Saturday, May 18th the West Peoria Residents Association is sponsoring a community – wide yard sale. Residents are encouraged to join WPRA in this West Peoria event. Signage will be posted in West Peoria and advertising placed in the Peoria Journal Star. If you are interested in being a participant, email vp1@westpeoriaresidents.org. As of this writing, it is known that residents on these streets and blocks will have yard sales: 2100 and 2200 blocks W Alice, 2300 & 2400 block W Ayres, 100 block N. Cedar, 2100 block W. Callender, 800 block N. Courtland, 1000 block N Heading Ct, 2300 block W. Herold Ave. 2100 and 2400 block W. Kellogg, 3000 block Kenwood, 2100 block Laura, 2600 block W. Moss, 2100, 2500 and 2600 blocks W. Rohmann, 2200 and 2300 blocks W. Sherman, 100 block N Waverly, 600 block N. Coolidge Ct.

The West Peoria Neighborhood Watch will meet Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. At the April meeting Deputy Chris Watkins, gave a very informative presentation on drugs. Deputy Vissering will lead a discussion “How Neighborhood Watch Operates and What You Can Do” to protect, deter and prevent crime in our community. He will also provide an up-date on any criminal activity in the area. Plan to attend and bring a friend. Burglary – Break-Ins – Vandalism. It takes all of us to work together on this project!

The West Peoria Residents’ Association will meet Thursday, May 16, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall. April Dukes, Realtor, Keller Williams, also a board member of WPRA, will give a review on Homes & Real Estate in West Peoria. The public is welcome.

West Peoria Lions Club will have donation cards at Haddad’s again this year for Camp Lions. Make a donation of $1.00 or more, sign the card and it will be displayed in the store. Last year the Club was able to send two visually or hearing impaired children to camp due to your generosity. In June the Club will again start selling the 50/50 tickets with the proceeds too also go to the Camp Lions Fund. The winning 50/50 ticket will be drawn at the Flag Raising at the end of the July 4th parade.

The Lions recycle: old keys, glasses, cell phones, tabs, ink cartridges and aluminum cans. Call 673-6207 for more details.

New Residents may pick up a Welcome Packet at City Hall Monday – Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This packet contains vital information for new residents. House Numbers for the rear of your house are also available. These numbers are helpful in emergency situations, re: ambulance & fire calls.

If you wish to report a code violation or register a complaint, please contact Code Enforcement Officer Bill O’Neill at 674-1993 or 370-1142.

All vehicles without an up-to-date license sticker are considered inoperable and are in violation of City Code. Any vehicle without an up-to-date sticker must be stored in a garage.

Waste Management is the trash pickup provider for the City of West Peoria. Residents are responsible for establishing an account with them. Please call them at 1-800-796-9696 to set up your account. You will be billed for this service. Landscape waste pickup began on Friday, April 5th and will continue until Friday, December 27th. This service is included in your Waste Management bill. Garage Sales are permitted once each quarter for no more than three days. Please check with City Hall to ensure there will be no road work going on that would interfere with your sale. It is against City Code to rake or blow leaves or grass clippings into the street. When it rains this causes the storm sewers to back up.

There are still funds available for the Residential Paint reimbursement Program. This program offers reimbursement of paint costs to residents who wish to paint the exterior of their homes or accessory structures (sheds, storage units, or garages). Reimbursement will be granted for exterior paint only. Participants who purchase paint in the City of West Peoria will receive reimbursement of 50 percent of total paint costs, up to a maximum of $250. If the paint is not purchased in West Peoria, the maximum amount reimbursed will be 30 percent of total paint costs, up to $250.

Congratulations to the following aldermen who were reelected in the April 9th, 2013 Consolidated Election. They will be sworn in Tuesday, May 14, 2013 during the City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. in West Peoria City Hall: Ward 1: Leroy C. Dohm Jr; Ward 2: Jerome (Jerry) Meismer; Ward 3: Brian Ganson; Ward 4: James Silver. Carole Stephens was elected City Clerk.

The 16th Annual West Peoria Jamboree Run will start at 7:00 a.m. and features a 4K run, 1K walk, and a Children’s Fun Run. Applications were included in the Residents Newsletter sent to all homes and are also available at City Hall. More details can be gotten in the West Peoria Residents Association website, westpeoriaresidents.org.

Following the tradition of the first Saturday in June, you are invited to attend the Cub Scout Carnival at 3:00 p.m. Stay or come over later for the Jamboree event held each year at Franciscan Recreation Center. West Peoria organizations will have food and drinks available and there is live entertainment. Come, enjoy and connect with neighbors and friends.

Peoria area’s first marathon, Run River City, will head through the heart of West Peoria on Sunday, May 19th. Traffic in West Peoria and nearby Peoria areas will be re-routed to accommodate the run. The West Peoria route enters at Western and Manor Parkway goes to Sterling, runs along parts of Rohmann, Ashland, and Heading returning to the City of Peoria. The main run, the 26.2 run starts at 7:00 a.m., downtown with lesser distance races starting after that initial run. More details about the various races can be found at runrivercity.com. Watch this exciting event as it goes through our community. Show the participants the good will West Peorians share with others. There are multiple opportunities for individuals to participate in events that suit their needs and abilities.

Starting at noon on May 10th is the 30th Annual Grand Tour of Homes held on the West Bluff in May. Tickets can be purchased in West Peoria at either Geier Florist or The Old Hair Shoppe.

West Peoria Lions Club, Troop and Pack 11 and the West Peoria community invite you to join the annual 4th of July Parade and Flag Raising celebration.They will be honored if you and/or your organization wish to participate and join them on this special day and bask in the feeling of community togetherness. Trophies will be awarded for the following: most patriotic, best of show, service organizations, best juvenile and grand marshal. All entries need to be decorated in a patriotic theme. The 44th annual parade steps off at 10:00 a.m. on the morning of the 4th. Line up begins at 8:30 on Rohmann Ave. Groups should be in place and ready to step-off no later that 9:45 a.m. City streets will be blocked at that time in preparation for the start of the parade. This event will go on rain or shine. Contact either Jim McCarter at (309) 673-6207 or jmmccarter@sbcglobal.net or Mark Wrhel at (309) 472-4258 or mwrhel@comcast.net with any questions. Information will also be available at: www.wplions.org.