Local News

After more than 10 years of service to the Westlake City School District, Andrea Rocco informed Superintendent Dr. Daniel J. Keenan Jr. that she will step down from her Board of Education seat.

Rocco has joined the Cuyahoga County administration as special counsel to County Executive Ed FitzGerald.

Rocco was appointed to the Board in 2001 to fill a vacant seat. She won election to a four-year term in November 2001 and was named VP of the Board in 2002 and 2005. She served as president in 2008 and 2009.

After notifying the district she intended to resign, Rocco was asked by superintendent, Dr. Daniel Keenan if there was any way she could extend her time on the Board.  Keenan asked she consider working through the current phase of construction to get the building pads completed and for budget planning for the 2012-13 school year, anticipating a mid-biennial budget proposal from the governor.

Former Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz entertained a full audience on a recent cold, windy evening at Westlake’s Church of the Redeemer United Church of Christ. The Jan. 17 event was hosted by the Westside Democrats and the Westlake Democratic Club. Jeanne Long, secretary of the Westside Dems, organized the talk, and her husband and president of the Westlake club, Vern Long, filled the emcee role.

Schultz is a nationally-syndicated columnist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and several other journalistic awards, former feature writer for the Plain Dealer and author of two books. A resident of Avon, she is married to U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, has four grown children and one grandchild.

On Jan. 10, Westlake held its 11th annual Westlake Magazine reception at Westlake City Hall. The reception was the City’s opportunity to thank the magazine and the businesses that advertised in them. 

“Once a year, the city has the opportunity to showcase the community while at the same time, provide a valuable resource to residents and visitors,” said Mayor Dennis Clough. “The value of this publication is demonstrated by its publication for the past 11 years.” 

Westlake Magazine is mailed to all businesses and residents in Westlake at no charge to the residents or City by Great Lakes Publishing. The mailing is made possible by the advertisers who support the magazine, without them, the magazine wouldn’t be the resource that it is.

Farah Sayed of Westlake was the American Chemical Society’s National Chemistry Week poetry contest winner for the Cleveland area in the grades 3-5 category. Sayed is a fourth-grade student at Birchwood School in Cleveland. Sayed’s poem, "The Cabinet of Cures," was sent on for competition at the national level.

National Chemistry Week is a community-based annual event that unites ACS local regions, businesses, schools and individuals in communicating the importance of chemistry to our quality of life. The theme for 2011 was, “Chemistry – Our Health, Our future!” 

Barbara Harrell has been selected as the Bay Village citizen of the year for 2012, and the renovation of BAYarts' Fuller House has been selected the project of the year.

Both will be honored at a reception to be held Sunday, March 4, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fuller House. The event is sponsored by the Bay Village Community Council, whose members made the selections.

Harrell was selected for her service to the community as a director of the Village Food Project.

In 2009 and 2010, Harrell started, planned and implemented the Village Food Project, which provides healthy in-home meals to Bay Village families in a cancer crisis. She has rallied high schoolers, school administrators, adult cooks, shoppers and drivers to make this program a reality.

On a beautiful December afternoon, local Boy Scout Troop 77 from St. Ladislas Catholic Church honored the following young men as they earned the elite rank of Eagle: Brian Anstead, Chris Stone and James Wagner.   

The Boy Scout Court of Honor included recognition from local political leaders such as State Senator Tom Patton, State Representative Nan Baker and Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough. Communications from national leaders included Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and a special letter from President Obama. 

At their holiday luncheon on Dec. 22, 2011, the Westlake Garden Club installed new officers for 2012. Longtime member Alberta Ricciardi presided over the installation ceremony at Viva Fernando. Marie McCarthy, treasurer, and Jean Smith, 2nd vice president, will be serving their second year. 

Incoming officers are: Regina McCarthy, president; Nancy Chopp and Bill Hock, co-1st vice president; Sally Knurek, recording secretary; and Ruth Bertrand and Claire Evangelista, co-corresponding secretary. Incoming president Regina McCarthy stated, “Increased recognition of our club in the Westlake community is one of my goals. Residents should want to be a part of our club because they know who we are and what we do.”

The Board of Directors at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center has elected officers to provide leadership and support for the Bay Village nonprofit organization in 2012. Colleen Lowmiller, a senior actuarial consultant at Findley Davies Inc., has been appointed as president of the Board after serving two terms as vice president since joining the Board in 2009.

Lowmiller will guide the Board of Directors in fulfilling their duties to govern and support the Center. “It is great that I can spend my volunteer time with an organization that also fits with what my family loves,” says Lowmiller, who regularly takes part in the Center’s educational programs with her daughter.  “I believe technology, which broadens many horizons, can begin to separate us and our children from others and from nature. The Center provides those natural connections that are missing for many people, and by pausing and connecting with nature, they can also learn to keep the personal connections with others that will continue to be important in their future.”

The Cleveland Division of Water released a detailed evaluation of the recently proposed Westlake water system. This analysis revealed several operational, system and financial inadequacies inherent in the proposed Westlake water system and demonstrates that an independent Westlake water system would increase the cost of water for Westlake residents and businesses.

“We began our review of the report prepared by HNTB for the City of Westlake by trying to understand what impact Westlake’s departure would have on other communities in the CWD system. Very quickly, we realized the negative impact to other customers and communities was quite large,” said Darnell Brown, Chief Operating Officer for the City of Cleveland. “Our number one responsibility is to maintain the high level of water delivery to all our communities.”

St. John Medical Center has appointed William A. Young Jr. as president and CEO, replacing Cliff Coker, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Young will begin his new role by Dec. 31, 2011. The announcement was made by Ronald W. Dees, chairman of the Board of Directors for St. John Medical Center, which is co-owned by the Sisters of Charity Health System and University Hospitals.

As president and CEO, Young will oversee the daily operations and lead the medical center’s growth and service expansion plans as it continues to meet the needs of the west side community. Specifically, he will manage the medical center’s five-year, $100-million strategic plan, which includes hospital renovations and adding specialty services and programs.

Evan Thomas Chmielewski, Michael Gerber and Robert Austin Bonnett, all of Bay Village, recently earned their Eagle Scout rank, and their achievement was recognized by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who sent an official letter of congratulations to the young men.

“Evan, Michael, Robert, and their teachers and families should be proud of this noteworthy accomplishment," Sen. Brown said. "Earning the rank of Eagle Scout means they have displayed the ambition and resolve needed to earn the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank. They exemplify the skills needed to lead in the 21st century. From one Scout to another, I am proud of their leadership, and I am confident that these young men will enjoy great success in achieving their future goals.”

Bay Middle School cheerleaders will hold a Mini-Cheer Camp for young children ages five and up (children must be a registered student in Bay schools or St. Raphael School) to benefit Relay for Life 2012. 

The camp will be held on Saturday, Jan. 7, from 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Westerly School in Bay Village. For $50, participants will receive a camp T-shirt, pom-poms, lunch, snacks, and will learn cheers, chants and a dance routine. The camp participants will perform what they learned at halftime of the Bay High School boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m.

Love a mystery? Love detective novels? Join the CWRU group at Bay Village Library for our upcoming session titled “The Detective Novel from Page to Screen.” Enjoy an interactive experience with lively discussion guided by our leader/teacher Terry Meehan as we explore the film world’s transformation of three books into movies.

A trio of major American detective novels were made into classic 1940s films by three of our greatest filmmakers. One week will be a lively discussion of the literary value of the book, the next will be a screening of the film, followed by a study of how the filmmaker transforms the book’s ideas and characters into cinema.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections must employ nearly 6,000 poll workers to serve at the polls on Election Day and is currently hiring for the March 6, 2012, primary election. 

Poll workers provide an important service for the community and work on the front lines of the democratic process. Poll workers earn $172.10 for their service and must complete training prior to working on Election Day.

The Village Foundation announced recent changes in the Board of Trustees. Trustee Al Paulus (Ernst & Young) was elected to serve as Vice President. Mr. Paulus is replacing Charles Kennedy who has taken over as Chair of the Development Committee. In other actions, Steven Lee, attorney in private practice; Ellie Bricmont, nonprofit consultant; and Laura Keck, CPA, Cohen & Company, were elected to the Board of Trustees as treasurer. Ms. Keck is replacing Thomas Bechtel; who served for six years.

Named to the new position of Honorary Advisor were Clinton Keener (Education); Richard Mayer (Environment) and Thomas Bechtel (Finance).

The Westshore Enforcement Bureau (WEB) gratefully acknowledges all the officers who worked on Saturday, Oct. 29, for the success of the DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  Thanks to the police officers of the Westshore communities, lay volunteers, and the citizens of all six western suburbs, 933 lbs. of outdated and unwanted medications were collected for safe disposal. 

Maggie Rader, a Westlake resident, has received the most prestigious honor one can from Mary Kay, the famous pink Cadillac! This honor is considered one of the company’s most prestigious awards for the industry’s top business associates. A feat in itself, Rader’s sales unit as a whole has received eight of the coveted pink Cadillacs to date.

It didn't take a sleuth to deduce that the Bay Village community would come out to support The Village Food Project's 2011 fundraiser at Huntington Playhouse. An estimated 170 people enjoyed a special performance of "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" on Oct. 23.

Appetizers, including samples of delicious Village Food Project recipes, and beverages were served following the play. There was even a surprise appearance by Bay High School principal (and good sport) Jason Martin dressed as an artichoke.

There are over 50 farmers markets in Northeast Ohio. It’s been reported that by increasing the amount of food we eat locally from the current 2% to around 25%, we can create more than 27,000 jobs, add $4.2 billion to the economy, and contribute $125 million in taxes. Impressive, right? But how can these statistics ever translate into an even slightly meaningful reality?

You may have heard that we “vote with our wallets.” It is also true that like almost any other kind, wallet-voting is much more difficult with incomplete or misleading information. It seems the most unsettling part of the “election” comes when you commit to making an informed decision. Can you trust the picture on the front of the box? Can you identify any ingredients on the back of the box? How long has that been in a box?! It is now time to give up and risk feeling guilty later, or continue to face the consumer anxiety head-on. Unfortunately there are so many ways to vote “wisely” that trying to do them simultaneously and consistently eventually becomes unwise.

Head to Coleone’s Pizza & Subs on Friday, Nov. 4, from noon-8 p.m. and help raise money for Youth Challenge (YC).  Just mention “Youth Challenge” before ordering and YC earns 25%. Order anything off the menu and dine-in, pick it up or have it delivered.

What changes in behavior should parents look for that may point to drug and alcohol abuse in teens? An informative session was held at Bay Middle School on Oct. 6 to educate parents about the signs and risk factors of adolescent drug use.
A panel of police, school administrators and Bay Family Services were on hand to answer questions and cite examples of solutions for parents if they suspect their teen is experimenting with drugs or alcohol. Those attending received a resource booklet to keep handy with checklists for risk factors, signs of behavior changes and local resources to help parents when faced with teen drug and alcohol abuse.

 The Friends of the Bay Village Kennel, a group of residents who formed over a year ago to promote a new city kennel, presented two petitions to Bay City Council at its Oct. 3 meeting. The nearly 2,500 signatures on the internet petitions came from all over the world, opposing the city’s decision to outsource animal care and control to the Cuyahoga County animal shelter.

More than 130 golfers enjoyed a beautiful day at the eighth annual Scott & Julie Mawaka Charitable Foundation Golf Outing on Sept. 22 at the Shaker Heights Country Club.

Fleet Response and Enterprise Rent-A-Car provided major sponsorships. Local and national organizations, friends and families made additional monetary and in-kind donations.

State Representative Nan Baker has announced that the State Controlling Board released $1 million to the City of Westlake for costs associated with the completion of public roadwork improvements in support of American Greetings Corporation retention project.

According to documents from the Office of Budget and Management, as a result of the project and state assistance provided, American Greetings will retain 1,750 at-risk, full-time jobs.

You are invited to a wedding of historic proportions.

An exhibit of wedding dresses and trousseaus spanning the years 1880 to 1990 is on display at Rose Hill Museum in Bay Village, now through the Christmas holidays.

Much of the collection, owned by the Bay Village Historical Society, is being displayed for the very first time, according to exhibit designer Janet Zvara. “This special exhibit is my gift to the Rose Hill Museum’s many guests, and my way of giving back to my community,” she said. Zvara has designed the museum’s exhibits over the past 15 years.

The spotlight may be on the Hollywood actors and production crew that have taken over downtown Cleveland to film “The Avengers,” but a couple of Westlake folks have made their mark as well.

Mel Maurer was recently cast as an extra in the film, after passing by the set on his way to meet a friend. He stopped at the check-in table and was given a role as a guest at a cocktail party. The Westlake resident was matched with a “wife” – another extra – for the scene set inside a German museum. All told, the experience lasted roughly 13 hours, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, and wrapping up at 5:30 a.m. the next morning.

“Really next experience but next time I want my own trailer,” Maurer joked.

While Maurer was posing in front of the cameras, Kathy Schriner was busy behind the scenes. The owner of Kathy’s Kolacke and Pastry Shop on Detroit Road in Westlake was contacted by a publicist for the movie, who wanted to give a taste of Cleveland to the cast and crew.

This is a story of a garbage can that tried to make an escape, but was captured and returned to duty.

Lakewood provides nice, big garbage cans on wheels, the same as Bay Village. When Bay Village resident Eric Eakin went to his Lakewood boat dock the day after a huge storm had rolled through the region, the garbage can was gone. It probably was blown into Clifton Lagoon, he thought, and gone forever.

The Belvedere of Westlake, the original assisted living host family, was recognized for their generosity, along with other host families, by the Lake Erie Crushers on August 31 for opening their homes to the players for a season.

The Belvedere owner Cindy Griffiths-Novak, her husband Steve and children Ellee and Zach have been a host family for a Crushers player since the team started playing ball in All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon back in 2009.

The evening started with a cookout, then the host families walked on to the field with their player to be honored with flowers for the host moms and an autographed baseball signed by the entire team. They then rooted on the Crushers, and their player, starting catcher Joel Collins, as the Crushers rallied in the seventh inning to beat the Washington Wild Things 3-2.

The Bay Alumni Foundation will recognize the contributions of three individuals during the annual Homecoming celebrations. Hall of Fame awards will be presented to Distinguished Educator Charles “Chuck” Millheim and Distinguished Alumni Samuel M. “Pete” Purvis III and Carole Cooney Noon.

The Distinguished Educator Hall of Fame Award was established in 1991 to honor those teachers and/or staff who have made outstanding contributions to education in Bay Village Schools and who exemplify excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.

Chuck Millheim taught in the Bay Village Schools from 1965-1994, serving as as a role model for students and staff as an English teacher, English Department Head, and peer leader. He was an advisor for the Bay High yearbook, the literary magazine “Signatures” and the student newspaper “The Bay Window,” and was also Band Booster President, Language Arts Committee Chair. He also was held in high regard as an excellent Theatre Stage Crew Advisor for 12 years.

Most gardeners have an ongoing list: weed, water and dead-head. Simple enough for one garden, but imagine checking off that list for 219 gardens which do not even belong to you.

Nancy Kunkle, Westlake city gardener extraordinaire, is tasked with that job from May to September. For sixteen years, she has tended the Hilliard Boulevard gardens with the care that only a true lover of flowers would take.

Back in 1994 when she was raising two children, working at one full-time and one part-time job, she noticed that rain alone was not enough to keep the flowers on the boulevard looking their best. "I would see these boxes, some of them were taken care of, but most of them weren't," Nancy recalled.

Sea Scout Ship 41 of Bay Village has again taken up the Interlux Waterfront Challenge. Interlux is an international yacht paint company, a division of AkzoNobel Corporation with U.S. headquarters in Strongsville. Interlux is offering grants up to $20,000 for the best waterfront environmental improvement.

Prompted by the fact that one gallon of oil can pollute over one million gallons of drinking water, the Sea Scouts have focused their Interlux Waterfront Challenge project on marina oil recycling stations. Their research has found that most local marinas are exposing themselves to costly Ohio EPA fines.

This summer, Peter Cooper, an enterprising 12-year-old, shared his passion for chess with 16 children ranging from five to nine years old. Over the course of seven weeks, meeting once a week for a one-hour lesson, Peter taught all 16 children how to play chess and culminated the weeks of effort with a chess tournament  on Tuesday, August 9, at the Bay Village Branch Library. The final first-place winners were Olivia Reed in the Advanced Category and Josh Dwyer in the Beginner’s Category.

The City of Westlake, in its continued efforts to achieve and promote clean waterways, installed a catch basin filter at its Service Facility on August 8. The Ultra Urban Filter is a specially designed insert that filters hard surface run-off and removes harmful containments, specifically hydrocarbons.

Because catch basins collect rainwater from streets and parking lots that are directly connected to ditches and creeks, removal of harmful oils and sediments greatly improves water quality that eventually ends up in Lake Erie.

Bob Kelly, City Engineer, stated: “This project is only one of many objectives in the City’s plan for stormwater quality improvements.”

On Monday, August 8, the Ohio Controlling Board approved the purchase of 11 acres adjacent to the current Westshore Campus of Cuyahoga Community College for development of new classrooms and a Workforce Development Training Center.

The expansion will meet increasing demand for classes at the new Westshore location while alleviating crowded conditions at the college’s Western Campus in Parma, where enrollment has increased by nearly 25 percent since classes began in 2008. The new facilities will provide new workforce training opportunities and allow Corporate College West, which is being temporarily used as classroom space, to return to its original mission of corporate training and professional development.

Gardeners from across Westlake gathered August 4 for the tenth annual Volunteers in Bloom Appreciation Reception and Awards Ceremony at LaCentre. The event recognizes residents and businesses that participate in Westlake in Bloom contest by adopting Hilliard Boulevard flower boxes and Evergreen Cemetery fence gardens, or beautifying their properties with flowers and plants.

The city also presented several awards of distinction.

Judges from the Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County visited each garden entry in mid-July, grading on four criteria: overall effect of garden design, overall quality of plant materials, originality and maintenance. Ninety points out of a possible 100 were required for a first-place award.

The team from Western Enterprises won first place in the annual Westlake Corporate Challenge. This was the company’s third time competing in the challenge, also taking first place in 2007 and third place in 2008.

As part of the four-day challenge, teams from six local businesses and the city of Westlake competed in various events, including dodgeball, volleyball and cardboard boat races. There was also a pie-baking contest – judged by Westlake’s own Michael and Cal Reghi, Lysa Stanton and Dave Greenspan – which Western Electric won with Kathy Sokol’s peanut butter pie.

A personal perspective of the 2011 Cleveland Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

It turned out to be the most grueling experience of my life, but also the most amazing and life changing.

At 6 a.m. on Friday, July 29, I joined my two “Nice Tomatoes” teammates – Gina Borovica from Brecksville and Nanci Huff from Seven Hills – and more than 900 other walkers at the Cleveland Port Authority, and prayed it wouldn’t rain. The opening ceremony of the 2011 Cleveland Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure was so exhilarating and inspiring that not even the ominous clouds overhead could dampen our resolve to walk the 22.5 miles required on Day 1 of the three-day, 60-mile route. 

Shortly after 8 a.m., as we made our way into the first pit stop outside Progressive Field, it was pouring rain. Who knew that would be the defining moment of the weekend? If it hadn’t been for the rain, my 3-Day for the Cure experience would never have been as fulfilling.

On Saturday, July 23, the Bay Village Historical Society hosted the Bay High School Class of 1961, during their 50th class reunion with a tour of Bay Village and a visit to Rose Hill Museum and the Osborn Learning Center.
 
The society was contacted by a member of the planning committee suggesting we offer a tour of historic Bay Village as an afternoon activity for the class reunion. The society agreed to present last year's bicentennial bus tour and open the museums at the same time. Society President Carole Roske, Trustee Arlene Karnatz, and myself were in charge of the day.

When I graduated from North Olmsted High School in 1981, thoughts of the Safety Town program I attended back in the late 60s were far from my mind. That is until my husband, Reginald, and I, along with our then four-year-old son, Gavin, came back to Ohio from our home in Las Vegas for a visit last year. 

As we were removing items from our rental car to take into the home of a relative we were visiting in Lakewood, Gavin slipped out of the car, and crossed the street where we were parked. Reg and I were in a state of panic to see him across the street on a tree lawn, not knowing how he got over there, whether he looked both ways or if any traffic had been present. 

I shouted to my son, who then seemed startled. I feared he would again try and cross the street back to us, so I dashed into the street – into the path an oncoming but slow moving truck. The truck driver saw me and stopped, and I was able to get safely over to Gavin.

Shaken from the incident, I discussed with family members ways to educate Gavin and make an impact so that something like this would be unlikely to occur again. My sister, Joanne, suggested enrolling Gavin in a Safety Town program. I thought that was a great idea, and began searching for a local Safety Town program upon our return home to Las Vegas.

Judging of gardens entered in all 15 categories of the Westlake in Bloom competition will take place on July 11, 12 and 13. Once again, representatives from the Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County will judge the entries. First, second, third place and  honorable mention will be selected in all categories provided five or more properties are entered. 

Every Hilliard Boulevard flower box will be entered automatically in the judging. Back again for the Bicentennial year are the Evergreen Cemetery Memorial Fence gardens, which will also be entered automatically in the judging. Everyone who enters will receive an invitation to the 2011 Volunteers in Bloom Appreciation Reception and Awards Ceremony, planned for August 4 at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility, where the winners will be announced.