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Miller: Breaking bad

By
Michael Miller
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Raising kids is like being a full-time traffic cop. It’s watching every direction at every moment, trying to anticipate disaster before it happens, enforcing rules that should be common sense but are often ignored in the pursuit of speed.

“No” is the smallest big word in a parent’s vocabulary. Like the color red, “no” elicits an instant reaction of caution. But like any word repeated and repeated again, it loses its meaning and becomes just another strip in the numbing gauze of streaming information that must be processed.

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We have tried to instill standards of civil and polite behavior in our two sons, Evan, 8, and Sean, 6. But sometimes, examples are far more effective teaching tools.

During a recent weekend away, we stayed at a suburban Embassy Suites hotel. It was set up for big events, with a massive open atrium and far more amenities than our usual stopover locations.

The hotel was hosting a reunion with scores of people meandering around in matching T-shirts. They enjoyed a Saturday night reception and dinner with music and seemingly a great deal of familial warmth. The center of the reunion seemed to be a wedding anniversary; the celebrated couple had a photo album and the bride’s wedding dress on display.

Even from halfway across the atrium, it was clear they were the proud patriarch and matriarch of the large family.

But as the weekend progressed, many members of the party brought children who were allowed to roam the hotel like packs of wildebeests, trampling over other people’s personal space and comfort with zero regard for basic civilities.

Our sons witnessed people bull-rushing the elevators before people in the car had a chance to exit. They saw people walking by reception buffet areas and scooping out munchies with their bare hands, dropping food and crunching it underfoot without looking back. They saw kids running in the halls, yelling and screaming as if the space outside room 404 were a playground.

Against our better judgment, we took Sean and Evan to the hotel pool to let them splash around and release some energy. There were eight or nine kids, none of them yet teens, none of them with parents, running around the pool’s wet tile borders, indiscriminately throwing a basketball and taking turns diving and cartwheeling into the pool, which was only 5 feet at its deepest. They were also cannonballing into a nearby hot tub, which was barely 4 feet deep and was clearly marked off-limits for anyone younger than  16. They all wore (or had discarded) the reunion T-shirts that seemingly four score other people were wearing in the hotel.

The behavior was appalling, not just for its rudeness, but for its recklessness. We tried to give our kids a small corner to splash in away from the melee, but the other kids began running and jumping in over our boys’ heads, so we soon gathered our kids and left. We talked to them on the way back about the dangerous and rude behavior they had witnessed. Sean was clearly rattled by the chaos, but Evan seemed as fascinated by the wildness as he was repulsed by it.

Part of our room arrangement was a 24-hour “refreshment center” in the form of a hallway vending machine stocked with water, soda and various candies and chips. We were supplied with a punch key code for the machine, and on the way back to our room, we used the code to get bottles of cold water and two or three munchie items. Each time we used the code, the number indicating the amount of remaining turns dropped by one —  99, 98, 97. A group of the young reunion revelers were behind us, commenting on how much they wished they could break the machine’s glass to get a bag of Skittles or Cheetos. It crossed my mind to offer to get them each something, but I would not want a stranger offering my kids a treat, so I took the few items back to our room.

About two hours later, my wife asked me to step back into the hall for more water.

As I approached the machine, the group of kids from earlier fled from me, their hands full of as many chip bags and candy bars as they could carry.

I keyed in the code for the bottle of water and saw the number: 54.

I knew I had not removed 40-plus items from the machine. As I stood there puzzling, two of the kids from the reunion came back, stepped in front of me and punched in their key code.

Which was my exact key code.

They had watched me enter the code and then kept returning to use it, just about emptying the machine. The access was a courtesy; we were not being charged per item and certainly did not plan to abscond with 50 Twix bars, but I still felt … not angry, but violated in the way one feels when something has been stolen or unfairly taken away.

The next morning, we rose early and tried to get our kids back to the pool before we left. As we passed the vending machine, I noted it was empty.

Arriving at the pool, we were dismayed to see a smaller group of the same kids from the night before were already raising hell. But this time, a hotel employee kept entering the area and ordering them out of the water, telling them they could not be in the pool without a parent. Every time the employee left, the kids literally dove back in. This game lasted about three rounds before one of the kids left and retrieved a man she identified as her father.

As soon as the employee left, the man exited to an outside area to smoke and use his cellphone, his back to the indoor pool. When he came back inside, he told the kids he had not spent hotel money to leave the bed and hang out at a pool. Without breaking stride, he left.

By this time, we had our disappointed boys in towels and were heading back to pack up and leave. Upstairs, we talked to them about the flagrant flouting of rules and open lack of respect for authority and basic manners. I was being a bit hard in my condemnation of the misbehaving kids, desperate to use them as an illustration of worst-case public behavior.

It was Evan who said, “But none of them had a mommy or daddy around. Who will teach them?”

As we were reminded in subsequent days, even some mommies and daddies do not employ manners and basic civility, but at the time, we focused on the lessons to be learned from the kids we had seen.

As I turned in our room key cards, I saw the celebrated, elderly matriarch and patriarch waiting patiently to have their luggage loaded. As they waited, reunion T-shirt-clad kids pulled a plant from its vase, ran in circles among guests in line and ran waving food they had pulled from the breakfast service.

They looked sad and slightly mortified, but remained quiet, sanctioning through silence the rude and wild behavior, monarchs to generations of impolite and hazardous people.

I know we are not raising perfect kids, but we are working to raise ones who will recognize the difference between civility and boorishness, between making the occasional wave and drowning in rudeness.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and news director of Newsradio 1370 WSPD. Contact him at [email protected].

New buoy could be part of Toledo’s water solution

By
Toledo Free Press
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Lake Erie’s wind current generally pushes any impending water problem eastward, and Toledo officials may want to look closely in that direction at a water monitoring tool now being used near Gibraltar Island.

A high-tech buoy was deployed on Lake Erie on Sept. 5., monitors and reports algae levels nearly instantaneously. Photo courtesy Ohio Sea Grant/Stone Lab

A new high-tech buoy deployed on Sept. 5 by researchers at Lake Erie’s Stone Laboratory

now has the ability, among other things, to monitor levels of green and blue-green algae almost instantaneously.

“Depending on how we track this, if it shows to be a predictive tool, I could see other municipalities purchasing these and deploying them,” said Chris Winslow, associate director for Ohio Sea Grant College Program and Stone Laboratory of The Ohio State University.

Measuring pigments

The buoy and its attached equipment came into Stone Lab’s possession two months ago through donations and grants, but because of the Aug. 2-4 water in Toledo crisis, its staff decided to take its capabilities one step further and install probes to measure chlorophyll and phycocyanin, pigments that indicate whether they’re seeing good green algae or harmful algae.

“It tangentially does have to do with the water crisis,” Winslow said.  “It has a probe that measures water temperature, pH and other factors.  But because we knew this was coming, we wrote a grant to buy additional things for that buoy.  The base model was given to us, but because we received that grant, we had the ability to add stuff to it.”

“It’s helping us understand when the bloom reaches out by the island and by how much,” said Justin Chaffin, Stone Laboratory research coordinator.  “It’s going to gather scientific information, but will also help people around the islands to know how thick the blooms are.”

Chaffin said data from the new buoy should be live on the Web as of this week, and one doesn’t need to be a research scientist to interpret the information.

“If you can interpret a graph over time, you can understand it,” Chaffin said.

Cutting-edge technology

The new buoy offers cutting-edge”technology, according to Winslow.

It has its own solar panels to provide power to the laser optic reader, cellular uplinks and real-time data upload, all of which offer fine-resolution data every 30 minutes.  Its base must be also be strong enough to withstand harsh Lake Erie weather. It is secured with a concrete block the size of a dinner table and chain links the width of index fingers.

The top of the buoy houses weather sensors that indicate wind speed, wind direction, precipitation and air temperature.  Water sensors gauge temperature both at the surface and at one meter down.  They can also determine pH level, turbidty (a measure of water cloudiness), and chlorophyll and phycocyanin.

There is no buoy sensor available to measure microcystin, but in most cases when those algal blooms appearthere is some level of the toxin associated with them.  It’s then that the Stone Lab would warn island residents.

The new buoy is the work of Fondriest Environmental near Dayton, which distributes and integrates equipment for natural resource professionals. According to Winslow, the company’s  team is “a big fan of what we do.”  Fondriest donated the equipment to Stone Laboratory to help further their research.

“It was a project we worked on last fall,” said Paul Nieberding, Fondriest general manager.  “It’s something where we can provide a platform to deploy their research tools from.”

Buoys generally serve a navigational purpose, directing boaters where to go. Scientific buoys are few and far between, mainly due to cost.  Winslow said the extra sensors cost around $12,000-$15,000 alone, so combined with the cost of the buoy, anchoring mechanisms and concrete slab, it boosts the total price tag for this entire buoy around $55,000-$65,000.

Buoys also require considerable maintenance: Every three weeks the underwater probes need to be cleaned and calibrated.

As with all buoys, Winslow said the laboratory had to contact the Coast Guard for approval before it could even touch the water, which was part of the reason for the two-month wait.

Island strategy

Most buoys are set near shore, with some close to academic settings, including colleges around the Great Lakes.  Stone Laboratory was established in 1929 by Ohio State University for research and instruction along Lake Erie, though its work began in other nearby locations in 1895.

Winslow said this new buoy was intentionally put in view of one of their laboratory cameras so they can watch out for it as much as the buoy watches out for them.

The island area’s new tool is one to watch, as all water systems remain connected.  Ninety percent of the water in Lake Erie flows there from the Detroit River via Lake Huron, and the rest of it comes from direct precipitation and smaller rivers, according to Chaffin.

“It’s helping us understand when the bloom reaches out by the island and how much,” Chaffin said.  “It’s going to gather scientific info, but will also help people around the islands as to how thick the blooms are.”

There are 37 such buoys in all of the Great Lakes combined, with six of them on Lake Erie.

Lake Erie’s bad rap

When the water crisis sprung up overnight, so too did the outcry against all things Lake Erie.  If there was already a perception that Lake Erie water was bad or unsafe, it was certainly magnified following the crisis.

Both Winslow and Chaffin said this view is unfair.  Before the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in, of course, there were many pollutants in the water, but it’s a Great Lake by more than just size alone, they said.

“The reason why we’re green is because we’re so shallow and we have a lot of nutrients, because plants need to grow,” Winslow said.  “We have algae, but algae is the base of the food web.  The green you see in Lake Erie is tons of food that feeds tons of organisms and fish.  This is why Lake Erie is the walleye capital of the world.”

Finding the right balance is key, because too much algae creates blooms, which can produce the dreaded microcystin.  But since fish love the algae so much, why not simply add more fish to Lake Erie?

Easier said than done, according to Chaffin, who said there are two ways to manage a lake:  top-down management and bottom-up management, with plenty of studies abounding on each.

Regarding the former, you can add more fish from the “top” of the food chain, but they will likely eat down the smaller fish and organisms needed to eat algae. The “bottom-up method” works by altering the amount of nutrients, and this is how Lake Erie operates.

“We clearly see Lake Erie as a bottom-up system,” Chaffin said.

Indeed, not every Great Lake is the same.  Lake Michigan and Lake Superior often receive adoration for their natural color and swimming potential, but Lake Erie has its own qualities, too.

“Fifty percent of the water in all the Great Lakes is in Lake Superior, but 2 percent of the living material is there,” Winslow said.  “In Lake Erie it’s just about the opposite.  We’re battling to keep it productive.”

“I think it’s getting a bad rap now because of the bad blooms,” Chaffin said.  “Lake Erie never has been or never will be Lake Michigan, but Lake Michigan will never have the walleye or perch.  When you get too much algae it becomes bad, so there’s a tipping point.”

Educational tool

While the original impetus for the new buoy is education, this is the time of year when the bad bacteria rules, and Stone Laboratory plans to monitor it.

“As you get into late summer, that’s when cyanobacteria dominates,” Winslow said.  “Now is a good chance that’s when the bad bacteria is around.”

So researchers plan to wait, watch and learn.

“This buoy is going to be an educational tool for us,” Chaffin said.

Treece: What makes a market?

By
Toledo Free Press
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In their infancy, financial markets looked far different than they do today. When markets and securities were brought about, they were created in order to provide capital to companies just starting as well as liquidity to owners and executives of existing companies. Many going concerns were becoming absolutely gigantic companies, and many owners and managers wanted to sell their shares for cash to do other things. At the same time, there were plenty of people who wanted to buy portions of these companies to share in the future earnings.

Back in those days FDIC didn’t exist and there simply weren’t safe places to put money. People fortunate enough to accumulate some savings often invested it in things like ships or timer land. Being able to buy into a company that was being run by knowledgeable, professional managers and might make investors even more money seemed like a great idea.

From the markets’ early days there has always been a segment of pure speculation – people who didn’t know anything about companies or economies, but were simply chasing hunches or tips. Over time, the amount of this “dumb money” has increased to such a degree that now most of the world’s financial markets are little more than gambling pits.

These developments have left individuals with little chance of success in investing. Some may have an edge if they work for a company and know its culture and direction, or if they are studious people, willing to analyze the fundamentals of companies and industries in order to make informed decisions. Otherwise they’re willing to put in such work, or to hire someone who does, “investors” might as well take their savings to a roulette table.

Over time, though, an entire industry has sprung up that has focused on helping to guide people with savings through the markets. Unfortunately, many of these advisors have had little more knowledge than their clients about how markets work. Quite often they’ve been more focused on finding clients than finding good investments. As a result, many have lost money for their clients.

And so, oddly enough, whole new theories have evolved to vindicate advisors. Concepts like diversification or modern portfolio theory have tried to explain why it’s OK – even good – that advisors routinely pick SOME losing investments. These theories and their proponents postulate that every GOOD portfolio should have some winners and some losers.

Meanwhile, few members of the investing public have been told just who should be talking to for guidance. Few realize that there is a difference between a financial advisor/planner and a money manager. Many work with an advisor, who provides guidance and takes care of client needs; while few investors use a money manager, who spends their time researching the markets to makes strategic, informed decisions on investments.

In the world of finance, a financial plan is the equivalent of a road map, while investments are vehicles. A financial planner, in this world, is a map maker. They may be very good at making maps, but that doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing when they get out on the road. Conversely, a money manager is a driver who knows the lay of the land. They may not be a great map maker, but they can help avoid the speed traps and potholes.

Many of these managers “eat their own cooking” – that is, buy the same investments as they recommend to clients. Admittedly, they may not always be right when picking investments, but they certainly put in the time on research to improve their odds. The hope is that, over time, a money manager can outperform the shotgun approach of diversification. At the very least, they can help their clients to avoid the perils of the pit, and ignore the jawboning of stockjobbers.

Dock David Treece is a partner with Treece Investment Advisory Corp (www.TreeceInvestments.com) and is licensed with FINRA through Treece Financial Services Corp. He provides expert content to numerous media outlets. The above information is the express opinion of Dock David Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

TFP delinquent land tax ads yield $3.9 million more than Blade average at nearly half the cost

By
Erin Holden
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Each year, the Lucas County Auditor’s Office is required by law to publish a list of delinquent land tax notices in a local publication.

In December, the notices were published in Toledo Free Press, the first time a free weekly newspaper has published the Lucas County list.

Toledo Free Press was the only publication to submit a bid and published the notices at a cost of $168,025.

Between January and March, $10.7 million in late and delinquent land taxes was collected, according to county records. That’s $3.9 million more than the average amount collected for the past four years at almost half the cost to taxpayers.

Between 2009-12, the notices were published by The Blade at an average cost of $321,000. An average of $6.8 million in taxes was collected each year between January and March following the publication of the notices.

The county paid The Blade $339,935 to run the notices in 2009, $287,135 in 2010, $347,272 in 2011 and $309,870 in 2012. Taxes reported collected between January and March of the following years were $6.8 million in 2010, $6.4 million in 2011, $6.9 million in 2012 and $7.1 million in 2013.

 

Toledo Free Press became eligible to publish legal notices with the signing into law of Ohio House Bill 153 by Gov. John Kasich in October 2011.

The legislation eliminated the link between charging for newspapers and being permitted to publish legal notices and opened the legal publication business to any “newspaper of general circulation” that publishes at least once a week and meets other criteria, including at least 25 percent editorial content, being published continuously for at least three years and the ability to add subscribers to its distribution list. The bill also requires the newspaper to offer its best classified rate.

“Before 2011, it really was tied strictly to whether you had a valid U.S. Postal Service mailing permit and generally those mailing permits are whether you’re a paid circulation newspaper,” said Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA). “In 2011, the qualifications, you could argue, were relaxed. The postal permit requirement is still there, but there are other paths by which a newspaper can qualify.”

In October 2012, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez sought an opinion from the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, which ruled, “[Toledo] Free Press would now qualify as a paper of general circulation.”

That year, The Blade’s bid to publish the delinquent land tax notices was $330,617 and Toledo Free Press’ bid was $86,100.

Lopez recommended the 2012 contract be awarded to The Blade, citing Toledo Free Press’ lower circulation in areas such as Neopolis and Curtice. The Lucas County Commissioners, who have the final say, agreed.

“For me, this comes down to covering areas,” Lopez said. “I thought it was important to go with the broader circulation because of what we were doing. Our Constitution in our country protects property rights. Property is something sacred in our country. The most important reason why this ad has to occur is to protect property rights. That goes beyond the bottom line dollar. You have to balance that, but when we’re saying, ‘You’re delinquent to the point where we can take your property,’ this becomes the last call to the public to get in here and pay your taxes. That, to me, is lost in the process. Those were my concerns. That’s important to me as a lawyer. At the end of the day, I have to make my decision based on what I think is best for citizens and stick to my guns.”

Hetzel said statewide there are both dailies and weeklies that publish legal notices and awarding such contracts is “a local government decision.”

“The first thing they have to establish is if the newspaper that gets it is qualified in the law,” Hetzel said. “Then they have to compare and contrast competing bids and decide what’s going to serve the public best. The theoretical basis of a published notice is that it should be in a publication that is invited into people’s homes, that is wanted and not ignored. Like anything else in life, there are many factors involved that government officials need to consider. It’s not always based on price.”

Toledo Free Press Publisher Tom Pounds said that the “perceived shortcoming” in circulation has been addressed and said he still believes, as he has discussed in numerous columns, that TFP offers advantages beyond cost savings to those publishing legal notices.

“While a daily newspaper comes and goes in one day, our paper is on racks in 432 locations for seven days in addition to our 70,000 home-delivered copies,” Pounds wrote in December 2012. “It is worth noting that taxpayers who wish to see the information they have paid to publish would get that information at no cost in Toledo Free Press; they would have to pay for it (again) to read it in a daily newspaper.”

Lopez said she agreed TFP had addressed the circulation concern and that last year’s numbers showed “good results.”

“The numbers speak for themselves. We are saving money,” Lopez said. “It’s very hard to argue with that.”

The Village of Ottawa Hills, City of Toledo, City of Sylvania, Monclova Township, Lucas County Metropolitan Housing Authority, Toledo Public Schools, Washtenaw County and Metroparks of Toledo Area have also published legal notices in Toledo Free Press.

Lopez said she was approached last year — she declined to say by whom — after the bidding period on the delinquent land tax notices had closed and asked to re-open bidding since only one bid had been submitted, but she said no.

“I would like to make it very clear that I was definitely asked to reconsider, asked would I object to re-advertising the bid or allowing this bidding to be reopened last year and I said, ‘No, I think we move forward,’” Lopez said. “We had an eligible paper that met the qualifications, that had met the concerns from 2012. And the numbers had already been made public, so whoever would compete against that bid would know how to lowball them. You just can’t do that. That undermines the entire process of a public bid.”

Recent legislation will bring another change to the publication of legal notices. Starting in March, all notices printed in Ohio newspapers will also be required to be posted on www.PublicNoticesOhio.com, a free website operated by the ONA.

The change comes after Kasich signed House Bill 483 in June, which included the ONA-backed measure. ONA has operated PublicNoticesOhio.com for more than 10 years, but posting there hasn’t been mandatory until now, Hetzel said. PublicNoticesOhio.com will replace a state-run site created in 2011.

Notices will still be required to be printed in newspapers first, but uploading to the site will be required in order to continue to qualify to publish Ohio public notices.

In a June blog post announcing the new online requirement, Hetzel said it may save money for agencies as notices that are required to be published twice may publish a shortened version in print for their second run if the full list will be going online. The shortened notice option does not apply to all types of notices, including the delinquent tax list, he said.

“It’s good for everyone to have them all aggregated on one website, in the private sector and not a government website,” Hetzel told Toledo Free Press. “We worked hard on that and think it’s for the long-term good of our industry and the public.”

Employment First Initiative helps find jobs for people with developmental disabilities

By
Duane Ramsey
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Gov. John Kasich’s Employment First Initiative helps people with developmental disabilities in Lucas County land jobs with local companies.

The initiative, created by an executive order signed in March 2012, changed how services are provided to people with developmental disabilities by making it a priority to expand employment opportunities for about 80,000 such individuals in Ohio.

The goal of the initiative is to enhance the individual’s self-determination and offer opportunities for greater wealth, quality of life and a sense of self-worth, said John Martin, director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD).

Kevin Tyree replaces price stickers for merchandise at Best Buy in Toledo. He was hired through Gov. John Kasich’s Employment First Initiative, a rehabilitation program that provides funds to help individuals with developmental disabilities get jobs. Toledo Free Press photo by Duane Ramsey

Lucas County was one of the counties selected by the state to suggest how the initiative will be implemented in the community. The emphasis is focused on job development with area businesses, said Sharon Helle, senior director of board services and supports for the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities (LCDD).

“The initiative said we should look at employment first and help prepare them for that. It’s shifting the way we think about things. We are working together, collaborating with businesses and communities on the program,” Helle said.

The Employment First Initiative is a rehabilitation program that provides funds to help people in a sheltered workshop or day program to get jobs. The LCDD received a $25,000 grant from the Ohio DODD to support the program in fiscal year 2015.

“There are lots of benefits and positive results from this program,” Helle said.

Many employers who were having trouble filling entry-level jobs are finding LCDD’s pool of candidates a solution, she said. Research has shown that attendance is better and turnover is lower among people with developmental disabilities in the workforce, Helle reported.

“They can be a valuable addition to your workforce,” she said.

Kevin Tyree works as a merchandise associate at the Best Buy store on Monroe Street. He stocks product, cleans displays, and changes the signs for merchandise in the store. His experiences there have helped him gain confidence to keep branching out.

“I’m ready for another job,” Tyree said. “I have put in an application for maintenance work at the Toledo Zoo.”

“Diversity and inclusion are part of Best Buy’s culture to provide an open environment for everyone,” said Aaron Haury, general manager of the Monroe Street Best Buy store.

“You have to keep an open mind. They must be qualified like any other candidate for hire. It’s about finding the right fit for them. Sales isn’t usually right but stocking product works,” said Haury, who has worked for Best Buy for nine years.

More than 200 people in Lucas County have been helped through the efforts of the LCDD working with the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, Ohio Department of Education, Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services and Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission.

The LCDD is providing support for 89 people working jobs with local businesses and organizations and 111 people working in small groups at business locations while preparing 14 additional people searching for jobs in the community, Helle said.

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities is a partner agency in the Employment First Initiative with the Ohio DODD.

For more information, visit www.ohioemploymentfirst.org.

Gala of Royal Horses to parade into Toledo

By
Vicki Kroll
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Manes flying, hooves sparkling — 15 magnificent, bold horses will dance and prance Sept. 13 at Huntington Center.

Gala of Royal Horses photo courtesy of TCG Entertainment

By chance, 2014 is the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese calendar.

It’s just by coincidence that Rene Gasser brought the Gala of the Royal Horses to the States for its American debut eight months ago.

“The audiences have been absolutely fantastic,” he said. “The people are so grateful for us to bring these horses to the United States because usually you only see these in Vienna or Spain or Holland.”

Historically, these horses of Europe were associated with nobility.

“You’ve got those beautiful Andalusian, Friesian horses, Lipizzaner — it’s that regal look. And when they perform, people just can’t get enough of them,” Gasser said.

And the horses turn it on when they gallop into the spotlight.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Do they like performing?’ And oh my god, yes. The audience can actually tell when they watch them,” Gasser said. “The horses are definitely characters.”

During a call from a tour stop in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Gasser’s love for the animals was evident.

“We have 15 horses on one big trailer and I drive it myself. It’s 53 feet long, and it’s been specially made. It’s got all air-ride suspension, so you can’t feel any bumps in the road,” he said. “And it’s got special vents on it so it’s all nice and cool for them.”

Cameras in the trailer allow for constant monitoring of the four-legged athletes.

“They’re the rock stars of the horse world, so we try to give them that treatment,” Gasser said and laughed.

Headliners set to perform in Toledo are Lipizzaners Ringo, Mozart, Maestro, Baby, Bona and Bonavista; Friesians Gharred, Armani and Rico; Andalusians Jerano, Quintero, Habano, Bandero and Coco; and the Arabian Marcus.

“My family goes back seven generations working with horses,” said Gasser, a riding master who created the show. “The traditional movements for the horses of war all have been for the military, and we are using it for the living art. But at the time, all of the movements had a purpose.”

He offered an example.

“The air above the ground is where the horse goes up on its back legs and he jumps up into the air and kicks out with all four legs. That would be used to, if you were surrounded by your enemy, the horse would actually jump up in the air and kick all its legs out at once and that would make room for you to get away,” Gasser said.

That spectacular showstopper is usually performed by Lipizzaners, he added.

“Horses are very, very sensible animals. You can’t push [training] on them too hard. If it’s done correct, it’s so beautiful to watch,” Gasser said. “It takes a long time and a lot of energy and patience.”

There will be music and flamenco dancers to accompany the display of equine artistry and grace.

The Gala of the Royal Horses will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at Huntington Center. Tickets range from $40 to $90.

New photography book captures rock, blues stars

By
Barbara Floyd
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By Barbara Floyd

Special to Toledo Free Press

Were you lucky enough to see Elvis Presley when he performed at the University of Toledo’s Centennial Hall in 1977? How about KISS at the Toledo Sports Arena in the 1980s? Or Bob Dylan at Savage Hall in 1989? Or Richie Havens at the Poe Ditch Festival in Bowling Green in 1975?

“Can I Get a Witness” book cover

If you missed any of these amazing musical events, do not worry. John Gibbs Rockwood was there, taking photographs that captured the once-in-a-lifetime moments. Not only was he there, but he was often backstage or in the first few rows, where he was able to capture these performers in candid, up-close shots.

More than 150 of Rockwood’s best photographs from the past four decades have been assembled in “Can I Get A Witness,” a recent publication of The University of Toledo Press.

“The reason I got up close was because I got a camera. And the reason I got a camera was, of course, so I could get up close. I was never afraid of getting right in the face of the performers, leaning down at their feet to feel the shot. I wanted the lines, the wigs and brims, the tear ducts, the sand, the life story in their faces,” Rockwood said.

To get his photographs, Rockwood worked as a driver, roadie and messenger for the musicians, often also becoming a confidant. Not trained as a photographer, Rockwood nevertheless showed considerable skill in framing the expressions of many of the best-known musical stars of the day, and many who were less known but no less talented.

The book of black-and-white images includes not only rock stars, but also many blues and jazz performers: Muddy Waters performing in UT’s Student Union Ingman Room in the 1980s, B.B. King at the Sports Arena in the 1970s and Howlin’ Wolf at Eastern Michigan University in 1973.

In addition to working odd jobs for musicians, Rockwood also played with many of them.

“John has introduced us to a nearly uncountable number of rock ’n’ roll, blues and jazz musicians, sometimes performing with them, sometimes accompanying them on his camera like a musical instrument. He works in black and white the way Monet worked in pastels,” wrote Walter Salwitz of The Dynatones in the book’s introduction.

Other performers photographed by Rockwood and featured in the book include Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Tiny Tim, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Brubeck and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Since most of the photographs were taken during concerts performed in and around Toledo, “Can I Get A Witness” also captures the history of the musical scene in Northwest Ohio.

Rockwood was born in Cleveland, but has lived most of his life in Toledo. He has been a bandleader, a blues singer and a harmonica player who performs under the stage name Johnny “Porkchop” Dupree, fronting the band Voodoo Libido. He estimates he has taken more than 26,000 photographs over the past four decades. He selected his best for this book, which was designed by recent UT graduate Andrew Grady.

“Can I Get A Witness” is $22.95 and is available from the UT Press website at utoledopress.com, at the UT Barnes & Noble Bookstore, or by contacting UT Press Director Barbara Floyd at (419) 530-2170.

Night Ranger still motoring

By
Vicki Kroll
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Fans of Night Ranger will notice the cover of the new disc, “High Road,” looks familiar.

Night Ranger will play at Hollywood Casino Toledo on Sept. 13. Photo courtesy B.R.P. Entertainment

Night Ranger will play at Hollywood Casino Toledo on Sept. 13.

Photo courtesy B.R.P. Entertainment

“We wanted to put little bits of our past in there, all the album covers and all the titles. We thought it’d be interesting, kind of like find Waldo or whatever,” drummer and singer Kelly Keagy said and laughed. “It’s fun.”

Even more fun is cueing up the CD which was released in June.

On “High Road,” singer and bass player Jack Blades sings: “See the sun come up, it’s a beautiful day to be dreaming/ Well, you don’t need us/ What you need is a mind of your own…/ I’m on the high road after midnight/ And I don’t think I’ll ever go home/ I’m on the right road, got the freedom/ And I’ll never, no never, give up.”

“We always try to write songs that are in a positive light,” Keagy said during a call from a tour stop in Detroit. He said he and Blades started writing the song, which was finished thanks to Blades’ son, Colin.

With “Knock Knock Never Stop,” the band lives up to its 1983 song: They can still “Rock in America.”

“There’s always going to be those songs on Night Ranger albums. We just love those feel-good, party and you’re in your car [songs] because that’s how we got started,” Keagy said. “Music’s supposed to make you feel good, whether it’s just like a melody or whether it’s something it’s saying that catches you.”

And there’ll always be a ballad or two on their discs. It was Keagy who wrote the 1984 monster hit “Sister Christian” for his younger sister who was graduating from high school.

“I had the chorus, which is ‘Motoring,’ but the beginning of it, I was singing ‘Sister Christy,’ and the guys were like, ‘What are you singing there?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t really know, I don’t have it all written, Sister Christy,’” he recalled. “And they were like, ‘Christy? We thought you said “Christian.”’

“And then we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘That sounds better.’”

Night Ranger also scored in the ’80s with “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “When You Close Your Eyes,” “Sentimental Street,” “Four in the Morning,” “Goodbye” and “The Secret of My Success.”

“We were kind of making it up as we were going along, so the fact that we had success — I think it was all about the songs and how we performed them as a band because it’s really a band, you know, everybody has their own musical stamp on it,” Keagy said.

Night Ranger — Keagy, Blades, guitarist Brad Gillis, keyboardist Eric Levy and guitarist Keri Kelli — will play a sold-out show at the Hollywood Casino Toledo at 9 p.m. Sept. 13. Also taking the stage will be 38 Special.

“When we came out with ‘Midnight Madness’ [in 1983, 38 Special] put us on this big tour they were doing, and we got a chance to play a whole lot of shows with them,” Keagy said. “They’re good old friends of ours, and we really enjoy playing with them.”

Pounds: Doesn’t hold water

By
Toledo Free Press
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Someone sees a firefighter at Costco buying bottled water and the rumor spreads that a water ban must be imminent.

Someone in line at a grocery store hears half of a phone conversation about a news report and the rumor spreads that a water ban must be imminent.

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Someone says he has a friend who has a cousin who knows a man who works with a guy who knows a contact at the water treatment plant who says tests are off-the-chart toxic, and the rumor spreads that a water ban must be imminent.

While it is understandable that people’s confidence in the quality of local water has been shaken, it has been disturbing to see how quickly rumors of water bans have spread and how persistent those rumors are. Like a dog chasing its tail, social media whips itself into a flurry of rumors and outright lies about the region’s battle with toxic algae.

To its credit, after an initial shaky start, the D. Michael Collins administration is visibly working to keep the public informed and the rumors of another ban at bay.

The City of Toledo started posting tap water test results on its website. The “daily water pumpage” for the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant is also posted on the site.

There has also been a management change. Tim Murphy was named the interim commissioner of water treatment on Aug. 26, one day after commissioner David Leffler resigned.  Collins said he asked for the resignation because he’d lost confidence that Leffler could rectify his policies or facilitate the city’s vision for the future.

Following criticism over how the city shared information during the water crisis, Collins hired a new public information officer. Stacy Weber worked for the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and Lucas County Emergency Management Agency. She’ll be in charge of the city’s social media accounts, as well as communicating with the media.

All of these steps (along with a long overdue media tour of the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant Aug. 28) add up to a clear effort to keep the process transparent and the public informed. There is no way to guarantee Toledo can avoid another water shutdown as the algae season progresses. But Collins has apparently learned from his early mistakes, made some major course corrections and is working to restore our confidence in the city’s ability to navigate any potential crisis.

Hopefully our fellow citizens will remember that most rumors of imminent disaster simply do not hold water.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].

Retirement Guys: Is your retirement safe?

By
Mark Clair & Nolan Baker
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How many people do you know who have lost money to some unfortunate circumstance, situation or event? We have all heard sad stories of people making fortunes and then losing them overnight. Or, working a lifetime to accumulate a nice nest egg only to lose it or have it severely damaged by theft, bad spending habits or an ill-timed stock market decline.

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Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. We are not all that far removed from the severe stock market decline of 2008, which caused many, poised to retire to change their plans and delay retirement it due to lack of sufficient resources after the market crash. The stock market has been rolling along nicely since then and it is only human nature to not think about the reality that what goes up must eventually come down. The biggest concern The Retirement Guys see while working with those planning their retirement years is that of “outliving my money.” There are several important tips we can offer to help you not outlive your money and to have a better chance at a happy and comfortable retirement. Here are a few.

Five tips — plus one — to avoid outliving your money

  1. Understand the different types of risk and your tolerance for each. There are many types of risk that can affect retirement including stock market risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, purchasing power risk, etc.
  2. Make sure each of your accounts has a specific purpose. Don’t just throw money in investment accounts and hope they do well without a defined purpose for each.
  3. Manage the different types of risk based on time frames. Determine what you will need your money for and when you will need it.
  4. Do what grandma and grandpa told you. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversification can help reduce overall risk.
  5. Understand where the income allowing you to live out the rest of your life comfortably will come from and protect it. Think about any possible events that could damage any income stream.

Plus one: The biggest and most important tip of all is to create and implement a plan (a good one).

The Retirement Guys call this good plan The Retirement Game Plan. I (Mark) have a tendency as a sports fan to relate to things in sports terms. A game plan can be used to help win the game of retirement.

Whether you are a sports fan or not, you probably can relate to being part of a team.

Each team member has an important role to help the team achieve the goal of winning the game. These team members can help you with important issues such as investment allocation, taxes, insurance, income flow, estate planning, etc. The problem is that in many cases the different team members don’t all work together. This can be a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

You may have your investment person, insurance person, attorney, etc., each all with a different agenda. At The Retirement Guys we like using what we call the “comprehensive approach.”

These many issues have a tendency to overlap. What you do with your investments, taxes, health care planning and estate planning can all have an effect on each other.

Factoring as many of these issues as we can into the plan can better help us manage the different types of risk we mentioned earlier.  If you can get the different team members and parts of your plan to synchronize, the more likely you are to achieve success.

A big key is not procrastinating but rather taking action. Do you have a false sense of security? It is likely that the next big market crash is coming at some point. Are you prepared for it? How will you be affected if we have to relive 2008?

Do you have any types of circuit breakers on your investment accounts to potentially reduce stock market losses? Do you have a retirement game plan? You can take a little bit of action by getting information. Visit www.retirementguys.com and request your free copy of The Retirement Game Plan Summary. Start to take steps before the next bomb hits.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1Newradio 370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC. NEXT Financial Group, Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice. The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537. (419) 842-0550.

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