Community

In early 1965, two mothers from Lakewood, Ohio, shared a long evening of conversation and dreaming, brought together by love of their sons.  

A look at how overcrowding and poor design contributed to two of the worst national outbreaks

For the first two months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., Ohio’s response set an example. Thanks to an early shutdown order, the state’s per-capita deaths from the virus as of late April were less than half of those in neighboring Pennsylvania, a state with similar demographics.

But inside the two states’ prison systems, it was a different story. 

By late April , the death rate from COVID-19 in Ohio prisons was 22 per 100,000, a rate more than 4 ½ times the overall Ohio rate and nearly twice the national rate. 

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/3306

As of August 14, there have been 77 inmate deaths known to be caused by COVID-19, and another 10 suspected— a rate of 160 deaths per 100,000 people. 

When I was catching up with one of the girls in the neighborhood who turns 18 this year, Amanda Ostroske, she remarked that she was excited that her first chance to vote in an election was going to be the year of the 100th anniversary of Women's Right to Vote.

The City of Euclid requested input from the citizens of Euclid regarding the deer population in our city. The survey that was on the city of Euclid’s website was originally available through August 15th, but was extended through the end of August. The Safety Committee meeting is scheduled for September 16th at 6:30 pm to discuss the full results of the survey.

Ohioans can register to vote online as well as make updates to their existing voter registrations on the Ohio Secretary of State web site at https://olvr.ohiosos.gov/.

Ohio voters have until noon 3 days before the election, Saturday, October 31st, to submit an application to Vote-by-Mail. There is an additional step in the process that must be taken even sooner, which is to submit a request to have the application mailed to you.

     Those were the days!  It was the 1950's and the Cold War was raging between the United States and the Soviet Union.  School children were issued dog tags defined as civil defense metal identification necklaces.  The threat of nuclear war was so real that these tags were to help the military identify bodies!-as if there would be anything left to identify

     The first dog tags were issued by New York City school districts in 1952.  Children were instructed to wear them at all times. "Duck and Cover" drills were conducted at school reflecting the fear and paranoia of the time.  Students hid under their desks, covering their heads much as they would now for a tornado drill.

     The memory 're-surfaced' so to speak this summer at the Utopia Beach Club when the dog tag of Carole Rossman Price was discovered this summer 63 years after it was first issued.  Name, address, birth date, and religious affiliation  still clearly visible.

     Ironically, just down the street Holy Cross Church was being built as a fortress with extra thick walls and bore the designation of Fallout Shelter.

I went to dig out weeds that had grown so high, in one of Euclid's many Adopt-A-Gardens.  Tufts of flowers maintained by volunteers.  Volunteers who love living in this community, and want to show it off.

At Dedicated Senior Medical Center, our Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) are the captains of your healthcare team. They will see you once a month and oversee all aspects of your healthcare needs, whether you are sick or well. Your PCP will monitor your health and medications, order your on-site tests and screenings, and coordinate your care with all your specialists. They will keep all your doctors informed and on the same page, so you do not have to. By coordinating all aspects of your healthcare, they can keep you in the best possible health.

Here we are seven months into the COVID-19 crisis.  Who could have imagined that we would still be living in this new reality?  The good news is that Cuyahoga County moved from level 3 down to level 2 last month.  Although that is great news, I really do not feel that I am much closer to returning to what used to be my “normal life”. 

Kiddie City is now offering a new program to assist and guide school age children K through 3rd grade.  Teachers will be available in small classrooms of 9 students to help children with virtual learning and staying on task.  We will also be providing breakfast, lunch and snack.  Two options 7:30 am to 5:30 pm full day or call Dayna White, director about our part day option.

When Shore Acres resident and local hobbyist Weatherman Bill Hogsett moved onto the lake in 2005, he found a great way to combine his hobby of computers and computer programming with his new interest in Lake Erie and the weather patterns in his neighborhood.

Since our last Statehouse update, we have changed Speakers in the Ohio House because Larry Householder has been accused of engaging in what the US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio described as, “Likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever” in Ohio history.

At the heart of the $60 million dollar bribery charges are an apparent dirty deal to bail out unprofitable FirstEnergy nuclear and coal plants through legislation titled House Bill 6.

Beyond this most recent Statehouse scandal, I would argue that a clean energy future is critical to Ohio.  The question Ohioans need to ask themselves is do you want clean energy to power our economic future or do you want to remain in the smog age?

To illustrate that point, let me offer the theory of ‘sunrise industry vs sunset industry’.

The Japanese used this illustration to describe what is a growing economic sector versus a declining economic sector.  We all know that economies and markets change.  We want to be where the economy is growing.  It is perilous for your region to be dominated by sunset industries.   

One of the best examples of the sunrise vs sunset analogy is Fortune 500 lists.  Who is on it now – who was on it 30 years ago – who will be on it 30 years in the future?

The Fuller Project
This story was originally published by The Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on issues that affect women.

A mother of five welcomed her into the backyard, where she was cleaning up the colorful, damp decorations from a child’s birthday party the evening before. 

Rodemann, a community outreach specialist, is part of a pandemic response team traversing Slavic Village to check on residents and offers information on a rent assistance program – and an application to vote by mail in the upcoming November presidential election. 

Working the overnight shift as a corrections officer at a women’s prison during a pandemic, coupled with limited child care options is a daily struggle, the woman said. 

“You could see how tired she was,” says Rodemann, who broke social distancing protocol to give the woman, who started to cry, a hug. “I was so devastated for her.”

After that encounter, she  wondered how a mom like the one she had met could have any energy left to worry about voting. A few days later, Rodemann returned to the home with a care package: masks, alcohol wipes and a thermometer. 

Cars…

Such advances…

Such disappointments!

In the past we were attracted to the style of the car we bought but now cars have become so homogeneous, mostly for corporate reasons, that most have lost any individual aesthetic.

The Steering Wheel and the Turn Signal Lever are the last control interface details that remain untouched but we may soon lose those as well to an A.I. and Autodrive.

Nowadays, the automotive human interface suffers abysmally under an attack of technology. Lost are the Tactile, Haptics, Affordance and even Texture, all consumed by the ubiquitous “Touchscreen Interface”, void of the sensual feedback turning driving into a chore... a necessity. Devoid of anything visceral in the piloting of an automobile. Overpowered steering systems, numb braking systems and computer controlled 10 speed automatic transmissions that seem more confused than our kids when searching for the right gear to be in.

No “Seat of the Pants”… No shouts of , “Ahhh… DS…DS”, on the Champs- Elysees as the new 1955 Citroen floated past. The DS… The “Goddess”… Lost.

Are you looking for a way to give back to the community to make a positive difference? Hospice of the Western Reserve is seeking reception desk volunteers at David Simpson Hospice House, its hospice inpatient care center located on E. 185th Street on the Lake Erie waterfront. 

Most nights a few hours before sunset, there is a new home grown recreation program jumping into the waters of Lake Erie off the shore of Euclid.

Amid the “across the board” shut down due to the Corona Virus outbreak, the idea for a new type of swim club was pitched by Maura Delaney. Maura spent her childhood enrolled in the summer City swim programs. She’s been a coach of the Euclid Panther swim team the last 3 years and is currently a member of Ashland University’s swim team. The 2020 swim season was cancelled and city pools closed. So Delaney put her vision into motion and used Erie’s waters as her home pool.

Forty youth swimmers took her up on the offer from ages six to seventeen. Everyday, weather permitting, they arrive for a temperature check, buckle on a brightly colored pull float, specifically used for open water swimming. There are two, one hour sessions. The younger ones go in first and the second hour is for the older kids. With no opposition to prepare for, lane lines, or walls to push off of, they spend practice time learning techniques, strengthening strokes, and adapting to pack swimming in the open water.

DAR PUBLIC RELATIONS, INC. 

During a crisis, we need to activate the gears of government but when that machinery has been woefully underfunded, we should not be surprised when it fails.  After a strong start fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio’s case numbers and all its related grim outcomes are getting worse by the day.  It seems like our statewide hashtag needs to change from #AllInThisTogetherOhio to #ItsUpToYouOhio because Ohio is ill-equipped for this fight, and that reality might cost you your life.

An analysis of two recent reports on public health funding levels indicate that Ohio’s recent failures are a result of a lack of resources.  The Trust for America’s Health (tfah.org) produced a report at the end of 2017 that rated the 50 states for public health preparedness for diseases, disasters and bioterrorism.  Ohio achieved a score of 3 out of 10 possible measures.  Only Alaska (2 out of 10) had a worse total.  

The Trust also evaluated per capita spending on public health programs and subsequently ranked Ohio 44th out of 50 states.   More recent data suggests things are trending in the wrong direction for the Buckeye state.  According to the most recent America’s Health Rankings report (2019), Ohio ranks 47th out of 50 for public health funding.  See for yourself at www.americashealthrankings.org

Euclid’s Pond and Garden Tour highlights the beauty and creativity of landscaping, but did you realize that yard and garden choices can also help your home become a fortress!  CPTED stands for Crime Prevention by Environmental Design and utilizing its principles promotes a safer environment.  CPTED includes Access Control, Natural Surveillance, and Territorial Reinforcement. Let’s take a look at each one and how to incorporate CPTED into landscaping choices.

This article provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join our free mailing list or the mailing list for Energy News as this helps us provide more public service reporting.

But a complete repeal is needed as a minimum to undo the bill’s gutting of the clean energy standards, advocates say.

Both Republican and Democratic Ohio lawmakers are pushing to repeal the state’s nuclear bailout bill after this week’s release of a federal criminal complaint against House Speaker Larry Householder and others. Clean energy advocates say that would be a start, but more is needed to address eight years of lawmakers’ actions to slow the growth of renewables in the state.

Thecomplaint alleges a $60 million bribery and conspiracy scheme that led to the passage of House Bill 6 last summer, followed by the defeat of a referendum effort to give voters a say on the bill. Amounts involved are about20 times more than amounts that could be tracked through public documents.

HB 6 is primarily known as a “nuclear bailout” for providing six years of subsidies for the FirstEnergy Solutions/Energy Harbor nuclear power plants in Ohio totaling roughly a billion dollars, but it also gutted the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, and provided bailouts for two 1950s-era coal plants in Ohio and Indiana.

And while Gov. Mike DeWine has recently shifted his position from defending HB 6 to saying he wants to “repeal and replace” it, legislators from both parties say the whole thing should be thrown out. DeWine has said his office had no involvement in the alleged scheme. Yet he signed the law within hours after Householder secured its passage last summer.

Many things have changed over the past few months, but some things have remained the same.  Keep Euclid Beautiful (KEB Team) is still busy collecting litter, recycling and promoting beautification.  The way we accomplish these things is a bit different with social distancing, mask wearing, and smaller outings, but our mission remains the same; that is, residents Keeping Euclid Beautiful and Doing Beautiful Things. 

Three months ago I wrote an Observer article entitled “Surreality”. It talked about life during the covid-19 crisis.   Here we are in August, more than 3 months later, and life is still no where near normal. 

Most would agree – home ownership is part of the American Dream. According to Bankrate, a recent “Consumer Mortgage Understanding Study” conducted by Fannie Mae showed that  91% of more than 3,600 respondents prefer owning a home to renting, but are still largely unaware when it comes to home-buying basics.

Parenting is a word with many meanings.

The act of parenting is verbal, non-verbal, active, and sometimes inactive.

The word takes on many roles, task, and tests.

The joys are laughable, tearful, stressful, and rewarding.

Parenting is a life-long journey between both parties, the adult, and the child.

It is not to be taken lightly. And like my mother once told me, you only get one change to do a great job

at being a parent. Your life, your goals, your finances are altered by a bundle of joyfulness.

Knowing your strengths and your weaknesses can help you with parenting.

While capitalizing on your strengths, find other support systems to assist you with your weaknesses.

Parenting is a special gift mandated by a higher power who holds you responsible for doing the best you

can. Parenting is not easy but think about nothing in life is these days. We must work at anything we

to produce intrinsic and extrinsic lasting rewards.

It is a great feeling to say, I would do it all over again despite the ups and downs of parenting.

To sum it all up, what is a parent?

P for Patient

A for Attentive

R for Realistic

E for Eager

N for-Nice

T for-Thoughtful

     It is our commitment to the City of Euclid to continue the tradition of quality early education at the former Lincoln Elementary school building. We are planning for the increased demand for childcare services by renovating more classrooms at our site on E. 206th Street.  With additional classrooms, Kiddie City will now accept more students ages 6 weeks to 5th grade to accommodate parents and their children in navigating the new school day configurations. An investment has been made in an online communication system – 1Core – with great features to make communications between staff and parents almost effortless. Transportation services for before and after school and field trips will also be available for our enrolled children this school year. To set up an appointment to discuss enrollment and programs, please call 216.481.9044 and talk with Dayna White, executive director, or Charlee Robinson, administrative assistant.

 “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” —Marilyn Monroe

 Question: Are YOU a “nocturnal potato”? Aka a “Night Owl” ? . I come from a long line of “night owls“  Of course!  There is no question - I am a night owl or “nocturnal potato!”  

Early birds  find It unBELIEVABLE (ha ha) that we would eat a delicious filling snack at 1 am! Actually I generally go to BED  At LEAST a couple hours Later! If this SHOCKS YOU , are obviously one of those organized self disciplined early birds . We night owls are a totally different breed! Ha ha. But we are wonderful creative  (humble ?) people!
Ps I mimic 2 other family night owls- my DAD & twin sister. Hopeless helpless night owls . All 3
Of us. It’s all in Our genes..,in Our circadian rhythms. Maybe you KNOW at least one other night owl ??!  ????!I

. We night owls are a totally different breed! Ha ha. But we are wonderfully creative  & sometimes Even  humble ?)

The Observer is proud to announce that we have a new member on our team. She will be submitting feature stories beginning this month with the first of a three part series on Covid's effect on the Opiod crisis.

As the negative impacts of the COVID19 pandemic become more apparent, the City of Euclid is developing new partnerships to support the community during this difficult time.

Not long into this pandemic, my eyes were opened to my ignorance about racial injustice. It started as I watched people scramble for face coverings across the nation. Disturbed, I saw a man in California use ‘required face coverings’ to push his prejudiced agenda. In broad daylight, leaning on his grocery cart, he donned a Klu Klux Klan hood like a baseball cap. “The nerve”. I was in disbelief. Sometime later, I would run two miles. Not because I’m a runner or knew Ahmaud, but because it was a worthy cause. About a month later, appalled, I watched ‘Walk in the park Karen’. That wicked witch of the east. “What gave her the idea or right to put herself above anyone due to her skin color (or anyone else’s)?” Then…I saw the same straw that broke the pandemic-tired nation’s (and the repeatedly and historically abused black community’s) back. Despicable, shameful, horrific, senseless, undeserved acts. I don’t need to tell you, there’s indeed a crisis in our nation, and that’s why BLM exists.

Sometimes legislation is about the past.  Sometimes, it’s about the future.  But on June 12, 2020, it was about both.

On February 13, 1861, President – elect Abraham Lincoln spoke to a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly at a celebration of the recently completed Ohio Statehouse.  Less than five years later, our nation’s 16th President would lay in the rotunda of the Statehouse following his assassination.

Following several days of nationwide protests and debates about the relevance and meaning of Civil War symbols, the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy and NASCAR all announced bans on Confederate memorabilia.  In the early morning hours on June 12th, it was time to see if Ohio would do the same.

House Democratic lawmakers offered two amendments on the House floor to HB 665 that would have prohibited the sale, display, possession, or distribution of Confederate memorabilia at county and independent fairs.  If enacted, this policy would be the same as had been instituted for the Ohio State Fair in 2015.

Unfortunately, Republicans rejected the amendments largely along party lines, voting to protect the sale of the Confederate flag.

On May 25th, 2020, an African American man named George Floyd had his life stifled out of his body as a Minneapolis, MN police officer knelt down upon his neck, his full weight upon his airways. Mr. Floyd's painful cry for help, his plea to breathe, his cries for his deceased mother were all ignored. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds he suffered in humiliation, pain, agony. Three other policemen knelt down upon his body, his hands cuffed behind his back. As a young woman courageously stood in front of the scene video taping the tragic event, the police officer looked at the cell phone camera as if to say, "So what?" 

This happened in AMERICA. Unfortunately, this was not the first time an unarmed, non-violent African American cried out for help and to breathe, due to being strangled at the hand of rogue police officers.  The WORLD saw the video footage and is crying out for systemic changes. How many more lives must be lost before we acknowledge the pandemic named RACISM? The CHURCH must not remain silent. We must emphatically declare, BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! Some might question, why the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” is so important.  While all lives do matter, it is BLACK LIVES that continue to be disproportionately terrorized, oppressed, disenfranchised and murdered figuratively and literally by police.  

Seniors are the fastest growing population segment in Ohio and the Scripps Gerontology Center projects more than 1 in 4 Ohioans will be age 60 and older by 2025. Unfortunately, that growth has contributed to high rates of fraud and financial exploitation targeting the elderly in our state. 

The Pantry started distributing dog and cat food to people in need in January 2016. To date the Pantry has distributed over 100,000 pounds of pet food. The monthly distribution is on the 4th Saturday in the morning (time may vary) and lasts two hours. On occasion, it also distributes cat litter. The distribution location is at Willow Praise Church, 32905 Vine St. in Willowick. It is open to anyone in need regardless of where the pet parents live. During this difficult time, because of Covid 19, the pantry has distributed (one-time distributions) in Madison, Painesville, and Ashtabula. In addition to pet food, the Pantry has various programs: a medical program, a Free Spay/Neuter program, a Microchipping program, and a "crossing the Rainbow Bridge" program. Visit our website, www.willowickpetfoodpantry.org or our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/willowickpetfoodpantry. "Like" the Facebook page to keep up on all the Pantry does. Both Channel 5 and Channel 8 have run segments on the pantry as well as few local papers.

Tired of watering your ornamental plants? Wishing for (just a small bit of) those spring rains? Consider joining our online Master Rain Gardener course and building a self-sufficient* rain garden. Class includes 5 weeks of online content designed to walk you step by step through planning, design, digging, and planting your very own rain garden.

Have you completed the 2020 Census?

The Lakeland Civic Association may still hold its Summer Picnic if conditions allow. However, conditions prevent the group from holding two earlier events. LCA President Kevin Jones regrets canceling the group's annual Neighborhood Yard Sales and Fourth of July Bicycle Parade. Both have been long-observed gatherings on the Association's Summer calendar.

Did you ever ask yourself- am I an “Auto Potato” ? 
Now  if you answer yes to several of these questions it will dawn on you that “yes! I AM an “Auto  Potato!” And you will realize you have joined one of the largest undisclosed clubs  in existence  I haven’t heard of any “Auto Potato” Clubs around - but  you never know.. one might appear out of the blue when you least expect it! Maybe YOU would like to START an “Auto Potato” club. Let me know and I’ll help promote it and before you know it - it will be HUGE ! You can have virtual or live meetings - your choice!

Do you love & cherish your car?  Do you faithfully take Horace Honda in for his regular oil changes? Do you make sure you LOCK Horace before you enter your home? After all, he doesn’t want to be snatched away by some nefarious individual in the dead of night! Nor do you want to lose him! Hopefully you check your tires pressure regularly.

At its first meeting in May, Euclid City Council approved an ordinance authorizing the construction of a new community message board at Euclid Avenue and Chardon Road.  The ordinance was sponsored by Euclid Avenue area councilpersons Stephana Caviness, Brian Moore and Marcus Epps.