News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area
Without fear or favor
Since 2004
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Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Schools begin their Spring Break this Friday afternoon March 31, and classes will resume on Monday, April 10.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”td-default”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Team CoUREage 4.0 is a Loveland High School fundraising team for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Emma Steiner, Marcel Mangan, and Orhan Ozbudak were the leaders of a team of over 25 members with a goal throughout a 7-week campaign that ran from February 1st to March 25th to raise as much money and awareness as possible for blood cancer research. Their goal was to raise $100,000.
They raised $214,301 to help fund cancer research and to support cancer patients. This is a record for fundraising for an individual team in Ohio.
At the gala Saturday night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason it was announced that a total of $805,365 was raised by all teams.
Emma Steiner said, “My connection to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society began when a favorite middle school teacher of mine, and now mentor, lost her aunt due to Leukemia.” Steiner is a junior at Loveland High School.
Steiner was asked to join Loveland’s Team CoUREage last year. She said, “While fundraising, I got to hear so many touching stories of people affected by blood cancer.” That was more than enough to make her want to accept the nomination to be a candidate for this year’s campaign. “Although I don’t have a direct connection to blood cancer, my grandpa passed away from cancer last year, and I fight so that other families don’t have to experience what my grandpa went through.”
LLS’s Student Visionaries of the Year campaign is a seven-week competition among high schools across the Cincinnati area. Loveland was one of 15 teams raising money for blood cancer research, advocacy, patient support, and ultimately, a cure. However, it is not just a competition among these 15 teams, rather it is a combined effort to help LLS find a cure.
The trio built this year’s campaign using the community as its foundation. Since last August, they have been building partnerships with local businesses securing sponsorships, auction items, and organizing events. So far, they have over 10 events planned to help them raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
They surpassed their goal with secured sponsorships with local businesses, community donations, events, and t-shirt sales. One of the biggest ways that the team fundraised is through donations received by each of their 30 team members.
The goal is to not only raise money for blood cancer but also to raise awareness in our Loveland community about Leukemia and Lymphoma.
Background Info about LLS:
LLS is uniquely able to report on the many advances and accomplishments that have occurred since their founding in 1949. From cutting-edge research and precision medicine innovations to legislative victories that improve access to therapies for cancer patients, LLS plays a leading- and often pioneering- role in the fight against blood cancers. Since 2000, approximately 40 percent of all U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved cancer drugs were for blood cancer, and some are now used to treat other forms of cancer and non-malignant diseases. A “win” for blood cancers, therefore, is a win for the cancer community overall.
At the Cintas Center on Xavier University’s Campus
FREE TO THE PUBLIC. REGISTRATION REQUIRED IN ADVANCE no later than Friday, March 24, 2023.
Rocky Bleier
Vietnam War Veteran and Super Bowl Champ
Rocky is a member of the Congressional Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War and the Purple Heart Foundation. He is an active board member of the Warriors to Citizens Foundation, which is devoted to helping soldiers, police, fire, EMTs, and their families recover from the psychological harm caused by career-induced stress.
Rocky will share his story about his time in Vietnam and his amazing journey to recovery from injuries sustained while in the service.
6 PM: Pre-event live music from the ‘60s and ‘70s with The Remains
7 PM: Tribute program begins
9 PM: Program Concludes
“If we save 30,000 lives as a result of spending $20 million,” Senate President Matt Huffman argued, “I think that’s a great thing.”
BY: NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal
Only about three months ago, Ohio lawmakers passed a wide-ranging elections bill that will require voters present a photo ID when they cast a ballot. But it didn’t start out that way. Lawmakers bolted on the photo ID requirements only at the last minute.
The bill began as a proposal to eliminate August special elections. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Township, argued there should only be two elections a year “a primary election, and a general election.”
“August special elections are costly to taxpayers and fail to engage a meaningful amount of the electorate in the process,” he argued.
So why are lawmakers now preparing to un-eliminate the elections they just scrapped?
Sens. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, and Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, introduced a bill Wednesday that would, once again, allow August special elections.
Despite the most recent August election barely clearing 8% in statewide voter turnout, the sponsors specifically add legislature-initiated amendments to the brief list of proposals that can go on an August ballot. Citizen-led amendments can still only go before voters in November
McColley and Gavarone’s change of heart has to do with one such proposal working its way through the Ohio House. That resolution would put a proposal on the ballot raising the threshold for passage of all future amendments from a simple majority to 60%.
After that resolution’s hearing, House minority leader Allison Russo criticized the unnecessary expense. Of Republicans’ about face, she said, “the hypocrisy here has no bounds.”
“Really what this is about is silencing the voice of voters and shutting down direct democracy,” she argued, “Because again, this is a legislature who has no interest in being checked by voters — they picked their voters.”
The sponsors readily acknowledge the expense of their gambit. The bill appropriates $20 million to help county boards conduct a special election. If lawmakers were to wait about three months, they could save that money. As it happens, there’s an election every November, and it’s relatively cheap to add one more question.
But Senate president Matt Huffman is calculating the question differently, and to him, the math adds up.
“If we save 30,000 lives as a result of spending $20 million, I think that’s a great thing,” Huffman told reporters after a Senate session Thursday. “Now I know a lot of people don’t look at it that way, but that’s the way I look at it.”
His comments are an explicit connection between efforts to raise the threshold for amending the constitution and undermining an abortion rights amendment. Organizers are currently gathering signatures for that proposal and hope to have it on the ballot this November.
The senate president over-shot the mark, however. Department of Health statistics put the number of induced abortions at more like 21,000-22,000 per year on average.
Huffman defended the push for an August election. He said he’d expected the House to have the supermajority resolution passed in time for the May primaries.
Still Huffman attempted to draw a distinction between the current proposal and lawmakers eliminating August elections as a standing “as-needed” date on the election calendar.
“Do I have turnout concerns in school levies in August because very few people come out, and they’re done when people are on vacation, and they don’t know about it? And liquor permits and things like that, that typically happen? Yeah.” Huffman said.
“But I think in this case, it’s something that a lot of people are going to be very fired up about,” he added.
Huffman said he plans to have the special elections measure passed by mid to late April. He wants the House to have “ample consideration,” before the deadline to get the supermajority amendment on the ballot.
If House Speaker Jason Stephens has his way, though, the special elections bill may be dead on arrival.
“We just voted to not have those anymore just a few months ago,” Stephens told reporters Thursday. “The county election officials I’ve talked to are not interested in having it.”
“I’m frankly not interested in having an election in August,” he said.
Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.
BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal
A new lawsuit claims the Ohio Ballot Board made the wrong call when they approved the validity of a constitutional amendment proposal on abortion.
In the lawsuit, filed this week with the Ohio Supreme Court, Cincinnati attorney Curt Hartman asks the court to demand the ballot board vacate their March 13 decision, in which they said the proposed ballot language to cement abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution attempts to make changes to only one constitutional issue.
The lawsuit also wants the state Ballot Board to “issue a determination that the foregoing initiative petition contains more than one proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution,” divide the petition into separate initiatives and certify those with the Ohio Attorney General.
To prove the separate issues, the lawsuit cites the overturned legalization of abortion in Roe v. Wade, in which abortion was described as “inherently different” than other personal rights. Because abortion is “inherently different,” parties in the lawsuit argue it represents a different issue than “one’s own reproductive decisions,” which is part of the ballot initiative, therefore “does not and cannot relate to a single general object or purpose.”
The lawsuit acknowledges in a footnote that supporters of the ballot initiative “have not, to date, provided any explanation of the distinction between a decision concerning ‘continuing one’s own pregnancy’ versus concerning ‘abortion.’
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost saw the initiative before the board, and certified the amendment proposal in a separate process. In his letter confirming that the proposal could then move on to the ballot board, Yost made his own comments on the issue.
“I cannot base my determination on the wisdom or folly of a proposed amendment as a matter of public policy,” Yost wrote in his letter on the amendment proposal.
The lawsuit now sets the state, specifically Yost, up to defend the decision of the ballot board, despite any personal feelings he may have on the initiative itself.
The board made no decisions on the merits of the issue, though state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, made a point to speak out against the issue during the board meeting, saying she was “horrified at the thought of this amendment.”
Hartman is representing Margaret DeBlase and John Giroux, both members of the Cincinnati Right to Life. Giroux spoke during the Ohio Ballot Board meeting.
“If this is about one issue, this amendment is about abortion, and that’s plain and simple,” Giroux told the board. “They want to advance abortion in our state constitution.”
In the lawsuit, Hartman argues there was “absolutely no discussion or debate whatsoever” by the members of the board, other than Gavarone’s comments.
Parties challenging the decision say the ballot board’s action, or lack thereof, “constitutes an abuse of discretion and/or an act in clear disregard of applicable legal provisions.”
The Ohio Supreme Court has not decided whether or not they will accept the lawsuit for review.
Pro-abortion rights groups are facing a July 5 deadline to gather signatures in support of placing the petition on the ballot in November. That deadline might also lie in the shadow of an August special election now, with Senate President Matt Huffman expressing interest in placing a measure on the ballot that month to increase the threshold needed to amend the constitution by changing it to 50% plus one vote to 60%.
Spring in the Midwest – we’ve seen sunshine, flowers, heavy rain, crazy wind and even snow!
As we move into a new season, we always have fresh hope. But many of our clients are facing the same issues that plagued them through the winter. Unpaid bills and rising food and shelter costs continue to weigh on their minds.
Spring is the time of our annual Feed The Hungry campaign, which brings hope that LIFE clients will have a brighter season.
This year we are changing the name to better reflect what we do – it’s more than food. While food donations are important, monthly pledges from the community and business partners help us buy needed perishables such as milk, eggs, and cheese but also does so much more. Financial donations allow us to pay emergency financial assistance for items such as rent, utilities, prescription medicines, and maintenance for vehicles, so clients can continue to live safely in their homes and have reliable transportation for work.
You will receive information next month about this important campaign, and how you can be a LIFEsaver* with just the click of a button from the comfort of your home, office, or anywhere. We make it easy for to make a monthly donation, would you please consider it? Of course, we welcome one-time donations as well, which is also easy to do online. You can also drop a check in the mail or bring it by in person – we love to show off our pantry!
Spring cleaning is just around the corner! We need cleaning products such as window and floor products, all-purpose cleaners, paper towels, bathroom cleaning products, anything you use to make your house fresh and clean. When you pick up supplies for your home, please consider adding a few additional items to donate to the pantry.
*LIFE is so thankful for our LIFEsavers, who provide an ongoing monthly contribution to help our neighbors in need. If you’d like to learn more about donating and being a LIFEsaver, visit our
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland Robotics Boosters are back with their fun fundraiser. Saturday, Breakfast with the Bots is March 25, from 8 AM until noon at Loveland High School.
Bring the kids for a pancake breakfast and a chance to see the amazing Loveland Robotics teams in action.
Breakfast includes pancakes, bacon, coffee, and juice.
Breakfast With the Bots tickets are $10, and kids under 3 are free. Buy your tickets at www.lovelandroboticsboosters.org or at the door.
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Middle School students Abigail Boyle and Zane Shrewsberry recently competed in the regional Power of the Pen tournament. They both qualified for state competition. Power of the Pen is a statewide creative writing program that encourages students to find and develop their talents.
Loveland, Ohio – Eight Loveland Middle School students have been selected to participate in the Ohio Music Education Association District 14 Honor Jazz Band. They will have an opportunity to join together with other talented musicians from around the region for a special concert later this month. Eighth-grade music teacher Chris Huening, teaches the young jazz musicians.
Loveland, Ohio – Join us for the 10th Annual Loveland Food Truck Rally! Come kick off summer with us!
The final countdown has begun as The Little Miami River Chamber Alliance (LMRCA) will be kicking off their Annual Loveland Food Truck Rally, presented by Wolterman Law, on Saturday, May 13th from 3 PM to 10 PM at Shopper’s Haven Plaza on Loveland-Madeira Road.
-25 Food Trucks
-Children’s Area
-Live Music and Entertainment
-Beverages for sale!
The Loveland Food Truck Rally is both family-friendly and free to attend.
More details to follow…