Eastern Flash

Searching for a managing editor

2010-09-07T09:37:00.007-04:00

by M. Stewart

Eastern Flash faculty adviser

Melody Gustafson, the long-time managing editor of Eastern Flash, has moved on to the Kent campus. We at the East Liverpool and Salem campuses appreciate the hard work and dedication Melody displayed in her role as Flash editor and chief writer.

In the meantime, Eastern Flash is without a managing editor, and as yet no one has stepped forward to take Melody's place. We will resume publication when the position is filled.

The job requires a background in journalistic writing and editing and/or a willingness to learn. The successful candidate must be well organized, able to manage other writers and photographers, and willing to gather news from both the Salem and East Liverpool campuses.

For the most part, Eastern Flash is a chance to learn--an internship, if you will; however, the managing editor position comes with a small stipend of approximately $125 per month. Any Kent State East Liverpool or Salem student interested in the position should contact me at mrstewar@kent.edu.

American Bald Eagle in the backyard

2010-05-22T08:27:00.012-04:00

Local artist Bob Frost submitted these shots of the American Bald Eagle who nests in Springfield Township on Lippely Road, off Route 7. She nests in the tallest tree on the west side of the Firestone Farms house. It's imposing size is staggering.

According to http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/, Congress officially adopted the bird as the symbol of the United States in 1787, after Revolutionary War noise disturbed a nest. Eagles circled above the battle and complained shrilly. Patriot soldiers, sentimentally inspired, felt that the eagles were "cheerleading" them and championing liberty.

Benjamin Franklin did not agree that the eagle was a good choice because the birds' living habits are "dishonest." Franklin's observations found the Bald Eagle to be a lazy thief who is so cowardly that even little birds can drive him out of an area.

Apparently, aesthetics prevailed over Franklin's suggestion, Wild Turkey. America, in its infancy, chose a symbol reputed to have what Franklin called "a bad moral character," but one could argue that the Bald Eagle gives the U.S. a more daunting look for its seal and coin. Selecting facade over substance has become an American way.

Although the yellow-eyed Bald Eagle was endangered in previous decades, it has now been officially removed from the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Eastern Flash will break for summer and return in late August with human interest stories and relevant news in the fall.

Eastern Flash is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain experience with an internet publication medium, improve skills and provide information service to a public. It is a Columbiana County Kent State entity that allows people to explore their own interests while working with various means to share their news, information or creativity.

Eastern Flash is always open to new contributions from students, faculty, staff and residents. Tips, inquiries, ideas? Contact Melody Gustafson at magustaf@comcast.net.

Dio live at the Spectrum '86

2010-05-19T12:32:00.006-04:00

Ronnie James Dio led a fantastic, decades-long career fronting several bands, including Dio, Black Sabbath and Rainbow. He has earned renown for his strong vocals and has been described as having "one of the most recognizable voices." At the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles last April, Alice in Chains presented him with the Best Vocalist Award. He has passed away, but his influence runs through rock coming out today. This clip is "Rainbow in the Dark" live in Philadelphia in 1986.

Wilde's Revenge

2010-05-07T09:05:00.006-04:00

By Taren Maple

Dawn rises over crisp land.
A woman smiles, buttermilk lips, with autumn-red tint.
Baby's cry breaks silence, handsome cacophony in a polluted city.
The writer continues the scene, powerful, all-seeing.
He is deliberate with wit, a golden man, extravagant.
Now the child will sleep, the woman will leave.
Silence returns,
a deadly fiend thorough in its kill.
Rain washes away dreams, baptizes youth.
Dreams fold in on themselves,
a simple white tee in a drying machine
Wiped clean again.

Stars emerge;
lights guide explorers of the skies.
A writer was born,
he made Earth an anonymous eyeball, blinded by cream clouds.
Life screamed for destiny,
so we were made wilde,
beasts who feed on the weak.

Taren is a student of poetry under the instruction of Dr. Craig Paulenich. She wrote the following poem as an excercize of the one above, writing it backwards from the last line up and from right to left, with some editing decisions. While the excercize suggests possibilities to the poet in regards to her own work and process, the product is fun for readers. It is interesting to watch how the poem means differently.

Revenge of Wilde

Weak feed on beasts, Wilde made.
Destiny screamed for life
Clouds by cream, blinded, anonymous made Earth
Born was a writer,
explorer that guides the light.
Emerge stars.

Again clean wipe
Machine drying, a tee white,
they fold on dreams.
Youth baptizes, dream away the wash rain
Kill its thorough fiend, return silence.
Leave the will woman.
Sleep the will child.
Extravagant, golden, wit deliberant
Seeing-all, powerful, a continued writer
City polluted, a cacophony handsome,
silence breaks the cry.
Tint red autumn lips, buttermilk smiles,
Land crisp over dawn.

Environmental Club to hold Recycled Garment Contest, give cash prizes

2010-05-06T08:18:00.012-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Kent State University Environmental Club encourages people to design, create and submit outfits made from recyclable materials for judgement in a contest and fashion show.

According to the rules and regulations for the Recycled Garment Contest, first place wins $250, second gets $125 and third wins $75.

Judges will select winners from criteria stated clearly in the "Rules and Regulations." Garments comprised of all forms of paper, plastic and metals and no more than $25 worth of "outside materials" will be judged on creativity, wearability, and environmental awareness. "Outside materials" refers to components that are not of recycled or recyclable goods.

The rules stipulate guidelines to which participants must adhere while designing the outfits. To ask questions or request the rules and regulations from Environmental Club member Charles Stoddard, send inquiries to charles.stoddard@me.com .

Participants must submit creations by noon May 15. There is a $5 entry fee, but it also enters the participant in a gift basket drawing. The exhibition will take place at the Hot Dog Shop, corner of Fourth and Market, May 16 at 2 p.m.

All participants and models for the event must be at least 16 years of age and be prepared to discuss their creations.

All-day environmental forum has impact

2010-05-03T20:07:00.004-04:00

By Kim Schneider
EAST LIVERPOOL -- At the Earth Day Environmental Justice Conference on April 24, student and guest speakers led discussions on various environmental topics in an all-day forum.

The conference opened with a continental breakfast and a welcome with a few words from Assistant Dean Susan Rossi, pictured left.

Susan Rossi welcomed everyone for attending the event and expressed what Earth Day was like for her while growing up in the 1970’s. Rossi reminisced about the Cuyahoga River and how its pollutants caught the river on fire. She brought up old icons such as Woodsey Owl and Kermit the Frog. “If you were into conservation, it meant listening to John Denver on the radio,” Rossi said.

Following the Rossi's speech, the crowd dispersed to several rooms throughout the building to listen to the student essays on Earth Day. The speeches touched on a range of topics: bees and wildlife, recycling, endangered animals, to celebrating the environment, health issues, pollution, global warming, protecting the environment, environmental experiences and water.

The crowd regathered after the student essays to listen to speakers, including Lance Schmidt from Portage and Summit Counties Home Builders Association and Stephen Briggs, who discussed “Electric Transportation Technologies: Environmental and Economic Development Opportunities for Ohio.”

During the lunch break, Eric Wilson, pictured right, gave a presentation on Beaver Creek: A New Look at Nature.

By early afternoon, a head count of people that included both students and community members was approximately 150. The number of attendees demonstrates a public interest in environmental issues. The late afternoon count brought the total higher.

Likewise, knowledge of the number of attendees is reassuring to those who presented information; they touched others by increasing their awareness. In light of this, the event was a success.

Art students celebrate their creativity

2010-05-01T08:56:00.012-04:00

By Bob Frost
EAST LIVERPOOL -- At the OVRAC art show Thursday night, community members and students in Betsy Babb's art classes enjoyed a wonderful spread while admiring each other's creative efforts.

Photos, from top: a view of the Mary Patterson Gallery and the party; Laura Crowell poses near her various works; Kim Schneider stands near her paintings; Cassandra mingles near her framed work; James Yarwood stands by his penciled portraits of admirable men with great minds.

Bob Frost, a local artist and profesional photographer, provided the pictures here. The gallery has displayed his work in an opening in the past.

Grand opening of May 4 Visitor's Center: Remember the past, shape the future

2010-04-29T08:45:00.017-04:00

By Melody Gustafson and Mike Canaday
KENT – In recent years, a group of professionals and alumni, including KSU-EL’s own Dr. Carole Barbato, keenly felt that history, when forgotten, will repeat. The sobering lessons that rose from the blood and ashes of the incidents surrounding the May 4 tragedies are too valuable to allow them to vaporize with the years.

To that end, Barbato discussed the initiative in detail: "On May 3, the university will dedicate the May 4 site that has been recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Site Walking Tour . The historic site consists of 17.4 acres in the heart of the Kent State campus. Visitors to the campus can pick up a walking tour brochure near the May 4 memorial. They can then follow the trail markers scattered throughout the historic site. The trail markers contain photographs from the time, text, and quotes or a timeline. While viewing the site visitors can also listen to a narration of the tour by noted civil right activist, Julian Bond, by dialing on their telephones 330-672-MAY 4. During May 1-4, video documentaries will be available for visitors to use during the walking tour. The videos were created by Dr. Steve Zapytowski after he and Dr. Barbato examined 4,000 photographs taken during May 1-4, 1970.

"In addition to the walking tour, the university is in the design and fundraising phrase to create the May 4 Visitors Center. It will be a permanent exhibit in Taylor Hall overlooking the historic site. The exhibit places the events of May 4 in the context of the 1960s and discusses lessons that can be learned. You can follow the progress of the Visitors Center by joining the cause on facebook."

Click here to connect: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?%23!/pages/May-4-Visitors-Center/145400647544?ref=ts%20 . More details on the May 4 Visitors Center are at: http://www.kent.edu/may4%20 .

Eastern Flash staff members enjoyed the 50-minute walking tour experience with live guides: Alan Canfora, director of the May 4 Center and shooting victim; Provost of the Office of May 4 Initiative, Laura Davis; Dr. Barbato, event expert and aftermath witness.

Canfora’s personal articulation of the melee begins April 30, 1970 when Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia. Already a common location for anti-war rallies, the commons near Taylor Hall became the site of instigation. At noon May 1, the Victory Bell, called students to gather to rally.

Canfora said “there was protest in the air” the night of May 2, when “the ROTC building burned to the ground.” The building was a center of controversy; students were repulsed by a military recruiter on the campus, the domain of scholarship. After several failed attempts, the building caught fire at last. When the firemen responded, they brought with them “the country sheriff, state boys, city cops, campus police and tear gas,” he said.

According to Canfora, on May 3, 1200 guardsmen came to Kent in military vehicles and occupied the main street, and Gov. Rhodes held a news conference that day, seizing “a photo opportunity” two days before the election. He “exaggerated the situation and demonized KSU students,” said Canfora. Later, he described a scene in which the governor’s speech had elevated the situation to a point wherein guardsmen were beating people with clubs and stabbing students with bayonets.

Canfora narrated the events of May 4 in depth for a crowd of students, alumni and community members: “It was a 24-minute hunting expedition. Armed men with deadly rifles were marching around chasing people. They shot at people they specifically wanted to shoot, but at the same time they shot non-protesters who were simply walking to class.”

Canfora dived behind a tree under gunfire, but still sustained a gunshot wound to the wrist. He hitchhiked to the hospital because the two ambulances weren’t sufficient, even for the mortally wounded.

The dead, shot because they allegedly posed threats to the armed guards, are: Sandra Scheuer, neck wound from 390 ft.; Jeffrey Miller, mouth wound from 265 ft., Allison Krause, chest wound at 343 ft.; and William Schroeder, chest wound from 343 ft.

In the days immediately after, the tragedy effectually stimulated activism nationwide and led to the National Student Strike of 1970. Across the country, 450 high school or college campuses were shut down by violent and non-violent protests.

Stories like this are what visitors will find when they walk the tour. Multimedia documentary programs have been created for the marker stops and one can download them to cell phones or other portable devices provided by the center, on site.

The center, located at 101 Taylor Hall, is open from noon to 10 p.m. on May 1 and 2; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on May 3; and 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on May 4.

During the entire month of May art by E.A. Meuser will be on display at Taylor Hall and in dowtown Kent at the McKay Bricker Gallery at 141 East Main Street. The artist will donate all proceeds to the May 4 Visitor's Center.

For more information on opportunities to make a monetary gift to the May 4 Visitor’s Center, please call the office of Institutional Advancement at 330-672-2222 or email to advancement@kent.edu. To view a list of events for Commemoration Week, click here:
http://www.kent.edu/about/may4commemoration/events-listing.cfm .

Photos from top: (1)This is the front of Taylor Hall, and this is the location of the infamous shootings. The May 4 Visitor's Center is around back. (2) Canfora, Barbato and Davis with a crowd of avid listeners on one of the permanent memorial sites that mark the spots where the dead had fallen.

Odds and Ends

2010-04-24T08:46:00.015-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Karen Vincent will recieve an achievement award from the Business Management and Related Technologies (BMRT) program on May 6, and it will be on display on the Wall of Fame in the Main Building. She is not only a successful student, but works hard full time to ensure cleanliness at the Mary Patterson Building.

On May 29, there will be a student art display at the Mary Patterson Gallery on the second floor. It is open to the public. Pictured right are James Yarwood, Laura Crowell and Professor Babb.

On Wednesday, April 28, KSU-EL communications professor Dr. Carole A. Barbato is presenting " May 4, 1970 - May 4, 2010 Remember the Past, Shape the Future." It will be in the Blair Memorial Library in the Main Building at noon. Her presentation is the first of several upcoming events documenting the Kent State shootings, 40 years later. Dr. Barbato is a local expert on the subject and was attending class at KSU the day the shooting occurred. She is also a key figure in the soon-to-open Kent State May 4 Visitor Center and walking tour at the main campus. For a schedule of the official KSU events pertaining to these openings and anniversary ceremonies, contact the office of Institutional Advancement at 330-672-2222. Pictured left, from left, Laura Davis, Alan Canfora, shooting victim, and Dr. Barbato at the scene of the shootings. Photos and text by Mike Canaday.

East Liverpool Wrestling Team vs Steelers

2010-04-22T07:44:00.009-04:00

By Kara Lockhart-Milan
EAST LIVERPOOL -- We know the Pittsburgh Steelers can play football, and they have six Super Bowl rings to prove it. But now we know that the gridiron gladiators can handle themselves on a basketball court too.

The Steelers Footballers Basketball Team took the court at the Potter Field house for a charity basketball game against the ELHS Wrestling Team on April 19. Entering the gymnasium at approximately 8 p.m. were players Antwaan Randle El, Charlie Batch, Deshea Townsend, Justin Vincent, Dennis Dixon, Nick Eason, Anthony Madison, Brandon London and Stefan Logan.

Tip-off time came; Steelers Antwaan Randle El was met at center court by all 13 wrestlers who wanted to show they meant business and official Scott Dieringer. Rules of the game were explained by Dieringer, then the trash talking began.

From tip-off, play was about as intense as it was funny. The Steelers faced some tough competition on the court; out sized for the most part the wrestlers gave it their all. The Potters 103-pounder, Frankie Williams, was picked up by Steelers 310-pound Nick Eason at one point so he couldn’t do a thing; the crowd went wild. It was a night of laughter and excitement for all. A highlight of the evening was when wrestling Coach Jimmy Joe Savage put down his camera and took the court; he showed the kids you’re never too old to put in two minutes on the court.

At halftime, the Steelers signed autographs for fans. The best way to describe the game is that it was a bad, yet hilarious version of a Harlem Globetrotters game that kept the fans cheering for both teams. Early in the fourth quarter the Steelers saw their lead become a deficit with a little finger work of the scoreboard controls. When the final buzzer sounded, the Steelers were 107-99 winners, real score never to be known. The big winners of the night were the wrestlers that had an experience of a lifetime playing the Steelers.

The charity basketball game was sponsored by the EL Takedown Club to benefit the East Liverpool Wrestling Program.

Photos, from top: #7 Steelers Antwaan Randle El and Deshea Townsend kept the laughter going on the bench; #24 EL Junior Kody Edwards trying to guard Steelers Nick Eason; #41 EL Senior Ryan Milan and Steelers Antwaan Randle El say "cheese"; #28 EL Senior Ryan Milan tries to take the ball from Steelers Nick Eason;#12 Coach Jimmy Joe Savage forgot it was basketball and tried a wrestling move on Steelers Dennis Dixon; #33 Potters 103 pounder Frankie Williams was picked up by Steelers 310-pound Nick Eason so he couldn’t do a thing.

2010-04-22T07:28:00.025-04:00

Steelers vs. ELHS Wrestlers...in basketball?

2010-04-21T12:10:00.008-04:00

By Bethany Gadd
EAST LIVERPOOL -- At East Liverpool High School Apr. 19, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the ELHS Wrestling Team in a basketball game. It was a blast for the community although the wrestlers lost.

Photos, from top: #82 Antwaan Randle El signs autographs during half time; #28 Anthony Madison for the Steelers looks on while #2 Dennis Dixon jumps for a rebound, East Liverpool Wrestler Preston Foster looks on; Johonna Hull and Bethany Gadd take advantage of a photo opportunity with Steeler Dennis Dixon; Steelers, Anthony Madison #28, Dennis Dixon #2 and Stefan Logan #15 taking a defensive stand.

2010-04-21T10:08:00.014-04:00

Steelers in Liverpool

2010-04-18T16:41:00.002-04:00

Click to enlarge.

Proverb

2010-04-15T07:53:00.006-04:00

By James Yarwood

One day, the wealthiest king of the wealthiest kingdom decided that he wanted more.

The king had savaged his way through all the lands of all the world. He had solved every puzzle, defeated every Kraken, taken all things as his. The peasants beloved and worshipped him above all others. The king seemed a living god, perfection embodied; he had all and everything, but one day, he decided that he wanted more.1

He had the wealth, thought the king, he had the daring and the people who knew how! He could do it, he could make himself greater! He would start small; one does not joust before learning to tilt, and so he, the great and powerful king of the world, does not consume heaven before first mastering those wills of earth. He was a wise king, so he set to work thinking of ways that he could become greater. And then it came to him. He had mastered all the ways and wills of men; he had quelled great demons and menace beyond number. He ruled and was loved by all, but he was still slave to laws. Enslaved not the laws of his people, no, but the laws of nature itself. He could not fly, this great god-king, he could not bend time, could not walk on water, could not even turn lead to gold. And there, he had it.2

What did he seek in his early days of pillage? What did he love and cherish above all things? What was he himself adorned with at this very instant? Midas had been foolish, but he had not this king's fine mind and commanding step, and this king would do it better.3

Alchemy, he thought, is the way to go. He could understand alchemy, although he knew he could never grasp it. This king was a man of high intellect and humble grace. So he called for the alchemists, called for the chemists, the mathematicians, the soothsayers, the well-tellers, all these he called forth, all these would be needed, to make his gold, and he would have the best. 4

They were loathsome at first- impudent and lazy. But the king easily dealt with their impudent questions and their doubt. It did not take much convincing; he was beloved after all, even by these philosophers and learned men; and of course above all, our king was a warrior first. And so they started, tirelessly, days in, months out, until the king grew angry. He was not seeing his results; he was not happy with these prestidigitators. These alchemic charlatans were mocking him! He put them to death. The next batch would do better.5

The convincing was less involved this time, their tempers less haughty, their woes less grievant. Yes! Thought the king, they would do better. They did not do better, though, through months and years, and all of the kings fortune-- gone. Yet, he had land and title, no one need know his treasury was empty. He was an old king, a tired warlord, not weak, but not dominant-- not any longer. He would sell off some of his land, as there were other rising tyrants, lords and barons who would pay, long had they coveted the land. Just as he, the king, coveted god-dom, true deityship, and not his mortal-worship here. All of it would come to him, all of it would pass, if only he could turn the lead.6

There was no need convincing the third batch. Their wills were tired and stupid, and the king was no longer the only ruler of the world. Countries and continents were autonomous now, sold to the highest bidder. He still held much land, and great wealth, but the alchemists would help with that. Years upon years, the treasury came and went; it ebbed with every alchemic botch, and swelled with every scrap of land sold, until the great king fell. His lands gone, his treasury spent, the great king went insane. He stripped off his clothes and ran off one day in a fury, mad from years of disappointment and war. 7

No one saw him after that, after his nude cavort into the sunset. But everyone remembered him. All knew the story of the greatest king, of the greatest kingdom, who one day wanted more and spent all he had to get back all he had spent.

SGO Election: candidates' debate slated

2010-04-13T09:25:00.012-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

SALEM – All Student Government Organization (SGO) candidates submitted their nomination forms and all candidates but those for president are uncontested.

Brad Heckathorn, three-year member of SGO and senator for Smokin’ Aces Club, will oppose 2-year member Danielle Stewart in a debate April 15, at 2 p.m. in room 101.

These three uncontested candidates will automatically fill their seats: Michael Morgan, vice-president; Jo Broffman, secretary; Christina Pinatiello, historian. The three offices for which no one attempted to run, web officer, treasurer, and communications officer, will become appointed positions after the president has been established.

Stewart put forth her intentions if she wins the president position. She said, “If I am elected president of this campus’s student body, I will be sure to work on these issues and make the voices of the students heard. I have numerous reasons for running for SGO President. One major reason is to ‘change the face’ of SGO because for a long time SGO has been made up of the same group of people. My goal is to get more people involved, and to do this, I plan on holding more activities on campus. I would like to see more academic help for students that need it- for instance, psychology tutoring. I would also like to see maybe some group study sessions with tutors or professors leading the sessions. This is something I have seen done many times on main campus, but not really thought about here.”

Stewart continued: “Another outreach idea I would like to continue is to advocate having the community daycares in the area offer a discounted rate to students with children. This would be a great resource for single parents and co-parenting families with a need for daycare that cannot afford the high rates because of our suffering economy.”

Heckathorn discussed the importance of the SGO and how he can work with others to improve the KSU-Salem experience: “We act as liaisons between the clubs, the students and the business office. We [SGO members] exist as an entity for the single purpose of speaking for every student who comes to us with ideas or complaints.

"Some people may think they can't make a difference. Well, everyone has something they can give, whether ideas or leadership, and everyone has the ability to to make this a stronger organization. It is said that you are only as strong as our weakest link and we believe that holds true with the SGO. It is important that everyone knows that we are not involved for our own benefit, the office, or the money. We became officers to better our school and the quality of it for the next generation."

Broffman, a human development and family studies (HDFS) major and SGO secretary for the 2010-2011 year, said: “Being a student leader isn't about boosting your ego or getting a better job after graduation or looking good on your resume. It's about serving your campus, your community, and your fellow students. I look forward to serving the needs of the Salem campus students.”

Pinatiello, a justice studies major, said: “My plans as historian are to get pictures of important events and keep track of them.” The position requires her to compile visual documentation of school functions.

Michael Morgan, vice-president, declined comment Monday.

Voters can pick up election ballots at the reception desk between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on both Wednesday, Apr. 21 and Thursday, Apr. 22. Everyone will learn the results at the Apr. 30 Awards Banquet.

East Liverpool's Council of Student Organizations (CoSO) will announce elections at a later time.

(Photos from top: Danielle Stewart with daughter; Brad Heckathorn; Jo Broffman; Christina Pinatiello with dad. Photos submitted by candidates.)

Carnegie Museums: Lots to Offer!

2010-04-08T09:41:00.005-04:00

A small group of students, faculty and community members took a trip to Carnegie Museums of Art and of Natural History during spring break. Below is a sampling of some of the exhibits on display there, clockwise, from left: Professor M. Stewart and students admire casts of various ancient sculptures; a student stands by a cast of goddess Athena from a colossal bust from an original from Tivoli, Italy; porcelain sculpture, "Instict" by Sergei Isupov, 2000; James Yarwood and Laura Crowell admire paintings on permanent display; two assembled skeletons of Tyrranasaurus Rex species hover over the room. Photos by Mike Canaday.

2010-04-08T09:10:00.005-04:00

Remembering the Holocaust

2010-04-05T09:33:00.004-04:00

by Bethany Gadd

EAST LIVERPOOL -- For those interested in learning more about the Holocaust, KSU will host a two-day event to showcase its devastating truths. On Wednesday Apr. 7, “Escape from Sobibor” will be shown in Room 116 of the Main Building at 4:00 pm. On Thursday April 8, “The Last Days” will be shown at 2 p.m. also in Room 116 of the Main Building. Discussion and refreshments will follow each film.

As coordinator of Remembrance Day, Deborah Woods has organized events to commemorate the Holocaust for over six years. It has been her experience that many students are surprisingly unaware of the Holocaust. Those who are tend to have the misconception that the Nazis targeted only Jews.

“Students don’t understand the World War II era, nor do they understand there were hundreds of camps besides Auschwitz,” said Woods.

Woods’ comprehensive knowledge on the Holocaust and the events surrounding it allow her to better inform and educate students and members of the community. Because she was born only one year after the liberation of the concentration camps, she was taught about this tragic event in school. Woods believes that growing up while the Holocaust was still fresh in the public's mind helped create her intense passion for this subject.

Woods’ interest in the Holocaust stems from the fact that she believes it was a “human” crime, and not merely a “German” crime, which she believes most people never even think to consider.

“Anyone or any group of people, driven to the limits of hate and intolerance, is capable of mass murder. It is a great mystery of our century how anyone could let this happen,” she said.

OVRAC Community Art Show Opening

2010-03-26T13:10:00.003-04:00

By Mike Canaday
EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council (OVRAC) sponsored an opening wherin 36 entries by various KSU art students and community members were on display.

The judged show featured pieces of various media and styles. First place went to Courtney Cottrill for her Sharpie and whiteout drawing, "Perfect"; "Mr. Goldenshower's Daughters" by Jason Gearin earned second; and Kam Hayes' "Picasso Fetii Period" placed third. All paintings are shown below in the order of their placing. Also shown below is one wall of the display in the Mary Patterson Gallery. Matt Stewart, OVRAC Chair is on the far right.

Several of the paintings are offered for sale and will remain on display in the second floor of the Mary Patterson Building.

During the party, a small group decided to meet at 10 a.m. Mar. 30 in front of the Mary Pat for a fieldtrip to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. If anyone else wants to join, call Mike at 330-718-5792.

Eastern Flash will return after spring break with more coverage of East Liverpool and Salem news and happenings. Enjoy the start of a warm season!

2010-03-26T12:51:00.011-04:00

Five hundred pound gorilla

2010-03-23T13:52:00.007-04:00

By Mike Canaday and Melody Gustafson
WASHINGTON -- At long last, the vehemently embattled heath care plan is a done deal after a stealthy late Sunday night House vote. The Republicans and the surveyed Americans’ efforts both were unable to stop the Democratic majority from pounding a whopping entitlement expansion into unwilling American throats.

CNN reported Mar. 22 that those making under a certain income yearly will benefit from government subsidies that will help to pay their premiums. This bill entitles additional citizens to benefits.

A CNN broadcast Mar. 22 showed clips from House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner chiding the other lawmakers for the unfortunate outcome and the deplorable way the legislators burned the midnight oil, to hurriedly and recklessly turn out a shoddy, red-tape nightmare from their secret meeting. Boehner said that the House passed legislation that “no one finds satisfactory.”

Will this bill flower into a saving grace or oppress, as the last nail in a coffin?

Proponents such a Pelosi and Obama orchestrated every low-down trick up the sleeve to railroad this hateful, foot-tall stack of garbage into law. They had to drop abortion from the bill, and toss the national student loan overhaul in the brew to clear the air for what is euphemistically termed “landmark legislation.” It isn’t surprising either, that normal operating rules designed to ensure fair, productive government required suspension for passage. Reconciliation, they call it. We call it a sneaky way to lessen the votes needed for passage and limit opposing debate.

What does the nation’s student loan apparatus have to do with our heath care anyway? Nothing, but a desirable, feel-good law became an underhanded political gimmick on a bargaining table. Yes, it’s clever, but it seems unethical.

Now the Fed will have a monopoly on the student loan market. Aren’t competition-crushing monopolies illegal in this country? Americans will have to sit back and watch while the billions of dollars that the bill will “rescue” from the private lenders get lost or remanded to health care. The legislators acquiesced in order to boost Pell dollars and in turn, provide education to poor Americans. Some have written opinions that the money will help pay for health care, and some think it will pay on the deficit. Political promises are as good as the best laid plans in the devil’s company.

The people accusing Obama of a socialist agenda certainly have a stronger argument today. This bill is the first of its kind in that it requires a person to buy something, and its buddy bill in reconciliation snatched an industry from the private sector. No one will bat an eye to discover in 10 years that Pell grants are scarce, health care quality has declined disgustingly, and the insolvent bureaucracies shoved through at the speed of light back in 2010 became more costly and ineffective than Congress itself.

With 1/6 of the economy at stake, it puts the government deeper in your pockets. Jail time and taxes are the instruments of conformity. The evaluation of a person’s financial status will now be more of a bureaucratic priority. The federal government, empowered overnight, will not only have control of overseeing your finances via tax income statements, they will have your medical records as well. The fed will be looking over your shoulder more and more now. Obama is now your newest senior family member telling you what you must buy and do, when and where.

All the other entitlement programs have a new partner on their bench. This partner is wearing the same jersey, but looks like a 500-pound gorilla. Please post a comment on our site on this issue and let your ideas be known, for or against. There is no shortage of noise from the pundits and politicos, but let’s hear from the ones who will live and roll with these changes.

300 million years ago

2010-03-22T14:37:00.008-04:00

by Kimberly Schneider

On March 9 Prof. Francis Graham took his Earth Dynamics class on a fieldtrip to a Washingtonville Shale deposit outside of Wellsville at Yellow Creek. The purpose of the fieldtrip was to explore the possibilities of finding fossils within the rocks. While many of the students did find a few fossils, Graham found a masterpiece: petrified wood sandwiched between two pieces of sandstone.

Graham told his class the stone is a piece of Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formations, which is approximately 300 million years old. Where Washingtonville Shale sits now was once a natural forest that was covered by glaciers. Time has changed the formation into what it is now. Washingtonville Shale once had a layer of Ames limestone, but that layer of rock has eroded away due to weathering.

Graham pointed out that the Ames limestone is part of what makes up Kent State East Liverpool’s Mary Patterson Building. After his fieldtrip was over Graham had taken a few of the students over to show them what he was talking about with the building. He also pointed out a few of fossils that lie within the limestone at the Mary Pat.

Professor Graham is an encyclopedia of knowledge on many topics; he has many talents and several interests outside of Kent State. One of his interests is in fossils, many of his fossils he carries with him in a case. These are his select few: “something to keep my interest when I retire,” he said.

The Porcelain President

2010-03-21T08:32:00.005-04:00

By James Yarwood
The Voters were tired. Two terms of a Legacy Ape with a penchant for vendetta had made them so.

You see the country had been attacked once. Hive Minded Zealots had crashed a couple of Sky-Flyers into a couple of edifices and everyone had gotten really upset.

So the Legacy Ape went to war. He flung some shit and soldiers round about where the Hive Minded Zealots were, but not near enough. He sent those soldiers and that shit to the Man with the Walrus Moustache, care of the Ape’s foot in his ass.

You see: the Man with the Walrus Moustache had stolen a banana refinery or something from the Legacy Ape’s dear old Chicken-Necked Daddy; and the Ape was still pissed about it. As was his Vice President: a Snarling Vulture with a heart condition who himself had had stock in the refinery or whatever it was.

So the Voter’s land was at war and for eight years nobody really talked about it. Somebody would say something like my son or daughter is in the service, and someone else would say “Good for them, servin’ their country” or “Oh that’s too bad, damn this pointless war.”

Whatever anybody had to say about it they were all stuck with it when the time came to finally say goodbye to the Legacy Ape. Who had also stuck them with a down turned economy and a pock-marked international face, both due to the war.

So, when a smart speaking Porcelain Man came around spouting “Hope and Change” from between his pretty porcelain teeth, the voters voted him in. And that was that.

But the problems that the Legacy Ape left behind were of a tough, hard nature and could have broken men of plaster or clay. So the Porcelain President chose to be careful.

He was out of the country more often than not and he was making a grand time of it. He observed all the local customs, bending stiffly at his jointed waist, and talking wittily with foreign dignitaries of any ilk. He was keen to keep his shiny veneer.

But there was still a war on. So a bunch of Boars with pips on their chests pushed with their tusks and chipped at the Porcelain President and broke his resolve. More troops with less experience were sent to sink in a quagmire many miles from home.

The Money Lenders (Shifty Snakes and Whining Weasels) ran out of money to lend, and in fact had only been lending the idea of money for years. They cried, they coiled and clawed at the Porcelain President, and they, too, broke his resolve. So he threw money at them and hoped they’d chase it and go away.

But he looked so very good behind a podium and he said such intelligent and handsome things.

He wanted to close down the Isle of Pain, because it had been a bad draconian idea of the last administration, and he was a nice Porcelain guy. He wanted to make sure sick people could get well without having any money, because there wasn’t any money to have thanks to the Snakes and Weasels. He wanted to chase windmills and capture the sun. Some of the Voters thought he was crazy.

They yelled and threw stones; the Porcelain President did speeches behind hard plastic. What would he do with the detainees from the Isle of Pain? None of the Voters wanted them tortured on Voter soil, but nor should the detainees be let go. Because they might have actually done something, or surely would if let go because of course they were angry about being detained.

Then they thought that when the Porcelain President had said that he wanted to help the sick, what he meant was help them to die. You see a fair portion of the Voters had actually really liked the Legacy Ape. They were made up of Praying-Baying Sheep, Old Rich Lizards, and other Legacy Apes too stupid to believe anything else.

And all these Voters listened to everything that they’re told by programs hosted by a range of various Flapping-Mouths without any brains. Coincidentally the Brainless Mouths are on a network owned by one of the Old Rich Lizards, who in conjunction with other Old Rich Lizards and Legacy Apes had a vested interest in the current medical system.

But these Mouths would tell these Sheep the craziest, stupidest things, and the Sheep would believe them. Because that’s what Sheep do. And so the Sheep got angry and mean (because the Mouths had told them to) and they threw more rocks and they chipped at the Porcelain President’s shiny veneer. And he got scared of breaking altogether.

Then one day he cracked. The terrible things the Sheep said, the slings and arrows, shot through and began shattering his dreams. And rather than risk himself shattering, the Porcelain President tucked himself away in a velvet lined drawer in his big White Play-House. Until by and by Hope and Change became Wait and See.

Updated site unifies campuses with sharper image

2010-03-16T13:21:00.008-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
COLUMBIANA COUNTY -- The formerly separate websites for the Salem and East Liverpool campuses have now been combined into an aesthetically different solo site with updated menu options and information.

All regional campuses have to follow the Kent template according to Moneeka Gordon, computer technician at KSU-EL, and this new layout "went live" for Columbiana County's campuses and KSU-Geauga Mar. 11.

The new look is more visual, which follows trends in web design-- brighter color and more movement. Gordon pointed out the fantastic billboard photos of local students and faculty that head the tops of all the landing pages.

Gordon said she customized the drop-down menus so that options that are more relevant to regional campus life are handy. For instance, the Kent model supplies tab links for athletics, but as no athletic program exists here, the Columbiana County page has one for Workforce Development instead.

Gordon described the new page's ease in navigation: "No matter which page you are on, you can navigate to the homepage by clicking on the Columbiana icon, or as you get deeper into a page you can navigate back to the main section by clicking the subsite name at the top [Gold Bar]."

The old page will fall away into the cyberbyss of useless material; it will eventually be eliminated and become inaccessible with the shutting down of the server that supplied it.

Gordon also mentioned that she created a "News and Events" tab in what was formerly the "For the Media" tab and there is a link to Eastern Flash there.

OVRAC Community Art Show

2010-03-15T09:28:00.003-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Tri-State Area artists are encouraged to enter the Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council’s annual community art show. The competition is open to all artists who reside in Ohio, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania.

Entries will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 19-20 in the gallery at Kent State East Liverpool’s Mary Patterson Building, 213 East Fourth Street, downtown. An opening reception will be held in the Mary Patterson Gallery on Thursday, March 25.. Cash prizes and certificates will be awarded the night of the reception. Food and beverages will be provided

Entries must be recent, original works not previously exhibited in the KSU Mary Patterson Gallery. All two-dimensional work must be framed and ready to hang, with sturdy eye screws and strong wire attached. All works on paper must be framed under glass or plastic. Works to be hung must not exceed 48 inches in width. Three-dimensional art should be stable and reasonably tip-resistant.

All submitted pieces must have a completed identification label fastened to the back (or bottom). Labels and information sheets are available at the Kent State East Liverpool reception desk at the Main Building, 400 East Fourth Street. Labels also will be available at the gallery during the drop-off times.

A $10 per-piece entry fee (limit: three per artist) is required upon delivery of artwork. Please make checks payable to: Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Photography will not be accepted for the spring competition, but photographers are invited to participate in the OVRAC photography competition held in the fall.

The exhibit will run from March 25 – April 16. Regular gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday noon-2 p.m. and Thursday 6-8 p.m.

For more information on the spring show contact Matthew Stewart, OVRAC director, by e-mail at mrstewar@kent.edu or phone (330) 853-1814.

Student government nomination deadline draws near

2010-03-11T13:35:00.012-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- It's that time of year again when young students minds turn to thoughts of submitting their nomination forms for student government positions that will empower them to improve their school.

Those who wish to become candidates in the 2010 election to gain positions in the Student Government Organization (SGO) must enter their paperwork by Friday, Mar. 19 at the reception desk. Dates for debate and election will be set after the nomination deadline. Incumbents must fill out forms also.

There are seven positions for which to run: president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, web officer, communications officer, and historian. The last two were not elected positions previously, according to Kristen Toothman, director of enrollment and student services.

Brad Heckathorn, SGO member, Smokin' Aces Club senator and candidate for president, urges people to become involved and strive for positions of leadership. He sat down with Eastern Flash to discuss the importance of student government and the ways that a student can make a difference.

Heckathorn said: "This is our campus, and we want to make it the best it can be. The SGO is one of the major players of all the clubs because we, as a whole, are the ones in the middle. We act as liaisons between the clubs, the students and the business office. We [SGO members] exist as an entity for the single purpose of speaking for every student who comes to us with ideas or complaints."

"Some people may think they can't make a difference. Well, everyone has something they can give, whether ideas or leadership, and everyone has the ability to to make this a stronger organization. It is said that you are only as strong as our weakest link and we believe that holds true with the SGO. It is important that everyone knows that we are not involved for our own benefit, the office, or the money. We became officers to better our school and the quality of it for the next generation."

Contact Heckathorn at bheckath@kent.edu with questions about the functions and responsibilities of the positions. You may also contact the SGO office by phone at KSU-Salem.

E.L. Clocktower

2010-03-10T07:33:00.004-05:00

The East Liverpool Alumni Clocktower is a beautiful site at any time of day but especially in the evening. (M. Gustafson)

Three Poets and a Microphone

2010-03-04T16:57:00.009-05:00

By Melody Gustafson and Mike Canaday
EAST LIVERPOOL -- In the Mary Patterson Building's Brown Room Wednesday night, the Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council presented three KSU poets who read their work for a mixed crowd of students, faculty and community members.

Jason Venner, an instructor and published poet, had taught a poetry writing class at KSU-EL Fall 2009 and had copies of his book, Opening Up the Trees, for sale. Students James Yarwood and Levi Pollock opened the action in their debut billed event. All three poets have had the benefit of Dr. Craig Paulenich's instruction and direction in the pursuit of their skills.

Photos, below, from top: James Yarwood reads at podium; JasonVenner; Levi Pollock; Pollock, Yarwood, Dr. Craig Paulenich, and Venner stand in front of a painting by Elizabeth Babb whose work has been on display since her reception there.

2010-03-04T08:18:00.019-05:00

A drop box means so much to them

2010-03-03T17:32:00.007-05:00

By Kim Schneider

EAST LIVERPOOL – In cooperation with Leadership Columbiana County (LCC), KSU will sponsor a donation drive for the Christina House, to benefit the children of domestic violence.

The Christina House shelters approximately 50 children a year; many of the children often find themselves leaving their home with just the clothes on their backs. Therefore, Leadership Columbiana County has supplied drop boxes in KSU-EL Mary Patterson building and main building to collect items to place in the backpacks that Wal-Mart has donated. The purpose of the drop boxes is to supply the children of the Christina House with a “survival/comfort kit.” The items they are looking for are: blankets, teddy bears, coloring books, writing utensils, toys, undergarments and personal grooming items.

The Christina House is a domestic violence program sponsored since 1997 by the Catholic Charities Regional Agency that provides emergency shelter to victims of domestic violence and their children. The Christina House is the only full-service domestic violence program in Columbiana County. They operate a 24-hour crisis line for victims of domestic violence and other abuse. The program guides victims through a process to bring about safety and stability to their lives. The Christina House will assist in filing for protection orders, provide community education for various topics, including domestic violence, dating abuse, sexual assault, and child abuse safety.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. In Ohio, 20,608 domestic violence cases were filed in 2006. West Virginia reported 12,528 and Pennsylvania reported 91,545! In Ohio, 345 deaths have occurred from domestic disturbances in 2006; in Pennsylvania, 64 women were killed in 2006, and since June 22, 2008 24 people were killed, including three children. West Virginia reported 37 homicides as result of domestic violence. West Virginia also reports 996 children were victims of domestic violence and seven killed. These facts don’t pertain only to women; men are victims as well and are included in the overall statistics.

What is domestic violence?

Domestic violence is a pattern of physical and emotional coercive and violent behavior that restricts the activity and independence of another person. Abusers use verbal insults, financial control, emotional attacks and threats, and physical and sexual violence to get their partners to do what they want. The main goal of the abuser is to gain control or maintain power in the relationship.

Domestic violence does not discriminate. Victims are both male and female and can occur in all types of relationships, all neighborhoods and all types of families.

Contacts:
If you need help or know someone who is being abused and want to help, call the Christina House 24-hour hotline at 330-420-0036.

For more information about the Catholic Charities Regional Agency, call the Lisbon office at 330-420-0845. For information, referrals, and confidential services call the Christina House 24-hour crisis line at 330-420-0036.

Soon to bloom

2010-03-01T09:26:00.004-05:00

Spring is coming soon; the sun-worshippers are watching the approach of the vernal equinox, March 20. This is the day when the sun crosses the celestial equator, resulting in a day and night of equal length.

The sun rises over the gnarled fruit trees of Peace Valley Orchard in New Waterford. (Photo, left, By Mike Canaday)

Poetry reading Wednesday at KSU-EL

2010-02-28T21:50:00.025-05:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Don't miss the Ohio Regional Valley Arts Council winter literary event Wednesday, March 3. Hear Northeast Ohio poet Jason Venner (above) and KSU students James Yarwood, and Levi Pollock read their work. As always, food and beverages will be provided. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Brown Room (second floor Mary Patterson Bldg.) Also, Wednesday will be your last chance to see the Elizabeth Babb exhibit in the adjacent art gallery. Jason Venner's latest book, Opening Up the Trees, will be available at the reading $7. Everything else is free. Click either image to enlarge. (Photo by Kim Schneider)

New assistant dean at KSU-EL

2010-02-25T10:22:00.015-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- New Assistant Dean Dr. Susan Rossi, who in January assumed the duties of former interim Assistant Deans Shawn Golden and David Guy, looks forward to the challenge of managing the campus.

Before coming to KSU, Rossi spent 15 years at Eastern Gateway Community College (EGCC) occupying various administrative positions, including admissions counseling and academic affairs. Her final position before moving on was dean of business, engineering, information technology, humanities, and social services. "I was, in a nutshell, dean of everything except nursing and like medical disciplines," she said.

During her time there, she worked with her collegues to design new programs, including power plant technology, which attracted non-traditional students who had been displaced from local, industrial occupations. "It was so great to see them learn and be successful, graduate and get jobs, and maintain their quality of living," she said.

Dr. Rossi helped start pre-collegiate early-intervention programs, termed Quest, of which the first was Math Quest. Realizing that one impediment to student success is undeveloped skills prior to admission, she and her collegues strategized that an early, sixth-grade level intervention would be helpful. According to Rossi, fifth graders, especially girls, generally begin to lose interst in math and science at that age. Steubenville youths, regardless of ability, engaged in fun games that would make them more comfortable with mathematics.

Although the retention rate at EGCC and KSU fall in line with national averages, Rossi explained that "We wanted to change our little part of the world after seeing how many developmental students we had," also pointing out that the intervention must come to younger students who have already turned away from academia. By developmental, she means students who must strengthen skills that should have tempered before commencing higher education.

The success of that program led to Quest's growth beyond math; different faculty members would champion various Quests that focused on disparate age groups up to the high school senior level. High school senior business students participated in business-plan competitions; sophomores benefited from an interactive digital media event and the students' presentations were shown on computer screens displayed gallery style. In all cases, the age group and discipline determined the type of event and its organization. At the time she took her leave from EGCC, the faculty was researching the possibilties of Chem Quest.

Although she is still acclimating herself to KSU, she plans to improve retention levels from the nationally comparable 50-75 percent because "we aren't where we should be and can do better than that," she said, "And besides, from a business perspective, it's cheaper to keep them than find new ones." After gathering the data that will show her "a snapshot" of the campus, she will formulate a more definitive stratagem based on hard fact rather than idyll theory.

Guy said of the transition: "We [Guy and Golden] have done some of the functions in the past, and we are available to help her. She is making this move very smoothly, and her past administrative experience qualifies her so that she only needs to learn the Kent way of doing things."

Originally an East Liverpool resident and ELHS graduate, Rossi said, "Everyone has been very supportive and I'm glad to be here."

Benefit musical slated for abuse victims

2010-02-22T16:10:00.005-05:00

By Kim Schneider

SALEM -- Leadership Columbiana County (LCC), a nonprofit educational organization, will host a benefit production of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming at the Salem Community Theater on March 18, 2010 at 7 p.m. The cost of the tickets are $14. The net proceeds of the show will go to the Christina House, a shelter for domestic violence victims.

Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming, conceived by Alan Bailey and written by Connie Ray is a story blended with bluegrass music, which takes place in 1945. The story is a post World War II tribute to the Sanders family as they bid farewell to Pastor Oglethorpe and his wife and bring in Dennis Sanders as the new pastor. It is a story that all members of a family and community can enjoy.

In the spirit of building communities and relationships, Leadership Columbiana County’s goal for this leadership class is to raise awareness of domestic violence and the victims it leaves in the aftermath. In addition to the production, the LCC uses several different methods to help support the Christina House. On the night of the production, they will hold a Chinese auction in which they look to the community to share in the giving. They also plan to hold a 50/50 drawing.

The LCC are also asking for donations of items to put in backpacks for the children of the Christina House. These items include: teddy bears, small blankets, coloring books, writing utensils, toys, undergarments, and personal grooming items. Wal-Mart has already donated book-bags in which to add the contents; they are still searching for these items to bring comfort to the children who left home with only the clothes they are wearing on their backs. It is estimated that 50 children stay at the shelter during a year.

Remember, it takes a community to raise a child. Share your generosity, community spirit, and perhaps a piece of your heart with a child in need at one of the local LCC drop boxes at KSU.

For tickets to the event, please contact Mary Lynne Fedor through the Physical Therapy Department at KSU-EL 330-382-7405. Monetary donations can be made payable and mailed to: Leadership Columbiana County Attn: Dino Morell 303 Sharon Drive Hookstown, PA 15050.

For more information on Leadership Columbiana County go to http://www.leadershipcolumbianacounty.com/

Photography exhibit tonight

2010-02-19T14:14:00.004-05:00

Everyone is invited to the DH Gallery in Salem for an artists' reception opening a photography exhibit featuring the work of Bob Frost, Vonda Lanney,Caroline McDermott, Josh Garrison, Jennifer Ratliff, and special guest Bryn Zellers.

The reception runs from 6-8:30 p.m.

Enjoy an evening of fine art, local brew, and seeing what downtown Salem has to offer. "We are looking for the unique and the extreme when it comes to our photographers," said Bob Frost. "There will be no boundaries to subjects and overall handling of the finished image, including framing/mounting."

See the DH Gallery Web site here.

Class canceled?

2010-02-18T13:45:00.012-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Because weather forecasts are unreliable, Dean Jeff Nolte consults with a number of people each day before making the call.

Unless an official national weather emergency is declared, the decision to close is made after a subjective process in which Nolte consults with various people, including business manager Henry Trenkelbach, dean's assistant Candy Solterbeck and Salem campus maintenance supervisor Chuck Schaffer.

"The dean has got a lot of judgement calls to make, and it is an elaborate process," Trenkelbach said.

Everyone reports to him the conditions of the roads and sidewalks, the severity of snowfall, and which other schools, if any, cancel.

"While the road conditions are of concern, the real decision comes down to whether or not the maintenance staff can get the lots and sidewalks clean before students, faculty and staff arrive," Nolte said. He also said that we all "live and work in the snow belt" so everyone should tool up with their tires, sand bags and four-wheel drives and expect to have to brave the storms.

"Safety should always come first. However, cancelling class should be a last resort," said Nolte.

If weather does compel Nolte to cancel, he must notify President Lester Lefton's office before the official messages are sent to media stations and individuals. Secondly, the dean or assistant dean must call the Marketing Communications Office so that the proper web alerts will go out to those who opted for the cell phone notification option. Then the computer technology officials enter the closing times on the Flashline page.

Solterbeck said she then begins contacting the radio and television stations. "I try to send out a mass email as soon as the dean calls me," she said, then recited an exhaustive list of the broadcasters she contacts: WFMJ of Youngstown, WKBN of Youngstown, WSTV, WVBP, WMBA of Beaver Valley, WTOV News 9, WPXI, 1430 WEIRAM, Froggy 104.3 and The River 106.3.

"When I call, I try to get a live person, but I can't always," she said, and the automated system only allows her to select from "cancel morning" or "cancel evening" options. This is one reason why that window of afternoon classes is often not cancelled, while the morning and evening ones are.

KSU has a written policy that regulates deadlines for cancellation, according to Solterbeck. Morning classes must be cancelled by 5:45 a.m., afternoon classes by 10 a.m. and evening classes by 3 p.m. For those who aren't sure, morning classes are those that end by noon and afternoon classes end by 4:15.

Trenkelbach noted that the custodial and maintenance staff labors heavily to clear snow and ice for everyone's comfort and safety in the early hours, all day, and sometimes all weekend. Salem has plowing four-wheelers and both campuses, including the City Center, each have their own Ford plow truck for this purpose.

_____________________________________

Some may remember the mysterious power outage at KSU-EL during Fall semester of 2009, of which no cause was ever reported, according to Trenkelbach. He said that although Dean Nolte was torn at 2 p.m. about cancelling, the situation necessitated it because the building was losing heat, there was no light, and the computer access was down at the otherwise unaffected Mary Patterson Building. The server is at the Main Building.
The electric company claimed the power would not be restored for hours, and conditions were unacceptable for that long a period. In the days following, rumors wafted through circles of an exploded transformer, but no one at the campus is certain.

New assistant dean vows to improve student success

2010-02-12T10:23:00.023-05:00

by Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Dr. Melissa Denardo has taken over the position of assistant dean of the campus, replacing Dr. Kristen Figg, and intends, among several goals, to improve the quality of education and reduce the volume of dropouts.

Denardo earned a master's degree in business education from Indiana University in Pennsylvania (IUP) and her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Her classroom experience ranges from high and proprietary schools to community college and university levels.

With her background in education and her experience with The Faculty Academy at Aiken Technical College in South Carolina, an instructor development seminar project, she will work with those at the KSU-Salem campus to help teachers sharpen their skills for a more conducive learning experience. At IUP, she supervised student teachers and was involved with business education training.

"I believe that students need to be engaged to be successful in college, and I want to keep our students," she said, and believes in the efficacy of the early alert program in Salem. When a faculty member identifies problematic aspects of any student, including spotty attendance or academic danger, the faculty will recommend the student visit the Academic Center and also notify the office of enrollment management, which will attempt intervention.

"Students struggle through beginning courses," called gate-keeper courses, "especially developmental math, across the nation," she said. An average 50 percent retention rate indicates the need for attention in this area, she explained. Rather than allow troubled students to fail or quit, she wants to aggressively nip the withering bud of academic warning.

Because she knows that a college develops the workforce in a community, she plans to to work with "local community business and industry to help move Columbiana County forward." She intends to open up relationships with small business owners, industrial heads and the Chamber of Commerce to develop a workforce that will possess the skills our county needs.

Denardo also wants to ensure that this college takes action based on "data-driven decisions." She believes that this is the best way to enable success for all students. "By analyzing enrollment trends and digging deeper into the data, we can determine where our students are failing," she said.

She described her role actively designing programs of study at Colorado Mountain College (CMC) while serving as associate professor and program director of computer information technology for five years. At Community College of Allegheny County, she led the initiative to establish a Survivability and Information Assurance (SIA) program as the Executive Leader of a $1.9 million U.S. Congressional appropriation.

Also during her time at CMC, her efforts helped to repeal "the Tabor Amendment, the Colorado Taxpayers' Bill of Rights," and her efforts led to a new Vail-Eagle Valley Campus from the funding generated.

Before coming to KSU-Salem, Denardo had been the vice-president of academic affairs at Aiken Technical College for four years and relocated so that she could live closer to family members, who live in Western Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband, Rodney, and has two adult sons who work as an archeologist and engineer.

What's going on

2010-02-10T10:49:00.003-05:00

SALEM -- President Evie Spence announced Student Government Organization (SGO) plans and a 2:30 Tuesday meeting time for Spring term.

For the entire month of February, anyone can buy $1 raffle tickets for a March 1 drawing. The winner gets an Apple ipod valued at approximately $135.

Proceeeds from the ipod raffle will add to the income gleaned from last fall's fundraising efforts and will be used later. No purpose has been discussed for this money yet.

The Human Services Club has submitted paperwork to the SGO and has been officially recognized as a club. This allows HSC to petition SGO for funds. Right now, this is the only club that has done this.

In other news, Kristin Toothman, director of enrollment and student services, announced Student Appreciation Days the week of Feb. 15. On President's Day, students can indulge in free pizza and pop while supplies last from 4:30- 5:30. On Fat Tuesday an unspecified type of free food be offered from 11:30-1, and on both days there will be music and give-aways.

The assistant director of enrollment and student services, William Bucy, wants to remind students to utilize the Academic Center when they need help in their subjects. The Academic Center is also the place to go for backround checks, make-up exams, career counceling and advising help.
Go to salemtutors@kent.edu to sign up for tutoring.

The Sky is Crying

2010-02-08T09:54:00.006-05:00

By Melody Gustafson

Babb reception at Mary Patterson Gallery a success

2010-02-05T13:34:00.008-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council (OVRAC) held a reception Thursday night for painter and professor Elizabeth "Betsy" Babb at the Mary Patterson Gallery.

Babb said she likes the human figure to explore the abstract, as that "whole amazing bunch" of modernist painters from the 1940's and 50's did. Early modern influence runs through her work, she said, specifically van Gogh, Picasso, DuChamp and Matisse.

"It was edgy, new, but it [modernism] sort of died in the fifties. I'm trying to take it where it would have gone had it not died," she said.

Among the selections on display, some were nonrepresentational pieces. One in particular began as shadows cast on the paper where she sat and she "just went with it."

(Photos from top: Betsy Babb in front of one of her paintings; people viewing the art; Babb, seated right, talks with some women about her influences; painting, "Man with Fist"; woodcut print, "Punk." By Mike Canaday)

2010-02-05T11:37:00.026-05:00

OVRAC art show tonight

2010-02-04T00:27:00.002-05:00

WHAT: Reception for painter Elizabeth Babb

WHEN: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010

WHERE: KSU-EL Mary Patterson Gallery

EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council opens its winter season at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Kent State East Liverpool’s Mary Patterson Gallery with a reception for Salem painter Elizabeth Babb. All OVRAC events are free and open to the public.

Currently an adjunct professor of art at the KSU East Liverpool Campus, Babb has been working as an artist for over 30 years. She began her career at age 13, when she apprenticed with sculptor Glen Michaels. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kent State University in 1988 and a master's degree from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 1993. She also studied in Rome, Italy.

Babb has won several awards and has 40 exhibits on her résumé, including shows at the Organization of Independent Artists in New York City, the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, and most recently at Cuyahoga Community College. Her paintings are in private collections in Europe and across the United States.

The Mary Patterson Gallery is located on the second floor of the Mary Patterson Memorial, 213 East Fourth Street, downtown. Thursday's reception runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday noon - 2 p.m. and Thursday 6 - 8 p.m.

Figg steps down as assistant dean

2010-01-29T18:16:00.017-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Although she has not made a definite decision to retire, Dr. Kristen Figg, former assistant and associate dean, is stepping down from the position that she has occupied full-time for the past four years and in an interim capacity in 2002-3 and part of 2004.

Dr. Figg and her husband, Dr. John Friedman, have a house in Columbus, and while she has plenty of other interests, she has yet to decide on any specific career plans. "It is likely that I will continue to teach somewhere," she said, noting that Ohio State has a medieval program that she has been associated with already.

Working under the dean, the assistant/associate dean is the chief academic officer for the campus. That means that after the program directors submit lists of recommended courses to run, she makes the schedule every term and assigns faculty to teach the courses.

It is also the assisant dean's responsibility to find a replacement instructor if one is absent due to an emergency situation. Recruiting is a regular duty, but her choices are not arbitrary and all new hires must be approved through the main campus. She holds orientations for adjunct, or part time, faculty, of which Salem has approximately 100.

Quality control is also an assistant dean's responsibility, and she ensures that by visiting classes, asking others to visit classes, and reading all of the student evaluations.

Figg explained that her post allowed her to create a new program of study. "For instance, I worked with Stan Jones to move the two-year horticulture degree to a four-year. It was a big deal," she said. She spent 20 percent of her time during the year preparing the program, and this Fall 2009 was the first time that it became an option for students.

Figg involved KSU-Salem in the Seniors-to-Sophomores program after she found out two years ago about newly available pilot grants for trials. Seniors-to-Sophomores is a new version of the post-secondary enrollment for high school students on campus. They can achieve a year of credit before graduating from high school.

"We were given broad guidelines," she said of the perameters under the grant, and she scheduled a morning block of courses so the students could return to their high schools and participate in their after-school activities.

An orientation class for these students called "Learning Community" served as a type of group session to deal with the transition to the college experience, and this addition made the KSU-Salem pilot unique from all the other forty grants in Ohio.

Dr. Figg founded the honors program, and directed it from 1999-2005. Honors students encounter more challenging coursework and must complete a graduate-level senior honors thesis while enjoying a closer connection to their professors.

During her interview with Eastern Flash, the phone rang several times. She said that interuption is a normal part of the job and she is used to working that way. "There are constant phone calls, e-mails, people at the door and a great volume of questions," she said.

Figg had the opportunity to serve as chair of the Associate and Assistant Deans Community for all of the Kent campuses. She presided over all the meetings of 2009 and was on the Associate and Assistant Deans Committee that wrote policies for student dismissals and probations. She said, "It's interesting to compare the policies of the different universities" to see how the various Ohio schools do things.

Dr. Figg teaches Elementary French II and and Chaucer this term while Dr. Melissa Denardo succeeds her and learns the assistant dean position.

Flood

2010-01-27T08:27:00.009-05:00

FRANKLIN SQUARE -- Melting snow and heavy rainfall flooded the creek and in turn, this cornfield near KSU Salem campus Monday. (Photo by Melody Gustafson.)

Sign petition for food variety

2010-01-25T20:29:00.005-05:00

SALEM -- Director of Student Services Kristen Toothman announced that the business office is considering options for "alternative food sources" and needs students and personnel to offer feedback.

No official discussion of timeline or what type of food has occured yet. "We are not even at that point," Toothman said, but did say that some sort of licensed vendor who brings prepared food to campus is a likelihood.

A petition at the reception desk is available for students and personnel to both sign their names and offer any support or suggestions until Feb. 5. "We need to gauge demand first" Toothman said.

According to Toothman, the possibilities are limited by sheer space and facility and by contracts with the current vending company that operates the machines in the lounge, but she is confident that this is worth pursuing.

Daytrippers

2010-01-19T12:49:00.012-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
YOUNGSTOWN -- During winter break, a small group of KSU students, faculty and community members took a day-trip to The Butler Institute of American Art on the YSU campus.

The trip was organized by Physical Therapist Assistant student Mike Canaday and Ohio Vally Regional Arts Council Chair Matt Stewart, and the group had a great time browsing the exhibits despite the security intercom's overzealous warnings not to touch them.

The work of featured artist Florian Lawton filled an upstairs room with watercolor images of Amish life and people. One of his studies is for sale in the gift shop for a cool thousand skins, as are original works by various local artists, including KSU art professor Betsy Babb.

Other selections of interest include: the latest Jackson Pollock addition, "Silver and Black"; Norman Rockwell's "Lincoln the Railsplitter", 1965; and the huge impressionist piece by Robert Vonnoh called "In Flanders Field- Where Soldiers Sleep and Poppies Grow", 1890 (shown).

A few who passed by the security guard, "Art," nodding or smiling back at him, didn't realize that he is an exhibit himself, by Marc Sijan.

Another trip is planned for spring, although the date and time haven't been settled. Every few months the exhibitions change over. Anyone who wants to go can sign up by email with Mike Canaday at binheadkiller@aol.com .

(Photos from top: Amy Bailey, Matt Stewart, Kam Hayes, and Melody Gustafson in front of "In Flanders Field- Where Soldiers Sleep and Poppies Grow"; ultra-realistic sculpture by Marc Sijan "Security Guard." Photos by Mike Canaday)

Have fantastic holiday and join Eastern Flash

2009-12-21T13:18:00.004-05:00

The staff of Eastern Flash will be back on task in January. In the meantime, any tips or inquiries sent to magustaf@comcast.net will get a response. We welcome any prospective participants to discuss entries with us. Have a great holiday break.

(Photo: Downtown University District by Mike Canaday)

Free Vaccines: Flu for you

2009-12-17T13:16:00.008-05:00

SALEM -- The KSU nursing staff offered the students free 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines yesterday at in the gym. At noon they had already administered approximately 80 doses, with a projection of 300 total for the day.
Mary Lou Ferranto, R.N., head of the KSU nursing program, said that the "turnout is good."

The event was both a service and a learning experience for the pictured KSU junior and senior BSN students. The vaccine was free and they offered post-injection food as well. The 2009 H1N1 vaccine is new to the market. For more information on this vaccine go to http://www.immunize.org/vis .

(Photo by Mike Canaday, Nikon D90: Junior and Senior BSN students in future location of health and sciences wing, Mary Lou Ferranto R.N., far right)

Great Paybacks on Textbooks till Thursday

2009-12-16T11:07:00.006-05:00

EAST LIVERPOOOL -- KSU Book Store are offering good text buy back prices this year. If your book is needed in the next semester, they are paying back fifty percent of your original cost. This offer is valid only till Thursday.

The book stores' hours are Monday through Thursday 9-5 at East Liverpool and 9-5 in Salem. In these poor times, this is a good thing. Happy Holidays and good luck on those finals.

(This is Mandy at the Liverpool branch. Photo by Mike Canaday)

Treasurer announces balance, no clubs asking

2009-12-09T15:25:00.012-05:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- On the cusp of finals week, Sarah Henry, Treasurer of Student Government Organization (SGO) has summarized the monetary balance and outlined some of the group's possible plans for Spring 2010.

Rumors about this administration beginning with a negative balance because last year's SGO overspent have been nullified by Bonnie Dominic's check of the books. Dominic is an administrative clerk in the business office with knowledge of accounting.

"After the numbers added up correctly, we had a positive balance at the start," said Henry.

Henry said that Katie Smiley and Lucian Clewell earned $50 for the club with candybar sales during the summer, and the SGO had attempted a pizza-by-the-slice fundraiser, but they decided to discontinue it because the sales volume was too low and unsold pizza day after day amounted to considerable waste. The pizza gig was over in just a few weeks, but SGO earned $234 for the general fund nevertheless.

According to President Evie Spence, the Kids' Fun Fest, which she initialized, earned some income through raffle baskets and donations, and they recvieved a cut of the book fair sales.

Henry reports that after approximately $300 of expenses for the SGO print card, office supplies
and the pizza bill, the SGO now has $589.60.

At this time it appears that no club has submitted any paperwork either to be recognized as an official club, allowing them to access to the SGO fund, or to request money.

Although far from decided, SGO has discussed an i-pod raffle as a fundraiser idea, but Henry emphasized that "it's still in the works."

The Alex Estell of the EL Council of Student Organizations (CoSO) made a statement only that the group started the year with a $0 balance and are now "in the red." Members are hopeful the university will allot them funds, according to Ensell.

Birth Control

2009-12-07T20:22:00.005-05:00

By James Yarwood

"ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2008) — For several years, scientists have been working to determine why so many male smallmouth bass in the Potomac River basin have immature female egg cells in their testes - a form of intersex."

Lament the once proud
bass of the Potomac--
who traded their
testicles for ovaries.

Pity the poor frog
with a fifth leg
and six extra toes.

Rejoice in casual sex.
Humping the American Dream--
fornication without representation.

Pissed away and
flushed into not so fresh
waters.

Lunatic spendthrifts loose in fantasyland

2009-12-04T15:11:00.007-05:00

By Mike Canaday

What are the real problems in America today? National depression, Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Tiger Woods, or the heath care issue on the Senate floor. If you at least watch TV this week, you see all these in the cross hairs of the national media.

If we break down the effects of these issues on the American people, Tiger Woods' problems are not relevant. His personal problems are not putting anyone in danger or cost the taxpayers any money. This morning's news seems to reflect that his personal problems are paramount. The story is reported hourly, in many cases before the latest on the health care bill or Afghanistan.

News organizations are reporting that our cost for just the Afghanistan engagement for a year would be the same amount needed to fix the health care system. Do you feel that our gains from our Afghanistan occupation are worth more than fixing our nations heath care system? The government seems to think so. Maybe both issues should be scrapped in the spirit of not spending money. I have not seen what Tiger Woods' position is on any of this.

The President has announced a troop surge of at least 30,000 destined for Afghanistan. This will bring our military presence in the neighborhood of more than 100,000. On the surface, a person might discount this move as having no effect on their day to day life. Think again. CNN reports that three democrats are proposing an additional national income tax hike to foot the bill for this troop increase. This type of war tax has not been imposed since Vietnam and the largest was in WWII. The American people seem to show more interest in issues if they have to pay for it. Certainly, in the current economic state this is understandable. Despite the controversy of whether we should even still occupy Middle Eastern countries, what about the financial ramifications? The White House is citing a $30 billion plus cost for just the 30,000 new troops in Afghanistan alone. Or, about $750,000 per soldier. Is it my imagination, or does this seem like an exorbitant amount of money for one person? We have all heard stories of the $500 hammers and the $1000 toilet seats. The proposal for the income tax hike for just the new troops deployed might cost a taxpayer anywhere from $50-250 annually. This seems small to some, but is only a fraction of the overall revenue needed.

John McCain said the government does not need a tax increase for the troops. On CNN, McCain said, " I can find a thousand places in the pork barrel spending for the war." I agree, the American people do not need more taxes, especially if there are "a thousand" other places to get the money. What are these thousand places, and why does the government have so many extra dollars in this recession? The word rebate seems to come to mind. Besides, the opening of the tax door to the American people has a way of staying open.

If the democrats eventually get this tax enacted, what is next? They might start taxing you to pay for the Tiger Woods investigation! The doublespeak broadcast will sound like this: "Everyone must know the truth at any cost. This is crucial." Oh, the California State Patrol has already closed his case. If you dont believe celebrities get easier treatment, get in your car tonight and run over a fire hydrant and see happens.

Unemployment, home foreclosures, and deficit spending are all at a record highs. Rising unemployment, now at 16 percent, and over 9 million Americans without bank accounts. This certainly seems like a red flag. It certainly looks us in the face daily, and the news organizations like to report tragedies. I would think they should talk about solutions more. Like a teenager with his mom's credit card, Obama and his pet, Congress, frolick and spend delusionally, instead of facing payment reality. If the government has so much extra money, why don't I see any of it? Doubtless GM's suit-and-tie-types probably have recently.

The new heath care proposal gives the insurance companies $500 billion for subsidies. Are these subsidies going to the American people or just lining the pockets of insurance moguls? We all know how hard it is to get money back from an insurance company once it is in their control - much like our government. It is now coming out that the very politicians voting on this health care bill are exempt from it. If it's so great, why write in an escape from the melee? Simple: it is not beneficial to the average American. Most recent estimates claim that this bill will cost most Americans at least 10 percent more in taxes annually with no clear increase in benefits, unless you're one of the 16 percent with no coverage.

The American people have endured without this legislation for over 200 years. Why does a 2000-something-page bill need passed by Christmas? It doesn't. It is just another instance of Congress sneaking legislation through, using diversionary issues like war and economy as a smokescreen of fear; both situations were created by this same Congress. The media's celebrity obsession helps the diversion wonderfully.

Sure, on the outside, a universal health care fantasy has allure, but under a microscope, health quality and costs are definitely at stake. The bill gives the government access to your bank account via direct withdrawal and probably your personal medical records, too. It is the first federal bill that forces Americans to buy something and you will not have the right to decline it without penalty! The ominous health care gods will probably just grapple for your money from your bank account automatically, if you still have one, or readjust your tax statement. These problems just scratch the surface.

The government has proven their inability to be fiscally responsible and has had little success. Look at the postal service, social security, bank bailouts, and the handling of Katrina in New Orleans. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are probably good examples of these government money/ body pits with little or no benefits of any kind. Does the whole health care system really need reworked for just 16 percent of the nations uninsured population? It is interesting that the unemployed and the uninsured are both 16 percent. Do you think maybe if there were more jobs in America that might hit two birds with the same stone? Maybe the government should use some of this extra money laying around in thousands of places and some of the money we are using in the wars to give the unemployed jobs building public works, much like they did during the depression in the 1930's. These projects could improve the infrastructure while at least capping the amount of people taking government handouts. The point is that citizens don't trust their own government to spend their hard earned money. Why should they? That is what contempt for the health care issue is in a nut shell -- personal choice and freedom.

The American people are smart enough to see the heath care, economy and Middle Eastern wars are today's real issues. Unfortunately, we're bound by the Constitution from direct vote on them. Our elected officials are in the drivers' seat. A comfortable reality in our democracy? One way or the other our voices must be heard. Write your senators, representatives, and Tiger Woods.

(Photo courtesy of The Washington Post)

Roadside impressions from life

2009-12-03T12:03:00.009-05:00

By Melody Gustafson

NEGLEY -- Driving from the Peace Valley Orchard on the skinny and windy Millrock Road, around a tight bend Eastern Flash passed a woman standing over her board and oil, her sight overlooking the grade that rolls toward the creek.

The driver asked, "Do you want to go back?" The photographer said yes.

Although the only car on the road drove by her a second time, her face didn't turn from her task.

Nancy Hawkins becomes so absorbed in her peace of mind that she seemed not to notice the reporters until they were at her side.

Her inspiration comes from a love for God's creations and she finds that she applies her Quaker approach to worship, seeking "God's word within," to her process. Focused introspection operates as a technique that serves both her spirituality and her art.

She drives around the countryside with friends and family searching for "paintable scenes" and while enamored with the ominous beauty of the natural landscape, the full majesty of these moments eludes her brush.

"The experience of translating what I see into my painting gives a felt sense of connection to life in that moment of time," Hawkins wrote on her website.

A member of The Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS), a non-profit organization that celebrates love for art and nature, her impressionist style thrives on natural light and open air. Impressionism incorporated "plein air" as an integral aspect in the nineteenth century.

She won first place in the OPAS Plein Air Competition 2009 for her oil, "Catawba Island Peninsula." Her paintings are for sale, and she displays some of them with price on her website, artistimpressionsfromlife.blogspot.com . Hawkins has a Bachelor Degree of Fine Art in painting and drawing from KSU, and has shown her work in the East Liverpool gallery before.

To explore OPAS further, go to http://ohiopleinairsociety.com/ .

(Photo by Mike Canaday, Nikon D90)

Counting Corpses

2009-11-27T11:23:00.005-05:00

Canaday's poem "Iraq by Numbers" has drawn criticism from an anonymous reader who disputes the corpse tally. His response was lengthy enough to merit a new post. Go to "Iraq by Numbers" and click on "comments" to read what the disputer has to say.

Dear Anonymous,
Iraqi death toll counts are abundant and there are over 20 different surveys. Tolls differ depending who you ask. Bush and other invaders like to site under 100,000 deaths and some sources, the ORB site for instance, claim 733,158 to 1,446,063. Of course, Bush stated prewar Iraqi attributes including Al-Queda ties, Nukes, long range missiles, and vast chemical programs. Many survey are in the 600,000 range.

One thing for sure is that Iraq is much more dangerous now while we are occupying the country then when Hussein was in power (although I am sure the Kurds would dissagree). The fact is no one knows how many Iraqis are dead, and sadly many people don't care. Wether the toll is 100,000 or 1 million, the Iraqis citizens paid a huge price. The war was not against the overall common people of Iraq, it was against the Hussein regime.

Don't get the wrong idea, I am not a Hussein lover, I have no problem with his death. I personally supported the initial invasion and respect know one more than our precious men and women in the armed forces . My point is simply "it is time to get out." For the sake of correctness I will edit the poem. Do you have a problem with any other numbers, or just the dead Iraqis? A good article on this subject is http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/iraq . At the end of the day, death count issues are sketchy and just one aspect of whole picture.

There is another statistic that has changed in the last day. President Obama is not sending 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, he is now sending 34,000 instead. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mike Canaday

Iraq by Numbers

2009-11-24T16:28:00.005-05:00

By Mike Canaday

This poem is a tediously long, eye-crossing mess to follow, deliberately in immitation of its subject. This is Canaday’s poetry debut, but he assures us at Eastern Flash that he hasn’t quit his day job. He allows the naked facts to speak for themselves, and doesn’t want his message obscured by artistic devices that may interfere with readers’ conclusions.

March 19, 2003 OPERATION IRAQ FREEDOM:

Long Range missiles, Nuclear and chemical weapons, Al-Qaeda ties?
President Hussein executed.
U.N. and Iraq Survey Program find that chemical and Nuke program ceased in 1991.
No Al-Qaeda ties then.
No evidence of pre-emptive invasion found.

2004: birth of coalition counter-insurgency groups; 26,496 violent incidents.
2005: increase to 34,131 incidents.
2007: single largest attack by suicide bombers in Ramadi…….800 civilians dead.
In 2008: supposedly, “violence curtails to 40-80 percent” reports U.S. Pentagon.
Which is it-- 40 or 80?

Failed States Index: Iraq 5th worldwide in 2008, 6th in 2009.
IRAQ HUMAN DEATH TOLL:
Iraq Body Count Project (IBC)
Lancet Survey
Opinion Research Business (ORB).
Just 3 entities out of many counting the once living.
All have disparate death costs ranging between 100,000 to over 1 million Iraqis.

World Food Program Survey states 31% or 930,000 Iraqis “food insecure” in 2009.
2005: only 15.4 percent.
2007: Iraqis Household Survey states only 25% of its citizens own cars and 7.4%
personal computers.
NOW: Iraq homes have power for half the day. U.N. reports 32% have clean water
19% have good sewage, a gift of bombing.

Iraq original site of Babylon.
Iraq has the world’s 4th largest known oil reserves,
A prewar potential of 3.5 million barrels a day.
(EIM) Energy Information Administration sites post war oil production way down.
Meanwhile…U.S. gas prices at all time high, with NO Iraq oil benefits for U.S.citizens

THE U.S.DEATH BELL TOLLS:
U.S. Department of Defense claims 142,000 troops still in Iraq.
6 years go by.
From 2003-2009: suffered 4,363 U.S. deaths, with over 30,000 wounded.
4,363 U.S. deaths verses 322 coalition deaths during same time?
Lights out on perhaps 1 million Iraqis versus 4,681 coalition troops.

OVERKILL!

133 U.S. deaths this year, seven wounded. (In Iraq, they end up dead, not just wounded.)
New England Journal of Medicine claims one out of 100 solders diagnosed with (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Ohio among top 5 “death states,” with 100 dead soldiers (friends and neighbors).

MONEY
2008: over 550 billion spent in JUST Iraq according to Congressional Research
Service (CRS) (HA HA). Or 2 billion a week, 12 billion monthly.
Mr. Stigliz, former chief of the world bank and winner of Nobel Prize for economics,
says in Iraq and Afghanistan, war will reach 3 trillion dollars, 1.9 just on Iraq.
Equals 6,300 dollars per every U.S. citizen or $34,000 for family of 4.
Equivalent of our government buying 8 million houses, paying 15 million teachers, spending 530 million on child care and providing 43 million students with college
scholarships.

U.S. Depression.
$17 million on military equipment lost- Washington Post reports 20 Abrams tanks, 55
Bradley fighting vehicles, 250 Humvees, 500 mine sweeping vehicles, 109
helicopters, 18 planes and a partridge in a pear tree just to name a few.
40% of all our military assets are in Middle East.
President Obama promised during his campaign complete withdrawal in 16 months.
2011: Obama announces 50,000 of 142,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq.
To “advise and secure” is reason given.

Meanwhile… Obama just sent 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Is it worth the price to stay…do the numbers add up?

Questions

2009-11-20T16:51:00.002-05:00

By James Yarwood

When did we start
thinking that the
world worked by want?

When was need
no longer enough?

Shelter and food
streamlined to
internet connection and
Flat Screen T.V.

Why must I
live to work,
and not work
so I might live?

When did the job
start defining
the person?

Why not personality?
Knowledge maybe?
A glowing sense of irony--
an affinity for animals?

When did people
become obsolete?
Why do we sacrifice
socializing for
social-network sites?

Who has time to
sniff the flowers--
when we have
the internet instant?

Google-Earth has
digitized the planet!
The internet took
the hunt online!
Shoot and stalk via
remote and webcam
Death by mouse-click.

When was
the last time
you saw a sunset
without pixels?

When did we
grow so big and bold?
When did we forget
the meaning of hubris?

Raffle game helps the poor

2009-11-19T12:14:00.003-05:00

SALEM -- The Salem Student Government Organization (SGO) is sponsoring a raffle that will funnel goods to poor families and the incentive to donate is a chance to win a turkey for the Thanksgiving drawing and a ham for the Christmas one.

Anytime until Monday Nov. 23, bring a non-perishable food item to the reception desk for donation in exchange for a ticket. The turkey-winner will be announced at noon on the 23rd.

To try for the ham, donate hats, coats, gloves or scarves to the reception desk between Nov. 30 and Dec. 14 to trade for the ticket. That drawing is set for noon on the 14th.

More details will follow soon.

Playing smiles into memories

2009-11-17T12:37:00.003-05:00

By Kim Schneider
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Inside Coffee Fusion and Tea early Friday evening Doug and Dave Smith enjoyed the company of more than just family and friends and brought a community together. These moonlighting musicians played smiles into memories.

The couple not only shared the company of patrons but of local KSU professors as well. Later in the evening, our very own Dr. Bob Walker, KSU-EL psychology instructor, showed off his picking and singing skills.

Early in the evening, Dr. Burns came to listen to the harmonic sounds of the duo with her son, and Professor Stewart and Dr. Swartz showed. This clearly shows the professors you know do have a life outside of school and do have an interest in our community. Stewart commented on his blog, Ohio River Life, that he "just has to laugh every time he hears people complain there's nothing to do in East Liverpool."

Doug and Dave Smith are a local band within the East Liverpool area and have dedicated themselves to more than their name. They are a group who has been involved in local activities since the 1980s, probably even longer--but let’s not speak of age. Age has no barrier when it comes to the music they perform. It is a dedication to their appreciation of the art itself. They are a couple of guys who enjoy music and what it can bring to society. Their voices carry like no other in the sleepy town of East Liverpool.

This group holds a special part in history for me. Their magic warmth shed a light on me when I was looking for a band to play for my mother’s benefit when she was battling cancer. They had no clue who I was but were willing to share their spirit of life. Later, they played in an old creaky barn with hay straggling between floorboards in Rogers, Ohio, harmoniously with another East Liverpool singer, Dave Morgan. We had another band that night, but Doug and Dave Smith and Dave Morgan were the highlight of the evening.

I passed a hat around for donations, and later when I gave it to them it to them, they met a woman with her "hair" on crooked and handed it to her, telling her to have a great trip. They made my mother smile. It was the first time in forever that I could recall her smiling in true happiness. If I couldn’t have ever given her happiness I know she was happy at that point; music was in her heart and they spoke all the words I never could.

If we'd known Dr. Walker at the time, I know she really would have loved him just as much. His voice carried more emotion than the words itself.

I guess the point I am getting at is that you don’t have to pay a fortune to hear your favorite old tunes; all you have to do is look for it in your own backyard. Support your local bands, you never know who you will find there, and you might find that you share the same interest as your professors, friends, and neighbors.
___________________________
Photo is Bob Walker (left) and Doug Smith. (Kim Schneider)

Paulenich: "Here's one for my dad"

2009-11-09T14:10:00.008-05:00

Dr. Craig Paulenich draws on the "steel mill as a mystic, shamanistic landscape and fuses it with Catholic background" to create the verses he read for the first time at the East Liverpool campus to a rapt audience. (Film by Mike Canaday)

Blood Will Tell is "Black as truth"

2009-11-06T14:45:00.013-05:00

By Melody Gustafson and Mike Canaday

EAST LIVERPOOL -- At the Brown Room of the Mary Patterson building thursday night, Craig Paulenich delivered the first-ever reading of the "bones" from his latest book, Blood Will Tell.

He writes verses about his blue-collar upringing in Western Pennsylvania by a hard-working slovakian family and steel mill life. He has taken the grim reality that a lot of men can't wait to punch out of and made a room full of people rapt to listen to the stories in the heavy, rough-throated cadence.

As he told the audience about his father's 52 years of steel mill, he said, "Here's one for my dad" and described the theme of the works as "a blurring of my father [The Old Man] and myth."

"Scabs weren't well recieved at my house," Paulenich said, as he introduced his next poem, swigging from his beer. Later, he said, "Most of this is far too true."

Someone in the audience asked him about his writing process and discipline, and he replied simply, "My discipline sucks," but added that sometimes he tries to set goals to make himself get a poem done. "I just throw words on the page, beat 'em up some and kick 'em around."

Copies of Blood Will Tell were sold for slightly less than the $18 Amazon.com retail price, and the author was signing. Fans who missed the event also missed the special.

(Photos from top: Craig Paulenich performing; Paulenich and his wife, Carla; Professor Karen Boyle and Paulenich talk shop; Paulenich and Kelly "Kam" Hayes whose art was displayed)

Paulenich reading Thursday

2009-11-04T08:29:00.007-05:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council presents its first literary event of the season Thursday evening with a poetry reading by Northeastern Ohio poet Craig Paulenich.

The reading begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Brown Room of Kent State East Liverpool's Mary Patterson Building, 213 East Fourth Street downtown. Snacks and refreshments will be served, and the adjacent Mary Patterson Gallery will be open to visitors who have yet to see the current OVRAC exhibit by East Liverpool painter Kam Hayes.

Dr. Paulenich is an associate professor of English at the Kent State Salem Campus and also serves as faculty in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. He is the author of two books of poetry and co-editor of Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism and Contemporary American Poetry. Paulenich will read and discuss poems from his latest collection, Blood Will Tell, published by BlazeVOX books.

Everyone is welcome to this free event. The atmosphere at OVRAC events is never stuffy and formal, so come as you are and enjoy some local culture. Many of you know Craig Paulenich, and you know his presentation will be lively and interesting.

Copies of Blood Will Tell will be available for purchase.

Be a smart voter, make informed decisions

2009-10-30T11:02:00.036-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

Aside from various open council, school board and trustee seats in the townships, villages and municipalities, citizens will consider five local fiscal questions and three state issues. The links here go to The Vindicator web site at http://www.vindy.com/politics/races/2009/ and Columbiana County Board of Elections (BOE) web site at http://www.columbianacounty.org/BOE/index.htm where its easy to explore all the issues and candidates before voting.

The Ohio Board of Elections web site describes in detail identification required to vote. A state-issued photo ID must be current with proper address, and a military ID is acceptable. While the notification card mailed to a voter isn't a valid form, utility bills, including cell-phone bills, bank statements, paychecks and government checks listing the voter's name and current address are.

The passing of Issue 1 will allow the State of Ohio to issue up to $200,000,000 of bonds to veterans of Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts who were Ohio residents before deployment. The benefits extend to kin of the eligible fallen or missing. The bill will expire after 2013. Assuming the state has the funds to provide to the Ohio veterans, this can be thought of as an economic stimulus package for Ohio in the form of a reward for military service and an incentive to enlist. But, since Ohio is BORROWING the money to fund this bill, Issue 1 is a bad joke, the most irresponsible legislation shoved in the face of victim taxpayers for a while.

Issue 2 will create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board comprised of 13 experts in various relevant disciplines who will "prescribe standards for animal care, well-being, and disease prevention" according to the Board of Elections web site. Interestingly, agricultural and animal groups oppose the amendment, claiming that passage of this measure will create and perpetuate heinous treatment practices for animals that benefit the business interests of "Big Ag," or corporate farms that "cut corners" for a bigger bottom line at the expense of food quality and animal rights. Check out The Humane Society web site for arguments opposing Issue 2 --
http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/ballot_initiatives/ohio_issue_2.html .

Here is a link to an article that claims that the opponents of Issue 2 are employing "trickery" that is effective to "end consumption of animal protein" in the U.S.- http://ourohio.org/index.php?page=yes-on-issue-2. The main contention is that by supporting the measure, citizens can preserve the freedom to eat the meat, milk and eggs they love.

Issue 3 will add an amendment to the Ohio constitution that will allow four casinos to do business only in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo. Of each casino's gross revenue, 33 percent will go to the state coffers as a tax.

The amendment earmarks 51 percent of the casino revenue tax money for distribution among all the 88 counties based on population size. Cities with the highest population in any given county with more than 80,000 people will get half that county's share. Columbiana has no cities with 80, 000 people so all the casino money will go to the general fund.

For those who fear a state population given to hopeless gambling addiction, rethink individual responsibility and common sense. The mere availability of a vice does not create problems. If the presence of a casino makes gambling addicts, then the citizenry of Ohio would all be a group of lascivious, obese alcoholics, and this isn't true as much as the presence of a church makes everyone on its street devout in worship.

It's always a good idea to open the land up to new businesses that will bring jobs and money into the state. Oh, and the licensed operators have to pay a one-time $50,000,000 tax just to set up shop. If all four casinos spring up within the next 4 years, that revenue is exactly what Ohio needs to award to the veterans according to proposed Issue 1. Be sure to check out the earmarked percentages for doling out the money generated from the legalization of gambling at the BOE site. This amendment looks like a win-win for anybody who gets to party on the slush fund created by the 6 percent of the casino money that goes to the ambiguous-sounding "Ohio casino control commission and the State racing commission." That is how politicians legally siphon tax dollars into private pockets- paychecks and bonuses to commission members....

UNLESS a voter supports casino gambling in Ohio, yet doesn't like the details of the proposition, don't cast a vote in favor. The argument against Issue 3 provided at this link addresses not the gambling itself, but dissatisfation with the language and the monetary return to Ohioans. Perhaps voters should reject this draft for a better one. Click here: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/ballotboard/2009/3-official_argument_against.pdf

Call early to find out the hours of operation for the polling station near you.

Power tool study hall almost over

2009-10-28T11:07:00.008-04:00

SALEM -- Rodney and Keith of Jim Santini Builder Inc. replace the "storefronts" at the main entrance to the main building on Route 45.

Although the power tools are loud, the job will be done soon, and the university will save on energy costs. These energy saving measures are part of an unfunded mandate called HB-251 that was set by the Ohio Congress. State operated institutions must curb energy spending by a substantial percent said Henry Trenkelbach, business manager.

(Photo by Melody Gustafson)

First year poetry professor hopes to "stretch boundaries"

2009-10-23T16:34:00.007-04:00

By Kim Schneider
EAST LIVERPOOL – This is Prof. Jason Venner's first year as an adjunct faculty member and he's teaching the students of KSU Poetry and Writing this semester.

Raised in the thriving town of Wadsworth,Ohio, he graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea for his bachelor’s degree. Venner then graduated from the University of Akron with a Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (NEOMFA).

Venner first became interested in poetry when he wrote a poem for an English assignment in high school and the teacher read his poem in front of the class. His teacher told him he was a poet, “so, being impressionable, I guess I must have agreed,” he said.

Although this is his first year at KSU, Venner has been teaching at a university level for four years; he is also a professor at KSU Stark and the University of Akron, where he teaches Composition.

Venner was inspired to teach by the people on his thesis committee: Craig Paulenich, who teaches at KSU Salem, Robert Miller, of Stark campus and Mary Biddinger of the University of Akron, who helped him take his writing to the next level. Speaking of his family influence, Venner said, “I was a hyper kid with a big mouth, so they were always telling me to go into teaching,” Venner said.

When asked what made him decide to teach poetry Venner replied, “I like seeing people stretch their boundaries in order to create something they otherwise might not have thought possible.”

He hopes he can arouse the students to nurture an appreciation for poetry because of the different ways language can get a message across. Venner believes there is a benefit to studying poetry because it helps you “to understand the precision of your own heart and mind.”

Speaking of the depth of westerners' poetic interest, he said, “Creative writing programs at universities are springing up across the country, and this shows how much interest there really is. However, the internet makes poetry a force to be reckoned with. Not only do people have access to the old stuff, they have more avenues and mediums at their disposal to produce their own.”

Venner plans to earn a doctorate in Literature but isn’t sure when that will happen. He wants to enjoy living life before he commits to another five years. He presently is in the process of learning what he calls the “finer points” of bathroom remodeling, and uses his spare time to travel with his wife, hike and play guitar in a band called 21 Gun Solution. He says his future may not be mapped out yet but he intends to get some books of poetry published and “enjoy life as it unfolds.”

Decade Dog

2009-10-21T19:57:00.004-04:00

By James Yarwood

For George

Today I killed
my ten-year Friend.

I found him in a cage
yowling for freedom.

He ruined my carpet--
he's why my bedroom
doesn't have a door.

He ate cancer
and opened a
crank window
without thumbs.

Conversationally
he'd been a Portuguese
Government Spy
and on tour with
Barry Manilow.

We joked
he was immortal.

Garden Club Photo Contest Gallery awaits People's Choice

2009-10-19T20:08:00.011-04:00

By Lita Hutchinson

CALCUTTA -- The East Liverpool Calcutta Area Garden Club (ELCAGC) sponsored a photo contest last month that attracted participants from the tri-state area and now offers an exhibit of the entries.

The general public is invited to view the exhibit and cast a vote for their favorite photo overall. The winning photo will receive the "People's Choice" award, along with a check for $75.00

This is a community and family event that features 257 photos of flowers, some with people, animals and insects. The art was judged professionally, and the club awarded nearly $1000 of prize money to the best selections.

Nine-year-old Lizzie Orenzuk of Chester, West Virginia, submitted "Beautiful Butterfly," shown here. Her mother said she literally ran around for nearly an hour chasing the butterfly to capture the perfect shot.

The special Photo Gallery Exhibit is free and open to the public in Oct. during normal business hours. The Calcutta YMCA is located at the rear of Ogilvie's Plaza on State Route 170. The hours are: Monday - Thursday 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Friday 5 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Saturday 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

______________________________________

(Photos, from top: "Beautiful Butterfly" by Lizzie Orenzuk; "Lazy Days of Summer" by Theresa Palmer; and "Winged Beauty" by Randall Railing, New Cumberland. Photos courtesy of ELCAGC)

Passions From Kam's Head

2009-10-16T18:22:00.009-04:00

By Mike Canaday

EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council (OVRAC) held a reception Thursday for painter Kelley "Kam" Hayes in the Mary Patterson Gallery at KSU.

Hayes has earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and an Associate in Nursing from KSU, and works as a medical and surgical registered nurse. She is a serious artist who belongs to a Northeast Ohio based organization, Apollonova, a consortium of artists based in Akron.

"Painting is not a hobby. Painting is a passion for me," said Hayes. She says that she paints constantly with all different kinds of media but she does prefer oil. She doesn't confine herself to any particular style. Most of her work is for sale.

OVRAC is showing Hayes's work Monday, Wednesday and Friday from noon to 2 p.m. and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. until Nov. 25. The artist will be on site Nov. 5.

_______________________________

OVRAC will host a poetry reading and discussion featuring Dr. Craig Paulenich and his latest book, Blood Will Tell, Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The gallery will be open for viewing Hayes's paintings, and there will be wine and hors d' oeurves. Attendance is free and open to the public.

(Photos, from top: Hayes stands by her painting, "Glass Pieces"; a self-portrait titled, "Aura Study")

Kids' Fun Fest Sat, Volunteers needed

2009-10-15T07:51:00.005-04:00

SALEM -- Student Government Organization President Evie Spence announced that the 4th annual Kids' Fun Fest will be held at KSU Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 4p.m.

Anyone can come with their young children aged 1- 13 years to play games including bowling or make crafts such as bead strings, ribbon wands or butterflies. Children can shop for literature through the bookfair and purchase that day, and Clifford will be on site so everyone finally gets to meet him! Hot dogs and chips will be served from 12-2 p.m.

"We have invited representatives from community agencies such as Headstart, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and others to answer questions and provide information. Plus there are so many activities planned, it's hard to name them all," Spence said. Upon arrival, follow the signs to the registration area in the central lounge near the student parking lot entrance.

Spence said, "It will be a day of family fun, parental education and socialization for children. At KSU-Salem we like the opportunity to give back to the community."

Anyone who can volunteer on Saturday or for Friday set-up, please email Spence at espence99@yahoo.com or call the SGO office directly at 330-337-4253. Volunteers are still needed, and if anyone is available at the last minute, just show up.

The event is free and open to the public.

Finance committee votes on YOUR future health care

2009-10-12T10:22:00.021-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Finance Committee's vote Oct. 13 will determine the form of a bill that if and when passed will have massive, daily reverberations on every citizen, probably for the rest of their lives. Most colossal programs or social institutions aren't repealed or abolished, ever. Look at welfare and social security.

With failing businesses and flopping bailouts, a near-broke FICA, GI deaths abroad, and possible Middle Eastern nuclear weapon development, not to mention the battle to pay bills at home, lawmakers could not wait to launch one of the most massive financial legislative movements in recent U.S. history.

Speaking of omnipotent control over individuals' lives in America, tomorrow's Senate Finance Committee has in its hands a bill that will drive citizens into helpless financial ruin. Clearly, the people who represent U.S. citizens are out of touch with the reality of the constituents' purses.

According to CNN live news broadcast Oct. 12, predictions on the cost of insurance for a single person is $9,700 yearly and for the average family it will be $25,900. Some houses cost that much. In a climate where every other house on a given street is lost to forclosure, unemployment rises. Now our monolith fed will impose a system on its citizens that inevitably leads to such a heavy insurance burden that will hasten the impoverishment of the many struggling people that are staring at an appproaching abyss of bankruptcy and homelessness.

The CNN broadcast also mentioned a possible loophole to participation: the fines that are supposed to punish non-participants are less expensive than the price to "play," and young healthy people may just pay them instead of buying the insurance and assimilating into the program. The young, healthy people's participation is integral to help pay for the ailing elderly, whose treatments cost more. Anyone who simply can't afford insurance will be compelled to "pay their way out" through fines.

It is yet to be seen how many starving, unemployed people can magically produce the 10 grand a year required to assimilate into this forced "reform." Of the ones who make the sacrifice of quality of life in exchange for health insurance, they will be more likely to make the doctor's visit for every sniffly nose and hangnail. Why not? That;s what insurance is for right? This increase in the use of medical services costs money, too.

This is just the beginning; tomorrow history unfolds.

EL Captain Reflects on Game

2009-10-08T10:14:00.003-04:00

By Alex Estell

SALEM -- As the East Liverpool intercampus football team leader I have learned something on our "trial run" about organizing a team, and I have ideas that will change our effectiveness so that we can win!

Our pass game was held to a minimum which forced us to go to our running game, and it was very well controlled by Salem. I know, as well as my teammates, we need to put pressure on the inside while we are on defense. Hindsight is 20/20.

We picked up some good plays for ourselves and found out what works and what doesn't from our arsenal. Our team itself was its own most valuable player and our most intimidating player with our unique play calling. We all felt that we played fairly well.

Our lack of organization as a whole gave Salem a great chance to take advantage of our defense. As our teams leader/captain I feel it was my fault we lost and I promise to my teammates and my East Liverpool classmates I am going to step-up my own game, get myself organized and make the right calls and decisions that will put points on our side of the scoreboard.

See you in two weeks in East Liverpool Thompson Park at 2 p.m.

Salem players give lowdown on game

2009-10-05T14:46:00.010-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

SALEM -- Players Brad Heckathorn and Adam Dopp recounted for Eastern Flash details of the Columbiana County KSU joint football game that took place Friday.

Heckathorn said that "going in" he felt that of their team of only eight players, at least four were valuable and intimidating, but he regretted that the majority of the team couldn't come because of other, last-minute commitments.

Of those that did play, though, Heckathorn said he was proud of their performance, despite the various pre-existing injuries that afflicted some of them.

"Our quarterback, Travis Schultz, kept playing, even though his arm was destroyed. Danny played in the rain with severe asthma, and I had back surgery less than a year ago. Adam just suffered a concussion a week before the game," Heckathorn said, then added, "We rocked."

According to the two men, the only reported injuries resulting from the game were an East Liverpool player's eye problem and a Salemite's scrotum issue.

Dopp mentioned that there were a few "wrinkles" that may have resulted from a lack of understanding of the rules of "flag football", but said that he is hopeful that he and David "Alex" Estell can work it out when they set game plans for next time. They agreed to make the games a biweekly occurence.

Besides the roughness, he is concerned with the complete lack of a referee for either side, and Salem's shortage of players.

"We don't mind roughness, but we don't want to initiate roughness," said Dopp, "I would like there to be no punching." Dopp said he envisions a situation in which the line can have full contact, "doing whatever you can to 'down' the player, but with no tackling or fists."

"We will reciprocate, and we can dish it out," Heckathorn said.

He did notice the stalwart playing skills of a female East Liverpool offensive player who was pummeled by two male Salemites simulataneously but shrugged it off. He also gave kudos to the East Liverpool team for providing flags, and for coming dressed in matching shirts.

To join the teams contact Alex Estell at destell@kent.edu for East Liverpool and Brad Heckathorn at bheckath@kent.edu for Salem. See below for score and snapshots.

Football rivalry

2009-10-05T13:15:00.005-04:00

SALEM -- Teams from the KSU East Liverpool and Salem campuses met on Friday for a flag football game. Although it rained heavily throughout the game, everyone had fun. Salem won the first game 21-14.

Hey Man, Nice Shot

2009-10-02T11:22:00.008-04:00

Travis Schultz unwinds between classes with a close game of pool, insisting that the table has a tilt and that the shot requires depth of skill...

(Photo by Melody Gustafson)

Miami Redhawks "Had No Chance" says CoSO President

2009-10-01T09:44:00.015-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

KENT -- The KSU Flashes beat the pants off the Miami Redhawks 29-19 Friday while Salem's Student Goverment Organization (SGO) and East Liverpool's Council of Student Organizations (CoSO) watched from their VIP loge.

"We kicked their butt the whole time, and it was rough out there. There were ridiculous tackles. That's how you play football," said SGO member Heather Grunden.

East Liverpool's David Estell provided a summary of the action: "The Golden Flashes took the lead in the 1st quarter after Miami scored a first drive touchdown. Kent took to the run game, its high paced level led the Flashes passed the Red Hawks and they never looked back. The Red Hawks tried to catch-up in the remaining minutes of the fourth quarter but the Golden defense of the Flashes stepped up and caught an interception that led to a running of the clock to end the game!"

CoSO President Jordan Steele said, "They [Redhawks] didn't have a chance."

Grunden said that the Redhawks had one brief comeback, but the best part of the whole game was when the Redhawks turned over the ball on a punt and Kent ran the entire field, finishing out with a touchdown.

SGO President Evie Spence said, "Thank goodness for the loge, because it rained for the whole game! We all had a great time and I want to say thank you."

Spence said that the trip's expenses were paid, including refreshments, pizza and the tickets with box seating.

The trip is just one of the perks enjoyed by those who give their time to lead the student body and represent its interestes to the university.

(Photo by Evie Spence. Shown left to right: Member Heather Grunden; Member Kevin Dopp; Treasurer Sarah Henry)

Time and Place Set for Pigskin Rivalry

2009-09-28T14:37:00.003-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- The two Columbiana County KSU football teams will play an inter-campus game Oct. 2 from 2 - 4 p.m., with practice on location for the Salem team from 12 - 2 p.m.

Chuck Schaffer, head of maintenance in Salem, said that he must make some perfunctory, courtesy phone calls to the Salem Soccer League for their permission. The league is a guest of the university, and is the entity that cleared and maintains the field. In return, youth soccer players use KSU property for soccer games and practice.

"There usually isn't soccer played on Friday anyway because the parents want to go to the varsity football games at Salem High School," Shaffer said. He doesn't expect a conflict to arise over the field.

Adam Dopp, Salem defense captain, said that the team members would like to see this continue as a weekly occurence. "It's a league thing," he said. The plan is for the two teams to alternate locations between Salem and East Liverpool, regardless of who wins, according to Dopp.

Salem has 17 players on the team in comparison with East Liverpool's 18 players.

Summer Rain

2009-09-25T10:10:00.003-04:00

By James Yarwood

Reap the freshness
of this beautiful day.

Thunder-head broke --
wailing a downpour's delight.

See the dazzling
prism-scape friscalate
in the dewdrops.

Hear that rapid, rhythmic
Rat-Ta-Tat.
Hitting rooftops
Pitter-Pat.

Rumbling profundo!
in my veins.

Enrollment Soars at KSU

2009-09-23T14:52:00.002-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- For various reasons, all of KSU's campuses have experienced a surge in enrollment, especially the regional satellites, according to director of student enrollment Shelly Lingenfelter.

Lingenfelter released the official "15 day" numbers as they appeared in the Kent Research Database for the Fall 2009 semester. East Liverpool's headcount is 1241, up 28.7 percent from the 964 at the same time in 2008. Salem campus shows a total of 1587, up from 2008's 1319 for an enrollment upswing of 20.3 percent.

"These are record increases," Lingenfelter said, adding, "We're way up at East Liverpool."

Traditionally, a bad economy tends to boost enrollment at state universities, but this year there are other factors. The quality of the regional KSU campuses has been improving, with the purchase of new equipment and the addition of new faculty members.

Despite the improvements, "Tuition is still relatively low," Lingenfelter said. Regionally, KSU has become more competetive from a financial perspective.

Both East Liverpool and Salem nursing programs, an associate and bachelor's respectively, have boosted the roster numbers more than some of the other programs, and this could be because of the quality of the education prospective medical personnel could recieve through this university.

"There were 80 first year nursing students in East Liverpool this year, and we've never had 80," Lingenfelter said.

SGO needs Communications Officer ASAP

2009-09-18T11:36:00.006-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Student Government Organization (SGO) President Evie Spence wants to fill a vacancy in her cabinet.

Spence explained that in addition to the elected posts, there are also important positions that are nominated and voted upon by the elected members. They are communications officer, historian, and web officer.

The opening is for communications officer, who is a liaison between the student body and the SGO. The officer works closely with the secretary keeping additional records about the entity's activities, and releases messages to the student body and to the press. Email Spence at espence99@yahoo.com or inquire at the SGO office in the vending lounge to offer your name for consideration.

For those who were absent last spring, the results of the SGO election are: Evie Spence, president; Suzy Merryman, vice-president; Ashley Gilbert, secretary; and Sarah Henry, treasurer.

In other student government news, Spence announced that no club has responded yet with the paperwork that will enable its recognition by the university. She explained that she didn't set a deadline for the applications because she didn't want to alienate any club, she knows that the ball needs to get rolling sooner rather than later.

"A club, after official recognition, can petition the SGO for funds from the state allocated account that it controls," Spence said. The state money is not indispensible, and is doled on a first come, first serve basis, until its gone.

KSU Students to Square-off in Pigskin Rivalry

2009-09-17T11:58:00.005-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Students at KSU-Salem have been organizing a flag-style football game that will pit teams from Salem and East Liverpool against eachother.

According to Student Government Organization (SGO) member Brad Heckathorn, brothers Adam and Kevin Dopp thought of the idea and contacted the organization.

"It will be good, clean fun that will bring the campuses closer together," Heckathorn said.

Heckathorn explained that it will be a "non-aggressive," organized game with 13 minute quarters and a 10 minute halftime. Although the exact date, time and location have yet to be established, the SGO projects that the soccer field behind the Salem campus will be ideal. Because of its use by a local youth soccer team on Friday evenings, however, the special intercampus game will have to occur earlier in the day.

Any student can join the team, male or female, although Salem SGO has already recruited more then 20 players. To join the East Liverpool team, email the Council of Student Organizations (CoSO) Vice-President, Alex Estell, at destell@kent.edu or 330-708-0354.

Patriots, Let's Celebrate!

2009-09-16T09:47:00.003-04:00

SALEM -- Justice Studies Director Lynette Rawlings invites everyone to a celebrate the 222nd aniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution Thursday Sept. 17.

The gueast speaker is Columbiana County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Gamble. His discussion will center on the topic of 'Administrative Searches" and there will be a question and answer session afterwards.

She encourages red, white and blue patriotic dress and to pick up mini-flags, pencils and pocket-sized Constitutions from the reception desk.

The gathering will meet at noon in Room 46.

Take stalking seriously

2009-09-14T23:06:00.010-04:00

by Kimberly Schneider
A couple weeks ago on the KSU East Liverpool campus a student mentioned to others that someone she knows is stalking her. Even though the police and the courts are involved in the situation, the stalking has continued.

Many people do not take stalking seriously and think of it as a child-like crush that will end once the person finds a new interest. Perhaps we think that stalking only happens to the famous or is limited to women.

An estimated 1.4 million people in America have been stalked. Only one-third of these victims have reported it. Seventeen percent of reported cases go to trial; 13 percent of the stalkers in those cases are convicted. One fourth of stalking victims will obtain a restraining order, but two-thirds of the stalkers will violate the order. (Source: End Stalking in America)

Webster’s Dictionary defines stalking as “to pursue (game, etc.) stealthily; b) to pursue (a person) in a persistent, harassing, obsessive way.” Stalking by law is defined generally as any unwanted, repeated, and continuing contact that directly or indirectly makes a person feel harassed, threatened, or intimidated.

There are many warning signs of stalking behavior. A stalker might:

--Follow and show up wherever you are.
--Repeatedly call, email, and/or send text messages.
--Damage your home, car, or other property.
--Send unwanted gifts.
--Monitor your phone calls or computer use.
--Track your whereabouts.
--Drive by or hang out near your home, school, or work.
--Threaten to hurt your family, friends, or pets.
--Use the Internet or public records to find information about you.
--Take other actions that control, track, or frighten you.

What can be done about stalking? The safest bet is to report it. Don’t brush it off as some short-lived crush. Inform the school/housing security or the police. Inform your neighbors that you feel threatened so they know to be more aware of strangers and to report suspicious activities. If you think you are being stalked, never go out alone. Always take a buddy with you.

It’s very difficult to know another person’s intent, and in this crazy world people need to become more aware of their surroundings and take extra precautions to protect themselves. So if you feel you’re being stalked, you probably are.
_______________________________________

See End Stalking in America for a complete discussion of the subject of stalking. See Privacy Rights Clearinghouse for a fact sheet on stalking behavior. See this U.S. Department of Justice special report for in-depth information about stalking victims.

Projects delayed at KSU-Salem

2009-09-09T09:50:00.008-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- A few hurdles have popped up during the summer months, slowing the completion of some projects at the main building said business manager Henry Trenkelbach.

To maintain university compliance with House Bill 251, an unfunded mandate to reduce energy costs at state operated institutions, A & I Studio will replace the glass window and door units that comprise the exits on the front and sides of the building. However, a delay in the shipping of materials until Sept. 23 has pushed the work back another week and completion has been tentatively planned for the first or second weeks of Nov.

The door components are only tentatively prefabricated, and in this case, custom doors are in the works. "It's not like getting a loaf of bread on a store shelf," said Trenkelbach, "They only make so many [doors], and there are so many different kinds to carry them all in stock. There has also been a shortage of material vendors- probably because of the difficult economy." The glass portion that surrounds the doors themselves has already arrived.

The handicap accessible door that was on the faculty and staff side doors has been temporarily moved to the rear of the building and handicap parking spaces have been relocated there, in the vicinity of the greenhouse.

Because of delays, the gymnasium that was slated for the bulldozer in Oct. to prepare for construction of the massive health and sciences wing has been pushed back to the spring.

In other news, the outdoor improvements are nearly done. The weathered, crumbling steps leading from the student parking lot have been replaced by Jim Santini Construction of Washingtonville and are now perfectly safe. Pantalone Paving and Sealing has completed cleaning and sealing half of the student parking lot, and the remaining half will be done too.

Internet security

2009-09-08T09:21:00.004-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL – On Thursday, Sept 10 the Ohio Valley Technology Council will sponsor a presentation on Internet safety with two FBI agents who specialize in the field. The presentation starts at 4 p.m. at the Carnegie Library.
Students, parents, school administrators, teachers, and anyone else who needs to know how to protect themselves or others online should attend this free event.

If you plan on attending, please send an e-mail RSVP to eltechcouncil@gmail.com as soon as possible. This has the potential to draw a large audience, and OVTC wants to make sure the library can accommodate the group.

Campus staff changes for fall semester

2009-09-08T07:45:00.004-04:00

by Kim Schneider
The department of Enrollment Management and Student Services has sent out an update on staff changes that affect both the East Liverpool and Salem campuses this fall.

Shelly Weekley Lingenfelter has assumed the responsibilities of director of enrollment management and student services for both campuses. Her position also includes registrar duties. Bill Bucey will continue as assistant director at the Salem campus.

Beth Allison-Christy is the new records officer for both campuses. The records department has the responsibility processing change of program, exception to registration and “substitution” forms, graduation file processing, and KAPS exception processing.

Financial aid advising is handled by Melissa Peters at Salem and Lisa Morgan at East Liverpool. Lisa Frank will continue to oversee admissions at East Liverpool. while Angel Carnes will have that duty at Salem.

The offices for East Liverpool campus admissions, financial aid and records have been grouped together as have offices for Advising. Terry Hutson’s office is now in the Main Building next to Sarah Motts.

The Salem campus has renovated its academic center to house Terry Hutson serving as nursing/general advisor. Danielle Baker-Rose will be providing disability and career counseling services., and Kristin Toothman will provide EMSS admissions and post-secondary advising. Bill Bucey serves as general adviser, director of the academic center, and supervisor of the associate of arts and science degree.

At East Liverpool, Debbie Riggs is now secretary to both the assistant dean’s office and PTAT. Lisa McNicol is serving as secretary for Workforce Development and Occupational Therapy.

Dr. Jack Haunted by Desire and Celebrity

2009-09-04T16:54:00.013-04:00

By Mike Canaday

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Dr. Jack Vazzana held his first imaging exhibit, titled "Metaphors of Desire," at the KSU-EL Mary Patterson Gallery Thursday night. The exhibit containss over 40 works of digital art that Vazzana has shot over the past 30 years. He believes the images portray icons of "visual sociology" that may spark a familiar feeling of want that is influenced through societal influences.

In the exhibit program Vazzana writes, "This show's premise is based on visual sociology and an existential idea. That is to say, we all are in a state of being 'less than' and, because of this, we want to be 'more than' in a myriad of ways. Society will present us with metaphors through visual icons as what to desire in order to be 'more than'. The desire for these icons can give us celebrity if achieved and possible haunt us for life if not."

The exhibit runs through Sept. 28. More images can be seen at jveau@AOL.com.

(Photos from top: Dr. Jack Vazzana stands next to one of his favorites; a group of onlookers discuss and appreciate Vazzana's work)

"Metaphors of Desire"

2009-09-02T14:35:00.000-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Sociology Professor Jack Vazzana has extended an invitation to the community to attend a photography exhibit at the Mary Patterson building Thursday Sept. 3.

The exhibit will feature what Vazzana describes as "iconographic studies in visual sociology," and the theme is "Metaphors of Desire."

The artist explains the reasoning behind the event: "'Metaphors of Desire' suggests visual icons that , if not met, often devalue one's existential position in personal and social ways that may last a lifetime. On the other hand , they can be entrances to celebrity that are prized and strongly sought after."

Here's your sign

2009-09-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

by Denise Weaver
As I learned of some of the changes that happened around campus this summer, I couldn’t help but to think about Bill Engvall’s song, “Here’s Your Sign.”

For those of you who are not familiar Mr. Engvall, he’s a redneck comedian popularly known for his song that states, “I just hate stupid people. They should have to wear signs that just say I'm stupid...” That’s exactly what I was thinking about when I saw the signs posted on the newly renovated restroom doors.

Perhaps I can explain where I’m coming from a little better. According to campus business manager Henry Trenkelbach, in order to bring the main building to code, the lady’s room was relocated to where the men’s room used to be and visa versa. However, no other restrooms have been renovated, meaning that the lady’s room on the first floor is located opposite of where the lady’s room on the other floors are located -- hence, the reason for the large caution signs located on the restroom doors. Even though new signs have been hung, I expect someone in a hurry will ignore the sign and end up in the wrong place, deserving an “I’m STUPID” sign.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not calling the decision to switch restroom locations stupid. I honestly believe the renovations look great and am thankful for them! I’m looking forward to the time when the remainder of the facilities can be updated as well. In the meantime, however, the students will need to use caution when heading to the restroom. After all, if we see you walking around campus wearing an “I’m STUPID” sign, we’ll know you were the one who forgot to read the sign.

Aside from the restroom changes on the first floor, renovations were also done on the third floor of the main building. Updates such as new paint, carpet and ceiling were made. Motion censored lighting was installed, which will allow for greater energy savings. Also located on the third floor are new lockers available for student use. However, those lockers are reserved for students enrolled in the biology and chemistry labs.

Hopefully members of the faculty are enjoying their newly renovated loft offices with a newly installed HVAC system. These offices are now handicap accessible too, which is a change from last year. I’m certain that anyone who has ever had to cross campus in a wheel chair or on crutches will greatly appreciate this.

Room number 310 of the Main building was renovated. A second door was installed and the walls received a new coat of paint. New blinds were hung and new furniture was purchased for the classroom as well. With the amount of students that were observed in the classroom today, this looks to be a wise investment for the university.

East Liverpool students have much to look forward to through the remaining of the year. With the recent razing of a home, located along Walnut Street, students can look forward to additional parking space. The former Red Cross building is scheduled to be renovated to host a lab for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. New room signs should be installed through various areas as well. Finally, hopefully soon KSU’s presence in the area will be more noticeable due to the planned refurbishing of canopies in the school’s traditional blue and gold colors.

Remember, use your knowledge and don’t forget to read the signs located on the restroom doors. After all, you wouldn’t want to earn an “I’m STUPID” sign would you? (Anyone in need of an “I’m STUPID” sign, please see Denise Weaver in the Writing Lab M/W 12:00 – 3:00.)

Photo Contest Entry Deadline is Here

2009-08-31T14:47:00.003-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL - Member and future president of the East Liverpool Calcutta Area Garden Club, Lita Hutchison, wants to "spread the word" about the photography contest the group sponsors.

The deadline for submissions is August 31. Hutchison encourages last minute entries to make the first year for this contest a great one.

The five categories are: pictures of flowers; pictures of flowers featuring people; pictures of flowers with animals of insects; photos of flowers involving extreme manipulation; photos by youths under the age 15. Judges will decide the winner of a sixth categoy, people's choice, from the best of the first five categories.

First place winners get $100, second place gets $50, and the third place gets $25. The best people's choice category photo will earn the artist a separate $75 prize. The winning entries will be on display at the YMCA, gallery-style, during the month of Oct.

To participate, go to Picks Photo in the Ogilvies Plaza for rules and application, or download the information from the club's website, at http://www.elcagardenclub.com/.

"The odds of winning are 1 in 17, given the number of entries we have right now," Hutchison said, "And I think that's pretty good."

Welcome back!

2009-08-31T07:25:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the Fall 2009 semester at the Kent State Columbiana County Campuses!

If you are reading this, you know that Eastern Flash has changed its Web address to http://easternflash.blogspot.com. We'll be sending out e-mail to all students, faculty and staff notifying them of the change during the first week of classes. In the meantime, make sure you update your EF bookmark to reflect this new URL.

Look for new stories on E-Flash this week. Have a good semester!

Eastern Flash breaks for Summer

2009-05-24T20:48:00.006-04:00

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Eastern Flash always pauses during the summer months, and this summer will end with a new term, stories and videos. Thank you for visiting the site and check out the blog Aug. 31.

Art students tour Thompson house

2009-05-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

KSU-EL art professor, Elizabeth Babb (right), poses with a student with a mannequin at the East Liverpool Historical Society's Thompson House. Babb took her Art Survey class on a tour of the historic home earlier this month. (Photo by Kara Lockhart Milan)

National Health Care: Insanity

2009-05-20T14:02:00.003-04:00

By Melody Gustafson

WASHINGTON – It is insane to force a country of more than 290 million people to pay for a national health care bureaucracy to provide care for less than 50 million people who lack health coverage.

An approximation of the numbers shows that a mere 16 percent of the population of the United States comprises the group for which an entire system overhaul has been proposed. While it is unfortunate that so many of us has to pay cash for health care, revamping an entire system at a higher cost to taxpayers, while requiring a sacrifice of the citizen access to quality health care, is ludicrous.

The biggest problem with the national health care proposal, besides the inflated taxes, is the inevitable loss of quality of care, and this will happen in a couple ways.

First of all, bureaucracies are headed by non-elected administrators who don’t answer to the public at the polls. These non-elected heads launch policies regularly that may be questionable to the public. When life and health are on the line, is it wise to eliminate accountability and competition in the midst of a few people whose main role in the process is to reconcile the financial existence of the country’s health care? Cost-cutting policies will effectually marginalize the standards of quality care of more people than will benefit from the overhaul.

Dick Morris, political consultant and author, issued an article May 18 that outlined some of the loss-of-quality concerns by comparing the U.S. private system with what the Canadians have done with their country.

Morris writes: “As in Canada, the best way to cut medical costs is to refrain from using the best drugs to treat cancer and other illnesses, thereby economizing at the expense of patients’ lives...death rates from cancer are 16 percent higher in Canada.” It doesn’t make sense to limit the resources of those who already have adequate health care now so a diminutive minority of Americans can benefit from a costly handout.

Morris also addresses the issue of the shortfall of medical personnel. Congress is considering saving on Medicare fees by regulating the amount doctors can charge for services. Without an incentive to enter the profession and compete with others, the amount of good doctors and nurses will decrease. One can only imagine how many times Congress would, with their backs against the wall, have to “reduce costs” at the expense of what the professionals earn. The result will be a country with an increasing population and less and less doctors to care for them.

According to Morris, “Canadian experience indicates that when government – or its satellite private insurance providers – ration health care, they cut preventative care first. In Canada, colonoscopies are so rationed that the colon cancer rate is 25 percent higher than in the United States.”

Morris does try to look at the bright side, and reason that the “other radical changes Obama is bringing about in our country can always be reversed. That which is nationalized can be privatized.” This columnist disagrees. Our country has a history of helping the disadvantaged, but as future lawmakers face the proposition of repeal in four or eight years, the propagandist mantra of the national health-care advocates will be accusation of inhumane deprivation of care for the 16 percent instead of simple “privatization.”

To read Morris's article for yourself click here: http://www.creators.com/opinion/dick-morris/the-death-of-american-health-care.html

Relay for Life dodge ball tournament

2009-05-18T10:48:00.006-04:00

Action shots from Saturday's "Relay for Life" dodge ball tournament at East Liverpool High School. The event was organized by KSU-EL students David Estell and Shane Reed (upper left). Photos by Kara Lockhart-Milan.

Salem Community Theater Announces Auditions

2009-05-08T16:26:00.003-04:00

SALEM -- Salem Community Theater (SCT) is holding auditions for the summer musical production "Into the Woods."

Open auditions will be held May 31 and June 2 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the theater located at 490 East State Street. The show will run weekends from Aug. 7 - 23.

Individuals wishing to audition should prepare a one-minute vocal selection, preferably a Stephen Sondheim song, and provide sheet music in their key. They should also be prepared to read fromt the script.

"Into the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, is a smart and exciting musical retelling of Brothers Grimm fairy tales: "Jack and the Beanstalk"; "Rapunzel"; "Cinderella"; and more. Find out what happens after "happily ever after" in this enchanting show for all ages.

SCT is pleased to have Michael Dempsey, a Boardman native, as Guest Director for the show. Dempsey is a former network television comedy writer whose local credits include writing and directing "Mrs. Claus Has a Gun!", "Hail to the Chef" and "The Romeo and Juliet War" at Oakland Center for the Arts.

To recieve detailed character descriptions and casting requirements, send an email to demzer@gmail.com or call the theater at 330-332-9688.

Fate of Smith Auto Parts still "in the air"

2009-05-06T19:47:00.010-04:00

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- As spring 2009 term ends, passers-by may be wondering what will become of the dilapidated, historic building on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Streets that houses Smith Auto Parts.

After voting unanimously for demolition in June 2008, the Board of Housing Appeals granted the owner of the property at 329 Broadway, Willis Smith, Jr., time to negotiate with KSU before demoltition occurs.

It is not clear whether the city will demolish the 112-year-old building and assess the cost to Smith, or if the owner will maintain the responsiblity to carry out the order.

KSU-EL is interested in buying the property for a reasonable price that does not exceed its value or misuse state appropriated funds, according to Henry Trenkelbach, business manager.

Early this year, negotiations between Smith and KSU broke down. Afterwards, on Feb. 20, 2009, law director Charles Payne filed a motion in Columbiana Common Pleas Court on behalf of the City of East Liverpool to enforce the demolition order passed by the board.

"We filed action in Common Pleas Court under Hon. David Tobin to enforce a city administrative order to demolish," Payne said. He elaborated that a response was due from Smith's attorney, George Gbur by Apr. 23. No response has been filed in Common Pleas Court.

George Gbur said, "I'm working with the university's counsel, Atty. Jim Watson. Hopefully we can get this behind us."

Meanwhile, negotiations have resumed between KSU-EL and Smith since Payne filed the February action. Trenkelbach said, "We are in negotiation with him with a revised purchase agreement. The matter is in the hands of our attorney and Smith's attorney."

Renovations Set for KSU-Salem

2009-05-01T15:12:00.003-04:00

SALEM -- Renovations are scheduled to begin soon on both the main building and the city center according to business manager Henry Trenkelbach.

Because of recent ohio legislation Trenkelbach refers to as "House Bill 251", an unfunded mandate to reduce energy costs at the university, administrators have decided to employ A & I Studio to replace the "storefronts", or the entire glass window and door units that comprise the front and side exits to the building. "They aren't energy efficient, and they loose a lot of air daily," said Trenkelbach.

In October, Strollo Architects of Austintown will begin backhoe work on the Health and Sciences Wing in what is now a gymnasium.

Because the integrity of the concrete steps that lead down from the student parking lot has been compromised from the road salt and winter weather, continuing to patch isn't feasible. Both sets of steps need completly replaced, and the business office is still considering quotes submitted by companies.

The City Center has recieved a new fire alarm system because it needed the update. Santon Electric was hired to complete the project and install new security and exit lights.

Reward Offered, Bulldog Replaced

2009-04-30T13:27:00.005-04:00

EAST PALESTINE -- A new bulldog has replaced the desecrated one that stood in the center of town insulting every decent citizen since the night the vandals decapitated it.

According to Diana Elzer, the East Palestine Chamber of Commerce has set up an account to stockpile money to offer a reward for information that will lead to the prosecution of the perpetrator. At this time the reward is at $500.

The chamber has asked local busineses that are too small to afford their own statue to help "foot the cost of the bill" to install a bulldog for the alcove between Karen Jane's Bakery and the Chinese restaurant.

Officer Sherril Milliken said, "There is an ongoing investigation, and we are following up on a few leads." Contact the EPPD at 330-426-3531 with helpful information.

Craig Paulenich Reads Drift for the Hunt

2009-04-23T18:11:00.007-04:00

Below is an article describing the man behind the verse and some of his accomplishments. (Film and photos by Mike Canaday)

Goatman: KSU Resident

2009-04-23T10:45:00.018-04:00

By Mike Canaday
SALEM -- Dr. Craig Paulenich is a associate professor of English at various KSU campuses and a poet who has published two works, Beneath A Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry edited by Ken Johnson, and Drift for the Hunt, and a third, Blood Will Tell, that has just been accepted for publication after a period of review.

Blood Will Tell is a novel about Eastern European immigrants’ labor experiences in Pennsylavania at the turn of the last century. Already accepted for publication, the book will be on sale soon.

Drift of the Hunt, published by Nobodaddies Press in 2006 featuring Doug Rice as editor, is a story about a hideous, Frankenstein-like persona, Goatman. Goatman is an ugly but complex figure that has shaman, Shinto, Appalachian, Western Pennsylvanian, Eastern European folk tale qualities. Relating the past to the present, this culmination of character took Paulenich over 20 years of personal experiences to mold. Goatman, with a combination that is mysteriously in line with Paulenich’s own interests,
Japanese and Eastern European folklore and Pennsylvania living reflects the inner poet through differing angles. The Goatman tale Drift of the Hunt is a novel displaying Paulenich's own belief that "there is a fine line between horror and humor." Goatman has a little of everybody and everyday life in his story, even if it’s horrifying to fathom.

The first, printed by Shambala Press in Boston in 1991, is Beneath A Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry. It is a collection of poems and stories from 45 centenary Buddhist-American poets. Works by Allen Ginsberg, John Cage, Jane Hirschfield, Olega Broumas and one of Paulenich’s influences, Gerry Snyder appear in the anthology. It is a look at American Buddhism related to poetry today. Instructors use the text as a college teaching aid in the U.S. and in Japan.

Paulenich did his doctorate thesis on shamanism and Anglo-Saxon poetry. He has a great interest in Japanese culture, particularly shamanism and is also a visiting professor of English at Shimane University in Matsue, Japan and lived in the country for more than a year. His favorite influences are Gerry Snyder, Charles Simic and Ann Sexton.

Students find him entertaining and informative and percieve a sense of caring and sincerity. His animated swagger and Western Pennsylvanian dialect accent his demeanor. Part of his appeal comes from his “common joe” personality that is packed with complex knowledge and creative ideas that make the subject matter easy to relate to. A local success story and a great poet in his own right, is part of the fabric that creates the thin veil of American poetry today with its broad diversity.

Paulenich has been studying Czech golem folklore recently and has built up an admiration for Prague. He likes local Czech writers such as Nezval, T. Siefert and Jiri Orten. In light of that, he has chosen recently for personal reading books about this Jewish golem who is a supernatural mud man with Goatman like qualities. Like Goatman, Prague is "both dark and beautiful" Paulenich decided while visiting Prague with his wife Karla recently.

The Northeast Ohio Masters of Fine Art of Creative Writing program, (NEOMFA) is the first consortium fine arts degree offered, ever. Teachers from four schools, KSU, Cleveland University, Akron University, and Youngstown State University, including Paulenich, form the basis of instruction. Maggie Anderson, referred to as "a terrific poet" by Paulenich, is the NEOMFA director.

The degree requires 48 credit hours, and usually takes students three years but the education can span over as long as six years. This degree can be viable by itself or in conjunction with others such as another master’s or a doctorate.

"We encourage students to do both"Paulenich said. "Dean Nolte is doing everything he can do for us," Paulenich said of the KSU cooperation with NEOMFA. He believes highly in the NEOMFA degree. "The worse the state of the economy, the more the KSU and NEOFMA enrollment rises."

For those interested in more details, they should visit NEOMFA's web site, talk to Paulenich, or contact any of the other three campus NEOMFA representatives whose contact information is listed on the web site. http://www.ysu.edu/neomfa/. or call about credit costs at 330 672 1775.

Paulenich will teach a 3000-level Poetry Writing course at KSU-EL and a special topics course, Buddhism and Contemporary American Poetry at KSU-Salem in the Fall 2009 term. If interested, contact him directly at cpauleni@kent.edu.

Paulenich reading an excerpt of Drift of the Hunt in Sacramento in 2006 is shown at http://www.viddler.com/explore/dief/videos/1/ Another, more personal reading from his office in Salem is attached to this feature.
____________________________________________________

Craig Paulenich was born in 1953 and raised in Western Pennsylvania. He has been employed as a night watchman, foundry worker, tax assessor, high school English teacher in Boardman, Ohio, as a road crew, worker and he even surfaced tennis courts. He received his MFA in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982, and a PhD in English from Bowling Green State University in 1989. Paulenich has taught in the University of Pittsburgh, Bowling Green State University, Clemson University, and is presently an associate professor at KSU and the standing Kent State coordinator for North East Ohio Master of Fine Art (NEOMFA). He teaches creative writing courses at KSU-Salem as well as NEOMFA ones. His poetry has been published in the 5 AM, Tar River Poetry, The Hiram Review, South Carolina Review, Kansas Quarterly, Georgia Review, Cottonwood, and Artful Dodger just to name a few.