Toledo Free Press - Nov. 30, 2005

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Bob Frantz on raising the minimum wage, page 3

The dawn of a Toledo tradition November 30, 2005

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THE IRISH SOPRANOS

From Ireland to Carnegie Hall to Toledo, Wendy, Kay and Deirdre are spreading songs of Christmas cheer, page 24

■ Finance

■ FOOD & WINE: Tips on holiday ham, leftover turkey and wines for the season, page 26

Gimme shelter Bank accounts save funds for high-deductible health care plans, page 16

■ Retail

New stores Westfield Franklin Park to unveil several new tenants, page 10

■ Culture

John Lennon remembered Library program pays tribute to popular musician, page 33

FIGHTING MAD

RAY FISHER’S DAUGHTER MISTY WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED IN 1996.

HE THOUGHT HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM WAS OVER, BUT IT MAY BE JUST BEGINNING. STORY BY MYNDI MILLIKEN, PAGE 6 Toledo Free Press photo by DM Stanfield

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OPINION

November 30, 2005

Toledo Free Press ■ 3

LIGHTING THE FUSE

A publication of Toledo Free Press, LLC Vol. 1, No. 38, Established 2005

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Thomas F. Pounds President/Publisher tpounds@toledofreepress.com Michael S. Miller Editor in Chief mmiller@toledofreepress.com Kay T. Pounds Vice President of Operations kpounds@toledofreepress.com

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Stacie L. Klewer Art Director sklewer@toledofreepress.com

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Myndi M. Milliken Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

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Barbara Goodman Shovers Contributing Editor bshovers@toledofreepress.com

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Edward Shimborske III Entertainment Editor es3@toledofreepress.com

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Adam Mahler Food/Dining Editor amahler@toledofreepress.com

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DM Stanfield Photo Editor dmstanfield@toledofreepress.com STAFF WRITERS news@toledofreepress.com Keith Bergman • Michael Brooks Scott Calhoun • Lauri Donahue John Dorsey • John Johnson Chris Kozak • Vicki Kroll Scott McKimmy • Michael Punsalan Mark Tinta • Deanna Woolf Dave Woolford • Russ Zimmer Shannon Wisbon Copy Editor Katie McCoy Graphic Designer Ryan Hufford Photographer Miranda Everitt Editorial Intern ADVERTISING SALES Renee Bergmooser rbergmooser@toledofreepress.com Casey Fischer cfischer@toledofreepress.com Lauren Parris lparris@toledofreepress.com Toledo Free Press is published every Wednesday by Toledo Free Press, LLC, 300 Madison Avenue Suite 1300, Toledo, OH 43604 www.toledofreepress.com Phone: (419) 241-1700 Fax: (419) 241-8828 Subscription rate: $52/year. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2005 with all rights reserved. Publication of advertisements does not imply endorsement of advertisers’ goods or services.

Hurricane victims seek holiday help SOUTH FLORIDA — The trees are massive, towering, with inconceivably intricate bundles of roots that once sank yards into the tropical soil. They lay on their sides, their invincibility stripped away, tossed aside like splintered baseball bats.

The neighborhoods around Miami display deep scars and wounds. Fences are bashed in, piles of debris line the streets, boarded-up holes stand where windows once framed gardens and yards.

Houses without roofs, or with gaping holes in roofs, dot the neighborhoods, some under large tarps, some left open to the elements. Fallen lights and poles line many sidewalks. The usually verdant layer of green palm tree fronds has been scrubbed away, leaving palm trees with stumps and no leaves. Buildings that have stood along the Intracoastal for decades are cracked, shaken, with walls pulled inches from ceilings and splits in marble floors.

Hurricane Wilma swallowed South Florida on Oct. 24, big enough to straddle the state with one foot in the Gulf, one foot in the Atlantic, its girth fed by the warm waters of the Everglades.

Michael S. Miller Wilma killed 35 people, destroyed tens of thousands of homes, and caused widespread power outages. Damage estimates have neared $20 billion. Some places were without electricity for three weeks. Nearly everyone needed to completely restock their refrigerators and freezers.

The late-season beast has left many South Florida residents with much bigger concerns than preparing turkeys, watching parades and choosing wrapping paper.

I lived in the Miami area for a few years and always marveled at its economic dichotomy. There are pockets of immeasurable wealth, neighboring areas of abject poverty. During a Thanksgiving visit, I heard and saw evidence of an uncharacteristic malaise that has

settled over many residents, even the “lucky” ones who have the financial resources and insurance to help them rebuild.

After seeing the damage and talking to people during my travels, it is clear the people of the area still need help and support. There are still shelters operating in parts of South Florida, but as we move further away from the disaster, and it becomes tangled in the distant past with last year’s tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, urgency is lost and many will be forgotten.

Nearly 2,000 volunteers have been deployed to support the Red Cross response in Florida following Wilma, in addition to the tens of thousands on the ground across the Gulf Coast still serving communities damaged by Katrina and Rita.

“This year’s hurricane season has presented unprecedented challenges for the Red Cross,” said spokesman Pat McCrummen. “It’s been a long and busy hurricane season, but our staff and volunteers continue to rise to the challenge daily. They know that these communities need our support.”

The next four weeks will focus us on shopping, looking for holiday gifts and planning holiday

celebrations. It’s difficult to stop and let in thoughts of suffering and need.

At the airport in Fort Lauderdale, a young man in line behind me was describing his vacation to a friend. His main line of conversation was the complaint that he had to spend so much of his week off helping his father clean up hurricane damage. He was right in the middle of the damage, and yet seemed far removed from the consequence. I can only imagine how far to the background Wilma (and Katrina and Rita) are to folks in the Midwest.

If you can spare one less string of lights or one fewer CD this holiday season, think about sending whatever you can to the Hurricane relief effort through the Red Cross (www.redcross.org) or United Way (www.unitedway.org).

The fallen trees will take decades to replace and replenish.

People do not have that kind of time to wait for help.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press.

He may be contacted at (419) 241-1700 or by e-mail at

mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

COMMON SENSE

“Y

Raising minimum wage

ou know what it means when they pay you minimum wage? It means they’re telling you, ‘If I could pay you less, I would! But it’s against the law!’ ” The words of comedian Chris Rock, who once made the least money the law would allow when he worked at McDonald’s, ring especially true for those struggling to make ends meet on Ohio’s $4.25 per hour minimum wage.

It’s a humbling feeling to be told that your very best efforts are worth only the least amount of compensation, at least in your employer’s eyes, yet it’s one that most of us have experienced at one point or another. Whether it was a part-time job in high school, or working in the summer to pay for college, or even in that first “real world” job, many of us who broke into the workforce ended up, well, broke in the work force.

Those of us who remember the tiny number in the “net” box of our pay stubs, just below the only slightly larger number in the “gross” box, can truly empathize with those who look at those little numbers today. Kind of makes us wish someone would march right into the boss’s office and demand that he raise everyone’s pay to a more reasonable, livable wage. And when someone finally does, we’ll applaud wildly. As long as that someone isn’t the government.

For nearly 15 years, the State of Ohio has refused to budge from its $4.25 minimum, making ours one of only two states to remain below the federal standard of $5.15. But next year, a group led by the Ohio AFL-CIO will attempt to do what the legislature won’t, and they’re going to the November ballot to do it.

Bob Frantz Stand in one place too long in the coming months and you’re likely to find a petition stuffed in your face, with a union member or volunteer lobbyist (being paid minimum wage, no doubt) prodding you to sign it. They’ll need 322,000 signatures to get their proposal on the ballot, one that would raise the state minimum wage to $6.85 an hour, starting in January, 2007.

They’ll barrage you with tales of poor, hard working people who can’t feed their three kids on $4.25 an hour, and they’ll tell you how the mean old corporations are conspiring to keep the working man down. They’ll tell you how the government doesn’t really care about the little man, and that they only want to line the pockets of wealthy corporate executives.

What they won’t tell you, however, is how many of the hard-working “little men” they claim to protect will be laid off when businesses are forced to increase their overhead costs through higher payrolls.

They’ll happily tell you about Joe and Pete, who will enjoy a higher quality of life on their $6.85 an hour wages, but you’ll never hear a word about Stan.

Stan, you see, will take his lunch pail to the unemployment line because the boss has a limit on how much he can spend on his workers. With three guys making $4.25 an hour, it’ll cost the boss $12.75 in labor to make and move his product. But now Joe and Pete are making $13.70 between the two of them.

Sorry, Stan. We’ve gotta let you go.

Down the street, of course, is a bigger shop, where 20 more Joes and Petes are now enjoying the bigger number on their pay stubs, and with a lot more elbow room in the shop, too. That’s because 10 more Stans are sitting at home.

And Sally at the front desk? The one who was promised a $1.50 raise after her third year on the job? Sorry. Postponed. Joe and Pete are eating her raise.

Too often, groups like the AFL-CIO are able to convince people that all employers are giants like Microsoft or Altell. They can afford to give up some profit and pay their people a higher wage, they argue. And for the large companies, that’s true. But the Bureau of Labor and Statistics says more people are employed by small businesses and entrepreneurs than all other companies in America. A broadstroke raise of overhead on Ohio’s largest group of employers, ignoring the laws of supply and demand, would be devastating to their already thin profit-margins.

So when that paper is shoved in your face in January, think about Joe and Pete and how tough minimum wage is on them. But before you sign, don’t you dare forget about Stan.

Bob Frantz may be contacted by e-mail at letters@toledofreepress.com.

OPINION

4 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 30, 2005

The war against boys in school

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n “The Myth That Schools Shortchange Girls: Social Science in the Service of Deception,” Professor Judith S. Kleinfeld traces the widespread misconceptions about gender differences in education to two key sources — the highly publicized report, “How Schools Shortchange Girls,” published by the American Association of University Women in 1992, and the work of Harvard gender studies professor Carol Gilligan.

Kleinfeld writes, “The charge that schools shortchange girls is false political propaganda. In their zeal to advance the interests of women, the [AAUW] and other advocacy groups have distorted the achievements of women and the experience of girls and boys in schools.”

If anything, girls receive preferential treatment and it is boys who are shortchanged by schools. Kleinfeld says, “Latematuring boys can be [wrongly] stigmatized as poor learners and assigned to low-ability groups in the primary grades, especially in reading. ... [Perfectly healthy and normal] bright, bored, and rambunctious boys [are often wrongly and tragically] diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and placed on drugs like Ritalin.”

Kleinfeld continues, “[The ‘shortchanged girl’ myth] draws attention and resources away from the group the schools truly fail, African-American males... [who] score lowest on virtually every educational measure. This is the group where an enormous gap does exist between males and females.”

In “The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men” American Enterprise Institute scholar Christina Hoff Sommers writes, “In 1990, Carol Gilligan announced to the world that America’s adolescent girls were in crisis. ... Gilligan, more than anyone else, is cited as the academic and scientific authority conferring respectability on the claims that American girls are being psychologically depleted, socially ‘silenced,’ and academically ‘shortchanged.’ ” Read the rest of the first chapter of Sommers’s book free at Amazon.com to find out why the work of

Toledo Free Press ■ 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CONSIDER THIS

By Reid Ahlbeck Special to Toledo Free Press

OPINION

November 30, 2005

Gilligan and other gender feminists is based on fundamentally flawed analysis and “missing” data.

Here are the facts about academic gender differences outlined by Judith Kleinfeld: 1. Most sex differences on standardized tests are negligible.

2. Females have an advantage in reading and writing, while males have an advantage in mathematics, science, and geopolitics.

3. Males cluster at both the bottom and the top of the academic bell curve, i.e. there are more males in remedial classes and more male academic “superstars,” especially in math and science.

4. Sex differences in intellectual achievement are rooted in both biological and cultural influences.

Girls and women are more than holding their own academically and professionally. Women currently outnumber men on college campuses and generally outperform men academically — though a disproportionate number of women sadly opt for intellectually weak programs (art, English, etc.) and low paying professions (teaching, social work, etc.), or utterly waste their talents and opportunities in politicized mickey-mouse pseudo-disciplines like Women’s Studies.

Kleinfeld says because of our accurate understanding of gender differences, “Improvements in mathematics and science education for females have taken place. ...These efforts have borne fruit.”

However, because of continued bias against boys “comparable programs have not targeted the areas where boys are behind.”

The widespread proliferation, uncritical acceptance and college level teaching of blatantly bogus, biased and politicized theory and academic “research” (particularly in the areas of education, psychology, gender studies, Africana studies, law, literary theory, history, philosophy, etc.) has fueled the wrongheaded liberal social agenda and resulted in an effective total loss of credibility in the social sciences and humanities.

Meanwhile, countless young minds continue to be tragically warped and wasted in the massive, misguided, dumbed-down, politicized and failed liberal social engineering experiment we call American education.

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Smoke-free drive

TO THE EDITOR, A historic event is taking place in Ohio: the establishment of a smoke-free state in 2006. Volunteers with SmokeFreeOhio and supporting organizations are collecting signatures urging passage of legislation that would prohibit smoking and burning of tobacco in enclosed areas of all public places and enclosed places of employment throughout Ohio.

Toledo voters took a step backwards in rolling back provisions of the clean indoor air law in 2004. A statewide ban on smoking in public places will make the claim that smokers will take their business elsewhere irrelevant. Surely smokers will find the great outdoors a fine place to smoke and one that does not endanger the health of their families, friends and neighbors.

We should all support our right to breathe clean indoor air in all public places including offices, factories, restaurants, bars and bowling alleys. A smoke-free Ohio is a healthier Ohio, one beneficial to this generation and the next.

RENOIR GAITHER, Toledo

A LOT LIKE LIFE

Thinking beyond labels

By Barbara Goodman Shovers Toledo Free Press Staff Writer bshovers@toledofreepress.com

R

ecently, I received an e-mail from a reader who was disappointed with several of my columns.

Specifically, she was upset that I supported Costco at Westgate, and that I condemned the men who rioted in North Toledo.

Normally when I get mail I think is well considered — both pro and con — I write the sender personally.

But in this case, I want to respond publicly. My critic — let’s call her T — wants me, I think, to be a liberal champion, an advocate of little guys and greater goods.

And believe me, I err in that direction. But there are instances where pragmatism overrides political correctness. I stand firm in thinking Westgate as-is is untenable, and certain individuals of the hoodlum variety need more self-control than sympathy.

“Barbara,” my critic wrote, “we are a community and ‘those’ people (the small merchants, the angry blacks) are ‘our’ people.” Yes, T; I know. I’ve read my Brecht, I’ve built Habitat homes; in 15 years my front lawn has sported only two political signs and one of them was Erase the Hate. But you get to a point where you say Enough Already; what we’re doing ain’t working.

This is not a case of liberal burn-out. In fact, let me also go on record saying I despise the designations liberal and conservative. People who hew party lines generally impress me as lazy thinkers. I think Michael Moore is as big and fat a liar as Rush Limbaugh. I think pretty much the entire U.S. Congress — both sides of the aisle — are sanctimonious hypocrites unwilling to commit to any hard decisions. I think a huge swath of America hasn’t the skills or energy to think critically. Because of this, we wall ourselves off behind Republican or Democratic platforms and refuse to even talk to the other side — let alone consider its points of view.

This is a little off T’s topic, I know. But my point

is that not every “liberal” idea is right, or “conservative” idea is wrong. (Or vice versa.) Big is not always bad. Money is not always evil. Poor does not necessarily mean victim, and local, in the economic sense, does not necessarily trump global (or corporate).

Yes, it’s harder to get a leg up if you’re not part of an established power group, and yes, those power groups aren’t exactly sending Welcome Wagon baskets to newcomers. But it seems that when something goes bad — Westgate as a dynamic plaza fails; poor people ravage their own neighborhoods — the notion of personal responsibility fails to pop up in most Blame Game conversations.

T, I am not a fan of the direction in which America is headed. But in a democracy you go with the majority and today’s majority has said Capitalism, Consumerism, and — at least for the time being — Conservatism. You, or I, can work to reverse trends we disagree with — we don’t have to shop at stores we feel treat employees poorly; we can continue attending Interfaith rallies that attract mostly the choir — but “working to” carries no guarantees of “succeeding with,” and righteous indignation rarely gets one further than moral victory. The rational response is to stop hitting your head against brick walls and start thinking in new ways.

For this reason, I feel that Compromise is not an evil word re Westgate, and Healing Yourself is not a cold, cruel concept to suggest to certain black community members.

I also know that compromise and self-help can be as platitudinous as their opposites. And that the Westgate merchants and black community members — let alone liberals and conservatives in general — are not monolithic populations with identical aspirations and goals. T, I’m a great believer in Thinking Globally, Acting Locally. I’m an advocate of Community. But even more, I’m a champion of constructive responses, and without active listening, clear thinking and realistic solutions, we’re doomed to more of the same — not to mention really sore heads.

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Online negatives

TO THE EDITOR, Reid Ahlbeck’s article (“Free Harvard classes for everyone online”) overstates the positives of the online learning experience and totally ignores the negatives.

He asserts, “Distance education will soon dominate higher (and K12) education.”

Possibly not. There has been a major shake-up in the on-line for-profit providers. Temple University tried an e-learning venture and closed it due to cost/return issues. Cornell surveyed its e-learning

student base and found only 30 percent of the responders expected equal or superior instructor interaction compared to a traditional course.

Ahlbeck expects universities to provide courses for free, so let’s ignore profit/cost issues and focus on what e-learning can and cannot accomplish.

He blithely asserts online education will become dominant from kindergarten on up; they can’t guide a child’s hand when she has difficulty cutting a star out of construction paper. They can’t give him a hug when he gets frustrated. They can’t feed him at lunchtime or take her to the bathroom. Children need the assistance of adults in the early grades. Unless the child is being home-taught, they are still going to need some variation on a school setting to. They are still going to need textbooks.

In essence, they are still going to need a physical school, so e-learning at this level is at best an enhancement but absolutely no substitute.

Let’s consider middle school through college as the target audience for Ahlbeck’s thesis. Where are computer courses most effective? Teaching knowledge-based courses. Survey and intro courses in history, literature, the sciences: classes where students must learn a wide range of facts are excellent e-learning options. These are the same courses, incidentally that have long been successfully taught at the university level via video/television. Testing for these courses is a problem not as easily solved. Unless the student is in a controlled setting, there is little to prevent him from taking “open book” tests.

An e-course cannot adequately teach woodworking or cooking. You can’t learn to

dissect a frog, do tests in a chemistry lab, reline brakes or bake a cake without actually doing it.

Such learning requires the necessary tools/facilities and interaction with an instructor.

Responding to questions on-line can be difficult. And a student can’t rely on the computer for complete guidance. A computer may be patient, but it also has no imagination. If you have a question that it isn’t programmed to respond to, you’re out of luck.

The need for instructors is not going to be eliminated. Since computers can’t grade essays, evaluate a painting or critique a musical performance, flesh-andblood teachers are required.

I will be the first to tout e-learning for achieving certification or staying current with changing laws/regulations in select fields. Companies have been doing that for years anyway: using a computer is more economical and convenient than seminars and video training.

Question to Ahlbeck: do you want the doctor who is operating on you to be someone who received all his education from playing video games?

PATRICK WELCH, Port Clinton

Good luck, Bob

TO BOB FRANTZ, I met you at a UT football game a few weeks ago in lot 10. I was awfully surprised to find you pulled from the air a short time later. You truly do have a very thought provoking and interesting show.

It would be hard not to be bitter, but I think your attitude is the right one. It is more important how we react to some-

thing than the event that happened. That is what defines a person. I know that the situation must have been difficult to deal with for you and your family, but I applaud your optimism.

I am truly disappointed not to be able to tune in at 5:30 to listen to you for the duration of my shift or my drive home.

However, your article in Toledo Free Press did put things in perspective and make helped me feel better about the situation. I wish you well in your new format and any other endeavors you partake in during your career.

More importantly, I wish that you and your family have a happy and wonderful holiday season! Having a new 6-month-old daughter I have come to value how much family really means. Good Luck Bob, I know you will do fine.

PATROLMAN ROD THEIS UT Police, Field Operations TO THE EDITOR, What a sad day to learn that Bob Frantz will no longer be on the morning drive time slot. His direction was right and provided a refreshing alternative view from the extreme news left that spews out of The Blade and TV nightly news shows. What could Clear Channel possibly be thinking. The crap in The Blade regarding “not wanting to have people go to work ticked off ” is just that. More than likely, it’s another pathetic example of a small group of complainers changing a good thing for reasons of political correctness. Sadly now, there is no voice of the rational moderate in Toledo. Shame on Clear Channel.

DICK HAYES Hayes Environmental Services, Inc.

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COMMUNITY ■

Local efforts pay off in anti-Reform Ohio Now campaign 6

Couple prepares their home for Old West End tour, page 14

JUSTICE SYSTEM

‘She had no appeals,’ father says of slain child

By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

Ray Fisher sits in his armchair with a tiny poodle cradled in his lap.

“If anything ever happened to this dog, I’d ... ,” his voice trailed off.

The dog, less than six pounds, seemed even smaller in his owner’s hands. His smallness spoke volumes of the fragility of life, and of the strength of a father who lost his oldest daughter in a violent and senseless crime.

Fisher remembers his daughter Misty with a smile.

“She lived hard,” he said.

He remembered how she would help him set up his drums when he played in a band to supplement the times he was laid off from Jeep.

“She was my little helper. She loved music,” he said, adding she played clarinet in the Clay High School band. He remembered how she loved babysitting, watching the sunrise, animals and trying hard to beat him at euchre.

“She used to torture me, because she couldn’t sing. The poor girl couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket,” he laughed. “She’d sing a Garth Brooks song and I’d tell her, ‘Misty, please don’t do that to me.’ ” It was times like those, Fisher said, he felt Misty and he were tremendously close: “You couldn’t stay mad at her for anything.

She’d pipe up and say something off the wall that would just make you chuckle.”

By Michael Brooks Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Issues 2, 3, 4 and 5, billed as “Reform Ohio Now,” were defeated by voters across the state by a large margin, with an average defeat of 2-1 for the proposed amendments.

Little noticed by much of the media was the margin by which these

initiatives were defeated in Lucas County. “No” votes on all four measures ranged between 54 percent and 60 percent in Lucas County.

“This was particularly surprising given the large number of Democratic voters in the county,” said Doug Haynam, outgoing GOP interim chairman. “It is clear that people took the time to weigh these initiatives on their own merits.”

Haynam also attributed the success of the local anti-RON initiative to grassroots efforts.

“Without the phone bank volunteers and others who got the word out, we would not have achieved these results,” he said.

One of the most important figures in the movement to defeat the RON initiatives was Alexandra Hertel, who ran the local

Fisher said Misty could “walk into a room not knowing anyone, but would leave knowing everyone.”

She dedicated special days to take her younger sisters out for a meal and a movie. A teenager, she liked to hang out with friends, go to church, and make a mess.

“I used to tell her, ‘Misty, one day when you move out, I’m gonna come to your house and trash it like you trash our house.

I’m gonna eat chips and leave the bag open on the table,’ “Fisher said. “She’d tell me, ‘I aint gonna leave, Dad.’ “I guess she never will.”

Misty wanted to be an accountant and exhibited a work ethic that made her father proud.

“She didn’t miss work. She never missed band practice,” he said. “She got promoted at her new job. She loved her job. She was saving up to buy a new car.”

phone bank operation.

“This campaign was much less like typical political phone efforts,” she said. “We did not so much try to advertise as much as we did educate the voters.”

Hertel said recipients of the calls were more courteous than in candidate campaigns, and she believes ballot initiatives inspire less political polarization than do human candidates.

The local anti-RON campaign, according to Hertel, more than 40 regular volunteers.

“We had people from all walks of life who were committed to defeating these initiatives,” she said. “Many volunteers also used their own cellphones to call everyone they knew and talk to them about the need to defeat these amendments.”

Hertel said she believes the grassroots efforts made the difference. Hertel said the Internet also was an important tool.

“Boards like ToledoTalk.com

proved to be an effective means to spark discussion and inform undecided voters,” she said. “On local-oriented blogs and Web sites, people are less intimidated to ask questions and debate the issues.”

One of the most common reasons cited for the defeat of Issues 2-5 involves the overly wordy nature of the proposed amendments. Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber said the authors of the initiatives erred in creating text that some voters struggled to understand.

Thurber said many local voters were put off by perceptions that out-of-state money funded the Reform Ohio Now initiatives.

“Ohio First was funded almost entirely by citizens of Ohio,” she said of the leading anti-RON coalition. “Reform Ohio Now had many out-of-state contributors, and local voters felt that RON was being directed by out-of-state people who wanted to use Ohio for other political ends, like the 2008 election.”

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Fisher prided himself on raising three daughters with a strong work ethic: “I raised them the same way I was raised, with an ethic to work and to never expect handouts.”

Misty worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Maumee as an assistant manager.

“She wasn’t even supposed to be working at that store on South Street,” he father said. Because Misty was hardworking and reliable, he said she would be called to fill in for absent workers at other stores.

Misty was shot during a robbery on April 12, 1996. According to witness statements, she was forced to try to open a safe and Please see FISHER, page 8

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Toledo Free Press photo by DM Stanfield

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Toledo Free Press ■ 7

POLITICS

Home for the holidays

Editor’s note; On Oct. 26, Toledo Free Press reported that Jamie Madrigal, convicted for killing 18-year old Misty Fisher during a robbery in 1996, will get a new trial after a federal appeals court overturned his conviction and sentence. Fisher’s father, Ray Fisher, shares memories of his oldest daughter and his frustration with the justice system.

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Black Student Union tracks graduation rates, page 11

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COMMUNITY

8 ■ Toledo Free Press

Fisher Continued from page 6 was shot in the head after she could not open it. She died en route to the hospital.

On May 13, 1996, the Lucas County grand jury indicted Jamie Madrigal, charging him with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Later that year, a jury convicted Madrigal on all charges and recommended Madrigal be put to death. Since then, Madrigal, who is in the Mansfield Correctional Institution, has filed numerous appeals with the courts.

Until federal judge James S. Gwin ordered a new trial — after ruling jurors in Madrigal’s original trial were privy to hearsay confessions of co-defendant Chris Cathcart, potentially tainting their opinions by implicating Madrigal in the slaying — all appeals had been denied. The new trial is scheduled for Feb. 21.

Cathcart, also convicted in Misty’s murder case, was indicted Sept. 20 on FISHER charges of aggravated robbery and involuntary manslaughter in the slaying of Larry Loose on April 30, 1995.

“When my mother passed away, Misty always went to the cemetery to put flowers on her grave,” Fisher said. “So we buried her next to her grandma.”

Since Misty’s death, Fisher has had to relive the crime against Misty through trials and multiple appeals.

“I’m mad at the whole system,” he said. “I’ve seen the justice system work and it’s all backwards.

“Every time I go to something, I have to hear about Jamie Madrigal’s rights. Misty didn’t have no

rights. She had no appeals; it was done. And everything that they’re doing now, you and I are paying for it.”

Fisher said he has had to go through unimaginable situations — all while missing work and losing pay.

“I’ve been to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati and had to listen to a female judge say, ‘If she hadn’t fumbled with the safe, none of this would have happened.’ ” The sting of such a statement hasn’t deterred Fisher. He vows to be at every hearing regarding Misty’s killer.

“I’m going to be there,” he said. “And I’m gonna look him in the eyes every time.”

Fisher said he went into Madrigals’ 1998 trial with an open mind.

“I told myself they had to prove to me that this was the guy,” he said. “What proved it to me was that a 16-year-old [witness] that’s down on her knees, scared to death, remembered that he had cuts on his pants.

When they pulled out these pair of pants that [police] found with him in Cleveland, they had those cuts. Now that’s something.”

Fisher said of Madrigal’s assertion that he did not pull the trigger, “He admits to being there, but now all of a sudden, it wasn’t him. If I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do, I’m singing from day one.”

Fisher said Madrigal wouldn’t look at him during court appearances. “[Cathcart] was man enough at his trial to turn around and look at me and say he was sorry,”

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Fisher said. “I think what’s happened is that Jamie is down there on death row and they’ve started executing people and now Jamie is scared. Because he knows his day is coming sooner or later.

“That will be a happy day for me,” Fisher said. “I’ll watch him and smile at him the whole time, because what he did accomplished nothing. He didn’t get no more money; he was 10 foot from a door. If he would’ve walked out of there with what he had, then nobody would have got hurt. But he didn’t.

“Truth be told, just put me in a room with him somewhere. Whoever wins gets to come out. Save the taxpayers’ money — just go somewhere and get it done.”

“Because what he done was

November 30, 2005 cowardly. A man would have just walked out. Just go and leave those kids alone. They’re trying to work to make money and he’s out there stealing it.”

Fisher said Madrigal’s defense attorneys tried to gain sympathy with jurors by revealing he had children.

“He should have been home with those kids that night. I have no sympathy for that. I don’t agree with killing, but there’s one person I could without thinking twice about it.”

Fisher said he feels sorry for the witnesses — the teenagers who were at the restaurant during the robbery.

“Most of those people have left town,” he said, noting he still keeps in touch some of them.

“They don’t even want to be here anymore. When you are 16 years old and you go through something like that; they’ll have that for the rest of their lives.”

He said he has witnessed the justice system work in favor of the criminal too many times.

“At the first trial, they had a picture of Misty on the prosecutor’s

table and they made them turn the picture over so the jurors wouldn’t see, because it could affect what they think,” he said.

“Doesn’t she have the right to be at the trial that she’s not here for?”

He said he has commitMADRIGAL ted himself to attending every proceeding because he wants to see Misty’s killer serve a full sentence.

“There ain’t going to be no back-room deals as long as I can help it,” he said. “I’ll be there every time. I’ll stare at him and say ‘I’ll see you in hell, because you took something you had no business taking.’ ” Fisher said, despite whether her killer gets life imprisonment or death, there is never really closure.

“She was spontaneous, carefree. She laughed a lot,” he said.

“She packed a lot of living into those 18 years.”

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COMMUNITY

10 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 30, 2005

RETAIL

Westfield Franklin Park announces new tenants From Staff Reports

Westfield Franklin Park has announced several new stores that are expected open in 2006.

Forever 21, a continuously changing fashion store, will open, along with Hollister Co., For Love 21, Diamonds Forever, Elephant Bar and Trade Secret, a salon offering women beauty treatments and products at value prices-including 3,000 of the newest products on the market.

In the past year, Westfield has brought in several new retailers,

including Sole Outdoors, Steven’s Salon, Brookstone, Yankee Candle, Radio Shack, Talbot’s, Torrid, Select Comfort, Nori Japan, Lindt Chocolate, Man Alive and American Greetings.

Shoppers can visit the mall’s newest tenants and take part in holiday festivities as well. Now through Christmas Eve, Santa will visit with over 12,000 children as they share.

Westfield has brand new holiday décor set throughout the center. In addition to the rustic garland theme throughout, Westfield

‘Black Friday’ begins shopping season The Associated Press

The official holiday shopping season appears to have gotten off to a lukewarm start, according to results announced by a national research group that monitors retail sales. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one bright spot in the crowd, reporting its sales exceeded expectations.

According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 45,000 retail outlets, the overall sales on Friday were relatively unchanged compared to a year ago, despite heavier discounting and expanded hours that drew a surge of shoppers to stores in the early morning hours.

The Chicago-based research group reported total sales Friday at $8 billion, down 0.9 percent from a year ago.

“Although the Black Friday number is a bit flat, this may be mis-

leading as we’re comparing this to a very strong 2004 performance,’’ said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, in a statement.

He said that while Black Friday — so named because the post-Thanksgiving surge of shoppers supposedly pushes stores into profitability for the year — is important to merchants, it’s not always the best indicator of consumer shopping patterns for the remainder of the season.

At Wal-Mart, the deep discounts and expanded hours appeared to have paid off.

The world’s largest retailer said it expects to post a solid 4.3 percent gain in same-store sales for November, helped by better-than expected sales Friday. That’s at the midpoint of its growth forecast of 3 to 5 percent.

She who

shines

brightest wins.

also has a new Santa Land. Santa Land features a large entry archway with three animated animal scenes and interactive tree house windows. A unique feature to this wonderland is the Toledo Frog located on the fountain facing Marshall Field’s. Studio Artefact, the design company that designed the set created a frog balancing holiday gifts on a tree stump.

Each week, a new Reindeer Trading Card is available. Children can collect all 10. Join by visiting the Concierge booth located between center court and the new expansion. For a limited time, Santa will pass out his card to everyone who visits. Membership is free and participants will receive a membership card, poster, trading cards and exclusive discounts at

Cousino’s Restaurants.

Westfield will also participate in the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Thanks & Giving campaign.

Through the holiday season shoppers may purchase St. Jude’s bracelets from the Shopping Concierge Center for $2. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the services and research programs of St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

November 30, 2005

COMMUNITY

EDUCATION

UT’s Black Student Union focuses on black graduation stats

By Renachantel McClain Special to Toledo Free Press

In 1973, there was a struggle for equal rights at the University of Toledo. This, according to Greg Braylock, was the reason for establishing the Black Student Union on campus.

“There was a lot of discrimination and racial tension,” said Braylock, the current president of BSU. “The whole civil rights era was going on. Black students weren’t being treated fairly. This was the case from education to socially to politically, so they decided to take a stand and created the BSU.” The BSU was created after a group of students, including Elder Pierre Taylor of New Life Church of God in Christ in Toledo, chained themselves in University Hall and demanded for equal rights and equal access, Braylock said.

Today, the BSU is involved in a wide-array of programs.

One of the organization’s largest events is their annual Fashion Show, to be held Feb. 17. This fundraising event benefits their annual scholarship fund.

“Last year we were able to award two $500 scholarships to UT students. We want to set up an endowment and be able to put money into that so we wouldn’t necessarily have to rely on the year-to-year proceeds we receive from the fashion show,” Braylock said.

Last year marked the first annual Black Graduate Cer-

emony at the University. The event was co-sponsored by BSU and the African-American Student Enrichment Office. It recognized black students who earned bachelors, masters and juris doctor degrees in a special ceremony.

“We knew we had to do something to recognize black graduates. Last year, only 36 percent of black students graduated from high school in Toledo. Out of that small percentage, you have an even smaller percentage that actually goes on to college. Less than 50 percent make it past their first year in college. At UT, for males was 46 percent and females 51 percent. Even less graduate,” Braylock said. “We do this out of appreciation, showing that you worked hard and the odds are definitely against you. We also need to let black students see that black students are graduating. You might not see them in all your classes, but we are here and the numbers are increasing.”

He added that with all of the work BSU is doing, consistency is an obstacle each new BSU administration faces.

“In the past, BSU had these spurts where we’ll have a real strong president, then two or three years will go by and nothing happens. We put in too much work to see it fall by the wayside or go for naught,” Braylock said.

Recently, Braylock and Brandon Tucker, BSU member, had a chance to sit down with Jeff Johnson, from Black Entertainment Television’s “The Cousin Jeff ’s Chronicles,” and past BSU president.

“He asked if we had some kind of program to prepare students to take over for us and be productive leaders in

Toledo Free Press photo by Renachantel McClain

Ryan Ray, BSU membership committee chairman, left, with a prospective member at a recent UT event. the community. From there, we decided to start a freshmen leadership program. Each student will learn the necessary skills to continue the mission of BSU as well as being a productive part of any organization while in school and after graduation. In early October, we had our first retreat. The freshmen participated in rope courses, leadership training and participated in trust exercises,” he said.

CALL 11 FOR ACTION

E-mail scam burns woman

By Dan Bumpus Special to Toledo Free Press

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Toledo Free Press ■ 11

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A North Toledo woman is out more than $30,000 after falling victim to a work-at-home scam.

“I was looking for supplemental income, and I came across an e-mail. The guy was looking for representatives here in America,” said Nichole Anderson.

The e-mail showed up in Anderson’s inbox, offering a workat-home job as an importer and exporter.

“I would purchase raw material for him, back and forth, from Mexico and different companies,” she said.

Anderson received a check for $35,000. She was told to cash it, which she did, send the money to another company to purchase goods, and keep 10 percent for herself. The problem: the check was a fake.

“Right now, as far as the bank is concerned, I’m on the hook for that $35,000,” Anderson said.

She’s taking out a loan to pay back the bank. Anderson said she wants to make sure nobody else becomes a victim.

When it comes to work-at-home offers, be suspicious of any opportunity that doesn’t pay a regular salary or one that involves an overseas company. Also, do your research by checking with the Better Business Bureau.

Dan Bumpus is the consumer investigative reporter at WTOL News 11. He can be reached by e-mail at dbumpus@wtol.com.

COMMUNITY

12 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 30, 2005

November 30, 2005

Toledo Free Press ■ 13

HEALTH CARE

HOLIDAY

Parade would have suffered without City of Toledo funds

Toledo groups to observe World AIDS Day

By Renachantel McClain Special to Toledo Free Press

Mary A. Jay from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said one-third of all people who are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus do not realize they are infected.

Since 1998, Dec. 1 has been designated as World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” The theme serves as a reminder to the government of its June 2001 promise to insure treatment and care for all people living with the virus.

“One of the biggest misconceptions of HIV or AIDS is that it is a deadly illness. HIV is a chronic illness and early diagnosis gives the opportunity to start medication to stop the HIV from spreading in the body and, if detect����������������������������������������� ed early, to control its damage to the immune system,” said Ann Wayson Locher, director of the HIV Testing Program at the Medical University of Ohio. “HIV is now a chronic disease like diabetes and hypertension. In most cases, the virus can be controlled with routine medication.

The challenge for health care providers occurs when people wait to be tested until they are very ill and the immune system is badly damaged, according to Locher. At that point,

By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

Thousands fought off the bitter cold and gathered along Toledo’s streets for the Downtown Holiday Parade. Children waved as Santa made his annual appearance and Grand Marshal Scooby Doo worked his magic.

The parade almost fell short, though, as CitiFest was not able to secure a title sponsor.

“I don’t have an answer to why,” said Julie Champa, executive director. “Our smaller sponsors have been awesome. I don’t know if it’s economy driven.”

Champa said CitiFest was able to secure nearly 70 smaller sponsors, including many that have been part of the parade for years.

CitiFest went to the City of Toledo, who had been a major contributor in the past, but withheld funding this year due to budget constraints. Mayor Jack Ford approved a $35,000 sponsorship for the parade.

Without the City’s help, the parade would have been diminished, Champa said.

“It wouldn’t be what the community is used to.

The equestrian units, big helium balloons — we have to pay for that and it’s a lot of expense.”

According to Mary Chris Skeldon, spokeswoman for the City of Toledo, the City had originally left the parade off its budget as a line item due to a tight economy.

“The City helped create CitiFest years ago and it has a long history of funding the parade,” she said.

“Over the years, support has gone down, by design, so CitiFest could eventually secure its own funding.”

Skeldon cited an economic upturn this year as

COMMUNITY

re-building the immune system is a slow and more difficult process.

“Many people also believe that if they have been to their doctors or to an emergency room that they have been tested. This is not true. In the state of Ohio, a special consent form is required before someone can be tested,” she said.

CJ (name withheld by request), who is a patient advocate for the AIDS resource team at MUO, was told she was HIV positive in 1996.

She had contracted it from her boyfriend.

“I went in for a routine checkup and they asked me if I wanted an HIV test. Two weeks went by and I forgot I even took the test.

They called and told me I needed to come in because they needed to talk to me. It was my 16th birthday, and they told me that I was HIV positive,” CJ said. “I help with support groups and see all new patients so they don’t feel alone. It’s a little easier for people to talk to someone that is going through the same thing. In Lucas County, there are 770 reported persons living with HIV/AIDS.” In observance of World AIDS Day, UT is presenting lecturer James H. Chapmyn, from Columbus, to present “What Can I Do.” He will perform with actors from his theater company in the Student Union Auditorium on

Panel from AIDS Quilt at Lourdes College In recognition of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Lourdes College, in cooperation with David’s House, will host one of the panels that make up the AIDS Memorial Quilt from the NAMES Project Foundation. There will also be a brown bag luncheon with a presentation from Kenya AIDS activist Benard Manyibe, in the Franciscan Center Board Room.

The entire AIDS Memorial Quilt weighs 54 tons, contains more than 45,000 panels, and is dedicated to more than 88,000 individuals.

The panel display at Lourdes will be open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, and noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 2. Lourdes is the only college in Northwest Ohio displaying a panel of the quilt this year. For more information, call (419) 824-3708.

campus at 7 p.m.

Free oral HIV testing will be offered during the day at the UT Student Union, Toledo Lucas County Health Department, Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio, and Owens Community College. These sites offer test results in 20 minutes. For more information about these testing sites and evening testing,

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Santa waves to the crowd at the Downtown parade.

Ford’s decision to provide support for the parade.

As for next year, Champa said CitiFest is already delving into the issue of securing a title sponsor.

The parade has been a Toledo tradition for 18 years, drawing nearly 30,000 people each year.

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WEATHER

Expect ‘busy’ winter

By Shannon Wisbon Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Frigid temperatures and strong winds have become the norm in Northwest Ohio. Will Toledo see record-breaking temperatures and snowfall this winter, or can the shovels be pushed aside?

Chief MeSPENCER teorologist “Blizzard” Bill Spencer of WNWO 24 News was the only forecaster who offered a winter prediction.

“Toledo should expect to see a busy winter this year,” Spencer said. “The middle portion of the country is expected to be warmer than usual. This is important to us because it allows fast-moving storms from Canada called ‘clippers’ to bring down cold air through the Great Lakes. Toledo will see around normal temperatures, but periodically, due to these fast moving storms, there will be sharp, cold snaps.”

Spencer said snowfall in the area will be less than last year, however, when it falls, it will fall in great amounts.

“There will be fewer snow events this year because of some warmer spells in the temperature. Toledo can expect fewer, but bigger,” Spencer said. “The area will see a week or two of quiet weather, and then a week or two of very busy weather. The busy weather can be expected when mild, pacific air is interrupted by cold arctic shots.”

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the lower-lake area “season’s wintry weather will be short, but powerful. After a mild November and December, January will see much colder temperatures.” With frequent snow falls, heavy in the East, winter will break and February will be unusually mild.

“The coldest periods will be in mid-December, and from mid- through late January. The heaviest widespread snowfall will occur in late January, with other major snowfalls in early, mid-, and late December.”

TV weather personalities from WTOL 11, WUPW 36 and WTVG 13 declined comment or did not respond to calls for this story.

14 ■ Toledo Free Press

COMMUNITY

November 30, 2005

HOLIDAYS

Lagrange angel wings sale

Couple speeds restoration for Old West End tour

Students from the new Pope John Paul II Elementary School will decorate trees in Czelusta Park on Dec. 2 to kick off the Angel Wings on Lagrange WinterFest and Craft Show.

The festival will take place Dec. 17 at the Zablocki Senior Center and will feature sales of chruschiki, a Polish pastry also called angel wings. Half-pound containers will cost $5, and can be pre-ordered on Dec. 17 by calling (419) 255-8406.

Admission to the craft show, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., is free. The event is sponsored by LagrangeWORKS! business district revitalization program and the Lagrange Development Corporation.

By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Eleven years after purchasing their 1903 Georgian Revival home in the historic Old West End, Scott and Tammy Michalak have stepped up restoration efforts to prepare for the “Women of the Old West End Christmas Tour” from 1 to 4 p.m. on Dec. 4.

The process has been a “labor of love,” accented by tedious and extensive gathering of antiques, specialty wallpaper, paints and upholstery, but the Michalaks said they would have it no other way.

The home originally belonged to Julius and Katherine Lamson, founders of Lamson Brothers Department Stores and later became the residence of Toledo Judge Andy Devine, who retired in 1971.

The Michalaks discovered the 12,000-square-foot home on the market, buying it in 1995. With 10 bedrooms among five living quarters, four and one-half baths and six fireplaces, their work has been ceaseless. To date, the downstairs waits ready for visitors to tour, but the Michalaks said they offered their home for the event sooner than expected to help maintain funding for a nearby restoration project.

“We normally wouldn’t feel we were ready to showcase the house. We’re working to feverishly get the back hall

down before we do the tour next week,” Tammy said.

She described the extent of the couple’s efforts in removing multiple layers of paint, restoring an original fireplace in the parlor, locating antique furniture, light fixtures and other materials by searching online and traveling to San Francisco, New York, Boston and other hotbeds of antiques and home-restoration sources.

The home stood empty when they bought it, and no previous owners had made such extensive remodeling.

“Regardless of whether the wood should have been painted or natural, we stripped everything down to complete bare wood, started from scratch, made all the repairs to any woodwork,” Tammy said.

The neighborhood represents the largest standing area of Victorian- and Edwardian-era homes east of the Mississippi, according to Scott.

But to own and restore an historic home requires dedication. One has to be handy and enjoy doing it “because you’re going to spend a lot of time working on this old girl.”

“We’re both preservationists at heart, and we believe strongly in maintaining this neighborhood for future generations,” Scott said. “This is a home we always admired.

The neighborhood itself is a tremendous asset to Toledo.

I don’t think people have embraced the Old West End like it really deserves to be, but we continue to get younger people with families.”

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

November 30, 2005

Free courses for learning English Area residents wanting to expand their English skills can sign up for English for Speakers of Other Languages course at Owens Community College’s Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses.

Toledo Free Press ■ 15

Courses will be offered throughout the Spring semester, which begins on Jan. 9. The courses will cover listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Participants will develop skills and vocabulary in such practical areas as shopping, school, work and social settings.

There will be opportunities to ask questions about American culture in a friendly and personal adult classroom atmosphere.

Enrollment in the course is free and available to individuals over the age of 18; (567) 661-7357.

Young dems look for leadership The Lucas County Young Democrats will host a meet-and-greet and re-organizational gathering from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at Mickey Finn’s Pub, 602 Lagrange St. LCYD, chartered with the Ohio Young Democrats and Young Democrats of America, is looking for candidates for president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and event coordinator.

Hungarian Christmas Celebration The Birmingham Cultural Center will present a lecture series on Hungarian Christmas Celebration at 6:30 p.m.. Dec. 13 at the Birmingham Library, 203 Paine Ave. Free and open to the public, the series will explore Santa in Hungary, Christmas tree and table decorations, embroidery, music, and traditions. For more information, call (419) 475-7053.

Students create goodwill Interior design students from Davis College participated in Construction’s Toledo Design/Build Competition. Teams of area architects, designers and engineers constructed sculptures from canned goods, which were later donated. Davis collected more than 600 cans of food. The team consisted of Janet Weber, instructor, and Alexis Lyman, Danielle Belmer, Jamie Ayers, Cassie Kelley, Amber Swartz, Judy Nunnally and Rebecca Williamson.

Clothing line focuses on ‘positive messages’ Local entrepreneur Paul Cory is introducing the Salty Brand Christian clothing line geared toward teenagers and young adults who want to display their religious values.

Cory said he is just the messenger, not the founder. He said the original credit goes to Jesus Christ, who is quoted in Matthew 5:13 as saying believers “are the salt of the earth.”

Influenced by popular fashions such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Tommy Hilfiger, Cory decided to create positive messages through a more wholesome line of apparel as opposed to the controversial risqué attire that draws criticism from Christian groups. The winter collection features baseball caps, beanies, hooded sweatshirts, jackets and rugby shirts, hooded jackets and pullovers.

“I want to provide something for the younger generation to wear, clothing that has a positive

Toledo Free Press photo by Scott McKimmy

Scott and Tammy Michalaks are preparing their home for the Old West End tour.

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Planning your Christmas Party?

Vicky Montgomery (419) 261-8265 Web site: vmontgomery.com 24-hr info call 1-800-407-2111 then enter code#

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image,” Cory said.

All products carry the Salty Brand label as well as the Matthew 5:13 logo either on the tag or the garment itself. The line will be available Dec. 1 online and at the Word Shoppe-Cornerstone Church, with additional Christian retail outlets to carry the clothing sometime in 2006.

Cory said the concept developed more quickly than anticipated, arising from an awakening after hearing about the messages conveyed by competing clothing lines.

“It’s actually come together fairly quickly, a little bit quicker than I had anticipated,” he said.

“Originally, I just started with the t-shirt idea; it was something that I woke up with. It started out with messages for shirts, a strong positive message. I actually had some made up and I just wore them around myself, and I got a lot of response from them.”

— Scott McKimmy

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1006 Cuba Toledo Code #30094 $129,900

27695 Tracy Rd Walbridge Code # 30184 $44,000

2321 Georgetown West Toledo Code #30064 $114,000

3635 Terrace Toledo Code #30024 $79,900

3390 Co Rd EF Swanton Code #30054 $164,500

3305 Westchester Toledo/Sylvania Schools Code #30114 $284,500

5556 Forest Green Toledo Code #30004 $179,900 1337 Ogontz Toledo/Maumee Schools Code #30124 $169,000

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BUSINESS

Monthly Payments from

Principal & Interest

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16

HEALTH CARE

Employers looking to tighten their belts to meet tougher budget requirements are turning to high-deductible health care plans, and policyholders can tuck away taxfree dollars to cover their share of future medical costs.

Health savings accounts emerged in 2003 by an act of Congress as an amendment of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The plan allows anyone with a deductible between $1,050 and $5,250 to make deposits into a permanent interest-bearing account, with withdrawals payable only to specific medical-related costs. The government intends to increase minimum and maximum deductibles to match industry levels.

The law encourages individuals to take more responsibility of their health care costs under a system already burdened by an aging population. The previous code was experimental, according to Dave Bowen, senior vice president for retail product management at National City Corporation, and failed to draw as many depositors as anticipated. The new law has witnessed tremendous growth

since HSAs became available in 2004.

“More than a million people currently receive their health coverage through high-deductible plans, and that’s twice as many as there was six months ago,” Bowen said.

He said reasons for the newfound popularity vary, yet HSAs appeal most to the next generation of health care policyholders who currently require fewer services and, as a result, are less likely to exceed their deductible. Their benefits for the future will yield a savings because of the payroll tax break as they reach retirement age and receive Medicare.

“It’s a very smart choice for a lot of people, but for young single people in particular, if their goal is to be healthy, it’s a low-risk proposition” Bowen said. “You have a low premium to pay. You’re putting money away, but if you don’t need it, at least the money is there.”

Once on Medicare, contributions end, but unused portions of the accounts roll over and may transfer to heirs as part of estates. The concept is similar to IRAs and 401(k) plans, according to Aaron Graham, director of product development at Medical Mutual, a provider of individual and group health plans. He explained the advantages in tax savings and interest growth, citing a reduction of health care costs by an average of about 30 percent.

LE AI LAB n V A NOW ons t ruct io C 100% o t Loans and L

Chadwick from from $233,500 TheThe Chadwick $233,500

Bank accounts shelter funds for high-deductible health care plans

By Scott McKimmy Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Our Planned Community offers the charm of the countryside as a magnificent setting for your new home. The landscape is meant for those who value relaxation and leisure.

Enjoy the serenity with hiking and biking trail access. Enjoy Life More.

“If you are able to have this plan for 30 years and be able to watch your expenses and monitor your health care and have $10,000 or $100,000 with the power of interest, you’ll be able to pay for your retirement health costs a easier,” Graham said.

High-deductible plans have been “intimidating” because of the out-of-pocket expenses required before the policy kicks in. Graham described HSAs as a retirement plan as much as a health care plan. Forward thinking can yield huge benefits down the road because of the uncertainty of the Medicare system.

“How many people are gonna save for retirement health care,” he said. “What if you could pool some money in a tax-sheltered account to pay for your Medicare expenses, because Medicare doesn’t cover everything?

“I think if people do the math and take into account the tax advantages that they might find that a high deductible is not as intimidating as it seems at first. Because it’s still the same coverage; you still have access to the same contracted providers; you still get the same discounted rates from us.”

Medical Mutual has offered HSAs since 2004. National City allows policyholder to open accounts now with $50 and begin tax-sheltered deposits in January 2006.

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AUTOMOTIVE

Mitsubishi Fuso to strengthen DaimlerChrysler ties The Associated Press

Troubled Japanese truckmaker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., 85 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, will restructure its domestic operations and strengthen cooperation with the German-American automaker to raise efficiency and reduce costs, a report said Nov. 27.

Fuso — still reeling from the effects of a massive cover-up scandal — will bring the majority of its 36 sales subsidiaries and an engineering company under its direct control next year, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan’s largest business daily.

The truckmaker will also transfer its sales financing functions to DaimlerChrysler’s financing unit, DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, from automaker Mitsubishi Motors Co. subsidiary Auto Credit-

Lease Corp., the Nihon Keizai said.

The report comes after DaimlerChrysler ended its involvement with Mitsubishi Motors — part of its goal to become a global auto powerhouse — by selling off its 12.4 percent stake in the Japanese car maker earlier this month.

Mitsubishi Motors saw its Japanese sales plunge after acknowledging in 2000 that Fuso, which it owned at the time, had systematically hid defects for more than 20 years to avoid recalls — prompting DaimlerChrysler to pull out save for its stake in the truckmaker.

Fuso is still dealing with a massive number of recalls.

In September, it said defective vehicles recalled since March last year topped 2.64 million, affecting 68 percent of Fuso trucks and buses on the road in Japan, and that repair costs would reach 149 billion yen ($1.3 billion).

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Japanese company Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. produces trucks and buses.

A portion of every transaction benefits the Make A Wish Foundation established to provide benefits for children with life threatening illnesses.

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* Programs / Rates / Terms subject to change. All programs have qualifying criteria. Down Payment of 10% or greater required for advertised rate. Rate and payment shown are for year one ; rate can never exceed 6.50% Rates reduced first three years of a 30 year fixed rate fully amortizing mortgage. Taxes, Insurance, and Mortgage Insurance not included. PowerPlus available exclusively from Alliance Venture Mortgage, LLC. MB #1888 6546 Weatherfield Ct., Bldg. B, Suite 1, Maumee, OH 43537 Call 419.930.LOAN (5626) 11/14/05.

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18 ■ Toledo Free Press

BUSINESS

November 30, 2005

COMMUNITY

TPS honors Silver Slate recipients Twelve individuals, two law Jones Junior High; WilliAnn Moore, president of firms and The Rotary Club of Tothe Toledo chapter of the NAACP ledo are the winners of the 2005 has made it financially possible Toledo Board of Education’s Silfor six girls to attend the Toledo ver Slate awards.

Urban League’s programs at Ellen Artz, a crossing guard the University of Toledo and for for 20 years; several girls to attend the sixth LaVonne S. Davis-Temple, grade Outdoor Camp, established a volunteer at Robinson Junior a Block Watch program, tutored, High School; Shumaker, Loop & sponsored academic enrichment Kendrick, and law firm that conprograms, coordinated the cataducts a holiday art contest and loging of items in the Ella P. Stewdonates funds and tutors; art Museum and helped in the Jodi Gross, co-chair of the transition of classes to the former Building for Success levy camWarren school; paign, representative of the Parent Gary Hutt, UAW/GM InCongress, president of the Waite ternational Representative for Athletic Boosters and active volunEducation, Training and Human teer at Waite High School; Cooper Resource Development at the GM & Walinski, a law firm providing Powertrain plant is an active menmentors, assisting with Thanksgivtor at Toledo Technology Academy; ing baskets and Christmas time ������������ Alexandra Chrysochoos, food, book and clothing donations ����������������� Elmhurst volunteer; and adopting a classroom; ������� Loretta Kraft, Elmhurst Craig Palmer, executive direc��������������������������������� volunteer; tor of the Summit YMCA who has Maude Pearson, Elmhurst organized sporting events at Riv����������������� volunteer; Toledo Rotary Club, doerside school for three years; nating equipment for special-needs Lavera Smith, volunteer at

children, sponsoring a trip to a Toledo Mud Hens game and providing a yearly visit to the Toledo Zoo for students at Glendale-Feilbach; Edna Robertson, a former educator with TPS, who served as co-chairman on the district’s Issue 37 levy campaign, organized outreach to the faith community, and worked with the Links organization to help students at Ella P. Stewart Academy; Dan Briones, district levy campaign volunteer who has also forged support for TPS among Hispanic leaders and Hispanic organizations.

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BUSINESS BRIEFS Holt named to national board Clayton L. Holt, CPA, was appointed to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Peer Review Board for a threeyear term.

Holt, the owner of Brell, Holt & Company in Toledo, has been a CPA for 35 years. A 1972 graduate of Kent State University, Holt is a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. He is on the Peer Review Committee for the Ohio Society of CPAs Accountancy Board.

Bank to continue holiday fund-raiser Fifth Third Bank will host its 20th annual “Brighten a Child’s Life” at Fifth Third banking centers and Bank Mart locations through Dec. 31.

For each $5 donation, contributors can have their names on a paper ornament to be hung on a tree. More than a half million dollars has been raised to date.

Don’t miss our November $2,000 CLOSING COST

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BUSINESS

20 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 30, 2005

NETWORKING

Hiding in your office can cost your business

T

he Issue: Getting to the office early is honorable.

An hour of solid work done can be so wonderful before the phone starts ringing. There is a downside. Some go to the office so they have an excuse. It is an insurance policy. It is the one they are going to pull out when sometime in the future they fail.

“I don’t know what else I could have done, after all, I got to the office early every morning.”

A solution: People who use this technique are planning for failure rather than planning for their success.

Instead of having a written plan of action that includes getting out to meet people in order to groom helpful relationships, they hide.

The next step: If someone you know has these tendencies, you can help by asking them who they want or need to meet. It may be difficult to even get this answer, because having names of such people would mean a commitment. Most people don’t like commitment because if the goal is not met, failure looms on the horizon. A way to begin might be to ask them to tell you about

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profitable customers they currently enjoy.

Then ask if there are other similar businesses they would like to acquire as clients. From that point, you can help them to figure out who the people are within the target companies.

Finally, they can begin to ask for help from others in getting to meet these people.

Take away: There are two choices: failure or success. What matters is deciding which one you will choose. The insurance plan needed for either is a plan of action. You can hide in your office or seek outside help. It’s your choice.

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Debby Peters is owner and director of training of Certified Networker Program of Ohio.

Web site highlights new homebuilders

By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

The Home Builders Association of Greater Toledo has launched NewHomesAndHomesites. com, an official Web site for those seeking newhome builders or lots.

“We felt the time was right to create an Internet gateway site that was dedicated to marketing our HBA members’ new homes, building lots, subdivisions, and new home related products and services to area consumers,” said Tim Schlachter, HBA president.

The Web site will allow potential buyers to explore new homes, condominiums, building lots and subdivisions. There are also articles and glossaries on building, buying and financing a new home.

Greg Dodge, president of NewHomesAndHomesites.com LLC, said the company is a joint venture between B9 Media Limited, a Toledo area multimedia production company, and HBA of Greater Toledo. The product, he said, is unique.

“There is no builder site that has a compilation of properties, information and processes,” he said, noting there are resources for real estate — built homes on the market, but very little on ready-to-build lots or newly constructed homes.”

Dodge said the site is far from finished, but he plans to continue enhancing features during

21

AUCTION

TECHNOLOGY

Featuring: Debby Peters

BUSINESS IN FOCUS

a “typically slow time of year,” to have ready for February’s House and Home Show as well as the upcoming construction season.

ON THE WEB www.newhomesandhomesites.com

Inside sheriff sales

By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

Properties sold through auction at the Lucas County Sheriff sales can be a great deal — or too much to bother, depending on the savvy of the buyer and the circumstances of the sale.

“There’s usually a pretty good turnout to the sales, about 50 or so people on average,” said Deputy Patricia Presser.

Properties are sold by auction several times a month, either by mortgage foreclosure or by tax foreclosure. Some of the properties go for a steal, while others carry burdensome circumstances, such as tenants who have yet to leave.

“If [a home] is occupied, you may run into a problem,” Presser said. “Sometimes the tenants don’t even know the home is going up for sale.”

Because tenants may still occupy the property, auction rules and Ohio Revised Code stipulates, “physically removing the property of the occupants without a court order, even after receiving the deed, may result in civil or criminal liability.”

Sales are held at 10 a.m. in the lobby of the Lucas County Court House, 700 Adams St., when scheduled. Currently there are auctions

scheduled for Dec. 7 and Dec. 14.

Bidding for mortgage foreclosures start at two-thirds of the appraised value of the property, unless there is a court-ordered starting bid. Bidding on tax foreclosure properties could be twothirds of the appraised value of the property or properties may be sold for back taxes and costs.

If you are the successful bidder, a 10 percent deposit is due immediately. There are additional fees that must be paid at the time of the sale.

The debtor has the right of redemption of the property until the Confirmation of Sale is signed by the Judge and filed by the Court. The purchaser has 30 days to bring in the balance of the money due and pick up the deed.

Properties are sold as-is and in Lucas County, appraisals may not include interior inspections.

On the Sheriff ’s Web site, www. co.lucas.oh.us/sheriff, it advises potential buyers to check with the City of Toledo to see if the property is on the demolition list and to check with the utility departments to be sure there are no liens.

The Lucas County Sheriff ’s Office also holds occasional auctions of abandoned vehicles.

Dates and stock can be viewed at www.govdeals.com.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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From Staff Reports

Homeowners are creatures of comfort, and with colder days ahead, now is the time to ensure your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are in top shape to provide a comfortable indoor environment all winter.

Ongoing maintenance and simple tune-ups can ensure your system runs properly and efficiently, helping to reduce costly energy and repair bills.

■ Arrange proactive maintenance: Schedule regular appointments with a heating and air conditioning dealer to come out and service your system before winter and again before summer.

■ Change the filters: Heating and air conditioning system filters should be changed as often as recommended by the manufacturer. To help save on replacement costs, some manufacturers have cleanable filters that can be rinsed and vacuumed.

■ Check for leaks: Windows and doors are prime suspects for air leakage. Check around every frame for cracks, gaps and poor-fitting fixtures and seal leaks with caulking or weatherstripping.

■ Use the proper insulation: Check to make sure your home is insulated with materials that have the proper “Rvalue.” An R-value is the measurement of how well insulation resists heat flow. The higher the R-value, the better

Toledo Real Estate Investment Association Tuesday, December 6, 7:00 p.m.

“Holiday Extravaganza” networking dinner To RSVP call (419) 283-8427

Future meetings listed: www.toledoreia.com, (419) 283-8427

50697_b.indd 1

11/18/05 9:59:49 AM

Invites you to join us!

the insulating power. HVAC experts recommend using R30 insulation in the ceilings and R-13 in the exterior walls.

■ Program the thermostats: Save energy by installing a programmable thermostat that adjusts the temperature during the day. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours, you can save 5 percent to 15 percent a year on your heating bill — a savings of as much as 1 percent for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long.

■ Control the humidity: Static electric shocks, dry nasal passages and parched skin are signs that your home’s humidity is too low. A humidifier can be attached to your furnace to add moisture back into the air during the cold winter months.

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SPORTS SPORTS BRIEFS From Staff Reports

Stenback named Academic All-MAC UT senior cross-country runner Ebba Stenback has been named First Team Academic by the Mid American Conference, with a 3.243 grade-point average.

This is one of several honors this season for the Norrkoping, a Sweden native and international business major.

STENBACK Stenback was named First-Team All-MAC with a third place finish at the MAC Championships in October; she was named MAC Runner of the Week twice this season; awarded Central Collegiate Conference Runner of the Year and won two individual races.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletic and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.

NABF Series to return to Toledo The National Amateur Baseball Federation College World Series is coming back to Toledo.

The only nationally qualifying summer collegiate wood bat baseball tournament in the country, it was brought to Toledo for the third straight year by Erie Shores Collegiate Baseball, Inc. The tournament will draw 16 regional champions from throughout the country to play for the NABF college championship, Aug. 3-6. There will be 31 9-inning games with teams divided into pools playing at four sites, including Ned Skeldon Stadium, Bowling Green State University’s Warren Steller Field, The University of Toledo’s Scott Park, and at Bowman Park, the home field for Start High School.

Rockets offered GMAC Bowl bid

JUMP SHOT

From Staff Reports

The UT football team has accepted a bid to the GMAC Bowl game, Dec. 21, in Mobile, Ala. The Rockets ended the regular season with an 8-3 record, beating BGSU, 44-41. UT’s opponent will be a Conference USA school.

ART WEBER

By Chris Kozak Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

As Mother Nature plays yo-yo with the daily temperatures, those who play one of the world’s most popular sports are left with a quandary: When is it too cold to golf?

The dedicated golfer will tell you that question is like asking “When is beer too cold to drink?” but as the mercury falls in conjunction with the white stuff, climate conditions make enjoying a round more like survival.

According to SGMA International, more then 29 million Americans golf every year, and giving that up, even for a couple of months, is tough.

“If I have to wear more than two layers, it’s too cold,” said John Flynn, avid golfer and design associate for the Arthur Hill/Steve For-

rest Associates golf course architecture firm.

“Once the freedom to swing the club naturally is gone, it’s no longer enjoyable.”

While it may be difficult to put the clubs away, even for a few months, it may not be detrimental to your game. According to Dan Sutton, playing in the cold “isn’t going to help your game.”

Sutton, the head golf professional at Eagle’s Landing Golf Club, said, “Once your head, hands and feet get cold, it stops SUTTON being fun.”

But there are tips to keep winter golf enjoyable and ultimately beneficial to your game.

“Walk more,” Sutton said. “It never hurts to take a pull cart. You can burn a few more

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Central ready for title game

By Chris Kozak Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

calories and help keep your circulation going. It also doesn’t hurt to go out and play two balls. You might get stuck playing by yourself.

I’m a true proponent of getting practice in while you’re out playing. That will help build the confidence level as well.”

Sutton also offered options for those who don’t want to bundle up to tee it up. He said the Golf Dome in South Toledo, heated driving range stalls at the Maumee Sports Mall and golf simulators at Tamaron Country Club are opportunities for golfers to get their swings on.

Many public courses will be open year round, as long as there’s no snow on the ground.

“Keep yourself active,” Sutton said. “And don’t let those clubs get rusty over the winter.

And if all else fails, get yourself a plane ticket to Florida.”

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Toledo Free Press ■ 23

FOOTBALL

22

Warmth keeps golfers on links

Toledoan wins gold Toledoan Jamie Van Natta took home a gold medal in the compound division at the 2005 Face 2 Face tournament. The tournament, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, featured more than 150 archers competing from around the world.

SPORTS

November 30, 2005

Freshman Allison Papenfuss goes inside for two of her 17 points, making her the AW high scorer in her high school basketball debut.

WEEK ONE Ladies first. It was the ladies who touched off the 2005-06 high school basketball season in the Northern Lakes League. The boys will follow with their first game Dec. 2. Anthony Wayne’s Lady Generals, under new head coach Justin Zemanski, traveled to Springfield to face the Blue Devils in the NLL league opener for both teams. The Lady Devils spoiled Coach Zemanski’s debut. In the end, dead-eye three-point shooting made the difference in the Devils’ 60-50 win.

Toledo Free Press has commissioned photographer Art Weber to chronicle the 2005 varsity boys and girls basketball seasons of the Anthony Wayne Generals. Each week, one photo will capture the evolving season. Art Weber may be contacted at aweber331@adelphia.net.

No matter what happens, the Central Catholic football season is going to come to an end Dec. 2.

The Irish, 13-1, will take the field at Massillon’s Paul Brown Stadium to play for the Division II State Championship against the 14-0 Canfiled Cardinals.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Central might be the first Toledo City League School to win it all since St. Francis de Sales brought the title home in 2001. Central Catholic was crowned state champion in 1962 by an Associated Press vote.

To finish the season with a victory, the Irish will rely on what got them to a December game: solid defense balanced with a traditionally impressive and imposing offensive line.

The Central defense is anchored by one of the best linebacking duos in the state: seniors Ryan Brown and Lee Marquette. They also boast a tremendous defensive lineman in senior Anthony Oliver, who has the ability to take over a game. The whole unit has stepped up as it held Tiffin Columbian to 10 points and Mansfield Madison and Avon Lake to a pair of touchdowns each during this state playoff march.

The defense has been overshadowed by an offense that has turned on the afterburners this post season, averaging 33 points a game in the playoffs.

Quarterback Kevin Jansen has been effective this postseason, and the offensive line, anchored by senior Mike Starkey, has allowed the running game to remain a threat as tailback Neil Mitchell has stepped up while teammate Chris Willis has been slowed by injuries.

The true weapon of the offence is junior Dane Sanzenbacher. Sanzenbacher is a multi-purpose, multi-threat weapon of mass destruction on both sides of the ball.

The Cardinals, out of the Metro Athletic Conference in the Youngstown area, are just scary on defense, perhaps the best in the state. They are plus-22 this year in takeaways, and gave up an average of 7.8 points per game in the regular season.

Looking back at Central’s 1962 state championship Long before the Ohio High School Athletic Association began a statewide playoff system for football in 1972, the Associated Press crowned the state champion. In 1962, Toledo’s 10-0 Central Catholic was awarded the title.

“I think we read about it in the paper,” said John Flynn, retired athletic director of Whiteford High School. “It wasn’t like there was some big announcement or anything. No one thought about it because FLYNN no one from Toledo had ever won before. We just went out and played, you know. We just wanted to beat St. Francis, that was about it.”

Flynn, a junior halfback and defensive back on the ’62 team, remembers a talented offensive line, playing smash-mouth football, opening holes for future Michigan State Spartan Phil Hoag and future Indiana Hoosier John Ginter. The team rushed for nearly 3,000 yards that season.

“We only punted 20 times in 10 games,” Flynn said.

They were the first, and only, Toledo school to receive the honor since the AP began awarding it in 1947.

“We had about 10 guys who went on to play Division I-A ball off that team,” Flynn said. “Winning the state championship was neat, but I don’t remember too much being made about it. Everyone was happy.

We did have a really nice banquet that year.”

Is there any advice for the 2005 Central team?

“Hold on to the ball,” Flynn said. “Turnovers will kill you.”

— Chris Kozak

OSU should expect BCS bid

By Dave Woolford Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

G

ive me an “O!” “O!” Give me an “R!” “R?” Oh, are we spelling Oregon? You know, the 10-1 Oregon Ducks, who somehow think they should get a BCS atlarge Bowl berth instead of O-HI-O. The Pac-10 figures the BCS selection committee owes them one after thoroughly neglecting California last year.

Let’s be honest; only a quack would choose 10-1 Oregon over 9-2 Ohio State for one of the two at-large BCS Bowl berths.

Actually, there’s only one now.

It seems Notre Dame has entitlement to the other. That was all but ascertained before the Fighting Irish narrowly defeated Stanford 38-31 in the waning moments Nov. 26. That gave ND the required minimum nine victories to be BCS eligible.

The Irish are 9-2. They have lost their last seven Bowl games and haven’t appeared in a Bowl since 2000 when they were waxed

by Oregon State 41-9.

But it’s all about spin. Notre

Dame is a warm, fuzzy comeback story with a new cuddly bear-appearing coach in Charlie Weis.

The four BCS Bowl-game berths will be announced Dec. 4 following conference championship games. Here’s how we see it: Rose Bowl: It should be a match up between the two best and only unbeaten teams in the country, USC and Texas. It will also match the three leading Heisman Trophy candidates, Southern Cal tailback Reggie Bush, quarterback Matt Leinart and Texas quarterback Vincent Young. It’s Bush’s hardware to lose. And should USC lose to 9-1 UCLA Saturday?

Please, don’t even go there. Total chaos is not an option.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech will play floundering Florida State, loser of three straight, for the ACC championship Dec. 3. The Hokies will prevail and be matched against Penn State, another feel-good story. The game that supposedly sped past Joe Paterno has been run down by the fleet 78-year-old JoePa. It’s another very intriguing quarterback match up, pitting Virginia Tech’s Marcus Vick against Michael Robinson, both tailbacks

playing out of position.

Sugar Bowl: LSU has Georgia on its mind, but should survive against the Bulldogs in the SEC title game Dec. 3 to play Big East rep West Virginia. It’s the biggest mismatch of the BCS circus.

Hopefully, the Mountaineers won’t be as toothless as league compatriot Pittsburgh was last year in losing to Utah 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. West Virginia’s only major victory came against Louisville, in three overtimes.

Fiesta Bowl: This should be a Notre Dame-Ohio State match up.

Forget that Oregon is 10-1, which Fiesta Bowl officials have already done. The Buckeyes’ two losses were to top-five teams; Texas (2522) and Big Ten co-champ Penn State (17-10). The Bucks are on a six-game winning streak and have one of the nation’s best defenses.

There’s a chance the Orange Bowl might choose Ohio State over Penn State. Maybe no one likes the Bucks that much and they end up in Orlando in the Capital One Bowl.

What’s in your wallet? If there’s money, put it on OSU being BCS Bowl bound.

ARTS&LIFE ■

TEAR SHEET: Your guide to the Toledo zeitgeist, page 28

November 30, 2005

Andrea Clarkson studio to open

24

Local artist Andrea Clarkson will open a permanent studio at 3035 Moffat Rd. on Dec. 8. Admission is free during the open house, 7:30 to 10 p.m. Nearly 50 recent oil paintings will be on display and visitors can meet the artist and view works for sale. Clarkson describes her works as “traditional paintings and drawings with a contemporary perspective.” She said persepective is derived much from the diversity of people, landscapes and cultures in her native Ohio and from her international travels.

Lennon remembered IN CONCERT

TTH 100 Ad_4c1/2pg_TFP.eps 11/28/05 12:58 PM Page 1

Photo courtesy Irish Sopranos

Irish Sopranos offer sweet harmonies

By Vicki L. Kroll Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

The Irish Sopranos are packing. They’ve got pipes to blow any audience away.

The trio — Wendy Dwyer, Kay Lynch and Deirdre Masterson — will play Carnegie Hall in New York and then bring their holiday show to the Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant St., at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10. Tickets are $20 and are available by calling (419) 382-1505.

“We have a gorgeous selection of Christmas songs, including a lovely little medley reminiscent of the Andrew Sisters,” Dwyer said last week from New York. “We do a lot of standards. Our program, because some of it is classical, a lot of the music is inspirational anyway. That falls under the Christmas banner for me — it’s all about love and the Christmas feeling.”

U.S. audiences have embraced the Irish Sopranos since

their stateside debut in 2004.

“The warmth of the people in this country is phenomenal. From the moment we got here, people just opened their arms to us. That feeds our souls,” Dwyer said.

The women have been winning hearts with their voices.

Classically trained, they are different sopranos: Dwyer is a lyric soprano, Lynch is a lyric coloratura soprano, and Masterson is a dramatic soprano.

“It makes for a great blend,” Dwyer said. “If we all had the same voice type, we’d fight for the same notes. Our combination means a better sound, better harmony.”

That arrangement has worked well since the trio formed in 2003 in Ireland.

“We’re good friends. I don’t think we could do it if we weren’t, especially because we’re women. I think it’s different for men; they have a different outlook on life,” Dwyer said. “Obviously, we have differences of opinions, but

nothing that leads to fights, thank God.” The ladies have a leg up on the men when it comes to the glitz factor. “Our dresses are pretty spectacular. We have to keep our wardrobe going. It’s part of the whole show; we like to treat our audiences,” Dwyer said. “In this business, in addition to the singing, you need to have a marketing image.”

The Irish Sopranos hope to be in the business for a while.

“We’re not sure of the shelf life. We’d like to get to the level of the Irish Tenors. We love the small theaters — the people are so friendly. At the same time, we’d like to play bigger halls,” Dwyer said. “Professionally, we’re at that level. It’s just a matter of breaking it to the next level.”

In January, the women plan to head back to the studio to record a follow-up to A Time for Us. “We’re thinking of hitting people with Irish and inspirational songs for the next album,” Dwyer said.

Toledo Free Press ■ 25

MEDIA

Radio show provides jazz lover therapeutic medicine

By Sandra Whitta Special to Toledo Free Press

Local libraries offer exhibits and concerts to celebrate the life of Beatle John Lennon, page 33

The Irish Sopranos, from left, Wendy Dwyer, Kay Lynch and Deirdre Masterson will perform Dec. 10 at the Maumee Indoor Theater.

ARTS&LIFE

When Suzanne Carroll’s interest was first sparked in jazz, she never dreamed the music would become an important therapeutic influence in her life.

As host and producer of The Jazz Brunch on 101.5 WRVF, The River, Carroll said she uses her love for jazz to help her cope with Multiple Sclerosis, which she was diagnosed with six months prior to beginning the show.

“Listening to jazz all these years has been almost like medicine. It has been a battle, but the jazz has really done a nice job of sustaining me,” Carroll said.

Carroll now celebrates her 10th year on The Jazz Brunch, which originally aired on WIOT, a rock station. Soon after its revival on smooth jazz station, WJZE, Carroll purchased the airtime and began to operate the entire show herself.

Having ownership allowed Carroll to move the show to different stations before it found its home for the past five years on WRVF. “It is my passion and it is quite

an honor to have 10 years in radio because radio is a fickle business in any market,” Carroll said.

The music played on Carroll’s show every week comes from the 5,500 CDs in her personal collection. “If it doesn’t feel good to me, it doesn’t get on the show,” Carroll said. “The show is a threehour jazz journey that is cool and groovy and a great way to spend your Sunday morning.”

Don Gosselin, former program director of WRVF, said Carroll’s show is a Sunday morning tradition, which airs live every Sunday from 9 a.m. until noon.

“It is the perfect show at the perfect time of the day,” Gosselin said. “It is the only outlet for jazz music on the radio in this town.

To be on such a radio station that has a very large coverage area brings wonderful jazz music to a lot of people.”

While many jazz stars have been on her show, one of Carroll’s favorite moments was when David Lander came for Mother’s Day this year. “That was absolutely amazing, having someone who has that unbelievable experience in stage, television, broad-

CARROLL casting and MS. He enhanced the understanding of jazz and MS in our community.”

While there are no anniversary celebrations in December due to her speaking on Dec. 15 for the Louisiana chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Baton Rouge and an upcoming MS-related surgery, Carroll plans on scheduling parties in January through the spring.

ARTS & LIFE IN FOCUS

FOOD&DINING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

26

HOLIDAY

UNTANGLED VINE

Teaching a man to fish ...

The Associated Press

I

am constantly asked what my favorite wine is, or more to the point, what others need to know to best spend their money. They think the wineeducated are part of a secret “in the know” club where we know which wines to buy and they don’t. While there is a thread of truth to that, I am always uncomfortable recommending wines to the novice drinkers. I believe this would simply make me an enabler to the winedysfunctional.

I loathe recommending specific wines to the neophytes because I never feel like I have a firm grasp of where their tastes lie. The uninitiated seem to have a real problem articulating what they like without using the ultimate enigma of wine descriptors: dry. I’ll write a much more tangential rant about “dry” somewhere down the line, but for now, please refrain from using this term unless you are 100 percent sure of what it means (i.e. the opposite of sweet, ergo, almost all wine).

I always feel like I need to give them a list of detailed instructions about what to look for and the historical significance of the vineyard, etc ... for a specific wine.

There are also certain sophistication signposts along the road of wine education that are like tax brackets. The wine drinker doesn’t know they’ve passed them until they are told they’ve passed them. For example, Americans don’t immediately understand red wines with acidity. When a consumer understands, say, a good Cotes du Rhone, or any myriad of central and northern Italian reds, that is step one. I don’t know how many steps there are, but I would be hesitant to offer a Gruner Veltliner to just anyone on the street. Even though the

Adam Mahler wines are fabulous, 98 percent of the people who drink wine wouldn’t appreciate the offer.

I know I could solve all of the above issues by recommending a nice, well-made, middle of the road $15 Aussie Shiraz, but that’s not what I want to do. Instead, I recommend wine books, wine tasting events, tasting groups. There is a reason why people become obsessed with wine, and it’s impossible to show the inexperienced the next great wine. It’s sort of like the difference in looking at the vast countryside from a hill or from space. The only way to truly take it all in is to start experiencing as much as possible.

For me, the most amazing thing is palate memory. You can just immerse yourself in all of the wine available, and one day it will all just click. You aren’t required to study or take notes; just simply pay attention to places, vintages and names, and it will all begin to make sense without any effort. Our palates will do all of the work for you. Of course, it’s always better to explore in a tasting group, and spend some time working on your vocabulary.

Ask me what wine I recommend, I’ll reply “give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

Visit Adam Mahler’s blog at http://untangledvine.blogspot.

Take a grape trip Visit some of the nation’s prestigious wineries with a wine tour scheduled through The Vineyard in the Westgate Village shopping plaza. You can schedule your own

customized tour to places such as Santa Barbara, Napa, and Walla Walla Valley. To learn more about sampling wineries, visit www.westgatevineyard.com/tours.

Spicy option for leftover turkey

By The Associated Press

You may just happen to have some cooked turkey around, and be looking for an easy way to give it a new identity. Try this one: a low-fat recipe that gives a tasty

FOOD&DINING

November 30, 2005

new twist to the classic Spanish paella, with chorizo, saffron and smoked paprika for authentic flavor and color.

The recipe is from the November issue of Cooking Light magazine, and besides being low in fat, it CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

will take about 42 minutes of your time to put it on the table, by the magazine’s estimate.

Ingredient tips: Use Spanish paprika for this recipe, since regular paprika won’t give you the same rich, smoky flavor.

Turkey-Sausage Paella • 2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium • chicken broth • 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads • Cooking spray • 2 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage • 1/2 cup chopped onion • 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice • 1/4 cup dry white wine • 1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika • 1 41/2-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained • 2 cups shredded cooked turkey breast (about 8 oz.)

• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Combine broth and saffron in a small saucepan over low heat; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chorizo to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.

Remove chorizo from pan with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Add onion and pepper to pan; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add rice; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine and paprika; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in broth mixture and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Gently stir in turkey, peas and parsley; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Makes 4 servings (serving size 11/2 cups).

Nutrition information per serving: 297 cal., 9.8 g total fat (3.3 g saturated), 25.5 g pro., 26.2 g carbo., 3.1 g fiber, 54 mg chol., 746 mg sodium.

����������� “Ordinary”������

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Toledo Free Press ■ 27

CHEF KELLY

Hammin’ it up for Christmas

M

y family will never again be subjected to sub-standard hams of Christmas pasts. I was introduced to Country Hams recently; it is America’s equivalent to the great cured hams of Europe.

The European hams we know by such names as Proscuitto di Parma, Jamon Serrano among others. A client asked me to serve “waterless” ham at their event. I had never heard that particular term for a ham; flavorless, yes, waterless, no.

I had a sneaking suspicion what it might be, so I asked if maybe she was referring to a Smithfield dry aged ham. I explained that Country Hams were dry cured with salt or sugar along with other spices or pepper, but no water is added, thus qualifying them technically as a waterless ham.

I Googled waterless hams and came up with several hits. As I was reading through material I had on my desk, I came across two more producers. I began to realize that this might be a new ham trend in the making. There are three producers of what chefs around the country are calling artisanal hams. Rufus Brown of Smithfield N.C. is one of the few small commercial producers who still hangs country hams for longer than six months. Nancy Newsome in Princeton, Kent. and Sam Edwards of Surry, Virg. were two others I found. Both cure and hang

Kelly Digby

their hams for over two years.

These hams termed “Proscuitto style boneless ham” are showing up in restaurants across the country. Nancy says her biggest market is Kentucky; her next biggest market is California. Mr. Brown says that more and more people are eating his hams like Proscuitto too, uncooked. He even markets it in small packages, just like we find Italian Proscuitto.

Although he notes that down south, Country Hams like his were never eaten without first cooking them. Traditionally, they are soaked overnight to remove some of the salt from the curing

process, and then simmered in a sweet liquid like ginger ale or cheap champagne. This helps to neutralize the salinity. Then they are glazed and baked. One recipe I saw was a two-day process (that’s dedication). Fortunately for me, you can also get them pre-soaked and precooked, so all you have to do is warm them in the oven.

You may be wondering, are we seeing more domestically produced Proscuitto style hams in the market? Well, consider that our European cousins are selling their hams for $20 -$30 dollars or more a pound versus a whole bone in ham aged about a year for $4.50 a pound.

Does it taste the same as Proscuitto? The one I tasted was saltier, drier and more firm than some Proscuitto di Parma I have had. It has a hint of sweetness to it too. I actually prefer it to Italian Proscuitto.

So you may be wondering what I’m serving at my clients event: I settled on a Jordan Wine Glazed Country Ham. It is going to be amazing!

Chef Kelly Digby, owner/chef of Inspired Kitchen Chef & Catering Services in Findlay, started her own culinary business in California in 1998 and has worked in the culinary industry for 30 years. She may be contacted at imcookin4u@woh.rr.com.

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28

> NEW IN THEATERS: ‘AEON FLUX’ STARRING CHARLIZE THERON; ‘TRANSAMERICA’ STARRING FELICITY HUFFMAN

NOV

DEC.

30-01-02-03-04-05-06

05

tear sheet Y O U R W E E K LY T O U R O F T H E T O L E D O Z E I T G E I S T

PARTING

MUSIC NOTES FRI DEC 2 AJ Doolittle’s, Lambertville

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Toledo Museum of Art Club Music Friday

Over the Rhine, Kim Taylor Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

Brendan Benson

Bowling Green State University Kobacker Hall

Women’s Chorus, A Cappella Choir

Latino heritage The Sophia Quintero Art and Cultural Center will hold a fundraiser, “Noche de Cena, Cuentos y Canto,” Dec. 10 at 1225 Broadway St. A chicken mole dinner will be held at 6 p.m. and a coffee house will be from 7 to 11 p.m.

There will be music, folktales, poetry and dance, accompanied by pastries, tea and Mexican coffee. All are invited to share in an open mic for Latinorelated folktales, stories and songs. Dr. Rane Arraya, poet and playwright, will be one of the artists attending. Mexican arts and crafts will be sold as well. Tickets are $25, $10 for seniors and youth under 18; (419) 241-1655.

the AGENDA 1

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

The Coming Attractions Players, Toledo’s newest community theater, under the direction of Lora Pheils, will present Harry Segall’s classic comedy/fantasy, “Heaven Can Wait” (based upon the 1944 film “Here Comes Mister Jordan” and the 1978 Warren Beatty film), Dec. 1-3 at the newly renovated Maumee Indoor Theater, Conant Street. Tickets are $8; www.comingattractionsplayers.org.

2 THIEVES

TAKE OVER

The Thieves, a guitar-driven rock band, with classic rock hooks and a sprinkle of Brit pop appeal, will be in Toledo at the Underground Dec. 2 to promote its album, Tales of the White Line.

For more information, visit www.thebandofthieves.com.

25 at 25 in 2005

Marisa Williams will celebrate having 25 books published by the age of 25 with a book release party at 9 p.m. Dec. 3 at Headliners.

Live music featuring Dred Heavyness (formerly 7 Days Stoned), Torrence, Filmore Slim, and Goiter Jelly. $5 in advance, $7 at the door; www.headlinerstoledo.com.

MISTLETOE JAM Join 106.5 The Zone for its MistleToe Jam featuring Story of the Year with Stretch ArmStrong, Dec. 18 at Headliners; (419) 474-1333.

������������������

Christmas lights popped up around Toledo, though not all as elaborate as the display at this home on Lehman Avenue. Decorated with a nearly full line-up of Christmas favorites from Jesus to Frosty. And yet I wonder, did I overlook the Abominable Snowman and the elf who wanted to be a dentist?

Technical information: this photo was taken at 1/15 sec., ISO 200, f/2.8 and 28mm with a Minolta Dimage 7Hi.

DM Stanfield is Toledo Free Press photo editor. He may be contacted at dmstanfield@toledofreepress.com.

top of the LIST

Bronze Boar

Russel Martin & The Relics Cleveland State University Wolstein Center

Drew Carey & Improv All-Stars Headliners

Tech N9ne, Critical Bill Fox Theatre, Detroit

“Radio City Christmas Spectacular” Grog Shop, Cleveland

Tarantula

House of Blues, Cleveland

Sinead O’Connor, Sly & Robbie MT Loonies

Taste of the Holidays, a preview of the Manor House holiday decorations with brunch included, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 3 at the Ward Pavilion. Seating for brunch is available at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. The cost is $5, children under age 2 free. For reservations call (419) 407-9720. Holidays in the Manor House, runs Saturday and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 4-11.

Edgy Reading Participate in “The Deconstruction of Hamlet” by Jason Huysman, 8 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Toledo Rep Theatre, 16 Tenth St. This 90-minute reduction of Shakespeare’s classic focuses on Hamlet’s downward spiral of desperation caused by loving the ones around him too much. The play uses Shakespeare’s original language, rearranged and adapted

by University of Toledo and Ohio University F.F.A. Graduate, Jason Huysman. Directed by UT Professor Emeritus and former chairman of the Theatre and Film Department Charles Vicinus, the cast is led by Matthew Kizaur as Hamlet, a role that he has previously played in its entirety. Tickets are $20; (419) 243-9277.

Chris Walton’s Gospel Jazz Trio & Praise Dancers Great Gallery

Lourdes College Choirs

SAT DEC 3 AJ Doolittle’s, Lambertville

Jeff Tucker & On the Beach Agora Theatre, Cleveland

From Autumn to Ashes

Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Cleveland

Living Colour, Danielia Cotton, Rock Kills Kid, She Wants Revenge, The Lovemakers Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

Ekoostik Hookah Bowling Green State University Bryan Recital Hall

Rah! Cappella

Brewed Awakenings

Tim Fritz, of the Harvest Gypsies Bronze Boar

Big Blues Bob & The Thin Ice Band

Cyndi Lauper

Brad Paisely, Sara Evans, Sugarland

Mickey Finn’s Pub

Club Bijou

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

Glass Bead Game Murphy’s Place

Javon Jackson Quartet

in the Manor House

Jim Brickman

Cleveland State University Wolstein Center

MAS FiNA

Holidays

From Autumn to Ashes

Stranahan Theater

“A Christmas Celebration” with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra

must DO

St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit

Jeff Tucker & On the Beach

Bowling Green Church of the Nazarene

S HOT

29

Quickens Loans Arena, Cleveland

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Attacked by Wolves, Stereomod, Simon Carter Band Fox Theatre, Detroit

“Radio City Christmas Spectacular” Grog Shop, Cleveland

Adult

Headliners

Dred Heavyness, Torrence, Filmore Slim, Goiter Jelly House of Blues, Cleveland

Frontiers — tribute to Journey Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

Dave Matthews Band, Soulive MT Loonies

MAS FiNA Lourdes College Franciscan Center, Sylvania

Holiday concert featuring Nutcracker Suite of Ellington & Strayhorn Magic Stick, Detroit

From First to Last Mickey Finn’s Pub

Michael Kelsey Murphy’s Place

The Murphys with Glenda Biddlestone and Roosevelt Hatcher Peabody’s Down Under, Cleveland

ForDireLifeSake, Stretch Arm Strong, Whole Wheat Bread, The Suicide Machines

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University of Michigan Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor

Dillinger Escape Plan, Horse the Band, The Bronx

SUN DEC 4 The Ark, Ann Arbor

Box of Cats

University of Michigan Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor

Lowen, Navarro, David Mead Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Cleveland

Handel’s “Messiah” by the Ann Arbor Symphony

Bowling Green State University Kobacker Hall

Westgate Chapel

Ellis Paul

“The Messiah” by the Toledo Choral Society

Bowling Green Philharmonia

Cleveland State University Wolstein Center

MON DEC 5

Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Harry Shearer, Judith Owen

Fox Theatre, Detroit

“Radio City Christmas Spectacular”

House of Blues, Cleveland

Fiona Apple, David Garza

Grog Shop, Cleveland

Magic Stick, Detroit

Drive-Thru Tour featuring A Day at the Fair, Allister, Fenix TX, Houston Calls

14th annual oldfashioned holiday variety show featuring Eddie Boggs

Murphy’s Place

Owens Community College Express, University of Toledo Faculty and Student Combos

Magic Stick, Detroit

Ashlee Simpson

Toledo Museum of Art Great Gallery

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

Maumee Community Band, Bal Vihar Youth Dancers

St. Patrick of Heatherdowns

Rico McNeela, United Jewish Council of Greater Toledo, Sufi Dancers

Gallagher

Rock Kills Kid, She Wants Revenge, The Lovemakers

State Theatre, Detroit

The Ark, Ann Arbor

Toledo Museum of Art Great Gallery

University of Toledo Student Union Auditorium

Ritz Theatre, Tiffin

St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit

Blind Boys of Alabama, Mavis Staples “A Christmas Celebration” with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra

Handel’s “Messiah” by the Ann Arbor Symphony

Lourdes College Franciscan Center, Sylvania

Heidelberg College/Tiffin University concert

Cleveland

The Fully Down, Post Break Tragedy, Mason, After Trust Is Betrayed, A Red Day

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

Sounds of Christmas �� � ���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������

The Underground

Between the Buried and Me, Dillinger Escape Plan, Horse the Band, The Bronx

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

COMPILED BY VICKI L. KROLL Playhouse Square Center, TUE DEC 6

Palace Theatre, Cleveland

Barenaked Ladies, The Leevees

Carly Simon, Ben Taylor

St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit

Palace of Auburn Hills

Manheim Steamroller

Central Catholic High School will present its annual “Sounds of Christmas” show at 4 p.m. Dec. 11 in the school’s Sullivan Center. Performing groups include the Glee Club, Mixed Chorus,

The Dandy Warhols

Jane Siberry Bronze Boar

Fox Theatre, Detroit

“Radio City Christmas Spectacular” House of Blues, Cleveland

Lyfe Jennings Murphy’s Place

Ryan Erard Trio, The Murphys The Odeon, Cleveland

A Life Once Lost, As I Lay Dying, Madball, Norma Jean Palace of Auburn Hills

Brian McKnight, Babyface

UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall

UT Jazz Ensemble

WED DEC 7 The Ark, Ann Arbor

Bettye LaVette Bronze Boar

Chris Knopp & Friends Epworth United Methodist Church

“A Christmas Celebration” with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra Fox Theatre, Detroit

“Radio City Christmas Spectacular” Hi-Fi Club, Cleveland

George Lynch Murphy’s Place

Rachel Z Trio Toledo Sports Arena

Lil’ Wayne, T.I., Young Jeezy

UT Doermann Theater

University Bands concert

Wilbert’s Food & Music, Cleveland

New Riders of the Purple Sage

Gospel Choir, Concert Band, and String Orchestra. Adult tickets are $6 for floor seats, $5 for bleacher seats. Student tickets are $4 for floor seats, $3 for bleacher seats; (419) 255-2280.

BE THERE. DO THAT. AUDITIONS The Toledo Opera auditions: for

“Pagliacci” from 2 to 4 p.m.

Dec. 11 at 425 Jefferson Ave, Suite 600. Open for children ages of 6 to 10, 4-feet tall or shorter; (419) 255-7464.

PERFORMANCES It’s a Wonderful Death: murder mys-

tery dinner, 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at Louis G’s, 5147 Main St., Sylvania; (419) 824-3000.

Air Force Band of Flight: 8 p.m. Dec. 3 at Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd.; (419) 381-8851.

Raggedy Ann and Andy: 1 and 3:30 p.m. Dec. 3-4 at Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Blvd. $4 children and seniors, $6 adults; (419) 244-5061.

Pat Travers: 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at Gumbo’s Bayou Grille, The Docks. $13; (419) 474-1333.

HOLIDAY Heralding the Holidays: Dec. 2-4 at Toledo Botanical Gardens, 5403 Elmer Dr. Hours vary, free; (419) 936-2986.

Holiday Carriage Rides: Levis Commons, Perrysburg. $2 per person, $5 per family. Dates vary; (419) 931-8888.

Carols at Christmas: Masterworks Chorale, 8 p.m. Dec. 3, and 4 p.m. Dec. 4 at Epworth United Methodist Church, 3077 Valleyview Dr. $25 reserved, $20 general; (419) 244-0544.

OTHER Community Writers’ Workshop:

6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 5 at Owens College; (567) 661-7385.

24-Hour Playwriting Festival: 9 p.m.

Dec. 2 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3 in the UT Center for Fine and Performing Arts Center Theatre, 2801 W. Bancroft; (419) 530-2375.

Keith Bergman

Platters that matter

S

ome good stuff to hit my desk recently: ■ New Black, Time Attack (Thick Records): Boy-girl quartet from Chicago puts the ROCK in indie-rock, infusing charismatic, hard-driving, keyboard-laced tunes with an urgent edge. Slot it between PJ Harvey, the Dandy Warhols and the Pixies on a Devo binge. Most of Time Attack is short, sweet and infectious like you wouldn’t believe, but the band isn’t afraid to get a little out-there (see hypnotic eightminute drone “Devil In Your Car”). Several too-clever throwaway songs keep it from true greatness, but there are some contenders here for Single of the Year.

■ Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Naturally (Daptone): They just don’t make ‘em like this any more — soulful rhythm and blues with a real band, a real singer and real stories of love, loss, heartbreak and knowing you’re gonna regret it in the morning. Jones is a middle-aged soul sister with a voice that can peel paint one second and heal broken hearts the next, and the Dap-Kings are a staggeringly tight, slippery, funky band.

Listening to this could actually move you to tears when it truly sinks in how much we’ve lost in our musical culture.

■ C. Gibbs, Parade of Small Horses (Dren/ Rubric): Intense, spooky alt-country darkness from this singer/songwriter, often compared to the likes of Nick Cave, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. Big shoes to fill? Yeah, but Gibbs does the job, and well. This is the kind of record that takes you places and sends chills down your spine, with evocative guitar work like the soundtrack to a movie that’s yet to be made. If there’s any justice, Gibbs won’t stay under the radar much longer — anyone into Wilco, Jeff Buckley or the Drive-By Truckers will flat-out love Parade of Small Horses.

■ My Dad Is Dead, A Divided House (Unhinged Records): Cleveland native Mark Edwards formed his startlingly-named band in the mid-’80s, originally performing solo with a drum machine. After almost two decades on various indie labels, he’s back to doing it on his own, with help from his Ohio colleagues from Gem and Prisonshake. His faster songs are as charming as his slow ones are plaintive and haunting, and the amiably edgy jangle of the guitars will strike a familiar chord with anyone who came of age when it was still “college rock,” not “alternative.” Great songs, well worth seeking out for fans of Lou Barlow, Guided By Voices or even Built to Spill.

■ The Mutts, Life In Dirt (Fat Cat): This UK band has the pedigree down — hip and quickly out-of-print singles, tours with The Dirtbombs and the Soledad Brothers, and a cool, quirky, noisy sound. Think somewhere between funky pre-Ace of Spades Motorhead, stoner boogie (“My Town” could be a lost Five Horse Johnson tune), The Who, early Billy Idol and something you might have heard sandwiched between the Talking Heads and the Ramones onstage at CBGB during the Carter administration. Garage-y goodness, best served with a cold one (or three).

November 30, 2005

ARTS&LIFE

Toledo Free Press ■ 31

EXHIBIT

Decades of Alessi at Paula Brown Gallery From Staff Reports

Whether it’s a toilet bowl disguised as a potted plant or a stainless steel teakettle whose spout is a roost for a little red bird, Italian manufacturer Alessi’s household creations are contemporary works of art.

Collaborators of these designs represent some of the world’s most talented designers and architects: Philippe Starck, Michael Graves, Richard Sapper, Ettore Sottsass and Aldo Rossi, to name a few. Some are mileposts along a timeline of contemporary design; others are icons.

Several Alessi creations will be on display through Jan. 3 as part of a retrospective exhibit at the Paula Brown Shop, 912 Monroe St. The gallery is an authorized Alessi retailer.

The exhibit, “60 Years of Alessi,” is a journey in the history of Alessi objects through six decades from 1950 to 2000.

Each decade is represented by a group of objects, all associated with the events, lifestyle, applied arts and trends that have characterized a portion of the 20th century.

The Alessi company was founded by Giovanni Alessi in 1921 in the foothills of the Alps near Novara. Alessi was a skilled lathe turner, the last of a long line of craftsmen.

During the 1920s and 1930’s, Alessi made copper, brass and nickel silver tableware. Design, in the modern sense of the word, first appeared at the end of the 1930s with Alessi’s oldest son, Carlo. Trained as an industrial designer, he is the author of most of the objects that appeared between the mid-thirties and 1945. It was at this time the company began

Photos courtesy Alessi

Nail brush with bristles in polyamide. to call on freelance designers to architect new projects.

In 1970, Carlo placed his eldest son, Alberto, in the company. He and other family members brought fresh new style that helped the company become one of the leading and internationally renowned Italian Design Factories.

Over the years, Alessi experimented and expanded to new technologies, including wood, porcelain and ceramics, glass, crystal, electricity and electronics.

Today, more than 200 designers have produced creations for the company. The company employs about 500 people and produces about 7,500 items a day. It exports to about 60 countries.

Double wall coffee pot in silver.

Global nativities displayed The Interfaith Nativity Festival, hosted at the Perrysburg chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will feature a live nativity scene, Christmas music from several church choirs and community groups, and more than 500 crèches (nativity scenes) from around the world. The Festival takes place Dec. 2-4 and is free to the public.

“As the holiday season begins, we’re pleased to be hosting a multi-faith gathering to remember the birth of the Savior of the world,” said Wayne Terry, president of the Toledo Ohio Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We encourage local residents of all ages, denominations and beliefs to join us.”

The Interfaith Nativity Festival runs from 6 to 9 p.m.

���������������������� �����������������������

Dec. 2; 1 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3; and 2 to 7 p.m. Dec. 4. The live nativity will be on display from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3, with animals and living representations of the birth of the Savior. Light refreshments will be served to all visitors.

There will be performances by the Perrysburg Ecumenical Flute Choir, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Adult Choir, Zoar Lutheran Church Bell Choir, Perrysburg High School Vocal Music, Piano/Vocal Music from Anita Wilkin, Alayna Weiss, Julianne Hamilton, and Toledo Ohio Stake Young Adult Choir The Perrysburg chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located at 11050 Avenue Rd. in Perrysburg. For more information, call (419) 882-8749.

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32 ■ Toledo Free Press

November 30, 2005

ARTS&LIFE

November 30, 2005

Toledo Free Press ■ 33

Library remembers life, lyrics and legacy of John Lennon

HOLIDAY

By Keith Bergman Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Robert Shiels

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Mostly cloudy HI 37° LOW 28°

Partly sunny HI 35° LOW 25°

Mostly cloudy HI 36° LOW 24°

Mostly cloudy HI 35° LOW 22°

Dec. 8 is the 25th anniversary of the night Beatles founder John Lennon was gunned down in front of his apartment building by deranged fan Mark David Chapman. To commemorate Lennon’s life and work, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library presents “Paperback Writer: Lennon At Your Library” throughout the month of December.

All library locations are featuring displays of Lennon and Beatles materials and information, starting Dec. 1.

The highlight of the program will take place on Dec. 8.

A celebration of Lennon’s music is planned in the Audiovisual Department of the Main Library, 325 Michigan

From staff reports

A lot can be said of children and their timeless curiosity toward the legitimacy of jolly old St. Nick. Christmas enthusiast Byron Reese, of Texas, devised a way to prove there is a Santa Claus.

SantaMail.org, at the click of a mouse and $9.95 from your toy bag, will deliver a personalized, heirloom-quality letter from Santa to your child, complete with a North Pole, Alaska postmark and stamp. For those with more than one doubter at home, Santa has several stationary options.

“When I was a child, my parents would give us letters from Santa. My mom died three and a

half years ago, and I wanted to do this to honor her,” Reese said. “I entered it with low expectations, but we sold 10,000 the first year.”

He reported he has sent letters to nearly 100,000 children in the past three years. Cards range from Christmas-themed to birthday greetings to a “Greetings from Hawaii” postcard from a tanned, beach-bound Santa.

Orders are guaranteed for delivery before Christmas if placed

by Dec. 15.

Reese said his Christmas agenda won’t stop with letters from Santa.

“Someday I hope to deliver coolers of snow to people in hotclimates,” he said.

ARTS & LIFE BRIEF Perrysburg ballet dancer to perform Diana Dixon, alumnus of the Contemporary Ballet of Perrysburg and former student of Perrysburg Academy of the performing Arts, has been selected to perform in Denison University’s dance event, Dance Mix. Dixon, a freshman at Denison, will dance in the ballet portion of the performance, which will take place at Denison’s Doane Hall on Dec. 8-10.

Contemporary Ballet of Perrysburg will perform at the Commodore Building on Louisiana Avenue in Perrysburg on April 23. For information, contact the Perrysburg Academy of the Performing Arts at (419) 874-6773.

Daily Catholic Mass ��

SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES CHAPEL Cherry and Superior Streets

Monday through Friday

11:45 a.m. - Noon ~ Confessions 12:05 p.m. ~ Mass

By Elizabeth Hazel

and Horoscope

December 7 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Maumee Indoor Theater $79/per person

Events: New Moon in Sagittarius on Dec 1st. Mercury direct station on Dec 3rd.

What goes down must go up. Your luck changes for the better during this period, and you swiftly fly forward. Keep enthusiasm in bounds; read fine print on the 5th. Unplanned meetings on the 7th may lead to travel, adventure, or a cutting-edge perspective.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) New friends revive happy memories. One by one, obstacles are removed from your path and exciting vistas become visible. Apply tenacity and determination to your best efforts during this period; you can change your life dramatically with the right choices and actions.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Show your stuff. Meetings on the 2nd are extremely lucky, and help you turn around frustrating situations.

The weekend brings happy gatherings, but don’t overindulge. The 6th-7th give you a chance to prove capabilities, and extend network to distant places.

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Release sources of worry. Initiate a fresh agenda on the 2nd; revel in get-togethers and special events over the weekend. Discrepancies in past finances require correction on the 5th. Memories float to the surface on the 7th-8th; examine changing attitudes about the past.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Hope returns after discouragement. This moon cycle inspires love and self-expression. Separate expectations from guilt and unworthy motives from the 3rd-5th; call a time-out if needed. Laughter heals bruised egos on the 7th-8th; abandon Greek tragedy mode!

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Contemplate a new future path. Unusual offers nudge your adventurous side on the 1st-2nd. Expect a weekend of discoveries — some shocking, some joyful. Contact with people at a distance from the 6th-8th gives a glimpse of cosmopolitan styles and retro revivals.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Separate true desires from superficial values. People in authority aid in resolving old business from the 1st-3rd. Remove irritating obstacles and push for substantial progress; power battles rage over the weekend. A spiritual encounter soothes your soul on the 7th.

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Mini blinds Wood blinds Faux wood blinds Fabric & vinyl verticals

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Aquarius (January 20-February 18) Pitch a pinch of salt for luck. Benefits through partners or children arrive on the 1st-3rd. Gossip swirls over the weekend, be skeptical if it sounds wildly exaggerated. Personal interests are the focus on the 6th-7th; be ruthless with purging excess stuff.

Elizabeth Hazel is a professional tarotist-astrologer and author. She has been giving tarot-astrology readings at Manos Greek Restaurant every Wednesday night since 1990.

She may be contacted at ehazel@buckeye-express.com. (c) 2005

Next day turn-around Ultrasonic cleaning

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Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Embrace learning opportunities on all levels. Solutions to goofy situations arrive on the 1st-3rd. Enjoy a weekend of romance and pleasures. On the 6th7th, you get kudos for something you forgot you did, or for efforts you thought nobody noticed.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Patience is peaceful anticipation. Life-changing choices emerge as the year ends, but may generate confusion or conflicting options during this period. Strong personalities may attempt to sway you over the weekend; let crucial decisions wait until after the 7th.

We pick up & deliver Take down & re-hang

Say “No” To Chipped Paint

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Wishes can come true. Critical career moves can be initiated in the coming weeks, and relationship glitches smoothed. Hone goals to fit opportunities on the 1st-2nd. Challenges fire ambitions over the weekend. Confer with loved ones on the 6th; take advice to heart.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your romance bone is twitching. Surprising turnarounds manifest during this period, particularly on the 2nd-3rd. Grab the goods with gusto. Tangled relationships present quandaries on the 5th. Think it over and adjust tactics after the 6th.

ON THE WEB www.toledolibrary.org

Window Blind/Shade Cleaning & Repair

2006 Business Goals Workshop

Dec. 1 - Dec. 8, 2005

Aries (March 21-April 19)

larizing the then-novel idea of the “house-husband.” In 1980, he embarked on a comeback, recording the Double Fantasy album with wife Yoko Ono to positive reviews. The single “(Just Like) Starting Over” was climbing the charts when Lennon was assassinated by Chapman in New York, and a career that seemed destined for an impressive new chapter was cut short.

A list of scheduled performers was not available at press time. Any performers still interested in securing a two-song slot at the event should contact Meg Delaney at (419) 259-3333.

BUSINESS CARD BLAST

Third Rock Your Tarotgram

Solid proof of Santa Almanac

Street. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., local artists will perform live, acoustic versions of their favorite Lennon tunes, in a concert that is free and open to the public.

Lennon and his bandmates, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, became the biggest and most influential group of the rock era in a short, but prolific, six-year recording career (though the band had spent years toiling in the clubs of Britain and Germany prior to its success). In April 1970, with the Beatles disbanded, Lennon embarked on a solo career, yielding hit songs such as “Watching the Wheels,” “Imagine” and “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.”

After a few rocky years of uneven musical output and notorious public behavior, Lennon sobered up and retired from music to become a stay-at-home father in 1975, popu-

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TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS, CALL (419)

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MHP-ChestpainMfullFreepress

CLASSIFIEDS

34 ■ Toledo Free Press

11/28/05

3:50 PM

Page 1

November 30, 2005

TO PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD, CALL (419) 241-8500.

AUTO DONATIONS DONATE YOUR CAR $3,000 GIFT IRS Deduction. Free Pick Up ABUSED WOMEN’S NETWORK 1 (800) 541-6004 Se habla espanol.

DONATE A CAR TODAY To Help Children And Their Families Suffering From Cancer. Free Towing. Tax Deductible. Children’s Cancer Fund of America, Inc. www.ccfoa.org 1 (800) 835-9372 DONATE YOUR CAR - SPECIAL KIDS FUND Be Special! Help Disabled Children with Camp and Education. FREE Towing, DMV Paperwork!

Tax deduction. Call 1 (877) GIVE-TO-KIDS (448-3865). www.specialkidsfund.org

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ****$5,000 - $50,000++ FREE CASH GRANTS! 2005! NEVER REPAY! Personal/Medical Bills, School, Business/Home!

Approx. $49 billion left unclaimed in 2004! Live Operators, CALL NOW! 1 (800) 681-5732 Ext. 30 $EARN INSTANT CASH$ Sending E-mails Online. Make $25.00 Per E-Mail!

Guaranteed Paychecks! More Amazing Programs!

Data Entry Work Available. Incredible pay!

Sign up today! www.RealCashPrograms.com MOVIE EXTRAS, ACTORS & MODELS! Make $100 - $300/Day. No Experience Required.

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Easy! Guaranteed Paychecks. No Experience Necessary. Full Training Provided. Immediate Openings Now Available. Register Online Today with www.HomeTypers.com MOVIE EXTRAS Earn $150 - $300/Day TV, Music Videos, Reality, Movies, Commercials, Film and Print. All Looks, Types Needed. No Experience Necessary. 1 (800) 260-3949 ext. 3102

RETAIL WEEKLY eBAY RESELLERS NEEDED. Come Work With Us Online. Use Your Home Computer. No Experience Required.

Call Online Supplier. 1 (800) 940-4943 Ext. 1889 SECRET SHOPPERS NEEDED For Store Evaluations. Get Paid to Shop.

Local Stores, Restaurants, & Theaters.

Training Provided, Flexible Hours, E-mail Required.

1 (800) 585-9024, ext. 6262.

HOME FURNISHINGS GRANDFATHER CLOCK Beautifully Handcrafted by Holland House.

Solid Wood. Stands over 7 feet tall. New in box.

With warranty. Must sell. Can deliver. $295 1 (800) 657-4157

MEDICAL EQUIP./SUPPLIES VIAGRA Prescription Strength Alternative.

(30 blue tabs 100 mg. $89.95) No Prescription Needed! FREE Shipping.

1 (888) 527-0870, Ext. NN2 usaveonpills.com

SPAS/HOT TUBS 7-PERSON SPA Loaded. $96/month through Home Depot.

Cover, warranty. Can Deliver.

1 (866) 776-0999

FOR RENT DUPLEX FOR RENT 2 Units - Lovely 2 bedrooms, 1 Bath Quiet neighborhood on Northwood near Toledo Hospital. $400 - Upper Unit $550 - Lower Unit Call (419) 467-6472

RESIDENTIAL LOFTS The Bakery Building In historic Warehouse District $725/mo. to $1200/mo. Call (419) 255-8331 78 SAN RAFAEL (Off Hill) 3 BR. Ranch, Large fenced yard. $650/mo. (419) 283-8427 ON THE RIVER Unique 3 bedroom/1 bath house off Broadway in the Old South End. Nice views, quiet street. $775 per mo. + utilities. (Comes with one free sailing lesson.) Call (419) 345-6789

FOR SALE DISCOURAGED LANDLORD DONE WITH TENANTS! Disposing of rental with large master, newer kitchen, heat, electric. WAS perfect before tenant moved in!

Dropping to $20’s. 1252 South St. Call Anna (419) 283-8427

PERRYSBURG COMMERCIAL CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

Some permitted C2 uses are offices, retail, restaurant & more! $299K for 2 buildings, 2 garages and all land.

(419) 874-4676 or (419) 356-6886

PAINTING CUSTOM COATINGS Interior specialist Wallpaper, Faux Finish, Stain & Varnish Free Estimates.

Call (419) 514-8275

COMPLETELY REDONE 304 South St. 3 Bdrm., 2-story with 1st floor master & laundry.

Privacy fenced yard & garage. $40’s Anna (419) 283-8427 $0 DOWN HOMES No Credit Needed, Take over Payments, Pre-Foreclosed Sale. Call 1 (800) 961-6071 ApprovalAgent.com 3148 ELMONT RD. 3 BR. Ranch, 2-car attached, Family room, Sun room, Complete rehab. $120’s (419) 283-8427 GORGEOUS BI-LEVEL 5831 Sugar Hill Court 2003 home with dramatic, ceramic entry, a ravine view, custom decorated rooms, island kitchen.

4 bedrooms & 3 baths. Owner transferred.

Make offer. $180,000’s. (419) 283-8427

CHEAPER THAN RENT! 1134 Delence 2 bedrooms w/new furnace, privacy fence & garage.

In the $40’s! Call Anna (419) 283-8427 THE FRENCH MAID Will clean your house and you will be pleased!

Free estimates. (419) 873-0400

FINANCIAL

LANDSCAPE VAUGHN’S TREE SERVICE Tree removal by bucket. Tree topping, trimming, pruning. Lot clearing. Licensed & insured.

Free estimates. (419) 466-9632

TRUCKS TRUCK FOR SALE 2000 Chevy S-10 w/cap, extended cab w/3rd door, a/c, cd player, very nice interior and exterior.

Asking $7,995 Call (419) 754-3169 or (419) 787-3455

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WIDESCREEN TV Beautiful 52” Sony TV Great Christmas present!

Has warranty. $1,700 firm

(734) 240-2311

TO E M E TAK

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CALL (419) 473-2604 EXT. 125 TODAY!

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CLEANING/JANITORIAL

$CASH NOW$ AS SEEN ON TV Prosperity Partners pays you the most for your future payments from settlements, lawsuits, annuities, and lotteries. 1 (800) 373-1353 www.ppicash.com

WEST 3141 Tremainsville - 1 BR $450 + Electric (heat pd.)

5522 W. Alexis - 2 BR $450 + Electric 3149 Bellevue - 1 BR $450 + Electric (heat pd.)

1431 Brooke Pk - 1 BR $385 + Electric EAST 1133 Greenwood - 2 BR $550 + Electric (heat pd.)

1581 Mott - 1 BR $385 + Gas & electric 317 Graham - 1 BR $385 + Gas & electric SOUTH 4337 Hill - 1 BR $385 + Gas & electric 2841 Terrace Downs - 1 BR $385 + Gas & electric NORTH 1220 E. Manhattan - 2 BR $450 + Gas & electric 4559 N. Summit - 1 BR $385 + Gas & electric 3473 Brigham - 2 BR $450 + Gas & electric

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WE’LL BUY OR LEASE YOUR HOME TODAY Cash, Terms, or Debt Relief. Call (419) 345-5639

NEED CASH? HAVE A LAWSUIT? We Can Help! No Credit Check! No Bank or Job Needed. Money within 24 Hours.

Call 1 (866) 388-2288

SPECIAL: First mo. Rent free; Sec. Dep. Required; $25 Appl. Fee.

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5340 GOODWOOD AVE. 3 BR., 25 ft. Family room, Rec room, Office, 2-car attached and pole barn. $130’s. Call (419) 283-8427

$5,000 - $500,000 FREE CASH GRANTS! NEVER REPAY! Personal/Medical Bills, School, Business/Home! Live Operators, Approx. $49 billion unclaimed in 2004! CALL NOW! 1 (800) 270-1213, ext. 27

IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY

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©2005 Mercy Health Partners

ACTORS/MODELS

214 OSBORNE STREET Rossford. 2 BR., Large fenced yard. $595/mo. (419) 283-8427

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Listen to your heart.

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85% of heart muscle damage occurs in the first two hours of a heart attack. Warning signs often include tightness or pressure in your chest. Pain may also spread to your shoulders, neck and arms.

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CHEST PAIN CENTER

When you experience warning signs, call 911 or get to the accredited Chest Pain Center at the St. V’s ER immediately.

Our specialists can quickly assess chest pain, offering you the best chance to survive a heart attack.

You would expect nothing less from the region’s most trusted, comprehensive resource for cardiac care.

Call now for a FREE Heart Health Kit 419-251-4000.

Care you can believe in.® mercyweb.org/chestpain