VisionArts children’s art studio now taking registrations for its exciting 2017 fall program!
VisionArts is a one-of-a-kind art studio with an exciting 2017 – 2018 program featuring Art Adventures for Mommy/Caregiver and Me, Pre-schoolers, Primary through Intermediate grades, children and teens with special needs, and Home Schoolers.
We offer Family Art Fridays where families can come and make a collaborative art piece together as well as Open Studio time where children can make art of their choice for 2 hours. We work with families and organizations to create a themed special occasion art party for ages 3 – 100!
Stationed in Loveland, we are conveniently close to the neighborhoods of Indian Hill, Symmes and Sycamore Townships, Montgomery and Mason. www.visionartsstudio.com
Dale Berger (right) is Ray’s best and lifelong friend who presented Ray with the very first Ray’s Battle Band.
Dear Loveland Magazine Readers,
There are moments in life that stop us in our tracks and hit us like a ton of bricks. These moments send a shockwave through our very being and make us question why and what it is that we truly believe; some might call them “Come to Jesus” moments. For my siblings and I, the most profound of these moments came on a late June morning when we first heard that our brother, Raymond Wene, was diagnosed with a grade 4 Glioblastoma; an incredibly aggressive form of brain cancer with an extremely grim prognosis. It is for this reason that we are sharing his story and asking for help for the man that we have looked up to, not only as an older brother, but as an example of what a dedicated husband, father, Christian, and man of extremely high moral principles looks like.
“Raymond Wene has an incredibly aggressive form of brain cancer with an extremely grim prognosis.”
Raymond is a brilliant example of how a man should live his life. He has always been known as the life of the party given his larger than life personality and sense of humor, two of the traits his children love the most about him. He is the oldest sibling, one of four, the one we all look up to. He is our rock and the glue that holds everything together. We all know at any moment, on any given day, we could ask anything of Ray and he would drop whatever he is doing to be there for us. He has always been the type of person to accept others right where they are in life, and for that reason people have sought him out to confide in him and seek his counsel. He is easily one of the most kind, selfless, and generous men that we know, willing to help out whenever the need presents itself. These traits, which seem to come so effortlessly, have only developed more as he has continued to cultivate his relationship with God over the years.
Ray and his Wife Tina
His home has long been the family gathering place not merely for the immediate family, but for aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, strays, you name it. He married Tina, a woman with a huge heart who not only allowed and put up with Ray’s open door policy, but welcomed it with open arms. This perhaps was best exemplified about ten years ago when my parents moved in with Ray and Tina, adding to a home that already had two young children. Alex, now 15, and Ella, now 13. They are a strong and vibrant Christian family, actively attending and serving at Branches Church in Loveland.
Ray and his Family (wife Tina, daughter Ella, and son Alex)
Raymond’s influence however, far exceeds what he has done inside his own home. He’s been an inspiration to countless others in various roles within the Loveland community. He has coached both youth football and basketball teams and though it has been several years, the impact he had on those young men couldn’t have been more evident than the moment that nearly the entire football team, now high school graduates, came to visit him in the hospital just before his surgery to remove the tumor.
Ray’s Former Loveland Football Team Members Visiting the Day Before His Surgery
Simply put, Raymond has touched, positively influenced, and impacted more lives in his forty-four years than most people have in a lifetime twice as long. We are so thankful that he has been in our lives to give us brotherly, fatherly, and godly advice throughout the years. Thank you Raymond. It is an honor and privilege to call you our brother and we love you more than words can ever say.
Sincerely,
Ray’s younger siblings, Teresa, Nikki, and David
If you want to help support Ray’s Battle and the entire Wene family, we are calling all prayer warriors to lift him up in prayer and add him to your prayer lists. You can also help by making a donation to Ray and Tina’s Go Fund Me Battle Fund at https://www.gofundme.com/ray-and-tinas-battle-fund.
If you would like a battle band, which reads, “Ray’s Battle” “Win the Battle”, all you have to do is make a donation to the Go Fund Me page and contact Dale Berger at dberger@wondoor.com. Dale is Ray’s best and lifelong friend who just presented Ray with the very first Ray’s Battle Band. He is calling on all of Ray’s warrior friends, family, and community to wear your Ray’s Battle Band throughout the duration of his treatment to help him “WIN THE BATTLE!”
Joey Oberholzer is the Manager at Loveland Canoe & Kayak and has worked for our family for five years. For those of you who have been to our livery, you know Joey is the heartbeat of Loveland Canoe & Kayak. We have watched with pride as he has grown into an incredible young man with great abilities, a tireless work ethic and the ability to motivate everyone around him to bring their best every day.
On July 10th after hanging out with friends Joey was on his way home when he took a serious fall, fracturing his spine and neck. He underwent 2 major surgeries, one to fix his fractured neck and another to stabilize and repair his spine. It is remarkable that he survived the fall and subsequent surgeries. He will be transferred to a rehabilitation center to work on the next obstacles, the largest being his attempt to walk again.
Although this accident was a terrible tragedy, we know that Joey will not let it define him. He will fight ever day to get stronger, and with help from his family, friends, doctors, nurses, physical therapists and generous donors, he will move forward and create a brilliant life.
Joey’s expenses will be major, including rehab expenses and modifying his home for his new mobility needs.
Andy Bateman is a candidate for Loveland City Council and provided this Candidate Statement to Loveland Magazine.
Loveland Magazine invites all candidates for public office in the 45140 zip code or within the Loveland City School District boundary to send a similar Candidate Statement for publication. Send to lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com
To Get Along We Have to Agree to Disagree with Civility
by Andy Bateman,
Recently I traveled to Italy for work and Iceland for vacation and while I was awestruck many times experiencing some of the most beautiful places in the world, I was most struck by how good it felt to return home. Every day that I wake up as a resident of Loveland, it is impossible not to appreciate the charm and beauty of this Little Miami River community. The natural landscape and our ancestral residents have given us this gift. Loveland, like so many other communities in this country, owes its identity to geography and history. But its future is shaped by the community of residents, businesses and organizations that call it home.
I was able to attend a few of the more recent meetings of City Council. Each instance left me feeling frustrated with the lack of civility exhibited within our community. A recent article in the Cincinnati Enquirer asks the question, Is the national political climate affecting our local governments? Loveland is featured prominently in this story as a prime example of how disagreement has turned divisive. Too many times in recent memory these divisions have become dangerous. It’s toxic and I agree with those within our community who call for it to stop.
Prior to the premature adjournment of council on July 27th, Mayor Mark Fitzgerald read from a prepared statement quoting such notable Americans as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Noble ideals as they may be, a more modern and plain spoken quote from Rodney King leaps to my mind. “Can we all get along?” he asked twenty-five years ago. To that I say clearly, no we cannot.
We can’t get along because there are too many people in positions of power who are unwilling to get along, unwilling to work together to find compromise. And there are too many people unwilling to get involved, perfectly willing to let others do their thinking for them. Today it is remarkably easy to get trapped in an echo-chamber of self-validation. It is comfortable to surround oneself with people who agree with you and who belittle and denigrate those who do not. But this path of least resistance actually creates extreme resistance to progress and growth and does nothing for our community. We need to engage each other in challenging this divergent separation of beliefs and opinions into opposing camps and instead see things in more nuanced shades of gray.
Despite the political climate which reverberates the loudest within the safe spaces of social media, I have faith that most people are willing to compromise and find common ground. To strive for a middle way is to strive for the community at large rather than its disparate factions. For two years our community’s achievements have been overshadowed by its behavior. For two years an active community has asked to be engaged in the process of local government. For two years I have sought active participation toward making our city a more positive place. I want to continue these efforts through direct involvement in the mechanisms of change. Therefore, I submit to the residents of Loveland my candidacy for Loveland City Council. At this moment our current council seems entrenched in their individual and divided positions, which is why this election cycle is so important. It allows for change at the behest of the people. I urge our community to inform themselves, choose to participate and speak truth to power as they elect their representatives to local office who will serve our community in a productive and constructive manner.
Andy Bateman is a graduate of Loveland High School and has lived in Loveland since 2007. Cited articles:
Any branding expert will tell you that a key to successful marketing is a clear, unambiguous message. After a long nightmare of municipal dysfunction, in November the voters in Loveland will have a crystal clear set of choices to make in their votes for City Council.
Until last Friday, August 18, I was one of nine candidates on the ballot for four City Council seats. When I was first asked to consider running, I made it clear to all that, while I want to serve, and believe that I would do a good job, the main outcome of the election must be removing the existing majority on Council. To help achieve that, if necessary, I would withdraw my own candidacy so that the full support of those in Loveland who share my goal could be focused, laser-like, on four candidates for four seats.
With the recall election no longer a possible ballot question, the mathematics of the race have changed. It is in celebration of that victory, and in keeping with my commitment, that I have withdrawn my name for the ballot for November, and strongly urge any and all who share my views of the future of our city to support now and cast your votes when the time comes for Rob Weisgerber, Ted Phelps, Neal Oury, and Tim Butler. Four outstanding candidates, four outstanding members of this community, four outstanding civic leaders, for four City Council seats.
We can reclaim a tradition of civic inclusion, collaboration, and consensus. Let a new day dawn in Loveland.
Blair had previously sent a candidate statement and you can read it below.
“The election of Mayor and Vice Mayor at the special City Council meeting of August14,2017 was not proper.”
– Loveland Solicitor Joe Braun
Angie Settell took an oath of office to be Loveland’s mayor on Monday, a position that was stripped away in a legal opinion today.
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Magazine obtained a legal opinion written by City Solicitor Joe Braun today that throws a monkey wrench in the selection of Angie Settell as Loveland’s new mayor and Pam Gross as vice-mayor.
In the opinion, Braun said that the special meeting called by then Mayor Mark Fitzgerald for last Monday was not a legal meeting and voids the business conducted at the meeting.
The Clerk of Council had failed to post a notice of the special meeting 12 hours beforehand as required by Loveland law. The notice was put on the bulletin board outside City Hall four hours short of the 12 hours required.
Braun said, “The day after the August 14, 2017, special City Council meeting, I was advised by Councilwoman Kathy Bailey that a resident contacted her and alleged that the City had failed to properly advertise the special City Council meeting. Specifically, the resident indicated that the Clerk of Council had failed to comply with Section 109.04 of the Loveland code of Ordinances.” Braun continued, “I cannot ignore the fact that the posting requirements of Section 109.04 of the Loveland Code of Ordinances were not adhered to by the Clerk of Council. As such, any action taken by Loveland City Council at its August 14, 2017, special meeting should be deemed without legal effect.”
Mark Fitzgerald presided over what he assumed was his last Loveland Council meeting and facilitated the election of Angie Settell as the next Mayor. The solicitor ruled today that it was not a properly called special meeting of council.
Fitzgerald stepped down as Mayor at the meeting so that he could still cast votes on who would be the next mayor and vice-mayor. The votes were 4-3 in favor of Settell and Gross. After the meeting was over, Fitzgerald distributed a letter that he was resigning from Council.
Braun’s legal opinion does nothing to affect the decision by Fitzgerald to resign his seat on Council which he submitted to meet a deadline of the Hamilton County Board of Elections who gave him a midnight deadline to either resign or face a recall election in November.
Council remains a six member body. Council must begin again at a legal meeting nominating one of their own to be mayor and vice-mayor. A decision not made easy because Council is evenly divided into two camps of three members each. Braun said that Settell remains as vice-mayor is now also the presiding officer of meetings and might remain as such until November when voters fill the four open seats on the fall ballot.
A six member Council after the November election might still deadlock on a selection of mayor, vice-mayor, and someone to fill Fitzgerald’s remaining two year-term. Brauns opinion did not address that possible scenario.
Braun’s opinion at least temporarily strips Settell of her Mayoral duties and her ability to unilaterally appoint Fitzgerald’s replacement if the 3-3 divided council cannot agree on who it should be. Before Braun’s opinion, Settell had to wait for 30-days to make an appointment, but as of today, he said the decision must wait until after the November election.
Braun reached the following conclusions:
(1) I cannot ignore the fact that the posting requirements of Section 109.04 of the Loveland Code of Ordinances were not adhered to by the Clerk of Council. As such, any action taken by Loveland City Council at its August 14, 2017, special meeting should be deemed without legal effect.
(2) The election of Mayor and Vice Mayor at the special City Council meeting of August 14, 2017 was not proper. Ms.Settel should maintain her role as the Vice Mayor of Loveland and serve as the presiding officer of all City Council Meetings given the vacancy left by the resignation of the Mayor as a member of City Council.
(3) The decision to fill the empty City Council seat left by the resignation of Mark Fitzgerald vests with the remaining six members of this City Council Should those remaining six members not be able to reach a majority consensus before a new City Council is elected and seated in November 2017, then that City Council shall fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Fitzgerald under Section 2.03 of the Loveland Charter.
(4) The position of Mayor of Loveland shall remain vacant until a new election takes place by the remaining members of City Council, or until an organizational meeting is held and a new Mayor is elected by the newly elected City Council in November pursuant to Section 2.05 of the Loveland Code of Ordinances.
(5) Because the resignation of Mark Fitzgerald as a member of City Council took place after the special meeting, and not during it, the resignation is still effective as of 11:59 p.m, on August 14, 2017.
Neither Settell or Gross replied to a request for comment before publication deadline.
This opinion piece is reprinted with permission of Libby Fisher, a resident of Loveland from 2000-2013. She now lives in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
by Libby Fisher
I‘m not so naive to believe that I can change anyone’s opinions on social media, but recent events and discourse have me examining my own beliefs, and I feel compelled to share this. Intelligent and respectful dialogue and comments are always welcome.
Some thoughts on Southern heritage
I am proud to be a Southerner. Born in Florida, raised in Kentucky, college in Virginia, lived/worked in Georgia and Tennessee. After 20 years in the Midwest, Charlie and I couldn’t wait to get back to the South when we had the chance.
The Southern heritage I’m proud of is about the food, sense of tradition, music, climate, strong sense of place, beautiful countryside, accents, SEC football, friendly and open people, farm life, manners. There are parts of Southern heritage and history, though, that I’m ashamed of. Slavery, Jim Crow, starting a war that cost 620,000 lives. But that is part of Southern history, no denying that. To sanitize that past would be wrong.
I’m reminded of a trip 35 years ago to Dachau, a former concentration camp, that is a testimony to the holocaust and all its horrors. Dachau doesn’t whitewash a thing. There are images that have stayed with me since. And there is a statue at the entrance saying “Never Forget.” That whole “those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it” thing. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Erasing history is very different than choosing not to honor history. Throughout Germany, there are frank acknowledgements of the horrid specter of the holocaust and atrocities of the Third Reich. But there are NOT statues of Hitler, Goebbels, Goering in public squares. There aren’t public parks named after them.
I’m okay with removing confederate monuments from places of honor, and renaming parks that currently carry “Lee, Jackson, etc.” monikers. Continuing to honor these men is an affront to, I imagine, every black American, and to many white, Native American and Latino folks. And since all our tax dollars pay for the maintenance of these spaces, and they are owned by our “of the people and for the people” government, they have no place in the public arena.
They do NOT belong in a waste heap somewhere, or to be melted down and refashioned. They belong in history museums that frankly portray what the gentlemen depicted were fighting to protect. We need to own that, keep it in front of us, and recognize that is the legacy of the Confederacy. Just not in the middle of downtown.
Loveland, Ohio – Eva Hunley, a resident of Historic Downtown, said at the July 11 Council meeting that when she moved to Loveland it was a historical town and now everything historical was gone. She asked why the train horns had to stop blowing and said the clock had quit ticking, and the chimes have stopped playing music.
“Everything historical is going away and is gone and I’d like to know why it’s going away,” said Hunley.
She mostly got patronizing laughs, except City Manager, Dave Kennedy who replied that the train horns stopped because the City created a quiet zone as part of the development agreement with Loveland Station Apartments in downtown and that the chimes were malfunctioning and he is working on the repair.
Tim Butler is a candidate for Loveland City Council and provided this Candidate Statement to Loveland Magazine.
Loveland Magazine invites all candidates for public office in the 45140 zip code or within the Loveland City School District boundary to send a similar Candidate Statement for publication. Send to lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com
My name is Tim Butler and I am a candidate for Loveland City Council in this November’s election.
I am the father of five children – Katie, Claire, Annie, Colleen and Jack – and my wife Jackie and I are celebrating 35 years of marriage. I am a life-long Ohioan who grew up in Dayton and have lived in the Pheasant Hills neighborhood since 1989. I currently practice employment and commercial litigation in-house for an Ohio-based company. I previously served on the City of Loveland Law and Ordinance and City Income Tax Committees.
I am a parishioner at St. Margaret of York serving as a lector, former athletic director, coach, and member of various parish committees. I am very proud that my wife and I started the SMAC cross country and track program which has provided a meaningful athletic and life experience for hundreds of young men and women from St. Margaret and St. Columban.
Loveland has much to offer with a vibrant downtown, the geography of the Little Miami River and bike path bisecting our City, involved residents and well-kept neighborhoods, historic architecture, a great public school system, engaged churches of all denominations and a flourishing business community. Unfortunately, in the past year our City Council has not put the best face on our community with insider actions, partisan bickering and penny-ante political hijinks. We are competing with our neighbors in Mason, Blue Ash, Montgomery, Symmes and Miami Townships for residents and new businesses. Our City Council can and must do better.
My pledge as a candidate for Loveland City Council is to enhance community participation in City governance while bringing much-needed transparency and unity to the process; help the City manage its fiscal affairs responsibly; continue the development of downtown and other Loveland neighborhoods while preserving our historic heritage; promote and maintain the Little Miami River and bike path; and enhance the relationship between City Government, the Business community and Loveland Schools. Most important, I pledge to bring reasonable, rational discussion and honest debate to our City Government and provide a full opportunity for community dialog and participation.
This is a crucial time for the City of Loveland which we love and treasure. Our citizens are watching and are engaged. I request your support and invite you to join me and return an open, responsive and positive City Council to the citizens of Loveland, who deserve it.
Thank you for your interest. I will work to earn your support in November.
Health Message:Active children and adults, young athletes, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
2 major surgeries, one to fix his fractured neck and another to stabilize and repair his spine. It is remarkable that he survived the fall and subsequent surgeries. He will be transferred to a rehabilitation center to work on the next obstacles, the largest being his attempt to walk again.
Candidates and Issues on the November 7, 2017 local ballot
![[Video] Eva Hunley: “Everything historical is going away.”](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/maxresdefault-10.jpg)
My name is Tim Butler and I am a candidate for Loveland City Council in this November’s election. 
