Holaday looks to bring Detroit experience to Toledo tenure

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April 12, 2015

Bryan Holaday knows he’s just one injury away from a trip up to Detroit.

After spending all of last season with the Detroit Tigers, the 27-year-old catcher is beginning the 2015 season with the Toledo Mud Hens, a team he’s quite familiar with.

Former Mud Hen James McCann has replaced Holaday to serve as starting catcher Alex Avila’s backup to begin the Major League Baseball season, but Holaday knows that call to play 50 miles north could happen at any time.

“I’m very optimistic,” Holaday said at the Mud Hens media day April 7. “I get a chance to play every day and get better. Not everybody gets a chance like that. I’m really excited — we have a good group of guys here and I’m going to learn and get better.”

Holaday, who spent time in Toledo in 2012 and 2013, will look to improve his numbers in Detroit last season, when he appeared in 62 games, turning in a .231 batting average in 156 at-bats. The reserve catcher, called upon to fill in when Avila missed time with concussion problems, actually bested Avila’s average of .218.

“Just getting at-bats is going to be very helpful,” Holaday said. “I’ve made a lot of adjustments with my swing in the off-season and my timing will benefit a lot from getting a lot of at-bats.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, when you’re making adjustments, it’s not going to come overnight. In the spring, you have a lot of guys there, so you’re getting a limited amount of work, it’s tough to get that timing down and get that good feeling,” he said. “Toward the end of spring, I started feeling better and better, and I’m looking to carry it into the season.”

Holaday believes the Mud Hens have some strength on the mound to start out the season.

“Most of these guys are guys I’ve known for a while and caught before,” he said. “We’ve got some really good arms, some great arms out of the bullpen so it’s going to be a lot of fun catching these guys and working with them.”

Program seeks dialogue, action plans for improving race relations

By

Danielle Stanton

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April 12, 2015

When Karen Shepler was in college, the Black Power movement was in full thrust. It was then she first got a hint of her own white privilege — although no one told her what that was. That time period was a catalyst that began her life’s work of educating to end racism.

“My father was bigoted and was a klan member,” Shepler said during a recent telephone interview. “My brother and sister had done some things around (ending) racism. Now it stops with me. I am going to do anything I can do to eliminate racism in my time. Since my college days, I’ve been trying to do something about it.”

Shepler, a pastor who has recently come out of retirement, started the Dialogue to Change program in Toledo. The program, which brings together people of all races in a class format to discuss their personal experiences with racism, is meant to affect change.

“The purpose is to bring together people of various backgrounds to discuss the whole issue of racism and their personal stories of how racism has affected them, particularly people of color,” Shepler said. “And in some way, it’s to help white people understand white privilege.”

The classes are two hours a week for six weeks. They use exercises and a curriculum to stimulate discussion, but, Shepler said, most of the sharing is personal experiences. At the end, they have what’s called an Action Plan.

“We can talk about racism forever but if we don’t do anything to try to stop racism, it’s just talk. So we put together a plan of action,” Shepler said.

The most recent Action Plan was held in March. Some of the groups’ action plans included proposals for a third-grade classroom to participate in a pen pal project, a tool kit for faith-based organizations to put together class discussions and WTTE Channel 28 was invited to film the next Dialogue to Change from April 13 to May 20.

“We’ve had over 200 people participate in the group starting in the fall of 2013,” Shepler said. “We had two or three sessions in 2014. One in 2015. We’ll do another in the fall of 2015. … We’re lifting the consciousness of white people to understand institutional and structural racism. It’s all a part of the program.”

Shepler grew up in Waterville and Whitehouse, was ordained in 1982 and was pastor at Monroe Street United Methodist Church from August 2001 until she retired in June 2013.

The Dialogue to Change forum is a program by Everyday Democracy, a project of The Paul J. Aicher Foundation, a “private operating foundation dedicated to strengthening deliberative democracy and improving the quality of public life in the United States,” according to the website, www.everyday-democracy.org.

All classes are held at libraries or churches. To sign up for a class, go to www.dialoguetochangetoledo.org.

Pounds: Baseball’s back

By

Thomas F. Pounds

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April 12, 2015

People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. — Rogers Hornsby

One of my hobbies is visiting baseball stadiums. But even though I’ve been to almost all the major league fields, I have to say Fifth Third Field right here in Toledo is one of the best I’ve been to, major or minor. The sight lines, the food, the atmosphere — it’s all great. There’s something about a baseball game that has a way of changing your attitude.

Growing up in New Jersey, I was a Baltimore Orioles fan. But now that I’ve lived in Toledo for 15 years, I find myself rooting for the Tigers, thanks to years of watching the Mud Hens and getting to know some of the players who have made the jump to Detroit.

There is truly nothing to match a clear, sunny day at the ballpark. It’s a family event; it’s a guys’ day out; it’s a girls’ night out; it’s smells and sights and emotions that no other public gathering can evoke with such clarity and impact. Baseball offers a few hours’ escape from the travails of life like few other pastimes — movies, books, theater, music — can. That distinct crack of the ball on the bat and the undeniable thump of the ball in the glove are symphonies, car chases and page-turners all wrapped up in one fluid, unrestrained-by-the-clock afternoon.

Opening Day at Fifth Third Field has become one of the area’s biggest events; every seat will be filled, the suites and hallways will overflow with excited fans and the Huron-Monroe-Washington-St. Clair streets block will hum with foot traffic and activity.

For 11 years, Toledo Free Press has marked Mud Hens Opening Day with what’s become the biggest and most comprehensive guide published in the market. We understood from our first season Downtown how important the Hens are to Toledo’s identity and spirit, and we have taken great care to share their successes and challenges with our readers.

The Hens have developed a national reputation for creative, innovative and — most importantly — fun promotions. As illustrator Don Lee has captured on this week’s cover, Muddy is expanding his pop culture reach beyond the popular annual “Star Wars” Night to incorporate “Jurassic Park” and “Back to the Future” in his promotional plans for family fun. The fourth installment of the classic dino-centric series comes out this summer, which also marks the 30th anniversary of Dr. Emmett Brown and his DeLorean time machine.

This year’s Toledo Free Press Opening Day issue, compiled and edited by Managing Editor Joel Sensenig, positively thrums with the vibrations of a new season. We are grateful to our staff, advertisers, readers and the Mud Hens organization for helping to make this issue one of our biggest and best of the year.

We take pride in our home team, and we will continue to show that by offering the best Opening Day coverage we can, this season and every season. See you at the game!

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Hays: April showers bring May flowers

By

Pam Hays

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April 12, 2015

April showers bring May flowers: I always liked this saying when I was a little girl growing up. Most of my family and neighbors thought the rainy days of our fourth month intruded on the outdoor work that springtime brings for homeowners, but I loved walking and splashing in puddles.

My favorite childhood joke was, “It is really raining cats and dogs outside. I know that because I just stepped in a poodle!” Yes, I know: corny. But it sure made me giggle.

So, back to those flowers. If we had a dry April, then the flowers we are so anxious to see in May would have a much more difficult time sprouting without the nourishment of the rain. We wouldn’t have the beauty of May without the dismal darkness of storm clouds in April. We judge the clouds as yucky rainy days, when actually they are the days that prepare for the kaleidoscope of blooms just a few weeks later.

Life mimics this. We look at the “showers” in our lives and concentrate on the clouds, the canceled plans, the scary thunder of troubles and the lightning-sharp pain in our spirits. We are so blinded by the fog after the storm that we find it difficult to see the “flowers,” the things blooming in our lives that bring us a garden of possibilities. Even when the clouds are lifted, we stand dazed, allowing bitterness, regret, shame and unforgiveness to distort our view of all the beauty that lies ahead.

It would make life a lot easier if we had doppler radar and all the fancy weather-predicting equipment our local forecasters have at their disposal to alert us when the winds of change are coming. A machine to tell us when our hearts should take cover and when we should carry an umbrella to help repel negativity, so it might roll off without drenching us in worry. But, since we never know what life has waiting for us around the corner, the best defense against the storms is learning from them as they come.

As a child, it is difficult to understand why the showers in April have to happen. All you want to do is run and play and ride your bike. Instead you are told you have to stay inside and be bored. But as we get older, we learn we can survive these times, we can thrive during these times and we can learn great lessons. Those lessons become the nurturing ingredients we can use to create the May flowers, the times in our lives that make it all worth it.

Those who can’t or won’t open their eyes and their hearts to making a plan to move forward never realize the full spectrum of what life has to offer. They remain stuck in their ways, stuck in ruts and stuck in the muddy waters of regret. The clouds don’t always cover the sky completely, but you count on them coming out time and time again. The sun doesn’t always shine brightly, but you can always count on it to shine through, even if just a bit, on the cloudiest of days.

You can focus on April or you can prepare for May. When the tulips and daffodils and daisies bloom it is so easy to forget what helped bring them up from under the deep soil and into the light. But the keeper of the garden never forgets. They plan, they design, they prepare, they plant, they nurture.

Be the keeper of the garden in your life. Allow your life to bloom with beautiful colors. Happy spring!

Pam Hays is president and founder of The Arms Forces, www. thearmsforces.org; (419) 891-2111.

Ballpark treated to its new field of greens

By

Brian Bohnert

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April 12, 2015

sod3 — Crews put in two 16-hour days to get the work done in mid-March. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

It’s a process that has only been done two other times since Fifth Third Field opened in 2002.

Last month, close to a dozen workers spent two days laying new sod onto the field in preparation for the Mud Hens’ April 16 Opening Day doubleheader. Sod started coming in March 15 and by the next day, crews had unloaded 26 flatbed trucks and laid 550 rolls of Kentucky bluegrass onto the field.

“Our main goal is to have [the field]consistent every day the guys play on it,” said Jake Tyler, sports turf manager at Fifth Third Field. “The main job of the minor leagues is player development, and you want the guys to have a nice surface to play on so they can hone in on their skills and get themselves to the next level in their career.”

Tyler said he subcontracted the work to Medina, Ohio based company Agricultural Design.

“Between their crew and my crew, we had 10-12 guys working about 16 hours a day,” he said. “We got the job done in two days.”

Crews put in two 16-hour days to get the work done in mid-March. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

According to Tyler, each roll of new sod — measuring 4 feet wide by 50 feet long — was unloaded and transported to the field one by one by a fleet of forklifts, and then fed into a machine that rolled it out into the correct spot. Workers then used pitch- forks to pull the seams together.

Once the sod was down, Tyler said he and the crew placed woven plastic sheets atop the grass to raise the field’s temperature and promote healthy growth in time for Opening Day.

“It kind of acts like a greenhouse on the field,” he said. “Even though it was 30 degrees and sunny outside, the soil temperatures were in the mid-60s. That’s what allowed it to really green up, root down and take hold out there.”

Tyler said the new grass is more tolerant to disease, stress and foot traffic.

“I think the field is kind of like the 10th man on the team,” he said. “The better the surface they play on, the better they’re going to play.”

Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

The new green came from Graff’s Turf Farm in Fort Morgan, Colorado, a choice Tyler said was easy given our region’s climate and the supplier’s reputation of providing sod to the Mud Hens’ Major League Baseball affiliate, the Detroit Tigers.

“When we’re sodding a field this time of year, if we try to get sod from anywhere local the fields are really wet, muddy and soft, and it would be really difficult for anybody in this area to harvest the sod,” he said.

The players will not be the only ones benefiting from the new turf. Tyler said fans can expect more aesthetically pleasing grass and much shorter rain delays.

“We don’t rain out here very often,” he said. “But once the rain stops, the field needs to be in immaculate condition so the guys can get out and play, and so the fans can have that experience and enjoy their time.”

While the field normally undergoes renovations every five to six years, Tyler said he and his crew held off until the turf was roughly nine years old so they could replace it in conjunction with December’s Winterfest.

“Building a hockey rink on the field, we would have had to replace the turf anyways,” he said.

Work started back in October as the groundskeeping crew installed a new irrigation system, stripped out the old turf and covered the field with a blanket so there wouldn’t be any exposed grass during Fifth Third Field’s ice-cold festivities.

The crew spent two days in early March plowing snow off the field to prepare for the project. Tyler said he expects the new sod to last up to six seasons.

“I love the attention to detail that is required to maintain the field,” he said. “It’s 2½ acres that we have to look at every square foot of. You get instant gratification at the end of the day when the job is done, the field looks its best and you hear the people say, ‘Oh man, the grass looks good.’ That’s instant gratification every single day.”

Hensville project to land Downtown in 2016

By

Joel Sensenig

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April 12, 2015

Hensville work — Work has begun on the three long-vacant buildings that will become Hensville, a retail, dining, recreational and residential space planned for St. Clair Street near Fifth Third Field. A parking lot across the street from these buildings will become a park. Toledo Free Press photo by Christie Materni

Beginning next season, Toledo baseball fans won’t have to drive to the Windy City to watch a ballgame from atop a building overlooking a stadium.

Work has begun on the three long-vacant buildings that will become Hensville, a retail, dining, recreational and residential space planned for St. Clair Street near Fifth Third Field. A parking lot across the street from these buildings will become a park. Toledo Free Press photo by Christie Materni

That uniquely Chicago experience will become part of the Toledo Mud Hens experience in 2016 with the introduction of Hensville, a $21 million project bringing dining, retail, office and recreational space to the area beyond right field at Fifth Third Field. Demolition and power work has already started on the project, which will rehabilitate three long-vacant buildings and a parking lot on St. Clair Street.

The project — set to debut to the public in March 2016, prior to Opening Day — is meant to evoke feelings of Wrigleyville, the festive community of bars and restaurants surrounding Wrigley Field, the ivy-covered home of the Chicago Cubs.

But Joe Napoli, president and general manager of the Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye, is not simply aiming for a mirror image of that neighborhood.

“There will be some dining options, there will be some shopping options, there will be rooftop decks, just like across the street at Wrigley,” he told Toledo Free Press in March. “We’re also adding a park just beyond right field wall, with an acre of open space, for concerts, festivals and theater in the park — all of these things that encourage social interaction.”

Speaking on Hensville in April, Napoli said the project is part of a larger revitalization effort throughout the Warehouse District.

“We want to exceed that [Wrigleyville goal],” he said. “We look at the success in the Warehouse District, and we’re really pleased and proud of all of these small businesses and individuals that have rolled up their sleeves and invested in the district. The amount of sweat equity is immeasurable. We hope that this will be yet another catalyst for another round of investment in the district.”

The project is becoming reality due to funding from a variety of public and private entities. Hensville has received funding from the Lucas County Commissioners, City of Toledo, State of Ohio’s Capital Budget, the federal government and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Toledo (via PNC Bank and Foss & Company). Together, these sources of funding equal about $12 million. The Mud Hens are providing the remainder of the project total.

“It’s one of those public/private partnerships that works,” Napoli said. “These programs are run by the state and federal government because they want organizations to reinvest in the downtown/urban core. Without their commitment to invest those dollars, projects like this one will never happen.

“In order for this project to happen, we really needed [them] to be active participants,” Napoli said.

He believes the project will benefit many of the stadium’s neighbors. The Mud Hens and Walleye are already the main keys to bringing people Downtown, with estimates showing they draw a combined 750,000 visitors annually.

Napoli said measuring that economic impact is a necessity.

“All of those funding sources — they do come with strings attached,” he said. “We have to produce jobs, we have to produce economic benefit, and that gets tracked, and we’ll have to submit that to the funders.

“If we’re doing our jobs well, it will mean between another 100,000-150,000 visitors to Downtown, for concerts, festivals and recreational activities,” he said. “Which should mean more business for local bars and restaurants, more people moving into apartments and condos, and more small businesses moving into Downtown. We’ll be able to measure that over the next five years.”

McGinnis: Summer in the sun

By

Jeff McGinnis

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April 12, 2015

I played Little League baseball for a year in 1989.

.

Anyone tempted to glance at their calendar and confirm that it is not still April Fools’ Day can go right ahead; I won’t be offended. I realize that I am not exactly the most athletic individual on the planet — an understatement on par with calling the Civil War a “slight disagreement” or the extinction of the dinosaurs a “minor inconvenience” — but for one summer I was given the chance to put on the uniform and show what I could do on the glorious diamond where names like Ruth, DiMaggio and Mays had become legends.

Spoiler alert: I sucked.

I mean, really, really sucked. Couldn’t field, couldn’t hit, could barely run, and I would sometimes cry if something went wrong (which was often), in violation of Tom Hanks’ primary rule of baseball in “A League of Their Own.” Yet still I played, and had a position on the team the whole season, because apparently no kid who tried out that first year was denied. Whether you were the second coming of Mickey Mantle or, well, me, you were welcome on the team that summer.

I played for the entry-level Little League team in Luckey, Ohio. Whether we actually had a nickname is one of the many details from that fateful season that has been lost in my subconscious for over 25 years now, as if my brain has tried to shield my self-esteem from any evidence that my baseball career existed. I do remember our uniforms were a bright, obnoxious shade of yellow. Naturally, they didn’t have any that really fit me, save for one: No. 13. An ominous portent of the days to come.

I tended to play outfield, because that was where I could do the least damage defensively. I mean, even if the batter did manage to hit the ball past our infielders, there was only a 1-in-3 chance I would be the one it ended up heading toward. But go figure if it didn’t seem like every time that damn ball went sailing, it headed right in my direction. (I ascribe it to the natural gravitational pull I generate.)

Not once that entire summer did I make a catch. I came close one day, a moment of sheer joy as I magically ended up in the right position as the ball fluttered down into the waiting webbing of my glove, only to pop right out again, as if even the laws of gravity were conspiring against me.

More often I would go running after a hit as it scooted past my feet or over my head, finally catching up to the baseball after the runner had easily passed first or second, and tossing it back in with all the force I could muster — which usually meant the ball bounced about halfway up the outfield and then rolled feebly into our shortstop’s glove while the runner dusted himself off at third.

But however atrocious I was in the field, I made up for it by being even worse at bat. I don’t recall anyone keeping statistics for our league, and I am grateful, lest a sports hall of shame need evidence to induct me as the most inept player in history. I don’t have any memories of actually getting a hit, as being sat down on strikes or slapping weak grounders were the sum total of my offensive output. I do remember getting on base a few times, which I can only ascribe to either the opposing pitcher having an off day or my overactive imagination.

But here’s the thing: I still loved it. I mean, sure, I was horrible and had no business being on the diamond. But it was so much fun. I still have fond memories of hanging out with my friends, running around in the sun, the smell of my new baseball glove, the feel of the bat in my hands. Despite the near constant embarrassment I endured, I still looked forward to trying out for the team the next summer, only to learn that second-year players had to actually, well, be able to play.

The national pastime has long since been usurped by other games when it comes to fan base and passion. But I defy anyone to argue that any game is still tied to the American soul as closely as baseball. That’s why every spring I feel a smile in my heart as Opening Day approaches. And every now and then, I’ll drive by that same diamond in Luckey, and take a moment to remember my summer spent in the sun. That horrible, embarrassing, awkward, awful, wonderful summer. O

Jeff McGinnis is Pop Culture Editor at Toledo Free Press. He can be reached at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Saying ‘I do’ to a ballpark wedding

By

Danielle Stanton

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April 12, 2015

MH_Wedding_WEB2 — Weddings have been held at Fifth Third Field since 2012. There are currently 12 booked this spring and summer. Photo Courtesy Toledo Mud Hens

Rachel Burgess was looking for a venue for her wedding when she met Angie Dixon.

“We went to a bridal show and Angie was at a booth and she gave us all the information, so we decided to go check it out,” Burgess said. “We loved it — loved the atmosphere of it.”

The venue Burgess had found was not one of the usual wedding haunts.

It’s Fifth Third Field.

As a Mud Hens fan, Burgess loved the venue so much she has decided to say her “I do” at Fifth Third Field on May 20, right at home plate.

The idea is actually not a new one. Weddings have been taking place at the ballpark since 2012 and they’ve grown so much that Dixon, who has been with the Mud Hens for nearly four years, gained a new title and now spends her workdays catering to weddings and other events.

The Mud Hens have launched a marketing campaign to encourage such nuptials and Dixon is a full-fledged champion of the movement. She has catered 25 weddings in the past three years.

“It’s been building momentum,” Dixon said. “Now this is my focus, on weddings. We’ve drummed up enough business for it to be its own standalone.”

Fifth Third Field has several rooms available for weddings, including the BirdCage, which is indoors and seats 25-300 or The Roost on 4, which is available year-round and seats up to 200.

Prices, Dixon said, are middle of the road compared to other venues in the region, but usually it’s the baseball connection that attracts the brides and grooms. “Obviously, if you come down here to have a wedding you already have an investment in baseball. There’s a reason to come down here.”

To keep them coming, the Mud Hens offer special deals such as turning the couple’s deposit into ticket packages that can be given to wedding guests or used for the following season.

The ballpark also hosts wedding showers and receptions.

As an incentive to brides planning their weddings at the park, a free room is offered for the shower at certain times, Dixon said.

“We’re very customized. We’re not the traditional banquet hall. We have a lot of flexibility that most places don’t,” she said. “We transform the ballpark; it ends up being an entire production.”

The word is spreading. A The Knot cover story on unique wedding venues in the state and featured Dixon’s brides and grooms.

People are even signing up for the venue while still out of the country, Dixon said. She worked with one bride living in Taiwan and Dixon planned her entire wedding for her via email and Skype.

That’s not unusual. Dixon currently has two brides who are in Florida. They’ve never seen the space but their parents are their local contacts. Dixon works with all the vendors they’ve hired and said her job is to keep everyone on the same page.

That’s exactly what she did for Kevin and Lynn Morrissey, who got married at Fifth Third Field on Nov. 2, 2013.

Kevin worked for the New York Yankees franchise at the time and was soon to be in Florida for training.

“Angie was super accommodating no matter what,” Kevin said. “We put it together quickly, too. We just happened to be home after we got engaged and I was in Florida the next few weeks for my job. On a whim we called her. We said, ‘We are only in for a weekend, is it possible to come in and see the venue?’ She said, ‘If you guys want to stop over.’ She walked us through and we saw everything.

“So we set up for an event. It worked out well,” Kevin said. “It’s why we picked that place. Lynn wanted a unique venue. Going in we knew we wanted something unique. This fell in our laps.”

The couple now lives in Pennsylvania, where Kevin works for a baseball analytics company.

Dixon’s first wedding this season is in May and she has 12 weddings booked for the spring/summer season. Two or three couples are booked for November and then the holiday party season starts.

The planned multimillion dollar Hensville development will allow the Mud Hens to expand their wedding facilities, Dixon said. The space across from the ball field, will include a banquet facility, rooftop terrace and bar.

No one else in Toledo has banquet and bar space attached to a rooftop terrace, Dixon said. “We’ve been talking about it for three years. Now that it’s tangible, it’s very exciting.”

Burgess said she picked the FifthThird Field because she just wanted to do something different.

Meanwhile, all the details are starting to come together, including place settings and the DJ and photographer. Planning her wedding through the Mud Hens has been a “very good experience,” Burgess said.

“People have asked whether it’s going to be formal or if they can wear shorts. It’s not an actual baseball game going on. It’s actually my wedding,” she said.

EyeCitizen, TPD crime map help residents track incidents

By

Ashley McMahon

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April 12, 2015

Area leaders are taking strides to ensure Toledo citizens are up-to-date on crime activity in their neighborhoods.

The Toledo Police Department (TPD) launched an interactive crime map in May 2014 and Toledo City Councilman Tom Waniewski released citywide access to EyeCitizen.org in June 2013.

Waniewski

While both resources allow Toledo residents to monitor criminal activity around their homes, each application is unique and offers its own alerts and customizations.

TPD’s crime map, found at crimemap.toledo.oh.gov, generates alerts based on reports that are filed for a designated area determined by the user, said TPD Public Information Officer Lt. Joe Heffernan.

This is different than calls for service, which is how alerts are generated for EyeCitizen.org, he said.

“Not every call for service is written up in a report. If you call 911 and say, ‘My neighbor’s dog is barking all night,’ EyeCitizen is going to send that to your phone if you’re signed up for their service,” Heffernan said. “An officer will arrive to the house and talk to the homeowner where the dog is barking, tell them to have their dog stop barking and will probably not write a report. This wouldn’t show up on the crime map.”

However, Waniewski’s EyeCitizen business partner Dave Bonitati clarified the service does not send “barking dog-type alerts.”

“We do send 911 alerts of a criminal nature such as ‘Person with a Gun or Knife,’ ‘Shots Fired,’ ‘Suspicions Person,’ etc. the type of 911 calls that neighbors would want to know about immediately,” Bonitati said.

TPD began using internal crime mapping in 2012 and launched a public access version two years later.

Users can enter a specific address on the map’s website and browse through all of the crimes reported within a half-mile radius during the past two months. In addition to browsing the site, users can sign up to receive email alerts. The map is refreshed three times a day, at the 6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. shift changes.

The public map cost $6,200 to develop through Dayton-based Optica Consulting, the same company that developed TPD’s internal mapping system.

Since its launch last year, citizens are using the service and TPD has been receiving a great response from the community, Heffernan said.

“It’s a very useful tool for someone who wants to monitor the crime activity in their neighborhood and keep track of the reports that are actually written,” he said.

The TPD crime map also allows citizens to submit a tip through a button on the map’s website. In addition, citizens can send a tip to police through the department’s Facebook page by sending the department a message.

EyeCitizen.org is a private service that offers crime alerts generated through 911 calls into TPD.

Waniewski created the service with Bonitati in 2012. He began beta testing the service in his district after discovering a desire for a crime alert service while attending a neighborhood block watch meeting in Old Orchard.

“Residents of Old Orchard were concerned about why they didn’t know why things were happening in their area,” Waniewski said.

As a result, he took action and began developing the crime alert database.

One example of how EyeCitzen helps residents is a member who watches children at a day care in her home, Bonitati said.

“She said she appreciates the EyeCitizen alerts, especially when there is someone with a gun or shots fired in her neighborhood because she quickly gets the kids into the house and out of harm’s way,” Bonitati said. “That’s the value of EyeCitizen, making neighborhoods alert and vigilant at the time of the potential danger.”

Waniewski and Bonitati paid the initial costs for research and development and launched EyeCitizen for District 5 in 2012. In June 2013, City Council approved $50,000 in funding to expand the service citywide.

However, the vote was taken before many Council members were aware of Waniewski’s connections and 1 percent stake in the company. As a result, Waniewski and Council determined it would be best if the city did not use taxpayer money to pay for the service.

“To avoid any controversy, I talked my business partners into providing the service for free to the entire city. So there was never anything spent by the city for EyeCitizen,” Waniewski told TFP in an email. “We decided to pay for it by seeking community sponsorships. Vito’s, Fry Heating and Habitec are keeping it free for residents.”

Toledoans can sign up for the service in up to three areas of interest. They receive alerts based on 911 calls made whenever a crime against property or people occurs within their monitoring area. Citizens can sign up for the service at eyecitizen.org.

“We don’t want anyone going out to stop a crime. We just want to be an extra pair of eyes for the police department,” Waniewski said. “We want to let the police department do their job. They’re the professionals, but whenever there’s a crime occurring, we need witnesses. We need to hear from the community: ‘What did you see?’”

There are currently about 10,000 users signed up for the service, Waniewski said.

Bonitati said he thinks EyeCitizen is helping reduce crime in the city.

“[Toledo Police] Chief [George] Kral reported that crime is down almost 20 percent in Toledo,” Bonitati said. “We believe we are having an effect. We envision a time when the majority of all neighborhoods will have EyeCitizen, then when an EyeCitizen alert is sent, all neighbors in that area will turn on their porch light, look out the window or even call their neighbors. A criminal will not want to stick around in an area knowing the neighborhood is alert and aware of a criminal in their neighborhood.”

Swamp Shop stocked with gear for fans

By

Ashley McMahon

-

April 12, 2015

Star Wars T 3 — The Mud Hens’ popular annual ‘Star Wars’ Night is set for May 9. About 90 percent of Mud Hens merchandise in the swamp shop is new each year. Photos courtesy Toledo Mud Hens.

As fans sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” within the cozy confines of Fifth Third Field, they may want to get decked out in some snazzy apparel from the Toledo Mud Hens’ Swamp Shop.

The Mud Hens’ popular annual ‘Star Wars’ Night is set for May 9. About 90 percent of Mud Hens merchandise in the swamp shop is new each year. Photos courtesy Toledo Mud Hens.

Toledo’s baseball team is debuting plenty of brand-new merchandise for the 2015 season, said Craig Katz, director of merchandising and licensing.

“Every season, about 90 percent of our store is brand-new merchandise, the other 10 to 20 percent is what we consider our core items,” Katz said. “That includes our best sellers — the products our fans expect to see every year.”

The Swamp Shop’s new items include a collection of sleek hooded sweatshirts, fan-friendly T-shirts and fashion-forward baseball hats for women.

The Mud Hens purchase licensed minor league merchandise from Nike, Bimm Ridder Sportswear, Under Armour, ’47 Brand and more to stock its store, which can also be accessed from outside the ballpark at 406 Washington St. During home games, fans can also peruse the goods in the Hen Hut, a smaller version of the Swamp Shop located behind home plate inside Fifth Third Field.

Katz and his team perform extensive research in the offseason to discover new trends. These determine the new styles that enter the Swamp Shop for the upcoming season.

Katz said fans of all ages can find items that suit their fancy. The Swamp Shop caters to the team’s entire fan base, a diverse group.

“We serve infants all the way up to retirees, both women and men,” he said.

The Mud Hens have a large fashion line for women as well as an extensive children’s line.

“We’re one of the few teams in minor league baseball that gives so many choices for women and kids,” Katz said. “Very rarely will someone walk out of our store and say, ‘You don’t have what I want.’ If we don’t have the exact items, someone can find something similar.”

And while the tees and hats hold their own on the best-sellers list, it’s the Mud Hens’ beloved mascots, Muddy and Muddonna, that inspire the most popular item inside the store.

“The plastic orange Muddy calling whistle is our most popular item in the store,” Katz said. “We will sell 5,000 of those every year.”

In addition to the whistles and apparel, this year fans can expect to see a few special items honoring the Hens’ 2015 promotions.

On May 9, the Mud Hens celebrate “Star Wars” night. During this game, the Swamp Shop will sell three special “Star Wars”-themed T-shirts, available in sizes infant to adult.

In addition, the Mud Hens will team up with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Aug. 6 for Bacon & Eggs night. During the game, both teams will wear special jerseys, which will be available for purchase inside the Swamp Shop.

The Swamp Shop is open year-round 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and during baseball season, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Fans can also shop online at www.mudhens.com.

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