The relationship between the police and the community is important.

There’s a reason for the current drop in crime, and it’s because of the work the community is doing. It’s not just the police, says Major David Reitz of the Southern District Police Department.

“A lot of the arrests come from the information we got from the community,” Reitz says. The houses that we hit; the guns that we got off the streets came from information that we got from citizens.”

At the center of the storm of community involvement is Jack Baker.

Baker has been president of the Southern District Police and Community

Jack and the community crime stoppers

Jack Baker stands outside the Southern District Police Department. Baker has been president of the police community relations council for eight years. The group works to help reduce crime.

COPscontinued on Back Page

news and notes from around the neighborhood

Crime rates are down in the Southern district when compared to this time last year.

There has been a 27 percent decrease in robberies, an 11 percent drop in aggravated assaults and a 20 percent decrease in total violent crime.

But there’s typically an increase in crime during warmer weather.

“We’re starting to have a little bit of a problem with some burglaries up by Union Square,” says Southern Police head Major David Reitz.

“We need to make sure when we’re out walking our dog or talking or just taking a walk, parking our cars, walking back and forth to the stores and to our houses that we’re aware of our surroundings.”

Reitz says one of the biggest problems is break-ins to vacant properties.

“We just had a guy who was arrested here in Curtis Bay, trying to scrape $6,000 worth of copper,” Reitz says. “That stuff’s really going for a lot of money. They’re really hitting these houses. If you see any vans or trucks that don’t belong, call us. Even if you don’t think it might be anything, let us check it out.”

Reitz says the department does its training during the winter and spring months, when things are a little less busy. They beef up their street presence during the warmer months.

He says there are things residents can do to protect themselves and valuables.

“Be aware of your surroundings; that’s very important,” he reiterates. “Be aware of what’s going on around you. If you think there’s something suspicious going on, call 911. Make sure your doors are locked and

Police see crime rate drop, just as summer months loom

MEETING: WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 7 P.M., 1401 HOLLINS ST.

UNION SQUAREWWW.UNIONSQUAREBALT.COM

Relations Council for eight years. Each of the city’s nine districts has a council. The Southern district consists of neighborhoods from Union Square to Curtis Bay. Every third Thursday council members meet with district brass at police headquarters, located at 10 Cherry Hill Road, to get reports on community crime and provide suggestions to reduce robberies and other deterrents to quality-of-life issues. The meetings are at 7 p.m. and all neighborhood residents are welcome.

“We have built this meeting up from a handful of people that did nothing but take

Crimecontinued on Back Page

There’s a Reik i mas te r in the neighborhood, and she wants to spread a message of stress relief and accelerated healing.

Andrea Wenger, and other volunteer Reiki practitioners meet every second or third Saturday, depending on the number of scheduled appointments. The sessions are held at The Clay Pots, at 1635 W. Pratt St., between 1:30 and 3 p.m.

Reiki is a technique commonly called palm healing. Practitioners believe that they are transferring universal energy through the palms, which allows for self-healing and a state of equilibrium.

“We’re in these times when everybody is super stressed out,” Wenger says. “And a lot of people are experiencing physical difficulties and sleep disturbances and so on because there are disruptions happening to the electromagnetic fields of the Earth and that also affects our own bodies.”

Reiki also can be helpful on emotional, spiritual and mental levels, Wenger says. It helps to remove blocks in the electro-magnetic fields around the body that interface the physical body with the non-physical aspects of who we are, our consciousness.

“Reiki is one of these things that can just very gently help to rebalance and ground us,” Wenger says. It can also just help support confidence, personal growth on many levels. And we’re just happy to be able to share it with people, anyone who’s interested in being able to relax more deeply and let the body heal itself. ”

Jennifer Bodine says her goal is to have her father, Aubrey Bodine, permanently remembered as the great artist that he was.

In her latest book, Bodine’s City, the long-time Sun newspaper photographer’s work is highlighted. A book signing was held at the Mencken house on April 21.

“My father and [H.L.] Mencken were friends,” she says. “They were on the Sun papers together. Bodine was on the Sunday Sun, and Mencken was on the Evening Sun. After Mr. Mencken had a stroke in 1949, my father was on the short list of people allowed to come and visit him. So that, to me, speaks to their relationship.”

The author, born in 1948, is Aubrey Bodine’s only child.

“I own his copyrights,” she says. “I have h i s p i c t u r e s , a n d I h a v e a n aaubreybodine.com business, selling reprints, cards and licensing.”

Bodine’s City is her second book of the works of her father. The first one was Bodine’s Chesapeake Country. She says the next book will showcase photographs of people at work.

But, she says, the current changing direction of publishing has created uncertain

Jennifer Bodine shows off her new book, “Bodineʼs City,” while standing inside the Mencken house garden. Bodineʼs book features the photographs of her father, Aubrey, a long-time Sun newspapers photog. The book can be purchased at www.aaubreybonine.com.

climate surrounding her projects. “The world of publishing is undergoing

such an upheaval now,” she says. “I have no idea where these books are going to go or how much money they’re going to make, if they are going to make any at all. My publisher is not going with ebooks, so I don’t know where that’s going to go.”

Aubrey Bodine came from a poor family. At 14, he went to work as a messenger-gopher kid at the Sun newspapers.

“But that happened to be on the same floor as the commercial art department,” Jennifer Bodine says. “So he was exposed to photographers, cameras and the dark room. And he just picked it up from there.

When Aubrey Bodine was 18, he got the position as commercial art photographer, after his predecessor was burned badly with flash powder.

“Very dangerous stuff,” the author says. “That is how people took pictures way back in the day.

The photographer moved up the newspaper ranks fast. At 21, he was promoted to the position of feature photographer for the Sunday Sun. That was the job he held until he died.

Writer keeps fatherʼs photographs alive with books, website, reprints

Reiki master helps hurts, heals harms

A n d r e a We n g e r a d m i n i s t e r s R e i k i techniques to Bill Senkus. Cliff Garrett, right, a Reiki practitioner, and Charles Loubert, a Clay Pots board member, assists.

More than 25 Union Square A s s o c i a t i o n m e m b e r s a n d representatives from Gallery Church gathered on April 21 to clean the vacant lot on Carey Street, between Lombard and Hollins streets. The Saturday event lasted for five hours.

“We hope to have a long-time presence here in the community,” says Josh Smith, Gallery Church member and co-organizer of the event. “My church is really community-oriented, and we decided to adopt a couple of lots here in Union Square.”

The event is part of the ongoing Streetscape initiative, spearheaded by Andrea Leahy. She reached out to Smith and his church’s members, a few who currently live in Union Square.

Smith said his church is working on being more active in the neighborhood.

“We do all different kind of things around the city, from city uprising, that’s actually going to be an initiative that we do on these lots. Also, we do HIV testing all over Baltimore. We have a Christmas program, called Hope for Christmas. We go into under-

resourced neighborhoods and provide a chance for parents to come and get gifts for their kids and give food vouchers. You know, bring hope during a time when people are really in need.”

Smith says the church doesn’t try to impose its beliefs on anyone.

“Just love, he says. “That’s the main thing we want to bring to our neighborhood.”

The association plans more lot cleanups throughout the summer, Leahy says.

The cleanups are part of a general program to make Union Square more attractive and marketable. Other summer cleanup dates wil l be announced on the association website.

Group president has vision for neighborhood

Union Square residents help clean a vacant lot on Carey street, between Lombard and Hollins streets. The Saturday morning event was organized by the Association and Gallery Church. More than 25 people showed up for the clean-up.

Church, association kick off Streetscape spring cleanup aim

Union Square Association president has a vision of the neighborhood being an attraction for artists and artisans from around the city.

“This is something we really need everybody’s help on, particularly people in the artist community,” Taylor says. “We can go to the city and ask to adopt five to 10 city-owned lots in our neighborhood. And we say we want them all at once. Our plan is to clean them, to fence them in, put basic gardens and a couple of benches. And then, we would use them strictly as public performance art spaces.”

Taylor’s quick to label this project as long-time and far-reaching, but, he says, it would be a game-changer for the community.

“We can brand our neighborhood as the neighborhood that’s all about performance art,” he says. It’s just a way to kind of market our neighborhood, to keep people coming over here.”

Although currently in the conception stage, Taylor says his vision includes Union Square hosting a talent first Friday of every month through spring and fall.

“Let’s say we have eight sites throughout the neighborhood, one doing spoken-word poetry, another one doing trapeze artists, another one’s doing marching band, or something like that, and another one’s teaching kids how to paint, or doing kid-focused art.

Taylor says lot usage would be open to anyone and that a neighborhood committee would review applications. Artists would be given free usage.

“They sell their work; they get to keep it [the proceeds]. It’s public exposure for them, and then we can sell tickets to this event, you know.

Taylor says lot upkeep costs would be low, beyond the initial cost for fencing.

“The city really wants to do these kinds of things,” Taylor says. “Then, we just get people walking around in your neighborhood, going to these different displays. We’re locking eight to 10 lots in a positive way, we’re exposing our neighborhood to outsiders and we’re raising money to maintain those lots going forward by selling $10 tickets or whatever and whatever excess goes to the neighborhood association.”

This type of project would be the central event for drawing potential homeowners and small businesses to Union Square, Taylor says.

your windows are locked when you know you’re going to be out. And try to develop good relationships with your neighbors so that you can keep an eye out for one another.”

Deputy Major Ian Dombroski agrees. “The more buy-in we get from the community, the more help we get, the more you

guys help us, the better our crime numbers look,” he says. “So, we certainly need all the help we can get.”

field trips to Atlantic City into the largest meeting of any of the other councils,” Baker says.

The Southern council has 45 members, but Baker views that as a technicality.

“There are 60,000 people in the district,” he said at the last meeting. “So really everyone is a member. You see people here tonight from about 15 neighborhoods. It’s the citizens from neighborhoods working with our officers creating cooperation and understanding so that we can have teamwork to help make our streets just a little bit safer.”

A t t h e meeting, you see a mix of community involvement, from t h e E x p l o r e r s youth group to the d i s t r i c t ’s s t a te c o n g r e s s i o n a l representative to the local Guardian Angels.

But most agree, the groups’s real power comes in organizing neighborhood COP (Citizens on Patrol) walks. During walks, residents point out trouble spots to police officers. Bands of residents walking the beat with police is as overt a display of community concern as residents can make. “That’s why I like COP (Citizens on Patrol) walks, because you do get to go out with your neighbors and it’s in a causal environment,” council member Jane Buccheri says. “You know, life is pretty hectic on a regular basis, and the COP walk is just the police officers off the street at the time, you know, so you can really get to know them and get to know your neighbors. ” John Rehmert, Sergeant at Arms of the group, is really the organizing force behind the walks. “John’s been doing a lot with the community walks, which we’re trying to get a lot of that started again,” Reitz says. “Now that the weather’s getting a little warmer, crime rates will start to go up. We need a lot of participation on these crime walks.”

COPscontinued from Front Page

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS | Ray WilliamsWe encourage submissions, story suggestions and comments from our community. We are always looking for writers, reporters, artists, ideas and people interested in volunteering for this publication. Email raywilliamsmedia@aol.com with your story and content ideas.

• The Sowebo Running & Walking Club of Baltimore is beginning a monthly group walk/run at Carroll Park. First Saturday of the month at 10 a.m., starting April 7th. All are welcome. Meet in the playground area at James and Bayard Streets. FREE.

• Digital Photography classes at Clay Pots, 1635 W. Pratt St., beginning this month.

Mondays 1 to 3 p.m.

Thursdays 7 to 9 p.m.

C a l l 4 1 0 . 2 3 3 . 1 1 3 3 o r e m a i l claypots@claypotsbaltimore.com for info or to register.

Monthly MeetingWho

Southern District Police and Community Relations Council

WhereSouthern District Police Dept.,10 Cherry Hill Road

When7 p.m., Every third Thursday.Dinner served 30 minutes prior to start of meeting

Crimecontinued from Front Page

U Chris Taylor | President taylfour@msn.com | 443.415.0554

Andrea Leahy | Vice President | and.cu@hotmail.comThomas Pointer | Treasurer | ThomasPointer@hotmail.com

Jake Booker | Historic Preservation | looyahbooker@gmail.com

Kristine Balazs | Recording Secretary | krisbalazsef@gmail.com

Ray Williams | Corresponding Secretary | raywilliamsmedia@aol.com

Querin Brown | Director at Large | jamis.image@gmail.com

Josh Smith | Director at Large | jsmith@gallerychurchbaltimore.comUNION SQUARE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Changing of the guard at board Director at Large positionChr is Wyat t , Union Square

Association Director at Large, will be resigning this month. She is moving to Houston to further her career.

We wish her the best in her future endeavors, and we thank her for her community service over the years.

The board has voted Josh Smith, a four-year resident of Southwest Baltimore, to replace Chris Wyatt as Director at Large.

“I like to do anything that has to do with community development, anything that has to do with domestic mission’s work.” Smith says.

Sowebo Festival Timeline

May 7 Return posters for show deadline

May 14 to June 1 Poster show at The Charles

May 27Return posters for auctiondeadline

May 27Sowebo Arts Festival

June 3Sowebo Poster Auction