemic. This is sad news for the neighborhood. Locals’ had been kind enough to host the Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s monthly board meetings.  The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Janet Patton has the details here.