Ken Hackett reacted with equanimity. He walked with his son Thursday along the edge of pastoral Winton Woods Lake in Springfield Township, and gave voice to what has happened about a dozen miles away in Cincinnati.

Men pack up a carousel after the curfew forced cancellation of a carnival in Norwood. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Two nights of disturbances that have included violence and vandalism downtown and in other urban neighborhoods have animated conversations throughout the Tristate.

        “There is a lost community within our community,” Mr. Hackett was saying.

        “You have young kids without leadership around, without male role models around. Unfortunately, that's their voice, that's them crying out. And to police that - it's tough to be a Cincinnati cop. There are certain pockets in downtown that are dangerous, and they're facing that night after night after night.”

        Township and municipal officials, as well as residents, are reacting more with a sense of disappointment than alarm at what has transpired in Cincinnati since Saturday morning's shooting of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas by a Cincinnati police officer.

        “On the street, there's a lot of disbelief that something like this is happening in Cincinnati. Just when things are turning the corner — a lot of reinvestment occurring in the city — there is this destruction. And people wonder what will happen now with this kind of destruction,” said Bruce Henry, Blue Ash assistant city manager and safety director. “Some believe there will be greater concern about continued reinvestment in the community.”

        Tonya Thompson, who lives in Lincoln Heights and was shopping in Springdale, said the community needs to pray.

        “My perspective of it is it's time for us to go back to prayer. The churches need to get involved,” she said.

        Christopher Chambers, who is 17, lives in Lincoln Heights and was shopping at Kenwood Towne Centre, said he was disappointed by what has happened.

        “That's just immaturity,” he said. “It's childish behavior to bring violence into the conflict. This is a tragedy.”

        “My reaction is very negative,” said Larry Rankin of Springfield Township, as he sat with his daughter, Mich elle Heim, in Winton Woods. “I just think they're using it as an excuse to vandalize.”

        Mr. Hackett, who lives in Westwood, loves spending time in Hamilton County's parks. But he also enjoys a walk on the Serpentine Wall downtown on the riverfront. He'll venture back to town, but only after things simmer down. “Cincinnati is a great place,” said Mr. Hackett. "This is going to take time.”

        “My concern as an elected official is that with the curfew that's been implemented, will it cause individuals from Cincinnati to come out into the suburbs?” said Gwen McFarlin, an African-American trustee of Springfield Township, a community whose population is close to 30 percent African-American. “The African-American community in our township is very concerned. They're watching everything and hoping that we don't have any fallout from what is going on in the city of Cincinnati.”

        Joe Wolterman, a Colerain Township trustee, said people are talking about it in the township, but not with alarm.

        “I think it's just a sense of disgust, that it's really not representative of the black community,” said Mr. Wolterman. “We have a very diverse community in Colerain Township. Certainly one of the things I look at as an elected official is that all people are treated fairly and with respect.”

        Sheila McLaughlin and Walt Schaefer contributed .
       

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