CINCINNATI — Residents in Lower Price Hill could have lost the one, affordable grocery store they had for miles when the previous owner decided to retire. Instead, they took matters into their own hands and brought the grocery back to life, saving the neighborhood from becoming a food desert.

Efforts to revive the storefront that is now called Meiser’s Fresh Grocery and Deli on State Avenue go back to 2017. Then-owner Carl Meiser was ready to let go of the family business dating back to the 1960s, alarming residents who cherished Meiser’s as a neighborhood gathering space.

“For Meiser’s to close, the whole community felt that loss,” said Reba Hennessey, an associate for the store.

Hennessey said Meiser’s was an important location for residents to share community news and resources. It was also crucial because the nearest alternative for groceries, the Kroger in Price Hill on Warsaw Avenue, required some to resort to using buses and Ubers —a tedious, time-consuming additional expense. Residents felt the impact of Meiser's shutdown on multiple fronts.

“Kids are not meeting their developmental milestones, adults are starting to suffer from long-term health consequences as a result of not having the access to fresh, healthy foods,” Hennessey said. “People are losing money every day trying to get to the grocery store.”

A handful of neighbors formed a team to figure out how to reopen the grocery. With the help of entities like Community Matters and Price Hill Will, they opened a non-profit through which they relaunched the shop. They also received city funds to restore the space.

“It came to life," said associate Marisha Davis. "So that just gave me hope inside that if you fight for it in a positive manner, and you keep fighting, and keep fighting and waiting, it will eventually come.”

Davis was a key resident leader in the effort to reopen the grocery store, knowing associates want customers to feel welcome when walking into the store, and that they can find groceries they can afford. The store manages to keep costs for items low by merging business models for grocery stores, farmer’s markets and donated food.

“It’s proven over and over again, this idea of investing in the strengths of the people that already live here. The store is the latest example of that,” said Mary Delaney, executive director of Community Matters. “Yes, there’s the business side of it: profit loss, budgeting, all of that, but really the practical day-to-day is engagement with customers, stocking the store based on your customer base, relating to your market. All of that expertise is within the neighborhood.”

In addition to the rich skill sets already present in the neighborhood, Jay Kratz, the director of real estate development for Price Hill Will, said Meiser’s reopening has been a success because of the unity and determination of residents.

“[T]hey stuck to it," Kratz said. "They were very tenacious to get this to happen, and this simply couldn’t have happened without that energy.”

Monique John covers gentrification for WCPO 9. She is part of our Report For America donor-supported journalism program. Read more about RFA here.

If there are stories about gentrification in the Greater Cincinnati area that you think we should cover, let us know. Send us your tips at moveupcincinnati@wcpo.com.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police have released body cam and dashboard footage of a dramatic high speed chase that ended in a crash in Newport that killed two bystanders last month.

The dash camera footage shows a high-speed, tense chase just before rush hour that ended in tragedy.

On Aug. 7, at approximately 4 p.m., Cincinnati police tried to stop the suspects in their vehicle in Lower Price Hill.

The suspect driver, 28-year-old Mason Meyer, had been on the radar of federal agencies wanted in connection with guns.

The chase accelerated onto the Roebling Suspension Bridge into Covington at high speed.

While in Covington, body cam footage shows police officers zipping through a back alley, inches from nearby homes.

The chase then twisted into Newport, eastbound across Columbia, before the suspect lost control of his vehicle at the intersection of Monmouth and Fifth Streets. Officers held the suspects at gunpoint as they called medics to the scene.

"Three at gunpoint from vehicle. We have civilians injured in the accident -- pedestrians," one officer in the video said.

Just 45 seconds later, medical crews arrived on-scene, but 81-year-old Raymond Laible and his wife, Gayle, died in the crash. Two other people were injured.

Police recovered three weapons – two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle – from Meyer's vehicle.

"We never want to see a tragic outcome when our officers attempt to apprehend a violent criminal," said Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac in a statement Friday. "Law enforcement must constantly weigh the risks versus the benefits in these efforts, but it is important to recognize that Mason Meyer's actions resulted in the deaths of these innocent lives and, ultimately, he must be held accountable."

Currently, the Cincinnati officers involved in the pursuit have been reassigned to administrative duty until the completion of an administrative investigation.

"The review of this video footage will be critical to the completion of a thorough investigation into the propriety of the officers' actions involved in this vehicle pursuit," Isaac said. "This pursuit will be reviewed based on the totality of the circumstances and assess compliance with our vehicle pursuit policy and standards."

Meyer, who also faces two murder charges and others in Campbell County, has been indicted on federal charges with another person in the vehicle, Kirsten Johnson. Those include possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Already a convicted felon, Meyer has also been charged with illegally possessing a firearm.

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CINCINNATI — Terry Walls knows how important it is for kids in Lower Price Hill to have a place to spend time in creative and constructive ways -- that’s what he needed growing up in the neighborhood.

That’s why nearly every day for more than a decade, Walls has volunteered his time, energy and know-how at the Joe Williams Family Center on Glenway Avenue.

“I like the center and all that, and the people. It’s great people,” said Walls, 55, as he took a break from tidying up outside the building. “I like doing stuff for the kids to help ‘em out so they got a place to go.”

Walls sweeps leaves, pulls weeds and clears snow outside when needed. He makes a fresh pot of coffee for the center’s staff each morning and takes care of maintenance problems inside. He also stops by every other Sunday to take the recycling cans to the curb.

“He’s just so hardworking and so helpful,” said Jessica Polzin, youth development coordinator at Santa Maria Community Services, which runs the center. “Gosh, I don’t know what we’d do without him here.”

Lucy May | WCPO

He has painted some of the center’s walls, helped hang a chalk board in the kitchen and has helped out with trim work, too, Polzin said.

“There was a time when the sink overflowed, and actually through this art room into the office in back,” she said. “And he helped us pull up the carpet tiles and dry it all out and repair everything.”

And Walls does it all using crutches to help him walk.

An automobile crash in the 1980s made Walls a paraplegic, he said, and he hasn’t been able to feel his legs since.

“It took me a while to learn to walk with these,” he said of the crutches. “And once I got to walking well, and learning how to walk with them, I started doing everything.”

‘Thankful to God’

Walls doesn’t get paid for the work he does at the center.

Polzin said his contributions are priceless.

“Volunteers, especially for this site, are super important because we have so much youth programming and family work that if families are in crisis, it could take all of our attention for days and a lot of youth programming trying to minimize the chaos and make a fun environment for them,” she said. “We don’t always have time to do all of the nitty gritty stuff around here.”

Walls was a youth participant at the center back when it was the Boys Club, he said, and then a Boys & Girls Club.

Jay Warren | WCPO

Polzin said he’s been helping as an adult since long before she started working at Santa Maria 10 years ago.

“He’s super protective of all of us females in here, making sure that we feel safe and there’s not anyone bothering us, which is super sweet as well,” she said. “If he’s not here, we get concerned that something is wrong. We check up on him just like he would all of us.”

And even on days when Walls is feeling tired, Polzin said, he is always asking what he can do to help.

“There’s not a time where he shows any type of selfishness,” she said. “He is always giving back in any way that he can.”

Walls said he’s happy he can do it.

“I’m thankful to God that I’m alive,” he said. “And I’m thankful for what I can do and donate back to this community.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Acts of Kindness stories appear weekly on WCPO 9 News and WCPO.com. If you know about an act of kindness that you think should be highlighted, email lucy.may@wcpo.com.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Police were called to the scene of a fatal shooting involving two people in Lower Price Hill just after 10 p.m. Friday night.

Officers at the scene said they arrived at the intersection of Storrs Street and Neave Street and found Jerome Williams, 39, dead at the scene. The second shooting victim drove themself to University Hospital and was expected to be okay.

Police have not released any information regarding the circumstances of the shooting or the relationship the two victims have to each other, if any.

The investigation is ongoing.