CELEBRATING
WESTERN HILLS
PRESS
120 YEARS MATCH /$ MIX & GET THE 10 10
Your Community Press newspaper serving Addyston, Bridgetown, Cheviot, Cleves, Covedale, Dent, Green Township, Mack, Miami Township, North Bend, Westwood
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
MIX & MATCH with card
11TH FREE! $1.00
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Hundreds stand against Westboro Baptist Church Mark Curnutte mcurnutte@enquirer.com
Hannah Sparling hsparling@enquirer.com
and Monroe Trombly mtrombly@enquirer.com
PHOTOS PROVIDED/MCAULEY HIGH SCHOOL
McAuley High School students participate in a chalk mural competition where they created images in the theme of hospitality, a key element of Mercy Day.
West Side schools prepare for pre-merger
MERCY DAY Forrest Sellers fsellers@enquirer.com
Recognition of Mercy Day has been an ongoing tradition at many of the Tristate’s Catholic schools. However, this particular one will have special significance for Mother of Mercy High School and McAuley High School. It will be the last time the schools celebrate it individually before consolidating next school year. Mercy Day marks the anniversary of the day Catherine McAuley opened the first House of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827. Sisters of Mercy institutions including hospitals and schools celebrate the occasion with a variety of events. Although Mercy Day this year falls on Sept. 24, a Sunday, both Mother of Mercy and McAuley high schools will honor the day on Friday, Sept. 22. “This is a day to celebrate the spirit and accomplishment of everyone associated with the Sisters of Mercy,” said Dave Mueller, principal of Mother of Mercy High School. Both Mother of Mercy and McAuley high schools will start the day with Mass. Alumni are invited to attend Mass and other events. Mother of Mercy, which is located in Westwood, will have food trucks for the first time this year. Outdoor games and activities are also planned. “We are looking forward to celebrating with all of (the) people we’re inviting,” Mueller said. “I think it makes it a special occasion.” Mueller said students and staff are looking
Billie Mays participated in a large counterprotest of Westboro Baptist Church’s appearance at the University of Cincinnati and then decided to make a second statement Downtown at Duke Energy Convention Center. “They came all the way from Kansas to bring their hate to our city, and we’re here to tell them it’s not welcome,” Mays said Wednesday afternoon as she held one end of a gay pride flag. “We don’t want this stuff here,” Mays said. She was not alone. Collectively, a few hundred people demonstrated against Westboro’s five members at their three appearances Wednesday. Considered a hate group for its strong anti-gay stance, Westboro picketed at Oak Hills High School in Green Township, the University of Cincinnati and Downtown at the convention center, where the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. is holding its annual national meeting. At Oak Hills, the target was the student-led gay-straight alliance. At UC, Westboro took issue with the university’s LGBTQ center, and its problem with the country’s largest African-American denomination is
its acceptance of other religions, including but not limited to Judaism and Islam. Westboro member Jennifer Phelps-Roper said the Topekabased church was at Oak Hills “for moral persuasion. You cannot live your life any way. You have to observe the commandments.” Members of the church brought a radio with them and started to sing. More than a hundred counterprotesters brought a speaker and blasted Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” adopted widely as a pro-gay anthem. Known for carrying provocative and offensive signs, Westboro brandished a new one Wednesday in black block lettering on a yellow background: “God sent Harvey.” The hurricane dumped more than 50 inches of rain across Texas, is blamed for 70 deaths and is estimated to have caused $180 billion in damage. In the Westboro picketers’ second stop, at the University of Cincinnati, the situation was the same. Counterprotesters vastly outnumbered Westboro members, with at least 200 turning out. The group at the northwest corner of campus cheered when Westboro members left shortly before 4 p.m. The counter demonstration took shape at Clifton Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. With vuvuzelas in tow, UC students repeatedly shouted See WESTBORO, Page 2A
McAuley High School students join in a pep rally prior to the school’s annual Powderpuff flag football game on Mercy Day.
ahead to next year. “I’m proud of how our students, faculty and staff are celebrating this year and are helping to plan for the new Mercy McAuley High School.” McAuley High School will have a cookout as well as its annual Powder Puff flag football game. “It’s a very important day for us and has been and will continue to be moving into the new school,” said Dan Minelli, principal at McAuley High School in College Hill. Minelli said Mercy Day is not only a celebration of the past but also a time to consider what the future holds. “This (event) has evolved over time,” he said. “In some form this will carry over into the new school.”
A HOME RUN APP Get the latest Reds news. Download our app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
THE ENQUIRER/KAREEM ELGAZZAR
At Oak Hills High School in Green Township, more than a hundred counterprotesters brought a speaker and blasted Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” adopted widely as a pro-gay anthem.
Vol. 89 No. 44 © 2017 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Contact The Press News .........................923-3111 Retail advertising ............768-8404 Classified advertising ........242-4000 Delivery ......................853-6277 See page A2 for additional information
Since the doors first opened in 1878, the Radel family has looked toward the future without forgetting the traditions of the past. We look to uphold these same standards for the next 100 years... Henry J. Radel Jr.
The Best Staff for Your Time in Need
President
451-8800
www.radelfuneral.com
Matt Hollandsworth
Funeral Director