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Columbia Tusculum
e-Journal
August 2010
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Monthly Community Council Meeting, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Columbia Baptist Church, 3718 Eastern Ave
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August 16 meeting: Fran Santangelo, leader of the Columbia Tusculum Business Association will review how this group got started in its first year, and their plans for the next year.
September 20 meeting: Andy Holzhauser, The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Andy, a former CTCC Director, discusses his new Nonprofit business doing home energy assessments. GCEA also consults on energy saving building technologies, including support for low income residents.
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- August 14 Brueggers Bagels celebrates one year on Columbia Square (see below)
- August 16 Monthly Community Council Meeting, 7:00-8:30 pm, Columbia Baptist Church
- August 23 Columbia Tusculum Business Association meeting, 9:00 am, Keller Williams
offices, Columbia Square
- Sept 11 Ballet Theatre Midwest grand opening in new Eastern Av location. (See below)
- Sept 24 Deadline to apply for City's Fall Tree Planting Offer (see below)
- 10/10/10 Columbia Tusculum Home Tour
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| Columbia Tusculum Community Council Notes |
July 2010 CTCC - Summer holiday, no meeting
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Columbia Tusculum
Home Tour
10/10/10
The 2010 Home Tour is shaping up as a great event and opportunity to showcase Columbia Tusculum.
Twelve homes will be on tour spanning over 200 years - from 1804 to 2008! We'll add to that four historic buildings and Celtic musicians throughout from our own Riley School of Celtic Music.
The Columbia Tusculum Business Association will join in with a fall farmer's market day and music at Columbia Square. Local businesses will be set up in the Square with discounts and exciting giveaways. Many businesses will have their doors open the day of the tour.
Come celebrate Columbia Tusculum, both the old and the new. Enjoy local music, local food and have local fun.
Now, we need some of your help.
Community Council board member George Frank, chairperson of the Volunteers Committee, is looking for volunteers the day of the event.
You will be volunteering as House Captains and Shuttle Drivers for 1 of 2 shifts:
- 12:30 - 3:30 or
- 3:15 - 6:15
We'll also need help to set up & take down various signs for the tour. Volunteers get to see the homes for free during their off shift. All volunteers are welcome to a FREE after party that night; location to be determined.
Volunteer for the day of the tour and be a Columbia Tusculum "ambassador." You'll join in the fun, too. Please contact George at 374-3348 or george.frank@gmail.com.
Housetrends Magazine will do a cover story on our Home Tour in their August issue. Nine of the twelve homes to be on tour will be featured in the article with interior and exterior photos. These homes, dating from 1855 - 1890 historic homes to a new construction home built in 2008, illustrate the range of housing available in Columbia Tusculum.
If you do not receive this quarterly magazine on interior decorating and remodeling, you can view highlights of issues on www.housetrends.com. It is also on the Joseph Beth news stand.
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Columbia Tusculum named one of area's 10 Best Places to Live!
Did you see the August issue of CIncinnati Magazine? If you didn't, you missed seeing Columbia Tusculum named one of the area's Ten Best Places to Live in their annual Neighborhood Watch issue. We were one of only two neighborhoods within the City to be named. Others were in Northern Kentucky, Hamilton County and the northern Suburbs.
We loved their Intro: "Westwood is moving, Liberty Township is holding its own, and Columbia-Tusculum's painted ladies are hot, hot, hot. True, the economy battered the real estate market for the past few years. But we found 10 parts of town where (fingers crossed) things seem to be on the mend." (Our highlight.)
Hey, we already know we're hot. Now a lot more people do. Check out this issue to see the page and a half spread on Columbia Tusculum and six pictures of your neighbors on Tusculum Ave.
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Brueggers Bagels celebrates one year in Columbia Square Aug 14
Brueggers on Columbia Parkway is having their one year Birthday on August 14th!
The zoo will be there for that day with animals. Brueggers will also have face painting and 99 cent cream cheese sandwiches for kids who bring back a color sheet handed out the week before the event. There will be a prize wheel and, of course, corn hole.
A percentage of sales for the entire day will be going to the Cincinnati Zoo. Everyone is invited! |
Ballet Theatre Midwest moves to (another) historic CT building
Ballet Theatre Midwest, our resident ballet school, is moving from one historic Columbia Tusculum building to another. As of September, BTM now located in the old Carnegie library on Eastern Ave., will move a block away to Spencer Township Hall, 3833 Eastern Ave.
Spencer Hall, built in 1858, was the original township hall for Columbia Tusculum (then called Spencer Township) before we were annexed to the City of Cincinnati This tall red brick building has been closed for a number of years. Ballet Theatre Midwest will be the first occupant of the newly renovated building.
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Job Openings
The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is looking to fill two positions to further enhance the services they bring to the Greater Cincinnati region. (See the above Sept CTCC meeting announcement where GCEA will speak.)
* The Operations Director
* The Marketing and Community Outreach Director
The Riley School of Irish Music is looking to fill the position of Business Manager. This position requires that a candidate be skilled in general accounting practices and possess strong organizational abilities. Additionally, excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential.
This position averages between three and four hundred hours per year with a compensation rate of $15 per hour. There are periods of great intensity around the beginning of each of the three quarters during our September through May school year, with some organizational duties required during the summer. Grant writing and development coordination skills are a plus.
For more information about specific duties or to submit a resume with a cover letter, please contact Kathy Schneider at kathy@rileyirishmusic.com
The Riley School of Irish Music is a non-profit organization. They meet at the Columbia Baptist Church from September through May on Saturdays from about 9:00 am - 2:30 pm. Most of the work for this position can be done from home. |
Support local Farmer's Markets
Try the new Mt. Lookout Farmer's Market which operates Saturdays, from 10-1pm at Cardinal Pacelli. This Market features Geiger Farms, a family owned and operated farm in Clermont County. The farm raises 2 1/2 acres of berries and approximately 3 acres of vegetables. All produce is raised organically. They also have a greenhouse and sell organic vegetable plants, 51 varieties of heirloom tomato plants, all manner of berry plants and some of the best fruit trees available all on rootstocks specific to local soil conditions.
Drop down the hill for our own tried and true Lunken Farmer's Market for sweet corn, tomatoes, melons and an assortment of locally grown produce. Many of the farmers come from just over the border in Indiana. You might buy corn picked that morning. They're out every day, usually gearing up by 10:00am til 5:00 or 6:00 pm.
 You might also try the Mt. Washington Farmer's market to sample Tusculum Ave. resident, Amy Cortez's herbs and aloes. Amy has grown a lot of herbs right here off her Tusculum Ave. back deck. She now has a farm she recently started in Adam's County. The Mt. Washington market is open only Thursdays, from 3:00 - 7:00 pm at Stanbery Park. Take Corbly Ave from Beechmont just after the Kroger's. Check Amy's website for more on her wares and other markets she sells at: www.amysaloesandherbs.com. |
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Is your Front Yard Desperate - for a Makeover?! We received this message to pass onto you. Go for it. Time to apply is running out, so if interested, contact them now. (No date was given.)
"My name is Valerie Miller and I am working with a local TV production company called JayTV. It produces a program called "Desperate Landscapes" which airs on the DIY Network. We are working on casting now for production in fall and next spring. We are sending information out to many
Greater Cincinnati community councils and neighborhoods in an effort to encourage homeowners to apply to be on the show.
The show turns the worst house on the block to the first. We like to find homes in desperate need of an overhaul on the front of the house only. We do landscaping and now we will also consider structural improvements such as windows, a new driveway, painting, a new screened in front porch, etc.
Thank you for your help in sharing the news about this opportunity."
Valerie Miller
728-1339 |
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Duke Energy brings "Smart Grids" to Cincinnati
The digital technology that revolutionized your TV, computer and phone experience is coming soon to a power pole near you. Duke Energy is upgrading our region's infrastructure to provide energy, that over time, will be more reliable, more affordable and ultimately, more clean.
What is the smart grid? A smart grid is a power distribution system that uses digital technology to enable two-way "conversation" between Duke Energy and their customers, using advanced meters and other high-tech communications equipment. It's a new way of working with customers - helping them to manage energy better, save money and help the environment.
By giving Duke Energy timely information about what is happening on our system, the smart grid allows us to quickly detect and resolve problems, prevent and shorten power outages, improve service reliability and give customers information to better manage their energy use.
Duke has offered to send a speaker on Smart Grids to a community council meeting. We will schedule them in next couple months.
In the meantime, go to Duke's website to learn more and see a map of when we can expect to have smart grids installed in the Cincinnati area. Click the right hand menu for the map.
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WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE TREE?????? PARK BOARD FALL RELEAF PROGRAM 2010
A selection of trees of different sizes are available to private property owners from the City for their annual Fall Releaf Program. Trees are free, but you are responsible to pick them up and plant them yourself.
They have some interesting choices this year - from Large (Dawn Redwoods - see them in Alms Park) to Medium (River Birch - 40-50 ft) to Small (Serviceberry & Redbuds - 20-25 ft).
Orders are due by September 24. Urban Forestry reviews applications and you are informed by October 8 if your site qualifies. Pick up is on a Saturday later in October.
TO QUALIFY: 1. Property must be in the City of Cincinnati.
2. Trees must be planted within 30 ft of the right-of-way or visible from the street. Planting between the street and sidewalk and in backyards is not acceptable. 3. Plant the right tree in the right place. Please consider the mature size of the tree. Be aware of any obstructions from wires, utilities, or other structures.
Cincinnati Park Board, Natural Resource Management Section 3215 Reading Rd. If you have any questions, please call Phil Hucke or Doug Fritsch at 861-9070 ext. 21 A high priority is given to planting trees on private property along streets the Park Board cannot plant due to narrow right-of-ways. The Park Board encourages such streets to coordinate delivery and planting for interested property owners.
Forestry staff will inspect each planting location before approving tree requests, and will inspect locations after planting to ensure guidelines are followed.
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Proposed Public Regional Water District, Why Change?
In the July Columbia e-News, we printed a statement from Greater Cincinnati Water Works describing why we should support a fall ballot initiative to create a regional water district. A big consideration is freeing up income from this asset to be available for any City capital improvements. Currently, funds from GCWW must be folded back into water system infrastructure only.
We like to present you, where possible, with information on both sides of an issue. The link to a video below is informative on both sides of the issue. It was produced, however, by anti-sale people, so each pro-argument is refuted.
The video presents interesting long issues on the potential impact a regional water district with cheap available water could have. eg., encouraging urban sprawl with negative transportation & pollution impact; future water scarcity; increasing future cost of water (with same water high water quality) for City users vs. current system.
View the video, and decide for yourself what position to take before the initiative is on the November ballot. http://vimeo.com/13379237
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City Comprehensive Plan Learning Forums
The City of CIncinnati is working on the first update to its Compreensive Plan in thirty years. Working groups have been set up for wach of the plan's elements to collect citizen input. These groups requested additional information to understand the Plan and other regional planning efforts.
The two forums below have set up to provide more background and are open to the public.
Learning Forum Focused on Regional Plans: This forum will focus on three regional planning efforts: Agenda 360, Community COMPASS (Hamilton County), 2030 Transportation Plan (OKI), Strategic Regional Policy Plan (OKI).
August 26, 2010 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Auditorium at the CPS Education Center, 2651 Burnet Ave., Corryville
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Cincinnati's Budget but Didn't Ask: Featuring Lea Eriksen, Budget Director, Office of Budget and Evaluation, City of Cincinnati.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. J. Martin Griesel Room, Centennial Plaza II 805 Central Avenue, 7th Floor
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Audit of Solid Waste Collection Services
City is conducting an audit of the service locations to which it provides solid waste collection. This project was initiated to reduce cost of operation while improving service delivery.
The City has deployed a team of field auditors to verify addresses and property-type characteristics of residences, apartments, condominiums, and some small businesses within the City.
Citizens may encounter auditors observing single family residential, multi-family residential, and some small or medium sized business premises in order to successfully conduct the audit.
Auditors are generally required to remain on public right-of-way areas in residential neighborhoods, but can enter public entryways of multi-family buildings or commercial premises. This project begins today and will be completed in mid September. The auditors are only authorized to be performing this task between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Call 591-6000 if you have any questions about this project. |
| Give the Gift of Columbia Tusculum | |
Columbia Tusculum Padfolios
These black faux leather padfolios hold a standard 8 1/2 x 11 tablet on the right and have pockets of several sizes on the left. A large outer pocket and zipper enclosure make these perfect for both work and school. A large CTCC urn and flowers logo is embossed on the front, letting people know we are "Cincinnati's Oldest Neighborhood."
To place your order: send a check & identify items ordered to CTCC, P.O. Box 26085, Cincinnati, OH 45226. Include your name, address, email address & phone #. If orders cannot be left on your porch, give delivery instructions. We only deliver within the 45226 area. No shipping included. Indicate in your instructions if you plan to pick up. |
Get involved in Columbia Tusculum
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If you would like to get more involved in your community and make new friends, consider volunteering. Can YOU help?
2010 Columbia Tusculum Home Tour: Day of event colunteers needed. See article above in CT Neighborhood News.
Alms Park invasive species clean-out: Help Friends of Alms Park in a fall clean-out day. Contact bylichtenstein@aol.com
Irish Heritage Center - help with organizing & rehabbing their building at 3907 Eastern Ave, as well as assisting with performances & events. Contact Maureen Kennedy at 513-225-6915 or IrishAmericanTheaterCo@fuse.net .
Special project help: Is your time limited, but still willing to help on an ad hoc basis? We can match you with current needs. Let us know your time availability or what your interests are. We'll keep you in mind. Contact ctcc@columbiatusculum.org |
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It's easy to send us news. Do you have a local event to tell your neighbors about? Know of someone who's won an award, started a new business or some other noteworthy news? | |
| Important phone numbers:
Police/Fire Emergency Calls: 911
Non-emergency Police calls: 513-765-1212 (use this for most, nonemergency calls)
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.:
Officer Germaine Love, Neighborhood Liaison Officer 513-979-4480
Sgt. Cassandra Tucker, Unit Supervisor 513-979-4470
District 2 Police Front Desk - 24 hours 513-979-4400
Crime Stoppers 352-3040
City Services- One Call # 591-6000
Duke Energy - power outage 651-4182 or 1-800-543-5599
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