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Allegrini: Freedom vs. license

By
Scott Allegrini
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Recently, I survived my 11th Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Working in retail this time of year is amazing because I never know what I will witness. There were hundreds of people waiting to get “the deals.” The biggest Black Friday 2012 sensation was $25 video games, normally $59, so it was a great deal for avid gamers.

With the sale beginning at 8 p.m., people lined up as early as 5 p.m., and as sale time approached, the lines grew and the demeanor of those standing in line became tense. People tried to cut in line while countless others tried to sneak around the back, hoping to just grab a game and run.

The potential to lose control of the anxious crowd grew, and two police officers began to intervene. With their best authoritative voices, they told the customers how things were going to proceed as 8 p.m. approached. The amazing thing was that once the sale started, the crowd followed the police officers’ directions, and the sale went off without any rushing, fights or punches thrown. That was good news — this would not be the Black Friday that would land our retail location in the headlines.

As I reflected on the “good news” of the day, I realized that this news was in reality, not so good at all. The demeanor of the crowd that I experienced, along with the necessary intervention of the law, was quite indicative of the state of the culture.

The experience proved that if citizens are unable to regulate themselves and act in a civilized way, it is necessary to have an outside agency control their actions. Americans are fond of talking about wanting freedom and how “rights” are deserved, but those same people forget that with those freedoms and rights comes the acceptance of responsibilities.

In today’s society, Americans mistake “license” for freedom.

When people “take license,” they believe they can do whatever they want with no limits. License is the throwing off of all responsibility. It is carte blanche to do as one feels, because one wants to. It is a very selfish and childish way to live life. In this manner, right and wrong is derived from self-interest, with no regard for the effects of actions on others or on society.

Freedom is having the choice to do what ought to be done. Freedom means doing what one is meant to do, but freedom has to have boundaries and responsibilities. The challenge of freedom is accepting the responsibility of to act in a way that can support and nurture a society that allows freedom to flourish.

If people want freedom, they have to accept the responsibility that comes along with it. There is a reason that freedom has been such a rarity throughout human history, because it is hard. License is much easier because one just does whatever one feels like doing, without worrying about anyone else.

So there is a choice. Do people accept responsibility for the effects that their actions have on others and society in general, or do they just do what they feel like doing?

Choosing freedom is the only way that the nation can continue to grow. My grandfather’s family did not come here so that they could do whatever they felt like, they came here because they recognized that in the United States, if they worked hard and followed the rules, they could achieve the American Dream and become the best version of themselves. That is the attraction to freedom — the opportunity to work hard and reap the rewards that come from becoming the best version of oneself.

If society continues to digress into a culture of license, history shows this will lead to an authority dictating people’s actions, because they can’t. License leads to hundreds of people willing to do anything in order to get a cheap video game. What happens to others is not of concern, as long as they get the video game. This approach always leads to the same ending, an authority controlling actions. When people cannot control their own actions, authority steps in, whether it’s parents, teachers, neighbors or, eventually, the state. If society continues down this path, it ends with the police controlling the actions of the people.

So I ask you to think about how much you value freedom. Because if citizens want to keep freedom, they need to act in a way worthy of it, and accept that there are times when people must act selflessly and in ways that will create a better society, even if that means we don’t get our way or the cheap video game.

Email columnist Scott Allegrini at [email protected].

Barhite: Zepf Center needs donations for its holiday store

By
Brandi Barhite
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Josie Allen cannot afford to buy much for her family at Christmas. Everyone is limited to one gift each.

But last year her family was selected to participate in the Zepf Center’s Adopt-a-Family program, so her children received multiple gifts.

They opened sweat suits, games and even received a PlayStation 2.

“I would not have been able to provide that,” Allen said.

These gifts were possible because two of her teenage daughters (one is a relative whom she considers a daughter) receive services at the Zepf Center, which provides behavioral health and vocational help to youth and adults with mental illness.

The nonprofit also hosts a holiday store as part of its December outreach. Donations are still needed for the store, as well as a volunteer to play Santa on Dec. 19.

I learned more about the Zepf when my sister began to work there. Last year, I helped adopt one of the 40 families. This year, I am having my BGSU students collect hygiene products like toilet paper, toothbrushes and shampoo for the holiday store.

Families who are selected to participate can shop for new and used clothes and toys, as well as the hygiene products I am gathering. Video games, DVDs, crafts and Hello Kitty merchandise are some of the most-requested items. Everything is free.

Zepf employee Kim Middleton said for some clients and their families this is the only resource for celebrating the holidays.

“Last year, with the help of Toys for Tots, we were able to provide over 200 children with two new toys for each client and their siblings in the household,” Middleton said in an email.

Zepf was able to provide families with new and gently used household items, as well as cleaning supplies.

Things that most people consider everyday necessities are luxuries to some Zepf families, Middleton said.

“One mother was overjoyed because we were able to give each family a new laundry basket filled with laundry detergent, food and paper products. She was so excited over a four-pack of toilet tissue, I thought she was going to cry,” Middleton said.

To donate, drop off items at the Zepf Center, 6605 W. Central Ave., or at its 905 Nebraska Ave. location. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Former pastor discusses new book on atheism

By
David Yonke
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Jerry DeWitt spoke to Great Lakes Atheists Dec. 3, 2012. Photo by David Yonke.
After 25 years of preaching about God, hell and salvation, Jerry deWitt just couldn’t take it anymore.
For too long, he said, he’d been preaching messages he didn’t believe.
Last year, he reached a point where he had had enough of living a lie. He quit his job as a Pentecostal pastor, dropped out of church completely and declared to the world that he was a nonbeliever.
“I committed identity suicide,” deWitt said in a talk Dec. 3 in Toledo.
The 43-year-old Louisiana native is traveling the country to promote his book, “Hope After Faith,” scheduled to be published next spring by daCapo Press.
Walking away from his job as a pastor was a gut-wrenching decision, one that deWitt wrestled with for years.
He knew he wasn’t just leaving the ministry, he was leaving the only world he had ever known. Virtually all of his friends and his church community abandoned him, he said. He claims he was fired from his city job by his best friend because of the controversy caused by publicly doubting God’s existence.
DeWitt, well-spoken with a strong southern accent, spoke informally to 10 people from the Great Lakes Atheists and the local branch of Recovering From Religion, seated around conference tables in a room at the Washington Branch library.
“When word got out, I wasn’t surprised about how many people suddenly thought I was going to hell. But I was surprised at how well they were taking it,” deWitt joked.
He was “humiliated” to go to bankruptcy court to save his house. His wife left him — not for dropping out of church but because of the pressures of being married to “the most hated man in town.”
“I can tell you the rejection of the community, because I was such a people-pleaser, has been grueling. It has had me more than once on the verge of suicide. If it wasn’t for my son, my 20-year-old son, then there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be here,” deWitt said.
One of the reasons he stayed in the church and the pastorate so long was that he didn’t want to destroy his family’s lives.
“Life’s not just good for me, life is also good for my wife, my soulmate. Life is also good for my son, the young life I want to shape and mold into a real man and send off to college,” deWitt said. “And I’m going to screw all of that up because it bothers my conscience [to preach]?”
DeWitt grew up in church. His paternal grandfather was an Assembly of God preacher and his maternal grandparents were leaders in the United Pentecostal Church. Some of his earliest memories were of being prayed for by church members in the sanctuary, and resting his head in his grandmother’s lap as she prayed in tongues.
“I really grew up thinking I would be a preacher,” he said.
At 17, he attended a church camp meeting in Baton Rouge, La.
“And lo and behold, it does its thing and I get saved at Jimmy Swaggart’s church,” deWitt said, triggering moans and groans from the Toledo atheists.
“I mean a really true blue,100 percent experience. It was truly life changing,” he said.
He started preaching at age 17, became an evangelist at 19, and later served as a pastor of two Pentecostal churches.
His first doubts came early, he said, finding it hard to believe that a loving God would condemn most of humanity to hell. And it was a struggle trying to understand why God didn’t heal some of the most devout Christians, he said.
“I will never know that there isn’t a God,” deWitt said. “Based on the evidence, I gladly say atheism is my opinion, and that may change. Humanism has always been my motivation.”
He has found a new calling, so to speak, telling people about his personal journey from Pentecostal pastor to nonbeliever. He is motivated to help the “thousands and thousands of people across the United States” going through the same struggles.
“I pastor. I know atheists don’t like that word, but I pastor every day. I pastor via e-mail, Facebook, phone calls, in person. … I pastor through Recovering From Religion. I pastor, and that’s the joy of my life. That’s what I live for.”
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.

Nonprofit uses little libraries to unite community

By
Brigitta Burks
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Little Free Library

Brigitta Burks
TOLEDO FREE PRESS NEWS EDITOR

Libraries are clearly important to Chad Stanton of Stanton Fine Furniture.

He taught himself his profession out of library books — and he recently built a “Little Free Library” on his street.Little Free Library is an organization that helps create mini libraries where users can take and leave books at no cost — all without a library card.

Co-founder Todd Bol started the project in Hudson, Wis., in 2009 to honor his deceased mother.

“We’ve had people who say it absolutely has redefined their neighbor-hood,” Bol said. The project, co-founded by Rick Brooks, has grown immensely since they built the first few.

“What happened is we started to plant these seeds to build interest. This time last year, we had about 100 of these libraries and this time a year later, we have 4,000, pushing 5,000.”

Stanton started the first Little Free Library in Toledo because he likes to use his profession to help the community. He has made instructional videos for Habitat for Humanity and also made one on constructing the library that can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?V=EMApN1EHEQU.

Those interested in building a library can purchase construction materials at www.littlefreelibrary.org and can register their library on the site so it appears on a map. Libraries can be constructed and designed using other outlets like Home Depot and still be registered with Little Free Library for a fee.

Usually about 10-20 books are in the library on Oak Grove Place, Stanton said.

“Everyone on the street loves it,” he said. “It kind of brings a sense of unity to the neighborhood that we’re all looking out for the kids.” Bol said Little Free Libraries tend to unite neighborhoods.

He’s gotten comments like “It’s like having a front porch that extends to the sidewalk,” or “The only way the Little Free Library could be better is if there was a fairy that lived in it.”

“You know how a puppy enters the room, the biggest, burliest guy will bend over in delight and squeal over the puppy?” Bol said. “People would walk by the Little Free Library and they’d make a, ‘Cute! Oh, wow!’”

Many of the libraries are themed, and Bol said he’s seen ones with cat, dog, health, environmental and music motifs, to name a few.

Some people also view the libraries as a sort of art project.

“We’ve been told we are a folk art revival, where multigenerational families get together to build a library,” Bol said.

Bol’s group also aims to get Little Free Libraries in small towns where there aren’t public libraries. Structures have also been built in developing countries. Additionally, the organization has an outreach program, funded by an AARP grant, for isolated senior citizens.

Those interested in sponsoring a Little Free Library can do so at www.littlefreelibrary.org. Bol said he would like to see the number of Little Free Libraries increase in Ohio as it has in other states. There are 17 in Ohio, according to the map.

“We like to think it’s more stable than a trend or something that’s flashing because it’s got that ongoing community engagement,” he said.

“I’m hoping others in the Toledo area will catch on and try to do it as well,” Stanton said. “To me, libraries are essential.”

Bol added, “Where they work best is with somebody that’s absolutely dedicated to making it work.”

So far, Stanton is that person for his neighborhood.

“I just really hope more people in Toledo are willing to get to know their neighbors and realize that kids are really the future and I hope the kids can be pulled away from the video games,” he said.

Confusion

By
Rick Kerger
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By Rick Kerger
SPECIAL TO TOLEDO FREE PRESS

Ford looked angrily at him.
“Will you listen?” he snapped.
“I’ve been listening,” said Arthur, “but I am not sure it’s helping.”

Yes, I have been rereading Douglas Adams’ treatise, “Theb More Than Complete Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Universe.” More than 30 years ago, this tome made its way into the world and while it is only slightly less difficult to follow than the Book of Revelation, it is a great deal funnier. I bring this up because modern circumstances make me feel a little like Arthur Dent, the protagonist of Adams’ works.

Shooting across the galaxy in an in-credibly large spacecraft with a two-headed friend and a depressed robot, then having to put up with an even larger spacecraft filled with comatose telephone sanitizers and hairdressers, coupled with watching his planet (that is to say our planet) blown up, Arthur is a bit puzzled. So am I these days.

Some of the puzzling things are good, but still inexplicable. For example, when John Kennedy ran for president, there was a near-constant attack to the effect that if he were elected, the pope would run the United States. That was because of his religion— he was a Catholic. Mitt Romney is an active and sincere Mormon, a Christian religion of fairly recent vintage that is far less mainstream than Catholicism. Yet his religion in no way became even a side issue in the recent election.

Now perhaps there were closets full of people voting for Obama and against Romney because of Mitt’s Mormonism, but that seems pretty unlikely.

So why this complete shift in attitude in just 50 years? Why an outbreak of tolerance in regard to religion? Is it because Democrats are more tolerant? Or maybe the Broadway play about the Mormons humanized them and Mitt?

Then I read about a group of Texans that wants to have their home state secede from the union. What is ironic is that the odds-on favorite movie to win the Best Picture Oscar this year is “Lincoln,” a film about how a president becomes a giant historical figure by defeating the South’s effort to secede! Perhaps they do not show the film in Texas, but if I were heading down the avenue some of them apparently are, it is a film worth watching.Dallas might wind up looking like Atlanta after Gen. Sherman’s saunter through Georgia.

Then there is the “fiscal cliff.” Apparently the United States Congress and the president are going to join hands and run over a cliff like lemmings because of inaction. Criticism could be leveled that the cliff is not high enough and certainly not soon enough to have avoided the insanity of the last election, but we talk about its consequences as being the economic equivalent of the Bubonic plague! From my reading, it is more like a fiscal speed bump than a cliff.

All of this has combined to create a miasma that leaves me as confused as Arthur Dent — I am listening but it is not helping.

Where is Zaphod Beeblebrox when we need him?

Pounds: Questionable bid-ness

By
Tom Pounds
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By Tom Pounds

The economy is on the minds of more than just business owners. It seems everyone is hyper-aware of the economic uncertainty that has investment retracting and governments finding new ways of conducting business to save taxpayer money.

In October 2011, Gov. John Kasich signed into law Ohio House Bill 153, which broke the monopoly daily publications held on legal notices purchased with public money.

The bill eliminated the limitation that links charging for newspapers with being permitted to publish legal notices. It opened the legal publication business to any newspaper of general circulation that publishes at least once a week and meets other criteria, all of which Toledo Free Press satisfies. The bill also requires a participating newspaper to offer its best classified rate for such publications. The planned participation of newspapers such as Toledo Free Press is intended to ensure that the best rate offered by any participant in this market will be competitive. The result should be substantial savings for all who are required to publish legal notices.

Toledo Free Press has, predictably, had to fight to get local government to learn and respect the new law. A number of agencies have begun taking advantage of our lower rates to reach Lucas County taxpayers. Recently, we began the process with Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez to compete for delinquent property ads. The county’s last purchase of these ads in The Blade cost taxpayers $369,145.98.

Eventually, Lopez sought an opinion from the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, which, on Oct. 16, ruled, “[Toledo] Free Press would now qualify as a paper of general circulation.”

Shortly after that, Lopez opened bids for the delinquent property ads.

The numbers would seem to make the choice easy. Toledo Free Press publishes 86,600 copies (2012 CVC audit). During a weekday when The Blade would presumably carry the delinquent property ads, the daily newspaper prints 81,473 copies with 59,249 of those copies distributed in Lucas County (September 2011 ABC audit; the September 2012 audit is not available yet).

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

But here is the most striking difference: The Blade’s Nov. 26 bid was $330,617.70. Our bid was $86,100. Seems like an easy choice, but Lopez (and the Lucas County Commissioners) went with the bid that ran almost four times higher.

Too many Lucas County officials are stuck in old models and counterproductive ways of thinking. There is a new reality, and while many fear and resent the changes, those changes are active in many counties and will continue to chip away at reckless spending of taxpayer money.

Toledo Free Press will continue to compete for county legal ads, in what will undoubtedly be a long educational process.

You may absolutely accuse us of sour grapes. In fact, as a Lucas County taxpayer, you may accuse us of harboring 244,517 sour grapes, one for each of your dollars Lopez needlessly spent.

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

Project seeks to restore Trinity church bells

By
Brigitta Burks
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There are 12 stationary bells and one swinging bell in the Trinity Episcopal Church tower. Photo- Joseph Herr

The bells that rest in the tower of Trinity Episcopal Church have not rung out in song in about 20 years — but if one Toledo resident is successful, they will ring again this spring.

Wayne North, a local veterinarian, and The Old Trinity Foundation recently kicked off a donation campaign to raise the $50,000 needed to get the chimes repaired. The bells fell silent because of age, weather and rust, North said. The campaign is seeking contributions from individuals, organizations and businesses.

In 1941, Ellen Gardner, a member of a well-known local family, purchased the bells for the Downtown church in memory of her parents and siblings. Gardner’s home was at the corner of Madison Avenue and Superior Street, now the location of the Gardner Building.

That building was designed by Ellen’s brother, an architect. It was considered the first fire-proof building in Toledo, North said.

Ellen died in the 1960s after moving to the East Coast.

The Meneely Bell Foundry, started in 1826 in Troy, N.Y., produced the Gardner Memorial Bells. It closed in 1952, making the bells irreplaceable, North said.

There are 12 stationary bells and one swinging bell in Trinity’s tower. The bells are bronze, meaning they are 80 percent copper and 20 percent tin, and weigh 9.6 tons together.

The largest bell is 4,600 pounds; bells today aren’t made to weigh more than 1,000 pounds, North said.

North, formerly a member of the now closed St. Mark’s church, became interested in the bells when his congregation joined Trinity at the beginning of 2012.

“One of the things that fascinated me was the bells. But when I went in and talked to people and said, ‘What about the bells?’ you’d get sort of these blank looks, like, ‘Bells, what are you talking about, bells?’” North said.

North was able to go into the tower after he contacted a representative from a bell company to accompany him. He was shocked to see the bells along his dusty and steep ascent into the tower.

“When I got up in the tower, I was absolutely stunned by what was up there, just sitting there,” he said.

Smith’s Bell and Clock Company, a Mooresville, Ind., firm, will oversee the restoration. JJ Smith, the firm’s owner, said the project should take 8 to 12 weeks once started.

“They’ve got enough bells here to make a musical scale and we can take advantage of that through our bell controller and preprogram songs to play throughout the day,” Smith said.

Originally, the bells were played with a manual keyboard. In the ’70s, an electronic keyboard that stimulated direct current solenoids to ring the bells, was brought in. However, the solenoids are no longer made so the new system will need striking hammers and a digital electronic controller.

North said because the new system will be digitized, a musician could record a song ahead of time on a flash drive and schedule it to play later. There is also an option for someone to play a song live.

The revitalized bells will not just be for the religious community, but the whole Downtown, he said.

“We would start it off striking the hour, so people get acclimated to it. We would do noon and midnight rather than every hour until we see how everybody acclimates to that happening. Then we will do a scheduled concert,” North said.

“Let’s say when they have the fireworks on the Fourth of July, we play patriotic music,” he added. “It’s what we call restoring Toledo’s soundscape.”

The Rev. Elizabeth Hoster of Trinity said, “Part of our mission (at Trinity) is to be engaged in the life of the city. This is a new way, or rather a renewal of an old way to do that.”

One recording exists of the bells, North said. The recording, complete with street sounds of the period, was made from the corner of Adams and St. Clair streets in 1945. A 16-year-old girl was playing the bells at the time.

North also hopes to involve children of today with the bells. He said he could see them helping young, local musicians learn about playing bells.

He hopes to get the restoration funds raised by the end of January so the bells are playing by spring.

“It’s really, really great to know we have this historic set of bells here in Toledo. I think getting them back into playable condition is really important and I think it’ll be a really wonderful addition to the Downtown area,” North said.

Smith said the finish on the bells is good and will be left alone. He did say the swinging bell will take more effort to repair and a small crane will be needed to remove some of the materials around that bell for restoration.

The project can offer something to the whole community, Smith said.

“Music is the key to the spice of life. I think this is a project that not only the church can benefit from, but the whole community can get something from. What we’re doing is we’re creating [or] embarking on another area of history with these bells,” he said.

Hoster agreed.

“There’s something about bells in the soundscape of the community that just says that you’re not alone; that says that you’re a part of something very big and you know at that moment that everyone’s hearing the same thing that you’re hearing.

“They’re for everyone. The rich, the poor, the person in the cubicle … the person who is living across the street.”

She also praised North’s commitment to the project.

“This is a classic example of people using their passions for a really good cause. Between his love for music, his love of things as a preservationist, his love of history — he’s carried the flag on this,” she said. “Any time a member of the community has a passion like that and leads the way, it’s wonderful.”

Contributions can be sent to The Old Trinity Foundation, Gardner Bell Fund, 316 Adams St., Toledo, 43604. Those who donate more than $500 qualify for a tower visit if they are physically able to make the climb.

For more information, visit www.trinitytoledo.org/bells.html.

Letter to the Editor, Dec 9, 2012

By
Tim Yenrick
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During the past five years, on average, Red Cross volunteers have responded to one home fire each night of the year. That’s one family, every night, displaced. One family, each night of the year, that loses their home, possessions and, most tragically, a sense of comfort and stability.

One family per night, and we haven’t even begun to talk about the impact on their neighbors or community.As winter settles in across Northwest Ohio, we enter the prime season for home fires, especially those due to alternative sources of heating. In December, January and February the bulk of fires we respond to are due to unsafe and, in many circumstances, unnecessary means of keeping a home warm.

The American Red Cross urges families to be cautious when using space heaters and other heating sources, and to make a plan in case of a home fire or other disaster.

To prevent heating-related fires,the American Red Cross offers the following prevention tips to stop heating fires before they start:

✯Keep all potential fuel sources (newspapers, matches, bedding,clothing, carpets and rugs) at least three feet away from heat sources, such as space heaters, fireplaces and stoves.

✯Turn off portable space heaters every time you leave the room or go to sleep.

✯Have wood and coal stoves,fireplaces and chimneys inspected annually by a professional and cleaned if necessary.

✯If you must use a space heater,place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs or carpets or near bedding or drapes.

As anyone who has spent time working with us can tell you, responding to these types of disasters and alleviating the suffering that comes as a consequence are a major part of who we are and what we do.

The nature of our work is often reactive. Response is at the core of our mission.We understand disasters happen,and we are working hard to stress the importance of preparation and prevention. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Preparing for a home fire doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment ortraining, and doesn’t take much time.In addition to following the manufacturer’s instructions on how to safely use heating equipment, one of the easiest ways to prepare for a fire is to check that all of your home’s smoke alarms are in good condition.

Smoke alarms should be installed outside of each sleeping area and on each level of your home.Prevention and preparedness in the winter months also means taking pro-active steps to ensure more traditional utilities are uninterrupted. If natural gas or electricity is shutoff, substituting ovens, charcoal grills, stoves or candles to heat a home is extremely dangerous and can lead to severe emergency situations.

In most cases, these situations are unnecessary to begin with, as help securing home heating is available. There are several programs to share. However the first suggestion for every situation is to contact your local utility company at the first sign you may have trouble paying your bill. The sooner it is informed about an issue or problem, the more options there will be for assistance.

Currently, the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) offers assistance to families with a household income of up to 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines, or $46,100 for a family of four. For more information,or to find the agency in your county that administers HEAP funding,please contact the Ohio Development Services Agency at 1-800-282-0880. It is our hope that every household stays warm and safe this winter.

✯TIM YENRICK, Regional CEO, American Red Cross Greater Toledo Chapter

Miller: Holiday with Heart

By
Michael Miller
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Toledo Free Press has, from the beginning, supported LGBT-friendly issues like domestic partner benefits and equal marriage rights. In addition to basic human respect and dignity arguments, there are sound business reasons for operating with an inclusive mindset. It is a recruitment tool and an inevitable element of retaining quality employees. When a domestic partner benefits proposal went before Toledo City Council in May, it was reported that “21 states and over 200 local governments, at least 98 Fortune 100 companies, 442 Fortune 500 companies, and approximately 9,000 other private companies, non-profit organizations and unions provide health insurance and other benefits to their employees’ domestic partners. In Toledo, these employers include the University of Toledo, Lucas County, Owens Corning and the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, the cities of Cleveland, Columbus and Franklin County offer their employees domestic partner benefits and at least 14 Ohio public and private universities and colleges offer these benefits.”

But it took a meeting with local LGBT advocate Rick Cornett almost four years ago to open my eyes to some specific issues. Cornett challenged Toledo Free Press to offer a voice to specific individuals and to cover LGBT events and fundraisers as part of its regular coverage. That conversation led to our involvement with two annual events, the Toledo Pride Festival and Parade and Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla.

Through these efforts, Toledo Free Press has been proud to work with the LGBT community and I have met some amazing people and made some wonderful friends. In addition to my admiration for Cornett and his tireless work for the Toledo community, getting to know Toledo Pride’s Lexi Staples and Emily Hickey has been one of the best rewards of my eight years with Toledo Free Press. Hickey, who is as lovely and loving a person as you are going to meet, and Cornett contribute regular columns to Toledo Free Press Star. In addition to her take-no-prisoners approach to taking care of business, Staples works for such artistic causes as the Toledo Opera and allowed us to use the recording of her late father, Dennis Staples, reading “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” for this year’s “Holiday Wishes 2” CD benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation.

For three years, Toledo Free Press has sponsored Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla, which raises funds for local LGBT organizations. The event takes place at the Toledo Club, which is holiday ready with its parade of decorated trees. This year’s Dec. 1 event, which hosted the largest crowd in its 35-year history, was a typically lavish and fun affair. The evening began with music by the Kelly Broadway Duo, which set a classy atmosphere as guests entered and made their way to the third floor, where the program began.

It is a testament to the Holiday with Heart directors — David Bingham, Cornett, Ed Hoffman, Andrew Larson, Wayne North and Kenyetta White — that a 35-year-old event is still cresting in attendance and quality. The music, decorations and mood are top-shelf. This year’s event benefited The Toledo Pride Foundation, The Toledo Region Office of the AIDS Resource Center Ohio, The Gay and Lesbian Student Endowment Fund at the University of Toledo and The Holiday with Heart Fund at the Toledo Community Foundation. A representative from each group spoke as people mingled and started the party.

There was a performance by dancers from the Toledo Ballet, before dinner was served on the first floor, which featured tables filling all three areas of the main floor. During dinner, male models from Cityboyz circled the tables, selling raffle tickets (in lengths determined by inseam or bust measurements). Toledo Club members may normally be expected to wear jackets when dining, but the Cityboyz models were dressed in just the latest underwear fashions. I’m not sure who was more worked up over the Cityboyz models, the gay men or the straight women, but it looked like a lot of raffle tickets were sold. Tom Brooks Studio was on hand to take photos and after dinner people migrated back to the third floor for dessert and dancing, with DJ Martha Rappoport.

One of the guests, seeing the many notable business and community leaders in attendance, wondered why there were so few elected officials on hand.  This is clearly a huge opportunity to court a political alliance going to waste, he noted, and he is absolutely right.

During the program before dinner, Cornett presented Toledo Free Press with the event’s Founder’s Award, which is given annually to a supporter of the LGBT community. It is a humbling and overwhelming honor. As I said at the event, while I determine our editorial direction, the paper’s sponsorships and advertising dollars are the discretion of our publisher, Tom Pounds. I closed my brief remarks by saying that I understand the Holiday with Heart recognition is not about Toledo Free Press somehow accepting the gay community; it is about the gay community somehow accepting Toledo Free Press.

For that, we are appreciative and grateful.

 

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at [email protected].

Owens Community College concert honors legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen

By
John Dorsey
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0

In the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, honor and courage can sometimes seem like outdated concepts, relegated to the pages of history books.

Owens Community College is doing its part to make history come alive with its Dec. 9 holiday tribute concert to the famed flying aces known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

“For the last three years we have done tributes honoring veterans. Our show marking the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor attracted an audience of around 600 people, and we’re hoping to be able to at least match that this year,” said Fred Dais, Owens adjunct instructor in fine and performing arts and concert band conductor.

The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of African-American pilots in the 1940s, though this term also includes navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors and all the personnel who kept their planes in the air.

The show will feature the college band performing patriotic tunes and holiday classics in honor of the airmen, including Catawba Island’s own Lt.Col. Harold H. Brown, who will be on hand as part of a special tribute.

During World War II, Brown served in the 332nd Fighter Group and completed 30 missions before being shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Germany. He returned home in1945 and served more than 23 years in the U.S. Air Force.

“I’ve always been interested in the Tuskegee Airmen. This tribute came about because I read an article about how their numbers were diminishing,” Dais said. “I felt that we needed to honor their service and that it was something that had to happen as soon as possible. I want people who attend this show to come away feeling good and to just know how lucky we are to live in this country and that there are heroes out there yet, like Lt. Col. Brown, who should be celebrated.”

The free concert is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre. Musical selections will include “Stars and Stripes for Christmas,” “Harlem Nocturne,” “A Jazzy Christmas.”“March Grandioso,” “Of Honor and Valor,” “A Hanukkah Festival,” “Winterfest” and “Merry Christmas Everyone,” among others.

Lt. Col. Brown,who will be serenaded as part of a special encore, will be available after the concert to answer questions.

For more information, call (567)661-7081 or visit www.owens.ed

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