Loveland, Ohio – A “Community Prayer Event” left Kiwanis Park in the West Loveland Historic District at 7:30 PM this afternoon to walk through the neighborhood and across the Co. Thomas Paxton Bridge to Nisbet Park to pray.
Shane Harden a Co-lead Pastor of Branches Church in Miami Township said that he was inspired by Loveland resident Desmond Gault leading walks in Loveland after the death of George Floyd.
“We wanted to continue to bring our community together to pray.” In a release last week Harden said, “We’ll be praying for a lot of things…like for the Floyd family, for peace in Minneapolis and around the country, and for justice.”
The walks through Loveland neighborhoods organized by Desmon Gault lasted for seven days and were in response to the death of George Floyd who died in police custody on May 25 in the Powderhorn community of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
While Floyd, a Black man was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white American Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; according to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.
David Miller is the Editor and Publisher of Loveland Magazine
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Joe Timmerman seems to be awfully young to be so old-school, but he’s both. I got reacquainted with him underneath the home-team basket at a winter basketball game in the Chuck Schmidt Gymnasium at Loveland High School. A Senior at the time, Joe had also been taking photos of the action and he came over and sat down on the floor with me and introduced himself,
He wanted to know if I would publish some of his photographs in Loveland Magazine.
His old-schoolness was when he described his approach to using film cameras and in very creative ways.
‘Liiife’ is within the borders of this black and white double exposure. I used Ilford HP5 Plus film when shooting these two photos — Laine’s face and a tree in my backyard — which share a single exposure. When I put the roll of film in my camera, I wanted to capture 24 portraits, underexposed in studio lighting, to fill the roll. Then, I chose to reel it back in to the point where the first exposure returned to the beginning, and capture 24 nature/lifestyle photos to randomly share a place on the film with the original portraits. The overarching risk factor of losing some personal pictures was left behind after developing the film and seeing what had come to life in the process. – Joseph Timmerman
I was fascinated by his love of negative film and how sometimes he would be very deliberate in shooting a roll of 35 mm negatives in a way that each captured portrait could be used as the foreground for another image. The second image, a double exposure, involved Joe re-loading the already exposed roll of negatives back into his camera and then exposing a second image over the top of each of the portraits he shot on the first go-around.
The results Joe showed me were a wonderful experiment in photography because of the hit/miss nature of composing a second image over the first. There is also the mastery of the correct exposure for each frame. Many of the double-exposures were taken of his girlfriend on their walks into Historic Downtown Loveland from his home. The final products have a rather ghost-like quality.
I had given up film as soon as I purchased my first digital camera to use for Loveland Magazine reporting. It was out of the necessity to cut costs and be able to have the results almost instantly on my laptop and into a story. From my perspective after so many years of traveling to a camera store to buy the film, traveling back again to have the film developed and prints made, and back again for pick-up – Joe is old-school.
Joe Timmerman smiles outside the Cintas Center after he graduated from Loveland High School in 2019. Timmerman is studying photojournalism at Ohio University
I also discovered that night under the basketball hoop that I had known Joe since he was very little but didn’t recognize him. We once attended the same church. I was inspired by Joe that night and did some of my own experiments.
Joe’s old-schoolness even involved making his own paper from scratch for a photo project during his first year at Ohio University.
Joe’s old-schoolness is also how he will credit the way his parents raised him for his concern for the immediate environment around him. I think it more than just that though and appreciate another old-school quality he possesses – Joe is very humble always giving credit to others and he is generous with a “Thank you.”
Joe founded “A Neighborhood Cleanup” in 2019. The inspiration was walking in the East Loveland Nature Preserve with his mother and seeing so much trash left by other visitors. He says that growing up his father taught him to always pick up trash when he sees it, especially in his own neighborhood and the places he loves. Last August A Neighborhood Cleanup cleaned the nature preserve and another spot he loved, the rope swing on the bank of the Little Miami just north of Nisbet Park in Historic Downtown.
Joe has been back to cleaning the rope swing area this spring and last Saturday expanded the cleanup to include the river from Nisbet Park to the rope swing on the opposite river bank – along Cones Road.
An interesting note is that Loveland’s most famous old-school photographer Nancy Ford Cones once lived at the Roads Inn Farm on Cones Road when she took her famous Loveland photos, Her favorite subjects were family and friends she posed on those same river banks that Joe and friends are now restoring to their intended beauty. The Loveland Musem Center has a nice collection of Cone’s photos and many of them have an ethereal, ghost-like quality similar to Joe Timmerman’s double exposures.
This interview took place along the riverbank Joe and volunteers were cleaning last Saturday afternoon.
Joe inspires his own generation, those to come, and those beyond.
“Like” and “follow” A Neighborhood Cleanup on FaceBook and you will be able to support the efforts and know when the next group cleanup is planned. You might also contact Joe and offer to donate garbage bags and gloves as a way of helping.
Here is a link to Joe’s photography website where you can read more about him and see some of his inspiring art.
This is the rope swing seen from the opposite side of the river that A Neighborhood Cleanup worked on last Saturday. As you can see, the river has become a very popular spot that many young people call home. Joe Timmerman and his supporters cleared the robe swing area of trash on June 2.
George Floyd (Photo from George Floyd’s profile on Facebook.)
Miami Township, Ohio – Loveland Magazine reported yesterday that members of the Epiphany United Methodist Church plan to stop traffic by kneeling in the roadway in silent prayer during rush hour on Friday.
Google Map
Their plan is to kneel and pray for 8:46 minutes at the intersection of Branch Hill-Guinea Pike and Loveland-Miamiville Roads at 6 PM, the amount of time Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck before he died, “…and the many victims before him who have lost their lives to injustice.”
This is the Kroger/Walgreen/United Dairy Farmers intersection.
Loveland, Ohio – Calling all student-athletes, coaches, parents, and fans! The Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC) recently announced that they will be going through somewhat of a league transformation. In addition to adding three new schools, Little Miami, Winton Woods, and Lebanon, to the ECC for the 2020-2021 sports season they are also looking to add a new conference slogan.
The ECC stated that they would love to bring more awareness and reach to the conference’s brand so the conference decided to have students, coaches, and fans submit slogan ideas. The ECC selected the top 4 slogan ideas and posted them on the ECC website so that anyone and everyone could vote on their favorite slogan! Below are the top 4 slogan selections.
1. Engage. Compete. Conquer
2. Excite. Challenge. Compete.
3. Eastern Cincinnati Conference … top-level competition with community-based values.
4. Engagement. Competition. Community. We are the ECC!
The Slogan Contest allows voters to submit their slogan selection as many times as they want up until Friday, June 26th, 2020. The new slogan will be released in early July. If you would like to participate in the Slogan Contest click the link below to submit your vote!
Website
Hours: 24 HR
Testing Site Type: Emergency Room
Appointment Required: Yes
Doctor Referral Required: Yes
Notes:
TriHealth: If you do not have a physician, you can visit the closest TriHealth Emergency Department for evaluation. If you meet clinical criteria, COVID-19 testing can occur onsite. For those who DO have a primary care physician, you should contact you.
“Testing is one of the main components of our work toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to interim Hamilton County Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman. “Testing and then isolating positive cases while performing extensive contact tracing is the road map to ending this pandemic. As testing becomes more widely available, we want to make sure the public is aware of how to find testing locations,” Kesterman adds.
The site lists testing locations throughout Hamilton County, along with the requirements and direction for accessing testing at each location. As more testing becomes available, more sites will be added to the list.
If your organization is performing COVID-19 testing and would like to be added to this list, contact michelle.altman@hamilton-co.org.
This article provided to Loveland Magazine was edited by David Miller and is by by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism. Please join their free mailing list as this helps us provide more public service reporting.
In early March, just as Ohioans were learning about the first cases of novel coronavirus in the state, Anna Bondar’s grandfather fell at his Cleveland home.
Luckily, the 92-year old, who lives with dementia, wasn’t injured badly.
The tight-knit family started to discuss the possibility of a nursing home, though they had serious reservations.
Their tough choice was made even more difficult by mounting fears about the coronavirus. In nearly four months, COVID-19 has infected more than 31,191 people statewide and has proven particularly deadly for residents of long-term care facilities in Ohio.
Seventy percent of the reported deaths in Ohio due to COVID-19 complications have been in long-term care facilities, which is among the highest in the country.
Nationally the portion of COVID-19-related deaths in long-term care facilities has hovered just over 40%, though the amount of testing done in nursing homes varies significantly by state.
Every day, families like Bondar’s are making what can feel like an impossible choice – whether to send a loved one to a nursing home where they will receive around-the-clock specialized care but face a greater risk of contracting COVID-19, or to care for that person at home where risk of transmission is lower but providing care can be more challenging.
Even before the pandemic, sorting through the myriad of quality ratings and measures was daunting enough. Then, COVID-19 deaths started to soar.
Now, families and seniors agonize over what could be life or death choice using confusing numbers on infection “hotspots” and without the ability to visit nursing homes to observe how the staff cares for residents – which is the number one recommendation of most advocates.
Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Department of Health
State officials, including Dr. Amy Acton, the former director of the Department of Health, have emphasized that “congregate” settings like nursing homes are at highest risk of infection. Staff, who often travel between facilities, need to be in close contact with residents to provide care. And residents, who are primarily older and have multiple medical conditions, are more susceptible to COVID-19-related complications.
“All of this makes it high risk. At the same time, it’s really necessary for many patients to be there,” said Dr. Steven Schwartz, a geriatric physician at the Cleveland Clinic who travels to nursing homes as part of the Clinic’s Center for Connected Care.
Ohio National Guardmembers will begin testing all staff members and any residents who likely were exposed to COVID-19 in the state’s nursing homes, Gov. Mike DeWine announced May 27. What are being called Congregate Care Unified Response Teams will focus on facilities where confirmed or assumed positive cases are reported in hopes of reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Ohio’s nursing homes, which as of May 27 was 5,324 resident cases and more than 1,442 deaths.
Infection rates in Ohio Nursing Homes
Making an educated decision
Last month, state officials began to release the numbers of reported infections and deaths in long-term care facilities, which include nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and assisted living centers.
But it’s unclear how much the numbers – which are reported weekly and are also tracked cumulatively – matter for families currently trying to choose a facility.
The state, on its coronavirus website, says the infection and death numbers shouldn’t replace a thoughtful conversation with a nursing facility about infection control practices and that “residents and family members should understand that the presence of COVID-19 at a facility is [in] no way an indicator of a facility that isn’t following proper procedures.”
Yet many in the health care industry say infection information should be considered, along with other factors, when deciding which site to choose.
“If you see a nursing home with a large outbreak, that’s something to worry about. If you see a nursing home with a small outbreak, I’m not sure it means anything but bad luck.”
“If you see a nursing home with a large outbreak, that’s something to worry about. If you see a nursing home with a small outbreak, I’m not sure it means anything but bad luck,” said Dr. James Campbell, department chair of geriatric medicine at MetroHealth.
The infection information provided by the state can be useful, for instance, if a family is choosing between two similar facilities, said Nate Cyrill, a Long Term Care Ombudsman for Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.
Since information on the virus changes rapidly, most families still rely on the quality measures that were available before COVID-19, including existing state and federal online guides Cyril said.
One of the commonly-used ranking systems, maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, assigns ratings – from 1 to 5 “stars” – to facilities based on performance on quality measures, staffing and inspections.
The number of “stars” Ohio’s nursing homes received, however, does not appear to have a correlation to the number of infections reported to the state, based on a comparison of the publicly available information. The analysis did not include assisted living facilities.
Cases vs. Star rating
“You want to look for a nursing home that’s four of five stars preferably but even that doesn’t tell you the whole story,” Steven Schwartz said.
There are numerous 1-star rated facilities that have reported few infections, like Whetstone Gardens and Care Center in Columbus, which has reported 9 cases or 8 per 100 residents.
Salem North Healthcare Center
Salem North Healthcare Center in northern Columbiana County had 51 patients test positive for the virus as of May 20, as well as five staff, according to the state. It is rated a 5-star facility, the highest rating from CMS.
It’s one of four 5-star facilities with an infection rate over 50 casesper 100 residents, based on Medicare’s calculation of each facility’s average number of residents. (The rate does not include infections among staff because the number of staff in each facility was not available.)
Since April, the focus on high numbers of reported infections, often referred to as clusters, in long-term care facilities has intensified. In some cases, those numbers are a reflection of the level of testing, said Fred Stratmann, general counsel and chief compliance officer for CommuniCare Health Services. It doesn’t mean all of the residents with a positive test had symptoms of COVID-19. The state infection numbers also don’t show the residents who have recovered from the virus, he said.
CommuniCare, which operates close to 90 health care facilities in seven states has been proactive about testing, Stratmann said. When COVID-19 cases started to appear at the North Salem facility, the company enlisted the state’s “strike team” to proactively test all of the residents. It has since re-tested all of the residents who were initially negative and purchased 3,000 testing kits to supplement what the state could provide.
“We wanted to be certain of the extent of COVID in this center in order to be able to properly treat it and to fight back against it,” Stratmann said. The facility does that by isolating any COVID-19-postive patients in a separate unit with its own dedicated staff and by admitting new residents to an observation unit for 14 days to make sure they have no symptoms of infection, he said.
Restrictions on visits make choices harder
The most effective way to scout out a facility typically is to visit it, preferably unannounced, said Dr. James Campbell, department chair of geriatric medicine at MetroHealth. However, because visitors aren’t permitted in nursing homes right now, the next best thing is to ask detailed questions about care, any COVID-19 cases and infection control measures, he said.
Campbell also suggested turning to hospital staff, who work with nursing homes regularly, for advice. Social workers can place five people in a week, while most individuals face that decision, at most, only a few times in their lives, he said.
Cyrill said his agency can also provide information that can’t be found online for families trying to choose between facilities.
Cyrill said his agency can also provide information that can’t be found online for families trying to choose between facilities.
The agency, along with other similar independent agencies across the state, investigates complaints in long-term care, skilled nursing, group homes and rehabilitation facilities and can share what are called “verified complaints” that aren’t otherwise available publicly.
Most of the complaints investigated in relation to COVID-19, Cyrill said, have been related to visitation or the ability of families to get information on a loved one’s condition.
It’s been harder, though, for Cyrill and his colleagues to investigate complaints with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
It’s been harder, though, for Cyrill and his colleagues to investigate complaints with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Under normal circumstances, an ombudsperson would go to the facility and talk to patients and could do so without announcing the visit in advance. Since visits are restricted for infection control reasons, they have to work through staff to speak to residents or to ask questions, which isn’t optimal. And they aren’t able to make direct observations.
“It makes our job much more challenging,” Cyrill said.
At the North Salem facility, which has had about a dozen new residents admitted or transfered from other facilities, the staff has given “virtual tours” over the phone to family members or prospective residents who were in the hospital, Stratmann said. The company also invested in technology that won’t replace face-to-face visits but enables more family contact and the ability and for staff to help keep residents’ spirits up by making videos of activities, like dancing and singing, to keep them connected with the local community.
In addition, Stratmann said they walk families through the infection control procedures and share techniques they have implemented to improve health outcomes for patients with COVID-19 including, when appropriate:
Treating residents with anticoagulant medications to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes, which has been a factor in some COVID-19-related fatalities.
Practicing “proning” or positioning residents, while awake, flat on their belly and chest to reduce the buildup of fluid in lung tissue and reduce the risk of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which has been associated with many COVID-19 fatalities.
The idea of putting their beloved grandfather in a nursing home was gut-wrenching
Choosing home
For Bondar’s family, the idea of putting their beloved grandfather in a nursing home was gut-wrenching, especially as visitation was curtailed to limit the virus’ spread. He speaks Russian, his native language, and would not have been able to communicate well with the staff caring for him.
“It felt like admitting him [to a facility] would be like saying goodbye,” Bondar said. “Like leaving him to die.”
Bondar’s family ultimately decided to care for her grandfather at home, in his Mayfield Heights senior highrise, where they could limit his exposure to the virus.
Before his fall, an aide visited for about eight hours a week. After the Ohio’s “stay at home” order was put in place March 23, Bondar and her mother were able to work from home and pitch in with care.
The advice of the Clinic’s Steven Schwartz led them to a hospice program, which helped the family find additional aides, including one who speaks Russian, as well as a hospital bed for safer sleeping and a wheelchair.
The home care route isn’t the easiest but Bondar said the family feels like they have more contact and control over the quality of care.
The home care route isn’t the easiest but Bondar said the family feels like they have more contact and control over the quality of care.
“We’ll do this as long as we can manage it,” Bondar said.
Anecdotally, it is a choice more families are making: the decision to use home care or even pull family members out of nursing homes out of fear or because they miss them and can’t visit, Steven Schwartz said.
“Sometimes it’s appropriate. But sometimes, even given everything, it may be safer to have your family member there to get stronger and get the necessary care,” said Steven Schwartz. “I would really try to balance the benefit of going to a nursing home versus the risk.”
Patients with dementia or Alzehimer’s may be unsafe going back home.
Patients with dementia or Alzehimer’s may be unsafe going back home, he said, and families may need to decide if a nursing home really is the safer place.
One of the first orders Ohio put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was to halt in-person visitation in more than 900 nursing and long-term care facilities. The state is not yet ready to lift those restrictions and resume visits in those settings, Gov. Mike DeWine said, but on June 8 will start allowing outdoor visits at assisted living facilities care centers for individuals with disabilities.
“We are not to nursing homes yet and I know that causes anguish for a lot of people who are watching this but we’re trying to do this so that we don’t increase the COVID inside the nursing homes or the assisted living or the immediate care facilities,” DeWine said during a May 28 briefing.
Decisions made harder
Figuring out what kind of care might be best for a patient has become more challenging, too.
Previously, nurses and social workers would visit clients in their homes to assess how they functioned – whether they could independently bathe, cook and grocery shop, said Theresa Foster, a nurse and licensed social worker at Western Reserve Area Office on Aging.
They relied on conversations with clients and family and also observations of the environment in the home and possible risks, said Foster, who runs the agency’s resource center.
Those assessments were used to determine whether a person could safely remain at home with community support or whether they needed facility-level care and what resources, whether subsidized or private, existed to pay for the services.
Now, those assessments are done by phone and can be done successfully, but it is more difficult, Foster said.
At UH’s hospitals, medical staff use a scoring system to determine the best place for a patient being discharged, said Dr. Sean Cannone, UH’s medical director for population health.
Patients are assessed on their ability to perform daily tasks and on their cognitive abilities.
“We’re trying as much as we can to get patients home if at all possible,” he said. The goal is to provide patients with resources so they can receive care in whichever setting they prefer.
The goal is to provide patients with resources so they can receive care in whichever setting they prefer.
“We want to respond to what people really want for their own care,” Cannone said.
The shift started before COVID-19 cases surfaced but has accelerated as more families worry about potential exposure to the virus in congregate living situations.
As technology has advanced, the capabilities of what can be done in a patient’s home has also increased. In March, UH introduced a new patient management system, Massimo SafetyNet, for remote monitoring.
When patients are released from the emergency room or from a COVID-19 floor, providers now put a bluetooth sensor on their wrist — it looks like an Apple Watch — that streams data about a patient’s vitals to a central monitoring center, said Jonathan Sague, UH’s vice president of clinical operations. That way, providers can make sure a patient is safe at home.
Douglas Beach is the chief executive officer at Western Reserve Area Office on Aging
Douglas Beach, chief executive officer at Western Reserve Area Office on Aging, has had firsthand experience weighing care decisions amid COVID-19 worries. His mother is rehabilitating in a nursing home after a six-week hospital stay related to a heart condition.
Not being able to visit her in the hospital or the facility has been hard, Beach said. He and his brother, who is a doctor, had to make all of the arrangements by phone, including figuring the best way to transport her that would have the lowest risk of exposure to the virus.
“Home and community-based services is what I do,” Beach said. Part of his mission is to advocate for the setting that allows for any person, whether they are older adults or live with a disability, to be as independent as possible .
But for his mother, a nursing facility was the right choice because she needed 24-hour care that her family could not provide at home.
Beach said nursing homes have had to deal with an unprecedented set of circumstances: a new virus, initial unknowns about transmission and populations at extremely high risk for complications.
Nursing homes will continue to play a vital role and will remain the best option for people who need more care than can be safely provided at home, Beach said.
For the more than 9,500 clients his agency serves in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties, delivering care at home, with health aides, nurses and community and family supports, has proven a low risk. As of mid-May only 35 clients had tested positive for the virus, he said. That is roughly 0.3% of clients, though not all clients are tested.
Managing COVID-19
Cuyahoga County nursing homes have been paired with one of the area’s three largest hospital systems during the pandemic, Campbell said. The hospitals help the facilities both prepare for and respond to COVID-19 cases.
“The goal is when you have one patient in a nursing home with COVID is to make sure you don’t end up with 30 patients with COVID,” Campbell said.
UH developed what is being called a playbook for local nursing homes. The playbook gives facilities a plan for how to respond if there’s a COVID-19 outbreak on-site, said Sague, who works as a firefighter and medic on the weekends.
“It can be pretty startling and pretty alarming if they’re not ready for it,” Sague said.
The playbook gives guidelines on screening, triaging, determining exposure, testing and isolating those who test positive, as well as how to get personal protective equipment, increase staffing and to eventually reopen safely, Sague said.
Once a case is identified at a facility, what is known as an intercept team is dispatched — either virtually or in person — to help a nursing home handle it, he said.
Patrick Schwartz, director of strategic communications for LeadingAge Ohio, a long-term care trade association, said access to testing and safety equipment has been a consistent problem for Ohio’s nursing homes.
But in the past month or so, the state has made “a definite shift” and started prioritizing testing at nursing homes, which is helping, he said.
Patrick Schwartz said he hoped the expanded testing would enable facilities to test their entire population— of residents and staff — so they can better limit the spread of the virus.
Throughout Ohio, populations that have received mass testing — health care workers, first responders, those incarcerated and those in nursing homes — have had higher numbers of positive cases. Many people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, so it is unknown if they have the virus until they are tested.
“Since this pandemic first reared its head, it was clear to long-term care providers that the front lines would be in long-term care,” Patrick Schwartz said. The populations at those congregate living facilities, many of whom are older and have multiple medical conditions, are among the most vulnerable for complications from COVID-19, he said.
In Cuyahoga County, and elsewhere, local health departments have deployed limited testing resources to nursing homes quickly in hopes of limiting spread in and between facilities and given guidance to homes about how to isolate patients and trace exposures between facilities to limit the spread of infection.
Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner Terry Allan said nursing homes try to guard against outbreaks but have varying degrees of resources. The assistance from the National Guard will allow more residents and staff at facilities in Northeast Ohio to be tested, he said.
Support for this project was provided by the Center for Community Solutions.
Questions to ask:
How can family members stay in touch with residents while visiting is restricted?
Does staff facilitate video visits? Is window visiting allowed?
How often will the facility provide updates on a resident’s condition?
How much COVID-19 testing is being done? Is the facility proactively testing patients or only those with symptoms?
Are private rooms available?
Do staffing ratios allow for residents to be taken outside?
Are residents currently restricted to rooms?
Are separate units and staffs used for COVID-19-positive patients and COVID-19-negative patients?
How does the facility work to limit COVID-19 complications?
Loveland, Ohio – During the COVID-19 pandemic, Loveland City School District (LCSD) Board of Education meetings have been live-streamed to provide public viewing. The Board is not meeting in person, instead, they are using the “Zoom” App and putting their meetings on YouTube. At their
last meeting on June 2, a decision was made to leave the videos on-line, instead of deleting them from further public viewing when the meeting is over.
Also, at the meeting, they discussed how the public could again participate in their “Business” meetings and restoring the public participation portion of the meeting that is usually on the agenda.
In a press release issued by the District on June 12, it stated, “The Board is committed to hearing from the public and continues to welcome input through email.”
While meetings are not open for the public to attend, the Board requests that you email your input to the Board of Education at board@lovelandschools.org.
The Board must have received your email by 4 PM on the date of the meeting if you wish to have it read at the beginning of the meeting, and you must indicate that you wish to have the statement read aloud.
Guidelines
Your statement should not be longer than three minutes, should not reference names of employees or students of the district, and should not include any offensive comments or language.
Statements will be read in the order in which they are received, for a total of no more than 30 minutes. All statements will be available to all Board of Education members and those not fitting within the 30-minute limitation will be noted as having been received. All members of the public submitting statements will have their names recorded in the public participation section of the minutes of the meeting.
The next business meeting of the Board of Education is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23.
As Warren County continues to reopen from the COVID-19 pandemic closures, the Warren County Health District wants the residents of our county to know that we are seeing a rapid increase in community spread of COVID-19 cases.
If you have attended family gatherings, church services, funerals, or live in an apartment building or other multi-family dwelling, we encourage you to monitor yourself closely for any symptoms and consult your doctor if necessary. Many times the symptoms are similar to mild seasonal allergies and may include, but are not limited to: fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, runny nose, congestion and loss of taste or smell.
As the county has continued to reopen, the Health District wants to encourage you to take precautions to protect yourself and to stay healthy, by reducing the spread of COVID-19, as you are out in the community.
If you are sick, stay home.
Wear a face covering over your nose and mouth when around others, to protect others and yourself.
Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and other people.
Avoid large gatherings and confined spaces, whenever possible.
Use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol when out in public or you cannot wash your hands.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer after cough or sneezing.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth as much as possible. The Health District is continuing to work to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of all Warren County residents. For the latest information and updates about the current situation visit www.coronavirus.ohio.gov. If you have questions or concerns call (513) 695-2475.
In order to align with social distancing best practices, Coney Island is limiting its daily attendance this season. Accordingly, all guests must make an advance reservation in the form of a daily ticket or a season pass reservation. Daily tickets are available online and can NOT be purchased at the park. Season passholders may make reservations via a new system that will be launching shortly. Additional information will be shared with season passholders via email soon. Thank you for your understanding.
Loveland, Ohio – Summer is finally here! As the temperatures start to rise, Loveland’s local businesses are preparing by offering fresh Summer specials, releasing new products, supporting new local causes, hosting fun community events, and creating fitness challenges.
Here at Loveland Magazine, we thought it would be fun to share with you, our loyal readers, the “Summer Salad!” This segment will include everything you need to know about the community of Loveland and its local businesses so that you can live out your Summer to the fullest! So what are you waiting for Loveland?! Read below to see how you can support Loveland and have fun while doing it this Summer!
Looking for a job?
Community of Loveland, Ohio are you looking for a job and you have previous gutter installing experience? All American Gutter Protection is hiring! Visit All American Gutter Protection’s Facebook Page for more details: https://www.facebook.com/EndGutterCleaningForever/
Want to help a local cause?
Loveland Interfaith Effort LIFE is asking students to donate both backpacks and school supplies that they will no longer be using! Read below to see how you and your children can get involved now!
“Now that your kids have finished their school year (albeit most unusual!), you’re likely cleaning out papers, book bags, etc. If you have gently used required reading books that are not likely to be read again, please consider donating them to LIFE for our August Student LIFE Shop event–they’ll be added to the age-appropriate backpacks and supplies. Donations can be dropped at any time to the bins inside the glass doors at the side entrance of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, or to the donation entrance at the Pantry (back of the church by the preschool ramp) during open hours (Th: 3-6:30, Sat. 9-12:30). Thanks for sharing the love of reading with our kids!”
THIS WEEK’S PRIMARY NEEDS
Beans of any kind
Mixed vegetables
Jelly
Peanut butter
Oatmeal
Cereal
Rice or rice dishes
Fresh potatoes
Fresh onions
Apples or oranges
Loveland, Ohio can you guess what this picture is of? Loveland Museum Center will be doing more fun picture challenges for the community throughout the Summer! Check https://www.facebook.com/LovelandHistoricalMuseum/ for the photo challenge results!
LAST WEEK MANY OF YOU CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED THE JACK FOR AN AUTOMOBILE. HOW MANY OF YOU WILL IDENTIFY THIS WEEK’S “WHAT IS THIS” CORRECTLY?
Go to the Museum’s FaceBook page to submit you guess.
The museum will be closed on weekends until further notice. Scheduled events are postponed indefinitely. Check here and Museum Center Web page for updates. The office will remain open part-time and phone messages and emails will be answered in a timely manner.
Loveland, Ohio if you have been following or are a part of Vibe Fitness Loveland’s Fitness Challenge the winners are being announced shortly! Stay tuned to their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/vibefitloveland/ for the fitness challenge winners!
Wow, check out these SUMMER flavors at Vibe Nutrition! Grab your favorite flavor today to cool down on the hottest day of the year!
Steve and Julie Plitt, a local couple with strong ties to Loveland, Ohio are selling Pf5 Liquid Formula Hand Sanitizer in bulk!
The Plitts offer Bulk, Totes, Cases, Individual Gallons, and Free Delivery to Southwest Ohio to combat viruses, germs, and bacteria!
Kings Island announces 2020 Season opening dates
An opening date for Soak City water park is to be determined…
Kings Island announces 2020 Season opening dates
“Kings Island Park will open first to Season Passholders only, and will operate with stringent hygiene protocols, procedures to manage capacity and enable social distancing.” Read on…
New tees at RP Diamond
As stores, restaurants, and boutiques begin to reopen, we want to remind everyone to support local businesses in any way you can! RP DIAMOND is offering “Support Local 45140” shirts online now! Show everyone how you support local business by rocking one of these awesome shirts around town!
![[Interview] Joe Timmerman Founder of “A Neighborhood Cleanup”](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/maxresdefault-6.jpg)
![[POLL] Should Epiphany Church shut down intersection during rush hour?](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/poll-question.jpg)
by Cassie Mattia
The ECC stated that they would love to bring more awareness and reach to the conference’s brand so the conference decided to have students, coaches, and fans submit slogan ideas. The ECC selected the top 4 slogan ideas and posted them on the ECC website so that anyone and everyone could vote on their favorite slogan! Below are the top 4 slogan selections.
Those assessments were used to determine whether a person could safely remain at home with community support or whether they needed facility-level care and what resources, whether subsidized or private, existed to pay for the services. 
![[BREAKING] Warren County Health Director sees rapid increase in community spread of COVID-19 cases](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/covid-ohio-feature-.png)
by Cassie Mattia
Community of Loveland, Ohio are you looking for a job and you have previous gutter installing experience? All American Gutter Protection is hiring! Visit All American Gutter Protection’s Facebook Page for more details: 
The time is almost here for the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance’s Symmetry Women’s Virtual Event! Visit this link: 
Vibe Nutrition
