The Board of Directors for the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo has named Todd Tibbits as the President/CEO of the organization beginning Jan.1.

“I am humbled and honored to be named CEO. As a guy who has been with the YMCA for almost 20 years, this is a dream come true — to be a president in a city I’m passionate about in an organization I am equally as passionate about,” Tibbits said.

Tibbits said he as president he would like to continue building unique coalitions and partnerships in the community.

Members of the CEO search committee first looked at Tibbits as an internal candidate, and the more they viewed his work, the more they thought “why would we want to look externally?” said Lee Dunn, Trustee for Life and Chair of the CEO Search Committee.

“We felt that Todd has proven himself as a community leader, and as a leader of the staff,” Dunn said. “We talked to some key staff members and they were all very supportive of Todd. As we observed him throughout the fall we knew he was the right choice.”

The board voted unanimously to elect Tibbits as the president/CEO, Dunn said.

Tibbits will replace Robert Alexander, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Alexander will remain with the organization through July 31 as director of the YMCA Foundation.

For his position as president, Tibbits will make $180,000 annually and has taken over the lease of Alexander’s company car, Dunn said. Alexander will continue making his current salary, $265,441, according to the latest 2007 tax filings, through July as he serves as director of the YMCA Foundation.

Tibbits has worked for the YMCA for 18 years in Lansing, New Orleans and Toledo. Most recently, Tibbits has been serving as the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo’s senior vice president of operation since 2006.

Cooper Sutter, who has led a vocal coalition of opponents to the Y’s plan to close its south branch, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Penn National Gaming, Inc. announced Dec. 30 that it purchased 44-acres of land at 1968 Miami St. for the proposed Hollywood Casino Toledo.

“Closing on the property moves us a major step closer to making Hollywood Casino Toledo a reality,” said Eric Schippers, senior vice president of Penn National. “We’re eager to move forward and excited that this project will bring thousands of construction and permanent jobs to the Toledo area, as well as tens of millions of dollars for the city of Toledo as well as all of the counties and school districts in Northwest Ohio.”

The proposed casino will cost $250 million and is expected to open in the second half of 2012. Ohio authorized the gaming in Toledo with the successful passing of Issue 3.

“City Hall: Toledo,” a new reality television show, will begin shooting its pilot episode on Jan. 4 with the swearing in of mayor-elect Mike Bell.
“I think this show is a great concept and will be beneficial to Toledo and Northwest Ohio,” Bell said. “It’s a shot in the arm for Toledo and is exactly what Toledo needs to put us in a positive light nationally. If done right, it means great things for Toledo.”
The show’s co-creator, Robert Russ, said he seeks to bring a positive spotlight to Toledo and highlight the complexity of city governments.
“I hope by watching the show citizens might respect the enormity of the jobs that those in city government face,” said Russ, a native Toledoan. “People will watch the show and more fully understand city government — inspiring the citizenry to contribute to their city and take part in city government.”

Mike Bell

The reality show will follow the inner workings of the mayor’s office and city council, with stories of influential Toledoans interspersed.
“I’ve had enormous support from city council. Everyone seems to grasp the value of what we are talking about,” Russ said. “Mike Bell has been a strong supporter. He understands the value of national exposure and the ability to rebrand the city at no cost to the city.”
Bell said most everything the mayor does is in the public domain, so allowing Russ access is no issue. Bell admits there may be times when decisions are private, but as long as it won’t create problems when Russ airs the footage, he’ll be given access.
“We want people to see how government is run. There’s no story without access,” Bell said.
Although the show will focus on the entire city, the mayor will serve as the “anchor.”
When pitching the show, studios always ask if the city has a mayor who is strong, someone people want to follow, Russ said. In fiction, the lead would be written as a strong character; in reality television you need a real life hero, he said.
“Mike Bell is really a hero. He saved people from burning buildings. He had a cushy job in Columbus and gave it up to fight for his hometown,” Russ said.
The goal is to turn “City Hall” into a franchise that travels from city to city, Russ said. The show has pitched to seven different studios and Russ hopes the series will be picked up after the pilot is filmed.
Other cities were in consideration for the pilot, but Russ fought for Toledo to kick off the show.
“I grew up here. When you say ‘Toledo,’ you might as well be saying my mother’s name. I feel fiercely about Toledo and I want to see it do well,” Russ said. “I was always offended by people speaking poorly of Toledo. I want to show the country that Toledo is a desirable place to live.”
Russ credits Bell’s charisma and love for Toledo as a reason the pilot is being shot in Toledo. Bell went to California and spoke with the show’s co-creator and sold him on Toledo, Russ said.
Russ, who has eight years experience with a camera, will film the first week alone before bringing in other camera operators. The crew will spend three to four weeks shooting the pilot, with stories for following episodes being filmed in one to two week time spans, Russ said.

Habits can be burdensome, there is no such thing as a perfect plan, and unexpected things will happen to you.

As a younger man, I had my whole life mapped out, including: where I would be, what I would be doing, and when I would reach specific milestones in my life. The course my life has taken only vaguely resembles my original map, and I could not be happier. I suspect that this is true for you as well.

We know where we want to go, and we know exactly how we want to get there. However, what happens when our maps our flawed, a road is closed, or heavy traffic prevents us from taking our pre-planned route?

In the face of imperfection, we must choose between where we want to go and how we want to get there. Have you ever asked yourself which is more important? Is how you want to get there more important than where you want to go?

Personally, it took me three frustrating years to let go of my original plans and recognize how many wonderful things had been created. Until that moment, I had been so focused on the deviations from my original plans that I failed to realize I had already arrived at my destination via an alternate route.

At the start of a new year, we all tend to look at our maps to see if we are where we planned to be. When we notice that our perfect plans have been changed, we create new resolutions, set new goals, and make new promises for the year ahead. Most of these New Year’s resolutions come from a place of wanting to be somewhere other than where we are at right now.

Some of the best things happen when we allow ourselves to change course, when we stop looking at our original map, and when we deliberately celebrate imperfections.

Opportune imperfections can come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes suffering a setback, losing a job, or flubbing a big account can force us to take an alternate route. However, sometimes the alternate route we should be taking is sitting in front of us staring us in the face and we just do not have the eyes to see it.

Seeing things differently allows you to act as if you have chosen everything that happens to you in your life – even the bad things. If you lose a client, act as if you chose to lose that client and allow yourself to think of potentially good developments that may arise.

This year, resolve to make no resolutions. Instead, replace your resolutions with a pair of fresh eyes. Allow yourself to rephrase your goals – to rewrite your map.

Rewriting your map simply requires you to see what you do have, instead of seeing only what you feel you lack. Each time you catch yourself wanting something more or wishing things were different, take a moment to appreciate your personal inventory.

When you take inventory of what you have, you discover you have more than you think. This discovery changes how you behave; it changes the route you are taking and allows for seemingly random imperfections to work wonderful things into your life.

You’ll begin to notice that when you stop wanting to be somewhere else, you begin to see more progress than ever before. Yes, before you can grow your business, you must understand and appreciate the business you have. In order to have more time, you need to understand and appreciate the time that you currently have.

As you increase your levels of appreciation for where you are now, you allow yourself to welcome all of life’s imperfections, you allow yourself to let go of your old habits, and you allow yourself to stay focused only on where you are going.

For ten interesting ways to keep your mind fresh, go to www.boltfromtheblue.com and enter the word IMPERFECT in the blue print box.

Toledo needs jobs
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing this because I have few concerns that you should be aware of that are affecting me, my friends, family and community. My suggestion would be more jobs for teens, more shopping malls that are closer, better roads, free garbage pickup and raising taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
The first issue that I want to talk about is more jobs for teens. I feel that this is an important issue because having more jobs for teens will keep young people today out of trouble, and teenagers wouldn’t have to do illegal things to make money. Also, I feel that there should be more jobs for teens because personally, I’m 15, going on 16 as a junior in high school and I feel there should be a job available for me so I can start my future early.
Second, my next concern is more shopping malls that are closer to Lucas County. Reason being, is that more people would actually be able to attend the movies or shop for clothes once those jobs are available and you wouldn’t have to worry about having a way home from a far distance, just because the mall would be so close. Another reason would be that when we had Southwyck Mall or even North Towne Square Mall, more people were drawn into Toledo, even tourists. So I believe with these changes, Toledo will have a better name and would be a better place. This will also help the economy because that’s more people spending money.
Last, but not least, I think the city should provide us with better roads. I believe this is a factor because we need to make the city of Toledo look much nicer. Also, with better roads, the citizens of Toledo wouldn’t have to worry about needing car repairs from the bumpy roads messing up their tires. Another issue is the community paying for garbage pickup. This is causing more economical problems for Americans because our community is suffering with the loss of jobs and this is just adding another burden to the community with extra money to pay out. My opinion would be to raise the price of cigarettes and alcohol to help with the city budget.
Iesha Bass, junior

Bad neighborhoods
Dear Mayor Bell,
Toledo has many residents and some who are having a hard time looking for homes, jobs and good neighborhoods. I want to talk about jobs first. Many Toledo residents are losing their jobs and losing their jobs means losing their homes. This hurts the residents of Toledo and tells them Toledo is the worst place to live in.
Here I want to tell you about homes. There are many houses for Toledo residents to raise a family in, but again there are many houses that are torn down. Homes are being trashed and broken into.
Last are neighborhoods that are an influence in Toledo. Bad neighborhoods are causing people to move out, and these neighborhoods are making chaos in our city. The way to reduce these problems is to clean the streets and build new homes. Build more parks and public libraries in these areas.
Helping reduce these problems in the city of Toledo would increase the chance of Toledo being the best city to live in. And more people will think positive of Toledo. Thank you Mr. Bell for your time and hopefully Toledo becomes a better city to live in.
Antonio Hernandez, sophomore

Start with education
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing this letter because I believe that the economy has an effect on young teens, as well as education.
There are some issues I would like to address starting with education. The reason I think education should be addressed is because it’s the most important priority in life. Without an education, there are fewer opportunities to succeed. I think that there should be a wider variety of choices, such as more elective classes. I also feel there should be more educational programs available. The second issue I would like to talk about is making more programs for troubled teens. If there were more programs for teens, it would keep most of them out of jail and out of trouble. I also think that the programs would decrease violence if kids were in programs instead of being in the streets. I also feel that both of these issues would benefit society in a positive way, by putting a decrease to crimes and more education to keep students positive.
I feel that if these two issues were addressed, it would make a big difference in society.  I would also appreciate it if you looked into these issues. I know there is much more to address, but these two issues are and could be a start for change.
Lonsharay Kimble, senior

Gangs are the problem
Dear Mayor Bell,
My name is Suzanne Hudson and I am a senior at Woodward High School. I am writing this letter to inform you about the problems going on in my community. There are a lot of problems, but there are two that concern me the most: The job opportunities and the gang violence around my neighborhood.
The job options around here are very limited. Adults and teens are struggling to make a living because they cannot find a job to help provide things they need to help themselves and their family.
More and more people are getting laid off or fired and it is not fair to them that they have to suffer because the company they worked for is doing badly.
As far as the gang violence, everybody who cares about our city is concerned about it. Almost every day you hear about somebody getting killed because of gang wars. I personally think it is stupid to fight or kill someone over a color or where you live, but everybody doesn’t think the same way as I do. I really don’t know what could prevent gang banging. I still believe that it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
I believe you will look into these issues and I want to thank you for taking the time to hear problems going on in my community.
There are plenty more problems going on and I’m sure you will be informed about them, but as of right now, in my eyes, these are the issues I’m most concerned about.
Thank you.
Suzanne Hudson, senior

Hire police, fix streets
Dear Mayor Bell,
Some concerns I have for you as the new mayor is to hire more police, fix the streets, add more stop signs and hire people to be crossing guards.
Your first priority should be to hire new police officers and put the old ones back to work. The police should arrest the people who make the wrong choices and get them off the street because they can hurt innocent people. They kill people, kidnap kids, steal money, use drugs, drink, etc. It will help the crime rate if you could get the people who are hurting innocent human beings off the street.
The second issue is the potholes and bumps in our streets. When people drive their cars over the potholes and big bumps, they are ruining their cars and I don’t think that is what you would want to happen to the people of this city that you care about so much. If it will help, you could get the high school students at my school who drive to sign a petition.
Third, as mayor you should add more signs and speed limit signs. It will cut down on the accidents. I don’t think it will eliminate all accidents, but it will slim down the changes of accidents happening. People who are just learning to drive depend on stop signs. I know you want us who are learning to drive to be safe when we are on the road.
Finally, as the new mayor, you could hire more crossing guards so that kids will start to cross the street at the corners. If you hire new crossing guards to help kids safely cross the busy streets, we can concentrate on our education.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Congratulations on becoming the new mayor. I hope that you will do a great job as mayor.
Sabrina Johnson, freshman

New resident concerned
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on being elected the next mayor of Toledo. As a new resident of Toledo, I have noticed numerous things that I am concerned about. My first concern is gang violence. My second concern is that there are not enough jobs for teens. My third concern is that we need to modernize the city.
The reason that I am concerned about gang violence is because the death rate is getting higher. Gang violence is tearing the community apart and making Toledo a bad place to live.
Another big concern I have is that there are not enough teen jobs, which means that teens don’t have enough money. That causes teens to commit crimes like stealing. I feel that all of the jobs that teens should fill are being taken by adults.
We also need to modernize our city. For example, our houses are unsafe in many ways. If they were modernized, they would look better and be safer. There are a lot of new, safe ways to lay pipes in our homes and to wire them.
I am glad that you won the election. It is a great honor to know that you graduated from Woodward. I believe that it shows the students here that they can do whatever they set their minds to do no matter where they come from. I hope that you take my concerns into consideration.
Best wishes.
Paris Jenkins, sophomore

Get rid of OGT tests
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing this letter to you because I do not think the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) is fair to every student. The test is not only hard, but it’s holding a lot of seniors back from graduation.
I’m a senior myself and I’m struggling to pass the science part of the OGT, so are many more seniors.
Why should there be a test that determines if we graduate or not? Tests are not for everyone. Tests make people nervous.
Some ideas that I have for this problem are just to simply take the OGT away or make a less difficult test. We students will still have to take our required classes and graduate with 21 credits. I don’t think we seniors should have to take a test to get a diploma. There are people who want to do things with their lives and want to do things to further their education, but can’t because they didn’t pass the OGT.
If you decide to take this test away, you will have so many more graduates coming from the Toledo area.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Dalena Johnson, senior

Toledo could use free health clinic
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am so happy that you are our mayor. I am 15 years old and happy to be on the honor roll. I am not in any sports or clubs in school, but I still have Woodward pride. The thing that I like about Woodward is that we have programs to help us go to college like Gear Up and Adelante. They give us so much support and invest money in the school. There are also some teachers who stay after school and give us tutoring. I was thinking about these programs we have at Woodward. Maybe you can have programs all around Toledo to help others kids who attend school. I have noticed that there are programs already like Boys & Girls Club and YMCA, and I think that’s a start. You can also provide more afterschool tutoring to all the schools.
The work economy in Toledo is pretty low and I think bringing a casino will just make it worse. The reason being that gambling is another addiction. With all the problems with drugs on the streets and people having to work outside of Toledo, it’s just bringing more bad influence to this one great city.
For the health problem in Toledo, I think that it is a good idea to bring a free clinic. For example, Temperance, Mich., has a family medical center, which provides families with low income with a wonderful sliding fee. I think this would be a great help for the high rate of teen pregnancy, because I see a lot of my friends who are pregnant who struggle, so don’t think I am pregnant.
Thank you for taking your time to read this letter.
Elia Jimenez, sophomore

Toledo has potential
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing you because there are a few things I believe need to be changed for this economy to have the potential it could be capable of having with a little bit of your help.
I believe that if we can get some better and cheaper schooling, then more people will be qualified for jobs. By getting jobs, the economy can progress and run more efficiently. Once we have our economy running smoothly, we can have more money, which we can use to build new houses, schools and buildings to make our environment look more welcoming, and also keep the Toledoans, whom we do have, here.
I also feel that once we accomplish all of these things that there will be more excitement in our environment and less violence and crimes.
In conclusion, I believe that Toledo has a high potential and can be a better city than what we make of it today with a little bit of help from you.
I know that we can make a change in how people look at and think of Toledo.
Thank you very much for taking your time to read this letter and I hope it might be some help to you.
P.S. — Congratulations on becoming mayor!
Tabitha Jahns, senior

Please address transfer fees
Dear Mayor Bell,
I have lived in Toledo my whole life and things have gotten bad. There are a lot of things wrong with Toledo. Some people think that you should bring more jobs to Toledo and provide children with a better education. That may be true, but there are also other issues that I feel need to be addressed.
When you start your term as mayor, I believe that you should do something about the roads and sidewalks. Many roads have potholes, some of the potholes may be small, but they can get bigger, and the bigger they are, the more dangerous they become. They do not only cause flat tires, but they can also cause serious car accidents.
I also think that the sidewalks should stop being torn up and redone when they do need to be redone. It is a waste of money that could be put to better use like providing equipment for school gyms and books for classes.
Another problem is bus transportation and transfer fees. I do not think they should cut back on certain bus hours or stop some buses completely from running their routes. What are kids suppose to do if they have to catch the bus in the morning for school or after school to get home?
Lastly, I believe that you should do something about the transfer fees. The transfer fee goes up almost every year and it is getting harder for people to transfer to another bus when they only have enough money to get on one bus. Some people do not have enough money to transfer to another bus. So, then how will they get where they need to be?
Mr. Bell, I am very happy that you will be mayor —finally, something good can happen for Toledo. I cannot wait to see what changes you will bring to Toledo.
I know that there are much bigger concerns, but these are the small concerns that will change Toledo.
Rashunn Waites, senior

What are you going to do for us?
Dear Mayor Bell,
My name is Jessica Hammer. I am a freshman at Woodward High School. I am so happy to be writing this letter to you today. It is amazing that the mayor of Toledo graduated from here. I am writing to ask you what you are going to do for our community.
I believe that you would make our community and Woodward a better place. I think you should hold a community cleanup once in awhile to make our place not as dirty as it is. I think you should help out a lot more with the Cherry Street Mission. I think you should help out with our jobs because a lot of people need these jobs to help take care of their families. I truly believe that you will make a better mayor than all these other mayors that didn’t help out with any of these things that I just listed.
Jessica Hammer, freshman

You will be the best mayor ever
Dear Mayor Bell,
Police cuts are the biggest problem. With less police on the streets, more of us are at risk for being part of a crime.  Every other day, I hear about either a serious crime or a minor crime. Community build-up is the next issue because of all the harm that comes from the community being the way that it is. The potholes in the streets are dangerous to the cars we drive. They cause us to have to swerve to avoid hitting them and it makes it more likely that we could get into an accident.
Mr. Bell, I am looking forward to having you as our new mayor. I think that you will be the best mayor Toledo has ever had. Please take into consideration my concerns. It will help make Toledo a better place to live.
Hayley A. Crapsey, senior

Don’t let officers break the rules
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on becoming the new mayor of Toledo. My granny, Joan Rowe, told me a lot of things about you when you were the fire chief for Toledo. You attended one of her block watch meetings. I think you are the right choice for the job because you are familiar with the city and a real hero in Toledo. Also, because you are a former Woodward High School student, you are a great role model. You are showing us that even though we live in a bad neighborhood, we can be successful and make a difference in the world.
In the neighborhoods near Woodward, there are many problems, including robberies, shootings and stabbings. We need more police officers on our street and in the schools. We also need more weapon searches.
You also need to keep an eye on the city workers because in two months, three or four police officers have been caught drinking while on duty.  They tell us to stay out of trouble, yet they are not good role models. As teens, we need role models that show us how to be good citizens. These cops are basically telling us that we can do what we want.
The most important thing you need to look at is jobs. We need more jobs in Toledo. People without jobs have no house no money, no food and no health insurance. With all of the new diseases going around, it is dangerous not having those things. I know we are having an economic crisis, but maybe we can save lives and save our city. President Obama is doing many things for our country, but we are barely recognized because we are a small city. We need your help and for you to recognize us in the same way.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and the other students. Please take my suggestions in to consideration. It is very cool that I can write to you and speak my mind. Congratulations again on your election, and I know that you are going to be a great mayor for our city.
Nathaniel Lafferty, sophomore

DEAR MAYOR BELL,
Sticking with the theme of this issue, I decided to write you a letter.  But I won’t tell you what I want to see from your administration. The Woodward High School students featured in this issue do a better job with that. Instead, I want to make sure you know about the effort that went into getting these letters to you and why reading each and every one of them would be a good way to start your administration Jan. 4.
I typed each of the letters in this week’s issue because of the lack of computers and reliable Internet access at your alma mater, as well as the fact that many Woodward students don’t have that luxury at home, either.
When I first came up with this idea, it was between you and Keith Wilkowski for mayor. The beauty of the idea was that it didn’t matter who won because you both graduated from Woodward, the school I wanted to use for this project. Before the September primary, I had written a profile on each of the mayoral candidates, and while I was pleased to have quoted many adults familiar with the candidates, the stories lacked the voice of those who will end up living with the decisions of your administration.
Soon after you won, I contacted Woodward principal, Emilio Ramirez, who put me in touch with Richelle O’Mara, chairwoman of the English department. O’Mara was excited about the prospect of having English students write letters to you, although she was concerned about the school’s technology. In years past, when I did similar projects with students, they would e-mail me their responses, but this wouldn’t be possible for Woodward students.
When I received the pile of letters, I hunkered down for a marathon typing session. The letters ranged from fantastically worded to awkwardly phrased to amazingly articulate, but each student in his or her own way outlined hopes, dreams and frustrations with Toledo.
Unfortunately, we did not have room to run every single letter, which topped 80, but we selected a variety to give you an idea what the younger generation is expecting from your four years in office.
Many students thought you would be able to help their school, in particular, asking for reliable computers, scholarships, new textbooks, the repeal of the uniform policy, among other things that won’t fall into your purview.
Through a teen’s eye, you are a hero, someone who has the power and capacity to fix anything. Even if you cannot help them, many acknowledged they were just honored to write you — a Woodward graduate — a letter.
They look up to you; a few of them said they aspire to be like you when they grow up. Some wanted to know what Woodward was like when you were in school; were you on the honor roll; how do you plan to help North Toledo, where you also grew up?
Gang violence and lack of jobs were reoccurring themes throughout the letters. I was shocked with just how many of them talked about how they are tired of people getting killed or beaten up because of colors and where they live.
Many Woodward students want jobs for teens, noting that adults are working at jobs usually reserved for young people because of the bad economy. Others needed jobs because they help pay their family’s bills.
The other issue for teens is where they can hang out. Teen centers, malls, reopening the public pools and theaters that show movies for less than $10 per ticket were all suggested. One student wanted his library to be open on Saturdays.
This environmentally friendly generation also pitched the idea of a community-wide cleanup day. Students said they are tired of the abandoned houses that are full of garbage and graffiti. A few didn’t like the idea of automated trash pickup, noting that it was taking jobs away from Toledo. Who knew that students paid attention to the news?
One student wanted to know why so much money was being spent on fancy roads and gardens in Downtown when the city coffers were empty. Others suggested that the casino be built in Downtown, not near Rossford, which isn’t suffering as badly.
Many students want increased police patrol, one of them noting that cops should follow the rules, such as not drinking on the job.
One of the funnier letters that didn’t make it into print involved a student who thought you were once a running back for the New Orleans Saints and that you have since been signed to the Denver Broncos. That’s quite a feat for a man who is also about to become the mayor of Toledo. Even though I think the student got you mixed up with the Mike Bell, the football player, his game plan for the Toledo is worth mentioning.

• Saving and creating jobs
• Balancing the city budget and delivering quality services
• Protecting people’s safety
• Improving our schools
• Stabilizing neighborhoods

In closing, Howard Edwards’ letter, a sophomore at Woodward, made me realize just how much the younger generation is counting on you.
“Congratulations on being elected the next mayor of Toledo,” Edwards wrote. “It is a great honor to know that our mayor is a graduate of Calvin M. Woodward High School. Your achievements show that inner-city kids can be more than what is expected of them.”
Edwards went onto to say, “I think that you will make a good mayor.”
Let’s hope he is right.
P.S. – Some of the Woodward students thought it would be nice if you returned to your alma mater and visited with them.

Brandi Barhite is special sections editor of Toledo Free Press. Contact her at bbarhite@toledofreepress.com.

To the students of Woodward High School and young people of Toledo:
Let me begin by thanking you for your well wishes. I appreciate the positive thoughts you have sent, as well as the concerns you have voiced for our city. It is clear from your letters that you have strong opinions about the issues affecting Toledo and have a vested interest in seeing them resolved.
As a student at Woodward, I learned to work hard to achieve good grades in the classroom and victory on the football field. I enjoyed being part of a team, and that continued when I attended the University of Toledo. I had the opportunity to play Rocket football and was team captain my senior year. It was a good feeling to be a part of a group of people working toward the same goal.
For the next four years, it’s my responsibility to be the “team captain” for the city of Toledo. As your letters reflect, we have many challenges ahead of us and it will take a unified effort with participants from all parts of the community to move our team forward.
I commit to you that I will work to ensure that the city is providing the services that our residents pay for, expect and deserve; I will work to ensure that when you are ready to enter the work force that there are jobs in this community so you can remain here near your families; I commit to ensuring that all parts of Toledo are safe and that your neighborhoods are a secure place for you, your family and friends to live and play; and I commit to working with the schools across the city to support them in their mission to provide the young people of Toledo with an excellent education, preparing them for the next stage in life.
This commitment is a big job and will require many difficult decisions in the coming years. I take this very seriously and I will give my best and total effort to improving our city.
In return, I ask two things from you, your classmates and the young people of Toledo.
The first is that you always try your best. Whether you are studying for an exam, practicing for a game or rehearsing for a play or recital, always try your best. This means showing up for class, doing your homework and studying for exams. Sometimes it may mean staying after class for help from a teacher or asking questions when you don’t have the answers. By giving anything less than your best effort, you cheat yourself and inevitably fall short of your goals.
The second is to give back to your community. I have received a great number of benefits from Toledo and the people who live here. In return I’ve been given the opportunity to give back nearly every day of my life as a firefighter, fire chief, as a charitable contributor, as fire marshal and now as mayor. There is an opportunity for all of us to give back to this community in our own way. Think of someone who has taught you, supported you, encouraged you or helped you in some way and find a way to make a contribution to Toledo in return for that kindness.
This community is your team. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for everyone here and to show the rest of the world all that we have to offer. We all have a stake in the success of that goal and we can all play a part in making it happen. Best wishes for a prosperous 2010.

Michael P. Bell will take office as Mayor of Toledo on Jan. 4.

Introduction: “You Got Mail”

Letter from Mike Bell: “Unified Efforts”

Gangs running streets
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am honored to be writing you this letter. I sure hope that when you become mayor of Toledo you promise to change the streets of Toledo.
Toledo needs more community centers for everyone to attend, especially youths. Hopefully, this will reduce gang uprisings. In Toledo, gangs are running the streets more and more. And, having community centers should help bring down the crime level for safer community environment.
Toledo also needs more jobs to help enhance our population. The more jobs the more money being brought into the city. More jobs in Toledo would give more encouragement for people to finish high school and maybe continue on for a higher education.
Like you, I am proud of Woodward and will graduate in 2010. We hope you are a visible presence at Woodward.
Margaret E. Birch, senior

Gangs are ruining lives
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am writing this letter due to the concern I have about education and gangs. Every day there is somebody I know getting locked up, shot, sometimes killed because of gangs. Drugs are really big when it comes to the gangs. The number of gangs in Toledo is unknown due to them being in every neighborhood.
Even in school, people always try to fit in with the gangs, which are a big reason some students fail, due to all the influence from different gangs in school. Fighting and arguing are the main factors in school. It is a huge distraction from education and it’s sad.
I have many ideas to help teenagers in the Toledo Public School district. I am involved in an early college afterschool program called Upward Bound and it really helps. It keeps me out of the street drama and failing in class. Most of the students are really into sports and other fun activities, such as field trips and etc. I believe if there can be more programs that involve these things, it can better a lot of students who are involved with drugs and gangs.
Congratulations on winning to become the mayor of Toledo. I look forward to a change with the city and I really hope you take some of my ideas into consideration.
Demond Young, senior

Parents needs jobs
Dear Mayor Bell,
I’m a high school senior at Woodward High School. I feel like kids in college and high school should have many job opportunities that can help college students pay for school books, dorms, furniture, etc. As for high school students, they can pay for late fees, cap and gowns, class rings, etc.
Another one of my concerns is that we need open jobs to struggling parents. The economy is getting too bad and more jobs are being lost. Therefore, parents aren’t able to provide for their families, which can cause stress and breakdowns that will eventually lead to the families living on the streets.
I do look forward to you becoming our mayor in January and implementing these much-needed changes for our city.
Shawntae Butler, senior

Abandoned houses
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on being elected the new mayor of Toledo. Your election inspires me because you are a graduate of Woodward High School. It shows me that graduates of Woodward can prosper. There are a few priorities that I think you should look at as our new mayor.
One priority you should focus on is gaining more jobs for Toledo citizens. Many adults are losing their jobs. Because of that, they are taking jobs away from teenagers. These adults end up getting minimum wage jobs and then have trouble supporting their families. Businesses are constantly closing and many people are losing their homes to foreclosure.
Another priority is the abandoned houses. On my block, there are about five abandoned houses. These properties are making the neighborhood look rundown and trashy. One neighbor takes care of his yard, while other people walk down the street and throw their garbage into their yard. Eventually, the garbage builds up and attracts pests and rodents. Most of the houses have boards all over the windows and sometimes even the doors. People break into some of the houses and steal whatever they find that is of value. Criminals hide out in these houses when the police are looking for them. Sometimes, they even stash stolen property in those houses. Unruly kids write graffiti on (and in) these houses.
These are just some of the issues that I think need to be taken care of. Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns. I hope that you have a wonderful term as mayor of Toledo.
Samantha Yancy, sophomore

Toledo’s crime problem
Dear Mayor Bell,
My name is Alexandria Carey. I’m a freshman at Woodward High School. We were asked to write you a letter of things that we would like to see changed or improved in Toledo. Our schools are getting rebuilt, which is great. But I think along with our new school, we should have afterschool programs. We could have programs where we can get help with homework or just have a free, safe place to shoot hoops and hang out with friends. The program can teach us how to get ready for college and stuff, too.
Another one of my concerns for Toledo is crime. I think having more police will help the crime go down. I know many police officers got laid off, but we need the help. There are too many people getting shot or stabbed over dumb things. There is too much gang activity on our streets. Young kids are dying because of gangs. It’s not safe to walk in our neighborhood without having to worry about getting mugged or jumped. Young people are out after curfew, causing trouble. Houses have been burned down and stores robbed. These young people are setting bad examples for us kids. I think enforcing curfew will help the crime rate to go down.
Job loss is hurting Toledo. I understand the economy is in bad shape, but what I don’t understand is how in Downtown Toledo or in the city park there is a fancy road work or gardens being worked on. I’d rather have an ugly city than a broke city.
My last concern is the abandoned houses that are all over Toledo. They make the city look trashy and give criminals a place to commit crimes. They also have who knows what kind of animals living in them. We need them torn down. I hope you take some of my suggestions into consideration.
Way to go on becoming mayor. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.
Alexandria Carey, freshman

Reform garbage system
Dear Mayor Bell,
Toledo needs more law enforcement on the street. Young girls are being kidnapped and forced into prostitution. People are being robbed at gunpoint and they don’t know where the suspect went because the police we do have take too long to arrive on a scene.
So if you add more enforcement, police should arrive on time and not an hour later when somebody’s dead or gone. This will bring more jobs for some and joy to the rest.
The other priority is our garbage system. I don’t like the fact that the day changes after every holiday. I understand they need the holidays off, too, but the way you have this throws people off, causing them to miss pickup. I also think it’s a bad idea to use the new improved trucks because this will cut out jobs. The garbage cans are too big. How are old people supposed to drag the heavy cans to the curbs, especially in the snow?
I hope you take my thoughts into consideration.
Courtney Worden, senior

Make Toledo great
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on being elected the mayor of Toledo. We all hope you do great at your new job. We are very proud of you.
When you take office, I think you need to do something about jobs. We do not need a casino because it can bring more crime to the city, but we do need new stores and more police.
I also think you need to pass a law stating that any minors caught drinking will get a ticket or possibly go to jail.
Another idea I think you should do is to try to make Toledo a great place to live and work. You could try to get new places for families to come together or maybe go around town and ask people what they think we can do to make Toledo better.
We know you will make a great mayor. I hope to be mayor like you, or maybe president of the United States. Congratulations on winning the election and please try to make Toledo great.
Michael Chegar, sophomore

Toledo needs jobs
Dear Mayor Bell,
After I graduate, I plan on attending college and finding a good job in my city, Toledo.
This is why I am writing you. Toledoans need more jobs. Some households only have one person bringing in a paycheck and in these hard times that is not enough. Jobs are closing, people are being laid off and it’s just plain turmoil.
As jobs are closing and people are being laid off comes another huge factor, violence. People are turning into thieves because they can’t afford things, so they rid the people who do have it of their property and goods. Carjackings and break-ins are just a few of the violent acts going on now that our city is spiraling downward, especially now that it’s the holidays. People are being robbed of their belongings because of job loss.
Mr. Bell, please help our city and don’t let us become a ghost town with dropping population.
Antwonique Williams, senior

Homeless need help
Dear Mayor Bell,
I would very much like it if you could perhaps tear down old abandoned houses that are just taking up space. They are burnt up and look very rundown and that makes Toledo look rundown, too. I’m sure you don’t want to be the mayor of a messy city.
Also, please do more food drives and clothes drives for those who can’t get these supplies on their own. Many people can’t afford food or clothing for their families and are turning to shelters and donations for help. These people need help and you could be the one to help them. It won’t even cost much. All you need to do is have people donate canned goods and other items to food drives. You could even make this possible at schools. Recently, my school had a food drive and we collected over 200 cans.
Thank you for reading my letter and I hope that you will try to do at least one of these things to make Toledo a better place to live.
Ashley Clark, freshman

Rescue safety services
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on your election to become the new mayor of Toledo. I’m looking forward to your time in office to improve the quality of Toledo. As a senior and young adult attending Woodward High School, there are a few subjects I would like to discuss with you.
The first topic I would like to talk about is safety. As the economy went into a recession, police officers were laid off. Response time has been cut and people feel that crime has risen. As a retired fire chief, you know public safety is very important and I feel more officers should be trained and hired. This should please be considered and fit into the city’s budget. Another topic is the look and feel of our city. We have wonderful improvements, such as the Skyline Bridge, the new sports arena and the developing marina district. But some others, such as trash cleanup, parks to be cleaned and repaired, more roads and potholes fixed, graffiti removed and grass trimmed and cut around Toledo, could be done.
If somehow fit into the city’s budget, increased safety and improvements around the city will be well worth it. An even cleaner city will attract more visitors, new jobs and businesses and new residents. So take in some of these considerations and while you’re in office just know your supporters are behind you the whole way. Toledo is a great city. I’m sure you’ll make it even greater!
David Truitt Jr., senior

Get rid of liquor stores
Dear Mayor Bell,
Since you’re the upcoming mayor of Toledo, there are quite a few things you should strongly look toward to make our city a better city. Jobs and police forces are two of my main focuses.
Jobs are one of my main targets. Toledo is known for being one of the poorest cities in the United States. One way you can prevent this from carrying on is by opening and building new jobs around the city. It’s nothing really out there to do for teens, so open up arcades and rec centers around this community. Charge little to none to get in because of the economy. Eliminate liquor stores to reduce drunken driving and deaths per year. Replace the liquor stores with bookstores, so we as the people can get more intelligent and book smart.
Police force is my other main target. More police in the streets would be less crimes and less gang activity going on. It’s too many deaths per year because of gang violence. It’s stupid to die because of a color or some “dis ya hood.” It’s all irrelevant to me. So all we can hope for is that police force can reduce the gang violence that reduces the deaths of young teens per year. So Mayor Mike Bell, please look into my suggestions that can help turn around our city. We all need to come together and bring pride back into our community, but it starts with me and you.
Markeese Cummings, senior

Toledo is dangerous
Dear Mayor Bell,
I am an honor roll student at Woodward High School. I am doing my best to stay on the right path and become successful.
Some of the things that I think should be your priority to help our community is the crime and unemployment rates. Many people think that Toledo is a dangerous place. Sometimes I feel the same way because last winter someone broke into my house. It made my mom want to move from here.
Some of my friends and I think you should open the pools back up for the summer so that children and teenagers would have something to do, instead of them walking the streets, causing trouble. This will decrease some crime. Also, we need a basketball court where all children can play for free because most people do not have the money to pay to play at the local YMCA.
Another issue is jobs. Toledo needs jobs so that everybody can work. I know many people who want to work, but can’t because there are no jobs. If there were jobs, there would be less homeless people, a decrease in burglaries and less crime. Also, there should be more jobs for the youth because they want money, too. Since they can’t get a job, they turn to selling drugs, which causes more crimes in the community.
These are my thoughts about making Toledo a better place to live. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this letter.
DeMarkus Darrington, freshman

Student recalls cousin’s death, asks for traffic control
Dear Mayor Bell,
I would really like it if you’ll take the time to read this letter. My family through the years has been socially connected to our recent mayors, such as Mayor Jack Ford and Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. I wanted to know if you would try to consider teenagers being able to work at certain jobs based on grades in school. Most teens in Toledo would love to have a job to provide for themselves and their family also. This idea will also tremendously boost money in the city. No mayor yet has thought of that; you can be different. I also wanted to tell you that the casinos will cause traffic danger for local students who walk home, kids to teenagers. Just recently, my 13 year-old cousin was hit by two cars. He did not survive the hit and died on Thanksgiving morning. You can prevent this situation occurring more and more.
Juwon Shelman-Perry, freshma

More teen activities
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on becoming the mayor of Toledo. Becoming mayor is a big responsibility that I am sure you have worked very hard toward. Toledo needs better and you seem to be that change for our city. I think that Toledo needs a mayor that will change our community.
Your No. 1 priority should be our economy. Our economy is down and we need help. For example, we don’t have many jobs for people today, yet we get automated garbage trucks. Though not many people would want or enjoy working with garbage that job was part of their living and it was taken away.
Toledo needs more things to do. The teenagers are bored, which I think helps increase the crime rate. If we had more activities to occupy our time like jobs, concerts or skate parks it would help the crime rate drop. These things occupy our time while keeping us up and moving. Sitting in front of the computer and television all day is not good for our health.
Another very important subject is school. I think that we should be given more money for our schools, so that we would have just as good an education as anyone else in Toledo. If the laws were fair, we would all have the same amount of education.
These are a few of the issues the issues that should be the main focus of your job. Thank you for your time in reading this letter.
La’Keiya Channelle Osley, freshman

Live up to potential
Dear Mayor Bell,
Let me congratulate you on becoming mayor of Toledo. I think it’s cool that you graduated from the same high school that I am now attending for the first year.
Your first priority should be to create a program that would help keep kids off the streets and out of gangs. Not the kind of program that adults believe would be cool, but a program that a teenager would actually like to participate in. You could get ideas from themselves. You could have a fundraiser where kids in high school participate in raising money for programs. There could be tutoring, a boxing ring and a variety of things to do to keep teens occupied.
You should also worry about the crime rate in Toledo. It’s frightening to think someone could assault me or someone I care about next. Our communities are not safe and it is my opinion that it’s getting worse.
This brings me to my last suggestion. The amount of job losses is terrible. You should work on that, too. The increase of jobs will increase money so that our roads, playgrounds and buildings can be built thus helping to make the economy better.
I hope you live up to your potential. Good luck.
Ja’Tara Dawson, freshman

Classmates leaving
Dear Mayor Bell,
Congratulations on being elected mayor of the city of Toledo. I am writing you to address two concerns that are affecting our community.
The first thing you should do is help the homeless people of Toledo. I am pretty sure they would appreciate a mayor that would try to help them get back on track with their lives. You should consider a proposal to build a new homeless shelter, especially for this time of the year when it’s cold outside. It would give them somewhere to sleep, eat and stay warm.
The second thing is try to establish more jobs within the city of Toledo. I often hear people/classmates talk about moving out of Toledo because of the bad job market and the jobs they want aren’t in Toledo. Make Toledo a viable job market. You could also provide services to prepare people for job interviews. As mayor, you should be able to address these issues.
These are just some of the problems facing our community.
Phillip Mosley, senior

Enough negativity
Dear Mayor Bell,
I just want to first congratulate you for winning as mayor. I’m writing you to point out some issues that I believe need to be improved and changed.
I think that the No. 1 priority in our community is the lack of jobs. Also, I think that you should consider trying to help the ones with felonies because they might be trying to better themselves. Our teenagers also need jobs, or at least afterschool activities that would help keep them out of trouble.
The Toledo area needs more police officers that we can count on; not police officers who are dirty cops, not true to what they had sworn to. We need our community protected and we should not be scared to walk out our doors at night.
Our community wants to see all the negative people and negative things to STOP and those people put behind bars. Also, the community does not appreciate the way that our community is looking; it’s so disgusting to see all the trash on the ground and in people’s yards. I think that we should either gather our community up to recycle trash or talk to the homeowners and renters about the problem.
Tazhianna Dean, freshman

More jobs, less crime
Dear Mayor Bell,
Let me start by saying that I am very excited that you are going to be Toledo’s next mayor. One of the main things that I would like to see improved is more jobs. If our community had more jobs, there would be less crime, less prostitution and less homeless people. If there were more jobs, people would not have to prostitute themselves around for money. Criminals would not have to rob stores and other people’s homes. There would be less homeless people in our community. Houses are being foreclosed because people have lost their jobs. More people are turning toward the state for help, such as welfare checks and food stamps. The community wouldn’t have so many problems if there were more jobs.
Another problem is education. I am a student at Woodward high School and I have managed to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Throughout all of my high school years, I thought getting a scholarship should be much easier to get than what it is now. Education is very important to me because I want to succeed in my life. I come from a background in which neither of my parents graduated from school. Students should have more opportunities in their future. There are already new schools being built right now to replace some of the old schools.
Thank you for reading my letter. I am looking forward to see what is going to change with our community when you are mayor. I really am excited that you are Toledo’s next mayor.
Brittney Morris, senior

We need computers
Dear Mayor Bell,
Toledo is ranked today as one of the poorest cities in the country. Some ideas I have to fix this problem include tax cuts, citywide stimulus plans and lower tax rates. Second, I believe you should put more funding toward education. Why I’m stating this is because the dropout rate is high, Internet access is a problem due to no home computers or connections and school computers sometimes take too long and block certain sources that could be of some importance to students. Ideas that I think would help solve this issue include more informative books, up-to-date software and technology and more discipline taken on those who don’t wish to learn.
The problems I’ve stated and ideas toward my issues are just some things I think that you should take account for, and some ideas that I feel will lead to a brighter future for Toledo and all of its citizens. I know that you will be a great mayor and put great dedication toward Toledo and its citizens. May you fill us, and the city, with pride.
Noah Foster, senior

Higher wages needed
Dear Mayor Bell,
My name is Linda Garth and I’m a freshman at Woodward High School.
These are the things I think should happen in Toledo and at Woodward.
I think we should get paid more per hour.
I also think we should get more job choices. In Woodward, I think we should create activities that are affordable for teenagers so they can stay out of trouble, off the streets and out of gangs.
We also should try to lower the prices of food in the lunchroom and in stores.
I also think we should try to make the cars less expensive.
I’m not saying they are too expensive, but we need to try to make them a little less money.
Linda Garth, freshman

If you build it …
Dear Mayor Bell,
Since you’re the mayor, I feel that there is some stuff that you can do to help Toledo and Woodward be a better place.
I think you should start off with Woodward first because you know how old this building is. Nothing has probably changed since you left and, of course, we have a new building, but it’s not big enough. Do you think you could somehow make it a little bit bigger?
Toledo needs a lot of help. I think that you should have somebody build something for teenagers to chill at that is cheap because everything seems to be going up. You probably doubt that you can do this because some teenagers don’t care and will mess it up. I also think that you should create more jobs. Well, that’s all for right now.
Che’Taya McCoy, freshman

Music might save a life
Dear Mayor Bell,
I want to congratulate you on being elected mayor of the city of Toledo.
I only have one suggestion. Although it may not be a main concern for you or our city, but it is important to me. I would like to see a hands-on music program created for high school students. The program that I’m thinking of would be separate from the required courses in school. The program could include life courses, which will explain real-life situations and help students learn how to work through them.
There are students who are in certain situations where they cannot attend school on a daily basis. I want this program to be a program where any high school student can express themselves through music.
Like I said before, I know this isn’t top priority for you, but in the end, it just might improve or save a life.
Thank you for reading my letter.
Ronniah Mays, freshman
Pay more attention to homeless shelters
Dear Mayor Bell,
I think that you could do more for the public schools in Toledo because we need a lot more computers, and I think the students would really appreciate it a lot. How do you feel about Toledo getting a casino? Do you think that would bring in more jobs? You should also come and visit Woodward High School to share your experiences in high school with the Woodward students. Tell us what you did when you attended Woodward.
You should also put more police on the job because the streets of Toledo are getting really dangerous. I also think you should consider getting more involved with the less fortunate by paying more attention to the shelters, making programs for teenagers, so they can stay out of trouble, and thinking about single and teen mothers who are struggling to take care of their children.
Jodi Hardy, freshman

Woodward wishes you well
Dear Mayor Bell,
I want to congratulate you on becoming our new mayor. I am currently attending Woodward High School and I am a sophomore. I love to play basketball and football just like you. Also, I enjoy learning new things I never knew existed. I have some information I think could help you and other city leaders.
First, I think we should improve our school system by adding more programs so that all students get involved. The program will help get us into college to receive a higher education. Next, I think we should improve our law enforcement because it’s not safe to walk the streets neither at night nor in the daytime.
Finally, I think we should set up a citywide program to keep the city clean, and also keep the children out of trouble. Young people need more activities to get involved in and there are not many opportunities. The reason I’m telling you this is because I think it could help not only you, but also the people of Toledo.
You grew up over here and know the struggles we go through. You managed to become successful and I want to become successful in life just like you. I want to attend college and then give back to the community.
It was an honor to write such a successful person like you and everyone at Woodward wishes you the best of luck.
Franklin Levey, sophomore

Letters to Bell, Part 2

The Toledo Museum of Art is starting off the new year with a new look, with the launch of its updated Web site. The new site features a number of exciting updates including a Google calendar, an online class registration form, a TMA newsroom page, an online museum store, and links to popular social and professional networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. For a closer look, visit www.toledomuseum.org.

The Town Center at Levis Commons and Toledo Free Press have teamed up to collect gently used plastic toys for the Toledo Day Nursery.  Donations can be dropped off in front of the movie theater at Levis Commons from 12 to 6 p.m., January, 22-24.  Donated toys should be plastic, in working order, be clean and have fresh batteries installed whenever possible.

“Play it Forward is a simple concept with an extraordinary impact, said Casey Pogan, Marketing Director, The Town Center at Levis Commons, Hill Partners Inc. “When functioning and useable toys are thrown out, they become waste in a landfill, take up a lot of space and do not biodegrade.  Adding to this is the fact that many children in our area go without toys which are instrumental in creativity and imagination development.”

Toledo Day Nursery is an early-childhood program that provides the highest quality care for infants to preschoolers.  Reaching out to nearly 400 Toledo families each year, Toledo Day Nursery has been serving area families for 135 years through their three locations.  The organization’s mission is to provide children of working and student parents with quality, affordable child care programs devoted to enhancing the child’s educational, social, emotional and physical development.  Toledo Day Nursery is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

For more information, contact Casey Pogan, marketing director, Hill Partners, Inc., The Town Center at Levis Commons at (419) 931-8888.