Friday, August 29, 2008

Crime Prevention

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There has been some neighborhood concern about crime lately. Just so everyone is aware, here are a few of the things going on in our neighborhood that everyone is welcome to participate in:

1. Monthly meetings - The next meeting is TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 at 7 pm in the Liederkranz basement. Almost every month we have Police officers on hand to provide information and take notice of your concerns. This is YOUR best chance to talk face-to-face with the Police. This month we will have a special guest from the County Sheriff's office to discuss their sex offender programs.

2. Neighborhood Watch - There is a small group of dedicated people (and a few friendly dogs) who are walking, driving, or biking the streets at night to help keep the neighborhood safe. If EVERYONE just took 10 minutes to walk around the neighborhood each day or night, we would be a safer (and heathier) place.


3. Call Tree - This has recently been revived to help make sure we get the attention we need when there is a problem. Send an email to news@stanneshill.org to sign up!

4. Newsletter - Besides all the articles and neighborhood updates, there is contact information for every possible problem you might have. And if it's not there, someone will find it if you just ask. If you have ideas, contribute an article.

Communication and collaboration are two keys to preventing crime. Here are some tips for protecting your home. Always call 333-COPS if you see anything remotely suspicious.

The Board of Directors for the Historic Society is looking into some additional security measures. If anyone has specific suggestions or would like to get involved, please post a comment or email news@stanneshill.org with your thoughts.

Get involved!
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Yet another dog roaming the Hood!

Folks – there is another dog roaming the neighborhood … mostly black Shepherd with white markings and appears to have a collar. She came charging at me and my dog tonight around 720 pm while we were running laps at Stivers track and I had to use a great deal of restraint to keep my dog from going into full defensive/protective mode. No owner in sight. I was pulling back on the leash so hard I was afraid I would hurt my own dog so I took her back home – ending her exercise for the day and ruining my stress relief. I run to relieve stress and because my job requires a high level of physical fitness – I have grown to love running and I’m currently training for my third marathon this year. My dog is both my running companion and protector.
Initially I thought the loose dog belonged to a resident on Dutoit and I confronted a woman I saw later walking a shaky black and white dog – she calmly allowed me to vent and I realized she was a responsible dog owner as I ran into the stray again 10 minutes later again on Dutoit Street. This time without my dog, the stray ran away from me and seemed to avoid people in general and disappeared into a nearby yard but it must have been running loose for at least 40 minutes.

If folks let their dogs run around Stivers field, they should be nearby to leash their animal, should other people particularly with pets want to use the public space also.
Why? Liability, Safety and Responsibility.
Who is liable if there is an altercation between dogs – one is leashed and the owner is trying to control and the other is not?
What are the safety risks to a dog running loose in the streets of Dayton with Dayton drivers – who is really going to lose?
What are the safety risks to other dogs and people if two dogs get in a fight?
What is the responsible thing to do in public locales where children play (do they want to play football or soccer in dog feces when owners aren’t there to clean it up?), where people walk or jog their dogs (do they really want to interact with your dog - even if you think your dog is gentle – other dogs and people may not know or think so) and where is the well-being of the individual dog (how many dogs off leash really “come” when the owner calls them – does the dog know to avoid traffic? )

Forgive me for rambling on but I am very passionate about animals. I don’t like having to call animal control as I suspect some of the dogs I’ve been seeing run loose really are attached but then one must wonder if the owners really care if they allow their dogs to be at needless risk – so perhaps a divorce is the best thing … as my husband reminded me we found our girl at the South West Ohio Doberman Rescue after she was saved from a kill shelter – picked up off the streets of Louisville as a pup … no doubt from someone who didn’t care much.

Patricia Latham

Monday, August 18, 2008

Neighborhood Conference

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FYI...
The 1st Annual Neighborhood Conference is scheduled to be held at the Convention Center on September 13th from 8 AM to 5 PM. Pre-registration is $20.00 On site registration is $40.00. John Gower [Dayton's Director of Planning & Community Development] will be the keynote speaker.

The theme is "Neighborhood Treasures: Discovering our assets". This should be a yearly event. The ultimate goal is to host the Regional Neighborhood Network Conference (RNNC) in 2010.

Workshop topics may include Neighborhood Marketing & Promotion, Neighborhood Best Practices, Neighborhood Diversity, Recruiting and Retaining Community Volunteers, Neighborhood Revitilization, Community Gardens, Asset Based Development, Service Learning, Land Banking, Anchors, People, Non-profits, and more.

For more information call (937) 333-3670.


Edit: The registration form is now available online. See you there!

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Sunday, August 10, 2008

Ruskin Dedication

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It's back to school time!

Ruskin PK-8 School
Dedication & Open House
Sunday, August 17, 2008
3:00 pm

Please stop by and show your support for this neighborhood asset!

As we learned earlier this year, Ruskin will be a charter school within Dayton Public Schools but operated by East End Community School, with additional support from the University of Dayton Fitz Center. The school is located just across the McClure Street Bridge from St. Anne's Hill.

Here is the original Ruskin School, from the late 1800's, when St. Anne's Hill was built:















Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Census Data

The 2000 Census seems like a long time ago, but there is a lot of interesting information to be found. Block by block, you can break down the statistics and get a snapshot of the neighborhood.

St. Anne's Hill is within Dayton's Census Tract 19, which runs from Third Street to Keowee, to Route 35, and up McClure and Terry Streets. So it isn't exactly the same as the Historic District boundaries, but it's pretty close. It includes Bomberger Park, some businesses and a small portion of the Huffman Historic District.

In the year 2000....

The median age was 35 years old.
50% of the homes were owner-occupied.
50% of adults were married.
45% of our neighborhood was female.
12% of our neighborhood was minorities.
35% were born outside of Ohio.
12% were born outside of the United States.

30% had Bachelor's Degrees.
7% had Master's Degrees.
The median household income was $37,344.
44% of working adults had a commute less than 15 minutes.

In 2010, we'll find out how the neighborhood has changed!











Oh, those summer nights!

Thanks to all who attended the meeting last night. We had a lot of folks come out on a hot summer night. Special thanks to Sgt. Tipton from the Dayton Police who came out to address our concerns. He reminded everyone to call 333-COPS if you have a problem, and that you can call the District office if you have follow-up questions or concerns.

The Board of Directors also announced their intention to pursue a "mini-grant" from the City of Dayton. After hearing many ideas from the community, we decided to go after banners for Fifth Street to help identify and market the neighborhood. They also brought forward a motion to make some minor amendments to the by-laws, which was approved.

There was some other discussion about opportunities for folks to volunteer with the re-constituted PDI (Preservation Dayton, Inc.) or at the German Picnic organized by the Liederkranz. The next social event will be another PPD later this month, so we can look forward to that as well.

The next general membership meeting will be Tuesday, September 2nd. I'll see you there!

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