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The Kitchen Salon offers resource for ‘Afro-textured’ hair

By
Toledo Free Press
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Megan Yasu Davis of Kitchen Salon. Photo courtesy Megan Yasu Davis.

Megan Yasu Davis created The Kitchen Salon to help address common issues with African-American hair care, styling and maintenance and educate people about the care of natural hair.

“The Kitchen Salon was birthed from my personal passion to share with others how beautiful, healthy and versatile natural hair can be,” Davis said.

Started in 2007 as a blog, The Kitchen Salon is now an online natural hair care resource and events company. The website contains information about caring for and styling natural, chemical-free, curly hair.

“The ‘Kitchen’ refers to the place where I spent my childhood getting my hair heat-pressed and styled.  It also refers to the area of hair near the nape of the neck that curls up the most,” Davis said. “The ‘Salon’ refers to the gathering place where women would convene and discuss current events, life challenges, joys and concerns.”

The Kitchen Salon organizes workshops and presentations.

“I have always done some type of gathering for small groups or one-on-one consultations, teaching others how to transition from chemically straightened hair to natural hair. My workshops went from one to five attendees to as many as 80 in one setting,” Davis said. “Each meet-up is different. Some are purely educational and some are social while learning is still a part of the event. I want the attendees to empower each other by sharing real experiences with one another.”

The Kitchen Salon will be at the Mott Branch Library, 1085 Dorr St., at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 for a workshop called Mott Mane Mondays: Hair Health & Harvest Party.

“Every fourth Monday we meet up and discuss natural hair care, style, common issues and learn new things about accessorizing,” Davis said. “We also explore product information and discover natural hair care through videos and others’ testaments of their own experiences.”

Davis uses a variety of tools for presentations from slide shows to showing videos on the projector to demonstrating styles and techniques.

“I allow attendees a chance to try the styles on their own hair, on each other or the mannequin as well, so they can feel for themselves,” Davis said.

Davis decided to style her hair naturally in 1997.

“I struggled with self-esteem for most of my life and going natural was one of the decisions I made that seemed authentic to the woman I was, buried underneath the pain and anguish of abuse and emotional distress,” Davis said.

While some myths and stereotypes deem natural hair as unkempt, unclean and frightening, Davis’ goal is to educate others with visuals, hands-on learning and literature.

“I want to show how untrue those ideas are of Afro-textured hair,” Davis said.

Davis is not the only one following this trend. According to naturallycurly.com, in recent years African-American women have been trending toward natural styling rather than relaxing their hair. Reasons cited range from the cost of the products to the hazardous chemicals found in relaxers to simply a renewed appreciation for the style.

When Davis decided to share her story, it inspired others to share theirs and “the community of ‘naturals’ grew and expanded in our area,” Davis said. “I see my business as a valuable resource to the local community because it enriches the lives of those who choose to wear their hair natural, offering greater options while coming to understand the nature of very curly hair.”

Davis’ typical clients are African-American females between the ages of 25 and 55.

“They are mothers, students or professionals. Many of them have been natural for a long time and just want to learn more, some have been natural a short period of time, but are afraid to wear their own hair out so they wear a form of extensions. And then there are those who wish to transition from chemically straightened, relaxed hair to natural hair and need guidance on how to do so as smoothly as possible without disturbing their confidence,” Davis said.

Davis also helps those who adopt children of African descent and need advice or assistance.

“I provide information on how often to wash their hair and what styling options are available for them, for example,” Davis said.

In 2011, The Kitchen Salon established The Northwest Ohio Natural Hair & Beauty Expo, which drew more than 400 guests and offered vendors, food, live performances of poetry, singers and traditional African drumming as well as workshops on various topics concerning natural hair care.

TaLisa Frazier attended the inaugural expo and was impressed.

“I had just done the big chop and was very eager to learn about my hair and how to properly manage it,” Frazier said. “I made sure to visit every vendor table, bought jewelry and whipped shea butter, met a hair braider and had my hair steamed to perfection by the lovely Mrs. Powell. While musicians and poets performed, people were buying products and having their hair twisted by fellow naturals sitting around the water fountain. It was beautiful and I felt very proud to be a part of an event with such amazing culture — my culture!”

Davis hopes to one day to open a school specializing in Afro-textured hair.

“Because I prefer not to style others’ hair, I refer them to local stylists who can care for their hair, but I do wish to open a natural hair care school where students can actually get certified to style natural hair without having to go through 1,500 hours of school that teaches almost nothing about Afro-textured hair,” Davis said.

Earlier this year, Davis developed her own natural hair and skin care product line that includes certified organic ingredients purchased from local small businesses and created in her home kitchen.

“The line consists of a moisturizing cream made with shea butter, shea butter body lotion for eczema, herbal scalp balm made with tea tree and rosemary, shea butter lip balm, hydrating mist made with aloe vera and coconut oil blend that is great for dry scalp and hot oil treatments,” Davis said.

“Be true to your hair or it will be false to you! I will have to trademark that, but it is just so true,” Davis said. “If you love it, it will be manifested in the way your hair looks and feels.”

For more information, visit the websites www.thekitchensalon.com. and www.thenaturalexpo.com.

Children’s Dyslexia Center addresses area need

By
Toledo Free Press
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Becky Berry, left, parent of a child with dyslexia, with Diane McCreery of the Children’s Dyslexia Center. Toledo Free Press photo by Morgan Delp.

Thirteen-year-old Mariam Fneiche has read more than 30 books this year alone and volunteers for the Holland branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library’s teen reading program.

“She’s a readoholic,” said her mom, Yvonne Fneiche. “At any given time, she probably has four or five (books) going.”

But Mariam has not always found reading so enjoyable. Mariam has dyslexia, which caused her to struggle in school before she received help from the Children’s Dyslexia Center in Maumee, a free tutoring center sponsored by the Scottish Rite Masons, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.

Struggling to succeed

“When she was 1, she knew all her colors. She was very, very bright,” Yvonne said. “My mom was dyslexic, I’m dyslexic and I started seeing some tendencies in kindergarten that she was dyslexic. So I talked to her kindergarten teacher. I said, ‘This is our history, this is what I’m seeing. Please keep an eye on it because I know now there are things that can be done.’”

At Central Elementary in Sylvania, Mariam’s teachers assured Yvonne her daughter was normal and it wasn’t uncommon to have word and letter reversals in first grade. But Yvonne said Mariam continued having trouble in school and her reading level dropped.

“I started having her tested. Her IQ in first grade was 120, which is on the superior level. But for her not to be able to read and do sounds as a normal child would, I saw some of the flags. It took her four years to learn to tie her shoes. She was always very bright and learned everything very quickly so it was frustrating,” Yvonne said. “Her spelling was horrendous. We would study her words all week and she’d get barely enough to pass the test and the next week it was all forgotten, like it didn’t exist.”

During her second-grade summer, Mariam was tested and found to be in the highest risk level for dyslexia. In third grade, she began tutoring with a reading intervention specialist who had previously worked at Children’s Dyslexia Center.

When Mariam was accepted into Children’s Dyslexia Center in fourth grade, her tutor incorporated and expanded on the strategies Mariam had received from the intervention specialist.

“Mariam went from being below state standard to [above],” Yvonne said. “Within the first three months, I saw a change, a blossoming. Before, doing homework was a nightmare; it was so horrible. The tears, the frustration. The ‘I can’t do it’ started to become the ‘All right I’ll try it.’ Now, she can do anything. She really can. And that’s not just me saying that, it’s her saying that.”

Mariam an eighth-grader at Timberstone Junior High School, has had straight A’s in reading and other subjects since the end of the first year of her two-year program at the center.

“(The program) changed the dynamic of our relationship a lot,” Yvonne said. “It was really hard, having to force her to do something that I knew was almost beyond her reach. Then when she went to the center, it transformed her and it’s transformed our relationship too. One of the things I’m most proud about is she’ll go on the grade system and monitor her own grades and her own progress.”

Yvonne believed in the program’s effectiveness so much that she sent her youngest child, 8-year-old Adam, to the center as well. He is now in his second year there. Already, Yvonne said Adam has caught up an entire year to the reading level at which he is supposed to be.

Multisensory approach

Diane McCreery, director of the Children’s Dyslexia Center for the past 11 years, said the key to the center’s success is the Orton-Gillingham methodology, which the specially trained tutors use to help dyslexic children from across the Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan area.

“We use a multisensory approach to teaching, reading and spelling. We use all of the senses — visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile,” McCreery said. “We use repetition to help them retain the information. One of the things people don’t understand about dyslexia is that telling them once in class does not do it. They need repetition, repetition, repetition.”

McCreery said children ages 7-12 attend one-hour sessions twice a week after school at the center, which recently moved to the former Union Elementary School building after months of uncertainty regarding the center’s future location.

The center is in such demand there has been a waiting list to get in the program, which has a limit of 36 members, McCreery said.

Ohio legislation

Becky Berry, a former learning tutor with Toledo Public Schools and parent of a child with dyslexia, said there isn’t sufficient help for dyslexic students in Ohio’s public school systems, including those in the Toledo area.

Other disabilities can be mistaken for dyslexia, which makes it hard for students to receive the correct assistance, Berry and McCreery said. Another reason students are not helped is because special education teachers are not all trained in the Orton-Gillingham method, Berry said.

“Teachers who are trained in special ed do not always know the signs to recognize [dyslexia],” Berry said.

However, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is hoping to change that this school year.

In December, the Ohio Senate passed two bills that aim to improve the state’s response to dyslexia. House Bills 96 and 157 provide a concrete definition for dyslexia and dyslexia specialists and allow for the implementation of specialists to train teachers and administrators. The bills also provide for a three-year pilot program for early detection and remediation of dyslexic students in a handful of Ohio school districts.

Eight school districts — none in Northwest Ohio — were selected for the pilot program after an email was sent to all school districts in the state that receive the ODE’s special education newsletter, asking interested districts to apply. A variety of rural, urban and suburban schools were chosen.

Wendy Stoica, assistant director of the ODE Office for Exceptional Children, said Rossford Exempted Village Schools was the only local school district to apply.

Dawn Fahsholtz, director of special services for Rossford, said the district already has procedures and interventions in place and applied for the pilot to improve upon its dyslexia prevention program.

“Basically, we want to close the achievement gap so we don’t have to refer students to special ed,” Fahsholtz said. “We’re trying to take care of [the problem] with general education and interventions.”

Stoica said the pilot program goes hand in hand with the state’s initiative to improve the literacy of elementary school students. The schools that were chosen have a variety of programs currently in place, so the ODE’s goal is to determine what works best and how best to implement the programs, Stoica said.

“The goal is to reduce future special education costs. By early intervention with a system that addresses struggling readers, we are hoping to reduce their eligibility as children with disabilities,” Stoica said.

Celina City Schools was one of the districts chosen. Special Education Director Nancy Hartings said the district already uses READ, a multisensory reading intervention program. Teachers for kindergarten through sixth grade are trained in the program.

“We have been a district striving to get a multisensory reading program in place for the last three years,” Hartings said. “We thought, ‘Oh, what a way to put a feather in our cap and take us to that next step.’”

TPS responds

Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Chief Academic Officer Jim Gault said the district was not contacted about the pilot program, but is willing and hoping to participate in future programs. TPS doesn’t screen specifically for dyslexia, but screens for reading disabilities whenever a teacher or parent asks for it or believes there’s a problem, Gault said.

“I’m not necessarily worried about identifying students (as dyslexic) because I think our process identifies students, but what I’d like to do is label dyslexia as the cause and get more services and treatments for it, in terms of actual symptoms the children have,” Gault said.

Gault said his biggest concern was for students with mild cases.

“For students with severe cases, we’re easily able to identify those; they will be captured with testing. My concern is for the student with mild dyslexia — not to the extent that they qualify for services but still need additional support to be successful; the students with C’s and D’s that are capable of better grades that don’t qualify for services. I will be looking forward to seeing the pilot,” Gault said.

Gault said TPS is looking into putting its own plan together.

“Let’s look at the pilot [and] at the number of schools in the district and what is being done to … ensure dyslexia can be overcome,” Gault said. “We will look at our practices and what we can do to be on the forefront. … The goal is to provide the support to allow students to be in a regular curriculum and be successful.”

“Let’s not be the last school in the area to jump on the bandwagon and help these children,” Berry said.

Barhite: Lake Twp. murders reinforce importance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By
Brandi Barhite
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The purple that stands for Domestic Violence Awareness Month is often overshadowed by a sea of pink for breast cancer.

This year, the presidential election — and the Detroit Tigers’ run for the World Series — serve as yet other distractions.

On Oct. 16, when many people were watching the debate or the American League Championship Series game, three people, including a 3-year-old, were killed during a domestic violence dispute in Lake Township.

In the middle of all this, I noticed a Facebook post asking for prayers as the tragedy unfolded in the apartment complex.

I tried to get some additional news, but local media outlets were focused on the Obama/Romney brouhaha.

Later, I learned that three people had been killed. Before being shot by police, Jorge Duran shot and killed his ex-girlfriend Amber Jones and their son.

I was the first to tell Nancy Neylon, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, about these latest domestic violence victims. Based in Columbus, she hadn’t heard the news yet.

Neylon said anyone who sees, hears or suspects domestic violence should call law enforcement, even if it seems small or just yelling.

“If you see something that is potentially dangerous, you could get killed,” Neylon said. “It is really important that you call law enforcement.”

Don’t worry about getting involved in someone else’s business or wasting a police officer’s time. People rarely hesitate to call when seeing other types of crimes, she said.

“Your civic duty is to make a call to law enforcement. How bad do you feel if someone gets killed or badly injured?” she said.

“It is better to call than to do nothing.”

Neylon said domestic violence awareness doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, but the presidential election should be a chance for additional dialogue.

“Frankly, the election gives us an opportunity to highlight the needs of women,” Neylon said. “I would have loved one of [the candidates] to say domestic violence is an economic issue, as well as fair pay, as well as access to health care.”

When a woman is in a relationship, her partner could be controlling the finances, which is a tactic of abusers, she said. Sometimes the batterers sabotage the women at work or don’t allow them to get a job — or even an education.

Neylon knew of one woman whose husband urinated on all of her professional clothes before a big business meeting, hence putting her job in jeopardy.

If the woman does leave, the abuse doesn’t necessarily end. Many abusers will continue to visit and harass the woman, she said, which affects everyone in the family.

This makes domestic violence awareness just as important as breast cancer research. Both need a cure.

There is a lot of pink out there, which is good, but we would like to add some purple, Neylon said.

Sharp: We are not safer or sounder than we were in 2008

By
Kenneth Sharp
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Each presidential election we are supposed to reflect upon the past term and decide if we are better off than we were in order to decide our future course. Without debating how much power a president is supposed to have in the course of our lives, there are really just two issues to look at — financial well-being and security from external threats.

The actions of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, and many executive branch agencies had put our nation’s economy at risk by the time Obama was elected.  The first of the bailouts (crony capitalism) and quantitative easing (QE) were already under way. It was and is bipartisan. They didn’t work. So they went for a second helping, this time under President Obama’s sole leadership. It didn’t work; now we are at QE3.

Essentially, we are printing money in an effort to add liquidity to the market and stimulate lending and spending.

When each dollar printed is not supported by a good or service provided by the marketplace, it dilutes the dollars that are. In other words, our dollars are worth less. Prices then rise on the uncertainty of what the actual value of each dollar is. If you or I attempted to add value without backing it by a good or service, it would be criminal (think counterfeiting). Government is allowed to do this very thing. How it affects the market is the same whether it is legal or illegal. Over the four years we have all had to pay more for our food and energy, the things we can’t avoid.

With Obama we have more czars, unelected bureaucratic heads under the sole direction of the president. These powerful and largely unaccountable persons have added reams of regulations and costs to businesses. These people are one of the largest reasons for lobbyists. Congress could be a check, except congresspersons generally benefit from the lobbyists. These regulators do not affect just large corporations. For example, they have raided small farms for selling raw milk and other products. We are all hurt at all levels of commerce. Our options and liberties have shrunk.

I can’t explain the insanity behind excitement at 7.8 percent unemployment numbers better than Gary Rathbun did last week in this paper (“7.8% — Really?” Oct. 14), so I won’t. Please read it.

Under the current administration we have reaped the results of the expansion of an operation, begun under Bush, at our southern border. It is known as “Fast and Furious,” where we supplied guns to drug cartels. It has left numerous dead, including at least one American. Attorney General Eric Holder, the man in charge, has not been forthcoming, nor has it made us safer. The president claimed no direct knowledge.

In Libya, we had four Americans slain in a coordinated attack. Requests for additional security amid escalating violence and threats were denied by the State Department.

Again it is claimed the president had no direct knowledge.

Even if it is reasonable that he had no direct knowledge, his choices as to who is in charge are certainly suspect. Our president is not responsible just for the actions he is directly involved in but also for those where he has delegated the responsibility.

The Transportation Security Administration has repeatedly made news for alleged mistreatment of passengers at airports and its highly questionable hiring practices. In the name of security we are to put up with egregious violations of our bodies and liberties. This will likely infuriate many, but we need to look at this correctly. The enemy, and yes there is one, does not act erratically. They see themselves as rational and moral under their tenets. Their targets are intentional and strategic. Their means are calculated. It is sad and horrific that, to them, a strategic target could be a 14-year-old girl in Pakistan. Their means cannot be condoned or tolerated. But, if they wanted to simply inflict casualties they could do that easily in a number of open-access areas in the U.S. They used planes as missiles. That won’t happen again. They will not gain access to the cockpit. Enhanced searches of children and leukemia patients and hiring sexual predators to do

pat-downs will not make us safer.

The expansion of the National Defense Authorization Act that allows for the indefinite detention and assassination of American citizens, and the use of drones that have killed civilians abroad while targeting terrorists, will not make us safer. It is a small minority in the Muslim world that threatens us; we must not enlarge their power while weakening the very values we seek to protect.

Our borders, our money and our values are not safer or sounder. Obama and Romney agree on all the above topics. Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson does not.

Green Party’s Nestor: Third-party candidates relegated to ‘political ghetto’

By
Toledo Free Press
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Sean Nestor is Lucas County Green Party co-chairman and Secretary of the Ohio Green Party.

Toledo Free Press: Dr. Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate for president of the United States with running mate Cheri Honkala. Why haven’t the American voters heard from Stein or the other third-party candidates in the presidential debates? How is this representative of the current state of our democracy?

Sean Nestor: There are a number of discreet laws and policies in place which are intentionally designed to relegate third parties to a political ghetto. If you’re a third-party candidate who wishes to be on the ballot, you’ll be asked to gather tens of thousands of signatures in a very short time frame.

In spite of these obstacles, third parties like the Greens and Libertarians are on the ballot in most states. However, both [Stein] and Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, have been completely shut out of the presidential debates on flagrantly partisan grounds. This is because the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has put on the presidential debates since 1988, is openly just a collaboration between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Sean Nestor

The end result of all this is that many voters write off third-party candidates. We effectively are provided with precisely one party more than a Soviet state. It’s remarkable that so many can see how having consumer options is a demonstration of our economic freedom, yet seem not to apply that same principle to our elections.

TFP: We hear many voters are dissatisfied with Obama’s presidency and have lost their “hope”for him, so to speak, yet won’t vote for a candidate they better align with because Obama will be “better” than Romney. What do you have to say to these “I’m choosing the lesser of two evils” voters?

Nestor: As someone with an engineering background, I can’t help but reject the circular logic of not voting for a candidate simply because they “can’t win.” They can’t win because you won’t vote for them because they can’t win because you won’t vote for them because … ad nauseam. It’s a self-defeating argument that I think is proffered more to rationalize a hesitance to go down the relatively unbeaten path of third-party politics and continue along the tried, true and terrible. I know it’s not an easy decision for people to make, but more people are doing it all the time — and I do think it carries the greatest potential to effect real and positive change.

TFP: Does a candidate outside of the two-party system have a chance at winning a presidency? What’s the point of running a candidate with the Green Party if she’s not going to win?

Nestor: Anything is possible. The Republicans were a third party until Lincoln was elected on a then-radical abolitionist platform. There are many practical reasons to put your vote behind a third-party candidate for the presidency. In Ohio, our recognition as a party is contingent upon our state-wide candidates receiving 1 percent of the popular vote each election cycle.

There is also the matter of opening access to federal funding, which the Democrats and Republicans have enjoyed for years. If we receive 5 percent of the popular vote nationwide, by law our party will be entitled to about $20 million in federal funds next election, which would be a game-changer since Greens have a policy of not accepting any kind of PAC or union money in campaigns — only individual contributions.

I think it’s a matter of looking at the long run and wanting to win a real democracy rather than just a single election.

TFP: In 2011 you ran for Toledo City Council as a Green in District 6, and I know you have spent a lot of time getting to know the local Board of Elections (BOE). How are third parties received in Toledo?

Nestor: From an individual perspective, I’ve been treated wonderfully. From a systemic perspective, I’m ancillary and a nuisance. If I want to sign up to be a poll worker or apply for a job at the BOE, I have to declare myself a Democrat or a Republican and work under an official who is committed to that party. Across Ohio, only 12.97 percent of voters are registered as Democrats, and 18.27 percent are registered as Republicans, and 68.62 percent have no declared party affiliation. The moment you want to participate in civic processes, you are forced to take sides in a two-party system that has no explicit overarching legal foundation. Coupled with our consistently dismal voter turnout, I see an America that desperately wants to hear more choices than what it’s being provided.

As Jill Stein has said, “The politics of fear have given us everything we’re afraid of.”

ODE releases district report cards; TPS moves down

By
Brigitta Burks
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The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released preliminary “report card” data, rating individual schools and their districts on Oct. 17. Some local schools have reason to celebrate, while others may have reason to worry in the midst of election season.

Toledo Public Schools was downgraded this year from a continuous improvement rating to academic watch. Its performance index rating was 81.8 out of 120, down just 1.3 points from 83.1 last school year.

“A 1.3 (change) is very minor in the scheme of things. It represents about 300 students, not that they’re not important,” said TPS Superintendent Jerome Pecko, adding that he does hope to get the index score to the 90s.

Pecko said that the breakdown of scoring is not that different from TPS’ continuous improvement rating last year. However, if a district fails to meet ODE’s “value-added” expectations three years in a row, the district is downgraded. Value-added criteria measure how a student’s performance grows year to year and is based on certain reading/math tests for grades 4-8. This is the third year that TPS did not meet value-added criteria. An 81.8 would usually be in the continuous improvement category.

“Our report card looks exactly the same as it did last year because nothing’s changed very much. A 1.3 decline is probably right around 1 percent,” Pecko said.

Jerome Pecko

Part of the reason for not meeting those criteria could be settling into the district’s transformation plan, which saw middle schools being eliminated to create K-8 schools. Research shows that K-8 schools benefit the students, Pecko said.

In addition, 98 administrators were assigned to new positions, 122 new teachers were hired, 300 teachers changed grade levels or are new teachers and 3,500 students attended new schools because of redistricting.

“It is a clear demonstration of what happens when you rebuild your house and that’s exactly what TPS has done through the transformation,” said School Board President Lisa Sobecki.

During talks with the community about the transformation plan, “We let them all know that there could be a dip in our grade card, but we were hoping there would not be, but there could be,” she said. “We have had a lot of shakeup.”

This November, TPS is asking voters to approve a 4.9-mill, 10-year operating levy.

Scores to level out

Sobecki said that she was approached with concerns about the levy and report card data Oct. 17, but thinks that people understood the situation after she explained it.

Pecko and Sobecki said they believe the scores will level out as students and teachers adjust to the new plan.

“You implement anything new, it takes three solid years to be able to see those gains happen and I think we’re going to see great strides,” Sobecki said. The district also aims to have an effective rating by 2015.

The district had a graduation rate of 62.4 percent and an attendance rate of 94.3. It met four of the 26 state indicators.

Individual schools also received ratings. Of the TPS schools, five were excellent, seven were effective, 19 were at continuous improvement, eight were at academic watch and 10 were at academic emergency.

Perrysburg schools ‘excellent’

Perrysburg Local Schools has a 13.15-mill levy up and received an excellent with distinction rating with a performance index of 105.8, up from 105.6 last year. It has a graduation rate of 93.5 percent, an attendance rate of 96.9 percent and met all 26 indicators.

“This is our 12th year of being excellent or better,” said Kadee Anstadt, executive director of teaching and learning. “Every year, we get a little better so that bar is set a little higher.”

Anstadt attributed some of that success to the district’s academic options program. Before school, junior high students spend 25 minutes with a teacher. What they learn is based on their strengths or weaknesses and falls into one of three categories: intervention, challenge or enrichment.

Despite the district’s success, Anstadt said she would celebrate for about “10 seconds” before moving onto another goal — improving science test scores for the elementary schools.

Community schools

Community schools were also measured. The Maritime Academy of Toledo jumped from an academic watch rating of 78.3 in performance index to an excellent rating of 90.2. Graduation rates were 47.8 percent, attendance was at 96.1 percent and the school met nine  out of 19 state indicators.

Superintendent Renee Marazon said improvements were made across the board, including for special education students. The school also received a value-added bump for advancing students more than one grade level on tests.

The school decided that to “initiate a strategy to move our kids forward in a more intentional way,” Marazon said.

This strategy included after-school programs and 30 minutes of test prep every day, using a practice test to allow students to see what areas they could improve on.

“We’re going to show that we’re going to continue on this path. We’re going to move toward excellence with distinction,” Marazon said. Maritime also has longer school days and enforces a code of conduct.

“You must be studious. You must have a passion to learn. The students themselves have to be intentional in what they’re doing,” said Marazon of succeeding at the school that refers to students as “cadets.”

She said one area she would like to improve on is graduation rates, but that might be something community schools need to address together.

“Community schools have a huge transient population. That’s going to be some skewed data,” she said.

Mobile population

Pecko also said that TPS has a mobile student population and graduation rates were calculated using a four-year standard for the first time this year.

The ratings of Lucas County school districts for 2011-12 are as follows: Anthony Wayne Local at excellent with distinction, Maumee at excellent, Oregon at effective, Ottawa Hills Local at excellent, Springfield Local at excellent with distinction. Sylvania at excellent with distinction and Washington Local at excellent.

Last year, ODE released official report cards in late August. The State Board of Education delayed their release this year because of an ongoing investigation by the state auditor into allegations of data manipulation by some school districts, according to a news release.

All the data is considered preliminary. An official report will likely be released around the first of the year, according to an ODE spokesman.

For more information, visit http://education.ohio.gov.

Pounds: Court sides

By
Tom Pounds
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After consulting with a number of local attorneys and people familiar with our courts, we have found some consistent and interesting arguments for candidates in the upcoming Nov. 6 elections.

Justice of the Supreme Court: Consensus is that Terrence O’Donnell is a good justice and should prevail over Mike Skindell, who is well thought of, but we are told he has no judicial experience.

Justice of the Supreme Court: We back William O’Neil and his perspective on not taking money from those litigants who might appear in front of him, and he has the necessary experience. However, we have been urged by some attorney acquaintances that “Justice Robert R. Cupp has done a good job and you don’t change horses without a reason.”

Justice of the Supreme Court: Yvette McGee Brown, a political appointment of former Gov. Ted Strickland (she was his 2010 running mate), has not served on the bench for roughly 10 years. We are told she never practiced law other than for the government, which some may consider a negative. Brown was the first African-American to become a Supreme Court Justice in Ohio, and many believe her life experience brings a needed perspective to Ohio’s highest court. She is running against Sharon Kennedy, who was endorsed by the Toledo Chamber of Commerce. Kennedy is a sitting judge who practiced privately, though it really is a shame that neither Brown nor Kennedy has court of appeals experience. Our sources urge a vote for Kennedy.

Lucas County Court of Common Pleas: Myron Duhart has performed well enough to retain his seat. We are told he appears to have the ability and personality to be a good judge. A number of our business community friends, especially Republicans, are supporting Ken Phillips. Phillips also came highly recommended by our source, but they maintain the “don’t change horses without a reason” philosophy and recommend Duhart.

Running unopposed for Lucas County Court of Common Pleas are James D. Jensen (who was opposed in the primary), Stacy Cook, David Lewandowski, James D. Bates, Connie F. Zemmelman, Linda J. Jennings and Gary G. Cook.

As one of our sources said, “It is a sad day that none of the other common pleas court judges have any competition. Contested elections have a tendency to keep judges grounded in the real world (having to be nice to people). After running a couple of times unopposed, their robes tend to get so tight that it cuts off the circulation to their brain.”

Clerk of Court of Common Pleas: Veteran Democrat J. Bernie Quilter is a clear, experienced, competent choice over Republican challenger Constantine Stamos. In other related races, prosecutor Julia Bates and sheriff candidate John Tharp are running unopposed.

 

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. 

Rathbun: Business owners, be aware

By
Gary Rathbun
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In the past several months, several new disclosure rules have been put in place for business owners who have a pension and/or profit-sharing plan. The rules revolve around disclosing the actual fees and expenses that are deducted from a participant’s account. The business owner/employer, in his fiduciary role, is responsible for gathering the information and disseminating it to his employees on a quarterly basis, no later than Nov. 14.

These rules are intended to provide the participant with more information about the fees and expenses associated with his or her account. Personally, I think this is a good thing; more information is usually better in making long-term decisions. Additionally, a 1 or 2 percent difference in expenses over the working life of an employee can make a significant difference to the ending value of the account at retirement.

The rules, of course, have a lot of details about how the information is presented. The delivery of investment-related information must be in a format that enables employees to “meaningfully compare” investment options in their plan.

The plan fiduciaries, that is the employer, must use “standard methodologies” when calculating and disclosing expense and return information, thus facilitating an “apples-to-apples” comparison.

A second rule that goes into effect is a different disclosure of information that is to be made available to the plan fiduciaries. (Yes, no matter what anyone else tells you, you as the employer are a fiduciary on the plan to your employees.) This disclosure is from your service provider to the plan fiduciary regarding all their agreements and compensation.

Your duty, as the employer and fiduciary, is to determine whether the agreements and compensation of your service provider are reasonable. Although this may sound like a difficult task with very little basis for reference, the fact is, this is a very difficult task with very little basis for reference.

Most employers have no idea what this benchmarking entails and what the penalties are for failing to do this and documenting the results. They certainly don’t get much help from the person who sold them the plan.

Most people in my business are simply salesmen who don’t really know what it means to be a fiduciary, let alone agree to be a co-fiduciary in writing. Many people think that fiduciary is one of the seven words you can’t say on television.

The truth is that this is where the solution for employers can be found, i.e., with an adviser who truly specializes in these plans, who knows not only how to follow the rules but has worked directly with the regulators to solve problems and is willing to take on the responsibility of being a co-fiduciary with the employer.

The Department of Labor has hired more than 500 new enforcement agents to look at employer plans and conduct audits. Are you ready? Have you done an internal audit on your plan to prepare for the Dept. of Labor? Do you know what your fiduciary responsibility entails? Does your adviser share in the responsibility in writing? Have you created an ongoing process to stay in compliance?

Interestingly, we have already been involved with several plans that have been audited and have worked with the Dept. of Labor and the employer to satisfy requirements. It won’t be fun if you are not prepared.

All of these new rules are geared to benefit and protect your employees. I think the process is good because it continues to lay the groundwork for less dependence on Social Security and more on private funds. The bad thing is that it does put more responsibility on the employer and some employers will simply say that the plan is not worth it and not provide a plan at all.

Additionally, the penalties for not fulfilling this responsibility are severe and cannot be brushed off as something to deal with when or if it happens. Prepare for the Department of Labor requesting information and do a self-audit with a qualified professional adviser now.

 

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD. He can be reached at (419) 842-0334 or email him at [email protected].

Baumhower: Tigers’ run is much more than just sport

By
Toledo Free Press
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I thought out loud, “Please don’t send in Papa Grande. JV has got them to the ninth, please Jim, no Papa Grande.”

Then Jimmy Leyland walked out to the mound with one out in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, to take the ball from his ace. As the skipper began his slow trek, he lifted his left arm, notifying Phil Coke that his services were needed. My prayers were immediately answered.

My family room has become more of a church lately, except for the occasional excessive swearing, where my son and I pray to the baseball gods with simple requests like, “Please give Delmon Young the strength to not swing at the first pitch,” or “Please give the skipper the ability to hear my thoughts and the courage to follow my every direction.”

My La-Z-Boy, soiled with beer stains following blown saves in the American League Division Series, acts like a very comfortable pew and nearby wood acts as an “anti-jinxing” knocking place. The rules of the church and my family room are very similar. Do not talk during the game unless directly asked a question. Yelling is allowed during appropriate moments. Cursing is allowed at any age level if done immediately and without proper thought. If you or your actions “jinx” the Tigers, you will be excommunicated from the Baumhower family forever or until your jinxing has been reversed.

In 1984, a 9-year-old version of myself was given the equivalent of “baseball crack” as the Tigers had the dream season. PASS Sports filled our living room almost every night, an additional cable purchase that I still have no idea how my dad got approved by my mom. I remember wanting to eat  only Lay’s Potato Chips because they came with a circular, exclusive Tigers’ baseball card. Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, Chet Lemon and Lance Parrish were a huge part of my family that year and became a part of the fabric of my life. Then a magical thing happened and the Tigers beat the Padres to win the World Series.

The next year came and I was convinced the Tigers would win it again but somehow they came up short. This trend has continued ever since, with some occasional moments of hope, like 1987, 2006 and last year.

The 2006 World Series appearance and loss to the St. Louis Cardinals was a breakthrough in my life and family. After numerous disappointing seasons through the 1990s and of course the dismal 2003 season, I had sworn off baseball. I was married, we had a young son who was struggling to communicate (we had just  been given the diagnosis of the “A” word for him) and had his baby sister.

Baseball seemed almost a waste of time, as it distracted me from fatherly duties. Having a 4-year-old son with obvious social issues can give any father concerns; my biggest fear was that this sweet-souled boy would be bullied when he went to school.

Then it happened. I stumbled upon a Tigers game and it caught his eye. He was mesmerized. This excitement snowballed into an immediate shopping spree at Dick’s, and our game of catch began. Then the greatest thing occurred. Our game of catch turned into conversation and ultimately an obsession. The progress he made from memorizing baseball card stats, which he actually was reading, to imitating Mario Impemba’s play-by-play was the breakthrough we were praying for. The 2006 World Series was a turning point for him, almost a confirmation of his love. The game, in fact the very team, that was a huge part of my childhood was now a huge part of his.

I had often explained to women that the Detroit Tigers were my mistress, but in actuality they have always been a part of my family. Some families “summer” in Maine, the Carolinas or Florida. We “summer” in the “D.”

I have no idea what to do if 2012 becomes the year of the Tigers.  I had always hoped my son would witness such a special year, so he would be cursed for life as a Tigers fan, as I was in 1984. The moment feels incredibly closer than in the 28 previous years. I honestly think I would cry a little if it happened — probably a lot. I know for some it is only a game, a “pastime,” but for some of us, it is much more.

Nov. 1 will mark the one-year anniversary of my son’s Papa Bob’s passing. He was a man who shared his love of the Tigers with his grandson, confirming it was OK for men to love a team or a sport. Nov. 1 is also the scheduled date of Game 7 of this year’s World Series. My religious beliefs have evolved from my Catholic upbringing to a loose self-fitting set of thoughts. I choose to believe in karma, signs and that everything happens for a reason.

There will be no greater test of my faith than if the Tigers are in a Game 7 scenario, because I know someone  upstairs will be pulling strings for his grandson.

I wanted to dedicate these words to the memory of those Tigers fans who couldn’t wait the 28 years to see this. I know they are helping from somewhere, where ever you believe them to be.

God bless these boys!

 

Benefit planned for local man injured in explosion

By
Matt Liasse
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Galen Orner III has always been a fighter. His wife of almost 10 years, Josie, has a picture of him as a kid, showing his muscles and making a growling face like a bear.

“It just reminds me of something from ‘Rocky’ or something,” Josie said.

On Aug. 23, Orner’s fighting side was in full force. While working at Stoneco Inc., an asphalt production company in Maumee, he was using diesel to clean a drum, a piece of equipment that can reach 700 degrees, when an explosion left 63 percent of his body with third-degree burns.

“That’s what was said,” his mother Tina said. “We don’t know for sure.”

Josie, who was home at the time, got a call immediately after the accident. When she arrived at his work, Orner was already bandaged up and surrounded by paramedics.

“I was literally sick to my stomach,” Josie said. “You don’t actually know what that saying means until you feel that.

“It’s the strangest thing,” she said. “When I got on the expressway, I felt like everything was in slow motion. To the point where the lady next to me when I was merging on, she spilled her coffee and I watched it. … [I saw] every little drop fall in her lap.”

The Orner Family.

Since that day, Orner has been at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. He spent four weeks in a medically induced coma. Josie stayed beside his hospital bed every day.

“Times before when I had anything happen I’ve always had Galen there, so it was OK to cry and break down and be a mess,” Josie said. “My thing is, I just want to stay in bed. And I knew I couldn’t do that. So, I guess it was just something that you say, ‘OK, you [have] to be the strong one now.’”

Orner has already had five surgeries with one more scheduled. His right hand and arm, left leg, lower right leg and abdomen have been grafted, cadaver skin has been put on both legs and a tracheotomy performed to help him breathe. There is still a chance he will lose his right hand.

Despite the many surgeries, Orner is doing well, his family said.

“He’s done a lot already and he’s progressed really fast,” Josie said. “We’ve been lucky with that. He heals really well and the doctors are just really surprised by how well he’s been healing.”

The doctors’ goal is to have Orner home by Thanksgiving, but there are no guarantees.

“He just seems to be very high-spirited, very willful,” his father Galen “J.R.” Orner said. “He’s very positive. I look forward to when we can get a chance to get him home. I think he has a strong will and that’s probably why he’s weeks ahead in his healing time. [That attitude] is something he’s carried all his life.”

This is not the first time J.R. has had a family member severely burned.

“My father was burned [with] third-degree burns on his legs when I was a kid and I got to see him work through that,” J.R. said. “Yes, it took a year, year and a half to get 100 percent on his feet. These things were going through my mind and I know Galen can do that.”

Visits with Orner are limited only to family members right now. Orner’s two children, Jonathan and McKayla, have gotten to see him twice.

“It’s just so hard for me to even go in there and see him go through all this,” Tina said. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger. I have my moments.”

A spaghetti dinner benefit for Orner will be from 1-6 p.m. Nov. 4, planned by extended family members. The event is open to the public and will be at Holland Gardens Banquet Hall, 6530 Angola Road, in Holland. It will include dinner, a silent auction, a bake sale, music and entertainment. The family will also be selling T-shirts and wristbands in support of Orner.

“Galen draws a crowd,” J.R. said. “It’s a wonderful thing. It’s love for no matter what whether someone’s healthy or someone’s sick.”

The idea for the benefit came from Orner’s sister, Heather Piasecki, and Josie’s sister, Nichole Delarosa. They came up with the spaghetti dinner without telling Josie.

“I’ve had so much great support from his family, from my family, even strangers,” Josie said.

The community has also come together in support of Orner. A few donated items in the silent auction include tickets for the Toledo Zoo’s “Lights Before Christmas,” tickets to the Connxtions Comedy Club and a gift card to Expresso Car Wash. The spaghetti served at the event will be donated by Bob Evans. Springfield High School, from which Orner graduated in 1998, has also lent support.

“I never expected so many people,” Josie said. “It makes you really appreciate that there are so many people out there that care still. Honestly, I was overwhelmed for a while when they were telling me everything that everyone was willing to donate. You don’t realize that there are still really good people out there. We’ve been really lucky with everything that everyone’s been doing.”

Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for children. They can be purchased in advance by calling (877) 798-5996. Anyone who cannot make the event but still would like to donate can do so at any Fifth Third Bank. Checks can be made to “Support The Journey – Galen III.”

“He’s the nicest, caring, most giving person that anybody will meet,” Josie said. “That’s why he has so many friends and family come out for support.”

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