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State praises TPS’ use of federal funds

By
Toledo Free Press
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Although he suggested that “it’s a little premature to talk about the successes right away,” Jim Gault, Toledo Public Schools (TPS) chief academic officer, was pleased with the district’s Title I review.

“We went from worst to first,” Gault said.

Betsey Murry, director of TPS’s Title I Education Center, was equally pleased with the review she received from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) after it conducted a two-day on-site review of 13 schools randomly selected by ODE during the last week of January.

Murry described ODE’s review as “pretty intense” as the team of six ODE investigators analyzed TPS’ performance and compliance with the federal guidelines the district must follow to qualify for the approximately $22 million it receives annually.

“As [Gault] indicated, the celebration is that they said this is one of the best visits they’ve seen from three years ago to now,” Murry said. “They told us that the growth they saw in our programming was overwhelming.

“I pulled up the report that they sent us in 2010, and there were quite a few recommendations and findings. And I saw that all of our program directors had done a nice job, particularly in [addressing the issues behind the] recommendations and findings and in turning the programs around.”

Murry said TPS “got really hit hard” three years ago on tutor qualifications, the tracking of federally funded equipment, technical assistance, beta alignment and the correlating of data.

Despite the numerous findings in the 2010 review, Murry said TPS was “never completely out of compliance. We just needed to make stronger programs, serving the kids in a little better capacity, using federal dollars to really align our resources with the needs of our district.

“They were very excited to see the growth in those three years. And what they couldn’t say enough about was, in the 13 schools they visited, how evident the use of data was” in designing curriculum to address students’ needs.

“They also said, ‘Trust me. We do enough of these visits. We can tell you when somebody’s putting on a dog-and-pony show and this was so evident of the hard work that is taking place in the buildings.” And they said, ‘We cannot wait to take this back to the government and other ODE personnel.’ Again and again, they recognized the hard work our schools and teachers are doing.

“We were very happy to hear that because we know what a focus the district has had in using data, and we were excited to hear that was very evident to them.”

Murry said TPS received three findings from ODE.

Finding No. 1 — Qualified Tutors

The state requires that students receive tutoring services from instructors with HQT (Highly Qualified Teacher) certification.

Murry said since TPS had “partnered with an outside agency, they’re doing tutoring with our students. Those tutors have to meet the same HQT qualifications as our teachers. We had been using SES (Supplemental Educational Services) qualifications, which were the minimal requirements on the paraprofessional license. With SES going away, we need to now move to HQT. And we’ve started that for next year.”

Finding No. 2 — Comparability

The second finding dealt with comparability, Murry said.

“We have to show that we’re comparable with our dollars for each of our teams,” she said. “And that has since been turned in. It was completed Feb. 20. They were here Jan. 30-31. I kind of argued how that got to be a finding, how they put that in the report.”

Finding No. 3 — Contract arrangements

The third finding focused on how TPS provides nonpublic equitable services, Murry said.

“We actually provide more services than the students even generate,” she said. The finding analyzed how TPS provides tutoring services to its out-of-district nonpublic students.

“We have a contract with the ECS (Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West), and they provide the tutoring. [The ODE reviewers] didn’t like how the contract was set up.

“It’s not that we’re not providing equitable services. I tried to argue that shouldn’t be a finding, however, everything has been corrected and we’ve shown documentation.”

‘Done so much better’

Gayle Schaber, director of special projects and compensatory programs, said the ODE review of the Title III program found that TPS has “done so much better” identifying English Language Learner (ELL) students and supplementing those students’ education with English as a Second Language (ESL) services.

She was particularly pleased when she received the report that Abdinur Mohamud with ODE’s Lau Center said at the review’s exit meeting that “our identification process and community outreach to could be a model across the state.

“The reason for that is all the detail that we put into making sure that we identify all of our students.Our secretaries are in-serviced every year in August just to remind them of the steps when a new student comes into the district. And if anything new has been added, we get information out to all of our principals so they understand how these students are identified. And then we’ve made that commitment with that community outreach.”

To continue to serve its growing ELL population, Schaber said TPS has added two ESL teachers in the past 16 months.

“Every student gets ESL [instruction] twice a week so they don’t have a real gap [in services],” Schaber said. “They have reinforcement twice a week that takes place in their home schools. They no longer have to travel for services.”

To foster clear communication, Schaber said she has all TPS documents “translated into all of the languages of the students that we serve,” including Arabic, Mandarin, French, German, Polish, Spanish, Russian and Turkish.

Schaber said about 70 percent of ELL students come from a Spanish-speaking background.

Community meeting April 24

Additionally, in response to parents saying they didn’t understand how ESL worked, Schaber held the inaugural ESL Community Meeting for the families of all K-12 TPS students in March 2012.

“The basic idea is just to have parents understand how ESL classes work and the benefit they can be to their students,” Schaber said. “And it gives them a chance to ask questions. They are also able to meet me and the ESL teachers face to face. For many people, it’s the first time that they’ve had an opportunity to meet us. We want to be open to them and have them know that this service is available for their children.”

Schaber said the meeting was so successful that TPS will host a second meeting April 24 at Walbridge Elementary School, starting at 6 p.m.

In planning for the next year, Murry said she intends to revise some of TPS’s parental involvement policies and increase homeless awareness by providing more information to building administrators about services the Title I Education Center provides.

“Overall, they were just very pleased,” Murry said. “They couldn’t say enough about the district and the growth in our federal programs. And it’s the work of every department in this district. It’s not just one office. It involves a lot of correlating. That’s 41 buildings working hard to show evidence of the knowledge they’re receiving to serve our students better.”

Title programs

The five Title programs in the district are:

  • Title I, Part A — “Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies.” This grant provides funds to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.
  • Title II, Part A — “Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Non-Regulatory Guidance.”
  • Title II, Part D — “Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001.” This grant provided funds to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools. This grant provided funds to local and state agencies to ensure that all teachers are qualified and effective.
  • Title III — “Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students. This grant provides funds to ensure that English Language Learners, including immigrant children, become English proficient and master the content in the core academic subjects.
  • Title VII — “Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native Education.”

As a part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, TPS receives funds through the “McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Grant Awards” to ensure students living in unstable home environments receive a free and appropriate public education.

Torres: My rape, my reality and the Steubenville rape case

By
Julia Torres
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At 9 years old, I was abducted and raped by a man claiming to be a police officer who told me he needed my “help” finding an old lady’s dog. Just 500 yards away from my family’s apartment, this man forced me into the filthy basement of a nearby tenement and stole my virginity.  By the grace of God, he chose to release me afterward but not without threatening my life if I ever told anyone what he’d done. In a dazed state, I went home and immediately took a bath at 5 o’clock in the afternoon — with the adults present in my home who didn’t seem to notice my odd behavior or that I seemed different. As time went on, none of the adults in my life seemed to notice I was in a traumatized state.

It was when I became a parent that I realized I felt as angry toward the grown-ups in my life who’d let me down by not protecting me as I felt for my attacker. It is unspoken human code that has us all believing it’s the adult’s responsibility to protect the child.

In the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, not a single adult has been held lawfully accountable — not the parents who should have been supervising teen parties where alcohol was present, not the parents of the victim who were clearly not monitoring their daughter’s intake, not the parents of the high school football stars who seemingly held such a low disregard for women and not even the high school principal, the football coaches, the teachers or the other adults who felt it wasn’t their place to speak up.

While the lives of the 16-year-old victim and her two male underage attackers are irreparably shattered following the dramatic court case and verdict in Steubenville, what have we really taught our children? That while there are appropriate laws on the books about good touch and bad touch, apparently it’s OK as an underage minor to drink yourself into oblivion — despite the efforts of your friends who tried to stop you — and that whatever dangerous choices you made that night won’t be scrutinized to the same standard?

I agree with the strictest definition that “rape is rape and no means no.” But, I also believe a better court decision could have been handed down, including a requirement that the female involved attend an alcohol treatment facility. Otherwise, we’ve missed a crucial teachable moment that could save more lives.

Let this be a cautionary tale for communities and school systems everywhere that should proactively review the Steubenville scenario to help them stave off such future incidents. Let us learn from this tragedy by taking a long hard look at the mixed messages we’re giving our children, especially in affluent communities like the one I live in. As an outspoken parent — disinvited from my local school system’s community forum because I was too direct — I’ve witnessed the very destructive behavior of complacent adults who allow their children (and their children’s underage friends without checking first with the other parents) to abuse alcohol and other substances within their homes because, they say, “it’s safer.”

My community is no different from Steubenville and thus, if we continue to shirk our adult responsibilities of adequately monitoring our children  it’s just a matter of time before a more heinous infraction occurs. Frankly, every city, town and neighborhood is just one incident away from disastrous consequences when these random acts of violence occur and forever sully the name of the place you call home. Within an instant, the actions of unsupervised children can wreak havoc with your property values, your safety and your peace of mind. We adults must be honest with ourselves and admit that we need to find a way to be better role models for our children.

When I was raped, I was not drunk and unconscious and so I remember every gritty detail, resulting in the grave disappointment in and irreparable detachment I subsequently felt from the adults in my life who didn’t protect me. I wonder how the Steubenville victim is processing her experience. Who does she blame? Is she angry at her parents who didn’t protect her? Is she angry at herself?

Ultimately, rape is rape — a violent and criminal act with which another person violates your body, your mind and your soul against your will and without your consent. Grossly under-reported, women often don’t report the crime because of the fear, shame and self-loathing that holds them hostage. For so many years, I spent my life on high alert, distracted because I was always checking over my shoulder to see if my rapist was in the vicinity.

It was some 35 years later, after intensive counseling, that I was finally able to summon the will to face my fears. It is an indescribable relief to now be able to share my story publicly, with the confidence that continual healing is my reward.

I am now also a member of the nation’s Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.) speakers’ bureau and encourage you to visit its website at www.rainn.org or call 1 800 656-HOPE (4673) for more information on how you can help.

While we can’t always prevent random acts of violence, as adults we must do a better job of protecting our children.

Bell: City intends to acquire 16 TPS properties

By
John McCartney
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After months of discussion with Toledo Public Schools (TPS) personnel, Mayor Mike Bell has formally expressed the City of Toledo’s “intent to acquire” 16 properties TPS no longer uses.

In a letter to Superintendent Jerome Pecko dated March 6, Bell asked Pecko to provide the list of 16 former school sites to the Board of Education (BOE) “so that we can continue our discussion to finalize the property acquisitions.” Bell’s inquiry included the qualification that the purchase of any TPS property will require passage of an ordinance by Toledo City Council.

The properties the city is interested in purchasing are:

  • Beverly Elementary; 4022 Rugby Drive, 43614
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary; 1415 Lawrence Ave., 43607
  • East Side Central Elementary; 815 Navarre Ave., 43605
  • East Toledo Junior High; 355 Dearborn Ave., 43605
  • Heffner Elementary; 255 Heffner St., 43605
  • Jones Junior High; 1320 Broadway St., 43609
  • Lagrange Elementary; 1001 N. Erie St., 43604
  • Leverette Junior High; 1111 E. Manhattan Blvd., 43608
  • The former Libbey High; 1250 Western Ave., 43609
  • Longfellow Elementary; 4112 Jackman Road, 43612
  • Nathan Hale Elementary; 1700 Shenandoah Road, 43607
  • Nelson Grace Park; 1001 N. Detroit Ave., 43607
  • Newbury Elementary; 1040 Newbury St., 43609
  • Robinson Junior High; 1075 Horace St., 43606
  • Sherman Elementary; 731 Sherman St., 43608
  • Warren Elementary; 2015 Warren St., 43620

A difference of $832,800

The difference between selling 14 of the 16 properties at the value as assessed by the Lucas County Auditor (LCA) and current market value is $832,800. TPS would generate $1,539,800 if it sells the properties at the LCA’s assessed value and $707,000 at market value.

TPS’ business office does not have dollar values attached to Leverette Junior High and Sherman Elementary. The city’s “intent to acquire” letter also attaches a “subject to previous land swap  agreement” condition to the acquisition of three properties — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Longfellow Elementary and Sherman Elementary. Bell also encouraged the BOE to “continue discussion” with ProMedica regarding the sale of McKinley Elementary School, 1901 West Central Ave. The LCA values that property at $108,100.

Renovation projects

James Gant, TPS chief business manager, reported to TPS’ Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) Building Committee on March 20 that the contract for the renovation project at Arlington Elementary will not allow the cost to exceed $1.5 million.

Also by contract, the Waite High School science lab renovation is not to exceed $850,000. The original presentation listed the price at $400,000, which Gant said was “an incorrect number from the very beginning. It was always going to cost $850,000. It was just an error in number input.”

Both renovation projects are scheduled to be finished before the beginning of the next school year, Gant said. Gant said an October 2012 change in Ohio school district building law allowed TPS to adopt a “Design/Build” process instead of the previous “Bid/Build” process.

Under the “Bid/Build” process, TPS was required to advertise for bids, establish a deadline for proposals, review proposals and then bring a recommendation from those proposals to the BOE for a vote. Bids were usually submitted by at least three different businesses — architectural firms, construction companies and construction management firms. Gant said that process usually took 90 days to complete. Under that process, TPS would not be able to start construction on either of the two renovation projects until June.

Under the “Design/Build” process, Gant said a team comprised of an architectural firm, construction company and construction management firm submit one bid.

‘Greater control’

“We can now enter agreement with that team, and there are guarantee processes built in where we won’t experience change orders that could result in an increase in the cost of a building project,” Gant said. “This ‘Design/Build’ process gives us greater control of our dollars.”

Gant said that once a project’s bid is finalized, the district will most likely not allow any changes to be made to construction plans.

“Under the ‘Design/Build’ process, it’s more costly to make changes once the project starts,” Gant said. “And we won’t be able to meet deadlines if we make changes. Time becomes a key issue.”

Contractor Matt Richards agreed.

“Time is of the essence right now,” Richards said. “We need to get everything done as quickly as possible to meet the timeframe and have them open at the start of next school year. And the process for city approval is already in the works.”

Gant said getting city approval prior to the award of the bid is a huge advantage of the “Design/Build” process because it cuts significant time off the process.

“Companies bidding for the work do the groundwork with the city for planning ahead of time in case they get the bid,” Gant said.

Walk-in resolution

Gant closed the OSFC Building Committee meeting by informing BOE member Lisa Sobecki that he had invited a representative from Mosser Construction, Inc. because a claim has been filed on the construction of the Waite renovation project.

“We received a claim at 4:38 p.m. today,” Gant said. “I was unable to review it and make a recommendation for this 5 p.m. meeting.”

Sobecki told Gant to review the claim review with legal counsel and make a recommendation. If Gant decided that recommendation needed BOE approval, Sobecki told Gant he had her approval to bring a walk-in resolution to the general business meeting, March 26.

Other business

  • Gant also reported an increase of almost $100,000 in the Total Capital budget from last month.

“That’s because we made improvements at the Boys and Girls Clubs at a few of our schools that they are paying us back for,” Gant said.

The BOE will hold three meetings in the next two weeks.

  • The regular monthly business meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 26.
  • A special meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. March 27 at which board members will review interim superintendent applications in executive session. Treasurer Matthew Cleland said that after BOE members finish their executive session discussions, they will return to “regular, open session, discuss the interim superintendent position and possibly select an individual to serve as interim superintendent.”

The application deadline is 4:30 p.m. March 22.

  • A special meeting is scheduled for April 3 to review the performance audit from Evergreen Solutions, LLC.

Burnard: Tale of two budgets

By
Don Burnard
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This week, two budgets were introduced in Congress. The Congressional Progressive Caucus introduced its “Back to Work” budget, and Republican economic mouthpiece Paul Ryan introduced his “Path to Prosperity” budget — for the third year in a row — to address the “huge deficit” problem the GOP has buffaloed much of the media into thinking is the premier problem America faces.

In actuality, many real economists — that is, people whose jobs are studying economics for their entire working lives as opposed to sucking the public teat for their entire working lives — think this is pure bunk. Personally, I’m more inclined to give credence to those who have won Nobel Prizes in the field. Much of this is the standard Republican ploy of creating a huge scare tactic to try to push through the agenda they have been trying to foist on the American public for the past 30 years, even though it has been proven wrong and, as recently as last year, overwhelmingly rejected by voters.

Their rigid adherence to failed dogma rather than even attempting to address the real underlying problems facing the country is unbelievable. To the Ryan group, there might as well have not been an election. They refuse to acknowledge that their approach is flawed. To them, there is no problem that can’t be fixed by a tax cut for the wealthy. They’ve completely perverted the term “entitlement” to try to make it seem like a dirty word.

Merriam-Webster says an entitlement is “a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract.” Notice the word “right.” These are programs that we have the right to, in most cases because we have paid for those rights throughout our working lives. In the case of Social Security, we’ve paid in more than most of us will ever use, and it doesn’t add a dime to the deficit! If there is to be a future shortfall, it could be easily addressed by raising the cap from $110,000 to $250,000 and voilá!, solvent until 2075! But we couldn’t possibly burden the upper crust with such a thing.

The Medicare/Medicaid problem could be addressed in any number of ways. The obvious fix would be a single-payer health care program like most of the developed world has, but we couldn’t put all those private insurance CEOs in a bind. The Ryan budget did claim it would “balance the budget” in 10 years, which is about the only new claim from the previous iterations. Alas, he leaves out the pertinent details on exactly how that would happen. Of his cuts, 68 percent would directly affect the middle class, elderly and poor. His plan would voucherize Medicare within 10 years, thus destroying the most efficient program in government and health care history, which would directly impact the elderly. Other domestic services slated for the chopping block include education, research and development, infant nutrition, workplace safety, border patrol, food and drug safety, Head Start, etc., to a degree not seen before. Other mandatory programs being slashed include Pell Grants, food stamps, school lunches, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and supplementary support for the aged and disabled poor.

In other words, it falls mainly on those who can least afford it. The rich, meanwhile, would benefit from the reduction of tax rates from 6 percdent to 2 percent, and the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 25 percent. Coupled with the fact that they got 121 percent of income growth during the Great Recession, and corporate profits are at an all-time high, it doesn’t seem to make sense to give them these new bonuses at the expense of the rest of us. More smoke and mirrors.

Finally, this week Speaker of the House, John Boehner actually admitted in an interview with Martha Raddatz, “We do not have an immediate debt crisis. But we all know that we have one looming. And we have one looming because we have entitlement programs that are not sustainable in their current form. They’re gonna go bankrupt. Washington has a responsibility — to our seniors and near seniors — that we firm these programs up so that they’re there for the long term. Because if we don’t do it, not only will they not get benefits, we will have a debt crisis right around the corner. We have time to solve our problems, but we need to do it now.”

Next up — do we really have a debt crisis? Stay tuned.

Email columnist Don Burnard at [email protected].

Culbreath: ‘First Four’ games are lame start to March Madness

By
Toledo Free Press
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We’re full swing into the NCAA Tournament right now, and if your luck is anything like mine, your office pool bracket hasn’t fallen to pieces … yet. No, that’ll likely happen on Sunday, when a team you had going to the Elite Eight suddenly comes up cold.

You know when your bracket doesn’t fall apart, though? On Tuesday or Wednesday, in the “First Four” games. In fact, those four games matter so little that they don’t even count in most bracket pools. They’re throwaways. So why does the NCAA insist on pretending they matter?

It started back in 2001 with the play-in game, a matchup between two teams who would then get the No. 16 seed and play the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. To the outside world, it looked like an opportunity to spotlight some teams and act as a soft open for the tourney.

It felt like the NCAA was using the extra space to shuffle off some automatic qualifying teams so that they could get more teams from spotlight conferences in the tournament proper. But nobody complained about it too hard, until the NCAA discussed expanding the tournament to 96 teams. The massive pushback on that idea caused the Association to dial it down to adding a few more teams.

The good part about the expansion was that the four games weren’t all for 16 seeds. In fact, they’ll mix it up with a 12 or even an 11. South Florida took out Cal in 2012 for an 11 seed, and used that to beat Temple in the next round (a win I called, thank you very much). They would eventually fall to the Ohio Bobcats.

The problem I have with these games is that nobody’s really watching, and those who do don’t get to see great basketball. This year, Tuesday’s game between North Carolina A&T and Liberty University was beaten in the ratings by an NIT game.

Granted, it was tournament-snubbed Kentucky getting beaten by Robert Morris, and it was on ESPN (with the First Four game being played on truTV, which goes to show you what CBS thinks of these games). Wednesday’s games were overshadowed by the Miami Heat overcoming a 27-point deficit in Cleveland to beat the Cavaliers by 3. The new program director at 1370 WSPD, Scott Sands, spent some time down in Dayton, and he tells me that the games aren’t even a big deal in the Gem City.

The NCAA Tournament proper features two types of games in the first four days: David versus Goliath (and we all root for David), or a great game between two really good teams looking to prove themselves as a contender. When the smoke clears, we’re usually looking at a few strong teams, one middle-of-the-road team from a power conference that worked its way through a weak region and a mid-major that wins the hearts and minds of the country (only to be dashed in the next week).

The First Four games, meanwhile, seem to be a clearinghouse of teams that played their way in by way of a conference tournament title, while not doing a whole lot during the regular season. They’re in because, well, they have to be. I wouldn’t take that away from them, but putting them in the First Four means they’re usually going to end up as someone else’s sacrificial lamb.

On a purely personal front, I don’t like that the First Four has ultimately changed the name of the rest of the tournament’s rounds, making the first round suddenly the second, and the second round the third. March Madness doesn’t begin until you have basketball games starting at noon and ending at 10 p.m., and forcing the second round nomenclature down our throats reminds us of the snoozefests earlier in the week. We don’t like to think about those games, much like we don’t like to think about the CIT or the CBI.

We all love the tournament. Even people who really don’t like basketball watch the first four days. Heck, I actually took this Thursday and Friday off so I could watch the games from my couch in glorious high definition. But the First Four simply isn’t catching anyone’s attention. The NCAA needs to shut it down, kick out the middle-of-the-road schools in major conferences, and allow the teams that earned their way into the tournament a chance to play in the tournament proper.



Matt “Shaggy” Culbreath is sports director at 1370 WSPD. Email him at [email protected].

Download our up-to-date bracket.

Download our up-to-date bracket.

Retirement Guys: Will the stock market rally continue?

By
Mark Clair & Nolan Baker
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Did your parents ever tell you that a good education can set you free? We believe in that statement wholeheartedly and that educating others on the essentials of building a retirement plan is a vital part of our job. In fact, we spend a good portion of our time speaking at educational events both locally and nationally. Most of our talks focus on how to better manage your money, protect your hard-earned assets and efficiently plan your estate.

I, Nolan, find that most of my talks lately are discussing the current state of the economy.  One question I normally ask the audience is “What do you think the stock market is going to do first — go up another 30 percent or down 30 percent from where we are at right now?” So take a minute and think about how you would answer that question. From where we are at right now, with the stock market at or close to all-time record highs, do you think the market is likely to go up another 30 percent or are we headed for a correction and the market will go down 30 percent first?

Notice that I use the word “first.” The United States has major issues it needs to address, like massive debt problems, huge unfunded liabilities and an out-of-control government. Yet, as a former Marine, I hold firm in my belief that the United States of America is still, by far, the best place to call home. So over the long run, I believe our country will get through the problems it faces and the stock market will continue to go up. Most importantly though, what do you think is going to happen first?

Now that you have your answer locked in, let me share with you what I think will happen. In the short term, it’s anyone’s guess. I say that because the stock market is beyond any one individual’s control. Political and economic uncertainty can change the stock market in a hurry, for the positive or negative. This may not be the answer you wanted, but it’s a cold, hard fact. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it is that we can’t change what is out of our control. Instead, we would like to suggest entertaining the two options below.

1. Capture opportunities for the long term and ignore short-term market predictions.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 bottomed at 677 on March 9, 2009, the end of a 17-month bear market in which the stock index fell 57 percent. A weekly survey of stock investors indicated 70 percent of them were bearish as of March 4, 2009, the highest bearish measurement ever recorded by this study (source: BTN Research and American Association of Individual Investors).

Had the average investor made investment decisions based upon what most other stock investors thought, that investor could have missed out on huge stock market gains during the past several years. Investors should not make decisions based on what others are saying and doing. Avoid the urge to just buy and sell investments based on what your poker buddy says or on the market predictions that can be found almost everywhere. Although those predictions are often made with the goal of trying to help investors, they are often wrong, as we pointed out in our recent column “2013 Stock Market Predictions.” Instead, focus on your own individual goals and objectives and make decisions on what is right for you and your family.

2. Pay attention to where we are in the economic cycle.

The current bull market for the S&P 500 reached four years in length on March 9, 2013. Of the 10 other bull markets that have occurred since 1950, the shortest duration was 2.1 years. The average duration of all 11 bull markets since 1950 (i.e., the current bull market is the 11th) is 4.7 years. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the stock market (source: BTN Research).

For investors who need current income or investors with gains in their accounts, now could be a great time to look at strategies to protect gains. Some ideas that investors could benefit from are rebalancing while times are good, putting safety nets in place with stocks by using what we call “circuit breakers” on the account or locking in gains and moving the money to other income-producing accounts. To find out what strategy is right for you, talk with a licensed financial professional.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysnetwork.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.

Rabbi: Passover represents redemption for entire world

By
David Yonke
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The Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins at sundown Monday March 26, is all about redemption — not just the redemption of Jews, but of the entire world, according to Rabbi
Sam Weinstein.

In leading the 10th annual Interfaith Passover Seder at his Sylvania synagogue, the Temple-Congregation Shomer Emunim, Weinstein pointed out the wealth of symbolism in the Passover Seder. Parts of the actual text used in the March 13 interfaith Seder have been observed by Jews for 2,600 years, since the Israelites were freed from bondage in
Egypt, he said.

The Passover Seder is not a re-enactment, Weinstein emphasized, but a ritual bridging the past with the present and future.

“We make history. That is a fundamental and cardinal principle of Judaism,” he said. “And so the question is: What kind of history are we making? What kind of history are we making right now? I don’t have the answer for that. This world is a scary place. … We have a lot of work to do before we reach the goals of redemption.”

In Judaism, the rabbi said, salvation is not a personal goal.

“When will salvation come? It’s not individual in Judaism. We’re not here to save our souls individually. That is not a Jewish concept,” Weinstein said. “For us, salvation, simply put, is when humanity will finally get its act together and start living at peace with each other.”

For the two-hour interfaith Seder, Weinstein led 80 people from diverse religious traditions through rituals detailed in the New Union Passover Haggadah, a step-by-step guide to the Passover Seder published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

The Passover Seder is typically held in a home, with the ceremony centered on a full meal with family. Passover Seders are always held at night to express “our hope that light
will come” and “our optimism of a better tomorrow,” the rabbi added.

Between much prayer and singing, Seder participants drank four cups of grape juice (in place of the wine normally consumed in a Seder). Wine is used not for religious symbolism, but because it “anticipates joy” and “breaks down our boundaries,” Weinstein said.

One of the many Seder rituals involves dipping a sprig of parsley into a cup of salt water. The green sprouts represent spring and rebirth, while the salt water represents “the tears shed by the people of Israel in slavery,” he said.

Matzo, an unleavened bread, represents purity and is baked quickly to symbolize the Israelites’ hurried escape from Egypt. At one point, participants spread bitter horseradish between two pieces of the flat bread to make a “Hillel sandwich.”

“In essence we are saying that bitterness is contained,” Weinstein said. “The bitterness is finite. The bitterness of slavery will end and ultimately human beings will reach redemption.”

To symbolize the 10 plagues the Lord inflicted upon the Egyptians, participants dip a finger or spoon into their juice 10 times, sprinkling the drops onto a plate. Removing wine from the cup “depletes the joy” and serves as a reminder that freedom came at the expense of human life —the Egyptian soldiers who drowned in the Red Sea.

David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values
(ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.

Church of the Cross to stage Easter drama at Stranahan

By
David Yonke
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A small church in South Toledo is taking a leap of faith by staging a drama at the Stranahan Theater on Easter Sunday (March 31).

“We’re like Peter — we’re stepping out on the water,” said Jane Raab, director of adult ministries and missions coordinator for the Church of the Cross United Methodist Church.

The production, “The Thorn,” uses music and dialogue to tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Church of the Cross, which has between 250 and 300 members, is hoping to fill the main floor of the Stranahan, which seats more than 1,000. If more people show up for the 11 a.m. program — for which tickets are not required — they can open up the balcony, boosting the capacity to around 2,500.

Raab said renting the major-event theater on Heatherdowns Boulevard is costing the church “thousands of dollars,” but did not have a precise figure. The production of “The Thorn,” which was written by John and Sarah Bolin of New Life Church in Colorado, fits the Church of the Cross’ renewed vision of reaching its neighbors in South Toledo.

The church is going through a “consultation process” within the United Methodist Church, in which its ministries and programs are evaluated. One of the local district’s recommendations was for the church to hold more community-oriented programs.

Last fall, the Church of the Cross held a “Fun Fest” on its grounds at Cass and Eastgate roads that attracted about 700 people. It will hold another festival this fall but in the meantime its members were inspired to plan big for Easter.

Marge Sudheimer, the church’s drama director, said she has always set high standards for the church’s dramas. “We don’t want it to be like a bathrobe and kitchen towels on their heads. We want real costumes and choreography.”

“We thought, why not rent the Stranahan Theater and put forth the Easter celebration?” Raab added. “Those who are not connected to a church might hesitate to come into a
church building, but they might not hesitate to come into the Stranahan.”

The music in the church’s production of “The Thorn” is “very eclectic,” Sudheimer said.
“It’s not just the contemporary music that you hear in a lot of churches now. There’s going to be country gospel, and there’s going to be an older praise team,” she said. “And then more modern stuff that the young guys have chosen. And then we’ll have brass and
we’ll have bells. So everybody’s musical taste will be touched.”

Raab said the music, acting and video are “intertwined with the message” throughout the fast-paced, hour-long production.

Kyle Metz, who will lead worship during the Easter program, said his goal is to use music to enhance the play’s biblical message.

“My heart, even on a regular Sunday morning, is trying to find songs that go along with the
sermon,” Metz said. “If we can use the music to connect with that, and help them focus with the words that go along with the message that Christ is risen, then that’s what we’re
trying to do.”

Sudheimer has been coaching the two main actors in the play — Vicki Scribner as Mary Magdalene and Ray Sudheimer as Peter. The Church of the Cross’ pastor, the Rev. Steve Judson, also will be on stage to give an “invitation” to the audience.

“I’m working with the pastor because it’s all got to flow — the whole kit and caboodle,” Sudheimer said.

She said Scribner has “an absolutely gorgeous voice” and, as an added bonus for one playing Mary Magdalene, did not grow up being active in a church. That could prove
helpful when cast members greet the audience after the curtain closes.

“If someone after the service would come up and say, ‘Your monologue just touched me,’ then she could relate to them,” Sudheimer said.

Metz, who graduated from Ohio State University last June, said the Easter drama meshes perfectly with the Church of the Cross’ new emphasis on outreach and evangelism.

“The timing is perfect. We’re in this process of really getting back to the basics of the faith, which is to make disciples and see the transformation of the world,” he said. “To
go to the Stranahan and to rent it out, not knowing what to expect, is really exciting because it fits our vision of making new disciples. And we can’t do that by sitting on our
hands in the pews.”

David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values
(ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.

Letters to the Editor, Mar. 17, 2013

By
Dock David Treece
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Fact-checking Don Burnard

To the editor,

Emotional tirades work well with the uninformed but are poor excuses for literate journalism. I would like to “fact check” many of your statements (“Economic chicken,”
March 10) because sadly, your political views completely cloud objective journalism, which makes you laughable.

Unless you were hidden in a cave the two weeks prior to sequestration going into effect, the blame game was in full force. However, contrary to your opinion, sequestration was beloved by the White House along with the GOP and the Dems. As quoted from The Wall Street Journal: “A 2012 book written by legendary newspaperman Bob Woodward of The Washington Post claimed the idea of sequestration originated with the Obama White House,
but that congressional Republicans signed on to the idea eventually. Woodward, writing in the newspaper in 2013, said: ‘… the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the White House and were the brainchild of Jack Lew and White House congressional relations chief Rob Nabors — probably the foremost experts on budget issues in the senior ranks of the federal government.’

“Obama personally approved of the plan for Lew and Nabors to propose the sequester to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). They did so at 2:30 p.m. July 27, 2011, according to interviews with two senior White House aides who were directly involved.

“No matter. The week before the sequestration cuts were set to begin in 2013, public opinion polls showed nearly half of Americans were blaming congressional Republicans for failing to reach a deal on deficit reduction. Fewer than a third, 31 percent, were blaming Obama.”

Check your sources, Mr. Burnard — there weren’t just a few “Blue Dog Dems” who wanted sequestration; the majority of them did. And contrary to your entire article,
the biggest Blue Dog Dem of all wanted it.

In all fairness, both sides did nothing but blame each other but the fact remains, sequestration originated from your messiah.

You wrote, “The GOP has obstructed Obama since “Day One.” Hmmm. In the last two years of the Bush administration and the first two years of Obama, the Dems controlled both houses. That is in fact why $2 trillion of added debt went on the books. The midterm elections corrected the open checkbook policy, with even your beloved Nancy Pelosi being taken aback on the number of seats lost. Poor lady, she lost her seat at the head of the table. To say that the GOP were blocking Obama since Day One is laughable. All they could do for the first two years was thumb their noses at him.

Fact checking your fuzzy math, I love this one. If the “deficit has gone down ….” and “Spending under Obama is the lowest ….” statements were absolute, then please explain why our national debt in 2008 was $10 trillion.

In 2012, our debt was $16 trillion and according to the Congressional Budget Office (bipartisan, by the way) in 2016 our national debt will be $20 trillion. That’s quite a trick for a president who isn’t spending. And the coupnd’etat is that Obamacare was quoted as adding “zero” to the national debt. That too has now been re-evaluated by
the Congressional Budget Office. Obamacare will add a minimum of $6 trillion in the next 60 years. Not bad for a president who isn’t spending. And that is just an estimate!

You can blame John Boehner all you want with emotional tirades, but the “fact” remains that Obama already got his tax increase on the rich on Jan. 1, as part of concessions from the GOP. Sadly, Obama has come back to the table for more tax increases on the rich, to solve the sequester. Want to guess what his next original idea will be for the next fiscal cliff? Hmmm, I know — “higher taxes” on the rich.

I am an independent, as much as our country allows. The only “facts” that are in truth are that both houses are crooks and regardless of how you feel, “the buck” stops on Obama’s desk. His job is to get both houses to agree and to negotiate to get this
country going. Being the “Great Blamer” hasn’t helped anyone yet.

—Tony Iannucci, Toledo

Homosexuality is a moral issue

To the editor,

I recently read Michael S. Miller’s Feb. 24 column “Same Love,” on the hotly debated issue of homosexuality, which he strongly supports. The intent of this letter is to
highlight an opposing view.

Homosexuality is a moral issue. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness … ” (New American Standard Bible, NASB)

Some opposers do not fight against the homosexuals themselves, rather their immoral lifestyle. We have records that homosexuality is mentioned in the Old Testament. Please note the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. God destroyed these cities with fire and brimstone because of their practice of homosexuality.

So why does God hate the sin of homosexuality?

It is because this lifestyle was not set up by God. In Genesis 2:18-24, God makes Adam a “helper suitable for him,” out of his flesh. Adam called her “Woman,”
and says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (verse 24 NASB). In addition to the above, God will not “draw his arms shut” to homosexuals if they are willing to repent. Although 1st Corinthians 6 verses 8-10 states that those who continually and habitually commit certain sins, including homosexuality, will not inherit the kingdom of God, verse 11 says
that those who repent (turn away from) and “are washed,
sanctified, and justified through the Lord Jesus Christ” (NASB) can inherit God’s kingdom.

According to Romans 6 verses 1 and 2, there must be a discontinuation of these sins.

As you can see, gay marriage is not “inevitable.” It came about in the Old Testament times when man began to fall away from God. God did not establish the gay social standard for mankind. If it were not relevant to condemn them, then God would not have condemned this lifestyle in His Word. So to those who practice and support homosexual marriage, I pray that you will see and know that the goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4, KJV).

—Kaylynn Joyce Smitt, Toledo

Baumhower: Next year, close Conant Street for Project iAm

By
Jeremy Baumhower
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Northwest Ohio is known for its signature events: The Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Susan G.
Komen Race for the Cure, Mud Hens Opening Day, and after what I experienced on
March 10, Project iAm’s Acoustics for Autism.

The all-day music festival happened in Uptown Maumee at The Village Idiot and Buster
Brown’s and the thousands who attended, bore witness to its evolution from the vision of a charitable woman with a big heart and a guitar to an event that will give lifetime memories
and change lives.

Nicole Khoury, the face and founder of Project iAm, has created a signature event in a small Northwest Ohio town, not from greed but from love.

Project iAm’s concept is simple; it’s a local charity that raises awareness and money for families with children who fall under the spectrum of autism — families like mine. The
money raised creates scholarships for early intervention programs, which are key to young children with autism. The never-mentioned larger quality of Project iAm is that it creates a
support group and network for those families dealing with children, who are not “normal,”
but in the most beautiful of ways.

This was the sixth annual Acoustics for Autism and from the start, the vibe was different. The family-friendly event featured three stages, highlighting more than 30 local musicians and included a kids’ workshop tent.

Calen Savidge, who opened the main stage inside The Village Idiot, began playing at 12:30
p.m. and by 1 p.m. the place was packed. I was amazed at how busy it got, but more importantly by how much earlier the crowd came and stayed. During the previous five
years, people did not start filing in until 4 p.m. and slowly started exiting a little after 8 p.m. — but this year was different.

The feeling and vibe inside The Village Idiot was one of the best I have ever felt, not just in Northwest Ohio, but anywhere. Imagine the crowd from OB’s on St. Patrick’s Day, crossed with the fellowship of any church festival’s chicken dinner on Sunday and an all-day music festival. That is how it felt in Maumee that day. It wasn’t just a charity event — it felt like the wedding reception for your favorite couple.

The 35-minute set times for the local musicians created the perfect soundtrack. Each artist played his or her greatest hits and crowd pleasers to near perfection. At times, the packed
crowd sang louder than the PA system, and at others made the building shake with their dancing.

As near perfect as this event was, next year it can be bigger. More than $25,000 was raised on a single block, on a Sunday in Maumee. Thousands
of people experienced the beauty that town offers while only seeing the insides of a couple of businesses. The City of Maumee should recognize the success of Project iAm, and take
measures to make it bigger. Next year, if you close down the 300 block of Conant Street, this event becomes a festival. Establishments like Dale’s and the Maumee Theatre give even more options for planning such an event.

Autism affects one in 100 and that number is changing daily. The closing of Conant Street for an event or holiday is not without precedent. Every year, Opening Day for Maumee Little League features a parade through Uptown. This event celebrates children and
America’s pastime, but not every child can play baseball. Let’s shu it down for one more day, and really make a difference, not just in Maumee, but regionally.

The highlight of the day came from the stage inside The Idiot. Joe Woods’ cover of “Man in the Mirror” perfectly captured the moment. Michael Jackson’s words challenged us to make a difference … the very difference Khoury’s vision was making.

To find out more about Project iAm, visit www.projectiam.com.

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