Toledo Free Press – October 28, 2012 by Toledo Free Press

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OCTOBER

28, 2012

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Making the case

LISA SOBECKI and JEROME PECKO on why you should vote for the Toledo Public Schools levy. Story by Brigitta Burks, Page A6

A2 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

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Opinion

OCTOBER 28, 2012

Publisher’s statement

Heavy levies

t is not practical, logical or fair to give a blanket endorsement to every levy on the ballot. Nor is it logical or fair to dismiss every one of them without careful consideration. Toledo Free Press strongly endorses two levies on the ballot: O Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County: Service demands are outpacing this important organization’s resources. It has shown fiscal responsibility by eliminating nearly $3.2 million in programs and cutting staff levels by 20 percent, yet risks a nearly $1 million deficit in 2013. More than 24,400 people were served by the MHRSB this year, with needs increasing. It has submitted a strong and responsible strategic plan and has worked to deliver on its mission to “cultivate a high quality, efficient and accountable network of community assets dedicated to reducing the impact of mental illness and addiction.” This levy would cost $30.62 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home, according to the Chamber of Commerce. O Lucas County Children Services: Under the consistent and resourceful leadership of Thomas F. Pounds Executive Director Dean Sparks, LCCS has actually reduced the amount of its levy millage. “If it doesn’t end up passing this time or next time, that’s going to affect direct services for kids, services we contract for,” Sparks said. “We spend $350,000 for substance abuse services. Child advocacy contracts would be in danger, mentoring and tutoring for children would be in danger, not to mention there would be a significant layoff of our staff.” Other levies deserve your consideration. Michael S. miller Scott J. Savage, president of the Board of Park Commissioners, argues for the Metroparks: “Metroparks enhance property values and make communities attractive places to live and do business. The Metroparks play roles in education, environmental protection and the overall ‘livability’ of our region.” The 0.9-mill levy would replace the 0.3-mill levy that expires at the end of its 10-year term Dec. 31. If passed, the 0.9-mill levy will require renewal in 10 years. This levy provides the funds for the Metroparks system’s land acquisition, improvement projects and park operations. The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is placing a 2.9-mill levy on the ballot that if passed will replace and increase its 2-mill levy, which is due to expire at the end of this year. The current 2-mill levy has been in effect for four years. The proposed levy will require renewal in five years, said Clyde Scoles, executive director of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. With a total of seven levies on the ballot, voters face tough decisions. Not all the organizations on the ballot have made a strong case. Perhaps this jamup at the polls will cause some groups to think twice before they again pile on voters with this many requests on voters at one time. O Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

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LIGHTING THE FUSE

Lebanese Blonde

In one amusing and brief interlude, when the protagooledo is a city of great character and great characters. Its history and legacy is one of promise, potential, nists do visit the old country in Lebanon, they field quesdisappointment and eternal optimism. Its sprawl pre- tions about Toledo: “Has Toledo subway trains? How do vents the cohesive identity of more famous cities but also en- you like to eat in Ohio, the lamb or only the beef?” In “Lebanese Blonde,” Toledo represents that atmocourages the growth of enclaves of specific cultures. In Joseph Geha’s new novel, “Lebanese Blonde,” ($24.95, sphere of hope and slow resignation. Geha uses geography The University of Michigan Press) Toledo is as much a char- to set the boundaries for readers, evoking the “straight shot acter as it is a setting; Geha magnificently captures the feel up I-75 to Detroit,” Perrysburg to the south, Sylvania to the of the city through a steady and unobtrusive weaving in of west, “East Toledo, across the Maumee.” He is even more specific about the Toledo microits mundane daily details. cosm, setting scenes at Mercy Hospital The novel is set on the edge of Amerand mentioning Front, Water and Summit ica’s fireworks-laden 1976 Bicentennial as, streets. Oak Openings makes an appearacross the globe, Lebanon became engulfed ance, as does the red-light night life along in the explosions of sectarian civil war. It Monroe Street. follows two immigrants who use their fam“The North End is an old neighborily’s funeral home in what was known as hood,” Geha writes. “The curbs are set high Toledo’s “Little Syria” — “Mulberry, Supethe way they are to make it easier for a rider rior, Ash, Huron, Locust, back around to to dismount a horse. There are stretches Erie, Galena and Buckeye and Champlain” of Champlain Street near the Buckeye — to smuggle hashish into the country. Brewery where you can still see creosoteOne of the more potent strains, “Lebanese Michael S. miller soaked wooden paving blocks from the last Blonde,” is named in reference to the Lebanese immigrant women who would dye their hair blond century. In some places you have to watch out for trolley tracks left over from the olden days.” to fit in with Americans. Geha knows the sites Toledoans hold dear. When a war Geha knows the territory well (the neighborhood, not, to my knowledge, the drug trade), having moved to Toledo’s refugee “cousin” arrives in Toledo, his family takes him Little Syria as a 2-year-old in 1946. He attended St. Francis straight away to two primary destinations. First is the Toledo de Sales High School and graduated from the University of Zoo (where the “TZ” on the iron gates are joked about as an Toledo (which would have been Toledo University then). Arabic reference to “teezee,” meaning “my ass”) where they Geha is also the author of “Through and Through: Toledo marvel at the elephants, polar bears, gorillas, big cats and Stories,” a 1990 collection of stories about his life growing camels, just as we do today. The next stop is the Toledo Muup in Little Syria. He is currently a professor emeritus of the seum of Art, where, again, just as many do today, some of the works are appraised and dismissed with an “I coulda done creative writing program at Iowa State University. The novel is rife with references to life in Toledo, many that myself!” Geha even remembers the old museum coffee of which evoke nostalgia even as they highlight “some shop, with “glass-topped tables along an open walkway beneath a bank of skylight windows. You were supposed to feel things never change” elements of Toledo. One of the novel’s most powerful passages is its opening, like you were in an outdoor European café.” The characters in “Lebanese Blonde” walk up Monroe in which a patriarch who brought his family to America urges fellow immigrants to let go of drams of moving back Street to catch the bus, listening to Tigers baseball games on transistor radios tuned to WJR. They see Hopalong Casto Lebanon in favor of assimilating into the States. “They never came here to stay. Yousef stressed this. They sidy movies at the Mystic Theater on Bush Street. They hear came here to take the gold back with them and live out their commercials for Highland Appliance in West Toledo. They days like pashas. … ‘But,’ he would add, ‘the first step away watch Channel 13 for cop shows and Channel 11 for news. Geha’s lucid prose manages to be unsentimental when takes you all the way.’ So that in the end, who remembers the old country? … You rolled up your sleeves instead. You it needs to be, even as it measures out a clear nostalgia for learned the money first, then the language. ‘America grasps a lost way of life. And Toledo, as it does for so many of us, provides the you by the ankles of your children!’ … That trip back to the old country you were planning to take in five years? ‘Before background, inspiration and heartbreak. At 6 p.m. Nov. 8, Geha will sign copies of “Lebanese Blonde” you know it, ten years. Before you know it, fifteen!’” Even for those who made the pilgrimage back to the old at the Franklin Park Barnes & Noble, 4940 Monroe St. O country to die, “In the end your children will send for your body, have it boxed up and brought back to America to be Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com. buried. Your dust, now American dust.” Thomas F. Pounds, President/Publisher tpounds@toledofreepress.com

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Opinion

A4 n Toledo Free Press

THE HOT CORNER: To the undecided ...

OCTOBER 28, 2012

DON LEE

Vote for public servants

he mainstream media say life adventure of having to make ends there are approximately 4 per- meet. He’s used to getting his way, and cent of people who consider will do or say whatever he thinks the themselves “undecided” about the crowd du jour wants to hear to meet presidential election. My personal his goal of becoming president. You opinion is there are more like four. never get the feeling that he wants to Not percent — the number four. If be president to help you and me. It’s there is even that small percentage more like it’s another notch on his gun of voters who haven’t made up their handle. It’ll be cool on his résumé, and minds yet after the nonstop cam- when he’s done with that, he can probpaigning and being bombarded by ably make some really lucrative bucks political ads day and night for as long by being on some large corporate as we can remember, they most likely boards. We’re not his people. Romney keeps touting how when will just not vote. The first thing undecided voters he was governor of Massachusetts, he worked with an 87 need to do to come to percent Democratic a rational decision is controlled legislature. to educate themselves During his one term on the candidates’ in office he vetoed 800 positions. In the case bills; 707 of these veof Mitt Romney, this toes were overridden. could take a while beHardly sounds like he cause they are prone was stepping across to changing month to the aisle to work with month, week to week the opposition. Add or even day to day. Don BURNARD to that the fact that he And pay particular attention to his statements, which was gone from the state for 212 days often seem to defy conventional during the last year of his term. He was already moving on. He already wisdom or wisdom altogether. A particular example just hap- had the governor notch. Next! He did enact Romneycare, which pened to play on a TV commercial even as I’m typing this. Romney states is virtually indistinguishable from that teachers have nothing to do with Obamacare, but he has dissembled on building a strong economy, and that that saying that while it was OK for smaller classes are just the teachers Massachusetts, it would devastate the union trying to get them to hire more nation if everyone had those benefits. teachers! I would be willing to bet that The real reason was the extreme right old Mitt never had 40-plus students in that he was pandering to considered his classes in elementary through prep the one thing he could remotely call a school, so it probably never occurred success to be an albatross around his to him that the quality of education neck. These are the same people who available to the hoi polloi in public don’t believe in any type of governschools is directly affected by class ment social programs, such as Social size. One teacher can hardly give any Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Since Ohio is now the center of the student any individual help or attention if she or he has to try to keep a political universe, we’ve been plastered large number of students engaged in 24/7 with political ads. My last piece of the educational process. Those who advice would be to follow the money. attended private schools have little or Since the Citizens United case gave no awareness of the trials and tribula- corporations the same rights as cititions that the middle class and poor zens, a lot of big money is paying for those ads. All of those Crossroads GPS generally face. Anyone who thinks that a well- ads are Karl Rove’s doing, paid for by educated populace has no bearing on anonymous money. Sheldon Adelson the economy is delusional or simply alone has invested $70 million to dedoesn’t care about the people not in feat Obama. Do you really think he his social set. Romney’s “47 percent” spent that money because he’s worried comments have been well reported about you? The Koch Brothers and and seem to bear this out. It’s not just Americans for Prosperity and many 47 percent that he doesn’t care about, other groups backed by big corporate however. The number is probably interests aren’t investing hundreds of double that at least. Romney seems to millions because they’re worried about have no real idea what life is like for you. The same groups are investing people who weren’t born with silver tens of millions to defeat Sen. Sherrod spoons in their mouths. He has spent Brown, too. Vote for your best interests, his entire life in a bubble of privilege not to enhance their bottom lines. Vote that has insulated him from the real- for the real public servants. O

the libertarian perspective: To the undecided ...

By Kenneth Sharp

For one election

f you now count yourself as an independent or undecided voter, it is likely because the party or candidate you once supported has not upheld their promises or your values. You are not alone. Large numbers of voters are leaving both the Democratic and Republican parties. After the second debate, a CNN poll graphic showed 25 percent of likely voters for Obama and 25 percent for Romney. That left 50 percent undecided. Well, that is unlikely; it would be safer to say that they know what the major parties are offering and reject them both. They are undecided because they can no longer support those they once did, but have not found an alternative. They are not undecided because they are unaware of the issues. They are undecided precisely because of the issues. Like you, they are unable to put up with the deception, doubledealing and power plays. You may have been a Tea Party conservative or Ron Paul Republican shut out of the Republican National Convention after behind-the-scenes rule changes, or an Occupy, anti-war activist let down by the new platform that abandoned civil liberties at the Democratic National Convention. Perhaps it was the National Defense Authorization Act, the unfathomable debt or continued wars under both parties that soured you. One or more issues are often the key. There have been many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied community who feel let down and abandoned by Obama’s stance on same-sex marriage, which he called a state issue. African-Americans as well as those concerned about civil rights know that “states’ rights” often means a back door to legal discrimination. Many conservatives have held back support because they oppose the health care law, Obamacare, and are concerned about Romney’s “repeal and replace” position. The fact that both candidates have Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other bailout recipients as major donors is troubling to both Occupy and Ron Paul groups. If you identify with this and have become undecided because of their actions, you will now be bombarded with rhetoric claiming that you must return to the fold or the “other” will get

into power. America as you know it and love it will disappear. To quote the vice president, that is malarkey. They are working on your fears because they know that a person will not make rational, informed decisions if they are afraid. The Democrats and Republicans do not want informed voters. They do not want voters to see that there are a number of other candidates, some of whom do and will support your values. There is a long list of other contenders, but only a few that are viable, that is, that are statistically able to win. In order to make the most informed decision, you should look at Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. In truth, you should look at Jill Stein, Green Party candidate, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party as well as others. Like me, you will find that you will reject most, but in the end it will reinforce an informed decision for one candidate who truly represents you and your values and not a vote out of fear. For you it may be one of the two old parties. For me it was Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. Another form of attack on the undecided voter is the tale of the wasted vote. It is another way to invoke your fear. They will tell you they too would consider voting for a minor candidate, but they can’t win. You want to vote for a winner, right? Remember, America as you know it depends on it. It is not true. Also, there is more than one type of victory. If a minor party breaks the 5 percent vote tally, it is eligible for matching federal funds, a voluntary diversion of tax money for campaigns. This would break the monopoly the two major parties have enjoyed in campaign finance. In the end though, if you vote for a candidate you have researched and found to be the one who most holds to your values, it is not a wasted vote. Your candidate may not win. That should never be the determiner. If you only do what you know is right when you know the outcome will be favorable to you, you do not have character or honor. And, frankly, if everyone who felt the need to vote for a third party did, that candidate could well win. I support Gary Johnson. As he recently said, “Be Libertarian with me for one election … And if, in four years we as a people decide we don’t like peace, prosperity and freedom, we can always vote tyranny back into office, again.” O

Opinion

OCTOBER 28, 2012

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

n A5

Children of liberty: To the undecided ...

By Scott Allegrini CHildren of Liberty

It is OK to not vote for Obama

our years ago, many people got caught up in the “historicalness” of the 2008 presidential election. Then-candidate Barack Obama was the man who could make us forget about our troubles. He was “The One” who could restore our credibility with the world, “The One” to provide good jobs for the jobless, “The One” to help the helpless, “The One” to slow the rise of the oceans and “The Only One” who could heal our country’s original sin, slavery. Obama was a blank slate on which we could project all of our hopes for change. In 2008, we knew in our gut that something wasn’t right because the world was hurting and our families were, too. We were spending too much, and we believed his promise to cut the deficit in half in his first term. We were tired of war, and we believed his promise to end it. It all sounded wonderful, a utopia, and because the self-professed “guardians” of the truth, the media, didn’t question any of his promises, it got caught in the whirlwind and helped us cling to that utopia without question.

Now, in 2012, it’s hard to find areas in which we are better off today than we were four years ago. In fact, financially many of us are worse off. The U.S. government has added $5 trillion to the national debt and President Obama has not cut the deficit in half but instead has increased it. The president promised that he would get us out of the wars, and while our military troops have withdrawn from Iraq, we have troops in at least 90 countries and have been aiding rebels in Libya and Jordan. The cost of the war in Afghanistan has increased during Obama’s presidency along with the number of casualties. Additionally, despite the stimulus spending and money thrown at companies like Solyndra and all the shovel-ready jobs that the President promised, the national unemployment rate is about the same as it was when Obama took office. There are a record 46 million Americans on food stamps; 8.7 million Americans are on disability and almost 48 percent of Americans pay no income tax. These are all stark reminders that President Obama has not accomplished what he promised during the whirlwind of his election. So what is the president’s plan for his second

term? More of the same, it seems. He is using the same 2008 playbook, as though he has not been president for four years. He talks about hiring more teachers. (that was what the 2009 stimulus was supposed to do), infrastructure jobs (again the 2009 stimulus) and of course the always popular investment in green energy (once more, stimulus 2009). Mr. President, this plan did not work the first time and even I know that if you try something and it doesn’t work, trying it again may not be the best course of action. As a country we will not survive if this trend continues. Given all of this, the silliness of this election season is astounding. With all the frightening and systemic changes happening in and to America, are we really talking about Big Bird, binders of women and whether the military still uses horses and bayonets? Our country has a 100 percent income-to-debt ratio, yet we are talking about a tall, yellow bird? (That would be like making $30,000 a year and having 30 thousand in credit card debt.) We have 7.8 percent unemployment and millions who have stopped looking for work, yet we debate horses and bayonets? The Titanic is sinking, and we are being told to listen to the utopic music of the on-deck string quartet to calm us into the “there is nothing

to worry about” mentality. I, for one, am sick and tired of being treated like a child who can’t handle the truth. I suspect that most feel the same way. President Obama has promised more of the same, more government spending and more government handouts. Americans don’t attack problems with government; we face the problem and tackle it. Entrepreneurs create jobs, not government. Small business grows our economy, not government. If neighbors are having a hard time, we care for them, not the government. At least that is what Americans used to do, have we changed? On Nov. 6, we will have a choice. Undecided? Understand that it’s OK to not vote for Obama. When a leader is not getting the job done, it’s time to vote him or her out. No regrets for the past. What’s done is done. It’s not too late to change course, but time is running out. Don’t put all hope in “change.” Put hope in the future of America: one that is focused on God-given freedom for all, and believes in the potential of each individual to pursue happiness. O Email columnist Scott Allegrini at letters@ toledofreepress.com.

Profile of Excellence: Kevin Williamson Owens Community College Alumnus

Kevin Williamson was born in Zaneseville, Ohio and moved to Toledo, Ohio when he was six.

About eight weeks into the 27-week training program, he was offered a job by the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.

Williamson knew in the second grade that he wanted to be a firefighter. He remembers playing with a firefighting toy set during a PTA meeting. From that point on, he learned everything he could about it.

“The Patrol training was good for me. I learned leadership skills and was away from home for the first time,” said Williamson.

He enrolled in Owens Community College immediately after graduation to start in the Fire Science program. “At Owens, I built relationships and networked. My professors were area chiefs and firefighters,” said Williamson. While attending Owens, he worked at a movie theater and taught tennis in the summer at Jermaine Park. In 1991, he graduate from Owens and sat for the Civil Service Exam. That year, 4,800 people took the test and only 100 would be hired. “Owens prepared me for the test. I knew the material very well,” said Williamson. While he was waiting for the results, he continued teaching tennis and working. In May of 1993, he decided to take the State Highway Patrol test as a back-up. He was hired and started training in Columbus. Kevin Williamson Lieutenant, Toledo Fire and Rescue Department Instructor, Owens Community College 1991 Fire Science Graduate

Even so, he quit his training and headed back to Toledo to start his dream job. Williamson continued to play and teach tennis. He even played in an Owens alumni tennis league. In 1997, at Owens the athletic director asked Williamson to teach the new tennis classes. In 2002, he was promoted to Lieutenant. As Lieutenant, he supervised fire dispatchers for two years and worked in the relief-pool as a substitute Lieutenant for various stations for several years. In 2011, he moved to Station 25. “I can’t see myself leaving my station until I retire,” said Williamson. He continues to teach at Owens and is now a United States Professional Tennis Association certified tennis instructor. His dual careers work well for him. “As a firefighter, I can teach classes at Owens and work,” said Williamson.

“At Owens, I built relationships and networked.”

Come Join The Fun Join the Alumni Association today and experience cultural events, community service, legacy scholarship opportunities and more. Reconnect with Owens online at www.owens.edu/alumni.

Shop ‘Til You Drop Head out by luxury coach on December 1 to Twelve Oaks Mall to enjoy a shopping excursion without the hassle of traffic. For more information call (567) 661-7876 or e-mail alumni@owens.edu.

For a complete calendar of events, please call Laura Moore at (567) 661-7410, e-mail alumni@owens.edu or go to www.owens.edu and click the Alumni and Donors link.

community

A6 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

EDUCATION

By Brigitta Burks

Toledo Free Press News Editor bburks@toledofreepress.com

Toledo Public Schools (TPS) is “super lean” when it comes to finances, said Lisa Sobecki, president of the Board of Education. TPS Superintendent Jerome Pecko agreed: “We’ve really stripped everything down to pretty much bare bones,” he said. This election season, TPS is asking voters to put some meat on those bones by supporting Issue 20. The 4.9-mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $150 per year. Originally, a 6.9-mill levy was sought, but that amount was lowered after TPS’ budget projections were reassessed. The levy would be for “providing for the emergency requirements of the district in the sum of $13,300,000,” according to the ballot language. In November 2010, voters rejected a 7.8-mill levy for TPS. Operating money has not increased for TPS since 2001. Its annual operating budget is about $300 million; about 23,000 students attend public schools in Toledo. During the past six years, TPS has carved about $125 million from its budget, Sobecki said. Schools have been demolished, programs have been cut (and reinstated, in the case of middleschool athletics) and positions have been eliminated, many through attrition. About 230 teachers retired last year, Pecko said. Sobecki said Pecko also operates with six cabinet members, down from 26 two administrations ago. n TPS LEVY CONTINUES ON A7

toledo free press photo and cover photo by joseph herr

TPS officials say levy crucial to long-term plan

Lisa Sobecki, president of the Toledo Public Schools Board of Education, and Jerome Pecko, Toledo Public Schools Superintendent.

The Toledo Community Foundation helps individuals, families and businesses meet their charitable goals. We are committed to enriching the quality of life for those in our community.

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419.241.5049 www.toledocf.org

community

OCTOBER 28, 2012

n TPS LEVY CONTINUED FROM A6

Different campaign

Pecko came on board as superintendent shortly before the 2010 election season. This year’s campaign is different in a few ways, he said. For one, the board finalized the levy decision in spring instead of August, giving it more time to plan. TPS was also out in full force during summer vacation with a recruitment/retention campaign. “We spent the whole summer trying to get the word out about the Toledo Public Schools. We did a lot of neighborhood walks; you saw us in all the parades in town, putting yard signs out,” Pecko said. This year, about 380 students did not re-enroll at TPS — as opposed to the usual 1,000-1,200 annually. Not all numbers are in the district’s favor, however. On Oct. 17, just weeks before the Nov. 6 elec-

t r a h

Retain

E G D JU

tion, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released its preliminary report card data. Toledo Public Schools was downgraded from a continuous improvement rating to academic watch. Its performance index rating was 81.8 out of 120, down from 83.1 last school year. Pecko said the scoring is not much different from last year. If a district fails to meet ODE’s “valueadded” expectations three years in a row, however, the district is downgraded. Value-added criteria measure how a student’s performance grows year to year and is based on certain reading/math tests for grades four through eight. This is the third year that TPS did not meet value-added criteria. Of the individual TPS schools, five were excellent, seven were effective, 19 were at continuous improvement, eight were on academic watch and 10 were on academic emergency. East Broadway, Pickett, Glenwood,

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Leverette, Marshall, Robinson, Rosa Parks, Samuel M. Jones at Gunckel Park, Sherman and Spring elementary schools were the schools listed on academic emergency. “Those are things that are challenges for us and, quite frankly, if we did not have the schools that are struggling academically, we probably wouldn’t be putting those extra resources in that building. It makes this levy more important because we are trying to do some very special things in our lowest performing schools because those things cost extra money,” Pecko said. Some of those schools on academic emergency did meet value-added criteria, meaning test scores went up. TPS also recently stopped its practice of retroactively withdrawing and re-enrolling frequently absent students, or “scrubbing” records. This did not affect the report card, Pecko said. He added that he put a stop to the practice immediately after learning of it. He and Sobecki attributed some of the situation to the confusing language of the state rules. Outside legal counsel determined that the practice did not violate the Ohio Revised Code or ODE rules, but the state auditor’s office is currently conducting an investigation, Pecko said.

Settling into the plan

The dip in TPS’ grade could be a result of the district settling into its transformation plan, Pecko and Sobecki said. The district aims to have an effective rating by 2015. The transformation plan saw middle schools being eliminated to create K-8 schools. Research shows that K-8 schools benefit the students, Pecko and Sobecki said. K-8 schools help students because students “know those teachers, and

the teachers know the mom and the dad and the teachers know the siblings … they’ve built a relationship,” Sobecki said. Other recent changes include 98 administrators being assigned to new positions, 300 teachers either being new or having changed grade levels and 3,500 students attending new schools. “It is a clear demonstration of what happens when you rebuild your house and that’s exactly what TPS has done, through the transformation,” Sobecki said. TPS is also stressing its inclusion program, which places special-education students in some regular classrooms. “Those students are going to begin to show higher performance academically and that will impact the district’s grades,” Pecko said. TPS has about 4,000 special-education students. In addition, TPS started a program allowing students to get high school credit early as well as a distancelearning lab, allowing some students to take classes remotely if their school does not offer a specific class. Some potential tenets of the transformation plan are at stake if the levy does not pass, Pecko said. These tenants include thematic high schools focusing on specific areas, a credit-recovery program helping students graduate on time and e-textbooks. “Kids are more inclined to be centered around electronics and the electronic world and the reality is that’s the world they’re going into for future jobs,” Sobecki said, adding that e-textbooks would allow students to receive updates to material faster. Teachers at Start High School have also expressed interest in starting an International Baccalaureate program, Pecko said.

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“International Baccalaureate is a very prestigious, very rigorous high school curriculum. It’s almost collegiate and it’s recognized by the Ivy colleges,” he said. The transformation plan isn’t the only thing TPS is doing to improve itself, Pecko added.

Fine-tuning

“We’re not putting all our marbles into that basket. We need to focus in on instructional planning and instructional delivery and really fine-tuning that across the district,” he said. This means more training for teachers, but since there’s a shortage of substitute teachers, the training is happening on a modified schedule. Some areas may be safe from cuts if the levy fails. “We want to preserve the arts, music and PE. We don’t want to go after that. That was on the table in 2010 and it’s a very controversial area. Personally for me, it’s an area where I have quite a bit of interest in, so it’s tough for me to go to that,” Pecko said. Small class sizes may, however, be at stake. “We have really protected and preserved class sizes at smaller numbers … we may have to start looking at that direction,” Pecko said. If the levy does pass, TPS could see more employees on the clerical side specifically. Salaries could also be positively impacted.

Negotiations coming

“Eighty percent of our budget is in salary. We do have negotiations coming up, and in fairness to our employees we do need to look at what is reasonable for us to be able to offer them. So there will certainly be something, but I don’t see the floodgates opening and all the dollars going to that. I see the vast majority of the dollars from this levy campaign going into sustaining some of the pieces and parts of the transformation plan,” Pecko said. His salary would not go up, he said. Sobecki said that the union employees stepped up and took a 3.5 percent pay cut recently. “They’ve given a substantial amount for the district and you have to remember they also have families,” she said. TPS has tried to incorporate the community — including the skeptical members — with the campaign and transformation plan, Sobecki said. “What I did hear from a lot of folks on the transformation plan was, ‘Yeah, we’ll see. It’ll take forever.’ And then they woke up and school started and there it was. And what I heard from folks was, ‘You guys meant what you said.’ Absolutely.” O

community

A8. n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

POLITICS

By Vicki L. Kroll

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer vkroll@toledofreepress.com

Crystal Bowersox, who belted out “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Piece of My Heart” on “American Idol,” brought that big, powerful voice to the area Oct. 20-21 to campaign for Obama for America’s Women Decide 2012 initiative. “Ohio is pretty important in the election, and I’m really here to support the president and his campaign,” the singer-songwriter said. “Yesterday was jam-packed; I started in Sylvania, I went to Port Clinton, and then on to Sandusky, really speaking on women’s issues and how important those are.” Wearing a black velvet blazer, black jeans, a black T-shirt with a graphic that included an homage to the American flag and orange flats, Bowersox seemed relaxed talking politics at the Lucas County Democratic Headquarters. “In my younger days, I relied on Planned Parenthood for services — cervical cancer screenings, birth control contraception. I think it’s important that Planned Parenthood maintains support and, as we know, Romney wants to get rid of it. I don’t agree with that,” the Elliston native said. “As far as women’s issues go, I think Obama understands them from his own background, his grandmother, and his mother being a single mother,” she added. The 27-year-old has always been on the left. “I was raised in a Democratic household; my grandparents were Democrats as well. We’ve just always been taught to treat people equally and that we all have to put a hand in to help out so we can all benefit from the good that’s being done,” Bowersox said. “I don’t think the top-down politics that Romney would like to put into place work.” She will cast her ballot in Portland, Ore., where she lives with her husband, Brian Walker, and son, Tony. “Voting is so important because if you don’t voice your opinion, then you can’t have one,” Bowersox said. While she did bring her guitar to sing to campaign supporters, she also hit the streets and went door to door to talk issues. “If I can bring awareness to the issues that I think are important, I’m going to do that,” Bowersox said. “I know that my being on ‘American Idol’ was big for Toledo, and I’ve heard from so many people here: ‘I’m so

toledo free press photo by vicki l. kroll

Bowersox endorses Obama during local visit

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Musician crystal bowersox said president BARACK obama understands women’s issues.

proud of you.’ “If you have a megaphone and decide not to use it, it’s inexcusable.” The only topic the star shied away from: her next disc. “I’ll be recording most of the fall, and we’ll have an album out in the spring,” she said. “We haven’t started recording yet, but I’ve got the material, and you’ll just have to stay posted.” Bowersox said the follow-up to 2010’s “Farmer’s Daughter” will be all original songs. She collaborated with her husband on some tracks as well

as with musician and producer Jono Manson, who worked on Blues Traveler’s new disc, “Suzie Cracks the Whip,” which features her as a guest vocalist. “MamaSox” was more forthcoming about her 4-year-old son: “He’s really into Michael Jackson right now. My husband can moonwalk, so we’re trying to teach him.” She added, “[Tony] started preschool. He’s got a really good heart; you can see it in him. He cares genuinely for little bugs, everything — he’s amazing. He’s taught me a lot.”

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n A9

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community

A10 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

POLITICS

By Brigitta Burks

Toledo Free Press News Editor bburks@toledofreepress.com

An impassioned Vice President Joe Biden criticized former Gov. Mitt Romney’s and Rep. Paul Ryan’s policies and “inconsistent” stances at the University of Toledo on Oct. 23. Ryan and Romney have “a foreign policy out of the ’80s, a social policy out of the ’50s and an economic policy out of the ’20s,” Biden said. Biden spoke to a more intimate crowd of 1,500 compared to the group of more than 5,500 that President Barack Obama addressed Sept. 26 in Bowling Green. Romney spoke to 3,500 people at the SeaGate Centre that same day and Ryan spoke at Toledo Express Airport on Oct. 8. Since starting his vice presidency, Biden has traveled to Ohio 23 times. In 2012, he has been to Ohio nine times. Biden last spoke in Toledo at the United Auto Workers Hall in March. In the student union auditorium, Biden criticized Romney’s Oct. 22 debate performance. “Last night, you saw Gov. Romney rush to agree with President Obama,” Biden said, adding, to laughs, “I was stunned and pleased that Gov. Romney had disavowed so many things he had said in the past.” “Some days [Romney and Ryan] go out there and rattle the sabers; some days they are doves carrying olive branches,” Biden said. “The only thing consistent about the way they talk about policy is that they are inconsistent. That’s the only thing.”

The vice president also focused on women’s rights in his speech. “One of the things that bound us (Obama/Biden) together from the very beginning as a team is he is absolutely as committed as I am and I’m as committed as he is about one fundamental thing: My daughter, my four granddaughters, his daughters deserve every single opportunity my sons have,” he said. Biden’s daughter Ashley was also in attendance at the event and spoke just before her father. The vice president added that Romney would give the power to insurance companies when it comes to women’s health issues. “This is a fellow whose chief adviser said he was not supportive of the Lilly Ledbetter Act,” Biden said. Biden later bashed Romney’s role in shipping jobs overseas as leader of Bain Capital and later as governor of Massachusetts. “It was Bain’s job to go to the cheapest market they could find, the lowest wages they could find, I get that, but folks, I got news for Gov. Romney: That’s not the president’s job,” Biden said. Romney and Ryan’s economic policies would hurt the middle class because their proposed tax cuts would favor 120,000 families and hurt education and Medicare, Biden added. The Republican candidates have also not been able to name any tax exemption they would eliminate for the wealthy, Biden said. n BIDEN CONTINUES ON A11

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OCTOBER 28, 2012 n BIDEN CONTINUED FROM A10 “The only loophole they say they will not change is the loophole that allows Gov. Romney to pay 14 percent on $20 million a year,” he said. Tax experts say the only way to accomplish those cuts would be to raise taxes for middle-class families with children by $2,000 a year, Biden said. “To pay for these massive tax cuts and another $2 trillion in defense spending the defense department’s not even asking for, that’s what they have to do. They have to raise your taxes, and they have to eviscerate the budget on things that make the middle class and the middle class’s workforce,” Biden said. Obama’s economic policies would create a million manufacturing jobs and double the amount of exports by giving breaks to companies that keep jobs in the United States, Biden said. Biden also told the crowd, which included many students, that the president would expand student aid and loans and also work to hire 100,000 new math and science teachers. The vice president addressed defense issues and said he and Obama would end the war in Afghanistan and make taking care of U.S. troops and veterans a priority. “There’s only one sacred obligation we have. We have an obligation to our children, the elderly and to the

poor, but there is no obligation that is the same as the obligation we have to make sure we equip our troops when we send them to war and care for them when they come home,” Biden said. Rep. Marcy Kaptur also addressed the crowd. She highlighted the importance of early voting, a central theme of the Obama campaign this year. She criticized Secretary of State Jon Husted’s opposition to early voting on the three days before the Nov. 6 election. Husted brought the early voting case before the U.S. Supreme Court, but on Oct. 16, the court declined to take on the federal ruling allowing early voting on those days. “What kind of Secretary of State is that? One that needs to be removed,” Kaptur said. Guyton Mathews IV, a political science and communication student and fellow at UT, also spoke before Biden. Mathews said when he found out he would be speaking before the vice president a couple of days ago, he was “definitely excited and a little nervous.” Although he has spoken in public before, “There’s really no way to prepare for that,” he said with a chuckle. Women’s rights and education are important to Mathews because he has two younger sisters and a younger brother. “I have two younger sisters and I care about women’s rights and health

care and I know when they start their careers, they’ll have equal pay for equal work because of team Obama/ Biden,” he said. Equal rights are also important to fellow eventgoer Beth Bingle, a “retired stay-at-home mom” from Old Orchard. “I’ve never heard [Biden] speak before. You really get a feel for [candidates] when you see them in person,” she said, adding that she values a “people over money” philosophy. “Equality for women is one [issue] that I find extremely important,” Bingle said. If Romney were elected, “I don’t see any progress in that regard at all. I see us backsliding and it makes me very nervous,” she said. Christopher Maloney, Romney for President Ohio spokesman, said in a statement, “Instead of laying out a second-term agenda, or ideas for how we can stop the recent loss of Ohio manufacturing jobs, Joe Biden instead chose to resort to the same tired distortions and negative attacks which have come to define the Obama campaign’s closing argument for their re-election. The Obama campaign finds themselves losing ground in Ohio because voters are looking for leadership, not four more years of higher taxes and debt that have ground our recovery to a halt.” O

Visit www.toledofreepress.com

n A11

POLITICS

Libertarian Johnson in BG on Nov. 2 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is set to speak in Northwest Ohio on Nov. 2. Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, will participate in an event at Clazel Theatre in Bowling Green from noon-3 JOHNSON p.m. Nov. 2, said Kenneth Sharp, an active member of the Lucas County Libertarian Party and Toledo Free Press columnist. The event will be a joint effort between Lucas and Wood county Libertarian parties. Sharp said Johnson’s campaign reached out after learning they had an open slot for Nov. 2 and would be around the area the same day. Currently, there are no tickets being distributed because the Clazel should be able to hold all attendees, Sharp said.

That could change based on response to the event. The Libertarian group is hoping for at least 600 attendees. “I think people from both sides of the aisle have really been let down enough that they’re looking for a viable third-party alternative,” Sharp said. “Even a 5 percent voter turnout nationally for the Libertarian party would break the two-party monopoly, because it breaks open the campaign finances,” he added. There is a strong Libertarian presence in Northwest Ohio, Sharp said, adding that Johnson’s vice presidential candidate Jim Gray had a strong turnout when he spoke in Bowling Green in August. According to Johnson’s campaign website, he was known as the “most fiscally conservative governor” and for his businesslike approach to governing. To learn more, visit lucascountylibertarians.com or www.garyjohnson2012.com. O — Brigitta Burks

community

A12 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

COMMUNITY VOICES

Jambard-Sweet: Grassroots awakening needed to reverse control By Stacy Jurich

Toledo Free Press Staff Writer news@toledofreepress.com

Doug Jambard-Sweet is Toledo coordinator for Move to Amend (MTA). Toledo Free Press: What is Move to Amend and when was it started? Jambard-Sweet: Formed in September 2009, Move to Amend is a coalition committed to social and economic justice, ending corporate rule and building a vibrant democracy genuinely accountable to the people. Toledo Free Press: What is Move to Amend working on locally? Jambard-Sweet: In Toledo, we are educating the public by sponsoring events meant to awaken ordinary people to inequities created by corporate influence and creating a sense of empowerment that, yes, we can change things if enough of us make

room in our busy lives to work on issues that will determine the course of society and the type of choices our children and grandchildren will have available to them. shortOur term goals consist of organizing local outreach, consisting of lectures, rallies, film screenings and theatrical events to bring these issues to life and JambArd-Sweet raise general awareness. Medium-term goals consist of working with elected officials to pass resolutions in support of Move to Amend’s goals. Within the next few years we hope to organize a ballot initiative allowing every citizen the chance to vote in support of a constitutional amendment

to abolish corporate personhood and declare that money is not speech. MTA recognizes that to reverse multinational corporate control over virtually every aspect of our lives, there has to be a grassroots awakening in the public mind. Only when that happens will there be an uproar from the public calling for control of corporate influence over the political process. That corporate influence is primarily the undue influence of money on political decision-makers and using profits to hire armies of lobbyists to ensure their interests are protected. They also use business profits to leverage corporate-friendly legislation, regulations and tax laws. Lobbies can make or break a candidate’s chances for reelection and this power is now magnified virtually without limit by the recent Supreme Court Citizens United ruling. In Citizens United, the court ma-

jority ruled that because corporations have become defined as persons with the constitutional rights of persons, they have the right of free speech, including political speech. The court also ruled that money is equivalent to speech and, since speech cannot be limited, the ruling has led directly to the current situation in which unlimited amounts of money are now spent by corporations to virtually buy elections. The question we all need to be asking ourselves is “Where does this leave us?” It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that a system that is rigged to protect and enhance corporate privilege may not have the welfare and interests of the general public at the top of their list. Corporate profits now take precedence over basic social needs such as decent food and water, education, health care and civil rights. Toledo Free Press: Move to Amend

is co-sponsoring this year’s NWO Armistice Day Bell Ringing Commemoration with Veterans for Peace (VFP). How does Armistice Day tie in with the movement to end corporate personhood? Jambard-Sweet: In 1938, Congress declared Armistice Day a national holiday, “to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” This year MTA is partnering with VFP to expand Armistice Day observances. World peace still eludes us, in large part due to the forces of greed controlling valuable natural resources and maintaining geopolitical economic advantage. Exposing the endless cycle of war and conflict to this root cause is as central to MTA’s message as exposing any other aspect of corporate abuse in society. More information about Move to Amend can be found by visiting: movetoamend.org/oh-toledo. O

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OCTOBER 28, 2012

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community

A14 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

POLITICS

Zimmann focuses on faith in Congressional race By David Yonke

EDITOR, TOLEDOFAVS.COM David.Yonke@ReligionNews.com

While the presidential candidates have been discussing values and downplaying personal religious beliefs, faith is front and center in the race for Ohio’s 5th Congressional District. The Democratic challenger, the Rev. Angela Zimmann, is an ordained Lutheran minister and the incumZIMMANN bent, Republican Bob Latta, is a Catholic who attends congressional prayer meetings and promotes the core values of “faith, family and community.” “A person without a religious faith can still be a person of integrity,” Zimmann said in a recent interview, “so I wouldn’t say that if you don’t have faith you don’t have values. But I know for myself my faith influences my values. Being from the Christian faith, our values are to care for the needy. The Bible talks about helping the elderly and the widows, and I see that as an analogy for helping anyone who doesn’t have their needs met.” Latta said he’s “a firm believer that

you’ve got to have a true faith value in everything that you do. It starts with faith in God, family and country.” The Libertarian candidate for 5th District, Eric Eberly, is a member of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bowling Green. Zimmann, 39, is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a small church just over the state line in Riga, Mich. To the best of her knowledge, she said, she is the only female pastor seeking federal office this year. (Researchers at Congressional Quarterly and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said they knew of no other female ministers running for Congress, but could not say definitively.) Zimmann spoke with Bishop Donald Kreiss of southeast Michigan and Bishop Marcus Lohrmann of Northwest Ohio before announcing her candidacy. “It was all conversational, not hierarchical,” she said. “Both bishops were supportive and said the church should be more involved in the public forum and listening and participating in the process.” With her church being in Michigan and her political campaign in Ohio, Zimmann’s church and state are literally separate. But she talked with church members before running for office. “It’s a pretty conservative little con-

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gregation,” she said, with about 100 people on the rolls and Sunday attendance averaging between 40 and 50. “There are more registered Re-

publicans than Democrats for sure, but they’re pretty open and affirming. We’ve had conversations with the parishioners and many of them said,

‘We’ll vote for you even though we’re Republicans because you are an independent thinker.’” n ZIMMANN CONTINUES ON A15

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OCTOBER 28, 2012 n ZIMMANN CONTINUED FROM A14 But politics is not a big topic at Trinity. “We don’t talk about it on Sunday morning. We’re there to worship and that’s what we do,” she said. Zimmann, who has a doctorate degree in rhetoric, gave up her job teaching writing at Bowling Green State University to run for Congress. But she has kept her part-time job at Trinity. “I have not missed a Sunday,” she said. “And my plan, and my bishop’s

plan, is that even if I’m elected I will continue as their pastor because most weekends I’m going to go to church anyway.” She has a ready LATTA stand-in if there’s a scheduling conflict: her husband, Martin Zimmann, also an ordained ELCA minister. If elected, she said she will be on

guard to not let politics corrupt her faith. “I’m not going to say, ‘Oh no, I’m incorruptible. I’m above that.’ I think that’s when we become most susceptible,” Zimmann said. “Absolutely I’m worried. I pray. I’ll be on guard. I’ll be asking people around me to watch, monitor, be truthful and hold me accountable.” Latta, 56, said his father, former Republican U.S. Rep. Del Latta, is a member of the Church of Christ and his mother is a Catholic. He serves as an usher at St. Thomas

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More University Parish in Bowling Green and attends congressional prayer breakfasts in Washington, D.C., on Thursdays whenever possible. “You have got to know where your principles come from. If you don’t have principles to begin with, you can’t do this job,” said Latta, who was elected to Congress in 2007. “You’ve got to have your foundation to do what you believe in to be a good representative.” He said both houses of Congress have chaplains and every congres-

n A15

sional session opens with prayer. “That goes back to 1789, when we first had a chaplain in the House,” Latta said. “And a lot of people do not realize that we have what might be called a chapel right off the Rotunda at the Capitol Building and I know that it’s utilized.” O David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values (ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality.

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A16 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

COMMUNITY OMBUDSMAN

‘R’ word has no place in polite society

he use of the “R” word is getting attention because political pundit Ann Coulter called President Barack Obama a “retard” in a post-debate Twitter comment. The next day she tweeted, “If he’s ‘the smartest guy in the room’ it must be one retarded room.” But the true outrage is that this hapBrandi pens much more than is ever reported, said Carolyn Miller, a local advocate for people with developmental disabilities. “This is always an issue,” she said. “It is a word that we hope the community will eventually stop using.” Miller is the communication manager for Sunshine, which used to be Sunshine Children’s Home but changed names because it provides services to both children and adults. “As our knowledge of disabilities has changed, we have modified how we speak about people with disabilities,” she said. “It used to be standard, but as far as we have come in the last century, there is no reason to refer to people using words that are as archaic as that.” Miller said finding the right word is as simple as remembering that people aren’t defined by conditions. “We refer to them as ‘people with developmental disabilities’ — the person should come first,” she said. “They have so many gifts to offer to so-

ciety. They really aren’t so different than you or me. They love a good laugh and they have so much talent to share, just like everyone else.” Miller, 24, was a teenager when her brother Jacob was born. “I have a little brother with Down syndrome,” she said. “He has made such a difference in my life. He is such a good BARHITE egg. To think anyone would refer to him in a way that was cruel or disrespectful, it just isn’t appropriate.” When Coulter tweeted that she approved of “Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to the retard,” it inspired a Special Olympics athlete from Virginia to write her a heartfelt letter. “Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much,” John Franklin Stephens said. Miller is hopeful. “I think for people with disabilities this is a new era for them. They are coming into a time where they will gain acceptance.” O Email questions or comments to Toledo Free Press Community Ombudsman Brandi Barhite at bbarhite@toledofree press.com.

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SENIORS

New senior housing development opens in Sylvania By Duane Ramsey

TOLEDO FREE PRESS senior business writer dramsey@toledofreepress.com

Area seniors now have another option for affordable housing with the grand opening of The Residenz at Sylvania. The opening was celebrated Oct. 19 by residents and local officials with the developers, Miller-Valentine (MV) Group of Cincinnati and Preferred Properties Inc. of Toledo. The Residenz at Sylvania, located off Central Avenue in Sylvania Township, is a new community of apartment homes designed for residents 55 and older. The development provides high-quality housing for older adults who have limited or no affordable housing options, said David Liette, president of MV Resi-

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dential Development. “Quality affordable housing for seniors is more important today than ever before,” said Liette, who reported that 10,000 baby boomers reach the age of 55 daily in the FENWICK United States. The 51-unit residential development is the first property built in Sylvania Township specifically for residents 55 and older to utilize Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The project was completed using the federally funded, state-managed housing tax credit program. Without the federal tax credit pro-

gram, the rent would run from $1,500 to $2,000 per month, but the units at The Residenz rent from $550 to $700 for residents who qualify, Liette said. Sylvania and Sylvania Township didn’t have any affordable housing that would qualify for this program, said MV Developer Peter Schwiegeraht. “We definitely need affordable housing in Sylvania Township. It’s a great project for people in this area,” said Sylvania Township Trustee Kevin Haddad. The demand is high for affordable senior housing and the location is within walking distance of a drug store, supermarket and home improvement center, Liette said. All but three of the 51 units in the three-story complex are rented, he said. Two residents of The Residenz spoke at the ceremony about how they came to live there. Lyn Drake said she had to move out of her condominium due to having multiple sclerosis. Someone called her after seeing a sign about the project at the Giant Eagle store on West Central Avenue in front of the development. James Fenwick, president of MV Property Management, said the company had a sign advertising the project at the site, but were not receiving many calls about it. Then they realized the sign was located on the road that was closed due to construction of the project.

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state Rep. Barbara Sears, who supported the project. Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing worked with Miller-Valentine and its partners to raise corporate equity to finance the project, reported Doug Klingensmith, vice president of development for the agency. KeyBank was the local lender for construction of the development. “It’s always inspiring to see the final product of the projects which are tangible results of a tax program that works,” said Sean Thomas, director of planning and development for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The agency allocated federal tax credits with federal and state funding for the partnership of federal, state and local governments and private partners on the project. “The Residenz at Sylvania is the best community I’ve ever been involved in developing,” said Lew Ellis, executive director of Preferred Properties, who is retiring at the end of this year after 20 years of developing housing opportunities for adults with disabilities. Ellis said Preferred Properties had an “excellent relationship with MillerValentine” after developing more than 220 units of affordable housing in Northwest Ohio. For more information about The Residenz, call 1-800-329-RENT or visit www.YourNextPlacetoLive.com. O

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When two local retailers, Giant Eagle and Lowe’s Home Improvement Center, heard about the dilemma, they offered to help market the project by putting signs for it on their property near Central Avenue. Fenwick said those “good neighbors” were responsible for informing many people who became residents. “I’m so happy I found a new home here. It’s a great community where you have good relationships with your neighbors,” Drake said. Carole Ganzel said her daughter, who lives in the area, called one day and said, “I think I’ve found a place for you to live.” Ganzel said that it’s a beautiful place to live and she has even seen deer on the property. “We care about every resident and raising their quality of life,” Liette said at the grand opening. “If you build it, they don’t necessarily have to come, but they have come here to this project that took a lot of collaboration and teamwork,” Fenwick said. Miller-Valentine Group and Preferred Properties partnered with Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, KeyBank and Sylvania Township to plan, finance, construct and operate the $4.5 million project. “It takes a lot of good partners to make a project like this happen. These are partnerships we need today,” said

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OCTOBER 28, 2012

ECONOMY

Forecaster: Economic recovery hampered by bad policies By Sarah Ottney TOLEDO FREE PRESS MANAGING EDITOR sottney@toledofreepress.com

Imagine a baseball team on which all batters must wear a patch over one eye, all pitchers must throw with their opposite hand, all baserunners must hop rather than run and all fielders must wear their gloves backward. Economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics, used that analogy during an Oct. 23 presentation in Toledo to illustrate how the recovery of the U.S. economy has been hampered by bad policies. “How would you expect that economy to perform? You’d probably say it’s going to underperform what its true potential is,” Mayland said. “Bad policymaking is hobbling business and tampering growth. If the policies don’t change, why would you expect the results to change?” Mayland, who spoke at KeyBank’s annual economic forecast breakfast at The Toledo Club, has spent more than 35 years studying the business cycle and is one of the nation’s leading experts in economic forecasting. During his presentation, “What Emerging Data Reveals About America’s Future,” Mayland reviewed economic events of the past 70 years and explained what they can teach us about our present economic situation. “If you line up the current tracking of this economic recession and recovery to date with the tracking of the four previous recession episodes — two of which were mild recessions and two of which were very deep — it’s quite apparent we are severely underperforming any kind of recovery we’ve seen in the past,” Mayland said. Economic recovery has been slow because of poor government leadership under multiple administrations, especially on regulatory policies for housing, energy, taxing and spending, health care, labor relations, the environment and more, Mayland said. “It’s the whole panoply of government policies that’s creating all kinds of stumbling blocks and drags to growth,” Mayland said. “We are still living with the legacies of bad policies of the past;

that’s constraining growth today.” Traditional fiscal policy levers have been “maxed out” and are no longer effective, Mayland said. The key now is sensible regulation, not oppressive regulation. “These regulations have created a great deal of uncertainty about the future and they are clearly increasing costs, and those are [job] killers,” Mayland said. “I MAYLAND would roll back Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, regulations that create a lot of spinning of the wheels, a lot of compliance cost, but produce very little good for the country.” Mayland said he also disagrees with the Federal Reserve keeping the interest rate at zero and adding monthly mortgage securities. “We’re punishing savers, people trying to do the right thing,” Mayland said. “We are rewarding them with zero, or near-zero returns. When we count in inflation, we are giving them losses of purchasing power. It’s counterproductive.” Mayland also advocated energy independence and implementing a flat tax system.

Election

This year’s presidential race is one of the most divisive and critical in recent memory, Mayland said. “I don’t know of any election where the differences were so starkly different as this,” he said. “We’re going to go one path or another.” Historically, if economic growth exceeds 3 percent in the year preceding a presidential election, the incumbent or incumbent party has won, Mayland said. “This economy ahead of this election will not come close to 3 percent growth,” Mayland said. “If the economy has a vote — and this has been a very strong pattern in past presidential elections — Obama is going to have a very tough road of it for his re-election bid.”

History

To lay the framework for his conclusions, Mayland reviewed the U.S. economic situation of each decade, starting at the end of World War II, from which the U.S. emerged with “an enormous amount” of debt, nearly 25 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Deficit accumulations raised the debt-to-GDP ratio to about 120 percent, higher than it is today, but by 1960, the ratio was down to 60 percent, Mayland said. “Which raises the question, ‘How’d you do that? How’d you fix that situation?’ Obviously that question has relevance to the deficit and debt situation today,” Mayland said. The ratio was not reduced by creating surpluses, although there were a few surplus years in the 1950s, Mayland said. The more important factors were maintaining “not spectacular, but good, solid growth” of 3.3 percent per year on average during the 1950s and keeping the growth of federal spending to under 4 percent per year, Mayland said. “The lesson to be drawn from this period — and, by the way, we did exactly the same thing over the course of the ’90s — is the way to remedy big deficits is with good economic growth, austerity, discipline and patience,” Mayland said. “Put that policy into place, let it run and, over time, you will fix the problem.” The 1960s were largely prosperous, with nearly full employment by the end of the decade, but then Vietnam War buildup and defense spending put pressure on the economy, Mayland said. The inflation rate rose from 1 percent to 5 percent, prompting President Richard Nixon to implement wage and price controls — which never work, Mayland said. In 1973, the U.S. was blindsided by the tripling of oil prices. That pressure, along with the stress of coming off wage and price controls, drove the inflation rate to 12 percent. “There was a kind of smugness in the economics community that, boy, we did such a good job managing the economy in the ‘60s, we can tweak the

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economy, pull the levers,” Mayland said. “There was a sense that we can squeeze a little more growth out of this economy by being willing to accept a little bit higher inflation. ... What we ultimately found was there is no longterm trade-off between growth and inflation. When you try to put these measures in place, all you ultimately get is higher inflation.” As inflation rates continued to rise, confidence in the economy dropped, measured by a steep decline in the value of the dollar and the rise of interest rates. “When that prime rate was 21.5 percent, you had no sense that the rate was going to stop there,” Mayland said. “Is it going to be 30 percent next quarter, next year? There was really a loss of confidence and some real fear about the economy.” Paul Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979-87, resolved the inflation problem by “clamping down on the money supply,” which contributed to high interest rates in the short term, but dropped inflation to below 4 percent by the early 1980s, Mayland said. “He accomplished what he achieved, but with great pain,” Mayland said. “We went through two recessions over that period and we saw the unemployment rate rise ultimately in 1982 to 10.8 percent, which is higher than the unemployment rate rose in this most recent episode of recession. On top of that we suffered from sky-high inflation rates and skyhigh interest rates, so there’s a case that this period was just as bad as what we recently experienced.”

Today

Today, the U.S. is experiencing a poor economy along with “eye-popping deficits,” Mayland said. “We’ve now seen nine of 10 quarters come in under 3 percent growth, which is the average growth rate we’ve seen over the last 50 or 60 years,” Mayland said. Consumer spending comprises 70 percent of the economy, but growth in disposable income, the main driver for consumer spending, has been slow and people don’t have money to spend,

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Mayland said. Jobs are being recovered, but at a slower rate than Mayland feels is acceptable. Wage growth has been under 2 percent while the inflation rate is 2 percent or more. “Wage growth is not even covering the loss of purchasing power due to inflation,” Mayland said. “How can you expect consumer spending to grow? When you understand that arithmetic, you can see why the growth of the economy is constrained.” Good companies will always find a way to survive, if not thrive, Mayland said. Segments of the economy that are recovering well include the auto industry, the aerospace industry and the fuel drilling industry, all of which impact Ohio, he said. Mayland also briefly addressed the economic situation in Greece and Spain, which is calm for the moment, but he doesn’t expect that to last. “We’re going to see more problems come out of Europe and when we do they are going to rock the financial markets,” Mayland said. “We can’t control what’s going on in Europe. The only question is, can we do something with creating good policies here in this country to help us decouple from them? In other words, create such a strong dynamic here that it doesn’t matter so much what’s going on in Europe.” Mayland said he is ultimately optimistic about the U.S. economic recovery. “Is this sluggish growth, this 2 percent growth, the new normal for our economy?” Mayland said. “I refuse to accept that.” Jim Hoffman, president of KeyBank’s Michigan/Northwest Ohio district, said Mayland’s presentation was insightful. “It just helps everyone focus on how important this election is going to be and probably the different paths our economy can follow based on the election,” Hoffman said. “The other thing I thought it did is it focused on the steady but very slow growth that we’re having in our economy, and that’s why people are not feeling like things are very robust. It’s not bad; it’s just not good enough for people to really thrive.” O

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A study released this October showed that $3.6 billion has crept out of the Northwest Ohio economy because the local food system isn’t being fully utilized. “The region has much to gain by doing so: our analysis of the region’s farm and food economy shows that $3.6 billion leaks out of Northwest Ohio each year as residents farm and eat, since farmers farm at narrow margins to produce commodities for export, while consumers eat food imported from far away,” according to “Finding Food in Northwest Ohio,” a study conducted by Ken Meter. Meter is president of the Crossroads Resource Center, a nonprofit in Minneapolis. “It isn’t surprising. This is happening all over the United States. Obviously in Northwest Ohio, some of that is tied to the decline of cucumber, tomato greenhouses,” he said. With foreign competition from countries such as Mexico, the number of acres for tomato production in Lucas County fell 90 percent from 1992 to 2007. Paula Ross, a research associate at the University of Toledo Urban Affairs Center, served as Meter’s “ground person,” connecting him with locals for the study. Ross is also the facilitator of the Northwest Ohio Food Council. She had worked with Meter in the past on a study about Ohio food systems. This time, she wanted to better understand a more local economy. “I believe whenever you want to change something as complex as a food system you have to understand it first,” she said. “I had gotten to know [Meter] and very much respect his work and the

way he combines vignettes and stories … but he also has the quantitative information,” Ross said. The study is funded by an existing grant that also supports other work being done by the Urban Affairs Center. Meter’s study features examples of local individuals or groups exemplifying the groundwork that leads to improving the local food economy. This includes Elizabeth Bergman, who runs the Westgate and Job & Family Services locations of the Toledo Farmers’ Market two days a week. Meter’s study includes eight recommendations toward improving the local food system. Bergman, 28, embodies one of those steps — creating a farm system that grows new farmers. She has had three interns work at her small farm. She operates Sage Produce in Genoa, where she grows year-round in addition to her work with the farmers market. Bergman nearly went into a career in history before deciding to pursue culinary training. “I wanted to do something that wasn’t so theoretical and get my hands dirty,” she said. Bergman studied at Culinary Arts Institute of America, in Hyde Park, New York. However, at 23 she was diagnosed with cancer and returned to Ohio for treatment. Bergman said she became interested in nutrition and learning what “good stuff ” to put in her body. When she asked local farmers if their produce was organic, “I never got a straight answer,” she said. So in 2009, she and her brother started Sage, a farm of their own. Although Bergman does not use chemical sprays on her produce, “I don’t think organic is the most important thing. I think local is the most

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Sage produce products at farmers’ market booth.

important thing.” Money is an important factor in creating young farmers like Bergman, according to Ross. “Bottom line is nobody is going to be a farmer unless they can make money being a farmer,” Ross said. “It’s kind of surprising in a country that says, ‘We feed the world that what we’re finding is the number of younger farmers is rapidly declining’,” Meter said, adding that average age of a farmer is 57. He also suggested creating places for children to learn about food and agriculture. Policy and zoning changes could make farming easier and more attractive, Ross said. In 2007, there were 372 farms in Lucas County, 8 percent less than in 2002, according to the study. To further improve the local economy, Ross suggested talking to businesses about where they get their produce. “We need to be asking restaurants and grocery stores if they’re not sourcing from local growers, well, why not?” she said. “That’s the power of the consumer.” There is a misconception that eating locally costs more, Bergman said. It’s just that “vegetables cost more than Doritos.” “The stuff in season at the farmers’ market is cheaper than the grocery store by far,” Bergman said. “You can get cabbage the size of two heads for a dollar right now.” According to Meter’s study, 80 percent of Toledo residents reported in 2009 that they do not eat five or more servings of fruit or vegetables each day. Ross emphasized that small changes could have a big impact on the local food scene. “This is not absolutism. Small changes here can make a big differ-

ence,” she said. Bergman noted that she still buys some items at Meijer or The Andersons. She also suggested eating foods that are in season locally. “We can eat seasonally. You can have squash soup instead of tomato bisque soup,” she said. The economy could improve by $345 million for local farmers if area residents bought $5 worth of food from them each week, Meter said. “That’s a pretty substantial slice of money. Small changes by local customers could make a big difference,” he said. Coordinating citizen efforts through the Northwest Ohio Food Council was another step Meter recommended. Ross sees the council, which meets quarterly and has specific topic-based subgroups, as a way to connect the community. The council has representatives from about 10 local groups and is open to individuals, too. “The disappointing news (from the study) has to turn into, ‘We can do something about it,’ and I think the folks in Toledo are coming together to do that,” Meter said. Meter became interested in food systems because of his father, who grew up on a farm. Despite feeling most at home on a farm, his father spent his life distancing himself from that life, Meter said. “It created a mystery for me,” Meter said. “Part of my passion for me is how bad economics for farming has affected my family and to ask why can’t we create a system that rewards farmers better for what they do.” Meter was set to speak at 1:15 p.m. Oct. 26 at the GreenTown event at SeaGate Convention Centre. To read the study, visit www. crcworks.org/ohnwfood.pdf. Visit the web site foodcouncil419. org to learn more. O

Business Link

A20 n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

HONORS

BBB Torch Awards set for Nov. 1

Laura’s Framing Place & Gallery

TOLEDO FREE PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

LOcaLLy Owned and OPerated

By Sarah Ottney

sottney@toledofreepress.com

centerforcharacterethics.org. Last year, there was a recordbreaking crowd of about 350 guests, Levine said. “It’s an opportunity for business people to mingle with one another and catch up with other business people as well as find out what the Better Business Bureau is doing,” Levine said. “It’s also an opportunity to bring your employees and clients to something that showcases exemplary area businesses.” The keynote speaker will be University of Toledo women’s basketball coach Tricia Cullop. “We’ve never had a sports figure speak before,” Levine said. “I believe we’re going to have an inspirational message from the coach. As you can imagine, in coaching you deal with ethics every single day.” The winners of two $500 Jim Smythe Memorial Student of Integrity

Scholarships will also be announced during the ceremony. The scholarships will be awarded to area high school seniors to further their education, Levine said. Last year, the first year the scholarships were awarded, the BBB received 12 entries. This year, 78 students submitted essays. The essays addressed an ethical situation the students encountered and how they responded. The winners will read their essays at the ceremony. “It was very cool there were that many students interested,” Levine said. Past Torch Award winners will be recognized during the event. Live entertainment will be provided by the Nate Gurley Duo. For information or reservations for the Torch Awards, call the BBB at (419) 531-3116 or (800) 743-4222 or visit toledo.bbb.org. O

Don’t Miss our 21st Anniversary Nov. 8th

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan will honor area companies in five categories at its annual Torch Awards ceremony Nov. 1. This year is the 100th anniversary of the national Come in and enter to win BBB and the 11th a framed Toledo print. annual awards ceremony, which Specializing in Framed Sports Memorabilia recognizes area Let the experts at Laura’s Framing turn your businesses and nonprofits for treasured sports items into works of art! exemplary and 2554 Parkway Plaza Maumee, OH 43537 ethical business (419) 893-7263 CULLOP practices. The public luncheon is set for 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 6165 Levis Commons Blvd., in Perrysburg. Seating will begin at 11:30 a.m. Cost is $48 for a single seat and $38 for a member of a charitable organization tables of eight are also available. Award categories are small busiFor over 75 years, LaSalle Cleaners has been providing ness (1-9 employees), medium business (10-49 employees), large business (50Northwest Ohio with courteous service and quality cleaning. 149 employees), extra-large business As the area’s largest office pick-up and delivery service, (150-plus employees) and nonprofit. we never lose sight of what is most important — providing a Winners will have demonstrated convenient, quality and cost-conscious program to all. business practices that exemplify As a dedicated business partner and participant in community ethics, integrity and exceptional cusand corporate events, we are achieving a goal set with each new day; tomer service and are chosen by an into make your life easier. dependent panel of volunteer commu800-PPG-DOCS | promedica.org/doctors nity leaders, based on criteria estabIsn’t it time that you “Hang With The Best?” lished by the BBB, said Marilyn Levine, Our Warren Thomas Communications Special Offer director of the BBB Foundation. PROM941_3.875x2_0005.indd 1 7/3/12 12:31 PM They receieved about 100 nominations this year, Levine said. PPG-0005 “Nobody knows ahead of time who the winners are — even [master and 1506 Reynolds Road in Maumee mistress of ceremony] Lee Conklin and Diane Larson [of 13abc], the first 419-482-5594 time they find out is when they open the envelope,” Levine said. “It’s a really WE NOW DO HI-LITES! big surprise.” Call forHair yourCut appointment Get One at Regularand Price Winners do not have to be memOFF receive and Get the $5.00 Second for 1/2 Off. bers of BBB, but must have been in a service of $30.00 Only. or more! New Customers By appointment notAny on Monday or Tuesday. Not Validonly With Other Offer. business a minimum of three years and be located in the BBB’s 18-county service area in Northwest Ohio and Warren Thomas Special Offer Southeast Michigan. Winners will receive a trophy Check out our handcrafted by local glass artist Mike New Specials at Wallace. Wallace was also recently commissioned to create trophies for drdavesbandaide.com the BBB’s new Center for Character Ethics awards, which will be awarded for the first time in 2013. The BBB of Antique Pro Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern 922 Jefferson Ave., Toledo • 419-242-2391 Michigan is one of about a dozen and Vintage Guitars, Drums, One Seagate, Toledo • 419-242-4141 BBBs across the country designated 2048 Starr Ave. Tube Amps, Saxes, Levis Commons, Perrysburg • 419-874-4872 Ask about our a Center for Character Ethics, Levine 419.693.3900 Silver Trumpets, Low Brass office pick up and delivery. www.lasallecleaners.com said. For more information, visit www.

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n A21

HALLOWEEN

Local haunted houses scaring up the screams By Mighty Wyte

TOLEDO FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER news@toledofreepress.com

Whether you’re a hardcore haunt fan or looking for something to do with the family to celebrate the Halloween season, you’ll find everything you could want within an hour of Toledo. Between Scream Acres at Leaders Family Farms in Napoleon and The Haunted Hydro in Fremont, your nightmares are only a short ride from home.

The Haunted Hydro in Fremont is a Halloween classic. This year, owner/ operators and actors Bob and Beth Turner redesigned 60 percent of the interior of the Hydro and created an all-new outdoor walk-through haunt that is sure to get even the toughest people to jump and yell. The theme for the Hydro this year is “Hex-Treme Takeover.” With newly designed rooms and elevated walkways, the poorly lit and cool outdoor vibes of the 100-plusyear-old Hydro add a unique feel to

the attraction. Whether you’re walking through a maze of chain-link fence or looking for ways out of a confined space, the outdoor walk-through makes sure that your focusing on what you can see is one of your biggest disadvantages. Beth said the outdoor walkthrough has been redesigned. “Bob has actually made the walkthrough much bigger this year, including a path that takes you very close to the river,” she said.

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Once you’re finished walking around the grounds, eating, shopping for pumpkins and perhaps participating in some karaoke, it will be dark enough for Scream Acres and The PanDEMONium Project to open. When walking from building to building in each haunt, you’re forced to walk through pitch-black mini corn mazes alone. Each time you think you’re almost finished or safe, you realize you’re wrong and the suspense just amplifies the quality of frights. While it’s fun to take the family out for a daytrip, Leaders offers much more than a family destination: It offers two of the must-experience haunts in our area. For operation dates, hours and directions visit leadersfamilyfarms.com and thehauntedhydro.com. O

photo by katie feher

 DOWN DELIVERS!

Just 30 minutes from Maumee is easily one of the best combinations of haunt and family destinations, Leaders Family Farms in Napoleon. Leaders offers a two-phase corn maze that is stunning in every respect. Both phases of the maze, Scream Acres and the PanDEMONium Project, are included in the price of maze admission and a daytime walkthrough of both phases of the maze will take guests more than an hour to complete. If you have the guts to walk the maze at night, expect to be in the corn for two hours or more. If you have kids and want to make a day of your trip to the family farm, Leaders also offers a giant trampoline-like pillow for kids to jump on, straw tunnels for the little ones, a petting zoo full of well-cared-for animals, a maze for munchkins and many other things.

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ARTS Life

A22. n Toledo Free Press

OCTOBER 28, 2012

HALLOWEEN

Toledo:

2012 Toledo-area Trick-or-Treat times

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Archbold:

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 30.

Bedford Township, Mich.: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Bowling Green: 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Delta:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Elmore:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Fremont:

4:30-6 p.m. Oct. 28.

Genoa:

6-7:30 Oct. 31

Grand Rapids, Ohio:

5-7 p.m. Oct. 31, parade at 7:30 p.m.

Holland:

Pemberville:

Sylvania Township:

Liberty Center:

Perrysburg:

Walbridge:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31. 5-7 p.m. Oct. 31

Maumee:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Monclova:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Napoleon:

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

Northwood:

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

Oak Harbor:

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

Oregon:

6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

Port Clinton:

Washington Township:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Rossford:

Waterville:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Springfield Township:

Wauseon:

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 30.

Swanton:

Whitehouse:

Sylvania:

Woodville:

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 27.

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31. O

6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Ottawa Hills: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

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a bit of hope that driverless, acci- through the night approximately 365 dent-free cars will be the norm by days per year for the past 10 years. On 2019, but I’m also guessing that I’m the rare, hiccup-free night I still wake up, usually about 3 a.m., to check on hoping against hope. My backup plan is to remember them all out of habit anyway. Distracted while phoning. that my children are always watching me and to set a good example for Being distracted on the phone is twofold. As the story driving with limited goes, children will distractions. I’ve never ignore you in all texted while driving, but sorts of ways until I’ve certainly wrangled a the moment they see phone call or two ... or you with a phone up 2,000. The day I realto your ear. All of a ized that driving age sudden your status isn’t so far away for my within the household not-quite little ones, I moves from insignifistopped the on-the-road cant fixture to person phone calls and instead Shannon SZYPERSKI of dire consequence. started an on-the-road You are needed. By conversation about the everyone. Right now. If you’re importance of being a safe driver. Whenever my text alert beeps somehow able to fend off your while we’re on the road, I tell my sudden admirers and continue kids how important it is for me to with your call, children will resort let it wait until I get where I’m going to Plan B: Forget trying to be disor pull over if need be. It wasn’t long tracting and use mom being disbefore they started interjecting the tracted to get away with something. same commentary each time we Plan B works wonders if the phone hear that oh-so-familiar beep-beep- conversation is engrossing enough, beep-beep. I’m still working on lim- as I once unwittingly opened eight iting the distraction of my children containers of Play-Doh without arguing with one another or our 65- completely realizing it until I hung pound dog trying to crawl into my up and saw the aftermath. Distracted pop culture consumplap while driving to and fro, however. I have all but given up on limiting tion. In addition to listening to more the distractions encompassing the boy bands than I’d like, when asked rest of my life. They include, but are about my favorite TV show I might answer “iCarly” for lack of a better opnot limited to: Distracted showering. After tion. I thought finally having a DVR years of little legs suddenly breeching might change my child-focused pop the only 3-foot-by 3-foot space in our culture reality. After trying to watch house that I can attempt to claim as the same “Project Runway” episode my own, I finally started to lock the five or six times, however, I finally door when the kids were old enough gave up and accepted my fate. I really to be out of sight for more than five do want to consume entertainment minutes without complete and utter for grown ups, but the lack of privacy, chaos ensuing. The barrier to my for- sleep and uninterrupted contact with tress has done little, unfortunately, other adults seem to have worn me to prevent screaming, knocking and down, which hinders me from fighting constant demands to know “What for such things. I admit that it was a struggle to are you doing in there?!” If you’re change my car routine in order to wondering, the answer is “hiding.” Distracted sleeping. It’s no se- show my children there is a time cret that we are not a house of good and place to remain distraction-free. sleepers. My children and pets have It helps to realize, though, that one conspired to produce a distraction- on-the-road text or call, either by me filled third shift schedule so elabo- today or by one of my children a few rate that mammoth, round-the-clock years down the road, could suddenly employers like WalMart and Disney put an end to all of the other little diswould surely envy its mastery. Bad tractions I encounter on a daily basis. The thought of such an end also dreams, bed wetting, thirsty spells, sleepwalking, bed switching, croupy does wonders for making distracted coughs, insistent meowing, incessant living much more tolerable. O kicking, wet noses (usually canine or Shannon and her husband, Michael, are feline) and random yelping, to name raising three children in Sylvania. Email a few, have all added up to no sleeping her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

CLASSIFIED

A24. n Toledo Free Press

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graphic designer The Catholic Chronicle which serves the Diocese of Toledo is in search of a fulltime graphic designer. The graphic designer prepares the Catholic Chronicle for the printer and designs advertising and special sections for both the print and online editions. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor degree in graphic arts or a related field with 3 years of experience in the print industry preparing files for publication. Proficiency in Creative Suite 5 software and its components, primarily InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat Professional are required. The successful candidate is committed to the teachings and values of the Catholic Church. Please send resume, cover letter and salary requirements to Katie Sliwinski at Ksliwinski@toledodiocese.org or 1933 Spielbusch Toledo, Ohio 43604 by November 2, 2012.

All real estate advertised in this paper is subject to the federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, in the sale, rental, or financing of housing. This Publisher will not knowingly accept any advertising that violates any applicable law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this paper are available on an equal opportunity basis. If you believe you have been discriminated against in connection with the sale, rental, or financing of housing, call the Toledo Fair Housing Center, (419) 243-6163.

MaryAnn.Stearns@iscg.net 6060 Renaissance Place Suite A, Toledo

Chestnut is a 3-year-old male German Shepherd mix. He is a shy and independent dog who likes to be his own boss. Chestnut has been neutered, examined by a staff veterinarian, is current on his vaccinations and is microchipped. Toledo Area Humane Society is located at 1920 Indian Wood Circle, Arrowhead Park, Maumee. Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tues.Fri.. and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Call (419) 891-0705 or visit www. toledoareahumanesociety.org. O

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Toledo, 923 Sherman St. 4BR/1BA Single Family, fixer-upper Owner financing or Cash discount $200 Down $130/mo 803-978-1542 Toledo, 1232 E. Bancroft St. 2 Story, 3BR/1BA Single Family Fixer Upper, 1266 SF Owner Finance or Cash Discount $250 Dn, $278/Mo 803-978-1539 or 803-354-5689

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to Drive Home the Car of Your Dreams! Please call 419-241-1700 ext. 221 Toledo Free Press publishes classified ads and cannot be responsible for problems arising between parties placing or responding to ads in our paper. We strongly urge everyone to exercise caution when dealing with people, companies and organizations with whom you are not familiar.

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