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This map of York, submitted by Greg Halpin, shows neighborhood designations in the city, some of which are not as well known. Click on the image to zoom in on the map.

Former York City Fire & Rescue assistant chief Greg Halpin inquired via Facebook why a recent YDR article described a police shooting incident in the Yorktowne Homes neighborhood as having occurred in Fireside.

“It seems that some of the local media writers are geographically challenged when it comes to neighborhoods and municipalities. Particularly with the Route 30 corridor, it seems to this observer,” Halpin wrote.

Not many people know York geography better than Halpin, based on my observations. The guy helped re-map the city so the fire department could better respond to calls.

In doing YDR’s neighborhood profiles, I’ve run into some quandaries regarding certain neighborhoods. This derives from certain neighborhood associations being more active than others.

The above map, submitted by Halpin, shows some neighborhood designations in the city, some of which I know nothing about. I’m familiar with Fireside, Yorktowne Homes, Colony Park, Avenues and Springdale. I’ve heard of Swamp.

And I’m proud to say that because of this profile I did on one of the city’s east end neighborhoods, I know what Bullfrog Alley is.

Know any of these areas? Comment here or email me. I’d love to be able to know the background on all of them.

State Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York

Schreiber, a York Democrat, shared Tuesday on his Facebook page a link to job listings in his 95th Legislative District, which consists of York, West York, Spring Garden Township and parts of West Manchester Township.

The employment page on Schreiber’s website contains several postings, and is updated every week, the site states.

“As an elected official I aim to connect local employers to prospective employees,” Schreiber said on his website. “Utilize this website for the latest job openings in the 95^th District. Check back each week for the latest job opportunities. Postings will also be uploaded to my Facebook page, Twitter account and will be mentioned on my weekly E-newsletter.”

The association is working with the City of York, YMCA and other local partners to create a plan that is intended to guide the neighborhood’s improvement, according to the introduction posted on the first page of the survey, which can be accessed here.

Offered in English and Spanish, the survey is part of the association’s application for an Elm Street designation. Locally, York’s Olde Towne East neighborhood received Pennsylvania’s first such distinction.

The association has been working diligently with neighborhood stakeholders and Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson, a national engineering firm with a York location, to properly facilitate and plan for the Elm Street application, a competitive process that could yield some state grant money.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the community association will hold a fall festival at Lincoln Charter School, 559 W. King St., York. The festival will feature pumpkin painting, bobbing for apples and games and prizes for kids as well as discussion on the survey and help filling it out for adults.

The festival will serve as a public meeting for parents and students of Lincoln Charter as well as Salem Square residents, business owners, churches and nonprofits.

“We want residents to help us know how they’d like to see their neighborhood,” said April Showers, vice president and business development manager for JMT.

Michael Smith, volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of York and Adams Counties, details fire safety protocol with Vilisha Barnes after volunteers installed a new smoke detector at Barnes’ home in the 500 block of West King Street. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

Volunteers canvassed York’s Salem Square neighborhood,  installing free smoke detectors as part of American Red Cross’ Home Fire Preparedness Campaign.

The nonprofit’s central Pennsylvania chapter aimed to put 1,000 smoke detectors in homes on the city’s west end Thursday, with members of the Salem Square Neighborhood Association assisting volunteers.

Vilisha Barnes has smoke detectors, but one wasn’t working when some volunteers rang her doorbell in the 500 block of West King Street.

“This is very nice,” Barnes said after a crew replaced the dysfunctional device in her downstairs ceiling.

Fliers with Red Cross contact information were put on doors where residents weren’t home during a Red Cross home fire prevention campaign. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

After the detector was swapped out, Michael Smith, with Big Brothers Big Sisters of York and Adams Counties, reviewed fire safety tips with Barnes, reminding her to establish multiple escape routes and stay close to the ground in the event of a fire.

“You don’t think about stuff like this until something happens,” Barnes said.

As Smith and a few others walked down West King Street before turning onto Hartley Street, Kerri Cassel reminded the volunteers they should be educating tenants about what they should know so they can help landlords make their residences safe.

Cassel, who works for CGA Law Firm, said a partner at her firm wanted her to join him in the smoke detector program. “I wanted to get involved with the York community,” she said.

Volunteers left fliers on homes’ doorknobs if no one answered. The fliers contained contact information — in Spanish and English — for people to call the Red Cross for new smoke detectors or help fixing old ones.

Salem Square is one of the more densely populated areas of York, said Mayor Kim Bracey after a news conference across from the former site of Gus’ Place. A fire in one of the many connected row houses could be devastating, she said.

Thursday’s program was the second such campaign in York this year. Nearly 250 smoke detectors were installed in May in the city’s northeast neighborhood after a rash of fires on Walnut Street, said Matt Leininger, chapter executive for American Red Cross of South Central PA.

The free smoke detectors are part of Red Cross’ effort to reduce the number of home fire injuries and fatalities by 25 percent over five years.

Smoke detectors reduce people’s chances of escaping fires by more than 50 percent, said Dan Tobin, regional director of marketing and communications for the Red Cross. It’s estimated that almost 5 million homes in the United States don’t have working smoke detectors, he said.

Kerri Cassel was one of nearly 80 volunteers who canvassed York’s Salem Square neighborhood Thursday during a home fire prevention campaign. Cassel, who works for CGA Law Firm, wanted to get involved with the York community, so she joined one of her coworkers in the campaign that aimed to install 1,000 free smoke detectors inside homes that needed them. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

Think Loud’s headquarters — the white building — can be seen at right. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

I haven’t posted to this blog for nearly three months. It’s been my goal to make a blog post on here twice a week, and I’ve failed at that.

Row homes on Chestnut Street in York await demolition. The old York prison can be seen at right. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

This is my public apology for that.

As the York city reporter, I want to do better. And I intend to.

I wanted to use this post to share photos I took Thursday morning of the demolition process by Think Loud Development on York and Chestnut streets in York.

Buildings are coming down in the city’s Northeast Neighborhood as part of Think Loud’s plans to make infrastructure and streetscape improvements.

There are other initiatives underway, including United Fiber & Data’s plan to make York a gigabit community and Think Loud’s efforts to preserve an old railway building near the tracks on York Street.

Several row homes are a pile of rubble on Chestnut Street. (Mark Walters – Daily Record/Sunday News)

The nonprofit put out a survey online, asking participants to tell the association what’s most important to them.

The survey, accessible here, takes a couple minutes. It is intended to help the public stay connected with news from Crispus Attucks.

York City Council President Carol Hill-Evans received the most votes in the primary (Submitted)

Supporters for Carol Hill-Evans

Brought in: $50

Spent: $1,526.51

The incumbent council president’s committee brought $4,700 from her last report, spending about one-third of it from May 5 to June 8. Some of that was reimbursement to her, with the other half going to mail service. She received $50 in that period.

Sandie Walker, who cleared the York City Council primary in May (Submitted)

Committee to Elect Sandie Walker

Brought in: $500

Spent: $1,999.04

The committee for the lone newbie to clear the primary brought $1,500 from the last reporting period to add to the $500 it received from Kevin Schreiber for York. Her committee spent all but 96 cents of that $2,000 between May 5 and June 8, according to campaign finance reports. Walker has $2,835 in unpaid debts and obligations, according to her campaign finance report. She owes that to H Street Strategies, a political management company in Allentown.

York City Councilman Michael Helfrich (Submitted)

Helfrich for Council

Brought in: $1,370

Spent: $3,984.18

Helfrich brought $2,765 from his last report between May 5 and June 8, according to his campaign finance report. Most of the $3,984 was put toward mail service.

Of note: Nixon for Council, the campaign committee for York City Council Vice President Henry Nixon, reported a cash balance of $1,470 at the end of the post-primary reporting period. Nixon’s seat was not up in the primary. He is seeking a seat on the York County Commission. He was one of two successful Democratic candidates in that primary.

York City Council President Carol Hill-Evans (Submitted)

Carol Hill-Evans and Supporters for Carol Hill-Evans

Brought in: $2,225

Spent: $1,540.15

Her largest contribution, $1,000, came from REALTORS Association of York and Adams Counties.

Her largest expense was $739.22 to Louisville, Kentucky-based My Campaign Store, LLC, for yard signs.

Noteworthy: The incumbent council president received $100 from Linda Small, who ran unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania Senate, losing to Republican Scott Wagner in two separate elections. She also received $200 from Anderson for Judge Committee.

York City Councilman Michael Helfrich (Submitted)

Michael Helfrich and Helfrich for Council

Brought in: $6,180.23

Spent: $3,414.96

His largest contribution was $1,000, which he received from three different donors.

His largest expense was $688 from his committee to himself for street sign reimbursements.

Noteworthy: Helfrich’s campaign received $1,000 each from White Rose Bar and Grill, REALTORS Association of York and Adams Counties and Louis Appell Jr.

York City School Board Member Sandie Walker (Submitted)

Sandie Walker and Committee to Elect Sandie Walker

Brought in: $1,500

Spent: $0

Her largest contribution was $1,500 from Louis Appell Jr.

Noteworthy: While the York City School Board member didn’t spend any money on her campaign yet, she received $426.05 in in-kind contributions from York Mayor Kim Bracey for yard signs.

York City Human Relations Commission Secretary/Treasurer Amy Chamberlin (Submitted)

Chamberlin for Council

Brought in: $4,005

Spent: $1,035.57

Her largest contribution was $1,000 from two different donors.

Her largest expense was $486.37 to Cleveland, Ohio-based Hotcards for campaign brochures.

Noteworthy: Amy Chamberlin’s campaign group received $1,000 each from REALTORS Association of York and Adams Counties and Louis Appell Jr. Chamberlin said her campaign finances went entirely through her committee, Chamberlin for Council.

Carla Christopher, member of Democratic Party of York County executive committee (Submitted)

Carla Christopher and Committee to Elect Carla for York

Brought in: $0

Spent: Less than $250

Noteworthy: The former poet laureate for the city said she has not raised any money and funded her entire campaign thus far with less than $250, which is the minimum for reporting campaign finances.

Read more on York City Council primary race.

Administrators and parents were pleased with the evacuation of students from Helen Thackston Charter School who were sent by foot Monday to Hannah Penn after a nearby fire on Walnut Street blew smoke into the East Philadelphia Street school.

Transferring the charter school’s more than 500 students about a mile-and-a-half away went smoothly, said York City School District Supt. Eric Holmes.

The decision was made around 1:30 p.m. to transfer Helen Thackston students to Hannah Penn, the school’s primary evacuation site, in the 400 block of East Boundary Avenue, Holmes said. The charter school’s circulation was pulling smoke into the building, according to Debra Why, whose daughter works at Lincoln Charter School, Thackston’s elementary school.

Firefighters arrived at the fire in the 500 block of Walnut Street around 1:12 Monday, where they battled the blaze that sent smoke to several areas of the city.

Coordinating the students’ walk to Hannah Penn was very well-organized, Holmes said. Staff at both schools as well as Lincoln Charter, York City police officers and the district’s police did a great job accounting for students, rerouting buses and orchestrating the dismissal of students at Hannah Penn, he said.

“What a wonderful example of cooperation between all people at the charter schools and York City School District,” said Why, who tipped York Daily Record staff off about this.

Holmes said he was happy that no one was injured, no one got sick and they were able to keep the kids safe.

“We have good people working in the school district of the City of York who do their jobs and do them effectively,” Holmes said. “What happened (Monday) is people did their jobs the way they were supposed to and the outcome was what we expected it to be.”