Jean was raised on Fuller Avenue and lived there until she was 26. Paul and Jean married in 1966- 55 years now. They moved into a lovely house on Taylor Avenue, just around the corner from where Jean grew up. Overlea has been their home since 1972.

They raised three sons in Overlea, one who now lives in the house Jean was raised in, raising his three children close by his parents. Their other two sons live in Idaho and they love going to visit the families there during the summer. They have nine grandchildren in total.

Jean and Paul walk in Overlea several times a week on their street and streets nearby. When they do, they make it count! They always have bags in hand for picking up litter as they go. They are committed to keeping their corner of Overlea neat and tidy. Jean had this to say about their efforts, “We want to make a difference on God’s earth and it is a blessing and privilege to do this.” She also added, ”Bending is good for us!”

Jean and Paul hope others in the community, especially on the streets they walk, will be inspired by their efforts. You too can make a difference! Show your pride by taking a small bag with you while walking in the neighborhood and do your part to keep Overlea clean.

This summer will mark the 9th year of generous financial support from Rosedale Federal Savings and Loan to fill our 14 beautiful Belair Road flower pots with lovely seasonal flowers! We could not do this beautification project without their help. Our community is grateful for their help. Advantage Lawn and Landscaping continues to generously provide their services again along with community members paying their dues. If you or your business would like to fund a second late summer/ early fall planting, please send your donation of $500 to OCA, PO Box 18895, Baltimore, MD 21206.

Did you know that composting not only reduces waste going to a landfill but also upcycles those materials into a beneficial product to use in your own yard? By adding nutrients, compost improves the biological, chemical, and structural health of soils. If you would like to donate your food scraps, bring them to Farmers Market on alternating Saturdays from 9:30-10:30am beginning on June 4th!

Activities for children and adults

http://www.overleafrc.com/programs/holtpark

Preschool Nature:

Wednesdays, 11am-noon

World of Art & Crafts:

Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30pm

Creative Clay:

Fridays, 6:30-8 pm

Open Nature Cabin:

Saturdays, Noon–3pm

Garden Club:

Sundays, 10-11am

Summer Camps

• 7/25–7/29, 9am–1pm, Little Nature Explorers (3-5 yo)
• 8/1–8/5, 9am–2pm, Nature Explorers (6-11 yo)

7-11 at Fullerton & Belair

UPDATE: 08/26/22

The OCA board has learned that 7-11 and the developer behind the 7-11 gas station and convenience store proposed for the corner of Belair Rd. and Fullerton Ave. have decided NOT to appeal the administrative ruling that denied all the requested special exceptions.

As far as we are aware, the project will not move forward.

THANK YOU to all the Overlea and Linover residents who shared their concerns and testimony, whether written or in person. Your involvement is crucial as together we advocate for sustainable development and improvements in our community.

Stay Informed: Sign up for updates below.

The Pittsburgh-based developer Pentek has proposed a large 7-11 fuel station, convenience store, and fast food restaurant on the properties at 7403-7407 Belair Rd., the intersection with Fullerton Ave.

Concerns

The Overlea Community Association does not support this 7-11 or the developer’s requests for zoning variances. We have serious concerns about the safety and traffic impacts of such a large store at this failing intersection, including:

• Increased traffic at an already dangerous intersection.
• Safety concerns for schoolchildren and other pedestrians.
• Health risks and decreased quality of life for residents, while this facility serves pass-through traffic on Belair Rd.

Zoning Variances Denied

The developer requested special exceptions to zoning law for this project at a hearing on 6/13/2022. All requests were denied in a decision issued 6/24/2022 (case number 2021-0269-SPHXA).

The developer has 30 days to appeal this decision.

Our Work Continues

The OCA encourages all community members to help continue our fight for sustainable, beneficial development in Overlea. If you are interested in a “STOP 7-11” yard sign, it comes free with your $25 good neighbor OCA membership. These dues help us keep our neighborhood programs running and make Overlea an even better place to live.

Stay Informed: Sign Up for Updates

UPDATE: 08/26/22

The OCA board has learned that 7-11 and the developer behind the 7-11 gas station and convenience store proposed for the corner of Belair Rd. and Fullerton Ave. have decided NOT to appeal the administrative ruling that denied all the requested special exceptions.

As far as we are aware, the project will not move forward.

THANK YOU to all the Overlea and Linover residents who shared their concerns and testimony, whether written or in person. Your involvement is crucial as together we advocate for sustainable development and improvements in our community.

CALL TO ACTION: URGENT Community Input needed! 7-11 Plan for Fullerton Ave. & Belair Rd.

The plans for 7-11 to build a gas station and convenience store at the corner of Fullerton and Belair Road is now moving forward with a virtual hearing on Monday June 13th at 10 a.m.

Register to testify– We are asking all willing community members to please testify on the safety and traffic impacts another large gas station will have on our community. YOU MUST REGISTER AHEAD OF TIME IN ORDER TO TESTIFY.

The Overlea Community Association does not support this 7-11 or the requests for variances and will provide strong testimony at the hearing stating so. We have serious concerns about the safety and traffic impacts of such a large store at this failing intersection .

The site is zoned for this use, so the plans may move forward by right. However, zoning variances must be approved, including a special exception to use the property as a fuel station.

Read about the variances the developer is requesting.

What can you do?

Attend the meeting and express your objections. Please share your concerns—especially about safety and traffic issues. Talking points can include:

• Increased traffic at an already dangerous intersection.
• Safety concerns for schoolchildren and other pedestrians.
• Increased congestion at peak times.

If you cannot attend the virtual hearing and testify, you may submit written testimony ASAP by email to: administrativehearings@baltimorecountymd.gov

Include Case number 2021-0269 SPHXA, your name and address.
If you have questions, call the Administrative Hearing office at 410-887-3868 x0

Please forward this email to any neighbors who are not members of the OCA so we can get as much community input as possible.

Please do not miss this chance to VOICE YOUR OPINION.

Thank you for your commitment to our community.

Join us once again as the Fullerton Fireworks display is back! The festivities will be on July 3rd with Fireworks beginning at 9:15 pm. The field will open at 3pm with food vendors and at 5pm live music by “Awaken” begins! Bring the family for dinner and stay for the excitement.

Fullerton Fireworks Foundation is a non-profit organization run by volunteers. The foundation has built one of the largest, non-government sponsored Fireworks programs in the region. It is supported by the communities of: Linover, Overlea, Elmwood, Belmar and our neighbors in Perry Hall, White Marsh, Parkville, Rosedale and NE Baltimore City. 2022 will be the 59th Anniversary of the event.

Volunteers are always needed! If you can help, please contact George Stover at: george@adventureproductions.com.

The Overlea Community Association stands with the Black community in Baltimore and nationwide. We stand against police brutality. We want all of our neighbors to know we are listening, we are here, and Black Lives Matter.

Overlea is a diverse community, and the Overlea Community Association strives to ensure all Overlea residents feel valued and included. We have work to do. This work starts with better reflecting the richness and diversity of our community in the OCA leadership and membership, and amplifying the voices of our marginalized neighbors. Our community’s unique position, spanning both sides of the Baltimore City/County line, means we can work toward change on many levels.

Recognizing our country and our community’s racist history, we have committed to better educate ourselves and our community in order to actively practice anti-racism. We commit to highlighting Black-owned businesses in community discussions, at our events, and on social media. We want and need the opinions of Black and Brown community members about OCA activities and actions; we commit to creating meeting spaces that welcome Black and Brown neighbors’ voices at board meetings, general meetings, and in our daily communications. We commit to actively consulting Black and Brown community leaders, and centralizing Black and Brown voices in important discussions about community identity, advocacy, and planning. If accessibility is making it difficult for you to attend OCA meetings, we are ready to help.

We also ask our current OCA membership to join us in committing to work against racism, and to create a community association that truly welcomes and represents our entire community.

Want to learn more about the current BLM movement and its historic context?

Check out these resources:

• Baltimore County Public Library’s Anti-Racist Booklist
• Baltimore Magazine article, “How to Show Support for Black Lives in Baltimore”
• Baltimore Sun article, “Two Baltimores: The Black Butterfly and the White L”
• Baltimore Fishbowl BLM News Archive
• Local non-profit community-led coalitions
• About the Black Lives Matter Global Network

Current and former leaders from our State are drawing attention to a bill before the General Assembly to create a State constitutional amendment to protect the right to a healthful environment in Maryland. The bill proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Maryland to establish that every person has the fundamental and inalienable right to a healthful and sustainable environment; and requiring the State to serve as the trustee of the State’s natural resources, including the air, land, water, wildlife, and ecosystems of the State, and to conserve, protect, and enhance the State’s natural resources for the benefit of every person, including present and future generations. Delegate Wanika Fisher (PG County), a sponsor of a bill, notes that: “There is a difference between regulations, which address a particular issue, and a right, which is all encompassing.” According to Fisher, an environmental human rights amendment would “create a structure in which people’s environmental rights need to be taken into consideration.”

Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrist recently submitted an op-ed to the Bay Journal saying “we must live according to nature’s principles, creating a regenerative world that affords each generation no less than what prior generations enjoyed. We can do this by recommitting ourselves to live within Earth’s planetary boundaries, ensuring that everyone – in this and future generations- has a right to a healthy environment. And we can do that by placing the Environmental Human Rights Amendment in Maryland’s constitution.”

NeighborSpace is among the nonprofits that has signed on as a supporter of the bill, a stance the organization has taken in each of the last three years that the bill has been introduced.

Long time Overlea resident Tom Brocht, an avid walker and bicyclist, has accepted the appointment by Councilwoman Cathy Bevins to the Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, representing the 6th District. The PBAC was established by the County Council to oversee a comprehensive program for improving the County’s roads for pedestrian and bicycle use. Baltimore County needs committed people like Tom who understand and value the need for creating more extensive bike and walkways.

Over the years, the OCA has established valuable ties to this historical institution. Overlea is fortunate to have this world-renowned school in our community. For those who are not familiar with its services, MSB is a statewide resource center, providing outreach, education and residential services for students to reach their fullest potential by preparing them to be a successful, independent, and well-rounded contributing members of their communities.

In 1853 the school first known as the Maryland Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, opened its doors in downtown Baltimore. The first superintendent David E. Loughery was a blind graduate of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind.

Though the first eleven years saw several changes in leadership, the school settled into a period of tremendous growth under the direction of Frederick Douglas Morrison, superintendent from 1864 to 1904. Mr. Morrison was a national leader in his profession, who was instrumental in the founding of the American Association of Instructors of the Blind and an early proponent of a controversial new system called “braille”.

In 1868 Mr. Morrison moved the campus to much larger quarters on North Avenue and changed the name to The Maryland School for the Blind. In 1872, when segregation was still common practice, he was a founder of The Maryland School for the Colored Blind and Deaf serving as the superintendent of both schools.

In 1908 superintendent John Frances Bledsoe, moved the school to its present location in Northeast Baltimore City.

The leadership at MSB reads like a Who’s Who in Education for the Blind in America. Francis M. Andrews, Herbert Joseph Wolfe, Richard L. Welsh, and Louis M. Tutt were all internationally recognized innovators who moved the school forward into the 21st century.

In 2018 W. Robert Hair became Superintendent, the 13th leader of the school. 2023 will mark the 170th year anniversary for Maryland School for the Blind.

An Enduring Friend to the Overlea Community

Casper G. Sippel Inc. has been an Overlea institution since 1923. Casper started his business, with his wife Christina at his side, almost 100 years ago. Still located at 7408 Belair Road it is now a three-generation family business in our neighborhood, and soon to be a fourth-generation!

They are not only a much respected electrical company but also have a long history of generosity. Sippel Electric has donated the spotlights and the 50 foot tree lights installation for the annual OCA tree lighting event since it started in 2014. They installed all of the electrical work needed to bring electricity to the tree- and included a switch to turn the lights on! Their generosity of ensuring our tree is lit has helped this event thrive. The lighted tree and event have become a much loved holiday tradition and the extended community remains grateful for Sippel’s continued kind and helpful donation.

At the Maryland School for the Blind (MSB) located at our western boundary since 1907, a road is named Sippel Lane in honor of all that the Sippel family has contributed to the school. Casper funded the much needed indoor aqua therapy pool for the students, built in 1977. It is heated and built so blind and physically challenged children can simply walk into it with no barriers. The pool building can be seen along Taylor Avenue and is named the Casper G. Sippel building in his honor. Casper and Christina served on their board for many years.

Casper and Christina lived at 4122 Taylor Avenue until 1989. Some of you may remember the beautiful lit fountain garden they installed next to their home many years ago. It was quite spectacular in its day and folks from all over loved to drive by in the evenings to see the show. Different colored lights would illuminate the fountains as they went on and off and often the water display was quite high. It was beautiful and Overlea residents loved having such a wonderful garden in their neighborhood.

John E. Sippel Sr., son of Casper and Christina, passed away on January 29th. John, an active community member, also sat on the board of the MSB and was a lifetime member. He was also a member of the Overlea Lions Club and the Overlea Fullerton Business Association. John was a devoted community member, business man, much loved by his family and is greatly missed.

Casper G. Sippel Electric Inc. now has 30 employees, and will soon celebrate 100 years of serving the community with superior service. They continue to be generous to institutions in the spirit that Casper created, as they usher in a fourth generation to the business. Thank you to the Sippel family for their contributions and care, all these years by giving back to the Overlea Community.