May 1, 2007 - Volume 16, No. 18

a Winkler Company publication

Also featuring photos from our monthly supplement...

Colonial Revival on Oakwood Avenue

Leslie Norwalk, HHS chief, OHS ‘84 alumna, talks to senior class

By Lance Winkler

Last Friday afternoon during the sixth period, Oakwood seniors were invited down to the OHS auditorium to listen to a special guest speaker. Leslie V. Norwalk is not only the current chief administrator for the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C., she is a 1984 graduate of Oakwood High School. She gave the soon-to-be graduating seniors a little pep talk on life in the Beltway and what it is like to interact with cabinet-level administrators on a daily – and in the case of President Bush –weekly basis.

Starting out on Wall Street after college, she then decided to campaign for George H.W. Bush in 1988, followed by getting a job at the White House for 2 1/2 years. Then came a stint at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. She then went to law school, got her degree and worked her way up through the ranks and now sits atop a bureaucracy and budget ($2.3 trillion) that dwarfs that of the Pentagon.

According to Norwalk, 23 percent of our Gross Domestic Product is spent on health care. The current Medicare and Medicaid budget tops $654 billion dollars according to Norwalk’s figures. Total HHS expenditures are at $2.3 trillion dollars. That is today. In 2016, expenditures will hit approximately $4 trillion.

She was asked a question about Universal Health Care and the likelihood it might become policy in the future? “I’m not sure this country is ready for universal health care,” she said. Citing 43 million people that are currently on the roles with Medicare, she said that the system currently in place is already overloaded.

She also had questions of her own.

“How many of you are planning on going into medicine? We need a lot of doctors in the future.” Nobody raised their hand. “How many of you are planning to go into law?” Again, no one raised a hand. A query about a future on Wall Street met with a similar response. What DO these kids plan to do with their lives?

She told the seniors assembled that they can do just about anything they want if they put their ambition to it and that “the world is your oyster.” One last bit of advice came from Ms. Norwalk at the conclusion of her talk: “Believe in yourself, because by and large, nobody else will.”

Special use request for Hawthorn Hill May 2

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

On Wednesday, May 2nd, at 4:30 p.m., Steve and I will be meeting with the Oakwood Planning Commission to review our request for a “special use” zoning permit (museum) for Hawthorn Hill. This permit will allow us to “dip our toe in the water” and begin some tours of Uncle Orv’s home for the public. Here is our request to the commission:

“The Wright Family Foundation and Dayton History respectfully request special use zoning (museum) for Hawthorn Hill in order to present the home of one of America’s celebrated sons, Orville Wright, to the general public. It is the desire and wish of the Wright Family to ensure public access to Hawthorn Hill is limited and controlled in the following manner:

3 tours per day, duration of 45 minutes to 1 hour per tour 4 days per week, Wednesday – Saturday 9 am – 3 pm, Wednesday – Saturday Proposed tours originate at Carillon Park and visitors, including the guide/driver, are transported to Hawthorn Hill in a 15 passenger van. All visitor parking will be remote at Carillon Park where tours begin and conclude. No admission or retail sales will be permitted on-site at Hawthorn Hill.

We believe this proposed use complies with the standards outlined in the City of Oakwood zoning ordinance 1004.6, standards for special uses. Thank you.”

We have asked the commission to grant the 9 a.m.-3 p.m. time period for those days, even though the tours will take up only about half of that time, for two reasons. First, this schedule will allow a little time for the home to be opened and closed before and after the tours take place. The guide can turn on the lights, open curtains, etc.... Second, we think those hours will allow us to make some adjustments in the timing of the three tours per day in case the times do not work out well for the neighborhood. So, for example...a 9:30 a.m. tour could become a 10: 15 a.m. tour if this suited the situation better.

I have discussed our plan with Gretchen Loper, principal of Harman School, and explained to her that we would keep the tours within the school hours so that we would not interfere with the coming and going of children during the morning arrival and the afternoon dismissal. She was very supportive of the proposal. And, the tour vehicle (a small one, like the senior vans) would make its way from the Carillon Park to Hawthorn Hill via Park Ave. to Harman so as not to go by the school. And, for the neighbors, this van would go up the driveway three times on tour days, and go down the driveway three times on tour days. The van will park in the driveway, near the house, not on the street. We want to keep the “activity” simple and non-intrusive for the neighborhood.

Our plan includes a tour guide/driver who accompanies the visitors for the ENTIRE tour. We will not allow visitors to explore the full extent of the grounds...there is no need since the most interesting interpretation is of the house itself and its’ former occupants and world famous visitors. However, we will provide a restricted area of access outside, but in close proximity to house, for those who might like to take a photo of the exterior. The public can ONLY access Hawthorn Hill by making a reservation and purchasing a ticket at Carillon Park.

We do hope to share the home with various community groups on a limited basis in the evenings, but these occasions/events would be private, and granted at the Wright Family Foundation’s discretion.

With the help of some local and national experts, Steve and I feel we have put together a plan that is reasonable and responsible, both for the neighborhood and the home. We would like to put this “model” to the test for at least 6 months, and then review it with the City, Dayton History, the Aviation Heritage Foundation, and a committee of two or three neighbors that represent the neighborhood. Please know, however, if any part of our plan is not working for the house or the neighborhood, Steve and I will make adjustments immediately. We are COMMITTED to taking great care of Uncle Orv’s home AND neighborhood. We are also committed to
an enjoyable experience for any visitor who would like to tour one of our nation’s treasures. We think we can do all three with the help of our partners and the community.

Our ask of you is to help us with your “voices” on or before May 2nd. We, of course, would like to have as many of you as we can at the planning commission meeting...it will show the City that our plan is “ok” with the citizens of Oakwood and the region. When we are given time to comment, it would be terrific if those attending could just stand up and say a word or two about our plan being “reasonable” and “responsible”... or, why it is important to share such stories with America. Or, for the “shy”, a simple...”I have no problem with this” would work too!

If you can’t attend on May 2nd at 4: 30pm in the Oakwood City offices, would you consider dropping a line to the city manager Norb Klopsch, and Mayor Judy Cook...asking them to pass your comments of support along to the commission. Their emails are as follows... klopsch@oakwood.oh.us and judygcook@sbcglobal.net

The best possible scenario would be if our friends and neighbors could do both! There has been some concern expressed by a few of our neighbors about our plan, and we know those folks will be present/or represented that afternoon. Thus, the more friends we have there in support, the more reassured/confident the elected officials can be to make a decision that benefits/represents the majority of Oakwood citizens, and the Dayton community at large.

Steve and I, and our families, thank each of you for your time in this matter, and always thank you for your friendship. We pledge to do you and Oakwood proud.

Best,

Amanda Wright Lane
Wright Family Foundation

PS. If you will be attending the meeting, can you email me or Steve so that we can make sure we have enough seating?

Amanda lanfam@aol.com 513-478-8015

Steve orvll@earthlink.net or steve@agiphoto.com 937-294-7763

CodeRED alert system online

Oakwood and other cities in the Greater Dayton area are now using a new, more effective way to alert their residents to impending danger or other critical events. The system is called CodeRED. The Oakwood Safety Department is now using the CodeRed Emergency Notification System. Residents must register unlisted and cell phone numbers for those numbers to be included as alternates in the CodeRED system...

Oakwood residents are already in the system if they have a listed home telephone number. Residents must register unlisted and cellular telephone numbers for those numbers to be included in the CodeRED system. The primary phone number in the system is the listed phone number at their address.

CodeRED combines two modern technologies - Geographic Information Systems (GIS: computerized maps) and high speed telephone dialers. Oakwood Public Safety officials can designate a specific area on a map and CodeRED will dial the phone numbers within that area at a rate of up to 60,000 calls an hour. The person receiving the call will get a voice message with the necessary information and instructions on how best to react.

Oakwood Public Safety officials anticipate using CodeRED to contact residents about natural or man-made disasters, missing or abducted persons, public health items like boil-water advisories, and any other situation where timely notice is likely to be essential or useful.

The CodeRED system will make up to three tries to contact any one phone number, and can leave messages on those answering machines using Real Call TM technology.

CodeRED is a service that enables municipalities to contact its citizens directly during an emergency situation and deliver specific instructions for how to deal effectively with the emergency. CodeRED has been used by other local governments to warn residents of natural disaster, hazardous spill situations, and public health notifications as well as to alert the public to missing persons.

The CodeRed project was initiated and organized by the Miami Valley Communications Council (MVCC) and covers an area with a combined population of 273,000. MVCC member cities Centerville, Germantown, Kettering, Miamisburg, Moraine, Oakwood and Springboro are covered. Other participants are Beavercreek, Corwin, Sidney, Tipp City, Vandalia, Washington Township, Waynesville, Wayne Township, Xenia and Yellow Springs.

As an example of a CodeRed local alerts used recently, Kettering police sent out a CodeRED call to its residents, initiating the search for a missing 11-year-old girl. Within an hour, the police responded to a tip from a Kettering resident who had received the CodeRED call and the 11-year-old was returned to her home safe and sound. The city of Centerville used the CodeRED system to warn the historic downtown area to seek shelter due to a swarming of bees. Neither bees nor humans were injured during this natural occurrence.

The city of Springboro issued a low pressure water advisory to residents of the Tamarack neighborhood along Clearcreek-Franklin Road due to a water main break. They informed the residents that they would receive a follow-up call from CodeRED if conditions changed.

“We have CodeRED in effect here, but we need people to register their cell phones and unlisted numbers to complete the database,” said Oakwood resident Jerry Sanders, who originally provided the impetus to have Oakwood subscribe to the Code RED system. After the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech, Sanders felt that the system’s alert effectiveness could be expanded to include secondary phone lines as well. “Why not take to the next level and make this system really work effectively?” Sanders said.

Oakwood residents are urged to register all contact phone numbers that are not listed in the phonebook white pages. This would include cell phone numbers and unlisted numbers that they may want included in the emergency notification database.

Concerning TDD/TTY, check TDD ONLY if a citizen is hearing impaired and would like tone delivery of emergency messages - messages delivered to phone numbers marked TDD will ONLY be delivered in a TDD/TTY format.

Oakwood residents who have unlisted home phone numbers or also want to be contacted on their cell phone can register alternate phone numbers with the Safety Department at 298-2122 or online at: www.MVCC.net, then click on Government Services and click on Code Red Group then click on Click Here To Update Your Emergency Contact Information.

All information will remain completely private and will only be made available to notify residents of critical situations.

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