Dr. Charles Meade, a former president and director of the Hamilton County Fair Board, built this historic home in 1906. The property was used to raise trotting and pacing horses and included a racetrack. The Township purchased the property in 2003 and had a lease with the Cincinnati Horticultural Society to maintain the grounds until 2016.
Ross Family Log House Museum at Meade Park. The Symmes Township Historical Society has restored a historic 1830’s two-story log house at Meade Park through a grant from the Ohio Cultural Commission. It opened to the public in April 2012.
Symmes Township, Ohio – Symmes Township and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County will be offering a Story Time open house for kids age 3-9 on Tuesday, August 18th at the Meade Historic Preserve (11887 Lebanon Road 45140) from 10 AM until noon.
In addition to story time, the library will offer kids a craft, game and snack in a outdoor setting. Social distancing guidelines will be adhered to.
For more information, please contact the Township office at (513)683-6644.
Cassie Mattia is the Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine, lives in Historic Downtown, and is Italian-American!
By: Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – As Historic Downtown Loveland expands so is the cuisine! I’m not just talking restaurant chains or commercialized venues, I’m taking REAL straight from Northern Italy homemade Italian food!
Coming to Loveland in Mid-September is “RODI,” owned by new local Roberto aka Rob Peloni and his wife, Cincinnati native, Jo Beyersdorfer. RODI is set to offer one of the most authentic Italian menus you can find in the Tri-State area along with wines, beers, and coffee shipped in from all over the world. Oh, and did I mention Rob literally imported his Gelato machine in his very own vehicle all the way from L.A. just so he could add his homemade Italian Gelato to RODI’s menu?!
Peloni’s father, Angelo Peloni, is a legendary chef in L.A who has his own successful Italian restaurant called La Bruschetta. For 38 years La Bruschetta has offered all of Angelo’s very own recipes that found their origins in Northern Italy. Peloni spent multiple years in L.A with his father running his own restaurant and learning as much as he possibly could from his father and the culinary masters that reside in L.A. With just that information alone, and of course, the fact that I am VERY Italian myself, hence my last name is Mattia, I knew I had to learn more about the Peloni’s!
An early rendering of what RODI Italian will look like.
When I expressed interest in RODI, Peloni himself invited me over to see the restaurant’s layout. While I was there Peloni participated in an on-camera interview so that he could answer the questions that I thought the community of Loveland would be “craving” to hear answers to.
Intrigued yet?! If your answer is yes today is your lucky day because we have included below the full on-camera interview with Rob Peloni and believe me you don’t want to miss his inspirational cooking journey! So sit back, grab a couple of breadsticks to go with your pasta, and enjoy my exclusive one-on-one interview with “RODI” owner Roberto Peloni!
Be sure to stay up to date on when RODI will be opening up its doors to the public by visiting the restaurant’s Facebook page @rodiloveland or RODI’s official website HERE!
Please note that the Cleanup Day scheduled for Saturday, August 15th has been rescheduled.
Symmes Township, Ohio – A Cleanup Day/One Stop Drop has been scheduled for Saturday, September 26th from 9 AM until 3 PM at Home of the Brave Park, 11605 Lebanon Road.
This one day event will offer residents a convenient way to get rid of trash and other items that they may not need responsibly.
Please note in order to social distance and keep everyone safe, residents will be required to unload their own items.
Participants will include:
Goodwill
Bikes, dishes, glassware, toys, games, clothing, books, flat screen tvs and monitors. No furniture, large appliances or construction/building supplies are being accepted at Goodwill at this time. For questions, call 771-4800 Ext. 6273 or see link here.
Matthew 25 Ministries
Usable latex paint
Habitat for Humanity Cincinnati Restore
Furniture, cabinets, doors, lawn & garden, clean mattresses & box springs, electronics (stereos, DVD & CD players), appliances (large & small,) light fixtures and ceiling fans, hardware & tools, housewares, windows (thermal pane only) and digital televisions.
Symmes Township
Trash, tires, car batteries, scrap metal items, used motor oil and old appliances.
No hazardous household waste will be accepted at this event.
For more information, contact the Township office at 683-6644.
Symmes Township, Ohio – The Township will sponsor its 3rd annual Photo Contest from October 1-31. Photographers of all ages are invited to participate in the contest.
Entering is easy, free and can be done by sending high resolution images via email to lfelter@symmestownship.org.
The images should best depict Symmes Township’s beautiful environment, active people and vibrant community life. This includes but is not limited to parks, wildlife, streetscapes, landmarks, children or dogs at play or sports activities. Any photos taken of locations not within Symmes Township will be disqualified.
Prizes will be awarded to the winners as follows:
First place winner – $100 gift card of their choice
Second place winner – $50 gift card of their choice
Third place winner – $25 gift card of their choice
Honorable Mention (Youth) – $25 gift card of their choice
“With all that’s going on in the world and in each of our vastly different lives, taking some time to look up and ponder at space always shows you how small we really are.”
On a recent week-long family vacation to a house along Lake Leelanau, Michigan, Loveland photographer, Joe Timmerman said that most nights were spent by the fire, watching the smoke burn towards the summer stars. “One night my parents were at the end of the backyard’s dock when they noticed a golden streak in the sky.”
Their guesses on what it was were confirmed with a news update the next morning: a new comet was passing Earth.
Comet Neowise!
Timmerman said, “Within a few days, all my favorite photographers I follow were posting about Neowise. I found out it’s a three-mile wide ball of methane and ammonia, filled with rock and ice, with a tail that’s nearly a million miles long, and it is moving at 17,500 miles per hour. The last time this comet passed Earth was around 5,000 BC, and it won’t come back for another 7,000 years.”
“With all that’s going on in the world and in each of our vastly different lives, taking some time to look up and ponder at space always shows you how small we really are,” Timmerman said when he said.
Loveland, Ohio – Another school in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference has decided to forego its Native American Mascot. Loveland Magazine wants to congratulate the Winton Woods City School District on the retirement!
Winton Woods High School announced on their school website this week that after several years of gradually hinting at the retirement of their Native American Chieftain Mascot it has finally been approved. Winton Woods City School’s Community and Public Engagement Coordinator, Corina Denny, said the discontinuation of the Native American mascot has been 5 years in the making.
“This stemmed from our high regard for the Native American people and their rich history and contributions to our community and nation,” Denny explained, “The design elements of our two new campuses gives us another opportunity to move in the right direction.”
Superintendent Anthony G. Smith also weighed in on the historical change saying that, “With a diverse student body and 31 spoken languages, it is a priority and imperative that we continue to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all of our students and families.”
On July 27th the Board of Education voted and approved the retirement of the Chieftain Mascot and with that the Winton Woods City School District did a thorough search through every school in the ECC’s advertisements and marketing tools just to be sure anything pertaining to the Native American Mascot was removed.
Winton Woods was not the only school in the ECC to retire a mascot. The Forest Hills School District announced in early July that Anderson High School would be retiring their Redskins Mascot as it was approved by a 4 to 1 vote. To read more about Anderson’s decision to retire the Redskin CLICK HERE.
For more of your local sports news stay tuned to the Sports 411 with me, Cassie Mattia!
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday, August 6 at 5:30 PM to discuss the progress pertaining to the opening of Loveland Schools for the 2020-2021 school year.
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The special meeting will be held virtually and live-streamed on the Loveland Board of Education’s YouTube channel.
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The link for the meeting will be available in advance of the meeting on the district’s website at lovelandschools.org/BoardofEducation.aspx or go directly to the YouTube channel to view the meeting. The recording of the meeting will also be archived and available on YouTube.
The district is currently offering both in-person and online learning options for the upcoming school year. Loveland parents/guardians must select the learning option (in-person or online) for their child(ren) for the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year. Loveland City School District has extended the deadline for online parent choice for all grade levels to August 9, 2020. Families can listen to the progress update at this special board meeting.
“We want to ensure that our parents have the most current information and data available to support their decision-making for their child’s learning option this semester. We know many parents are struggling with this decision and we want to offer the best guidance possible,” said Loveland Superintendent, Dr. Amy Crouse.
Loveland’s selection form for grades “K-12” will now be open until Sunday, August 9 at 11:55 p.m. Parents also have the option to change their selection by the August 9 deadline.
August 26 is the first day for all students.
Click on the links below to access the online selection forms.
Loveland, Ohio – As Fall sports finally take flight another Loveland Tiger is being recognized for their outstanding athletic abilities! On July 30th, The Allstate Sugar Bowl announced that Loveland High School 2016 graduate and stand-out student-athlete, Drew Plitt, would be placed on the preseason Manning Award Watch List, which is the ONLY quarterback award that takes the recipient’s bowl performances into consideration before the winner is selected.
The Manning Award was created to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton, and Eli Manning. The prestigious watch list includes 30 of the top quarterbacks in the United States going into the 2020 season. The winner will be chosen by national media and each of the Mannings after the bowls have concluded and will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championship. Plitt is one of two MAC quarterbacks on the Manning Watch List this year.
In a near blizzard, Drew Plitt quarterbacked the Loveland Tigers to a 41 – 23 win over Glenville at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium to win the Div II State Championship in 2013. The temperature was 28 degrees, the wind was 5-10 mph, and a steady snow kept plows busy clearing the Canton Fawcett Stadium yard lines throughout the game. Dec. 6, 2013.
Here is the list of the preseason 2020 Manning Watch List recipients:
2020 MANNING AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST (2019 STATS)
Name, Cl., School
Cmp-Att
Pct.
Yards
TDs
INT
QBR
Rushing
Jack Abraham, Jr., Southern Miss
275-405
.679
3,496
19
15
64.1
6 TDs
Holton Ahlers, Jr., East Carolina
264-442
.597
3,387
21
10
57.8
359 yds, 6 TDs
Ian Book, Sr., Notre Dame
240-399
.602
3,034
34
6
76.3
546 yds, 4 TDs
Charlie Brewer, Sr., Baylor
251-389
.645
3,161
21
7
69.2
344 yds, 11 TDs
Shane Buechele, Sr., SMU
307-490
.627
3,929
34
10
72.5
105 yds, 2 TDs
Sean Clifford, Jr., Penn State
189-319
.592
2,654
23
7
76.8
402 yds, 5 TDs
Jack Coan, Sr., Wisconsin
236-339
.696
2,727
18
5
82.0
4 TDs
Dustin Crum, Sr., Kent State
216-312
.692
2,622
20
2
73.7
707 yds, 6 TDs
Micale Cunningham, Jr., Louisville
112-179
.626
2,065
22
5
83.9
482 yds, 6 TDs
Jayden Daniels, So., Arizona State
205-338
.607
2,943
17
2
64.4
355 yds, 3 TDs
Sam Ehlinger, Sr., Texas
296-454
.652
3,663
32
10
77.6
663 yds, 7 TDs
Justin Fields, Jr., Ohio State
238-354
.672
3,273
41
3
92.1
484 yds, 10 TDs
Dillon Gabriel, So., UCF
236-398
.593
3,653
29
7
68.0
4 TDs
Sam Howell, So., North Carolina
259-422
.614
3,641
38
7
72.3
NA
Trey Lance, So., North Dakota State
192-287
.669
2,786
28
0
—
1,100 yds, 14 TDs
Trevor Lawrence, Jr., Clemson
268-407
.658
3,665
36
8
87.3
563 yds, 9 TDs
Levi Lewis, Sr., Louisiana
243-378
.643
3,050
26
4
72.5
195 yds, 3 TDs
Kellen Mond, Sr., Texas A&M
258-419
.616
2,897
20
9
73.5
500 yds, 8 TDs
Tanner Morgan, Jr., Minnesota
210-318
.660
3,253
30
7
84.2
NA
Bo Nix, So., Auburn
217-377
.576
2,542
16
6
63.8
313 yds, 7 TDs
Drew Plitt, Sr., Ball State
238-370
.643
2,918
24
7
55.3
171 yds, 5 TDs
Brock Purdy, Jr., Iowa State
312-475
.657
3,982
27
9
71.2
249 yds, 8 TDs
Chris Reynolds, Jr., Charlotte
181-291
.622
2,564
22
11
67.3
767 yds, 6 TDs
Chris Robison, Jr., FAU
291-471
.618
3,701
28
6
58.8
2 TDs
Kedon Slovis, So., USC
282-392
.719
3,502
30
9
81.1
NA
Zac Thomas, Sr., Appalachian State
225-359
.627
2,718
28
6
69.0
440 yds, 7 TDs
Skylar Thompson, Sr. Kansas State
177-297
.596
2,315
12
5
70.2
405 yds, 11 TDs
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jr., UCLA
216-362
.597
2,701
21
12
56.6
198 yds, 4 TDs
Kyle Trask, Sr., Florida
237-354
.669
2,941
25
7
81.3
4 TDs
Brady White, Sr., Memphis
269-420
.640
4,014
33
11
74.3
4 TDs
Archie Manning couldn’t express enough how excited he is to see what he thinks is a fantastic group of quarterbacks on the Watch List this year.
“Our Watch List is once again an exceptional group of candidates, but every year is a new year and we’ll be watching closely to add the best newcomers to the list after we get things rolling,” Manning said, “I’d also like to thank the Allstate Sugar Bowl for sponsoring this award; it means a lot to the entire Manning family that they include our name in recognizing the best quarterbacks in the country.”
Bryce, Julie, Marie, Steve, and Drew at Marie’s volleyball Senior night in 2019
Plitt, son of locals Steve and Julie, is very familiar with the art of playing collegiate sports as his father played baseball at Xavier, his mother played volleyball at Xavier, his brother Bryce also played baseball at Xavier, and his sister Marie plays volleyball at Ball State.
Before Plitt headed to Ball State himself to play football he was a top-notch student-athlete at Loveland High School. Plitt was a member of the National Honor Society all while earning multiple awards in both basketball and football. As a Junior Plitt was Team Captain, MVP, and First-Team All-Conference in basketball. In football, Plitt received All-Conference twice as well as Honorable Mention All-District as a Senior. Plitt helped lead the Loveland Tigers to a 2013 state title and still has the school record for career passing touchdowns (42).
In 2016, Plitt joined the Ball State Football Team as a fourth-string quarterback and made the decision to redshirt his freshman season. As Plitt worked his way up the roster in 2017 he received his first opportunity as a quarterback on October 26th against Toledo. Plitt ended up scoring a touchdown during the 3rd quarter giving him the confidence he needed to perform in his first collegiate start against Eastern Michigan. Plitt exceeded everyone’s expectations throwing a season-high of 169 yards and two touchdowns!
In Plitt’s 2018 season with Ball State, he became the 2nd string quarterback. During the season Plitt had the longest completion for the year coming in at 63 yards against Central Connecticut. Plitt had multiple successful games during the 2018 season earning him MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, the 2018 Ball State Ray Louthen Award (most improved player), and the MAC All-Academic Award.
Drew Plitt on the basketball court for the Loveland Tigers in 2015
During Plitt’s Junior year was when he really took on the leadership role at Ball State starting in all 12 games as the quarterback. Not only did Plitt help lead Ball State to be at the top of the MAC in scoring (34.8 points per game) and total offense (463 yards per game) he also led the MAC personally in touchdown passes (24), placed second in passing yards per game (243.2), and ranked fourth in total offense (257.4 yards per game). All of Plitt’s impressive 2019 stats earned him several accolades; the MAC’s West Offensive Player of the Week twice, the 2019 Ball State Co-Offensive Player of the Year, the MAC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Week, and the 2019 MAC All-Academic Award. After the completion of the 2019 Ball State Football Season Plitt gained the eighth-place spot on the Cardinals All-Time Passing Chart with 4,356 yards, he tied for “Most Touchdown Passes in One Game” with six touchdown passes against Fordham, and he also holds the fifth-place spot for “Most Passing Yards in a Single Season” with 2,918.
Drew Plitt dives into the end zone for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 28 with 17.5 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter against Zanesville in the 2013 State Div II semifinal. Loveland Magazine writer Ricky Mulvey described it this way, “The Tigers had to make up for lost time, as the missed extra point forced the Tigers to go for two late in the game. That’s when the “Holy Plitt” moment was born. The play was drawn up for Drew Plitt to run to the outside edge and into the end zone. The play appeared to be broken along with the Loveland Tigers when Plitt leaped into the air and across the goal line for the perfect two-point conversion. The game was knotted up at 28-28 and heading for overtime. Loveland eventually won 38-35 in double overtime.” (Photo by David Burig)
Ball State’s 2020-2021 Football Season is bound to be a phenomenal one as the team will have 16 starters returning. Last year the Cardinals battled for the MAC West Division Title winning some very important games against Northern Illinois and MAC Champions Miami. The Ball State coaching staff, team, and spectators have high hopes for Plitt’s Senior season and can only hope that Plitt will help lead them to a 2020 MAC Title!
Here at Loveland Magazine, we want to congratulate Drew Plitt on all his Ball State successes! We can’t wait to see how Plitt’s Senior season with the Cardinals turns out and we hope that he remains on the Manning Watch List through the entire season! If you would like to get information on how you can watch Plitt play football this year click here.
State Farm Insurance issued a statement on July 29 saying, “Driving behaviors across the country continue to evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on current trends, State Farm is working to reduce auto insurance rates in Ohio by 14.3%.”
According to the statement, the rate reduction will save 1.9 million State Farm customers a total of $174.1 million. This applies to current customers at policy renewal, as well as new and returning customers.
“Current State Farm driving data and claims experience show a considerable decline in miles driven and fewer accidents,” said State Farm Senior Vice President Rob Stewart. “As a result, we’re looking for ways to continue supporting our Ohio customers while we monitor and adjust to trends.”
Customer rate reductions will vary based on their individual renewals. Customers are encouraged to visit with their State Farm agent about individual policies, coverage, and any opportunities for discounts, including the Drive Safe & Save program offered by the company.
Loveland, Ohio – There is no better time than now to give back to your local community and that’s just what The Loveland Police Department and the Loveland Citizens Police Academy Alumni did! On Saturday, July 18th at the Loveland Madeira Kroger the two local organizations sponsored the Annual “Stuff-a-Cruiser” Food Drive, in order to benefit Loveland’s very own LIFE Food Pantry.
LIFE or Loveland Interfaith Effort is a faith and community-supported organization that provides food, financial assistance, and programs to those experiencing hardship in the greater Loveland area. LIFE is located at 101 S Lebanon Road and is open for donations Thursdays from 3 PM-6:30 PM and Saturdays from 9 AM-12:30 PM. LIFE also supplies Holiday Baskets during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah, and runs both a Giving Shop, which provides eligible families the chance to shop for new gifts for their families and a Student LIFE Shop, that provides much-needed items to students in the Loveland School District. LIFE also has a food pantry called Tiger Pantry, which provides Loveland students in need with necessary food items.
During the Summer months, the LIFE Food Pantry tends to get very low in food supplies because there are so many families that are at home (school is out which means no school lunch programs to fall back on) and in need of nutrition. This is why both the LPD and Loveland Citizens Police Academy sponsor the Annual “Stuff-a-Cruiser” specifically over the Summer.
This year volunteers held the “Stuff-a-Cruiser” Food Drive beginning at 9 AM on July 18th at the Loveland Kroger and collected food items and cash donations the majority of the day! Those within the Loveland community and those just casually grocery shopping were able to bring food items from their home to “stuff the cruiser” or could simply use Kroger’s “Click List” and select specific items to go towards “LIFE Food Pantry Stuff-a-Cruiser.” Shoppers were also able to leave a cash donation in LIFE’s designated donation jar located on their Food Drive display!
Peggy Goodwin, a member of the Loveland Citizens Police Academy, spent most of her day at the Food Drive event helping organize donations and couldn’t express enough how kind the community of Loveland is for the number of donations brought in!
“Inside the gym at Prince of Peace – as soon as a cart came through the door, volunteers immediately started sorting the grocery items onto tables by commodity. The Pantry estimates the value of the groceries, gift cards, and monetary donations at $4,000,” Goodwin said, “This provided a much-needed boost to help fill their ‘cupboard.’ This event speaks volumes to the kindness and generosity of the Loveland community – whenever there is a need, you can count on our residents to step up and do what they can to take care of their neighbors. What a great place to call home! And thank you, Cassie and Dave, for giving up your Saturday morning to come out to talk with us, see what was going on, and now spreading the word about some of the great things Lovelanders do to help each other,” Goodwin added.
Loveland Magazine Editor, David Miller, and I wanted to show our support for such a fantastic event so we spent time with Goodwin, LT. Amy Campbell, and many other volunteers at the “Stuff-a-Cruiser” Food Drive while taking in all the acts of kindness the Loveland community put forth through both food and cash donations. Both Miller and I brought over food donations ourselves as we encouraged those walking in and out of Kroger to do the same. Miller expressed that this particular Food Drive is one of the most important events held in Loveland every summer.
“This time of year is so vastly different from the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season when thinking about others comes so easy. Each penny families and seniors don’t have to spend on food can go instead to paying bills like rent and utilities,” Miller said, “These needs are something the greater community can help with and they really came through as usual with this reminder from the folks that worked so hard to pull it off.”
Being in the presence of such generosity at the “Stuff-a-Cruiser” Food Drive made me feel as though I was helping so many families in need and I encourage those within the Loveland community to always make time to give back. Being kind can allow us all to receive the ultimate reward in life…HAPPINESS! Now please enjoy the interview with Peggy Goodwin and LT. Amy Campbell as well as the photo album below from the Food Drive!
If you would like to donate food items or learn how you can get access to food benefits for you and your family go to http://www.lifefoodpantry.org/. Thank you once again Loveland for being a community filled with LOVE!
![[Video Interview] Authentic Italian Restaurant Plants its Roots in the Heart of Downtown Loveland!](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cassie-rodi-rob-1-2.jpg)
The images should best depict Symmes Township’s beautiful environment, active people and vibrant community life. This includes but is not limited to parks, wildlife, streetscapes, landmarks, children or dogs at play or sports activities. Any photos taken of locations not within Symmes Township will be disqualified.
by Cassie Mattia
