Community Building - AV Women's Forum

The Amberley Village Women's Forum met again last evening at Jayme Klosterman's house and we were joined by Officer Mike Koenig and Chief Rich Wallace for an informative presentation about keeping ourselves safe at home and forming neighborhood block watch groups. We were given several tips for being safe at home, which really are so obvious, but I'm embarrassed to say that I am a huge offender of many of them.

Officer Koenig tells us to be observant.

Chief Wallace introduces the discussion of safety

First of all, if you have an alarm system don't forget to use it. It's so easy to get into the habit of not turning it on  because "we'll only be gone for a short while" or fear that we will set it off by accident and be embarrassed when the police show up at our door. The perpetrators of burglaries in and around Amberley Village are primarily looking for easy targets to feed a heroin habit. They don't want to be confronted by pesky burglar alarms. So, if you have an alarm, turn it on. We learned that many break ins occur by the burglar breaking a rear window to enter the house and then exiting through a door. So, even if you don't have a glass break sensor, the alarm will be triggered when the burglars exit your home. IF you set it!

Dogs and other animals are a great deterrent, as are cars in the driveway and leaving the radio or TV turned on. Whatever you do, don't make it easy for the would-be burglar. Lock your car doors, lock your house doors, and close your garage door. The best deterrent, however, is keeping an eye out for anything unusual in your neighborhood. This is where the Watch Groups come in.

Crime map of Amberley Village

While the police can come by your house and do an inspection a few times a day while you are on vacation, nothing beats the watchful eyes of your own neighbors. I am planning on implementing a group in my own neighborhood, and what a great way to get to know each other. If my neighbors know that I'm going on vacation, then they can be alert to strange cars parked in my driveway -- or better yet -- if someone pulls up with a van and starts loading it up with my possessions, they will know to call the police rather than assume that it is AmVets or the Salvation Army.

I really should take that camera class... 

...so I know how to turn off the "auto" settings.

We will be continuing this discussion on home and personal safety and invite all Amberley women to join us once a month at the Amberley Women's Forum. There is always ample time to socialize and as an outgrowth of the meeting, a women's tennis league is now forming. If you are interested in joining our mailing list (or playing tennis), please email avwomensforum@gmail.com.  We look forward to meeting you at our next meeting.

Amberley Women's Forum

Mary Lennard, Amy Rubenstein, Ilene Ross, Wendy Saunders

Monday evening was a first for Amberley Village. It was the inaugural meeting of the Amberley Women's Forum. The group was conceived in the week after November's election to address the needs of the women of Amberley Village that may not be served by virtue of women being a distinct minority on Council and all committees, especially the Ad Hoc Budget Advisory committee and the Board of Zoning Appeals. As stated by resident Abbie Youkilis, women often value things differently than our male counterparts. Also, I think we can all agree that the fall election brought to the foreground some of the bad feelings that still exist among residents that have fractured us in the past. We are a small community of less than 3400 residents - 1500 households - so it is essential that we try to get along with each other. My idea is to bring back the village feel to the Village.

Ilene Ross enjoys a cupcake

The meeting took place at the home of former councilmember, Peg Conway, and was hosted by Peg, Amy Rubenstein, Mary Lennard, former mayor Merrie Stillpass, and myself. About 25 women attended, from a cross-section of Amberley neighborhoods. The women also represented a cross-section of ages as well, from women with young children to one woman whose grandchild had just become engaged. What we had in common was a desire to meet other Amberley women and to become informed about the news of the Village. Because there is a tax levy coming up on the March 6th ballot, it was agreed that the group should meet again in about a month, perhaps after attending some of the informational meetings at Village Hall. By now, you should have received a postcard from the Village with the dates of the meetings. The first meeting is on January 24th and is a Town Hall meeting at the JCC beginning at 6:30. Additionally, if you will be out of town on election day, it is not too early to request your absentee ballot from the Board of Elections. You will need to download and print the form and mail it to the the BOA as they are still not as tech savvy as the rest of us.Board of Elections  . 


This Police Levy is extremely important to the Village because it will enable us to fund

our excellent police force. Amberley residents have been fortunate to have not had the need to vote for additional property taxes since 1955, but due to the change in economic conditions, loss in property values, and a severe loss in relied-upon revenue sources from the State of Ohio, it has become necessary to reevaluate that need. As Amberley residents, we have chosen to live in an idyllic community where we have virtually no commercial industry to mar our  views and landscapes. We are fortunate to live on large lots, often surrounded by woods, and receive excellent service from our police, fire, and maintenance departments. Because we only collect earnings tax and no income tax, many of our residents pay only property tax for the privilege of  this beautiful life. The tax levy is an equitable way for our residents to pay our fare share.

Please take a minute to click on the Village website and sign up to receive news and meeting notices. You are welcome to attend all committee meetings and see first-hand what is happening in your local government.  http://www.amberleyvillage.org/.

Elizabeth Kuresman and Nimet Jerusalami

Merrie Stillpass and Peg Conway