Channel 12: Norwood hires 5 cops, 3 from Hamilton Co.

We think it’s time to direct some praise to our city officials for having learned some hard financial lessons, most recently from the Auditor of State’s declaration of fiscal watch on October 7, 2004, a designation that has not yet been lifted. Unlike Cincinnati which is facing possible police layoffs, Norwood has had the funding this year to hire 5 police officers, 3 from Hamilton County, to fill vacancies. The plan is to add more, though how many more isn’t stated in Channel 12’s report.

Mayor Tom Williams told the reporter, "Right now, we're stable, earnings have increased (see August Earnings Tax Report immediately below), we've done our homework." He said the city is saving for the rainy day he believes will eventually come. With regard to hiring more officers, the mayor said, "We want it to be safe for businesses to come in and for our residents." So do we, and it wouldn’t be possible without the group effort city officials have made to get our financial house in order. Great job!

Click here to view Channel 12’s video.

(h/t to Jeanette)

August 2009 Earnings Tax Report

A monthly feature

The Earnings Tax Department’s Report for August shows YTD collections strong for the fifth month running. Last month, YTD collections increased 10.26% over 2008.

Individual…………..$58,906.80
Business……………..$ 29,175.69
Withholding………$ 996,152.20
TOTAL……….......$1,084,234.69

Collections thru August 2009….……….....…..............$11,554,046.74
Collections thru August 2008.................................$10,673,637.88
8.25% increase in collections over 2008.……………........$ 880,408.86

Busken Bakery giving away free coffee and cookies today

In honor of National Coffee Day today, all Busken Bakery locations are giving away a free small coffee and a smiley cookie to each customer. The Norwood Busken Bakery is located at 4103 Montgomery Road.

Attention shoppers: Nordstrom Rack coming to Rookwood

Today’s Enquirer is reporting that Nordstrom will be opening one of its discount stores, called the Rack, at Rookwood Commons on November 20. It will offer 30 to 70 percent discounts. Nordstrom just opened a new store Friday at Kenwood Towne Centre.

Invitation to submit reviews of local restaurants

We really enjoyed the comments readers left under Laura Hobbs’ favorable review of Daata Indian Restaurant. Avid Reader even suggested we feature weekly reviews, so if any of our readers would like to submit their recommendations of local eateries, please send them to us at betternorwood@aol.com. We do like to support our local businesses, and who knows, maybe a plug here can stir up a few more customers. We’re thinking Friday, going into the weekend, is a good day to publish reviews. (Laura, you may have started something.)

Invitation to first Community Harvest Grill-Out

Lupe Gonzales Hoyt sent us the following invitation to share with our readers, along with a request to pray for good weather - let’s get crackin’ on the prayer, folks!

Whether you grew vegetables at your home garden or at the Community Gardens, please come to celebrate your harvest. The first Community Harvest Grill-Out is planned for Saturday, October 10, 12:30-3PM. The location is the Norwood Community Gardens @Linden Pointe, Montgomery Rd. & Sanker Blvd.

1. Hot dogs, metts, and hamburgers prepared by guest “chefs“; beverages will be provided. You are welcomed to bring covered side dishes made with the food grown in your gardens.
2. Games, music and fun Latino dancing.
3. Come learn about winter gardening plans, and get onboard for planning more community events like the Harvest Grill-Out.

Please RSVP by calling Misty at 924-1200 to let us know how much grilled food to prepare. BRING LAWN CHAIRS. Rain cancels.

(A Bulletin Board system installed this summer to provide continuous community information related to the Gardens. Check it out.)

Sponsored by Al Neyer Inc., SHP Leading Design, Norwood Service League, The Center for Closing the Health Gap, Urban Harvest, Whole Foods, Kroger, Robin Wood Flowers, and the Community Gardeners.

Lupe A. González Hoyt
Norwood Service League

Reader raves about new Daata Indian Restaurant

We‘ve never published a restaurant review, but Laura Hobbs sent us one we couldn’t resist. What say our readers who have eaten there, too?

I dined at the new Daata Indian Restaurant in Surrey Square last night. The food was good and the people were just lovely. I hope they do well and stay a long time. We both had chicken but there are plenty of vegetarian options. I have enough left over for lunch today. They've done a nice job inside. It's small but very warm; crisp white tablecloths at dinner. You order off the menu at dinner time, but I plan to hit the lunch buffet soon. CityBeat has coupons on page 54, which I found AFTER we’d already paid full price, of course. But I don’t mind. I want this restaurant to succeed.

Laura Hobbs

Invitation to Norwood Republican Club Kick-Off

The Norwood Republican Club invites all red-blooded Americans to join them this coming Monday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Norwood Community Center to celebrate our great country and meet the full slate of Norwood Republican candidates running in this November’s election.

Special guest and featured speaker Steve Chabot will be addressing the current debate on the controversial proposals for health care reform, government spending and other hot topics of the day while the Norwood Republican candidates will lay out their plans for Norwood’s future. At last count there were just about as many door prizes being lined-up as our expectations of people in attendance and the menu of food, snacks and beverages promises to make it a great evening for everyone. There’s no admission and everyone is welcomed. The Norwood Community Center is located at the intersection of Carter and Courtland Avenues in the heart of vibrant West Norwood.

Jim Stith: Auditor’s expenses are on his website

We just received the following guest blog from City Auditor Jim Stith in which he responds to comments made under our 9/18/09 blog below.


There are wild accusations that the Auditor’s office is trying to hide our department budget. This is completely untrue. Our expenditures and budget are listed along with all other expenditures for the City.

http://www.norwoodauditor.com/city-reports.htm
Select “Expense Report 8-31-09” for detailed report on page 2, or select “Departments at a glance” for a quick look.

The Department Reports which are being discussed are provided by my office for department heads to evaluate their budgets. Since I write the reports I do not require a separate report for my own review. These reports import data from the “Expense Report” listed above and contain no independent data. All the numbers are entered on the expense report and exported to the Department Reports for easier reading by the department heads.

Under my administration the Auditor‘s office has been the most accessible it has ever been. We strive to make all of the City’s financial data easily available online. If the citizens of Norwood would like me to generate a Department Report for the Auditor’s office because they are easier for them to read I would be happy to start doing this on a monthly basis.

If anyone has any questions about these reports or any other subject concerning the Auditor's office I will be more than happy to help in any way. I can be contacted in the Auditor’s office at 458-4570 or link to my email JStith@Norwood-Ohio.com.

Jim Stith, Auditor

Guitar Hero Tournament open to everyone

Guest blog by Joyce McDowell

I want to let CBN blog readers know about the upcoming Guitar Hero Tournament that the Caleb Tate Fuller Foundation is hosting on Saturday October 24th. Participants can register and enter for a chance to be the king of rock! The event will be located at the Norwood Middle School Field House at 2020 Sherman Ave. at 1:00 p.m. This event is open to everyone. There will be two levels of competition based upon the participants level of expertise.

The grand prize for the event will be the Guitar Hero World Tour Bundle. Other prizes include video games, gift certificates, board games, T-shirts and more. You can preregister for the event to get additional discounts.

You can also find out more information about the competition and the locally operated Caleb Tate Fuller Foundation by visiting our website at www.forgetmeknotwalk.com. You can also ask questions and preregister by contacting Huy Lai at huy.t.lai@gmail.com or calling Huy at 513-227-4049.

Readers may recall that the Caleb Tate Fuller Foundation was established to fulfill a small boy's request to "not be forgotten" during his struggle with bone cancer. The family has chosen to honor Caleb's request by commemorating his love for life and devotion to God and family by serving other children in the community. The foundation has hosted the "Forget-Me-Knot" walk in May as well as the Mad Cap Puppets, a Mad Science event and now the Guitar Hero Competition. We are also sponsoring several students who are attending the local Cornerstone Christian Academy.

Joyce McDowell
The Caleb Fuller Foundation

Norwood police led on 2nd car chase yesterday

The Enquirer is reporting the Norwood police were involved in a second car chase yesterday in addition to the one at 4:00 a.m. in which a Xavier campus police officer received a minor injury. This time, Norwood police attempted to pull over Silverton resident Bradley J. Moore at about 4:10 p.m. on southbound Montgomery Rd. near Williams Ave. after he allegedly sold Oxycontin pills to an undercover police officer. Refusing to stop, he led a chase through Norwood that ended on Carter Ave. where he ran a police cruiser off the road. Fortunately, the officer was not injured. Two blocks later, Moore finally stopped, but officers had to break his driver’s side window and pull him from the car. He is being held at Hamilton County Justice Center charged with felonious assault, trafficking in drugs, failure to comply with police and resisting arrest.

August 09 NFD Activities and Statistics Report

A monthly feature

A. Total of emergency responses for the month of June = 413

Medic Runs = 288
Fire Runs = 9 w/breakdown
Average Response Time on Runs = 3 minutes, 7 seconds (city-wide)

Number of incidents by type:
Fire Runs – 9 - (Building, Vehicle, Brush, etc.)
Overpressure, Explosion - 1
Rescue & Medic Unit Assists – 61 - (lock-in, extrications, traffic accidents, etc.)
Hazardous Conditions (no fire) - 9 - (power lines down, arcing, spills, etc.)
Service Call - 13 - (smoke removal)
Good Intent - 9 - (odor of smoke, controlled burning)
False Alarms – 20 - (false alarms, system malfunctions, smoke detector activated, etc.)
Severe Weather - 0
Special Incident -3

B. Fire Hydrant Activity
Hydrant flow tested - 97

C. Bureau of Fire Safety Activities = 484
Total Inspections – 104 - (residential, schools, churches, businesses)
Total Violations – issued 118
Total Violations – corrected 183
Total Block Inspections – 5 - (Unit #1, Unit #2, Unit #3 – Rental & multi-family)
Additional Activities - 74

X.U. campus cop hit by SUV fleeing Norwood police

According to the Enquirer, a Xavier campus police officer sitting in an unmarked car was struck by a sport utility vehicle fleeing the Norwood police at about 4:00 a.m. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital with a minor injury and is expected to recover. The chase started in Norwood, and then the vehicles traveled near the Cintas Center onto Herald Avenue near a residence hall where the campus police officer’s car was struck. Norwood police were too busy to give the Enquirer more details, so it isn’t known yet whether or not the SUV was apprehended. We will try to find that out this morning.

This week at the Norwood Branch Library

Tuesday, September 22
ESOL Conversation Group
5:30 p.m.

Preschool Storytime
6:30 p.m.
Ages 3-5

Friday, September 25
Salsa Dancing For Kids!
4 p.m.
Ages 6-11

For more information, call 369-6037

Retirees’ $1M lawsuit against Norwood in the fast lane

We first learned about the dispute between the City and its retired workers over their health care reimbursements from this 6/18/07 Channel 5 story. Shortly afterwards, the retirees filed a lawsuit against Norwood in U.S. District Court over the disputed medical benefits. Now the Enquirer is reporting that last Thursday, their attorney Richard Gabelman filed the lawsuit in Common Pleas Court because, he said, “We want to fast-track the lawsuit and let my clients have their day in court.”

The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of about 200 city retirees and accuses Norwood of failing to provide promised benefits. It asks for more than $100,000 in compensatory damages and more than $1 million in punitive damages.

Channel 5 pics of Quality Inn armed robbery

Channel 5 has posted a series of photos of the Sept. 9 armed robbery of the Quality Inn on Montgomery Road in the hope that the public can help identify the thieves. The hotel clerk was cut with a knife when he tried to pick up his glasses. The photo showing the knife close to the clerk’s neck is particularly disturbing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.

We have a question. Do the Norwood police have a means of enhancing these blurred pictures in order to help them identify anything unique these two were wearing or anything else that might help their investigation?

Just in: City Auditor Jim Stith on the $35K overpayment

Minutes ago, we received the following guest blog from Jim Stith:

There have been many comments and questions raised over the issue of the recent news story about the overpayment of City personnel. There are several inaccuracies related to this story which I would like to clear up.

First, at this time no current employee owes any money to the City. Anyone who claims money is still owed either misunderstands or is misrepresenting the situation.

Second, the check which is being discussed was requested and issued before I was sworn in as Auditor.

Third. it has been asked why it took so long to find the problem. My office discovered a problem the City's time banks later in 2008 and began a detailed investigation of all payments from employees’ time banks back to the year 2000. This was a monumental task that took time to complete. This uncovered several inaccuracies which were then corrected. This was then reviewed by the State Auditors in the 2007 Audit. This matter was discussed and posted several weeks ago on the "What's New" page on www.NorwoodAuditor.com.

Fourth, I have requested that the State Auditors closely review this issue as part of the 2008 audit. They have been researching this for several weeks and will publish the findings in our 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

I hope this clears up any confusion over the matter.

Jim Stith, Auditor

2009 Fall Semi-Annual Yard Sale Directory

Click here for the addresses of the 165 households participating in the fall yard sale, which runs today and tomorrow from 9:00-5:00 p.m. If you don’t see your address on the list, just leave it in the comment box so we can add it.

Channel 12: Norwood Fire Chief Goodman Overpaid By $35K

At 5:30 p.m. today, Channel 12 reported that the NFD’s Chief Curt Goodman was overpaid by almost $35,000 last year during a time the City Auditor’s office was in transition. Chief Goodman cashed out “a bunch” of his unpaid leave, and a second payment of $35,000 was made in error that didn’t reflect the fact that hours had already been deducted from the time bank. The City has been unsuccessful in getting the money back. Channel 12 reported that Chief Goodman had paid $13,000 in taxes on the overpayment by the time the auditor’s office discovered the mistake.

City Auditor Jim Stith says the time banks are now balanced, the the chief doesn’t owe the City any money. However, Chief Goodman and his attorney Bob Kelly say they’re preparing to sue the City to get that time back. Auditor Stith told Channel 12 he’s used this same approach of balancing the time banks with 21 other employees, and the state auditor says it’s the right way to do it.

Click here to view the Channel 12 video.

Norwood wins the Gold again!

For the second year in a row, Norwood has won the Gold Healthy Ohio-Healthy Community award given by the Ohio Department of Health to only a select few Ohio communities (see last year’s announcement here). The outstanding programs and services provided by our Norwood Health Department play a big role in achieving the Gold status, but other community attributes are factored in as well. Congratulations to us!

Norwood Health Commissioner Pamela Walker-Bauer sent us the following announcement from the Ohio Department of Health:


The City of Norwood will receive a Gold Healthy Ohio-Healthy Community award Oct. 16 at the Ohio Society for Public Health Education Health Educator’s Institute annual meeting at Huston Woods Conference Center in Oxford. The City of Norwood is one of 18 communities to be honored by the Office of Healthy Ohio (OHO) in 2009.

“The City of Norwood exemplifies Healthy Ohio and the state of living well,” said Ohio Department of Health Director (ODH) Alvin D. Jackson, M.D. “The City of Norwood is a model for what all Ohio communities can be for their residents and visitors.”

Healthy Ohio-Healthy Community awards recognize communities’ outstanding achievements in implementing health-related policies and providing healthy community environments. The award recognizes communities’ efforts in encouraging and enabling employees, residents and visitors to make healthy choices including participating in physical activity, eating good, nutritious foods and avoiding tobacco.

Housed at ODH, OHO is part of Gov. Ted Strickland’s Turnaround Ohio initiative and consists of three core areas: health promotion, disease prevention and health equity.

Woman arrested, boyfriend fights & injures 3 Norwood cops

Norwood resident Alexis Higgs and her boyfriend are in the Hamilton County Justice Center this morning following multiple incidents that began at 10:00 p.m. last night when Norwood police pulled Higgs over for speeding. After verbally abusing the officer and refusing to sign her traffic citations, she was arrested on multiple charges and taken to the NPD for processing.

Soon her boyfriend James Lunsford showed up and became belligerent when he was told he couldn’t see her. He left the police station and went to Ross and Section Avenues where a police officer was still waiting for a tow for Higgs' vehicle. Still angry, Lunsford reached into his pocket; and the officer, believing he was reaching for a weapon, pulled out his Taser. Lunsford knocked it out of his hand, and a fight began. More police officers arrived on the scene after the officer called for backup, and three of them were injured in the ongoing fight, one with a knee injury that required hospitalization.

The names of the 3 Norwood police officers have not been released, but whoever they are, we wish them full and speedy recoveries and thank them for the dangerous work they do to serve and protect our community. We hope there’s a good, stiff penalty awaiting James Lunsford.

R’s and D’s fire up campaign websites

We’ve just installed temporary links on the right hand side to both the Norwood Republicans' and the Norwood Democrats' official campaign websites. Both sites feature bios of their respective candidates, calendars of events, and how to order yard signs.

Also, we’ve invited the candidates from both local parties to participate in our candidate blog series, a very popular feature we did two years ago. Candidates can submit 700-word blogs about themselves and their platforms/issues in an open-ended format. The series will start the week of October 5, assuming we have strong participation again.

Quatman’s opening 2nd location in Mason

Quatman’s owner Matt Imm says his second restaurant should be open by November. It will occupy an old insurance office at 224 W. Main St. in the renovated, old downtown part of Mason and will have a beer and wine license, while his Norwood location has only beer. He says there’s no way they’re changing a thing here in Norwood, which we’re sure is welcome news to everybody.

Description of suspect in area robberies

Channel 5 is reporting police are looking for a man suspected for a series of 4 robberies in Oakley and Hyde Park that began August 22. He has robbed two gas stations and has hit the Oakley UDF twice. Norwood police say he is also suspected of two robberies here, as well.

The man is described as African-American, standing 6 feet tall and is in his early to mid 20s. Police said he wore a dark blue hoodie, a red bandana and gloves during each offense. Officers said they believe the man drives a mid-to-late 1990s model Honda Accord that is gray or light green in color and has black hubcaps.

NYP’s gathering at Gordo’s today at 5:00

Norwood Young Professionals are starting the weekend at Gordo’s at 4328 Montgomery Rd. today for Happy Hour(s), and anyone who would like to get acquainted with them is welcome to drop by for some casual fun and conversation.

Next week at the Norwood Branch Library

Monday, September 14:
Monday Evening Book Club
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission To Promote Peace, One School At A Time
By Greg Mortenson
6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, September 15:
ESOL Conversation Group
5:30 p.m.

Preschool Storytime
Ages 3-5
6:30 p.m.

Friday, September 18:
Friday Morning Book Club
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search For Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia
By Elizabeth Gilbert
10:30 a.m.

For more information, call 369-6037.

City-wide family picnic this Saturday

Everyone is invited to the Norwood Democratic Club’s annual city-wide family picnic this Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Lower Millcrest Park picnic shelter from 4 - 10 p.m. The park entrance is off of Hopkins Ave. The event features free food, combination raffle, split-the-pot, and a corn hole tournament that starts at 6:00 p.m. for $5.00 per person.

Norwood Quality Inn clerk cut during armed robbery

Channel 9 and other local media outlets are reporting that that two men, one with a gun and other with a knife, robbed the Quality Inn of an undisclosed amount of cash around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday. The suspect with the knife cut the clerk’s hand before both men, who covered their faces with towels, ran off. The injured clerk did not go to the hospital. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040 or text tips to 352-3050.

5th Quarter Parties at Grace Church

It’s time again for the 5th quarter dances to be held at Grace Church on 2221 Slane Ave., from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. after each of the Friday night Norwood home football games which are:

September 11th
September 18th
October 9th
October 16th
October 30th

The parties are open to High School and Middle School students and will have a live DJ, foosball, air hockey, Guitar Hero, and more. Admission is free. For more information call 531-3253 or email Jimi Bird at jimibird@graceumc.us.

July 09 NFD Activities and Statistics Report

A monthly feature

A. Total of emergency responses for the month of June = 383

Medic Runs = 295
Fire Runs = 7 w/breakdown
Average Response Time on Runs = 3 minutes, 1 second (city-wide)

Number of incidents by type:
Fire Runs – 7 - (Building, Vehicle, Brush, etc.)
Overpressure, Explosion - 0
Rescue & Medic Unit Assists – 45- (lock-in, extrications, traffic accidents, etc.)
Hazardous Conditions (no fire) - 9 - (power lines down, arcing, spills, etc.)
Service Call - 9 - (smoke removal)
Good Intent - 5 - (odor of smoke, controlled burning)
False Alarms – 13 - (false alarms, system malfunctions, smoke detector activated, etc.)
Severe Weather - 0
Special Incident - 0

B. Fire Hydrant Activity
Hydrant flow tested - 97

C. Bureau of Fire Safety Activities = 688
Total Inspections – 133 - (residential, schools, churches, businesses)
Total Violations – issued 232
Total Violations – corrected 189
Total Block Inspections – 35 - (Unit #1, Unit #2, Unit #3 – Rental & multi-family)
Additional Activities - 99

Just in: teen is Norwood’s first case of H1N1

Health Commissioner Pamela Walker-Bauer sent us the following email to share with our readers:


Yesterday, we received our first lab confirmed case of H1N1 in Norwood. Due to HIPPA, I can't disclose too much, but I can tell you, it was a teenage male who was treated with antivirals and is doing well. So if there was any question that H1N1 is in the community, there should be no doubt now.

Pamela Walker-Bauer
Health Commissioner
Norwood City Health Department

Quacky Rubber Duck at Smith/Edwards exit “injured”

Relayman sent us the link to Channel 9’s report that the giant inflatable rubber duck overlooking I-71 at the Smith/Edwards exit ripped a seam. The report includes a slideshow of rubber duck “surgeons” using duck tape during a grueling surgery. Officials with the Freestore/Foodbank told Channel 9 the duck made a great recovery - just in time for the organization's Rubber Duck Regatta this Sunday at 3 p.m.

Upcoming classes at the Community Center

Kathy Hammond with Norwood Recreation asked us let everyone know that the following classes will be starting this month at the Community Center at 1810 Courtland Ave.

Tuesday, Sept 8: Yoga starts back up at 6:00 P.M.
Monday, Sept. 14: Self Defense class registration from 6-6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 15: Cheerleading class registration from 6-6:30 p.m.

For more information, call Recreation at 531-9798.

Biz Courier: EMD Chemicals to lay off 55

EMD Chemicals’ Norwood distribution facility on Highland Avenue will be laying off about 1/3 of its employees, about 55 total, in November. According to the director of corporate communications at the company’s New Jersey headquarters, the facility is going from a 3-shift model to a 1-shift model, and the job cuts are being made to make the site more efficient and competitive.

Xavier Newswire: 40% more frosh = big impact on finances, campus life

The current issue of the Xavier Newswire has three articles about this year’s freshman class of 1,195 students, the largest since 1946. All three are accessible by clicking on the the title above.

The article "Large freshman class arrives amid concerns" describes the financial impact the increased enrollment will have on the upkeep of nearly all aspects of university life, from Residence Life to building maintenance to student dining.

The second article, entitled "Many adjust to 3-person dorm life," says 1,084 students, 90% of the freshman class, are being housed in residences originally designed for about 800. Residence Life Director Lori Lambert said, “When the numbers first came to us, I [thought] this is going to be a challenge” On some floors of three residence hall, three students are living in rooms designed for two students and four students will be living in rooms that traditionally housed three students. “It’s tight, I’m not going to lie…it’s tight,” Lambert told the Manresa Orientation Team. More students mean larger amounts of garbage and more student calls for assistance, plus an in-depth study of fire, building and other codes and standards was done before students were allowed to move into the dorms.

The third article, "Unexpected consequences," is an editorial that delves into both the obvious and less-obvious, long-term ways the larger number of students will affect the school. Among these are anticipated rises in alcohol, noise, and vandalism violations (per resident) in the months to come; insufficient club funding, laptops, and sand volleyball court space; and social, privacy and study time issues for students living with more roommates. But it’s the following excerpt that really caught our eye because of the potential impact on Norwood:

Moving to the long term, how will this population boom impact Xavier in the three years following this one? Greatly, to be sure, but the factor that continues to strike me is housing. The class of ‘13 will be as eager as any to move off campus as juniors and seniors, and perhaps quite a bit more eager next year after living like sardines in the dorms.

The demand for off-campus housing is going to skyrocket starting next year, but the supply is mostly fixed—there is a limited number of houses near Xavier that students can rent. And any economics professor would tell you that can only mean one thing: higher prices for everyone, upperclassmen included.

My advice to anyone seeking affordable off-campus housing next year: sign a lease as soon as possible and lock in a rate before landlords realize this is going on and spike prices.

What do our readers think? Will Xavier's increased freshman enrollment mean even more Norwood houses will wind up being rentals for students?

July 2009 Earnings Tax Report

A monthly feature

The Earnings Tax Department’s Report for July shows YTD collections strong for the fourth month running. Last month, YTD collections increased 6.9% over 2008.

Individual………….$146,073.50
Business…………….$389,454.70
Withholding………$ 972.945.01
TOTAL…………….$1,508,473.21

Collections thru July 2009….……….....…...........$10,469,812.05
Collections thru July 2008..............................$ 9,495,463.17
10.26% increase in collections over 2008.…………$ 974,348.88

Introducing…new Norwood Marching Indians website

Laura Hobbs, longtime and much appreciated contributor to this blog, sent us the email below announcing the arrival of the new and improved website for the Norwood Bands. Laura isn’t a Band Booster officer this year; instead, she told us, “I just call myself the Web editor, but that’s not an office recognized by our membership bylaws.” And what a gifted Web editor she is! We’ve added the new website under our links on the right entitled Norwood Marching Indians.

We just switched the Norwood Bands Web site over to a new service. Instead of being a static set of Web pages, it's now one highly customized page on the Blogspot service. By making this change, we gained a lot of neat interactive features and made it possible to be more timely with news updates. While the new site will be able to highlight activities of all the bands in the district, most of the focus is on the marching band. The address is www.norwoodbands.org.

We are entering "marching season," our busiest time of the year, and we needed to be able to update the site more quickly to help keep parents informed, especially on competition days. If you visit the site, you'll notice a feed from Twitter, too. This site is also less expensive (free!) and easier to maintain than our old site. We lost maybe a little content (staff bios) and the precise down-to-the-pixel control that the old Apple MobileMe site offered, but I think the tradeoff in timeliness is worth it.

Thanks!

Laura Hobbs