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.

WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

Alicia Lang loses battle with CF – Alicia Lang, a 2010 Lakota West High School graduate, died from cystic fibrosis Friday, March 8 at the Cleveland Clinic, where she underwent a double-lung transplant on Feb. 11. She would have turned 21 on March 20. The family shared the news early last week.

West Chester hospital to address mental health needs – Millions of Americans experience mental illness each year and there aren’t nearly enough psychiatric beds or funds to combat the region’s growing mental health problem. Beckett Springs Hospital, scheduled to open in July in West Chester, will help address that need, said David Polunas, chief executive officer.

YRC Freight to close West Chester hub – One of the nation’s largest trucking companies is planning to shut down its West Chester hub and distribution center, leaving almost 300 workers in limbo. YRC Freight has informed a local union last week that the company plans to close a significant portion of its local operations as part of a nationwide strategy to consolidate operations, Jason Williams of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lakota West student wins Overture Award – Lakota West senior Abby Koch (pronounced “cook”) was recently named this year’s Cincinnati Overture Award winner for Visual Arts. WestChesterBuzz shared the senior’s story last week.

Lakota West hires Jan Bennett as its new girls’ soccer coach – The Lakota West Athletic Department recently announced that it has hired Jan Bennett as its new head girls’ soccer coach for its varsity program. Bennett takes over the position that was held by Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer. Schafer-Kalkoff announced her retirement in December.

Voice of America Museum Board gets official go ahead – The West Chester Township trustees, once again, agreed to enter a five-year lease with the Board of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. This agreement, which was made official last Tuesday night at the latest trustee meeting, will put the museum’s board in charge of maintaining the landmark and will allow them to raise funds as a non-profit corporation.

West Chester neighbors don’t want Kroger – A West Chester Township neighborhood has hired an attorney to prevent a shopping center, which would be anchored by a 133,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, from being built near their homes. The group is preparing for its meeting with the Zoning Commission this Monday.

New Enquirer – West Chester and Liberty townships, as well as the rest of Greater Cincinnati, saw a new-looking Cincinnati Enquirer last week. The Enquirer’s new edition unfolded last Monday.

Many crimes kept secret in small Ohio college towns – Sheila McLaughlin continued to report for The Cincinnati Enquirer on how 40 percent of college students in Oxford walk out of courtrooms with a criminal record that is sealed from public sight. Meanwhile, the rest of Butler County lives under different rules.

Posted in: Business, News, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia Lang obit, Alicia Lang obituary, Alicia's Lungs, Beckett Springs Hospital, Beckett Springs Hospital West Chester, CEO David Polunas Beckett Springs Hospital, Cystic Fibrosis, David Polunas, fundraiser, Jan Bennett, Jim Lang, Lakota West, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lindner Center of HOPE, Lindner Center of HOPE Mason, Mary Kay Lang, Nick Lang, Richard Bryant, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, West Chester business, West Chester business news, West Chester jobs, YRC Freight, YRC Freight West Chester

The Lakota West Athletic Department recently announced that it has hired Jan Bennett as its new head girls’ soccer coach for its varsity program.

Bennett’s coaching experience includes being the assistant coach at Walnut Hills, head coach of the Cincinnati United GU17 club from 2011 to present, head coach at Finneytown from 2004-2009, head coach and trainer of CWSC United GU19 club, and OSYSA state staff coach.

“I am extremely excited about the experience and passion that Coach Bennett brings to the position,” Lakota athletic director Richard Bryant said. “She came very highly recommended. I am confident that Lakota West Girls soccer will compete at a very high level under her guidance.”

Bennett takes over the position that was held by Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer. Schafer-Kalkoff announced her retirement in December.

Schafer-Kalkhoff completed her 17th season this fall as a head coach in the Lakota district after beginning her career at Lakota High School prior to its split following the 1996 season.

Her career highlights include winning the Ohio Division I state championship in 1999 and amassing 203 career wins with a 70.4 winning percentage. Her career win total is the seventh highest among all current and former girls’ soccer coaches in Ohio high school history, according westfirebirds.com.

Schafer-Kalkhoff and her husband and assistant coach, Mark Kalkhoff, retired to spend more time with their son, Connor, who will be four next fall. They both told westfirebirds.com that they expect to continue coaching soccer, just at a somewhat lower level of competition.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Jan Bennett, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Richard Bryant, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Lakota West High School is taking applications for its open head girls’ soccer coach position through Feb. 8.

All interested individuals should provide the application, letter of interest and resume electronically to athletic director Richard Bryant at Richard.Bryant@lakotaonline.com.

Individuals will be contacted directly by the athletic director in regards to the hiring process.

Qualifications include head coaching experience is preferred, successful coaching experience at HS level or equivalent and exemplary soccer knowledge.

The hiring process will be completed by March 1.

Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer, announced her retirement in December.

Schafer-Kalkhoff recently completed her 17th season as a head coach in the Lakota district after beginning her career at Lakota High School prior to its split following the 1996 season.

Her career highlights include winning the Ohio Division I state championship in 1999 and amassing 203 career wins with a 70.4 winning percentage. Her career win total is the seventh highest among all current and former girls soccer coaches in Ohio high school history, according westfirebirds.com.

Also retiring is her varsity assistant coach and husband, Mark Kalkhoff, who has also spent the last 17 years as a Lakota coach and 22 years total in high school coaching, including a stint as the head coach at Taylor high school from 1991 to 1995.

The Kalkhoff’s are the parents of an energetic little boy, Connor, who will be four next fall, and say that they expect to continue coaching soccer, just at a somewhat lower level of competition.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Richard Bryant, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Lakota West High School is taking applications for its open head girls’ soccer coach position through Feb. 1.

All interested individuals should provide the application, letter of interest and resume electronically to athletic director Richard Bryant at Richard.Bryant@lakotaonline.com.

Individuals will be contacted directly by the athletic director in regards to the hiring process.

Qualifications include head coaching experience is preferred, successful coaching experience at HS level or equivalent and exemplary soccer knowledge.

The hiring process will be completed by March 1.

Applicants can go to westfirebirds.com for the application.

Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer, announced her retirement in December.

Schafer-Kalkhoff recently completed her 17th season as a head coach in the Lakota district after beginning her career at Lakota High School prior to its split following the 1996 season.

Her career highlights include winning the Ohio Division I state championship in 1999 and amassing 203 career wins with a 70.4 winning percentage. Her career win total is the seventh highest among all current and former girls soccer coaches in Ohio high school history, according westfirebirds.com.

Also retiring is her varsity assistant coach and husband, Mark Kalkhoff, who has also spent the last 17 years as a Lakota coach and 22 years total in high school coaching, including a stint as the head coach at Taylor high school from 1991 to 1995.

The Kalkhoff’s are the parents of an energetic little boy, Connor, who will be four next fall, and say that they expect to continue coaching soccer, just at a somewhat lower level of competition.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Richard Bryant, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

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.

Voice of America Museum Board gets key go ahead – The “last piece” to make West Chester Township’s Voice of America Bethany Relay Station a museum may finally be in place. During its Tuesday night meeting, township trustees unanimously agreed to enter a five-year lease with the Board of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, which will put the museum’s board in charge of maintaining the landmark and will allow them to raise funds as a non-profit corporation.

Contest: Design the official 2013 Shamrock Shuffle t-shirt – For the first time in the history of the Shamrock Shuffle, the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty is hosting a t-shirt design contest for annual event that attracts approximately 4,000 runners every March. The Shamrock Shuffle, which is now in its seventh year, raised around $10,000 for approximately 50 local charities or causes this spring.

Township approves ‘No Parking Zones’ near local schools – The West Chester Board of Trustees approved last week the establishment of “No Parking Zones” near several of the community’s schools on Tuesday. The schools affected by the new “No Parking Zones” are Hopewell Junior and Hopewell Elementary, as well as Endeavor Elementary and Adena Elementary.

Lakota East’s Spark magazine wins Pacemaker award – Spark Magazine announced last week that it won its 10th national Pacemaker award at the National Scholastic Press Association/Journalism Education Association Fall National Convention in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 15-18. The magazine has been run by students at Lakota East High School for the past 21 years.

Endeavor recognized with SOAR Award – WestChestBuzz.com shared last week that Endeavor Elementary was honored recently by receiving the 2012 SOAR Award for High Progress in the school category. The annual award acknowledges Ohio schools and districts participating in SOAR, Battelle for Kids’ school improvement collaborative, for their academic progress in multiple grade levels and subjects in the 2011-2012 school year.

Wish List: West Chester mom wants to hear books – Dorothy Jones of West Chester is a mother of three who lost her vision in 2001 following an operation to reduce pressure on her brain. This was life-altering for Dorothy, her husband and children, who were infants and toddlers at the time, Leigh Taylor reported last week.

Tri-County Heating and Cooling sponsoring local coat drive – West Chester’s Tri-County Heating and Cooling is sponsoring the Spread the Warmth campaign to benefit Reach Out Lakota. The company is collecting new and gently-used coats and winter accessories for Reach Out Lakota from through Dec. 15. The company will donate $20 for each coat collected and $10 for each hat, scarf and pair of gloves collected, up to a maximum of $2,000.

Lakota West announces coaching changes- The Lakota West athletic department recently announced a few coaching changes. Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer, announced her retirement, while current fall coaches added spring coaching gigs.

MetroParks announces new motor vehicle permit plan – MetroParks motor vehicle permit hang tags will again be available free to all Butler County residents beginning Dec. 15. MetroParks began giving free permits to county residents after narrowly passing a levy in November of 2010.

Ex-Butler auditor Kay Rogers wants out of prison – Sheila McLaughlin of The Cincinnati Enquirer reported last Tuesday that a federal judge refused to let former Butler County Auditor Mary “Kay” Rogers out of prison early. Rogers, who is serving a two-year sentence for wire and mail fraud, asked Monday to serve the remaining five months of her sentence on home incarceration.

For collector of razors, thrill is the hunt – Reporter Rachel Richardson wrote a feature story on West Chester resident Jerry Rosenthal’s unique collection of 600 safety razors (photos below). Rosenthal told Richardson that he likes to think of himself of a treasure-hunter.

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

Tags: Tags: Endeavor Elementary, Endeavor Elementary School, Jerry Rosenthal, Lakota East, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Spark Magazine, Lakota Local Schools, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, razor collecting, razor collections, Shamrock Shuffle, Shamrock Shuffle t-shirt, Shamrock Shuffle t-shirt design, Shamrock Shuffle West Chester, SOAR, SOAR Awards, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum

The Lakota West athletic department recently announced a few coaching changes. Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer, announced her retirement, while current fall coaches added spring coaching gigs.

Schafer-Kalkhoff recently completed her 17th season as a head coach in the Lakota district after beginning her career at Lakota High School prior to its split following the 1996 season.

Her career highlights include winning the Ohio Division I state championship in 1999 and amassing 203 career wins with a 70.4 winning percentage. Her career win total is the seventh highest among all current and former girls soccer coaches in Ohio high school history, according westfirebirds.com.

Also retiring is her varsity assistant coach and husband, Mark Kalkhoff, who has also spent the last 17 years as a Lakota coach and 22 years total in high school coaching, including a stint as the head coach at Taylor high school from 1991 to 1995.

The Kalkhoff’s are the parents of an energetic little boy, Connor, who will be four next fall, and say that they expect to continue coaching soccer, just at a somewhat lower level of competition.

Meanwhile, varsity football coach Larry Cox and varsity girls’ tennis coach Bryan Skoog will be taking on more coaching duties at Lakota West.

Cox, who has been the Lakota West football coach since its first season in 1997, will be the head coach of the track and field team, while Skoog, who has coached girls’ tennis at Lakota West for eight years, takes over the boys’ tennis program. Both will take over the programs this spring.

Cox replaces Craig Myers, who has coached track and field since West opened in 1997, and Skoog replaces Dale Hutzelman, who coached the boys’ program for the past three seasons.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Bryan Skoog, Lakota West football, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lakota West tennis, Lakota West track, Larry Cox, Larry Cox Lakota West, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Both Lakota West and Ursuline had reasons to win Tuesday, but neither team could find a way to get it past the other’s goalkeeper in what ended in a 0-0 tie at Steve Cummins Soccer Park in West Chester Township.

For the Firebirds, they wanted to rebound from a 1-2 start to the season, but more importantly the team wanted to get their head coach, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, her 200th win as a varsity soccer coach in the school district.

“(A win) changes the whole week if we can get her 200th win,” said junior Lauren Heger, who recently committed to play soccer at the University of Cincinnati. “We then would be 2-2 with a full week of practice before our next game.”

With the tie, Lakota West is now 1-2-1 on the year, while Urusline has its record go to 2-0-1.

Lakota West was the first team to nearly break the tie midway through the first half when senior and Xavier recruit Maggie Hare booted a shot more than 20 yards that went above the outstretched hands of Ursuline junior goalkeeper Anna Speyer.

The shot, however, hit the top of goal post, went straight down and was picked up Speyer just after the ball landed about an inch away being a goal.

“I thought I had the goal,” Hare said after the game. “I thought it went inside the line, but I guess the ref didn’t call it.”

Then, midway through the second half, the Firebirds had another opportunity for the upset when Hare’s cross kick set up a header by Heger, which was quickly punched away by the Lions’ diving goalkeeper.

“After the game I told Anna it was her best game so far,” Ursuline head coach Colleen Dehring said. “I just had a feeling by the way she warmed up that she had something in her tonight. I don’t know if she had the ‘it’ factor or what, but she definitely stepped up.”

In total, Speyer needed seven saves to secure her second consecutive shutout.

Meanwhile, Lakota West’s senior goalkeeper Kelsie Lee also stepped up with five saves and made multiple key stops during a late second-half push by the Lions.

“She is outstanding. Without her in the goal, games would have a different outcome. It is that plain and simple,” Schafer-Kalkhoff said of Lee. “She is amazing. I don’t know how she is not picked up by D-I school already.

“I am going to have to get on the horn and make some calls because she is definitely a D-I keeper.”

D-I keeper or not, Lee fended off a flurry of Ursuline scoring opportunities near the end of the second half.

First, she punched a corner kick by senior Violet Goodwin out of crowd with about 12 minutes to go. Then, with 5:41 left in the contest, sophomore Sara Robertson took a hard shot for the corner of the net that was saved by a diving Lee.

“We have been struggling lately,” Schafer-Kalkhoff said. “It is huge for us to come out with a tie against Ursuline, who was No. 2 coming in … to come out 0-0 with them is a great outcome for us and it is definitely something to build on.”

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Anna Speyer, Colleen Dehring, Kelsie Lee, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Lakota West soccer, Lauren Heger, Lauren Heger Cincinnati, Maggie Hare, Maggie Hare Xavier, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Ursuline soccer

A senior track and cross country standout and a junior soccer player have made verbal commitments to continue their athletic careers at Northern Kentucky University, according the Lakota West Athletic Department.

Senior Brady Holmer believes NKU is the right school.

“I love the coach’s training philosophy and with their proposed jump to Division 1 next year, I know there will be inter-team competition to push me to my limits,” Holmer said.

“My mom was born in Northern Kentucky and she attended NKU for two years. I love the modern campus and the school is large yet very centralized. It is growing fast and I see so many great opportunities in the years to come.”

This past fall, Holmer was the Greater Miami Conference’s Cross Country Runner of the Year. He was also a district champion and received all-league academic honors.

Holmer plans on studying exercise physiology.

Junior Elle Nguyen also verbally committed to NKU last week, according to Lakota West girls’ soccer coach Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff.

Nguyen is a two-year varsity winner and played defense for the Firebirds this past season.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Brady Holmer, Elle Nguyen, Lakota West, Lakota West cross country, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Northern Kentucky University athletics, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Lakota West senior Lauren Pratt became the fourth girls’ soccer player on her team to recently commit to a college when she decided to make a verbal commitment to continue her career at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus.

Pratt is in her fourth season on varsity and was selected to the Greater Miami Conference First Team last fall. She also earned second-team honors as a sophomore and as a freshman.

“Lauren will be a great addition to the ODU program and I fully expect her to be an impact player for them just as she is for us,” Lakota West head coach Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff said.

Pratt joins teammates senior Kelly Mack (Wright State University), junior Maggie Hare (Xavier University) and senior Kim Love (Purdue University) as players who have recently committed.

“We have several returning players from last season’s varsity team and we have four college commitments,” Schafer-Kalkhoff said. “As always our top goal is to win the GMC and then to have a deep run in the tournament. We have a lot of potential and we need to work on getting some injured players back and getting everyone on the same page.”

Lakota West finished in a scoreless tie with Ursuline Tuesday in the season opener for both teams. The Firebirds will be back in action this Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Kings.

Last year, Lakota West had four seniors who are continuing their soccer careers in college. That group includes Alex Azeez (Purdue) Devyn Ciotti (University of Louisville), Megan Cravenor (University of Cincinnati) and Ashea Bell (Cincinnati State).

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alex Azeez, Ashea Bell, Devyn Ciotti, girls' soccer, Kelly Mack, Kim Love, Lakota West, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lauren Pratt, Maggie Hare, Megan Cravenor, Ohio Dominican, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, recruiting, Soccer, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff

Lakota West and Lakota East high schools will each host informational meetings for different sports in early March. At Lakota West, there will be an informational meeting March 1 for those interested in participating in girls’ soccer and Lakota East will host a meeting for boys’ tennis March 2.

The informational soccer meeting will be held in the community room at Lakota West High School at 7:30 p.m. and is for students interested in playing soccer in the fall.

It is recommended that all girls interested in playing soccer at Lakota West next fall attend this meeting with a parent. If an athlete or a parent cannot attend, they will need to contact varsity head coach Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff at tarask@cinci.rr.com.

The informational tennis meeting will be held in the cafeteria at Lakota East High School at 7 p.m. Students and a parent need to attend the meeting in order to complete the proper paperwork for tryouts for the Lakota East tennis team this spring.

The tryouts will begin March 7 at 3 p.m. on the high school courts. Tryouts will continue weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and March 12 at a to be determined time.

Questions regarding the tennis meeting and tryouts can be directed to Lakota East varsity head coach Greg Mahlerwein at 513-759-8615 ext. 15260.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: boys' tennis, girls' soccer, Greg Mahlerwein, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Soccer, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, tennis