GOLF MANOR (10/12/2020) – Submitted by Golf Manor Mayor Stefan Densmore

The Federal Holiday of Columbus Day: Columbus Day was first officially proclaimed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892, to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the Bahamas. Franklin Roosevelt established the first federal observance of Columbus Day in 1937. Since 1971, the holiday has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. 

At its best the holiday in the U.S. celebrates the western discovery of America and Italian American pride. The celebration occurs throughout North and South America– a celebration NOT of the discovery of the U.S., but of the “New World”– and so it goes by different names.

Some call it “Discovery of America Day”–that’s in Honduras. In Argentina, since 1917, they’ve called it “The Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity”. It’s called the “Day of Races” in Mexico and Uruguay, and “Race Day” in Chile — in these places it’s a celebration of the diversity among Native Americans and Europeans. 

Fourteen states here in the U.S. — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin– plus the District of Columbia and more than 130 cities observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day today instead of or in addition to Columbus Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is said to honor the past, present, and futures of Native peoples throughout the US. It is said to recognize the legacy and impact of colonialism on Native communities, and it to celebrate the cultures, contributions, and resilience of contemporary Native peoples.

There seems to be controversy in the U.S. these days over what parts of our history get emphasized — and who gets to tell the story of our collective past. One of the blessings of diversity is the multiple perspectives it adds, the more complete vision we collectively gain from it, and the stronger we become individually and collectively with more knowledge of that “bigger picture” that so often comes from being able to see more than one side to things. With that in mind, I hope my report on the diversity of perspectives throughout the Americas about this day has added to your bigger picture of the holiday celebration.   

COVID Update: 

• Reminder that our website has a page devoted to the most recent COVID-19 news as it relates to Golf Manor, including:
  • Map of COVID-19 Testing Sites http://cagisportal.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8a2a1ff673af49f88a25ff88a261553c
  • File a COVID-19 Public Health Complaint https://www.hamiltoncountyhealth.org/services/for-businesses/file-a-public-health-complaint/
  • Most Recent COVID-19 Statistics for Hamilton County (and by zip) https://www.hamiltoncountyhealth.org/
  • There are also links web pages devoted to helping renters navigate the special COVID-19 Renter Protections that follow from the moratorium on evictions that is scheduled to last through December 31st, 2020 https://www.ohiolegalhelp.org/topic/covid-19-renter-protections and help both tenant’s and landlords navigate the Hamilton County Eviction courts https://cincyhelpcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Tenants-Guide-to-Eviction-Court.pdf 
• Another reminder of the closest testing sites for our residents are:
  • WinMed Health Services, 1740 Langdon Farm Rd, 45237 (513-569-1840)
  • WinMed Health Services, 7005 Reading Rd, 45237 (513-363-9300)
• Governor DeWine continues to offer us the opportunity to have free testing here in Golf Manor. There are some who have expressed opposition to doing this, but I believe we can address all the challenges involved — but don’t want to pursue it without the support of council, so if you have interest in bringing testing to Golf Manor, let your council members know.
• COVID-19 Halloween recommendations from the county health department have been provided: 
  • Social distance between family groups
  • Wear masks under costume masks 
  • Respect homes not participating (don’t knock on doors where the lights are out)
  • Parents should sanitize wrappers of candy received using clorox-type wipes, for at least the first 72 hours after Halloween.
• Updates from the most recent Health Department update to elected officials:
  • Our previous “Orange” level of emergency has been raised to “Red”. This is a designation assigned by the State Health Department concerning the level of contagion occurring in individual counties.
  • The Hamilton County Health Director reports that the increase is due to the increase in hospitalizations at our regional hospitals in Hamilton County, e.g.,    Hamilton County hospitals are admitting out-of-county cases– and this is causing our hospital numbers to go up.
  • The State announces any changes to the contagion level of emergency on Thursdays.
  • Hamilton County Emergency Management & Homeland Security continues to offer free PPE to community based organizations and nonprofits, including disinfectant wipes and spray, hand sanitizer, thermometers, gloves, etc. If you know of a community based organization that could use PPE contact 513-263-8200. They anticipate continued PPE distribution into next year.
  • Hamilton County Emergency Management & Homeland Security continue to prepare local storage facilities and delivery protocols for the arrival of vaccine as soon as that occurs. 

Interest & Requirements for Nonprofit partnership with the Village of Golf Manor. I’ve been interested in ways of partnering with nonprofit organizations to enhance the resources available to our residents since I first joined Council. And I have met with administration and with our legal council about how to formalize a process for entering into such partnerships. What we’ve come up with is 4 documents that a potential nonprofit partner would need to provide:

1. Letter from IRS stating their tax status as a 501c3 and the EIN (employer identification number) of the organization.
2. Copy of the “Business Details and Filings” page from the Ohio Secretary of State webpage.
3. Proof of charitable registration with the State of Ohio (Copy of the organizational details printed from Ohio Attorney General Yost’s Charitable Registration Webpage — make sure the details have been expanded to include the list of all the board of directors and trustees, before printing.
4. Copy of the organization’s bylaws, with the accompanying signatures of the original board members who ratified the bylaws.

This is a lot to do for an organization that is in formation, or otherwise in the process of registering with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General — but it can hopefully be useful as a road map to doing everything you’re required to do as a nonprofit in Ohio. For organizations that have been in existence for awhile, this complete process of what we’re requiring takes about 15 minutes at the most.

Appointment of a Golf Manor resident, Mr. Robert Wilkinson, to the Executive Committee. I mentioned at our previous council meeting that we had some interest in an open position on our executive committee. I had the opportunity to speak at length with this individual twice since our previous council meeting, and was impressed with demeanor and his desire to be of service to the village. He accepted my request to join the committee and I had the honor of swearing him in tonight.  We’ll make sure that once COVID concerns have subsided that we find a time and place to more formally welcome Mr. Wilkinson, so that all the members of council and anyone one else interested has an opportunity to meet him personally.

I want to take this opportunity to (again) encourage anyone who is interested in getting more involved in the community to contact any of our council members or myself. There are lots of ways you can be involved, there are community groups and government committees, and anyone of us would be happy to help you find a place to get more involved.

This report is respectfully submitted to the Village residents of Golf Manor. Thank you for the honor of being your Mayor. To our staff and elected officials, thank you for your service to the community.

Stefan Densmore, Mayor, Village of Golf Manor.