How well do you know your neighborhood?

For this fall's Bull Run Neighborhood Ice Cream Social, we put together a bingo/trivia scavenger activity for new Bull Run Neighborhood residents.  We shared this with Bucknell students experiencing off-campus living for the first time this year.  We had a mix of long term community members and student residents in attendance and enjoyed perfect weather (and less than perfect ice cream novelties -- gotta check on that with Dining Services!) for our afternoon event.  The idea was to introduce students to some of the realities of off-campus life -- when does the trash get picked up on your street?  what is the mayor's name?  what is the floodplain elevation in your neighborhood?

These are questions all borough residents would do well to learn the answers to.  It might also help people know what municipality they live in, as that is a perennial issue in this area.  The border of the Borough may not be intuitive and it may have nothing to do with the mailing address of the same name, but it is meaningful in terms of taxation and representation.  This map from the Borough website also shows the Ward boundaries, useful in knowing who your Council representatives are.  You can track it down on the page listing all their names, contact info and respective jurisdictions.

Here is the cheat sheet for the trivia game, i.e. the questions and the Bull Run-specific answers.  Test your mettle:

• Where is the Borough Office?   S 5^th St and St Louis/Hufnagle Park
• What is the alternate name for Bull Run Creek?   Limestone Run
• Who is Hufnagle Park named for?  Police Chief Gordon Hufnagle, who lost his life saving residents at the base of 5^th and St George in the 1972 flood
• What number do you call for emergency services?  911
• What is the Police Chief’s name?  Chief Paul Yost
• What is the Fire Chief’s name?  Chief Stephen Bolinsky
• What agency oversees Code Enforcement?  Keystone-COG (Council of Governments)
• Which famous Bucknellian has a monument in the cemetery?  Christy Matthewson
• What was the last named storm to flood 6^th St?  Tropical Storm Lee; historic flood info available here
• How many people can live in a residential unit without a variance?  3 unrelated people
• What is the Mayor’s name?  Mayor Judy Wagner
• What creature is featured on the Bull Run Neighborhood banner?  A woolly worm caterpillar
• What are Downtown Dollars?  Gift certificates to downtown businesses organized by the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership; for more info, visit this page on their website
• What watershed is Bull Run part of?  Chesapeake Bay/Susquehanna River
• What body of water does Bull Run flow into?  Chesapeake Bay/Susquehanna River
• What is the elevation of the 100 year flood plain at 6^th and St Louis?  ~460 feet above sea level; ~10 feet above the pavement
• What is the elevation of the ground at 6^th and St Louis?  ~450 feet above sea level; ~10 feet below the 100 year flood elevation; check out the flood stage and elevation marks painted on street sign poles in selected locations throughout the Borough
• When is streetcleaning day on S 7^th St?  Wednesday; for the full schedule, visit this page on the Borough website
• On what day of the week is trash picked up on St Catherine?  Thursday (everywhere in Borough between RR and 15); for the full schedule, visit this page on the Borough website
• Is flood water safe to wade or swim in?  no
• What time does the Borough Code call for quiet?  10pm

Conditional Answers:

• How many green pins are in the map?  (depends how many year-round residents are on hand, ~20)
• Is your house in or out of the 100-year flood plain?
• Check if your house is on a numbered street.
• Check if your house is on a named street.
• Check if you have walked the entire cemetery road.
• Check if you sorted something for recycling yesterday.
• Check if you have ever volunteered in Lewisburg Borough.
• Check if you are going to cook for yourself this year.
• Check if you don’t walk along the rail road tracks.
• Check if you never text and drive.
• Check if you yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
• Check if your name has been in the paper for something good.
• Check after you find a piece of litter and dispose of it properly.

Questions considered but not used:

• Check if friends shouldn’t let friends tip over porta-potties.
• Check if you practice defensive walking and stay alert.
• Check if your family has an emergency plan at home.

All this said, Lewisburg is of course a broader community than what is defined by the legal boundary alone.  The LNC is partnering this week with Bucknell and the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership to bring a new event to the fore:  DISCOVER Lewisburg.  It's for anyone new to the community... or those just getting plugged in... or those engaged but in need of an update from all our great community partners and resources -- everyone, regardless of provenance, is invited to come downtown between 5:30 and 8:30pm this Friday, September 19, and do a self-guided tour of the center of town with various community organizations posted at key locations to greet you.  Participants who complete the full tour -- starting at the Campus Theatre between 5:30 and 6:30pm, doing a complete circuit, getting their map marked up at each station, and turning it in in the Barnes and Noble 3rd Floor Community Room by 8:30pm -- will be eligible for a $50 Downtown Dollar gift certificate drawing.  The LNC and the River Town Team will be stationed at the Lewisburg Hotel along with Buffalo Valley Recreation Authority and Rail Trail.  Hope to see you around town that evening!