Editorial...The Sheriff Came to Town

Here is the editorial that I wrote in responce to the Cincinnati Enquire's article "Duputies get tough on OTR." i doubt it will get published in the Enquirer, so I thought I would post it here.


I have to say, it is a bit daunting to drive on a downtown city street and have a Hamilton County Sheriff drive behind you for any period. In fact, just yesterday a sited a few patrolling the area that I live, in Prospect Hill.

I am glad to see that the Cincinnati Police Department has gotten passed its squabble with Hamilton County and have agreed to have its sheriffs aid in the patrolling of our city’s downtown streets. After reading Monday’s article, “Deputies get tough on OTR” I see that many residents, who have first hand experience to the ‘change’, think that the patrols are doing
some good.

Though I agree with the downtown residents quoted in the aforementioned article, I am far pressed to say that it is only the additional downtown patrols that are causing downtown streets to become more enjoyable for its residents.

Over the past several years, the University of Cincinnati in collaboration with the City of Cincinnati’s Department of Community Development and Planning has been integrating a vision to revitalize downtown. On September 21, both institutions jointly sponsored the OTR
Summit where they invited the residents to hear their accomplishments and the
activities of other organizations that share in the downtown revitalization
process.

In addition, events such as Second Sundays on Main, sponsored by the OTR Chamber, have been a huge success. This monthly street party is in its second year and continues to draw residents out from in front of the television and into the streets to meet, greet and be merry.
This is a perfect example of strengths in numbers. I attended this event this past Sunday. There I was able to take in two free concerts by an up and coming band made up of students from the School of Creative and Performing Arts, and an accapella choir. After I chatted with different members of the community, I took in brunch at Kaldi’s.

The sheriff coming to town has been a big help in deterring crime on the streets of downtown, but let us not forget the efforts of community leaders and organizations that have been
struggling to keep their community safe as well.