The Columbia e-Journal May 2011

1. Police Report - Det. McBeth - The biggest problem again is Theft from Autos, particularly around Hoge, Handman and Windman this month. Please don't leave any valuables in your car.

2. Jim LaBarbara - Representing Leslie Ghiz, jim.labarbara@cincinnati-oh.gov

3. PG Sittenfeld is running for City Council and collecting signatures. For info: votePG.com

4. Fran Santangelo - The CTBA will be making monthly presentations to the community council meetings. The CTBA Perks Card will be ready for distribution soon and be available in exchange for an email address.

5. Larry Pauly, Director of Strategic Gifts, FreeStore Food Bank - Power Pack Program is a program to feed children over the weekends when they can't get school meals. The FSFB delivers 3500 Power Packs per week at 75 locations in the Greater Cincinnati Area every week. The program is completely cash driven and it costs approximately $140 to feed a single child for a year. Our donation will feed the children of Riverview East for 40 weeks.

6. George Frank - opportunity to volunteer as a community at the FreeStore Food Bank, filling PowerPacks. The tentative date is May 12th, 5:00pm, at Tennessee Ave. Please email him at george.frank@gmail.com if you are interested.

7. Old Business Community Garden progress, Great American Clean-up, Go Green Summerfest

8. Treasurer's Report - Ingrid Likes

9. Neighborhood Summitt/East End Update - Jaime Cecil reports that the EEAC could use any ideas for new ways to utilize the LeBlond Rec Center that would interest our residents.

10.Open Discussion -

a. The Friends of Alms Park would like to organize an invasive species cleanout in the coming weeks.

b. The Irish Heritage Center is having an Encore performance of "What happened Bridgy Cleary?" on May 12, 13, and 14^th at 7:30 pm. (513) 533-0100

c. Tutoring at Riverview East could use Tutors for next year.

d. Travis Likes guarantees at least 1,000 people will attend the Go Green Summerfest.

e. A possible event on July 29^th to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Stanley Ave Hillclimb

CT Neighborhood News

Ohio River Trail Ribbon Cutting - Rescheduled due to rain

Revised Date - Friday, May 13

bike path riboon cutting

Venue Change for May 16th Meeting

Please join us at Tostado's Monday evening for our regular community meeting. Weather permitting, we will commence business at 7 pm on the patio. The agenda is light for this month so we plan to socialize a bit afterward. If you haven't attended in a while, this is the perfect time to get involved and start the summer. If you've never been to a meeting, this is the the perfect time to meet some new neighbors.

Recent Event Recap - Meet & Greet and Flying Pig

Our first Meet & Greet with the East End and Linwood neighborhoods was a success. Around 40 people attended and the representation from Columbia Tusculum was impressive given the short notice. It was agreed that the neighborhoods should get together 3 or 4 times per year. In between appetizers, most everyone completed a survey regarding the future of LeBlond Recreation Center on Riverside Drive. New activities and offerings are sure to be forthcoming.

Thank you to Fran Santangelo for organizing the water station for the Flying Pig. Special thank you to Mike Tarvin for overseeing the activities during the race. While I am certain the runners appreciated any liquids and all forms of encouragement on their last leg of the race, the volunteers were equally pleased with the station given the weather. Thank you to all the residents who once again made the trek in the rain to cheer the runners through our business district.

Public Input Requested for the Oasis Commuter Rail Project

The Oasis Commuter Rail project is requesting public input as they move forward with the proposed Eastern Corridor Oasis Rail line. The deadline to submit the survey on-line is May 13, 2011. To submit your thoughts click here Oasis Rail Survey. Additional information including the materials that were handed out at the public meeting are available on the project website. Specific questions can be submitted on the website.

Mt. Lookout Resident Photographing Alms Park Sunrises

Blaine Booher rides his bike every morning to Ault Park or Alms Park to watch the sunrise while enjoying a cup of coffee. Recently, he decided to photograph these experiences and post them on-line at www.aultparksunrise.com. Even though the website's namesake refers to Ault Park, the blog does include recent photos of Alms Park. To read the entire article on Cincinnati.com click here http://cincinnati.com/blogs/eyeontheeastside/2011/05/03/mt-lookout-man-aims-to-photograph-40-sunrises/.

Riverview East Teacher Named 2011 Teacher of the Year

Barbara James, a kindergarten teacher at Riverview East Academy, will receive a plaque and $10,000 for being selected as the Lawrence B. Hawkins Educator of the Year. This is a national award presented by Western & Southern Financial Group showcases excellence among Cincinnati Public Schools educators.

James, who has taught kindergarten through sixth grade in her 23 years with the district, was chosen because of the nurturing and positive environment she provides for the students and her impact on their success. She's a member of the Expert Literacy Cadre and teaches early literacy best practices. She said she sometimes uses singing and dancing to teach her students to read. She also mentors other teachers. To read the entire article click here http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20110504/NEWS0102/105040342/.

Columbia Tusculum Community Garden is Popular

The Community Garden at the corner of Columbia Parkway and Strafer Street is well under way and seems to be a hit. The space has been cleared, 25 raised beds have been reserved, the water source installed and the "Safe and Clean" grant proposal has been submitted to Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.

Do you want to garden?

If you have an interest in gardening, beautifying, or financially supporting this project, please contact Christine Carli at 513-382-8328 or chriscarli@fuse.net.

Go-Green Summerfest - June 18th

A neighborhood party, coinciding with Greenarama, will take place on June 18th at the Green Dog Cafe in Columbia Square. The party will start at 4:00pm and end at 10pm. The schedule of events is below:

4-6pm: Help to paint/decorate a bike rack to be installed in Columbia Square.

4-5pm: Airbrush tatoos by Maddy Batteiger of Special Events Entertainment

5-6pm: Balloon animals by Maddy Batteiger of Special Events Entertainment

6-10pm Live music by The Fun Size.

Green Dog will host, provide food and drink, for a nominal fee, and generously donate a portion of proceeds from the event to the Columbia Tusculum Community Council for use in neighborhood projects.

All entertainment is being funded by the Columbia Tusculum Business Association, through the City of Cincinnati, Neighborhood Business District Support Fund.

GREENarama highlights sustainable Cincinnati in first home show

Check out the GREENarama article from the April 12th, Soapbox Cincinnati issue.

For more information on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification see - www.usgbc.org.

For more information on the City of Cincinnati's Green Building residential Property Tax Exemptions see - www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cdap/pages/-3521-/.

Check out more information at www.greenarama.org and on their facebook page.

Friends of Alms Park - Looking for some new Friends!

Friends of Alms Park is a small group of local people interested in supporting and promoting Alms Park. FOAP is looking for new "friends."

Do you want to be a Friend?

FOAP needs new members who care about Alms Park and want to help out. Initiatives identified are:

1. Doing an invasive species clean-out: Honeysuckle, garlic mustard and lesser celandine

2. Encouraging citizen donations to purchase park benches and trees for the park: Purchase a gift that continues to give through the Park Board in memory or celebration of any individual or group. Donations are also welcome to just enrich our park.

www.cincyparks.com/parks-foundation/honor-your-loved-ones-with-a-commemorative-tree-or.shtml

3. Forming litter patrols: Help supplement reduced Park Board staff. This may be just picking up litter you see when you normally visit the park.

4. Possibly organizing an event to bring the neighborhood together to enjoy their park. The Park Board is unable to repeat the successful 2010 "Everyone's Neighborhood Picnic" that over a hundred residents enjoyed.

To become a FOAP member - or to just help on any of these - contact Arlene Golembiewski at ctcouncil@cinci.rr.com.

Getting to Know Columbia Tusculum

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