Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: opinion

  • I am once again asking Ohio lawmakers to please just feed the children

    I am once again asking Ohio lawmakers to please just feed the children

    Students getting their l lunch at a primary school. (Photo by Amanda Mills/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

    Commentary

    by David DeWitt

    I am once again asking Ohio lawmakers to please just feed the children. For all that is good and decent, at long last, may we please at least just make sure schoolchildren aren’t going hungry?

    Pleading for the state government to make sure that Ohio schoolchildren aren’t spending their days dealing with hunger pangs, tired, irritable, distracted, unable to concentrate, unable to learn, well, that has traditionally been an obscene and mind-boggling ask for too many Ohio lawmakers.

    They keep declining to do it.

    But as my buddy Alexander Pope says, hope springs eternal in the human breast.

    So I will continue sounding the call, because I hold the firm and unshakeable, but apparently insane opinion that schoolchildren shouldn’t be going hungry.

    They should be fed. All of them. Whatever meals they need.

    Student hunger is pervasive in Ohio.

    With more than 1.6 million public school students, about 57% of them meet qualifications and are participating in free and reduced lunch programs.

    Data from Feeding America shows 1 in 5 Ohio children live in homes that are food insecure. In some counties like Cuyahoga and Adams and Scioto, it’s 1 in 4.

    Here’s the rub: A 2023 report from Children’s Defense Fund Ohio found that 1 in 3 children who live in those food insecure homes don’t qualify for free school meals because their households are technically over the 185% of poverty line.

    Many others don’t participate for fear of judgment.

    This means that hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren in Ohio are going hungry during the school day because either they’re not covered or fear the stigma.

    Rubbing gravel on the wound, Republicans in U.S. Congress are right now looking at making cuts that would slash national school meal programs, impacting 280,000 Ohio kids.

    But in Ohio, a new bipartisan bill, Ohio Senate Bill 109, would make sure that no Ohio K-12 student has to go through the day hungry. The legislation sponsored by state Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and state Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, would provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to public and chartered nonpublic school students.

    During the 2023 Ohio budget season, a proposal for universal school meals was made but was never passed.

    Under this cycle’s proposal, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce would be directed to reimburse public and chartered nonpublic schools who participate in the national school breakfast and lunch programs by covering the gap between the federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches and those who would be required to pay because they don’t qualify for meal assistance.

    The bill lists an appropriation of $300 million to support the state reimbursements. The state operating budget is projected at $108 billion for fiscal year 2026 and $110 billion for fiscal year 2027.

    Blessing and Smith plan to push for the bill to be included in the two-year budget due July 1, currently under negotiation in the Ohio House.

    A group of high schoolers from across Ohio rallied at the Statehouse this past Tuesday advocating for it.

    Every teacher I’ve ever talked to about it has told me the same thing: Hunger is an enormous barrier to learning. Meanwhile, kids are being put into social situations where they either go hungry or face the judgment of their peers.

    As we all know, the antenna of fear of social stigma and judgment is sky high in childhood and adolescence.

    We have a simple and effective solution: Remove the stigma, remove the fear of judgment, remove the school meal caste system, and just feed the children, all of the children.

    If the basic humanity and decency of it isn’t compelling enough, I can make an economic argument.

    Well-fed kids make for more attentive and engaged students. Attentive and engaged students have better academic success. Most successful students become successful citizens. Successful citizens grow the economy.

    So, feed the children. All of the children, all the same.

    Please just feed the children.

    YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

    GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

    ________________
    David DeWitt
    David DeWitt

    Ohio Capital Journal Editor-in-Chief and Opinion Columnist David DeWitt has been covering government, politics, and policy in Ohio since 2007, including education, health care, crime and the courts, poverty, state and local government, business, labor, energy, the environment, and social issues. He has worked for the National Journal, The New York Observer, and The Athens NEWS. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and is a board member of the E.W. Scripps Society of Alumni and Friends. He can be found on X @DC_DeWitt

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

    MORE FROM AUTHOR

     

  • Tim Butler: “I humbly ask for your support for the next four years on City Council.”

    Tim Butler: “I humbly ask for your support for the next four years on City Council.”

    by Tim Butler

    Four years ago, you trusted me with your vote to City Council. Now I humbly ask for your support for the next four years on City Council. With over 32 years of living in and raising our family in Loveland, I have a strong commitment to speak for our citizens. Our family is invested in the success of Loveland. We started a successful track and cross-country program which launched the running careers of hundreds of Loveland’s boys and girls. Our family has invested its time, financial resources, and energy in the creation and operation of Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland. Our roots are firmly planted in Loveland. 

    We have a great city. Our downtown is vibrant and unique with its access to the bike path and the Little Miami River. We have a strong community spirit. We have successful local businesses. With our growth comes inherent challenges. 

    We are at a point where the decisions made by your City Council will affect the character, look, and feel of Loveland for future generations. Here are a few key areas where Council’s decisions will impact Loveland going forward: 

    • The first is zoning and development. Our Council has approved the rezoning demands of developers which increased the density of development and will contribute to further congestion. I listened to your fellow citizens and voted against this rezoning. Council will face similar zoning and development questions over the next four years. 
    • Second is how we manage traffic and parking downtown. Our Council is considering a multi-million dollar parking garage and we do not know whether it is even financially sustainable. The location of the garage will cause overcrowding in the busiest part of our downtown. There are other options we can explore before we change the landscape of downtown for the next 30 years with a garage which may not even solve the problem. I have consistently asked Council to explore these options and explain to our citizens the financial impact of the garage and the availability of alternatives. 
    • The third is ensuring we fully involve our citizens as we make these and other decisions, including annexation of new property into the city. Unfortunately, our Council has not been fully transparent in this decision-making process. 

    As I talk to our fellow citizens, I hear concerns about the direction of our city and some of the decisions made by our City Council. How much development is too much? Are we spending your taxpayer dollars on pet projects? Are we sufficiently planning for the next generation of Loveland’s families so they can enjoy the kind of childhood our own children were fortunate enough to have? 

    Let’s take a breath and engage in thoughtful, analytical growth. Let’s seek out the opinions and gauge the wishes of our citizens. Let’s spend our tax dollars wisely. Let’s think and talk about what is best for the city of Loveland for the next ten to twenty years, so future generations will continue to think of Loveland as a wonderful place to live, work, and raise their families. 

    I ask for your support for reelection to Loveland’s City Council. If you trust me with your vote, I pledge to continue to serve as your voice on Council. Together, we can plan and build the best Loveland for the present and for our future. 

    Meet the candidate nights

    Candidate List and Voter Information

  • The Unending Night of Auschwitz

    The Unending Night of Auschwitz

    Hints that tiny shafts of light can pierce the seemingly unending night

    D.-miller-mem.-day-b-wby David Miller

    I took the photo above in 1994 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. To get from floor to floor, I and my family had to walk through this cattle wagon.

    As World War II erupted, the Nazis deported millions of victims to ghettos, concentration and extermination camps, and gas chambers in railroad cars like these – beginning their state-sponsored program of the genocide of Jews, Roma (Gypsies), gay men, Soviet prisoners of war, the disabled, and religious opponents. Nearly the whole Jewish population of Poland was forced into these cattle cars and later died in these camps.

    Elie Wiesel, in his book Night, described his experience when he was liberated from Buchenwald as a sixteen-year-old. His mother and his youngest sister had already been sent to the gas chambers, and Wiesel became his father’s caregiver at the concentration camp and watched him die, just weeks before the Allies liberated the camp.

    The cattle car was so crowded there was no room to sit or lie down, room was made for the living by throwing the dead onto the tracks. Out of 100 Jews in Wiesel’s cattle car, only twelve survived

    In his book, Wiesel wrote about the cattle car:

    The doors were closed. We were caught in a trap, right up to our necks. The doors were nailed up; the way back was finally cut off. The world was a cattle wagon hermetically sealed. With every groan of the wheels on the rail, we felt that an abyss was about to open beneath our bodies.

    Elie-Wiesel-quoteWhen liberated from the concentration camp, he said, “I wanted to see myself in a mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.”

    Robert AcAfee Brown writing in the preface to Night, talks about breathing life into that corpse. “Most will want to continue with Wiesel on his painful journey through the darkness, through false days, until there are hints that tiny shafts of light can pierce the seemingly unending night that Auschwitz has imposed upon the earth.”

    My family and I were able to exit the cattle car, but the emotion of walking where others like Elie Wiesel had been, was burned into my subconscious by that blinding shaft of light that day.

    And now, as still more families are on the painful journey through a hateful darkness… might we see that we are all on this cattle car together. And, even though we must squint to see even the tiniest shaft of light – can we show each other where it is at?

     – David Miller is Publisher of Loveland Magazine

  • Dear Fellow Residents of Loveland School District from a “New Guy”

    Dear Fellow Residents of Loveland School District from a “New Guy”

    by Tony Mackzum

    Tony Mackzum lives in Paxton Woods – (Photo Provided)

    I am a lifelong West Sider who moved his young family to Paxton Woods last summer. Since I am new to this side of town, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and feelings with you regarding the recent ongoing Loveland School District Levy debate. (Loveland Board of Education asks for combined 16.78-mill levy)

    While my family is younger in nature, my football and soccer friends in Loveland call me the Old Dad, which I wear with great pride. A few extra years of doing things well and not so well at times has allowed me a history perspective to see both sides of this debate.  

      1. First and foremost, everyone’s economic situations are fluid and unique, but either way, both sides should try to respect the other side’s opinion and show class at all times while debating this topic on all social media formats and in person.  
      2. If you don’t spend at least 30 minutes researching the topic, then your opinion loses value and can’t be supported by anything other than emotions or a popularity contest trying to fit in.
      3. If you don’t have children in the past, now, or planned future within the district then it is OK for you to vote NO, but remember if the levy fails you will not realize as much on the sale of your residence when you want to sell and that is a fact no matter where you live or what you do within the district. It is a proven equation that better schools equal better property values for all, just look at the demand for Loveland recently vs surrounding school districts.  
      4. If you vote NO now because you think there will be a better plan or idea later, You’re Mistaken, we chose to leave the West Side because once levies fail they almost never get going again as strong as the last one voted NO.
      5. If you think we don’t need three schools then you haven’t comparative shopped school systems lately. My wife and I spent months reading and visiting school districts around the city, and we chose to overlook the fact that only the high school was comparable because we figured the funding was already in place for replacements due to the outstanding history of the school district. Trust me we noticed, and it plays a role in future decisions that go back to school systems providing the demand for your house if and when you choose to sell it.  
      6. I am an accountant, and the cost of capital currently being offered to the school district at this point in time is the lowest it will ever be, and will cost us more in the long run if we pass on this chance or nickel and dime it because we don’t see the need for certain things of benefit to all of us in some fashion monetarily or in benefit of use.  

    Sincerely, 

    The New Guy

  • When does a dream become a nightmare!

    When does a dream become a nightmare!

    by James Visconti

    In the past 4 years our school board has been working on a plan to cover an anticipated increase in the student enrollment and the replacement of older schools with a super campus; that is second to none. This is the dream. Then the nightmare began trying to figure out how to pay for this this campus and justify nonexistent increases in student enrollment.

    THE PLAN TO PAY FOR IT

    After countless meetings and input from many different sources a decision was made to place a tax levy totaling 16.78 mils on the November ballot.

    James Visconti is a resident of Pheasantwoods in the City of Loveland

    Unfortunately, most Loveland residents were unaware of this process and the impact to their taxes until the ballot information came out. What it means to most property owners is an increase of $588 per $100,000 dollars of your homes appraised value, not the assessed value. Yes, the school board did vote and passed a resolution to alter the first two years of the collection but from the third-year forward is the full amount. This is an addition to the 45 mils already on the books for schools and does not preclude the school board from placing additional levies on the ballot in future years.  

    THE NUMBERS

    The initial numbers used by the school board to forecast the increase in enrollment was 20% over the next five years. When in fact it by their own admission it is more likely to be 5% over the next five years. Without this increase, one of the reasons for the new schools is gone. It should be noted that enrollment for the last 15 years has been relatively flat. Since, 2008 has been dropping including the last year despite all of the local development. Enrollment of 4,837 in 2008. Per the Ohio School report card 4,428 in 2019.

    The next number of concern is the age of the Loveland Primary School which houses grades 1-4. Built in 1941 the school has had several remodels over the years but will eventually need to be replaced but when and at what cost? 

    Why does the school district use 3 classrooms at Loveland Early Childhood Center (LECC) for half day preschool classes when none are required by law? 

    Why does the school district use 3 classrooms at LECC for full-day kindergarten classes when none are required by law? 

    OUR RIGHTS

    We have the right to expect our elected officials to act in the best interest of those being asked to foot the bill!

    We have the right to ask any and all questions and have them answered without first putting them in writing in an open board meeting!

    We have the right to expect our tax dollars to be spent to educate our children not to build a super campus. 

    We have the right not to be taxed out of our homes! 

    We have the right to VOTE NO on November 5

    I for one am going to exercise that right!

  • Mike Hunting: Expect more levy proposals even after this one is shot down

    Mike Hunting: Expect more levy proposals even after this one is shot down

    Mike Hunting is a resident of the Black Horse neighborhood

    by Mike Hunting

    The proposed school levy for Loveland has been extremely stressful for residents on both sides of the issue. I have no doubt the students, faculty, and staff at Loveland schools would love to work and study in newer facilities and use turf athletic fields. The folks opposed to the levy are extremely frustrated with what appears to be the largest tax hike in the history of Loveland and possibly in the state of Ohio. While I can sympathize with the frustrated faculty and want to support our schools (and have supported them), the tax implications of this levy are simply stated…ridiculous. 

    We need to realize this will break the bank for many people who are living in and around Loveland. I attended the meetings on September 9 at Loveland Middle School (LMS) and on September 12 at Loveland High School (LHS). 

    During the LMS meeting, I heard several couples say they would move if this levy passed. One couple was in dire straits because they had moved several times recently and cannot afford to move again. They are now simply stuck in Loveland and facing what appears to be the largest tax hike in the city’s (and possibly state’s) history. A tax hike that is certain to be followed again and again with MORE levies. 

    For those who paid attention to the words of Loveland Superintendent, Dr Amy Crouse, she said she hopes Clermont County and the City of Loveland will help with infrastructure costs for the new school. To date, Loveland and Clermont have not officially committed to these costs, at least not publicly to us. Expect another levy to cover this if and when they refuse (and even if they do we are STILL paying for it).

    I would also expect a third levy to cover more teachers since this proposed levy adds several buildings but only two additional teachers. I strongly believe we have reached the breaking point in this community. We will likely see an exodus similar to what is happening in failed areas such as New York City, Detroit, Chicago, California, and much of New England.

    Perhaps the most frustrating part of the meetings last week was the school board’s arrogant attempt to manipulate its audiences. At both meetings, members of the school board, the Treasurer, and Dr. Crouse kept saying, “The community wants this” or “the community voted for this.” Most of the community didn’t even know of this levy until the flyers arrived in their mailboxes in mid-August. Thus, the community certainly DID NOT vote for the levy or approve it. The only people I have spoken with who are in favor of this are school faculty or folks affiliated with the schools (although I have also spoken with school employees who are opposed). 

    The timeline of the release of information is interesting. My family and many of our peers didn’t even know about this levy until we received the flyers in our mailboxes around August 15. August 15 is a significant date because the deadline to place names on the ballot to run against Art Jarvis and Kathryn Lorenz was August 7. Once again, this is utterly ridiculous (albeit well played by Art and Kathryn and the other members of the Levy). Since they are now protected for at least two more years, expect more levy proposals even after this one is shot down. 

    The Treasurer, Kevin Hawley, stated he will propose another levy if this goes down. He doesn’t even live within this tax district, so why would he care? We must get people to run against this out of control board and Treasurer at the earliest opportunity.

    Dr. Amy Crouse finished the meeting on Thursday by saying, “We hope we answered some of your questions, and we hope that you choose to support this when it comes time in November so that we can move forward.”  Unfortunately, they failed to answer many of our questions. They would not allow us to voice questions and we had to submit index cards with questions written on them for Thursday’s meeting. Thus, they could selectively answer the easy questions and dodge the relevant questions. I know for a fact I saw roughly 30-40 index cards with questions on Thursday. I am guessing they answered at most 1/3 of these cards.  My question was not answered. I merely wanted to confirm Dr. Crouse and Mr. Hawley live elsewhere and thus won’t be impacted by the increased taxes (which I have since learned is true).

    The last part of Dr. Crouse’s statement is interesting. She recommends how we should vote from inside a government building and while serving in an official government capacity. Thus, the government is telling you how you should vote and not allowing the opposition to speak. This is on tape.

  • You will have the chance to say “yes” to a fresh face and start for Clermont County’s auditor’s office

    You will have the chance to say “yes” to a fresh face and start for Clermont County’s auditor’s office

    Loveland local Megan Downey is a 22 year old graduate of Kent State University and works with at-risk youth.

    Dear Loveland Magazine Readers,

    This November, you will have the chance to bring change to Clermont County. You will have the chance to say “no” to career politicians with outdated practices. You will have the chance to say “no” to a loose concept of transparency and less than fair practices of auditing.  

    Cory Combs is running for Clermont County auditor this year, and he is more than qualified for the position. Cory has proven himself to be an enthusiastic and dedicated candidate. The effort he has put into his campaign foreshadows the leadership and accuracy he will bring to office. He cares about the citizens he seeks to represent and bringing accountability to Clermont County as auditor. All of these traits are lacking with the current incumbent. 

    This November, you will have the chance to say “yes” to honest fiscal conservatism, “yes” to true modernization, and “yes” to truly fair governmental practices. Above all, you will have the chance to say “yes” to a fresh face and start for Clermont County’s auditor’s office with a simple vote for Cory Combs.   

    Sincerely,

    Megan Downey

      Accounting Plus–Bingaman Accounting and Tax Service, LLC is a tax preparation, payroll and bookkeeping company locally based in Loveland, OH.

  • Have you been chewing on something you’d like others to know about?

    Have you been chewing on something you’d like others to know about?

    lovelandmagazine@cinci.rr.com

  • [POLL] How is the Round-a-Bout at Fields-Ertel Road and Columbia Road (Lebanon Road)?

    [POLL] How is the Round-a-Bout at Fields-Ertel Road and Columbia Road (Lebanon Road)?

    [socialpoll id=”2481813″]

  • Libby Fisher: Recent events and discourse have me examining my own beliefs

    Libby Fisher: Recent events and discourse have me examining my own beliefs

    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 Sweets – Fine Candies

    Loveland Sweets is a purveyor of hand-crafted chocolates, caramels, marshmallows, and ice creams. Our house-made candies are prepared in small batches