Loveland Magazine

Kelly Miller Circus Photos

SYMMES TOWNSHIP, OHIO - The Loveland Arts Council brought to town the Kelly Miller Circus on Friday. (Continue to view 23 more photos)

 

State News

IRS tries to avoid tax-time shocker.

To help retirees avoid a rude surprise at tax time next year, the IRS is changing the rules for federal tax withholding on pension plans.

The agency also announced yesterday that it is launching a campaign to inform all taxpayers who might face a higher tax bill in 2010 as a consequence of an income-tax cut that was part of the federal stimulus package passed in February.

The IRS is encouraging taxpayers, especially married couples with two incomes and individuals with multiple jobs, to check their withholding to ensure it is appropriate for their circumstances.

Lawmakers call for FDA regulation of tobacco mints

A tobacco-packed mint being test-marketed in Ohio is firing up congressional calls for tobacco-industry regulation.

Joe Camel's inventors are selling Camel Orbs in Columbus and several other test markets. Made of ground tobacco, they're the size of small breath mints and are packaged in metal tins that look like mint containers. They dissolve in the mouth, like candy, but pack a nicotine punch.

Tobacco companies say Orbs and other newly introduced tobacco products are sold only to adults, contain health warnings and are designed for use in places where cigarette smoke -- or the spitting associated with chewing tobacco -- would be unwelcome.

Kings Firecrackers Video at Army Navy Game

FREE COMMUNITY SHRED DAY

Shred It, Then Forget It

CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO - Don’t be a victim of identity theft; shred documents you don’t need that contain sensitive information, like your Social Security number, date of birth, or bank account numbers.  “Every year our office investigates over 50 complaints of identity theft,” said Clermont Sheriff’s Office investigator Matt Farmer.  “There are people among us that are always digging through trash and burglarizing homes in search of such information.  They can do a lot of damage to you financially in a very short time.”  With that in mind, the Clermont County Records Center, in cooperation with Cintas Document Management, will hold a free community shred day on Saturday, May 30.  The event will be held between 9 AM and 1:30 PM in the parking lot of the Medical Social Services Building, located at 2400 Clermont Center Drive in Batavia Township.

“We invite citizens and local businesses to bring the documents they want to dispose of safely and then watch as those items are pulverized,” said Barb Brown, manager of the Clermont County Records Center.  “Our goal is to demonstrate the importance of destroying old information that is no longer needed, so that it does not wind up in the wrong hands.”

The Clermont County Records Center provides offsite storage to over 37 county offices and agencies, storing thousands of boxes of information each year, and shredding thousands of others that are no longer needed.  “We make sure that sensitive information that is collected by county offices is destroyed when it is no longer needed and cannot be utilized by others,” said Brown.

“It’s amazing what people will do to obtain this information,” said Detective Farmer.  “We’ve had cases where they dig through the trash of homes and businesses, and where burglaries were for the sole purpose of stealing personal information.  I recommend shredding those unwanted credit card offers you get in the mail immediately, along with old records to make sure you don’t become a victim of identity theft.”

Safety Fair Canceled

MIAMI TOWNSHIP, OHIO — Township officials have canceled their annual Safety Fair on Saturday, May 16 due to the possibility of bad weather. "Forecasters predict heavy thunderstorms throughout the day," said Police Chief Steve Bailey. The event will not be rescheduled. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Complete list of Summer Training for Loveland Athletes

A complete guide to Loveland Athletes' Summer Planning is now on the School District's web site  Read on...

City Committee to Meet in CyberSpace

You are not invited to attend

The brilliant idea to have a public meeting in a small, noisy, crowded coffee shop, inaccessible to the handicapped, AT 7:30 IN THE MORNING, appears to have been nixed, because even the coffee makers don't get up that early.

The meeting was moved to City Hall (still at 7:30 AM), because the shop doesn't open until 8.

However, plans to meet at an undisclosed location and time in cyberspace, are going forward.

I have been trying to keep track of the progress of a new City of Loveland Committee. It used to be called the Loveland Initiative Ad Hoc Committee. I sent an inquiry to the Clerk of Council on February 9, requesting to be notified when the Committee was to meet. The Loveland Code of Ordinances has provisions outlined so the public and news media can get advance notice of City meetings. That effort failed. However,  Council Member Mark Fitzgerald has kept me abreast of the meetings, and made sure I knew about the first Committee meeting that took place last Thursday evening at City Hall.

One bone of contention in keeping up with this Committee was that the name recently changed to Ad Hoc Resource Committee. At least two council members, Fitzgerald, and Paul Elliott, who voted to establish the Committee, were never told of the name change. When I asked them, “There is a meeting date for an Ad Hoc Resource Committee, have you ever heard of it?” They both said “No” and had no idea what it was until a little brainstorming later, finally brought up the suggestion that it might be the committee they voted to establish.

This Committee was to impose new restrictions on the Loveland Initiative if they were going to receive additional Federal Community Block Grant money. Council Member Brent Zuck also said he was going to form the committee to help the Loveland Initiative better manage their affairs. When the Loveland Initiative then turned down additional Federal money, the Mayor was in no mood to even go forward with the Committee until Fitzgerald convinced his fellow council members that it could be used instead to come up with guidelines for any non-profit in town to apply for local tax dollars.

On Thursday, the committee was given a “Draft” document titled, Application Guidelines for Grants and In-kind Support.” The committee's first work was to review the document, make any changes they felt necessary, and then pass it along to City Council. Most of the meeting time however, was taken up by discussing the Loveland Initiative, which meant that when they finally got around to looking at the Draft - it had gotten pretty late.

That's when the meeting got pretty interesting for me because as I said, I have had quite a time trying to find out when this Committee meets. This included making trips to City Hall and finding notes on the door saying the meeting was canceled, and the City web site calendar being consistently wrong. Fitzgerald, at last night's Council meeting, expressed much dismay that decisions about when the meetings were going to be held, had been made over a weekend, not giving enough time for the public to be notified. To go through so many hoops trying to find out when this Committee was meeting has been frustrating, but not being informed that the meeting was canceled until I showed up - is infuriating.

Since the hour was getting late last Thursday, it was suggested that the Committee could set up a Google Group and meet in cyberspace to discuss the Draft. Paulette Leeper who came up with the novel idea said, “We can turn the draft into a Google Doc, and we won't even have to meet, because we can do it in real time – even, one (o'clock) in the morning.” E-mail address were then given to Leeper so that she could go home that evening and get the whole thing under way.

Next, the committee decided that they would need a face-to-face meeting to finalize the document. After some wrangling back and forth trying to figure out a time and date, it was suggested to set a "date for breakfast." Leeper even suggested they could meet at First Watch in Symmes Township. In the end, they decided to meet in a Loveland coffee shop at 7:30, the morning of May 14.

At last night's council meeting, the early morning time was decried by Fitzgerald and especially, Elliott, who said that meeting times should not be set for the "convenience of the Committee." He said, “It is the public's business they are conducting.”

Council Member Todd Osborne said that since only one member of the public had attended the Thursday meeting, he had no concern over the inconvenience of the time or place. He said as far as he was concerned they could meet earlier than 7:30 AM, and “meet at McDonald's" if they wanted.

One of the reasons cited by Leeper for not being able to attend a particular evening meeting date was that she didn't want to give up her yoga class.

Each resident of Loveland has a right to see how government does its business. We have a right to witness the decisions being made, including which official is pushing a particular idea, or which one is opposing the idea. The Open Meetings Act “requires public bodies in Ohio to conduct all official business in open meetings that the public may attend and observe.”

Otto von Bismarck said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”

But, for those of us who do want to know what was put into the sausage - to know what City Hall is feeding us, we have a right to know who, and to what extent a particular person on this committee is influencing the product of its work.

Or. might a particular person be adding secret spices to the recipe because they know in the end, they themselves, will be sitting down feasting at the pork barrel?

Loveland Magazine, under the Ohio Records and Open Meetings law has formally requested that all of the records, cyber discussions, “chats”, etc., be preserved. Also, a request for access to the “Google Group” has been made. Also, a formal request has been made to be “informed of dates and times when the Ad Hoc Resource Committee meets (either as a whole or in parts) in an on-line cyberspace chat room.”

OK, if you who have a computer and have access to the Google Group, you can witness the cyber meetings if their meeting dates are published. But since most of their first meeting was spent discussing the poor and unemployed, basic questions can be legitimately asked. Elliott points out. “What if you don't have a computer?” Is this truly a public and open meeting? Just like one might expect that a person in a wheelchair has a right to have meetings in a place they can get their wheelchair into, do people without personal computers or Internet access have a right to attend cyber meetings? Do they go to the library where access isn't always guaranteed? Will the cyber meetings be held only when the Library is open? I do expect that the City will follow the law and give the public the required 24 hour notice of the cyber meetings, but will they really start at 1 AM?

Is Leeper being singled out here. Well yes. As Executive Director of the Loveland Area Chamber of Commerce, she has a lot to lose or profit. The Chamber has over the years received more tax dollars than any local group. Will she keep the Chamber business out of the discussion? Well, from the first meeting's discussion, she won't. She defended the Chamber getting tax dollars by saying they only sell services to the City. She is also participating in discussions of how to make sure that “Loveland's Amazing Race” remains eligible for City tax dollars. Again, the Chamber is a recipient of proceeds from the Amazing Race.

I believe some appointed to this committee were attending their first City meeting of any kind, and for sure have never been appointed to a committee before. They don't appear to have any personal interest in the outcome, other than to have served the community as a whole. They should be totally excused for lack of knowledge of how a City Committee must operate. Perhaps they will grow in concern and appreciation of the public's right to be informed of meeting dates, and make better public accommodations. However, Leeper, as a former council member, should very well know the Open Meeting law. In fact, Leeper admonished the Committee members to be careful what they write in e-mails because, "They are public records." Also, sitting as an adviser to the Committee was Assistant City Manager Jeff Wright, who remained silent regarding open meetings and accommodating the public.

The Ohio Public Records Act says that public records are the peoples records, and public meetings are the people's meetings. Open-meeting laws insist that public bodies act  and conduct all deliberations in full public view. Actions taken while that Committee is in violation of the Open Meetings Act are invalid.

On the web site of firstamendmentcenter.org, Attorney Douglas Lee writes:

Paul McMasters, former First Amendment ombudsman for the Freedom Forum says, “What is evolving as a growing concern are virtual meetings. Obviously, e-mail is at the front of that. But it also involves specialized mail lists, chat rooms (which are often closed discussion groups), instant messaging and video conferencing — all of which if abused can really trample on the public’s right to know both from a public-meetings and a public-records viewpoint.”

“If we truly believe in participatory democracy, we have to stick to the principle that ordinary citizens must be full partners in their own government,” McMasters says. “If they are shut out from deliberations by elected officials, their partnership is not just diminished, it is dissolved."

Shmoop, A Place to Entertain your Brain

We recently discovered Shmoop, which is chock full of fun, refreshing, plain-spoken study guides & teacher resources.

Shmoop wants to make you a better lover (of literature, history, poetry and writing). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.

Our mission: To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age.

Fan Mail. You Make Us Blush

"It's cool how you combine an engaging and accessible voice with really really impressive literary analyses."

"I absolutely LOVE this website! I am currently home-schooling myself and it is kind of hard to understand some things without somebody leading me in the right direction but with Shmoop it really helped me out a lot."

"I love the attitude of the writing and the website itself. Learning should never be boring and the passion for the subjects really shines in the relaxed feeling of the site."

 "As a teacher constantly trying to come up with ideas...this hits home! I will be sharing this information with my students and coworkers so all can learn and grow! Thank you sooo much!"

 "I think Shmoop is a great concept, and it is exponentially better than [ed: Website name deleted to protect the innocent], which deter kids from studying, as opposed to Shmoop which helps encourage it more."

 "I've been using Shmoop to study for my AP American history tests, and it is so helpful! The "Why Should I Care" section is really cool. I don't remember ever seeing an equivalent to that on any other website, and it gives context for the information that follows."

FAVC Tennis Champions

The Loveland High School Tennis team (16-2, 5-0) won its second consecutive Buckeye Division FAVC league title. The Tigers won all but the 2nd Doubles title.

The photo above was taken at the Coaches Tournament where Chris and Austin Stahl won 3rd place at first doubles, and Andy Jarc along with Ian Streicker took 3rd place honors in the A flight of the tournament, playing 2nd doubles. 

Head Coach Jeff Berkoff said, "Loveland is currently ranked number 4 in the city in Division 1 tennis."

Loveland Initiative meets Thursday

LOVELAND, OHIO - The Loveland Initiative will meet this Thursday evening, May 14  at 7:30 PM. The location is:

The Loveland Initiative
405 Loveland Madeira Road 45140
 683-3111
Download The Loveland Initiative Meeting Agenda 5-14-09

Building Relationships, Growing Together    

 In partnership with schools; local business; associations; and places of worship, the Initiative works toward systemic change by collaborating with community organizations; coordinating community resources and empowering residents to take charge of their lives.

The Loveland Initiative (formerly known as the Loveland Shalom Initiative) is a 501C3 organization consisting of residents of local subsidized housing and members of the community. The Initiative was founded in 1996 by the residents in order to organize and achieve better lives for their children and themselves. It has been in existence 13 years.

Our mission is to educate and assist low-income children and their families. We do this by joining with residents who dedicate their talents and assets in conjunction with the larger community to facilitate activities, programs and services for themselves. The way to break the cycle of poverty is through education.

Our goals are to provide access to critical services that will improve their education, obtain better jobs, reduce poverty and hunger, and achieve a better quality of life for their families.

The Loveland Center is located at 405 Loveland Madeira Road Loveland, Ohio 45140 (IN THE STRIP MALL ACROSS FROM GOODWILL).

The Initiative serves 200+ families living in low income housing and there are another 200+ surrounding families classify as the working poor in Loveland. These Families consist of: men and women who are disabled and the sole providers for their children, and elderly citizens, but the majorities are single parent households.

We rely on the Loveland community, local businesses; churches; organizations; stores; schools; and our local citizens; as well as our local Police & Fire departments. The Loveland community is a generous one, with all kinds of assistance and donations.

Job Opening - Sunday Garden Assistant

LOVELAND, OHIO - Granny's Gardens is seeking an adult to assist Granny in the gardens on Sundays.  It is a combination of morning and evening hours, the exact time depending on the season. Roberta Paolo said, “We do not work during the heat of the day.  Most of your time will be spent working in the flower and herb gardens.”  They are looking for someone who is able to work with and lead volunteers and can start immediately.  “Gardening knowledge is a definite plus” - however, you do not have to be an expert.

To apply, respond via email with information about yourself, your work and volunteer experience and why you are interested in this position. 

Women's Antiwar Group Code Pink Confronts Military Display on Mother's Day

A war of worldviews was waged yesterday on the Mall, as U.S. troops showing parents and children the workings of howitzers, Humvees and helicopters were confronted by women from the antiwar group Code Pink, who called the display of arms on Mother's Day "offensive."

With police trying in vain to direct the protesters away from the exhibit, part of Public Service Recognition Week, dozens of protesters unfurled a massive banner and sang its message: "We will not raise our children to kill another mother's child." Read on...

Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation - 1870

Tracing the Lineage of the New H1N1 Strain

By David Brown

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 11, 2009

Once Upon a Time there was a little flu virus. It was probably born in Kansas in late 1917 or 1918, although nobody is really sure. Its name was H1N1. It grew up to be very wicked.  Read on...

State News

Police: Athens Street Party Was 'Near-Riot'

Food next curbside pickup?

Some suburbs are contemplating adding a new category to curbside waste removal -- food scraps.

Plan would let voters OK neighborhood slots

Although Ohioans have rejected gambling in four statewide elections, a group of bar and restaurant owners is trying to sell state leaders on the merits of allowing voters to approve slot machines in their backyards.

Bill would give renters foreclosure rights

House OKs plan to let them stay 30 days; now Senate gets it

Bill Faith said he hears the stories all the time -- a renter who has paid on time and done nothing wrong is without warning tossed out of his home or apartment because it has fallen into foreclosure.

"With tenants, it's just so egregious because they are evicted sometimes with only three days notice, even through they've paid their rent on time for years," said Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.

Casino ballot language lacks deadline for building

A proposed ballot issue calls for four Las Vegas-style casinos in Ohio. But the fine print doesn't appear to require anything to be built, even if voters think that's what they'd get if they approve the plan in November.

That means the revenue projections approaching $2 billion in the first year and the promise of easy cash for the state's coffers could be a bluff, detractors say.

But casino backers say: Trust us, we will build.

Heritage Christian School senior risks suspension for going to prom

Monica Anne Achberger featured artist at Clermont College

Over thirty-five original oil paintings by Loveland artist Monica Anne Achberger will be featured along side unique sand blasted glassworks by Richard Delaney at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College Art Gallery through May 23.

UC Clermont College is at 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia.

Gallery Hours:

• M-Th 7:30 AM – 7:00 PM
• Friday 7:30 AM – 5 PM
• Sat 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
• Closed Sunday

www.MonicaAchberger.com

For more information 513-378-8778

PBS Teachers Connect

What is PBS Teachers Connect?

PBS Teachers Connect is an online community of teachers exchanging ideas, resources and instructional strategies on the integration of digital media and technology.

Your membership in PBS Teachers Connect includes:

• Exclusive Content from PBS! Be the first to see previews of new PBS programs and access teaching resources exclusive to PBS Teachers Connect members.
• Ability to Save Classroom Resources. With PBS Teachers Connect, you can save and tag classroom resources you find on PBS Teachers.
• Discussions on Media and Technology. Connect with teachers who use PBS resources – and soon, program producers and local stations – to share ideas and innovations.
• Discount at ShopPBS for Teachers. Just by signing up, you will receive a 10% discount on your next purchase at ShopPBS for Teachers.

Read on... PBS Teachers Connect - Homepage.

Glenda Neff to speak at Career Transitioning Ministry

Glenda Neff, Director of Business and Educational Outreach at UC Clermont, will speak on Training and Education Opportunities Available to Job Seekers at this week's meeting.

The Career Transitioning Ministry (CTM) offers practical, personal and spiritual support for individuals who have lost their jobs or are concerned about losing their jobs. It is open to the public, free of charge and requires no pre-registration to attend. This ministry is being offered through Epiphany United Methodist Church and River Hills Christian Church.

Meetings are held each Tuesday from 7-8:30 PM. On the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, they  meet at Epiphany UMC (6635 Loveland Miamiville Rd. The 2nd and 4th Tuesdays they meet at RHCC (6300 Price Rd.