Iuka Ravine Neighborhood Welcome Packet

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Iuka Ravine Neighborhood Welcome Packet

Welcome to the Iuka Ravine neighborhood! You are now a member of an historic, unique, very diverse, and engaging historic community within the University District. Your permanent resident neighbors have assembled useful information to help you settle in, get the services you need, and be safe here beside Iuka Ravine.

Additionally, we invite you to join us in this community's Block Watch project, and we welcome your participation and input. Requests to be added to the Google Group for information about upcoming meetings can be sent to.....................???

The Critical Phone Numbers

The emergency number for life threatening situations is 911. Other important phone numbers to know are:

Columbus Police Non-emergency Columbus Fire Department Columbus Zoning Columbus Call Center

(614) 645-4545 (614) 221-2345 (614) 645-8637 (614) 645-3111

General city services are described at: .

The MyColumbus App

The City of Columbus has released a free Smartphone App for the iPhone, iPad and Droid called MyColumbus, to provide enhanced access to city and community resources. You can find it by searching for "MyColumbus" either on Google or at

The application is based on an interface with Google maps. You can quickly locate a variety of nearby resources--churches, schools, hospitals, emergency care, etc.--based on a "You are here" map pin.

Another useful feature of the MyColumbus application is the "311" system. Dialing "311" originated as a voice phone link to all non-emergency city services (street lights out, animal control, water and sewer problems, broken sidewalks, etc.) The MyColumbus mobile app does all that through the Google map system. You can now to file a report or make a request by simply dropping a map pin at the exact location of the problem.

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Trash Pick-Up

In a densely populated city like Columbus, efficient trash disposal is a necessity. The city provides a trash disposal system for public health reasons of course, but the system also minimizes odors, keeps the neighborhood looking nice, and most keeps away rats, mice, and other scavengers. City refuse services are described in detail at:

The one need-to-know fact about trash pickup is that items piled beside a dumpster will not be picked up. Large items will not be collected unless the resident schedules a pickup. Scheduling is easy. Here is a summary of how to handle your trash:

a. Bulk pick-up, large items. Large items (furniture, mattresses, televisions, etc.) set beside a dumpster will not be collected unless a bulk pickup is requested. There are two ways to make this request:

Schedule by phone : Schedule online :

614-645-3111

The web site also explains what is acceptable for pickup.

b. Everyday trash. Bag the trash and put the bag in one of the dumpsters in the alley near your residence. Some landlords provide other containers for trash. If the closest dumpster is full, it's OK to use another. Keep the dumpster lid closed to keep out foraging critters, not to mention how nasty rain soaked garbage can get.

c. Yard waste, trimmings, clippings, leaves, Christmas trees, etc. Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. collects yard waste at the curb side on Thursdays. Loose material must be bagged or tied in bundles. Tree cuttings and Christmas trees must be cut in four foot lengths and bundled.

d. Charitable donations. Check out donating you unwanted clothes, furniture, etc. to a charity.

Our Dogs

We like dogs, many of us love dogs, many of us have dogs as pets. When walking your dog, please take along some plastic baggies to collect your dog's droppings and then dispose of the bag properly. City Parks all have trash cans for convenient disposal. Park hours are from sunrise to sunset. While walking with your dog, the City insists that you maintain control of your dog by verbal command or with a leash if the dog is not command trained.

A safety practice is to not leave your dog outside unsupervised for long periods of time. We have, in the past, had the occasional string of dog thefts. It is suspected that the stolen dogs became bait dogs for dog fighting . . . a sad ending for a dog.

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Home Safety Tips

Most crimes are crimes of convenience and opportunity. The following ideas help minimize opportunity.

a. Keep the doors to your home and vehicles locked, even when you are at home.

b. Do not keep valuables in your vehicle, and certainly never visible from the outside. Smashand-grab is a quick and easy crime of opportunity. Prevention is easy.

c. Close and lock the windows of your home--particularly those on the first floor--when you are away and when you're sleeping at night, particularly during the warmer months.

d. Keep your front and back porch lights turned on overnight. A dark residence signals that no one is home. Lights allow your neighbors to see any suspicious activity. One or two indoor lights on timers is a good idea if you are going to be out of your house for a few days. If outdoor light fixtures do not work, call your landlord and ask that they be repaired. It is a landlord's responsibility to provide you an opportunity to keep yourself safe.

e. Parties: The party host is ultimately responsible for the behavior of the guests during and after the party. Uninvited and unwanted guests can easily join your party if they walk by and notice that your party is an open-house event. Party crashers may not be friendly. They may be looking to start a fight or to indulge in other violent activity. Know who is at your party. Host responsibility is acknowledged by law enforcement and university administration.

Let's Treat Each Other Well

a. Help keep the neighborhood nice. Pick up stray trash that you find outside your residence and around your dumpster, whether it's yours or not. This is an obvious public health issue, but keeping our neighborhood clean signals would-be criminals that the neighborhood is alert and that we take care of each other.

b. Like all members of the neighborhood, you have a right to reasonable quiet for your studies and for sleep. Confronting loud neighbors is sometimes difficult. Do not hesitate to report loud behavior to the police yourself at any time of the day or night. A report may be done anonymously. The non-emergency number for Columbus Police is (614) 645-4545.

c. Please do not urinate, or allow your guests to urinate, outside of your home or anywhere outside around the neighbor hood. Indecent exposure is a criminal offense. Finally, this is not only a public health issue, but also keeps your neighborhood usable for outside activities.

Our Ravine Park itself is a wonderful outdoor area for picnics and play. We all need to help keep the park clean and usable.

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d. Parties are fun, but please respect your neighbors and keep the frequency of parties and the noise level of parties reasonable. And as above, for your own safety and the safety of your guests, keep your party under your strict control. e. We will be courteous and tell you personally if a parties size or noise level has become excessive or continues to unreasonable hours of the night. Other residents may simply call the police. There is a city noise ordinance with a fine. Excessive complaints and police reports about a residence can effect lease contracts and involve OSU's Office of Off-Campus housing. f. Parking space is precious in the University Area. Some residences have no off-street parking. We are always conscientious to use the limited parking spaces efficiently. Any vehicle left unmoved for 72 hours is likely to towed by the city police.

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