I am sure that you heard the news by now that at the CMSD School Board meeting on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, Dr Eugene Sanders, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District recommended to the Cleveland Board of Education, that Ginn Academy should remain in its present location at the former Margaret Spellacy School site. I cannot begin to tell you what a victory this is for the students, parents, administrators and the greater Collinwood community. 

On Tuesday, February 23rd, nearly 100 supporters attended the 2nd annual North Collinwood Taste of the Neighborhood and Awards Dinner. The event was a fundraiser to support the efforts of Northeast Shores, the local community development corporation improving the North Shores Collinwood community.

On Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 10:45 AM, Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Board of Control passed a long anticipated resolution authorizing the City to enter into contract with Panzica Construction for the development of the new state-of-the-art Collinwood Community  Recreation Center to be located at 16300 Lakeshore Boulevard at the former K-Mart / Big Lots property. This facility will be like no other center constructed in the history of the City of Cleveland.  

The writers of the Collinwood neighborhood have amazed us again. We were overwhelmed with excellent articles for the March issue. If your story did not make this issue we apologize; it will be in the next paper, or online. I would like to thank Betsy Voinovich and our layout magician, Meredith Pangrace for fitting five pounds of stories into our three pound paper. If you have not written your story yet, join us. We want to hear from you.

 

Harvest for Hunger Co-Chairs , Terrance C. Z. Egger, President & Publisher, The Plain Dealer, and Frederick R. Nance, Regional Managing Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.; Honorary Co-Chairmen Mayor Frank G. Jackson, City of Cleveland, and Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners, recently kicked off the annual food and funds drive at the Cleveland Foodbank. Anne Goodman, President & CEO, Cleveland Foodbank; Mike Holmgren, President, Cleveland Browns and Judith Z. Peters, West Side Ecumenical Ministries, a Foodbank member agency, also addressed the crowd, made up of Harvest for Hunger food and funds drive coordinators, volunteers and supporters. 

RTA officials have finalized spring service changes that take effect on Sunday, April 4. Some of those changes affect Collinwood riders. 

Stand up, sit down, lie down, it doesn't matter what you are doing, as long as you are counted.

Just don't let that census form that will be arriving by mail in mid-March sit at the bottom of your junk mail pile.

Please open it up and fill in the 10 simple questions, doing so is vital to the health of our neighborhood, our city, and our state.

This could be the single most important thing that you do in the next couple of weeks.

I would like to introduce a new section, called Health Watch.  It does not need to be a column, just a box with current health information-- where anyone can submit items of interest. 

Providing a full continuum of care is what Euclid Hospital strives to do for their patient’s everyday. When a patient has an illness, injury, trauma, surgery or any other health incident, and needs to recover to the highest level of function possible, they go through many stages of need. Euclid Hospital provides care for all these stages including an extremely unique rehabilitation program known as the Neuro Day Hospital Rehabilitation Program.

The program is designed for individuals with neurological impairments who no longer require 24-hour inpatient medical care but still require intensive rehabilitative therapy. Patients attend the program for three days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for about six weeks. During these six weeks, patients receive nursing services, recreational therapy, psychological services, speech therapy, and physical therapy, along with other services.

The Historic LaSalle Theatre Building located at 819-829 East 185th Street is about to undergo repairs to the limestone façade and roof repairs. The repairs are being funded by the Ohio Finance Fund in the amount of $100,000. Northeast Shores applied for and received funding for the project through a competitive process. The building was purchased by Northeast Shores in October of 2009 from Park View Federal Savings and Loan with financing provided by Village Capital Corporation.

As reported in the January, 2010 Collinwood Observer the Aspinwall Church of God Mountain Assembly provided ”Christmas in October - 2009” for their churches, 13 schools, and 3 children’s homes in Haiti. The church sent a 40 foot container to Duval Riche which is 10 miles away from Port au Prince. It was filled with 36,000 pounds of food, medicine, clothing, household articles, toys, and a large tent with chairs to be used for revivals.

On January 12, 2010, the island was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake! The container miraculously survived the destruction of the surrounding church, and school. Both the container and the revival tent have now become a shelters and homes for the pastor and the children residing in the school.

Nottingham Civic Club meets the 3rd Tuesday every month.

THIS MONTH’S MEETING: March 16, 2010, 7 pm

NOTTINGHAM UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 18316 ST. CLAIR AVE.

Guest Speaker, Russel White of ‘In Focus’:Come learn about our good neighbors and how they are helping troubled youth. 

Bring a friend and get a free raffle ticket.  Show your up-to-date membership card and get a free raffle ticket.

Come as a new neighbor & receive a free Welcome Bag

On Monday, March 15, a cluster Mass will be held at St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church on Neff Road. Father Michael Woost from St. Mary Seminary in Wickliffe will preside over the Mass and give the homily. There will be a social hour after the Mass  to talk with others.

Joe and Cookie Morgan are as Irish a couple as you get here in Collinwood! Both were born and raised here, Joe Morgan was born in 1943, and raised on E 146 and Idarose, both parents directly from Ireland. He attended St. Joe grade school and St. Joes High School, class of '61. Cookie was born Cookie Pankuch, she grew up on E.146 and St. Clair, attended E. Clark and Collinwood High School, class of '71.

Henry Longfellow and Collinwood High school have been involved in a project called vertical teaming. Vertical teaming is when a high school partners up with our elementary school and staffs from each building work together on various projects. One such project has been “My Buddy Reading Program”.  Each week members of the Collinwood ROTC come to Henry Longfellow and read to students in Pre-K thru the 2nd grade. This program benefits each building. Students from the Collinwood ROTC earn service hour credits and Longfellow Students develop a relationship with the high school students. Our upper grades at Longfellow are involved with the English classes at Collinwood in a pen-pal program. This program benefits writing communication skills between the schools. The writing provides insight to the activities offered at both buildings.

Villa Angela - St. Joseph High School is proud to announce that of the 20 wrestling team members, 12 were named to the Second Quarter Honor Roll. This is a rate of over 50%. The wrestlers who received First Honors are Sophomores: Chris Pokorny and Dan Ward.  Those who received Second Honors are Sophomores John DiDonato, Ryan Gallagher, Tim Harrison (not pictured) and Paul Rini, Juniors Zach Brown (not pictured), Kawmae Sawyer, and Phillip Wellington, and Seniors Chris Lattanzio, Rytas Petraitis and Ray Wert.  These are true examples of student athletes. 

St. Jerome Elementary School has been the stoic brick fixture at the corner of 152nd and Lakeshore since 1922. After decades of changes in the community, the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, and in Ohio education, St. Jerome remains a jewel for the Collinwood neighborhood.

The OGT Breakfast held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 was a great success for Collinwood's students. Many students attended school early Saturday morning because of their determination to pass all FIVE parts of the Ohio Graduation Test. About 11:00 a.m. students and parents joined together in the first floor cafe to enjoy a hot breakfast featuring eggs, bacon, grits and pancakes. 

 

Recently Bishop Lennon sent a letter to President Brian R. Menard and Principal Janice Roccosalva stating how much he values Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. The Bishop states that he is committed to continuing to support VASJ with diocesan resources and encourages the VASJ community to join him in such support as VASJ builds a 21st Century model of Catholic education.

Diocese of Cleveland
Cathedral Square           
Office of the Bishop

4 February 2010


Mr. Brian Menard
Ms. Janice Roccosalva
Villa Angela-Saint Joseph High School

Dear Janice and Brian,

    I would like to express my gratitude to you for my enjoyable visit to Villa Angela-Saint Joseph on 3 February 2010.  It was heartening to me to see the positive results of your many efforts to continue the excellent education provided students in Villa Angela-Saint Joseph High School.  I found it encouraging meeting the new President and Vice President of the Board of Advisors, its members, the Endowment Board, the Ursuline Sisters, the Marianists, and the many others committed to the enduring presence of this school.  I know that Villa Angela-Saint Joseph is well on its way to stability and continued service to its students.

  

Imani, Gregory and Mariah had an educational adventure writing about their amazing characters. They encountered many animals in the Big Books of our reading series. They found many fascinating facts in the Big Books and were eager to write about the animals after the stories. They became the illustrators for our class book. It was fun drawing and coloring the pictures for each story. Mariah’s favorite story is "Clyde the chameleon". Gregory liked "The Hibernating Bear" best. Imani enjoyed the story about "Farfollina the Caterpillar."  We are enjoying our student treasures.

Twenty two Cleveland Job Corps students prepared for employment opportunities at their Employment Connection Orientation on March 4th, 2010, hosted by the Job Corps Academy. The all-day workshop hopefully will increase their chances of being hired by a major Cleveland hospital or medical facility. The workshop included the following employment skills: interviewing, keyboarding, Microsoft Office software, resume building, cover letters, appropriate dress, grammar, how to tie a tie, interview questions, etc. Students received a certificate of attendance to include in their portfolio. Hopefully all the students will attain an entry level position and be on their way to a successful career path afterwards.

Memorial School held its 3rd Annual School Science Fair on January 20, 2010. One  sixty-two students submitted individual projects which were scored by judges from the Cleveland area. Five class projects were also submitted. Awards for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners by grade level, were presented on February 3, 2010 after report card pick-up. Parents of some of the winners were present to share in the proud moment with their children. Mrs. Rondo, Memorial's Principal, officiated the ceremony.

As the Transformation Plan for Cleveland Municipal Schools continues, there is a school in YOUR neighborhood that the students have ranked as a school that has high expectations of students and insists on the best possible education. That school is Memorial School on East 152nd Street. 

At Noble Academy Cleveland, instruction time is not disrupted by the need to review for state standardized tests. Instead students are required to attend Saturday school, where they start their day with breakfast at NAC, attend classes for review, then end with lunch.

Jonathan Newsome was a member of St. John Class of 2005. Five years later, he and his teammates enjoyed Ohio State's Rose Bowl victory on New Year’s Day.  After graduating from Glenville High School last year, Jonathan chose to continue his education at The Ohio State University.  He is a member of the Ohio State Football team and is now a Rose Bowl Champion. Jonathan was a pleasure to have as a member of our St. John Nottingham Family.  Congratulations to Jonathan and we wish him God’s richest blessings at Ohio State.

St. John Nottingham has once again accomplished school history. Last year the 7th and 8th Boys Basketball Team made school history by winning the city championship of the Cleveland Lutheran Elementary League. This year they repeated as the champions once again, once again making school history.  Congratualtions St. John Jets. They will represent Cleveland in the All-Ohio State Basketball Tournament held this year at Lutheran High School East.

In the beginning of the year I really wanted to join the Techno Team. Being able to compete in the first competition was very exciting. Also, getting an envelope telling us that we were going to compete in the state competition was very exciting.

On February 9th, the East 185th St. Block Watch hosted an Information Fair in lieu of their regular monthly meeting. There were representatives from over 25 city and county services at tables all around the hall. The water department was there explaining the new rates and bills. ESOP was there to help those in danger of foreclosure.

Noble Academy Cleveland’s Kindergarten celebrates Dr. Seuss Week! The festivities of crazy hats and socks and reading Dr. Seuss books during our mandatory Noble Reads period ended with a party of Oobleck! Kindergartners and teachers read "Bartholomew And The Oobleck" and then created their own kingdom that needed to be rescued from the Oobleck. Our Kindergarten teachers, Mrs. McCarthy(Thing 2), Ms. Kortemeyer(Thing 1), and Ms. Harris(Cat In The Hat) engage the students’ minds and creative thoughts by playing the roles of Dr. Seuss characters.

On February 11, 2010, OH Perry School Parent Organization sponsored the Second Annual Valentine's Father-Daughter/Mother-Son Dance. The evening was filled with music, dancing, food and good company. The parents enjoyed dancing with their children as well as each other. The dance was organized by family liaison, Mrs. Chunn. The next SPO event at OH Perry is the second annual Carnival Night on Thursday, March 18, 2010. Contact Mrs. Chunn at 216-481-7528 for more information.

The Northeast Cleveland Little League (NECLL) preparation for the upcoming baseball season continues with tryouts, workouts, and, for those who have delayed, sign-up opportunities. NECLL, with the continued and much-appreciated assistance of St. Joseph's Academy, will hold its try-outs on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at Villa Angela/St. Joseph gym located at 18491 Lakeshore Blvd.

Rose-Mary Center, located in Euclid, and other related organizations celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March and invite you to consider the true meaning of this year’s theme, “Just Like You.”

On Monday, March 1, 2010, OH Perry students put on their Black History Program, which included singing, story-telling, and reciting of poems. Students in grades PK - 8 participated in the program that was planned by Social Studies Area Specialist, Rita Little. The program was a culmination of the research students had done during Black History Month in February.

The name of the movie I saw is God’s Gift (2006), written by Britt O. Wynn.  It was based on a boxing film and Romeo's struggle with God and also his struggle with his father's problem.  This movie was a drama film, because it involved many situations of love and heartbreak.  The characters in this film were Master P and Lil Romeo.  The setting was in Los Angeles.

For the last several years, residents of North Collinwood have enjoyed taping a colorful calendar of summer events to the front of their refrigerators, and basking in the glow of all the great things there are to do in our neighborhood those warm months of June, July and August. Well you can look forward to getting the guide again, and getting one will be as easy as looking for the May issue of the Observer! 

"We try to teach the principles of design and other visual elements," says Alexis Hedderson, who teaches Thursday afternoon  classes for elementary-school-age children at ArtsCollinwood. "The children do what they want to do." According to Hedderson, the program is  "choice-based"  and  "allows kids to be their own artist." The classes cover drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and working with clay. Miss Hedderson has an Early Childhood Education degree from Ursuline College and has taken art classes at Cleveland State University.

When many outsiders think of Collinwood they think of it as the setting for the 2002 movie Welcome to Collinwood, starring George Clooney. One resident sees it differently. Dustin Nowlin, a resident of the area since the age of 15, thinks the area is a breeding ground for young artists. He enjoys walking through the neighborhood with his dog Cabbie.

“Collinwood is ripe for new blood,” Nowlin said. “There needs to be more young artists.”

Nowlin, along with two other artists, plan to show off some of their talent with an exhibition called A War Within Our Hearts opening March 12, 2010 at the Doubting Thomas gallery on 856 Jefferson Ave in Tremont. During the opening night, 6-10 PM, there will be merchandise, as well as food and refreshments, available.

For the last eleven years there has been a movement afoot. It was founded with a simple mission: “ Never hide your talent," and was taking place annually in recreation centers, co-op storefronts, and  Community galleries across the nation. This year, The National Arts Program (nationalartsprogram.org) will hold The City of Cleveland exhibit at the Arts Collinwood Gallery, March 29 – April 9, 2010, with a grand opening reception Thursday, April 1 from 6 –9pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Participants must be employees of the City of Cleveland, a family member of an employee, or a City of Cleveland resident. Proof of residency is required to enter the exhibition.

Don’t miss your chance to witness the Spring musical performances of one of Northeast Ohio’s hardest-working children’s theater companies, UpStage Players. From March 26th through March 28th, the group will be producing and performing Aladdin, Jr., where many all-time favorite characters come to life in this stage adaptation of the Disney hit.

UpStage Players’ opening performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 26th at the Slovenian Workmen’s Home (15335 Waterloo Road; Cleveland), their permanent performance residence. The group’s second show will commence on Saturday, March 27th, also at 7:30 p.m. Their final performance of the Spring will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 28th.

The Cleveland-based HELP Foundation is proud to announce the expansion of its Adult Day Support Program into the City of Euclid. This program provides a daytime, community-based, recreation and socialization program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a newly renovated space on Euclid’s Shore Center Drive. Featuring group activities, classes, field trips, and a welcoming, congenial clubhouse atmosphere, the program’s popularity continues to grow. Serving nearly 50 enrolled participants, the Euclid location now reaches individuals and families that have been challenged with limited options for appropriate daytime services in their area. The HELP Adult Day Support Program is a supportive, community-based full day program that provides adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a stimulating, casual, and enriching environment. The program is designed around the individual and their need for social interaction, community involvement, and interesting activities in a group setting. The HELP Foundation was founded in 1965 to ensure children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the homes, environments, and opportunities to be valued members of their community. HELP serves some 500 individuals each year through our signature Six Chimneys Apartments, children’s homes, semi-independent apartments, Adult Day Program, and Summer Program for Children. For more information on Help Foundation services and history please visit www.helpfoundationinc.org 

Dear Ladies,

My kids do not pick up the house.  It gets to a certain point and yelling is involved, and then they pick up.  As soon as it’s picked up they start messing it up again.  I don’t have time to stand over them; I feel like throwing out all their stuff.  Please help.  Thank you, Single Dad.

Hospice of the Western Reserve, for the first time, is recognizing a teenage volunteer with the Chair’s Award. Dewon Hudson, of South Euclid, received the award during the 32nd Annual Meeting at St. Josephat Arts Hall. The Chair’s Award recognizes outstanding contributions that further the mission of Hospice of the Western Reserve. At 16, Mr. Hudson is the youngest person to receive this honor.

 

Hundreds celebrated the Beachland Ballroom’s tenth anniversary, this past weekend, with Pere Ubu and Roky Erickson. Here are the highlights:

Pere Ubu: The God Daddies of Avant Garage
David Thomas  took the stage dressed as neutral as his attitude and wore a coat as long as his moustached face. The term avant-garage was actually coined by the frontman himself (not to be confused with the deceased Wendy's Restaurants entrepreneur) so that journalists could pigeon-hole their sound. Pere Ubu is also often described as post punk, experimental, and proto new wave. In 1974 Mr. Thomas was the vocalist of a group called "Rocket From the Tombs."  In  1975, Thomas left Rocket From the Tombs with guitarist Peter Laughner to form Pere Ubu which left Johnny Blitz and Cheetah Chrome to join Stiv Bators, forming the infamous punk outfit the Dead Boys. Hailing from right here in our rust belt city, Pere Ubu birthed their first creative child, "The Modern Dance" in 1978 and performed every molecule of it on the Ballroom stage over 30 years later for a special Anniversary show on March 5th. This night in Cleveland, you looked around and forgot THIS many people lived in the city limits. There was no generation gap, which really gives you a strong idea of how influential this band really was and still is.

On February 20th,  the SS&W Boardwalk hosted a benefit party for the recently laid-off Cleveland Police officers. We are proud to share that $2,600 was raised and will be directly distributed to those officers.

Today it is 22 degrees, Fahrenheit. With the wind chill factor, it is about 13 degrees and snowing. It’s February 25, 2010; it’s doing what’s expected. Thus far this winter, it has snowed a total of 59.1 inches…a better than normal winter for this region. However, with approximately 1 ½ months to go of snowy and or cold weather…it’s a wonder that a superhero hasn’t flown to the North Pole to turn off the snow machine… 

It’s cold and snowy days like these that we begin to think more about warm weather and summer: summer vacation, summer school, summer camp. You know how fast time flies…before we know it, it will be summer.  Summer, yeahhhhh! The beach, boating, swimming, no coats, no boots, no snow!  Just fun in the sun!

On March 20, 2010 the Easter Bunny will be at the Lithuanian Hall, 877 East 185th St. to have breakfast with our neighborhood children. He will be arriving at 10:00 am for a Breakfast provided by Gus's Diner. The Easter Bunny will be staying and taking pictures until noon, there will be crafts for the children as well. Admission is $5.00. Call 216-481-7660 for tickets.

TO DO THIS WEEKEND Saturday, March 13

Arts Collinwood Gallery: Closing party for “A Little R&R” (George Roby’s ceramic sculptures, GR Hamilton’s dioramas), 6 - 9pm. Singer-songwriter John McGrail (“a hell of a guitar player” whose songs express the discontents of our times) will play at 7:30 pm.

Low Life Gallery: Opening Reception for “Junkmail and Advertisements: Paintings by Joshua Rex”, 6-10 pm; Trouble Books perform at 7:30 pm for their Record Release Party. Joshua Rex is appalled by the deluge of advertising flowing from and over “neon chain stores and ravaged cities”; he paints the products they lure us to buy. “Junk is a mood as well as a physical reality.” The show runs till March 28.

New Craft Shop Grand Open: Ever since Waterloo Design closed (quite some years ago), I’ve been agitating for a handicrafts shop – a source of handmade soaps, cushions, wooden objects, pottery (and, in Waterloo Design’s case, felt pierogis. Perfumed felt pierogis.) I’m not sure about the felt pierogis, but Salty Not Sweet, which opened last week next to Arts Collinwood on Waterloo, promises to fill the gap on giftable items in general. And it’s working on a letterpress studio.

Every Irish-American family I know seems to have its own tradition of soda bread, a quick bread whose leavening comes from baking soda rather than yeast—with no two recipes just alike. This recipe is from my mother's family, the Mullallys (the stone carvers, not the funeral directors) and I don't offer it as the definitive "Irish" loaf at all. It's sweeter than most I've tasted, owing to the iberal sprinkling of butter and sugar on the top. It's the one time of year I have occasion to buy buttermilk, although the lady in front of me in line at Dave's was delighted to see I'd found the buttermilk (in fact, I'd had to request it from the dairy manager, who graciously brought some out from the back cooler) as she was shopping for her mom and was going to have to make another stop otherwise. Apparently it's good over cornbread. Can you make it with dark raisins? With less sugar or more? With ground nuts? You may, and you'll be on your way to developing your own family's tradition of soda bread. . .