WestChesterBuzz.com

Alicia’s Lungs, a charity raising funds for Lakota West graduate Alicia Lang, who has cystic fibrosis and needs to have a double-lung transplant, will be having a aluminum can drive from 8 a.m. to noon this Saturday at Lakota West High School.

The charity group is asking community members to collect and drop off their aluminum cans in the front southwest corner of the high school’s parking lot. The drop-off area is near the corner of Union Centre Blvd. and West Chester Road.

Lang is currently listed for a double-lung transplant at Loyola in Chicago and at the Cleveland Clinic. The transplant will be scheduled when a lung becomes available.

• Alicia’s Blog: On the lung transplant process

The family is anticipating around $350,000 in bills that will not be covered by their insurance, which covers 80 percent of the cost.

For more about Alicia’s story, visit the charity’s Facebook page or WestChesterBuzz.com’s story entitled “Lakota West grad hoping for new lungs.”

People who want to donate, but cannot make to the event, can make their personal pledge to the charity by going to the donation page of AliciasLungs.com.

(Photo of Alicia Lang with family at a fundraiser at Lakota West High School)

Posted in: Events, News, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia Lang Cystic Fibrosis, Alicia Lang fundraiser, Alicia's Lungs, Alicia's Lungs can drive, Alicia's Lungs charity, Cystic Fibrosis, fundraiser, Lakota West

The Lakota West Chorale Choir will be the closing act in the Cincinnati Brass Band sponsored “Cincinnati’s Got Talent” annual Freestore Foodbank Charity Concert at Deer Park High School at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Other performances, announced by master of ceremonies Bob Herzog (Local 12 TV), include the Cincinnati Children’s Choir, The Irish McGing Dancers, crooner Nancy James, the Cincinnati Brass Band and more.

The Lakota West Chorale will sing one song (“Witness”) by them selves and then be joined by the Cincinnati Brass Band in a performance of a piece called “Homeland.”

This is the second time this year a choir group from Lakota West has been involved in a charity concert. In December, it was part of the second annual “Sing for a Cause” benefit concert with Taylor and Finneytown high schools. The recipient of this year’s $6000+ proceeds raised was the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Cincinnati Brass Band happens to have a few members with previous ties to Lakota West Band as well including Al Schmidt, a recently retired Plains Band co-director and Lakota West High School assistant band director.

For more information, see CincinnatiBrassBand.com or LakotaWestChoirs.org.

Posted in: Events, School events, Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: Cincinnati’s Got Talent, Lakota West, Lakota West choir, Lakota West Choral director Anthony Nims, Lakota West chorale, Lakota West High School

A pair of upcoming fundraisers will benefit Lakota West athletics.

This week, the Lakota West baseball team will put on its annual Valentine’s Dance at the Mariner’s Inn, 7967 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday.

The event will feature dancing, raffle prizes, split-the-pot, a live DJ, a cash bar and a sports memorabilia sale. Tickets for adults 21 and older are $25. The price of a ticket includes dinner.

Proceeds from the event will go directly to the baseball program.

Meanwhile, the Lakota West athletic boosters will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in the Lakota West High School cafeteria from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7. The fundraiser will take place prior to the Lakota East vs. Lakota West boys’ basketball game.

Tickets for the dinner cost $7 for adults and $5 for students (children under 5 are free). Tickets are presale only and can be purchased through Lakota West Athletic Department or at the Lakota West High School basketball concession stand during home games.

Raymond’s Pizza, 7328 Yankee Road in Liberty Township, will prepare the spaghetti dinner.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, School events, Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota West, Lakota West baseball, Lakota West baseball fundraiser, Lakota West baseball valentine's dance, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West spaghetti dinner, Lakota West sports, Mariner's Inn, Mariner's Inn West Chester, Raymond's Pizza, Raymond's Pizza Liberty Township

The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty is now accepting nomination forms for its Lakota Educator of Excellence Award. The deadline to nominate an outstanding educator is March 16.

The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty will honor two Lakota Educator of Excellence Award winners at its annual dinner celebration April 19. The winners will receive an award along with a monetary grant to be used for a special project within their school.

“We are excited to have peers, parents and community members provide nominations for those educators who have gone above and beyond in working with the district’s young people,” said Melissa Benedict Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty vice president of donor services.

One award will be presented to an educator representing pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade. The other award winner will represent the seventh grade through the 12th grade.

Nominations are not limited to classroom teachers. Award recipients may be any person (teacher, administrator, support staff, etc.) working with young people in the Lakota school district.

The award was established in 2007 to recognize educators in the Lakota School District, who demonstrate consistency and high commitment to students, motivates, shares ideas, inspires others, is supportive, creative and goes beyond the classroom to make a difference in the community. Previous winners include Shannon Henderson, Linda Abbott, Katie Woodruff, Audrey Stamp, Karen Kamm, Ann Aprahamian, Fred Thomas and Mendy Dimatteo.

Nomination forms are available on the Community Foundation’s website www.wclfoundation.com or at the school district’s central office.

Posted in: Events, News, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ann Aprahamian, Audrey Stamp, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, Fred Thomas, Karen Kamm, Katie Woodruff, Lakota Educator of Excellence Award, Lakota Local Schools, Linda Abbott, Mendy Dimatteo, Shannon Henderson, WCL Community Foundation

City Barbeque and Raymond’s Pizza will participate in a pair of upcoming fundraisers that will support Lakota West athletics.

The Lakota West softball program will benefit from a fundraiser hosted by City Barbeque, 7796 Voice of America Centre Drive in West Chester, Monday.

During the event, City BBQ will donate 25 percent of each customer’s purchase back to the softball program. Customers, however, must present the fundraiser’s flier at the time of the order to receive credit for the sale. The promotion will take place all day and will include dine in and carry out orders.

• Lakota West baseball Valentine’s Dance Feb. 4

Meanwhile, the Lakota West athletic boosters will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in the Lakota West High School cafeteria from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7. The fundraiser will take place prior to the Lakota East vs. Lakota West boys’ basketball game.

Tickets for the dinner cost $7 for adults and $5 for students (children under 5 are free). Tickets are presale only and can be purchased through Lakota West Athletic Department or at the Lakota West High School basketball concession stand during home games.

Raymond’s Pizza, 7328 Yankee Road in Liberty Township, will prepare the spaghetti dinner.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, School events, Schools, Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: City Barbeque, City Barbeque West Chester, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West softball, Lakota West spaghetti dinner, Lakota West sports, Raymond's Pizza, Raymond's Pizza Liberty Township

Release from the Lakota Local School district:

Throughout January, students in the Lakota Local School District have been exploring the lessons of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. by reading and writing about King and his ideas as well as using the arts to express themselves.

The activities will lead up to the observance of MLK Day in various ways, including:

• The Student Leadership Club at Heritage Elementary will highlight King’s contributions during daily announcements. That historical information will reinforce classroom activities focused on MLK Day, which include read-alouds and discussions.

• Fifth graders from Freedom Elementary are writing essays to be submitted to the Southwestern Ohio Education Association on topics related to King. Other students at Freedom will study King’s legacy in their classrooms.

• At Cherokee Elementary, third graders will read and discuss King’s biographical information, then read the book Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport. In response, they will write about their goals or ideas with the theme of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. (more…)

Posted in: Events, News, School events, Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: Cornerstone United Methodist Church, Live the Dream: Our Declaration of Unity program, Live the Dream: Our Declaration of Unity program West Chester, March for Unity in Our Community, March for Unity in Our Community West Chester, March for Unity West Chester, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Day West Chester, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day West Chester

The West Chester Liberty Tax Service location, 7743 Tylersville Road, is currently hosting a donation drive that will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Locally, the 2012 Relay for Life event will take place at Lakota West High School May 18. The event already has 66 participants and has raised $1,180.

With its donation drive, Liberty Tax Service will donate $20 for each completed tax return to the event at Lakota West.

To celebrate the donation drive, Liberty Tax will host an event Jan. 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the event, free food and drinks will be provided.

For more information about the donation drive, call 513-777-8700.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events, School events |

Tags: Tags: Liberty Tax Service, Liberty Tax Service West Chester, Relay for Life, Relay for Life Liberty Township, Relay for Life West Chester

A pair of upcoming fundraisers will benefit the Lakota West baseball program.

First, the baseball program will sponsor a fundraiser dinner at First Watch, 9233 Floer Dr. off Union Centre, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are just $10 and include dinner consisting of a pancake, small omelet and half a sandwich.

Tickets can be purchased at the Lakota West Athletic Office and are also available through any Lakota West baseball player.

Early next moth, the Lakota West baseball team will put on its annual Valentine’s Dance at the Mariner’s Inn, 7967 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, from 7 to 11 p.m. Feb. 4.

The event will feature dancing, raffle prizes, split-the-pot, a live DJ, a cash bar and a sports memorabilia sale. Tickets for adults 21 and older are $25. The price of a ticket includes dinner.

Proceeds from both events will go directly to the baseball program.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, School events, Schools, Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: First Watch, First Watch West Chester, Lakota West, Lakota West baseball, Lakota West baseball fundraiser, Lakota West baseball valentine's dance, Lakota West sports, Mariner's Inn, Mariner's Inn West Chester

The Lakota Board of Education held its first regularly scheduled meeting of 2012 Monday. Late last week, the Lakota BOE released its complete schedule for the year.

Jan. 9 – Business
Jan. 23 – Work
Feb. 13 – Work
Feb. 27 – Business/Work
March 12 – Work
March 26 – Business
April 9 – Work
April 23 – Business/Work
May 14 – Work
May 29 – Business
June 11 – Work
June 25 – Business
July 16 – Business/Work
Aug. 13 – Work
Aug. 27 – Business
Sept. 10 – Work
Sept. 24 – Business
Oct. 8 – Work
Oct. 22 – Business
Nov. 5 – Work (OSBA Week second week)
Nov. 26 – Business
Dec. 10 – Business/Work

The school board will be meeting in work session, as well as business, formats in 2012. The board tested the new work session format for the first time Nov. 28, 2011.

Currently, the work session format allows only one time period for public comments, compared to the usual two.

The new format, however, could change. When the board used the format Nov. 28, school board member Joan Powell described it as a “trial run.”

Posted in: Board of Education, Events, News, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Joan Powell, Lakota Board of Education, Lakota Board of Education meetings, Lakota school board, Lakota school board schedule

There will be a few events taking place Monday night in West Chester and Liberty townships. Planning to hold meetings will be the Lakota Board of Education, the Liberty Township Tea Party and the Voice of America Chorus.

The Lakota school board is scheduled to hold its public meeting at the district’s central office, 5572 Princeton Road in Liberty Township, at 7 p.m. Monday. On Thursday of last week, the board appointed Ben Dibble as its new president. The board and other Lakota officials are in the process of finding areas to cut $9 million from its operating budget for the 2012-2013 school year. Decisions on those cuts are not expected to be announced until the spring.

Meanwhile, local radio host Brian Thomas (55KRC) will be the speaker at the next meeting for the Liberty Township Tea Party Monday. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., at Liberty Township’s VanGorden Elementary School, 6476 LeSourdsville-West Chester Road. Thomas is the host of the WKRC-AM radio’s morning drive show from 5-9 a.m., weekdays, at 550 on the a.m. dial.

In addition to those meetings, West Chester’s Voice of America Chorus is inviting community members, men and women of all ages who like to sing, to its open house and membership rally at the West Chester Church of the Nazarene, 7951 Tylersville Road, at 7 p.m. Monday. During the event, community members will be able to attend a chorus rehearsal. The music group will continue to have open rehearsals every Monday evening throughout January. The chorus group plans to compete in the World Choir Games in Cincinnati this July.

Posted in: Events, News, Political events, Recreational events, School events, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: 550 AM Cincinnati, 55krc, Ben Dibble, Brian Thomas, Brian Thomas 55krc, Brian Thomas WKRC, Brian Thomas WKRC-AM, Lakota cuts, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota reductions, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, Lakota Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia, Lakota West, Liberty Township Tea Party, school board, school levy, Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, superintendent Karen Mantia, VanGorden Elemenatry School, Voice of America Chorus, West Chester Church of the Nazarene, WKRC, WKRC-AM