News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area
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Loveland, Ohio – The City of Loveland is proud to present the Rails Trails & Ales Festival. This new three-day event will begin on Friday, September 6 and run through Sunday, September 8, with the return of the Loveland Art Show in Nisbet Park. Come out for a weekend packed full of musical performances, shopping, food, and art.
by Dr. Amy Crouse
As we launch a new school year at Loveland City Schools, I am particularly grateful to our community, which continues to support and invest in the greater good, especially for our children. Last week, more than 100 community members volunteered to prepare the playground at Loveland Early Childhood Center for our youngest Tigers to enjoy their first recess. And the community’s involvement has been evident throughout the past several years as hundreds of residents provided input in the district’s facility master planning process, where we extensively researched, assessed and vetted the district’s building and infrastructure needs, ultimately developing a plan that will adequately prepare our graduates.
Dr. Amy Crouse is the Loveland City School District Superintendent
The message heard from the community was clear: Loveland Schools must continue the positive momentum in academic achievement, yet the aging buildings need renovations and upgrades. With teachers using mobile carts and hallways for instruction and temporary trailer classrooms to absorb our overcrowded classrooms, we must modernize our facilities for our children and our community to have a strong future. The Loveland community expects a high-quality education and the reality is that we need to upgrade and expand science and technology laboratories to prepare students for college and 21st-century careers.
The plan put forth and adopted unanimously by the Board of Education is cost-effective and unique to Loveland’s current and future needs. The plan:
The bottom line is, we do a great job of maintaining our buildings and infrastructure, but we are to the point where it’s more costly to maintain than it is to upgrade or, in some cases, rebuild. The district’s facility needs will not go away; they will only increase in cost. There is no zero-cost option and without this levy investment we will need to continue diverting funds from the classroom so that we can make critical fixes in our schools.
Strong schools mean a strong community, and I encourage everyone to make sure our schools are as strong as possible by joining us over the next couple of months at community conversations. Please see www.lovelandschools.org for all scheduled events. There will be a presentation at Loveland High School on September 12 at 7 p.m. where residents can learn more about the November 5th ballot issue and why it’s needed now. And, as always, please feel free to contact me directly with questions.
In service to our Tigers.
Loveland, Ohio – Police Officer Angela Smallwood has been assigned the official role of School Resource Officer (SRO) at the Loveland City School District. Smallwood, who remains an employee of the Loveland Police 
Department, will serve full-time as SRO on the Loveland Middle School/Intermediate School campus.
“We are very excited to have Officer Smallwood join us, and it adds yet another level of protection in our overall district safety plan,” said District Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “We are grateful for the ongoing and deepening relationship with the police department, which not only allowed us to add Officer Smallwood this year, but also SRO Jesse Moore to Loveland High School last year. This is a big win for all students and staff at the Loveland City School District.”
Officer Smallwood came to Loveland in 2006 and is certified in bike patrol and as a field training officer.
Indianapolis – “It was an incredible honor to have our column recognized by The Society of Professional Journalists,” Ricky Mulvey told Loveland Magazine when we asked him about receiving the Mark of Excellence Award. “Writing that column is one of the things that I miss most about my time at Ohio State, and it’s nice to see our work recognized.”
The Society of Professional Journalists has announced that former Loveland Magazine writer, sports editor, and talking head Ricky Mulvey, shared a Region 4, 2018 Mark of Excellence (MOE) Award with co-writers, Seth Shanley and Andrew Muller.
Their column, All Jokes Aside placed 1st in the General Column Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students. All Jokes Aside was published in The Lantern, the student newspaper of The Ohio State University.
SPJ’s Region 4 comprises Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.
Mulvey graduated from The Ohio State University in 2018 and now works as a financial writer and producer for Allworth Financial. Mulvey was a paid intern at Loveland Magazine for 5-years when he attended Loveland schools.
Mulvey added, “I love seeing Seth and Andrew growing at Ohio State and doing great things. Seth continues to write for The Lantern and has been published in The Hard Times. Andrew is very involved with the Buckeye Standup Comedy Club and is studying political science.”
You can listen to Mulvey’s bi-weekly podcast of business news with his co-host David English on Loveland Magazine’s home page. Look for “Full of Cents”.
The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry through the daily work of its roughly 6,000 members; works to inspire and educate current and future journalists through professional development; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press through its advocacy efforts.
![[VIDEO] 35 new staff members at Loveland Schools](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/maxresdefault-3.jpg)
![[Video] Residents speak to Board of Ed about 16.78-mill school levy](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/maxresdefault-1.jpg)
Loveland, Ohio – Eight residents spoke at the August 15 Loveland City School District Board meeting and expressed their thoughts about the 
pending vote on a 16.78-mill combined operating levy and bond request that will be on the November 5 ballot.
You can view these LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV videos to learn what they had to say and how the Board members responded.
Follow this discussion that started July 31 on Loveland Magazine’s Facebook Page.
The additional money if approved by voters will fund daily operations of the school district and a building and construction bond to implement the district’s facility master plan.
If you are a member of Nextdoor, read this lively discussion about Loveland Magazine’s announcement of the levy.
Symmes Township, Ohio – When Jennifer Miller posted these photos of Tuesday afternoon’s storm she posed the rhetorical question, “Did we move to the mountains?”
She took the photos while in the Hearthstone subdivision. She told Loveland Magazine that they didn’t scare her.
![[VIDEO] Parking garage coming to Historic Downtown](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/feature-loveland-parking-garage.jpg)
Loveland, Ohio – City Council held a public hearing on August 13, to hear public comments on the proposed purchase of 1.15406 acres of land in Historic Downtown and to construct a parking facility. An entrance to the garage from Rt. 48 is an integral part of the plan presented by City Manager, Dave Kennedy.
The property includes eleven parcels contiguous to First Street to the west and Second Street/State Route 48 to the east. The parcel total 1.15406 acres.
Peter and Matthew Ross agreed to a selling price of $550,000 which matched the appraisal obtained by the City. The total “appropriation” cost according to Kennedy, will be $571,150. Council has already authorized Kennedy to purchase the land.
Council gave the City Manager authority to complete the purchase in May once he completed studies to see if there were such things as environmental or soil problems that would prevent the city from building a garage on the site. These videos are of Kennedy’s report to Council and the public comments they received during the public hearing. After the public hearing, Council debated whether or not to give the City Manager further direction and support for moving ahead with the purchase.
To built the garage would cost between 6 and 6.8 million dollars in addition to buying the land.
Here is LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video from the public hearing.
You can view the slides the City Manager presented below, or by opening this .pdf in a separate window: Ross Presentation.
Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment
Subsurface Investigation and Geotechnical Recommendations
Peter and Matthew Ross Parcels Summary
Proposed Parking Facility Layout Option 1
Proposed Parking Facility Layout Option 2
Aerial View and Possible Entrance Locations
Feasibility Study – (Completed 8-9-19)
“An Event that anyone could and should do.”
– Joe Timmerman
Loveland, Ohio – Recent Loveland High School graduate, Joe Timmerman said that growing up, his dad, Dan Timmerman, would
make him and his brothers walk down their street in Loveland and pick up the trash alongside the road that people throw out of their car windows. “Whenever we go on walks in our neighborhood, on the bike trail or in the nature preserve, my dad always picks the trash up to throw away,” Joe Timmerman said.
Loveland, Ohio – In March, the Loveland School District entered into an “Option to Buy” contract with Grailville. The approximately 110-acre property, if purchased, would be used for the construction of a new campus with three school buildings (Pre-K/K; 1st-2ndgrade; 3rd-5thgrade).
The real estate is currently owned by the Grail, an Ohio nonprofit organization, and is part of the property known as Grailville, located on O’Bannonville Road, east of downtown Loveland.
The purchase price will be equal to $70,000 per acre as determined by a survey of the actual total acreage, less the value of a conservation easement that may be put on a portion of the land.
The District made a $100,000 “Earnest Money” deposit and the option period extends until March 1, 2020. The parties can extend the option to purchase by mutual consent.
The District contracted for an appraisal of the site with the Crown Appraisal Group, Inc. and was told the value was $7,630,000. You can read the appraisal: 109 Acre, 930 O’Bannonville Rd, Loveland, OH Appraisal Report 04-17-2019.
You can also read: Option to Buy Contract – Grail and LCS-2.
