By Shelley Davis
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS - The owner of Uncle Milt's bar in Avondale asked the Ohio Liquor Control Commission on Tuesday to give her a second chance and renew her liquor license.
Deanna Morgan, who inherited the bar from her father, Milton Howard, testified she has hired all new managers since June 1 and raised the age limit from 21 years to 25 years. She said she has reduced problems at the bar at Burnet and Erkenbrecher avenues.
"All of the problems of Avondale have been placed at the proverbial doorstep of Uncle Milt's," Morgan said. "There was a bad period there, but we've turned around and would like a second chance."
A large group of witnesses, including several employees of the nearby Ronald McDonald House, several police officers and civic leaders, traveled to Columbus to testify during the six-hour appeal hearing. All called it a haven for drug dealers and crime.
"Uncle Milt's clientele is basically a who's who in Avondale crime," Cincinnati Police Officer Jeff Smallwood told the three commissioners.
The Ohio Division of Liquor Control decided not to renew the bar's license after Cincinnati police raided the bar last May 31 and recovered marked money from nine drug deals done with confidential police informants. The bar has been open pending the appeal.
Uncle Milt's manager, Fulton Jefferson Jr., said the bar offers the only place for Avondale residents to drink. He said the bar never faced scrutiny from police until the Ronald McDonald House moved in.
"If there was so much drug dealing going on there, why didn't the city of Cincinnati shut this place down years ago?" asked Jefferson, also vice president of the Avondale Community Council.
Liquor Control Commissioner Wallace Edwards was skeptical of Jefferson's claims.
"So if (drug deals were) going on, and Ronald McDonald didn't say anything, it's OK?" he asked.
Employees at Ronald McDonald House, which offers a place to stay for families with children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said they and the residents often hear fights outside the bar and have seen drug deals and prostitution.
