Moeser held his ground at VCU but soon upset the University’s leadership when the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, which he helped organize, publicly opposed VCU’s plans to extend the campus into Oregon Hill.
“Word got back that the President, in a conversation with the Provost, questioned whether the university really needed an Urban Studies Department. I thought it was our finest hour.”
Confirming what Oregon Hill residents have known for a while, the Times Dispatch has an article on the William Byrd Community House shutting down.
Some excerpts:
The William Byrd Community House, an influential force for early childhood education and helping low-income families, is in the process of shutting down, according to the organization’s former executive director.
…
The nonprofit’s board of directors has not met to vote for its dissolution, but former executive director Shelia Givens said her last day was Friday.
“It’s pretty much inevitable,” Givens said of its closing.
After years of financial woes brought on by compounding debts and dwindling contributions and grants, the early-education center that received a rare and sought-after four-star rating from Virginia Star Quality Initiative furloughed most of its staff last month and shut down its preschool program.
…
The nonprofit’s origins trace to the early 1900s when a group of nurses funded by philanthropist Grace Arents, the niece of Lewis Ginter, banded with social workers to provide cooking, hygiene and infant-care classes and community recreation. The building, constructed in 1903, was Richmond’s first free library before it became the William Byrd Community House to serve poor residents.
In addition to the early childhood education center, the nonprofit provided mortgage, rent and utility assistance to low-income families in the area as well as a food pantry and weekly farmers market that accepted SNAP benefits.
The Byrd House Market will officially end Oct. 27, but in speaking to the vendors, it sounds like ‘the renegade market’ can happen till the end of December. After that, ‘all promises are off’.
What’s even more worrisome is that the St. Andrew’s Association has not announced future plans for the building and grounds. There have been some rumors of a St. Andrew’s Middle School or longterm plans for elderly housing.
…but still no official reply or even acknowledgment of a few, common-sense accommodations in regard to the rezoning. In fact, nothing the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has asked for applies to the Folk Festival.
Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and other states have all invested in dedicated brick-and-mortar museums. Georgia invested millions in its Macon-based Music Hall of Fame, but the concept proved unsustainable and didn’t last. Virginia must learn and benefit from that experience.
Any museum must be extremely cautious about its overhead and budget. The world of the nonprofit is rough and has many obstacles.
Richmond, being centrally located and on Interstate 95, is an ideal location for a Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
The William Byrd Community House is selling the following items. If you are interested or would like to go by and take a look please call Shelia Givens at 804-901-3763 or stop by 224 S. Cherry Street.
40 passenger bus
Bookshelves
Cabinets
Computers
Printers
Fax machines
TVs
Tables
Chairs
Lamps
Sofas
Fish tank
Piano
Organ
Desk
Freezers
Refrigerators
Push Lawnmower
Riding Lawnmower
Lots of yard equipment
Office supplies
School supplies
Coffee maker
Trash cans
White boards
Free books
2 stoves
Lots of other items
Neighbors are monitoring the current rain and Hurricane Joaquin. At the same time, they are remembering past storms-
Hurricane Irene played havoc with some roofs-
I would really like to get some more photos of older storms, like Hurricane Camille..(click here for post).
Tropical Storm Gaston may have had some of the most dramatic damage-
But the story of the neighbor who tried to drive his car over the fallen tree during Hurricane Isabel always seems to jog memories-
From email announcement:
Cool Weather
Groovy Foods
yeah, baby.See You At the Market!
3:30 – 7:00 pm
:-( NO MORE $5 Tokens!
Please spend the ones you’ve got and check with your favorite vendors to see if they can take your credit or debit card for purchases.SNAP EBT still Good :-)
through the market season
Fall Veggies & Fruits & CSAs Abound
and Everyone’s Back this Week!Baked Goods
Organic Wheat Breads and Turkish Pastries
Irish Porter Cakes and Soda Bread
Baklava“Dine In”
Brunswick Stew
Asian Noodles with Fresh Vegetables
BBQ Pork Buns
Chicken and Beef KeBobs
Vegie, Chicken & Shrimp Spring Rolls
Pork Rinds and Popsicles
Greater Richmond Dietetic Association
will be in the house!
with recipes & quick tips for fruit & veggies
Folks,
As the aircraft buzz overhead, you may or may not be aware that there has been some debate and controversy regarding the lack of crowds for the Richmond 2015 UCI bike race.
Without getting too far into it, let me just say that while I have been very critical of City projects and chasing tourist dollars, you notice that I have not taken aim at Richmond2015 as much because I am hoping it will lead to better bicycle infrastuctrure and culture in the long term.
Regardless, now is a good time to get out there and enjoy this international event.
Neighborhood restaurant Dinamo has a big welcome:
http://rvanews.com/features/embrace-the-race-dinamo-is-the-host-with-the-most-for-the-worlds/128822
Also, neighbor Holt Edmunds asked me to make sure people know about this freebie Thursday night, which is for anyone volunteering for the races or biking to the Poe Museum.
He volunteers at the museum and says the bike race has hurt visitation (a bit counter-intuitive). He hopes fellow Oregon Hill residents might want to take advantage of this.
Thanks,
Scott
Please feel free to visit and learn more about the new hostel during the Richmond UCI bike race.
From email:
OHNA (ed.- Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association) will be unable to meet at WBCH for the foreseeable future, due to the fact that WBCH no longer has the staff available to open the building in the evenings.
Our next OHNA meeting will be held at the Pine Street Baptist Church at the corner of Pine and Albemarle at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 22nd. Enter the building at the door on Albemarle Street. Take the first hallway on the left to the meeting room.
Thanks
Jennifer
