Received from a resident;

Walnut Hills in the News of Yesteryear.

My name is Shawna Woodard and I work at the main downtown Dayton Metro Library in the newspaper, genealogy, and local history section. Since I live in Walnut Hills I thought it might be interesting to jot down some Walnut Hills addresses when I came across them in the newspaper. I am working on a long term project of indexing obituaries, so what I have found so far is from the obituaries.
Feel free to come down to the main library and search the city directories for your address. You can see who lived in your house from 1916 to 2006. If you want to, you can then see if we have an obituary on a past resident. Also available are Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for 1918 and 1950. You can see the basic outline of your house, what kind of roof it had, how many windows, and what other houses are on the street next to it. If you have more questions, you can reach me at work in the magazines department at 227-9551.

Newspaper Date Page Story

Dayton Journal 25 Feb 1947 14 Obituary, Mrs. Helen C. Geiger, 19 Virginia Ave

Dayton Daily News 17 Dec 1951 27 Obituary, Else Clara Strunk, 903 Wayne Ave

DDN 19 Dec 1951 47 Obituary, C. Monroe Watson, 74, 1524 Wyoming St.

DDN 23 Dec 1951 Sec 3 p 6 Obituary, Henry J. Heinz, 85, 1406 Wyoming St.

DDN 26 Dec 1951 19 Obituary, Adelbert Van Horn, 80, 1032 Wayne Ave

DDN 27 Dec 1951 15 Obituary, Mary DeEsther Sims, 56, 31 Illinois Ave

DDN 30 Dec 1951 Sec 3 p 5 Obituary, Lenore Carey Bailey, 45 Gunkel Ave

DDN 31 Dec 1951 9 Obituary, Mary A. Moses, 147 Medford Street

DDN 1 Feb 1952 40 Obituary, Frank H. Meier of 15 Illinois Ave

DDN 2 Feb 1952 2 Obituary, Earl Wilson, 79, of 473 Wyoming St

DDN 2 Feb 1952 2 Obituary, Frank H. Meier, 72, of 15 Illinois Ave

DDN 5 Jan 1952 8 Obituary, Mrs. Augusta Drake, 1303 Wayne Ave

DDN 16 Mar 1952 Sec 2 p 6 Obituary, Mrs. Edith Daniel of 129 Illinois Ave, Daughter of Union Veterans

DDN 16 Feb 1952 2 Obituary, Mortie Henning, 64 Virginia Ave

DDN 17 Feb 1952 15 Obituary, John Ortman, 336 Nassau St.

DDN 18 Feb 1952 15 Obituary, Mrs. May Blanche Logan, 334 Wayne Ave.

DDN 28 Mar 1952 20 Obituary, Carl Fischer, age 60, of 214 Illinois Ave

DDN 28 Mar 1952 35:6 Information on the estate of Matthew S. Riley, grocer, of 261 Virginia Avenue, died Feb. 21

DDN 29 Mar 1952 2 obituary, Mrs. Dora Erisman of 731 Wyoming St., member of Colorado Avenue Baptist Church

DDN 31 Mar 1952 24 Obituary, Katherine V. Gray of 261 Virginia Ave

DDN 25 May 1953 21 Obituary, Charles W. Smiley, 9 Illinois Ave

DDN 2 Dec 1954 49 Obituary, Richard Counts, 354 Wyoming St.

DDN 6 Dec 1954 24 Obituary, Laura Mannington, 1140 Wyoming St.

DDN 12 Nov 1973 40 Obituary, Sara Alice Owen, 88, of 1101 Tip Top Ave.

Volunteers for t-ball

Volunteers are needed to help run a T-ball league in Walnut Hills Park this summer. Volunteers are also needed for the daily program activities. Please call Theresa Wendell at 259-1898.

Parking in the street

Every couple of years we have to inform our residents that parking in the streets is not exclusive to a property owner. The street is public domain and as such, anyone can park their vehicle on the street provided that there are no contrary provisions such as "No Parking" or a reserved spot for a disabled resident. You should show common courtesy though and not park an immobile vehicle in front of a neighbor's property because you then permanently deprive them of the opportunity to park in front of their own home. An immobile vehicle with valid tags can be towed after a few days if you contact the housing inspection office. Unlicensed vehicles or ones with expired plates can be towed immediately by calling the police department. Most people won't contact the police or housing inspection until an "abandoned" vehicle becomes a problem or an eyesore. So, if you need a few days to work on your car, park it in front of your own house and to avoid any wrong impressions keep your tires inflated. Otherwise, in a week or two someone will call to have it towed away.

Adopt-An-Area Volunteers

Mike Schommer would like Walnut Hills to participate in the "Adopt-an-Area" program. He is looking for a few volunteers to help with litter pick up starting at Highland Park and extending down Wyoming Ave to The Pizza Factory on Wayne Ave where Free pizza will be provided to the volunteers. Planned date for this event is Saturday May 13th. For specific details call Mike at 256-2516.

Attention:

The East Dayton Vikings Football/Cheerleading
Will be having our first round of Sign-ups
When: 5/20/2006 1-4pm
Where: The Lohrey Center
These Sign-ups are for children entering 3rd, 4th 5th & 6th grades in the fall.
Cost: Is $75.00 per child due at registration time.

Contacts for Football:
Robert De Long 252-0311 (or leave a message)
Brian Cooper 259-0269 (or leave a message)
Lawrence “Buzz” Wallace 397-0603

Contacts for Cheerleading:
Cindy Shivadecker 902-2383
Nancy Cooper 259-0269 (or leave a message)

Grass and Yard Standards

As summer fast approaches, I have to ask you once again to play the role of a “good neighbor” by cutting the grass in the yards of vacant houses when it gets too long. If you lodge a complaint with the city, be aware that grass is mowed only in June and September. You are better off calling the housing inspector and asking them to write a ticket so the owner is fined. Have the inspector tell you when the ticket is issued, then cut the grass yourself. At least the owner will be held responsible for the monetary fine.
During the summer, the housing inspectors concentrate more on yard standards and will be looking for items such as:
* Indoor stuffed sofas on the porch (attract mice and cats like to spray them)
*Bushes growing in the right of ways or obstructing driving vision
*Motor vehicles on lawns or junked vehicles in yards
*Dog feces in yards that is not picked up regularly
Basically it is simple, be a considerate neighbor. If you don't offend others then they won't tell on you!

These cards were mailed out today...

YOU ARE INVITED TO A WAYNE/WILMINGTON/STEWART INTERSECTION REVIEW OPEN HOUSE

APRIL 26, 2006

5 - 7 P.M.

BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA

2323 MAPLEVIEW AVE

There will be several proposals for modifications for the

Wayne/Wilmington/Stewart intersections on display.

These proposed plans were created from public input

solicited at a meeting held in February of this year.

Please attend, ask questions and voice your opinion.

For more information, please call the

Engineering Department at 333-3840

WALNUT HILLS ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT

WALNUT HILLS ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT
And BREAKFAST
Saturday April 15, 2006
WALNUT HILLS PARK
Breakfast served in the shelter from 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM
Easter Egg Hunt begins at NOON

Hey everybody, it's that time of year when those bunnies lay those funny colored eggs and leave them in our neighborhood park! We invite the local children to search for them. The Church on the Rock is providing breakfast. This is a FREE event! A great time for everyone! We need 5 volunteers to help hide eggs and supervise, please contact Ella at (937) 256-3855 after 1:30 PM

Egg hunt is limited to children ages 0 through 12 only
and will begin at noon.
Meet at sidewalk beside the tennis courts for egg hunt

Plans for Park Program

Exciting plans are definitely in the works for a 2006 Summer Park program. The details are being ironed out, but there should be daily activities Monday through Friday and lunches provided for the children. T-Ball may become a reality in our park. Also, we may try to initiate a weekly activity for those parents that home-school their children. However, we need volunteers to help out with the events. Volunteers will be thoroughly screened to ensure that our children are protected. If you are interested in volunteering with the activities at the park this summer, please call Theresa Wendell, the executive director for the YMCA Neighborhood Development Center at the East End Community Center at 259-1898 or email her at twendell@east-end.org

Meeting the Challenge

The Belmont Chili Cook Off was a success. There were around 40 people at the Lohrey Center to try the offerings. Including two city commissioners, one Mayor, one mayor's assistant and a former commissioner! There was plenty of chili to feed all. Of the 4 entries, three were from residents of Walnut Hills! Needless to say we placed 1st, 2nd and tied 3rd places. Maybe next year we should have a Walnut Hills Chili Cook Off and challenge Belmont!

Dayton Evaluating Urban Renewal Options for 12-Acre Site

As part of long-term community planning efforts, the City of Dayton is working to consolidate commercial nodes along the business corridors. One area identified as a concentration point is the Wayne Avenue and Wyoming Street intersection.

A recent study concluded that a 12.25-acre area near the Wayne and Wyoming intersection is blighted and has potential redevelopment value. As a result, City officials are moving forward with an urban renewal process that could lead to redeveloping the site for future commercial development.

Pierce Street, Wyoming Avenue, Hawker Street and Wayne Avenue generally bound the targeted area. It contains 86 parcels of property. According to the study, 44 percent of the buildings in the area show major deterioration or are substandard. Only 10 percent of the principal buildings in the study area were found to be sound.

To fully evaluate the redevelopment potential of the area, the City of Dayton intends to seek out interested developers and proposals. From there, an Urban Renewal Plan may be developed, and redevelopment plans will be shared with the community for feedback. The City Commission would ultimately be required to approve a formal Urban Renewal Plan. The entire process could take several months.

What They Sold For!

Here is a list of last year's sheriff sale properties and what they sold for. This information is from the www.mctreas.org web site listing real estate tax information. If there is no deed transfer (NDT) on this web site and the owner has not re-negotiated the lien then it can be assumed that the bank has acquired the property and not changed the deed to avoid responsibility.

1420 Holly Ave. ($32,100) 317 Gunckel Ave. ($37,100)
1134 Arbor Ave (Fannie Mae) 1528-1530 Wyoming ($50,000)
31 Erie Ave. ($16,700) 1517-1519 Wyoming ($40,000)
137 Illinois Ave (NDT) 16 Gebhart St. ($32,000 by bank)
12 Virginia Ave (HUD) 1521-1523 Wyoming ($30,000)
15 Utah Ct (no sale) 1210 Arbor (NDT)
21 Anderson St. ($83,700) 1200 Wyoming ($26,000 by bank)
107 Edgar Ave (NDT) 243 Indiana Ave (NDT)
24 Edgar Ave ($30,000 by bank) 1101 Carlisle Ave(NDT)
1230 Highland Ave ($37,100) 2329 Wyoming (HUD)
1254 Phillips ($40,000) 405 Gunckel Ave ($29,000)
129 Heaton Ave ($30,000) 339 Illinois Ave (NDT)
1325 Arbor Ave, (NDT) 28 Lucerne (NDT)
1146 Carlisle Ave ($51,000 by bank) 1127 Highland Ave(HUD)
1039 Wyoming (VA) 340 Illinois Ave (NDT)
52 Illinois Ave (NDT) 19 Illinois Ave (NDT)
230 Edgar Ave (NDT) 1903 Alice $34,000 by bank)
1034 Walnut Hills Pl.($28,000 by bank) 238 Virginia Ave (Fannie Mae)
51 Missouri Ave ($47,844 by bank) 1808-1810 Wyoming ($61,000)
227 Illinois Ave (HUD) 29 Utah Ct. (NDT)
1314 Creighton Ave (NDT) 2310 Wayne Ave (NDT)
1127 Pritz Ave ($36,000 by bank) 1217 Creighton Ave ($40,100)

13 of the 44 properties (30%) have actually sold and most were to people who own several rental properties. Some reverted to HUD and the VA. The bad news is that 34% of the properties (those marked NDT) will most likely continue to sit vacant for some time.

Chili Cook Off

Belmont-Eastmont-Hearthstone Community Council is having a Chili Cook Off and has invited the Walnut Hills Association to participate. The cook-off will be on Monday, March 20 at 6:30 pm in the multipurpose room at the Lohrey Center located on Glenarm Road in Belmont. It is an open event to discover who makes the "Best" chili. You need to show up with your pot of chili and allow yourself to be judged. With some luck the Dayton Mayor and/or some commissioners will serve as judges, so go easy on the hot sauce!

State of the Community Address

Things are looking up for the Walnut Hills neighborhood. Last year we initiated a playgroup and it has grown from 2 adults and 2 children to 5 adults and 7 children meeting every week at the Colorado Ave Church during the winter and at the Walnut Hills Park in the summer. A network for home-schooling parents was started and will become better established over the course of the coming year. Lela Estes has initiated a 2006 summer parks program for children in our park by working with the Department of Recreations, Twin Towers neighborhood, the YMCA and the East End Community Center. We are also going to have our annual Easter egg hunt in April in conjunction with a breakfast provided by the neighborhood "Church on the Rock.” Plans are in motion to have a neighborhood picnic at the park on the 4th of July. We would like to be able to have movies in the park on weekend evenings in the summer. Members of the fund raising committee are attempting to put together an organized, annual neighborhood-scale yard sale event that may materialize in 2007 in conjunction with a neighborhood-scale open house/garden tour. Now that the ball is in motion, it would be nice if a few more people would step forward to help in these endeavors.

Wilmington Ave/Wayne Ave Intersection Meeting

Thursday February 23rd 6:00 PM
10 Wilmington Place

There is $1.9 million in funds set aside for a project to align Wayne Ave. with Stewart Street. The goal is to make Stewart a two-way street and to widen the road to reduce traffic congestion at this intersection. To acquire the funds needed from the State of Ohio, a proposal was submitted that was devised in the early 1960s when NCR and DESCI were two major employers, and at a time that the population of the city was considerably higher.
The 1960s proposal is now considered obsolete but the funds have been allocated and changes are supposed to begin in 2009. The Walnut Hills Association and the Southeast Dayton Priority Board have expressed concerns about the proposal and the way the funding has been acquired. It is very important that residents, as many as possible, attend this meeting to provide their input because there are many who feel that this project is a waste of public money that could be better spent in another area of the city. It could also invoke eminent domain issues. Please plan to attend. If you drive through this junction at rush hour then your input is crucial. If you live on Stewart Street, your input is required. If you live on Wayne Ave. or if you live, work or have family residing at 10 Wilmington Place, your input is extremely important. The meeting should be informative and very interesting to say the least.

Wyoming Theater Building to get a Face Lift

The owner of the old "Wyoming" Silent movie theater building on the corner of Wyoming Ave and Gunckel has enthusiastically agreed to allow a group of volunteers from the neighborhood to repair and make-over the facade of the building. The building was built in 1914 as a movie theater. Around 1929, after talking pictures were all the rage, it became the "Silver Slippers" and later "Kellys Bar". It has sat unoccupied for many years. The work to restore the facade will involve some stucco/masonry finishing, brick tuck pointing, wood refinishing, some gutter work and of course painting. The material cost for the work will be between $200 and $300 and will probably take 3 weekends to complete depending on the number of volunteers.
The members at the January meeting agreed that the cost was minimal when compared to the impact this would have on property values near this location. None of the work requires any trained skills and can be learned. If you are interested in participating in this neighborhood improvement project, call Gary at 253-1359. The work should start in April.

Neighborhood Leadership Institute

Applications are now being accepted for the annual Neighborhood Leadership Institute sponsored by the City of Dayton, Chase Bank and Sinclair Community College.
The Neighborhood Leadership Institute is a 12-week program designed to educate Dayton residents about local government. The 2006 program kicks off on Thursday, March 16. It is comprised of various workshops and skill-building components, such as public speaking. It also includes a day-long bus tour of Dayton neighborhoods. Workshops are held at different locations where participants hear presentations from community, business and government leaders on topics such as Dayton’s history, the role of City government, the criminal justice system, and cultural diversity. Class members also complete field assignments to expand their knowledge of Dayton, City government and the community at large. Participants will also be required to complete a practical program that requires them to develop a grassroots project within their community.
Anyone interested in participating must complete and submit an application no later than Monday, February 13. Application forms are available at all City of Dayton Priority Board Offices, the Division of Citizen Participation, located on the 6th floor of City Hall or via the City’s web site at www.cityofdayton.org.

Crime Watch Links Site Added

I have added a link to a page that I created that will give you access to public information that may help you find who owns a property or if someone you suspect of illegal activity has a criminal or court record. It is with the other links in the sidebar to the left.

A Note on Neighborhood Crime

Crime increases in this neighborhood when schools are closed for breaks or holidays. Crime can also increase when new tenants occupy rental properties, especially when there are older children present in the home. If you notice an increase in vandalism or thefts from motor vehicles it is generally a result of these two factors.
Teenagers commit most car thefts in the City of Dayton. Burglaries often result in theft of items that are easily sold or pawned for cash to support a drug habit. It is unwise to leave power tools in your garage. On another note many burglaries and home invasions occur in homes where drugs are present due to the fact that it is unlikely that the crime will be reported.
If you suspect drug activity you can call the drug hotline # 333-DRUG to report your suspicions but you might want to record some vehicle license plate numbers and note the days and times of the activity before you call.
A recent crime in this neighborhood has been the stripping of aluminum siding from the backs and sides of vacant properties. This crime causes blight and reduces the fair market value of surrounding properties. If you see this happening, report the crime to the police.

Public information as a resource

If you have a home computer and Internet access, there are some tools that you can use to know what is going on in your block.
If you want to know who owns a property or if taxes on a property are delinquent you can check this at the Montgomery County Treasurers site http://www.mctreas.org. If taxes are at least two years in arrears any person who deposits $1000 with the county can initiate a sheriff sale. This money is applied to the sale price if that person buys the property at auction or is refunded if another bidder purchases the property.
If a property owner is a business or fictitious name, then you can check the Secretary of States web site to find the articles of incorporation filed with the State of Ohio. This will list the name and address of a contact person and often the name of the company president. You can locate that information here http://serform.sos.state.oh.us.
If you are interested in finding out if there any mortgage liens exist you can check that out at the County Recorders web site http://www.mcrecorder.org where releases and deed information is also available.

This next site is most effective though (http://www.clerk.co.montgomery.oh.us/legal/records.cfm) because it will allow you to access civil and criminal record information on file with the county and the City of Dayton. This information can indicate whether a property owner has a history of housing or zoning code violations or whether they frequently have to evict tenants. It will also indicate if someone you suspect of being involved with the sale of drugs has a criminal record that would substantiate your suspicions. It also informs you if a person has an outstanding warrant for their arrest.

The Dayton Municipal Court site (http://www.daytonmunicipalcourt.org)
allows you to view the housing and general docket information telling you which cases are to appear before the judge on a given day.

If anyone is interested in expanding their block watch into a court watch or want some tools to assist with probable drug activity then these web sites may prove useful. The fact that I am disclosing this means that most residents in Walnut Hills now know that they have free access to this information. This also means that we have just become a safer neighborhood. The chronic criminal element and drug dealers don't want you to know who they are and what they are doing and now you have a window into their past.

NOTE. If your property values were assessed by the county and increased more than you feel is fair, you can use the treasurers web site to check the values of all the properties on your street to see if there are any discrepancies. This site lists recent sales history as well as tax information.