1. society
2. crime

Spring 2015
Metropolitan Community Service Program Cleans Up Prospect
In the Fall of 2014, Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission received a grant
from Greater Kansas City LISC to expand their Adopt Prospect Litter Abatement
Program to focus on the Blue Hills neighborhood, more specifically 50th
Street to 63rd Street along Prospect until March 31, 2015. In that short time the
community service workers and Adopt Prospect manager, Jim Johnson, have
made great strides to clean up this major thoroughfare every Saturday from
1:00—5:00 pm. The MCSP worksite is located at Blue Hills Community Services at
5008 Prospect. From there the community service workers make their way along
this corridor cleaning the litter that accumulates during the week.
Over the last three months, Adopt Prospect has made a huge impact that includes:
 13 Clean Ups
 55 Tires Collected
 17,540 lbs of litter/debris collected
 774 hours worked that equals $15,480 in cost free labor
In February, the Crime Commission received word that Jackson County COMBAT
will assist in sponsoring MCSP Adopt Prospect clients who are unemployed/
underemployed yet still need to work off community service hours. The COMBAT Trash & tires collected by MCSP along Prospect for
pick-up by City of KCMO, February 2015
grant will also assist in providing employment assistance to these MCSP clients
through its Second Chance Program Job Club. MCSP will continue litter abatement up and down the corridor every
Sunday morning. The Crime Commission will continue to seek additional funding to be able to add work days for
special Adopt Prospect projects like Blue Hills.
C.A.N. CORNER BY OFFICERS PALMER & KING
The Blue Hills CAN
(Community Action
Network) is represented
by two KCPD officers
assigned to our
neighborhood. The
primary responsibility of
the officers is to work
proactively with
community groups and
law-abiding members of
the community to identify
and solve problems that
are related to crime
and/or disorder in order to
improve the quality of life
within the community.
Our CAN Officers are
Bobbie King and Justin
Palmer. “CAN Corner” will
be their forum to pass on
safety tips and give you a
Blue Hills activity updates.
Since becoming the CAN officers for the Blue Hills neighborhood, we have been excited to
become more proactive instead of reactive when it comes to police work. In the past
recent months, we've been working closely with PO Defreece and PO Morales in the
neighboring 49/63 to actively seek out crimes in progress in the Metro Patrol division.
We've had success in locating numerous violent offenders, last month alone the following
arrests were made: State Arrest-38, Recovered Stolen Autos-21, Agg Assault Suspects
Apprehended-1, Robbery Suspects Apprehended-9, Drug Arrest-2, Burglary Suspects-7,
Stealing Suspects-5, Search Warrants Executed-2 All of this was done in connection with
answering CAN police complaints.
Safety Tip: One of the concerns that was expressed in a community meeting and
something Bobbie and I see as an issue, is an increase in stolen license plates in the Blue
Hills neighborhood. The good news is there is a simple and easy way to combat license
plate theft and it requires minimal effort. Simply replace the cheap plastic or metal screws
with bolts. Criminals are going to actively target license plates with a Phillips head screw
driver and if you only have 2 screws fastening the plate to a vehicle. If you replace the
screws with bolts that requires a socket wrench or even pliers, you will drastically reduce
the probability of license plate theft. Criminals will not want to spend the time and effort
to remove bolts. I've never seen a burglar walking around with a socket wrench, but a
Phillips/common screwdriver is a commonly carried tool of burglars. Please continue to
call with any tips on crime or issues in your neighborhood. Our CAN Office phone number
is 816-719-8328.
Blue Hills Neighborhood Association Newsletter, Spring 2015 - Page 2
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello, Blue Hills Neighbors.
Let’s enjoy the coming of spring! This is our first newsletter of the year. We look forward to
publishing more frequently and to grow our social media presence. We have a Facebook
page, a new logo, and we are a NextDoor.com neighborhood. Soon, we will debut our new
BHNA website.
In 2014, we accomplished a lot, especially the building repairs at our Resource Center at
5309 Woodland. This year brings many promising opportunities for our Blue Hills
Neighborhood. We are blessed to have collaborative relationships with Blue Hills
Community Services, the KCMCC and our Youth Program, LISC, The Upper Room plan for Blue Hills and Town Fork
Creek, The Mary L. Kelly Center, the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and its Urban Neighborhood Initiative, Legal
Aid of Western Missouri, and, of course, the City of Kansas City, Missouri. Please support them as they support us.
Blue Hills retains its well-earned reputation as an organized and active group of good people working together.
This year we will schedule cleanups with Redeemer Church and dumpster days with our Blue Hills CAN Center.
Pending city approval, dumpster days should be the second Saturday of every month from May-October. Thanks to
our great volunteers for making this valuable activity work so well.
Hopefully, you will enjoy Pancake Day and all of our events. This year will be the KCMO municipal elections for Mayor
and City Council. Please make sure to vote, no matter who you vote for or who wins, a good turnout of Blue Hills
voters on election days always helps to make sure our concerns are heard.
The year 2015 will be a year of great progress for Blue Hills and BHNA. Please pitch in. Let us get busy and make Blue
Hills better day by day.
Thank You,
HOUSE FOR SALE
3 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
garage
FULL
renovation
Paul Tancredi
BHNA President
BHNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President - Paul Tancredi
4947 Olive, Kansas City, MO 64130
Price: $72,000
Agent: Cliff Pouppirt
bryantrealestatekc.com
MLS#1874720
816-769-6811
816-523-1990
Vice President - Toi Wilson
Treasurer - Marjorie Lue
Secretary - Mary King
Asst. Treasurer - Linda Brown
Board Member - Linda Brown
Board Member - William Hart
Board Member - Eddie Robinson
Board Member - Elbert Hicks
HELPFUL NUMBERS
BH Neighborhood Association: 333-7232
KCPD non-emergency: 234-5111
City Services/Information: 3-1-1
KCPD Metro Patrol: 581-0700
United Way Services: 2-1-1
Report a crime tip: 474-TIPS
Community Police: 719-8328
Codes (Mike Simmons): 719-0641
Blue Hills Neighborhood Association Newsletter, Spring 2015 - Page 3
BLUE HILLS 2015 SPRING CALENDAR
All events held at 5309 Woodland unless otherwise noted.
MARCH
3/17/15 - Block Contact/CAN Meeting
3/21/15 - BHNA Pancake Breakfast/BHNA General Meeting @ St. Therese, 5814 Euclid
3/24/15 - Prospect Corridor Stakeholders Meeting @ 5008 Prospect
3/26/15 - Build day with KCCG & AmeriCorps for new raised beds for Prospect Community Garden @ 5008 Prospect*
APRIL
4/1/15 - Prospect Community Garden/Blue Hills Community Garden Open
4/7/15 - Primary Election
4/8/15 - Take Your CAN to Work Day w/Harvesters @ 5008 Prospect
4/8/15 - Family Computer Day w/Connecting for Good @ 5008 Prospect*
4/14/15 - Money Smart Month Event: WEN/Credit Building @ 5008 Prospect*
4/21/15 - Block Contact/CAN Meeting
4/23/15 - Money Smart Month Event: Prosperity Center/Budgeting & Retirement @ 5008 Prospect*
4/25/15 - BHNA General Meeting
MAY
5/6, 5/13, 5/20, & 5/27 - Eating Healthy Series w/UM Extension Office @ 5008 Prospect*
5/9/15 - Neighborhood Cleanup w/Redeemer followed by Cookout @ BH Park, 53rd & Brooklyn, Contact 333-7232
5/16/15 - BHNA General Meeting/Plant Sale
5/19/15 - Block Contact/CAN Meeting
5/29/15 - Blue Hills Tire Clean-Up (will continue on 5/30 if necessary)
5/30/15 - ABOPT Event (Hazardous Waste Drop Off) - new location to be determined soon
*RSVPs required for these events.
Contact [email protected] or 816.333.7870 ext.203 to register for classes.
SIDE NOTES
The Blue Hills Neighborhood Association Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser will be held
Saturday, March 21 at St. Therese Little Flower Church, 5814 Euclid from 9:00—Noon. Ticket
Price: $6.00 for all you can eat pancakes and sausages, drinks included. Come enjoy breakfast
with your fellow residents and mingle with city officials and election candidates.
Please join us on Saturday, May 9 for a neighborhood clean-up. Blue Hills residents and
volunteers from Redeemer Fellowship Church will be clearing trash and brush from 9:00—12:00 to be followed by a
cook-out at Blue Hills Park, 53rd & Brooklyn. Call 333-7232 on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 10:00 and 2:00 pm for
more information.
Calendar listings for the Quality of Life Series workshop offerings by Blue Hills Community Services (5008 Prospect)
can be viewed at http://5008kc.org or contact Leigh Blumenthal, Blue Hills Community Organizer, at
[email protected] or 816.333.7870 ext.203. BHCS provides free educational opportunities for residents on many
topics, such as leadership, computer skills, financial literacy, personal health, etc. Check us out!
Nextdoor.com is a great way to stay in the loop for community events and notices. This on-line
social networking site is specifically for neighborhoods at no cost and is ad free. Just enter and confirm
your address to sign up today!
BLUE HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
5309 Woodland Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64110
Phone: 816-333-7232
Email: [email protected]
Web: facebook.com/BlueHillsKC
BHNA MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
4th Saturday of every month
except for May, Nov. & Dec. (3rd Sat.) due to the holidays
5309 Woodland Avenue
11:00 am
Newsletter Design & Editing by Blue Hills Community Services
BLUE HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Please select one:
 Individual Membership, $15/YR
 Senior Membership (65 & older), $12/YR
 Business Membership, $50/YR
Name ___________________________________________ Date___________ New/Renewal________
Business Name (if applicable) _______________________________________________________
Address ________________________________________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip __________ # of persons in household _____
Phone ________________________ E-mail _______________________________________________
 Yes! I would like to volunteer to help the neighborhood association.
Please make checks payable to: Blue Hills Neighborhood Association
Mail or deliver applications & payment to:
BLUE HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
5309 WOODLAND AVENUE, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64110