WESTERN HILLS PRESS
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013
Honoring a fallen Marine
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
La Salle gets support in wake of shooting
Community pours out encouragement to students and staff
Baseball returns to Covedale School By Kurt Backscheider kbackscheider@communitypress.com
James school staff, St. Bernard School fourth-graders, Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton, Catholic Central High School in Springfield. Food from families with past or current students at La Salle. Cookies. Bagels. Chick Fil-A. Homemade banana bread. Calls from all over the country. Tankersley said staff and students appreciated the support and he didn’t want to leave anyone out as he ticked off the generous acts the school has been receiving. “There really was an outpouring,” he said. “It is overwhelming.” “Lancer strong” is becoming a rallying cry. A design using the
Green Twp. — Children in the Covedale area once again have a baseball diamond they can call their own. Green Township officials, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and Cincinnati Public Schools recently worked together to build a new baseball field at Covedale School. “I think it’s going to be really good for the Covedale community and it will be really good for the children of Covedale School,” said Green Township Trustee Tony Rosiello. “We’re happy it all worked out.” When Cincinnati Public Schools built the new Covedale School in 2008, the old ball field was lost as part of the construction. Although the $12.9 million school features state-of-the-art classrooms, a science lab, community meeting rooms and separate playgrounds for older students and kindergartners, the school district didn’t have the funds to include a new baseball field. Enter Green Township and the Reds Community Fund. Rosiello and Charley Frank, executive director of the Reds Community Fund, worked with Covedale School Principal Scott Sublett and the Covedale Athletics Association to get a new baseball field behind the school. “It was an opportunity to help Covedale School and the entire community,” Rosiello said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.” He said Green Township committed $50,000 of tax increment financing money it
See SUPPORT, Page A4
See BASEBALL, Page A2
By Jennie Key jkey@communitypress.com
La Salle High School officials say their staff and students have been bathed in love and support from the community, area schools and beyond in the wake of an attempted suicide in the school last week. On April 29, a 17-year-old La Salle junior pulled out a handgun in his first-period classroom and attempted to take his own life in front of his teacher and about 20 classmates. The school was immediately placed on lock down and students were ushered to the gymnasium after the victim was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The teen remained in critical but stable condition as of May 2. Staff and students returned to school April 30, beginning with Mass. There was also a community prayer service that evening. Director of Community Development Greg Tankersley said cards, letters, flowers, food, banners and all kinds of support began flowing into the school the day of the shooting and it hasn’t stopped. The messages of support were widespread and a lot of them were sent via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The La Salle Broadcasting Network and the Cincinnati La Salle High School Facebook pages were filled with messages of support and photos. UC President Santa Ono posted a message of encouragement. Normally rivals on the athletic fields, St. Xavier High School students posted a photo showing students trading their Bomber Blue shirts for Lancer red as a show of support. McAuley freshmen and
MEMORIAL B1
La Salle High School Chaplain, the Rev. Jon Paul Bevak, with some of the flowers, cards and banners sent to the school following Monday’s shooting. JENNIE KEY/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
MORE ON A4 See how other schools reacted, and hear how to cope.
McAuley High School freshmen and sophomores send a message of support to La Salle High School staff, students and families. THANKS TO GREG TANKERSLEY
sophomores donned red T-shirts and formed a heart on the lawn to encourage the Lancers. McAuley juniors and seniors also wore La Salle red and took a photo indoors for their message of support. Elder baseball players pinned scarlet ribbons on their jerseys. There were photos of La Salle and rival teams praying together before games. When La Salle’s freshmen baseball
team played at McNicholas, the teams gathered at home plate for a prayer and after the game, the McNicolas players hosted a cookout for their opponents and their families. At the high school, cards, banners, flowers and plants came from Moeller, Xavier University, the College of Mount St. Joseph, Roger Bacon, Mother of Mercy, Mariemont, St. Ursula, St. Ignatius Boy Scouts, St.
Relay for Life moves to the Mount this year By Kurt Backscheider
kbackscheider@communitypress.com
Delhi Twp. — Diane Sykes and Judy Leach are once again asking West Siders to pull on their walking shoes to help the American Cancer Society put an end to cancer. Sykes, a Bridgetown resident, and Leach, a White Oak resident, are the co-chairs of the 2013 Relay for Life of the West Side. They invite cancer survivors, families, caregivers and the community to this year’s relay, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. “If you know a loved one
who is fighting cancer, or someone who has lost their battle with cancer, please join us in celebrating, remembering and giving back,” Leach said. A breast cancer survivor of eight years, Leach has been involved with the relay since 2005, when she took part in it with her entire family by her side. “My brother contacted me and said I needed to participate in the relay as a survivor, and he was taking care of everything else,” she said. Within two weeks, her family had raised more than $2,000, and in 2007 they became the first West Side relay
team to raise more than $10,000, she said. “I relay so my daughter and grandsons and all of my family and friends never have to hear the words, you have cancer,” she said. “I am dedicated to raise money to find a cure for this deadly disease.” This year’s relay has a new venue. It begins at 6 p.m. Friday, May 17, at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Delhi Township. Cancer survivors and their caregivers have the honor of walking the first lap, after
FAMILY TRADITION
RITA’S KITCHEN
Three brothers all Eagle Scouts See story A3
Make-at-home spa products. See story B3
See RELAY, Page A2
Cancer survivors are always given the honor of completing the first lap at the annual Relay for Life of the West Side. This year’s relay, which raises money for the American Cancer Society, takes place Friday, May 17 to Saturday, May 18, at the College of Mount St. Joseph. FILE PHOTO
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Vol. 85 No. 25 © 2013 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED