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Miller: Lessons from Motown

By
Michael Miller
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A recent visit to the Motown Museum and recording studios has led to a happy immersion in the music from that movement’s glory days. My car speakers and earbuds are thrumming with the sounds of The Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, The Temptations and several other artists.

Naturally, I have been excited to share this music with my sons, Evan and Sean, who are nearing their seventh and fifth birthdays. I am playing the upbeat, fun songs such as “ABC” by The Jackson 5, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” by The Four Tops and “The Way You Do The Things You Do” by The Temptations.

I was discussing this with a friend who gently admonished me, saying I should still play “educational” songs for the boys, things from Elmo and The Wiggles and their ilk.

“Pop music isn’t going to teach them anything,” he said.

I strenuously disagree.

In addition to the joy of creating and sharing the finer emotions evoked by music, many of the greatest songs, specifically Motown songs, contain encapsulated life lessons that run the gamut from appreciating peace, love and understanding to the horrors of war. My boys aren’t ready for all of these lessons, but then, who amongst us is?

So, thanks to such writers as Wonder, Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Berry Gordy, Harvey Fuqua, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson and scores of others artists, here is a tiny slice of “Everything I need to know about life I learned from Motown.”

  • “Before you take a girl and say I do now/Make sure she’s in love with you now/My mama told me/You better shop around”
  • “I don’t like you, but I love you/Seems like I’m always thinking of you/Though you treat me badly, I love you madly/You really got a hold on me”
  • “Has high blood pressure got a hold on me, or is this the way love’s supposed to be?”
  • “I don’t need no money, fortune, or fame/I’ve got all the riches baby one man can claim/I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way?/My girl …”
  • “It doesn’t matter what you wear, just as long as you are there/So come on every guy, grab a girl/Everywhere, around the world”
  • “I heard a cryin’ man/Is half a man, with no sense of pride/But if I have to cry to keep you/I don’t mind weepin’ if it’ll keep you by my side”
  • “You can’t hurry love/No, you just have to wait/You got to trust, give it time/No matter how long it takes”
  • “Now show me a girl, a girl that’s fine/And I’ll choose the one with true lovin’ every time/I know that beauty’s only skin deep”
  • “People say believe half of what you see, Son, and none of what you hear”
  • “When you believe in things you don’t understand, then you suffer/Superstition ain’t the way”
  • “This love we’re contemplatin’/Is worth the pain of waitin’/We’ll only end up hatin’/The child we may be creatin’”
  • “As I walk this land of broken dreams/I have visions of many things/Love’s happiness is just an illusion/Filled with sadness and confusion/What becomes of the brokenhearted/Who had love that’s now departed?”
  • “Reading and writing, arithmetic/Are the branches of the learning tree/But without the roots of love every day, girl/Your education ain’t complete”
  • “If you see an old friend on the street, and he’s down/Remember his shoes could fit your feet/Why don’t you reach out and touch somebody’s hand/Make this world a better place, if you can”
  • “Air pollution, revolution, gun control/Sound of soul/Shootin’ rockets to the moon/Kids growin’ up too soon/Politicians say more taxes will solve everything/Ball of Confusion, that’s what the world is today”
  • “War! Good God, y’all, what is it good for?/Absolutely nothin’”
  • “We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate/You know we’ve got to find a way/To bring some lovin’ here today”
  • “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand/With an equal opportunity, for all to sing, dance and clap their hands/But just because a record has a groove, don’t make it in the groove”
  • “Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east/Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury/Radiation underground and in the sky/Animals and birds who live nearby are dying/Oh mercy, mercy me/Things ain’t what they used to be/What about this overcrowded land/How much more abuse from man can she stand?”
  • “I’m telling you beware, beware of the handshake/That hides the snake/Beware of that pat on the back/It just might hold you back/Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes/They don’t tell the truth”
  • “Money, we make it/Before we see it, you take it/Inflation, no chance/To increase finance”
  • “Hey Mama, folk say that Papa was never much on thinking/Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking/Mama, I’m depending on you to tell me the truth/Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said, ‘Son, Papa was a rolling stone/Wherever he laid his hat was his home/And when he died, all he left us was alone’”
  • “Don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be/I’m askin’ you baby, to get it on with me/I ain’t gonna worry, I ain’t gonna push/So come on, come on, come on, come on baby/Stop beatin’ round the bush”
  • “We are amazed but not amused/By all the things you say that you’ll do/We’re much concerned but not involved/With decisions that are made by you/But we are sick and tired of hearing your song/Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong/’Cause if you really want to hear our views/You haven’t done nothing!”
  • “I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow/And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow/This place is cruel, nowhere could be much colder/If we don’t change the world will soon be over/Living just enough, just enough for the city”
  • “Now there’s some sad things known to man/But ain’t too much sadder than/The tears of a clown, when there’s no one around”
  • “Is her sweet expression/Worth more than my love and affection?”
  • “I know flowers grow through rain/But how can love grow through pain?”
  • “Now if you feel that you can’t go on/Because all of your hope is gone/And your life is filled with much confusion/Until happiness is just an illusion/Come on reach on out for me/I’ll be there with a love that will shelter you/I’ll be there with a love that will see you through”

 



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

Pounds: Free From Hunger

By
Tom Pounds
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March 16 marks the eighth anniversary of the publication of Toledo Free Press and the third anniversary of Toledo Free Press Star. We have published a combined 475 issues, but understand we are still at the beginning of a long process in sharing positive news and offering a “glass half-full” approach to chronicling the evolution of Northwest Ohio.

It has been a remarkable and challenging eight years. Toledo Free Press has grown to be Lucas County’s largest circulation Sunday newspaper, one named “Best Weekly Newspaper in Ohio” for the past four years by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. We cannot fully express our gratitude to the readers, advertisers and partners who have helped us and continue to help us in the

nascent days of our journey.

A major part of our mission has been to give back to the community that supports us. We have sponsored hundreds of nonprofit events and spearheaded such projects as the benefit CDs for Make-A-Wish and Red Cross as well as Leadership Toledo’s Restaurant Week Toledo, which just marked a third successful year.

With that mindset, Toledo Free Press is proud to announce a yearlong initiative, “Free from Hunger.” The brainchild of Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller and Columbia Gas of Ohio Communications and Community Relations Manager Chris Kozak, Free from Hunger builds on our previous efforts to address a critical community issue.

  • 74,100 people, or 25.8 percent of the City of Toledo’s population, are living in poverty ($23,000 household income for a family of four).
  • 37 percent of the individuals in Lucas County live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
  • 30,116 children in Lucas County live at or below the poverty level.
  • More than 85,000 Lucas County residents are “food insecure”; 35 percent of them are children under 18. One out of 10 of those children is younger than 5.

For Free from Hunger, Toledo Free Press, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Hollywood Casino Toledo, Wells Fargo Advisors, WNWO-TV, WNWO Moms on the Go and WSPD 1370 AM are organizing a yearlong initiative to benefit three local charities whose mission is to feed needy citizens in Lucas County: Food for Thought, Feed Lucas County Children and Cherry Street Mission.

We are recruiting corporate sponsors to contribute to a fund, established with the Toledo Community Foundation, to donate to these groups and host a series of fundraising events to benefit these causes. The March 23 concert by Bob Guiney and Scott Grimes will benefit Food for Thought.

As the year progresses, Toledo Free Press will devote considerable resources to highlighting the needs of these charities and to discussing this devastating problem. There cannot be an honest dialogue about education and economic development when so many of our citizens are dealing with basics such as hunger and nutrition. Through Free from Hunger, we hope to raise awareness and make a direct impact on our community.

Thank you for your support of our previous initiatives. As we hurtle toward a full decade in business, we ask you to join us in contributing to solutions, not just dwelling on problems.



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

Toledo 911 call center authority transferred to fire department

By
Brigitta Burks
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The oversight of the communications department responsible for answering and dispatching 911 calls is set to be transferred from the Toledo Police Department to the Toledo Fire Department.

Fire Chief Luis Santiago said, “We’re certainly embracing the opportunity to be the lead as far as the dispatch center. Operationally, I don’t think the workers involved are going to see much of a difference as far as the operations.”

On Feb. 21, Toledo Free Press reported that 21 communications positions and six records positions were open and being filled at the Toledo Police Department. However, the reason for the high number of vacancies was in dispute.

Councilman D. Michael Collins, chair of Council’s Public Safety, Law & Criminal Justice committee, said the communications vacancies could be attributed to, “a very hostile environment, solely as a result of top police division leadership responsible for their operations.”

On March 14, Collins said, “[According to] the information, which has been provided to me from the [Mayor Mike] Bell administration, as a result of an investigation by the Affirmative Action Office, a reorganization decision has been made and effective April 1, the communications center for police and fire of the City of Toledo will be under the authority of Chief Santiago of Toledo Fire and Rescue.”

He added that the investigation from affirmative action also called for further training of the communication center’s police supervisors. A police captain and two sergeants currently oversee the call center, Collins said.

“I fully believe that this is an unfortunate set of circumstances. However given the option of keeping the current sworn supervisors in place … it is probably in the best interest of the whole operation,” he said.

Santiago said at present, the two sergeants are staying in the communications department.

Representatives from the mayor’s office and police department were not available for further comment at press time.

When asked about the reason for the high number of communications vacancies on March 1, Toledo Police Deputy Chief Diana Ruiz-Krause said, “Well, there are a number of reasons. Obviously, we can’t just hire on our own. We need the assistance of our personnel department and they have a lot of other positions that need to be filled.”

She added, “It is a difficult job and it’s not unusual throughout the country to have vacancies.”

The call center handles about 300,000 calls per year.

In a Nov. 21 resignation letter sent to several city officials, a former employee said she had spoken to human resources, affirmative action and union representatives about “the harassment” at the communications center.

“I have suffered documented health issues from the stress and emotional abuse over this harassment and retaliation,” the letter read.

“Although I am able to maintain the ability to perform my job, the working environment continues to be a concern.”

Ruiz-Krause said while she is familiar with the individual who wrote the letter, “I don’t know any more detail than what she states in her letter.”

Initiative aids local charities fighting hunger

By
Brigitta Burks
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Sam Melden is executive director of Food for Thought. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr.

Kozak

Several local groups are partnering to combat one of the biggest issues facing Northwest Ohio — hunger.

Columbia Gas of Ohio, Toledo Free Press, WNWO-TV and Moms on the Go have joined forces for the Free from Hunger initiative. The yearlong initiative supports Food for Thought, Feed Lucas County Children and Cherry Street Mission. Major sponsors include Hollywood Casino Toledo, Wells Fargo Advisors and WSPD.

“It’s a really interesting approach to take a yearlong look at this because to a certain extent, it’s hard to combat something as large as hunger. … How do we start to do that?” said Chris Kozak, communications and community relations manager for Columbia Gas of Ohio. “We’ve picked three good partners who are having a strong impact now and our goal is to help them have an even bigger impact.”

The initiative was partially inspired by startling statistics: More than 85,000 Lucas County residents are “food insecure” and 35 percent of them are children younger than 18. One out of 10 of those children is younger than 5. More than 30,000 children in Lucas County live at or below the poverty line.

“How does Lucas County address issues such as education and economic development if it can’t feed its people?” said Michael S. Miller, editor in chief of Toledo Free Press. Miller, who collaborated with Kozak on the initiative, said, “It’s an overwhelming situation, but there are people devoting their lives to helping alleviate the crisis and we want to bring as much awareness and as many resources as we can to contributing to the solution.”

Each charity will have a season of spotlight during 2013. The initiative seeks corporate sponsors to donate $5,000 each and aims to get those funds matched by the public through events put on by the charities.

All funds are being maintained by the Toledo Community Foundation. Food for Thought is the first spotlight charity, followed by Feed Lucas County Children (FLCC) and  Cherry Street Mission.

Kozak said, “It’s really gotta be a team effort and I’ll steal a quote from Bruce Springsteen: ‘Nobody wins unless everybody wins.’”

Food for Thought

The first initiative event is 7 p.m. March 23 at Forrester’s on the River. “Bachelor” Bob Guiney is set to perform along with Scott Grimes. Tickets are $40 to benefit Food for Thought. A second event where local restaurants will show off their take on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is set for May 23. More details on that event, which will feature wine/beer pairings, is forthcoming.

Sam Melden, executive director of Food for Thought, said, “One of the things about the Free from Hunger campaign is I think it really represents the next wave of raising money and community support. It really represents organizations with influence teaming up to say, ‘Let’s focus on this issue.’”

Food for Thought, which started in 2007, runs its stationary food pantry at 3540 Seaman Road, Oregon. It also has a mobile unit that it takes into its three-county wide community.

“We have about 12 food pantries a month — everything from rural and more urban churches to family centers,” Melden said.

He stressed the importance of partnerships to Food for Thought.

Sam Melden is executive director of Food for Thought. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr.

“It’s definitely not like an ice cream truck where it just pulls into a neighborhood and  pulls out,” he said. “Really what we want to do is we partner with other organizations and we kind of become their food pantry.”

“The idea with that is we aren’t going to assume we can be more engaged with somebody’s community than they already are and that’s served us well.”

The charity also emphasizes serving food with thoughtfulness — meaning eye contact counts as much, if not more, than full stomachs, Melden said. This means a simplified check-in process for patrons and letting them shop more than once a month.

It also means creative spins on projects like Art for Thought, where professional and amateur artists alike can decorate lunch bags. That program is run out of The Art Supply Depo in Downtown.

Art for Thought is mainly meant for school art classes and afterschool programs. However, Melden said, “Everyone from kids the youngest age that can pick up a crayon to the most incredible artist in the city can take a bag and decorate it.”

Food for Thought is also currently working with the Northwest Ohio Food Council to help provide healthier options to food pantry patrons. This means community gardens, cooking classes and themed recipes based on the pantry’s inventory.

Melden said that an increase in funds could mean expanding the types of food offered at pantries and maybe taking a potential partner organization off the waiting list. He also said that more volunteers are always needed. To sign up, visit www.feedtoledo.org.

FLCC and Cherry Street

Tony Siebeneck, executive director of FLCC, and Dan Rogers, president of Cherry Street Mission, both said that the awareness that the Free from Hunger initiative could bring to the issue is especially crucial.

Siebeneck said, “This hunger awareness project to me, it’s a godsend.”

FLCC, which prepares meals in its kitchen and then serves them throughout the community to hungry children, started in 2002. Last summer, it served its millionth summer meal.

The summer meal program is receiving accolades, Siebeneck said.

“We’re receiving a lot of calls from in-state and out-of-state organizations that are wanting to learn more about our successful food model. … That’s keeping us kind of busy,” he said, adding that his nonprofit is also gearing up for summer.

Rogers said of the campaign, “No question about it. What this does for Cherry Street is keep it in the forefront of our community.”

Cherry Street has provided food, shelter and other goods to the needy since 1947.

Rogers stressed that food is a stabilizing force in people’s lives.

“Hunger is distracting. Anything that’s distracting stands between us and where we want to be,” he said.

Rogers is aiming to purchase 100 chickens to provide Cherry Street with more eggs and also to vastly increase its two urban gardens’ produce.

Like Rogers and Siebeneck, Kozak said that awareness is a big part of the initiative.

“Awareness is the first step to [helping]; finding out what the need is; finding out it’s not something happening in a different state, in a different country; finding out there’s people in Toledo  just down the street that are hungry that your kids may go to school with,” Kozak said.

Moms on the Go

Moms on the Go — Lisa Harst, Allie Darr and Molly Pearson — film a weekly family segment for WNWO-TV. The group has helped several charities since its inception last year.

“Basically every month we were picking a new charity and decided our efforts would be better spent,” Pearson said, adding that the statistics and facts they learned about hunger made the decision to get onboard obvious.

“It kind of pulls at your heartstrings and being moms ourselves, the thought of not being able to feed your children three meals a day or even one is heart wrenching.”

Darr agreed.

“Personally, I’m a mom of three little boys and the thought of me not being able to feed them is very emotional for me,” she said.

Pearson said even if you can’t come to a specific event, donations to the charities are still encouraged.

Chris Topf, president of WNWO-TV, said that the station always looks for ways to make the community a better place.

“I want everybody to take this seriously and get involved. For the amount of money you might spend for going out to lunch, you can feed a family for a good long time,” he said.

For more information, search for “Free from Hunger” on Facebook.

Local ‘extreme couponer’ hosts book signing

By
Toledo Free Press
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Local coupon expert Joni Meyer-Crothers is hosting a book signing March 23 at Sylvania Area Family Services. Her book, “Extreme Couponing: Learn How to Be a Savvy Shopper and Save Money … One Coupon At a Time,” came out March 5.

Meyer-Crothers started extreme couponing about five years ago after her husband was laid off from his auto-industry job. Since then, she’s appeared on TLC’s “Extreme Couponing,” the “Rachael Ray Show,” “Good Morning America,” “20/20,” “Today,” “The 700 Club” and Fox News.

The extreme couponer spends about $200 for $5,000 worth of groceries every month and donates about 80 percent of that to Sylvania Area Family Services.

“I’m very big into teaching people that you can save for your own family, but you also have to share. There are too many hurting people out there and we have to step up and help them,” she said.

TLC and Discovery Channel Publishing contacted Meyer-Crothers in December 2011 to pitch a book.

“Of course, I said, ‘Yeah!’” Meyer-Crothers said. “By the end of the book, it kind of walks people through how to make a successful shopping trip.”

She co-authored the book with ghost writer Beth Adelman. Adelman now uses tips she picked up from Meyer-Crothers — like saving coupons for when items go on sale, she said. She also started donating to a local food bank.

“Very few people are having a very fabulous time financially right now and this is a book that will help people stretch what they have,” Adelman said.

The book signing also includes an opportunity to win a coupon binder, a Kroger gift card and an upright freezer. Entrants must purchase a copy of the book for $13 and bring five nonperishable/hygienic items to donate to Sylvania Area Family Services.

The signing runs noon to 2 p.m. March 23 at 5440 Marshall Drive, Sylvania. For more information, visit Meyer-Crothers’ blog at www.freetastesgood.com.

Rathbun: We need more undertakers

By
Gary Rathbun
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This country’s beginning revolved around personal liberty and self-reliance. America quickly became the wealthiest nation in history on the premise of free markets and the rule of law. The Founding Fathers knew we were, and would continue to be, imperfect but they put together a remarkable document that we still have today, the Constitution.

The founders knew that limited government was supposed to act only in those areas that the citizens could not on their own, e.g., national defense, courts of law, treaties, etc.

At the heart of the founding and during virtually every decade since, the small business owner was the key to growth, creativity and the creation of wealth both on an individual and a national level. More than any nation in the world throughout history, we have benefited from the fact that any citizen or resident has the opportunity to start a business.

Small-business owners can invest their own money and/or get their friends and family to invest in their idea with them. More than anything in the world, that sole concept of opportunity, of risk and profit, has driven individuals and consequently this nation to achieve the greatest level of wealth ever created.

There is no question that starting a business is risky. Most new businesses fail. Many are not profitable for a long time. You never know if your idea will be accepted and purchased until you try.

Just about every major, and minor, development in this country and ultimately in the world started as the idea of an individual and grew into something much more. The personal PC was not developed by IBM but by two small companies by the name of Apple and Microsoft. I can name hundreds more: Facebook, Ford, Google, ESPN and Disney all come to mind.

Today, however, the story is changing rapidly. Government, at all levels, is rapidly making it impossible to own and operate a business profitably. The number of regulations imposed today on a small privately held company creates a situation where the owner must decide whether the effort and cost are worth it. If the potential for profit disappears, then what is the use of taking the risk?

The current regulatory climate creates an environment where some great ideas never get off the ground or are shot down early before they can fully develop.

The Federal Register is a catalog of federal regulations. In 1950 there were just over 9,700 pages and GDP for that decade averaged 4.2 percent. In 1960 there were more than 22,000 pages and GDP averaged 4.4 percent a year for the decade. By 1970 regulations grew to more than 54,000 pages and GDP for the decade was 3.75 percent. By the year 2000 the regulations totaled more than 138,000 pages and the growth averaged 1.73. Today we have more than 170,000 pages of regulations and look around you to see what the GDP is now. (This is not counting the Affordable Care Act or Dodd-Frank.)

If you wanted to start a business and the only requirement was to read and understand all of the regulations, would you say, “Let’s go, I’m in!” or would you say, “Singapore is looking better every day?”

“Entrepreneur” is a French word meaning “one who undertakes.” This means risk, the freedom to not only succeed but also the freedom to fail. My dad always told me I would learn more by failing than I would by succeeding. Today, failing has become an intolerable situation and the government has decided it is its duty to have all the rules it needs to prevent any negative situation for its citizens, thereby diminishing the motivation to succeed.

This attitude has laid the foundation for undermining the freedom and opportunity that made us the greatest nation in the world. We need to get the shackles off of small business and get creative again. It is in our genes and we still have the most productive and creative workers in the world. Time to suit up and become an “undertaker.”



Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD. He can be heard every day on 1370 WSPD at 4:06 p.m. on “After the Bell,” every day on the Afternoon Drive, and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening at 6  throughout Northern Ohio on “Eye on Your Money.” He can be reached at (419) 842-0334 or email him at [email protected].

Szyperski: The carpet is here! The carpet is here!

By
Shannon Szyperski
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We purchased our current house just over five years ago. It was sold in “mint condition,” so the only thing we intended to change right away was the carpeting. One mold remediation job, one new roof, one new bathroom and countless other unexpected non-mint condition expenses later, we are finally having that elusive new carpeting installed this month.

In a society where waiting the seven or eight minutes for macaroni to boil can seem like a tedious task, five years is a mighty long time. In a culture where student loans hang around longer than the initial job they gained, paying cash for a major expense is a major accomplishment. In a house where three children younger than 10 messily reside, having something new and fresh and wonderful feels like a miracle. Ahhhh, new carpeting!

Along with new carpeting comes new responsibility. Suddenly that food-stained, peed-on, pooped-on and, yes, vomited-on (just by pets, as far as I know) layer of the house we had come to completely ignore, other than our constant disdain for it, is of the utmost prominence.

The flooring we had consciously started beating up something fierce out of total disgust now demands the most delicate of care. I’m not sure we have it in us.

We’re not ones to take our shoes off upon entering the house. Actually, my kids all do out of their own preference, but I personally can’t stand the idea of it. My big ol’ feet are prone to toe stubbing and my high arches really prefer some form of constant support. As someone who is home much of the day, putting shoes on is also as close as I have to a “getting ready for work” routine.

I may be one of the few women on Earth constantly begging her offspring to stop taking their shoes off when they come inside. It’s not as big of a deal as when they were little and I had to do all of the tying and untying, but it’s still frustrating to pop in the house for a couple of minutes and turn around to see six bare feet when it’s time to leave again. Of course, it’s not quite as frustrating as when we all walk to the car shoed, but half of us are then shoeless when we arrive at our shoes-required destination five minutes later. Oh, the shoemanity!

I’m not quite willing to live a shoe-free inside existence, but I am willing to try to take the Mister Rogers approach and re-shoe myself at the front door. I may even go cardigan; I haven’t yet decided. I know the prospect of hideous germs lurking on the floor of my family’s home should scare the dickens out of me, but my microbial bravery is twofold. One, I have to assume that the potential contaminants and I already shared space somewhere when they latched onto my shoelaces, and, two, perhaps out of sheer cleaning laziness, I subscribe much more to the “exposure builds immunity” theory than its counterpart.

Still, I have an obvious vested interest in keeping our new prized possession as clean as possible for preservation’s sake. We are at least all (and by that I mean just my husband and I) agreed that there is to be no food outside of the Pergo-clad kitchen and dining room from here on out. We mean business too, unlike our meaningless “no food in the new car” rule that didn’t live past our it’s-9pm-and-we-have-yet-to-eat-dinner drive home from the dealership.

It did, however, only take a couple of days until we decided to play our grown-up card and allow ourselves to partake in coffee over carpeted surfaces. Coffee turned out to be a gateway substance that led to Panera takeout in our bedroom a day or two later. Again, we’re adults and can eat anywhere we darn well please.

Aside from the struggle to form better carpet care habits, there isn’t a whole lot of downside to new carpeting. Our 7-year-old, who could take or leave things like birthday cake and Disney World, was beside herself with excitement in anticipation of the new carpeting. Carpet day might as well have been Christmas morning in the eyes of our middle child. The girl is “meh” about french fries and most toys but went bonkers at the prospect of multi-colored frieze in her bedroom for some reason.

It was Christmas morning for me, too. There is something about the reward at the end of an extended wait, even if it is just buying new carpeting, that makes you feel like a kid again.

TPS battles obstacles to meet computer testing mandate

By
John McCartney
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When Bob Vasquez told Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Business Manager James Gant at the February Finance Committee meeting that “if this doesn’t happen, the board will be looking to hold someone responsible,” Gant said he fully understood the enormity of the situation.

Vasquez, TPS Board of Education (BOE) member, was referring to the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) unfunded mandate that all state-required tests must be administered electronically in the 2014-15 academic year. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade will be required to take state-mandated tests using computers.

“It’s my responsibility to make sure the board is aware that if we need additional technology or additional funding — and I think this was Mr. Vasquez’s point — that it’s my responsibility to make sure they’re aware of that so that we can get what we need in order to run a successful testing period,” Gant said. “My biggest concern is to make sure that we are capable of being able to meet the needs of the district and test well when this thing is rolled out.”

 

Gant said that as of March 13, TPS has 8,000 computers for student use.

Based on Jim Gault’s explanation of the ODE’s most current recommendations, TPS will either have to purchase at least another 4,000 student computers within the next year or, as Vasquez suggested in February, “look to hire an outside service” to ensure the district has the necessary hardware to give its students the opportunity to pass the tests.

Gault, TPS’s chief academic officer, said ODE is telling districts that it recommends that school buildings with more than six grade levels, which includes all of TPS’s elementary schools, have one computer for every two students in six of the eight grade levels within each building and a 1-to-1 ratio of computers to students in the two grade levels with the highest enrollment in that same building.

‘Quite a bit away’

Gant said an analysis the district recently completed in some of its buildings indicates TPS is “quite a bit away” from establishing a 1-to-1 student-to-computer ratio.

“It’s difficult to quantify ‘quite a bit,’” Gant said, “but we did assess [the cost of providing] Arlington Elementary with a 11-to-1 ratio. That cost is approximately $60,000.”

Gault said ODE also recommends that schools with fewer than six grade levels, which includes TPS’s high schools, have a 2-to-1 students-to-computer ratio.

“We have also been working with ODE in providing an assessment of our technology to ensure … our computers have the necessary RAM (random-access memory) to perform the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) Assessments,” Gault said.

One frustration districts across the state face is ODE’s decision to release the plan piecemeal, Gault said.

“This is not all developed as of yet,” Gault said. “They are releasing more information as we go forward. In fact, they just released some additional information last week on PARCC Assessments.”

A proactive approach

Despite the uncertainty, Gault said TPS is taking a proactive approach to preparing its students for PARCC.

“The district is working diligently to be involved in any state-level pilots we can to not only test our equipment but also to allow our students the opportunity of taking an online assessment,” Gault said.

“There is a fourth-grade social studies pilot that is going to be offered this year that is online. The district is applying to pilot that. Last year, we had the opportunity to pilot the online social studies test as well. We are actively volunteering to engage in any opportunities to test our hardware with the online assessments that are coming.

Gault points to the district’s use of the STAR (Standardized Test for Assessment of Reading) test and SuccessMaker as two examples of TPS’s hands-on methodology.

“We’ve already started by getting online summative assessments like STAR that our students are utilizing in grades K through 8 as we try to get them used to that format of sitting at a computer and taking an assessment,” Gault said. “That’s a new addition of a norm-referenced test we started this year that is showing positive results academically.”

The TPS website describes SuccessMaker as instructional software that provides kindergarten through eighth-grade students with “adaptive, personalized paths for mastery of essential reading and math concepts.

“The program is highly interactive, addressing multiple learning styles and making students active participants in their learning. Many skills are presented in a game-like format, which is challenging and motivating, making students excited to use the program.”

The website has a link to the program that gives students with Internet access in their homes the ability to hone their reading and math skills.

Optimal testing conditions

Capacity is another issue TPS faces, Gault said.

“The minimum requirement is one computer for every two students,” Gault said. “That’s not optimal testing in the way this should be rolled out.

“The other thing we need to talk about is providing instruction for students to have basic keyboarding skills,” Gault said. “When you talk about second, third, fourth and fifth graders, you have to realize they’re not going to be just pointing and clicking. They’re going to have to compose at the computer screen. They’re going to have to word process. They’re going to have to be able to do some copying and editing. So those are things that are going to have to become part of our curriculum that there is not currently funding for.”

Gault said the district is studying where it may be able to include that computer instruction.

“However, one thing we have going for us is that every student at every school can use that school’s computer lab, so there are opportunities for students to learn the word processing skills they will need so that how they take the test does not interfere with their ability to demonstrate their knowledge of the material and their ability to succeed.”

Gault said he is aware that some districts have purchased “little microprocessors” for students in the lower grades to start getting used to the keys and to practice their keystrokes at home.

“We will have to discuss ways we can find opportunities for the youngest students to learn the necessary computer skills to ensure they can succeed. Those are some things that we’ll have to look at to ensure that not only do our students have the content to master these tests, but also have the technology skills [so that] that their skill levels don’t interfere with their ability to demonstrate their knowledge of the content.”

Gault also said he doesn’t believe the infrastructure exists within TPS to provide a one-to-one match. At issue is whether:

  • Computers will be wired or wireless.
  • The computers the district already owns have sufficient RAM.
  • School buildings have the capacity to be wired for today’s technology, which Gault said is much different than the technology standards in place when the buildings were assessed in 2000.
  • The district owns the required software.

New material, lengthy tests

Equal consideration must also be given to the curriculum covered in PARCC tests as well as the length of tests, Gault said.

“It’s a twofold issue school districts face,” Gault said. “Not only are we going to be doing new online assessments, but also we’re going to be testing over new material.”

That new material is the Common Core curriculum, and Gault said textbooks will be another significant issue.

“Remember, textbooks were not written for the Common Core — that’s coming,” Gault said. “That’s another issue with some of these unfunded mandates. Districts across the country are going to have to look at their textbook inventories and see if they’re aligned with the Common Core.”

Gault said ODE reports that PARCC Assessments in English language arts and math are expected to take students in grade 3 eight hours to complete, grades 4 and 5 students nine hours to complete, and those in grades 6-12 nine and one-half hours to complete.

Schools will be given a maximum of four weeks to complete the PARCC Assessments. Tests will be scheduled after students complete  approximately three-fourths of the school year.

“We can only speculate at this time, because the details and requirements of the 2014-15 tests are being released incrementally, but if I use English as an example, I would speculate that we might administer one test a day for three days,” Gault said. “There is no way children could take a 9.5 hour test in one day. Kids don’t have that kind of attention span.”

Treece: The shelf life of a record-high Dow

By
Ben Treece
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In an exciting week for traders, the Dow Jones reached new record highs multiple times. Many professionals have begun speculating how long the rally can last, and whether or not real growth in equities can be sustained in this economic environment.

Looking back to 2012, the Dow started off the year at 12,217, and pundits were spewing pessimism every chance they had. None of these experts believed that equities would see any benefit with 9.4 percent unemployment at the time and companies maintaining record levels of cash on their balance sheets.

Now, in March of 2013, the Dow has risen 18.5 percent during that time, and many investment professionals have been left scratching their heads trying to figure out what to tell their clients when asked why they were not invested in equities during the rally. During that same time frame, gold has increased from approximately $1,550/oz. to $1,598/oz., a mere 3 percent increase. Silver performed much better than gold over that same time, but rose just 7.4 percent to $29/oz. Even crude has increased only 1.3 percent, despite erratic prices at the gas pump.

With the economy still struggling to kick into full gear, many feel that this rally in equities cannot be maintained and fail to understand why stocks continue to rise. According to The Wall Street Journal, Fortune 500 companies have initiated programs that directly benefit their shareholders, such as share buybacks and issuing attractive dividends to current shareholders in an effort to entice more buyers. “American corporations also announced plans to buy back $117.8 billion of their own shares in February, the highest monthly total in records dating back to 1985,” the Journal reports. These companies include Apple, Exxon, Nordstrom, PepsiCo, Home Depot, AT&T and GE.

The cynic would look at this information and say that the rally is artificial, in no way backed up by market fundamentals. While I understand that argument, the fact remains that perception is reality, and market actions today are in anticipation of events 10-12 months down the road. However, these buybacks coupled with the March 12 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report could continue to drive shares higher in the short term. The index rose 1.9 points as small businesses started to spend cash and look to hire.

One question I often hear is, “Why would the big companies spend so much money buying their own shares as opposed to investing in property, plants and equipment, or even new workers?” As I mentioned earlier, these corporations are sitting on record amounts of cash, and they feel that at this time allocating those resources towards stock purchases is the best use of their financial assets. This also shows they have favorable opinions of their future production and expect their shares to continue to rise in the long run.

The “it can’t last forever” argument does have some merit though. We are currently in the honeymoon phase of this buyback; the news is fresh and enjoyable. I do expect to see a downturn at some point, but I believe that it will simply be a market correction as opposed to a longterm market trend.

Readers who follow these columns know that we are quite bullish on the U.S. economy in the 2-5 and 5-10 year time frames, and that we are still wary of bonds. The Dow cannot rise forever and interest rates cannot fall forever; timing is the key in this market.

Ben Treece is a 2009 graduate from the University of Miami (Fla.), BBA International Finance and Marketing. He is a partner with Treece Investment Advisory Corp (www.TreeceInvestments.com) and a stockbroker licensed with FINRA, working for Treece Financial Services Corp. The above information is the express opinion of Ben Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

Paula Hicks-Hudson voted in as new Council president

By
Erin Holden
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UPDATED: With comments from Council members and Mayor Mike Bell.

Toledo City Council elected Paula Hicks-Hudson as its new president at a special meeting Feb. 26.

Hicks-Hudson, nominated by fellow Democrat Lindsay Webb, won the vote 8-4. Republican George Sarantou was the other nominee.

The four votes for Sarantou came from himself, Tom Waniewski, who nominated him, Rob Ludeman and D. Michael Collins. Waniewski and Ludeman are Republicans and Collins is an independent. The other eight Council members are Democrats.

After the vote, Sarantou moved to make the vote unanimous and that vote was 11-1 with Waniewski voting no.

Waniewski said he kept his vote with Sarantou because he was “the right guy for that job.”

“Paula is completely competent, without question, but George was the right guy,” Waniewski said, adding that he’s frustrated by members’ continued unwillingness to cross party lines.

Sarantou, who is term-limited for Council at the end of this year, said he accepted the decision.

“Council had to make a decision and I respect that and I wish President Hicks-Hudson the very best,” Sarantou said. “We live in a democracy.”

The special session was held before Council’s regular agenda review and a week after the Feb. 19 Council meeting at which Joe McNamara stepped down as Council president days after announcing he would run for mayor. But after  a protracted session during which five votes failed to receive the needed seven majority, Council adjourned without choosing a new president. As determined by a rotating schedule, Councilman Shaun Enright served as president pro tempore for the week.

McNamara said he resigned as president because he wanted to keep political differences between himself and Mayor Mike Bell, who is planning to run for re-election, from affecting the work of City Council. Webb said things were “very tense” between Bell and the Council after McNamara officially entered the race Feb. 12.

Nominees for president at the Feb. 19 meeting were Hicks-Hudson, Sarantou and Adam Martinez.

Martinez, who was nominated by McNamara, said he decided to bow out of the race and support Hicks-Hudson.

“It certainly was never my intent for it to go as far as it did,” Martinez said. “On Thursday (Feb. 21) … I reached out to fellow colleagues to kind of stop the hemorrhaging and move forward together. We have bigger, more important issues than the presidency so I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page.

“I’m extremely excited for her,” Martinez added. “I think she will do a phenomenal job.”

Hicks-Hudson, of District 4, became a Council member Jan. 11, 2011, after Council voted her in to replace Michael Ashford. The attorney later ran for and won her position.

After being sworn in, Hicks-Hudson said she and the Council would “work as a unit and work together to make sure that we take care of the people’s business.”

“It’s an opportunity to serve the people and to help Council become stronger,” Hicks-Hudson later added. “Not that we will always agree, but we want to be working toward a common goal. I think most of us that work in this particular position are doing it because we care about the city.”

She said her experience in state and local government and especially her background as a lawyer are what set her apart from other nominees and will serve her well as president.

“I’ve been working within city government not only as a lawyer but also as a legislative director and I think that is an addition that my predecessors didn’t have,” Hicks-Hudson said.

Bell said he looks forward to working with Hicks-Hudson as president.

“Paula is a very seasoned individual in governmental affairs. She’s done time with the city, she’s done time with the state and I think she’ll be an excellent president,” Bell said, adding that he didn’t foresee any difficulties in working with her.

“Absolutely not. It will be a pleasure,” Bell said. “We may not always agree on things, but she’s very logical in her thinking.”

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