Loveland, Ohio – Resident Sharon Scovanner asked, “Is this good for Loveland. Is this good for our citizens.” She made the argument at last night’s council meeting that maybe annexing the Grail Property right now may not be the best course, and provided an alternative.
The Grail is asking for the annexation of approximately 97-acres into the City and it must be approved by Council and the Clermont County Commissioners. Grailville is located at 931 O’Bannonville Road. A proposal is pending for a single-family residential development by Drees Homes.
Loveland, Ohio – Pantry clients with eligible students in preschool through 12th grade, were invited to attend on July 31 or August 7 to shop for school-related items. A total of 35 families with 81 children attended.
Each student received a backpack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies, required reading books, Loveland Spirit wear from RP Diamond, socks, underwear, and a bag of personal care items containing shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, body wash, shaving cream, razors, and feminine hygiene products.
Many smiles were seen on children excited with their new school supplies and apparel.
The Pantry said that special thanks are due to Sharon Raess, who chaired and organized the event.
LIFE also said, “We couldn’t have done it without all the LIFE volunteers who helped us prepare and work the event, and the Loveland community for donations – thank you for your support!”
And LIFE gives a special shout out to the following partners for their generous donations; RP Diamond, North Star Care Center, Easter Seals, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Jarvis Global Investments, Epiphany United Methodist Church, St. Columban, Loveland Presbyterian, Saw Pilates, One Source Employee Management, Miami Trails, and Mathnasium.
Loveland, Ohio – With Halloween just around the corner, many people are in search of frights, pumpkin festivals, and costume celebrations to bring in the holiday the right way! This year Loveland has a little something special up their sleeve for this Halloween; introducing Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition!
In year’s past, the city of Loveland has celebrated Halloween with costume contests, special live entertainment at Downtown’s local restaurants, and spooky vendors that typically set up along the Loveland Bike Trail, but this year Little Miami River Chamber of Alliance Board President Doug Portmann envisioned something a little different…Loveland decked out in its very own Wonka-Land!
“As my wife and I were brainstorming as to what Loveland’s theme should be this year for Halloween my daughter said, ‘It’s Halloween so why don’t you do a Willy Wonka theme?” Portmann explained, “From there all we really needed to do was fill in the details!”
On Saturday, October 30th from 6 PM-8 PM teams of 4 will go on a hunt through Loveland’s impromptu candy land in search of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket! Teams will participate in “sweet” games in this ultimate Halloween scavenger hunt in order to find the grand prize. Those that will be participating are asked to please eat dinner beforehand as beer and food discount tickets will not be given out to teams until after the games have ended.
Teams and those that attend Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition are asked to dress in their absolute best Willy Wonka-themed attire! Some of the Willy Wonka characters are as follows: Willy Wonka, Charlie Buckett, Grandpa Joe, Veruka Salt, Mike Teave, Arthur Slugworth, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Teavee, Oompa-Lumpas, Mrs. Gloop, Mr. Turkentine, and The Tinker. Here are a few links to places where you can purchase Willy Wonka character-inspired costumes, HalloweenCostumes.com, Walmart, and Amazon.
Need more Wonka inspiration? Check out the original Willy Wonka movie trailer from 1971 starring the legendary Gene Wilder!
Excited and ready to sign up yet?! We have included the link to sign up below, but before you do so here are a few simple rules to adhere to before you enter into the search for the Golden Ticket!
All those participating must be 21 years old.
It is recommended that all participants eat dinner beforehand as the event will be very crowded and hard to order a full dinner quickly!
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no food tastings this year, but restaurants will be offering food and drink discount tickets to all participants after the games!
The most important rule is…HAVE FUN!
Loveland’s Wonka-Land Halloween Edition is already half sold out so we encourage you to grab your team and sign up before it’s too late!
By Elliot Grossman, Candidate for Loveland City School Board
The races for the Loveland School Board have strengthened my faith in democracy. For at least two decades, most candidates for the school board had run without challengers. That means the community didn’t have much of a choice of candidates. It also meant there was minimal discussion about the issues facing the school district.
This year, there are nine candidates for four seats. The exchanges of ideas among the candidates and voters have been robust. That shows people care deeply about the school district.
Once the winners have been announced, the community’s focus will shift to helping the school district move forward. Better times are ahead for the Loveland Schools, our community and our children.
My campaign is about hope, optimism and restoring trust. This is a great school district. It’s a big reason my wife and I moved to the Loveland area.
But it’s gotten off track with some poor decisions by leaders. The problem is that those poor decisions have led to damaged relationships with the community
Now, the district’s number one goal needs to be restoring trust. Without trust, the community won’t provide enough resources to the district. Without enough resources, the students will not get the education they deserve.
How do we restore trust? I have a plan:
First, the district needs to embark on a thorough and formal listening process — seeking out voices from throughout the community — to learn what type of school district the community wants. What are the community’s priorities for the district? For a decade, a Butler County school district has held what they call Community Conversations. They’re led by a neutral facilitator. We need to do that here. Communication needs to be a two-way process. Systems need to be set up to listen to parents, students, staff and the community on an ongoing basis. These conversations are about building a partnership with the community.
Second, after we’re sure we’ve sought out voices from throughout the community, we need to do a scientific survey to gauge voter sentiment before putting another levy on the ballot. We shouldn’t guess about whether a levy would pass. That could do even more damage if it fails.
I’m a strong supporter of public schools. I attended public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. I believe public schools are a great equalizer. They give children from all walks of life opportunities. I’ve given a big part of my career and civic life to supporting public schools. I have a daughter in the Loveland Schools. So I want the schools to thrive. But I’m not going to make decisions with just the students in mind. I will always make decisions with the best interests of the students and the taxpayers in mind.
How can I be so sure that we can turn things around? I’ve seen this situation before. Professionally, I’ve provided communication and community engagement services to school districts. In fact, I’m the only candidate who has provided professional communication and community engagement services to school districts.
I’ve attended hundreds of meetings of school boards and local governments in various communities as a news reporter and consultant to school districts for several decades. Additionally, I’ve attended meetings of the Loveland School Board as a parent, taxpayer and now candidate. I’ve learned what works and doesn’t work in school districts. I will bring those insights and ideas to the Loveland School Board.
A school district in western Hamilton county had failed two consecutive levies. I spent a year helping that district with communication and community engagement. With great leadership by a new superintendent, they passed a levy and just a few months ago they opened new schools. But again, I’m not saying we need new schools here. That’s up to the community.
Here’s another example about why we should have hope and optimism. This example shows the importance of setting priorities with our school district budget at a time when the district’s funds are stretched so thin.
For the first time this fall, the Loveland Schools are offering full-day kindergarten to all families who want it for their children. Significantly, the district expanded its kindergarten spots without additional salary costs. After a retirement, district leaders moved a teaching position to the Loveland Early Childhood Center as enrollment numbers changed in the upper grades. It’s all a matter of setting priorities with limited funds.
I know what needs to be done to move the district forward. I have the experience, the determination and the ability to listen to unite the community.
Symmes Township, Ohio – Loveland is full of so many wonderful things for families to get involved in and for parents to get their children involved within the community. The Loveland Music Academy (LMA) is one of those places that welcomes anyone that has a passion for music or simply wants to learn something new that is entirely community-oriented!
LMA came into conception in 2007 when Linda Bergholz and Aaron O’Keefe found a need within the Loveland community for a music academy that could provide quality instruction based on the need of the student. LMA began its journey by offering private lessons for guitar, piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, harp, percussion, voice, and acting in the heart of Downtown Loveland. LMA’s goal was to provide students with a solid musical education and lessons tailored to each student’s interests and goals. With that motto in mind LMA grew rapidly!
LMA quickly began to be known as the go-to place in Loveland and beyond for fantastic music education and instruction at a very reasonable price. In 2009, LMA moved into the Brown Building at 209 W Loveland Ave (which was across the street from LMA’s original location) because they were growing so fast and needed more space for studios. Within 5 years LMA gained 26 instructors educating 400-500 students per week!
“I teach from age six through adults; each lesson is tailored to the individual student. I believe that it is important for students to be exposed to all types and styles of music–from classical to jazz, rock to gospel, country to blues, broadway to reggae, we all find our ‘niche’–and learn to make the music we love. My goal in teaching a student is not that they win awards, but that they carry the love of listening to and playing music for a lifetime. You can’t always find someone to play a game of soccer or basketball or tennis with you, but you can always sit down to a piano (or keyboard, or pick up the flute) and make music yourself.” – Linda Bergholz
Bergholz started to make plans to both expand and improve the LMA building due to the influx of new students, instructors, and much-needed renovations putting in a significant amount of money to a building that LMA didn’t own. Over the course of 10 plus years that LMA called 209 W Loveland home, they paid over 200,000 dollars in rent to the Loveland Community Firefighters’ Association (LCFA), a non-profit organization that owns the Brown Building off the Loveland Bike Trail in Downtown Loveland’s Historic District where LMA resided.
The LCFA according to their website, “works year round to raise funds to help supplement the department and many other community services. Most of the members of the LCFA are also members of the fire department or their families. These individuals work diligently year-round at fundraisers to raise money to donate to the fire department and other causes around the community. The LCFA has always tried to give as much back to the community as possible that we serve.”
Because of the LCFA motto, Bergholz thought that LMA would be in Downtown Loveland forever as it not only served the community, and supplied local music instructors with jobs, but also brought in a lot of money for both local restaurants and shopping boutiques from its 400 plus students and their parents. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
LMA’s new home at 10084 East Kemper Road, just outside of the Loveland City limit in Symmes Township.
In September of this year, LMA moved to 10084 East Kemper Road, just outside of the Loveland City limit in Symmes Township because they were notified that their lease would not be renewed by the LCFA. Bergholz along with LMA’s music instructors and students were devastated as they thought this would be the end of Loveland’s only music academy.
Bergholz coincidentally came into Mile42 Coffee the day she was notified that LMA was being kicked out of the Brown Building and ran into me. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not okay and that something major had happened. Bergholz sat with me and told me what had happened and said she just couldn’t let this be the end of LMA. I agreed and encouraged her to keep on fighting because hundreds of local students, parents, and music instructors depended on her strength and dedication. That’s just what Bergholz decided to do. Not only did she write a letter to LCFA asking why LMA’s lease wasn’t going to be renewed and if they would reconsider, she began to work as hard she could to find a new location for LMA. Bergholz later found out that LMA’s lease was not being renewed because LCFA wanted to acrue more income from the Brown Building i.e they wanted to put in a new bar or restaurant. Although Bergholz felt she could prove that LMA did provide a significant amount of income, she decided to move forward in search of a new building.
The search for a new LMA building was tough for Bergholz being that America was in the midst of a pandemic, the cost to move LMA would be extravagant due to all the heavy music equipment (LMA has several Grand Pianos), and LMA would have to stop doing business for however long it took to move. Bergholz was determined to make it work, and she did just that.
I decided to take a trip to the LMA’s new location to see how the moving progress was going and to talk to Bergholz about the journey that led to the new building! So without further ado, I bring to you a one-on-one EXCLUSIVE Loveland Magazine TV Interview with Linda Bergholz! Believe me you won’t want to miss this one!
If you would like to take music lessons or you would like to get involved with LMA you can call them at 513-239-7105 or send LMA an email.
In September of this year, LMA moved to 10084 East Kemper Road, just outside of the Loveland City limit in Symmes Township.
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For more heart-felt Loveland stories stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia!
Loveland, Ohio – Road repairs have started this week along State Route 48 near the downtown area. Curb repairs, pavement milling, and re-paving will be completed.
Repairs will be near 250 East Broadway, work west toward the Five Points intersection, and then north toward the O’Bannon Creek Bridge between Harrison Avenue. and Lyon Avenue.
Each November, The Little Miami River Chamber Alliance says “Thank you” to our businesses for all they do for our community and honor them for enhancing our community and making it a better place to live.
The Annual Awards Dinner is an evening for all area businesses to come together and celebrate their successes and community contributions.
The event includes cocktails, networking, silent auction, dinner, and awards. It is a great networking opportunity!
Nominations are now live and are due Monday, October 11!
Nominate now for one (or more!) in the following categories.
• Business of the Year
• Emerging Business of the Year
• Non-Profit of the Year
• Beautification Award
• Community Involvement Award
• Business Community Advocate Award
• Sustainability “Go Green” Award
• Randy K. Stanifer Health, Wellness & Fitness Business of the Year
![[Video] Sharon Scovanner asks should we annex Grailville Property?](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/feature-Sharon-Scovanner.jpg)
