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February 2004 President's Message : If you are wondering how you can be more involved in the neighborhood, the February meeting is for you. The chairs of each of the BHA committees will present their goals for the coming year and ask for your involvement. Want to help beautify Butcher's Hill? Join the Streetscape Committee. Concerned about parking, crime, or trash in our neighborhood? You can speak with those people as well. Each committee will have a table with neighbors who are as interested in these topics as you are. It is a great time to get involved! Finally, I would like to thank Rich Pardoe and the outgoing members of the executive committee. Their hard work over the past year has improved the quality of life in Butcher's Hill for all of us. What better New Year's Resolution for those in our community than to be a When it snows, please remember to shovel not just your steps, but the sidewalk in front of your house, within 3 hours after the snow stops (it's the law!). And please help neighbors who cannot clean their sidewalk. A snowy sidewalk can easily turn into a dangerous patch of ice! Join a committee (we need your talents!): Crime Prevention, Marketing (with the House Tour and Flea Markets), the newly revived Education Committee (which needs a chair!), and the soon-to-be-revived Streetscape Committee. Come to the monthly General Meeting (every first Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.)-it's not just for homeowners. This month's meeting features Butchers Hill Committees. If you haven't been recycling, start now (follow the recycling schedule inside this Newsletter), and PLEASE, PLEASE put your trash out on the morning of trash day, not the night before-again, it's the law. Trash left out on the street tends to get windblown and ends up in the gutters (and the plastic bags end up in the trees). And please keep the curb in front of your house clean-once again, it's the law. Thank you, dog walkers, for bagging the dog poop, but a few of you leave it in a neighbor's tree well, or on a neighbor's fence, where someone else has to dispose of it. Make a New Year's resolution to be a good neighbor, and all of Butchers Hill benefits! SCHOOL 27 NEWS As of January 5th, our elementary school has a new principal, Brenda Chunn, and a new vice principal, Vivian Jones. They send greetings to our community and are excited about being here. They hope to be catalysts, organizers and prime movers in bringing together parents, community and school to help the children succeed. Ms. Chunn and Ms. Jones are career educators. Ms Chunn has worked at all levels, including university; this is her 11th year as principal in the city school system. Ms. Jones has been 26 years in the city school system. After only three weeks they are already developing a list of ways the school and community can work together. BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS Block Rep/Crime Prevention: Crime Prevention and Juvenile Crime: This month the Crime Prevention Committee will host a public meeting on Thursday February 19, 7 p.m. at St Andrews Church, Lombard and Chester. Also invited are residents of Fells Prospect, Upper Fells Point and Washington Hill. We have been in communication with the Department of Juvenile Services concerning an increase in juvenile crimes involving guns in our communities. At the meeting on the 19th, Assistant Area Director Patricia Flanigan will explain how the Department of Juvenile Services is supposed to work. We will also hear form Lauren Abramson, Director of the Community Conferencing Center, a program that helps communities work on issues including juvenile crime. All residents are encouraged to attend. This meeting will replace our regular Crime Prevention Committee meeting for February. For more information, call Carolyn Boitnott at 410-522-4991. 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. Education: The education committee will be meeting this month on Thursday, February 26th, 7 p.m., 2105 E. Baltimore St. ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME AND JOIN THIS REVIVED COMMITTEE. THE COMMITTEE STILL NEEDS A CHAIR-if interested, please contact the executive committee liaison, Erica Holcomb, 410-327-9370, or 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, February 10th, 7:00 PM, 2223 E. Pratt St. Contact Rick Gilmour (410-342-7061), gilmour@qis.net . The Marketing Committee welcomes Carter Bryant, an expert on Flea Markets. For the two flea markets in 2004, we are looking for someone to head up and staff the Butchers Hill table. This need not be the same person both times. Contact Rick Gilmour. We also need artists for the Garden Tour (you appear in gardens and may offer works for sale) and we need a "theme" artist for the House Tour. Contact Liz Elliott (410-558-0158). Trash Committee: Contact Sue Whitson, 443-527-1103, e-mail sbwhitson@hotmail.com (e-mail preferred). BHA Executive Committee: Tuesday, February 17, 7 p.m., 2039 E Baltimore St. Dave Dyer (410-342-7655). Newsletter: The deadline for MARCH is Friday, February 20th. Contact Steve Young: young@umbc.edu . You can now check City ordinances dealing with snow, trash, noise, and other quality-of-life issues online: http://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/charterandcodes/ It's easiest to first download the Consolidated Index (under Search Aids), and then download the articles that you need. All the files are in .pdf format. FEBRUARY BUTCHERS HILL GENERAL MEETING
BUTCHERS HILL FINANCES IN 2003 The Butchers Hill Association had another financially successful year in 2003, with income exceeding expenses by about $4,300. The totals shown above are comparable with results reported for 2002, except that Castle Street Park Expenses were higher in 2002, while renovation of the park was being completed. The House Tour continued to be our largest single revenue source. It and the Garden Tour are also the highest net revenue producers among the BHA events, mostly because volunteers contributing generously of their time keep expenses to a minimum. Last year was the first in which BHA sponsored two flea markets, and both were financial successes, despite rain on the day originally designated for the Fall event. Other than events, membership dues are the Association's largest revenue source, and the monthly Newsletter is our greatest single expense. Volunteers are crucial to the Newsletter. All editorial and distribution activities are contributed by neighbors, leaving printing as virtually the only out-of-pocket expense. The Newsletter goes to every household in the neighborhood, regardless of membership, and is the single most important outreach activity of the Association. The miscellaneous category includes T-shirts and the two pot-lucks. Contributions are made annually by BHA to a dozen community-building organizations and activities, including, in 2003, the Black Knights football team, Friends of Patterson Park, Banner Neighborhoods, Live Baltimore, The Ralph J. Young Recreation Center, Citizens Planning and Housing Association (CPHA), the Neighborhood Design Center, and the Community Law Center. Presidential primary elections in Maryland are coming up Tuesday, March 2nd ("Super Tuesday"). Are you registered to vote? The deadline to register, in order to vote in the 2004 primary, is February 10th at 9 p.m. You can download a voter registration application, and get more information, at: http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/elections/dates.html Or call the Baltimore City Board of Elections at (410) 396-5550. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD THE BUTCHERS HILL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION expects to acquire 2140 East Baltimore Street and 5 South Chester Street in the very near future. The properties will then be re-offered on a sealed bid basis to all interested parties. Further information may be found at http://butchershillcdc.org . THE ART WALL AT SIMON'S PUB 2031 EAST FAIRMOUNT AVENUE http://www.simonsofbutchershill.com He has expressed this interest in diverse media, including painting, masks, and photography. One direction that these interests have lead into is a study of the form and craft of masks. Christian pursued this interest by actually creating masks of his own. Besides existing as interesting objects in their own rite, they also have potent symbolic value. Japanese theater masks, Inuit shaman masks, and the masks of the Venetian carnival are among his diverse influences. Christian has also been drawn to the art of puppetry. With roots going back into prehistory, puppetry was one of the major forms of popular entertainment in the pre-modern period. The stylization creates an inherent tension between the artificiality of the puppets and there seeming animation. This tension evokes the unreal and dreamlike. In this respect, it connects with the roots of theatre and art. Christian has pursued his interest in puppetry through his work with the Black Cherry Puppet Theatre in Baltimore. Upcoming Events at Simon's Tax Preparation: CPA Tax Specialist offers personal service at reasonable rates. Barbara A. Gilmour, 410-342-7061 days or evenings. CREEPY CRAWLY KIDS STAR IN "THE BUGS CIRCUS!" Presented by Fluid Movement & Living Classrooms Foundation The insect world is brought to life by 40 Baltimore city youth from Living Classrooms Foundation's BUGS after-school program! These talented kids have spent months gettin' schooled in tomfoolery by local performance group, Fluid Movement, and coached in circus skills by professional circus clown, Greg May. Who: Fluid Movement, Baltimore's community-based performance art group has joined forces with Living Classrooms Foundation's Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) After School Program.
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