• The Friends of the Poor Walk held Sept. 27 raised over $17,000 for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry across the street from Washington Park. The food pantry feeds more than 10,000 people a week in our community.
• Food pantries throughout the city need help throughout the year — not just at the holidays. Recently announced changes in SNAP eligibility is likely to take about 60,000 people off the rolls next spring, and food banks are concerned that they will not have enough stock to meet the increased demand. If you are in need of assistance, call 2-1-1 for information about local resources.
• On Oct. 20, the Irvington Halloween Festival Silent Auction and Art Auction and Awards ceremony was very well attended. The Historic Irvington Community Council gave out Founder’s Awards for this year. In the business category, Snips was honored. An individual award went to Dawn Cox Briggs. The organization award went to the Irvington Historic Society. The original poster artworks were auctioned off, plus some amazing offers. Lots of money was raised to keep the festival going!
• A few tickets for the NESCO Halloween Pub Crawl are still available. The crawl will be on Oct. 25 from 4:30-10:30 p.m. and includes food and transportation on two buses to several of the east side’s best pubs. If you have questions, e-mail nescopubcrawl@yahoo.com or visit Eventbrite and search for “NESCO Pub Crawl.”
• Looking for activities to fill up those cold, chilly winter months — which, by the way, are right around the corner? Indy Parks has hockey, winter wildlife programs, inside workout programs like yoga and high-intensity cardio, piano keyboarding, and much more. Winter program registration begins Oct. 27, so check out their offerings (adult and youth) at www.indy.gov/parks or call 327-PARK for more information.
• Adjuntant General of the Indiana National Guard, Major General R. Martin Umbarger, has submitted his resignation from the post he’s held since 2004. He will leave his post in May of 2015.
• Just a friendly reminder that burning leaves in Marion County is illegal and fines of up to $2,500 may be imposed to those in violation. Visit the Department of Code Enforcement Web site at http://indy.gov/eGov/City/DCE/envsvcs/Pages/Open-Burning.aspx or call 327-2236 if you have questions. Better yet, consider the city’s leaf collection program, or composting your leaves for your garden. Legal open burning includes cooking fires such as barbecue grills, campfires, patio fire pits, chimenea’s and dried twigs, limbs or branches collected from your property within an appropriate container. Be considerate of your neighbors — burning leaves and other debris may trigger severe asthma or allergic reactions.