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Songwriter seeks funds for documentary-style film ‘Fulton Williams’

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Toledo Free Press
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It’s a story 12 years in the making.

Ryan Roth, a singer-songwriter from Northwest Ohio, is making a film with friend Michael Cullen II based on the lives of both himself and his late father Britt, who died in 2000. PHOTO COURTESY SUNNY NEUENSCHWANDER

Ryan Roth, a singer-songwriter from Northwest Ohio, is making a film with friend Michael Cullen II based on the lives of both himself and his late father Britt, who died in 2000.

PHOTO COURTESY SUNNY NEUENSCHWANDER

And if you ask Ryan Roth, it’s a deeply personal story born out of the cornfields of Wauseon.

The 37-year-old singer/songwriter is currently in the midst of the production “Down Along the Road: The Life and Times of Fulton Williams,” a documentary-style narrative film chronicling the rise and fall of a local musician who mysteriously disappears while on the brink of fame.

The story of Fulton Williams is based off the lives of both Roth and his late father Britt, who died in 2000.

A writer and musician in his own right, Britt used Fulton Williams as his pen name as a tribute to his home near the Fulton and Williams county line. Before he died, Britt asked his son to carry on the name in whatever way he could.

“The character himself is loosely based on his life and mine,” Roth said. “It kind of shadows the same walk. Everything that happened in this guy’s life is true. Every story that’s going to be told in this film is a personal story to somebody telling it.”

“Fulton Williams” is a passion project for both Roth and Michael Cullen II, an aspiring local filmmaker and close friend of Roth who helped him come up with the idea back in 2002.

However, years went by and the project remained nothing more than an idea between friends.

Two months ago, the duo reconnected and finally decided they were at a place in their lives where it made sense to get the project moving.

“I think it was just about being at the right point in our lives,” Roth said.

For the project, Roth and Cullen enlisted the time and talent of nearly 40 area actors, as well as local musicians who will weave their own true-life stories into their “experiences” with Fulton Williams.

“Fulton Williams” has a budget of $2,500, which is being sought through Indiegogo.com, a crowdsourcing website. As of Dec. 18, the project has raised $1,974 with 30 funders. The fundraiser ends Dec. 29.

To donate to the cause, visit the Indiegogo page at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fulton-williams-film-project-documentary-style.

Baumhower: Hello … Santa?

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Toledo Free Press
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When I was growing up, my mom’s favorite method for getting me to behave was the ol’ forward-leaning, outstretched arm toward the wall phone.

She used this maneuver anytime after September. This was a direct threat that she was going to pick up the phone, call Santa Claus and report me for being an asshole. (She also employed this tactic the rest of the year, but with the police instead.)

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As a visual reminder, my mom — with her perfect left-handed penmanship — would have Santa’s number written on a piece of paper, held by an oversized magnet that also served as a bottle opener for our bottled Pepsi, hanging on the fridge mere inches from our house phone.

As all kids figure out, I eventually started calling her bluff and would continue my behavior to see if she would actually pick up the phone and start the exhausting, drawn-out dialing exercise. As soon as I heard her finger dial a short-stroked “1,” I knew she wasn’t calling my grandparents; this was a long distance call being made.

With the phone straddled between her cheek and shoulder, my mom and I would have a staredown. Each ringtone, heard by her ears and mine, would raise the stakes of the our kitchen standoff.

As soon as my mom would say, “Hello … Santa?” the mood and scenario would change. I became instantly apologetic, promising to change my ways, flashing a very crooked smile to help peddle the half-truths I was trying to sell. I would start negotiating those things I could accept as punishment instead of the ensuing conversation with Kris Kringle.

Eventually I would say or do the right thing, prompting my mom to abruptly end the conversation with a “Never mind” or “I might have called you too soon, Santa.”

As you might imagine, I was not the easiest child to raise. I distinctly remember the mounting anticipation the month of December brought. Each day, I would be allowed to tear off another length of chain made of green or red construction paper, which we assembled every year at St. Clement School.

This chain was supposed to signify the countdown of days until we celebrated the birth of Jesus, but who were they kidding? It was a 7-year-old’s way of understanding how many days were left until the big man in a red hat would arrive and enter our chimney-less house with a bag full of toys.

With each fresh piece of construction paper torn came a brief moment of relief — for a boy who inspired near-daily correspondence between teacher and parent had somehow survived another day without Santa having to deal with my mother on the phone. At the time, I was convinced I was doing Mr. Claus a favor. It might have been the one act each year that kept my name off the “naughty list.”

I’ve been blessed to have children who act nothing like me, so I have never had to reach for an imaginary phone with 50 feet of cord. But I assume this parental holiday tactic has remained and evolved some. Maybe Santa has an email address or perhaps you can text him at will?

You should also know, especially coming from the child who was pleading, smiling and even dancing for another person to hang up the phone, that we do try our best to behave during the holidays. Maybe if you didn’t allow a 7-year-old to eat 10 sugar cookies at 8 p.m. with a chocolate milk chaser, we could “settle down” or “leave our little baby sister alone.” Just saying.

Parents aren’t perfect either in the month of December.

To every mom who never called Santa and to every child who forced his or her mom to keep his number on a nearby fridge: Merry Christmas.

Jeremy Baumhower can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeremytheproduc.

Lucas County Sheriff’s Office to get body cameras

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Toledo Free Press
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Amid the growing backlash to incidents across the country of unarmed subjects being killed by law enforcement officials, Lucas County Sheriff deputies will soon be armed with body cameras.

Deputies have been testing several of the cameras on a trial basis for the past 30 days, but the sheriff’s office will soon be purchasing 15 of the $500 cameras for deputies to use.

Lucas County is set to pass its 2015 budget on Dec. 16, and officials said they wanted to be sure to set aside funds for the cameras.

A camera on the shoulder of Lucas County Sheriff's Deputy. Toledo Free Press Photo by Joel Sensenig

A camera on the shoulder of Lucas County Sheriff’s Deputy. Toledo Free Press Photo by Joel Sensenig

“In our budget there will be funds available to let Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp purchase and deploy body cameras,” said Pete Gerken, Lucas County commissioner, at a news conference Dec. 15 at One Government Center. “We are taking the step forward before there are incidents in Lucas County like there have been in Ferguson, Missouri, in New York City and in Cleveland, Ohio.

“We don’t want that for our community. What we want for our community is a safe, proactive community where everybody feels the transparency,” Gerken said. “We want no one to shoot, and we want everyone to breathe.”

“This is one more thing that talks about community policing, community safety and the partnership really that exists between the county commissioners, the sheriff’s department, the faith community and people who live in Lucas County,” said Carol Contrada, president of the board of commissioners.

Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp compared the body cameras to the speed cameras placed along the Anthony Wayne Trail in that they will cause all involved parties to think twice about their actions.

“It really forces law enforcement officials to be on our best behavior,” Tharp said.

“This will increase professionalism to another level and people in the community, they too will be on their best behavior. … We will be totally open with the community and provide all of the information that we have on the cameras.”

Tharp said the cameras will also help with criminal investigations, with footage potentially serving as evidence in trials.

Pending expected commissioner approval of the expenditure up to $20,000, Tharp said the cameras will be purchased by the office within the next 30 days.

Rev. Donald Perryman, pastor at Center of Hope Community Baptist Church, 1656 Dorr St., was at the news conference to represent the faith community.

“I want to commend Sheriff Tharp and the commissioners for their attention to this issue,” Perryman said. “Statistically, unarmed black men, women and children are killed by law enforcement at extraordinary rates compared to others. … The irony is that unarmed blacks are dying at record numbers, but seldom if ever are their killers held accountable in courts of law.”

Perryman said the cameras are not a solution, but a positive first step in improving relations between law enforcement and the community.

“While body cameras are not a panacea, today’s action represents an important first step in bringing more accountability to the criminal justice system,” he said. “I look forward to the ongoing fight and open dialogue that can lead to other policy changes that will improve relations between law enforcement and the community.”

Perryman noted that even though incidents such as the Eric Garner case in New York City were filmed, there were no criminal charges filed after he died following the altercation with police.

“I am looking to see what impact this might have on convictions,” Perryman said. “We need a comprehensive change in the entire criminal justice system. We have to bring accountability to officers. This might be a first step, but we need people being punished for doing wrong.”

Sgt. Richard Grove of the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office has been among those using the cameras for the past month.

“They’ve been great,” he said. “It gives a fair representation of what we do on a daily basis.”

Grove said the officers have been using the cameras on a case-by-case basis while on duty and to this point have not been informing citizens when the cameras are recording.

Tharp said the office will soon establish its policies regarding the cameras prior to their widespread use among deputies.

‘Socially conscious’ art gallery opens Downtown

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Toledo Free Press
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Toledo’s art lovers can add “gallery opening” to their agendas 6-9 p.m. Dec. 13 as Delightful Art with Dee becomes Downtown’s newest space for socially conscious art.


The gallery, from local artist Dee Brown, is a project intended to bring art into the lives of underprivileged and underrepresented communities including veterans, people with disabilities and members of the hearingimpaired community.


A portion of proceeds from sales at the Delightful Art gallery will go toward organizing free art classes.


Delightful Art with Dee is located in the Davis Building, at 137 N. Michigan St., behind The Paula Brown Shop.


The Dec. 13 event will feature the work of local photographer Yvonne Moryc. Brown plans to feature a new artist in the gallery each month.

Youth-created art gallery opens at Juvenile Justice Center

By
Danielle Stanton
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The Juvenile Justice Center, 1801 Spielbusch Ave. in Downtown Toledo, opened a new gallery that’s being touted as the first of its kind in the country.

On the first and second floors, hung on the wall behind glass, are works of art created by juveniles while they were inmates at the center.

Many of the artists were not allowed to attend the opening ceremony Dec. 10 because they were still serving out their sentence except for Wayne Gaston, who was one of two inmates present. Gaston, 15, created a Native American-inspired sculpture of a snake, eagle, elk and wolf representing “life, freedom and the struggle” of his time at the Juvenile Justice Center.

“It’s just a little thing I put together,” Gaston said. “I feel proud.”

The 21-piece gallery is being upheld as an example of what troubled youth can accomplish with the right amount of support and encouragement.

“We finally have an avenue to see the great work these kids can do,” said assistant court administrator Kendra Kec, who has watched kids thrive in the art classes over many years. “This is a great outlet for (the youth).”

Lucas County Juvenile Judge Denise Navarre Cubbon said the center is charged with the responsibilty of helping children and their families make important changes in their lives, and the gallery is now a part of that. One of their goals is to create law abiding, successful citizens and art is one way to do that, Cubbon said.

“The art represents the process of learning,” Cubbon said. “It’s a positive activity to promote responsible behavior. Many children never had the opportunity to explore this talent.”

The gallery is a year and a half in the making and is the brainchild of teachers Joe Szafarowicz and Jan Revill, who instruct the art class. The classes are “integrated,” meaning they also teach another subject such as history, social studies and language arts.

Both Szafarowicz and Refill have been teaching for 10 years. They teach one female class and three male classes every day. They also teach at the Youth Treatment Center, 225 11th St., in the Discovery Art Program.

The art classes are based on state of Ohio standards and are classes you would find in a regular high school, Revill said.

Szafarowicz said he noticed after a period of time that the art classes had a great positive effect on the students and that would carry over into the atmosphere at the Juvenile Justice Center.

“It really engages them,” he said. “It makes them calmer and better.”

Students in the program were often hesitant about creating art. Many had never picked up a paintbruch or pencil before, Revill said.

The biggest benefit, she said, is the sense of accomplishment they feel.

“I’m really proud of them. Most of the students have never done anything like this before,” said Revill who has a degree in art therapy and psychology. She also teaches at Phoenix Academy, a charter school.

The gallery will turn over three to four times a year with new artwork.

ProMedica to build new hospital in Lenawee Co.

By
Joel Sensenig
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ProMedica has announced plans to build a new hospital in Lenawee County to replace ProMedica Bixby and Herrick hospitals.

The new 145,000-square-foot hospital will be located on M-52 on the site of the former Mission Pointe Golf Course. The location is between the current sites of ProMedica Bixby Hospital in Adrian and ProMedica Herrick Hospital in Tecumseh.

The facility will be a full-service hospital with up to 80 acute care beds, an emergency department, surgical capabilities that include orthopedic care, a women’s health center, a cancer center, a pain management clinic and an inpatient psychiatric unit, Pro-
Medica officials stated in a news release. The building will be developed following LEED Silver Eligible Certification standards to ensure sustainability and offer best-in-class design, construction and energy efficiency.

“The two facilities are only 12 miles apart. Both of them provide almost identical
services,” said Tim Jakacki, president of ProMedica Bixby and Herrick hospitals. “This will eliminate redundancy of those services, and by doing that it makes it much more cost effective, much more efficient and it concentrates all of those services in one location.”

ProMedica has owned Bixby and Herrick hospitals since 1999.

The project will begin in early 2016 and be completed 18-22 months later, Jakacki said. Staffing adjustments are uncertain, but Jakacki said the company will weigh whether to replace certain positions left empty due to attrition between now and when the new facility opens.

“Internally, we referred to this as a generational investment, because it’s going to be here for multiple generations and decades to come in the same way these two facilities have been,” he said.

For more information, visit www.promedica.org.

New company continues to make, sell Banner mattress brand

By
Duane Ramsey
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The well-known and respected Banner brand of locally produced mattresses is still available in Toledo from Banner Factory Direct which recently opened a new showroom in Toledo to sell mattress and furniture products.

“It’s a brand new company. We started a new company, bought the rights to use the Banner name and purchased the mattress factory,” said Bard Strand one of four former Banner Mattress employees who formed the new company.

Banner Factory Direct opened the 18,000 square-foot retail showroom at 2544 North Reynolds Road at Elmer just before Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The company is leasing the store, Strand reported.

The four owners include Strand who is responsible for sales and marketing; Wayne Leahy in charge of buying and merchandising; Chris Frybarger running the factory operations; and Ray Rygalski, responsible for delivery, service and warehousing. Including the four partners, the company currently has a total of 10 employees.

“We’re working owners who are involved in the business every day,” Strand said. “We want to thank the Toledo community for the tremendous support they have given us. It’s been very positive.”

Banner Factory Direct is the only retailer making and selling 2-sided “flippable” mattresses in today’s marketplace, according to Strand. The mattresses are produced in the former Banner Mattress factory locater at Bishop and Monroe Streets in Toledo.

“Nobody else makes them any longer but us so we’re the only retail outlet for these locally-made mattresses,” he said.

Strand said that the mattress selection in the new showroom is complete and they are working to expand the furniture selection there. He said they wanted to open their own showroom rather than be in one of the former Banner store locations which were being sold by the former company.

Strand reported that they are looking at possible locations for a second showroom in the Toledo area.

The new company is talking with several companies about making private label mattress products for other regional retailers due to the production capacity of the factory, according to Strand.

The Banner brand has been made and sold in Toledo since the original company was founded in 1929. It was operated by three generations of the Karp family and employed as many as 100 people until the business was closed earlier this year.  Strand served as general manager of the company at the time of its closing.

“Banner mattresses are made by and for people who live in this area with those dollars staying in the local community,” said Frybarger, who served as factory operations manager and worked for the former company for more than 30 years.

Banner Factory Direct’s showroom is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.

BG Arts Council seeks ‘50+ Shades of Grey’ artists

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Toledo Free Press
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The Bowling Green Arts Council is looking for a few good artists who may have a little grey up top.

The arts group, in its fourth year of existence, will host an art show in January entitled “50+ Shades of Grey.” 

The Jan. 9-28 exhibit will showcase work of artists age 50 and older. The show will be at the Myles Baker St. Gallery, 434 E. Wooster St., in the Dairy Queen building in Bowling Green. 

An opening reception is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Jan. 9. This is the first year the council has tried the 50-plus show.

“This is something for the more mature artist, whether they’re new to art, maybe doing something in retirement,” said Beth Genson, vice president of the arts council. “It’s a good opportunity for them to find exposure for their work and find like-minded artists to show with.”

The exhibit’s theme is open and both 2-D and 3-D work will be accepted. The cost to participate is $25. 

“We’re keeping the theme open so whatever medium they work in, whatever style or subject matter, they’re welcome,” Genson said.

Artists within a 100-mile radius of Bowling Green who would like to participate can find a full prospectus and online entry on the website at www.bgartscouncil.com. 

Entries must be received by Dec. 22.

Genson said the venue is a welcoming space for those who may be intimidated of larger galleries and museums.

“You can walk into a coffee shop or a bakery, get a cup of coffee and go browse through the gallery, it’s a much more comfortable feeling for some people,” she said. “It’s a way for people to enjoy the arts in their own community without feeling uncomfortable.”

Information and registration for an open-call exhibit for February and the second annual Artists-4-Animals Show in April are also available on the website.

World War II project unites teens with the past

By
Joel Sensenig
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With World War II being a popular setting in video games and movies, many of today’s teenagers are familiar in a peripheral way with the war that ended seven decades ago.

A project undertaken by 33 Toledo high school students ensures the lessons of the war hit home.

As part of their semester-long studies in a WWII course, students from Rogers, Scott, Start, Waite and Woodward high schools will present the stories of Toledoans killed in the global conflict during the second annual Fallen Heroes Memorial Assembly, set for 10 a.m. Dec. 15 at the Waite High School auditorium.

For the past several months, these students have used a variety of national and local resources to research a fraction of the more than 1,000 veterans from Lucas County who died in the war. In that time, they’ve tracked down school activities, family names and addresses, career paths and military histories of their subjects.

Joe Boyle, a social studies teacher at Waite, got the idea for the project after taking part in a WWII project called the Normandy Scholars Institute, sponsored by National History Day. As part of the project, Boyle and a student from Rogers went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. for a week to study with scholars about the war and for another week in Normandy, France, learning from the battlegrounds and ending with a visit to the Normandy American Cemetery, where students read graveside eulogies of the veterans they had been studying.

“For a number of reasons, it was one of the most powerful moments of my life,” Boyle said. His great uncle, Sgt. Paul Boyle, is buried at the cemetery.  “I grew up with stories of my uncle Paul, and that’s what got me involved in history in the first place.”

After thinking of ways he could duplicate the international experience back home, Boyle came up with the plan to have students learn about Toledoans who died in WWII, also writing eulogies for them which will be read at the assembly Dec. 15.

“The most important thing to me was the war became personal

[to them]

,” Boyle said. “I think pop culture is doing a better job than it did maybe 10 years ago, but a lot of WWII pop culture really glorifies the war. I hate to say it makes it look like a video game when we’re actually talking about video games here, but kids play ‘Call of Duty,’ and it’s fun and the war looks like it was a great adventure. What I want them to get out of this project is it wasn’t a video game for these guys. These were guys just like you and I from Toledo who went off and did extraordinary things and paid the ultimate price.”

Dylan Reed, a Waite senior, studied the life of Harry Brooks, a Toledo resident who died in 1943 after the B-24 named “Superman” he was in was attacked. The bombardier of the plane was Louis Zamperini, a man whose story was chronicled in the book “Unbroken.” The story will be released Christmas Day as a major motion picture produced and directed by Angelina Jolie. Brooks is a character in the movie.

Reed, a wrestler, said he admires the mental toughness Brooks showed in battle.

“He held on for nine days after he was hit in the head with two pieces of shrapnel,” Reed said. “He obviously didn’t lack the fighting spirit. Which makes him a true hero. I hope to carry some of that mental toughness with me, to help me get through life, in order to be successful. As a wrestler, you never stop going until you hear the whistle, and that seems like something Harry Brooks would understand.”

Sylvia Rombach, a junior at Waite, studied the life of Baird Brooks Jr., a Waite alum who was rejected from three different branches of the military four times. He died near Rome, Italy in June 1944, days before Rome was liberated by the Allies.

“This project really opened up a new interest for me,” Rombach said. “To learn all about someone who was sitting in the same place I do everyday, and had the courage to go into the military right out of high school to fight in a world war is extraordinary. This project was far more intriguing than any other project I’ve done.”

Rombach said the perseverance Brooks displayed will stick with her.

“He never gave up on anything,” she said. “I look up to my fallen hero, and I’m fascinated by the fact that he never gave up despite his flaws. I try to do everything with a can-do attitude and do my best in all of my endeavors. He is a great inspiration.”

Boyle’s passion for the Fallen Heroes project is easy to see.

“There is a spirit that moves behind the scenes that makes this project magical,” he said, noting the surprising facts learned about these subjects never ceases to amaze him. “It never occurred to me that there would be a Toledo connection to Zamperini’s story.”

For the instructor, seeing the students identify with local people who paid the ultimate sacrifice is most gratifying.

“I try to reiterate this to the kids again and again and again: You come from a city of heroes,” Boyle said. “This city gets run down so much. There’s so much negative about Toledo all the time, and it’s hard to find role models that aren’t sullied by something. “Every one of these kids has found a way to grab on to these guys from 70 years ago, from the same city, and find something to believe in. It’s my favorite thing about this.”

All Saints Lutheran gets ‘real’ with its 20th nativity scene

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Toledo Free Press
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It’s not every Christmas one sees living, breathing camels in nativity scenes.

Now in its 20th year hosting a live nativity scene, All Saints Lutheran Church, 5445 Heatherdowns Blvd., decided to make the annual tradition a little more life-like for its 6-8 p.m. Dec. 20-21 drive-through event.

“In the past we’ve brought in llamas and tried to pass them off as camels,” said Pastor Richard Rentner with a laugh. “But this year we’re working with a different supplier in Michigan who’s bringing in some real camels.”

The humped animals will join a donkey, sheep and goats in the church’s seven-scene telling of the Christmas story. The scenes will feature two casts of about 40 church members apiece, with each performing half-hour shifts. Rentner said it takes up to 10 minutes for motorists to pass through the scenes, which are accompanied by Christmas music.

Visitors are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items, which are collected by volunteers prior to the first scene. The items are then distributed to area food banks.

Rentner, who has been pastor at All Saints for six years, was surprised when he discovered what the nativity scene entailed.

“I didn’t know quite what to expect,” he said. “But the first time I saw it and participated in it, it just blew me away. It was absolutely one of the most fun things I’ve done in the church.”

The church encourages all of its members to take part in the event, with few requirements for each role, Rentner said.

“One year we had a woman in a wheelchair as Mary,” he said. “It was neat, because it didn’t matter. It wasn’t critical. But there’s Mary in a wheelchair — it was wonderful.”

The church expects to welcome about 400 people through the nativity scene, Rentner said. Off-duty Toledo police officers help direct traffic at the scene.

The pastor said the event brings together the community, both from the church and, hopefully, the neighborhood.

“It brings people together,” Rentner said. “It gives everyone an opportunity to tell the Christmas story, from the little kids on up.”

Although the church has not had much success with its efforts to invite its neighbors on Heatherdowns Boulevard to help take part in the nativity scene, Rentner said it

will keep trying.

“We keep pushing it,” he said. “We want this to be an inclusive thing. We try really hard to build bridges with our neighbors.”

The pastor said the church realized the importance of the nativity scene to the community several years ago after someone broke into its storage shed and stole all of the electrical equipment – three weeks before the nativity scene was set to occur.

Rentner said the community quickly responded, donating more than enough money to All Saints for new equipment. The church then donated about $1,000 in extra funds to area food banks.

For more information on the church, visit allsaintstoledo.org

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