We’re laying the groundwork for pollinator gardens! Next spring these mulched areas will be planted with native flower seedlings that will benefit pollinators and beautify the community.
In 2017, the U.S. Postal Service recognized the beauty and importance of pollinators with their Protect Pollinators stamps. Now, with the help of volunteers, the Loveland Post Office is putting that concept into action by turning swaths of grass, with their constant need for mowing, into flower gardens and reforested meadow areas.
Natural areas provide many benefits over mowed grass. The Loveland Post Office will see lower labor and fuel costs, while also reducing their carbon footprint. The gardens will provide food and habitat for pollinators (to whom we owe our very existence). And the community gets to enjoy the beauty of colorful flowers every time they drive past the Post Office. Now that’s an all-round Win-Win!
Small pollinator gardens provide much-needed habitat islands.
Did you know that insects pollinate 80% of the world’s plants, including 90 different food crops? One out of every 3 or 4 bites of food we eat is pollinated by an assortment of bees, beetles, moths, wasps, and butterflies. WOW — These small creatures, so often taken for granted, are vitally important to human survival! Unfortunately, many pollinators are threatened for a variety of reasons: habitat loss, fragmented habitat (with huge gaps between habitat ‘islands’), non-native plants that fail to serve pollinator needs, and (worst of all) the use of pesticides and herbicides on our lawns and landscapes. Pollinators need our help, and the Loveland Post Office is stepping up-to-the-plate.
What about those “Naturalized Area” signs you see? They identify areas where young trees and shrubs will be planted this fall. Initially, those areas will resemble meadows, but once the plants mature they will become a natural woodland. Trees are crucial for pollinator survival because they bloom so early in the spring, long before summer flowers ‘break bud’. Have you ever noticed reddish clusters on the bare branches of a maple tree in early spring? Those are tiny flowers that are buzzing with bees — if only you could get close enough to see them.
Small pollinator gardens provide much-needed habitat islands.
This pollinator garden project is a unique collaboration between the Post Office, community volunteers, and Loveland High School Transition Program students. Community volunteers are currently prepping the garden beds by spreading a thick layer of mulch over cardboard, to eliminate the grass without using herbicides. Seeds are being gathered from locally grown, native flowers, to ensure those seeds are pesticide-free. (Did you know commercially available seeds are often coated with pesticides that can make their way into the nectar which can sicken, or even kill, pollinators?) The high school students will grow the flowers from the seeds being collected now, and the flower seedlings will be planted at the Post Office next spring. This terrific partnership is a wonderful example of Loveland’s abundant community spirit!
Small pollinator gardens provide much-needed habitat islands.
The Post Office gardens and naturalized areas will provide a much-needed pollinator habitat, but to survive and thrive pollinators require many such ‘habitat islands’ scattered widely across a community. So, why not create your own pollinator garden? Whether large or small, every garden has a huge impact on the well-being of our pollinators. Just be sure to buy native plants that are organically grown, avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides, and include a few old logs, or attractive pieces of driftwood, for nesting purposes (yes, bees need nesting places, too).
If you have any questions, comments, or want to get involved, send an email to Cindy Kessler at ckessler@fuse.net.
Computer science…engineering…policy…business…communications…chemistry. These are the fields of study five Cincinnati Area National Merit Semifinalists hope to enter when they attend college next year.
“It’s no secret that Country Day is academically rigorous and that certainly helped me prepare for the test, but being such a small school we also get more individualized attention from our teachers and that is invaluable,” said Loveland resident Margaret Sprigg-Dudley ’22.
Cincinnati Country Day School seniors Christian Fitzpatrick (Kenwood), Pooja Kantemneni (Mason), Victor Nica (Anderson), Alistair Norwood (Coldstream), and Margaret Sprigg-Dudley (Loveland) were recently named among the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 7,600 National Merit scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered in the spring.
Christian Fitzpatrick ’22 added, “The quality of teachers is also really important. If you have quality teachers that go beyond the required material like we do here [at Country Day] I’m sure that increases the likelihood that you would be prepared for something like standardized testing.”
Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. Over 90% of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
These academically talented high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and rewards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Deerfield Township, Ohio – Below is a map showing major economic development and infrastructure projects that have been recently completed, under construction, or planned.
Click on the map below to go to an interactive map of each project…
Click on this map to go to see the interactive map of each project
On Friday, September 24th from 4 PM-10 PM, and Saturday, September 25th from 4 PM-11 PM, Downtown Loveland will become “Liebesland” (Loveland in German) for Oktoberfest 2021. The festival will include a plethora of traditional German activities, competitions, food, drinks, and of course some spectacular German attire!
Warsteiner, an international German beer company that came to conception in Warstein, Germany in 1753 when Antonius Cramer was asked to pay beer tax after his home brewing volumes passed the amount allowed for personal use, will be hosting a Biergarten (beer garden in German) Emporium in Nisbet Park. Traditionally a Biergarten is an open-air space where beer and food are served. This concept dates back to the 19th century in Bavaria in which breweries planted gardens above cellars to keep their lagers cool enough to ferment underground.
The Warsteiner Biergarten will be serving up their finest beer from the Premium Pilsner, “A refreshing, pale golden pilsener with a clean taste perfectly balanced with hints of barley malt, subtle bottom fermenting yeast tones and mild hoppy bitterness,” to the Premium Dunkel, “a rich dark amber beer with full-flavored, smooth taste nicely accented with satisfying notes of roasted malt and subtle bottom-fermenting yeast tones,” to the Oktoberfest Special Edition, “a well-balanced, mild, and smooth taste with a uniquely soft, hoppy aftertaste and 5.9% alcohol.”
Beer Tickets will be sold at the Warsteiner Emporium in the Biergarten and can be used to purchase Warsteiner premium beer at the Emporium, The Works Pizza, Ramsey’s Trailside, or Bishop’s Quarter where they will be selling Warsteiner’s Oktoberfest. Domestic beer tickets will be $5 and Craft beer tickets will be $6. When purchasing a beer ticket you will have the option to buy an authentic 14 ounce Loveland Oktoberfest keepsake Mug for $8 in which you will be able to get refilled with Warsteiner beer only for $5.
All of the tips collected from the Biergarten will benefit CancerFree Kids.
Of course, what goes better with beer than traditional German food! The majority of Loveland’s Downtown restaurants will be adding a few German-inspired food options in celebration of Oktoberfest. The Works Pizza will be featuring Potato Pancakes, Ramsey’s Trailside will have a Specialty Pretzel, Trailside Provisions will be serving Cream Puffs and Frozen Chocolate Bananas on Saturday only, All the Ingredients will have Sauerkraut Balls, Bratwursts, and Herb Potato Skewers, Loveland Sweets will be carrying Black Forest Ice Cream, Tano Bistro will have Schweinbraten (German Pulled Pork) and Apple Strudel, The Wicked Pickle will be serving up German Pulled Pork Sandwiches, and Bishop’s Quarter will have German Pancakes with Sour Cream.
In addition to Loveland’s local restaurants carrying specialty German food items, new local business Dolph’s Dogs will also be there to satisfy anyone’s sausage, bratwurst, or hotdog cravings! Kona Ice and Right Stuff Grill will also be present at the Oktoberfest festivities. Food vendors will be set up in the Biergarten near Nisbet Park.
Want to learn more about traditional German food? Read this CNN Travel article that I found that talks all about German cuisine!
The Landing Event Center will be holding an Oktoberfest event on Friday that will benefit The League for Animal Welfare. This special benefit will include beer tastings, an authentic German appetizer buffet, and live music. The event is free and open to the public.
The Jackson Street Market will have arts and crafts throughout the Oktoberfest celebration as well.
The Little Miami Chamber Alliance (LMRCA) has been hard at work for several months planning Loveland’s first Oktoberfest and truly can’t wait to see how all the German activities and competitions play out!
One of the most exciting and competitive German traditions will be The Stein Hoist competition a.k.a The Masskrugen Challenge, which will begin on Friday at 6:30 PM. The Winners Ceremony will be held on Saturday at 6 PM. The competition will include 6 contestants from each local restaurant participating. The Works Pizza, Ramsey’s Trailside, Cappy’s, Bishop’s Quarter, Cindy’s, Paxton’s Grill, The Landing Event Center and The Wicked Pickle will all be competing for the win! The Masskrugen finals will be emceed by Channel 5’s Randi Rico.
Stein Hoisting is a traditional Bavarian strength contest in which participants hold a full one-liter beer stein (weighs 5.5 pounds typically) in front of their bodies with a straight arm, parallel to the ground. The person that can hold the pose the longest wins.
Stop by the Loveland beer booth on Friday and the Biergarten on Saturday to say hi to the Christy Jones Team and hoist a stein!
The Lederhosen competition (German costume contest) will begin on Friday at Bishop’s Quarter. The winner will be selected at 7:30 PM. Lederhosen’s are leather shorts with H-shaped suspenders that men in the working class from Alpine regions such as Bavaria wore. They wore these while they were working because the leather material made the dust and dirt collected from work easier to clean off. Lederhosen’s also have cultural and social meaning for those within the German culture.
There is in fact a female version of the Lederhosen called a “Dirndl,” which is a dress that can fall either to the knees or the floor. The dress includes a tight bodice that is meant to compliment a woman’s chest.
On Friday, at 5 PM at Oktoberfest Cappy’s and the Main Stage (located in Nisbet Park) will host a Stein Slide competition, in which you can buy tickets to compete for $2. Live entertainment will kick-off from the Kyle Hackett Duo at 6 PM at Cappy’s followed by the Counting Skeletons at 7 PM at the Main Stage.
On Saturday, Oktoberfest entertainment will kick off at 4 PM with Premier Dance and Tumbling, and shortly afterward Nisbet Park will hold the Wiener Dog Race at 4:30 PM (near the Little Miami Conservancy). The winning Wiener Dog will receive a gift card from Tara’s Pet Boutique! At 5:30 PM, live entertainment will continue with the Cloggers.
Of course, we can’t forget about one of the most coveted German Oktoberfest traditions, the tapping of the Keg! The tapping of the Keg is one of the oldest traditions in Germany’s Oktoberfest celebrations. The Keg tap is typically done by the Mayor of Munich, which in Loveland’s case will be Mayor Kathy Bailey. The goal of the Keg tapping is for the Mayor to hit the Keg with a hammer the least amount of times possible before yelling “O’zapft is” (keg breached). Once the Mayor yells “O’zapft is” surrounding vendors may officially sell their beer!
Before the Keg tapping in Germany, there is a “procession” held in which colorful horse carriages and wagons covered with flowers march down to where the Oktoberfest celebration is being held. The procession is traditionally led by the Münchner Kindl (coat of arms of Munich) and is followed by the Mayor’s festival carriage. Behind the Mayor are carts of the landlords and breweries as well as the waitresses who will be serving beer who are typically holding beer mugs in the procession. This part of Loveland’s Oktoberfest will include Mayor Kathy Bailey and the LMRCA Board of Directors President Doug Portmann. The Keg procession will begin at 5:30 PM on Saturday and the Keg tapping will begin shortly afterward. The procession will start at Paxton’s Grill, go down Railroad Ave., and will end at the Main Stage located in Nisbet Park.
On Saturday from 6-10 PM, the Zinzinnati Bierband will perform and at 6 PM the Masskrugen Winning Ceremony will begin on the Main Stage.
There have been quite a few new additions to Loveland’s Oktoberfest! Cincy Shirts will have a booth set-up near the Biergarten for those who PRE-ORDERED their exclusive Loveland Oktoberfest T-shirt. The Loveland Oktoberfest T-shirts are $20. To pre-order your 2021 Loveland Oktoberfest shirt click here.
New local business Epic Picnics will have a beautiful German-themed picnic “photo booth” set up in Nisbet Park on Friday with Oktoberfest props and food that those attending the festival will have the opportunity to get a Loveland Oktoberfest photo taken.
It is never too late to become a sponsor for Loveland’s first Oktoberfest! If you or your business would like to become a sponsor contact the LMRCA through email or you can call their office at 513-683-1544.
LMRCA is also in need of volunteers to help with all of the exciting festivities! If you would like to sign up to volunteer for Oktoberfest click here to see what opportunities are available. You may also email LMRCA or call the office at 513-683-1544 to reach out about volunteering.
For more Loveland Oktoberfest 2021 updates stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia!
Loveland, Ohio – Jeremy Case, Alexander Harlow, and Nicole Pedicini, members of the Loveland High School Class of 2022, are National Merit Semifinalists.
The three Seniors will have an opportunity to continue in the National Merit Competition.
The National Merit Scholarship Program honors the nation’s scholastic champions and encourages the pursuit of academic excellence. The semifinalists represent less than 1% of high school seniors and are the highest-scoring in each state on the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students from across the country who are recognized will now compete for about 7,500 scholarships worth nearly $30 million.
The Ohio Children’s Hospitals Association made a direct appeal on Tuesday, September 14 to school superintendents to require masks for staff and students during the current surge of the coronavirus.
Patty Manning, MD, is the Chief of Staff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Photo by CCHMC)
Patty Manning, MD, Chief of Staff, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center said, “Our inpatient numbers are the highest they’ve been. Our ICUs are caring for more patients than there’s ever been. More children are on ventilators than there has ever been. There are more children than ever entering our emergency departments and our urgent care centers. That impacts the care of all children, not just those that are COVID-19 positive.”
The plea was made during a virtual meeting with superintendents and the clinical leadership from six Ohio children’s hospitals including Dayton Children’s Hospital, ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Akron Children’s Hospital, and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
“The data are now clear that there is a higher level of COVID-19 in school districts where masks are not required,” said Governor DeWine. “If we want our schools to stay open, the best way to do that is for those 12 and over to get vaccinated. But because those under 12 are still too young to be vaccinated, we need students who come in to school to wear a mask until we get through this.”
The current policy of the Loveland City School District is that students in grades PreK-6 are required to wear a mask indoors. Students in grades 7-12 do not have to wear face coverings. All others, while in the buildings must wear masks.
Efforts to reach Loveland Superintendant Mike Broadwater via email, asking him if he attended the virtual meeting and had any comment about it have not been successful securing an email response.
In the background of this urgent plea is that State Reps. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland/Miami Township) announced on August 25 she has introduced House Bill 400, which would prohibit public schools from mandating students to wear a mask. The bill introduction comes as statewide concerns from parents have heightened as several public schools, including the Loveland District have implemented school mask mandates for some of their students.
Data that support this appeal according to a new release from the Ohio Children’s Hospitals Association include:
Since August 15, 2021, there have been 29,823 Ohio school-aged kids ages 5 to 17 with confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19.
Cases among this age group increased 198 percent from the week of August 15th as compared to the week ending September 4.
As reported yesterday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, COVID-19 cases among children have increased 240 percent nationally since early July when the Delta variant began to surge. During that same period in Ohio, there has been a 2000 percent increase in cases among Ohio children.
COVID-19 cases are increasing at nearly twice the rate among school-aged kids as compared to the rest of the population. This past week Ohio saw a 44 percent increase among school-aged children and only a 17 percent increase among the rest of the population.
Over the two-week period ending September 4, 2021, there was an average of 909 cases per 100,000 school-aged Ohio kids versus 561 cases per 100,000 people comprising the rest of the population.
The 16 days with the highest number of cases per day throughout the entire pandemic for kids aged 5 to 17 in Ohio have all been in the last 19 days. This includes every day except the three days of the Labor Day weekend.
In Ohio school districts where masks are optional, among school-aged kids, there are both higher case rates per 100,000 at 945.7 and a greater week-over-week increase in cases. School districts where masks are optional have seen a 54 percent week-over-week increase compared to a 34 percent increase in school districts where masks are either required for all or required for some (usually K-8th grade).
Nick Lashutka, President and CEO of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association “This is a perfect storm, and it’s impacting kids like it hasn’t before. It’s a combination driven by COVID-19 cases increasing, primarily driven by the Delta variant, increasing respiratory illnesses, more mental health challenges, and staffing challenges. Everyone can agree that our number one goal is to keep children in schools five days a week, and that’s what we shared with the state’s superintendents today.”
Debbie Feldman, President and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospitals “Ohio is truly blessed to have some of the best children’s hospitals in the country. We pride ourselves on meeting the needs of our kids. Our commitment is really threatened right now. For a long time, COVID-19 was perceived as a disease that didn’t impact children. That’s not the case anymore. Today, 25 percent of COVID-19 cases are in kids. We’re feeling that in our children’s hospitals.”
Paula Grieb, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital “In the city of Toledo and at Ebeid Children’s Hospital, we’ve seen significant in-patient and out-patient volumes, and we’ve seen a significant increase in kids with respiratory illnesses. We had a significant event occur last night in Lucas County. That means if a rescue squad responded to a 911 call and picked up a patient to take them to a hospital that was on EMS bypass, that rescue squad would not be allowed to stop at that hospital. The county EMS system would have to dispatch each call one at a time. That means a patient wouldn’t necessarily go to the hospital closest to them or best-suited to take care of the patients’ needs.”
Rustin Morse, MD, CEO, Nationwide Children’s Hospital “We are in uncharted territory. Not just in children’s hospitals, but adult hospitals as well. The infrastructure is strained like it hasn’t been before. We are asking people to get vaccinated if they aren’t already, and we are asking them to wear masks.”
Patty Manning, MD, Chief of Staff, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
“Our inpatient numbers are the highest they’ve been. Our ICUs are caring for more patients than there’s ever been. More children are on ventilators than there has ever been. There are more children than ever entering our emergency departments and our urgent care centers. That impacts the care of all children, not just those that are COVID-19 positive.”
Columbus, Ohio – The ticket reseller StubHub is issuing refunds to thousands of Ohioans who purchased tickets to events that were later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in response to a multistate investigation lead by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
“We’d all like a refund from the ride COVID has taken us on, but in this case, there was written policy not followed,” Yost said. “That’s why we went to bat for Ohioans here and put money back in their pockets.”
Ohio, nine other states, and the District of Columbia initiated a coordinated investigation after receiving numerous complaints from consumers that StubHub was violating its own policy under the “FanProtect Guarantee.”
The policy stated that consumers would receive full refunds on ticket purchases, including fees, if events were canceled. StubHub suspended that policy in March 2020, following the mass-cancellation of events triggered by COVID concerns.
The California-based company began denying refund requests, instead of telling consumers that they would receive credits equal to 120% of their purchases for future events.
The policy change affected more than 12,000 consumers who had bought tickets to Ohio events through StubHub before March 25, 2020.
StubHub has agreed to settle a complaint filed Tuesday by AG Yost in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The deal requires StubHub to:
The consent agreement includes an injunction that requires StubHub to:
Honor its refund policies.
Not change its refund policies for purchased tickets unless the purchasing consumer consents to the change.
Promptly process any refund requests it receives going forward for the events at issue.
The agreement also assesses a $654,100 civil penalty, which is suspended provided that StubHub pays the refunds owed to Ohio consumers and does not violate the other terms of the agreement.
Consumers who have not been contacted by StubHub and believe they are entitled to a refund may contact either StubHub at (866) 788-2482 or the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-282-0515 or www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
Loveland, Ohio – If you are a little Miami River Chamber Alliance member, resident of the Loveland School District, or work in the Loveland area your Valentine Card Design original artwork may be submitted.
Artwork must reflect or incorporate the theme: “Love is…..” and must also include (or provide space for) the phrase, “There is nothing in this world so sweet as love.”
One-color, two-color, and full-color entries are acceptable. Artwork must be flat (two-dimensional) and reduce proportionately to fit within a 5 inch by 3 ¾ inch space, the size of the printed Valentine’s Day cards.
The submission deadline is November 20, 2021.
Last year’s winner was Cindy Wilmes and she created this video of her taking one of her cards to be stamped at and mailed from the Loveland Post office.
Entry forms and contest rules are available at the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance, 113 Karl Brown Way, Loveland, OH 45140. If you would like one sent to you, call the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance at 683-1544.
The winner will receive design credit on the back of the 2022 Valentine’s Day cards, recognition at the Valentine Kick off, other local recognition, media recognition and two complimentary invitations to the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance Annual Valentine Breakfast. Entries not selected may be picked up after December 10, 2021.
The winning card design will be featured as a “Cover Photo” in Loveland Magazine.
Click below to witness the 2021 Valentine Art and Card Reveal presented to you by LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV!
Watch this interview by Cassie Mattia interviewing the 2021 Valentine Card Designer and Valentine Lady Jeannie Shumaker.
We have more Loveland Magazine TV videos for you to enjoy! Click below to watch now!
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