WESTERN HILLS PRESS
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015
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BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Grand opening set for new District 3 police station Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
WESTWOOD — West Side residents are invited to join the Cincinnati Police Department in marking the grand opening of the new District 3 police headquarters. A celebration and ribbon cutting is set for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at the new station, 2300 Ferguson Road, Westwood. Built as a sustainable, energy efficient and environmentally-friendly facility meeting LEED Platinum status, the new station is designed to generate as much energy as it consumes. It replaces the district’s technologically and physically insufficient headquarters in East Price Hill on Warsaw Avenue, which dates back to 1908. “The great thing about the new station is that it’s more centrally located in the district,” West Price Hill resident and neighborhood activist Pete Witte said. “It gives the police the best base of operation they could possibly have, given the amount of calls for service in District 3.” Westwood resident Mary Jenkins, president of the Westwood Civic Association, echoed Witte’s point about the station’s central location, saying it will help quicken police response time and offers a clearer representation of the 14 neighborhoods the district covers. “It’s very good for all of District 3 that the new headquarters is centrally located. I think it’s very helpful it’s located between Price Hill and Westwood, which are two neighborhoods that demand a lot of services,” she said. “We’re very glad to welcome them to the neighborhood and look forward to the additional space that can be used for community and police engagement.” Katherine Keough-Jurs, Cincinnati’s senior city planner, said the 39,000-squarefeet, $16 million building is the
first new police station the city has built in more than 40 years. Beyond its sustainable design and technological upgrades, the station also features community gathering space and art. City planners worked with community members to determine the site for the station and a 25-member community advisory team worked with architects and the construction team to define the building’s public spaces and make decisions regarding artwork. “Because the community had been so involved in the selection of the site for the new headquarters, we also wanted them to be a part of the design and infuse their ideas for the public community spaces,” Keough-Jurs said. Based on input from residents, she said the station’s exterior plaza has 14 columns representing the district’s neighborhoods and the building has a rain garden with a community feature. An artistic map displaying the district’s neighborhoods adorns a wall in the lobby of the station, and the map includes images of iconic buildings, parks or public spaces from each neighborhood. The glass walls of the station’s community room also are also decorated with notable buildings from each neighborhood, laser-etched into the glass. “It’s an incredibly cool project,” Keough-Jurs said. “We’ve never engaged the community to this extent with a public building. This has been a fantastic process.” She said the city’s planning department will likely use the District 3 project as a model for future public buildings. At the heart of it all, Witte said the new station will allow the police department to better serve residents of the West Side. “It’s a modern facility, appropriately sized and built with all the resources the police need to provide the best and highest quality service,” he said.
FILE PHOTO
The annual WestFest street festival presented by the Cheviot Westwood Community Association is set for June 27 and 28 in the heart of Cheviot. In an effort to increase safety, this year’s event will be fenced in and charge $2 admission for everyone 13 and older.
WestFest to be gated, charging $2 admission Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
CHEVIOT — Organizers of the annual WestFest in Cheviot have made a major change to the summer celebration. The two-day street festival presented by the Cheviot Westwood Community Association will be completely fenced in and have a $2 admission charge this year. After listening to residents, city officials, patrons and vendors, the WestFest committee decided to gate the festival and charge a small admission fee as a way to help control crowds. “We wanted to make sure we have a safe event,” said association member Bonnie Perrino, who serves as chairwoman of WestFest. “People come out and have a great time, and we want them to be safe.” There will be marked en-
KURT BACKSCHEIDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
JUST PLAIN GOOD 7A Simple vintage recipes take the cake.
cheeseburgers. A new food vendor this year is F&N Goode Chick’n Tenders from Westwood. The festival’s two stages will offer 22 live music and entertainment acts throughout the weekend, and the family-friendly Kidz Zone has a variety of games and rides for children. Perrino said a $12 ride bracelet allowing for unlimited rides is available from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day. A variety of area merchants will have retail booths set up again this year, and she said the Cheviot Police Association is presenting a cornhole tournament on Sunday. She said another new addition is the “West Side Star” karaoke contest presented by the Cheviot Cultural Development Committee and Cheviot Eagles. The two groups have hosted See WESTFEST, Page 2A
Oak Hills dispute flares anew By Hannah Sparling hsparling@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Police Department will celebrate the grand opening of the new District 3 police station with a ribbon cutting Thursday, June 25. The 39,000-square-feet, $16 million facility is the first new police station the city has built in more than 40 years.
trance gates at all street intersections and, upon paying admission, patrons will receive a wristband they must wear during the event. Admission is free for children 12 and younger, and all children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. An estimated 30,000 people will attend the 14th annual street festival, which takes place 1 p.m. to midnight Saturday, June 27, and 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, June 28, in the heart of Cheviot at Harrison and Glenmore avenues. Perrino, who has helped organize WestFest from the very beginning, said those who attend will find all the food and attractions that have made the festival a summer tradition. This year’s food vendors include favorites the likes of Gary’s Cheesecakes, Humbert’s Meats, Maury’s Tiny Cove, N.Y.P.D. Pizza and Sandy’s Hi-lo
A spat is escalating between a youth football organization and Oak Hills Local Schools, with the district telling the Little Highlanders they must either sign a logo usage agreement, or they can’t wear the classic “OH” logo or use district facilities for practices or games. It seemed in May the squabble was resolved. The Little relented and Highlanders signed the agreement. However, they requested a binding arbitration clause be added. The Oak Hills Board of Education debated the matter in executive session, ultimately voting against the arbitration clause.
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So now, the fight rages on. The district issued a press release Thursday afternoon, stating the Little Highlanders are “not in good standing.” “I really feel sorry for the youth football players involved in the Little Highlanders organization,” said superintendent Todd Yohey in the release. “As a result of their adult leaders’ refusal to sign the OH logo usage agreement, the student athletes involved with Little Highlanders will not be participating in or on school facilities, nor wearing the Old English OH on uniforms.” The dustup stems all the way back to September 2013, when the Oak Hills Athletic Boosters
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KURT BACKSCHEIDER/ THE COMMUNITY PRESS
An ongoing dispute over use of the “OH” Oak Hills logo has resulted in the school district banning the Little Highlanders organization from using district facilities. Vol. 87 No. 32 © 2015 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED