By Ginger Spickler
First the good news! Thanks to the great folks who have volunteered to take on the job, we have eleven new block clubs in 2010, bringing the grand total to 31 as of this writing. Come Neighborhood Night Out (NNO) the ‘hood should be rocking with lots of parties!
In order to help your block club’s captain create a roster that can be used for safety issues, social events, and more, I’d like to ask that you take a moment to locate your block club in this list and email your captain with your name, address, and phone number. This will help them get a good start on organizing the NNO party without having to schlep up and down the block in the heat collecting info.
Now for the bad news. Despite the record number of block clubs now in existence, there are still almost as many blocks that don’t have clubs as do. If you don’t see a captain listed for your block, that’s because there isn’t one. Could it be you?
The main job of a captain is simply to host (or recruit someone else to host) the NNO party on October 12. There’s always more you can do if you have the time and energy, but even if that’s all you do you’ll be performing a great service for your community. Contact me at gingerspickler@gmail.com for more details!

By Dee Sanders
National Night Out in August saw temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. If you or any of your neighbors participated, the CYCA would like to hear about it! The sweltering temperatures are exactly why, for the past 2 years, Cooper-Young has chosen an alternate date for this event. This year we will celebrate the joys of living in CY on Tuesday, October 12. All block clubs are encouraged to host an event on this evening. Don’t miss this chance to get to know your neighbors better, while at the same time making your block a safer and more enjoyable place to live.
The first twenty blocks to inform Ginger Spickler of their party plans are entitled to reimbursement up to $50 with receipts for food purchases. Alcohol purchases are not eligible for reimbursement. You may contact Ginger at gingerspickler@gmail.com.
Outback Steakhouse on Union Avenue has agreed, as in the past, to supply dinner for 25 people for $100 (see details below). Central Barbecue will offer a dinner of pulled pork, beans, slaw, sauce, buns, paper products, and serving utensils for $3.75 a person (15 person minimum), or 1 lb. of barbecue for $6 (3lb minimum). Both restaurants need orders placed by October 1. In addition, Target is once again sponsoring the event and will provide goodies and party favors.
Be on the lookout for details from your block club captain. If you’re not sure who your captain is or if your block even has a captain, see Ginger’s article titled “Block Clubs gearing up for Neighborhood Night Out” on page 6 for a complete listing with contact information.

The LampLighter is working with the CYCA to bring you meaningful crime information. In addition to the crime map, which details crimes within a one-mile radius of the Cooper-Young intersection, we also included a list of crimes that happened within our neighborhood. This list includes the case number, which you can use to contact the police. The crimes were reported
from July 24, 2010 to August 23, 2010.

CASE #    Arrest     Offenses     Date     100 Block
1008011668ME        Vandalism/Misdemeanor    08/21/10    1900 OLIVER
1008011513ME        Vandalism/Misdemeanor    08/21/10    2000 WALKER AVE
1008010049ME        Burglary/Residential    08/18/10    900 PHILADELPHIA
1008008267ME        Burglary/Non-residential    08/15/10    1000 PHILADELPHIA
1008008189ME        Burglary/Residential    08/15/10    1000 NEW YORK
1008007269ME    yes    Drugs/Narcotics Viol/Misd    08/13/10    SOUTHERN & TANGLEWOOD
1008006633ME        Theft from Building    08/12/10    1000 S COOPER
1008005303ME        Other Theft/Non-Specific    08/10/10    1000 TANGLEWOOD
1008005170ME    yes    Drugs/Narcotics Viol/Felony    08/10/10    SOUTHERN & BARKSDALE
1008005155ME        Theft from Motor Vehicle    08/10/10    1000 BRUCE ST
1008005143ME        Theft of Vehicle Parts/Access     08/10/10    1000 BRUCE ST
1008005059ME    yes    Other Theft/Non-Specific    08/10/10    2100 CENTRAL
1008004889ME        Vandalism/Misdemeanor    08/09/10    900 S COOPER
1008004456ME        MVT/Passenger Vehicle    08/09/10    900 NEW YORK
1008004218ME        Theft from Motor Vehicle    08/08/10    1000 PHILADELPHIA
1008004156ME        Burglary/Residential    08/08/10    2000 SOUTHERN AVE
1008004028ME        Theft of Vehicle Parts/Access     08/08/10    1000 PHILADELPHIA
1008002682ME        Other Theft/Non-Specific    08/05/10    COOPER AND SOUTHERN
1008000617ME        Other Theft/Non-Specific    08/02/10    1900 YOUNG AVE
1007017165ME        Vandalism/Misdemeanor    07/31/10    800 TANGLEWOOD
1007017065ME    yes    Robbery/Individual    07/31/10    2000 OLIVER
1007016346ME        Robbery/Individual    07/29/10    COOPER AND FELIX
1007013836ME    yes    Simple Assault/DV    07/25/10    2100 ELZEY

By Emily Bishop
The city plans to repave Cooper Street in spring 2011 and hopefully the repaving will include bike lanes and redesigning Cooper Street to make it safer. There are two plans being discussed, one from the CY Business Association and one from Revolutions Bike Shop. The CYCA wants to hear from residents and visitors about the redesign of Cooper Street and where the bike lanes should go.
The CY Business Association has been working on a plan to redesign Cooper Street for a couple of years. In the CY Business Association plan, Cooper Street would be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction with a designated turn lane in the middle. Bike lanes would be on both sides of the street from Central to Young Avenue. The stretch of Cooper Street from Young to Southern would have no bike lanes but would only have “Share the Road” signs, and parking would remain on both sides of the street.
A new plan by Revolutions Bike Shop was presented to CY business leaders at a meeting on August 9 at Tsunami. The purpose of the meeting was to present new information about a safer design option for bike lanes and to come to a consensus on a recommendation to the city for when it repaves Cooper Street.
The Revolutions plan also reduces the traffic lanes on Cooper Street to one lane in each direction with a designated turn lane from Central to Young Avenue. The location of the bike lane on this stretch is the big difference. Instead of being next to the moving traffic, the bike lanes would be next to the sidewalk with the row of parallel-parked cars protecting it from the moving traffic. This model of “protected” bike lanes has not been done before in Memphis but it has been successful in other cities. The bicyclist will still have to be careful of opening passenger doors but they will be safe from driver doors and moving traffic.
Charlie Ryan with the CY Business Association stated that “while the business association is pro both pedestrian, parking, and bicycles, we are still far apart …” Ryan does not see room for a compromise and added, “We need to come to an understanding that we just don’t agree.” The reason Ryan gives for not wanting the protected bike lanes is that he doesn’t want drivers who park on the street to have to open their doors next to the lane of traffic. Currently, parked cars do just that.
The new plan from Revolutions also includes protected bike lanes on both sides of the street on Cooper from Young to Southern. The four parking spaces on the west side of Cooper in front of the upholstery shop would be removed. All of the parking on the east side of Cooper in front of First Congregational Church would remain.
Street parking is important to both business owners and residents. Businesses want their customers to be able to safely park close to their businesses. Residents want the businesses to thrive but also want to minimize the traffic, trash, and temptation to would-be criminals that parking in front of their homes invites. The loss of four spaces on Cooper Street would allow bike lanes to continue from Young to Southern.
The CY Business Association has stated their opposition to any loss of on street parking to bike lanes. Individual business owners have voiced their support for the new plan. In an email to the Mayor’s office, Tiger Bryant, owner of the Young Avenue Deli and Soul Fish wrote, “While maintaining as much on street parking is of great importance to me, the safety of my customers and the community at large are equally important. I support the bike lanes being put as far away from traffic as possible, which lends me to supporting putting them between the parked cars and curbs NOT running along traffic.”
The CYCA would very much like to hear from you about this important issue. Please go to
cooperyoung.org and click on the post about the bike lanes and then the link to the discussion forum. You can mail your comments to The Cooper-Young Community Association, 2298 Young Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. You can also send your comments to the Mayor directly at Mayor@memphistn.gov or to his assistant, Kerry Hayes, at kerry.hayes@memphistn.gov.
Editors note: Articles about the bike lanes are available in the June, July, and August LampLighter. They can be found online at lamplighter.cooperyoung.org.

By June Hurt and Susan Roakes
The CY Community Association has joined forces with the Vollintine Evergreen Community Association (VECA), as well as the Evergreen, Central Gardens, and Hein Park neighborhoods to investigate sanitary sewer problems in Midtown. An increasing number of residents have reported that clear water and sewage are backing up into their basements through their sanitary sewer drains during heavy rainstorms. This is a sign of system cross-contamination, which so far the city has denied is occurring.
The City of Memphis has two public drainage systems. One system drains the sanitary sewer lines, which carry wastewater from sinks, showers, toilets, and washers. Sanitary Sewer lines go to treatment facilities for the wastewater to be cleaned before it is released back into the Mississippi River. The other system drains storm water, or the excess water that runs off into storm drains when it rains. Creeks, streams, and rivers are Mother Nature’s storm water drainage system. Before the 20th century, most cities in the US used the creeks, streams, and rivers as their storm water and wastewater systems too. But as early as 1880, Memphis built separate systems to carry wastewater and storm water. Meanwhile, most cities in the US built combined wastewater and storm water systems, which means they clean both storm water and wastewater.
While Memphis’ separate wastewater and storm water systems mean that we spend less on treatment than other cities, the sanitary sewer and storm water systems in Midtown are eighty to a hundred years old. There is evidence that storm water and wastewater from these two systems are mixing, which is called cross-contamination. This mixing occurs as a result of breaks in the lines of both systems. Entry of storm water into the sanitary sewer system overloads this system. This overload is why basements are backing up through sanitary drains during heavy rains. Wastewater backing up through basement drains is a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act and a reportable event. If you have experienced one of these events at your property,
report it to the City of Memphis Public Works by calling (901) 576-6742 or emailing pubworks@
memphistn.gov.
The City of Memphis tracked these cross-contamination events up until 1996. The current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit does not require the City of Memphis to report these backups to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). This has allowed the City of Memphis to ignore requests to look into this problem. They have also indicated that they do not have information about these backups. The EPA had told the City of Memphis that the current policy of not reporting cross-contamination must change before their permit will be renewed. During this permit renewal process, Cooper-Young, along with other Midtown neighborhoods, need to make their voices heard.
On Thursday, August 26, a public meeting was held to discuss the growing sanitary sewer problems in Midtown. Dwan Gilliam, Memphis Director of Public Works, as well as representatives from related sub-departments, answered questions about the sanitary sewer system, and addressed the causes and solutions to the problems that residents are experiencing. They also explained how our sanitary sewer rates are determined and how the low rates that we have enjoyed for years have created budget shortfalls. The residents of Midtown were able to present the information gathered from online surveys in the form of a work-in-progress map of Midtown, showing clusters of problem areas. The city was very impressed and excited about the survey information and has requested that we share updated maps with them as more data is collected. This was a great step in the right direction, but another meeting with the city is being planned. Stay tuned to cooperyoung.org for more details.
Even if you weren’t able to make it to the meeting, you can still make your voice heard. If you have had wastewater backup in your basement or crawl space or have had other flooding issues, please take our short online survey, which you can access through cooperyoung.org. Many residents have spent a lot of money trying to fix this problem on their own. We need to work together to resolve this problem and hold the City accountable for failing to maintain these important systems. If you or someone you know is unable to take the online survey, please email cyca.june@att.net, and we will get a printed version of the survey to whoever needs one.

By Trisha Gurley
We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I think it’s time to change this to “don’t judge a dog by its breed.” Memphis and surrounding areas have been witness to some tragic events involving pit bulls this summer. The most recent being an elderly man who died of cardiac arrest after being attacked by two pit bulls in his neighborhood. The public outcry afterward was palpable. Some wanted pits banned from Memphis. Some wanted to require all pits to be spayed and neutered.  One of the most controversial proposals was to offer a bounty for capturing stray dogs of the so-called vicious breeds. Animal lovers and advocates quickly lambasted this idea, as well they should. The promise of a monetary reward for strays would result in pet theft and backyard breeding simply to make an easier profit than selling puppies outright. Worst of all, placing a price on animals propagates the mindset that they are little more than property, a mindset which is a contributing factor in animal abuse and neglect.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), pit bulls are one of the top ten breeds found in shelters. Sadly, many of the pits in shelters are brought there as rescues from dog fighting busts. This does not mean these pit bulls have automatically been made aggressive. A good shelter will evaluate a pit’s behavior and determine if the dog can be placed in a home, and they will make sure you and the dog are a good fit for one another.
If you’re a friend of the Memphis/Shelby County Humane Society’s Facebook page, you may recall seeing heartbreaking photos back in June of a pit named Robin. It was obvious that Robin had been used as a fighter and a breeder. She was covered in scars, burns, and ticks. One large scar, probably a home-cauterized wound, was spread across her back. The scars were especially prevalent around her neck, indicating that she’d been repeatedly bitten and held by other dogs. Her ears had been clipped back, likely with scissors or a knife, and were greatly swollen and covered with ticks.
There are some who would think Robin should have been anesthetized immediately. She was, after all, a pit bull and a viciously treated one at that. Surely she’d want to lash out at the first human who came near her, even ones who wanted to help. Yet the most striking of all the photos were the ones of Robin’s eyes. They were sad and pleading. She was looking up as if to say, “Please take care of me. I’m so hurt, and I need you.” One caption mentioned her sweetness despite all the suffering she had received at the hands of humans.
I have yet to hear a story where a pit bull attack occurred in a loving, pet-friendly home. In one instance this year, a pit bull broke away from its chain in a yard and attacked a small child. It’s horrible that a child was harmed, no question. News reports focused on the breed of the dog and how it had nearly killed a child. Yet no one seemed to focus on the fact that the dog had been left chained in a yard day and night. If you were left alone for days, months, or years, unable to run and ignored no matter what the weather, chances are you wouldn’t last long before you would snap and do something crazy too.
If you are considering giving a rescued pit bull a chance at a new life, check out the ASPCA website, aspca.com, about pit bull adoption for advice. If you can’t adopt, at the very least report any pit bull being mistreated to local police or contact the Memphis Animal Shelter. Remember, the problem is the owner, not the breed!

By Susan Roakes and June Hurt

CYCA has joined forces with VECA, Evergreen, Central Gardens, and Hein Park to investigate sanitary sewer problems in Midtown.  An increasing number of residents have reported that clear water and sewage have backed up in their basements through the sanitary sewer drain during heavy rainstorms, which is a sign of system cross-contamination, which so far, the city has denied has occurred.

The City of Memphis has two public drainage systems. One system drains the sanitary sewer lines, which carry wastewater from sinks, toilets, washers, etc. The other system drains stormwater or rainwater.

Sanitary Sewer lines go to the treatment facilities for the wastewater to be cleaned before it is released back into the waterways.  For Memphis that is the Mississippi River.

Stormwater is the water that is produced when it rains and water runs off the surface of the ground into the storm drains that make up the stormwater system. Creeks, streams and rivers are Mother Nature’s stormwater drainage system. Before the 20^th century, most cities in the U.S. used the creeks, streams, and rivers as their stormwater and wastewater systems. As early as the 1880s, Memphis separated it’s wastewater from its stormwater. Unlike most cities, Memphis built separate systems to carry wastewater and stormwater.  Most cities in the U.S. built combined wastewater and stormwater systems, which means they clean both stormwater and wastewater.

While Memphis’ separate wastewater and stormwater systems mean that we spend less on treatment than other cities, the sanitary sewer and stormwater systems in midtown Memphis are eighty to 100 years old.  There is evidence that stormwater and wastewater from these two systems are mixing, which is sometimes called cross contamination. This mixing occurs as a result of breaks in the lines of both systems.  Entry of stormwater into the sanitary sewer system overloads this system.  This overload is why basements are backing up through sanitary drains during heavy rains. Wastewater backing up through basement drains is a violation of the Federal Clean Water act and a reportable event. If you have experienced one of these events at your property, report it to the City of Memphis Public Works by calling 901-576-6742 or emailing to pubworks@memphistn.gov.

The City of Memphis tracked these events up until 1996. The current Memphis NPDES permit does not require the City to report these backups to Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC).  The EPA had told the City of Memphis to change this condition for the permit renewal process. Cooper-Young, along with other midtown neighborhoods, plans to comment on this permitting process and needs to hear from residents.

The City of Memphis has ignored requests to look into this problem and have indicated that they do not have information about these backups.  If you have had wastewater backup in your basement or crawl space, please take our online survey. It should less than 5 minutes to complete.

The CYCA and the other neighborhoods intend to share this information with national and state agencies that regulate the storm system.

A public meeting to discuss wastewater backup and stormwater flooding will be held for on Thursday, August 26, 6-8 pm at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, 613 University Street.

We keep hearing stories of how people have spent a lot of money trying to fix this problem on their own.  We need to work together to resolve this problem, and make the city take responsibility for failing to maintain these important systems. Please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9JRSCYJ and complete the survey. Thank you!

By Sarah Frierson

Cooper-Young is a close-knit community, and the board of the CYCA has realized that when and if a disaster ever strikes we will turn to each other for help. The recent floods in Millington and Nashville were a reminder that it is important to plan for the unexpected. Cooper-Young has always been at the forefront when it comes to community organization, and we’d like to set a precedent for other neighborhoods, once again, by putting together a Cooper-Young Emergency Response (CYER) plan.

Local and state governments have emergency plans in place, and first responders will act as quickly as possible to assist us. Nevertheless, in an emergency situation we also need to be ready to take care of our families and our neighbors for the first 7-10 days, if necessary. Our goal is to create a comprehensive disaster plan for the neighborhood and to provide training for CY residents so that we may effectively support one another and efficiently communicate the needs of our community to emergency personnel.

An immediate priority is to create a Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) for Cooper-Young. CERT training is free and open to any city resident. There are 15 training spots available for Cooper-Young neighbors on Saturday, August 21 and 28 from 8am-4:30pm.

The CERT program offers hands-on training in basic disaster relief skills that can be used to assist neighbors in a variety of emergency situations like earthquakes, floods, tornados, or fires. Light search and rescue techniques (such as how to safely lift a wall off of someone who is trapped), fire safety (including how to turn off electricity and gas lines), and disaster medical operations will be covered in the two-day training. All participants will receive a CERT kit.

Please join us for the next meeting of CYER, on Monday, August 9, 6:30pm at Fork it Over, across the street from the CYCA office at 2299 Young Avenue. Refreshments will be provided courtesy of Fork it Over. Cheryl Yarbro, Manager of Operations and Training with the Shelby County Office of Preparedness HLS/EMA/UASI, will discuss CERT training, as well as the resources and plans that are already in place for our city. A CERT kit will also be on hand, so that you can see what you get if you decide to become a community CERT volunteer. Everyone is welcome and no special skills are required.

For further information about disaster preparedness, please visit readyshelby.org.

By Peggy Williamson

Cooper-Young businessman Frank Roberts, owner of The Palladio Group, and the Union Station Police Precinct led by Colonel Lori Bullard deserve our heartfelt thanks for their collaborative efforts in addressing the persistent graffiti problem in Midtown. As a result of Frank’s leadership, a meeting of interested Midtowners was held at the Union Station precinct to talk about how to eradicate graffiti from Midtown. In addition, at our June Midtown Security Community meeting we heard from a Union Station officer who specializes in gang activity. He showed pictures of gang graffiti and pictures of tagging and taught us to recognize the differences.

For the most part we are dealing with tagging in Midtown. Young artists show their spray can savvy by decorating everything from railroad cars to sides of buildings to memorials in Overton Park. It is not hard to find their work in Midtown. Through this recent meeting of concerned individuals and Union Station we have established a strong communication link with the tagging community to let them know we do not want this type of artistic endeavor going on in Midtown.
When you see graffiti in Midtown you are asked to take a picture of it and forward it to an email account that we are in the process of setting up. That picture will be shared with Union Station police and with our link to the tagging community. This contact has pledged to work with us to inform the tagging community that their work is not welcomed in Midtown and to get the taggers to remove their work.

Already we have seen positive results. Graffiti has been reported, our contact has passed along the specific sites to the taggers, and the work has been removed. This is not a quick process so we will have to measure success over time, but we are extremely grateful to Frank, to the Union Station precinct, and to the taggers who are responding positively to our request to stop tagging.

You can make a difference in this effort! Check our blog at midtownsecuritycommunity.org where we will post the email account for you to report graffiti sightings. In the meantime, take pictures of graffiti you see and date the pictures. Your efforts will contribute to an important overall upgrading of the aesthetic landscape of Midtown by just saying no to tagging.

The next Midtown Security Community meeting will be held Thursday, September 2, at 5:30pm. All are welcome. See our website, midtownsecuritycommunity.org, for more details. Peggy Williamson is the Midtown Security Community Chair.