Public can discuss I-275 sound barriers

MONTGOMERY - Landowners are invited to express their opinions Monday regarding a proposal to install sound barrier walls along Interstate 275 from the Weil Road overpass to Interstate 71.

The public hearing, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Sycamore High School, 7400 Cornell Road, is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration.

Input from affected property owners in Montgomery and Sycamore Township will help ODOT determine whether the wall will be constructed.

Written comments also may be submitted at the meeting or by mail no later than April 5 to Hans Jindal, Ohio Department of Transportation District 8, 505 South Ohio 741, Lebanon, OH 45036.

125 homes aimed for moderate incomes

OXFORD - Up to 125 new homes - 40 of them for first-time homebuyers on moderate incomes - will be built on the South Farm subdivision on Kehr Road, south of Talawanda High School.

Neighborhood Housing Services Inc., a nonprofit Hamilton agency, will build the three- and four-bedroom homes starting at $130,000 on the 63-acre farm, says Ron Woolwine, executive director.

Butler County commissioners Thursday agree to provide at least $500,000 from their federal Community Development funds for lease-to-own subsidies for qualifying first-time homeowners.

Oxford, Miami University, McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital and Talawanda Schools support the program because it will provide affordable new homes for their employees, Woolwine says.

Blue Ash revises U-turn ordinance

BLUE ASH - Pulling a U-ey got a little more legal here.

Council on Thursday changed the city's ordinance on U-turns to bring it in line with state law.

The city law allowed U-turns only where posted, while state code permits them in all locations where signs don't forbid the maneuver.

"We're a little more restrictive, and the police department pointed out that's not fair to the unaware motorist," City Manager Marvin Thompson said.

Morgan Twp. plans to honor Westrich

OKEANA - Morgan Township residents will thank Walter R. Westrich for decades of service by naming the community center in his honor Sunday.

Westrich, 77, served 24 years as trustee and 39 years on the fire department, including 12 as chief, in the rural southwestern Butler County township.

He helped build the old township hall at 6465 Okeana Drewersburg Road, which has been remodeled as a community center. An open house is set for 1-4 p.m. Sunday, with a dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m.