$100 REWARD

Our dog Max ran away from our Berea home on Christmas Eve 2001.

He is a 15 month old, off-white\tan, long-haired, Shepherd mix.

Reward payable upon his return.

Thanks,

Keith H. Simmons

(The version that follows is the exact one submitted to The Plain Dealer's "Letters to the Editor" department on 6 Dec 2001; the version that the PD ran in its 13 Dec 2001 edition was slightly -- but significantly -- different)

Open Letter to Jane Campbell:

I hope that, as you begin to assess the needs of Cleveland and the wider community, you won't be unduly influenced by the honchos at Cleveland Tomorrow, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, and The Plain Dealer. People who collectively lead those entities comprise a powerful force indeed; they have already -- and very publicly -- begun flexing their considerable muscle in an attempt to steer your early agenda.

Never mind that those same movers and shakers are quite out of touch with the very region they purport to be trying to save. Most people living in Greater Cleveland, for example, need many things much more than a shiny new convention center or a greatly expanded airport. In both cases, proponents are trying to sell you on the wisdom of providing capacity for a demand that just doesn't exist. They're essentially chanting the mantra from the movie, Field of Dreams: "If we build it, they will come." It was a lovely movie. But it was fantasy.

Those who favor grandiose building projects (those same bigwigs who routinely try to funnel mega-bucks -- public bucks -- into the hands of their developer pals) remind me of Republicans who once favored a "trickle-down" approach. "What's good for us will [eventually] be good for you. Trust us." They also remind me of Democrats who've often stated that "a rising tide raises all boats." That's great. But it doesn't do you much good if you're sitting in a leaky dinghy.

The thousands of regular folks who gave you their votes, and who've entrusted much of their near-term futures to you, need you now. Please don't let their voices get lost amid the overbearing, deafening din emanating from Greater Cleveland's most privileged.

Sincerely,

To those Berea City Council candidates who were victorious: I offer my congratulations. Because compensation for Council members is so low -- some would say too low -- your participation in the administration of Berea's governmental affairs is almost a volunteer activity. That you are willing to give your time and effort to your town embodies the best in citizenship. I hope your official actions over the next two years are guided by the knowledge that you will be representing ALL of Berea's residents: those who voted for you and those who voted against you, alike. I have every expectation that each of you will, and that you will serve honorably.

To the candidates who were unsuccessful: I offer my sincere gratitude. As a Berea resident, I am thankful that you took the time and trouble to run for elective office. Because, by running, you provided Bereans with an alternative. Lack of choice is stifling to representative government. When only one point of view is offered, it is the entire electorate that loses. Your candidacies helped remind the victors that there are residents whose positions on issues are counter to their own -- and to their respective groups of supporters.

To the residents of Berea: I hope you will stay involved. For, while we elect people to represent us in a general way and empower them to carry out the day-to-day administration of our city's business, we do not give them complete control. We never turn our town's future over to those whom we elect. Our elected officials (mayor and council members alike) are public servants. We give them the authority to manage various city affairs and services, not to manage us. They are not our supervisors. Quite the contrary: it is they who ultimately answer to us, the voters. Bereans would do well, I think, to keep that in mind.

Dear Tressel Family,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the membership of the Berea Town Forum, I would like to extend our sympathy to all of you.

Eloise was truly a woman not to be dealt with lightly! Her strength, compassion and humanity made her one of Berea's most cherished citizens. The Berea Town Forum, indeed, all of us owe her a debt of gratitude for being a founding member of the Forum. Her guidance through those formative years was invaluable. She had determination beyond the call of duty. None of us will ever forget her magnificent contributions to this town. Her accomplishments are legendary and extensive and almost everyone in Berea had an encounter with Eloise at some point, whether at a football game or a heated city council meeting. She was always there, speaking on behalf of the community and its health and welfare.

Eloise will be missed each and every day, but she has left with all of us, a living legacy of her deeds. If we are wise, we will follow in her footsteps and continue the good work that she started. I somehow think this would make Eloise smile!

Thank you Tressels, for sharing your incredible ELOISE with all of us!

Eloise Tressel will be very much missed in this community, both personally and for her many contributions to the public good. My condolences go to her family and to all her friends. I have been very moved by the many public expressions of loss felt by members of our community and in response have donated a public memorial to honor Eloise online. I invite everyone to visit this memorial at: target="_top"http://www.homespunmemorials.com/tressel/index.htm Please sign the guest book to let the family know how much Eloise meant to you and leave your thoughts and memories to be shared with everyone and perpetuate the many wonderful moments of her life. Photos may also be sent and will be posted in an online album. A Life such as Eloise lived deserves to be celebrated.

To everyone concerned about airport expansion,

The linked article talks about charging to fly during peak hours (8AM and 5PM) and encouraging flight at other times to spread out the load on the airports and decrease the need for more runways. I'm not certain if it will help. I do know that a typical day at the airport has everyone trying to fly at 8AM or 5PM with fewer flights in between - this article confirms this.

Take care,
Keith Simmons
Homeowners Concerned with Eminent Domain and Airport Expansion

The Plain Dealer newspaper used outdated information when it reported on Aug. 9,2001 that,

"Berea residents are wary about the possibility of a third runway, which could claim up to 900 houses in that city."
Vote's in, long journey begins in airport deal,
by Rena A. Koontz, Plain Dealer newspaper, 8/9/2001

I spoke with Ms. Koontz in person and she graciously provided me with the map she used to support her story.

The map is NOT current and does NOT accurately reflect Cleveland’s current intentions.

Years ago, Cleveland and the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed numerous possible airport layouts. Out of 16 alternative airport layout plans – 14 were dismissed. One alternative even suggested building OVER State Route 237!

Alternative B1 was approved and is currently under construction - building a new 9,000' runway closer to NASA and extending the main runway to 11,250'.

Another alternative, B2, has been set aside by the FAA and MAY be reconsidered sometime after 2003. B2 or Pristine Plan is better known as the third runway through the I-X Center plan. Even alternative B2 would not take 900 homes. It might destroy the neighborhood bounded by Sheldon, Grayton, Riveredge Pkwy, and Arden.

Therefore, there are NOT 900 Berea homes under threat of destruction by the airport expansion – whether the third runway is built or not.

To see the maps and to read more about this, see: "Homeowners Concerned with Eminent Domain and Airport Expansion.”

Regarding Brook Park's I-X Center vote: The good ol' boys running The Plain Dealer must be so proud. Cigars and twelve-year-old scotch all around, huh?

Let's recap. The 800-pound gorilla of Greater Cleveland news reporting, the area's most powerful corporate executives, a hundred and fifty thousand or so to spend, a first-time use of an electronic voting system that doesn't leave much of an audit trail -- and, oh yeah -- a person sitting on the county elections board who only happens to have the largest political stake in the vote's outcome, all lined up against a mere handful of concerned citizens (operating on a shoestring, and without any media pull) and, viola! Victory!

What a mountain those folks climbed!

I read Brent Larkin's commentary in the 8-5-01 Forum section of The Plain Dealer and I felt ashamed. You see, I'm one of those people who's been critical of -- what I believed -- were the heavy-handed tactics of Greater Cleveland's CEOs with respect to issues involving the I-X Center and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

(Cleveland ...Hopkins ...International ...Airport. Kind of reminds me of the Little Rascals' International ...Silverstring ...Submarine ...Band.)

I thought the corporate big wigs were simply trying to bully Brook Park and the rest of "the region" into blessing an agenda for the airport and for downtown that didn't much take into consideration the thinking of regular folks. Silly me. See, I didn't know (until Larkin pointed it out) that we're SUPPOSED to let CEO's do our thinking for us. I just didn't know that they're "the ones who provide the jobs, pay the taxes, and write the big checks that fund campaigns."

Dumb ol' me: I thought it was the COMPANIES for whom the CEOs work -- you know, the same entities that employ most of the rest of us -- that provide the jobs and so on. I didn't know that the CEOs were actually playing with their own money. (Stockholders? What stockholders?)

And, until reading Larkin's column, I also believed that my wife and I were paying taxes. Nope. Just ask Brent: it's the CEOs who "pay the taxes." See how wrong I was?

I feel so bad that I've been critical of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Cleveland Tomorrow. I just didn't know how sensitive those corporate honchos can be; it's obvious that their itty bitty feelings are hurt. They try and they try and they try to make all the decisions for us (er, I mean, do what's best for us), and are we grateful? No.

I know how hard it is for CEOs to get their message across. Even having Alex Machaskee -- who just happens to be The Plain Dealer's top dog -- on the board of Cleveland Tomorrow hasn't helped; the daily newspaper just won't give their views a fair hearing. (Ignore the man behind the curtain...and the "Agenda 2000" and "Quiet Crisis" series, too.)

Further, it's common knowledge around these parts that The Plain Dealer's editorial board ALWAYS sides in favor of labor and against management. (It does, doesn't it?) And, when company executives want to "get the word out," they dig into their own pockets, while labor leaders raid corporate accounts to finance their campaigns. (That IS the way it works, right?)

CEOs. Those poor dears. They slave away for low compensation (no, they've never received bonuses...even as they've laid off workers -- where on earth did you hear THAT?) and little recognition. They drive junkers and get by on Hamburger Helper.

I feel just awful that I've had the audacity to question their motives.

Cuyahoga County Probate Court case no. 99ADV15039, CLV exhibit #17, "Proposed Long-Term Aviation Plan," shows in greater detail what they plan to replace Brook Park homes, Dora Lee Payne Park, and Riveredge Elementary School with. They call it the Berea Industrial Park.

Go to http://www.geocities.com/bereahomeowners/ to see the drawing.

They say planning should start after 2006 and they argue for a third runway to be built between 2015 and 2020.

To those concerned about airport expansion,

Within Court of Appeals case # 79001, there is an exhibit detailing the "Pristine" Plan. It is also known as Cleveland's "ultimate" airport plan. This plan was presented to Cleveland City Council as recently as May 2000.

According to the Pristine plan, a 3rd runway will be built during Phase 2 (after 2016), the I-X Center is replaced with "other aircraft area," and every home north of Sheldon Rd is replaced with commercial development - including - Riveredge Elementary!

Go to http://www.geocities.com/bereahomeowners/ to see a copy of the document and other maps showing which Brook Park homes will be taken during what time frames.

PS - They say the 3rd runway will be used for commuter traffic, i.e., smaller than passenger jet traffic.

I can understand why the deep thinkers of The Plain Dealer's sports department believe that Ohio State University head football coach Jim Tressel belongs equally to the towns of Mentor and Berea.

True, Tressel spent all of his school years -- elementary, secondary, and college -- in Berea. Too, his parents made Berea their permanent homestead (over the years, when Coach Jim came "home for the holidays," it was -- you guessed it -- to Berea). And, yes, Jim DID gain his fundamental understanding of football while assisting his legendary dad Lee at Berea's Baldwin-Wallace College.

But, hey, let's not sell Mentor short.

I'm sure that, prior to the PD's recent article informing us that Tressel was born in Mentor, 9 out of every 10 Mentorites could have already told us that. I'm SURE they could have...aren't you? I just know that the Mentor faithful celebrated with the same enthusiasm as did Bereans on the day that Tressel was named OSU's new head coach. They did, didn't they? I'm absolutely positive that congratulatory messages to Jim and to his mother Eloise emanated in equal numbers from Mentor and Berea, right?

Why, I hear tell that Edna, down to Mentor's Piggly Wiggly, has fond memories of young 'Jimmer' (that was her pet name for him) riding in his mother's shopping cart, perusing the Gerber's baby food selection. And Jud, manager of the local 'Five and Dime,' remembers well the day Jimbo's proud parents stopped by to purchase his first stroller.

Heck, Slappy (Mentor High School's unforgettable, 1950's head coach of football, basketball, baseball, and tiddlywinks), noting the proficiency with which toddler 'Jimster' drooled, once remarked: "With a dribble like that, he'll make one helluva b-baller, someday."

And that's about all they remember of young Jim.

He was, after all, only three-years old when his family moved from their hamlet. As remarkable a person as Jim Tressel has turned out to be, I sincerely doubt that he left much of an impression on Mentor's townsfolk during years one, two, and three of his life.

All kidding aside, I have nothing against Mentor; I'm sure it's a fine town. And I surely don't begrudge its citizenry a measure of pride or their legitimate bragging rights: Jim Tressel truly IS a "native" of Mentor. There's no denying that he was born there.

But is he "of" Mentor? Decidedly not. Youngstown (where he coached YSU to much gridiron glory), Columbus (where he once served OSU as an assistant and, now, as its head coach), and most assuredly Berea -- where he grew up and his mother still lives, where his character was formed, and where his most ardent supporters dwell -- all surely lay greater claim to that honor.

Everyone who is interested in the planned expansion of Cleveland Hopkins Airport please stop by and register at http://StopTheExpansion.manilasites.com/

The site is set up to be a community for anyone who has an interest in the expansion--whether you need to vent, fight, agree, or have viable options to submit.

Dateline 01-19-01, Livingston Land:

Another day, another opinion for the schizophrenic, "Don't Mess with Texas," Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer. On the day Jim Tressel was to be announced as OSU's new head coach (January 18th), he opined that the Scarlet and Gray was somehow merely settling. The headline for his column blared: "The local guy will have to do".

In the PD's Jan 19 edition (you know, a scant 24 hours later), he suddenly informs us that, "The new guy has an old dream, and he has begun it well."

What a difference a day makes, eh Bill?

Cow Poke, Cow Pie (Scooter Pie?) Billy's views change so often, and so fast, that it makes no sense to take anything he writes seriously. My advice to readers of his columns: wait until he's written at least 10 articles about any one issue, average them, divide by the GNP of Canada, adjust for inflation, and then maybe -- just maybe -- you'll arrive at...aw, who am I kidding?

Eloise:

This must be one proud day for you. Enjoy it.

Your son's assent to the pinnacle of Ohio football has been remarkable. It's certainly deserved, Mr. Livingston's remarks in today's PD notwithstanding. OSU's well-heeled alums might very well have coveted a bigger national name for their marquee, just as Livingston suggests. But I trust they'll soon be glad they instead got "the real deal."

I'm going to clip and save Cow Pie Billy's column. One day I'll send it back to him, complete with condiments. (You know, Livingston claims to be "one of us." He never will be. And it has nothing to do with where he was born, or the length of time he's lived here.)

Regardless of the number of scarlet and gray victories that lie ahead for your son on the gridiron, I know he'll always make us proud. He's a class act. All of Berea, and much of Ohio, is celebrating today. And you just know that -- up there somewhere -- Lee's busted a few buttons on his shirt, too.