Letters To The Editor

After several board meetings which were attended by hundreds of Cleveland Heights citizens, and after hundreds of phone calls, dozens of letters to local newspaper editors, and a clear outpouring of public support from all segments of the Cleveland Heights community, the CH-UH school board has continued to ignore the voices of the citizens that they represent and accept the offer that Mosdos Ohr HaTorah has made to purchase the former Millikin School.

To the Editor,
 
I am writing about the Millikin property, which remains an open issue. As the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school board has its facilities evaluation to deal with declining population, and is promising to close more neighborhood buidings, taxpayers are wondering if Fairfax, Gearity, and Noble neighborhoods will suffer the same drop in property values with the abandonment of those buildings, incurring the crime, trouble and disregard for upkeep that Millikin residents have had to put up with.

To the Editor:

In his April 3rd missive [published online at www.heightsobserver.org] against me, Mr. Rapoport continues the flawed logic of looking at only one aspect of the multi-headed Hydra that is the Severance-Millikin conundrum.

This Earth Day, April 22, remember that you can make a difference. The public attitude favoring a balance with nature, firmly and persistently expressed to our elected officials, can and has changed the world for the better.

The first Earth Day observances were held on April 22, 1970. I was in high school then, in another part of town. Our schoolbooks said the sky was blue, but when we looked toward Cleveland what we saw was an angry yellow-brown haze. I can still feel how my eyes would sting and my lungs would burn on the worst summer days. 

To the Editor:

I write in response to recent comments by former School Board Member Eric J. Silverman in a March letter to the editor [published online at www.heightsobserver.org] about valuation of the Millikin school site because of my concern that he seems more authoritative than he actually is.

[This was submitted to the editor for publication as an open letter to the CH-UH Board of Education and the Cleveland Heights City Council.]

To the Editor:

As go the school district and each of the various smaller educational communities, so go all of our communities. We, the undersigned of religious communities in the Heights and members of the Heights InterFaith Council, believe that the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District in its abandonment of a community asset in the Severance Millikin School is doing a disservice to the greater Heights Community.

To the Editor:

Unfortunately in the cacophony surrounding Severance-Millikin Elementary School, three different issues are being wrapped into one, muddying the waters: the condition of the site, the future of the site and the value of the site.  

I will agree with those who lament the current appearance of Millikin, and the CH-UH City School District has not helped its case by working to make sure the building and grounds look as good or better than open buildings, as doing this could thwart this vein of criticism.

To the Editor:

I am sorry to see the anger surrounding the current debate over the future of the Millikin School property.

I do not have a horse in this race, but I do have some questions:

What has changed since last year, when the Board of Education (BOE) last solicited requests for proposals for the Millikin property?

To the Editor:

Think of a favorite book you read with your parents as a young child, an actual book you could hold and share, something you will read with your own children. Someday your children may read that very same book to their children, and when they do, they will think of you and the world you made for them. What kind of world will that be?

As a current eighth grade student in Mosdos Ohr Hatorah girls school, I strongly urge the CH-UH school board to sell Millikin to Mosdos Ohr HaTorah.

There are many reasons why I think this will be beneficial to the student body of the school as well as for all the residents living in our community.

To the Editor:

Regarding the discussion about the Millikin School, the residents of Cleveland Heights need to understand the whole picture. There is an offer to purchase the building by a nonprofit organization at what seems like fair market value. There is also an offer from a call center, a business that may bring jobs to the area, which may become a significant revenue stream.

To the Editor:

Knowing that a community’s strength and growth are largely due to its educational offerings, why isn't the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education willing to respond to the needs and ideas of a large group of its citizens? A number of us have tried unsuccessfully to have the board address the issue of the deserted Millikin School property, an empty building that has cost the board hundreds of thousands of wasted dollars when our proposal for its use would profit the community and the district.

To the Editor:

As a Cleveland Heights homeowner, I care deeply about making this a wonderful place to live and raise children.

One of the most effective ways to strengthen and grow a community is to place our utmost attention on the educational needs of the children who live there. Great schools are the building blocks of all great communities. 

Mosdos Ohr Hatorah, a Jewish private school in Cleveland Heights, has been providing superb Jewish and secular studies education for many years.

 

An open letter to the CH-UH Board of Education:

We are residents of Cleveland Heights, concerned with the speed with which the School Facilities Committee appears to be pushing through the renovation and/or replacement our existing school buildings. We hear the term sustainability mentioned a lot, but so far no one has satisfactorily explained what sustainability means in terms of building/renovating and operating the district’s schools in the near and distant future.

To the Editor:

Citizens for Saybrook Park was recently formed as a grassroots movement to urge the City of University Heights to purchase the former Fuchs Mizrachi School property between Saybrook and Fenwick roads. Our group would like to see the site converted into a city park.

This is a golden opportunity to create a large open space for University Heights residents. As residents know, most of our yards are small, and we would love to have a park where we’d be able to play with our kids, throw a football around, or take a stroll away from the street noise. This is the type of asset that helps a city attract new homebuyers and improves the quality of life of its current residents.  

To the Editor:

Noble Road Presbyterian Church has been a beacon of light in this community for 90 years. Our spiritual outreach includes worship, counseling, baptisms, weddings, memorial and funeral services.

We partner with Noble Elementary School, providing school supplies, winter gloves and hats, and holiday angel gifts. The Noble and Roxboro schools have supported our fundraising for the Liberian Dougbe River School and church. We donate money, food items, and holiday angel gifts to the Heights Emergency Food Center, as well as provide clothing, household items, and services to the Family Promise temporary shelter in Cleveland.

To the Editor:

I received the following letter via e-mail on Jan. 24 from a recent Salami to the Troops recipient: 

Greetings from Kabul, Afghanistan.A few days ago I received a box of beef salami from your shop as part of your program to support the troops. Food items like this are a rarity around here and are truly appreciated by everyone who will have a slice...or two or three. You have helped to put some smiles on faces here at Headquarters ISAF in the midst of some very long work days. 

To the Editor:

Thank you for the wonderful article on The Wine Spot in the Jan. 4 Heights Observer. We are very excited to be up and running and appreciate the enthusiastic support from the local community. We are proud to be in Cleveland Heights and to have our shop in the historic Seitz-Agin space.

A couple of additions and clarifications:

Thank you so much for the article "Veteran honors the fallen" in your December issue. I was very curious about the handmade WW I Memorial sign when it appeared on North Park, and I have been curious for years about the bronze plaques at the base of trees around Horseshoe Lake. Now I have the answer for both! What a wonderful way to honor the dead of WWI.

Editor,

The other day I received a piece of certified mail at my home address of 3XXX Meadowbrook, University Heights, Ohio. The certified mail was a court summons from the City of Cleveland Heights for “Failure to Obtain a Certificate of Occupancy for 2011” for the home located at 2XXX Princeton Road in Cleveland Heights (Housing File Number 113067). You can imagine my complete confusion and alarm upon reading the inspection complaint, and, even more so, the accompanying notice for the warrant of my arrest based on said violation. But here’s the thing: the mail was forwarded on by the postal service to my current address, where I reside, on Meadowbrook in University Heights. I have not owned or occupied the Princeton Road, Cleveland Heights, property in question since August of 2004.

To the Editor:

Voters in Cleveland Heights are very fortunate to have three new highly qualified, energetic and intelligent candidates for city council in Jeff Coryell, Mary Dunbar and Mike Gaynier. Each comes with a valuable package of skills and background as well as a vision for engaging citizens in thoughtful and creative approaches to addressing challenging issues and moving our city forward.

To the Editor:

Our son, Tug (age 30) and his sister, Kate (age 27) were home this summer and decided to try to find all the historic landmarks in Cleveland Heights. They downloaded a map and list from a website. Then they went off on their bikes to find them. They took photos of each other in front of the markers or sights. They had a wonderful time doing this and found places in Cleveland Heights. where they had never been before.

We have lived in Cleveland Heights for 31 years, so we all love and appreciate it very much. We thought you might be interested in seeing the album: http://gallery.me.com/mektra#100124

To The Editor:

Education is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children to ensure a vibrant future. In our country, public education is the backbone of that promise to future generations.

We understand and appreciate how economically challenging these times are for our residents. But we also understand that our public schools are a critical asset to our community: its health, stability, and future.

In June, five members of the Heights Youth Club and the club director, Roscoe Morgan, spent seven days immersed in the local communities and cultures of Managua, Nicaragua. The youths participated in an immersion project facilitated by International Partners in Mission (IPM). IPM works across borders of faith and culture on behalf of children, women, and youth to create partnerships that build justice, peace, and hope. 

To the Editor,

Cleveland Heights is rightfully proud of its 10th historic district. Bested in the county by only the city of Cleveland, the Shaker Farm Historic District maintains Cleveland Heights’ status as home of the most districts listed on the U.S. Department of Interior National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, they have carelessly named these areas, causing confusion to all but the closest followers and a handful of historians.

To the Editor

Few would disagree that there are plenty of unhappy people on both sides of any one of these issues: John Carroll University’s property usage, development of a McDonald's fast food restaurant on Warrensville Center Road; greenlighting the B’nei Torah congregation for the property next to my house on Green Road. In each instance, our elected officials claim they are acting in the best interests of the city — a poorly defined objective to be sure — though even the winners are upset by the process of vetting reported in the media.

As a fellow Oberlin alumnus, I applaud Observer intern James Helmsworth’s well written account of the fight over the Oakwood property. A couple of points stand out for me as creating a less than balanced presentation in his article, and I think it’s not the fault of an intern.  Presumably there was  - or there should have been - some kind of editorial guidance for Mr. Helmsworth. First, he should have been disabused of the notion that the Oakwood property is some kind an unspoiled wilderness where the developers will snatch away homes from the indigenous flora and fauna. I halfway expect to read a claim by the anti-development forces that the property may be home to a previously unknown clan of native Hopewell people whose culture flowered in Ohio over a thousand years ago, surviving now only in the rough near Oakwood's erstwhile fourteenth hole.

To the Editor:

Driving on Cedar Road near Warrensville, we notice the progress being made in turning a utilitarian steel fence into a piece of public art. It brings a note of peace and hope to our community. This program, sponsored by Heights Arts in collaboration with the Heights Youth Club and the Artsworks program of Young Audiences of Cleveland, has given young people of the area a positive and creative outlet. 

To the Editor:

We are writing in response to a Letter to the Editor that appeared online in the Heights Observer on June 30 that questioned the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes’ invasive species management approaches.

We appreciate the author’s concerns and wish to clarify our position on the use of pesticides at the Nature Center.

To the Editor:       

As many readers know, the Oakwood Country Club property (60 acres in South Euclid and 90 acres in Cleveland Heights) is threatened with big-box development. On June 27, South Euclid City Council unanimously voted to rezone the South Euclid portion from residential to commercial use to accommodate development by Mitchell Schneider of First Interstate. 

To the Editor:

I have mixed feelings about the new curfew being imposed upon teenagers in the Coventry and Cedar Lee business districts. The homeowner/taxpayer/mother in me applauds Cleveland Height City Council for its quick response. But, I am also sad that the acts of a few will punish so many. I spent my highschool years in Westlake. This was pre-Crocker Park Westlake. There was no Coventry-like area, or any gathering spot, unless you counted the strip malls and fast food restaurants. It was boring, and we were fairly aimless on weekend nights, choosing to drive to Lakewood for entertainment. At least Coventry and Cedar Lee offer teens a destination. Unfortunately, things have gotten completely out of hand, and now no teen, regardless of his or her motives, will be able to enjoy an evening in either business district.

To the editor,

I've been walking around the area of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes for years, and I love it. It's disturbing to find out that they're spraying herbicides to kill the cattails. The first  chemical application was September 2010, with more spraying planned for this summer. I was assured links to fact sheets and spraying schedules would be posted.

To the Heights Observer:

Cleveland Heights celebrated its tradition of serving great food at the Taste of The Heights held on June 2nd! More than 200 guests at the Heights Youth Club on Lee Road savored delicious platefuls of food, sipped a beverage or glass of wine, and enjoyed wonderful entertainment provided by the club's kids.  

Twenty-one area restaurateurs gathered at the Heights Youth Club and provided a favorite dish, prepared by their chefs for the Taste of the Heights fundraiser. The Heights Youth Club Board of Directors wants to extend a special thank you to Jimmy O’Neill for orchestrating all of the participating restaurants.

For me the issues of McDonalds on Warrensville and Temple B'nai Torah on South Green are about three things: Just what is University Heights going to look like in 50 years? What do the residents affected by these projects think, and why can't the city make the developer address their concerns as individuals?

This letter to Joel Borwick, longtime owner of Seitz-Agin Hardware, was also provided to the Observer for publication.

Dear Joel:

Just a brief note to express thanks and admiration for all you have done for us in Cleveland Heights these many years. The guys you put together were a unique group, wise in the difficulties of wonderful old houses, always responsive, forthright, and well, just plain trustworthy!

Dear Editor,

Earlier this year, I offered an idea for a way to redevelop Oakwood for the common good. This letter offers some additional information on that idea. I wonder if the social, economic and environmental benefits that could come reusing Oakwood in a way that I suggested could outweigh any tax dollars that could come from using it for a combination shopping plaza and apartment complex.  

Editor:

The April 28 issue of the Sun Press newspaper features more than two full pages of “Support Your Local Business” advertising. By recently taking an editorial stand in favor of developing more national chain stores and grocery offerings as Oakwood Commons in South Euclid and Cleveland Heights, publishing these ad pages is the height of hypocrisy. 

An open letter to Mayor Edward J. Kelley; Vice Mayor Phyllis L. Evans, and Council Members Cheryl L. Stephens, Mark A. Tumeo, Dennis R. Wilcox, Bonita W. Caplan and Kenneth Montlack

Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council Members,

The purpose of this letter is to open a public discussion about how to encourage temporary rental occupants to stay as permanent, homeowning residents.

B’Nai Torah congregation has proposed a complex development project on a piece of property too small for the intended purpose. It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Leaders and members of the congregation will have a higher moral authority than me to answer to regarding their business dealings and character in the way they have gone about forcing their project on their University Heights neighbors. 

Mitch Schneider,president of First Interstate Properties and potential developer of the former Oakwood Club property, submitted a letter to the editor of the Heights Observer, which is addressed to FutureHeights board president Lloyd Bell. In the letter, he objects to the educational forum that FutureHeights is hosting and requests that the forum be postponed.

FutureHeights board president Lloyd Bell responds and explains why FutureHeights is holding the forum this Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at Forest Hill Church in Cleveland Heights.

Read the letters on the Heights Observer blogs.

Editor:

We share many concerns with opponents of the proposed Oakwood development plan. We also appreciate the need for local tax revenue that the proposed development may provide, and the opportunity to increase recreational park land in both Cleveland Heights and South Euclid. The decisions we make to develop this unique property will have long-term consequences in both communities and our East Side region. Therefore, we believe development of the former Oakwood Country Club property is an opportunity for regional cooperation and gain, rather than just what is best for Cleveland Heights or South Euclid.

Editor,

March Madness . . . nearly our entire country gets caught up in the year-ending NCAA Basketball Tournament. From office pools to the President's bracket, we Americans seem obsessed by this tournament. Locally, our neighborhood bars/restaurants that have "BIG TVs," really enjoy this time of year. This past weekend, people crowded into Panini's, McNulty's and The Winking Lizard to eat, drink and cheer on their favorite school(s). It was great to see the street packed with people from noon to late at night.

Editor:

First Interstate Properties’ request before the South Euclid’s Planning Commission to rezone the Oakwood Club property from residential to commercial big-box use directly conflicts with the South Euclid Comprehensive Plan 2000 and Update 2010.

The South Euclid Comprehensive Plan specifically states that if Oakwood were to become available for redevelopment it should not be rezoned to accommodate commercial development. Citing a “plethora of retail choices outside the City to meet the needs of residents” and specifically discouraging commercial expansion along the Warrensville Road corridor, the plan was written when the city knew the land was for sale. Despite this, planners in 2010 reconfirmed the policy of having Oakwood remain zoned for residential use.

Editor,

In the Observer article, "South Euclid to hold public meeting on Oakwood rezoning", one paragraph, apparently extracted from the McKenna report, caught my attention:

"McKenna Associates stated that the public opinion is important when considering rezoning and that the public appears to support the project, based on response to a mailing conducted by the developer. First Interstate sent 13,000 mailers to South Euclid and Cleveland Heights residents adjacent to the project site, asking them to mail in a postcard if they supported the project. 169 people responded positively, while only 19 people mailed in the postcard stating that they did not support the rezoning."

Editor:

Recently a number of articles have come out protesting the teardown of the James H. Foster residence in Ambler Heights.

I know the property because I lived in Ambler Heights, and pass it nearly every day. It is one of the largest mansions in the neighborhood of historic homes.

As property owners living within 200 feet of the Oakwood development, we would like to weigh in regarding the development of Oakwood Commons.

Obviously, we would love to have the entire Oakwood Country Club property turned over to parkland. However, we believe that is not a realistic option. The First Interstate deal, before the communities of South Euclid and Cleveland Heights, will turn over nearly half of the property to our communities as permanent green space. We believe that it is in the best interest of both cities to take the proposal because there is never going to be a
better deal on the table.

Editor:

There are many reasons the former Oakwood Club property should remain green space:

1. Development would affect Nine Mile Creek and the wildlife there. Flooding could be caused anywhere along its path to where it joins Euclid Creek.

Editor,

This letter presents an idea for a Center of Excellence along the "healthy-life/healthy-planet" continuum. It’s an idea that could better serve the common good—one that addresses pressing social, economic and environmental needs of the region. Just as important, it taps into the creativity of the community's leaders. Although conceptual in nature, it has enough substance to start a dialog.

First Interstate Properties wants to bring a group of discount retailers and chain restaurants to the portion of Oakwood Country Club it just purchased. Its plans depend on getting the land rezoned, but that effort may not work. Alternatively, other parties want all of the land maintained as green space. While that has merit, it ignores the importance of creating more jobs now.

Editor,

I was delighted to hear about the plans by First Interstate Properties to develop Oakwood Country Club, a site that I suspect most residents of Cleveland Heights have never set foot on, as it has historically been a private country club. I can appreciate the sentiment of many residents that this property should remain green space, but Cleveland Heights already has more parks than most inner-ring suburbs—Cain Park, Caledonia Park, Cumberland Park, Denison Park and Forest Hills Park, not to mention nearby Shaker Lakes.

Editor,

With regard to page 3 of December's edition, I just want to say that I, for one, am really happy to see the sharrows. Positioned "correctly" or not, the sharrows' best function is to simply remind motorists to share the road. The best road markings are the ones that actually create a real, two-lined lane for bicyclists, but our residential roads are too narrow for that. The sharrows are the next best thing and I think it's reducing the amount of horn honking because it's increasing awareness and respect. The bike coalition is doing a GREAT job!

David Fair

Hampshire Road

Cleveland Heights

Editor:

On Sept. 18, the mailman brought the mail to my gallery just like any other day. But, this time, something very special was delivered to me. It was a card from Kàrstin with $25 cash enclosed. There was no last name or return address.

Kàrstin’s message was as follows:

“Dear Abrash, 

Walking to Stone Oven Saturday morning I noticed that the pot outside your door was broken. Please accept this contribution toward another. I like having you in the neighborhood! 

Kàrstin”

Ten years. Can it possibly be? How did we make it through that dreadful night and the painful days, months and years that followed?

In the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001, my son Kyle Barden was one of five teenage boys driving home from a party. There was a collision. Miraculously Scott Greggor and Greg Uguccini survived. Greg lives with some injuries that are permanent. Brendon Brenner, Milton Carter II and Kyle, who were all members of the Cleveland Heights High School varsity hockey team, perished that morning, leaving behind mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, a niece and countless friends.

In a few years, when the smoke clears and all this economic turmoil is behind us, we will be left with the results of the decisions we are making right now.

Once Denison Pool is gone, it’s gone. Do we want to bulldoze the city’s newest pool, one of only two public pools in the city, and the one serving the part of the city with the most children and the most poor children?

Cuts have to be made somewhere, I accept that. But let’s look at all the recreation facilities that we have, in all parts of the city, and make the cuts equitably.

Today Cleveland Heights is less safe than it has been in years because city officials have slashed the city’s fire department by 10 percent.

The 69 firefighters and paramedics who remain since City Manager Bob Downey laid off three of them, and demoted two lieutenants, are struggling to respond to emergency calls. We have been forced to work overtime just to maintain minimum safe staffing levels.

Last November Cuyahoga County voters decided by a vote of 2-1 on a new form of county government.

It is admirable that the cyclists of Cleveland Heights wish to make Cleveland Heights more bicycle friendly.  I certainly hope that this includes informing the cyclists that traffic laws apply to them as well as automobile drivers.

I agree that Millikin should be put to use. But, I encourage the school board to think carefully about its decision, as it is a matter of money.

If Millikin is sold to Mosdos Ohr Hatorah School it will not bring in any tax dollars because the school is a nonprofit organization. 

From April 30 to May 5, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) hosted the International Bus and Paratransit Conference, where more than 1,000 attendees from throughout North America pumped more than $2 million into Cleveland’s economy. To borrow a baseball term, Cleveland hit a home run.

From April 30 to May 5, The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority hosted the International Bus and Paratransit Conference, where more than 1,000 attendees from throughout North America pumped more than $2 million into Cleveland’s economy.  To borrow a baseball term, Cleveland hit a home run.