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JANUARY 2004 President's Message : Please come to the January meeting to hear Mark Conrad, director of instruction at The Crossroads School. The Crossroads School, operated by Living Classrooms, is a public middle school located in the East Harbor area. The Crossroads school has been described as the nearest thing to a charter school in Baltimore. Our speaker will present the history and mission of this unique school that accepts students from Butchers Hill and other Southeast neighborhoods. This marks my last message as president of the Butchers Hill Association. It has been a tremendous experience to work with residents of this fantastic community. Thanks to everyone who has provided hard work, a new idea or a different point of view. See you 'round the neighborhood. PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY LIGHTS TO GLOW IN BUTCHERS HILL It was a chance conversation in an elevator that led Alexis Johns to discover the little-known "Residential Lighting" program tucked away in Baltimore's Capital Improvements Budget. Alexis was then serving on Butcher Hill's Executive Committee, and was thus in a good position to help the Association ask the city for the new lighting. To meet the city's requirements, Alexis, Carolyn Bointnott, Barry Glassman, and Craig Thompson helped survey all of Butchers Hill to find blocks that had street beds wider than 34 feet and existing lights spaced more than 100 feet apart. It turns out that 11 Butchers Hill blocks qualify: 2000 and 2100 on Fairmount, Unit north and south on Washington; Unit and 100 north and south on Chester and Unit and 100 south and Unit north on Collington. Alexis credits Osburne King and Andre Hill, engineers in the Transportation Department for keeping the project going through plans, specs, bidding and a funding scare or two. She also cites Fred Marc, who was chief of the Bureau of Transportation Engineering while the Butchers Hill plans were being developed. With luck and a cooperating weather man, our new pedestrian-friendly lights will be glowing by March 31, 2004. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2004! BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS Block Rep/Crime Prevention: Wednesday, January 21st, 7 p.m., 2105 E. Baltimore St. The committee meets monthly to share information from our 20 block representatives and to coordinate action. Contact: Carolyn Boitnott, 410-522-4991, e-mail c.boitnott@verizon.net . Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) has been regularly patrolling the neighborhood for over three years, and conducts its walk-arounds on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We meet at 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Patterson Park Avenue and Lombard Street. All are welcome. For more information, please contact Evan Helfrich at 410-342-2148 or via e-mail, ubik14@netscape.net . Community Representative, School 27 School Improvement Team: Carolyn Boitnott, 410-522-4991. Land Use: Virgil Bartram (410-327-4964). The Land Use Committee would like to remind homeowners in the 2100 and 2200 blocks of E. Baltimore Street and the 2200 block of E. Pratt Street that you live in a City historic district. All exterior work and painting must be submitted to CHAP and Butchers Hill. We are always happy to help with any questions you may have. Call Virgil Bartram: 410-327-4964. CHAP's number is 410-396-4866. Marketing Committee: Tuesday, January 13th, 7:00 PM, 2223 E. Pratt St. Contact Rick Gilmour (410 342 7061), gilmour@qis.net . Trash Committee: Contact Sue Whitson, 443-527-1103, e-mail sbwhitson@hotmail.com (e-mail preferred). BHA Executive Committee: January meeting to be announced by incoming BHA president. Newsletter: The deadline for FEBRUARY is Friday, January 23rd. Contact Steve Young, young@umbc.edu . NEITHER SLEET NOR SNOW NOR DARK OF NIGHT . . . A very special thank you to our current newsletter distributors, who make sure you receive your newsletter in timely fashion every month: Craig Thompson, Carolyn Boitnott, Alexis Johns, Kay Kodak, Sandy Sales, Virgil Bartram, Carter Glass, Dave Dyer, Greg Russell, Beverly Wall, Carol Richman, Patty Clark, John Murphy, William Baedeker, Ann Wolfe, Marina Curran, Tom Braun, Hal Laurent, Rick Gilmour, Clint Roby, Rich Pardoe, and Toni Holter. And a special thanks to Rick Gilmour for his regular contributions to the newsletter, ensuring its quality. Christmas Tree curbside pick-up: As we go to press, the DPW Bureau of Solid Waste still has no information on either curbside pickup of Chirstmas trees or the Christmas tree recycling location and times. in the past, collection has been on Fridays throughout January, along with the regular trash, with recycling on the first Saturday and Sunday of January, 10-2, at the Baltimore Polytechnic High School Parking lot, 1400 West Cold Spring Lane. For up-to-date information, call the Bureau of Solid Waste, collections, at 410-396-5620. JANUARY BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR BUTCHERS HILL FOR 2004
PROFILE: DENISE YOB AND GREGORY HALL This month I was asked to write about a remarkable pair of Butchers Hill neighbors, mentor Denise Yob, who lives on South Chester Street, and Gregory Hall, her "mentee," a 14 year old ninth grader at Patterson High, also a Butchers Hill resident. Together, they've formed an unusual and productive partnership. Recalling the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," Denise notes that Gregory has come to know and make use of many helpful hands around us, including hers. She is especially appreciative of Gregory's extraordinary curiosity about people, places and the arts - all combined with the usual adolescent qualities of being serious, silly, compassionate and sometimes unfocused. Her challenge as a mentor is to work with all these qualities while encouraging achievement, responsibility, exploration, and understanding. For the past three years, Denise has offered Gregory help with his homework and a quiet place to study, sometimes a meal, a chance to talk and cook or bake cookies. They share an interest in books, gardening, crafts, and music. Gregory has developed a love for opera and looks for opportunities to attend performances. Denise and other Butchers Hill residents, including her husband Jim Doherty, Ann Gaddy, and Rachel Fogel, encourage his curiosity and broaden his horizons by taking him to films, festivals, and museums. He recently completed his first quilt. He volunteers in Patterson Park and with an African refugee family through the International Rescue Committee, and he hikes with the Sierra Club. Two years ago Denise introduced Gregory to Fells Point potter Vickie McComas. Vickie teaches Gregory about art, provides him with art supplies, and has initiated an upcoming scholarship for him to attend a Saturday youth program at the Maryland Institute of Art. Gregory is eager to see the world. He has been earning and saving money for a school-sponsored trip to Spain this spring. He's earning this money through jobs like individually sponsored tasks for the upkeep of the Park, in cooperation with Friends of Patterson Park. Denise encourages interested neighbors to contact her at 410-675-8823 or Rachel Fogel at 410-732-3706 if they wish to help support Gregory's efforts. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD THE ART WALL AT SIMON'S PUB Deborah Cummins, a 26-year-old medical student at Johns Hopkins has studied art at Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her artwork has been displayed in juried gallery exhibitions and has been featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The brilliant colors with which she paints her portraits are deeply influenced by the work of Morris Louis, a painter of the Washington color school who was married to Deborah's grandmother prior to his early death in 1962. UPCOMING EXHIBIT: Kira Sullivan lives in Baltimore City and is a 6th grader at Friends School. She has worked on art projects for the past 6 years at Friends and at MICA's Young People's Studios. Kira's work has been featured in MICA's Continuing Studies Catalog. She works with pastels drawings, water colors, and acrylics, using mainly bright colors to display her vision of the world around her. SECO Volunteer opportunities Learning is for tomorrow tutoring program. Learning Is For Tomorrow (LIFT) is a comprehensive adult education program that offers classes in literacy, specialized classes for people with special needs, pre-employment training, one-on-one tutoring for beginning readers, GED preparation, and computer lab instruction. LIFT volunteer tutors help individuals with the basic reading skills needed to get a driver's license or get a job. Volunteer tutors enjoy the rewarding experience of getting to know a learner and seeing their knowledge and comprehension increase. LIFT provides training, educational support, learning materials and tutoring space for tutors and their learners. Interested tutors should contact John Lundquist at 410-327-1626 or email at LIFTvolunteer@hotmail.com . Tax Preparation: CPA Tax Specialist offers personal service at reasonable rates. Barbara A. Gilmour, 410-342-7061 days or evenings. 1619
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