Appalling Burnard
TO THE EDITOR,
When Don Burnard’s “The Hot Corner” column first appeared, I applauded your efforts at covering all sides. Burnard began by stating he was neither a writer nor a journalist. He has gone to great lengths to prove both those statements.
His Sept. 20 column, “No tea, thanks,” is appalling as an opinion piece of writing and as a piece of political journalism. He starts out immediately disparaging “Tea Party” attendees — in this case I think he is referring to 9/12’ers — as running around on lobbyist-paid-for buses. No facts, no figures as to what proportion this may have been. The people I know who attended a 9/12 event locally or in Washington D.C., all paid their own way.
He next contends the middle class and senior citizens would be the most harmed. Having attended at least five tea parties, the vast majority of attendees have been seniors and middle-class citizens. Most all have been very well read, informed and in touch with what is happening to our republic. I have yet to see Burnard at a tea party event. I encourage him to attend and meet these people he hopes to save. The Children of Liberty and the Libertarian Party of Ohio (of which I am an active member) have regular meet ups (NorthwestOhioMeetup.com).
Burnard uses the weak tactic of name-calling rather than facts, using buzzwords aimed at fellow Toledoans who have the audacity to disagree with his politics.
The one “fact” Burnard does expound on is a definition of fascism by Robert Paxton. No mention of Paxton’s credentials or association. Still, I would like to repeat a portion of that definition according to Paxton. “… a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy, but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.” That is an exact description of ACORN, SEIU, the TIDES Foundation, et. al.
I appreciate your desire to give a voice to all sides and to aim for impartiality. In regards to all your columnists and Burnard especially, please seek writers of at least some talent, and with at least a tip of the hat to journalistic integrity. Otherwise, there will be little difference between Toledo Free Press and The Blade.
KEN SHARP, Toledo

Applauding Burnard
TO THE EDITOR,
I just want to drop Don Burnard a note and let him know how much I agree with and appreciate his Hot Corner article, “No tea, thanks.”
I absolutely refuse to listen to anything WSPD radio broadcasts anymore. I will not even listen to the news, weather and traffic any longer. Everything they say is anti-Obama. Between Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity, it is my belief that they are actually destroying this country with their hate mongering. They want to see the president fail and are doing their best to make sure that it happens. What absolutely terrifies me is how many supposedly intelligent people believe the hatred and garbage they spew.
Thank you for being a voice of reason in this mess and for allowing me to vent. I had about given up any hope there was any voice of sanity left in this world.
DIANA IRWIN, Toledo

Burnard rebuttal
TO THE EDITOR,
Don Burnard:
Says he is sick of the so-called “tea baggers;”
Describes Rush, Glenn and Sean as loons who “make up outrageous lies and scare tactics;”
States that the tea baggers are “trying to convince people that they speak for the majority of Americans.” (Note: If Mr. Burnard is referring to the tea bagger’s opposition to the government takeover of the health care system, all the polls show that they (the tea baggers) do “speak for the majority of Americans;”)
n Describes the people who don’t agree with him as “these racist xenophobic cretins who love to preach about how Obama is leading us down the path of socialism” and further “that 99 percent of them (the tea baggers) couldn’t give you a rational description of what constitutes socialism, fascism or even Nazism;”
Feels that the people with whom he doesn’t agree “should read up on the subjects that are being thrown around with virtually no context whatsoever;”
n States that “if good Ol’ Joe (Wilson) read the bills, assuming he can read, he would have noticed that both the House and Senate versions exclude illegal’s from coverage;”
Believes that “the Republican party has become a party of radical fringe elements, who think the fact that a black man becoming president of the United States is a direct attack on their manhood;”
Describes the tea baggers as Brown Shirts who “have no respect for the country, the office of the presidency, the Constitution, or any of the Founding Fathers’ vision of what this country should be.”
Good grief!
In my opinion, the tone of this piece is nasty, arrogant, elitist and condescending, additionally this piece has no substance. There is a lot of name calling directed at anyone with whom Burnard disagrees with virtually no context whatsoever.
No one with whom Burnard disagrees (99 percent of them) reads, understands basic definitions or understands the Constitution or the intentions of our Founding Fathers, but of course Burnard does!
Burnard can read because he implies that he read the health care bill and then goes on to note that illegals were excluded from the health care bill; however, he missed the entire point of the controversy. If no one is required to prove citizenship to get government health care, what would stop illegals from signing up? Has Burnard noticed that the often repeated 46 million uninsured has suddenly become 30 million uninsured? Was President Obama lying? What do you think?
Why are Rush, Glenn and Sean loons? What are the outrageous lies and scare tactics referred to? Are we being led “down the path of socialism?” Why are the tea baggers protesting? Do all the females in the Senate or the House feel a “direct attack on their manhood?” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one.) Why does Burnard call the tea baggers racists?
This piece contains no substance and is nothing more than a hateful, snotty rant, but I believe in the Constitution and the First Amendment — therefore if Burnard chooses to make a fool of himself, so be it.
MAREK MOLDAWSKY, Toledo

How about proof?
TO THE EDITOR,
I started to read Don Burnard’s column on “No tea, thanks,” got through about a paragraph and told my wife I didn’t need to read any further. She suggested to read the whole thing to see if he has any evidence to support what he is saying about lobbyists riding buses, etc., especially since I know many who have attended and none are paid, but are there just because of their beliefs.
So, I would like to see an article with proof. I would also like to see an article where Burnard just writes without name-calling. Take out all the adjectives (I’ll use a nice word) that you use to describe Republicans or anyone with a different viewpoint than yours, and see how much column you actually have, and this includes your description of fascism as you just used someone’s definition, not Webster.
RON PIDCOCK, Toledo

Counterpoint to reality
TO THE EDITOR,
I have just finished reading Don Burnard’s Sept. 20 piece and have found new energy from it. Burnard takes to task a group of favorites of mine in the form of what he and the salacious in our midst refer to “tea baggers.” I’ll not here go into the meaning of this lascivious twist of terms that is used by those exacerbated by the tea party-goers. As is typical of the Burnard types, they first move to demonize any opponents without a thread of evidence to support their position.
He then moves on to use as evidence, a book written by a one-topic historian, Robert Paxton, to support his contention that this country is not moving to fascism as the tea party-goers sometimes proclaim to support their fear of the general direction in which this country is moving. Burnard did not wish in his column to “outline them (the five steps that take place for fascism to gain control) in a column of this size.” This could be because he may not have read far enough into “Vichy France; Old Guard and New Order” to find that Robert Paxton states the very thing that has the tea party-goers so agitated; “a general abandonment of democratic liberties”. Ironically, his evidence supports the very position the “tea baggers” take.
I have the feeling that Toledo Free Press provides space to Burnard and his point of view as counterpoint to the reality that is taking place around us.
DON LYDEY, Maumee

Extremely offended
TO THE EDITOR,
I understand that a reputable newspaper has a responsibility to present a well-rounded view of the issues of the day. Toledo Free Press is doing a nice job in that regard.
Having said that, I am extremely offended by Don Burnard’s Sept. 20 column, “No tea, thanks.”
The daily local paper trots out a weekly columnist named Marilou Johanek who resorts to invective and name calling in lieu of making rational arguments. I would have hoped that you folks would be above that.
But here comes Burnard calling people who have reasoned opinions like mine “loons, sore losers, racist xenophobic cretins, Brown Shirts, and dupes.”
I am none of the above. I am a 60 year-old clear-thinking college instructor.
Burnard should be terminated from your newspaper. And please pass this along to him, hopefully on his way out the door.
JERRY NOSS, Whitehouse

Arrogant liberal
TO THE EDITOR,
Don Burnard is a typical arrogant liberal who thinks he knows all the answers and us common folks don’t know anything. He is so wrong!
We are not mind-numbed robots who follow the marching orders of some special interest group or talk radio or cable news. We watch cable news and talk radio to hear what is really going on in our country, since mainstream media will only tell us what they think we should know or what they think is important. Would they have ever told us about acknowledged communist Van Jones, or the corrupt ACORN organization?
He totally lacks an understanding about the tea parties and the Sept. 12 rally in Washington. Most of those people came in their own vehicles at their own expense. He also doesn’t realize that for every person in Washington that day, there are 100 persons who would have liked to have been there.
We the people are very concerned about the direction our country is taking, concerned about the America our children and grandchildren will someday inherit, and especially the horrendous debt they will inherit.
1. We are concerned about big government getting bigger, having more control over our lives!
2. We do not like our Congress spending money we don’t have for programs we don’t need!
3. We object to Congress passing laws written by special interest groups, and never read by most of them!
4. We are not racist because we object to the socialist agenda this current administration in Washington is promoting.
5. We do not want more laws that will further harm employment in this country and raise more (hidden) taxes!
6. We object to health care legislation which will further the leftist liberal agenda, but not answer the health needs of Americans.
It can be done right, but not their way. For instance: Where is tort reform? Some of us common folks do understand what socialism means, and we see it coming every day from this bunch in Washington.
When Burnard speaks of lies and distortions, he needs to look at his own leftist, liberal friends in the media. They do their best to not tell us the truth! Thankfully, we have talk radio and cable news to tell us what the mainstream media won’t.
GENE REEBEL, Temperance, Mich.

Irony in chastising
TO THE EDITOR,
Thank you so much, Don Burnard, for your Sept. 20 article, “No tea, thanks.” I was very enlightened to learn that I, along with every car in my packed hotel parking lot alone, should be able to apply for reimbursement of our expenses by some lobbyist. Please provide me that information as soon as possible.
Your name-calling is also well received, but I will decline a counter attack because I don’t know you and that would be inexcusable. I do feel the need, however, to point out the irony in your chastising of Senator Joe Wilson. With that being said, as soon as I figure out this lobbyist group and also have them pay for dinner, perhaps you and I could meet. That way we could come to some conclusions on what to call each other.
I can see how watching people sing The National Anthem or recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or chant “USA” can prove our disrespect for the country, the presidency, the constitution and our founding fathers. I am not certain if you attended the September 12 March on Washington for your research, but I did. I can assure you that I witnessed no acts of violence that the brown shirts would have condoned.
As for your short comment on President Obama’s speech to schoolchildren, it wasn’t about the speech. If you didn’t bother to research this issue then, you certainly won’t care to hear about it from me now.
I would also like to comment on Rep. Wilson’s inappropriate outburst – it was inappropriate. However, is it just the fact that two words were spoken that makes it more despicable than the boos that both President Clinton and President Bush endured? When you get the issue of illegal immigration, I conclude that both President Obama and Representative Wilson are correct. There are laws in this country, as there should be, that prevents denying medical attention to anyone. Would you have an illegal immigrant turned away? I wouldn’t want this and my guess is neither would you. It is obvious that both sides recognize that illegal immigration does create a problem in our current healthcare system. To me, it makes more sense to address illegal immigration before we tackle healthcare reform.
Everyone that I spoke with during the weekend of Sept. 12 agrees that healthcare must be reformed. Those of us that read the bills see major flaws in the pending legislation. One issue that bothers me is that yes, you can keep your existing insurance. Unfortunately, section 102 in HR3200 that was previously titled “Limitation on New Enrollment” now titled “Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage”, that prevents you from switching to anything except public option. They may have changed the name of the section, but the wording is the same. I also don’t see how mandating my sister to purchase an insurance policy helps her situation. If she can’t even afford a catastrophic policy today, how does mandating it improve her budget?
Disagreeing with polices or how policies should be implemented, does not make me a racist. I found myself at odds (bank bailout just to name one) with President Bush also. What did it make me then? President Obama doesn’t even agree with your on this issue of racism.
DORI WISNIEWSKI, Toledo

Desperate liberal
TO THE EDITOR,
With all due respect, Don Burnard, you sound like a desperate liberal who has to resort to name-calling because you are losing the argument. As far as you referring to us conservatives as Nazis, I’d just like to confront you with a few facts. Did you know that 1) the Nazis were the National Socialist Party. 2) the Nazi’s took control of industry. 3) The Nazis were also for Universal Health Care. 4) the Nazis were for guaranteed jobs. 5) the Nazis took away guns. 6) the Nazis were into Eugenics,or the creation of a master race, which is the real source of the abortion rights movement in this country.
Don’t believe this? I would suggest you do some research on what Margeret Sanger believed. She spoke at KKK rallies. (Yes I believe killing babies in the womb is evil. If that makes me a hate-monger than so be it). 7) Have you ever stopped to think that it is mostly conservatives in this country that support the right of Israel (a Jewish state) to exist (very unNazi like of us, don’t you think? No, I’m not implying that you liberals are Nazis, just pointing out a few facts.
I also wonder, if you were as offended at all of the name-calling of President Bush by liberals for the previous eight years. He was called a bunch of names that I will not repeat. I thought you liberals were all about love and tolerance. I also listened to you all say you had a right to disagree with the former President, which, by the way I also disagreed with Bush on many issues. Do you really believe in freedom of speech? Or do you just believe in the right of liberals to express their point of view? Now that your guy is in all of a sudden it is now unpatriotic to disagree with the President? Give me a break! Well, I’m sure you are a nice guy and I for one would defend your right to disagree with us. Have a blessed day!
JEFFREY DUNN, Toledo

I watched bits and pieces of the C-Span coverage of the Sept. 12 Tea Party in Washington, D.C., with some interest. It gave me the opportunity to hear a number of very good speeches, and to reaffirm that not everyone is cut out to speak at such public events regardless of their beliefs or the fervor thereof. As the following weeks progressed, I listened to the voices of talk radio speaking of the lack of coverage of the event by the mainstream media and the continued silence of the offending media on the subject (when they weren’t making disparaging remarks, of course). This lack of attention gave me a slightly different take on the subject than some.

I believe that I have come to understand the real issue and why the MSM takes no notice of Tea Parties. Strangely enough, I believe that its not about the liberal media bias to the ideology (OK, not entirely) and more about the geography. You see, the original spirit of the Tea Party came from the East Coast (you know, where the thirteen colonies were). Now, rather than the voices of Boston patriots being heard however, the spirit of the current Tea Parties is very much the spirit of the middle of the country. Yes I know that rallies were held across the fruited plain, but the grassroots concepts of these events seems to come from what is known on the Coasts as “fly over country”.

By this way of thinking, events that occur in New York City are in fact the only ones that really matter. If you don’t believe me, use the 9/11 coverage of the day before as an example. According to the predominance of what was shown, only the Twin Towers in Manhattan were an important terrorist attack. The events that occurred at the Pentagon or of Flight 93 going down in Pennsylvania were largely ignored. The conclusion could be reached therefore, that since there was no Tea Party event in NYC on the 12th sponsored and attended by those considered important to the media, how could such events be of any importance?

Now this is not to say that New York is the only city in the US in the media’s eyes. Boston, Miami, and even Washington DC occasionally have meaning as centers of money, style, and power. Moving west however, it appears that most of the intervening geography can be safely ignored until you get to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Anything that comes from the land in between these bi-coastal media meccas can have no meaning to those who really matter.

Now I know that the biggest of the Tea Parties occurred in Washington, and that as of the latest estimates, over 1.5 million people attended. This would have made it the largest demonstration that has ever occurred in our nation’s capital during this country’s history, but of course few of those people came from Manhattan or Miami and those attending from the birthplace of freedom in this country (Philadelphia) or the home of many of its first battles (Boston) if there were any, did so without fanfare or notice.

Buses of people from Ohio and Indiana are never going to make the news in New York or LA. Flights from Missouri and Kansas will garner no attention from the beautiful people. Lines of cars making a drive from Louisiana and Mississippi will garner little but scorn and derision from the really important people. For those journeying from the west coast, any that did so must simply be considered as little more than statistical anomalies. And as far as those of us in Toledo are concerned, unless Jamie Farr showed up at the event dressed in the Scarlett O’Hara outfit from his M*A*S*H days, we would go unnoticed.

I’m afraid that the Tea Parties will have to work even harder and maybe smarter to be taken seriously by the media, since managing to bring together over a million people appears to not be enough to have themselves noticed by the arbiters of all that is important. If this movement wants to have itself taken seriously by the media, it will have to hold it’s next event in Central Park. Perhaps then the mainstream media will at least briefly glance up from their New York Times and Washington Post articles long enough to notice it. After all, holding such an event was able to draw enough attention to at least temporarily resurrect the career of Paul Simon in the day.

Tim Higgins blogs at http://justblowingsmoke.blogspot.com. E-mail him at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Thursday night is the new Friday night when it comes to special events for nonprofit organizations. Charities hosting special events on Thursday often hope to catch the after-work crowd. The events are most often, simple and brief, allowing people to swing by and support a good cause before heading home for the evening. Last Thursday, Sept. 17, two local charities held events for the post-five o’clock crowd, the YWCA and Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio.

The YWCA wooed ladies to the Secor building with the promise of fashionable purses, great food and drinks. “Bagnificent” is the organization’s annual purse action featuring new and gently used designer handbags and totes. Taking the form of a ladies’ night out, women were told to wear anything that makes them feel divine, and the attire ranged from jeans to little black dresses.

Maara Fink, Nicole Escalante and Molly Luetke at the “Art of Prevention.”

“It was an evening filled with fun, food and great shopping. Our goal was to get people out and have a good time,” said Lisa McDuffie, executive director.

Business sponsorship of the event was in the form of in-kind donations of products and services. Several local businesses donated purses for the silent auction, but designers around the world also donated handbags. Toledo area restaurants and bakeries donated snacks and treats. Loft and Home Essentials served as an advance ticket sale location for the event. Soto Salon donated a “girl’s night out” package, which included spa services.

McDuffie estimates that the event raised $4,000. Proceeds will be used for YWCA programs which include programs for victims of rape and domestic violence, health care, child care and residential assistance.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary, Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio hosted a new fundraising event, “The Art of Prevention.” The art competition challenged local artists to use 300 condoms to create a sculpture. Ten artists competed for awards. The judges of the competition were Marc Folk, executive director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Amy Gilman, associate curator with the Toledo Museum of Art and Mary Wolf, a life-long supporter and advocate for the arts.

In addition to the art competition, the post-workday event featured a silent auction and gave stakeholders an update on the future of Planned Parenthood in Northwest Ohio. The local affiliate was absorbed by the Columbus regional office in 2008 to increase efficiency in operations costs and greater financial stability.

Sponsors were predominately long-time individual supporters of reproductive health care. The art competition was sponsored by OraSure Technologies which is the maker of the HIV tests used by Planned Parenthood.

Development director, Melissa Mills-Dick estimates that the gross proceeds of the event are $10,000. Profits will be used to provide education and low-cost reproductive health care services throughout northwest Ohio.

Christine Senack is a Toledo-based consultant connecting people, places and things for the greater good of our community. For more event photos and video highlights, connect with her on Facebook.com.

We have all done it. Upon lifting a small box, we are surprised at how heavy it is. With a loud groan, we adjust ourselves to accommodate the heavier-than-expected object. Sometimes this requires setting the box down to take a different approach; and sometimes, we lift the box with such speed that we hurt our backs in the process.
If we had known that the box was heavier than it appeared before we took action, we would have known to lift with our legs — not with our backs. However, hindsight is twenty-twenty and we can use this example as a reminder to properly assess every situation before we commit to action and perform a task.
Let’s say that, instead of needing to lift a box, you need to prepare to deliver a speech. Do you know exactly what your first step is? Where do you begin? It’s simple. Work backwards.
To successfully work backwards, pretend you have a time machine and you can travel to the moment you have finished your speech. In your hypothetical future, a reporter asks a member of your audience, “What did you enjoy most about that speech?”
How would you want the person to answer that question? Would you want the person to say they felt moved because of your speech? Would you want them to say they want to buy your product as a result of your compelling speech?
Knowing exactly what you are trying to create [i.e., an audience’s reaction to a speech] is the first step to preparing for any important task. The more specific your answer is, the more effective your preparation will be.
The next step is to create an image of who will be in the audience. Find an image of a person[s] who is representative of who you will be speaking to, print it out and keep it with your list of hypothetical answers. The benefit of using this image is to picture your audience listening, reacting and interpreting the meaning behind your words rather than picturing yourself talking in front of your audience.
Now that you have your list of hypothetical answers and a picture of a person in your audience, you are ready to begin outlining your speech. As you create your bulleted list of the points you would like to cover in your speech, keep the image of your audience and the responses you are trying to create close.
With the picture of what success looks like firmly planted in your mind, you now have a baseline to work with; something that will guide you, your actions, and your decisions all the way to the target.
By starting with a clear picture of what “hitting the target” looks like, you have already improved your speech, even though you have yet to write one word. With the image of your audience in your mind, you can ask yourself, “Should I include this topic?” Instead of guessing, you can ask yourself, “Does including this help me move this person (look at the picture you printed out of your audience member) toward saying (look at your list of hypothetical answers)?”
Picturing your audience throughout the preparation steps allows you to involve them in the creation of your speech even though they are not truly present for the process. Involving your audience throughout the preparatory steps allows you to drastically improve the quality of your presentation and dramatically reduce the amount of work required because you are, literally, working backwards.
The image of “what success looks like” is your cheat sheet. Your image of success is like the picture of what the completed puzzle looks like so that, as you dig through the puzzle pieces, you can make sense of them know how to assemble them, and figure out how to create the perfect picture — the picture of your success.
For more tips on preparing for a speech go to www.boltfromtheblue.com and enter SPEECH in the blue print box.

Tom Richard is a Toledo-based sales and marketing consultant, keynote speaker and owner of Bolt from the Blue direct response advertising. Visit www.BoltFromTheBlue.com or call (419) 441-1005.

Before your child even enters the world, you know as a parent that your worst nightmare would be something horrendous happening to your child. Two family stories in the news this past week illustrated that there are no doubt other situations parents must sometimes face that come in as a close second.
Something as seemingly innocuous as vacation photos turned into a yearlong waking-hours nightmare for Lisa and A.J. Demaree of Arizona. The couple thought nothing of having bathtime pictures of their young children developed by their local Wal-Mart. However, one overly-concerned photo center employee set a series of life-shattering events in motion for the family when she turned in some of the photos to authorities, believing them to be more along the lines of child pornography than innocent family fun.
Such a story should send fear down the spine of any loving, well-intentioned, law-abiding parent. It is no longer enough to just be doing the right thing. Friends, neighbors, law enforcement and, apparently, even strangers need to have constant reassurance that life behind closed doors is remaining squeaky clean when it comes to children.
Such fervent attention to the well-being of children should be a good thing. However, there seems to be a large amount of common sense and consistency missing from otherwise admirable efforts. Good people are sometimes being unjustly scrutinized, while real perpetrators are being repeatedly overlooked.
The recent discovery that Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, was able to keep a kidnapped girl under wraps for 18 years in his backyard, is a prime example of such oversight. There is also story upon story of children knowingly being kept or placed back in abusive family situations by government agencies or otherwise. It is hard to reconcile such instances against the plight of the Demarees, who took photos of their children that most parents have taken and ended up on a sex offender registry and without the custody of their children for a month while being proven innocent.
What happened to the Demarees really does hit home as a what-if scenario. What if my own son would have given some off-the-wall answer when the ER nurse asked him if he felt safe at home the night he broke his arm? What if a late-night dog walker thought that my daughter’s half-asleep scream fest was due to something more sinister than figuring out which pajamas to change into after she wet the bed?
I want the world to be a place where no child should have to endure abuse at the hands of his or her parents or anyone else.  Yet, it terrifies me to think that a simple misunderstanding could result in the assumption that I, or any good parent, was anything but.
In an equally heart-wrenching, life-is-just-not-fair family saga, a local couple, Carolyn and Sean Savage, made international headlines when they revealed that another couple’s embryo was erroneously implanted during their in-vitro fertilization procedure. Despite the option to abort early on, the Savages chose to proceed with the pregnancy, knowing that the child they have so lovingly cared for prenatally will be given to his biological parents upon birth.
As with the Demaree’s bathtime photo-printing debacle, one has to wonder why such anguished situations would befall people willing to do right by their children when there are so many despicable predator-types so overdue for justice to be served to them. The old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” continues to plague the minds of decent people everywhere.
In the Savage’s case, we can see in times of crisis that, if nothing else, there is sometimes room for opportunity. The opportunity that was handed to them, unfortunately, did not offer a happy ending for their family, only the chance to make the best of a very bad situation in giving a happy ending to someone else.
The answer to why bad things happen to good people might just be that within the selfless acts that often follow, there are lessons for us all.

Shannon and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. E-mail her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Sean and Carolyn Savage released the following statement on Sept. 25:

“On Thursday, September 24, 2009, Carolyn Savage gave birth to a healthy baby boy at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. At this time, we would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Morell family on the birth of their son. We wish Paul, Shannon, their twin girls and their new baby boy the best, as they move forward with their lives together. Our family is deeply grateful for the support and prayers of so many people from around the world. We also would like to thank the medical professionals who provided superior care and treatment throughout the pregnancy and delivery.Our family is going through a very difficult time and requests privacy in the days ahead.”

Every morning, when Carolyn Savage wakes up to greet the day, the reality washes over her again.
“I kind of come to a consciousness ‘I’m awake, it’s a new day,’ and I go to get out of bed and I can’t move,” she said. “I think, ‘What’s wrong? Oh, right, I’m pregnant, only I’m pregnant with someone else’s baby.’ It smacks me in the head all over again.”
The joy of pregnancy turned into a heartbreaking scenario for Sean and Carolyn Savage after a fertility clinic implanted Carolyn with another family’s embryo.
State of shock
The Savages, of Sylvania Township, parents to two teenage boys and an 18-month girl, had prior problems with pregnancies when they turned to in-vitro fertilization for their fourth child.
In early February, the Savages were waiting to hear back from the fertility clinic about that morning’s pregnancy test when Sean received some shocking news at work.
Their doctor called to tell him they were pregnant, but with someone else’s embryo.
Driving home, Sean said he was in a state of shock.

Sean and Carolyn Savage

“I knew I was going to be delivering really bad news and I wanted to get there as quickly as possible,” he said. “I just knew I had to do it, but it was never something I wanted to do.”
Carolyn, who was surprised her husband was home, didn’t believe the news: “I thought he was joking, even though there was nothing about his demeanor that would suggest that. I didn’t think it was possible, this couldn’t happen. I quickly moved from a state of shock to tears. I couldn’t think clearly at all.”
The Savages, who say they are both religious and active members of St. Joseph’s church in Sylvania, said terminating the pregnancy was never an option.
“We didn’t have to discuss it. We came to an instantaneous conclusion; this was the path that we had to go down,” Sean said.
The Morells
Seventy miles north in Troy, Mich., Shannon (whose maiden name is Savage, but is not related to the Savages) and Paul Morell have twin daughters conceived by in-vitro fertilization.
Just as the couple was preparing to revisit their frozen embryos, they received news from their doctor that their embryos had been implanted into another woman and she was pregnant.
The two families began talking to each other through attorneys and then met at the end of Carolyn’s first trimester.
“That was the longest 14 weeks probably of my entire life,” Shannon said on the Sept. 21 ‘Today Show.’ “We didn’t know who they were. Were they good people? It’s the oddest feeling to have somebody else carrying your child because, as a parent, you want to do everything possible to protect your child. Even though we were grateful, it was just a terrible feeling.”
The Savages said they wanted to meet the Morell family before sharing the situation with their family and friends.
Following that meeting, the Savages sat down with their sons to explain the situation.
“Telling the kids was hard; we were graced by the fact that they were 14 and 12 at the time and understood the biology behind what had happened, so they understood why the baby inside of me was not ours,” Carolyn said. “They wanted to know why wouldn’t he or she want to stay with us; we have it pretty good. We explained that this baby was wanted and loved by his parents and that we would be returning him upon delivery and that was the right thing to do. And they got it.”
‘Third wheel’
As the pregnancy progresses, the Savages have kept in constant contact with the Morells. Shannon has even accompanied the couple to an ultrasound.
“We thought that it was an important thing to do for them; they have been cheated out of experiencing their own pregnancy with their son. She hadn’t had a chance to see a live ultrasound and those are kind of special when you’re pregnant,” Carolyn said. “We wanted to make sure we gave them that opportunity no matter how difficult it was for us. And it was difficult. It’s difficult to lay on an ultrasound table and have the technician be talking to someone else. Pointing out things about their baby. I think that was one of the more surreal moments that we’ve had.”
Shannon has said she felt a bit surreal herself. She told the Associated Press, “I felt like a third wheel. Although I knew that the child inside her was mine, it wasn’t the same feeling I had with our twins.”
Difficult moments
The Savages say there have been many difficult moments in the pregnancy. Sean said pregnancies are long and hard regardless, but this one has been particular grueling for their family.
“I can’t believe this has happened to our lives; this is unreal. I think there was a lot of anger early on. I think, ‘Why did the person or persons responsible for this situation not afford our family the same level of care that they had given every other family that had been in their care?’ There’s still anger about that. I take that personally.”
Carolyn, approaching 36 weeks, says despite the unusual circumstances, the focus is on the baby. She is due Oct. 25.
The Savages, who have had two premature births, their daughter at 32 weeks and a son at 30, want to give the baby as much time as they can.
“We’re hoping to get this baby further along, so when the Morells come to the hospital, they don’t have to spend any time in the intensive care unit. We want to spare the baby the invasive procedures that are performed there,” Carolyn said.
As the delivery approaches, Sean said, “We’re trying to frame the delivery not as a loss, but as a gift to another family. We’re trying to remain focused on that part, not what our loss is. We’re in uncharted territory. We just don’t know … after the delivery, we don’t know what it’s going to be like. We’ll just have to navigate it like we have been.”
The Morells will be in the delivery room to see the birth of their son, and have stated that the Savages can have any contact they want.
“How do you thank somebody for what they’ve done? I could say thank you a million different ways,” Shannon told The Associated Press.
Going public
The Savages say they retained a public relations agency and went public with their story because, “We concluded that at some point the information was going to come out, and if it was, we wanted to be the ones to share the information. We didn’t want it to come out where we couldn’t share the correct information,” Sean said. “After going through this, we realized that we don’t want anyone else to experience this. We believe the result of the attention given to this will cause the medical community to take a step back and do everything according to protective protocol because we’re living examples of what can happen if steps are skipped.”
Always wanted
After the mix-up, the families terminated contact with the clinic, located outside Ohio, and have yet to be offered any explanation as to why the mix-up occurred.
The Savages have since transferred their remaining embryos to another clinic in Atlanta. Due to health reasons, this baby will be Carolyn’s last pregnancy. The Savages have been working with family lawyers and will have their remaining eggs implanted into a surrogate.
The Savages said they want the unborn baby to know, “At no time was he not wanted; we’ve always wanted him. I think too many people wanted. He’s the luckiest baby in the world; he’s coming in loved by more people than most babies. We knew that he belonged with his mom and his dad, and we love him,” Carolyn said.
“We will always think of him, and always pray for him, and always wonder how he is,” Sean said. “This is just the right thing to do, and we want to be able to look back 30 years from now knowing we did the right thing.”
The Savages said they have hired an attorney to make sure the fertility clinic accepts “full responsibility for the consequences of their misconduct.”

In-vitro explained
In-vitro fertilization is a six-week-long process. The first four weeks, the woman takes ovary-suppressing medication, such as birth control. The following two weeks, a woman must take daily gonadotropins to stimulate the growth of multiple eggs upon the ovary.
The woman must then undergo a surgical procedure to remove the eggs. The eggs are taken and fertilized. If there are any viable eggs left after the process, they are then frozen and stored for later use by that couple.
Dr. John Murphy, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist for ProMedica, said, “The Savage’s case is extremely rare. There are redundancies built into the system that are meant to safeguard these mistakes.”
There is no set protocol for a clinic, but generally they follow similar procedures, Murphy said. At every step of the process the embryos are labeled and coded in a variety of ways. The embryos are segregated from each other so there can be no mix-up that way. If there is any human interaction, there is double or triple checking of action by fellow technicians. The final precaution they have in place is “the stop,” where doctors and technician take a step back and identify what they are doing and the name of the patient.
— Kristen Rapin

Rare cases
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine doesn’t track how many women have been given the wrong embryos, said Eleanor Nicoll, a spokeswoman. Only a few cases have popped up the past decade or so.
A California woman was given $1 million in 2004 to settle a suit against a fertility specialist who accidentally gave her the wrong embryos and hid the mistake until her baby was 10 months old.
A white New York woman gave birth to a black couple’s baby in 1998 after an embryo mix-up that set off a two-year court fight between the couples over visitation rights. Just this year, a Japanese woman aborted her pregnancy after she was told there had been a mistake at a government-run hospital.
Each fertility clinic has its own system for identifying and tracking embryos. Most patients get an identification number that also is kept with the embryos while they are stored. Names are double-checked. So are the numbers.
— Associated Press

The Blarney Irish Pub and Pizza Papalis are teaming up for the 2nd annual Oktoberfest celebration, Oct 2 and 3.
Following the success of the St. Patty’s Day celebration, Oktoberfest promises to be at least twice as big, said Michal Foldyna of The Blarney.
The patios of each restaurant will be open with a tent connecting them via Huron Street, which will be closed.
Bands will play at the Huron and Monroe end of the  block and the tent will open to allow people to the option of drinking in the tent or outside on the street, Foldyna said.
Bands start Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m and play until midnight. There will be family activities on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for children. No admission will be charged until 7 p.m.
The Blarney will offer German foods like sauerkraut and sausage, which are not usually on their menu.
“We’re just excited to do something,” Foldyna said. “Hopefully we have nice weather and get people out.”
Admission is $5 and proceeds benefit the American Red Cross Greater Toledo Chapter.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. announced completion of a $150 million equity issuance program Sept. 9 with a public offering of its common s

The equity program resulted in the issuance of 35.7 million shares worth $150 million at an average price of $4.20 per share, bringing Huntington’s total shares of common stock outstanding to 604.8 million shares as of Sept. 16, 2009, according to the bank.

With the completion of the stock issuance and previous successes in raising capital, Huntington has raised more than $1.2 billion in capital since the beginning of 2009.

The success in raising capital reflects the breadth and depth of investor participation and confidence in the actions the bank is taking to improve its long-term prospects, according to Sharon Speyer, regional president for the Northwest Ohio Region of Huntington Bank.

“We were pleased with the equity issuance and capital raised so we can continue to be a strong partner to the communities and customers we serve,” Speyer said.

By leveraging that investor confidence at this time, the bank is creating an additional cushion during this period of economic weakness. It also increases the banks’ ability to repay $1.4 billion of Troubled Asset Relief Program capital, according to Speyer.

Huntington Bank is a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Inc., a $51 billion regional bank holding company based in Columbus. For more information, visit www.huntington.com.

KeyBank was awarded an “outstanding” rating from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) for exceeding the terms of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977.

The CRA requires banks to meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities in the U.S. KeyBank is the only national bank among the 50 largest to be rated “outstanding” by the OCC for seven review periods in a row.

“We’re honored and proud to receive our seventh straight outstanding rating for CRA,” said James Hoffman, president of KeyBank’s Michigan/Northwest Ohio District.

“It’s all due to the commitment we have to serve all geographic communities and income levels. We believe all banks have a responsibility of giving back to all the communities and keeping branches open in all the neighborhoods they serve.”

KeyBank’s CRA compliance was rated outstanding through a year-long exam process that rates financial institutions in terms of lending, investment, and services practices. The OCC evaluates mortgages, retail and small-business banking, and community development lending, investments and service for each banking company.

Hoffman said that KeyBank will continue to provide resources that help local people and projects through its Community Development Banking segment and the KeyBank Foundation.

KeyBank has lent nearly $36 million and invested more than $62 million in equity for local projects through its Community Development Lending program. It also has financed the construction of nearly 12,000 affordable housing units in its Michigan/Northwest Ohio district.

Bruce Murphy, president of Community Development Banking at Key, said the bank “meets its compliance requirements but then aims to go beyond compliance to full commitment, striking a balance between mission and margin.”

The KeyBank Foundation distributed more than $18 million dollars to nonprofit organizations, giving $3 million to non-profits in Michigan and Northwest Ohio from 2004 to 2008.

In 2009, 59 individuals took advantage of Key’s free tax preparation day in the local district with more than $116,000 in refunds returned to local residents, according to KeyBank.

More than 330 Key employees volunteered locally for the Neighbors Make The Difference Day in 2009, a bank-wide day of volunteerism in communities it serves.

Another factor leading to its outstanding rating is KeyBank’s commitment to supplier diversity reflected by the bank spending $1.2 million in contracts with minority- and women-owned businesses in this district from 2004 to 2008.

KeyBank spends 14 percent of its overall vendor costs with minority- and women-owned businesses compared to the industry average of four percent. It has spent more than half a billion dollars with those businesses since 2001, according to Key officials.

According to the OCC, banks are assigned one of the four statutory ratings of outstanding, satisfactory, need to improve, or substantial noncompliance. It assesses the CRA performance of banks in an examination every three to four years with Key’s recent exam period covering Jan. 1, 2003 through June, 2008.

Based in Cleveland, KeyCorp has assets of approximately $98 billion, according to the company. It provides investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products to individuals and companies across the U.S. For more information, visit www.key.com.

The Toledo area hosts its own version of Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides when Memories Banquet Hall presents the First Annual An Affair to Remember Bridal Show and Gallop of the Brides on Oct. 11.

“This is an amazing opportunity to spend literally hundreds or thousands of dollars less on the perfect gown,” said Yvonne Gallippo, owner of Gallippo’s Bridal and Formalwear.

“We want to help people have the perfect wedding in these dark economic times,” said Milissa Clark of Reality Marketing and Design.

Clark said she and Gallippo came up with the concept because of community need.

“I want a woman to find a dress of her dreams at a price that she can afford,” Gallippo said. “Once a week I have a customer with a serious problem from buying a gown on-line. Brides often end up spending more in alterations than they originally saved.”

Gallippo said this event is geared towards a variety of customers.

“You might find the perfect dress for a Quinceanera or an opera,” said Mary Cianci, owner of Sew ‘N Such. “Seamstresses will be available to help you imagine how gowns can be fitted or altered. This is a golden opportunity for people who do not have a lot of money or are just searching for that special dress.”

Mary Danielak of Memories Banquet Hall said brides-to-be will be able to sample gourmet cuisine.

“We will have lots of information on the hall and food sampling,” Danielak said. “Our staff and gourmet chef will be on-site to help answer any questions.”

Danielak said Memories offers specials not limited to weddings.

“This show is wonderful for so many occasions,” Danielak said. “Memories hosts everything from school award events to bridal and baby showers.”

“If this is your second wedding, your 50th anniversary or you are going to the prom,” Cianci said, “you will find something here.”

Gallippo said that although the event caters to a variety of customers, the focal point is the bride.

“We expect thousands of brides,” Gallippo said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to find a dress that makes you feel beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”

Gallippo said she has suggestions for brides attending the show.

“Wear something comfortable, but practical for trying on gowns,” Gallippo said. “You should have pumps and a strapless bra. Have the correct foundation, and bring friends. A friend who is a similar height and shape can try on gowns for the bride to step back and look at.”

Clark said the event aims to build connections.

“We want to encourage relationships,” Clark said. “This show is meant to stimulate the community and help dreams come true.”

Gallop of the Brides and An Affair to Remember Bridal Show will take place at Memories Banquet Hall, located at 7332 Lewis Avenue in Temperance, Mich., on Sunday, October 11 between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.