WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 3622

BALTIMORE, MD 21214

www.waltherson.org

mailbox@waltherson.org

Tweet: @WalthersonAssoc

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WALTHERSON MEETS QUARTERLY; THERE IS NO MEETING IN DECEMBER

NEXT WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY MEETING

When: Tuesday, February 3rd, 2014 @ 7:30 PM

Where: Harbel (5807 Harford Road)

Get Involved Join WIA today! With membership your vote is counted and your voice heard in the community. Receive your monthly WIA newsletter to stay on top of what is happening in your neighborhood. Please complete the form below and send with your payment to: Waltherson Improvement Association P.O. Box 3622 Baltimore, MD 21214

December 2014

Recycling every Tuesday! Trash every Thursday! Bulk Trash (Call 311 to schedule) Street Sweeping 3rd Wednesday – Even Sides 4th Wednesday – Odd Sides

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Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 3rd, 7:30 PM at Harbel (5807 Harford Road) President’s Letter I’d like to thank everyone for another great year at Waltherson. A special thanks to the board members

who have given endless hours of service. Your efforts are felt throughout the neighborhood. Everyone

on the docket was elected, most of us rotating positions. I am grateful to accept the President’s position

again this year. We had the 2nd Vice President open at the time of elections; however Ronisha Moore, a

board member from 2014, has agreed to take the position, therefore we will call for a vote at our next

quarterly meeting in February.

Kurt Kocher was an informative speaker from Baltimore City Public Works at our last general meeting.

One of the biggest “take aways” for me was to make sure I sign up for the insurance the City offers for

coverage if our pipes burst, collapse, or become backed up & new pipes would be needed. While my

own homeowner’s insurance endorsement would pay for the DAMAGE caused by this, it would NOT pay

for the replacement of the pipes. This can cost up to nearly $6,000 – 8,000, whereas the coverage cost is

very inexpensive. Please check into this & protect yourself. Go to www.homeserveusa.com

Remember the Christmas caroling we use to do each year at Angel’s Cove? I found out they are no

longer at the same house & I have lost touch with the owners. I have many memories of bringing gifts &

singing carols to a small group of elderly folks who just lit up with joy when we came in. After we’d leave

their house, we would go to Hamden to see the lights, many times on freezing cold or snowy nights.

I hope that you are staying warm for the upcoming cold weather we will have. If you need help, please

reach out to someone. If you are able, please check on your neighbors, especially if you haven’t seen

them for a while. Once we close up our doors, we often don’t know what is going on even in our own

blocks. Many folks don’t have the internet & are not sure how to reach out, so knock on their door & let

them know someone cares. Someday it may be you who needs that support.

Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates.

Helene Quinn - WIA President

Baltimore Broadband Coalition There is grassroots effort to bring cheaper, faster internet options to Baltimore City by motivating the deployment of fast fiberoptic technology as has already occurred in many other cities. An adequate fiber network can then allow competition for the provision of Internet services. By showing strong numbers in this campaign and by working with our elected officials, they expect to motivate interest by new fiber providers to invest in Baltimore. If you are frustrated with internet options and prices here, please consider donating $10 to their efforts at the link below: http://www.crowdfiber.com/campaigns/baltimore-broadband-coalition

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IN AND AROUND WALTHERSON Upcoming Neighborhood Events: December

5th – First Friday Art Crawl

o Hamilton Gallery 5502 Harford Road

o Hamilton Bakery, 5414 Harford; 5-9 http://www.hamiltonbakery.com/events-and-

specials/ (free cupcakes!)

o Mutt Mart Yappy Hour. Bring your dog for a free treat! 2904 Hamilton Ave.

2 local artists:

Kenneth Adam Photography (http://www.kennethadam.com/)

Amourphous Designs by Leslie Coleman.

o Creative Arts of Maryland 5424 Harford Road

https://www.facebook.com/creativeartsofmd

o 4300 block of Harford Road and the Market Connection Space September 5th, 6-

9 pm. Food, Wine, Shopping at the The Gift Cellar and Market Connection, Art

Openings, "side-walk snips" a la the The Chop Shop!

o Charmed Life Gallery, 4505 Harford;

o Additional details http://www.hamiltonlauravillemainstreet.blogspot.com/

6th – Holidays On Harford (see flyer)

13th - Holidays On Harford (see flyer)

Housing Updates 3100 Rueckert Ave – This property has been

going through a receivership court case for some time. The attorney for Baltimore Housing handling the case tells us that he has “got the bank under order to rehab and obtain a Use & Occupancy permit by the end of February.” If this is not completed by 3/1/2014 our understanding is that the property will go to auction shortly thereafter.

3502 Echodale Ave – This property is in a similar

situation to the property on Rueckert. The attorney for Baltimore Housing tells us that he “got the bank to enter an agreement to rehab the property, and [they] were given until March to complete it.”

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New Business Spotlight

Mutt Mart – “a pet supplies store and a resource for new pet owners in need of advice with

nutrition, training, and the general care of their pet. We offer a carefully selected variety of natural and healthy food and treats for your pet, as well as all other supplies you may need including collars, beds, toys, grooming supplies and more. In addition to new supplies, we also carry a wide variety of gently used pet supplies.” Mutt Mart opened in November at 2904 Hamilton Ave across from Harvest Fare. http://www.muttmartbaltimore.com/ Thursday & Friday 11am - 7pm Saturday & Sunday 11am - 5pm

2 faces & Fayes Closet – A new shore store located at 4917 Harford Road across from 7-11

just south of Ailsa Ave.

Herb & Soul Express (Coming Soon) – “Our Lauraville/Hamilton eatery will feature our spin

on Southern Fusion Pizza, Po' Boys, Fry Bread Tacos and more. Many of you have come to know us via our Herb & Soul Gastro Cafe flagship restaurant located in Parkville, MD or by visiting our stand faithfully every Sunday down at the Baltimore Farmer's Market. We now have an Express (Delivery & Carryout) location located at 5429 Harford Rd (Formerly Cosmos) Baltimore, MD 21214. Though an express location, rest assured that patrons will still receive the fare, quality, and outstanding customer service that we've shown throughout the years at our other locations!” http://www.herbandsoul.net/hs-express.html

Hamiltone Music (coming soon) – “Hamiltone Music provides instrument repairs, lessons,

and a small boutique with major and independent brands”. They will be located at 3015 Hamilton Ave just east of Harford Road.

Charm City Wings and Waffles (Coming Soon) - Charm City Wings & Waffles will soon be

opening a location in the former Blockbuster building at 5501 Harford Road. This will be the third Charm City Wings & Waffles in Baltimore City with the original location located on Washington Blvd in Pigtown and a second location on 112 E Lexington St

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TreeKeepers TreeKeepers is a city-wide tree stewardship program and open to anyone interested in Baltimore's trees. TreeKeepers promotes healthy trees by educating residents and increasing their role in the care of the City's trees. Through this training, citizens can become tree advocates and share the responsibility to plant and care for trees in their neighborhood and throughout the City.

Baltimore Orchard Project

Thousands of pounds of fruit fall to the ground each year around our neighborhoods all across Baltimore, yet many in our community go hungry or lack access to fresh healthy foods each day. The Baltimore Orchard Project wants to help change this situation and we want your participation. We only ask that you respond to the questionnaire bellow and be willing to donate some of your fruits to the project. We'll do the rest! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RGRCGC9

Upcoming Traffic/Roadwork Projects DOT updates:

Traffic Calming Requests – DOT mailed us a letter stating that Holder, Batavia, and Ailsa do not meet the criteria for traffic calming measures. This is because 85 % of the cars traveling on the road are going within 10 miles of the posted 25 mph speed limit.

o Holder Ave – 85th percentile - 23.9 mph northbound / 25.8 mph southbound o Batavia Ave – 85th percentile - 26.2 mph o Ailsa Ave – 85th percentile – 28.9 mph

The reconfiguration of Frankford intersections at Hamilton Ave & Corse Ave have been postponed due to funding issues. They anticipate installation in Summer of 2015.

The markings of the bike lane on southbound Walther Ave at Parkside will be changing to prevent southbound traffic from utilizing the bike lane.

They are reviewing the pattern of southbound Walther Ave where the road narrows at Frankford.

They are looking into whether there is funding to resurface the 5400 block of Pembroke Ave this year

Summer/Fall 2015

Harford Road Herring Run Bridge Reconstruction begins o Harford Road will be closed at Herring Run for two years during reconstruction

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Block Captains We’ve mentioned this in past newsletters & will continue to develop this concept. Since we are a small group, we need your help. If we utilize block captains as resources, we build a stronger team in all segments of the area. People would go directly to the block captains for their concerns. These would be filtered out, utilizing the resources & contact we have. Each block captain would have a list of contacts & then report back to the entire group & to the executive board. If everyone pitches in, we can all do our part. Please, find something that is your passion. Maybe gardening is your thing, maybe vacant houses really annoys you, maybe you want to help a neighbor whose house needs some repairs. Whatever be the case, if we all do our part, we can help each other.

Styrofoam / Polystyrene Recycling

If you want to recycle Styrofoam but cannot make it to the sanitation yard, Waltherson member Louise Harmony has offered to drop it off. Please get in touch with Robert Walshe at a meeting or by e-mailing us at mailbox@waltherson.org if you are interested. You can also leave a message for us on Facebook or tweet us @WalthersonAssoc. Note: CHECK THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER FOR A NUMBER 6. Only number 6 items are accepted. No peanuts or packing material.

NECOP – Northeast Citizens on Patrol In Northeast Baltimore we have a district wide Citizens on Patrol program called NECOP. The reasoning behind the COP program is that regular neighborhood patrols can make criminals feel uncomfortable and drive them out of our neighborhood. Participants meet at the Northeast Police station at 1900 Argonne Drive near Morgan State and get a walkie talkie to keep them in contact with the Police and then proceed to patrol their neighborhoods in their cars. Patrols normally go out each Thursday and Friday from about 7:30 - 10:30. For anyone interested in the Citizens on Patrol program, please contact Rob at Robert.walshe@gmail.com.

Hamilton-Lauraville (HL) Sprouts

There’s a new family group in town. HL Sprouts is a parent partnership designed to allow parents of kids aged 0-12 to meet up, arrange play dates, and get to know other parents in the area. They are a chapter of the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance. Check them out, there are several kid-friendly meet ups going on each week in the area. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HLSprouts/

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Please visit our sponsors:

*Please note, ads between pages on web version are not run by Waltherson*

Proud Member of:

WIA Volunteers

Officers:

President 1st Vice President

2nd Vice President

Secretary Treasurer Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms

At-Large Member

Helene Quinn

Paul McCartney

Frank Williams

Rob Walshe

Francis Beane

Lisa Hom Sue Kessel Ronisha Moore

Standing Committees and Representatives:

Housing Block Party

Traffic Schools & Child Advocacy

Block Captains

Robert Walshe, Sue Kessel, Helene Quinn, Frank Williams

Paul McCartney

Terrye Muratore

Rob Walshe, Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Harford Road CRP Rep.

Garden Sign &

Projects

Digital Outreach &

Communications

Police Liaison / NECOP

Chairman

Main: Sue Kessel Alt: Rob Walshe

Ron Derr Robert Walshe Rob Walshe

Local Chapter of the

Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance