You are invited to tour nine beautiful homes and four lovely gardens on Sunday, September 16th from Noon to 5 p.m.

This years tour features homes of many styles including English Tudor, English Cottage, and Dutch Colonial. Many of our homes display unique features such as natural woodwork, hardwood floors, imported tiles, stained and leaded glass, and built-in bookcases and niches. The neighborhood holds many of the most unique homes in the area built from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The four gardens demonstrate the diversity in landscape design we have in the Triangle.. From flowers and shrubs to lily ponds and fountains, these gardens will encourage those with green thumbs and inspire those who are interested in updating their landscaping.

The tour will begin at Bonebrake Hall at the United Theological Seminary at 1810 Harvard Blvd., where parking will be available and shuttle vans will be

provided for your convenience. Or feel free to walk our beautiful tree-lined streets at your convenience.

Make sure you invite friends, co-workers and relatives to this exciting event! Advance tickets are on sale now at $7 each when purchased before

September 10th, so hurry and order yours today. The tickets will be $10 the day of the tour. Proceeds from the tour will benefit the many programs sponsored by our neighborhood federation.

Earn a free ticket! Many volunteers are needed the day of the tour to make things run smoothly. Would you be interested in assisting a homeowner with greeting visitors for a few hours, driving a tour van or selling tickets? If so, we will give you a ticket to enjoy the tour before or after your shift. Please call Ami Bement at 275-7493 or send an e-mail to bement @surfree.com if you are interested in participating. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

The Philharmonic was grateful for our help last May in providing volunteers to staff their Designer Showhouse in Grafton Hill. Gloria Hudson helped greatly by finding several more, much needed, volunteersat the last minute.

Charles Webster, new head of Housing and Secrity at UTS, was introduced to the Trustees in May.

LexisNexis put together a new storage shed for the Community Garden. The shed was donated by Carl and Donna Trivit.

Housing Inspection issues are a continuing concern. Trustee Lori Mayo reported that her efforts had not met with much success. Fred Stovall continues to compile a list of the houses needing the attention of our Inspector. Mr. Webster reminded us that one step we might consider is appearing before the City Commission.

Mayor Mike Turner visited to give a preview of the July 7 Housing Symposium. The focus is Housing Code Enforcement. The Symposium will make a list of legislative items that need to be implemented. Thesse include no transfer of title if a house has code violation; once in foreclosure the bank will have to bring the house up to code, Interior inspections of rental property, Fee for leaving property vacant, City to step in and have repairs done and charge owner.

Tom Jonak announced that the House of the Quarter is 1611 Olmsted Dr. The garden of this house is one of several on the upcoming Home Tour.

The Salem Ave. Corridor Committee gave a publlic report presenting many exciting ideas. While the specifics of the plan may change, those involved managed to grasp the problem/s with Salem Ave. They concluded that on either side of Salem Ave. are these wonderful homes, with exceptionally strong neighborhood organizations. However, Salem Ave. itself is a "SEWER running through the area."

Drving along Salem gives you no hint of quality of the neighborhood on either side.For the most part, Salem is not a destination drive for most people, even those who live here.

The consensus was that Salem Ave. itself should serve as a gateway, echoing the beauty of the neighborhoods. And with the presence of Omega Baptist, and some restaurants, and other amenities, it could be a periodic destination drive for people. They had many wonderful ideas and since Good Samaritan Hospital is a major player things may really happen.

Steve Blatt picked up eight flats of plants from the City, and roped in a guest from Kettering, a young passerby, K. Rizer, Mike Dolinsky, Sandi Simmons and Laura Haney to help plant on a hot and steamy Sunday afternoon in late June. The "volunteers" yanked weeds, transplanted existing plants, and attacked the hardpacked soil just to make the holes for new plants. Victor and Fiona Forte donated several more plants.

Besides the Otterbein traffic islands, the landscape committee tries to keep the gateways at Philadelphia and Harvard weeded and trimmed.

While the Neighborhood Watch Group has been effective for the Triangle in the past, it needs a revival. Several burglaries in the Triangle inspired us to make security the topic for the General Meeting in July, when Sandi Simmons explained how Watch Groups work and how to organize your own block.

The goal is to have 1/2 the blocks in the neighborhood organized (back) into Watch Groups by the next general meeting. Help where you can. Give your list of block members with the name of the Block Captain to President Sandi Simmons.

September 7 and 8, the grounds of United Theological Seminary are the setting for music, laughter and fun.

Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 pm, the international students from UTS will share bits of their musical heritage. You can look forward to an Irish harpist, soem German songs, some Korean music, and more.

Saturday afternoon, Serious Young Musicians will play from 3 to 6 . This popular jazz ensemble drew record crowds two years ago when it played here.

There will also be a clown to amuse the youngest in the audience, and a concession tent offering hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks.