The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods is sponsoring a Free Renovation Lending Workshop that will give you all of the financial tools you need for the renovation of a old house in a Richmond neighborhood. You will learn About 2 important subjects:

• Renovation Lending Programs
• How to Qualify for a Mortgage

Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Time: 6:00 – 8:30 pm

Where: Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, 4401 Forest Hill Ave, Richmond, VA 23225 Directions/Parking: At the corner of Forest Hill Avenue and W. 43rd Street in Westover Hills.

Take advantage of this opportunity to learn the ins and outs of home mortgage financing (including: loan programs, credit, cash required, cash sources, etc…). Then learn the benefits of renovation lending and how to buy a home in disrepair and fix it up using these unique loan programs. Additional topics covered include:

• Tax Benefits
• Energy Efficiency
• Market Equity and much more…

If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please contact:

David Herring
Phone: (804) 644-5040
email: dherring@richmondneighborhoods.org

Received the email below from Kelly letting us know about some new classes she has added. I haven’t been to a class but saw the pictures of one of the kid classes and it looked like everyone had a blast.

I wanted to let you know that I’ve added some new dates to the class schedule for July. Mark your calendars, and check out DATE NITE!

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The Westover Hills Fourth of July Children’s Parade will begin at 10 a.m. on the corner of Peterborough and Sylvan. The little ones will walk, ride, be pulled and carried by parents up to 5021 Sylvan for some refreshments and games in the back yard. The kids get a big kick out of it and love having an audience so come out and cheer. Thanks to Laura Dysart for donating the backyard and the time into pulling this off. If you can help her out send an email to lauradysart@verizon.net. Also please note that the 5000 and 5100 blocks of Sylvan will be closed from 9:30 to 11:30.

If you want to view the fireworks at the Dell but don’t want to go across the river head to Riverside Drive. Riverside Drive will be closed from Prince Arthur to Evelyn Bird and from New Kent to Breckenridge from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Please remember that you will be in front of a neighbors house so please respect their property and clean up after yourself and others.

I know I am missing some other Hills and Heights events please let us know in the comments.

Richmond.com list of events
It is neither a 4th activity or a Hills and Heights activity but I will be heading out to the Capital Ale House 2nd Annual Virginia Beer Festival at their Midlothian location on Friday.

Are you interested in learning basic self-defense techniques?
The Forest Hill Neighborhood Watch is offering a two-hour
class for Forest Hill residents. Training will be provided by
Instructor Hubley from the Martial Arts World(www.mawus.com).
The cost is only $10 per person.

Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Forest Hill Presbyterian Church
4401 Forest Hill Avenue

RSVP by July 21: Shannon Taylor at (804) 231-1789 or foresthillsafety@hotmail.com

Friends of Forest Hill Park hosted a small tour of the lake restoration project Tuesday evening and I was happy to tag along and take a few pics.

Mud glorious mud! The yellow object is a baffle that rises with the water to keep excess mud from flowing up and through dam. To the left, beneath the water that has recollected, is the floor of the man made lake.

For more info and photos

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There is an article in the RTD this morning pitching the idea of a baseball stadium in Manchester. I love the idea and think the location is great. Then I read the article. There are no real plans it just another pie in the sky idea. What is also depressing are the comments (I really need to stop reading the comments on RTD) which are so negative. I think it is an interesting idea but at this point baseball in Manchester is only an idea.

Image is from the RTD article CB RICHARD ELLIS

Reynolds Packaging Group has mentioned to city officials informally the possibility of a minor-league baseball stadium in South Richmond.

The stadium site would be part of a 17.5-acre property between the Manchester and 14th Street bridges, with a clear view of the river and downtown skyline.

And the next section really makes me wonder RTD is running a story at all.

However, Richmond officials say they didn’t consider the casual conversation a pitch for a new stadium site and that they don’t have any formal proposal to consider.

“Unequivocally, we are not considering any proposal for a baseball stadium on that site,” Tammy D. Hawley, the mayor’s press secretary, said yesterday.

I for one hopes that some real news develops soon. The owner of the property in question is hoping to pick from as many as 30 potential buyers by Labor day.

Troopers and Richmond City police have been ramping up patrols at the toll lanes, particularly the 45 mile per hour express lanes.

Police say complaints from the driving public caused them to take a closer look at how fast people are driving.

Police tell CBS 6 this is not a special initiative like Operation Air Land and Speed, however they will continue to blanket this area until they feel motorists are getting the message. [via]

[via]
I have noticed an increased presence of officers lately but didn’t realize it was part of an concentrated effort.

Some bad news from the construction site of the ongoing Forest Hill Lake restoration. On Tuesday evening someone went onto the site and broke the windshield of one of the vehicles. Police have been notified and hopefully patrols will be stepped up and other measures taken. One bit of information that I wasn’t aware of until today is that the city will not cover the cost of the vandalism. The company that is working so hard to make our park better has to bear the full burden of the costs. If you see anyone on the site after hours that you suspect doesn’t belong there please call the police. Thanks to Debra McClane for passing this information on to us.

The Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts website has been updated but here are some of the highlights.

Over 1,500 books were received for the PHSSA book sale on June 6th and raised $861. The unsold books will be used for a future sale.

Ukrop’s Golden Gift Certificates were collected at Crossroads and the final tally was 11,819.33 points of which the school will receive 2 percent in a donation from Ukrop’s.

Not on the website but received in the email newsletter: PHSSA will be hosting a table at the Sunday in the Park with Friends event (details on this event to be posted soon) sponsored by the office of Kathy Graziano and Friends of Forest Hill Park. The event will take place July 19 from noon till 4 p.m. PHSSA will have an area where children can make a sun print. We also will take families on guided excursions in Forest Hill Park to play nature bingo. The excursion groups will assemble several times throughout the afternoon. Stop by the PHSSA tent during the event for more details.

The position of principal has been posted on the Careers and Employment section. Description and application…….

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Once a week resident Thomas Scott sends us a photo taken in the neighborhood. More of his stunning photographs are on the blog Punch Photo and he has an online portfolio Thomas Scott Photography. Click on the image to see full size.

Cucumbers and Sunflowers

South of the James

For a slide show of all photos

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The Westover Hills annual Kid’s Parade was a stunning success as always. Thank you Westover Hills Neighborhood Association and Laura Dysart. I have hastily posted some snapshots (no real editing at all) as a slideshow. If you would like a copy or a picture removed please let me know. It should advance to the next picture every few seconds.

Laura and Scott Dysart began organizing the parade about eight years ago with a small group of parents. Yesterday’s parade had about 100 kids participating.

“We love seeing the kids with their bikes and strollers decorated. It’s a lot of fun,” Laura said.

After the parade, their backyard becomes the nexus of the neighborhood with a snow-cone machine and popcorn maker.

“It’s a lot of fun,” they said as the festivities began to wrap up at 11 a.m. Most of the crowd had dispersed, and sons Brandon, 10, and Jake, 7, helped clean up.

Woodland Heights resident Andy Thompson of the RTD has an editoral addressing some of the needs of James River Park.  One point was the recent $100,000 is not enough to address the growing needs.

The second step is policing. The James River Park needs a park police. At the very least, it needs regular patrols, bike patrols, preferably, from officers capable of riding the trails between the Nickel Bridge and Belle Isle.

White had high praise for the current police effort and presence in the park but agreed that the current approach is often inefficient.

“We would do much better if we had a couple of officers who really knew their stuff. Who really knew all the back trails, became familiar with where the crimes were, who were the criminals, just like a cop on the beat. There’s no reason we couldn’t do that. They might get special training. They might learn something about wildlife, river safety, fishing rules, so they would function at a higher level.”

From Channel 12

The Richmond Police Department is investigating the discovery of bones along the James River.

Sunday afternoon firefighters participating in training exercises in the river found the bones along the rapids west of the 14th Street Bridge.

It was not immediately apparent whether the bones belonged to a human or an animal.

The Medical Examiner will try to determine the cause of death.

UPDATE 7/6:

The Richmond Police Department was called to assist the Richmond Fire Department yesterday when skeletal remains were discovered approximately one quarter mile west of the Mayo Bridge.

The remains were recovered by members of the Police Forensic Unit and delivered to the Medical Examiner’s Office for investigation. The medical examiner has determined the bones ARE NOT human remains.

In my travels around the neighborhood it seems that quite a few businesses have vacated the area. So I decided to take my camera and record what was out there. My journey started at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church for daycare drop-off and ended at Lowes for varnish pick-up.  I have lived in the neighborhood for 6 years so remember the old Ukrops (damn that place was small) and think that we currently have more businesses than we did 6 years ago but have not validated that theory.

Below is a slideshow of my trip.

From Channel 8 there is a story on the hard work that park workers and volunteers do so that everyone can enjoy our parks. The footage is from this past weekend.

The WHNA board will hold its next meeting on Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m. at the Westover Hills United Methodist Church. The board meets regularly on the second Thursday of the month, and ALL Westover Hills neighbors are welcome to attend.

If you want your music fix head over to Plaza Bowl to hear O’Death. Style has this to say:

Taking their name from Dock Boggs’ famous banjo-plucking plea to the grim reaper, the members of Brooklyn’s O’Death undoubtedly have a soft spot for traditionalist folk tunes and old-timey arrangements. Laid atop this reverential foundation, however, is an unruly, devil-went-down-to-Georgia gypsy concoction that gives the band’s fiddles and loony jug-band rhythms their due respect with metal, punk and grunge. Rambunctious and at times hardly rational, O’Death comes across as the kind of roots fanatics that would willingly play its barn-burning songs within an actual burning barn. On the road supporting its latest album, “Broke Hymns, Limbs, and Skin,” O’Death plays Plaza Bowl on Wednesday, July 8, at 8 p.m. 233-8799.

Also playing will be James Menefee (River City High), Dean Lee & the Unwelcome Guests.

RTD has an article this morning on the dangers of lead poisoning in some of our older homes. The most common source of lead poisoning is from old paint that contained lead. Lead poisoning is a danger to children and prolonged exposure can cause elevated levels of lead in the blood which can lead to aggression, reduced intelligence, slow growth and development. Children most often ingest lead from paint on their fingers or hands that have come off the house. The article lists the following zip codes as being high risk for lead poisoning 23220, 23221, 23222, 23223, 23224,23225, and 23231. More information for the VA Dept of Health here.
Map of High Risk areas and poisoning cases.

From Lee Shewmake we hear that an artist or two are needed for two projects in the WH neighborhood. A logo for Woodland Heights for the tote bags, flags, bumper stickers, etc. Also looking for anyone that might be willing to do pen and ink drawings of the house tour homes. Perfection not required here. Just a good rendering. If you or someone you know could help with one of these please let Lee know as soon as possible. Please contact Lee at leeshewmake@ yahoo.com if interested.

The city is considering improvements to Jahnke and will hold a meeting next Wednesday. At the very least the road needs a sidewalk/bike lane that runs all the way to Forest Hill Ave. It is extremely dangerous when folks are walking along the road.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Lucille M. Brown Middle School
6300 Jahnke Road
Richmond, VA 23225

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K.C. Howell former resident of Woodland Heights has done some marvelous research into a civil war fort that was right in our midst. Italicized text are my additions as are the images. Thanks K.C. for doing the research and letting us share this with the Hills and Heights Community. Click on any of the images to enlarge.

In the waning days of the Civil War, the confederate capital prepared defensive batteries around the city. Battery 14 was located in right here in Woodland Heights!

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MOOOooooooOOOOOoo

Please tell me, please please, that you’re going to dress up like a cow to get free eats at Chic-fil-a? They even provide a downloadable costume kit! The first three people to send me a picture of themselves dressed like a cow will get a $5 gift card right out of my own pocket! (Dang, I must be getting bored!)

When: Friday, Jul 10, 2009
Where: Chick-Fil-A restaurants
Description: Show your appreciation for the cows! Come FULLY dressed as a cow from head to toe and receive a FREE Combo Meal! Wear any single cow apparel item and receive a FREE sandwich!

I think fondly back to those mythic summers I spent complaining about how bored I was. Can you imagine such a thing? Now that we’ve got a tight budget and kid of our own to entertain through the summer doldrums, I’ve been digging for kid-friendly past-times that only require a little jingle.

Richmondbargains.com provides an extensive list of cheap and free kid things to do this summer. One of my favorites is the link to Historic Richmond Region’s 50 free activities. Our 5 year old has been clamoring for a visit to a cemetery. I can’t really explain why she’s so eager, but a trip to Hollywood Cemetery would perfectly fit the bill and would allow me the opportunity to grab the DSLR and click away at the awesome statuary.

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Lieutenant John A. O’Kleasky, Jr. has released the June report for our Sector. The good news is violent crime is down 22% overall for the year to date.

The not so good news is an increase in robbery, burglary, and theft from cars. There were ten reported robberies. Five of these were from individuals, of which two arrests have been made. Four other robberies were from commercial businesses and one Robbery – Carjacking. We also recorded increases in Burglary (20) and Theft From Motor Vehicle (21), the majority of these offenses occurred in apartment complexes. The apartment complexes located at 5000 & 6000 blocks of Willow Oaks Drive and a series of 5 break-ins over a two day span. The other locations are listed on page 3 of the pdf. Most of the residential crimes occurred during the day so keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour.
Two of the commercial robberies were McDonald’s one on Forest Hill Ave and the other on Midlothian.

Sector 312 June Report.pdf

Despite the rain and vandals good progress is being made and the project is about 15-20% done. Thanks to David Hathcock for providing the pictures. Pictures were taken on the July 7th and now are presented in an exciting slide show format.

Previous pictures here.