WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

5807 Harford Road

BALTIMORE, MD 21214

www.waltherson.org
mailbox@waltherson.org
Tweet: @WalthersonAssoc

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UPCOMING WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

Tuesday, May 14th 2019, @ 7 PM (Quarterly Meeting)

Get Involved Join WIA today! April 2019

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Waltherson Improvement Association Street Sweeping

5807 Harford Road 3rd Wednesday – Even Sides
Baltimore, MD 21214 4th Wednesday – Odd Sides

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 The Walthersonian April 2019

President’s Letter

Hello Waltherson & happy spring!

I know we all have big plans to get outside, fire up the grill, get the lawn chairs on the deck & plant flowers, right? Well, maybe
some of these. Either way, it will be nice to get outside soon.

January was time to renew your membership; please get your $12 annual participation fees in. This allows you to VOTE
whenever necessary & that is VERY important in all of our neighborhoods. YOU have a chance to make a difference in your own
back yard, so please send your memberships in.

The WIA board has been very busy with meetings & other ways to stay abreast of many of the changes in our neighborhoods.
We need your help to center on one of our hottest topics: Block Captains. We had about 7 people come out to discuss ideas.
Some of you want to jump right in, go to meetings, talk about your areas concerns, etc. Others want to do this from behind the
scenes. This position can be as involved as you want it to be. The greatest asset is that we can communicate through a data
base with each other without having to go to meetings all the time.

A Block Captain could:

• Welcome new folks when they move into the neighborhood, supplying them with contact info, a newsletter & maybe a
welcome packet
• Advise the neighbors of any suspicious activities (or characters) in our area
• Communicate about any homes that may need repairs
• Advise when there is illegal activity (drugs, running a business from home, contractors working on a home without
permits, etc)
• Organize a gathering of all block captains for support & sharing ideas

This is not limited to the above. You can take part in expanding on these ideas & participating with some of the concerns we all
have for our neighborhood. Too often I have people who just want to report a problem, & that’s fine but we cannot do it all;
but TOGETHER we can. This is a way to get involved & you remain anonymous. If one person from EACH BLOCK becomes a
block captain, imagine how much information we can share to help build a better Waltherson.

There are 2,500 homes in our neighborhood & only 7-8 people on the board helping to maintain a balance. We are trying to
come up with new ways to let folks know we are here & get involved. Block captains are working very well in other nearby
neighborhoods & can work well in ours. Just reach out by email or call us to let us know you want to get involved. For a while,
we WILL meet at meetings to get it all started, but once we have it, we can communicate only as needed.

Other items:

Second-hand stores: URP to define “second hand” stores. Remember we talked about this in the last few months about the
second-hand tennis shoe store that wants to come to our area, but the rules for our neighborhoods (URP) do not allow second
hand stores. So, Councilman Dorsey wants to REMOVE that exclusion under the rules. We would like to be able to DEFINE
what we DO accept as “second-hand” stores & not leave it open-ended. We have met several times about this with
surrounding neighborhoods & are coming up with ideas that we hope Councilman Dorsey will see fit to add to his Bill #19-0328.
The hearing is on April 9th at 3:30 pm at the City Council Chambers, located at City Hall, 100 N Holliday St, 4th Floor, Baltimore,
MD 21202. Several of us will be attending.

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TID-BITS:

Un-tagged cars: We have received multiple complaints about untagged vehicles on streets and in driveways. Vehicles on public
property that do not have license plates or current registration are considered abandoned, and there is recourse to have these
cars towed. Vehicles on private property that do not have license plates or current registration are subject to fines and/or
towing. In both cases, we recommend you take the following steps:
• Contact 311 to report a derelict vehicle on public or private property. At least three of the following must be included
to help identify the vehicle: exact address, color, make/model, tag number, and condition (i.e. flat tires, broken
windshield, etc.). Citizens are also encouraged to submit a photo if available with their service request.
• Citizens should also contact 311 to report a traffic violation of a vehicle that has not moved in 48 hours. Once
reported we will investigate and then follow-up after observance of 48 hours.
• Contact us at mailbox@waltherson.org with the 311 request number and address where the vehicle is located so that
we may follow up with your complaint

Running a business from your home: is illegal. It requires a permit, which goes through a process. If you see a business being
run from a home you have a right to report it.

Sump pump: We are hearing a lot about this. From what I’m told, it has to be routed into the proper drainage. It cannot just
go from your yard into the street. Most folks route it to your own waste drainage in the yard. It cannot however just drain into
your yard & then flood someone else’s yard. It must go to a proper drain, NOT BE OPENLY DISPENSED. Be mindful, folks are
getting fined.

Squatters: are illegal. Please be aware & report it. If a house is empty & then all of a sudden there are people living there &
you never saw a “for-sale” sign, they could be squatting. Some even are under the impression they have a legal rental
agreement. Call it in & report, jot down the report number & email us to let us know. Be careful that they are not running a
line to your electricity.

Bridge closure (by Lake Montebello): Is completely blocked off & please do not walk underneath the bridge. Authorities have
asked us to communicate this.

SoHa: Southern & Harford Road apartment project: Sam Polakoff has advised that this will be complete by summer. Costs of
rentals have not been determined yet. But please be mindful going by this construction site on Harford Rd & best to avoid
Southern Ave if you can. There was a horrible accident there recently but not because of construction.

Lauraville Fair: In June, but I do not have an exact date. I do have a great email from the main supporter who runs it (a man
named Bill from WPOC) who says this will be his last year to run it & so he needs to train someone else to take over. ANYONE
interested can pop me an email & I will forward you his contact info.

Recipes & spot light on your FAV neighbor or home: All this negative stuff! Let’s say some positive stuff about our favorite
home or neighbor. Or, how ‘bout your favorite recipe? Do you want to share something really special? Please send us an
email. Let’s have some fun here.

Businesses: We have several new businesses coming into the area. Stay tuned!

I will continue to go to the meetings, hearings & events as much as I can, but with the help of our board & neighbors, we can all
go to different things & share the ideas. How’s that sound? GRRRREAT! ☺

Best wishes,

Helene Quinn
Your president

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At the Pratt (Hamilton Branch)

Book Club
• Long Road To Mercy by David Baldacci - Monday, 4/15 @ 6 PM

Movies
• The Lego Batman Movie – Wed. 4/10 @ 3:30 pm
• The Princess and The Frog – Wed 4/24 @ 3:30 PM

Adults
• Yoga for Beginners –Tues. 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30 @ 11:30 AM
• Yoga for Beginners –Fri. 4/5, 4/12, 4/26 @ 10:30 AM
• Chair Yoga – Sat 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27 @10:30 AM
• Mindful Meditation – Thurs. 4/4, 4/11, 4/18, 4/25 @ 12 PM
• Mindful Meditation – Mon. 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29 @ 10 AM
• Sit And Keep Healthy – Wed. 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 @ 12 PM
• Paint Night at Hamilton – Thursday 3/7 @ 6 PM
o Local artist, Arthur Brown, leads you step-by-step as you create your very own masterpiece.
o All paint supplies will be provided by the library. Call 410-396-6088 to register.
• Finding Grants – 4/4 @ 1 PM
o Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential
funders. Presented by Anna Tatro, Grants Librarian, Enoch Pratt Free Library.
• Meet the Author: Dr. Eric Holmes – Thursday 4/25 @ 6 PM
o Join us as local author, Dr. Eric Holmes discuss his book The Power Of The Seed. The Power Of
The Seed will guide you in recognizing your ability to help others, who will then help you in
return. Through personal testimony and biblical references, Dr. Eric reminds us to be patient and
unceasing in our journey to do good. Copies of The Power Of The Seed will be available for
purchase.

Programs for Children:

• Baby & Toddler Storytime – Wednesdays 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 @ 10 AM
• Preschool Storytime – Wednesdays 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 @ 11 AM
• Breathe – Fridays 4/12, 4/26 @ 3:30 PM
• Family Storytime – Saturdays 4/6, 4/20 @ 10:30 AM
• 3D Printing – Thursdays 4/4, 4/11, 4/25 @ 3:30 PM
• Imagination Celebration: Mindful Color Collage – Tuesday 4/2 @ 3:30 pm
o Join us as we read stories for inspiration and then create mindful color collages of ourselves using
paper and ink.
• Small-Group Scratch Coding – Tuesdays 4/9, 4/23, 4/30 @ 3:30 PM
o Join us to try out coding with Scratch, “a block-based visual programming language.”

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 The Walthersonian April 2019

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. Communities with regular NECOP
patrols, such as the North Harford neighborhood, also see significantly less crime than
communities with inactive patrols.

Participants meet at the Northeast Police station at 1900 Argonne Drive near Morgan State and
an officer will give you a direct number to keep them in contact with the Police. You would then
proceed to patrol the neighborhood in your car. Patrols normally go out each Thursday and
Friday from about 7:30 - 10:30. Anyone interested in the Citizens on Patrol program, please
contact us at mailbox@waltherson.org.
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Our sincere thanks to Waltherson’s sponsors:

Proud Member of:

WIA Volunteers
Officers:
President 1st Vice 2nd Vice Secretary Treasurer Parliamentarian Sergeant At-Large
President President at Arms Member
Helene Frank Raisa Jessica Amy Lauren Katie Rod
Quinn Williams Rouse Feldt Greensfelder Whittaker Bernstein Hamilton