Volunteers designed and built this signage and info center
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In the spring of 2009 four Lakewood Christian Service Center client families had the wonderful opportunity to each garden a 10’ x 10’ plot, thanks to the generosity of the Lakewood Earth and Food (LEAF) Community. It was such a positive experience that I approached Dru Siley, the City’s Department of Planning and Development assistant director, to see if there might be city-owned property available for our use, knowing that the growing  popularity of the LEAF gardens would make it next to impossible for them to offer us additional plots. Dru offered LCSC approximately 5,000 square feet at Madison Park, where the outdoor skating rink used to be. There was a caveat: the garden had to be an added amenity to the park to tie in with the Park Master Plan and the improvements that had been made and were planned for Madison Park. 

House Tour Patron Party

Save the date of Saturday, September 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the 23rd annual Lakewood Community Festival held at Madison Park. The festival celebrates community, cultural heritage, and families. The Flag Raising Ceremony is held at 11 a.m. by various military organizations and the Lakewood High School Ranger Marching Band. Many local churches and businesses will be providing ethnic foods and baked goods for purchase. Free musical entertainment consists of a wide selection of bands. Other special features include: pony rides and alpacas; balloon man and bubble man; Lake Erie Nature Center and children's games; and rides available on the Euclid Beach Rocket Car. All participating booths are encouraged to hold crafts and games, as well as, information and product sales of the business or organization.

The Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee (LOBC), in collaboration with the City of Lakewood, is delivering a return of trial outdoor basketball courts. The courts will open in the next couple of weeks. LOBC spent months lobbying city officials to allow a return of outdoor courts. According to LOBC, Lakewood remained one of the few cities in Northeast Ohio that did not have outdoor courts. “Outdoor basketball was successful in Lakewood for over 30 years,” states LOBC co-founder Art Gold, “This is a step in the right direction and a victory for Lakewood’s youth."

Two side-by-side hoops are being installed at Kaufman Park and will be evaluated as a pilot project. Success of the pilot program will be judged on how basketball users follow the court's basic rules. The rules include: no wheels, no tobacco products, no foul language, and sharing the courts with other court users. LOBC’s volunteers will monitor the courts during peak hours to ensure proper usage of the facilities and to ensure that the rules are followed. LOBC hopes that the success of this program will help foster a brighter basketball future for the youth of Lakewood.

“There are multiple locations that we are targeting for outdoor courts. Kaufman is our first step. If it is judged as a success, then more hoops will follow,” said Art. The trial period is expected to last 100 days, its success will be judged on how well the courts are attended and how closely the rules are followed.

Tom Jordan

1.  Please tell us your name, age, where you live, and how you make your living.

Tom Jordan, 45, Cleveland (Westpark), Community Development Director for the City of North Royalton, married to Mary Ellen Jordan (a licensed social worker and Lakewood Middle School track coach). Together we have four children, ages 4 through 9 years.

2.  Describe for us the duties of a member of the County Council.

As a new entity, the most important duty is to reestablish the public trust and ensure that all of the responsibilities are executed in an open and honest manner through a new standard of ethics. The charter prescribes a wide range of responsibilities, from establishing budgets to reorganizing departments. It provides a check and balance for the new county executive to ensure that District 2 of the county is fairly represented. Most importantly, the council should try and integrate the vision of communities in collaborative efforts that reduce our tax burden.

1.  Please tell us your name, age, where you live, and how you make your living.

Dale Miller; Age 60; Address: The West Park area in Cleveland; Employment: Ohio State Senator

2.  Describe for us the duties of a member of the County Council.

The duties of County Council are to assist in development and implementation of a plan to create more good jobs; review, amend, and approve the budget; create an ethics policy; adopt rules regarding hiring and contracting; advise and consent on appointments by the County Executive; provide checks and balances to the power of the Executive; help constituents with inquiries regarding County government.

3.  Why do you want to serve on County Council?

I have extensive and diverse economic development experience and want to serve to help create jobs and get our economy moving forward. I particularly want to focus on developing our potential to be suppliers for the wind and solar industries and to build on our successes at the Beck Center and Gordon Square Arts District to create centers of arts and culture on the county's west side.

1.  Please tell us your name, age, where you live, and how you make your living.

My Name is John Zappala. I am 51 years old. I was born in Lakewood Hospital at a very young age and have lived in Lakewood my entire life. I am a product of Lakewood Schools both Parochial and public. After seven years at Cleveland State University I graduated with A Bachelors degree in communications. I have run my own business for 35 years. I started off in the painting business and found out there is more than just color. The substrate and structure must be sound and of good integrity to support the color palate. That is why I have learned all aspects of home restoration and building. I have enjoyed great success in my business and have not had to print a business card for over 25 years. I have three children and have been happily married to my wife Holly for twenty three years.

2.  Describe for us the duties of a member of the County Council.

It will be quite the event to watch, eleven different representatives with their own agenda’s for their district and an executive who can hopefully lead the way. I believe that as a Council member my foremost responsibility is to the voters who elect me; to be representative of and guardian to the funds they entrust to the county. I will be there to remind the council members to be a good steward with the people’s money. The other duty is to be a voice of common sense and accountability in the entrusting of providing the services and duties to all the people of the County. My background in my own business and my own household provides me with the skills and common sense to always make the correct decision and to live within the means the budget allows for. The test is demonstrated by the accountability of the dollars spent to the one that provide the funds, the taxpayers of the County.

Riders To Bring Back The Daily Lakewood Circulator is sponsoring a Candidates Forum on Monday, August 30, at 7pm. The forum will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Main Branch of the Lakewood Public Library at 15425 Detroit Avenue.

1.)  If elected to the position of County Executive, what three or four goals would top the list of things that you’d hope to accomplish during your term in office?

Anyone elected should take a lesson from the NFL, NBA, or any other professional sports league. The goal of an administration should be that of any good referee: make sure the rules are applied evenly and never take over the game. The best official is the one you rarely see, and one that is always honest and fair.  Government, on any level is no different.

2.) What do you regard as the major challenges that must be met in order for the new system of county government to succeed?

The major challenge isn’t getting the system to work, it’s just in figuring out how the system is supposed to work. Check out the county website and you’ll see a long list of departments, boards and initiatives. Any candidate who suggests that they have a clear vision for the direction of the County Government isn’t being honest, because nothing in government is clear. There are overlapping fields of responsibility, job redundancies, hundreds of cracks to fall through, and thousands of loopholes to hide behind.

3.) How do you define good government?

The best government is minimally invasive, modernly efficient, and maximally effective. But, since the next time that is accomplished it will also be the first, how ‘bout we just start with something that is completely deficit neutral: financially, intelligently, and, given what we’ve been living with for the past couple of decades, especially morally and criminally.

Who are you trying to kid? We, the riders of the Circulator, knew before the Shopper Shuttle started that it was set up to fail. Once day a week from noon to 6pm is not sufficient time for those who work and need bus service in the evening. Special pick-up and drop-off stops set many blocks apart are not compatible to successful ridership. Forcing us to use the #26 Detroit bus is not a good alternative to the Circulator. We cannot get to where we need to go without the Circulator. Especially since RTA also cut the North-South line #70 Bunts Rd. bus, as well as the weekend and evening services of the #25 Madison bus. We are left stranded!

Come on powers that be- wake up! RTA is more interested in special traffic lights and pretty bus shelters than they are in getting people to their destinations. How can RTA possibly think that cutting service will increase ridership elsewhere?

Give us back our Circulator!

Happy 5 year Anniversary to FITNESS EDGE. Owner, Marty Velasco offers many new program options for every level of fitness … Happy 2 Year Anniversary to PUMA YOGA offering beginner classes through advanced, yoga for kids and even Mom & baby classes! … Speaking of kids, it was already time for the New Teacher’s Luncheon held by the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE where each of the 15 new teachers in Lakewood received a gift donated by our local businesses … THE HEIRLOOM HOME will be opening soon in the building at the SW corner of West Clifton and Detroit.  This building owner’s dream is to open a shop that will accept household donations for resale and then donate 100% of the profits to scholarships for children’s classes in the arts.  Watch for more details soon! … Starting in September also watch for more Business and Chamber news when The LO starts our new LAKEWOOD BUSINESS PAGE  … 

On Tuesday, Sept. 7, you won’t want to miss being at Lakewood High’s Ranger Stadium for a very special event. The U.S. Army Parachute Team the Golden Knights, in town Labor Day weekend for the Cleveland Air Show, will make a special drop-in appearance at Lakewood High Stadium on Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. The entire LHS student body will be there for this unique presentation by one of the most elite jump teams in the world.

Mr. Gleichauf
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Retirements and resignations among district personnel have led to the new school year opening up with a number of familiar faces in some new positions as well as some brand new faces to the district.

On the administrator side, Mark Gleichauf, who has spent the last eight years as principal of Grant Elementary, is the district’s Director of Teaching & Learning. Some of Gleichauf’s duties will include those that belonged former assistant superintendent Jan Soeder, who oversaw elementary education for the district and retired in July after 26 years with Lakewood Schools. In addition to those duties, Gleichauf will be responsible for overseeing the district’s School Improvement Plan for the state of Ohio, the district’s professional development program as well as the Gifted/Talented programming.

Gleichauf says he feels “very fortunate to be able to advance my career in this district,” after spending nearly a decade at Grant, where his school earned and “Excellent” rating from the state in 2008-2009 and was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2004.

Replacing Gleichauf at Grant is Roxann Ramsey, the district’s former Coordinator of Teaching & Learning. Before coming to Lakewood, Ramsey was an assistant principal at Beachwood Middle School. As Teaching & Learning Coordinator, Ramsey was significantly involved with developing the elementary curriculum for the district.

At the high school, longtime LHS science teacher Lynn Eckert is the new House II principal. She replaces Sandra Donnelly, who retired. Newcomer to the district Yakoob Badat will replace Abby Neal as the House I principal. Neal resigned to accept a position in Florida, where her husband was transferred. Badat comes to the district from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, where he was assistant principal at John Marshall High School for the last two years. Badat, a native of Malawi, is a graduate of St. Edward High School and John Carroll University and earned a master’s from Cleveland State.

In the middle schools, Rod Lake, whose position as Coordinator of Gifted & Talented was eliminated, will take on the assistant principal’s job at Garfield Middle School. He replaces Catherine White, who resigned at the end of the previous school year due to health reasons. The district also said goodbye to Jerry Lanning, a former assistant principal at LHS who served as the district’s coordinator of teaching and learning for secondary education last school year. Lanning resigned to take the principal’s position with Polaris Career Center.

New faces in the district classrooms include Lisa Krumroy, who will teach science at the high school and Casey Squires, who will be a math teacher at the high school. April Georgius will be the new media specialist at the Garfield LRC.

The Ranger Shop
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With the new school year fresh under way and the holidays only a few short months away, now is the perfect time to check out the Ranger Shop at Lakewood High. Sweatshirts, t-shirts, athletic bags, polos and many more types of spiritwear are available along with a variety of accessories such as hair bands, pencils, stickers, pennants, coffee mugs, etc.

The Ranger Shop is a joint project of the Lakewood Alumni Foundation and the Lakewood Athletic Boosters. Booster volunteers staff the shop and earn “Booster Bucks” for their time worked in the store. The Booster Bucks help offset the cost of their student-athlete’s pay-to-participate sports fee. For each hour worked, a volunteer earns $2.50 toward his or her student’s fee.

The Ranger Shop, which is located just west of the L-Room on the eastern end of the high school, is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. and during other select events. The satellite Stadium Shop is open from 6:30 p.m. through half time of all the home varsity football games and during other select LHS stadium events.

Since the shop opened in 2005, it has caught the attention of many a visiting parent or official from other school districts who stop by while attending a game or other activity at the high school. “They come in and they can’t believe what we’ve got,” said Anne Giffels, last year’s president of the Athletic Boosters and a volunteer who’s logged many, many hours at the Ranger Shop.

As the Alumni Foundation recognizes that many far-flung alumni wish to sport their Ranger Spirit in whatever state or city they live, plans are in the works for an online Ranger Shop as well. (Locals can take advantage, too!). The plan currently is to have the online store functioning by October, according to Alumni Foundation executive director Teresa Andreani.

You can reach the Ranger Shop at 216-529-4321 or visit www.lakewoodrangers.com for more info.

2nd Runner-up 2010 Miss Jr. Teen Cleveland

Pryce Macon of Lakewood and an eighth grade student of Harding Middle School was recently selected to participate in the National 2010 Miss Jr. Teen Cleveland/Akron/Youngstown pageant competition that was held at Independence High School on August 15 2010. Pryce submitted an application and took part in an interview session that was conducted by this year’s Nationals’ Pageant Coordinator. She was very completive in her division of girls in the age range of 13 and 15 and out of 60 young ladies she took home the 2nd Runner– up title in the completion.

The Cleveland Foundation has notified LakewoodAlive that it will be the recipient of a one-time, 24-month $44,000 grant award to expand its housing outreach service capacity. The program provides outreach to low-moderate income household for assistance in exterior house maintenance. The grant award will fund the balance of a full-time staff position and support efforts to bring volunteer resources to homeowners in need.

H2O Members Thank Mrs. Steele

On August 15th, people from many walks of life gathered to recognize Nora Steele’s seventeen year career with H2O “Help to Others” youth volunteer program. The attendees included student members of H2O, fellow co-workers from Lakewood Division of Youth and Lakewood High School, parents of H2O volunteers, and representatives from agencies and organizations served by H2O.

Two truckloads full of desks, chairs, lab tables, file cabinets and other such necessary items to outfit a school rolled out of the Lakewood High School parking lot on Aug. 17, on their way to Lake Local Schools outside of Toledo to help that district furnish a temporary high school being put together in the wake of a tornado that leveled Lake High School earlier this summer.

When news of the devastating tornado on June 5 that leveled Lake High School in Millbury spread, our district knew it had to do something to help.

"We knew that if we were in a similar situation that others would be there to help us so we wanted to be able to do something to help this district in an unfortunate situation not of their making," said Treasurer Rick Berdine.

District officials contacted Lake Local administrators who in turn came to Lakewood to survey the pieces that would be available to them to see whether they would fit their needs.

Lakewood has always been known as a community of great sports fans. Lakewood residents have enthusiastically supported the local professional teams since the days of Otto Graham, Tris Speaker and Austin Carr. However, it has become increasingly difficult in recent years to cheer for big name athletes. Many have grown weary of the ongoing antics in professional sports -- large contracts, massive egos, off-the-field crimes and misdemenors. Team owners often aggravate the situation with high ticket and concession prices.

Class of '69 in 2010

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St. Clement Grade School Reunion

Last spring I voted for the Lakewood Schools operating levy because I wanted our district to be able to preserve as many of the wonderful programs as possible that we offer to our students, and because I wanted to provide our school district with the funding needed to continue to provide our kids with a good education.

Many citizens voted yes on the levy because they value education and want the best for Lakewood kids and families. By passing the levy a trust was established between the Lakewood School District and the community. We passed the levy, and in return our Board promised to do its due diligence to be accountable and responsible with our money, especially when it came to programming. 

As we approach another school year we are beginning to receive bits and pieces of clues as to what programs may not be continued next year and the years soon following. To date, it is not clear as to which programs may be on the chopping block for next year, nor have there been any discussions at any of the regular school board meetings or with the community regarding program cuts.

Our elected Board must balance the needs of the District with the values and wants of a community. There is not always a win-win situation and there must be compromises in tough economic times. Yet, shouldn’t parents and citizens at least be able to communicate to the District which programs, if cut, would be “deal-breakers”? How does our Board go about evaluating a program?  Do they consider the consequences to our city, district, and Lakewood families when considering which programs to cut?

I believe our community doesn’t want fires put out or a piece-meal approach to program decisions. My hope is that our District will take a comprehensive, holistic approach when deciding which programs they will offer to students, that they conduct research into programs that are evidence-based and proven to meet the needs of students, that they make the effort to understand what this community values most in education, and that they communicate their findings to the community and evaluate the feedback they receive when making final decisions.

We are experiencing serious financial challenges as a school district, but on the flip side there exists great room for opportunity if we take a holistic approach to our district, as the needs of the District are met and balanced with the needs and wants of our community. The time is now for decisions that will make us stronger and better equipped than other Districts to provide an excellent education in Lakewood.  It will take creativity, forward thinking, and cutting edge decisions. Actually, when you get past the fear of what the financial situation may be you can see that there is opportunity and excitement in the future for education.

Many of the choices we make in the next couple of years will affect our District, our city and whether we will be able to attract new families to our city, and whether or not our kids can get into the colleges of their choice or get the jobs they want. There are some issues that our Board of Education faces that have to be solved quickly and not necessarily with community input. However, programs offered by a school district should not only meet state requirements and standards, but also be a reflection of the values of the community as a whole.

With the national unemployment rate climbing over 10%, the new Career Development and Transition Services at Cuyahoga Community College are reaching out to area residents impacted by the economic recession. We provide enhanced support services to the unemployed in Northeast Ohio. These much-needed services assist unemployed individuals with career planning and job coaching; skills and interests assessments; education planning to support retraining; appropriate academic and technical training programs; job search preparation; and job placement assistance.

Join us Wednesday September 8th at 7:00 pm in the Main Library Auditorium to hear local author Linda Legeza’s tale of life, love, grief and chasing dreams on the waters of Lake Erie. Legeza has used the setting of Lake Erie and Northeastern Ohio as her muse in the novels Cooler Full of Fish and The Rainy Day House and is eager to share her love of the area with her audience.

Lakewood Early Childhood PTA’s Brake 4 Kids™ Speed Awareness Program

"Good Old" school days? That would be the question...

Hopefully, dear reader, by now you've already seen those dreaded three words a few times. If not, I'm sure the shock will not last too long for you. Deep within our souls, even years after our graduations, those words can cause deep and sometimes traumatic triggers to our collective psyches.

All events are free and open to the public.

Saturday, August 28
FIVE STAR FILMS
Burnt by the Sun (Russia-1994)
Directed By Nikita Mikhalkov                               Rated R
The brilliantly crafted plot of this film unfolds during the era of Stalin. A popular Red Army colonel and hero of the Revolution spend an idyllic day with wife and daughter at the summer home of his batty in-laws. As suddenly as he vanished years before, his wife’s former fiancée reappears in their midst. What is his agenda? Russian with English subtitles.
6:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium

The Friends of Lakewood Public Library are pleased to present the premiere visit to our Sunday programs of the three-man jazz ensemble, Intransit, on Sunday, September 12, at 2 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium. This trio combines a unique blend of improvisational jazz and Latin polyphonic rhythms to entertain with original compositions, and play ‘spiced up’ jazz standards that audiences know and love. Intransit is known for getting their audience moving with an uptempo Latin groove or relaxing them with a laidback bossa nova or samba, so those who are so inclined may soon find themselves dancing in their seats (or swaying, at least!).

H2O Campers Receive the Donation from JWCL

Lakewood's Junior Women's Club (JWCL) continued its support of the City of Lakewood's H2O (Help to Others) program with a donation of $2,000, as Margaret Wetzler, president of JWCL, presented a check to Celia Dorsch, director of H2O, at the End of Summer party on August 12. JWCL is a long-time supporter of H2O, and has committed to an annual contribution to the group since 2007.

The H2O End of Summer party celebrated the accomplishments of more than 200 campers, leaders, volunteers and speakers who participated in this year's program, and recognized partnerships with local civic organizations and service agencies.  

According to Ms. Wetzler, JWCL is proud to support the work of H2O because its mission so closely mirrors that of the Junior Women's Club: to provide a philanthropic organization for women who are interested in serving their community while enjoying programming and social events geared toward fun and friendship. H2O Summer Camp is a service learning program for middle and high school students dedicated to strengthening and enriching the community by engaging its young people as community builders. It was evident from the campers who spoke on behalf of the group that they learned that there isn't a dichotomy between fun and service; you can smile, laugh and goof around while also serving your community and helping those in need.

A set of floral inspired glassware. Photo by Theo Kent Photography.
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If you are looking for a unique, local gift store that offers a wide variety of hand-painted items and other gift-giving essentials, look no further than Tess' Tender Touch.

Its owner and founder, Theresa Ferline-Carr, a life-long Lakewood resident and part-time Lakewood Hospital employee, knowing how much customers love hand-made items, developed an interest in starting a gift shop.

“A unique thing about the store is the hand-painted bottles from recycled glass,” said Theresa. The store also offers painted wine bottles and the increasingly popular plant feeders, which provide plant lovers a colorful and decorative way to care for their plants. Additionally, Tess’ Tender Touch supplies other gift-giving essentials, like candles and candleholders, as well as cards and jewelry. 

“I have a jeweler, Denise Gill, who uses semi-precious stones, sterling silver and Swarovski crystals,” said Theresa about her efforts to make her store a one-stop shop, adding that all items leave the store in a gift bag. “I also have a card-maker, Beth Taylor, who does greeting cards, gift tags, notepads, gift boxes, and CD clocks. Pat Loose also makes walker bags.”

Lakewood Guitar Consort, in residence at the Beck Center for the Arts, is currently seeking new members. All ability levels are welcome, on either nylon or acoustic steel-string guitars. Repertoire ranges from Renaissance to 21st Century.   Music is in standard note format, not tabbed. Lakewood Guitar Consort was founded to offer an ensemble playing experience for area guitarists and as an outreach to the community by providing concerts at local venues. Rehearsals are Saturdays 1:30- 3:00 P.M. at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood. Contact Chris Ellicott, director, at (216) 398-1401 or email at elkkit@aol.com for more information.

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On Friday, August 6th, Lakewood Hospital hosted its fifth annual Starry Night, a patron benefit presented by signature sponsor Regency Construction Services, Inc. More than 650 guests were in attendance and the event grossed nearly $120,000.

“Once again, Starry Night was a shining star in Lakewood,” said Janice Murphy, president of Lakewood and Fairview hospitals. “It was a perfect summer evening spent with friends and colleagues while raising money for two great causes. That’s a great combination and makes it even more memorable.” 

The Lakewood Hospital Diabetes and Endocrine Center is the primary beneficiary of the monies raised. The Center uses event proceeds to host an educational Diabetes Symposium and to support its Diabetes Assistance Initiative (DAI), a program to help the uninsured and underinsured by providing funds for prescription diabetes medications and supplies as well as scholarships for diabetes education. Event proceeds also benefit the Lakewood Arts Festival Scholarship Fund. 

CLEVELAND – Lakewoodian Charmaine J. Davis of AIIA Entertainment hosts the 1st Annual “Singing for Survivors” karaoke fundraiser, Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at Around the Corner Café, 18616-20 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. The event will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the restaurant’s warehouse room. $5.00 donations will be accepted to participate in karaoke, with a 50/50 raffle drawing taking place at the end of the event, based on audience votes of their favorite participant. There will also be 2 for $1 raffle tickets sold for special prize drawings throughout the evening. The more participation, the bigger the pot grows – the better you perform, the more chances you have to win the top prize! One winner will be randomly selected through the raffle to take half the pot, with the other half’s proceeds to go directly towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s annual Light the Night Walk (LTN) campaign.

First Federal of Lakewood, a Lakewood, Ohio-based financial institution, has announced it will begin offering its customers a full line of personal and commercial insurance products, through the establishment of FFL Insurance Agency, LLC. The new agency began operations on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010.

Gary R. Fix, president and CEO of First Federal of Lakewood, said that the creation of the insurance agency enables First Federal to be the one source for financial and insurance services in the communities it serves, combined with the highest level of customer service, strength and stability that families and businesses have relied on since 1935.

“Creating FFL Insurance Agency, LLC, gives us the opportunity to provide our customers a full-service insurance agency, offering a wide variety of products from leading carriers” noted Fix. “This structure allows First Federal to develop customized insurance solutions to meet the unique needs of each customer, protect their assets and be their trusted partner for all of their financial services.”

About First Federal of Lakewood
First Federal of Lakewood offers a full array of retail and business products through 13 full-service branch locations in Northeast Ohio and five First Federal Lending offices throughout Ohio, with total assets exceeding $1.2 billion. Founded in 1935, First Federal of Lakewood is a community savings and loan institution with a deep-rooted tradition of financial strength, stability and integrity. Visit www.FFL.net for additional information.

I will invite anyone with curly hair, or bring someone who has a curly hair problem. If your hair is straight and you are thinking of a chemical curl or you want your natural curl relaxed come to this program. I am a beauty Salon owner, Carabel Beauty Salon & Store and also an editorial advisor for Beauty Store Business Magazine. I will show various types of curl talk about products and show some tools to style hair. I want to hear from you, I will be at the Lakewood Library Monday Sept 13 at 7:00pm to 8:30 pm. I will have some samples to give away too. Young children who need some information who are ready to care for their own hair can benefit from this program, see you at the Main Library Monday.

“How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” ~ Psalm 119:9, NRSV

Films are about voyages.  They take us to far-away lands, to people and places we don’t know, and perhaps reveal dreams we did not realize we had. Or they return us closer to home, to lives just down the street, or across the tracks, or the street we have never gone down although we pass it every day.  The image on the screen may stop us - we have seen it before, talked about it, heard of it, read it, dreamt it.  Or the image is so foreign none of its language makes any sense, but we cannot look away.  "The movies are life," Gerard Depardieu commented when he was honored by Art Film.

Art Film Slovakia, in Trencianiske Teplice, a quiet spa town two hours from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, offers guilty pleasures of one kind or another.  It offers films of interest to cinephiles who see film as art, but also films of interest of the general viewer, often grouped around themes.  This year Art Film focused on comedies such as ‘City Lights’, ‘Ninotchka’, and ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. Last year it was dance films, football films (to commemorate the World Cup), children's films and Asian films.  In addition, Art Film presents classic films of the past like ‘Five Easy Pieces,’ ‘The Manchurian Candidate,’ and ‘A Fistful of Dynamite’, and always screens films from Eastern Europe, particularly Slovak ones (film festivals in Toronto and Montreal always reserve a place for Canadian films).  This year the festival screened ‘War Games’ and ‘The Man Who Stopped Them,’ which was privately screened at CIA headquarters.

Dear Editor,

Stroll down Lake Avenue at 12037 Lake Ave. Lakewood, Ohio and do notice the bright and vibrant organic vegetable garden crowned with beautiful flowers. It is a treasure to behold on a warm summer day.

Sit in one of our lawn chairs with a tall refreshing ice-cold lemonade...and...here you are for all purposes in the country!

Vicki Aaron and Linda O'Malley and others, have started this garden to foster community and to demonstrate how easy it is to bring beauty anywhere you live.

Our council woman Mary Louise Madigan drove by (on her bike) and was wonderfully surprised and delighted by what she did see.

Rows and rows of lush tomato plants, squash, peppers, onions, herbs, lettuce and would you believe catnip!

All this made possible by the generosity of "Mr. Tire" who allowed us to use their land to plant. All this growing under beautiful oak trees...coming soon will be a pumpkin patch.

Is anything impossible to God who can make green trees with black trunks, cast blue shadows on white snow... followed by summer gardens... and pumpkin patches.

Marcia Creagan Coleman

Lakewood, Ohio

Having been born and raised in Lakewood, I have always appreciated the City of Trees! However, now that many of those beautiful oaks, maples, sycamores and yes, a few elms have grown old, we are sadly forced to have them cut down. It seems that almost every day you can hear the sound of the chain saws and chippers on any Lakewood street.

We were faced with that very decision this summer when our 200 year old pin oak was declared a hazard and we made arrangements to have it removed. My husband, Jeff, and the four kids and I were saddened to be losing an old friend who sheltered our front porch, was leaned upon by many a child counted to ten during a game of hide-and-seek and was often bruised by a soup can during a riotous game of kick-the-can.

How to best save those memories? Having attended a chain saw carving festival in Pennsylvania a few years ago, I made it my mission to find a carver who would come to Lakewood and make the tree stump into something permanent. After searching the net, Pat and Jack from Sugar Ridge Carving in Kidron, Ohio, arrived to carve the stump into a tree with a wind-spirit face. We are happy to say that it is now complete and is a source of interest for all who pass by. But more than that, it allows us to still enjoy our oak. Maybe this is our small way of "going green," saving part of our natural heritage of old trees.

For anyone interested in seeing the carving, just drive by on Fischer Rd. Don't honk or even say anything...just enjoy!

House Tour

Tickets are on sale now for only $15 each for the rare opportunity to tour seven of Lakewood’s most beautiful historically or architecturally significant homes. This year’s tour will include: an award-winning stucco Arts & Crafts with a formal French garden; a stately brick center hall colonial; a classic Greek Revival; a vernacular Victorian with Arts & Crafts elements; a southern-inspired cottage situated in a lush garden paradise; a sophisticated lakefront with spectacular views; and Lakewood’s oldest home, the Nicholson House, which is operated by the Lakewood Historical Society.

The “Come Home To Lakewood” House Tour will be Sunday, September 12, 2010 from 1 to 6 p.m. In its 10th year, this biennial house tour is always highly anticipated by not only Lakewood residents, but from home and garden admirers from all over Northeast Ohio. Purchase your tickets soon as the tour typically sells out. Tickets can be purchased from the following:

Did you know that there are thousands of animals across the nation that need a good home? That is where All Dogs’ Heaven, located in Lakewood, is stepping in. The group is hosting Rally to Rescue, August 21st 2010 at Kauffman Park from 12-4 p.m. “We are working to spread the word, raise awareness and promote adoption. There will be several other rescue groups, vendors and fun games for the family,” says Melissa Limkemann, the owner and director of All Dogs Heaven. Kauffman Park is located behind the Drug Mart shopping plaza in downtown Lakewood. “It is going to be a great family event, where you can bring your dog or come find a new family member. We are asking everyone to make this a great event for Lakewood. We are also hoping to make this an annual thing, with each year being bigger.”