Your Community Press newspaper serving Loveland, Miami Township, Symmes Township E-mail: loveland@communitypress.com Volume 92 Number 37 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Hey kids! It’s time to start writing your letters to Santa and send them in to the Loveland Herald where they will be published on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Please send your brief letter to Santa to Melissa Hayden, Santa’s Helper, 394 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, OH 45140 or via e-mail to mhayden@communitypress.com. Be sure to include your name, age, the community you live in and that you read the Loveland Herald, as well as a telephone number we can use to contact you if we require additional information. You may also include a nonreturnable photograph (or email a JPG image) that may appear with your letter. Letters and photos are due no later than Friday, Nov. 12.
We d n e s d a y, N o v e m b e r
3, 2010
HERALD
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School committee says audits are ‘very good’ By Jeanne Houck
jhouck@communitypress.com
Two years after a former treasurer of the Loveland City Schools admitted embezzling nearly $59,000 while in office, an audit committee appointed by the school board continues to help the district tighten financial controls. In an open report to the community, the committee formed in August 2008 said it has addressed concerns raised in a special audit conducted by the Ohio Auditor of State, which determined that Jill Manville skimmed $58,785 in unauthorized salary, benefits, business expenses, credit-card expenses and cell-phone purchases and calls between March 1, 1999, and Aug. 31, 2007. “Initially, the committee worked on proposing changes to the district’s internal controls and to specifically address the findings from the state’s special audit,” the
PROVIDED
Members of the Loveland City Schools Audit Committee are, front row, from left: Tim Taggart of Miami Township and Jennifer Smith of Symmes Township. Back row: Bill Kroncke of Miami Township, Scott Bezjak of Miami Township and Ken Schappell of Loveland. committee of five volunteers with experience in auditing, finance, accounting and internal controls said in its report. “As a result of those initial
efforts, the committee’s recommendations allowed the treasurer’s office to begin working towards strengthening and improving the district’s existing
Audit Committee members have strong financial experience
Members of the Audit Committee for the Loveland City Schools are: • Tim Taggart of Miami Township, committee chair, who is treasurer and vice president of finance and administration at Nilpeter USA, Inc. in Sycamore Township. • Jennifer Smith of Symmes Township, committee secretary, who is chief financial officer at Hunting Specialized Products in Woodlawn. • Scott Bezjak of Miami Township, who is a partner at BKD, LLP in downtown Cincinnati. • Bill Kroncke of Miami Township, who is retired as manager of government accounting at General Electric’s Aviation Division. • Ken Schappell of Loveland, who is associate director of Procter & Gamble’s Global Internal Audit. internal controls, as well as developing new internal controls. We are also working with the district’s external auditors and advising the board about areas of potential concerns and risk,” the committee said in its report. The committee said it meets with the school board twice a year and with the treasurer, superintendent and other district officials monthly. “During the last two years,
See AUDIT on page A2
Loveland businessman wooing restaurant and inn Home on the Hills
Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Homecoming week included, concerts, cookouts and a powderpuff football, in addition to the varsity football game between the Eagles and Lockland. SEE LIFE, B1
‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
How do you spell entertainment? If it’s up to the members of the Loveland Stage Company, you spell it “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” SEE STORY, A2
Honduran cardinal to visit
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Teguciagalpa, Honduras, will celebrate Mass at St. Margaret of York Catholic parish in Loveland Thursday, Nov. 4. SEE STORY, A4
Find local election news online
Find out how local candidates and issues fare on Election Day, Nov. 2, with our online coverage. Stories and results will be posted online election day and evening at Cincinnati.com and local stories will appear on your community’s Web page, which you can find at Cincinnati.com/community.
To place an ad, call 242-4000.
By Jeanne Houck jhouck@communitypress.com
The former Broadway Hotel in Loveland may get new life as a restaurant and inn. Owner Dale Eads – who operates the Eads Fence Co. and Loveland Hardware across from the historic building on Broadway Street – declined to identify with whom he is negotiating for the proposed new business. But Eads confirmed the proposal is to open a nice restaurant on the first floor of the building, also known as the DeGolyer-Wagner building, and an inn on the two floors above it. “It would become a destination place, like a mini Golden Lamb,” Eads said. The Golden Lamb Restaurant & Inn is in Lebanon and claims to be Ohio’s oldest hotel. The former Broadway Hotel in Loveland operated out of a building constructed around 1850, which was the first brick building in the city. Eads said he could not estimate how quickly negotiations will move. But if a deal is reached soon, Eads said, the new business could open as early as next spring after about six months of renovations. “It would spur development downtown and contribute to the momentum going on in Loveland,” Eads said. The former Broadway Hotel is located in an area Loveland has designated for a revitalization project called Loveland Station, a collection of restaurants, shops, professional offices and townhomes planned for a three-acre site on the west side of Second Street between West Loveland Avenue and Broadway Street. Assistant Loveland City Manager Gary Vidmar said a recent community party the city hosted at a Loveland Station public parking lot off Second Street to celebrate the lot’s completion was “an overwhelming success” in terms of turnout and interest generated in the downtown.
JEANNE HOUCK/STAFF
Loveland businessman Dale Eads is negotiating with someone interested in turning the former Broadway Hotel on Broadway Street into a restaurant and inn.
Redevelopment committee named Loveland City Council has created a new Redevelopment Advisory Committee. All of the members have businesses in Loveland with the exception of John Hill, whose business is in Goshen Township. They are: • Mark Bersani of Loveland Canoe & Kayak. • Tim Canada of Bond Furniture Gallery. • Ralph Dunnigan of Paxton’s Grill. Vidmar said more than 200 people attended the event held Sept. 30, in which attendees enjoyed food and beverages provided by downtown businesses. “In addition to city administration and public works staff, council members and residents, the crowd included a wide variety of business owners, political representatives, Realtors, developers and other professionals,” Vidmar said. “We have noticed a significant increase in the interest level for Loveland Station as gauged by the number of phone calls I have received from prospective tenants subsequent to the event.
• Dale Eads of the Eads Fence Co. and Loveland Hardware. • John Hill of John Hill Construction. • Drew Myers of RecruitMilitary. • Tim O’Grady of Whistle Stop Clay Works. • Martin Schickel of Loveland Bike & Skate Rental. • Gaetano Williams of Tano Bistro & Catering. “The city plans to hold other events throughout the upcoming year to maintain the renewed energy surrounding Loveland Station,” Vidmar said. In related news, Loveland City Council voted Oct. 26 to establish the Redevelopment Advisory Committee and make Eads a member. Mayor Rob Weisgerber recommended the action, saying the committee will help city staff create a redevelopment plan that will go beyond Loveland Station to include the Loveland-Madeira Road and Riverside Drive corridors and the possible connection of a bike/pedestrian path to the
downtown business district. “For the purposes of this redevelopment study, it is staff’s desire to form a new committee to be known as the Redevelopment Advisory Committee that would engage local business owners and citizens in this redevelopment planning initiative,” Weisgerber said. “These community and business leaders would provide valuable advice and suggestions for the potential redevelopment of underutilized property in the focus areas, including marketing strategies, public/private partnerships, event planning, brand enhancement, incentive building and prospect mix,” he said. The new Redevelopment Advisory Committee will work with the Downtown Resource Committee, which focuses on Loveland Station, and the Resurgence Group of Blue Ash, an urban-planning consulting firm Loveland recently engaged to help the city with a broader economic-development plan, Weisgerber said. For more about your community, visit Cincinnati.com/loveland.