Happy 2008! I wish you a happy, successful, and fulfilling year. Many of us made New Year Resolutions and I hope that you are achieving your commitments. I don’t make New Year Resolutions, but when I retired, I resolved to give volunteer service in our community. I am especially interested in working with children, to improve their lives and education.

I challenge you in 2008 to consider volunteering in any way that makes you happy and helps improve the lives of our fellow citizens. I’d like to suggest a few volunteer opportunities, of which many of you aware, but some are not.

I spoke at Jefferson Elementary School’s Honor Roll assembly on Thursday, January 31st. It was great to have the opportunity to encourage 100+ first through fourth graders, who work hard in school and make excellent grades. I was invited by one of our neighbors Mrs. Sophia Gordon, whose children attend Jefferson. She is a very active volunteer and asked me to reach out to other neighbors to seek new volunteers for the school. Jefferson is located at 1223 N. Euclid Avenue and is very close to the Dayton View Triangle. The school is in need of people who can listen to children read, tutor students who need individual help, assist teachers, and numerous other ways. If you have time, call Mrs. Gordon at 274-9826 or 542-3000 to get information about other volunteer opportunities in the Dayton Public Schools. Children who meet success in school grow up to be good, productive citizens.

House of Bread is another volunteer opportunity in our community. Bill Evans, the Executive Director, lives in the Triangle neighborhood. The House of Bread serves lunch daily to anyone who needs a meal. The paid staff is very small, so they depend on a strong volunteer force to help prepare and serve the lunches daily. You not only help others, you get a free lunch. The House of Bread is located at 9 Orth Avenue, which is near W. Riverview Ave. Call Les Hamilton, the volunteer coordinator, at 226-1520 if you are interested.

There are numerous other volunteer opportunities. If you like the outdoors, you may want to volunteer for the Five River Metroparks. Call 275-PARK (7275) or e-mail metroparks.org. If you would like to teach adults to read, contact the Miami Valley Literacy Council at 223-4922. This is a big election year and you might be interested in helping our children learn the value of voting, by being a volunteer for Kids Voting. Call them at 222-8683.

There are numerous ways to give service in our community, and of course our neighborhood is a good place to start. We still need trustees for several districts and we always need volunteers to serve on committees for neighborhood events. Contact me, Delores Robinson, at 277-8031 or dchis64@aol.com, if you would like to serve or if you would like to share other volunteer opportunities with our neighbors. We would be glad to share them in future newsletters. ab

Our 2008 home and garden tour is scheduled for this summer, and we are hoping to make it the most successful one yet. I realize that many living here in the Triangle may not know what a home tour is or even why we hold them. I wanted to take a moment and explain all the benefits of the tour to our neighborhood.

Our tour takes place on a Sunday afternoon, usually in July, and consists of six to ten homes and/or gardens that neighbors have agreed to open up to the public. Anyone who purchases a ticket can stroll through our beautiful neighborhood and walk through each home and garden open on the tour. Guests come for decorating tips, the sheer beauty and variety of the architecture, and garden and landscaping ideas. All our guests have one thing in common -- they love and appreciate the uniqueness of older homes.

Hundreds of visitors tell us the Dayton View Triangle Home and Garden Tour is one of the very best in the Dayton area, and we have many repeat guests. They love our homes! This tour promotes our neighborhood and helps fund many of the events that are planned throughout the year.

Ticket sales from the tour pay the cost of producing it, although much of the cost is offset by donations and selling advertising ads in the professionally produced tour book. The remainder of the proceeds is used for the neighborhood’s benefit. In the past, proceeds in the past have helped pay for the Spring Egg hunt, beautifying entrances of the Triangle with flowers and plantings, summer picnic, annual ice cream social, Halloween/Harvest party for neighborhood kids, as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas help to families in need who are part of our neighborhood. It also helps pay for the cost of the mailing and producing of the neighborhood newsletter and all the flyers on upcoming events that neighborhood trustees place at your door.

Many homeowners whose homes were on our tours have loved the experience. It is fun to show off your handiwork and decorating and share your passion for old homes with others. Everyone has a wonderful time being a part of this summer event.

We are searching for our 2008 homes now. We always have a wide variety of sizes and architectural styles. If you want to know more about becoming a part of our tour, please call me, Charlene Molnar, at 567-9356. I will answer any questions you might have about the home tour.

Even with these cold winter days there's still a hint of springtime in the air! Our thoughts turn to all those spring projects... painting, planning our gardens, and cleaning out closets, basements and attics. But wait! Don't throw out those items yet!

You may call it trash but others call it treasure. Get those treasures ready for the 31st Annual Dayton View Triangle Garage Sale. This year's sale will take place on Saturday, May 17, from 9 AM - 3 PM. Everyone is welcome to participate however to be included on the map of sales you must be a current member of the Triangle Association. It's a fun day to meet neighbors and to show others visiting our beautiful neighborhood our friendly hospitality. More information will be arriving in your doors in late April.

Residents of the neighborhoods surrounding Good Samaritan Hospital are cordially invited to attend the next quarterly Phoenix Project Public Meeting on Tuesday, February 26th, at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held at Fairview United Methodist Church, 828 W. Fairview Avenue (corner of Fairview & Catalpa). Use the canopy entrance off the parking lot.

Hear the latest updates and plans on many topics, including the Phoenix Project Community-Based Policing – and meet new officers Tricia Ponchitera and Brian Detrich. Topics include the gateway landscaping at Salem & Catalpa; upcoming programming for Phoenix area youth and families; Fairview Commons and the new Fairview Elementary School; financial incentives for home purchase and for current homeowners; new housing; and more. Visit "Information Stations" for details on housing programs, business loans, neighborhood security, youth programs, volunteer opportunities, etc.This is a great opportunity for you to share information, meet other Phoenix area residents, and meet the Phoenix Project team as you enjoy some light refreshments! For more information, visit the Phoenix web site at www.phoenixprojectdayton.org or contact Jill Hamilton at 275-1222 or by email at jill937@msn.com. <br>

Cynthia Spearman reports that seven families received assistance from our Adopt-a family program. The families were given gift certificates to Wal-Mart; each minor child got a $5 gift certificate for McDonald's. We spent a total of $750 for gift certificates.

Experience the tradition of the Ohio Memorial Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2PM at the newly rebuilt Thurgood Marshall High School at 4535 Hoover Ave. This presentation is a joint effort by the Westwood branch of the public library, Dayton public schools and local churches, Including Mountain Top Ministries.

"Rundown houses are not just an eyesore. They lose money for the owner, decrease the value of homes in the neighborhood, and erode the City's tax base," Mike Dolinski said in a meeting of the Triangle's Distressed Housing Committee.

The group's new leader, Ted Scheidt, says, "The committee encourages the Triangle Associations trustees to be the first line in keeping track of distressed housing in the neighborhood; we are devising a form to make it easier for trustees to report on housing problems in their districts".

This process will update the list of distressed and abandoned houses begun five years ago by Jay Hahn, Steve Blatt and Mike Dolinski. The committee will continue trying to contact the homeowners, as well as working with the City of Dayton and cooperating with other community agencies or groups. It will be a long and slow process, so it will need continuing attention.

Finding out who owns the houses is far from simple, as the Montgomery County website for real estate ownership does not always list an owner. Sometimes the owner of record is an out of state mortgage company, and sometimes the list is out of date by as much as 5 years.

So far most of the effects have been cosmetic and temporary. After persistent phone calls from Steve Blatt and Mike Dolinski, the City has mowed lawns for a number of houses on Ravenwood, and demolished two houses on Salem. Trustees have trimmed shrubbery and hauled fallen tree limbs to the curbs for pickup.

Save the date!! The Federation’s Quarterly meeting takes place on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7:00 p.m. in Bonebrake Hall on Omega Baptist’s Harvard Campus (formerly the United Theological Seminary’s campus). We have speakers on two topics: