Hear ye, hear ye! Here is your SHERWOOD FOREST CRIER DECEMBER 1, 2007 Planning Commission Meeting Sherwood Forest's request for protection under the Interim Measures for Community Character Protection has been scheduled for consideration by the Planning Commission on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 5:15pm in City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall. This is an open meeting. Provided the Planning Commission offers a recommendation, this item would be forwarded to City Council for public hearing and first reading on January 16, 2008 at 10am in City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall. Crime Report for the South Region Officer Folding has asked the neighborhood to be aware of increased auto breakins in the South Region. While there have been none in our neighborhood, surrounding areas have recently suffered over 25 auto breakins. Officer Folding reminds us to lock our cars, leave no valuble items in plain sight in the vehicle, and park in well lighted areas. Additional crime prevention tips are available on the web site at http://www.sherwoodforestneighbors.org/Article101.html The complete report and previous reports are available on the SFNA web site at www.sherwoodforestneighbors.org/Article135.html. USC Belser Arboretum Update A long, expensive campaign in the 1990s appeared to bring kudzu under at least temporary control in the Arboretum, but a serious outbreak occurrred again in 2006. After a year-long intensive fight, all known stands of kudzu have been eliminated from the Arboretum by September 2007. Kudzu is a tenacious vine imported purposely in about 1910 from Japan where it had been used as cattle food. In the United States it has engulfed vast areas of rural but also urban sites. Over 7,000,000 acres in the southeastern United States have become wastelands due to kudzu infestation. Our concern is that the Arboretum may become reinfested from the surrounding area without neighborhood cooperation. Detailed information about kudzu and how to eradicate it have been provided by Dr Pat DeCoursey on the SFNA wet site at www.sherwoodforestneighbors.org/Article137.html. In part as a result of our efforts to support the Arboretum, the Educational Foundation at USC has set up two accounts, a "spendable" account for immediate expenses and a long-term endowment account. SFNA prefers that gifts be directed to the Endowment Account to insure that the Arboretum remains an asset to our neighborhood. Spendable Account: #1A3769: "W. Gordon Belser Arboretum" Endowed Account: #811336: "The W. Gordon Belser Arboretum Endowment Fund" Contact Mr. Christopher R. DeWolf, Sr. Director of Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Gambrell Hall, Suite 257B, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Phone (803) 576-5819, Fax (803) 777-4532, cdewolf@sc.edu The next Arboretum Open House will be held on Sunday, December 16 from 1 to 4pm. Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Association, Inc. Columbia, South Carolina www.sherwoodforestneighbors.org © Copyright 2007 Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Association. All rights reserved.