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WestChesterBuzz.com’s top 12 stories of 2012: No. 5

Posted by akiefaber December 26th, 2012, 8:00 am Post a Comment

Reds honor Lakota West freshman/MLB.com reporter

WestChesterBuzz.com will count down the area’s top 12 stories of 2012 this month, concluding with West Chester’s most discussed topic of the year on Sunday, Dec. 30.

Meggie Zahneis interviews Jay Bruce prior to the Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves game at Great American Ball Park May 24, 2012. Zahneis, who has HSAN II or Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy, type 2, is a youth reporter for MLB.com and a freshman at Lakota West. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.

More than 100 parents and classmates came out to Great American Ball Park Thursday, May 24, 2012 in support of Lakota West freshman Meggie Zahneis, who was named the honorary captain prior to the Reds game.

The 15-year-old West Chester resident’s story captured the heart of Major League Commissioner Bud Selig, who in return offered her the job of being an MLB.com youth reporter prior to the 2012 season.

Zahneis’ story, however, begins when doctors operated on her twice before her first birthday for a condition they couldn’t figure out.

“We went to a ton of doctors and neurologists. Everybody across the board tried to figure out what was wrong,” said Meggie’s mother Cindy Zahneis.

“It was a very, very tough time. There were a lot of tears shed and a lot of ‘why us’ and so on, but she always had a smile on her face. She was a good baby and a sharp little girl.

“She kept doing things to amaze us, so that made it easier.”

After nine months of not knowing her daughter’s condition, a specialist in New York finally said Meggie had HSAN II or Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy, type 2. HSAN II, which has only approximately 50 known cases in the world, is a condition that affects everyone differently.

For Meggie, she has inability to feel pain, temperature and touch to the same degree as everyone else. It has also affected her growth and has resulted into 14 surgeries in her life.

Meggie, who had to have cochlear implant surgery to help her hearing, also underwent a bilateral hip surgery as a seventh grader that limited her to a wheelchair for three months.

“Going to school like that, with everybody staring at you when all you want is to be like everyone else, was really tough on her,” Cindy said.

Meggie Zahneis holds up her press credential in the press box at Great American Ball Park during a game between the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves. Zahneis was the game's honorary captain and was recognized in front of more than 100 parents and students from Lakota West Freshman School in West Chester. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.

With the surgeries fresh in her mind and the constant feeling that she was different, Meggie wrote about her story and entered it in the 2011 Major League Baseball Breaking essay contest.

Meggie’s essay left an impression on Sharon Robinson, daughter of hall-of-fame baseball player Jackie Robinson, who visited Lakota Ridge Junior School in May of 2011 to recognize Meggie as the contest’s grand-prize winner.

The shy eighth grader, who never wanted more than to just blend in with her classmates, shared her essay with the entire Lakota Ridge student body.

The grand prize meant that she would be honored at a Cincinnati Reds game and would receive a all-expense paid trip to 2011 MLB All Star game in Phoenix.

From there, Zahneis story didn’t go away and eventually got in the hands of Selig who called Meggie three times before offering her the reporter gig.

“When I first entered that contest, I thought that it was no more than good writing practice,” said Meggie, who is about finish year freshman year at Lakota West.

“Getting this writing experience is so valuable, it is just priceless. I am just trying to soak it all in as much as I can.”

Since her column started running on MLB.com in late February, Zahneis has written about the game’s top athletes, interviewed Nick Lachey and “made a lot of the girls at her school jealous” by meeting Josh Hutcherson of “The Hunger Games.”

In addition, she has become good friends with the commissioner’s granddaughter Natalie Prieb and with Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips.

“Just hearing her story really motivated me,” Phillips said. “It shows you that you can never take things for granted.

“She is such a bright person, I am just glad I met her. It really changed my life.”

Posted in: News, Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: Breaking Barriers, Cincinnati Reds, Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy, HSAN II, Jackie Robinson, Lakota West, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Meggie Zahneis, MLB Breaking Barrier's contest. Major League Baseball Breaking Barrier's contest, Promises to Keep, Ridge Jr. School, Ridge Junior School, Sharon Robinson, West Chester top 12 stories of 2012, West Chester top stories of 2012

WestChesterBuzz.com’s top 12 stories of 2012: No. 7

Posted by akiefaber December 24th, 2012, 2:28 pm Post a Comment

Lakota lost principals at a high rate in 2012

WestChesterBuzz.com will count down the area’s top 12 stories of 2012 this month, concluding with West Chester’s most discussed topic of the year on Sunday, Dec. 30.

List of Lakota’s principals

Information taken from past articles written by Adam Kiefaber and Michael D. Clark

New changes within the Lakota school district like further teachers cuts, shorter school days for high school and junior high students, a healthier food menu for students, a pilot program to see how personal wireless devices like cell phones could help in the educational process and an influx of new school principals were among the fresh topics when school started Aug. 23, 2012.

In total, 10 of the school district’s 22 schools have new leaders. Many of those have been promoted within, replacing retired principals or others who have moved on to better paying positions in other school districts.

“Our new administrative team that we have in place, some of them have strong ties,” said Suzanna Davis, who is now the principal at Lakota East High School after being promoted from East’s freshman campus.

“Obviously, there is some history here in the district and they have done an outstanding job for us. They have been wonderful in terms of the culture of Lakota and being able to maintain those expectations.”

In addition to Davis, G. Elgin Card was promoted to lead Lakota West High School after previously serving as the principal of West’s Freshman Campus. Other new principals (full list above) include Brad Lovell (Creekside Early Childhood), Paulette Grady (Cherokee Elementary), Joanna Sears (Endeavor Elementary), Christina French (Hopewell Elementary), Ben Brown (Union Elementary), Eric Bauman (Liberty Junior), Stacy Millburg (Lakota East Freshman) and Jason Jackson (Lakota West Freshman).

While attrition fluctuation at any school district is an annual spring event, the extent at Lakota is unusually high in the district’s 55-year history, district officials said.

The leadership drain has officials at the academically top-rated school system worried.

“We have to put a tourniquet on this pretty quickly,” Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia said during a school board meeting in June.

Gary Elgin Card, who served as the Lakota West Freshman Campus Associate Principal last year, was promoted to the position of principal at Lakota West High School. Card replaced retired Lakota West Principal Richard Hamilton. Photo taken by Tony Jones in Sept. of 2012.

Lakota, with 17,400 students, is the second-largest district in Southwest Ohio (behind Cincinnati Public Schools) and seventh-largest in the state. Lakota is the largest school system among Ohio’s 613 public districts to earn the state’s highest rating – “Excellent with Distinction.”

But historically deep budget cuts in response to a string of tax levy defeats have left Lakota scrambling financially, with less staffing and fewer resources – all reasons cited by departing principals, Mantia said, based on her exit interviews.

“The number one reason is the financial insecurity from the failure of levies,” said Mantia, citing comments from those departing for other jobs.

Another reason for some departures reflects well on Lakota, Mantia said, in reference to extensive training Lakota provides principals. Lakota principals are in demand, she said.

Thomas Ash, a 39-year-veteran of public schools and now director of governmental relations for Ohio’s Buckeye Association of School Administrators, said Lakota is not alone.

“The turnover in building principals reflects both increased opportunities and anticipated public retirement reforms,” said Ash. “This year, about 60 of the superintendent vacancies in Ohio were filled by former school principals.”

“In addition, I would anticipate more retirements throughout the education profession over the next couple of years because of probable changes impacting both cost-of-living allowances and actual pension benefits,’’ Ash said. “Since they will not receive the benefits that they had anticipated a few years ago, they are electing to leave education sooner than they had planned.”

Lakota’s veteran school board member Joan Powell shares Mantia’s concern and she said pay freezes for school administrators – as part of sweeping budget cuts – play a role.

“This exodus of administrators is troubling but not surprising. These individuals have experienced a decrease in their take-home pay over the last five years, while being asked to take on more responsibilities with fewer resources,” Powell said.

“While some turnover is to be expected and can actually keep the organization dynamic, there is a point where you can risk losing the sense of connection and direction.’

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Dr. Keith Kline, Elgin Card, Gary Elgin Card, Joan Powell, Karen Mantia, Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Dr. Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Keith Kline, Lakota Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia, Lakota West, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West principal Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Gary Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Richard Hamilton, Richard Hamilton, Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, superintendent Karen Mantia, West Chester top 12 stories of 2012, West Chester top stories of 2012

Lakota high schools welcome two new principals

Posted by akiefaber September 10th, 2012, 12:40 pm Post a Comment

Lakota West and Lakota East principals get settled

Michael D. Clark reports:

Being a principal of one of Greater Cincinnati’s largest high schools requires thinking on your feet.

Gary Elgin Card, who served as the Lakota West Freshman Campus Associate Principal last year, was promoted to the position of principal at Lakota West High School. Card replaced retired Lakota West Principal Richard Hamilton. Photo taken by Tony Jones in Sept. of 2012.

That suits the energetic Elgin Card just fine. Card is in the first days of running the 1,900-student Lakota West High School. When the Butler County school building’s bells ring and students flood hallways, Card is often moving among them.

A recent school day saw Card simultaneously surveying student pedestrian traffic while also engaging a disgruntled teen irritated about being disciplined.

“You shouldn’t have suspended me,” the boy complained.

“I didn’t suspend you,” Card quickly but good-naturely retorted. “You suspended yourself.”

Card is one of two new school principals at Lakota Schools – the second-largest district in Greater Cincinnati.

Suzanna Davis, who is on maternity leave, is the new principal of Lakota East High School.

Together, Card and Davis are the administrative leaders of each high school and their feeder freshman schools, overseeing the education of more than 5,000 Lakota students.

Watching Card in action is Lakota West sophomore Baylee Carter, who likes what she sees.

“He is very active in the school and a great guy who is easy to get along with,” Baylee said. “I like how he makes small talk with students.”

Card is no stranger to Lakota West, having served as an assistant principal there from 2007-2009. He was also a grade-level principal at Hamilton County’s Princeton Schools, where he also taught.

He returned to work in Lakota in September 2011 and earlier this year was promoted to the top job at the high school to become Lakota’s first African-American high school principal in the district’s 54-year history.

Davis too is a Lakota veteran, a plus for the district, said Lakota Board of Education Vice President Julie Shaffer.

“Both Mr. Card and Mrs. Davis … have the rare ability to be well respected by their students, peers, staff and families,” Shaffer said.

Posted in: Board of Education, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Dr. Keith Kline, Elgin Card, Gary Elgin Card, Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Dr. Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Suzanna Davis, Lakota West, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West principal Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Gary Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Richard Hamilton, Richard Hamilton, Suzanna Davis

Last week in West Chester: Beckett Park receives $2M upgrade

Posted by akiefaber July 16th, 2012, 11:27 am Post a Comment

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Beckett Park opens its west side after $2 million upgrade – The west side portion of Beckett Park officially reopened June 29 after a $2.09 million upgrade that included the construction of a new shelter, a “natural” playground, a small pond that can used as an ice skating rink in the winter and a 1.25-mile trail that loops around two newly enlarged lakes. Beckett Park is 150 acres and straddles Beckett Road near the Union Centre Boulevard intersection. WestChesterBuzz.com got its first look at the upgrade to the park last week.

Brad Lovell. Photo provided.

Lakota names four new principals- Lakota officials recently announced that the school district will be adding new principals to four different schools following approval by the board of education. New principals include Brad Lovell (Creekside Early Childhood), Christina French (Hopewell Elementary), Stacy Millburg (Lakota East Freshman – associate principal) and Jason Jackson (Lakota West Freshman – associate principal).

AK Steel to cut 2013 pension contribution – Bloomberg News reported last week that West Chester-based AK Steel Holding Corp., will cut its estimated 2013 pension expense by one-third, or $100 million, after passage of a transportation bill extension lowered some required contributions. The bill stabilizes the minimum annual contributions to fund defined-benefit pension plans, while raising premiums paid to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., AK said.

Brennan Ryan. Photo provided.

Lakota West hires Brennan Ryan to lead wrestling program- The Lakota school district’s high school athletic department announced last Monday that it hired Brennan Ryan as its new head coach of the Lakota West wrestling program. Ryan, who has experience as a wrestling head coach at Roger Bacon and Madeira high schools, was hired to replace Tim Kessler.

Battelle for Kids honors 18 Lakota teachers – A total of 18 Lakota educators were recognized in late June for teaching excellence at the Ohio Educators Connect for Success Conference in Columbus, Lakota officials announced last Wednesday. Battelle for Kids honored the local educators as part of its “Celebrate Teaching” initiative that is used to find out what makes a teacher highly effective and how to best learn from their practices.

VOA Museum. Tony Jones/photo.

National VOA Museum gears up for tours – With the recent completion of some significant construction work, the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting announced that it will open for tours on the third Saturday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. starting July 21.

West Chester Library breaks checkout record – The West Chester location of the MidPointe Library System broke its previous record for checkouts in a month this past June. The local library announced last week that it had 136,512 items checked out last month, trumping its old record set in July of 2008 by more than 4,000 checkouts.

List: Reach Out Lakota back-to-school supply needs – Reach Out Lakota released its supply list for its annual Back to School program last Wednesday. Currently, only a small percent of the needed supplies have been donated for the more than 450 registered children in the Lakota school district.

Jay Bruce. Adam Kiefaber/photo.

Photos: Jay Bruce signing in West Chester – Less than a week from the Major League All-Star game, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce took time for an autograph session at the Sports Gallery in West Chester Sunday. Hundreds of fans packed the local sports memorabilia shop to get a glimpse and have their photo taken with the two-time MLB All-Star.

Photos: Crazy Cardboard Boat Regatta in West Chester – Tony Jones of The Cincinnati Enquirer photographed one of West Chester Township’s largest outdoor events this past weekend. Additional photos from the community will be posted on WestChesterBuzz.com later this week.

Posted in: Board of Education, Business, Events, Government, News, Schools, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: AK Steel, AK Steel West Chester, Beckett Park, Beckett Park project, Beckett Park West Chester, Brad Lovell, Brennan Ryan, Christina French, Cincinnati Reds player signings, Crazy Cardboard Regatta, Crazy Cardboard Regatta photos, Crazy Cardboard Regatta West Chester, Creekside Early Childhood School, Hopewell Elementary School, Jason Jackson, Jay Bruce, Jay Bruce Cincinnati Reds, Jay Bruce photos, Jay Bruce signing, Lakota, Lakota East Freshman Campus, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota schools, Lakota West, Lakota West Brennan Ryan, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West sports, Lakota West wrestling, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Stacy Millburg, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum, West Chester business news, West Chester photos

Lakota names four new principals

Posted by akiefaber July 9th, 2012, 4:24 pm Post a Comment

Brad Lovell. Photo provided.

Sue Kiesewetter reports

Four Lakota schools will be getting new principals following approval by the board of education.

Lakota High School graduate Brad Lovell is leaving his principal job at Smith Elementary School in the Milford Schools to become principal of Creekside Early Childhood School. He replaces Todd Petrey, who resigned to become superintendent of the Springboro Community Schools in Warren County.

Lakota losing principals at high rate

Christina French. Photo provided.

A West Chester Township resident, Lovell also was an assistant principal in the Forest Hills Schools, and taught in the Wyoming Schools before going to Milford. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s from Wright State University.

Christina French is leaving Shawnee Early Childhood School to become principal at Hopewell Elementary School. She replaces Denise Hayes who resigned to become principal of Fairfield Intermediate School.

Stacy Millburg. Photo provided.

Before coming to Lakota a year ago, French was a teacher and then assistant principal at Fairfield East Elementary School. The Liberty Township resident holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and a master’s from Xavier University.

Both Lovell and French were given two-year contracts, effective Aug. 1, and will earn a base salary of $89,500 annually.

Lakota East assistant principal Stacy Millburg is moving to the school’s freshman campus as its associate principal. She replaces Suzanna Davis, who was named Lakota East principal following the resignation of Keith Kline. He was named assistant superintendent of the West Clermont Schools.

Jason Jackson. Photo provided.

Lakota West assistant principal Jason Jackson is moving to the school’s freshman campus as its associate principal. The move follows the appointment of associate principal Elgin Card to principal. He replaces Richard Hamilton, who is retiring after 13 years as principal.

Both Millburg and Jackson received two-year contracts, effective Aug. 1. Each will earn an annual base salary of $87,000.

Follow Lakota news on WestChesterBuzz.com

Posted in: Board of Education, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Brad Lovell, Christina French, Creekside Early Childhood School, Hopewell Elementary School, Jason Jackson, Lakota, Lakota East Freshman Campus, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota schools, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Stacy Millburg

Lakota losing principals at high rate

Posted by akiefaber June 21st, 2012, 4:27 pm Post a Comment

Michael D. Clark reports

The financial woes of one of the area’s highest-rated school districts has helped drive away more than half its principals in the last two school years.

Keith Kline, who has served as the principal at Lakota East since 2007, is leaving to take the assistant superintendent of administration and personnel position at West Clermont. Photo provided.

Of Lakota Schools’ 20 building principal positions, seven – 35 percent – have recently resigned due to retirement or other jobs.

That follows the 2010-11 school year, which saw four principals depart, leaving Lakota with a 55 percent turnover rate among its school building leaders since spring 2011.

While attrition fluctuation at any school district is an annual spring event, the extent at Lakota is unusually high in the district’s 55-year history, district officials said.

The leadership drain has officials at the academically top-rated school system worried.

“We have to put a tourniquet on this pretty quickly,” Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia said during a recent school board meeting.

The impact from this turnover is hard to gauge.

Lakota maintained it state rating of “Excellent with Distinction” for 2010-11 but the four principal departures began after classes ended in spring 2011. State rankings for the recently completed 2011-12 school year will not be available until August.

Lakota, with 17,400 students, is the second-largest district in Southwest Ohio (behind Cincinnati Public Schools) and seventh-largest in the state. Lakota is the largest school system among Ohio’s 613 public districts to earn the state’s highest rating.

Richard Hamilton is retiring after being principal at Lakota West for the past 13 years. Photo taken by Tony Jones.

But historically deep budget cuts in response to a recent string of tax levy defeats have left Lakota scrambling financially, with less staffing and fewer resources – all reasons cited by departing principals, Mantia said, based on her exit interviews.

Bus transportation has been eliminated for thousands, classes are larger, dozens of teacher, building staff positions and central office jobs have been eliminated as budgets have been cut $35 million in the last three school years.

Moreover, voters have rejected three proposed school tax hikes in the last two years. This month Lakota officials announced that the unknown funding levels from the next state budget has prompted them to skip a levy try this fall. (more…)

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Dr. Keith Kline, Elgin Card, Gary Elgin Card, Joan Powell, Karen Mantia, Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Dr. Keith Kline, Lakota East principal Keith Kline, Lakota Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia, Lakota West, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West principal Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Gary Elgin Card, Lakota West principal Richard Hamilton, Richard Hamilton, Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, superintendent Karen Mantia

Weekly news roundup: Chinese students to learn English from Lakota East’s student magazine

Posted by akiefaber May 29th, 2012, 10:58 am Post a Comment

Lakota East journalism students hold up an article written by junior Mohinee Mukherjee about the differences between educational systems in China and in the United States.From left-to-right, Spark students, Mukherjee, junior Emily Chao and sophomores Angela Ferguson and Amanda Weisbrod. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Chinese students to learn English from Spark – Administrators from a large Chinese school district have requested more than 100 editions of Lakota East High School’s student-generated magazine Spark after its high school principal visited the Liberty Township school last November.

Liberty Twp. intersection to close for most of the summer – Butler County’s fifth major roundabout will be constructed this summer in Liberty Township near Cherokee Elementary School. The project will require the intersection of Kyles Station and LeSourdsville-West Chester roads to close June 4 and remain closed most of the summer, reopening the week of Aug. 20, weather permitting.

Lakota West freshman Meggie Zahneis interviews Jay Bruce prior to a Reds game May 24, 2012. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

Reds honor Lakota West freshman- More than 100 parents and classmates came out to Great American Ball Park last Thursday in support of Lakota West freshman Meggie Zahneis, who was named the honorary captain prior to the Reds game. The 15-year-old West Chester resident’s story captured the heart of Major League Commissioner Bud Selig, who in return offered her the job of being an MLB.com youth reporter prior to the 2012 season.

DV8 opens After-Hours on The Square – DV8 kicked off the 2012 season of the First Financial Bank After-Hours on The Square concert series in West Chester last Thursday. The concert series will continue at the same time, from 6 to 9 p.m., every Thursday night through Aug. 23.

West Chester mom on ‘Masterchef’ – Cake specialist and blogger Krystal Eggerding Mandap from West Chester Township will be competing in Fox’s “Masterchef” reality show for amateur cooks starting June 4. “Masterchef” will air 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday this summer (Channels 19, 45), following Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Lakota West raises more than $30K in Relay for Life – Lakota West raised more than $30,000 from its recent Relay for Life event at the high school. That money will be used to provide cancer patients with transportation and lodging at the Hope Lodge in Cincinnati.

Posted in: Events, News, Schools, Student achievements, Traffic |

Tags: Tags: After-Hours on the Square, After-Hours on The Square at Union Centre, Butler County Engineer's Office, concert, concerts, Hope Lodge Cincinnati, Krystal Eggerding, Krystal Eggerding Mandap, Krystal Mandap, Kyles Station Road, Kyles Station Road construction, Lakota East Spark, Lakota East Spark Magazine, Lakota West, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Lakota West sports, LeSourdsville West Chester Road construction, Lesourdsville-West Chester Road, Liberty Township construction, Liberty Township road closures, Masterchef, Masterchef FOX, Meggie Zahneis, Relay for Life, Relay for Life Lakota West, Spark, The Spark, West Chester construction, West Chester road closures

Reds honor Lakota West freshman

Posted by akiefaber May 24th, 2012, 8:18 pm Post a Comment

Meggie Zahneis interviews Jay Bruce prior to the Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves game at Great American Ball Park May 24, 2012. Zahneis, who has HSAN II or Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy, type 2, is a youth reporter for MLB.com and a freshman at Lakota West. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.

More than 100 parents and classmates came out to Great American Ball Park Thursday in support of Lakota West freshman Meggie Zahneis, who was named the honorary captain prior to the Reds game.