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November 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Aren't there people in Loveland who could be somewhere bigger and better?
by Bill Croskey
The November Character Quality of the Month is Determination. It is defined as "Purposing to accomplish right goals at the right time, regardless of the opposition." The opposite is Faintheartedness.
To practice Determination , "I will" statements for children and adults alike are: I will.
- Set goals
- Make sure my goals are right
- Ignore distractions
- Not allow others to discourage me
- Face problems head on
My wife Nancy and I attended a book signing recently at Lunken Airport and got to meet Loren Long. He is an illustrator who has done artwork for many children's books, including The Little Engine That Could and a book by Madonna. He was very humble, and he talked of his love for books and baseball and kids and his family. His paintings are, in my mind, remarkable, because they harken back to an earlier era, as do the subjects of many of his books. Ironically, he was seated under some of the murals which grace the lobby of Lunken Airport Terminal. They were painted in 1937 by William Harry Gothard and were part of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration commissions. It struck me that his style of painting was similar to that of Mr. Gothard. Mr. Long agreed and said that he was happy to be able to see the murals again and to keep that style alive.
I mention Loren Long because I believe that he is an example of what I think of as a Cincinnati Treasure. By that, I mean a person who has attained a measure of national or international fame, but who chooses to remain in and around Cincinnati. Examples would be Erich Kunzel of the Cincinnati Pops; Anthony Munoz, Hall of Fame Bengal; C. F. Payne, Jim Borgman, or John Ruthven, famed artists who continue to live and work here; Nick Clooney, Cincinnati Post columnist and commentator; or even Jean-Robert de Cavel, chef and restauranteur. These Cincinnati Treasures are skilled enough, and enjoy enough fame, that they could move to a more prestigious city to operate. Why do they stay here? I'm not privy to their inner thoughts, of course. But I suspect that they do it, at least in part, out of Determination. Being a big fish in a small pond, or a big fish in a more prestigious pond, does not motivate them.To them,
Being a local Treasure does not mean one is perfect or wholly fulfilled. In the musical "Camelot," which recently played in Cincinnati, Lancelot asks King Arthur whether he ever doubted that the Round Table would succeed. Arthur says, "Of course. Only a fool never doubts." I believe that Cincinnati Treasures have attained their level of acclaim not because they are perfectly confident. Rather, they often harbor self-doubts which in many cases push them harder and higher and farther. Maybe reassuring themselves of their worth drives them; it's not about impressing the people on the East or West Coasts.
What about Loveland? Don't we have "Loveland Treasures?" Aren't there people here who could be somewhere bigger and better? If we are lucky enough to keep certain people around here as our own Treasures, we need to praise their Determination. I urge you to seek out our local Treasures. Thank them for the rest of us. Their Determination helps Loveland to Determine its success.
Bill Croskey, NCSP, is the Loveland Intermediate and Middle School Psychologist
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
MORROW, OHIO - Students join Ohio Energy Project
MORROW, OHIO - Little Miami Intermediate School students are becoming more energy conscious by participating in the Ohio Energy Project. Sixth grade science teachers Julie Bradbury and Stephanie Jauch are using their Encore time to teach students about energy conservation and efficiency.
The teachers were among 77 selected from across the state to participate in the 7-unit program, which provides materials for teaching the lessons. Sponsored by the Ohio Energy Project, this program teaches energy concepts and conservation strategies correlated to both the National Science Education Content Standards and the Ohio Department of Education Science Standards. Additionally, both teachers have received over $500.00 in equipment, supplies, and materials to support the pilot program.
Students received booklets with energy saving tips and actual products to improve conservation and energy efficiency at home. For example, students installed low-flow shower heads and kitchen sink aerators at home, in conjunction with an experiment at school on water conservation. During another experiment, students tested the difference in energy given off by an incandescent light bulb and a CFL bulb.
"Teaching students about energy conservation is a must," Ms. Bradbury explained. "As they become adults, they will have to find alternative energy sources."
Shown is sixth-grader Ashley Ingram taking a thermometer reading of an incandescent light bulb.
MORROW, OHIO - Holiday Home Tour
MORROW, OHIO - Little Miami High School PTO's "Holiday Home Tour" is on Saturday, December 1, from 4-8 PM. There will be refreshments and raffle items at each home. Ticket cost is $20 per person, and this includes admission to all seven homes, plus 5 free raffle tickets. Additional raffle tickets may be purchased at each of the homes. For tickets, call Annette Megie at 513-899-4434, or Tracy Smith at 513-899-3444.
Pictures are from the home of Ted and Susan Ruoff in Morrow Meadows. Their home will feature a Christmas Village consisting of over 125 houses, a Crystal Christmas tree, and many holiday collections.
Remembering National Adoption Day
Friday, November 23, 2007
THE LOVELAND INITIATIVE 10th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TOY STORE
The Loveland Initiative is proud once again to host the 10th Annual Christmas Toy Store. The Toy Store was created to help low income families who could not afford toys & gifts. Purchasing toys & gifts at a discount helps parents feel they are contributing to their child's Christmas.
We are committed to using the money raised by the Toy Store for the betterment of children and families in Loveland. The past eight years, the money raised has been used for the Tracy Johnson Scholarship Fund which assists a student to further his or her education. We are very proud that twelve college scholarships have been awarded to Loveland graduates. Each year, we award a $1500 scholarship. Any additional money raised will go towards our other educational programs. We feel one of the ways to empower people is through education and is the way to break the cycle of poverty. Without you we can not offer to help these children. We will be accepting donations of NEW UNWRAPPED toys and gifts for children, preteens and teens ages newborn to 18.
Drop off NEW UNWRAPPED Toys & Gifts
Every Monday between 6:30pm-8:30pm
Starting November 26th & December 3rd, 10th, 17th, and Saturday Dec 22nd
At The Loveland Initiative 405 Loveland Madeira Rd.
Across the street from the Goodwill and United Dairy Farmers
Contact Information
Terri Rogers 677-1057(home) & 255-6821(cell)
Lill Lane 774-7878
Last minute items can be dropped off at the Loveland Fireman's VFW Hall (227 East Loveland Avenue) Tuesday December 18 2:00pm-7:00pm, Wednesday December 19 2:00pm-7:00pm and Thursday December 20 12:00 noon-8:00pm. We can also make arrangements to pick up gifts. In addition to gifts we always need volunteers for pick-up wrapping, displays and transportation. We are confident that our community will once again come together to help the children and families in Loveland. Please feel free to call or e-mail lovelandinitiative@yahoo.com with any questions or concerns. Thank you in advance for your help!
Terri Rogers, President
Thursday, November 22, 2007
President Bush Pardons "May and Flower" in National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. (Applause.) Welcome to the Rose Garden. Thanks for coming. We're glad you're here at the White House. Each of you is taking part in a tradition that goes back to the days of Harry Truman. And to paraphrase Harry today, we have a message for our two feathered friends: You cannot take the heat -- and you're definitely going to stay out of the kitchen. (Laughter.)
I want to thank the representatives of the National Turkey Federation
who have joined us -- the Chairman Ted Seger. Appreciate you coming,
Ted, thanks. Ted brought his mom. Glad you're here -- seven brothers,
and over 30 family members, I think it is. No wonder there are so many
people in the Rose Garden. (Laughter.) But we're glad you're here.
Welcome.
I also want to welcome President Joel Brandenberger. The turkeys in today's ceremony come from the Seger family farm in Dubois, Indiana. So I guess you can say they come with the Chairman's seal of approval.
I also thank everybody who voted online to choose the names for our guests of honor. And I'm pleased to announce the winning names. They are "May" and "Flower." They're certainly better than the names the Vice President suggested, which was "Lunch" and "Dinner." (Laughter.)
The national observation of Thanksgiving goes back to the days of our founders. They asked Americans to give thanks for a nation that Benjamin Franklin famously compared to a rising sun. Over the years, Americans have found much to be thankful for. We still see our country the way Franklin did -- or, as the poet Carl Sandburg put it: "In the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the hand of God."
This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for a harvest big enough to feed us all -- and millions more. We're grateful for citizens who reach out to those who struggle, and for neighbors in need -- from neighbors in need to the strangers they've never met. We're grateful for working Americans who have given us the longest period of uninterrupted job creation on record and a prosperity that lifts our citizens. And we are grateful for one blessing in particular: the men and women of the United States military. They've worn proudly the uniform of our country. They have offered their lives in our defense. And each year, thousands more volunteer to join their noble ranks and to keep us safe. And so on this Thanksgiving, we keep our -- we keep their families and their loved ones in our prayers and in our thoughts.
(Turkeys gobbling.) (Laughter.)
Thank you. (Laughter.)
America's children also have a special place in our thoughts during this season. Don't you agree? Today we're proud to be joined from youngsters from the Camp Fire USA. We're glad you all are here. It's a nationwide organization that helps children become caring and confident future leaders. One of the things Laura and I have been most thankful for over the years is the chance to meet children from across the country and to hear from thousands of others. Some send photos. Some offer prayers. Some of them ask about Barney. A second-grader from California once asked me, do you ever get a headache? Not really -- only when I have a press conference. (Laughter.) Some children send letters with the same -- with the simple phrase, "God bless America." Others write about relatives serving in the war, and they hope I remember them.
Earlier this year, a little girl in Oregon sent me a picture she had
drawn. It's a large American flag -- and it stood in the glow of bright
orange sun. The spirit that inspired Franklin and Sandburg and other
generations of America lives in the heart of this child. She sees
America in the light of a rising sun. And so do I, and so do millions
of our citizens. It's hard to be anything but grateful when you live in
a country full of compassionate and decent citizens -- a land our
fathers always knew was blessed by the Almighty God.
And so now I have a task, and that is to grant a full presidential pardon to May and Flower. They'll be shortly flown to Disney World, where they will serve as Honorary Grand Marshals for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I hope that honor doesn't go to their head. (Laughter.) May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling. And may all Americans enjoy a holiday full of love and peace. God bless you all. (Applause.)
END 10:29 A.M. EST
Budget Wrestling: The Prologue
By David Miller, Publisher
Below is a letter to the editor that Councilman Paul Elliott told me he was going to send to Loveland Magazine several weeks ago. Elliott is also a member of Loveland's Finance Committee, and when he received the City's proposed 2008 budget he brought the “Budget Book” as it is called to me, and asked if I wanted to look at it. The “Budget Book” is a very large document in a ring binder. I have attended many budget hearings at City Hall over the years and am very familiar with the “Book” and its format.
Elliott is always frustrated that so few people actually see documents such as this, and he is always seeking the ordinary persons view on these matters so he can be a better representative. Elliott said, “So why do I feel there's little attention paid to spending tax dollars on the folks that actually provide these tax dollars in the first place?” Elliott knows that the only way he can gauge public opinion on the budget, is to have at least a few people outside of City Hall, actually read it.
Elliott's letter continues, “So I'm going to suggest that the proposed 2008 budget be online on the city's website for all to see. You'll be able to make up your own mind if there's anything in it 'for you', besides the necessary functionings of a small town government.” Elliott and I have talked for years about how little information is actually made available to the public, in light of how easy it now is in the digital age to disseminate reams of information via the Internet.
Thus, my quest began to obtain the “Budget Book” in digital form so that it could be up-loaded onto Loveland Magazine.
City Manager Tom Carroll, when first giving the book to various staff, the Finance Committee, and to City Council said in a memo dated October 26, “Submitted herewith is the proposed 2008 City of Loveland Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP).” Knowing that this was the “Book” because I had seen Elliott's “Book” - I requested the “Book” in digital format from City Hall, calling it by the same name that the City Manager used in his memo, “2008 City of Loveland Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP).”
Thus began the string of convoluted e-mail exchanges out of City Hall that you can read below. As is the usual practice of Tom Carroll, when he doesn't want to do things he is required to do by law, he starts by saying he doesn't understand your question, and responds with a series of complex and difficult to follow questions of his own - meant to delay and frustrate.
How difficult could the public records request be for Tom Carroll, when the document requested was called by the very name he gave it?
Download budget_request_emails.pdf
A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. ~ 9 Writings of James Madison 103 (G. Hunt ed. 1910)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A Budget for All to See
by Paul Elliott
As a member of the city's finance committee, I get to be one of the first to see the proposed budget for the upcoming year, 2008. The committee will look over what the city manager has brought forth, based on departmental requests, short and long range goals by council, normal city maintenance (road repair, water line replacement, etc), big capital expenditures (a new public works building), administrative updates (new computers, copiers, hard & software systems), and of course salary increases for all.
Needless to say, all the spread sheets, charts and line items makes perfect sense and are rationalized into "budgetary needs". So why do I feel there's little attention paid to spending tax dollars on the folks that actually provide these tax dollars in the first place? I do believe we "get our tax dollars back" with filled potholes, excellent police and fire protection, leaf and snow removal, flowers in the bridge boxes, and more. And maybe it's just me, but when I look at the long list of expenditures planned for 2008, I see a lot of "their wish list", and not much for the ordinary George and Martha taxpayer.
So I'm going to suggest that the proposed 2008 budget be online on the city's website for all to see. You'll be able to make up your own mind if there's anything in it "for you", besides the necessary functionings of a small town government. With the recent rejection of a 20% income tax increase, maybe we all will look at how our tax dollars are being spent with much more scrutiny and an eye towards wiser spending. Just maybe with a little fiscal belt tightening and more discretion, the city just might be able to achieve some of your goals, recreation and otherwise.
Paul Elliott, member
Loveland City Council
LOVELAND, OHIO – Budget wrestled from City Hall
by David Miller
It took some serious arm wrestling over what should have been a simple request for a public document, but Loveland Magazine today finally obtained some of the City's 2008 Budget document. It is one day short of one week, since the public records request began, even though State of Ohio policy says concerning municipalities, “Routine requests for records should be satisfied immediately if feasible to do so. Routine requests include, but are not limited to, meeting minutes (both in draft and final form), budgets, salary information, forms and applications, personnel rosters, etc.”
There may be many other documents, presumably spread sheets, that are still being withheld. It is not clear at press time whether all of the Budget documents have been provided.
In a process that should require no more than attaching documents to an e-mail, taking only several minutes at most, the City went to the length of getting their law office involved, in keeping the budget from being published by Loveland Magazine.
Since the original request was made, the 2008 Budget has since passed out of the City Finance Committee and has been forwarded to City Council for their consideration.
Loveland Magazine's philosophy is to provide information of this nature, and not just merely comment on it and tell readers what to think. Readers, given base information, can come to their own conclusions and should not have the information filtered and interpreted for them. This after all is the 21st Century and the so-called “digital age.” We all don't need to be traversing to City Hall, during hours of their choosing, to see what is going on inside. And we no longer should have to rely on someone else to tell us - we should, in the digital age, be able to see through the walls using our computers. The City provides very little of this type of information on their (or should I say OUR) web site.
This week and last, the City Administration spend many hours of staff time and legal fees attempting to thwart Loveland Magazine from providing this information to you, the tax payers. These documents do not belong to City Hall. City Hall is merely the custodian of the records, and must by state law provide these records immediately upon request.
Click here to read the document request trail, and responses from various city officials. Download budget_request_emails.pdf
Here for the first time, published in digital form outside the wall of City Hall (and without comment about the spending habits of city officials from Loveland Magazine) is the city's proposed budget:
Download 2007_vehicle_listingfire.pdf
Download 2007_vehicle_listingpolice.pdf
Download 2007_vehicle_listingpublic_works.pdf
Download 2008_budget_message.pdf
Download vehicle_equipment_debt.pdf
Download 20082012_cipcmo_fi_it.pdf
Download 20082012_cipfire_department.pdf
Download 20082012_cipmaster_summary.pdf
Download 20082012_cippolice.pdf
Download 20082012_cippublic_works.pdf
Download 20082012_ciprecreation.pdf
Download 20082012_cipstormwater.pdf
Download 20082012_cipstreet_maintenance.pdf
Download 20082012_cipwater.pdf
Download debt_61807_2008_2.pdf
Download division_narrative_performance_measures_102207.pdf
Download financial_hist_102507.pdf
Download ivestments_10_26_2007_2.pdf
Download ivestments_10_26_2007.pdf
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
LOVELAND, OHIO - "THE LIVING NATIVITY"
Saturday December 1st & Sunday December 2nd - 4:30 - 7:30 p.m.
LOVELAND, OHIO - The Deerfield and Loveland United Methodist Churches invite you, along with your friends and family, to join them for "The Living Nativity" - a presentation through drama and song of the account of the birth of Jesus, according to the gospels of Luke and Matthew.
When you arrive you will be received by parking lot attendants who will direct you to a greeting by the Bethlehem Singers . A hospitality team will then guide you past Roman Guards and introduce you to your tour guide, Luke.
You will witness the following events along the way:
- The Angel's promise of the birth of John to Zechariah
- Angel Gabriel's promise of the birth of Jesus to Mary
- An Angel's appearance to Joseph
- Mary's visit with Elizabeth
- The Gathering of Shepherds
- The Market Place & The Inn
- Prophecies are Recalled
- An Angel and the Heavenly Host Appear to the Shepherds
- The Living Nativity
- The Live Animals
- The 3 Wise Men's Cabana
Following your tour, you will enjoy special music that is being prepared for you.
There will be time to visit with the live animals.
There will be hot chocolate and Christmas cookies ready for your enjoyment.
Free
Loveland United Methodist Church
10975 S. Lebanon Rd.
Loveland, OH 45140
683.1738
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