ESSEX Monday's Town Meeting has 40 articles on the warrant.

But the primary focus of the debate is expected to center on one issue the future of the properties at Conomo Point.

The first six articles are devoted to Conomo Point issues, a proposed town budget of $15.6 million with $6.4 million for education, and a sewer service bylaw.

The annual gathering of the town's registered voters will be held Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Essex Elementary School, with registration to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Townspeople are encouraged to show up early, since the turnout is expected to be very high, town officials said; if the meeting runs too late, it may be extended to Tuesday.

At Special Town Meeting, just held April 25, an article that would allow the town to offer the current tenants the right of first refusal to buy the properties an article some officials expected to pass easily barely squeaked through at 144-141.

Monday, Town Meeting will take up the issue of allowing the possible sale of the properties south of Robbins Island Road, with the article authorizing the selectmen to take any and all actions relating to the properties.

Another potential flashpoint will be the proposed zoning bylaw for Conomo Point. The version contained in the warrant that is publicly available, however, has undergone significant changes enough so that the Planning Board is not recommending the article's approval Monday night.

"The board has specific concerns relative to the proposed dimensional requirements and the time available to review the documents," the Planning Board said in its report.

Resident Bruce Fortier said he did not think enough time was given to read the proposed changes, though Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki said the town's Boston-based law firm of Kopelman and Paige ruled the edits acceptable and that changes would be made at Town Meeting. Members of the Planning Board agreed with Fortier, and voted not to recommend the article, without prejudice.

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Essex Town Meeting has Conomo Point focus

Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Robert Morris, 83, of northwest Roanoke, dances to music on Saturday in front of the former Claytor Clinic in the Gainsboro neighborhood.

In the old days, people would gravitate to their front porches in the summertime, where they would talk to their neighbors and interact with the community.

"Air conditioning has been our worst enemy, said Bob Clement, neighborhood service coordinator for Roanoke. "When it was invented, everybody started hanging out indoors."

But during the next few weeks, neighborhoods across Roanoke are coming together to pull people outside for block parties and picnics, yard sales and street fairs. These events are in honor of Neighborhood Month, a celebration of community and neighborhood pride hosted by Roanoke's neighborhood organizations.

The Gainsboro neighborhood of northwest Roanoke helped kick off the celebrations Saturday with its first community celebration and block party. Streets were blocked off near the Gainsboro library for free hot dogs, music, face painting and a martial arts show. Free health screenings and voter registration also were available.

"I see a whole lot of people here I haven't seen in a long time," said Calvin Bradshaw, who has been a resident of the Gainsboro neighborhood for 54 years, as he waved to a friend. "Anything like this is good for the neighborhood. It brings people together to talk about things and ways to improve the neighborhood. I wish they'd have more of these events."

In 2003, eight to 10 organizations were participating in National Night Out to fight neighborhood crime every year in August. However, every celebration was on the same night, at the same time, which meant city council members couldn't support all of them and neighborhood residents couldn't attend one another's events.

"I thought, why not do something in the spring where neighborhoods come out, not just to fight crime, but celebrate their accomplishments," Clement said. Roanoke first celebrated Neighborhood Month the next May, with events scattered throughout the month.

Although Gainsboro hasn't had an event like this in years, all ages of neighborhood residents and visitors were out in full force. Children got their faces painted like tigers and butterflies, adults and clowns did line dances together in a cul-de-sac, and balloon animals dotted the crowd.

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Community camaraderie: Gainsboro block party could become annual event - http://www.roanoke.com

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Historic Mobile Preservation Society will host the first annual Oakleigh Porch Tour on Saturday, May 5, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. in the Oakleigh Garden Historic District.

Come, visit, sit a spell and see why our porches are truly the Parlors of the South, stated Renea Greene, Oakleigh Porch Tour Chair. Listen to stories, chat with neighbors and absorb the history of how some of these porches came to be. Start your summer on the right foot; step back in time and enjoy the day in Oakleigh. We are looking forward to your visit.

This event allows HMPS to showcase the lifestyle of this very historic and close-knit neighborhood in a casual presentation, stated Rhonda Davis, executive director of HMPS. May is National Historic Preservation Month and we want to celebrate Mobiles preservation legacy by creating a fun event that allows the public to meander through and explore one of our most loved historic districts. This tour will do just that.

Twelve beautifully restored and decorated porches will be open for the tour, along with lemonade stands, dog watering stations, and surprise entertainment along the way. The afternoon will end with a Porch Play at the Cox-Deasy Cottage at 4:00 p.m.

The Benson Home 202 Rapier Avenue 1908 Italianate

The Burns Home 1160 Church Street 1896 eclectic Queen Anne

The Cummings Home 1011 Augusta Street 1904 Coastal traditional and Colonial

The Garrett-Cumbie Home 1104 Palmetto Street 1927 Arts & Crafts Craftsman Cottage

The Grill Home 1124 Palmetto Street 1930 Arts and Crafts Bungalow

The Harrell Home 1156 Palmetto Street 1899 Queen Anne transitional to Colonial Revival

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Take the Oakleigh Porch Tour

04-05-2012 05:37

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Cerca Church Construction Assembly Line Pour - Video

04-05-2012 13:47 Belize Mission Trip with International Servants, Dr. Paul Whisnant, and our Belize Mission Staff. Children's Ministry and Church Construction.

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Belize Mission Trip 4 with International Servants and Dr. Paul Whisnant - Video

04-05-2012 15:02 Belize Mission Trip with International Servants, Dr. Paul Whisnant, and our Belize Missions Staff. Medical Missions Team, Children's Team and Church Construction Team.

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Belize Mission Trip 3 with International Servants and Dr. Paul Whisnant - Video

04-05-2012 15:58 Belize Mission Trip with International Servants, Dr. Paul Whisnant and our Belize Mission Staff. Medical Mission Team, Children's Team and Church Construction Team.

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Belize Mission Trip 2 with International Servants and Dr. Paul Whisnant - Video

04-05-2012 17:29 Dr. Paul Whisnant leading Ed Young of Fellowship Church and 2 other Pastors on a Mission Trip tour of our Belize Mission with International Servants.

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Dr. Paul Whisnant leading Pastors on a tour of our Belize Mission - Video

04-05-2012 19:53 Promo Video for our Belize Mission Trips with International Servants, Dr. Paul Whisnant and our Belize Mission Staff. Medical Missions Team, Children's Team and Church Construction Team.

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Belize Mission Trip - Promo Video - 3 minutes - Video

From its earliest days as Tauntons meeting house to the present day, First Parish Church has long strived to be a more than house of worship.

Opening our doors and welcoming the community has been a central part of our ministry for 375 years, said longtime church member Barry Sanders, who has served as First Parish Churchs director of religious education for 18 years. Over the years, weve done all kinds of things at the church.

The citys annual Liberty and Union celebration, for example, a series of events held each year to commemorate Tauntons role in Americas struggle for independence from Britain, grew out of a service First Parish Church began holding approximately 20 years ago, Sanders said. And when the Silver City Teen Center was forced to vacate the former Pole School amid concerns over safety conditions there, it found a new temporary home in the First Parish Church basement.

We were welcomed in on very short notice, teen center director Annemarie Matulis. They have been as warm and welcoming as can be and have been the only congregation that has welcomed the gay-straight alliance.

The gay-straight alliance, she said, is one of the teen centers programs.

Matulis is also director of Southeastern Massachusetts Voices Against Violence and runs Dress to Impress, a program that provides gently used business attire to economically disadvantaged jobseekers. Those programs have also used space at the church for years.

Although the teen center is seeking a larger space than the church can provide, Sanders said he would like to maintain and strengthen the partnership with the organization, even if it relocates.

One of the things were always interested in is to become partners with these organizations, Sanders said. Much of their work is things that are absolutely in the ministry of Unitarian Universalism and our church.

The church grounds over recent years have hosted charity walks, domestic violence awareness displays and inaugurations of elected officials. When construction of a new park forced the Taunton Farmers Market to relocate, it found new space on the church grounds last year. Additionally, the Taunton Garden Club holds its meetings at the church and plans to create a new garden on the grounds, Sanders said.

Assisting community organizations and forming new partnerships, Sanders said, is a rewarding experience for the church.

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Partnerships connect First Parish Church with community