One of the most painful things is dealing with the death of a family member. Nolan had to deal with the death of his young father, and Mark had to deal with the death of his father and his mother-in-law. Mark’s dad had some health issues like heart trouble and diabetes, but even so, age 70 is relatively young in this day and age. Mark’s 69-year-old mother-in-law was completely healthy and was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia and died within 15 months. Nolan’s dad died of a sudden heart attack at the young age of 49.
What is common in all of these situations is that the unexpected happened.  If we think about it, the unexpected happens on a regular basis.  Are you prepared to deal with the unexpected?  Have you done anything to protect yourself and your family if you suddenly become incapacitated or pass away unexpectedly?
Many people say, “That will never happen to me,” or if they don’t verbalize it, they say it by avoiding the necessary action to deal with such unexpected circumstances. Avoiding the inevitable doesn’t help when the unexpected occurs.  Whatever your circumstances, it is important to have a will, power of attorney and health care directives in place.  These documents will determine where your belongings will go if you die, who will take care of your children and who will act on your behalf if you become
incapacitated.
Mark’s mom was dependent on his dad. When Mark’s dad died, she did not know how to handle certain financial matters and needed a lot of help.  Fortunately, Mark’s dad had put the proper documents in place that allowed her children to step in and help her take care of crucial financial matters.
As we get older, many of us get more in touch with our mortality. If you are a grandparent and are reading the article, do you know if your children or grandchildren have taken care of this important task?  Do you know if guardians have been named for any minor grandchildren?  Don’t make any assumptions about what will happen because a court of law may not come to the same conclusion.  If this has not been done, perhaps you should show your children this article.
So, here is the question: Have you done what you need to do, or are you burying your head in the sand? Here is what to do: Pick up the phone and make an appointment with a good estate planner. Typically, you will need at least the basics, which would include a will, a durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, a living will and health information privacy authorization. While you’re at this meeting with your adviser, find out what other strategies are available if you want to do more than the basics. Good estate plans will consider how the financial planning overlaps with the estate planning.  As the sayings go, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” and “Expect the unexpected.”

For more information about today’s column and The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at noon on 1230 WCWA and every Sunday at 11 a.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537.

Parents of newborns find themselves dealing with myriad concerns for their children’s health, sharing well-known problems, such as colic, diaper rash and sleepless nights. But once in roughly every 60,000 births, they learn about a condition completely unknown to most people. The telltale symptom: The baby’s cry sounds just like a cat.
Known as Cri du Chat, Cat Cry Syndrome and 5p- Syndrome, the affliction leaves many victims unable to use language effectively, leading to suppressed educational development and ultimately lifelong care taking by parents and support professionals. The condition is also characterized by low birth weight, poor muscle tone, feeding difficulties and potential health complications.
But not all victims suffer all the symptoms to the same extent. Eight-year-old Olivia Townsend speaks well for a child with Cri du Chat, according to her mother, Tiffany Townsend, placing her on the “higher-functioning end of the broad spectrum.” Olivia was diagnosed at 4 days old and since has benefited from the support available through the 5p- Society, which promotes communication among families affected by the condition.
“Early intervention helps a ton, and we really try and promote that through our society as much as possible,” Townsend said. “Other than that, it’s therapy and the school and working with them at home.”
Townsend is organizing a gathering for the Ohio chapter of the 5p- Society in August. Plans have been made for a golf outing at Bedford Hills Golf Club to raise money to offset costs for parents and their children to attend. The event provides an opportunity for families to share experiences while creating awareness of Cri du Chat.
Nick Wallace, a Bellefontaine resident and co-founder of the Ohio chapter, described the process his daughter, Allison, endured in discovering she was afflicted. She was 2 months old, and doctors treating her had no experience with the syndrome. After four weeks in the hospital — nourished through a feeding tube — it was finally apparent that Allison would need to be tended to for the rest of her life. That became the moment the Wallaces had to learn everything they could about Cri du Chat.
“A lot of medical professions don’t know a lot about it,” Wallace said. “They have old information that’s not current and up to date. I know that there was one family who were told that their child wouldn’t live past, I want to say, the age of 10 … [the mother] told me a few days [after I contacted her] that this was the best night’s sleep that she’d ever had knowing that kids with Cri du Chat have a typical lifespan.”
For more information, visit www.fivepminus.org. To sponsor the gathering or donate prizes for auction, call (419) 824-8496.

A new walking club at The Town Center at Levis Commons aims to make it easier for the community to get active. The walking club, called Common Soles, is open to participants of all fitness levels and ages. There is no cost to join the program, which ends June 19.
Walkers meet outside the retail store Second Sole at 9 a.m. on Fridays. Participants have the option of walking any of the four mapped routes ranging from a half-mile course to a two-mile course.
“We welcome anyone who’d like to join us,” said Casey Pogan, a spokeswoman for Levis Commons. “Our goal is to build a healthy and active community.”
Participants will receive exercise tips and other health-related information compliments of Second Sole and Total Rehab, which are sponsoring Common Soles. Topics, such as selecting healthy foods, the benefits of cardiovascular and strength training, and marathon training will be covered. Walkers must sign up for Common Soles on the Levis Commons Web site, which includes downloadable walking routes, a music playlist, walking journal, calorie burn counter and more.
So far, 10 to 15 walkers meet each week, Pogan said, and the feedback has been positive. “Our walkers are enjoying the chance to visit the Town Center for more than just the shops and restaurants, but for the walking routes and exercise tips,” she said.
The first 50 participants to sign up for the walking club will receive a goodie bag filled with a pedometer, mug, lip balm and more.
For more information, visit http://www.shopleviscommons.com/walkingclub/index.php.

For years, local pundits have decried the apathy that grips Toledoans, especially at election time. Why aren’t more people voting? Why aren’t more people involved? Why are people content with a broken status quo?
As we hurtle through 2009 and set our sights on November, many of those concerns are being addressed by a new wave of political activists.
The first rumblings rose in the mayor’s race, where four quality candidates  — Mike Bell, Ben Konop, Jim Moody and Keith Wilkowski — have entered the fray, and that’s not counting an unlikely run by incumbent Carty Finkbeiner, who has seen many of his former financial supporters peeled away by the challengers.
There are many qualified candidates declared for Toledo Public Schools Board of Education, including incumbent Darlene Fisher.
Toledo City Council will see six seats up for grabs, and as many as two dozen people may be running. In addition to whichever incumbents run, the Democratic- and Republican-sponsored challengers will be joined by a new group, Teamwork Toledo. The members — John Adams Jr., Ty Daniels, Tricia Lyons, Kevin Milliken, David Washington and Michael Watson — say they stand for “no new taxes, back-to-basics government and a business-friendly community.”
It is heartening to see so many people stand up to put their time and money on the line, when our city and larger community most need the help.
Along with the apparent success of the Take Back Toledo recall effort, there is an unquestioned movement to take leadership in new directions.
As we peel away the calendar pages, Toledo Free Press will cover the candidates and races, sponsor debates and collect information online to help voters make educated decisions.
Thank you to all the candidates who are stepping up and stepping forward. The debate and competition you inspire can raise the standards for future elections.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

A new virtual company, Turning Point, is collaborating to develop, produce and commercialize electronic equipment for the exercise and physical therapy industries.
Alan Schultheis, a novice entrepreneur from Connecticut, was looking for expertise in technology and manufacturing to bring his idea for a new exercise device to market. He was surprised to find everything he needed in the Toledo area.
“It literally started with a phone call to an engineering professor at the university.  Dr. [Vijay] Goel is responsible for getting the whole thing started here,” said Schultheis, founder of Turning Point.
Schultheis connected with Goel, who was chairman of the bioengineering division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Goel specializes in bio-mechanical devices for spinal disorders, so he was interested in the entrepreneur’s concept.
“My goal was to bring the company to Toledo and it worked out that way,” said Goel, endowed chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Bioengineering at UT.
Goel is leading the research and development of the device called the “Core Trainer.” It focuses on the core parts of the body, including the upper legs, upper and lower abdominals, gluteus and mid-to-lower back, which are critical to back health, posture, movement and sports performance.
UT provided the brainpower for the project as Goel assembled a team that included Danny Pincivero, an associate professor in kinesiology; David Dick, a bio-engineer in Goel’s department; and John Jeagly, a lab supervisor in mechanical engineering.
Schultheis and Goel worked with Daniel Kory, associate vice president for technology transfer at UT, on commercializing the technology developed in collaboration with the UT professors. They suggested that he talk to the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP).
“I couldn’t have done it without RGP, its assistance in creating the virtual company and knowledge of other companies we needed for the project,” Schultheis said.
RGP helped Schultheis and his academic partners identify the appropriate standards for testing the product established by the Food and Drug Administration and Underwriting Laboratories. Turning Point is continuing the innovation, manufacturing and technology required to meet those standards.
“Working with RGP, I was in a position to interpret and judge the resources available right here in Toledo,” Schultheis said.
Turning Point is working with three local companies on various aspects of the project. The Core Trainer will be developed, tested and manufactured in Toledo creating jobs with those companies.
Pinnacle Technology is developing the hardware and software for the touch-screen computer controls for the device. TTL Associates is testing the device to ensure that it meets industry standards, and Lockrey Manufacturing is working with the other sources to produce the piece of equipment in its Toledo facility. Schultheis said they plan to have the product ready for delivery by the end of this year.
Goel said they recruited Matt Franchetti, an assistant professor in industrial engineering at UT, to manage the project and its timeline with everyone involved.
A prototype of the Core Trainer is being tested in the athletic training facilities at UT’s Savage Arena in collaboration with the Central Park West Rehabilitation Center.
The Core Trainer will include an innovative mix of information and technology with total control by the athletic trainer or physical therapist that is not found in the industry today, Schultheis said.
“The device uses hydraulics to exercise muscles needed for different activities and is applicable to baseball, golf, tennis, many other sports and physical therapy for rehabilitation,” Goel said.
“We use computers to control the resistance required for the desired exercise, preserve the data for comparison and provide bio-feedback to improve performance.”
Turning Point  received a $50,000 Ignite grant from Rocket Ventures at RGP for the development of the touch-screen electronics for the Core Trainer.
“I didn’t want to start a big company with a lot of employees so it takes an organization like RGP and its people with support from the business community to make it work today,” Schultheis said. “RGP’s proactive approach is what made the difference.”

In the early 1900s, electric cars made up about 25 percent of all vehicles sold. The advent of cheap, internal gasoline engines and the development of that infrastructure led to the early demise of the electric car industry.
Things have changed in dramatic ways the past several years, and electric cars are becoming viable. The recent demand from the White House for vehicles that average 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016 and stiffer tailpipe emission requirements will only benefit the electric vehicle industry.
Technology
An electric car is exactly what the name implies. It is a vehicle that operates solely on electric power. It derives that power from a storage battery. Electric cars have several advantages and disadvantages compared to their internal combustion engine counterparts. Perhaps the greatest advantage is that they are emission-friendly. The industry refers to total electric cars as “zero-emissions vehicles.” That means they don’t pollute the environment. The reality is somewhat different, however. The batteries themselves must be disposed of properly or they will create an environmental hazard.
Another advantage of electric vehicles is the amount of torque they produce. Torque is a useful measurement. The famous auto racer, Big Daddy Don Garlits, said, “Horsepower sells cars, but torque wins races.”
An electric car produces a lot of torque from the moment the motor starts to spin. The torque production in electric cars tends to decrease as revolutions per minute increase. An example of how this advantage applies to the real world is the locomotive train. Most of the trains we see on the railroad tracks are powered by electric motors.
They have diesel engines on board, as well, but those diesels are simply providing the electric energy necessary to power the electric motors.
The downside
The biggest disadvantage is how far an electric vehicle can travel before a battery recharge is necessary. Most electric vehicles on the market will run out of energy somewhere between 50 and 120 miles. Using the air-conditioned system in the summer or the heater in the winter could seriously limit the miles traveled before a recharge is necessary. Driving at night will limit overall miles available, too. This limited range may not be a big issue in a large metropolitan area where the consumer is only travelling a few miles to and from work. Here in the Midwest, however, the limited mileage range of the electric vehicle could make it difficult to justify to the consumer.
As battery technology improves, so will the range of these vehicles. Automotive engineers have been steadily working on the problem and the future looks bright. A reasonable range, for rural customers, is still several years away.
The cost of the batteries is expensive, too. The cost ranges from $3,500 to nearly $9,000, depending on size, and the life expectancy can be as little as three years. Consequently, most electric vehicle manufacturers are warranting the batteries for five or more years. The cost of the replacement battery is simply folded into the original price of the vehicle. Once again, however, those numbers will only get better as technology and production costs improve.
The future
The cost of an electric vehicle is significantly greater than its gasoline-powered counterpart. Electric vehicles, available in the U.S. market, cost about $10,000 more than a standard vehicle, although proposed tax advantages for their purchase could come to fruition.
Using $2.50 per gallon of gasoline as a baseline, the cost of recharging an electric vehicle could equate to an astonishing 175 mph. If a carbon tax is passed by Congress, the cost of a recharge will most probably rise.
As more and more electric vehicles are sold, we can expect Congress to impose a road-use tax in order to recover the tax revenue lost on gasoline sales.
Another consideration is their size. Almost all electric cars are subcompact. Many of the electrics I reviewed may actually be considered mini-designs. Once again, however, as technology improves, the size of the vehicles will most certainly increase.
Virtually every major automotive manufacturer has plans for the production of an all- electric vehicle by at least 2012 for sale in the U.S. market. Our grandchildren will probably only see the gasoline vehicles we drive today in parades or at auto shows. The electric car will help clean our environment and aid in destroying our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Nick Shultz is an instructor of Automotive Technologies at Owens Community College. He is an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau who specializes in cases involving the Ohio and Michigan Lemon laws. He is a certified master automotive technician by ASE, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. Shultz, a Toledo native, will take questions at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Many fundraising events in the Toledo area depend upon grassroots promotion. Friends ask other friends to join them in donations, event attendance or both. Recently two local nonprofit organizations benefitted from grassroots fundraising events, Family House and Feed Your Neighbor.
Offering tickets for $15 in advance and $20 at the door, “Dancing for the Homeless,” was an urban dancing event sponsored to benefit Family House. It was the idea of Kerry Smith-Emery, an employee of the homeless shelter for families.
One group of Emery’s friends included the owners of Mind, Body and Soul, a dance studio offering urban ballroom and step classes. Kelli Hinkle, one of the business partners, said they were pleased to provide free promotion of the event, dance demonstrations and gift certificates for the raffle.
“We know people who are only one paycheck away from homelessness. This is our way of being grateful that we are not in that position,” Hinkle said.
Through the efforts of Emery and her friends, the event raised $3,000. Executive Director Janet Boswell said the proceeds will be placed in a pool of unrestricted funds.
Another group of friends united through music at The Blarney Irish Pub to raise funds for a food pantry in their neighborhood. Augsburg Lutheran Church hosted the second annual “Raise Some Cash” concert to benefit the food pantry located in the church. The Blarney allowed the group to collect the $5 cover charge as a part of the charity event.
The event is coordinated by Larry Meyer, who approaches some of Toledo’s most popular bands asking them to donate their time. Bands that are a part of the concert are asked to play one Johnny Cash tribute song and that creates the event’s theme. Raise Some Cash is now in its second year and Meyer can see the progress.
“As an event, I think that we are gaining a reputation for not only supporting a valid cause, but for building this first and foremost from the ground up as an evening of great bar-band rock ‘n’ roll, period,” Meyer said. “Hopefully that helps our credibility as we work with the venue, contact the press, enlist other acts, etc.”
Among the bands joining Meyer and Augsburg Lutheran were The Flecks. For both years of the event, The Flecks have essentially been part of the infrastructure, donating not only their time, but their sound system, amps and drum set for the other acts to use. Raise Some Cash proceeds totaled $3,601, which will be used to purchase food from food banks to stock the pantry shelves to meet the neighborhood’s summer needs for emergency food.
Frisch honored
Kenneth C. Frisch, director of development for Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg, is the recipient of the 2009 Community Counseling Service Award for Outstanding Fundraising Professional presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). The international award is presented to the fundraiser who has practiced his or her profession in an exemplary manner for at least 15 years. He or she must have demonstrated effective, creative and stimulating leadership and practiced and promoted ethical fundraising. Frisch received the honor on March 30 at AFP’s 46th International Conference on Fundraising in New Orleans.
“I am truly humbled by the honor,” said Frisch, who is one of 84 fundraisers in the world to have earned the Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive credential.  “I would not have had any success without the support and guidance of colleagues, the enthusiastic commitment of volunteers and the generosity of numerous philanthropists.”

Christine Senack is a Toledo-based consultant helping nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals work smarter together. She also presents the TMZ Report on FOX Toledo News First at 4. Connect with her on www.facebook.com or follow at www.twitter.com/csenack.

TARTA ridership has not dipped, despite lower gas prices.
“We had a large increase in 2008 because of gas prices and what we have found is when gas prices came back down, a lot of riders who tried TARTA stayed with TARTA,” said General Manager James Gee. “They liked the service. They recognized that it was safe and convenient, and they were able to save a lot of money by using TARTA.”
In April 2008, the ridership total was 1.45 million, compared to 1.46 million this April.
“Since the gas prices went up, ridership has increased definitely a whole lot,” said TARTA bus driver Paul Waites. “Even though gas prices leveled down, ridership has still gone up.”
Waites said riders he has talked to were forced to ride the bus when gas prices were too high, but realized TARTA was cheap and convenient so they continued to ride.
“With the economy, it was still saving money. That’s why ridership didn’t go down as gas went down,” he said.
Waites said he believes TARTA ridership will continue to increase.
“Judging by how unstable the economy is, ridership might increase a little with layoffs and job closings,” he said. “TARTA is one of the most convenient ways to ride a bus, price-wise, if you don’t have a job and don’t have a vehicle.”

It’s hardly surprising that Jill Wersell loves to ride bikes.
As the owner of Wersell’s Bike and Ski Shop on West Central Avenue, and the daughter of Harold Wersell, who founded the store in 1945, Wersell has been around bicycles all her life.
“When you’re born into the family, you don’t have much choice. It’s in your blood,” Wersell said. “It’s a great way to keep healthy.”

Jim Konicki bikes from his home to work at the post office Downtown. Konicki is pictured with Jill Wersell, the owner of Wersell Bike and Ski Shop.

She’s not alone in her enthusiasm for biking. In fact, as someone on the front lines of Toledo’s bicycle culture, Wersell has noticed a big increase in the number of people coming to her store to buy bicycles or to get their old bikes fixed.
Wersell said money is a driving force. More people are leaving their cars at home and cycling to work because of gas prices. The economic downturn is likely to deepen that trend this summer, she said, making Wersell’s Bike and Ski Shop one of the few businesses expecting to do well, despite the recession.
There are other reasons interest in biking has increased. Wersell believes rising health consciousness is spurring many people to take up cycling, as well as growing environmental awareness.
That’s true for Josh Comes, who runs a solar-powered Web hosting service from his home in west Toledo. He took up cycling two years ago as a way to get fit and because he wanted a green alternative to his Jeep Cherokee. He still drives his car for longer trips or to transport his two young children, but he said he uses his bike to run errands whenever he can.
“You save gas and it’s obviously a lot more environmentally friendly,” Comes said. “It’ll keep you in shape and the best thing is almost anybody can do it.”
For Toledo Area Metroparks spokesman Scott Carpenter, Toledo’s burgeoning bike culture can be attributed to the area’s growing system of bikeways. Toledo Area Metroparks manages three bike trails that run for several miles, including the popular University/Parks Trail that connects UT to Sylvania.
There are also shorter bicycle paths and lanes in Toledo, Sylvania, Oregon, Perrysburg and Bowling Green. Plans are under way to build more interconnected bicycle paths and lanes, including a route that would stretch from the Maumee River through Oregon to Maumee Bay State Park.
Toledo Metroparks is purchasing land that would be used to build a bike path from Secor Metropark on West Central Avenue to Oak Openings. However, it will likely be a few more years until the project is complete, Carpenter said.
“With bike trails, it really is a case of ‘build it and they will come,’” Carpenter said. “I’m a bicyclist myself and it seems to me that’s bicycling has never been more popular around here.”
Nevertheless, Wersell said she would like to see more of the proposed bicycle trails completed sooner and more bike lanes in Downtown Toledo.
“Riding down Central Avenue or Monroe Street, there’s no way you can ride your bike down the street — there’s just too many cars,” Wersell said. “It would be nice if they would finish or complete and connect all of the trails. If we had more of those, I think people would commute a little bit more.”
Stacy Jurich, who organized the recent Toledo Bicycle Extravaganza to celebrate National Bike Week, agreed with Wersell’s assessment.
“We have some great routes and places to bike, but as far as the average person riding their bike to work, there’s room for improvement,” she said, as well as a lack of bike lanes.
“One of the biggest obstacles is that car drivers need to be more aware of bicyclists and share the road,” Jurich said.
Still, even though Toledo has room to grow in becoming a bicycle-friendly city, Wersell is hopeful it can get there.
Toledo’s biking culture “isn’t as strong as in other cities like Chicago and Columbus, but Toledo is starting to make more of a statement,” she said.
To download the most recent guide to Northwest Ohio’s bicycle facilities, visit http://www.tmacog.org and click on “transportation.”

The news of 75 Toledo police officers getting their jobs whacked seemed shocking. My first thought was, “Um, can they do that? Don’t you need those people?”
But sure enough, layoffs are affecting everyone, even seemingly essential staff members. Departments are being shrunk as if Rick Moranis was inadvertently involved. Careers are being popped like bubble wrap in the hands of frenetic children. And people everywhere are pawning their gold jewelry left and right, causing former trophy wives to finally look like the rest of us.
But what about sports?
There have been franchises that jettisoned some office jobs, but the rosters have always been sacrosanct. There are still 25-man rosters in baseball, 53 on a football sideline and 12 on a basketball bench. If hockey can play four-on-four hockey at times, then certainly the rest of the leagues can begin trimming overhead and widening their profit margin.
Basketball: Four-on-four hoops would be intriguing. The floor would be more wide open. More individual matchups would be exploited. Heck, why stop there? Two-on-two basketball is all you need. It harkens us to the days of “NBA Jam.” Finally, LeBron James doesn’t need teammates.
Football: Intramural football is already seven-on-seven. Do we really need five linemen? Not if there’s only one pass rusher. And how necessary is the quarterback? Surely, the Lions might agree with this.
Baseball: This one may be tricky. The players are already quite spread out on the field, but the infielders do seem to interfere with each other sometimes. Pitchers are prevalent on the rosters, and I always suspected the move from a four-man starting rotation to a five-man was a direct product of the dot-com boom. No team can afford this anymore, and most teams probably wouldn’t be that broken up about losing their No. 5 starter.
Golf: Tiger Woods has a coach. This to me has always seemed to be overdoing it.
Quidditch: Yes, times are so bad, even fictional sports in Harry Potter books need to trim the fat. Do you know they have a position whose sole job is to fly around and catch the one magical ball that essentially wins the game? Meanwhile, six other players on the team play an almost separate game. The way I see it, you don’t need those other six. Write them all letters of recommendation.
Third-grade kickball: Don’t get me wrong, I am all for participation, but jeez, they let everyone in gym class kick in the lineup. This is excessive and waters down the level of play. Take some of the lovable scamps at the end of the line and outsource them to social studies.
Mixed martial arts: Just fire everyone, since I’ve never warmed up to the sport. Some of them will likely turn out to be great volunteer neighborhood watchmen, which solves the initial problem of laid-off policemen.

Matt Sussman blogs at www.toledofreepress.com.