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Thanks to an $85,000 grant, Ashland Elementary School in the neighborhood has raised enough money for a new playground, which is to be built in June. More details on Kentucky.com and in today’s Lexington Herald-Leader.

The annual Easter Egg Hunt & Book Swap for Mentelle Neighborhood residents and their families will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 15 in the Mentelle Park Median. There will be separate egg hunts for little kids and big kids and a book swap and socializing for adults. (In case of rain that morning, watch for email updates on rescheduling plans.)

Donations of filled plastic eggs are appreciated. Anyone willing to donate, please email Jessicafayefisher@yahooo.com and indicate the number of eggs you will be contributing. Our goal is to fill 250 eggs.  Eggs may be dropped off on the Mohler family porch at 346 Memory Lane (last house on the right) by Thursday, April 12.  If you have books to swap, either bring them with you that morning or drop them off beforehand on the Eblen family porch at 52 Mentelle Park. 

Jill DeBolt will be leading a spring cleanup in the Mentelle Park median beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 22. Please come if you want to help with weeding, mulching and stick pick-up. (Rain date: Saturday, April 29.)

Ruth Hunt Candy Co. is hosting a free chocolate and wine tasting for Mentelle Neighborhood residents from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at its shop, 213 Walton Ave.

Ruth Hunt is providing the chocolates, and the Mentelle Neighborhood Association is sponsoring the wine from Corner Wine, 835 Euclid Ave. Corner Wine owner Gary Doernberg will be there to serve and offer wine advice.

Please come out to socialize with your neighbors and get to know these two great local businesses.  And with Easter coming soon, this is a great opportunity to buy some local chocolate to take home!

Ruth Hunt Candy Co. is hosting a free chocolate and wine tasting for Mentelle Neighborhood residents from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at its shop, 213 Walton Ave.

Ruth Hunt is providing the chocolates, and the Mentelle Neighborhood Association is sponsoring the wine from Corner Wine, 835 Euclid Ave. Corner Wine owner Gary Doernberg will be there to serve and offer wine advice.

Please come out to socialize with your neighbors and get to know these two great local businesses.

Ashland Elementary School’s students, staff and PTA have been raising money for the renovation of its playground for the past couple of years, and they are making a final push to get it in the ground in time for the start of school next August.  The fundraising goal is $80,000, which will cover the cost and installation of new play equipment and play surfaces. They have raised more than $26,000 and are making a final push from now through the end of April.  Here are some upcoming events:

• ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH – The Ashland Elementary PTA will match all contributions made to the playground up to $7,500.   If your family or business would like to contribute, please do so during March.  You can donate in the following ways: 1) Mail a check (please put “playground” in the memo) to: Ashland Elementary PTA, 195 N. Ashland Avenue, Lexington, KY 40502; or 2) Contribute online at: https://www.cheddarup.com/tabs/ashland-elementary-playground-fund-2017 . (Please note that there is a 4 percent service fee applied to online donations, but it is an easy link to post and share online to encourage families and friends to donate.)
• Monday, March 6, 5-9pm – Buffalo Wild Wings will donate 10 percent of pre-taxed food sales to the playground fund, thanks to the support of the PTA.   Dine in or carry out from the 3090 Old Todds Road location, and tell your server that you want your purchase to support the Ashland Playground.  (Click here to download a ticket).
• Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12 – Shop and Dine locally in the National Avenue, Woodland Triangle, and Chevy Chase neighborhoods to support the playground. Participating stores and restaurants will donate a portion of their sales from the weekend towards the playground. The school groups are actively seeking businesses to participate in the Local Businesses Shop and Dine Weekend.  To learn more, contact Stephanie Spires at Seaspires@gmail.com.

There are several sponsorship opportunities available for the school’s Spring Fling (March 10) and for its first “A Day of Play” event April 28. Funds raised from both events will go toward the playground.  To learn more, contact Stephanie Spires at Seaspires@gmail.com.

MNA Board member Shelby Reynolds and Vice President Linda Worley had a productive meeting with one of the owners of Cosmic Charlie’s and two of the club’s sound men. They were very receptive to hearing about the noise issues and want to work to ameliorate the noise. Based on input we had received from neighbors, we were able to come up with a plan of action:

1. Cosmic Charlie’s will be putting up a sound curtain in front of the garage door facing National Avenue. The curtain will be lowered and the garage door closed when music is playing.

2. Cosmic Charlie’s will be monitoring the sounds on the streets and collecting data. In particular, they are interested in figuring out which acts, types of bands, etc. cause the most disturbance. 

3. They also would like neighbors to continue to collect data. Please send dates, times, and a short description of noise disturbances to Shelby Reynolds at reybart88@yahoo.com.  Shelby will be our point person collecting the data and giving it to Cosmic Charlie’s management.

4. Based on the data, Cosmic Charlie’s will plan on future noise reduction measures, for example, baffling. They also plan to use this data when they talk with musicians.

You also may send ideas to any MNA board members. Names and e-mails are in the Mentelle Neighborhood Field Guide and here.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association board met at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15 at Local’s on National Avenue. Here are the highlights:

• The board discussed numerous complaints received from residents of the 700 block of Aurora Avenue about loud music late at night coming from Cosmic Charlie’s on National Avenue. A board member will meet with the club’s owners to figure out the best way to eliminate the problem.
• A new neighborhood Field Guide (a directory of dues-paying association members) is being distributed to members. Thanks to advertising revenue, this directory was produced at a profit of $200. Periodic addenda will be distributed with updates, corrections and additions. Please email Vice President Linda Worley with any changes to your information. To protect members’ privacy, there will not be an online version of the directory.
• If you are not included in the directory but want to be, please join the association or renew your membership. (The neighborhood boundaries are roughly East Main Street, Walton Avenue, National Avenue and Mentelle Park.)
• The board voted to donate $1,000 to the Ashland Elementary School PTA for use toward a new playground.
• The association now has 104 members. So far, 93 people have signed up for emailed updates from this website.

If you have any questions, please email President Shelly Fortune or Secretary Tom Eblen.

Board meetings are usually held at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. Any Mentelle Neighborhood resident is welcome to attend, but please check with President Shelly Fortune in advance for the location. The board has been meeting at various businesses in the neighborhood in search of a good permanent site.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association board met at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 at Cosmic Charlie’s on National Avenue. Here are the highlights:

• The Internal Revenue Service has approved the association’s application for non-profit status. Thanks to Bethany Baxter for shepherding the paperwork.
• Nighttime noise coming from the Jif peanut butter plant seems to have been reduced considerably. Shelby Reynolds and Jake Gibbs, the 3^rd District Council member, worked with the company, which hired a noise consultant to resolve mechanical issues causing the noise. Please notify a board member if you hear otherwise.
• City officials have rejected a request for speed tables on Aurora Avenue, per city policy, because not enough residents favored them.
• Linda Worley and Shelby Reynolds are completing an update of the neighborhood directory, which should be printed and delivered to dues-paying association members within the next few weeks.

Board meetings are usually held at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. Any Mentelle Neighborhood resident is welcome to attend, but please check with President Shelly Fortune in advance for the location. The board has been meeting at various businesses in the neighborhood in search of a good permanent site.