By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
January 4, 2012

Before Kansas City rang in the New Year, we asked community leaders and Northeast residents to share their New Year’s resolutions and hopes for Historic Northeast.

For personal resolutions, some strove to exercise more or improve their financial situation. For Northeast, the overwhelming theme was creating a united front and working collaboratively on issues.

Below is the full list of resolutions – enjoy and be inspired.

Personal resolutions:

•”I am going to lose weight in 2012 or just die in the attempt.” – David Remley, local photographer and former Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president

•”To volunteer as a tutor for scholars at KCPS. While I’ve been a tutor before, last year I only volunteered as a mentor. There’s an increasing need for volunteer tutors as well.” – Airick West, Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education president

•”What I would like to do is see my family get more financially stable and the usual one of losing some weight and getting healthier.” – Willie Hough, Lykins Neighborhood Association president

•”My resolution is to take better care of my garden so I can have more good food.” – Katie Greer, Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president

•”To expand my cooking skills and go beyond the grill this next year.” – Michael Seward, executive director of Northeast HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Public Safety) Center

•”To take as many little road trips with my family as possible.” – East Patrol Division Desk Sgt. Jennifer Jones

•”I’m retiring as of Dec. 30 and starting a whole new life as of Jan. 1, 2012. I’m going to devote more time to the community and to myself.” – Jacky Ross, Blue Valley Neighborhood Association president

•”I would like to take on a little bit more business, let people in the area know we deliver that don’t (already know) and take on that added business with minimum stress on the existing staff we have now. Personally, it’s always the same thing every year – I’m going to exercise more.” – Pete Spalitto, owner of Spalitto’s Pharmacy

•”I have two personal New Year’s resolutions – one is to exercise more and the other is to get to know more of my neighbors. Thankfully I can do both at once with Pendleton Heights Dog Walking Group!” – Jessica Ford Ray, Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association president

•”I’m going to lose weight. I say that every year, but I never do it, so I’ll probably wait until 2013.” – Tom Miele, manager at Snyder’s Supermarket

•”We’re going to try and improve the store a little more. We’re thinking about doing a little remodeling and making it cozier. We’re going to put in booths, so people can have more time and enjoy their food. We’re also going to add Direct TV, so people can watch all the games.” – Spike Nguyen, owner of Pho Hoa Noodle Soup

•”I pray to God that in 2012 for me to get a job. When I moved to the country I was working, but now I don’t have a job and I’d like to support my family.” – Elija Wleh, Northeast resident

•”I’d like to get up my game in soccer.” – Esteban Sanchez, Northeast resident and 7th grader at Frontier schools

•”Mine is to stay intense and to stay focused on the goals – whether they’re personal goals or professional goals – and just see it through. I feel like things are starting to line up really well, so I just want to see it through.” – Ben Cascio, Don Bosco Centers executive director

What would you like to see happen in Northeast in 2012?

•”I would like to see the city acknowledge that we exist on the east side of town. I would like to see our neighborhood have some of the advantages some of the other neighborhoods have. I would love to see our empty homes occupied with families that want to be part of a neighborhood.  I would like to see our vacant schools be used for the community and I truly wish that the C. Ball (SunFresh) company decides to build a new grocery store in our neighborhood – right now we only have Save-a-lot and Price Chopper, which are both hard for those who don’t have transportation. Hopefully, being retired now I can work on getting some of these wishes for our neighborhood.” – Jacky Ross, Blue Valley Neighborhood Association President

•”I’d like to see neighbors connect with each other better and create community networks to watch out for each other and also include the police on those networks to reduce property crimes.” – East Patrol Division Desk Sgt. Jennifer Jones

•”We need to better engage all residents of our very diverse neighborhoods. It’s when we all care enough about one another to do the little things, such as simply picking up the newspapers, that we will really begin to see our neighborhoods change for the better!” – Jessica Ford Ray, Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association president

•”For the New Year in Northeast, I would like to see more unanimity of purpose amongst the neighborhoods. That would be my one goal where we’re all on the same sheet music singing the same tune – it would make it much easier to approach the city for the things we need… I would just like to see more harmony. I would also like to see lower crime, of course, and a resolution of the school problem because that’s going to drive parents nuts. The school transfers and everything -I would just prefer to see that settled and quickly.” – David Remley, local photographer and former Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president

•”I’d like to see the crime rate go down considerably more than what it has and I would love to see more community gardens working because it’s really pulling the neighbors together. We have a community garden down off of 9th and Norton and these guys (in charge of it) are doing an awesome job. It’s been able to pull some of the neighbors out that ordinarily would not get involved. I’d like to see our neighborhood be more cohesive and work together to resolve our issues instead of working against each other.” – Willie Hough, Lykins Neighborhood Association president

•”If I can make a resolution for the entire Northeast, I would like it to be for everyone to have a more positive attitude and make more collaborative efforts.” – Katie Greer, Indian Mound Neighborhood Association president

•”Everybody talks about increasing the safety and I think they’ve done that to some extent with the mounted patrol and regular police. I’d like to see them continue that. Instead of saying more safety, just continue with the improvements made in the safety of the residents that continue to live here, that want to raise families and go on about their lives in this area that’s somewhat diversified with different ethnic backgrounds where you could have some problems amongst residents. I’d like to see restaurants come in here that aren’t all about just Mexican dine-in-and-out deals. I wouldn’t mind seeing some better restaurants in the area besides fast food. I’d like to see some doctors and dentists in the Northeast besides Dr. Joslyn and Dr. Kendrick. They seem to be the only physicians in the Northeast area.” – Pete Spalitto, owner of Spalitto’s Pharmacy

•”I’d like to help create a partnership between businesses and the district that provides internships and other real world learning opportunities for our juniors and seniors. Partnerships like this could improve our scholar’s sense of community ownership and help them better see the relevancy of what they’re learning in school.” – Airick West, Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education president

•”I’d like to definitely see the crime rate go down here because it’s getting horrible. It’s to the point where I think for murders we’re ranked No. 1 in the city. There’s a lot of street crime here and we need to do something about it.” – Tom Miele, manager at Snyder’s Supermarket

•”I’d like to see new patrons come to Northeast and at AJ’s Bar, new faces; for foot patrol to come back. That was good and it helped. A lot of people were talking about it.” – Tony Miele, owner of AJ’s Bar

•”People have lost confidence in the economy. What we’d like to see this year is every individual overcome that mentality. They just need to support their community more and have confidence in the system and economy. Each of us needs to do little by little to make that happen.” – Spike Nguyen, owner of Pho Hoa Noodle Soup

•”More jobs for people in the Northeast for 2012.” – Elija Wleh, Northeast resident

•”No more shootings and killings.” – Esteban Sanchez, Northeast resident and 7th grader at Frontier schools

•”I’d like to see the different neighborhood groups be more collaborative. For us to be really successful, it’s got to be about the Northeast. It can’t be about a neighborhood. If you’re just a neighborhood, you’re not going to be a big enough power base. I would like to see this be the beginning of a renaissance for Northeast. I think without question it’s one of the most unique parts of the city. It really is. I can’t think of any other part of the city that has as much architectural history, as much green space, as much history, as diverse a population. All of those are assets that should be played up.” – Ben Cascio, Don Bosco Centers executive director

•”That more citizens will connect with one another and Northeast resources in a meaningful way; that the new 2012 Northeast HELP Community Resource Guide will play a valuable role in that.” – Michael Seward, executive director of Northeast HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Public Safety) Center