Thanksgiving is but a memory. We claimed we were satisfied and gave thanks for all that we had while scouring the ads for things that we still wanted — at Black Friday prices. Not too many sat at home Thanksgiving evening reflecting on contentedness. Instead there was more strategy on how and when to attack the stores than strategy on how to defeat the opponents in those post-turkey football games. Once the stores blew the early whistle for the eager shoppers, the race was on! There was a brief pause from cramming the car with thingamajigs as Northwest Ohioans stopped to cheer Jim Tressel’s team on to a stunning victory.

Church choirs are preparing to sing of the Savior’s birth. Mall Santas are brushing off their beards, and the Salvation Army kettles are reminding us to be generous at this time of good news and good cheer. But there is a Grinch lurking not just between the covers of Seuss’s classic book. There is a Grinch waiting to snatch Christmas cheer from the dog lovers of Lucas County. In the classic story, Mr. Grinch contrives a devilish plan to cheat the Whos down in Who-ville from enjoying a bountiful Christmas. He straps a pair of antlers to his poor dog Max who is coerced into pulling a sled full of pilfered things from the homes of the residents of Who-ville. While the Whos lay a-snooze, Mr. Grinch attempts to snatch their joy. He is confronted by Cindy-Lou Who but convinces her that he isn’t really stealing their tree and toys; he is just taking them away so he can fix them.

The Toledo-ville Grinch is also using canines to snatch Christmas joy. On November 30th, I found in my mailbox a letter demanding me to pay $25.00 for each pooch on my property. And what do I get for this annual fleecing? Nada! Zip! And what does “Max” get for this steep tax? Does he get a checkup? No! Does he get a treat, a modicum of protection, or even a Christmas card? No! Poor “Max” just gets that jangling thing to wear on his collar. Even if “Max” is collected from the streets, they won’t call me to tell me he is alive and well. But “Max” gets the satisfaction of knowing that he is employing a few more people so they can scour the neighborhoods to make sure all the pooches have matching baubles. In short, Lucas County wants to strap reindeer antlers on to my little dog, crack the whip, and shout, “Bring us some more money!” It’s not enough that the Dog Warden’s coffers are overflowing with over $900,000 surplus. They need more, and they need it early.

The American Humane Society from Denver visited and for $5,800 made an assessment of the Lucas County pound facility and administration. And guess what? They need all that money and more because small dogs have cages that are too big and big dogs needed bigger condos! But, in the spirit of the season, be of good cheer! Morale is up at the dog pound despite the “cruel conditions.” I’d be slurping the egg nog and calling out “Ho Ho Ho” if I had nearly a million dollars with more on the way. All should sleep better knowing that the Doggie Spa employees are happy and the “Maxes” of Toledo are bringing home the barks and bucks.

I’m baffled why the tax letter came in late November as it isn’t due until January 31st. It appears that the Grinch wants to quash any plans that Lucas County residents may have to buy some doggie treats or doggie threads to stuff in doggie stockings. But perhaps it is because they think the imposing structure of theirs, which looks more like the former Dana Corporation Headquarters than the un-magnificent homes in which the majority of Lucas County residents live, needs to be demolished and updated. Most of us live in homes older than the Lucas County dog pound. It doesn’t move us that Doggie H.Q. is no longer doggie chic.

Sadly, our “Max” breathed his last about mid year. We weren’t offered a partial refund. Wouldn’t it be nice if the residents of Lucas County were given a break this year because times are tough and because the pound has a whopping surplus? Instead, they have employed some creative elves that have fabricated two reindog-like names for nonexistent canines in my house. They want us to fork over an additional $50.00 for Ardy and Elvis. (They came up with names but couldn’t come up with breeds). Now that’s what we need: civil servants who think outside of the box! Phantom reindogs to pull their packed sled.

If the powers that be want to think outside the box, perhaps they could offer a dog tax amnesty to any dogs adopted from their pound. That would encourage residents of Lucas County to consider adopting a dog or two, though I don’t think I would consider the names Ardy or Elvis. Perhaps a Rudolph or a Cupid. In the Seuss story, the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes when he wasn’t able to keep Christmas from coming. He whizzed with his load and brought back the gifts, and the food for the feast. It’s not too late to grow a heart and reduce or rescind the tax. We’d welcome it with glee — in the spirit of Christmas.

Here’s hoping there will be roast beast for the pooches and for the stockings of those in Toledo-ville.

Holiday travelers in the Midwest braced for snow and ice from a storm Dec. 24 that was expected to deliver a rare white Christmas to Nashville and possibly Atlanta before rolling into the Northeast.

A day after the most densely populated parts of the county got a break from the weather, several inches of snow were expected across parts of the heartland. Up to 8 inches could fall in Iowa and 6 inches in Illinois and Minnesota, with forecasters warning drivers about snow-covered roads and limited visibility.

The storm was expected to crawl south into Tennessee on Saturday, then possibly move north on Dec. 26. Winter weather advisories were in effect from North Dakota into Kentucky.

“People that are going to Grandma’s house,” warned Bobby Boyd, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Nashville, “need to get going.”

In Georgia, the National Weather Service said 1 to 3 inches of snow could fall across metro Atlanta on Dec. 25. Most of north Georgia, including the Atlanta area, are under a Winter Weather Advisory for snow until at least 1 p.m. Dec. 26, according to the National Weather Service. If the forecast holds, it would be the first time since 1993 that snow fell on Christmas in Atlanta, the weather service said. The last time there was measurable snowfall on Christmas Day was in 1882, when one-third of an inch of snow blanketed the city.

Fair weather helped make the holiday sojourn a not-so-painful experience in much of the country Dec. 23, even with more people on the move than last year.

Eric and Tatiana Chodkowski, of Boston, were driving with their kids, ages 2 and 4, to see relatives in New York. They said forecasts for snow on Dec. 26 made them wonder whether they’d make it back then, as planned. They deemed the roads congested but manageable Dec. 23, and most people found the nation’s airports to be the same way.

Planes took off into windy but accommodating skies at New York’s LaGuardia Airport as Steve Kent prepared to fly to Denver for a family ski trip, scoffing at the puny lines.

“I don’t find it that difficult,” he said. “I think Thanksgiving is harder.”

At airports, the long security lines feared over Thanksgiving, when practically everyone is on the move the same day, never materialized, and aren’t expected to now. The spread-out nature of the year-end holidays means things won’t be quite so cramped.

Travelers may notice that airport screeners are taking a closer look at empty insulated beverage containers like thermoses because air carriers have been alerted about a potential terror tactic involving them, an administration official said.

The official, who spoke Dec. 23 on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, stressed that there is no intelligence about an active terror plot. The Homeland Security Department regularly alerts law enforcement about evolving terror tactics.

The Air Transport Association expects 44.3 million people on U.S. flights between Dec. 16 and Jan. 5 — up 3 percent over the same period a year ago but still below pre-recession travel volume. The average ticket price is $421, up by 5 percent.

The Vino Volo Wine Room at Detroit Metropolitan Airport is benefiting from more travelers, manager Mark Del Duco said Thursday.

“The Christmas mood is more there this year than last,” he said, estimating that sales are up 10 percent this season compared with last year as financially confident travelers spend more freely.

Mike Lukosavich, of Harrison Township, Mich., was surprised the first leg of his trip was moving so smoothly when he stopped at rest area on the Ohio Turnpike in Elmore, Ohio, near Toledo.

He, his wife and their 8-month-old daughter were heading to see family in Parkersburg, W.Va. His only headache came when he saw the gas price of about $3 a gallon.

“It’s something you have to do to see the family,” said Lukosavich, 33.

The AAA has expected overall travel to rise about 3 percent this year, with more than 92 million people planning to go more than 50 miles sometime between now and Jan. 2. More than 90 percent said they would be driving.

Maria Romero, a cashier at the Chevron Food Mart just off Interstate 15 in Barstow, Calif., said she has seen an increase in travelers there, especially families and people from out of state.

“It’s wonderful. We need it,” she said. “The busier, the better.”

Some travelers weren’t thrilled about their mode of transportation. Anthony Lauro joined nearly 100 people lined up Thursday morning for a Montreal-bound coach at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s bus terminal in midtown Manhattan. He faced an eight-hour ride to see his fiancee there.

“Flying to Canada is astronomically overpriced,” he said.

Helping matters is that the most densely populated parts of the country got a break from the weather Dec. 23 with rain finally stopping in California and a few days away in the East.

But predictions of Friday’s storm concerned travelers in the Midwest.

Steve Brown, 50, of Elm Creek, Neb., left Tuesday afternoon and drove all night to beat the storm as it worked its way east. Brown, a grain hauler, was taking his two children to see his mother on the Ohio dairy farm where he grew up.

“I had orders to come home or she was going to come get me,” Brown said at the Elmore rest area, where adults filled up on coffee while kids, traveling in pajamas, loaded up on Tater Tots.

After record-breaking snow falls in the East and a treacherous Christmas travel season last year, the ways weather can mess up travel seem to be on plenty of minds.

At LaGuardia, Mike and Martha Lee Mellis waited to fly to Aspen, Colo., with their three young sons. They dreaded a repeat of last winter’s ski trip, when a snowstorm hit while they were transferring in Chicago on their way home.

“We had to return via Philadelphia, and I had to rent a car and drive everybody home at 11 at night,” Mike Mellis recalled.

His wife had been trying to forget, saying, “I’ve blocked it all out.”

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Karen Hawkins in Chicago; Warren Levinson and Verena Dobnik in New York City; Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, N.J.; David Goodman in Detroit; Eileen Sullivan and Samantha Bomkamp in Washington; Lucas L. Johnson II in Nashville, Tenn.; Michelle Price in Phoenix; Mark Pratt in Boston; and John Seewer in Elmore, Ohio.

A famed atheist, Christopher Hitchens, dying from esophageal cancer, recently warned that any last-minute spiritual deathbed revelations would be his illness talking, not him. Although I was previously unaware of his existence, Hitchens’ desperation to be remembered as someone who didn’t believe in something caught my attention. From my recent experience, he is not alone in his proud and brazen aversion to faith. In fact, a faith in God seems to be increasingly under fire.
Science no doubt comes up as the No. 1 defensive play against faith, yet my friends of faith are generally also friends of science. In fact, I am a huge fan of science myself and can’t figure out how or why faith and science would ever be decidedly mutually exclusive. Science demands some element of belief that there is something more than what is currently known to be true. The continuation of scientific exploration and discovery hinges on our faith that there is something bigger and better out there waiting for us to comprehend and utilize.
Agnosticism I understand. Though I don’t subscribe to it personally, not believing that the existence of God can ever be proven makes logical sense to me on some level. There was certainly a time when it only stood to reason, based on the cognitive abilities of the time, that the earth would never be proven round. At this point, our cognitive ability to scientifically prove the existence of a supreme creator, or even a belief that we ever could, is also no doubt questionable.
However, the atheist declaration that God assuredly does not exist seems as scientifically ludicrous to me as the declaration that God assuredly does exist must seem to atheists. With all that we have been wrong about in the course of human existence, it is nothing if not surprising that anyone could have the confidence left to proclaim the impossibility of anything at all. At a time when the verdict is still out on something as simple as the value of eggs in our diet or the safety of our water supply, it seems premature if not illogical to scientifically file what is perhaps life’s greatest mystery under “solved.”
After both witnessing and experiencing so very many of life’s implausible twists and turns, I’ve personally learned not to declare anything outside the realm of possibility. Anything I thought I knew for certain after my first 18 years was all but disregarded by new realities in my next 17. Just having children has proven to me that a + b = c  does not necessarily apply to the nature of humanity.  There is something intrinsically unique and incomprehensible about human nature that continues to shock and awe no matter how many worldly principles we attempt to wrap around it. The most difficult-to-encapsulate quality of our humanity is no doubt our spirituality. It is a dimension of our existence that many of us experience but have yet to find the words to explain to those who are not tuned into it themselves.
Without proper proof I can only proclaim that yes, atheists, there may be a deity. The existence of God is as possible as any other idea our universally young intellects can fathom. Why wouldn’t it be? Sound waves and light waves and DNA surely could have been and surely were dismissed by stubborn and incapable minds before those open and willing enough to pay attention to clues and connect dots eventually presented proof. Yet, our logic tells us they still existed prior to such proof.
In this infancy of human existence, God’s existence still only glimmers in slight and personal ways. The acceptance of it and the means to completely understand it are beyond the cerebral faculties we presently use to unravel life’s mysteries. For so many of us, however, a sixth sense pleads with us that there is more to this life than that which can currently be summed up by writings or conversations or the most complex of hypotheses. There is a connective umbrella layer that remains just outside of our ability to define it, but it comforts us and keeps us going nonetheless. Continuing to embrace it is just a matter of faith.

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

Sixteen-year-old Trayvone Mathis started life with a mom and dad serving as role models to keep him on the right path. But when he was 11, his parents divorced and he started to fall from that path, hanging out with a rougher crowd and looking to his older friends for direction.
“After years of following, I became the leader, leading those who followed me to nowhere,” Mathis said. “I stole and showed them how. I hit people for no reason at all and watched my followers do the same. Needless to say, I was lost.”
The Start High School junior, speaking on behalf of the International Boxing Club (IBC), shared his story at a recent gathering of Chicks for Charity. The group of female fundraisers had come together to hear from three finalists, winnowed from 50 applications, vying for selection as the group’s next designated charity.

Coach Harry Cummins and some of the International Boxing Club members.

Chicks for Charity, which recently announced that IBC will be the recipient of its next two-year fundraising effort, starting Jan. 1, has a twofold mission: Increase awareness of under-the-radar organizations doing great work in the community and raise money to help them do more of it, said founder Martha Vetter.
Other finalists were Camp Courageous and the Great Lakes Center for Autism.
Chicks for Charity has raised more than $260,000 for local charities since 2006, most recently raising about $156,000 in the past two years for The Victory Center, which provides support to those living with cancer, Vetter said.
Mathis joined IBC at age 15 to learn to fight so he could be tough on the streets; but instead found new direction from Coach Harry Cummins and better examples from his new teammates.
“My first few days at the gym, I was constantly corrected; no rule would be broken and no person would be disrespected. All of the things I had grown accustomed to over the years were severely punished,” Mathis told the Chicks. “Frustration at Coach Harry was commonplace. But for some crazy reason, I never quit.”
He started to make changes in his life, molding himself to new role models and striving toward new standards. Instead of leading younger friends in the wrong direction, Mathis now serves as a positive influence to those around him.
“I felt embarrassment toward my old role models that I thought were men, because as I looked upon them and the things they did, I saw nothing. They never accomplished anything over their whole lives,” Mathis said.
He asked the Chicks to think about their role models growing up and who taught them right from wrong.
“What if no one did, and the people you turned to to see what was right, always did wrong?” Mathis asked.
The teen’s testimony was a big factor in swaying Chicks to vote for IBC, Vetter said.
“It changed so many people’s minds. After you hear their stories, it’s inspiring, it really is,” Vetter said. “But it was so difficult; there are so many awesome groups out there doing great work that could have used the funding. The vote was pretty close. IBC definitely won, but not by a landslide.”
Coach Cummins, executive director of IBC, said he’s still in shock because his gym was chosen.
“It’s like we just won the lottery!” Cummins said. “This is going to be the turning point of the organization.”
More than 4,000 students have passed through IBC since Cummins opened the gym in 1998. The club currently has 30 members, ranging in age from 8 to 19. About 10 percent choose to box competitively; the rest box for exercise. Cummins said IBC has a waiting list, so his No. 1 goal is to be able to add staff during the next two years so the club can expand and accommodate more members.
When the gym opened, 75 percent of its members were failing school, Cummins said.
“I only have two who are failing now and they are new kids,” Cummins said. “For the past few years, we’ve had none failing.”
Sixteen of his former club members are attending local universities.
“The kids have a lot of talent,” Cummins said. “The downfall is they’re always being put down and told they can’t do something. Give them a little confidence and it’s amazing what they can do.”
Mathis agreed that one of the gym’s biggest assets is confidence-building.
“Kids come here shy, with low self-esteem, and boxing raises their confidence to branch out into a lot of different areas,” Mathis said. “It gives you that boost you need to kick your life into gear.”
Toledo was the first IBC in the nation to start a homework center and is the only one Cummins is aware of to have a vocational learning center. Club members are required to do an hour of homework before boxing and their grades must be improving to work out.
It usually takes a few weeks for new members to fall into the pattern, Cummins said.
“At first they just want to box. But then they see other kids doing their schoolwork as well as boxing and those are perfect role models for the other kids,” Cummins said. “Then they start to see their grades pick up, they feel good about themselves, and then they’re hooked.”
Cummins said one club member, a former gang member, spent most of the club’s recent Christmas party in the computer lab doing homework.
“I told him he could take the night off, but he said he had a lot of work to do,” Cummins said. “That’s how I know the program’s working.”
The vocational center, where older students can learn woodworking and basic electrical and plumbing skills in a pre-apprenticeship program, was added in June.
The gym contains a computer lab, with all computers built by the students, and a pro shop, where students sell IBC merchandise, Cummins said.
Through his Gloves with Love program, Cummins takes students into the community to do service projects.
Cummins said IBC plans to host an open house early next year so the community can see firsthand what goes on at the gym, which was originally located on the East Side and is now at 1717 Adams St., in Downtown Toledo.
IBC board member Mike Csizek was also hooked from his first visit, attracted to the positive energy and impressed that the club touches on so many key areas, including fitness, academics, social skills and leadership skills.
Although boxing is typically male-dominated, about 25 percent of IBC members are girls, Cummins said.
Kelly Boucha joined the gym in junior high and boxed competitively against other girls. Now the 21-year-old helps coach and will graduate from the University of Toledo this spring.
“It made me more disciplined,” Boucha said. “I learned more self-worth and how to treat people. [Cummins] always instilled manners in kids so now I try to do the same thing.”
Mathis takes his role as mentor to the younger members seriously.
“When I go up in the ring, you can see them stop and stare and watch,” Mathis said. “I try to be like a big brother.”
Cummins said he’d like to dispel a common misconception people have of boxing clubs.
“We’re not here to promote violence,” Cummins said. “We use boxing as a hook to get kids off the streets. It’s great to have champions in the ring, but we’re trying to create champions in life.”
Vetter said she is excited about starting a new chapter with IBC.
“We want to tell the whole community what is going on down on Adams Street,” Vetter said. “Just to make people aware of Harry Cummins, this great guy, and what he’s trying to do to make a difference, and these great kids. And of course the opportunity to use our 1,800 Chicks to help raise money so they can continue to do what they are doing.”
For more information, visit www.chicksforcharity.net and www.internationalboxingclub.org, or call the gym at (419) 244-8955.

I was asked to write an essay about Christmas. This is a broad topic. I could go several ways. I could write a devotional piece but that feels a little too “religiousy” for a public and secular publication like Toledo Free Press. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.
I could go on and on about all the hullabaloo over the so-called conspiracy to take Christ out of Christmas. But there are two things about this manufactured issue. When an argument lacks substance, the late dean of my seminary used to say, “There is no there, there.” Just because some choose to wish folks “Happy Holidays” instead of saying “Merry Christmas” doesn’t mean we are on the threshold of purging the baby Jesus from our society. Granted we are more “secular” today, but in time, the baby Jesus has proven to be a durable soul. I am certain that he will find his way. Besides, I am bored with this conversation.
Then there is the annual debate about the commercialization of Christmas. This debate bores me too. I find it somewhat disingenuous. If we are that offended by all the commercialization, then don’t participate in it. Don’t mob the stores and don’t let the marketplace set your schedule. Christmas is 12 days long. In the early church, Epiphany (Jan. 6, the celebration of the coming of the Magi) was the day gifts were shared. Just think of the bargains you will find if you wait until after Dec. 25 to start your Christmas shopping! Don’t fixate on the plasticity of it all. Limit the singing of Christmas carols until Dec. 24. Sing some good Advent carols instead. I particularly love the French Advent carol “People Look East.” If you really want to “stick it” to the marketplace, instead of buying gifts for your loved ones, make a donation in their name to your favorite charity or ministry. The marketplace does what it does. It doesn’t mean we all have to follow it like sheep ready to be shorn.
Since the middle of the fourth century, Christians have been challenged to prepare for the “Festival of the Nativity” or “Christmas” by immersing themselves in one of the two penitential seasons of the church year. This season is called Advent. It begins four Sundays before Christmas. It ends in candlelight on Christmas Eve. Advent, and the other penitential season, Lent, challenge believers to confess and own the full measure of their humanity. During Lent, the focus is on the nasty things we do to others, our creation and our Creator.
The flavoring of Advent is a little different. During this season the believer is challenged to own the ways he/she has been hurt by others, by creation and by the odd and capricious collections of events that happen that empty the human soul of spirit and meaning. It is not an easy thing to own the desert places of the soul. Many in our culture tend to look down on this encouraging us to move on and get a life. But the emptiness of the soul is a persistent thing. One can only move on so long before the grief, the sadness, the “whatever” that works to empty the soul of hope and joy reasserts itself. For Christians, the 12 days of Christmas is the celebration of a holy mystery, a divine and holy response to a vexing human reality. This response or gift may never fully remove from us the emptiness we are prone to experience from time to time. But it gives us a power to negotiate with it, a way to place boundaries around it and a vision of a much longer view of the reality we are invited to live. To quote Martha Stewart, “This is a good thing.” Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays.

Eric McGlade is a United Methodist pastor in Bowling Green.

The e-Press version of the December 22 edition of Toledo Free Press Star and the December 26 edition of Toledo Free Press are now available online.

In Star:

There is plenty do over the holidays. Check out our PULSE calendar featuring Face of FOX Toledo Heather Cook.

Toledo Free Press:

The cover for this edition features Alyson Stoner, a Northwest Ohio native who is reaching out to young girls through “Girl Power.”

“The Mighty Samson” claims quite a pedigree among comic book series. Launched in 1964 by the now-defunct Gold Key Comics, the book was canceled in 1969, revived in 1972, canceled again in 1976 but revived once more for a single issue in 1982; that last hurrah was sold in one of those plastic bags where you got a couple of comics for a pittance.
This month, Dark Horse Comics revives the apocalypse-laden barbarian after a 25-year hiatus for a brand-new trek through the radioactive wilderness, with comics legend Jim Shooter on writing chores.

Jim Collins of JC’s Comic Stop digs “The Mighty Samson” No. 1 and wants you to give it a try.
“It tells the story of a mutant — if we may call him that — born 500 years after the end of the world,” he ’splains. “This is a very barbaric world in which mankind must try to survive. The story takes place in what was New York City, now known as N’Yark; Samson’s tribe is shown having to pay tribute to a savage, stronger warlike tribe. They are brutally attacked by this tribe and as a newborn, Samson rips off the finger of the warrior threatening his mother.”
The book also gifts you with a reprint of the very first “Mighty Samson” tale from 1964.
In that same gift-giving spirit, Collins has another little gem to recommend — though it’s perhaps not exactly a holiday classic. Welcome to the world of DC’s “Preacher,” a mature readers-only story of a demon-possessed holy man on a trek across America.
“This was without a doubt, my favorite series at the time [of its original publication],” Collins said. “Written by  Garth Ennis and with art by Steve Dillon, Steve Pugh and Carlos Ezquerra, ‘Preacher’ read like a Quentin Tarantino film: brutal, explosive and shocking. It grabbed you by the throat and demanded your full attention. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up the new ‘Preacher Book 3’ collection and join the congregation.”

Candy canes, a holiday tradition dating back 600 years, are made today by the Spangler Candy Company in Bryan. Spangler makes 2.7 million candy canes per day as a major U.S.-based producer of the confection.

From left, Cooks Charlie Smith and Jeff Roddy put stripes on a white candy log that will be stretched into candy canes at the Spangler plant in Bryan.

“I believe we’re the only company that still makes candy canes here in the U.S. We usually have 50 percent or more of the candy cane market depending on the year,” said Jim Knight, vice president of marketing at Spangler.
There is even a special day to celebrate the candy as Dec. 26 is known as National Candy Cane Day. The day is meant to appreciate the history of candy canes and eating them the day after Christmas has become a tasty tradition.
French priests invented the candy stick in the early 1400s for supporting Christmas tree branches when food was used for decorating the trees. Priests in Germany created the modern candy cane shape in 1670 to look like a shepherd’s crook.
The hooked ornament was easier to hang on a traditional Christmas tree and a tasty treat for children who behaved well during holiday services, according to its history. The red stripe was added in the early 1900s to create the candy canes known today.
Spangler purchased the A-Z Candy Company of Detroit in 1954 to become the largest candy cane maker in the nation. The machinery for its candy cane production was moved to Bryan, resulting in a five boxcar order from the Great A&P Tea Company for Christmas that year.
Many Americans still use candy canes to decorate their holiday trees, for stocking stuffers, gift baskets, holiday recipes and crafts. Consumers can find recipes to create food, drinks, and crafts on the company’s website at www.spanglercandy.com.
In addition to the traditional peppermint stick candy canes, Spangler now makes different flavors of candy canes including the Dum Dum, Cinnabon, Jelly Belly, Smarties, Shrek, and Sour Punch brands.
Spangler started as a regional chocolate candy maker but got into other major markets with the major purchases of A-Z Candy and the company that made Dum Dum Pops in 1953, Knight said.
Today, Spangler continues to make Dum Dum Pops, Saf-T-Pops, Circus Peanuts, orange marshmallow treats, and other specialty candies for Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween.
The company produces 10 million Dum Dum Pops in 16 flavors and 500,000 Saf-T-Pops daily for worldwide markets. Spangler distributes its candy products nationally through grocery, drug, mass merchandisers and club stores through candy wholesalers and internationally through export brokers.
Dum Dum and Saf-T-Pops are given away by many businesses as a complimentary thank you to their customers, Knight said.
“The candy industry is fun and challenging. We will continue to succeed in the future by following the principles of honesty, independence, practicality, and market wise that have been established and guided our actions since our founding,” Knight said.
Spangler Candy is a family-owned, private company that has made candy treats since it was founded in 1906 by Arthur Spangler. Today, Chairman and CEO Dean Spangler is a third-generation descendant of the founder and president Kirkland Vashaw, a fourth generation descendant.
Spangler operates its main manufacturing facility of more than 500,000 square feet in Bryan which employs 400 people. Another manufacturing facility in Mexico employs 190 people.
The company’s Bryan headquarters also includes a museum and store where candy products can be purchased. Traditional candy canes are sold in 12 boxes of 12 each for $18, mini candy canes in 240-count for $12, 500-count for $20 or 2,000-count for $78 at the store or online.
Public tours are offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday during the fall, winter and spring at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-18 with children five and under for free. However, the tours and store are closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4, reopening Jan. 5.

Early awards are being doled out and nominations announced. Critics’ circles have named their best films of the year, Top 10 lists and other kudos. The Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were announced. It’s the perfect time to gather with family and friends and watch some of the best movies of the year that could win Oscar gold. To that end, here is an alphabetized checklist of possible Best Picture nominees for the Academy Awards and where to find them:

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released the following public information statement on Dec. 23:

Five football student-athletes from The Ohio State University must sit out the first five games of the 2011 season for selling awards, gifts and university apparel and receiving improper benefits in 2009, the NCAA has determined.

A sixth football student-athlete must sit out the first game in 2011 for receiving discounted services in violation of NCAA rules.

The violations fall under the NCAA’s preferential treatment bylaws.

In addition to missing five games next season, student-athletes Mike Adams, Daniel Herron, Devier Posey, Terrelle Pryor and Solomon Thomas must repay money and benefits ranging in value from $1,000 to $2,500. The repayments must be made to a charity.

Student-athlete Jordan Whiting must sit out the first game next year and pay $150 to a charity for the value of services that were discounted because of his status as a student-athlete.

“These are significant penalties based on findings and information provided by the university,” said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs.

The decision from the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff does not include a withholding condition for the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The withholding condition was suspended and the student-athletes will be eligible to play in the bowl game Jan. 4 based on several factors. These include the acknowledgment the student-athletes did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred, Lennon said.

NCAA policy allows suspending withholding penalties for a championship or bowl game if it was reasonable at the time the student-athletes were not aware they were committing violations, along with considering the specific circumstances of each situation. In addition, there must not be any competitive advantage related to the violations, and the student-athletes must have eligibility remaining.

The policy for suspending withholding conditions for bowl games or NCAA championship competition recognizes the unique opportunity these events provide at the end of a season, and they are evaluated differently from a withholding perspective. In this instance, the facts are consistent with the established policy, Lennon said.

Gene Smith, associate vice president and director of athletics at Ohio State, said the university will “further enhance” its rules education in the future based on this situation.

“We were not as explicit with our student-athlete education as we should have been in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years regarding the sale of apparel, awards and gifts issued by the athletics department,” Smith said. “We began to significantly improve our education in November of 2009 to address these issues. After going through this experience, we will further enhance our education for all our student-athletes as we move forward.”

The standard withholding condition in cases like these involving the five student-athletes is four games, or 30 percent of a season. A fifth game was added to the penalty because these student-athletes did not immediately disclose the violations when presented with the appropriate rules education, Lennon said.

“Once a student-athlete understands a violation has occurred, they must immediately come forward to report it,” he said. “That did not happen, so the additional one-game penalty was imposed.”

The university declared the student-athletes ineligible on Monday (Dec. 20) and requested reinstatement from the NCAA.

As part of their reinstatement, Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring and Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discounted services worth $150.

Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and receiving discounted services worth $50, while Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring, a 2009 Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 Gold Pants, a gift from the university.

Solomon must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,000, his 2008 Gold Pants for $350 and receiving discounted services worth $155.

During the reinstatement process, each case is evaluated based on the specific facts of the particular case by NCAA staff. Prior to reaching a decision, staff considers any guidelines established by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, a student-athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the institution.

The university can appeal the decision to the Division I NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, an independent committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member colleges, universities and athletic conferences. This committee can reduce or remove the condition, but it cannot increase the staff-imposed conditions.

Reinstatement decisions are independent of the NCAA enforcement process and typically are made once the facts of the student-athlete’s involvement are determined. The reinstatement process is likely to conclude prior to the close of an enforcement investigation. It is NCAA policy not to comment on current, pending or potential investigations.