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Your Community Press newspaper serving Addyston, Bridgetown, Cheviot, Cleves, Covedale, Dent, Green Township, Mack, Miami Township, North Bend, Westwood
The fifth annual APOP Chili Cook Off at the Purcell Knights of Columbus Hall in Cheviot.
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Mercy principal retiring
Volume 84 Number 22 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
CincItalia launches
St. Catharine of Siena parish isn’t putting on your typical Catholic church festival this year. St. Catharine has teamed up with several Italian societies in Cincinnati to present CincItalia, the inaugural Cincinnati Italian Festival. STORY, A2
By Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
Find your online community
Find your community’s Web site by visiting Cincinnati.com/ community and looking for “Community News” near the top of the page. You’ll find local news, sports, photos and events, tailored to where you live. You can even submit your own articles and photos using Share, our online submission tool.
Back on track
The track and field season is officially under way for high school teams across the state of Ohio. The season culminates with the state championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University June 4-5, as countless local athletes hope to vie for a state title. SPORTS, A8
KURT BACKSCHEIDER/STAFF
Russ Ratterman is the third generation owner of Western Hills Builders Supply. The west-side family business, on Harrison Avenue in Green Township, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.
Builder Supply weathers 90 years of change
By Kurt Backscheider
kbackscheider@communitypress.com
Bobbing along
Where in the world of Western Hills is this? Bet we got you this week. Send your best guess to westernhills@ communitypress.com or call 853-6287, along with your name. Deadline to call is noon Friday. If you’re correct, we’ll publish your name in next week’s newspaper along with the correct answer. See who guessed last week’s hunt correctly on B5.
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Russ Ratterman said there’s one thing certain about business – it’s always changing. The way a business handles change plays a large role in a company’s success, which is one reason Ratterman’s business has been able to keep its doors open on the west side since 1920. The Green Township resident is the third generation owner and operator of Western Hills Builders Supply Co., celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. “My grandfather started it as a coal and feed supply company in 1920,” Ratterman said. “My dad bought the company from my grandfather after World War II, and I took over in 1983.” From its beginning as a coal distributor and feed supply company on Ferguson Road, on the border of Price Hill and Westwood, the company has grown into building supply distributor for both commercial and residential builders across Greater Cincinnati. Ratterman said the use of coal started to fade after World War II, so his father began focusing more on selling building materials. Today the business, which moved to a new headquarters on Harrison Avenue in Green Township in 1998, is a major supplier of bricks, shingles, pipe, sand,
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Anniversary celebration The staff at Western Hills Builders Supply Co. will celebrate 90 years of business with an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at the company’s headquarters, 6801 Harrison Ave., Green Township. The celebration is open to the public. Owner Russ Ratterman said the company will have a private anniversary celebration with longtime clients and customers sometime in the fall. gravel, steel and specialty products for pools, patios, drainage, retaining walls and more. “We do much more than supply bricks and mortar,” Ratterman said. He said the downturn in the economy has slowed new construction, but has prompted people to remodel existing homes. The economy has forced the company to change once again, he said. While Western Hills Builders Supply still caters to builders and contractors throughout the Tristate, he said the company is also a place where do-it-yourself homeowners can purchase supplies and learn techniques for home remodeling projects. Ratterman said the 15 employ-
ees of the business have a great deal of expertise in home remodeling, as many of them have completed projects around their own homes. The company offers a variety of do-it-yourself classes and seminars. To make the business more available to customers and do-ityourself homeowners, beginning Monday, April 19, the business’s new hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays. “There’s always change,” Ratterman said. Despite the change, he said excellent customer service has always been a foundation of the business – another reason they’ve hung around for nine decades. Employees personally load customers’ vehicles with their items, and a fleet of 11 trucks provides deliveries to all areas of the Tristate. “Take care of your customers,” Ratterman said. “If you treat your customers right and take care of them, they’ll take care of you.” He said he enjoys running his family’s business because his employees are his second family and he’s always loved being around the people and customers who count on the company for a helping hand. “I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “It’s lots of fun.”
Sister Nancy Merkle, RSM, said she’s blessed to have been able to help young women grow up to be strong leaders and happy people who strive to be their best. Merkle, the principal at Mother of Mercy High School, is retiring June 30 after serving two decades at the helm. “Twenty is a wonderful, round number and I think it’s Merkle enough time for a principal,” she said. “I think it’s time for some new ideas and a new person.” A Mercy alumna, Merkle said it’s inspiring to see students graduate and carry the Mercy spirit and values with them as they move on to college, establish successful careers, serve their communities and raise families. “Mercy students make such a difference in the world,” she said. “I love watching them grow up and incorporate the core Mercy values as part of their everyday lives.” Merkle said she’s not only been blessed to work with great students, but she’s also been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with a tremendous faculty and staff. She said the teachers and administrators are compassionate, they embrace Catholic education and they’re committed to providing students the best education possible. “It’s the spirit of the school,” she said. “It’s been a great privilege to be a part of it and help lead this school.” Lisa Fluegeman, Mercy’s spokeswoman, said under Merkle’s leadership the school was awarded the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award and completed several building and renovation projects, including the addition of a new technology wing featuring computer labs, a graphic arts lab, library media center and television studio.
New principal named
Diane Laake, an assistant principal and director of admissions at Mother of Mercy High School, has been chosen to succeed Sister Nancy Merkle, RSM, as the school’s principal. “I am very excited about the future of Mother of Mercy with Ms. Diane Laake as our principal,” said Mercy President Kirsten MacDougal, who made the announcement.
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