Mapleton-Fall Creek gazette, 1989-12

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The Newspaper of the Mapleton-Fall  Creek Neighborhood
N on -Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Indianapolis, IN
Permit No. 8401
DECEMBER-1989
YOUTH    UNITE
TO     STOI>    VIOLENCE
tax Ft&j\ssE:&MJ&Jsrr
by Barbara Neidenberger
Study and hard work, not
gangs and drugs, are the routes
to success, and a group of
neighborhood teenagers is determined to share that message
by personal example.
Stop the Violence is a club
of local teens dedicated to
making a difference in their
home areas by serving as role
models to youngsters who are
at risk.
Developing the basic idea
for the club as they planned
for the 89 Summer Program Of
Broadway United Methodist
Church, the original group began their agenda as volunteers
in the Church's summer Outreach
Program.
According  x:o  Rucn  Godsey,
Administrative Director of
Broadway's Summer Program, the
newly-formed Stop the Violence
Club participated in all phases
of the summer's events.
They taught classes such as
Afro/American. History, Spanish,
cooking, Arabic and preschool,
worked one-on-one with kids to
help them earn points in the
summer's discipline program,
and assisted adult volunteers
in the various recreational
schedules.
Godsey says that Sheila
Ficklin is an example of the
outstanding contributions made
to the Summer Program by the
teen group.
Sheila saw on the program's
first day that preschool for
ages 4 and 5 would be cancelled
for lack of supervision. So,
the Decatur Central sophomore
took over, and with adult
advice guided the group of.preschoolers.
Her efforts were honored in
October when Sheila was named
Volunteer of the year by the
Youth as Resources Project of
the National Crime Prevention
Council. Sponsored by Lilly
Endowment, the project incour-
ages youth to function as resources in their own neighborhoods.
In order to better study issues effecting America's neighborhoods, club members traveled
to Washington,, D.C. this summer. They discussed South
African economic sanctions with*
aides in Senator Lugar's office, visited a shelter for the
homeless, and toured high crime
-  T
__   by Paul^ Willham
areas of the nation's capitol.
Club President Randell Johnson says that Atlanta or New
York are possible destinations
for next summer.
Meanwhile, reports Randell,
club members will continue to
provide -leadership role modeling*. They hope to do this
through their assistance activities at Broadway, such as
helping to unload food trucks
at the Church food pantry, and
youth events they will sponsor.
In the planning stage are
invitations to speakers from
Planned Parenthood about safe
sex, and from the Police Department regarding local gang
issues.
The stop the Violence Club
meets every two weeks on Wednesday, and is based at the
Bridge House at 2945 Broadway.
Their adult sponsor is Seana
Murphy, who is presently a De-
pauw freshman. Reverand Michael Mather provides professional support.
Other club members are: Leslie Farley (Vice President),
Marcua Walton, Andre Lake, Eric
Sarver, Shelandra Mollet (Treasurer) , Donita Murphy (Secretary) , Rae Vena Webster, Sharron
Davis, Carmen Evans, Nakai
Kyles, Nakea Roney, Michael
Sarver, Regina Hall, Ramona
Cork.
Teens interested in joining
the club should contact Reverand Mather or Randell.
CENSCS  JOBS  OT">ElN"f
by Barbara Neidenberger     ,
1990's Census is expected to
create 635,000 temporary jobs
with required testing for employment set to begin this
month.
According to Janice High-
tower of the Census Bureau, applicants should call 464-7456
to arrange testing times.
Each applicant must take a
written test consisting of 128
questions designed to measure
the skills, knowledge and abilities required to perform a
variety of census jobs. The
five parts of the test include
reading, clerical, numbers,
evaluative, and organizational
skilIs.
Cont. to Pg. 5 (Census)
Residents of Mapleton Fall-
Creek have just received the
new Tax Assessment. This reaas-
sment is required by the Indiana Legislature and will be
used to determine the amount of.
tax that property owners will
pay next year and in the future.
The form you received in the
mail may not seem significant,
but it is. Errors or misinformation can result in taxes being too high. You can appeal
the assessment if you feel it
is unfair.
How long do I have? You
have 30 days to appeal the assessment. That is 30 calendar
days from the date the new as-
sessunent, is dated $0T the postmark .
How do I know if I need to
appeal? If you have a' copy of
your old tax bill, look at it
to see what the"assessed value"
of the property is. If your new
assessment is significantly higher you may need to appeal. If
you do not know what your old
assessed value was, you can
call the Center Township Assessors Office. The number is
on your new assessment form.
Another way is to find out if
the  "Buff Card" is correct.
What is the "Buff Card?" The
Buff Card is that card on file
at the assessors' office. It
shows the dimensions of your
home, the square footage on
each floor, number of rooms,
number of plumbing fixtures,
etc. It also shows when the assessor was by your property. If
entry to the residence was not
obtained, information may be
pulled from the old card which
may also be incorrect.
Where do  I  go  to  appeal?
Your  first stop is on the 13th
Cont. to Pg. 7 (Tax)
Mapleton-Fall Creek
Neighborhood Association
Meeting
Thursday/January 11
Shortridge Jr. High School
Cafeteria, 7:30 p.m.
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