Haunted Crib Time

It is truly hard to believe that it is time for Halloween and Eric’s Haunted Crib again. It seems like I just finished putting the decorations away from last year. This year marks the 11th year for Eric’s Haunted Crib. I have put a lot of work into the haunted crib this year, but I personally think things went really smooth. It seems like just yesterday I was starting to plan for the haunted crib and now here it is. Time sure does go fast doesn’t it?
I am excited about the big Halloween gathering this Saturday night. It is always fun to have all my family and friends come and visit and check out the haunted crib. It was truly a joy this year to have Ryan Haidet come and do a story on the haunted crib for AkronNewsNow.com. For years I have tried to get the Akron Beacon Journal to come and do a story, but they always seem busy and had other events to cover. So this year I thought I would contact Ryan and see if he was interested. Sure enough he was more than happy to come out and shoot some video and do a story. I was lucky enough to have my interview with Ryan run on three local radio stations in the Akron area also. I always felt like my haunted crib was a fun event and it deserved some media attention. I didn’t want the media attention to draw a bigger crowd to the event; I just wanted others to know what I was doing for my family and the neighborhood kids.
This weekend will be a busy one, but not as busy as some years. There have been years where I have had Eric’s Haunted Crib in Akron on Saturday and then have to move everything to Green for Sunday night. This year I get an entire week to get everything moved and setup in Green. It should be another great year as the tradition of Eric’s Haunted Crib continues.

Support Green School Levy this November

As Green voters head to the polls on November 2 they will have Issue 5 staring back at them. Issue 5 is a 6.71 mill levy that would raise $4.8 million per year for the schools. The levy comes as the Green Local School District tries to approve new funding which is something they have failed to approve for 11 years now. If the levy were to fail, the district would face a $3.8 million deficit in 2012. A failed levy would result in larger class sizes and the loss of as many as 75 teaching positions. Also students would be required to pay to play sports. Regardless of the cuts, a failed levy would not be a good thing for the school district.
It is extremely important that everyone gets out and supports this levy because our students deserve to have a good education. I have always stressed the fact that there would be no community if it wasn’t for the schools. The schools are a very important part of our community and you hate to see them have to make cuts because new funding cannot be approved. When you support a school levy you support more than just a school, you support an entire community. 
As voters head to the polls they will have to stop and think, do I really want to pay higher property taxes? That is going to be a tough question for many families to answer because of the poor economy. Voters must remember that every penny given to the schools is put to good use. There is no doubt in my mind that the schools are worth the extra money because they are building the future for our children.
The Green Local School District needs our help this November. Please get out and support Issue 5 because I would hate to see the district have to make more cuts. Green is such an excellent district that has many terrific teachers and staff members that are doing a lot of good for students.

ENDORSEMENT: Ted Strickland for Governor

When Ted Strickland was elected four years ago he pledged to turn Ohio around. Little did he know he would be governor during some of the toughest economic times. The truth is Strickland has made progress and is worthy of a second term. Strickland has worked hard on moving towards a constitutional way of funding public schools in Ohio. While Republican candidate John Kasich would do nothing but undo all the work Strickland has done for working to better fund the schools. This will only allow for the state to move backwards instead of forwards when it comes to education.
Strickland has also worked towards alternate forms of energy and worked towards bringing green jobs to the state. In Akron, Goodyear created 125 jobs and retained nearly 3,000 jobs with support from a Clean Ohio Grant thanks to Ted Strickland. Plus in Youngstown, V&M Star is building a new steel mill that is creating 400 construction jobs and 350 manufacturing jobs. It is a slow process but jobs are slowly being created and Governor Ted Strickland is on the right path.
As for John Kasich his plans for Ohio are not so bright. Keep in mind Kasich worked for Lehman Brothers and got a million dollar bonus right as the company was becoming bankrupt. He was making millions while people lost their jobs and homes. Many are still waiting to hear what Kasich can do for the state because he hasn’t announced many plans. All Kasich has done is bash Ted Strickland over and over. How about some ideas of your own Mr. Kasich?
We recommend you vote for Ted Strickland for the governor of Ohio. The choice is simple if you want the state to keep heading in the right direction. Or there is always John Kasich who plans to run Ohio like Wall Street and drive our education system into the ground. Keep Ohio a strong state by voting for Ted Strickland on November 2.

Green looks to jumpstart levy campaign

With less than a month left until the November election Green Local Schools must get the ball rolling on their levy campaign. Last year the district waited until October 15 to start passing out yard signs for the renewal levy that was on the ballot. Thankfully the renewal issue did pass despite the late start by the levy campaign. This November Green Local Schools is asking for the passage of an operating levy that would raise $4.8 million per year.
Now hopefully this year Green will do a better job of getting information out to the public about the levy. Up until Monday October 4th I hadn’t heard any information about the levy at all. At the September school board meeting they had stated that a levy would be on the ballot, but never got into the details. So on Monday I decided to see if I could find any information about the upcoming levy online. I went to the district website and there was nothing to be found. Next I decided to check out the Green Students for Green Schools Facebook Page. That page was helpful last November, so I figured I may find some information about the new levy. Sure enough there was a link to http://gson.greenforkids.org/ , which was loaded with information about the levy. It is great that the district has launched this site for the levy, but I shouldn’t have to go on Facebook to find the link. Information needs to be posted at the top of the district’s website where more people will see it.
The fact that Green hasn’t approved new funding in 11 years is a clear sign that this new levy is going to be a tough one to pass. The tough economy is also going to play a big role in the way people vote this November. This levy would raise your property taxes slightly if it was approved. It is important that the levy campaign gets the word out about the levy before it is too late.