She was the first woman ever to be ordained in her home presbytery in the state of Wisconsin. Now Reverend Lynn Anderson of Grace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, Ohio, is completing her twenty-fifth year as a Presbyterian minister.
Indigo Perfumery, Cleveland's first and only niche perfume shop, opened in Lakewood, OH, on Tuesday, October 16th. Life-long Clevelander Ann Onusko brings her extensive knowledge of flowers and a passion for fragrances to a gallery space where the perfumes are made by smaller, artisanal companies who concentrate on the art of the scent rather than mass production.
Mourning the loss of a pet?
Batman, Batgirl, Superman, Wonder Woman and even a life-size hotdog were spotted on the streets of Lakewood recently when more than 260 runners and walkers joined in the Youth Challenge Superhero Dash. The 28th Annual Race Day took place on Saturday, September 14, at Lakewood Park. The event was dedicated to the memory of Dave Hardman, former President of the Youth Challenge (YC) Board of Trustees.
Lakewood is about to have the cleanest residents in all of northeast Ohio with the Grand Opening of STEM Handmade Soap on Saturday, October 5 at 12405 Madison Avenue. Owner and chief formulator Steve Meka of Lakewood makes all natural soaps, lotions, lip balms and other bath essentials with skin-loving ingredients produced only by Mother Nature.
Everyone of all ages is invited to participate in the dedication ceremony on Sept. 21 at 2 p.m., the International Day of Peace. Keep Lakewood Beautiful will be awarding the winners of the citywide 6th grade essay contest entitled “What Peace Means to Me…”
Lakewood resident, Danielle Morris has fond memories of her “granny,” Kitty Morris. “My great uncle, and his wife, Miss Kitty, took in my mom, who was one of seven children. They raised her, and they helped to raise me,” Dani recalls. “My granny was a nurturer who cared for and did for everyone. She never said no!”
Lakewood Community Festival Set For Saturday, September 7th At Madison Park
The 26th annual Lakewood Community Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 7, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m at Madison Park, 13029 Madison Avenue. The festival celebrates community, cultural heritage and families. It is a day of fun and activities for everyone.
Craft and game booths, bounce houses, pony rides, children’s games will all be part of the festivities, as well as a variety of delectable foods including stuffed cabbage, pierogies, potato cakes, cabbage and noodles, kielbasa and sauerkraut, pizza, french fries, funnel cakes, Vietnamese cuisine and other dishes. An assortment of traditional ethnic baked goods and other desserts will be available.
Lakewood resident and avid theater and music historian, Weldon Carpenter, was recently honored by the All-Ohio State Fair Band with a plaque commemorating his many years as the band's historian. This year marked Carpenter's 63rd straight year as a member of that time-honored organization, dedicated to annually showcasing the talents of Ohio's best high school band students. Carpenter began with the band in 1950 as a trumpet player before switching over to Drum Major that same year. He has marched with the Alumni Band every year since then as their Drum Major. Prior to this year's award, Mr. Carpenter had also received the State Fair 50 Year Club's Giant Step Award, as well as having been inducted into the Ohio State Fair's Hall of Fame in 2003.
Lakewoodites Robert and Gary Rice were also honored by having the 200 member All Ohio State Fair Band perform their "American Veterans Last Salute March", written several years ago to honor America's veterans, including Revolutionary War vet and drummer John Shepherd, who was America's longest-lived veteran, (117 years old) and is buried in North Royalton. Previously, the Rices had composed band marches for Lakewood's schools, as well as "The All Ohio State Fair Band March"; dedicated to Weldon Carpenter and to long-time Fair Band Director Donald Santa-Emma. (Among his many achievements, Santa-Emma is President Emeritus of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, and is also the principal enthusiastic organizer of the Lakewood Home Town Band)
As a wonderful side-story here, WWII veteran and retired Lakewood teacher, Robert Rice, was also scheduled to conduct the Veterans' March, but unfortunately fell at home and injured both feet while reaching for his shoe-shine kit in order to polish his Army-brown shoes. (Rice generally conducts the march in uniform) Fortunately, Robert's hero, Ed Gallagher (of the Beck Center, and a dedicated State Fair Band staff member) telephoned Mr. Rice, so that he could hear the live concert performance of the march from his bedside!
The Youth Challenge Superhero Dash, the 28th Annual Race Day in memory of former Trustee Dave Hardman, will take place Saturday, September 14 at Lakewood Park, 14532 Lake Ave.
In times gone by neighbor helped neighbor, and communities rallied around one another to complete a project or support one of their own in need. People knew each other, and the world was a relatively small place. It's a nostalgic notion to imagine our great grandparents surviving those tough times, and to this day it brings hope that the struggles of yesteryear enable communities to come together to unite - and to thrive.
To help celebrate the dedication of The World’s Children Peace Monument Sculpture in Lakewood Park, Keep Lakewood Beautiful is sponsoring an essay contest open to all City of Lakewood 6th grade students.
Over the past few weeks, approximately 285 competitors from all over the Cleveland area competed in the Cleveland Singing Star Competition, a part of the National Singing Star program. The event was sponsored by the American Performing Arts Network, an organization which sponsors events for Children’s Miracle Network, affiliated with children's hospitals nationwide. To date, their competition events have raised over $4,000,000! Here in Cleveland, the $3,500 in proceeds will benefit the music program at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
The finals were held on Monday, July 8 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. They were divided into an Adults Division and a Kids Division. In each division, two winners were crowned – a Judges’ Choice and a Voters’ Choice.
Supporters, friends and neighbors gathered at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in early April to hear Sam announce the launch of his campaign for Lakewood City Council At-Large from the bowling alley and bar at the top of the street he grew up on, which he sees as a symbol of the kind of economic recovery and entrepreneurial spirit that marks Lakewood’s future with promise.
Before and since the event Sam has been busy listening to residents discuss the issues that matter to their neighborhoods and talking to business owners and others about working with nearby residents to implement shared solutions to common goals.
“I believe that I have a unique perspective to bring to council,” said Sam O’Leary. “As a third generation resident, I understand the issues that Lakewood faces. But, as a member of the millennial generation who made the decision to move back here, I also understand what we can do as a city to retain Lakewood kids so that they start their own careers and families here, as well as what we can do to attract those looking to relocate here.”
Award recognizes a social worker who goes above and beyond for patients and the community and provides a donation to a charity of their choice.
Lakewood social worker Emily Marvin has been chosen as the recipient of the Crossroads Hospice “Caring More” award. Social workers provide daily support to their patients, but few receive special recognition for their tireless efforts. In a move to honor social workers and their advocacy for those in need, Crossroads Hospice launched the “Caring More” award for a social worker who goes above and beyond for his/her patients and community.
At a breakfast held in her honor, Emily received $500 to present to her non-profit of choice, the Abbey Rose Foundation.
Baldwin Wallace University political science professor and Lakewood resident Thomas Sutton has been selected to receive a Fulbright Scholar award that will fund a semester of scholarly work in Ghana.
As a Fulbright grantee, Sutton will spend the January – May 2014 semester teaching three political history courses at Ghana’s University of the Cape Coast. He will also conduct research into the parallels between recent presidential elections in the West African nation and the United States.
“I’ve been told the people in Ghana closely followed the two election cycles here involving President Obama and that they were influenced by his campaign themes, particularly in 2008,” Sutton said.
In his research, Sutton also plans to examine how Ghana deployed a high tech “biometric verification system” to match voter fingerprints at polling stations in the December 2012 national election. “They really leapfrogged over us in the use of technology,” Sutton said.
In January of last year, Lakewood City Council adopted a plan to become one of the most bicycle friendly communities in the country by 2015. The Bike Master Plan establishes three main objectives that include (1) expanding our supply of bike racks, (2) establishing the primary bikeway system – Share the Road, and (3) educating & reaching out. Lakewood’s youth are a vital piece of this plan. A bicycle friendly community must include children who use bicycles for transportation, as well as exercise, and know how to do so safely and responsibly.
However, not all youth in Lakewood have equal access to participating in Lakewood’s cycling community. Due to any number of circumstances, children may have a bike that is unsafe to ride, a bike that is too small, or no bike at all. That is why H2O “Help to Others” is embarking on a project with the goal of providing 50 Lakewood youth with safe, working bicycles, along with helmets and locks, and bicycle safety education.
To realize this vision, H2O is putting out a call for gently used bicycles to be donated during their upcoming event “Bikes and Bands” on Saturday April 13th, 4-8 p.m. at Mahall’s 20 Lanes. Bicycle donations can be dropped off across the street from Mahall’s at Madison Park, where volunteer mechanics and H2O student volunteers will be on hand to provide basic maintenance and repairs. Bicycle donations can only be accepted if they have all parts intact and no bent frames, wheels or handlebars. Wheel size must be 20 inches or larger.
On Sunday, March 3rd, Cove United Methodist Church (Cove) and Lakewood Christian Church (LCC) held the first in a series of public discussions on important community issues. These discussions are part of the Church in the Community program. The two Churches share the sanctuary at 12501 Lake Avenue in Lakewood. The purpose of the series is to hold periodic events on topics of importance for our community. The first Church in the Community session focused on what we as a community can learn from the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut.
The session on Lessons from Newtown opened with a prayer by Pastor Chris Stark of LCC and closed with a prayer by Pastor Darlene Robinson of Cove. Following the Program Introduction, a panel of experts discussed the numerous issues. The first presenter was William Denihan, Executive Director of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County. Mr. Denihan emphasized that our community, like all communities, does not deal effectively with mental health issues. Yet one in four persons will have a significant mental health issue in their lives. The lack of effectiveness stems from a reluctance to face mental health issues generally. One of the consequences of not facing the matter is that funding for coping with mental health issues is quite small. In fact, Ohio distributes the inadequate funds equally among the 88 counties resulting in Cuyahoga County, the largest county with the most mental health issues, obtaining twenty cents ($.20) per person. In conclusion, Mr. Denihan stated we must be more serious about dealing with mental health issues and see that sufficient funding is made available.
Lakewood has many beloved institutions. Some are obvious – churches, libraries, public schools – but some are quieter. One of these is the Lakewood Recreation dance program. For 35 years, two sisters have been consistently building a tradition that brings the art of dance to Lakewood children and adults.
Patty Hays began teaching ballet and jazz dance in 1978 through the Lakewood City Schools Recreation and Education Department. Her sister, Peggy Stockdale, began offering tap dance classes in 1980. Since then, without a break, they’ve been offering two sessions of dance classes per year, with a group recital in the Lakewood Civic Auditorium at the end of each session.
The next recital is March 26 at 7:15 p.m. in the Civic. Twenty groups, five-year-olds doing ballet (or a close approximation) to adult tappers, will dance to music surrounding the theme of Money and Work. Like small-town parades and Little League baseball, these dance recitals are Americana at its best. Little girls in tutus flitting around on stage, girls and boys of all ages and sizes jazzing and tapping and leaping, and adults tap dancing in outlandish costumes make up this entertaining evening.
While most of us enjoy the comfort of warm beds on frigid Northeast Ohio winter nights, the region’s homeless often seek nighttime warmth from steam vents on the streets and pray they don’t freeze to death before morning.
More than 20 members of the Lakewood Congregational Church (LCC) Youth Fellowship will experience being without warm shelter on a cold winter night firsthand when they sleep in cardboard boxes in front of the church on Saturday, January 19. The church’s 9th Annual Homeless Awareness Sleep Out calls attention to the daily struggles of Northeast Ohio’s homeless community and raises funds for local homeless support agencies.
Youth, ages 11 to 18 (grades 6-12), will gather at the church, 1375 West Clifton, on the corner of West Clifton Boulevard and Detroit Avenue, at 3 p.m. to construct their box shelters – their lodging for the night.
Take a break from cooking and support the Lakewood Public Schools. Dine at The Place to Be Restaurant, 5:30-8:30 p.m., on two Thursday nights—January 17 and 24—and 20% of your bill will be donated to the LAKEWOOD ALUMNI FOUNDATION! Make sure to mention the foundation when you pay your bill. The Place to Be is located at 1391 Warren Road, just north of Detroit Avenue.
According to ODNR Watercraft, there are 24,394 boats registered in Cuyahoga County. From 2007-2011 there have been 309 accidents on Lake Erie involving 394 vessels, 150 injuries, and 25 fatalities. Total boat damages $3,833,164 and total property damages of $202,097. The State of Ohio's mandatory boating education law requires boaters born on or after January 1, 1982, to complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) approved course before operating a boat engine more than ten horsepower.
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 7-5 is offering three boating safety courses at Garfield Middle School, 13114 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, starting on Wednesday, January 23 through March 27 from 7- 9:30 p.m.
As I sat in my office last week, watching tiny snowflakes glide to the ground, I was reminded of the 2009 Light Up Lakewood when huge snowflakes fell from the sky so silently and created such a beautiful setting for our community event. I had such a great time walking around with friends as my family participated in activities. Unfortunately, my reminiscing was short-lived, and I was propelled back to the present where I’m constantly and frantically thinking of all those last minute things that need to be done for the 2012 Light Up Lakewood Festival. It is a state of being that I welcome, only because of what results.
Three hundred and sixty-four days of the year parents tell their children to never take candy from strangers. Then, on the last day of every October they dress those same children up in masks and weird costumes and tell them to go out on the streets at night and either beg or threaten strangers to give them candy.
Halloween is traditionally a holiday observed on the eve of the Christian feast of All Hallows, or All Saints Day. In the Middle Ages it was believed that restless souls of the recently dead wandered during the year until All Saints Day, when their fate would be decided. All Hallows Eve was their last chance to get revenge on their enemies before entering the next world. Some people, fearing the consequences, would wear masks to disguise themselves.
Lakewood, Ohio resident and business owner Charity D'Amato was recently selected as part of a global design intensive crafted by Iggesund, a leader in European paperboard manufacturing. D'Amato traveled to the heart of Sweden for a week of packaging and graphics immersion.
“It was a week to remember,” said D'Amato, owner of Chartreuse, a design and marketing firm. "The experience enabled me to not only discover the design field abroad, but it also provide the opportunity to discuss design industry sustainability and materials issues with some of Europe's experts in the field. We were able to create art, experience the Swedish culture and see firsthand how the European forestry industry differs from others, especially ours here in the States."
Hurricane Sandy may have left its mark on our fair city, but that's not stopping Keep Lakewood Beautiful from awarding its annual "Beautiful Home Awards"
Keep Lakewood Beautiful is a City of Lakewood committee comprised of volunteers who work to promote citizen involvement and investment toward the beauty of Lakewood through green space activity, litter prevention, and recycling efforts; the committee also encourages individual environmental education. The committee's activities include an annual Clean up Day, Adopt-a-Spot program, Humus Sales, Earth Day Event and Beautiful Home Awards.
The Beautiful Home Awards are awarded to one home in each school district in order to include a wide range of home values and styles. The nominations are accepted, in July and August, from friends, neighbors, and often even the home owners themselves. The board of directors from Keep Lakewood Beautiful then divide the school districts up among themselves and determine the winners based on 3 major criteria: landscaping, house maintenance, and overall beauty of the property.
Peace Begins With/In Me, an interfaith peace weekend retreat with the Dances of Universal Peace took place Oct. 26-28 meeting the first two days at Lakewood Presbyterian Church and finishing up at the Sacred Arts Holistic Center on West Blvd. The retreat leader, Eric Narayan Waldman, came from Montana and the 28 participants came from 6 other states, including South Carolina and Idaho. The diverse community included men and women from all walks of life. There were, among others, Presbyterian, Methodist, Unity and interfaith ministers, a Catholic sister, two former nuns, a former Jesuit, Buddhist practitioners, numerous Sufis including those practicing Christianity & Sufism and those practicing Judaism & Sufism, retired teachers, an engineering professor, a hospice nurse, therapists, and energy healers. They all came together to chant and dance joyous prayers for peace in many languages from many faith traditions. Chanting in Hebrew, Sanscrit, Latin, Arabic, English and more, the dancers celebrated many names for the Divine.
Fashion merchandising student Ms. Suzanne Hall was the recipient of the 2012 Huntington Bank Scholarship given through the Virginia Marti College Foundation.
Suzanne is a student at Virginia Marti College of Art & Design and has received this award for her outstanding diligence as a student and her tireless involvement within our community. We are grateful to Huntington Bank for their ongoing support toward education and their commitment to helping our youth and rewarding them for their hard work and dedication.
Suzanne writes in her application, “Cleveland is my community. I want to live here and I chose to attend college here because I want to improve the success of the city on a national scale. To do this I am always looking for new opportunities to serve those in need; thus I’ve learned and discovered not only more about the world, but also more about myself. I have also learned never to take anything for granted, because everything is subject to change. Hopefully with this wisdom I can change my future and the future of our city for the better.”
Lakewood High School freshman Creek Miller (.), 15, brought his best Pink Out[fit] to the Rangers varsity football game at Lakewood Stadium, October 12. Those attending the game were asked to wear pink in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Rangers (3-5) lost 24-7 to Midview in West Shore Conference play.
THE VOTERS’ GUIDE 2012
Heirloom Home is pleased to announce their reopening on October 24th. Come in and be the first to see our restocked inventory of unique jewelry, decoratiave arts and antiques--all at bargain prices. The store is briming with wonderful selections for your personal enjoyment or for holiday gift giving. Know that your choices contribute to scholarships for children at The Beck Center for the Arts. Completing its second year in operation, Heirloom Home has provided many kids the opportunity to learn and grow with the experience of music, drama, art and dance classes.
Democracy is only as effective as the people who participate in it. And the Number One way to participate is to vote. It’s not always an easy thing to do.
Voters are challenged to learn as much as possible about candidates and issues in a 24/7 news cycle where information, which is often not true or partially true, makes it difficult to make informed decisions.
The Lakewood Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area will host a Candidates Forum, Tuesday, October 16 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at the Women’s Pavilion in Lakewood Park. Dale Miller and Anna Melendez, candidates for Cuyahoga Council District 2 and Nickie Antonio and John Zappala candidates for Ohio House District 13 will present their positions on the issues and answer questions from the audience. This forum is an opportunity for citizens to become familiarized with the candidates and educated about the way they would address the challenges in our community.
Alumni members of the Lakewood High School marching band were invited to join the 2012 edition during the Friday, September 28, Rangers varsity game against Rocky River at Lakewood Stadium. The game marked the final homecoming game appearance of longtime marching band director Brian Maskow, who is retiring at the close of the school year. Rocky River prevailed 21-13 in the West Shore Conference game.
Ahead of the official “International Walk to School Day” event on Wednesday, October 3, three LCA faculty members planned a cross-town walk from their east-side homes to the school in Lakewood on Friday, September 28. The expected 6- 7 hour trek was documented via Twitter by the walkers, LCA Principal Mike Fletcher and teachers Dan Castrigano and Mike Soderquist. The trek was planned to encourage participation and build excitement for the actual event on October 3, when students and families are encouraged to walk or bike to school. Event chairperson Marianne Quasebarth reports that the school has had nearly 300 LCA participants in each of the past two years it has taken part in the event.
Rangers Marching Band field co-commander Kyra Mihalski (c.) leads her bandmates and over 1,000 additonal musicians representing 10 Northeast Ohio area high schools during a Sept. 15 marching band festival parade down Bunts Road to Lakewood Stadium. Under the leadersship of band director Brian Maskow, Lakewood High School has played host for 26 editions of the annual marching band showcase.
Lots of bling, along with some dirt with unearthed fossils and minerals—and even some cosmic dust from meteorites falling from the skies over Argentina—will be on display when GemStreet USA Show & Sale comes to Cleveland on September 28-30 at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea.
What are several Lakewoodites doing in Rocky River every Thursday morning? They are happily listening to Baldwin Wallace University faculty member Dr. Christine Dorey, musicologist and raconteur. Lecture is an inadequate description of her entertaining and informative talks with and about classical music. The weekly sessions are based on works to be performed at upcoming Cleveland Orchestra concerts. Her knowledge and wit enliven wide-ranging observations on the social, political, technical, and musical environment of the work; the life, idiosyncrasies, and musical import of the composer; and the broad brush and tiny details of the music itself as she plays recordings, often with commentary on the musical personalities of the performers as well. Each session is education and entertainment in itself and invaluable preparation for those planning to attend the corresponding concert.
With the help of a Lakewood Music Booster summer scholarship, Lakewood High School senior Kent Dockus had the opportunity to attend the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp in Olathe, KS in July 2012, on the grounds of MidAmerica Nazarene University.
The Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp is not like any other summer orchestra camp. In fact, acoustic instruments and "standard" classical repertoire is discouraged. With these criteria in place and Kent's passion to play his Viper electric violin, he was all packed and ready to go.
In addition to Mark Wood, Kent had the opportunity to study with other professional musicians, including his private instructor, Tracy Silverman (Nashville, TN). Kent described these instructors and their "Instructor Concerts" as like nothing he's ever seen or heard. "Their talents, use of equipment, effects… and performances were mind blowing," said Kent after the shows.
The Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp was attended by over 120 "campers" from around the country… and not just high school orchestra students. This camp is designed for anyone who is serious about performing or teaching with traditional or non-traditional orchestra instruments, but in a whole new way.
Wilson Sackett’s Seven Week Fact Finding Mission In The Mid-East
I Was Interested In Seeing It All For Myself
On June 28th, I left for a seven week trip to Israel and Jordan. After years of allowing the American media to describe and shape these regions for me, I was interested to see and learn the culture that is shadowed by political uncertainty and violence. I hope that by seeing these pictures and reading the descriptions, the reader can see a different side of these countries, a side that expresses kindness and hospitality. While I was traveling, I was never threatened, never hurt, and never turned away by the citizens of Israel and Jordan. On multiple occasions, I was taken in by people of these countries, and given food, water, and anything else they could offer. Without the help and hospitality of these citizens, this trip would never have been possible. I hope readers can feel the human connection between those pictured and ourselves. If we continue to believe that our differences outweigh our similarities, then the walls pictured here that imprison so many people, will never be torn down. Our humanity is our greatest connection, and it is time we start to believe in it.
In what promises to be a dramatic and exciting display of civic pride, 60-plus volunteers from Lakewood-based Neubert Painting will scrape, sand, and paint new life into a long-standing fixture of the Lakewood community. The Bandstand at the historic and beautiful Lakewood Park was selected by Lakewood-based Neubert Painting as the 2012 recipient of its annual Charity Paint Giveaway.
At around 3:30 am a Lakewood Police car noticed a black Porsche Carerra heading west on Detroit Ave. The officer noticed the car had expired plates and turned on his flashers to pull the man over as they ran the plates.
The Porsche driver took off west at a very high rate of speed, and the car came back with the owner and not stolen. By Kenilworth the officer could not keep the Porsche in sight and broke off the pursuit. As a call went in to meet the driver at his Fairview Park home.
As the officer stopped to fill out report, and take next calls, a call went out for an accident at the Commodore Club Apartments. What followed was a first for this longtime Lakewood resident.
The Porsche had continued West down Detroit Extension, hitting the curb that then launched him his Carrera and unlucky passenger into the air, clipping a tree nearly 30; off the ground. (The Lincoln a week back never went higher than 15") clearing the MetroParks two lane roadway, landing the the second lane of the bike path, bouncing, hitting another tree which sent one of the two flying out of the car and coming to a rest near the bottom of the hill less that 200 yards from Sweetware Landing! "The car flew more than 100'," said Capt Ed Hassing.
The driver age 24 from Fairview Park has a broken back, and is in Metro General Hospital, his passenger a 47 year old male is in critical condition in Fairview General Hospital. The Porsche sits at Kuffners Towing, with NOTHING USEABLE on it. It is amazing to think anyone lived in that car.
Quaker Steak & Lube® is opening its doors in Lakewood on August 15, 2012. Famous for its award-winning, fresh, never frozen wings and more than 22 signature sauces and dry rubs, Quaker Steak & Lube® will offer an extensive menu. It will include appetizers such as the 4-Wheeler (sampler), salads including the “Biker Chick” Chopped Salad and Boneless Wing Salad, half-pound burgers featuring the Lubeburger, sandwiches such as the GTO Gyro and Boneless Wing Chicken Wrap, steaks and a full Kids Menu.
The Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee (LOBC) is in the midst of its Paver Campaign for the Mark Vincent Dickens (MVD) court at Lakewood Park. The group paid in full the location at Kauffman Park and has raised 70% of the required $25,000 price tag for the Lakewood Park location. Although the path for LOBC was never easy, the group is looking to add the location near the end of the summer.
Before the Kauffman Park basketball courts were installed in September of 2010, the group spent a year and a half lobbying for a return of outdoor courts and healthier outlets for kids. With the Kauffman location intact, LOBC turns its attention to Lakewood Park and the installation of the MVD Memorial Courts, named in memory of Lakewoodite, Mark Vincent Dickens, whose promising life was cut short by cancer. Dickens was a 1996 graduate of Lakewood High School.
After a nine-year hiatus, Relay For Life returns to Lakewood on June 15 & 16 at the Lakewood High School stadium through the efforts of Wyandotte resident, Louis Wenner. Lou lost his parents to cancer, both diagnosed by age 60. His wife Della is dealing with cancer in her family now. The theme of Lakewood's Relay is Superheroes, and when Lou achieves his goal of walking 60 miles (that's more than two marathons) he's going to be everyone's Superhero! Event Chair Kelsey Solarz, a sophomore nursing student at Kent State, has participated in Relays for 8 years, after losing her best friend to cancer in 6th grade.
When I opened Carabel Beauty in 1969, many of my clients were survivors of The Great Depression. They had thinning hair as a result of less than nutritious food and a good deal of stress. Over the years, I have witnessed the overall condition improve to the point where young women today have the thickest hair in generations. I believe the reason for this is better prenatal care and ongoing healthy habits. Unfortunately, lately I have noticed women once again losing their hair due to stress, anxiety, or grief. Widows are especially at risk because they worry and don't feel like eating the way they did when their partners were with them. Overwork or the lack of work can create the stress associated with hair loss. Crash diets and eating disorders seem to change the texture and amount of hair also.
Dee Salukomba, LHS '08 will soon be graduating from Denison University where he has attended for the last four years. He was encouraged to apply for a grant from the Davis Projects for Peace so that he could return to his native village of Kirotshe, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dee was born in this small village and with his family was able to escape war-torn Congo and refugee life in Uganda in 2004. His vision is to provide books, projectors, and computers to establish a Learning Center near the school that was built there last summer. Dee hopes to train instructors with Dr. Kubuya an educator already in the Congo. This would allow more people to work and increase their knowledge about the world. The Learning Center would be supported and maintained by the school and hospital in Kirotshe.
Celebrate the Ambulance Chase on Sunday, May 6!
Presented by Donald Martens & Sons, this event is for everyone: from the youngest among us in the Children’s Chase to participants well into their eighties; from the serious runner to the leisurely walker. The race is about more than just a start and finish line, it is about the journey of how we get there, and the journey that continues beyond the event.
Since its inception, the Ambulance Chase has generated nearly $350,000, touching countless patients and families through the enhancement of a myriad of programs including services for infants and their parents, teens and seniors, emergency medicine, diabetes management assistance, radiology, surgery and community outreach. This year’s race will again benefit patients utilizing Lakewood Hospital’s full continuum of rehabilitation services as well as a variety of patient care programs.
With the purpose of raising awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, the Dress Up Your Heart Committee recently held their 5th annual fashion benefit for the American Heart Association’s “Go Red For Women” campaign. Nearly 200 supporters attended the event, which takes place in Lakewood each year. Keeping with the red dress symbol, the highlight of the evening was a unique and creative fashion show featuring ten one-of-a-kind red-print wrap dresses which were then sold at auction. The featured dresses were all designs of Susan Dauber, a former Lakewood resident and a Cornell University graduate with a degree in Fashion and Apparel Design. The evening was once again a huge success in bringing a community together for heart health awareness.
This was the popular favorite at the recent lakewood High health fair. Since it uses some lesser known vegetables, we urge you to give it a try. This is a good time to put the shredder function of your food processer to work, or get your kids to help shred.The students were surprised that they liked it!
Golden Beet Slaw
4 cups (4-5 med) golden beets, peeled and shredded
2 cups (2-3) Granny Smith apples, cored and shredded, NOT peeled
1 cup carrot, peeled and shredded (1 large)
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb (1 med.)
finely chopped fennel fronds (whatever is on the bulb)
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lg. lemons)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (any mild flavored)
1 tbs. agave syrup or honey
salt and pepper, a pinch or 2to taste
1) What makes you the best candidate for the 9th District?
Public service is about helping people. It’s not a show or a game. It’s about getting real results.
The key is working together. In its endorsement of my candidacy, the Plain Dealer cited my ability to create coalitions. And former Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich cited my ability to work in a bipartisan manner.
My leadership model is built on cooperation and collaboration. We need to leverage the creative abilities of all—elected officials, business leaders, teachers, faith-based communities, seniors, and ordinary citizens.
Let me give a concrete example. The idea for a World War Two Memorial came from a constituent named Roger Durbin, who had fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He approached me at a local fish fry with his idea. I took it and worked 17 years to turn it into reality. The result: a beautiful memorial in our nation’s capital that honors the Greatest Generation.
1) What makes you the best candidate for the 9th District?
As the only fresh alternative in this race, I can bring an approach that is much needed – a common sense approach. Congress is broken. It has just a 9% approval rating, the worst ever. It is broken because people have lost faith in Congress. Our country is in a fiscal crisis. We have a $15 trillion debt which will become $26 trillion in 10 years unless we do something about it. Congress is not going to be fixed by two people who have been politicians for a combined 70 years. Kaptur and Kucinich are creatures of Congress and care more about scoring political points than policy solutions.
I am a small business owner and entrepreneur. I know what it is like to forgo a pay period to make sure that the employees get what they’ve earned. Congress doesn’t understand that logic. That is why they have racked up the debt, which threatens investments we need to make in job creation and economic recovery, education, and the environment.
Shannon Okey, Publisher, Cooperative Press, will present “Knitting a Long Tail in Niche Publishing” at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin this March as part of the Interactive portion of the festival, March 9-13, 2012. Originally a music festival, SXSW has grown to encompass music, film and high tech elements. Okey's talk, exploring ways to increase creators' revenue and buck the established publishing system, will be based on her own experiences as the woman business owner behind Cooperative Press, a small press that is anything but traditional.
Cooperative Press came about in 2009 after Okey had already successfully published a dozen books with major national publishers. She wanted to champion books that would fly under the radar at a mainstream publishing house, compensate authors fairly, and provide them with more creative control. Cooperative Press pays royalties that are at least four times the industry average, and takes full advantage of fast-moving digital publishing innovations. Cooperative Press represents authors including Anna Dalvi, Heather Ordover, Alasdair Post-Quinn, Kate Atherley, Stephannie Tallent and Okey herself.
Single? Tired of the bar scene? Or being hit on at the gym? Forget about stalking the celery in the produce aisle waiting for someone who looks available!
The Lakewood Dog Park is THE new place for singles to find love!
Think about it. Lakewood has more 18- to 35-year-olds than any other Cleveland suburb. More households now own dogs than have kids. And let’s face it; dogs are chick and guy magnets. If you love dogs, what better way to meet people with the same interests and values than at a place where other people who share that love of dogs congregate?The Lakewood Dog Park is where Kaylee and Chad found love.
Imagine walking into your office one day, and your boss says, “we’re closing the agency tomorrow.” That’s exactly what happened to Ann Huber, owner of Landfall Travel. How did she respond? She bought the agency, and 20 years later, with a staff of six people, the doors are still open.
Huber recently returned from the beaches of Turks and Caicos Islands, a small British territory between the Bahamas and Haiti, and in early December, she took a wonderful cruise down the Rhine River. Though she has yet to explore many of the destinations she arranges for her clients, she enjoys getting “to see the world through other people’s eyes.”
It is a long way from building boats in Kennebunkport to mid-morning epiphanies in Little Italy, and even farther from the subarctic snow banks of Fairbanks to transforming an empty Lakewood storefront into a new yoga studio, but that is the path Marcia Camino took in creating Pink Lotus.
A Chicago native, Mrs. Camino grew up in Texas, Indiana, New York, and finally Toledo, Ohio, where her steel-working family settled down. While attending Bowling Green University she declared a major in English, and the next year transferred to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, where she earned an MFA in creative writing. She told her parents she wanted to be a poet.
My name is Peter Jones. I want to share with you my story about the power and devotion that can lie within us, sometimes unnoticed or simply ignored. I'm telling you about this not to glorify myself, but rather to tell you my story and perhaps inspire you to take action as well.
What can I do? I'm just one person. What power does one person have? Perhaps a bit more than two months ago, I was sitting in my house, quite concerned by these thoughts. I had no idea what I would do as a social justice project which I had signed up for. Through an article in a magazine that my mom was reading and the Internet, I came upon the issue of children in foster care not having basic toiletry supplies. Before finding that website, I didn't really think about this being a problem. However, it is a problem, and that became my project.
On a Saturday morning recently, Olga Capas, Rita Zvirblis, and Vanessa Staskus ordered late breakfasts and early lunches at the Diner on Clifton, settling into seats after their first Zumba class. Over cups of steaming coffee, three-cheese omelets, patty melts, and shared sweet potato fries they caught up with their experience and breath.
After years of feeling like a college town, Lakewood is getting a university. Classes at the brand-new University of Akron Lakewood begin on January 9 in the recently refurbished Bailey Building at the intersection of Detroit Avenue and Warren Road.
Heirloom Home celebrates its 1st birthday with a special holiday sale of unique items. Give the present of wonderful handcrafter vintage necklaces and bracelets, handsome, quality watches that have a secret compartment, antiques and beautiful silver, glass and collectibles.
By all accounts Ryan Woidke appears a normal 19-year-old, born and raised in Lakewood where he still lives on weekends while in his second year at Kent State University. A graduate of Lakewood High School now majoring in Criminal Justice, trim and athletic, a full-time academic with two part-time jobs, he blends in with most other backpacking students.