Speese Addition residents celebrate improvements

On Friday, residents in one local area celebrated a few new improvements.

Residents of the Speese Addition neighborhood and the city of Yuma celebrated improvements to an area near Madison Avenue, 10th Street and 11th Street.

The city was able to help make improvements such as the design and construction of two residential streets, including curbs, gutters, sidewalks, six streetlights and five fire hydrants.

Resident Liza Garcia said the area is a lot better with the improvements, and "it's way cleaner."

"I plan on living around this area, I don't want to leave this area," Garcia said.

Nikki Hoogendoorn, a neighborhood services specialist with the city of Yuma, said the neighborhood was annexed several years ago, and the city was able to secure a Community Development Block Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development for $427,000 to use to improve the area.

She said any time it rained "it was a real mess."

 Work began in April, she said, with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning in the neighborhood.

Residents attended the event, as well as city officials such as Mayor Larry Nelson and Councilwomen Ema Lea Shoop.

Myra Garlit, executive director of Crossroads Mission, which has part of its center in the neighborhood, said the improvements will help cut down on dust and dirt in the area.

With the main campus of the mission about four blocks away, she said the improvements such as street lights will help make it easier and safer for people coming and going to events at night between the two centers.

"It's just awesome," Garlit said.

Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.