Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: loveland magazine local news

  • Loveland Bionic Tigers were one of three teams to receive an advancement invitation to the Maryland/D.C. FIRST Tech Challenge Championship

    Loveland Bionic Tigers were one of three teams to receive an advancement invitation to the Maryland/D.C. FIRST Tech Challenge Championship

    The Bionic Tigers have now qualified for two state competitions

    Loveland High School’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 10464, The Bionic Tigers, competed at the Mountain Qualifier that took place in the scenic mountains of Western Maryland. On January 11, 25 teams from Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia came together to compete for three advancements spots to the Maryland/D.C. FIRST Tech Challenge Championship.

    Loveland High School’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 10464, The Bionic Tigers, competed in the mountains of Western Maryland over the weekend, qualifying them for the second state competition this season. The team will be competing in the Maryland/D.C. Championship on March 1 and the Ohio FTC Championship on March 14.

    To start the day, The Bionic Tigers presented to the judges about their community outreach, involvement with industry professionals, programming, robot design, and other related topics for evaluation for awards. They then competed in five qualifying matches—going undefeated—overall being ranked second place. As a result of being ranked second, 10464 got to pick two teams to join them for elimination rounds, and chose one team from West Virginia and one from Maryland.

    To close out the exciting day, the awards ceremony took place. The Bionic Tigers were nominated for or won five out of seven awards: 3rd Think, 2nd Connect, 2nd Innovate, 2nd Motivate, and 1st Inspire. Due to winning the highly coveted Inspire award, The Bionic Tigers were one of three teams to receive an advancement invitation to the Maryland/D.C. FIRST Tech Challenge Championship taking place on March 1.  The Bionic Tigers have now qualified for two state competitions: the Maryland/D.C. FTC Championship on March 1 and the Ohio FTC Championship on March 14.

  • 11 Year Old Local is “Tumbling” into a Bright Future!

    11 Year Old Local is “Tumbling” into a Bright Future!

    Each and every citizen in Loveland makes up an important piece of the community, but in saying that it’s up to the citizen as to what they do with their role as an important piece of that community. This is what makes up a community’s “D.N.A.”

    Over the past two years, Loveland Magazine has been in search of community members that truly play an important role in Loveland’s D.N.A.

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – In the Sweetheart of Ohio, it’s not hard to find a good inspirational story as you could simply walk down the Loveland Bike Trail and find a lovely Loveland local to tell you their story. But there is a significant difference between a good story and a great story and well this 11-year-old Loveland prodigy makes for one GREAT story!

    Delaney Dunlap, daughter of Mike and Gina Dunlap, from a very young age always saw the rainbow behind the storm cloud. At 15 months old, Delaney encountered the turning point of her very young life; a leg amputation. Delaney was born with a condition called Fibular Hemimelia, meaning her fibular bone was missing. When the fibular bone is missing this can lead to limb length discrepancy, foot deformities, and knee deformities. Only 1 in 40,000 births encounter FH.

    “We worked with Shriners and Children’s Hospital to determine the best course of action and we decided that having an amputation at an early age would allow her the most normal life with the least interruptions,” Delaney’s mother Gina explained, “On March 4th, 2012, at 15 months old she had her amputation.  About 3 months later she was fit for her prosthetic leg.”

    Both Gina and Mike Dunlap knew very early on that Delaney’s leg amputation wouldn’t stop her from achieving her highest goals!

    Gina, Delaney, and Mike Dunlap on vacation in 2019.

    “At 2 years of age, she took her leg from us and said, ‘I do it myself!’ She proceeded to put her leg on and jump up and say, all done, with a shrug of her shoulders,” Gina said. “By 4 we had her in gymnastics with Ms. Karol Warden and she started performing in front of people. By 5 she was playing soccer, by 7 she was playing softball, by 8 she was golfing, and about 2 years ago she took up snowboarding,” Gina added.

    Delaney performing with the SoringMaster Tumbling Team at a recent Loveland High School basketball halftime

    Now at age 11, Delaney has not only been featured in several news outlets nationally for her unbelievable athletic abilities, but she has also shared her gymnastic skill set with the world, tumbling at university games, half-time shows, local schools, and festivals. Below is a video clip of Delaney performing at the halftime of the UC game in December.

    Mike Dunlap, Loveland High School’s Soccer Coach, and Science Teacher couldn’t be more proud of Delaney’s hard work and dedication to her craft!

    “Delaney has gotten the opportunity because of her determination, to do many auditions and has landed a couple of commercials. She loves Tik Tok,” Mike added, “She currently has gathered 8 of her friends together and is choreographing a performance for the upcoming talent show at Loveland Intermediate School. They practiced for 2 hours the other day!”

    Delaney is not only an all-star athlete she was also recently selected as an Academic All-Star for the Ohio Lottery’s Partners in Education program.

    “Delaney signed with a talent agency in 2016! She has done 2 commercials and a Huffy photo shoot,” Gina said, “Recently she has had big auditions for Netflix, Nickelodeon, HBO, and Disney!”

    Gina also told us that Delaney has been consistently visiting 2 kids, Tessa and Eli who have recently had amputations. “She just wanted to let them know that they are not alone and they can do anything they set their minds to doing,” Gina said.

    Karol Warden, tumbling coach for the SoringMaster Tumbling Team has coached Delaney for 5 years. Warden said, “She inspires everyone.” Warden says that Delaney is a joy to teach and has the highest round off tuck of all of her students. “She never complains or uses her disability as an excuse. Her parents have done a great job teaching her ‘I can’ and not accepting ‘I cannot!.”

    So without further ado, Loveland Magazine presents, “What’s In Loveland’s DNA: Delaney Dunlap,” an exclusive one-on-one on-camera interview!

    ,   

    Watch Delaney tumbling at a recent Loveland High School halftime

     

    Click to read about Delaney’s father L.H.S’s Mike Dunlap who Provides Tiger Students and Athletes the Tools for a Bright Future

    Read more of our, What’s in Loveland’s DNA” stories…

  • [VIDEO] December 10 School Board Meeting

    [VIDEO] December 10 School Board Meeting

    Loveland, Ohio – This video is of the Loveland City School District Board of Education meeting held on December 10, 2019.

  • Public can now access financial information about the Loveland City School District on-line

    Public can now access financial information about the Loveland City School District on-line

    Loveland, Ohio – The public can now access financial information about the Loveland City School District on Ohio Checkbook.

    The website was launched by the state in 2014 to allow taxpayers direct access to see how their tax money is spent.

    Financial data about Loveland City Schools on OhioCheckbook.com will initially cover the current fiscal year (2020) and last fiscal year (2019).

  • Loveland Magazine has moved and has a new home

    Loveland Magazine has moved and has a new home

    Our New Home is the Simpson Farm House

    Loveland Magazine has moved into the 102-year-old Simpson Farm House at the entrance to the Simpson Farm, a 40-acre Conservation District in the heart of Loveland. We are at 243 Wall Street (Across from Kiwanis Park). We are still in the West Loveland Historic District.

    We have greatly expanded outdoor space, expanded office and meeting space and will have a vastly improved and larger LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV studio for recording interviews and public affairs broadcasts.

    The Simpson Farm House was built in 1918. Forty acres of the original Simpson Farm became a dedicated Conservation District and part of Phillips Park in the 90s after the City of Loveland purchased the property from the Simpson Family.

    Loveland Magazine Publisher David Miller wrote the Conservation District deed restrictions for the property and circulated Initiative Petitions that were approved by Loveland voters 85-15% to ensure it would be protected in perpetuity from development.

  • 6.95 mill March school levy translates into approximately $20/month ($243 annually) per $100,000

    6.95 mill March school levy translates into approximately $20/month ($243 annually) per $100,000

    Loveland, Ohio – On Tuesday, December 17, the Loveland Board of Education voted unanimously and passed a resolution to place an operating levy of 6.95 mills on the March 2020 ballot. The decision follows a failed combined operating and permanent improvement/bond issue of 16.78 mills on the November 5, 2019 ballot. “YES” votes totaled 2,447 and “NO votes totaled 8,634.

    The failed levy was for the same millage amount of new operating funds the voters will be asked to approve on March 17 – 6.95 mills. The Hamilton County Auditor estimates the new operating levy would generate $6,164,257 in the first year of additional income for the District. Collections would begin in 2021.

    The cost of the combined 16.78-mill levy translated into $49 monthly per $100,000 of appraised home value. If passed last November, collections would have begun in 2020. The failed November levy included 9.83 mills to pay for issuing $118.515,000 of debt for new construction, 3.41 mills for additional permanent improvements and 6.9 mills for operating expenses.

    The new levy request will be approximately $20/month ($243 annually) per $100,000 of appraised value.

    The last operating levy was for 5.6 mills and it was passed in May of 2014

    In a press release, the District said that there will be approximately $2.7 million of budget cuts made in conjunction with the levy. According to Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse, they will include a combination of reductions in the “instructional cycle budget” (textbooks, etc.), staff and contracted services, and others.

    According to the District, if the March levy fails additional cuts would be made before the district would go back to the ballot and ask for additional operating funds in November of 2020.

    Operating levies fund the school district’s day-to-day expenses, including the salary and benefits of staff, which the District says make up approximately 83 percent of operating expenditures. Loveland Schools receive about 32 percent of its budget revenue from the state. The majority of the current budget, nearly 60 percent, is generated locally – mainly through property taxes. This locally-generated source of funding is also flat due to Ohio House Bill 920, which prevents schools from collecting additional revenue as home values increase over time.

    In addition to voting for a March levy, the board has discussed the intention to look into options for increasing transparency and community involvement, through community advisory groups, one of which would focus specifically on school funding issues and advocacy at the state level.

    Dr. Crouse said that the facility needs that were addressed in the failed bond levies in November will be on hold for the foreseeable future. Crouse said in the release, “Our school facility needs as presented earlier this year still remain and will eventually need to be addressed.” She added that the board will not be placing any levy on the ballot for facilities in November of 2020.

    The master plan that is shelved outlined a new campus at Grailville for all Pre-K through fifth-grade students. It included repairs, renovations, and additions to the Middle School/Intermediate School and High School campuses. The money would also have been used for upgraded building security at all schools with secure entrances, camera systems, and electronically-activated locks. It included upgraded and expanded science and technology laboratories for biotechnology and robotics, among others. Included in the master plan was a new auditorium/fine arts center at the high school. The current auditorium would have been repurposed as academic space. The master plan also included upgrades and enhancements to athletic facilities at both the Middle and High Schools. Architects hired by the District developed the budget for the total project ($165 M).

    Also read:

    Below is the Resolution that was delivered to the Hamilton County Board of Elections with the ballot language.

    The District has provided this way to most accurately calculate the cost of the March levy to property owners:

    How much will the levy cost home owners?
    The 6.95 millage rate translates into $20.27/month ($243.25 annually) per $100,000 of appraised home value as determined by the county auditor. To understand exactly how much the district’s 6.95-mill operating levy will cost your household, you will need to know your home’s appraised (or fair market) value as determined by your county auditor. Go to your local county auditor’s website and do a real estate property search:
    Hamilton County (https://wedge1.hcauditor.org/)
    To find the appraised value, referred to as “Market Value,” go to “Tax Distributions” in the right column.
    Clermont County (https://www.clermontauditor.org/_web/search/commonsearch.aspx?mode=owner)
    To find the appraised value, go to “Values” in the left column.
    Warren County (https://www.wcauditor.org/Property_Search/)
    To find the appraised value, see “Value History” in the left column. The appraised value will be listed as the “True Value.”
    Please note that the assessed value, which is used by the auditor to determine your tax obligation, is 35% of the appraised or market value. A home that is appraised at $100,000 is taxed on only $35,000:
    $35,000 x .00695*= $243.25/annually, or 243.25÷12=$20.27/monthly*.00695 equals the millage rate of 6.95.

    Also read…

    Board of Ed cancels contract with Allerton Hill Consulting

  • Emergency Fundraiser for the Cobb Family

    Emergency Fundraiser for the Cobb Family

    Loveland, Ohio – Local restauranteur, Gina Williams has created an “Emergency Fundraiser” Facebook page to help one of the employees at Tano Bistro.

    Photo by Loveland/Symmes Fire Department

    She says on the page, “As many of you may have heard, one of our employees suffered a house fire last night. Thankfully, the family is safe but they will need our help to rebuild their home! David and Stacy have 3 children and will need to replace all their belongings. Tano and I know personally how generous this community is and I ask for your help as we walk alongside the Cobb family as they rebuild!”

    Emergency Fundraiser for the Cobb Family

    Click to watch a video clip of the fire.

    So far $3,705 has been raised with a goal of $10,000.

    On January 3 the Loveland/Symmes Fire Department responded to an odor of smoke in a residence on Stratford Court in Loveland. They reported on Facebook, “First arriving crews found a working fire on the second floor. The fire was quickly extinguished and contained to the second floor. No reported injuries.”

    Watch video clip of the fire.

  • Loveland Board of Education’s “Organizational Meeting” is Thursday, January 9

    Loveland Board of Education’s “Organizational Meeting” is Thursday, January 9

    Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland Board of Education’s “Organizational Meeting” is scheduled for Thursday, January 9, at 6 PM in the LMS/LIS Media Center.

    No agenda is yet published for the meeting, however, the Board is expected to elect a President and Vice-President for 2020, make various committee assignments and approve a meeting calendar for the 2020-21 school year.

    The Board is expected to discuss a range of issues in January, including the contract for the option to purchase the Grailville land; the structure, membership and objective of a community-based committee; expenditure reductions and various fees and tuition increases for the school year 2020-21.

    The next Business Meeting for the Board will be on January 22.

  • Most read Loveland Magazine stories of 2019

    Most read Loveland Magazine stories of 2019

    David Miller is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of Loveland Magazine

    by David Miller

    We will almost certainly never surpass the 1.3 million readers we had in 2017 (combined on lovelandmagazine.com, Facebook, and Twitter) on the day and the day after the fire in the Historic District. And, we quite frankly never want to surpass that record unless it’s much better news. (Early morning fire destroys 2/3 block in Historic Downtown Loveland)

     

    #1

    The most-read story by a wide margin in 2019 involved the levy the school district put on the ballot. Actually, we only published a few stories that were informational, the Five Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why) of the levy vote. We provided public documents, notices of public meetings, etc.

    Interesting is what drove readership… we let our readers tell the story through Guest Columns and Letters to the Editor.

    Letting our readers, and District staff tell the story in balanced thought-provoking columns proved that we had no need to publish “she said-he said” stories filtered through our eyes and we are extremely grateful to those who submitted columns and the reflective social media comments that followed. We published each and every opinion piece we received and only occasionally felt the need to delete some of the social media comments that were inappropriate.

    Topping all of the levy stories was a Guest Column by Juliet Tissot, “We should not thumb our noses at the less fortunate just because we want nice stuff.” We did nothing special to promote Tissot’s column, however, are extremely proud of the Loveland community taking such interest in the subject she raised, because the plight of the “less fortunate” is rarely if ever discussed here in the Loveland area. I hope in 2020 this subject is revisited often inside the institutional framework of school board meetings, city buildings, and township halls.

    LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV also produced several videos of school board meetings where the District and local residents discussed the levy which added to making the levy by far the most looked at topic of 2019.

    #2

    “Public Advised Not to Enter Little Miami River South of Old 3C Highway Until Further Notice” and “Canoe liveries warn of dangerous river conditions this weekend“.

    #3[VIDEO] Parking garage coming to Historic Downtown and Council executes purchase agreement for 1.15406 acres of land on First Street in Historic Downtown

    #4 Buy the original White Pillars home

     

    #5 Loveland Magazine “Local Voter Guide” to issues and candidates

     

    #6 Loveland’s Rails Trails & Ales Festival is Sept. 6 thru 8

     

    #7 Beloved Loveland High School educator: Charles R. Schmidt passes

     

    #8 It only took 8 minutes a story about flash flooding on Loveland Maderia Road.

    #9 Arrest made for scattering screws and nails on the roadway at SR 131 & Betty Lane

    #10 [Breaking] W. Loveland/Loveland Madeira area is being evacuated (Crews are investigating a natural gas leak at the intersection of W. Loveland/Loveland Madeira. The area is being evacuated and Duke is on scene.) Exact source of natural gas leak still not pinpointed – evacuation still in place

     

  • Attend the Loveland Show Choirs Preview Night

    Attend the Loveland Show Choirs Preview Night

    Online tickets are sold out at this time.
    A very limited number of tickets MAY be available at the door

    Loveland, Ohio – This will be the first opportunity to view the 2020 competition show performances by Loveland Show Choirs. Two showtimes. 5 PM and 7:30 PM. Tickets on sale now at https://bit.ly/34837uV