| Columns |
 | Going back to school isn't easy
08/25/2010
Now that children are heading back to school, I thought it would be helpful to point the way for newcomers in our area who may not yet know exactly where to go.
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 | Fruit of sturdy tree ready for new roots
08/25/2010
One beautiful August morning, the fruit of a large, long-standing tree considered aloud that perhaps it was her time to disembark from the tree and go out on her own.
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| | Thrills of victory will be lost in time
08/25/2010
Sam is at that perfect grandson age -- just going into second grade. The world is still all shiny and new, but he's old enough to beat me at Marco Polo, put together a jigsaw puzzle in a flash and share favorite poems.
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| Property rights are tough issue
08/18/2010
"What is it that people in this country don't understand about the Constitution of the United States of America?"
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| Going back to school mighty hard on wallet
08/18/2010
"Ooooo! I like the lime green one and the neon pink. Which one do you like?" one of my daughters asked her twin sister.
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| High rollers shake down public
08/11/2010
Judge H.F. Inderlied, who presided over the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas for 23 years, retired in 2004. Like many government retirees, he's still working for the public.
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| Anniversary plus one makes it even better
08/11/2010
Yesterday, my husband, John ,and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Some of you may want to send congratulation cards, others sympathy notes.
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 | Recipes, old or new, stir tasty adventures
08/11/2010
Perhaps the question asked most in homes across the world as evening approaches in high rises, bungalows and mansions alike, is, "What's for dinner?" Answering the question can bring anxiety, remorse, conflict and guilt as often as joy, love and hope.
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| Facts revealed on old gunfight
08/05/2010
The latest procedure boldly announced by Ohio's largest newspaper to expose political mendacity opened with an examination of an often-quoted remark supposedly made by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lee I. Fisher about gun control.
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 | Great idea doomed from start
08/05/2010
One of the best ideas ever investigated by the powers that be in our town went no place fast, and you have to wonder if it wasn't doomed from the start. I think it was premeditated murder
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| Last ride in old car comes to halting end
08/05/2010
Earlier this year, we traded in our family car for a new one. The decision wasn't mine. I liked the old car, not just because it was reliable but because it was paid for. John, on the other hand, would buy a brand new car every week if he could afford it.
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| Payroll taxes going everywhere
07/28/2010
There's been a lot of talk lately about income taxes.
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| Independence isn't only question
07/28/2010
Now we have gone and done it -- riled a reader to the point of him or her lodging breathless accusations of wrongdoing by our village leaders.
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| Shopping excursion is exercise in inclemency
07/28/2010
Oh, how I long for the days when I was 10 years old, and the only things I needed to carry with me were a big fat comb that fit in my back pocket and my Orange Crush-flavored lip gloss that fit perfectly into my left front pocket.
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| Stressful job can cause mistakes
07/21/2010
Often lost in the fog when police are accused of abuse and excessive force is the stress that officers face in protecting the public and apprehending criminals.
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| Like elephant, mom didn't forget
07/21/2010
Parents feel all kinds of things when it comes to their children. Love, of course, and pride. There is joy and even terror. But the most unwanted feeling of all has got to be guilt.
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| | If simple words fail, book learning works
07/21/2010
I have found that what is lost in translation is often gained in anticipation. Meaning that most people anticipate a certain response before they even ask a question, and they only hear what they want to hear.
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| And now for some consequence
07/14/2010
It's been a week since the sky was supposed to fall on Cleveland, but our championship-deprived city hasn't even fallen into our Great Lake. If the vast majority of actual scientists are right about global warming or if the drill babies keep throwing caut
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| For seniors, moment has come
07/14/2010
Have you noticed? Old is becoming fashionable, again and those of us who have reached that golden pinnacle are crediting Betty White for our new glamorous profile.
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| | Sheepherding scheme ends in wink of eye
07/14/2010
There will be no Sullivan sheep. As you can imagine, this has been quite a disappointment, but you can't have sheep without a shepherd, and, as we recently learned, our beloved Rosie has "no work ethic whatsoever." Here's how it all went down.
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 | 'Foreigner' still brings laughter
07/07/2010
Larry Shue's "The Foreigner," arguably one of the most foolproof comedies ever, is creating side-splitting laughter at the Porthouse Theatre these summer nights.
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| Hostage story deserves scrutiny
07/07/2010
The bizarre case involving David Carrasquillo, 48, of South Euclid, who was arrested and jailed following a 10-hour standoff with police June 12, when a Moreland Hills woman was held hostage in a Beachwood office building, has been tough to follow.
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| Hope not 'Lost' for good drama
07/07/2010
In her recent column, Timy Sullivan did a great job reviewing the sad state of television comedy today. We do not disagree and would second that for TV drama. It's not much better.
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| | Family activity is ripe for blueberry picking
07/07/2010
Two miles from our house, there is a blueberry farm. Eleven months of the year, it appears dormant but remains charming and quaint, with its red-roofed barns, crops in neat rows, surrounding forests and a weathered country road winding past.
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| Illegal immigrants get free pass
06/30/2010
Dear County Line: I fully support the governor of Arizona and her state's new law to help stop the invasion of our country by illegal aliens.
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| Police station is up against wall
06/30/2010
The folks charged with selling a new police station to Chagrin Falls voters are becoming their own worst enemy.
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 | Family gets its kicks with goal over rooftop
06/30/2010
Our family once had a special game. We live in a two-story century home and had built a garage and office onto it. Our kids had a jungle gym in the back yard, and, after office hours, we used the parking lot for bicycles, skateboards and go-carts.
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| 'Sweeney Todd' still cut below entertaining
06/23/2010
When "Sweeney Todd" opened on Broadway some 30 years ago, audiences flocked to hear what kind of music Stephen Sondheim could put to the story of "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Hugh Wheeler's book created nearly as much interest. The publicity was ov
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| NIMBYs now tilting at windmills
06/23/2010
We can add wind turbines to the NIMBY list. "Not in my back yard" now is the rallying cry for residents in the area of Lindsay and Jennifer lanes off Munn Road in Auburn Township. Owners of the nearby 20-acre Wind in the Woods horse farm are planning a 12
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 | Lazy summer days last longer
06/23/2010
Before you know it, we will be asking each other, "Where did this summer go?" It's the season of the year that seems to travel at light speed. So how do we make it last? How do we put summer on slow-mo?
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| 'Joseph' prevails over craziness
06/16/2010
The 40-year-old "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" has played just about everywhere by now.
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| Presumption of innocence foiled
06/16/2010
In speaking with the mother of young man whose name had been included in one of our recent police reports, we had a conversation that I've had dozens of times over the years.
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| Tim Conway still hometown boy
06/16/2010
A wise man once said, "Never meet someone you admire, because they will always disappoint." That is never the case with Tim Conway.
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| | Floating on water is better than underwater
06/16/2010
Try it; you might not like it. For several years I'd been white-water rafting with my kids or friends. Starting on "easy" rivers, we gradually progressed to more difficult ones with huge rapids.
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| There will be more disasters
06/09/2010
As gushing oil continues its assault on the environment and economy in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding states after British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and killed 11 workers on April 20, the cozy relationship between the industry and g
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| Now, fingers just do stumbling
06/09/2010
Do you remember the days when we got just one telephone book? White pages in the front and yellow pages in the back.
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| | Hope for clear water fades but doesn't sink
06/09/2010
At the end of the summer of 2008, my kids and I began to envision a pool in our back yard.
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| Hi-jinks run wild in busted bust
06/02/2010
The recent episode involving the scuttled Highway Patrol sting at the Ohio Governor's Residence in suburban Columbus deserves a segment on the Comedy Channel. It involved an entertaining cast of characters, even though they appeared to hold their pants up
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| Beatlemania missed Blossom beat
06/02/2010
It's random tidbit time. Let's begin with the sad but true. Beatlemania was not on the bill under the Blossom Time big-top tent last weekend. To find out why, we called "the voice of Chagrin," aka John Kline.
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| Language no barrier to fun game of tennis
06/02/2010
People who are good in a particular sport, who know all the rules, have proper clothes and excellent equipment can't imagine how much fun you can have without all that refinement.
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| Rental controls are tough call
05/27/2010
The City of Solon, like many municipalities, has an ordinance that prohibits multifamily occupancy in single-family residences, but it appears to be virtually unenforceable.
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| Restore decorum to observance
05/27/2010
"Well, what do you intend to do about Memorial Day?" Miss Demeanor screamed into the phone. Miss D, you may recall, is my devil's advocate and sometimes one of my better angels. Not this day, however.
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| | Human mind boggled by mysteries of time
05/26/2010
Time marches on. But as anyone who has seen the Best Damn Band in the Land create its complicated script formations knows, marching is not always done in a straight line.
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| Home of searched, land of seized
05/20/2010
Maybe there's more to the story than is being told in the lawsuit recently filed against the Chardon Board of Education and School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II. But based on what a Hambden Township mother claims in the suit she filed on behalf of her
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| Column off the cuff, on the run
05/20/2010
So here I sit in front of my computer monitor, watching the cursor mock me. My fingers are posed over the keys, but nothing is coming. In short, I am having trouble coming up with a column for this week. What to do, what to do?
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| New gripe will cure health-care brouhaha
05/20/2010
Now that the brouhaha over the health-care bill seems to be simmering down, and everybody has criticized it one way or another, here is what I think about it.
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| GOP sipping tea is no guarantee
05/12/2010
According to corporate media reports following the May 4 primary elections, traditional Ohio Republican Party candidates prevailed against upstart challenges from darlings of the reactionary wing known as the Tea Party. But that's not entirely true.
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| Village is buzzing with business
05/12/2010
Grab your hat, and let's take a walk. No need for the sensible shoes, because this is a virtual walk. We are going to find out how downtown Chagrin Falls fared after this winter of discontent.
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| | Old Italian card game spreading with ease
05/12/2010
I once had a million-dollar idea that didn't earn me one red cent.
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| Ohio's Gen. Grant under attack
05/06/2010
Folks down in Clermont and Brown counties, near Cincinnati, have gotten themselves all atwitter over a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to put the face of former President Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill.
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| Ideology hopes for invisibility
05/06/2010
By most standards, we live in pretty affluent communities in the Chagrin Valley, and so we have this bubble philosophy that tells us, "Nothing bad ever happens here."
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| Blooming wildflowers are pretty as picture
05/06/2010
Little wildflowers have so much delicate beauty.
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| Mystery enshrouds Orange deal
04/29/2010
Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
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| Left and right brain see the light
04/29/2010
As a rule, artists and business people operate in different worlds, but they doesn't mean they can't bee great allies. Case in point is how they might work together in securing Chagrin Falls' future as the place for all things cultural.
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| | Worst part surely is to get ready, set, go!
04/29/2010
In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Harry and Professor Dumbledore find themselves in a tiny boat crossing an eerie lake inside a dark cave. At the center of the lake is a basin full of green potion.
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| Flame throwers lose anonymity
04/21/2010
It was bound to hit the fan eventually. And what better fanners of anonymous flame throwing than Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and the Cleveland newspaper that cavorts with incendiary online ranters.
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| Old standby makes new friend
04/21/2010
Confession. In the 43 years I lived in Chagrin Falls, I had never joined "the Rec" -- aka the Chagrin Valley Recreation Center -- the epicenter of all summer fun in our town and beyond.
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| Living to 130 or more could have downsides
04/21/2010
Live to be 200 years? It might not be all rosy bliss.
My friend Joan was bubbling over. "You know what I heard on TV yesterday?
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| Socialism flies, drives and bikes
04/14/2010
"Listen, you lily-livered liberal, I'm getting ready to board a flight to Costa Rica, so I don't have time for chitchat. But even you have to admit that the so-called 'stimulus' money that's being thrown around by the Democrats in Washington is getting
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| New political movement gets going
04/14/2010
Are you looking for a political home but find the Democratic Party too liberal, the Republicans too conservative, the independents too wishy-washy and the Tea Partyers just too darned scary?
Geauga County resident Roy Nichols says he has the answer for p
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| Parents shortchanged on their sleep quotient
04/14/2010
I tend to spend a lot of days fighting yawns, with eyes begging to be closed and a mind a little foggier than I'd like. No one in our house gets enough sleep due to the simple fact that we choose to keep our schedules full. Sleep patterns tend to change i
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| Petitioners try again in Orange
04/07/2010
Democracy is alive and well in Orange Village -- sort of -- just like it was in the past. Once again, the citizens have circulated a referendum petition in an attempt to overturn action taken by their elected representatives.
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| Bullying problem won't walk away
04/07/2010
You may have read a recent police brief which reported a fight between two teen boys as a crowd of Chagrin Falls Middle School students watched.
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| Snowflakes and stars swim over night sky
04/07/2010
It was our first winter vacation out West. Jeff was then about 9, and my husband, Tom, although he didn't ski, came along. Because it was late in the season, we went to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Ore., where they have snow until July. The brochure ha
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| Having fun is often hazardous
03/31/2010
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| Police station on deck -- or not
03/31/2010
A thus-far anonymous Chagrin Falls citizens group began sending angry e-mail alerts to area media last week, the object of their ire being Village Council's plan t
A thus-far anonymous Chagrin Falls citizens group began sending angry e-mail alerts to a
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| | Easy come, easy go for second-hand stuff
03/31/2010
Some people seem to go through life with "kick me" signs on their backs.
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| Miserable criteria full of bugs
03/24/2010
Soon after the Forbes business publication ranked Cleveland as America's most miserable city, I did what any sane miserable person would do. I got out of town.
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| There's something fishy going on
03/24/2010
Some ideas are better than others, and the very worst end up on the list of Darwin Award winners. Then there are ideas that are not good or bad. Let's just call them questionable.
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| | Cool things happen on cold day at beach
03/24/2010
One year when Chuck had spring break, no school, he came early in the morning. He was 12.
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| Kent State history lost in time
03/17/2010
Sandra Scheuer, William Schroeder, Jeffrey Miller and Allison Krause are history.
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| Health-care irony is contagious
03/17/2010
Don't you just love irony. Take, for example, the current debate over health-care-insurance reform.
Today, March 18, is the deadline set for Congress to deliver a health-reform bill to President Barack Obama. It is also the day Chagrin Falls officials we
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| Time comes to tell it like it is
03/11/2010
My mother told me it would happen, but I didn't believe her. She said there is a trade-off for the indignities of old age, and it is the ability to say exactly what you think with no holds barred.
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| Communist invaders taking over
03/11/2010
As a capitalist who believes in my fellow American workers -- what there are left of them -- I try not to support Communist China.
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| Cash goes fast without rail line
03/03/2010
On a recent trip to Columbus, I had occasion to ponder the $400 million federal stimulus that President Barack Obama is sending Ohio's way to launch "high-speed" passenger rail service connecting our state's three largest cities.
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| Literacy doesn't cause stupidity
03/03/2010
As species go, we humans must be stuck on stupid. Why do I say that? Have you read the directives that go along with just about everything we do or use?
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| | Life marches along as parades left behind
03/03/2010
Every Friday for seven years, my daughter Katie attended practice as a member of the Kenston Sparklette junior drill team, a group that performs dance routines while marching in area parades.
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| Valley gets gerrymandered again
02/25/2010
People who live on the Cuyahoga County side of the Chagrin Valley are no strangers to gerrymandering.
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| Dogged fashion sense is off track
02/25/2010
The gods of serendipity smiled last week when they picked up their New York Times and read that Fashion Week and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show were being held at the same time.
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| Unusual passengers turn into easy riders
02/25/2010
On a snowy day, Mr. Williams (the name has been changed) was in our office for his regular eye checkup.
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| Tea Party bags discontentment
02/17/2010
Dear County Line: The Chardon Board of Education has driven me to join the Tea Party, which is opposed to the government continually raising taxes, which are getting out of hand.
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| Restore Downtown's good name
02/17/2010
The fallout from Your Home Town -- Chagrin Falls' firing of its hardworking director, Nancy Haag, has begun, judging by the communications we have received on the subject.
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| Mother's law applies to supply and demand
02/17/2010
Because of the recent economic disaster, which occurred in part because so many people spent more than they made for years on end, some educational organizations are pushing for schools to teach "personal finance" to students.
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| Religious freedom under attack
02/10/2010
Scores of students and community members in the Lake Local School District of Stark County have been wearing T-shirts that proclaim, "We value a belief in God." Their right to bear that message is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, even
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| Your Home Town less welcoming
02/10/2010
On Feb. 1, after years of working her heart out for Chagrin Falls' Main Street cum Downtown cum Your Home Town organization, Nancy Haag was fired from her job as its director.
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| Happiness from past fleeting for old woman
02/10/2010
By now, I'm a really old woman, stooped from severe arthritis of the spine, often in pain.
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| Heavy reporting exposes 'Light'
02/03/2010
On most days, if you're into anonymity and the fakery that frequently accompanies it, you can open up Cleveland's daily newspaper to Page 2 and get a dose of letters penned by unnamed originators.
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| Streetlights in eye of beholder
02/03/2010
Pet Peeve Number ... Oh, heck, there have been so many over the years, and since they are never ending, why start numbering them now? Just add streetlights to the list. Or, more to the point, lack of streetlights.
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| Valentine's Day event set for fantastic finish
02/03/2010
The world holds many mysterious questions -- the answers to which we may never know. Like why do we get stopped by every red light when we are frantically trying to get to a late appointment, yet they remain green for hours on end when we are trying to ki
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| Good senator faces term limit
01/28/2010
State Sen. Timothy Grendell, R-Chester, whose district includes Geauga and Lake counties, along with the northeast corner of Cuyahoga County, is a man who stands up for his people.
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| True patriotism is close to home
01/28/2010
Patriotism. We think we know what it's all about, right? After all, we are Americans. There is a new patriotism you may have hard about, and we're all eligible to enlist, even if we have flat feet.
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 | Turkey-pot resolution is worth one whisper
01/28/2010
It took nearly 2,000 years to build the Great Wall of China and over 30 years to build a single pyramid. Yet it only took my husband, John, 59 days to wash the greasy, dirty Thanksgiving Day deep-fryer turkey pot.
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| Politics great fun for spectator
01/21/2010
I'm a politics junkie. Some people are hooked on spectator sports. I can't get enough of watching local politics, and, lately, I've had plenty to cheer and jeer about.
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| 'Chagrin Falls' tribute inspiring
01/21/2010
Elected officials and local politicians are used to citizens attending meetings to yell at them or ask for something unreasonable. In short, there are more brickbats than bouquets in public service, but once in a while, someone does deliver flowers.
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| Thank-you notes are words, so much more
01/21/2010
My kids think I am the most outdated person in the world.
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| Schools shuffled without full deck
01/13/2010
The bold "transformation plan" announced by Cleveland schools Chief Executive Eugene Sanders last week for the city's beleaguered school system was hailed as being on the leading edge of educational reform.
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| Wear boots for sidewalk solution
01/13/2010
"Hi, it's me," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "We have a problem, and I have the answer."
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| Dead Christmas tree entitled to last laugh
01/13/2010
This is the week of Christmas-tree death. Families throughout Northeast Ohio are finally putting away their Christmas decorations and dragging their beloved Christmas trees to the curb to be picked up by the garbage man or city services.
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| Entitlement isn't for everybody
01/07/2010
"Hey, numskull, I know what the problem is with the depressed real-estate market, and we have to do something about it real fast."
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| Truce broken in canine kingdom
01/07/2010
It all began 18 months ago while perusing the online animal-rescue sites -- a practice I have now forbidden myself to do, lest I end up one of those old ladies they find dead, her legs eaten half off by her dogs.
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| Battle of turkey pot starts war of attrition
01/07/2010
Any marriage counselor will tell you that the first rule to a successful marriage is to pick your battles.
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| County Line Awards strike again
12/30/2009
Happy New Year! It's time for the 20th annual County Line Awards, recognizing those who make life interesting in the Chagrin Valley and beyond, whether they know it or not.
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| New year should go beyond self
12/30/2009
There is something about a new calendar that makes us think of fresh starts, new beginnings and goals for another year.
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| Early risers treated to incredible scenery
12/30/2009
I have to admit that I'm usually still asleep when the sun comes up. If it's a drizzly, foggy day in winter or humid and hazy in summer, I didn't miss much. Nevertheless, if I did get up early, I could often observe nature's unique beauty.
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| Hunting Valley secrecy unbound
12/23/2009
Contrary to common belief, the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote in federal, state and local elections by secret ballot.
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| Wrap these up for fantastic gifts
12/23/2009
Have you been naughty or nice this year? Assuming it's the latter -- and when you snuggle down for your long winter's nap tonight -- what is it you would like Santa Claus to set down under your tree?
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| Giving on Christmas is for goodness sake
12/23/2009
While I do miss celebrating Christmas through the eyes of my children when they were very young, there are a few advantages to celebrating with teenagers.
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| Guilt is for courts to determine
12/16/2009
In America, citizens are considered innocent of crimes unless and until they are found guilty in a court of law. But there are those who don't believe in such constitutional rights -- including some who really should know better.
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| There's no denying good TV fare
12/16/2009
They have been around from the beginning. The television snobs. You know them.
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| Payback time arrives with explosion of gifts
12/16/2009
This Christmas it's payback time.
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| Offensive cartoon made its point
12/09/2009
It's somewhat unusual for one newspaper to assail another one for exercising freedom of the press. But that's what the metropolitan daily did last week in piling condemnation on the weekly Call & Post, which primarily serves the city's black community.
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| Guilty pleasures found in blotter
12/09/2009
The definition of a "guilty pleasure" is enjoying something in private you would never admit in public.
Say you are an intellectual who is conversant on the subject of great world philosophies.
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| Christmas-tree hunt knows no boundaries
12/09/2009
I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened.
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| Voters smarter than naysayers
12/02/2009
Dear County Line: I'd say that the intelligent voters of Chester and Russell showed you how dumb your favorable reporting on West Geauga School Board member Michael Kilroy -- and especially your opinion column attempting to enhance his credibility -- re
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| Breathe easier through ingenuity
12/02/2009
We Americans are a pretty inventive lot; thus the phrase "American ingenuity." But we don't have a perfect batting average. Wouldn't you agree, not every idea is a winner.
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| Cool country welcome chills ex-city slickers
12/02/2009
For us ex-city slickers, living in the country was full of surprises. We had moved from Cleveland to Geauga County early one summer.
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| Therorist postulates conspiracy
11/25/2009
As conspiracy theories go, the one about a back-room deal to boot Burton Village Councilman Craig Ronyak out of office because of his illicit "Re-elect Ronyak" campaign signs is more silliness than surreptitiousness.
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| Gratitude is for family together
11/25/2009
Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Did you survive the annual turkey-induced coma and all those football games? Good. We did too. Thanks for asking.
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| Leaky issue sinks Chardon pair
11/18/2009
Political fortunes are subject to change, which certainly was evident to Chardon City Council members Mary M. Bramstedt and Jefferey J. Campbell Jr. on the recent Election Day.
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| Column suggestions just fall short
11/18/2009
Over the years, you folks have been kind enough to offer suggestions about what would be good subject for extrapolation in this space.
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| Independence can take break for dependability
11/18/2009
There is little else that Americans fight more fiercely for than our independence.
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| | Chagrin's clueless minority wins
11/12/2009
Various reasons could be explored as to why the majority of Chagrin Falls voters agreed on last week's ballot to provide operating funds for a new village police station that the majority declined to build.
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| | Waiting room means exactly what it says
11/12/2009
Perhaps the problem is in the name: Waiting Room. Perhaps if we called it the "You're Next" room or the "We'll be Right With You" room, things would be better. But, as things stand now, there is entirely too much waiting happening in the waiting rooms of
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| | Start over to plan police station
11/12/2009
It would be a mistake to blame a bad economy as the only reason voters said no to the bond issue for a new Chagrin Falls police station.
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| School-levy opposition is news
11/04/2009
Some hackles were raised by our decision two weeks ago to run as the lead story in our Chagrin Valley and Geauga County papers the opposition by one West Geauga School Board member to renewal of the district's "emergency" operating levy on Tuesday's ballo
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| Fakery, gossip turning into news
11/04/2009
What is news and what is not used to be simple enough to define. Reporters and editors lived by such quaint and literal phrases as, "If it bleeds, it leads." It's not that easy anymore.
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| | Strolls on cul-de-sac are real eye-openers
11/04/2009
We live on the corner of a minor thoroughfare and a little side street, which is exactly half a mile long, a cul-de-sac and has about 15 homes. All the houses are set back from the road some 250 feet.
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| Dissent shouldn't be discouraged
10/29/2009
Racism really hurts. As a white person, I cannot tell you how much, because it is people of other colors who almost always suffer its consequences. But I can tell you, as an editor, that "racism," as in referring to actions by white people in a newspaper
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| Horror flicks have strange effect
10/29/2009
Do you love going to the movies? Me too. There is a particular kind of movie that can make me drop everything and head over to the Chagrin Cinemas. Horror flicks. Not all of them. They have to be special.
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| Halloween frights got nothing on teen years
10/29/2009
A neighbor up the street has a great sign in her Halloween decorations that is appropriate all year long. It says, "You can't scare me -- I have teenagers."
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| Turnpike E-Z Pass isn't easy
10/21/2009
The new electronic E-Z Pass tolling system began on the Ohio Turnpike this month with great fanfare and long lines at the toll plazas. Knowing that this technological wonder soon would be arriving in Ohio, I decided to get a jump on my fellow Buckeyes in
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| What if Rush moved to valley?
10/21/2009
The pity parties going on over Rush Limbaugh being denied membership in the good old boys club known as the NFL owners, is mystifying.
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| Marriage offers gift that keeps on giving
10/21/2009
Last week, I could feel the beginning of a sinus cold coming on, so I treated myself to an extra long hot shower in an effort to beat the tension out of my shoulders and the snot out of my nose.
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| Allegations aren't always news
10/14/2009
Journalists sometimes are confronted with the question of whether something is newsworthy just because politicians or other publications say it is. That was the case with recent allegations that former Solon Mayor Robert A. Paulson, who is seeking to rega
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| Thumbs down to text messaging
10/14/2009
Remember the good old days when we complained about rude cell-phone users? There must be more cell towers around, or the phones are better, because you don't hear as much shouting out of personal business as before.
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| For easily annoyed, 'whatever' is answer
10/14/2009
You know, like I kinda agree, but I think that like, there are other words that are like, kinda more annoying.
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| States' rights may be unhealthy
10/08/2009
State Sen. Timothy Grendell, R-Chester, has won passage of an Ohio Senate resolution to slap the meddling federal government silly.
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| Hometown heroes do it their way
10/08/2009
Call it a labor of love. because that is exactly what it is.
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| Trip into future goes downhill by lunchtime
10/08/2009
I've seen the future, and it's not pretty. Although my husband, John, is years away from retiring, this weekend I got a taste of what it might be like to have him around. All the time.
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| Gambling laws confuse issues
10/01/2009
I've read various reports and analyses of the latest casino issue heading for the Ohio ballot and the on-again-off-again scheme to install slot machines in the state's seven horse-racing tracks. But I'm still confused.
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| Signs of intolerance get outed
10/01/2009
Promise, this is the last time we will mention it. But over the past few weeks, so many people have asked that it would be unfair to ignore the concern out there.
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| | Las Vegas visit was one big losing streak
10/01/2009
On a recent five-day trip to Las Vegas, my husband and I had this much fun: none. We were there on business, and neither of us enjoys gambling or wanted to see a show. Even so, we did find quite a few ways to avoid anything pleasant.
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| Name new park for what it is
09/23/2009
A group of volunteers has been raising money and formulating plans for eight years now for the Geauga County Veterans Memorial on county-owned land in Claridon Township.
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| Incendiary rhetoric needs rebuttal
09/23/2009
So you don't like being called a racist. Bet the president of the United States doesn't like exposing his wife and daughters to racism either.
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| World record in sight with world's best job
09/23/2009
In this economy, most people are happy just to have a job. But if you could pick the perfect job, what would it be?
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| Opting out is educational lesson
09/16/2009
Dear County Line: Back in 1969 when I was in summer school, our teacher brought in a TV set and made us students watch as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin supposedly walked on the moon.
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| Everybody can beat their drums
09/16/2009
You say you are disappointed with your schools, because they caved to a handful of deluded parents whose pre-existing condition is ignorance and who are now so empowered they are getting ready to take over the libraries?
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| Stupid-husband trick will go up in flames
09/16/2009
Throughout the years, I've written a lot of stories about the crazy things my husband says and does. In fact, many of his friends beg me to write "stupid John" stories. Not because they look forward to my weekly column, but so they can show the column to
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| County reform built on distrust
09/10/2009
When political leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties agree on something, they must be right. Right? Well, those who lead the two parties in Cuyahoga County evidently agree that the voters are incompetent.
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| Schools bow to panicked reaction
09/10/2009
Statement from Chagrin Falls schools:
"On Tuesday, Sept. 8, President Obama is addressing the nation's schoolchildren at 12 noon to talk about the importance of hard work and taking responsibility for their own success in school. The White House had indi
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| Post-birthday gift is sure to get good use
09/10/2009
"I bought you girls a new, fancy and very expensive present today," I told my three daughters when they returned home from school.
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| Meaning of freedom put to test
09/03/2009
One thing that the great majority of Americans can agree on about our close neighbor Cuba is that freedom is not a hallmark of its communist dictator, Fidel Castro. But we seem to have trouble agreeing on what freedom means in America.
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| There's more story between lines
09/03/2009
If you enjoy reading between the lines, then good old-fashioned, hand-held newspapers are your answer.
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| Meals are grand with loving ingredient
09/03/2009
"Nonee doesn't use spaghetti sauce in a jar," said one of my twin daughters as she watched me make lasagna for dinner later that night. "She makes her own baloney sauce."
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| Deadening silence is deafening
08/27/2009
Three would-be killers remain at large in the Chagrin Valley. Their identities are known to some of our fellow citizens, but, for Godforsaken reasons, they have chosen to condone behavior that deliberately endangers innocent lives.
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| Naked meters are less indecent
08/27/2009
We have always admired Cleveland Heights for a number of reasons. Its lovely old homes, diverse population, political activism, its Bohemian beat, hip street scene and proximity to the big city.
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| Honesty is last resort if Sweet, Kind falter
08/27/2009
Most of my shopping excursions can be filed under "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." And definitely not in that order.
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| Best medical care is left to fate
08/19/2009
When my father, Charles Lange, retired in the early 1980s, he was fortunate to have excellent health insurance -- thanks to the United Auto Workers but not to the political forces that have been working to undermine labor unions since that time.
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| Some parents flunk Safety Town
08/19/2009
May I suggest that next summer the Chagrin Falls Police Department require all parents to take the classes too.
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| Darn it anyway, life is so full of surprises
08/19/2009
Just call me the Travel Queen. That's right, most of my summer has been spent exploring exotic locations. In fact, within three weeks, I managed to go through Lebanon, London and even East Liverpool.
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| Newspapers are own enemies
08/13/2009
The practice known as "rip and read" is as old as radio news itself. In fact, there never would have been much radio news to speak of, if broadcast "news" people hadn't been able to rip off most of their reports from local newspapers.
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| Only one ingredient is missing
08/13/2009
I am in love. Never thought it would happen at my age. I had been hurt before, disappointed, embarrassed and frustrated too often, but here I am in love again with the city of my birth.
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| Knowing neighbors is wiser than break-in
08/13/2009
Last week, one of my dear friends, who was the neighbor directly across from our home, moved to Atlanta. This week, our immediate next-door neighbors put a for-sale sign in their front yard.
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| Leakers, squealers have price
08/06/2009
Dear County Line: I have a suggestion for the free spenders on Chardon City Council who are wasting $15,000 of taxpayers' money for a senseless investigation into a purported leak of so-called privileged information.
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| Too many choices stifle progress
08/06/2009
The full-page ad in the big-city newspaper hit me right in a sore spot. It showed a man standing before several TVs with a headline that blared, "It's good to have choices." No, it's not.
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| Cost-saving supervisor gets ax
07/29/2009
My friend Allan Paradise, of Auburn, is out of work again. His position is being eliminated in the wake of a scathing state auditor's report that said the Warrensville Heights School District spends too much money.
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| Growing old is laughing matter
07/29/2009
Was contemplating a new ache in my leg and watching floaters dance across my field of vision, accompanied by a symphony of tinnitus-inspired trills and buzzes, when it occurred to me that my parents were right.
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| | Swans' grace, beauty belie nastier nature
07/29/2009
Oh, the graceful beauty of swans. When both our kids were teenagers, one summer we went for a week to Michigan, to the northwestern area of the lower peninsula.
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| Stimulus package hard at work
07/22/2009
I haven't received one thin dime from the federal stimulus package, but I'm stimulated. It must be working -- the federal stimulus, that is. It's supposed to put Americans to work, reinvigorate production and get the economy back on track.
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| Diversity has been long in coming
07/22/2009
I was talking to a woman from Cleveland Magazine the other day, and she congratulated Chagrin Falls on rising higher on its list of best suburbs.
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| Cool cats at college take on new meaning
07/22/2009
Youth is wasted on the young.
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| Free speech supersedes zoning
07/15/2009
Let me see, freedom of speech or enforcement of zoning rules? What would George Mason and the other founding fathers who insisted on including the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution do? More to the point, what would Burton Township Trustees Louis Muc
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| Living in Chagrin Falls, oh, my!
07/15/2009
Bet this has happened to you. You are in a room with strangers or at a party among people you have just met. Someone breaks the ice by asking, "So where do you live?"
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| Not just temperatures rising in summertime
07/15/2009
As I made summer plans for my family earlier in the year, I was determined that this would be the "slow-down dummer."
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| Crusade for reform is diversion
07/09/2009
Even though the mail that arrives at my office and my house is addressed to Chagrin Falls, I don't work or live in Cuyahoga County. Chagrin Falls is wholly within Cuyahoga County. South Russell and Bainbridge are in Geauga County.
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| Police station needs more cutting
07/09/2009
Elsewhere in this edition is a story about Chagrin Falls Village Council's pending decision on whether to put the police station bond issue back on the ballot in November.
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| Smells of yesterday worth one more sniff
07/09/2009
The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.
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| Politics can go beyond residency
07/02/2009
State Sen. Timothy Grendell, R-Chester, might have a split personality. On one side, he has been an outspoken critic of Ohio House Bill 278, the state law passed in 2006 to gut the home-rule authority of communities to regulate gas and oil wells.
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| Here's the beef, and it's not pretty
07/02/2009
There are things in life we can control, and then there are those that we cannot. It's the cannots that will drive you batty. Here are a few, along with a couple of solutions, observations and theories.
RELENTLESS MEDIA WHORES: Jon and Kate. Need I say m
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| If old house is hot, cool overrules charm
07/02/2009
People who own old homes, and, by old, I mean well over 100 years, are just plain stupid. I should know. I'm one of them.
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| This time, secrecy has reason
06/24/2009
Like the boy who cried wolf, City of Chardon officialdom again is beside itself over a mole who has betrayed its sanctum of executive sessions.
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| Early risers may be big talkers
06/24/2009
They say all politics is local. I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that people representing the main political persuasions are either conservatives or liberals.
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| Summer break goes from freezer to roof
06/24/2009
Wow! I can't believe school has already been out for two weeks. I guess time really does fly when you're the mother of four and heavily medicated.
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| Pork could come with terrorists
06/17/2009
The telephone rang me out of a dreamless sleep in the dead of a misty spring night, and my hunch was right. "Hollow Larynx," the self-deluded authoritative source with connections to a high-ranking official in the Washington disestablishment, was on the o
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| 'Hometown' rates catchy nickname
06/17/2009
We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. That name is just too hard to remember. The subject once again is Your Hometown Chagrin Falls, the new moniker for the group formerly known as Downtown Chagrin Falls.
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| | Border collie's calling leaks into public domain
06/17/2009
Rosie's agility career is at risk, and I'm just not sure there's anything we can do about it.
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| Firefighters don't deserve guilt
06/11/2009
Many years ago, when my father was a young man and I was a small child, I remember the pride I felt when he wore the jacket identifying him as a volunteer fireman with the Hilltop Hose Co., of Natrona Heights, Pa.
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| Friendliness ends at parking lot
06/11/2009
A while back, someone showed us a clipping from an old Chagrin Falls newspaper.
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| Sometimes, it take's a child to teach an adult
06/11/2009
"Ah..." said my husband, John, as he made himself comfortable in a lounge chair on our back deck. One hand was strategically placed behind his head and the other held a very cold beverage. "Now this is why we have children."
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| Weapon permit is dead giveaway
06/04/2009
One of the victims of the armed robbers who busted into an after-hours "friendly game" of poker at a Solon business April 17 at least will be getting his concealed-carry permit back. Not that it did him much good.
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| Memorial Day deserves respect
06/04/2009
Maybe it comes with age, but, as the years go by, I find myself becoming more impatient with my fellow man and woman.
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| Graduates can grow beyond big challenges
06/04/2009
I've been waiting for my invitation to be a commencement speaker for the graduation ceremonies at an institute of high learning.
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| Chrysler can't win for losing in Twinsburg
05/28/2009
Much hand wringing, gut wrenching and bipartisan finger pointing occurred in the wake of recent revelations that the bankrupted Chrysler Corp. would be shutting down its Twinsburg Stamping Plant and sending 1,250 workers to the unemployment lines.
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| Beatles music is 'greatest ever'
05/28/2009
There is one thing about Blossom Time we would miss, if one year it was not on the schedule. Saturday evening's Beatlemania, the Beatle tribute band that has been the highlight of the big-top-tent entertainment since it first appeared on the scene lo thes
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| | Mulch mover, shaker is fit to be like Mom
05/28/2009
My mother used to think it was crazy to drive her teenage kids to the high school so we could run laps on the track. Driving somewhere just to get out and run seemed silly to her.
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| Capitalism tossed in trash heap
05/21/2009
"Well, I see that socialism is rearing its ugly head just about everywhere you look these days."
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| Peace had chance but was subbed
05/21/2009
Have you seen the new psychedelic paint job on the front of Dave's Sub Shop over on River Street?
It fits the sandwich shop's back-to-the-'60s theme. Proprietor Dave Lombardy, a child of the '60s himself, has decorated the inside of the shop as a shrine
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| For rich and famous, truth is tough to hide
05/21/2009
As I stood in the checkout line of the local grocery store, I couldn't help but stare at the cover of the National Enquirer. Prominently posted on the front page were pictures of famous models and movie stars, unknowingly photographed during private beach
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| Flag-draped casket is great honor
05/13/2009
To U.S. Army Spc. Brad A. Davis, I say, "Welcome home, brother."
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| Make police-station case clearer
05/13/2009
We hope, after town leaders stop scratching their heads, they will use them to find out why voters said no to a much-needed police station. Yes, $5.4 million is a big number, but it would not be wise to write off the near miss vote to the economy alone. W
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| Make police-station case clearer
05/13/2009
We hope, after town leaders stop scratching their heads, they will use them to find out why voters said no to a much-needed police station. Yes, $5.4 million is a big number, but it would not be wise to write off the near miss vote to the economy alone. W
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| Cure for this flu is worse morning after
05/13/2009
"I don't feel so good," my daughter moaned to me last week.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" I asked.
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| Mother's Day for memories now
05/06/2009
I'm well into my 60th year, but this will be my first Mother's Day without my mom.
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| 'Downtown' becomes 'Home Town'
05/06/2009
Downtown Chagrin Falls board President Lisa Turner got a drum-roll moment at last Friday's annual meeting, when she announced a new name for the hardworking community and business booster organization.
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| Mother's love can be tough, but it's genuine
05/06/2009
It's been said there is a fine line between love and hate. Both are strong emotions that can provoke extreme reactions. However, it's only a mother's love that can discern the difference.
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| Fairness is key to school funding
04/29/2009
People are always talking about school funding in Ohio.
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| Healthy skepticism is lost in blog
04/29/2009
A bunch of us were talking about the state of the newspaper business and what appears to some to be its imminent demise. It seemed impossible that newspapers would cease to exist.
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| $25 carry-on saved is $8 cocktail earned
04/29/2009
The economy may be tanking, but you can't blame me. Just ask my husband. I have done more than my share to pump money into retailers throughout the country.
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 | Bargain Box benefits variety of charities
04/22/2009
Before 8 a.m., women line up from the door at St. Christopher's by-the-River Episcopal Church along sidewalk on Old Mill Road in the heart of Gates Mills. It's one of a handful of mornings in the village every year where it's almost impossible to find a p
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| Bainbridge had real 'tea party'
04/22/2009
Some 1,000 people showed up in downtown Cleveland last week as part of a national protest against higher taxes and federal spending.
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| Arts, culture get boost in valley
04/22/2009
Just came from a great event, Sunday's party to announce the unveiling of the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's 80th season.
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 | Bicycling fun passed on to next generation
04/22/2009
When Jeff was about 9 years old, bicycling was his favorite hobby. The parking lot beside our home and office was -- after office hours -- an ideal place for a little kid to ride his bike. First, Jeff used the one his big brother, Pete, didn't like any lo
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| It's Chicken Little vs. fairy dust
04/15/2009
Truth No. 253: There are those who walk among us who are more afraid of living than they are of dying.
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| | Friends of past found by modern connection
04/15/2009
I was about 8 years old when I first heard about contact lenses.
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| Good jobs not waiting for vets
04/09/2009
My dad, like so many men of his generation, came home from World War II and went to work in a Pittsburgh steel mill. When that work dried up, he got a job at the Ford Motor Co.'s Cleveland Stamping Plant.
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| Chagrin Falls springs back to life
04/09/2009
Ah, spring! We come creeping from our homes, blinking at the sun and then at the ground to see what the cruelest season has deposited in our gardens. Ah, discovery! Such exotica.
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| If doomsday can wait, so can other matters
04/09/2009
Well, the Conficker computer virus came and went with little more than a whimper. Its anticipation certainly caused a frenzy though. Heaven forbid anyone is without access to their Facebook Friends or Twitter Tweets or whatever you call them.
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| Anonymity leaves trust in dust
04/02/2009
In the eyes of the public, anonymous signatories, like anonymous news sources, are not trustworthy. That's why our newspapers do not publish anonymous letters to the editor and why we make a
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| Women might as well 'shut up'
04/02/2009
We drew some blood recently when we suggested a "SHUT UP" go to the Village of Moreland Hills for going along with the closing of Chagrin Boulevard without checking in with Chagrin Falls.
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| With expired license, it's time to get away
04/02/2009
Last week was the week of expirations. The milk expired, my one house plant expired, John's Playboy subscription expired, because I refused to renew it, and my driver's license expired. Thankfully, no family members expired last week. We'll see what this
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| Earmark takes walk in Chagrin
03/26/2009
There's so much money flying out of Washington these days that it's hard to keep score.
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| Caring people deserve bonuses
03/26/2009
Our story begins in 1974. We were turning the attic of our post-World War II Cape Cod into bedrooms for our two children.
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| Kindness even better when it's not random
03/26/2009
This Sunday, March 29, is "Random Acts of Kindness Day." However, I think the name is somewhat misleading.
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| Cartoonists don't owe apologies
03/18/2009
A cartoon, according to Webster, is "a drawing, as in a newspaper, caricaturing or symbolizing, often satirically, some event, situation or person of topical interest." The dictionary also describes a cartoon as "a humorous drawing."
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| Some things worth shouting about
03/18/2009
You have no doubt seen them and read them. Many newspapers have them. Those columns that give attention to news subjects deemed worthy of a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
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| New family member has unwelcome traits
03/18/2009
I hate daylight-saving time. Not only do I lose an hour of much-needed sleep, but the new angle of the sun in the mid-morning and late afternoon does nothing but perfectly illuminate my dirty windows and the specks of falling dust. Lots and lots of fallin
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| Statistics not too bad for 2008
03/12/2009
Statistics can provide fascinating nuggets of information, particularly when they apply to the things we hold near and dear. Like life here in the Chagrin Valley.
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| Despite all bad news, there's rest of story
03/12/2009
Listening to the television as I fixed dinner one night, I found myself feeling burdened and depressed by the onslaught of bad news followed by more bad news.
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| 'Things racial' are ready topic
03/04/2009
A couple weeks ago, Eric Holder, the new attorney general of the United States, called us cowards.
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| This is wrong time for roadblock
03/04/2009
When it rains, it pours, the saying goes, so just a note to Chagrin Falls merchants, residents and visitors. We are about to get dumped on.
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| Birthday celebrations are due just deserts
03/04/2009
Today is my daughter's 17th birthday. She thinks I should throw her a birthday party, but, after very careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion that she should be the one throwing me a party.
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| Unforgettable ski trip went mostly downhill
02/25/2009
Our memories usually retain the pleasant and delightful events of a vacation and, fortunately, let us forget the nuisances.
When you think of times spent at a beach, it's the beauty of the sea, the pleasant company and the delicious dinners that you re
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| Cleanup crew wipes out stimulus package
02/25/2009
"I think we need a stimulus package," my husband, John, said as he helped me dry the dinner dishes. The evening news was on in the background, and the pundits were arguing the benefits and pitfalls of the president's economic-stimulus bill.
"Ssshh! The k
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| Payday lenders get no bailouts
02/25/2009
Here's a question for the 72 percent of Ohio voters who cast their ballots last November in favor of driving so-called payday lenders out of business. Why are they still in business?
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| Choosing dog gets it backwards
02/18/2009
It was during the Chagrin Falls Fire Department Chili Cook Off a few weeks ago, between helpings of the savory stew, when
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| Ex-chief sought by drug agents
02/18/2009
My father-in-law is not a fugitive from the law. But he was holed up at my house in Geauga County on a recent Friday evening when two
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| Some signs stick out, tell more than others
02/18/2009
Life gives us signs every single day. Some tell us to stop. Some tell us to go. But as Neil Diamond said, "Some are born w
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| Watch out for stimulus package
02/11/2009
It had been a mighty long time since I heard from "Hollow Larynx," the self-deluded authoritative source with connections to a high-ranking official in the Washington disestablishment. I actually thought he had gone the way of "Deep Throat," his second co
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| Granted fair warning, let's get with program
02/11/2009
For two years, the American public has been told repeatedly that, on Feb. 17, 2009, all television signals will be converted from analog to digital.
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| Overpopulation heads to diminishing returns
02/11/2009
This is just a thought. I don't want to offend anyone.
Among the major problems that beset us now, such as financial crisis, global warming, energy shortage, fossil fuels, human rights, there is one which is not being publicly addressed: overpopulation.
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| Clear roads are no entitlement
02/04/2009
Last Wednesday's snowstorm, which measured 9.4 inches officially at Cleveland Hopkins Airport and 11 inches in western Geauga County, was somewhat unusual due to the direction from which it came.
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| Healthy laughs lighten hard times
02/04/2009
Granted, there isn't much to smile about these days, what with the economy, weather, cost of groceries and (put your personal frown maker here).
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| Hearty signature has smile turning around
02/04/2009
"Please tell me that you did not just sign your first legal document with a heart," I said to my daughter as she admired her carefully penned signature on her brand new driver's license. The "i" in Jessica was topped, not with a quick dot, but with a fat,
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| Citizens have right to disagree
01/29/2009
A couple weeks ago, we printed a large photograph of two local middle-school students creating a banner supporting Israel in its ongoing conflict with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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| Sleepless night worth writing about
01/29/2009
Maybe it was the late night out or that afternoon cup of coffee, but whatever "it" was, it caused one sleepless night and a brain that just would not chill. As I lay there in the dark silence, ideas and thoughts crossed my mind, and they seemed profound a
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| Visitor stuck in ditch; hosts catch his drift
01/29/2009
All the little events of many Geauga winters are a bit blurry in my memory, but one day stands out clearly. Overnight, a storm had dumped more than a foot of snow, and the wind had piled up high drifts on the road.
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| Constitution overrules expediency
01/21/2009
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." So says the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
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| Noise ordinance needs tweaking
01/21/2009
One of the more interesting things local governments do from time to time is try to legislate sound. They call this the "noise ordinance."
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| Dresses are poor fit for teens in T-shirts
01/21/2009
Last week, I experienced something so terrifying that it pushed my physical limits and my mental endurance to the absolute edge of insanity. I can honestly tell you that I have stood on the brink of the dark abyss, and I have survived. Barely.
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| It's not parks that are mixed up
01/15/2009
"Haayy, ma-a-a-a-n, how ya doooon?"
It was my old pal, Mush Limburger, on the line. Mush, have you been drinking?
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| 'Terrible two' has family on heels
01/15/2009
Spent a week in the company of a human hurricane, a tiny person who leaves a trail of rubble wherever she goes.
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| Hubby's business trip is vacation for family
01/15/2009
It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and I'm still dressed in my pajamas, have yet to take a shower, and I've gone through a box of Kleenex watching stupid, sappy movies on Lifetime.
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| Double dipping is duly recorded
01/07/2009
Dear County Line: I'm outraged over the avaricious double dipping that seems to be pervading government jobs. The latest example is newly elected Geauga County Recorder Sharon Gingerich, who decided that she also will continue to hold her elected positi
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| Chagrin Falls due for headlines
01/07/2009
You know how at the start and end of ever year, newspapers all over the world do their roundups of the year just past? Here we are, eight days into a fresh 12 months, and you are not going to get that here. Instead -- and since this is a time of change --
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| Don't contact husband for pressing situation
01/07/2009
If there is one thing in the human experience that can put each man and woman on an even playing field, it is a medical physical.
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| Calendar has dates to remember
12/30/2008
Seven out of every 10 people get calendars as Christmas or Hanukkah gifts. OK, I made that up. But you will agree that, as gifts go, calendars do make nifty ones.
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| COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
12/23/2008
This being Christmas and all, with many of us being warm and fuzzy for peace on Earth and all, I thought I'd take a look at love and goodwill in the community where I live. According to definition, community is applicable to common interests and fellowshi
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| Grandma's guidance not forgotten
12/23/2008
No doubt about it, this is a wonderful season. And, if you are of a certain age, there will be sadness for those who are not with us, at least not physically. We miss them and remember them perhaps more vividly than at any other season.
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| | Squirrel phobia isn't just nutty overreaction
12/23/2008
Last summer, after a visit to the West Side Market, our family and a visiting friend returned to our car loaded with fresh bread, succulent fruit and other goodies from the market's many vendors. We set up some folding chairs -- which I keep in my car all
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| Facebooking facts is for friends
12/17/2008
An open letter to my Facebook pals: You flattered me when you asked me to be your friend, because, as you know, one can never have too many.
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| Court's contempt is commanding
12/17/2008
The American Civil Liberties Union won a 2002 case in which a Richland County Court of Common Pleas judge was ordered to remove a poster of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. The ACLU successfully argued that it was a violation of the constitutional
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| Wishes for joy, hope have season, reason
12/17/2008
In a small town very much like mine and very much like yours, stood a single pine tree. Maybe it had been there 20 years. Maybe it had been there 50 years. Maybe at one time it was surrounded by other trees larger than itself. No one in the town really kn
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| Claridon meetings are priceless
12/10/2008
Claridon Township Trustees voted 2-1 recently to pay an attorney $200 per hour to attend their meetings.
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| Dark reminder knots family ties
12/10/2008
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| Upside to being sick gets lost in the sniffle
12/10/2008
'Tis the season.
Not for tinsel and merriment but for colds and the flu.
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| Shooting star meets falling star
12/04/2008
Joe the Plumber's monkey wrench couldn't turn John the Maverick into John the President, but it could turn Helen the Database Searcher into Helen the Job Searcher.
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| This is best time of year anyway
12/04/2008
Hate to go all Scrooge on you. That's the last thing we want to be called this time of year. But ...
Seems that, in the age of enlightenment, some of us still have an issue with what name we give to
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| Dreary winter days can have bright spots
12/04/2008
My husband and I were driving to Chester. It was a dreary day, drizzling, foggy, cold.
"Don't let the weather get you down," said Tom. "Think of that beautiful day when we drove to the Cleveland Clinic."
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| Election took some local twists
11/26/2008
In the days following the historic national election, readers of the Times newspapers learned that another Newbury school levy had been rejected, but a renewal levy for Berkshire schools had passed. They learned that rezoning issues to permit the construc
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| This gift list is sure to satisfy
11/26/2008
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| As kitten takes over, Dad could be left out
11/26/2008
"I thought I said no more breathers," my husband, John, seethed as he looked at the new little pile of fur curled up and sleeping precisely in the middle of his chair.
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| Scourge of socialism is rampant
11/19/2008
The recent presidential election campaign brought howls against the scourge of socialism. But even hypocritical howlers love socialism.
It was no mere happenstance that one
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| Don't tell teenagers where to go
11/19/2008
Teenagers. If you have ever had one of these creatures around the house, then you know how they can try the patience.
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| Turkey-day wisdom has thankful message
11/19/2008
'Twas the week before Thanksgiving, and all through the land,
people were watching their savings disappear like quicksand.
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| Religious convictions undermined
11/12/2008
Among my deeply held religious convictions, I am opposed to forcing my neighbors to yield the use of their property for my personal gain. I also would not want to jeopardize their lifeblood and perhaps their very lives in a quest for self-enrichment.
I
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| Pumpkin roll not for spectators
11/12/2008
Let's put the pumpkin roll in the same category as the wilderness. No one needs to see it to appreciate it. It's just nice to know that it's there.
Over the years, that's changed to a point where it has become a spectator sport, which is how a Solon ma
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| Men's inflated needs roll round and round
11/12/2008
Home expenses are never fun, but some, like new paint or wallpaper, a new couch or a new landscaping, can be exciting for the instant gratification they bring.
Other expenses, like a new furnace, hot-water heater or roof, just lack that sexy feel-good-ab
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| Straight-ticket voter says no way
11/05/2008
Now that the 2008 elections are over, I can safely reveal how and why I voted on key issues that appeared on Ohio's statewide ballot without being accused of trying to influence the outcome.
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| Depression stories worth repeating
11/05/2008
As kids, there was nothing that could make our eyes roll back in our heads more readily than when one of our parents would begin a dinner-table conversation with, "During the Depression, we ..."
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| Decision at crunch time is tricky compromise
11/05/2008
Last Thursday, the day before Halloween, I was combing the aisles of Costco, trying to determine what I kind of candy I should distribute the next night.
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| Names don't fool higher learners
10/29/2008
Michael Schwartz, the president of a large state university in a big city not far from here, wants to change the name of his institution of higher learning. How about THEEEEEE Cleveland State University?
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| There's no excuse for undecided
10/29/2008
Here we are less than one week away from the most historic presidential election in 40 years, and there still are some people out there who can't decide who to vote for. They are termed the "undecided."
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| Dog deserves respect in Halloween costume
10/29/2008
Growing up on Lake Michigan, it never really mattered what I was for Halloween, because, without a doubt, snow would have fallen well before Oct. 31, and my mother would force me to wear a snow parka, hat, gloves and boots.
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| No thank you for petty politics
10/22/2008
Politics can be a thankless job.
Take the political-action committee known as Citizens to Preserve Chardon Traditions, for instance. The PAC was formed during the 2007 election season in a campaign to prevent candidates supported by the Geauga County Dem
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| Ghostly tales stretch over valley
10/22/2008
Journalists are skeptical by nature, rarely taking anything at face value. Here's an example: The legendary City News Service of Chicago had as its motto, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out."
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| If laundry list needs bucket list, call Dad
10/22/2008
TGIF no longer stands for "Thank God it's Friday." In our house, TGIF means, "the God-blessed (insert name of household appliance) is Fried!"
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| Free money has color of green
10/15/2008
Bainbridge Township Trustee Matthew J.D. Lynch wants to give me money. I like Matt Lynch.
Bainbridge Trustees have been debating what to do with the approximately $6 million that remains of the $15 million Paul Frohring estate-tax windfall that was besto
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| Small town cares for its own
10/15/2008
The good thing about living in a small town is you know everybody, and everybody knows you. The bad thing about living in a small town is you know everybody's business, and everybody knows yours too.
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| For frightful events, ghost must get in line
10/15/2008
It's October -- the time for scary stories about lurking monsters and the mysteries of the unknown and unimaginable. No, I'm not talking about the election and the financial crisis. Those stories are far too scary to repeat.
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| Chagrin Falls envy goes two ways
10/09/2008
If you live in Chagrin Falls Township, you do not live in Chagrin Falls Village. Mayor Thomas Brick is not your mayor.
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| Bring troops home for holidays
10/09/2008
If you have ever been apart from the people you love during the holidays, then you know how lonely it is.
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| Exercise motivation is more than T-shirt
10/09/2008
It has been my experience that most boys need very little encouragement to try a new sport. For years, we reign in their testosterone and tell them they can't kick, they can't throw things, don't push other people, don't run and be quiet. But sports give
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| Law on side of uncensored art
10/01/2008
The 18th "People's Art Show" will open Oct. 24 at Cleveland State University. Billed as "a free, unjuried, uncensored exhibition celebrating creativity, diversity, imagination and freedom," the show has generated some controversy in the past.
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| Zoning board stuck in wonderland
10/01/2008
Came home from last week's Chagrin Falls zoning appeals board meeting with a headache. I cover these meetings about once a month but never got a headache before, except that this time it was our ox being gored.
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| Communicable stress has gnawing symptom
10/01/2008
After making the pediatrician's office my second home for so many years, I have probably absorbed enough knowledge to earn a
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| Ohio weathers storm on its own
09/24/2008
About 300 First Energy Corp. workers reportedly returned to Ohio from Texas last Wednesday. I was among the power company's estimated 111,000 customers in the Cleveland area eagerly awaiting their arrival, because, three days after wicked winds generated
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| Taxing goes with bragging rights
09/24/2008
"Now, you've gone and done it," Miss Demeanor said as we settled into a corner booth at Yours Truly. "You have told folks from South Russell that they don't live in Chagrin Falls, and they are very upset."
"I know, got three calls about my trespasses thi
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| It's about time media get to bottom of this
09/24/2008
From the election coverage and the government bail-out of major financial and insurance institutions to the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Ike, the media has been packed full of breaking news stories. So many newsworthy stories that you may ha
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| Fashion police ready for undercover work
09/19/2008
The "Priorities of the Panties" is coming to a showdown. Throughout the country, cities are placing House bills known as the "Baggy Pants Bill" on the books of their local legislatures, making it illegal for boys and men to expose a large portion of thei
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| It's no-brainer for left-brainers
09/19/2008
Full disclosure first. I am a member of the board of trustees of the Valley Art Center.
Sometimes Chagrin Falls takes itself too seriously. Much of it emanates from our by-the-book village government, which is guided by laws drafted by lawyers and ad
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| Detours don't deter big spenders
09/19/2008
"Would you do me a favor and explain what it is that people around here have against shortcuts."
It was my old pal Mush Limburger on the line. I'll try to do that, Mush, if you could just explain to me what the heck you're talking about.
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| Right to petition often repressed
09/11/2008
The good citizens of South Russell Village and Chester Township who recently circulated referendum petitions in the good faith that they hold for democracy, only to have them unceremoniously dumped by local government, are understandably disillusioned. Th
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| Words' intents need some 'vetting'
09/11/2008
It's funny how you can go your whole life and never hear a particular word, then hear it a dozen times in the course of one week.
Language is a funny thing and in many ways is at the mercy of those who have the ear of the world, the taste makers and talk
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| Dad gets polished up on back-seat position
09/11/2008
The good news is that I now have a 16-year-old daughter who is more than happy to drive the entire 4 1/2-hour trip to my parents' home in Michigan. The bad news is that I now have a 42-year-old husband who insists on sitting in the back with the other thr
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| Drivers waiting for more signs
09/03/2008
When a Chardon Township resident asked his elected trustees for an additional sign reading, "Cross-traffic does not stop," on Clark Road last spring, I thought it was a reasonable request. He said the warning is needed at the existing stop sign where Clar
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| Lines drawn over Chagrin Falls
09/03/2008
OK, let's go over this again. Just because your post-office address says you live in Chagrin Falls, that does not necessarily mean you live in Chagrin Falls. A mailing address is one thing, but where you really live -- nice places like South Russell, Bain
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| Women are too wise to opt for polygamy
09/03/2008
I just finished reading "The 19th Wife," by David Ebershoff, the historical fiction account of polygamy and the subsequent divorce of self-proclaimed prophet and leader of the Mormon Church, Brigham Young, and his 19th wife, Ann Eliza. Bouncing between th
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| Naming names has consequences
08/27/2008
People who read more than one newspaper sometimes may wonder why a particular story receives conspicuous play in one of them and no coverage whatsoever in another. A variety of factors can account for those occasions, such as reporters having different ne
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| Murder mystery due in Chagrin
08/27/2008
Labor Day is upon us, so can "Murder by the Falls" be far behind? Yes, it's that time again for those lucky enough to score tickets to the annual Chagrin Valley Little Theatre solve-it-yourself mystery benefit set for Sept. 5 and 6.
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| Late summer lessons come in small doses
08/27/2008
It was one of those hazy, hot days of August before school began. My kids had had enough of the swimming pool, but I still relished one or two more days in the sun, so I forced them to go. I know -- I'm a terrible mother.
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| Aberrant capitals miss spaces
08/20/2008
They could call it the AmphiTheater. A capital "T" in the middle of the name might distinguish the modest outdoor entertainment venue being proposed for the hillside at Riverside Park in Chagrin Falls from what some people apparently fear could be confu
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| Olympics feature late-night drama
08/20/2008
The Olympics? Are they over yet? We all have to get some sleep. We can thank the time change from here to China for napping at our desks.
I didn't think I like the summer Olympics. So why was I sitting in front of the TV in the middle of the time watchin
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| Swim suits give men competitive advantage
08/20/2008
"I used to look like that," said my husband, John, as he watched me act like a love-sick schoolgirl every time Michael Phelps got out of the water during the Beijing Olympics.
"I'm sorry, what did you say, honey?" I asked, just a little perturbed that he
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| County Line - If stuff happens, so do lawsuits
08/13/2008
When I first learned about the 66-year-old Bainbridge man who is suing the Wal-Mart corporation over injuries he suffered at his local store, my thoughts turned to David and Goliath, one of the classic journalism angles. Some people may not know that Samu
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| Window On Main - Opportunity takes some knocking
08/13/2008
We have questions. Why are some of the good people of Chagrin Falls looking a gift horse in the mouth? It's just another day at the office as far as we're concerned and one more example of how nothing ever happens in our town without a controversy.
You m
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| 'Shoe tree' gives way to trucks
08/07/2008
Dear County Line: First of all, Bainbridge Township doesn't need any more high-speed thoroughfares, so it's ridiculous to spend over $1 million of the taxpayers' money to widen and repave Savage Road. Secondly, if they cut down the world-famous "shoe tree
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| Time is right for Chagrin Falls
08/07/2008
In case you have not noticed, Chagrin Falls is one happening place these days. I am not sure when the renaissance began. Maybe when streetscape was done. The wires came down, and our "cool quotient" went up.
Or perhaps it was the revamped village governm
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| Window on Main Street 073108
07/30/2008
There they go again. The guarantors of greatness, the emperors of expectations, the pundits of pride, the witnesses of a winning Browns season.
They are sports writers, commentators and columnists who, at the beginning of each football season, hand out
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| County Line 073108
07/30/2008
The local police reports this summer have included the usual array of alcohol-related incidents.
A Chardon man was charged with assault July 13 in connection with a fight between two stepbrothers at a party on North Main Street in Chagrin Falls. Another
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| Window On Main Street
07/23/2008
My sister Carole, God love her, is organizing the family archives. By that, I mean all of the photographs that have been stored for years and years in hat boxes on the shelf of the hall closet in our parents' home.
From the contents of those
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