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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Your Community Press newspaper serving Blue Ash, Montgomery, Sycamore Township, Symmes Township

Vol. 51 No. 45© 2015 The Community Press

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Sycamore Township FireDepartment hopes to save tax-payers money by increasingthe fees billed to insurancecompanies for services relat-ed to the EMS.

For runs identified as ad-vanced life support and basiclife support, the bill will in-crease by $350. The fee for anALS service run jumps from$900 to $1,250. An ALS run in-cludes giving a patient medi-cations or heart monitoring,for example. A BLS run doesnot require medication. Thefee for BLS run goes up from$550 to $900.

Escalating costs for medi-cations and supplies are theprimary reasons behind the in-crease. The fees were last in-

creased in 2012Chief Rob Penny empha-

sized that the majority oftownship residents who re-quire EMS service are onMedicare. The maximum hecan bill Medicare for an EMStransport is $585. Medicarewill pay 80 percent of the bill,he said. If the patient has sup-plemental insurance, then thetownship’s billing company,Medi Account, will bill supple-mental for the difference. Res-idents are never billed, he said.

The per-mile rate also in-creased from $14 per mile to$22 per mile. The increaseswere approved by the Syca-more Township Board ofTrustees during the Jan. 15meeting.

With these increases, Pen-ny said that he hopes to recoup$50,000 to $100,000 per year.

What he expects will happen,is that he will have a higherwrite-off which represents theamount of the bill that doesn’tget paid.

In 2014 the township billedover $1.4 million for EMS runsand received nearly $650,000as a result of the billing. Theremaining amount was writtenoff.

By increasing the billingamount, Penny said that hehopes that the township willrecoup more than it loses.

“We’re not getting rich overthat,” he said. “We’re trying toget ahead of it.”

Board of Trustees VicePresident Cliff Bishop notedthat recovering expenses andincreases in supplies is howthe township maintains a highlevel of service without havingto raise taxes.

A 2006 Sycamore HighSchool graduate turned teennovelist will be launching herfirst novel at the bookstore shewent to as a teen.

Jasmine Warga, who nowlives in Mariemont, will belaunching her first novel, “MyHeart and Other Black Holes”at the Fields Ertel Barnes andNoble at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The book is about a troubledteenage girl and a grief strickenteenage boy who meet onlineand make a suicide pact.

“The book sort of follows the29 days or so after they makethe pact to the date they haveset, the complications that en-sue and the way their feelingschange about their lives fromgetting to know one another,”Warga said.

The book is being publishedby Harper Collins, which pur-chased the manuscript fromWarga in a six-figure deal. It isalso being published interna-tionally in 12 languages.

Warga said her book hasbeen called “taboo-busting” or“edgy” because of it being ateen novel about teenage sui-cide. She said she did not knowhow “controversial” the bookwould be when she was writingit.

“I just woke up and had themain character’s voice in myhead and that voice really pro-pelled the book,” she said.

Most teen novels dealingwith suicide are usually griefnovels because the main char-acter’s friend has committedsuicide. Warga said her novel isdifferent because it is the maincharacter considering suicide,but she added it is more aboutdepression than suicide.

“I think the problem withburying (depression and suicid-al thoughts) under the rug andsaying we shouldn’t have booksabout that or the idea that talk-ing about it makes it contagiousis actually worse because itshames people who strugglewith depression or mental ill-ness. It stigmatizes it and in do-ing so makes them less likely toreach out and talk and ask forhelp, which obviously is themost important thing you wantfrom someone with thosethoughts to do,” Warga said.

Sycamore High School Eng-lish teacher Connie Smith saidWarga always responded to

Sycamore gradlaunching first book By Marika Leemlee1@communitypress.com

THANKS TO JASMINE WARGA

Sycamore High School graduateJasmine Warga is launching her firstbook in February.

THANKS TO JASMINE WARGA

“My Heart and Other Black Holes,”written by Sycamore graduate andMariemont resident Jasmine Warga,launches next month.

‘MY HEART ANDOTHER BLACK HOLES’BY JASMINE WARGABOOK LAUNCHPARTY

Barnes and Noble of FieldsErtel at 9891 Waterstone Blvd.

Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.The event is open to the

publicSee WARGA, Page A2

FILE PHOTO

Sycamore Township is increasing fees billed to insurance companies for EMS services.

Sycamore trusteesapprove billingincrease for EMSBy Sheila Vilvenssvilvens@communitypress.com

OPEN HOUSE JAN 31 www.chca-oh.org

Inspire and challenge your student to develop his or her one-of-a-kind gifts

A2 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015 NEWS

NORTHEASTSUBURBAN LIFE

NewsRichard Maloney Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248-7134, rmaloney@communitypress.com Marika Lee Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248-7577,mlee1@communitypress.com Melanie Laughman Sports Editor . . . . . . .248-7573, mlaughman@communitypress.com Nick Dudukovich Sports Reporter . . . . . . .248-7570, ndudukovich@communitypress.comScott Springer Sports Reporter . . . . . . . . . .576-8255, sspringer@communitypress.com

AdvertisingTo place an ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513-768-8404,

EnquirerMediaAdvertising@enquirer.com

DeliveryFor customer service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576-8240 Stephen Barraco

Circulation Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248-7110, sbarraco@communitypress.com Ann Leonard District Manager. . . . . . . . . . .248-7131, amleonar@communitypress.com

ClassifiedTo place a Classified ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242-4000, www.communityclassified.com

To place an ad in Community Classified, call 242-4000.

Find news and information from your community on the WebBlue Ash • cincinnati.com/blueash

Hamilton County • cincinnati.com/hamiltoncounty Montgomery • cincinnati.com/montgomery

Sycamore Township • cincinnati.com/sycamoretownship Symmes Township • cincinnati.com/symmestownship

Calendar ................A4Classifieds ................CFood .....................A5Police .................... B5Schools ..................A3Sports ....................B1Viewpoints .............A6

Index

years. HeretiredDec. 31.

WayneDavis saidRoblerohasbroughther ownunique perspective andexperience to the city. Hesaid he hopes the new posi-tion gives her many oppor-tunities to develop andgrow.

“I am honored to be ap-pointed the communitydevelopment director forthe city of Montgomery

The mentee replacesthe mentor in the Montgo-mery community develop-ment office.

Tracy Roblero has beenappointed community de-velopment director for the

city of Montgomery. Sheserved as the city plannersince 2006.

“(Roblero) was men-tored by an expert in thefield,” City ManagerWayne Davis said ofFrank Davis, who was thecommunity developmentdirector for almost 15

and hope tocontributeto the con-tinued suc-cess of thecity in col-laborationwith thestaff and

city council,” Roblero saidin an email.

The salary range forcommunity developmentdirector is $82,000 to$109,400. Wayne Davissaid the city had been look-ing at the city planner po-sition as part of the city’sstrategic plan. The posi-

tion is being phased outand replaced by a zoningand code compliance offi-cer position. The salaryrange for the city plannerposition was $54,200 to$69,300. The range for thenew zoning and code com-pliance officer will be$54,700 to $70,000. WayneDavis said the city is work-ing on filling the position.

Wayne Davis said go-ing forward the communi-ty development office willbe working on ongoing de-velopment projects in thecity.

Roblero and Frank Da-

vis have already beenworking on the SouthernGateway RedevelopmentProject, at the old dealer-ship sites.

“I have learned a lot un-der Frank Davis’ guidanceduring the past eightyears serving as city plan-ner,” Roblero said.

Roblero’s first offi-cial day as communitydevelopment directorwas Jan. 1.

Want to know more about ishappening in Montgomery?Follow Marika Lee on Twitter:@ReporterMarika

Roblero replacing Frank Davis as community development director By Marika Leemlee1@communitypress.com

Tracy Roblero Frank Davis

Crews from Evans LandscapingInc. started demolishing the oldChevrolet dealership building, 9292Montgomery Road, in December.Crews started at the back of thebuilding and are working forwardtoward Montgomery Road. Thebuilding is coming down as part ofthe city of Montgomery’s SouthernGateway Redevelopment Project.The city owns the 11.6 acres the Che-vy site and the neighboring old FordSite are on. The city is working onplans for what is to be done with thesite that serves as the southern en-trance of the city.

Crews working on knocking down old Chevy building THANKS TO

BRIAN RIBLET

The city ofMontgomeryowns the 11.6acres theChevrolet siteand theneighboringold Ford Siteare on.

MARIKA LEE/ THE COMMUNITY PRESS

The old Chevrolet dealership building, at 9292 Montgomery Road, is being demolished as part of the city of Montgomery'sSouthern Gateway Redevelopment Project. Crews from Evans Landscaping Inc. started knocking down the rear of the buildingon Dec. 11 and are working forward toward Montgomery Road.

unique and powerfulvoices of contemporarywriters.

“She knew – as a juniorin high school – that shewanted to do what theywere doing; speak to anaudience like herself. Herinsight is extraordinary;her understanding of hu-man nature is remark-able; and her enthusiasmis infectious,” Smith said.

Smith organized a dayfor Warga to come back toSycamore High Schooland speak with students.

“It was so surreal to goback to Sycamore. Forone period they had mespeaking in the auditori-um that I went to and hadlistened to so many peoplespeak in high school,” shesaid.

Warga said she told thestory of a project she hadto do in Smith’s juniorEnglish class of creating acareer A plan and a ca-reer B plan. She did be-coming a lawyer as her Aplan and a writer as her Bplan. Smith questionedher why writer was her Bplan.

“She really motivatedme; that belief, no blink-ing, no ‘do you have a

backup plan?’ just sheerencouragement I still re-member. I especially re-member when I get thoseblinking, unsure facesfrom other people in mylife that I told I wanted tobe a novelist. She wasvery unwavering in thatbelief,” Warga said.

After the Cincinnatibook launch, she will begoing on a book tour withtwo other novelists. She isworking on her secondbook.

Want to know more aboutwhat is happening in theSycamore CommunitySchools? Follow Marika Leeon Twitter: @ReporterMarika

WargaContinued from Page A1

Community Press re-porter Forrest Sellers hasbeen named to the OhioSchool Board Association2014 Media Honor Roll.

Sellers was nominatedby the Indian Hill Ex-empted Village School

District.The purpose of the OS-

BA Media Honor Roll is torecognize journalists andnews outlets that providefair and accurate cover-age of public schools. TheOSBA Media Honor Rollrecognizes media repre-sentatives in print, radioand television. Winnersare chosen because they:

» Work to get to knowthe superintendent, boardpresident and districtcommunication director,as well as the district’smission and goals;

» report school news ina fair, accurate and bal-anced manner;

» give a high profile topositive news aboutschools;

» visit schools, and» maintain a policy of

“no surprises,” by alwaysgiving school officials theopportunity to comment

on information to be airedor published.

“Forrest is always fairand balanced in his workwith the Indian Hill SchoolDistrict,” SuperintendentMark Miles said. “He is areporter with the highestmorals and integrity.”

Andrea Brady, directorof communications, adds,“It was our honor to nomi-nate Forrest for this

award; we are thrilled tohave such a dedicated andexperienced reporterworking with us. We lookforward to having him aspart of our district com-munications efforts for along time to come.”

Sellers is one of 92 jour-nalists honored through-out the state in 2014, andone of only four from theGreater Cincinnati area.

Press reporter named to OSBA Media Honor RollPROVIDED

Indian HillExempted VillageSchool DistrictSuperintendentMark Miles, left,presentsCommunity Pressreporter ForrestSellers with acertificate notinghis induction to theOhio School BoardAssociation's MediaHonor Roll.

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JANUARY 28, 2015 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • A3

SCHOOLSSCHOOLSACHIEVEMENTS | NEWS | ACTIVITIES | HONORS CommunityPress.com

NORTHEASTSUBURBAN LIFEEditor: Richard Maloney, rmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134

Aves Theatre presents“Catch Me If You Can,” a high-flying musical comedy aboutchasing your dreams and notgetting caught, Thursday, Jan.29, through Saturday, Jan. 31 inthe Sycamore High School Au-ditorium.

This award-winning musicalcomedy is a riveting storybased on the hit DreamWorksfilm and the incredible true sto-ry of precocious teenagerFrank Abignale Jr. With nothingmore than his boyish charm, abig imagination and millions ofdollars in forged checks, Abig-nale, played by senior Paul Phil-lips, creates an astonishing ar-

ray of identities - airline pilot,doctor, lawyer - none of whichhe has any qualifications for.When Frank's lies catch the at-tention of FBI agent Carl Han-ratty, played by sophomore Ma-son Taylor, the chase begins.Hanratty chases Abignale to theend...and finds something henever expected.

Shows start at 7:30 p.m. eachevening and tickets are $10.Tickets will be available for pur-chase during lunch at SycamoreHigh School Jan. 28-30 or at thedoor. Box office opens at 6:30p.m.

For more information, visitwww.avestheatre.org.

Sycamore Theatre presents ‘Catch Me if You Can’THANKS TO

MELINDA BRIGGS

From row, (leftto right) SammyCiricillo,Meagan Hauptand AllieBrown; back,JonathanRollins, BraydonGarrett, EmmaStewart, KaylaKramer, PaulPhillips, EvelynGarrett, FrannieLevy, NoahSilverman andBradley Haupt.

Cincinnati Country Day» After a comprehensive

search, Cincinnati Country DaySchool’s Board of Trustees hasselected Anthony T.T. Jaccaci asthe 12th head of school, effec-tive July 1.

Jaccaci is executive princi-pal of the secondary division ofthe YK Pao School in Shanghai.He has accumulated 17 years of

teaching and sen-ior administra-tive experienceat YK Pao Schooland St. George’sSchool in New-port, Rhode Is-land.

Jaccaci grad-uated from Phil-lips Academy, a

private, independent school inAndover, Massachusetts. He re-ceived a bachelor of arts degreein East Asian Studies from Har-vard University and a master ofarts from Tufts University’sFletcher School of Law and Di-plomacy, with concentration inAsian studies and business.

He began his teaching careerat St. George’s School, where heserved in several roles over 13years, including history and lan-guages teacher, departmenthead, summer school head anddirector of global programs.While at St. George’s, he alsotaught at the U.S. Naval War Col-lege in Newport for two years.

In 2010, Jaccaci moved to hiscurrent position in Shanghai,where he was charged with theentrepreneurial task of buildingthe secondary division from theground up, enrolling the firststudents in grades six-12. Whilethere, he developed a track rec-ord of fundraising and creatingstrategic partnerships that pro-vide students with additionallearning and growth opportuni-ties outside the classrooms.

In a statement to the CountryDay community, Board Presi-dent Chip Pettengill and SearchCommittee co-chairs JulieFleischmann and Jon Hall, said,“During his campus visit, Tonyemerged as a highly capable, vi-sionary leader who is passionateabout learning and promotingrigorous academic preparationin a supportive and joyful envi-ronment.”

Jaccaci was one of three fi-nalists who spent two days vis-iting Country Day’s campus. Inaccepting the job, he said,“Whether I was speaking withlower school students, visitingmiddle school classrooms or lis-tening to upper school studentsdescribe their experiences, itwas clear that students lovecoming to school every day.This, to me, is a reflection of athriving learning community.”

He and his wife, Lucia, havethree sons, Nick, Sam and Ben.The family will live in the headof school house on CountryDay’s campus in Indian Hill.

Jaccaci will replace Robert P.

Macrae who leaves in June tobecome head of school at NewCanaan Country School in NewCanaan, Connecticut. Macraehas been head of school at CCDSsince 2004.

» Cincinnati Country DaySchool’s Board of Trustees hasnamed six new trustees. Theyjoin 18 others on the 24-memberboard of the Indian Hill collegepreparatory school.

The new trustees are: JodyBrant of Amberley Village, Ja-son Fraley of Batavia Township,J. Michael Leonard Jr., Holly(Oblinger) Mott of Mariemont,Marilyn O’Brien of Indian Hilland Paul R. Stewart of New-town.

Mount Notre Dame HighSchool

» Following the recommen-dation of a search committeeand approval of its Board ofTrustees, Mount Notre Damehas selected Judy Gerwe as its

next head ofschool, effectiveJuly 1.

Gerwe, agraduate ofMND, is joiningthe school fromSt. Pius X Ele-mentary in Edge-wood, Kentucky,where she has

served as principal for the past 41/2 years. Prior to her tenure atSt. Pius, she served 22 years atNotre Dame Academy in North-ern Kentucky as a teacher andadministrator – including deanof students and assistant princi-pal. Gerwe has a bachelor’s de-gree in mathematics and ele-mentary education from Na-tional College of Education inChicago, a master’s degree ineducation from Xavier Univer-sity, and several endorsementsincluding high school mathe-matics and K-12 Administration.

“My career has provided mewith experience in collabora-tion, budgets, capital cam-paigns, accreditations, market-ing, development, managementand leadership. I will bring thisexperience to MND so that wecan continue to strive to be thefirst choice in Catholic highschool education for youngwomen in the Cincinnati area,”Gerwe said. She and her hus-band, Ken live in Northern Ken-tucky. The couple has two chil-dren, Anna and Julia.

“We are very excited to haveJudy join us, and we are confi-dent that she will build upon thestrengths of the organization totake us to even higher levels,”said Tony Reed, MND boardchair on behalf of the Board andthe Head of School SelectionCommittee.

Gerwe will be following Lar-ry Mock, MND’s current head ofschool, who last summer an-nounced his plans to retire at theend of this school year. “I caregreatly about MND’s studentsand the entire supportive com-munity. Judy’s passion for edu-cating young women, a wonder-ful internalization of the char-ism of St. Julie and the Sisters ofNotre Dame, and a warm, mag-netic personality will serve herand MND well into the future,”Mock said.

Sycamore Schools» Seven Sycamore High

School fine arts students ad-vanced to the semi-finals of theCincinnati Arts Association’sOverture Awards Jan. 16-17.

The Overture Awards Schol-arship Competition is the area’slargest solo arts competitionand offers scholarships in six ar-tistic disciplines: creative writ-ing, dance, instrumental music,theatre, visual art and vocal mu-sic.

Senior Ben Cohen and sopho-more Elsa Benson will compete

in the theater competition thisweekend. Senior Audrey Moell-er will take part in the 2-D visualarts category. Senior JacobWang (violin), junior EmmaBurge (violin), junior CarolineGao (piano) and freshman Da-vid Godar (piano) will competein the instrumental music cate-gory.

For the 2015 OvertureAwards competition, studentsmay win a $4,000 scholarship(one awarded in each discipline)or a $1,000 finalist scholarship (atotal of 18 awarded). Judges atall levels of the competition aredrawn from the professionalarts community. Each schoolmay submit 12 nominees. Previ-ous Overture Awards finalistsare automatically eligible anddo not count against the final 12.

Thirty-one Sycamore HighSchool students competed in re-gionals Jan. 10. These studentshad to audition for the Syca-more High School music depart-ment in order to be nominatedfor competition. Those whowere nominated:

Theater - Elsa Benson, BenCohen, Graham Lutes, AndrewLeonard, Kayla Kramer, MitchSingstock.

Instrumental music - EmmaBurge (previous finalist), NoraDukart, David Fryxell.

Visual arts - Audrey Moeller,Lauren McKinney, HannahBrown.

Creative writing - Taylor Ev-ans.

Sycamore students nominat-ed by their studios or privateteachers:

Theater - Samantha Ciricillo,Musical Arts Center; EvelynGarrett, Musical Arts Center;Avi Goldstein, CCM Prepara-tory; Isaac Goldstein, Karl Res-nik Studio; Alex Montchai,McCready Voice Studio; PaulPhillips, McCready Voice Stu-dio.

Vocal music - Mary Aulicino,

Musical Arts Center; KeerthiNalluri, Swaratmika School ofCarnatic; Allison Rogge, ShawnCharton Voice Studio; EmmaSteward, Musical Arts Center;Marissa Wyrick, Marilyn ZelcerStudio

Instrumental music - Yangx-ing Ding, CCM Preparatory;Caroline Gao, Leung Studio; Da-vid Godar, CCM Preparatory;Jacob Wang, Li Violin Studio;Jonathan Weng, Li Violin Studio

Dance - Supriya Malla, Cul-tural Centre of India; Sneha Ra-jagopal, Anupriya KrishnanDance; Asha Sethuraman, Anu-priya Krishnan Dance; MichelleSwart, The Studio for Dance.

Last year, nine SHS studentsadvanced to the semifinals andfour made it to the finals. JosephVaz, a current senior, was theoverall winner in the instrumen-tal music category.

Finals will be Saturday, Feb.28, at the Aronoff Center, Jar-son-Kaplan Theater. For moreinformation, visit the OvertureAwards website: www.cincin-natiarts.org/education-commu-nity/overture-awards.

Ursuline Academy» Ursuline celebrated its

32nd annual Ultimate AuctionNov. 22.

A record $405,000 wasraised, and the Ursuline Sistersof Brown County EndowedScholarship was established inthe amount of $118,550.

“In 1896 the Ursulines ofBrown County founded Ursu-line Academy, and have workedtirelessly for more than a centu-ry to educate young women notonly for school, but for life,” Ur-suline President Sharon Red-mond said. “This scholarshiphonors their legacy and keepstheir promise, that any youngwoman who is academicallyqualified can receive an Ursu-line education regardless of herfamily’s ability to pay tuition.”

SCHOOLS NOTEBOOK

Jaccaci

Gerwe

THANKS TO SALLY NEIDHARD

Ursuline Ultimate Auction co-chairs Tom and Susan Frooman of Loveland, Ursuline President Sharon Redmond, and co-chairs Lisa and Mark Redden ofMaineville.

A4 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015

THURSDAY, JAN. 29Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,6300 Price Road, Miami Town-ship area photographic artistJackson Sawyer displays selec-tions of his photography. 677-7600. Loveland.

Dining EventsWine Pairing Dinner, 7-9 p.m.,La Petite Pierre, 7800 CamargoRoad, Four-course dinner featur-ing French-inspired food withwines to match. Ages 21 and up.$85. Reservations required.Presented by The Wine Mer-chant. 731-1515; www.wine-merchantcincinnati.com. Madei-ra.

Exercise ClassesZumba Class, 7-8 p.m., HartzellUnited Methodist Church, 8999Applewood Drive, $5. Presentedby Zumba with Ashley. 917-7475.Blue Ash.

On Stage - ComedyAlex Stone CD Recording, 8p.m., Go Bananas Comedy Club,8410 Market Place Lane, $8-$14.984-9288; www.gobananasco-medy.com. Montgomery.

FRIDAY, JAN. 30Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

On Stage - ComedyAlex Stone CD Recording, 8p.m., 10:30 p.m., Go BananasComedy Club, $8-$14. 984-9288;www.gobananascomedy.com.Montgomery.

RecreationTGIF at Kids First, 6-10 p.m., KidsFirst Sports Center, 7900 E.Kemper Road, Pizza, indoorswimming and night-time snack.$30, $20 each additional child.Reservations required. ThroughFeb. 27. 489-7575. SycamoreTownship.

SATURDAY, JAN. 31Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Cooking ClassesKids’ Favorite Dishes - AllThings Cheese with HollyBader, noon to 1 p.m., Cooks’Wares, 11344 Montgomery Road,$10. Reservations required.489-6400. Symmes Township.

Exercise ClassesTai Chi Class Yang 37 ShortForm, 4-5 p.m., Yoga Fit Bou-tique, 10776 Montgomery Road,With Master Jerome Cook. Ages16-99. $20. Registration required.237-5330; www.want2gofit.com.

Sycamore Township.

Literary - LibrariesBrush Bot Challenge, 2 p.m.,Loveland Branch Library, 649Loveland-Madeira Road, Teensmake robot using basic electron-ics. Ages 12-17. Free. 369-4476;www.cincinnatilibrary.org.Loveland.

Music - WorldScottish Rabbie Burns DinnerCelebration, 6-11 p.m., Recep-tions Banquet and ConferenceCenter Loveland, 10681 LovelandMadeira Road, Celebrate life andworks of Scottish poet, RobertBurns. Bagpipes and drums,highland dancing, Scottishcountry dancing and more. $26,$13 children. Reservations re-quired. Presented by CaledonianSociety of Cincinnati. 444-4920;www.caledoniansociety.org.Loveland.

On Stage - Children’sTheater

Madcap Puppets: Once Upon AClock, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., UC BlueAsh College Muntz Theater, 9555Plainfield Road, Muntz Theater.World of enchanting stories withAlvis and Sydney, two kidsattempting to unlock the secretsof their uncle’s mysterious clockshop. $7. Presented by ARTrage-ous Saturdays. 745-5705; uc-blueash.edu/artrageous. BlueAsh.

On Stage - ComedyAlex Stone CD Recording, 8p.m., 10:30 p.m., Go BananasComedy Club, $8-$14. 984-9288;www.gobananascomedy.com.Montgomery.

SUNDAY, FEB. 1Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 1p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Exercise ClassesYoga Basics for Beginners,noon to 3 p.m., Yoga Fit Bou-tique, 10776 Montgomery Road,Learn breathing techniques,common sanskrit terms, philoso-phy and alignment of postures.$40. Registration required.237-5330; www.want2gofit.com.Sycamore Township.

MONDAY, FEB. 2Art & Craft ClassesIntroduction to Knitting theGaptastic Cowl, 9:30-11:30 a.m.,Woman’s Art Club CulturalCenter, 6980 Cambridge Ave.,Skills learned: knit, purl, cast on,knitting on circular needles, castoff, swatching, understandinggauge and stitch count andbeginning pattern reading. Ages20-93. $120 for six sessions.Registration required. Presentedby Woman’s Art Club Founda-tion. 272-3700; www.artatthe-barn.org. Mariemont.

Beginning Cable Knitting withToby Ganz, 12:30-2:30 p.m.,Woman’s Art Club CulturalCenter, 6980 Cambridge Ave.,Learn necessary skills needed toknit a cable sweater with ease.Ages 20-93. $100 five classes.Registration required. Presentedby Woman’s Art Club Founda-tion. 272-3700; www.artatthe-barn.org. Mariemont.

Cooking ClassesBrunch from Vitor’s Bistrowith Vitor Abreu, 6:30-9 p.m.,Cooks’ Wares, 11344 Montgo-mery Road, $40. Reservationsrequired. 489-6400. SymmesTownship.

Literary - LibrariesPreschool Storytime, 10-11 a.m.,Loveland Branch Library, 649Loveland-Madeira Road, Enjoybooks, songs, activities, craftsand more, while building earlyliteracy skills. For preschoolersand their caregivers. Ages 3-6.Free. 369-4476; www.cincinnati-library.org. Loveland.

Toddler Storytime, 11 a.m. tonoon, Loveland Branch Library,649 Loveland-Madeira Road,Encourage emerging languageskills with books, rhymes, crafts,music and fun. For ages 18-36months. Free. 369-4476. Love-land.

Music - ClassicalLinton Music Inspired byFriendship and Nature, 7:30p.m., Congregation Beth Adam,10001 Loveland-Madeira Road,Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano.William Preucil, violin. BennyKim, violin. Philip Dukes, viola.Eric Kim, cello. $30. Presented byLinton Music. 381-6868; linton-music.org. Loveland.

TUESDAY, FEB. 3Art & Craft ClassesOil Painting with Jan Boone,noon to 3 p.m., Woman’s ArtClub Cultural Center, 6980Cambridge Ave., The Barn. Forbeginning and intermediatepainters. Instruction covers basicpainting techniques, gooddrawing and creative use ofcolor. Ages 18 and up. $120.Registration required. 791-7044;www.artatthebarn.org. Marie-mont.

Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Dining EventsOpen Your Heart for SteppingStones, 6-10 p.m., Eddie Mer-lot’s, 10808 Montgomery Road,Hors d’oeuvres, cocktails andseated dinner. Wine and beerincluded, cash bar, valet provid-ed. Cocktail attire. Surf and turf,with vegetarian entree available.Benefits Stepping Stones. $175.Reservations required. Presentedby Stepping Stones. 559-2443;

www.cincyopenyourheart.org.Sycamore Township.

Exercise ClassesZumba Class, 7-8 p.m., HartzellUnited Methodist Church, $5.917-7475. Blue Ash.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4Art & Craft ClassesCostumed Portrait Paintingand Drawing Class, 12:30 p.m.,Woman’s Art Club CulturalCenter, 6980 Cambridge Ave.,Students have opportunity towork from costumed model ateach class. Class focuses on studyof values, color temperature,composition, painting anddrawing techniques. $210 persession, plus $30 modeling feeper session. Registration re-quired. 259-9302; www.deb-orahridgley.com. Mariemont.

Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Cooking ClassesCheesecakes and CinnamonRolls with Karen Harmon,6:30-9 p.m., Cooks’ Wares, 11344Montgomery Road, $45. Reserva-tions required. 489-6400.Symmes Township.

Literary - LibrariesMulticultural Families Play-date, 11 a.m. to noon, LovelandBranch Library, 649 Loveland-Madeira Road, Share joys, cus-toms and traditions of raisingchildren in multicultural home.Socialize with other parentswhile children play. Educationalmaterials and toys provided. Forages 18 months-6 years. Free.369-4476. Loveland.

On Stage - ComedyPro-Am Night, 8 p.m., Go Ba-nanas Comedy Club, 8410 MarketPlace Lane, Aspiring comics,amateurs and professionals takethe stage. Ages 18 and up. $5.984-9288; www.gobananasco-medy.com. Montgomery.

THURSDAY, FEB. 5Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Cooking ClassesCooking for Two - Aphrodisi-acs with Carolyn Gray, 6:30-9p.m., Cooks’ Wares, 11344 Mont-gomery Road, $45. Reservationsrequired. 489-6400. SymmesTownship.

Exercise ClassesZumba Class, 7-8 p.m., HartzellUnited Methodist Church, $5.917-7475. Blue Ash.

On Stage - ComedyJon Roy, 8 p.m., Go BananasComedy Club, 8410 Market PlaceLane, $8-$14. 984-9288; www.go-bananascomedy.com. Montgo-mery.

FRIDAY, FEB. 6Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

On Stage - Comedy

Jon Roy, 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m., GoBananas Comedy Club, $8-$14.984-9288; www.gobananasco-medy.com. Montgomery.

SATURDAY, FEB. 7Art ExhibitsMy Father’s World, 9 a.m. to 6p.m., River Hills Christian Church,677-7600. Loveland.

Art OpeningsWoman’s Art Club of Cincin-nati Signature Member Exhi-bition, 3-6 p.m., Woman’s ArtClub Cultural Center, 6980Cambridge Ave., The Barn. Viewand acquire works by womenwho have achieved SignatureStatus through juried process.Exhibit continues through Feb.22. Free. Presented by TheWoman’s Art Club of Cincinnati.272-3700; www.artatthebar-n.org. Mariemont.

Cooking ClassesQuick and Easy Chicken Soupwith Joe Westfall, noon to 1p.m., Cooks’ Wares, 11344 Mont-gomery Road, $20. Reservationsrequired. 489-6400. SymmesTownship.

Exercise ClassesTai Chi Class Yang 37 ShortForm, 4-5 p.m., Yoga Fit Bou-

tique, $20. Registration required.237-5330; www.want2gofit.com.Sycamore Township.

Health / WellnessGo Red Total Makeover, 2-4p.m., Macy’s-Kenwood, 7800Montgomery Road, Visit stationsand get heart health passportstamped. Visit all stations andget entered into drawing for$250 Macy’s gift card. Giveaways,cooking samples. Free. Presentedby American Heart Association.842-8871. Kenwood.

Holiday - Valentine’s DayDaddy/Daughter Valentine’sDance, 6-8 p.m., Kids First SportsCenter, 7900 E. Kemper Road,$16 per couple, $6 each addition-al daughter. 489-7575;www.kidsfirstsports.com. Syca-more Township.

Music - Concert SeriesLinton Music’s Peanut Butter &Jam Sessions: High, Low, Fast,Slow. Listen Closely, Here WeGo, 10-10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to12:15 p.m., 1-1:45 p.m., GoodShepherd Lutheran ChurchKenwood, 7701 Kenwood Road.$5 or four for $15; free underage 2. Presented by LintonPeanut Butter & Jam Sessions.381-6868; www.lintonmusic.org.Kenwood.

THINGS TO DO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

ABOUT CALENDARTo submit calendar items, go to www.cincinnati.com and click

on “Share!” Send digital photos to life@communitypress.comalong with event information. Items are printed on a space-available basis with local events taking precedence.

Deadline is two weeks before publication date. To find morecalendar events, go to www.cincinnati.com and choose from amenu of items in the Entertainment section on the main page.

THANKS TO PETE GEMMER

Madcap Puppets is coming to UC Blue Ash College withperformances of “Once Upon A Clock” at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.Saturday, Jan. 31, at Muntz Theater, 9555 Plainfield Road, BlueAsh. Explore a world of enchanting stories with Alvis andSydney, two kids attempting to unlock the secrets of theiruncle’s mysterious clock shop. Admission is $7. Presented byARTrageous Saturdays. For more information, call 745-5705, orvisit ucblueash.edu/artrageous.

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JANUARY 28, 2015 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • A5NEWS

A surprise documentcame in the mail. It wasfrom the Ohio Senatehonoring me “for exem-plary achievement inyour community andinspiration to individualsto excel in numerous

areas ofendeavor.”

Well, norecog-nition isearned byoneself.You, myreaders,share inthis awardsince thiscolumntruly is a

community endeavor andthe sharing of recipes,threads of wisdom andstories of family, foodand fun is all part of aweekly “visit” that wehave together.

Whether your teamfor the Super Bowl isSeattle or New England,you’ll need some heartyfixins’ to keep energy upduring the game. Hereare a couple of our fam-ily’s favorites.

Hanky pankiesI love the fact that this

recipe is being embracedby a younger generationof fans. Simple, comfortfoods like this are theones that disappear fastwhen we’re entertaining.I usually double this andfreeze some. Here’s mylatest version

1/2 pound groundsirloin

1/2 pound hot sau-sage (you can use reg-ular for a mild version)

Few dashes Worces-

tershire1 pound cubed Vel-

veeta1/2 teaspoon dried

oreganoGarlic powder to

tasteParty rye roundsCook the beef and

sausage. I use a potatomasher to break the meatup, then stir in rest ofingredients and cookuntil cheese melts. Serveon party rye or in hol-lowed out rye round. Youcan refrigerate this mix-ture and run the roundsunder the broiler to re-heat, or reheat mixture inmicrowave.

Chicken chiliThe ancho chili pow-

der is simply grounddried poblanos. The lasttime I made this, I usedboneless chicken thighsand breasts. You’ll need atotal of about 4 cups(which is what you’ll get,more or less from anaverage deli chicken). Ipoached them in broth.Also I had to add morespices to boost the flavor.Chili is a personal thing. Ilearned that when I was ajudge for a chili cook-off.I like to make this a dayahead. When I rewarm it,I usually add morespices, etc. Adapted froma recipe shared by CathyH., a Madeira reader.

1 rotisserie chicken,skin removed and meatshredded coarsely

1 can, 15 oz. Cannelli-ni beans, drained

1 can, 15 oz. GreatNorthern beans,drained

Olive oil1-2 jalapeno peppers,

minced1 large bell pepper or

2 poblanos, chopped - Ilike poblanos

2 generous cups on-ion, chopped or to taste

1 generous table-spoon garlic, minced orto taste

1 teaspoon groundcoriander

1-1/2 teaspoons an-cho chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin1 quart chicken brothCouple cups frozen

corn, thawed - optSalt and pepperJuice of 2 limes plus

extra for garnishAlso for garnish: torn

cilantro leaves, sourcream, chopped toma-toes, crushed tortillachips

Mash half the beanswith a potato masher.Film pot with oil andsauté peppers, onion andgarlic just until onionsare a little soft. Addspices and cook for aminute or so until yousmell their flavor. Pour inbroth, bring to a boil andlower to a simmer. Addbeans and corn and sim-mer 30 minutes or so.

Stir in chicken until heat-ed through. Add limejuice to taste. Serve withgarnishes.

Rita’s Italianseasoning

Savory is herb of theyear and one that’s un-derused. It has an aro-matic peppery flavor,good in bean dishes (Ger-mans call it the beanherb) since it helps dispelgas. This recipe containsno salt.

Mix together:3 tablespoons dried

basil

3 tablespoons driedoregano

1 teaspoon driedthyme

1 teaspoon driedrosemary, crushed

2 tablespoons driedparsley

1 teaspoon driedsavory

Rita Nader Heikenfeld is anherbalist, educator, JungleJim’s Eastgate culinary pro-fessional and author. Find herblog online atAbouteating.com. Call 513-248-7130, ext. 356.

Indulge in comfort foods for Super Bowl

Rita HeikenfeldRITA’S KITCHEN

THANKS TO RITA HEIKENFELD

Hanky pankie served in hollowed-out rye makes a good Super Bowl comfort food.

Dr. Jennifer Wells, one of the Top 15 Veterinary Technology professors in the U.S.

ucblueash.edu/possible

We make it possible. Professors teach here because they want small classes and a larger role in the lives of their students. Because here, closeness is more than a matter of proximity.

You make it happen.

CE-0000617979

A6 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015

VIEWPOINTSVIEWPOINTSEDITORIALS | LETTERS | COLUMNS | CH@TROOM CommunityPress.com

NORTHEASTSUBURBAN LIFEEditor: Richard Maloney, rmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134

NORTHEASTSUBURBAN LIFE

Loveland Herald EditorRichard Maloneyrmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-FridaySee page A2 for additional contact information.

394 Wards Corner RoadLoveland, Ohio 45140phone: 248-8600email: nesuburban@communitypress.comweb site: www.communitypress.com

A publication of

Adopt your next furry family memberCincinnati is one of the best

places in the country to own apet. With tremendous outdoorspaces, amazing health carefacilities, and affordable main-tenance costs, there are doz-ens of reasons why now mightbe the best time to consideradding a pet to your family.

Pet ownership has tripled inthe past 40 years, with morethan 160 million pets in theUnited States, but there arestill significant numbers ofanimals that need homes, espe-cially those available in ourlocal shelters and rescues.

Despite such significantgrowth in pet ownership, esti-mates show that only 30 per-cent of all pets are adoptedfrom animal shelters, leavinga huge population unadopted –nearly 3 million shelter ani-mals are euthanized annuallyin the United States.

The problem is not overpop-ulation; instead it is a call-for-

action to edu-cate the com-munity that wecan make adifference.Research fromThe HumaneSociety of theUnited Stateshas found thatmore than 17million homes

are planning to add a pet totheir family in 2015, buthaven’t decided where to go tofind their new furry familymember. That means if justone in every five potential petowners chooses to adopt ananimal, they can help save thelives of millions of animals,that otherwise could be euth-anized.

Many animals end up inshelters and rescues throughno fault of their own. They arevictims of circumstances be-yond their control, such as an

illness or death in the family,divorce, growing family, fam-ily relocation, or impropertraining and preparation fromowners. These pets arehealthy, loving animals. Likeany other pet, they might needtraining to fit into a family andhome, as well as patience fromtheir new family to help themadjust to their new surround-ings, but adopting an animalpresents benefits that helpfacilitate this transition.

Animals from rescue or-ganizations living in fosterhomes have already had expe-rience in a home setting andmany shelters have volunteersand staff members that helppeople and pets with trainingand obedience even beforethey are adopted. As an addedbonus, adoption can help re-duce many additional costsassociated with new pet own-ership. Not only are shelteranimal adoption fees lower

than buying from a pet storeor breeder, but many of theadoptable animals in sheltersand rescues have already beenspayed or neutered and arevaccinated. There are so manywonderful reasons to adopt orrescue a pet. Cincinnati ishelping to make it easier forindividuals and families whowant to add a pet to their fam-ily, by once again bringingtogether the area’s best shel-ters and rescues to showcasetheir animals in one conve-nient location during Cincin-nati’s official Pet AdoptionWeekend.

The region’s largest animaladoption event, My FurryValentine, a nonprofit organi-zation focused on bringingtogether adoptable animalsand potential pet owners, ishosting its annual Mega Adop-tion Event at the SharonvilleConvention Center from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 14 and Feb.

15.With dozens of rescues and

shelters, satellite adoptionevents around the city, andnumerous vendors and ad-vocacy groups participating,My Furry Valentine is hopingto find homes for 550 animalsduring the weekend event. Theevent is fun, family-friendlyand free to attend. This year’sMy Furry Valentine is hostedby phoDOGrapher and pre-sented by Top Dog sponsorsIAMS and Tri-County Mallwith additional financial assis-tance from The Joanie Ber-nard Foundation.

Carolyn Evans is founder of MyFurry Valentine, a nonprofit createdin 2012 to raise awareness for theanimal rescue community through aweekend-long animal adoptionevent. The annual gathering hasfound homes for more than 1,300 petssince inception. Visitwww.myfurryvalentine.com.

Carolyn EvansCOMMUNITY PRESSGUEST COLUMNIST

January is National Glauco-ma Awareness Month, and thedoctors at Cincinnati Eye In-stitute need your help tospread the word about thissight stealing disease.

In the United States, morethan 2.7 million people over theage of 40 have glaucoma, buthalf of those people don’t knowthey have the disease. This isbecause, in most cases, thereare no symptoms at first. Infact, as much as 40 percent ofvision can be lost without aperson noticing, and unfortu-nately, once vision is lost itcan’t be restored. This is whyglaucoma is often referred toas “the sneak thief of sight.”

Glaucoma is the leadingcause of preventable blindnessin the United States. In tech-nical terms, it is a group ofdiseases that cause damage tothe optic nerve, resulting in agradual loss of vision. Withouttreatment, patients with glau-coma will slowly lose theirperipheral, or side vision, sothat they seem to be lookingthrough a tunnel. Over time,

straight-aheadvision maydecrease untilno vision re-mains. Withtreatment, lossof vision canbe slowed, andin some caseseven stoppedaltogether.

There is nocure for glau-

coma, but it can be controlled.Early detection and treatmentare the keys to protecting youreyes against vision loss. So,what can you do? The simpleanswer is, make an appoint-ment for a full eye exam. TheAmerican Academy of Oph-thalmology recommends thatadults with no signs or riskfactors for eye disease get abaseline eye disease screeningat age 40 – the time when earlysigns of disease and changes invision may start to occur.Based on the results of thisscreening, your eye doctor canprescribe treatment, or sug-gest intervals for follow-up

exams. For those who have already

been diagnosed with glaucoma,we need your help, too. Weencourage you to talk to familyand friends, and have a con-versation about the disease.This is especially importantbecause those with a familyhistory of glaucoma are at ahigher risk of developing it.

For National GlaucomaAwareness Month, the doctorsat Cincinnati Eye Institutewould like to encourage you tolearn more about your eyehealth. While age, race, andfamily history are importantrisk factors to consider, anyonecan develop glaucoma. If youhaven’t had your eyes checkedin a few years, consider sched-uling an appointment with youreye doctor. If you think you areat risk, we encourage you totake action. Don’t let glaucomasneak up on you. After all, yoursight depends on it.

Dr. Linda J. Greff specializes in adultand pediatric glaucoma. She lives inPleasant Ridge.

Dangers of glaucoma can be eye-opening

Dr. Linda J.GreffCOMMUNITY PRESSGUEST COLUMNIST

Jan. 21 questionThe city of Cincinnati released a

report earlier this month whichdetailed a decrease in crime with-in the city. Do you feel safer, orsafe, in the city than you have inthe past? Why or why not?

“I believe that downtown Cin-cinnati is safer now. I used to beable to park downtown for freeat any parking meter after 6 p.m.Now most of those meters aretaken up by red ‘valet’ bags.There tends to be a gauntlet ofbeggars seeking handouts asone walks the streets. ThereforeI prefer The Banks area. TheBanks has a large parking ga-rage and many places to mingleala Newport Levy. Go Figure!”

T.D.T.

Jan. 14 questionSome people have criticized re-

cent school closings due to coldweather. What do you think aboutthe practice of canceling classeswhen the mercury dips?

“My biggest issue with theclosing or delay of schools whenthe temperatures are low is that

schools are adapting to studentshabits as opposed to studentsadapting to the situation.

“When I look around at thekids walking or standing waitingfor buses it appears that many ofthem are not dressed for theweather. No winter coats, falltype, sweatshirt hoodies, no hatsor gloves.

“When I was a kid, growingup in Northern Ohio (walking toschool, up hill both ways) wouldwalk or wait for the bus in a win-ter coat, with gloves and a hat. Itcertainly wasn’t great, but theclothing made it bearable and

safe. “So it may be a matter of stu-

dents realizing that when it iscold, you dress up like it is coldoutside. This may allow the tem-perature which causes schoolclosings or delays to happen at alower temperature, to the pointwhere even with appropriatewinter clothing it could still bedangerous.

“As a final note, my kids don’tdress appropriately and theyboth have winter coats.”

C.S.

“I wonder if those who are ob-jecting to the school closings dueto the cold weather are aware ofthe fact that the school buses arediesel engines which do notwork well in extremely coldtemperatures. Not only are thechildren spared the waiting insub zero wind chills, but they arealso spared waiting in a bus withno heat when it breaks down anda tow truck is required.

“The schools could remainopen and require parents tobring the children one car at atime. Just imagine that trafficjam!”

D.O’C.

CH@TROOM

THIS WEEK’SQUESTIONWhat do you think about Presi-dent Obama's proposal to payfor two years of communitycollege, effectively expandingschool to K-14 by taxing 529college savings plans?

Every week we ask readers a questionthey can reply to via email. Send youranswers to rmaloney@communitypress.com with Ch@troom in thesubject line.

We all get the winterblahs from time to time. Forsome, though, it’s more thanjust a blue mood. By someestimates, as much as 20percent of the populationsuffers from a mild to mod-erate form of Seasonal Af-fective Disorder (SAD) orwinter depression.

Older adults are at par-ticular risk – almost one inseven people over the age of65 are thought to exhibitsigns of clinical depression,according to mental healthexperts.

What is SeasonalAffective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Dis-order (SAD) is a set ofsymptoms, including de-pression and unpredictablemood swings, which occurwhen ambient light levelsdiminish during the fall andwinter as the sun movesprogressively lower in thesky. The depression andmood swings are often asso-ciated with a dip in the se-rum blood level of seroto-nin, a neurotransmitter thathelps to regulate mood, andmelatonin, a serotonin-derived neurotransmitterthat regulates sleep pat-terns.

Mammals (includinghumans) have an area of thebrain called the pinealgland, which regulates theproduction of melatonin.Some researchers believethat this region of the brainis able to detect smallchanges in ambient lightand sun angle over time,and thus upregulate ordown regulate the brain’sserotonin and melatoninproduction.

Some researchers be-lieve that people who sufferSAD may simply have anoverly active pineal gland,or may produce less seroto-nin on average than a per-son without the condition.

Either way, it is a serious,life-affecting problem formany people.

What you can do tobeat the winter blues.

The keys to feeling bet-ter are getting more lightand more exercise. If theweather isn’t too cold or icy,take a stroll for 20-30 min-utes twice a day. If you can’tget out, draw up the blindsand open shutters over win-dows to allow more ambientsunlight into your home.

If you have a fireplace,use it. Sitting in front of anevening fire on cold, darkwinter nights may help tokeep your melatonin pro-duction normalized. If thatdoesn’t help, there are spe-cial light therapy devicesthat SAD sufferers can useto help reduce symptoms.

Serotonin re-uptake-inhibiting medicines(SSRIs) like Prozac andZoloft can also be helpful inbreaking severe depressivecycles, but these medica-tions must be carefullymonitored by a doctor. Youcannot simply start and stopthem at will. They takeseveral weeks to build toeffective levels, and youmust also wean off themgradually.

Moderate exercise in-creases serum serotoninand also triggers the pro-duction of the pain-reliev-ing hormone dopamine. Aregular indoor exerciseprogram can help reducethe symptoms of depressionand even alleviate somechronic pain. Not only canseniors combat the winterblues, they can increasetheir overall wellness andstrength, just by gettingmore active.

Episcopal Retirement Homesruns Marjorie P. Lee, DeupreeHome and Deupree Cottages inEastern Cincinnati.

Don’t let thewinter bluesget you down

JANUARY 28, 2015 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • B1

SPORTSSPORTSHIGH SCHOOL | YOUTH | RECREATIONAL CommunityPress.com

NORTHEASTSUBURBAN LIFEEditor: Melanie Laughman, mlaughman@communitypress.com, 513-248-7573

Boys basketball» Summit Country Day

nipped Cincinnati Hills Chris-tian Academy 52-51 Jan. 16. WillDrosos led the Eagles with 12points.

» Moeller beat St. John’s Je-suit 51-49 in overtime Jan. 18.Senior Grant Pitman led the Cru-saders with 16 points.

» Indian Hill downed Read-

ing 70-41 on Jan. 20 as juniorNick Heidel had 23 points.

Girls basketball» Cincinnati Hills Christian

Academy split a pair of gameslast week. The Eagles defeatedCincinnati Christian 43-28 Jan.17. Naomi Grandison led all scor-ers with 11 points.

Summit Country Day defeat-ed CHCA 57-30 Jan. 21.

» Ursuline Academy pickedup two wins last week. The Lionsdefeated Little Miami 63-37 Jan.16 and Mercy 67-34 Jan. 22.

» Indian Hill beat Reading 27-

22 Jan. 17. Junior SamanthaArington led the Lady Braveswith 10 points.

» Mount Notre Dame downedLakota East 52-31on Jan. 20. Sen-ior Naomi Davenport led theCougars with 17 points.

On Jan. 22, MND beat Seton56-35 as senior Dani Kissel hadfour treys and 20 points.

Coaching opportunity» MND is currently looking

for a JV softball coach. Emailmichelle.MND soft-ball@gmail.com for informa-tion.

SHORT HOPS

By Scott Springer and Nick Robbesspringer@communitypress.comnrobbe@communitypress.com

READING — It’s possiblethat one of the greatest vol-leyball players in the historyof Mount Notre Dame HighSchool never stepped on thefloor for the eight-time Divi-sion I state champion Cou-gars.

Naomi Davenport original-ly came to MND to recordkills over the high net forcoach Joe Burke. A twist offate with the clock changedher options at the Readingathletic powerhouse.

“I missed the tryouts,” Da-venport said chuckling. “Ijust switched to basketball.”

Fortunately, the Cougarswere plenty stacked in volley-ball and have won three statetitles in Davenport’s time atMND. With the circular net,Davenport saw varsity timeas a freshman and has beenGirls Greater CatholicLeague first team the past twoseasons, including Player ofthe Year as a junior.

Her latest honor is as a Mc-Donald’s High School All-American nominee. The se-lections will be announcedJan. 28 on ESPNU.

There are plenty of Mc-Donald’s high school all-starsin terms of consuming quar-ter-pounders and fries, butvery few get the “golden arch-es” honors on the hardwood.She joins Taylor Darks of Wal-nut Hills as the only local girlsnominated. Eventually, 24girls and boys are selected.

Either way, the 5-foot-9 for-ward is heading for the Uni-versity of Michigan to playfor the maize and blue. Shecommitted in October 2013and has since signed.

“My AAU coach took me toMichigan camp,” Davenportsaid. “When I walked into thegym, I just knew that’s whereI wanted to go. I had an auto-matic bond with the coaches

and the team.”She hopes to play right

away in Ann Arbor and is verycognizant of the rivalry thatexists with a popular school inColumbus.

“We just beat Ohio State,”Davenport said proudly.

In light of the Buckeyes na-tional football championship,she receives “friendly jabs”on a daily a basis about cross-ing the state line for college.

As a humble student-ath-lete, she’s not fazed by the at-tention for that or by her scor-ing exploits. She recentlyscored her 1,000th point forMND and didn’t even knowuntil head coach Dr. ScottRogers told her at halftime.

A highly accurate shooter,Davenport claims her besttalent is passing the ball. Interms of season highlights,rather than relive one of herown superlatives, she pointstoward a teammate.

“This season, one of mybest friends, Blair Carlin, hadknee surgery and she had arough time coming back,” Da-venport said. “Seeing hershoot a three was a big mo-ment.”

In addition to Carlin, MNDalso gets pretty balancedscoring from seniors DaniKissel, Maddy South, NicoleCrace, juniors Abby Weeksand Abbie Scholz and sopho-more Maria Pisciotta. Watch-ing their Cougar counterpartsin volleyball has the basket-ball team hungry for somehardware.

“We all want the samething,” Davenport said. “Wejust need to go out there anddo it. I’ve been playing withthese seniors all four yearsand we have good chemistry.We want state.”

MND lost in the districttourney to the defending statechamps, Fairmont last year.Ahead is a big rematch atMcAuley Jan. 29, then a homegame with Mercy Feb. 3.

TONY TRIBBLE FOR THE COMMUNITY PRESS

Mount Notre Dame's Naomi Davenport grabs a rebound.

All-Americannominee Davenportdeals on courtBy Scott Springersspringer@communitypress.com

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP —When he steps out of the poolfor the final time as a compet-itor for Sycamore HighSchool, senior Mark Hancherwill have a school record andmany options in and out of thewater.

In between the end ofschool, swim practice and thisinterview, Hancher wasworking on a scholarship pa-per. As talented a student as aswimmer, he succeeds in biol-ogy and the butterfly.

The youngest of four, hisparents are both family doc-tors and an older brother at-tends the University of Cin-cinnati College of Medicine.For swim coach Dan Carl(also a UC professor) he is justwhat the doctor ordered.

Hancher recently won the100 butterfly at the SouthwestOhio Coaches Classic, whichmakes him a front-runner toadvance in the coming weeksand swim at the state meet inCanton again.

What separates Hancherfrom the rest?

“I would say willing to bemeticulous to detail,” Syca-

more coach Carl said. “Herealizes that the small thingsare what make all the differ-ence in his performances. Heis in tune with a lot of minordetails and works on them on aregular basis.”

Combining high academicsand swimming requires in-credible time management.In the pool, his times are im-peccable and he holds theschool record in the 100 but-terfly at 50.3. His winningtime at the Classic was 51.34.

“I went a similar time acouple weeks ago,” Hanchersaid. “I’m hoping to go below51 in the GMC and sectionalsand to break 50 when districtsand state come around.”

Hancher began swimmingbutterfly at age eight. Sincehe was a little bigger, he wasone of the few kids that couldmanage the stroke. With prac-tice, he not only managed it;he mastered it.

Whether or not he swims incollege remains to be seen.Currently, Kenyon Collegeand Washington University inSt. Louis are the leadersshould water remain in theequation.

“If I go to a DIII school, Iwill be swimming,” Hancher

said. “DI, it depends on theprogram. I may be able towalk on at some schools and Imay not.”

Another option for Hanch-er is water polo. As a top scor-er for Nick Helling’s Aves, hemay join a club water poloteam at a school.

“Water polo has definitelymade me a stronger swimmerbecause it increased my abil-ity to sprint,” Hancher said.“We also do a lot of dry landwork and I got a lot stronger.”

Carl says Hancher leads byexample and the Aqua Avesare hopeful for Greater Mi-ami Conference success tokick start the postseason.

Sycamore’s boys were 10thin the Coaches Classic, withthe girls team finishing 12th.The Lady Aves were minusstate performer and OhioState commit Cara Norris.

“Cara unfortunately has afracture in her tibia,” Carlsaid. “It’s completely unrelat-ed to her foot surgeries. Shewas training very well, morethan in any of the three previ-ous years and now it may belost. The goal is to at leastswim at sectionals (out ofGMC’s) but that is still astretch.”

Sycamore swimmerMark Hancher eyesmore medalsBy Scott Springersspringer@communitypress.com

THANKS TO SWIMMEET.COM

Sycamore’s Mark Hancher was the 100 butterfly champion at the Southwest Ohio Coaches Classic meet.

ry of the championshipbefore the Cavaliers’game with Carroll.

As the “1985” noveltysong by Bowling For Soupstates, the year featured,“Springsteen, Madonna,way before Nirvana.There was U2 and Blondieand music still on MTV.”

A lot has changed sincethen and Stoll is now ath-letic director at SycamoreHigh School. His champi-onship Cavaliers are intheir late 40s.

The historyIn 1985, the Greater

Catholic League had no di-visions. Purcell Marianwas picked to finish lastand instead went 24-3over the likes of Elder,Moeller and St. Xavierwith a coach that was onlyabout seven years olderthan his players.

“Luckily I’m stillaround to enjoy it,” Stollsaid. “It was the smallestschool in the GCL at thetime and we were a littlebit of the whipping boy.The only loss in the leaguewas to Elder at The Pit bytwo points. To win the titlespeaks volumes of howhard those kids worked.”

The playersCenter Dave Minor

scored 33 in the titlegame, one more than Le-Bron James ever scoredin an Ohio high schoolchampionship. Stollthinks the GCL coachesunderestimated histeam’s talent as many ofthe players went on to no-table college careers.

Minor was on the 1987

EAST WALNUT HILLS —“Just tell these guys to getme the ball and get out ofmy way!”

Those were the wordsof wisdom spoken by Pur-cell Marian High School’sRicky Hassel in 1985 athalftime of their AAA (bigschool) title game againstMansfield Senior.

The young Cavalierscoach Jim Stoll had justwitnessed Mansfield Sen-ior come storming backfrom a 24-6 first quarterdeficit to make the gametight at halftime, thanksto a full-court press. Hehad meticulously drawnup a press break on the St.John Arena locker roomblackboard, when Hasselreleased his battle cry.

Where a surly, veterancoach may have scowledand gone “Bobby Knight,”Stoll instead made hismost courageous move.

“Boys, get him the balland get out of his way,” hesaid.

With that, the halftimeadjustment of the seasonwas complete. The Mans-field Senior press wasbroken and Purcell Mar-ian shocked the state witha 66-57 victory.

Though they camevery close in 2000, PurcellMarian hasn’t won a statebasketball championshipsince a 25-year-old Stollcut down the nets at OhioState’s old floor. The wilycoach returns to Hackber-ry Street with his hard-wood heroes Jan. 23 to cel-ebrate the 30th anniversa-

Indiana Hoosier nationalchampionship team thatfeatured Steve Alford andKeith Smart. He eventual-ly transferred to Xavier.

The only other return-ing starter was the afore-mentioned, ever-confi-dent Hassel, who went onto Michigan and played inthree Rose Bowls for BoSchembechler as a defen-sive back.

Another inside player,Jay Koch went to OhioState as a defensive end/outside linebacker andforward Dorian Bledsoeplayed basketball for Mi-ami University.

Lee May Jr. followed inhis father’s baseball foot-steps and was a first-round draft choice of theNew York Mets.

At guard, Monte Ma-this was able to walk on atKansas and played forLarry Brown. After sever-al collegiate coaching

stops, he’s now an assis-tant with the NBA DallasMavericks.

Purcell Marian’s start-ing lineup was Hassel andBledsoe at forward, Mi-nor at center, and Mathisand Tommy O’Donnell atguard.

A captain’sperspective

O’Donnell was the typ-ical role player with highbasketball IQ who had therespect of the team andwas voted captain alongwith Hassel. Like several,he still works in Cincin-nati and he recalls the at-tention to detail his youngcoach had.

“He was so organized;our practices were downto the minute,” O’Donnellsaid. “When that clock hit,we changed gears andwent into the next thing.He had it all line-item on apiece of paper.”

Though not the mostphysically gifted of theCavaliers, he was key intheir defeat of ClevelandEast in the ‘85 state semi-final. East had a front-lineof two 6-foot-8 playersand a one that stood 6-foot-6. All Stoll had wasMinor at 6-foot-6 and acrew of ragamuffins hov-ering around 6-foot on agood day.

Stoll remembersO’Donnell knocking downabout 12 points from theoutside in that game asPurcell Marian prevailed59-50.

“Every time CoachStoll talked about how ev-eryone shouldn’t be shoot-

ing, I always thought hewas talking about me,”O’Donnell said chuckling.

Defense winschampionships

The key to the seasonwas defense in O’Don-nell’s opinion. The Cava-liers won their last 14games and had the prover-bial “knock-down, drag-out” practices. The coacheven had to stop practicethe day before they leftfor Columbus for fear hisplayers would be injured.

“I don’t think anyoneplayed defense like wedid,” O’Donnell said. “Wewere full on man-to-man. Idon’t know that we everplayed zone. We justpicked you up at half-court and gave you nospace to breathe. Now,that’s about all you see. Itwas constant pressure.”

The work in the smallgym paid off when PurcellMarian dispensed ofCleveland East, thenMansfield Senior in back-to-back sell-outs in frontof 13,118 fans.

“Outside of the birth ofmy (three) daughters, it’sprobably the pinnacle ofmy life,” Stoll said. “Thatgroup just had great,great chemistry. Theywere extremely unself-ish. They didn’t care whogot the points and sharedthe ball unbelievablywell.”

EpilogueStoll stayed at Purcell

Marian through the 1988season and racked upthree-straight GCL titles

from ’85-’87. He went toPrinceton from ’88 to ’90;to Miami University from’90-’92 and to the Univer-sity of Wyoming with for-mer Miami coach JobyWright from ’92-’94. Hereturned to Cincinnatiand Sycamore HighSchool in 1995, where he’sbeen ever since.

At 55, he’s nearing re-tirement from the Ohioschool system and will un-doubtedly be speaking ofthe glory days of his statetitle on Tristate golfcourses for years to come.

For the coach and theplayers, it’s always fun tostir up the numerousalumni of the big GCLschools with the 1985 “Da-vid vs. Goliath” story.

“I do run into a lot ofMoeller, Elder and St. Xguys and I always like tobring it up,” O’Donnellsaid. “The further you getaway from it, the morespecial it becomes.”

Sycamore’s Stoll coached storied Purcell hoops yearBy Scott Springersspringer@communitypress.com PURCELL

MARIAN’S 1985ROAD TOCOLUMBUSHamilton Badin W 70-56Norwood W 73-57Elder W 77-67St. Xavier W 56-49Aiken W 69-49Forest Park W 69-52McNicholas L 75-61Moeller W 73-59La Salle W 79-63Forest Park W 71-54Roger Bacon W 74-40Elder L 56-54Fairfield L 69-67St. Xavier W 67-58Clermont Northeastern W87-51Moeller W 75-61La Salle W 61-49Roger Bacon W 62-50Sectional tournamentRoger Bacon W 61-51Milford W 66-39Aiken W 65-60District tournamentDayton Patterson W 63-51Regional tournamentDayton Dunbar W 76-66St. Xavier W 56-54State tournamentCleveland East W 59-50Mansfield Senior W 65-57(Scoring: Bledsoe 2 0 4Hassel 5 8 18 Minor 111133 O’Donnell 2 2 6 Mathis0 2 2 Kiley 0 2 2)

THANKS TO KENNY POPE AND TOM STICKLEY/PURCELL MARIAN ATHLETICS

Purcell Marian’s championship basketball squad included, from left, manager Greg Ehemann,manager Rob Geis, coach Jim Kebe, Dave Kiley, Brian Helms, Lee May, Jay Koch, Dave Minor,John Iaciofano, Dorian Bledsoe, Monte Mathis, Bruce Greer, Dave Gehring, head coach Jim Stoll.Kneeling are co-captains Rick Hassel and Tom O'Donnell.

GLORY DAYS

B2 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015 LIFE

CE-0000616390

INDIAN HILL — SeeingCincinnati Country Daysenior swimmer AllieWooden’s name near thetop of the standings after aswim meet is a fairly com-mon occurrence.

At the Southwest OhioCoaches Classic Jan. 17-18,the Southern Californiasignee swept the four free-style events that sheswam. She won the 100,200, 500 and the mile.

“I went in excited torace and knowing that itwas my last Classic,”Wooden said. “I’d beenworking on skills thatwould help me such as myturns and dolphin kicksaway from the wall.”

After swimming themile, she returned to thepool for her final event,the 100.

Indians’ head coachBenson Spurling said it’suncommon for a swimmer

to swim themile andthe 100 inthe sameday be-cause thereis a differ-ent mental-ity to bothraces.

After getting over ini-tial trepidation, Woodentook to the pool for the per-fect encore to an alreadysuccessful day.

In that 100 freestylerace, she left her oppo-nents in her wake andtouched the wall in 50.61seconds – a new meet rec-ord. She replaced the 30-year-old record held byFinneytown’s BuffyKreiger.

“After winning thosethree events, I knew that Icouldn’t let the 100 be myworst race of the day,” shesaid.

A successful Classicserves as the perfectspringboard into the rest

of the season and there isstill plenty on Wooden’splate.

Her goals includereaching the time stan-dards for NCAA B cutsand qualifying for the Na-tional Club Swimming As-sociation national meet.

“I’m just hoping to getthe most out of my sea-son,” she said.

In the more immediatefuture, Wooden is sure tobe a swimmer to watch inthe district and statemeets come February.

Both she and Spurlingdo not know which eventsshe will swim just yet, but,it might not matter.

“She is carrying a goodfeeling after having one ofthe best Classics of anyswimmer I’ve seen,” thecoach said. “I think she’llbe contending again forstate titles in the eventsthat she swims. She’s inthe best position I’ve seenher in these last threeyears.”

CCD’s Wooden weavingwonderful swim seasonBy Nick Robbenrobbe@communitypress.com

Allie Wooden

JANUARY 28, 2015 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • B3LIFE

B4 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015 LIFE

AscensionLutheran ChurchWomen’s weekly Friday morningBible Study is at 9:30 a.m. Kidsare welcome play in the play-room. The group is readingJessica LaGrone’s new study,“Broken and Blessed.” Womenwho are unable to attendweekly gatherings are invitedto purchase the study and joinwhen possible.

Healing Christ (healing touch)Ministry is offered on thefourth Tuesday of the month at

7 p.m. More information onthis ministry is available at793-3288.

The church is at 7333 PfeifferRoad, Montgomery; 793-3288;wwwascensionlutheranchurch-.com.

Bethel Baptist TempleAWANA children’s clubs for ages4 through ninth-grade is of-fered 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Wednesdays through most ofthe school year. Children enjoygames, Bible stories, competi-

tions, an AWANA store, Biblememorization, awards and funthemed nights. All are wel-come.

January is Stewardship month atBethel. Each Sunday, learnabout how God wants us tomanage our time, talent andtreasure in ways that willbenefit His kingdom and ourlives.

Sunday School classes for allages are 10 a.m.; Sunday wor-ship is 11 a.m. Kings Kids, achildren’s worship service, isoffered during the 11 a.m.service. Nursery care is availableduring worship service.

The church is at 8501 PlainfieldRoad, Sycamore Township;891-2221; bethelbaptisttemple-.org.

Blue AshCommunity ChurchThis non-denominational churchmeets at the Sycamore SeniorCenter in Blue Ash.

Services are Sunday at 10:30 a.m.www.blueashcc.com.

For more information or ques-tions please contact AndyRainey (rainey@ blueashcc.com)or 549-0565.

The church meets at SycamoreSenior Center, Blue Ash;www.blueashcc.com.

Blue AshPresbyterian ChurchJacob’s Ladder is the theme forSunday School (pre-K through12th grade); these classes areheld after the children’s sermon

in the worship service. TheChristianity 101 and ThoughtfulChristian classes are held foradults each Sunday morningand meet at 9 a.m.

Sunday worship services are at10:30 a.m. Nursery care isavailable.

The church is at 4309 CooperRoad; 791-1153; the church hasa Facebook page.

Church of theSaviour UnitedMethodist ChurchChildren’s Weekday Program-ming is Tuesday and Thursdaymornings and Thursday after-noon with lunch available foreither day. There is a nominalcharge for each session and youmust bring your child’s lunch.Register on the website(www.cos-umc.org) under“Registration Forms.”

Sunday Worship Services are8:20 a.m. and 11 a.m. (tradition-al worship), and 9:40 a.m.(contemporary worship).

The church is located at 8005Pfeiffer Road, Blue Ash; 791-3142; www.cos-umc.org.

CommunityLighthouseChurch of GodServices are 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.Sundays; 7 p.m. Wednesdays.

The church is at 4305 SycamoreRoad, Cincinnati; 984-5044; onFacebook under CommunityLighthouse Church of God.

Hartzell UnitedMethodist ChurchSunday School: 9 a.m., SundayWorship Service: 10:30 a.m.,Camp Kids & Child Care: 11 a.m.;active youth, outreach, fellow-ship, music ministries, Biblestudies. Pastor is Will Leasure.

Adult Sunday School on Sundaymornings from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.(Fellowship Hall).

The Super Bowl 2015 YouthFundraiser will offer home-made items - six-inch hoagie,quart each of potato, bean,vegetable, chicken noodle orchili and brownies. All ordersare needed by Friday, Jan. 30.Call the church. Pickup is 11:30a.m. Sunday, Feb. 1.

The church is at 8999 Apple-wood Drive, Blue Ash; 891-8527; www.hartzellumc.org.

St. BarnabasEpiscopal ChurchRegular service times are 8 a.m.with spoken Eucharist and 10a.m. with Sunday School andchildcare.

The church is at 10345 Montgo-mery Road, Montgomery;984-8401;www.st-barnabas.org.

SycamorePresbyterian ChurchSunday morning worship ser-vices are at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45a.m. Child care is available inthe nursery during both servicesfor infants through age 2.Sunday school for pre-school

through 12th-grade is at 10:45a.m. Additional child care isavailable for parents in AdultEducation classes: Preschooland older meet in Room 113during the 9:15 service.

Adult Sunday Bible study meets10:45 a.m.

Mother of a pre-schooler? Joinour new MOPS group (Mothersof Preschoolers). Free childcareprovided. Meets the secondWednesday of each month.9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Room229.

An upcoming study, “Not a Fan:Becoming a Completely Com-mitted Follower of Jesus” byKyle Idleman, will meet inRoom 120 ; 10:45 a.m. in theManse.

New Beth Moore Women’sStudy is under way. Children ofthe Day: 1st and 2nd Thessalo-nians will be studied. Meets9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., Wednes-days, in Room 120.

Lamplighters' new January studywill be II Corinthians. Meetsevery Tuesday from 7-8:30 inthe Media Center.

Men’s Bible Group meets 6:45-7:30 a.m. Wednesdays in Room120.

The fourth Sunday of eachmonth, the church family willconnect together at the 10:45a.m. service. No Sunday Schoolexcept for Preschool - Kin-dergarten.

“Finding God in Your Life,” ledby Rev. Linda McClanahan is afour-week small group forthose who feel they havedoubts, are in grief or arefloundering. The group beginsfrom 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednes-days, and 10:30-11:30 a.m.Thursdays in January, in theMedia Center.

Men’s Saturday Bible Studyresumes March 14. “TwelveOrdinary Men,” a book aboutthe disciples, will be studied.Meets in Room 120, 8:30-10a.m.

Mother of a pre-schooler? Joinour new MOPS group (Mothersof Preschoolers). Free childcareprovided. The group meets9:30-11:30 a.m., the secondWednesday of each month, inRoom 229.

Financial Peace University will beoffered from 6-7:30 p.m. Sun-days beginning Feb. 8 throughApril 12 in Room 223.

Student Ministries welcomesstudents to participate in itsactivities. Check the StudentMinistries Kiosk for a calendarof events.

The church is at 11800 Mason-Montgomery Road, SymmesTownship; 683-0254;sycamorechurch.org.

About religionReligion news is published at nocharge on a space-availablebasis. Items must be in by 4 p.m.Wednesday for consideration inthe following edition. E-mailannouncements to love-land@communitypress.com.

Fax to 248-1938. Call 248-8600.

RELIGION

A list of local fish fries:» Hartzell United

Methodist Church AnnualFish Fry Fridays are Feb.20 through April 3

For more information,call 891-8527, Ext 1. Thechurch is at 8999 Apple-wood Drive, Blue Ash.

FISH FRIES

EXPAND THEMENU

To have your fish fryincluded in this listing,email the information tormaloney@communi-typress.com.

LyondellBasell and itsemployees from the Cin-cinnati Technology Centerraised more than $90,000for the United Way ofGreater Cincinnati for the2013-2014 campaign, in-cluding more than $42,000in employee contributionsalong with the companymatch.

“We are grateful toLyondellBasell and its em-ployees for their con-tinued support, both mone-tarily and through volun-teer hours,” United Way ofGreater Cincinnati Presi-dent and CEO Robert Reif-snyder said. “Their contri-butions enhance our ef-forts to improve the lives

of people throughout theregion.”

Supporting the UnitedWay has become a tradi-tion and part of Lyondell-Basell’s commitment ofgiving back to the commu-nity. Each year the cam-paign helps fund thou-sands of programs, in com-munities across the coun-

try, that people in needhave come to rely upon.

“Our employees em-brace the annual UnitedWay campaign and a dona-tion like this highlightstheir commitment to giveback to the community,”Cincinnati TechnologyCenter site managerCharles Holland said.

The generosity of Lyon-dellBasell and its employ-ees resulted in a total con-tribution of $2.6 million toUnited Way agenciesacross the nation duringthe 2013-2014 campaign.

“LyondellBasell is oneof our Tremendous 25companies – those with thehighest giving per capita –

and has been one of ourTop 200 companies for sev-eral years. Thanks to theirgenerosity, we can to helpchildren start kindergar-ten ready to learn and suc-ceed in school, to help fam-ilies build financial stabil-ity and people live healthy,quality lives,” Reifsnydersaid.

LyondellBasell United Way campaign a major success

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Sharonville United MethodistTraditional worship services at 8:15am & 11:00amContemporary worship service at 9:30amFaith development opportunities for all ages!3751 Creek Rd. 513-563-0117www.sharonville-umc.org

Epiphany United MethodistChurch Welcomes You!

Weekend Services:Saturday: 5pm

Sunday: 9am and 10:30am

Child care and Christian Educationfor all ages available

throughout the weekend.

Dr. Stephen Swisher, Senior Pastor

6635 Loveland-Miamiville Rd. 45140(513) 677-9866

www.Epiphanyumc.org

CHURCH OF THE SAVIOUR8005 Pfeiffer Rd. Montgomery 791-3142

www.cos-umc.orgTraditional Worship8:20am & 11:00am

Contemporary Worship 9:40amSunday School (All ages)

9:40 & 11amNursery Care Provided

Reverend Jennifer Lucas,Senior Pastor

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JANUARY 28, 2015 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • B5LIFE

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIPIncidents/investigationsBurglaryReported and games and Playsta-tion valued $240 removed from6000 block of Euclid Ave., Dec.7.

MenacingReported on 11000 Grooms Road,Dec. 12.

Reported on 11000 block ofGrooms Road, Dec. 12.

TheftToys valued at $500 removed

from 7800 block of Montgo-mery Road, Dec. 7.

Reported wallet and contentsvalued at $595 removed from8600 block of Tudor Ave., Dec. 6.

$1,339 removed from 7300 blockof Dearwester Drive, Dec. 19.

Rings valued at $4,350 removedfrom 7300 block of DearwesterDrive, Dec. 15.

Reported at 4000 block of Long-ford Ave., Dec. 12.

Welder and copper reed valuedat $4,000 removed from 5900block of E. Galbraith Road, Dec.

11.Clothing valued at $175 removedfrom 7800 block of Montgo-mery Road, Nov. 30.

SYMMES TOWNSHIPIncidents/investigationsBurglaryReported at 8700 block of Appa-lachee Drive, Nov. 30.

Theft$20 in gas not paid for at 12000block of Montgomery Road,Dec. 15.

POLICE REPORTS

BLUE ASH4635 Elizabeth Place: Hen-derson, Margaret E. to Moler,Benjamin C.; $179,090.

MONTGOMERY9121 Forestknolls Drive: Sanz,Brenda R. to Endres Brandon D.& Mary E.; $401,000.

9600 Zig Zag Road: Bolan,Barbara R. to R&S Real EstateInvestments of Cincinnati;$196,000.

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP8728 Antrim Court: Sporing,William R. & Lisa to Wells FargoBank NA; $62,000.

SYMMES TOWNSHIP12000 Carrington Lane: Recker,John A. & Jodi E. to Gillespie,Spencer R.; $82,000.

10199 Fletcher Road: Scott, Lindato Scott, Linda; $20,125.

9273 Souffle Circle: Lahrman,Gerald J. Tr. & Marsha A. Tr. toHodgson, Dan & Stacy;$250,000.

10054 Plantation Pointe Drive:Fischer Single Family Homes IIILtd. to Soeder, Steven M. &Janelle M.; $392,375.

10142 Plantation Pointe Drive:Fischer Single Family Homes IIILtd. to Bryant, Todd D. & Eliza-beth A.; $399,000.

12155 Waters Edge Court: Gre-gorsok, Ronald E. II & Mindy T.to Hall, Heyward A. & Lori L.Hall L.; $265,000.

REAL ESTATETRANSFERS

Hamilton County Au-ditor Dusty Rhodes saysthe recent passage ofHouse Bill 85 increasesthe amount of homesteadexemption for militaryveterans who are rated100 percent disabledfrom a service-connect-ed disability from$25,000 to $50,000. It alsoexempts these disabled

veterans and theirspouses from income/means testing.

“Although disabledveterans have alwaysbeen in a position to ap-ply for the standardHomestead exemptionfor the elderly and dis-abled, this bill provides

New law increaseshomestead exemptionfor disabled veterans

See VETERANS, Page B6

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6200 PfeiQer Road | Cincinnati, OH 45242

The nation’s best in medical fitness is right in your own backyard.

Cincinnati’s Award-Winning Wellness Destination

Locally owned and operated for nearly 20 years,

the TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion is consistently

ranked among the top medical fitness facilities in the

nation. But while the accolades are great, everyone

knows it matters what your neighbors think. That’s why

we hope you’ll notice our comfortable atmosphere,

state-of-the-art equipment, expansive array of fitness

and healthy lifestyle classes, and highly educated

staG that make us Cincinnati’s ideal, close-to-home,

family-friendly wellness center.

Visit TriHealth.com to secure your FREE one-week

unlimited guest pass before March 31, 2015.

Save the Date: TriHealth’s “Heart of a Woman” Event, Thursday,

February 12 from 6–8:30 p.m. Physician panel, spa services, food

and fun. Free. Reserve your spot by calling 513 985 0900.

TriHealth.com | 513 985 0900

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B6 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • JANUARY 28, 2015 LIFE

How did the NortheastHamilton County Repub-lican Club’s PancakeBreakfast become thepremier political fund-raising event in South-west Ohio and one of thetop political events in theUnited States?

In its 16th consecutiveyear, the event grew fromhumble beginnings andnow consistently attractsan audience of more than500, including the “mov-ers and shakers” in the lo-cal, regional, and even na-tional political and busi-ness community. Thisyear’s event will featureU.S. Sen. Rob Portmanand will be attended by USRep. Steve Chabot, USRep. Brad Westrup and ahost of other local politi-cal figures and judges.

The Northeast Hamil-ton County RepublicanClub was founded in No-vember 1999 and is com-mitted to the growth andcontinued success of theHamilton County Repub-

lican Partyby focus-ing on thedevelop-ment of fu-ture gener-ations ofRepubli-can voters,volun-teers, lead-

ers, and elected officials.According to the club’spresident, Zachary T.Haines, “one of the rea-sons for the success of thepancake breakfast is thefriendly and productiveatmosphere. Not only is itaffordable for the aver-age family, but it was cre-ated with the idea of con-necting civic-mindedleaders across SouthwestOhio and raising money tosupport our local candi-dates. Attendees have theopportunity to enjoy agreat breakfast buffetand hear from national,political figures who areshaping our country’s fu-ture. It’s also a lot of fun. I

remember last year, Audi-tor of State David Yostplayed the keyboard andled everyone in the sing-ing of God Bless Ameri-ca.”

Talk show host BillCunningham was theclub’s first speaker, fol-lowed by former OhioSecretary of State KenBlackwell. Past keynotespeakers also include U.S.Sen. Rob Portman, U.S.Sen. Rand Paul, Minneso-ta Gov. Tim Pawlenty, U.S.Rep. Jean Schmidt, U.S.Rep. Bob McEwen, Jo AnnDavidson, co-chair of theRepublican NationalCommittee, and others.

This year’s pancakebreakfast will be 9 a.m. to11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31,at the Sharonville Con-vention Center, 11355Chester Road. Doors openat 8:30 a.m. Tickets are$25/person (ages 10 & un-der free) and can bebought atwww.nehcrc.com.

Sixteen years ofpancakes and politics

Portman

an enhanced benefit tothose veterans who quali-fy as 100 percent disabledfrom a service-connecteddisability. The bill is de-signed to increase theirdeduction from $25,000 to$50,000. This means a dis-abled veteran who quali-fies would only have to paytaxes on $100,000 of ahome valued at $150,000,”

Rhodes said. “To receive the in-

creased exemption underthe bill, a homeownermust be a veteran of theUnited States armedforces, reserves, or Na-tional Guard who was hon-orably discharged with aservice-connected totaland permanent disabilitycertified by the UnitedStates Department of Vet-erans Affairs or other fed-eral agency. When apply-ing for the exemption, theveteran must provide ap-

propriate written confir-mation from the federalgovernment that the ser-vice-connected disabilityrating is 100 percent,” hesaid. Applications may befiled from until June 1.

Any disabled veteranreceiving the standardHomestead credit needsto complete a new applica-tion to receive the en-hanced exemption.

For more information,please contact the Audi-tor’s Homestead Depart-ment at 513-946-4099.

VeteransContinued from Page B5