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Gooooaaaallll!!! Local soccer club hosts World Cup parties

By
Dave Kubacki
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The Toledo chapter of soccer fan club the American Outlaws host World Cup and U.S. national team watch parties at Claddagh Irish Pub at Franklin Park Mall. Photo courtesy Mark Blankenship

By David Kubacki

For quite some time, home games for the United States national soccer team felt like away games, as the opposing country’s fans often outnumbered U.S. fans.

The Toledo chapter of soccer fan club the American Outlaws host World Cup and U.S. national team watch parties at Claddagh Irish Pub at Franklin Park Mall. Photo courtesy Mark Blankenship
The Toledo chapter of soccer fan club the American Outlaws host World Cup and U.S. national team watch parties at Claddagh Irish Pub at Franklin Park Mall. Photo courtesy Mark Blankenship

But with the sport’s growing popularity in America and organized fan groups such as the American Outlaws, the atmosphere at national soccer games has drastically changed, club members say.

In 2007, a group of soccer fans in Lincoln, Nebraska, started watching U.S. national games together. They felt like they were the outlaws of the sports world, following a sport most Americans didn’t.

It was there, sporting bandannas worn by American wild west outlaws, that the American Outlaws were born.

For Mark Blankenship, one of the founders of the American Outlaws’ Toledo chapter, there was an opportunity to bring that excitement to Toledo.

“I learned about the American Outlaws when I was in Columbus and wanted to bring the same support to Toledo,” Blankenship said. “There was nothing here when I started, but I put a Facebook page together to start trying to get some interest. Once we had enough members, we applied with the national organization to become an official chapter.”

To start a chapter, applicants need to have a minimum of 25 paid members and a “home base” bar where fans can expect to meet to watch each game. Toledo’s chapter now has more than 300 members and continues to grow. According to Richard Parish, a member of the Toledo chapter, the goal is to strengthen the support system for the national soccer teams.

“Whether it’s the men’s team or the women’s team, we want to support U.S. soccer wherever they are or whatever they are doing,” Parish said. “That’s what being an Outlaw means.”

With the World Cup slated to start June 12, soccer fans worldwide will be turning their attention to the soccer pitches of Brazil to see who will hoist the FIFA World Cup trophy in July.

The U.S. men’s team faces a steep challenge, as players will have to compete in the group appropriately dubbed the “group of death” to advance. For the U.S., play begins with Ghana on June 16, followed by Portugal on June 22 and Germany on June 26.

The U.S. was ousted by Ghana in 2006 in the group play level and in the round of 16 in 2010. With Portugal and Germany ranked No. 4 and No. 2 respectively in the FIFA world rankings, the group stage will certainly not get any easier.

In preparation for the World Cup and for future U.S. national games, the American Outlaws sought a home for their watch parties.

“We have our own room at the Claddagh Irish Pub at [Franklin Park Mall],” Blankenship said. “We’ll be holding watch parties for all the American games there. Everyone will be decked out in their colors to show their support. It should be a really good time.”

Blankenship said club members are eligible for drink specials and other perks, but anyone is welcome to attend the watch parties.

American Outlaws’ membership dues are $25 per year, which includes an official American Outlaws’ supporter shirt and an American flag bandanna.

Members are also eligible for a variety of other benefits such as discounted game tickets, admission to viewing parties and tailgates and various other discounts at soccer-related venues. Five dollars of every membership fee goes to support the local chapter directly.

For more information, visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/AmericanOutlawsToledo.

Miller: The dead badge of courage

By
Michael Miller
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A Toledo Free Press intern is struggling with an unpleasant revelation. In researching a story about a possible misstatement made by an elected state official, the intern has encountered a number of political types who have employed delay tactics, subterfuge, mock outrage and deception to throw her off track and keep the story from surfacing. Witnessing firsthand how rotten and self-serving politicians can be has rattled her a bit and shaken her belief in the motives of public servants.

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A journalist with as many barnacles on his hull as I have expects politicians to be more interested in power than in serving constituents, but it is still lugubrious to see a young person’s sense of trust and idealism take its first slashes.

Two streams of local news have illustrated just how rare courage is in public life. On the positive side is Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s overdue but welcome decision to rebuild the Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE) and dismantle the lamentable circus into which it has devolved. On the shameful side is Toledo City Council’s resolute refusal to condemn one of its members, Larry Sykes, for an outrageous act of dangerous race-baiting and disparagement of two Toledo police officers.

Plodding but proper

Since the ascension of Jon Stainbrook, aided by The Blade and Toledo City Paper, the Lucas County Republican Party and BOE have been crackpot, untrustworthy, loathsome nests of foolishness, incompetence and suspected malfeasance. From signature forgery to questions about spending to accusations of system manipulation, it has been an era of implosion and sewer-level hustling.

The more cronies Stainbrook worked into the BOE — his close pal Meghan Gallagher and former legal representative Tony DeGidio being the most visible examples — the further into chaos the elections process has deteriorated. As far back as 2011, Toledo Free Press urged Husted to step in and rescue the sanctity of the voting process from the hostage situation in which it was entangled. It has taken years of embarrassment, election debacles and hundreds (thousands?) of hours of attention and untold financial resources from the secretary of state, but the process has finally played itself out: Husted has cleaned house at the BOE.

Like dominoes, the Stainbrook links of influence have toppled; there is now an opportunity to literally start from scratch and build an institution that voters — in the county, state and nation — can have faith in, or at least take for granted as almost every other county in the system does with their BOEs.

Husted followed the plodding but proper procedures and finally asserted the needed authority to make sweeping changes in Lucas County. That takes courage, even if that courage was applied with the pace and patience of a snail crossing a highway of salt. A sordid and tragicomic era in local politics will come to end thanks to Husted.

Shameful scandal

A few floors down in One Government Center, courage is as scarce as a shovel in the dirt at the Marina District. In the aftermath of a shameful scandal perpetrated solely by Sykes, not one Toledo City Councilperson has had the courage, sense, decency or pride to step up and condemn his reckless, divisive behavior.

To recap, Sykes was driving home April 24 when a Toledo police officer pulled him over because he could not read Sykes’ rear license plate. The officer had an even tougher time reading Sykes’ front plate, as he did not have one. That’s illegal in Ohio, and while it’s a minor and probably common offense, we have a right to expect our elected leaders to understand and obey basic laws.

Sykes subsequently wrote a letter to Chief of Police William Moton, saying his April 24 experience was attributable to “profiling.” On official City of Toledo letterhead.

An investigation definitively showed that no such profiling occurred. But the damage was done, as Sykes besmirched the reputations of two Toledo police officers in his quest to shirk responsibility and play the “I’ll show you who I am” card.

Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association (TPPA), has called for Sykes to resign. The International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO (IUPA), issued a statement May 28 in support of the TPPA, calling for Sykes to resign after an internal police investigation found his claims of police profiling at a recent traffic stop to be unfounded.

IUPA called on its entire membership, especially police units in Ohio, to stand with the TPPA on this issue.

So at some point, other members of Council could have — should have — made it clear they do not condone Sykes’ behavior. They could make a statement supporting the police, censure Sykes’ behavior or, if they collectively could gather one spine among them, join the call for his resignation. They could at least condemn his irresponsible invocation, right?

Nope.

Toledo City Council members Mike Craig, Paula Hicks-Hudson and Jack Ford declined to comment on the call for Sykes’ resignation.

Sykes and Council members Tyrone Riley, Matt Cherry, Tom Waniewski, Lindsay Webb, Theresa Gabriel, Rob Ludeman, Sandy Spang and Steven Steel did not return requests for comment.

Cowards, every one of them.

Silence is consent. By hiding and avoiding even the slightest condemnation of Sykes’ actions, they are condoning his behavior and adding their piss to the disrespectful stream Sykes aimed at the badges of our Toledo police. Mayor D. Michael Collins — a retired cop, for Chrissake — hasn’t distinguished his leadership in this incident, either. Mumbling about an investigation is not leadership; it’s avoiding the issue.

I know race is a complicated and scary topic, but what about simple right and wrong? Doesn’t the value of doing what is right transcend the politics of race? Of politics itself?

Good luck expressing your outrage at the next faux cause that comes along, Council members. If you can’t work up the courage to stand beside police who are unfairly tarred with such an alarming false accusation, what will motivate you? Any topic you call a news conference to grandstand on is laughable if you can’t take a stand on such an egregious abuse of authority as Sykes tried to perpetrate on our cops.

The failure to condemn Sykes calls into question the ability of Council as a body and its individual members to function with any moral credibility. Perhaps another BOE-like clean sweep and fresh start is in order.

I am no summer intern; this behavior does not shock me. It simply reinforces my conviction that Toledo politics is the lowest form of public service.

It took years for Stainbrook to ruin the credibility of the BOE and for Husted to start the repairs. It only took one incident for Sykes to reveal Toledo City Council’s true colors: not black or white, but a blazing streak of yellow.

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

New Walleye coach plans to revamp team

By
Sanya Ali
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Derek Lalonde. Toledo Free Press photo by Christie Materni.

Derek Lalonde wants to usher in an era of development, unity and triumph for the Toledo Walleye.

“We want to have a culture in this locker room that, whenever you come into this locker room, you’re expected to give everything you can for Toledo on that given night,” Lalonde said.

The Walleyes announced June 2 that Lalonde would take over the spot vacated by Nick Vitucci in February.

Vitucci, now director of hockey operations for the Walleye, said he feels confident in his successor.

“We’re thrilled that we were able to land [Lalonde],” Vitucci said. “The criteria we set up as far as what we wanted in our coach, he fit every part of it.”

The criteria, Vitucci said, included a track record of success, championship victories, a position as top coach at a talented junior league and knowledge of Toledo’s league.

Lalonde said winning is his goal, but first and foremost, he wants to foster a sense of community and teamwork.

“It’s all about that balance of development, but winning is also development,” Lalonde said. “Any competitive hockey player at this level, they still want to be coached, they still want to be communicated to and they want to win. If you can achieve the communication, the teaching, the structure for development, usually the winning follows.”

Lalonde grew up close to the Canadian border in upstate New York, where he said each hockey game was a uniting event. 

“Having a good experience growing up, where hockey was second nature to everyone, you grew a passion for it,” Lalonde said.

Lalonde took his passion and went on to play for Cortland State University, where he was goaltender from 1991-95. He was also a physical education major at the school.

“It’s probably exactly where I belonged, talent-wise,” Lalonde said. “I went there for all the right reasons: the opportunity for a good hockey experience and the education I wanted.”

Lalonde got his first assistant coaching job two months after graduation. He coached at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (1995-98) where he was also a graduate assistant and master’s student.

“When you first start coaching, the last thing on your mind is ever making a living because the money is not there as a young coach,” Lalonde said. “You do it for the right reasons: you have a passion and the excitement for it.”

Lalonde has since been assistant coach at the University of Denver (2006-11), Ferris State University (2002-06), Hamilton College (2000-02) and Lebanon Valley College (1998-00). He said many of his previous head coaches influenced his coaching style today.  

“Bob Daniels at Ferris State University, George Gwozdecky at the University of Denver: these guys were perfect mentors for my growth,” Lalonde said. “I took a little bit of who they both were and kind of blended that into who I am.”

Lalonde most recently coached and acted as general manager for the Green Bay Gamblers. He led the team to a record of 111-54-14, including regular season and playoff championships in 2011-12.

“Being the head coach and general manager at that level, you wear so many hats,” Lalonde said. “Its very overwhelming at times. It prepares you for anything.”

Lalonde also coached the U.S. Under-19 National Team, which earned gold at the World Junior A Challenge in November.

“First, for the U.S. Hockey Federation to choose me was a great honor,” Lalonde said. “Then, having that two weeks short, intense tournament of putting a team together getting that team to buy into a common goal.”

Lalonde chose Toledo because of the success of the Mud Hens brand as well as its association with the Detroit Red Wings, who Lalonde said showed they “cared a lot” about the Walleye.

Lalonde said he is excited to bring his family to Toledo. Wife Melissa is a Cleveland native and Lalonde said her parents still live there.

Melissa and their children, Alex, Luke, and Abby, came to the press conference as well as a Mud Hens game last weekend, which Lalonde said, “really helped in the transition.”

Vitucci and Lalonde will work together to fill the assistant coach position. They will interview likely candidates in the coming weeks. Lalonde said Dan Watson, the current assistant coach who served as interim head coach, is definitely in the running.

“We would love to have [Watson] as a candidate,” Lalonde said. “Just the profile we’re looking for in that position is someone who’s played at this level, who’s experienced coaching at this level and a lot of [Watson’s] strengths fit with what we’re looking for.”

Lalonde said he hopes he can follow in the footsteps of Vitucci, because the former coach exemplifies what Lalonde deems most important in the coaching profession.

“[Vitucci is] a very genuine person and he is a person who does things right,” Lalonde said. “That’s who you want to be in Toledo when advisers call, when kids call, when they look at Toledo. They do things the right way. I want that to be my legacy and to have that continued legacy of Toledo.”

McNamara named Toledo Free Press sales manager

By
Amanda Tindall
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John McNamara is a graduate of Bowling Green State University. Toledo Free Press file photo.

When John McNamara bought advertisements from Toledo Free Press for Raceway Park and Hollywood Casino Toledo, he both identified and agreed with the goals and mission of the paper.

Now, as new Toledo Free Press sales manager, McNamara is an integral part of expanding the brand he said he considers respected, reputable and ethical.

While attending Bowling Green State University, McNamara worked for the athletic and marketing departments, working in game day operations. He later worked event security, a position that required him to manage and relate to people.

“Every job I have ever had has always been relating to people, whether it was customer-related or guest services- related,” McNamara said. “I’ve always loved working with a lot of people around. I’ve never been one to sit behind the desk.”

After McNamara studied marketing in college, he and his wife, Jaimee, decided to stay in the Toledo area, and he began working at Raceway Park.

“At Raceway Park, when I was signing corporate partnerships, I wanted to make sure that we added as much value to the client as possible, to give them exposure for their company, and help their business be successful,” McNamara said.

Toledo Free Press publisher Tom Pounds said he’s known McNamara for a number of years because Raceway Park partnered with Toledo Free Press. The two stayed in contact when McNamara began his work at Hollywood Casino as a manager in the marketing department.

“He’s young, connected and very professional,” Pounds said. “He’s got great leadership skills and is very forward- thinking.”

McNamara said having experience on the other side of sales offers him a different perspective on selling ads and understanding clients’ concerns.

“You have revenue goals at the casino, so it’s a similar setting. You’re not selling ads. You’re selling gambling,” he said. “I think I come from a unique perspective on it because I don’t come from a traditional ad sales background. I come from the other side of the table, where I was buying media and working with sales reps and sales managers from multiple different advertising mediums.

“So I’m going to bring that approach to our clients, as a peer, because I was in their seat and I know what they’re looking for. I understand tight budgets and how they’re trying to maximize their marketing dollars. That’s what I want to do here.”

Renee Bergmooser, Toledo Free Press senior sales representative, said she and Pounds were impressed with McNamara’s charisma and personableness when she met him at Hollywood Casino, but never thought she would have the chance to work with him at Toledo Free Press.

Concern for the buyer is what McNamara said drives the way he conducts business.

“In anything, if your client is successful, you’ll be successful,” McNamara said. “If they’re not, you’re not. So my main goal in any business I’m in, especially now at Toledo Free Press, is I’m not here to sell an ad to someone just to make money. I want to make sure that whatever I’m doing is helping the client. Because at the end of the day, if it’s not helping the client, it’s hurting them. And if it’s hurting them, it’s going to end up hurting us as a company. So my main focus is making my clients successful, whatever that may take.”

Former Toledoan paints lighthouses as retirement hobby

By
Amanda Tindall
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Mary Segur will be at the Toledo Lighthouse Waterfront Festival in July. Photo by Ben Block.

With 3,126 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and 115 lighthouses, Michigan is a lighthouse-lovers heaven. Hillsdale County resident Mary Segur lives in Osseo, Michigan, and spends her retirement painting Michigan lighthouses, selling the paintings at events throughout the state. 

When a young Segur was a first-grader living in Toledo, her mother took her to the Toledo Museum of Art for art lessons.

“They had good teachers, and they taught you every aspect you can imagine,” Segur said. “They had clay modeling, pen and ink, tempera paints; then you would graduate, and you could try watercolor and oil.”

Every day from first to sixth grade, Segur received art lessons.  Eventually, having graduated into watercolor and oil, she began taking private lessons in high school.

As a high school teacher for 25 years, Segur saw many schools go through budget cuts. As an English teacher, she objected to the elimination of, or reduced funding for, music and art programs. 

“I always argue that practicality isn’t the whole purpose of schooling any more than it is of life,” she said. “The thing that artists create, whether it be music or literature or the visual arts, are not only expressions of their talent and their message, but they’re also a way of bonding people together.”

Segur said she’s done landscape and portraits, but portraits were a lot of work.

“I must have been in my mid-20s and visited Ludington State Park and saw the Big Sable Point Lighthouse,” Segur said. “You have to walk about two miles down the beach before you see it. I just was mesmerized. I fell in love with it.”

The bond between this sea of language and cultural barriers represents what Segur said she loves about lighthouses. She said it brought her closer to expressing a human bond that is often missing in every day life.

“What drew me to the lighthouses was really what they stood for,” Segur said. “They’re kind of from a time when people were more willing to risk their life to save a total stranger. I don’t see people doing that today. The keeper that stayed there had to get in a boat and row out in a horrible storm to try to save people who were drowning from a shipwreck.

“Something about that beacon of light and the way it turns, it’s symbolic of a lot more than just showing sailors the way,” she said. “A lot of churches have adopted the symbol of a lighthouse because there’s a parallel there. It has a metaphorical application to your life.”

Segur’s friend and fellow artist, Rich Katuzin, who draws similar subjects with pen and ink, takes photographs of the lighthouses for Segur to use as reference.

“I used to paint en plein air and I had an easel, and I was painting with oils,” Segur said. “I had gotten a palette knife, and I was really putting it on thick because I was doing waves, and all of the sudden that wind picked up and blew the canvas off. It went face down in the sand. And it was like, ‘Oh! Texture!’ I decided right then and there that I couldn’t do it.”

Living in a little house on Lake Pleasant in Osseo, with model ships sitting on the windowsill above the front door, Segur has filled her home with her paintings of lighthouses.

At times, Segur calls her friend, Kevin Kirwan, to look at her paintings, and to get his opinion. Kirwan said they’d discuss the paintings, and sometimes she would make changes. Kirwan has lived near Segur since 2006, and said he enjoys the feel of living by the lake, a feeling that is expressed in Segur’s paintings.

“They call her the Lighthouse Lady and, when it comes to the lighthouses, she really wants to represent the actual look and feel, the structure of the lighthouse,” Kirwan said. “From there, she does her own interpretation of the seasons of the year. She’s very intent that her rendition of the lighthouse is true to form.”

Along with her paintings, which she calls her retirement hobby, Segur sells copies of her work and cards that include the history of each lighthouse on the back.

As she travels to various art shows, Segur is able to talk with those who have similar interests, as well as with people who have never quite understood the hopeful and valuable symbolism in art and lighthouses.

Segur said the hobby will never make her rich, but after she sells a painting it does pay for gas, paints, and canvasses so she can start all over again.

Segur and her paintings will be at the Toledo Lighthouse Waterfront Festival at Maumee Bay State Park on July 12 and 13. More information about the festival can be found at toledolighthouse.org.

Higgins: Blade cuts both ways

By
Tim Higgins
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After years of castigating corporate America for failing to recognize Toledo’s convenient location, to see competitive advantage in its Downtown, or to appreciate its hardworking union workers, it appears that The Blade is about to tuck tail and follow in the footsteps of those they’ve previously chastised. What else can we take from formal notifications to the city and The Blade’s unions that it intends to outsource its production? Such an intention makes it difficult to reconcile the disparity between the claim of being one of the city’s biggest supporters and an apparent unwillingness to invest in its future.

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Nonproduction functions will apparently remain in its Downtown facility, but The Blade appears ready to cease all production at both its Superior Street and Water Street facilities, with more than 130 people losing their jobs. While The Blade has not formally announced where that production will resurface, it’s likely that its plan will require abandoning not only the Glass City but the Buckeye State as well.

In its announcement, The Blade cites the age of the equipment and the challenges of an older building in its decision not to reinvest. Having recently announced that it will finance an almost identical investment for its Pittsburgh newspaper (The Post-Gazette) however, the refusal to bankroll improvement in Toledo might seem almost duplicitous.

From a purely business standpoint this becomes even more curious, considering that The Post-Gazette competes for its market share with another Pittsburgh daily (The Tribune-Review), while no such daily competition exists in Toledo. Does this speak to the market for news in both cities, or simply the red-headed stepchild status of The Blade under the absentee landlord nature of one of its owners?

As “One of America’s Great Newspapers” (self-described), The Blade tells us it lost $8.5 million last year by way of explanation (excuse) for its plan. Some might see this as “how the mighty have fallen,” or perhaps “reaping what you sow”; still others might see it as proof of the adage that “you shouldn’t crap where you eat.” Perhaps however, The Blade simply fell victim to its own stale business plan; like many of its ilk, it could not decide whether it wanted to be an award-winning business that occasionally made a profit or a profitable business that occasionally won an award.

As it now scales back in use, I’m sure some will see the Superior Street site as one that should be on a federal list of historic buildings. Others might agree to its entry on a list, but suggest instead that entry should be on a list of federal Superfund cleanup sites. One cannot help but wonder at the impact of petroleum-based inks, industrial chemicals and lubricants used over time. One might be even more curious about the disposal of decades of solvent-based cleaners used in their cleanup.

The damage of The Blade’s past political attacks may soon become history, but not so quickly whatever may have leeched into the soil and water supply from a facility only blocks from the Maumee River and a stone’s throw from Lake Erie. The toxic treatment of those held in disfavor over the years by The Blade may someday fade away, but not so easily the residue of chemicals used to produce them. As its production equipment is mothballed or removed for eventual sale, let’s hope The Blade makes more of a commitment to the proper remediation of such materials than they have to their Downtown location itself, and that such residue may not prove to be the only long-term legacy it leaves.

The Blade easily deserves one of the stinging rebukes it has been so fond of handing out throughout the years; and the failure in its announcement to promise anything in the way of change shows that its owners have learned nothing.  Some may say it seems a bit unfair to pile on The Blade, but few would argue that it’s undeserved.

Sorry guys, but it’s your turn to be on the firing line for picking up your chips and leaving the game early. After all, the blade cuts both ways.

Read the collected works of columnist Tim Higgins at www.toledofreepress.com/tag/tim-higgins.

Sushi restaurant to open Downtown

By
Danielle Stanton
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New York-born chef Kengo Kato, who has been preparing sushi in Toledo for seven years, had the opportunity to pull up his Toledo roots and take his sushi-making skills to Denver, but food blogger Josh Wagy of Smash Toledo was not about to let that happen.

Josh Wagy and Kengo Kato plan to open Kengo, a sushi restaurant in the Warehouse District this fall. Toledo Free Press Photo by Christie Materni

“[Kato] was thinking about moving out of Toledo; he had a good job offer in Denver. Me and Smash Toledo want really great chefs to stay in Toledo. We came up with a little funding and a budget and we got backers to help and we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” Wagy said.

Wagy and Kato are now co-owners of Kengo, a sushi and yakitori (skewered meat) restaurant set to open by Sept. 1 at 38 S. St. Clair St. in the Downtown Warehouse District. The restaurant will be the first sushi bar to come to Downtown.

“It was a pretty unanimous decision on where we wanted to put our restaurant,” Wagy said. “Rent was a great price and everything has been lining up really nicely for us. We got the money in the bank and we’ve signed the lease and it’s a go.”

Currently, the two are working to transform their rented space from an empty room with just a three-bin sink to a 25-seat dining area with a five-seat sushi bar. They already have an architect laying down plans and recently met with an electrician.

A fabrication shop in Delta is building Kengo’s sushi bar and local woodworker Craig Mossing is creating the platter boards for the sushi rolls.

The final effect they’re hoping for is urban and organic with lots of art. They will not have any white plates, only ceramic bowls, Wagy said.

“We’re going to have local artists doing murals. It’s going to be a fun, casual, eclectic atmosphere.”

The menu will be unique as well, they said. They’re calling it “small and more traditional” than what other sushi restaurants are offering. The courses will be cut down in size and available à la carte or in a combination platter to keep it simple, they said.

Kato will buy fish fresh at area markets as well as in Livonia, Michigan, and from places as far away as Honolulu and Japan, he said.

“I really want to work with local farmers and stay local,” Kato said. “I will work with Honolulu and Japan and all over the U.S. I have guys that will deliver (the meat) daily and in Livonia there’s a warehouse where I will personally go pick it up. I just want to do everything fresh. I don’t have a walk-in cooler or freezer. Everything is going to have to be fresh.

“I’m going to have a sushi bar and I’m going to purchase a yakitori grill where I’ll be skewering all kinds of meat and fish and grilling them. Yakitori is a Japanese street food and comfort food. I don’t want to be a pretentious restaurant. I just want people to enjoy themselves. I want to go back to the roots of a Japanese chef and do simple things.”

Kato was born and raised in New York City. His parents owned two Japanese restaurants in the city, where he worked from a young age. As an adult, he worked in a traditional Japanese restaurant for seven years and helped other people open up restaurants, but this endeavor will be the first time he has opened up his own restaurant.

The opportunity to own his own restaurant and the support from people in Toledo convinced Kengo to stay, he said.

“This is an opportunity. I’m originally from New York and my friends and family want me to come back there to do my thing. A friend gave me an offer in Denver. [But] people here just have been really great to me and supportive of me. I’ve gotten so many text messages congratulating me, and [saying] how happy they are I’ll be staying in Toledo. I just love the support and Josh is so supportive.”

The plan is for Kengo to be the first restaurant in the city with sake on tap. Wagy said they’ve also been in talks with Maumee Bay Brewing Co. and Black Cloister Brewing Company, both of which said they would come up with a beer designed especially for Kengo.

Kelly: Fatherhood is learn-as-you-go

By
Sid Kelly
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I had just returned from dropping off my daughter at her last day of kindergarten when my wife said, “Don’t you have a column to write?” Oh, yeah, that. Hang on.

Sid Kelly

Sid Kelly

I pull out my laptop, sit down and take inventory … my 10-month-old son is crawling around my floor yelling out words I’ve never heard before while my 3-year-old is running around her room as she pretends her dolls are her babies and they all must be naked. (Can someone tell me why girls take clothes off their dolls?) The noise is too much, so I have to move to my office,  something I should have done anyway.

This is a great example of what I, as a father, have to endure on a constant basis.

To be honest, I love it.

This month, we’re going to celebrate Father’s Day! With the celebration of yet another holiday, let’s peel back a layer and ask: What does it take to be a good father?

Based on the definition of “father,” my dad provided everything I needed so he should have been a candidate for father of the year. However, I look back on my childhood and that’s the last thing I think he should have won.

Being a father starts with being there whenever you’re needed for whatever you’re needed for. It sounds so simple, but we (guys) screw it up so often.

I have a very good friend that is a great man. He provides everything his family could ever want. He provides his wife with the type of lifestyle others would be jealous of, yet he has no idea how to relate to his young children. He loves them as much as you can love someone, but when it comes to spending time with them he falls short.

I also know of (but am not a friend of) a man who is a very shady person. This is a guy you wouldn’t trust to have your kids around, but you put him around his kids and you would think he’s the best father you’ll ever see.

Who’s the better dad?

What I’ve learned is that being a good father is more than just providing for your children or spending good quality time with them. It’s both of those, and much, much more.

I think most men reflect back on their own father for guidance. They may look back and see their childhood as being too controlling so the first thing they do is loosen the reins a little. The problem with that theory is that their kid may need more guidance than usual, so loosening the rules only adds problems. The end result? A failed relationship.

Being a good father is a custom, kid-by-kid job. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean different rules for each kid. I mean a different set of guidelines on how to treat each child.

My oldest brother is the kind of kid that will do things the first time you tell him. Me, I need a little push. If you were to approach both of us with the same attitude, you’d have no way of avoiding failing one of us.

Does this sound confusing? It should. This is why being a parent is, without a doubt, the hardest job you’ll ever take on in your life. There will never be something as important or with such high stakes as your role as a father.

Men need to look into how this is really done before jumping into having kids, too. Sure, it’s a learn-as-you-go environment, but you better put some serious thinking into who you are as a person before accepting that type of commitment. This thought process needs to include more than the “I’m going to be (nothing like) or (just like) my dad.” That doesn’t work. You need to be there for each of your kids.

So, for all you dads out there reading this, happy Father’s Day. We are a very interesting breed, we fathers. We spend all that time trying to ensure they’re OK, only to have them look into the camera and thank their mom when the news interviews them. Perfect! Happy Father’s Day!

Local bands, KISS FM to raise money for International Boxing Club

By
Jordan Finney
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Three local bands will perform during a benefit concert called the Spotlight Artist Showcase to raise money for the International Boxing Club (IBC) in Oregon, at 6 p.m. June 14.

The showcase, co-hosted by 92.5 KISS FM and IBC, will feature Harbours, The Eight Fifteens and The Last Born Sons.

“This will be our first live show together as a band and we’re very excited to launch with this project,” said Matt Beier, guitarist for Harbours. “I know the other bands who are participating, too, and they are fantastic. It’s just a nice opportunity for us to get out and showcase what we’ve done creatively.”

KISS FM’s morning show, The Morning Rush, has hosted dozens of local music artists, bands and DJs on Fridays for more than a year. However, the Spotlight Artist Showcase will be its first concert.

“It’s usually one quick song and an interview on Friday. This is a full-blown show with three live sets and all the proceeds — except for sound equipment expenses — go straight to the boxing club,” said Jodi Szczublewski, promotions director at Clear Channel Media and  Entertainment.

IBC is a Toledo-based organization that engages disadvantaged 8- to 20-year-olds in their studies by using amateur boxing and boxercise “as a hook to get kids into the building and off the streets,” according to its website. Since its founding in 1998, IBC has helped more than 4,000 at-risk youth.

“We’re trying to develop champions in life,” said Harry Cummins III, IBC’s founder and executive director. “These kids have a future in our community and we can’t turn our backs on them. They don’t have anywhere to go. As adults, we need to support them and send the message that they can get out of their neighborhoods and current lifestyle. It’s key just to show that we do care as a community.”

Cummins said that IBC’s program costs about $165,000 annually and helps an average of 160 local youth every year. The program does not cost anything for participants, but requires them to meet IBC’s academic standards.

“Got to keep the grades up to put the boxing gloves on,” Cummins said. “Watching them grow up and graduate makes you so proud. I’m blessed to have these kids.”

In addition to academic services, such as a free tutoring program with University of Toledo’s Honors college, IBC provides vocational training and community service opportunities for its participants.

“Our drummer actually trains at the International Boxing Club so this is very exciting for us as a band,” said Josh Whitney, guitarist for The Eight Fifteens. “We love to do charity events. It’s our pleasure to help other people by giving back and if we can provide entertainment, too, then it’s a double whammy.”

DJ 3PM, aka local artist Casey Clark, will open Saturday’s show at 6 p.m. The bands kick off at 7 p.m. and each will play for about 45 minutes, with DJ 3PM spinning tunes between each set.

Szczublewski said she hopes to see a crowd of about 300 people and would consider making this an annual event to raise money for IBC.

Alcohol, food and band merchandise will be available for purchase at the concert, which is open to all those 21 and older. Tickets cost $15 at the door and $10 in advance at 925kissfm.com/showcase.

“We’re all stoked about it,” said Kyle Smithers, bassist for The Last Born Sons. “It’s cool just because we’re playing with guys we’ve known in town. It’s just fun to do showcases like this where we can all work together for the Toledo music scene and make a contribution for charity, too.”

Baumhower: Fatherhood: A job description

By
Jeremy Baumhower
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The world is currently accepting applications for the position of father. To qualify:

  • You must own attire that can be unceremoniously decorated with baby-created bodily fluids.
  • You cannot be afraid to dress and brush the hair of an American Girl doll.
  • You must be willing to play catch every day for the rest of your life. Knowing how to throw a curveball is a plus.
  • You must be able to cook hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets, every day for years. Ability to watch others dip anything in ketchup is a plus.
  • You must have the patience to build various luxurious items that Barbie may own. Possessing the patience to apply tiny stickers is a plus.
  • You must be eager to attend countless talent shows, featuring participants with more enthusiasm than talent.

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  • You must be good at designing Pinewood Derby cars so that people believe your son built them.
  • You must have a fine palate for such tastes as imaginary tea and cookies or anything created in plastic kitchens.
  • You must be willing to look under beds and inside closets for monsters. Be able to kill bugs and spiders upon demand.
  • You must on occasion believe that floors are temporarily filled with flowing hot lava and couch cushions are the only thing keeping you alive and safe.
  • You must be competent using the following software: Angry Birds, Minecraft, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
  • You must be able to medically treat boo-boos, bumps and bruises, even if they cannot be seen by the human eye.
  • You must speak and comprehend the following languages: Baby, Toddler, Tween, Attitude, More Attitude, Heartbreak and Moron. Being able to read body language and use emoticons is a plus.
  • You must read to your child every night for 30 minutes, in hopes that one day they will start reading to you.
  • You must be able to tone down your awesome sauce in the event your child has company.
  • You must be good at being found and bad at finding.
  • You must eventually accept the remote possibility that a boy may text.
  • You must know what to say when a girl says “no.”
  • You must know how to properly hug, so that the other participant never wants you to let go.
  • You must not be afraid to cry or to say “I love you.”
  • You must be able to accept any version of your child, including their sexual orientation.
  • You must be a good example of someone you wish your child to become or to one day marry.
  • You must teach love over hate, acceptance over intolerance and compassion and understanding,  no matter the views you were raised  with and surrounded by. You must do better than your parents, even if that seems impossible.
  • You must never quit nor walk away. You must never give up on your child.
  • You must be fully ready to accept the most important job a man can ever have. There are no days off, no pay raises and very few vacations. You will be paid in kisses within months of starting. If you can accept this payment arrangement, in lieu of pension you will receive a lifetime of happiness, adoration and unwavering, unapologetic love.

If you were not deterred by any of the above mentioned items and meet these minimal requirements, then you are qualified and ready to be a dad.

Good luck to all future applicants. For those who are already on the job, Happy Father’s Day

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

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