Buckingham Greene Maintenance Corporation

Spring, 2004 Newsletter

Feb 26, 2004

Here Comes the Sun
It?’s been a brutally cold and much too long winter, but thankfully, spring is only a few short weeks away. It has been another productive quarter for our community, and we wanted to get everyone up to speed on the latest news within the neighborhood.

Holiday Social
In December, thirty-five residents got together for our first ever ?“Adults Night Out Holiday Social?”. The event was held at Mrs. Robino?’s Restaurant in Wilmington and was a tremendous success. The food was good, but the people were even better. Everyone enjoyed having a chance to get reacquainted with some of their neighbors. Pat and Loretta Ward won the second annual Buckingham Greene Trivia Contest with an impressive 8 out of 10 correct answers. Special thanks goes to Tammy Zoppi, Lani Gibson and Rita McCann for helping to make this wonderful event take place. We all look forward to more fun events in the very near future.

Community Meeting Upcoming
Our next community meeting will be Tuesday, March 30th (starting at 6:45PM). The meeting will be held at the New Castle County Library on 1300 Foulk Road near Talley Day Park (2nd floor in the large conference room). Please do make an effort to attend. We have some important issues to discuss and make decisions on as a community. Discussion topics include: There has been a significant development with respect to our general liability insurance coverage, and the associated premiums. These changes will impact our annual assessment. Additionally, the community must vote on and approve the budget and annual assessment dollar amount for the upcoming fiscal year. We also need to finalize the proposed deed restrictions and have any changes filed with the county.

As always, we plan on having our local representative, Wayne Smith, available to speak to current issues and answer any questions you might have. Hope to see you all on the 30th.

Buckingham Greene Trivia
At our holiday social in December, we had our second annual Buckingham Greene Trivia Contest in an effort to determine who knew the most about the neighborhood. As previously mentioned, Pat and Loretta Ward won with a very impressive score of 8 out of 10 correct answers. How well can you do? If you are up to the challenge, see how many questions you can answer (correct responses can be found on the Buckingham Greene website at www.neighborhoodlink.com/wilmington-de/bgca). Good luck!

1) Which current resident is an avid bowler and Secretary of his/her bowling league?

2) Who has three sons named Richard, Chor and Thomas?

3) Which residents were the first re-sale in Buckingham Greene (hint: they still live in the development)?

4) Who has a dog named Chili?

5) Which resident runs his/her own business out of their home as a language translator?

6) Which resident is a professional photographer?

7) Which resident runs a daycare out of their home here in Buckingham Greene?

8) Which resident is a teacher at Lancashire Elementary School?

9) How many homes are there in Buckingham Greene?

10) Which two (2) families had babies within the past year?

Acts of Vandalism
As mentioned in the last newsletter, several Buckingham Greene residents have experienced incidents of vandalism to and around their homes over the past few months. While the police have been notified and are currently conducting an investigation, it is vitally important that we all help each other by keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. Please don?’t hesitate to contact the authorities if you notice any suspicious individuals in and around our community. We all take great pride and joy in our development. Let?’s all work together to ensure that no troublemakers can detract from keeping Buckingham Greene as one of the best communities in north Wilmington. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Community Services
Juliana Panzera at 11 Weilers Bend would like to offer pet-sitting and walking services at low prices to members of the community. Please feel free to contact Juliana at 529-0903 if you are interested in hearing more about her pet-sitting/walking services.

Upcoming Local Events
Welcome Spring (Jan 17th through Apr 2nd) Three acres of gardens featuring a variety of flowers. Longwood Gardens, U.S. 1 near Kennett Square, Pa.
?• Admission: $12 (Tue. $8), ages 16-20 $6, 6-15 $2, 5 and younger free
?• For information: (610) 388-6771 or www.longwoodgardens.org

St. Patrick's Celebration (March 14th)
Irish food, dancing, storytelling and activities for the family. Hagley, Del. 141, along Brandywine River near Greenville
?• Admission: $11, seniors/students $9, ages 6-14 $4, 5 and younger free
?• For information: 658-2400

Citizens Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon (March 14th) - Delaware's largest and oldest road race. The 13.1 mile course begins in downtown Wilmington, continues to the riverfront, through Rockford Park and back to Rodney Square Rodney Square, 10th and Market streets.
?• Admission: $35
?• For information: 655-7258

Wilmington 5th Annual Delaware Home & Garden Expo (March 27th) - This Annual Home & Garden Expo includes dozens of booths with all of your Home & Garden Needs. It also includes celebrities from popular Home Improvement Shows. Bank One Center on The Wilmington Waterfront ?– Madison Avenue.
?• Admission: Free admission and parking
?• For information: 793-4200 or
www.DEHomeGarden.com

Wilmington Easter Bunny Express (April 3rd through 10th) - Ride the train with the Easter Bunny on board. Treats for all children. Wilmington & Western Railroad, 2201 Newport Gap Pike (12:30 & 2:30pm).
?• For information: 998-1930 or www.wwrr.com

Earth Day Celebration (April 17th)
Conservation activities, games, stories, crafts, live animal presentations and more Brandywine Zoo, 1001 N. Park Drive, Wilmington
?• Admission: $4, age 62 and older and 3-11 $2
?• For information: 571-7747

Winterthur Point-to-Point (May 2nd)
Enjoy the excitement of this annual steeplechase race. Activities include tailgating, horse racing, a spectacular parade of antique carriages, and more. Tickets sold in advance only. Winterthur, Route 52
?• For information: (800) 448-3883 or www.winterthur.org

Wilmington Flower Market (May 6th - 8th)
Carnival rides, entertainment, crafts, plants, food, 5K run, art. Rockford Park, Wilmington.
?• Admission: Free. Parking, $
?• For information: 995-5699

Community Yard Sale
There has been some interest expressed by several neighbors in holding a community yard sale. The general consensus thus far is to have the yard sale in late spring. This will give everyone ample opportunity to prepare, and hopefully the warmer weather will help to increase the turnout. If you are interested in participating, please contact Paul Zoppi at 529-7760. In addition, any assistance with organizing the yard sale would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Tip of the Month
Don?’t forget, our District Representative, Wayne Smith, holds a weekly open forum at the Brew Ha Ha Restaurant, located in the upper part of Branmar Plaza? The meetings are from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m., Tuesday mornings. Wayne buys coffee for all! Why not stop by sometime to discuss issues, concerns or simply hear what issues are on other people?’s minds.

In addition, did you know that the Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred (CCOBH) is a civic umbrella group consisting of some 150 civic associations in Brandywine Hundred? CCOBH is over 50 years old and reportedly is the oldest and largest civic umbrella group of its kind in Delaware and this region. They deal with issues such as zoning, land use, education, historic preservation, preservation of natural resources, park land and open space preservation and any other issue which residents deem important to their quality of life.
CCOBH meetings are held monthly at Brandywine High School off of Foulk Road (7 pm in the auditorium). The next general assembly meeting is scheduled for March 11th. Feel free to drop by and hear what are some of the most important issues facing the residents of New Castle County. In addition, you can access the CCOBH website at www.ccobh.com for additional information and future meeting dates.

Contact us with Ideas
If you have anything you would like to see published in our next quarterly newsletter, please drop off a note at 109 Scotts Way, or send an email to pzoppi109@cs.com. Your input and feedback is greatly appreciated. As always, we are looking for volunteers to help with putting the newsletter together on a quarterly basis. It doesn?’t have to take up a lot of your time, and it should be a lot of fun. Please feel free to contact any of the Board Members if you are interested in participating.


Next community meeting will be Tuesday, March 30th at 6:45 pm. Details to follow soon.


Happy Spring!