When tornadoes hit Millbury in June, hundreds of volunteers came out to lend support to those affected by the disaster. Many of those volunteers were directed through United Way of Greater Toledo’s volunteer reception center.
“After the tornadoes hit we processed a lot of spontaneous volunteers,” said Emily Avery, manager of the volunteer center for United Way.
While the Red Cross provided many previously trained volunteers to assist with the disaster, the volunteer reception center processed random volunteers who came out, Avery said. The center directed individuals to areas they were needed and helped cut down heavy traffic flows, she said.
“It’s important to organize volunteers. Going out without knowing what’s needed, a volunteer’s expertise isn’t getting utilized,” Avery said.
On Jan. 24, Ready U will host its first session of the New Year “Volunteering in a Disaster.”
During the session, a panel of representatives from the Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Lucas County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and United Way will discuss ways individuals can assist during a disaster.
“It’s a good idea to get involved in the community to see what kind of opportunities are available before a disaster. That way you can get some training in and prepare in case of an actual event,” said Cheryl Murphy, disaster response coordinator for the Lucas County MRC.
Murphy will provide background about the Medical Reserve Corps and how volunteers can get involved, she said. The organization provides assistance during any national disaster that may need medical assistance.
“We assist from flood, tornadoes and pandemic flu to any type of terrorism — small pox or anthrax. Anything that might place strain on a hospital, we’ll assist with,” Murphy said.
Often, MRC volunteers are retired nurses or doctors, but volunteers don’t need a medical background as the organization provides training to its volunteers, she said.
The Red Cross also trains its disaster action teams and volunteers prior to an event, said Diane Dixon, director of volunteer management at the Red Cross.
Dixon will outline training volunteers receive as well as what Red Cross volunteers do on a daily basis at the session, she said.
“Just like in Millbury, volunteers always step up. [The Ready U session] will teach them about what they can do to make a greater impact in the community when there is another disaster,” Dixon said.  “Unfortunately there will be another big event. There is always another event.”
Ready U is presented by the Red Cross and Lucas County Emergency Management Agency.
“Volunteering in a Disaster” is scheduled for Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and will last an hour. The session will take place at Toledo-Lucas County Public Library Main Branch, 325 N. Michigan St.
For more about Ready U programs and information on how to prepare for an emergency, visit ready-u.com.
Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor for the Ready U program.

On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, and the country again was thrust onto the world stage with 24-7 news coverage. We were stunned by horrific scenes of death and destruction from a place that is driven in and out of our consciousness by natural and manmade disasters — famine, tropical storm, aid scandals, coup d’état or epidemic.

For my family and me, the earthquake became a very emotional experience as we have deep, personal ties to this country that is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. More than 1.2 million homeless and 230,000 dead are numbers too staggering to comprehend.

I began my Haiti “experience” as a UT MBA student in 1978 researching baseball manufacturing in the country for an international business course. I knew nothing about the country but was intrigued because of its people and rich history being the first black republic gaining independence in 1804 and the only nation to be born out of a slave rebellion. I took my first trip to Haiti in 1983 leading a team of 35 high school and college students to construct a school in a remote village. After that summer, I left with a new appreciation for life and Haitian people. My wife, Cindy, worked in Port-au-Prince for three years in a mission school touching countless lives, and we got engaged in the capital in 1987. (People frequently ask how I was able to get Cindy to marry me; to my advantage, she had malaria, a 103-degree temperature, an infection in her eye, and the city was under martial law, which made me look pretty good on the day she said “Yes.”)

My 22-year-old son, Clint, has been to the country seven times working at an orphanage, and my daughter, Shannon, a UT junior pre-vet major, made two trips this past summer to work with a medical team and tropical veterinarian. As a family, we have learned much from Haiti, which means “the land of high mountains.” I share this background and the fact that for the past 27 years I have been making regular trips to Haiti building, working at orphanages, and conducting training programs to say that each time I leave Haiti, I do so reminded of critical life lessons worth remembering.

Here are a few learned from our time there and working side by side with Haitians: Every meal is a blessing; never take electricity for granted; life without clean water is impossible; something as simple as aspirin can save a person’s life; happiness is not based on what a person owns; doctors and dentists perform miracles every day; without soap, disease is not far away; complaining is almost always a waste of energy; necessity is the mother of invention; and contentment is a choice. Talk to anyone who has been to Haiti or any third world country and they can share the same. When surrounded by comforts, it is a constant effort for me to integrate these lessons in my everyday life lest I forget how blessed I am.

Last summer I returned to post-earthquake Haiti and was blown away by the scope of destruction and suffering that was still playing six months later. As I traveled Port-au-Prince, I realized that Internet pictures and TV couldn’t capture the new realty of Haiti, which always has been an extremely difficult place to live, work and travel. The presidential palace and government buildings were knocked down, and the churches were in rubble. Roads, telephone poles, electricity and water systems were still in disrepair. Tent cities and temporary markets were everywhere. Schools and shops had sprung up out of the debris, and Haitians were going about their daily lives sidestepping rubble at every turn.

I was reminded of a new set of life lessons:

• Countries really can work together regardless of politics and culture when they choose to; I counted aid workers from more than 20 of the 70 different countries that stepped in to help Haiti get through the crisis;

• Individuals can and do make a difference using their talents and treasure to help others less fortunate as I met people from every walk of life pitching in;

• The Haitian people are among the strongest, most patient and resilient people in the world as they are coping with a situation that would cause many to give up;

• Leaders must lead in a time of crisis; meeting with government officials, I observed a lack of planning, organizing and action to move the country forward; and

• It is one thing to hear of more than a million homeless and another to see a mother and her four children huddled together in a tent in the rain over a charcoal fire knowing that there is nowhere to go and tomorrow will bring the same.

As we begin 2011, let us not forget the people of Haiti who survived the quake only to be hit with storms, flooding, a cholera outbreak and an uncertain future. While Haiti may not be in the headlines, the people still need our help, and we can learn great lessons from them as we take on the challenges that come with the new year.

Dr. Clinton O.Longenecker is the Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the College of Business and Innovation at The University of Toledo. He is an award winning business educator, author, consultant and community servant and can be reached at clinton.longenecker@utoledo.edu.

(Note: The five boys I met in Kabul, Afghanistan, from the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers were young – the oldest only 20 – and as charming and well-mannered as teenage boys can humanly be.  Their mentor, Hakim, displayed patience and tireless compassion.

I found it easy to settle into a comfortable relationship with them for 10 days, but during the event described below, it became clear that these young men were a courageous lot, going against many cultural norms in Afghanistan and doing so publicly.  People in places like today’s Afghanistan have been “disappeared” for less.

As I began to realize how dangerous the Peace Volunteers’ work could be, the global call-in project dubbed “Dear Afghanistan,” became much more than a chance for callers to meet a handful of charming, brave boys.  It was the beginning of an international support committee that at some moment may need to quickly mobilize to demand governments intervene to protect these young men’s lives.

————

KABUL – At four in the morning on New Year’s Day, 2011, a group of young Afghan peace makers and their much-older U.S. colleagues huddled around a laptop computer in this city, to begin a 24-hour conversation with people from all over the world. They called their project “Dear Afghanistan” and as phone-a-thons go, it, and a similar one they did December 19, 2010, may well be the first of a kind.

The effort consisted of an entire day of Skyped-in phone calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter posts, with the goals of providing an opportunity for world citizens to learn about Afghanistan first-hand from experts – people trying to live their lives in a war zone; provide moral support for the members of Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPV); and begin linking conversations among a global, below-the-radar network of veteran peace activists, determined that the war in this country can and must be ended absent military force.

Doug Mackey, technical producer for the project that was promoted entirely via independent media and the international peace movement, explained, “The teleconference team was centered in Olympia, with two crew members in Oakland, CA, one in Saratoga Fl, and a few around the world keeping an eye on production issues like teleconference connection, livestreaming and corrections.”

People wanting to participate sent an email to producers and were placed on a call-in schedule that was ultimately impossible to keep because of the highly animated conversations.

A sampling of callers and conversations included:

Sherrie, from California, told the five AYPV young men, that on December 16, two dozen people were arrested in San Francisco in conjunction with 131 people arrested that same day at the White House in a peaceful war protest. She also related the case of Father Louie Vitale, serving a 6 month jail sentence for crossing the boundary line of Ft. Benning, in Georgia, as part of the annual demonstration demanding closure of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas.

Ali: “Please tell Fr. Louie, ‘You are not alone. The government that arrested you, arrested you for peace, so you are not alone.’”

Sherrie: “All of us who were arrested had smiles on our faces. It gave us a chance to communicate with more people about what is happening in your country.”

Gulamai: In another conversation, about barriers to their work in Bamyan Province, he admitted the reality is that there is little trust among ordinary Afghans or between Afghans and their national neighbors. “We distrust people in Pakistan and India and this has to be overcome by persistence.”

Ali: “The people of Afghanistan want to build relationships with people in other countries as well as people here. People in other countries don’t trust their governments and so the same with the people. We have to end that!”

The next caller requested a news report from Kabul.

After few moments of silence, Abdulai¸ always ready with a wisecrack, announced, “Fresh news from Kabul…the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers had eggs, tea and warm bread for breakfast.”

Khamat, a young potato farmer from Bamyan, added, “The news from Kabul is, for someone coming from the farms and clear air of Bamyan, Kabul is very polluted and has lots of trash. All the money going to Kabul looks like it has been spent for security guards and concrete barriers and the drains are just as clogged as before.”

From Bellingham, WA, a member of Veterans For Peace, Richard Wilson, rang in with this cheerful greeting, “It’s important to reach out and shake hands across the world.”

Abduli: “Where did you serve your time in the military?”

Richard: “In several places, including in Vietnam.”

Ali: “How did you feel about being in Vietnam when you were there?”

Richard: “I was there as a young man and don’t remember feeling either positive or negative about it at the time…now I know we were told bad information and I think it was all was a tragedy…It is why I joined Veterans For Peace.”

Ali: “What was the turning point for you in deciding to leave the military?”

Richard: It came slowly to me. I got married, had children, got involved in my church…I thought a lot about it. I came to the conclusion it was not the right thing to do or the right way to live.

Ali: “My brother is in the Afghan National Army and it has my mother really worried. She has periods of depression. My brother tries to comfort her by buying her meat to eat for strength.”

Abduli: “I have a request. Will you stay in touch and remain friends, tell others about us and the people of Afghanistan?”

Richard: “Yes!”

Next up was a group of young people gathered around a speakerphone in Olympia, WA.

AYPV in unison: “Salinao Khush” (Happy New Year)

Craig from Olympia: “Even though I’ve never met you, it is a great honor to say hello and I send you my love.”

Edward: “I’m here with 8 wonderful workers for peace and justice, all here to wish you a good year.”

Young woman: We want you to know we love you; we praise you for the work you’re doing. We have to bring all our people home…When I think of the war, I cry and cry and I know you do, too. No wars. No hatred. No evil. Happy New Year to you!

Maggie, calling from an internet café in Vietnam: I came here to visit and help teach English. My class said to wish all of you peace.

Ali: Please tell your students to study hard, become engineers and be of service to people. And don’t be subservient to people like Obama.

Abduli: “Do young people in Vietnam have feelings about the war or are they too distant from it?”

Maggie: The country has recovered through the initiative and ambition of its people.

“The Vietnamese are very proud of how they’ve overcome many invaders…they’ve put the (American) war behind them and are focused on the future only.”

Abdulai: The people of Afghanistan are undergoing the same thing as the people of Vietnam and we want to gain our independence and self-determination.

Gail, from Sidney, Australia, sent New Year’s greetings and words of support.

Mohammed Jan: “Here in Afghanistan, we are becoming more familiar with Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Do the people of Australia support them?”

Gail: “The people of Australia do…We are so proud of him.

Hakim: Please stay in touch and help link us to other groups in Australia.

A student from Evergreen State College, in Olympia, did a Japanese peace chant and received a round of applause from Kabul.

Calling from Germany, Elsa named several of the antiwar activities happening in her country.

Zahra: People in Afghanistan are still, at this point, mostly unaware of the international support they have to stop this war.

Elsa, surprised at this, noted a number of activities, some within the Bundestag, most from citizen groups, including a recent demonstration of over 30,000, French and Germans.

David: The latest poll I’ve seen says that in the U.S., support for the war in Afghanistan is down to 35%. If we can have a situation where 1/3 of the population supports a war and 2/3 do not support it, you can see we don’t have any more control of our government than you do in Afghanistan.

Hakim mentioned David’s new book, “War Is A Lie.”

David: “It’s a book that takes apart the reasons governments all over the world give for going to war…It puts war in the same category as rape and slavery – we don’t talk of a good form of slavery or a ‘just’ rape. We talk of them always as a crime.”

Addressing the youth, David inquired, “What should we say to the people in government and the 1/3 of the population who support the war when they say it’s humanitarian, for the good of Afghans, or to protect women’s rights?”

Mohammed Jan quoted figures re: the claim to protect women’s rights, from “Afghanistan – The People’s December Review,” which used U.N. studies and other reports to show Afghanistan has the third-highest infant mortality rate in the world, the second-highest maternal mortality rate and that last year, 2300 women and girls who killed themselves.

Regarding humanitarian reasons, “After $9 billion in aid, 42% of our people still live in poverty. The International Red Cross said it’s the worst shape Afghanistan has been in for the last 30 years…A report named, “Nowhere to Turn,” compiled by 29 NGOs working in Afghanistan details the terrible problems caused particularly by night raids and the arming of militias.”

Regarding whether it’s a war to fend off a Taliban resurgence, he said that most Afghans were glad at first when coalition forces toppled the Taliban, but, after 9 years of war and occupation, it’s time for the U.S. and NATO to leave.

More and more people who call themselves “Taliban” are fighting the presence of foreigners in their country. “We have to tackle roots of terrorism: poverty, hate, lack of meaningful relations between people and nations,” Mohammed Jan explained.

Before the all-day event ended, some callers were moved to express themselves in more artistic ways. Some read poems or favorite quotes and one woman, a violinist from the Sarasota Orchestra, played the third movement of J.S. Bach’s Sonata No. 1.

Ferner is in Afghanistan with members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence.  He is national president of Veterans For Peace and author of “Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq.”

Editor’s Note: Toledo Free Press, United Way of Greater Toledo and 13abc’s “Bridges” with Doni Miller are profiling 12 education initiative programs in Northwest Ohio. This is the second story in the series.
Part 1: Program helps pregnant teens with prenatal care

Five years ago, teachers at East Side Central Elementary School adopted an innovative learning style in an attempt to improve students’ classroom experience. The results were promising, but widespread use of the approach has not yet been achieved in Toledo Public Schools (TPS).
The approach taken at East Side Central employs social and emotional learning (SEL), a process that stresses a multifaceted education of the complete student. Teachers help their pupils develop critical communication skills by facilitating an interactive classroom. Students are instructed how to engage each other positively and are given the opportunity to do so through various interpersonal exercises.
“You can call it a field in education, or you can call it a movement,” said educational consultant Jennifer Miller, who has 15 years of experience promoting SEL in schools.
“There’s been so much focus on academic press and high stakes tests that the socio-emotional lives of kids has been lost in the stress,” she said.
United Way of Greater Toledo Women’s Initiative first introduced SEL to TPS in spring 2005. The group hoped to reduce teenage pregnancy and boost graduation and attendance rates through more effective teaching techniques at the grade-school level.
“What they found more and more is that you have to start early to change either of those,” said Greg Braylock, Jr., an education specialist with United Way.
After learning of SEL, United Way contacted the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), which recommended Miller get involved.
The district  warmly received SEL, as did the faculty at East Side Central. In order to implement the changes, 80 percent of the school’s teachers had to vote in favor of it. They approved it unanimously and began implementation during the 2006-07 school year. The school uses Responsive Classroom, a SEL-based curriculum.
“We wanted to certainly serve a low-income population, but also a really critical piece was willingness to participate,” Miller said. “They immediately said, ‘This aligns with our philosophy, and we’re willing to take this on.’ ”
So far, the results have been positive. School-wide attendance rose from 91 percent to 95 percent in four years, and suspensions dropped by nearly 8 percent in only one year. The school’s Ohio Department of Education report card has improved from “academic watch” to “effective” since SEL was introduced.
Many schools try various techniques to raise their effectiveness, Miller said, but SEL was East Side Central’s only school-wide reform.
“It’s hard to attribute in schools because they do so many different things, but this one I think we can point to it and say it’s a reason for success,” she said.
Parents have become more involved, too. When SEL was first implemented parents of East Side Central students volunteered 15 hours a year, Braylock said.  That figure has since skyrocketed to 1,500 hours annually. East Side Central special education teacher Sue Rowe said the school has become friendlier, leading parents to become more willing to be involved.
“The whole climate of the building in general, it’s more kind,” Rowe said. “We’ve seen a significant increase in parent involvement.”
Despite the apparent benefit that SEL brings to classrooms, only one other TPS institution uses the approach school-wide. Sherman Elementary adopted SEL a year after East Side Central. Some other TPS instructors have completed the weeklong summer training session and stress this learning style, but no other schools have made broad changes to their curricula.
Implementing SEL requires the financial backing of the district. United Way and other organizations provide some funding for putting it to practice, but TPS must pick up the tab for some of the training its teachers undergo through the Responsive Classroom curriculum. In addition to the annual summer session, teachers receive a couple hours of supplemental instruction every month.
“The district has been very positive about Responsive Classroom and very interested. They’ve provided funds for the training to occur,” Rowe said.
But widespread implementation of SEL and the related curriculum has not occurred. Miller said the slow progress is a natural part of any change to academic practices. Rowe agrees.
“Things come and go. As teachers, we get pretty skeptical about [change],” Rowe said, adding that SEL is here to stay.
“The teachers realize that it’s not going away. The district has made an investment here.”
Miller has continued discussing the future of SEL with TPS officials. Before any other schools can adopt the learning style, another teachers’ vote must take place.
“We’re working with the district to determine what schools are next, what their priorities are,” she said. “It’s taken time. It’s been five years, but this year definitely we’ve had more conversations with the district at all levels.”
Two other large school districts in the state have taken steps to adopt SEL in their classrooms. Cleveland Public Schools has announced it plans to implement the approach district-wide, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17) secured a grant to explore SEL possibilities with Youngstown schools.
Braylock hopes similar results will come to Northwest Ohio in the near future.
“Individual teachers are definitely seeing the benefits of participation and are spreading the word,” he said. “At every level of leadership, we have support. We have partnership and buy-in that will make this type of initiative even stronger.”

HP2g.com of Napoleon announced it will close its manufacturing facility in Wauseon due to a lack of funding, according to its founder and president Douglas Pelmear.

HP2g developed the design for the V-8, 400-HP electric hybrid engine that could reach 100 miles per gallon operating on E-85 ethanol fuel with emissions better than EPA’s 2016 requirements, according to the inventor.

As the project progressed, Pelmear said they had applied for loans from local banks. The State of Ohio was willing to help fund the HP2g project with a bank willing to finance it, but the bank did not meet the required deadline, according to Pelmear.

He reported that the company already had an international patent pending for HP2g, developed a prototype and tested the electronic control, had purchase orders for the electronics called Flex Fuel Chip and plans for manufacturing in place for the electronic control with a US company.

“The HP2g engine is more than just an idea, it’s a reality. It’s a solution for independence from oil and it would create jobs but without funding, it is just another idea shelved,” Pelmear said in a statement to the media.

“It is to my disappointment, the U.S. banking system is willfully doing little than spending our money and they are not investing in small businesses. The banks forgot that their money comes from the depositors. Our government would not have to finance banks and businesses if the banks were doing their job! Need I say; the banking system has failed us all?” Pelmear stated.

I mentioned last week that my family has welcomed a new baby girl named Harper June Therese Pounds. She came into this world at 2:18 a.m. Jan. 12. I rarely use this space to talk about my personal life but this is truly a special occasion.
I am 52 years old and thought my child-raising days were done. I have a 22-year-old named Katy and a 21-year-old, Austin. They are great young adults, although they will also always be my kids. We are blessed; Katy and Austin are both are in college and doing well. They are thrilled with the new addition. Katy even told Austin when they heard the news that “Now you are the dreaded middle child!”

Harper’s mother, Liljana May Brescol, is a wonderful person who has a very positive attitude toward life. She has a young boy named Nolan who has been part of my life for some time now. I love him as if he is my own. When we learned of the pregnancy, Nolan was very happy to know he was going to have a baby sister. It was quite the learning experience for all of us as we tried to explain to Nolan how Harper was growing in mommy’s belly.
The entire nine months went by in a blink (for me that is — Liljana would beg to differ!) but as the day came closer I started reflecting on the experience. I asked myself, “Is this the right time in my life to do this? What kind of world am I bringing her into?”
But I knew, yes, this is the right time; the world has always had issues that make parents wonder. The key will be the love and support we give our children; that is what will count.
Harper arrived at St. Luke’s in the Family Birthing Center. The people there were just terrific. Two nurses, Kris and Mary, genuinely love their jobs. The experience we had was wonderful and smooth as we were in one room for the entire stay. My daughter and Liljana’s sister, mother and aunt all were there. The experience was one that we will remember always and we can’t thank the folks at St. Luke’s enough.
I first became a father more than two decades ago. With my first two kids, I was traveling all over the country with new jobs in new cities. The big difference now is that I am rooted here in Toledo. My hope is that as we join to raise Harper, I will be more focused on the important things — the things here at home.

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

Many landmarks from my teen years are gone or unrecognizable — Southwyck Mall is a parking lot, Westgate long ago lost Thackeray’s and Boogie Records, and the clock is ticking on Libbey High School.
The Showcase Cinemas complex on Secor Road, which closed in 2005, is being dismantled. Theater 1 is already rubble and Theaters 2 and 3 are gutted and waiting for the wrecking ball.
The theater was killed by the megaplex addition to Westfield Franklin Park Shopping Mall. But seeing it torn down has stirred up some personal ghosts and memories.
In June 1977, I sat in the dark at the Showcase on Secor to see “Star Wars.” No entertainment experience since has seared as immediately and resonated as permanently.
It’s easy to look back at the beaten and bewildered child I was and understand why “Star Wars” had such an impact. It was transportation away from a reality of thrown dinner plates and being pushed against walls and being smacked for imaginary transgressions. “Star Wars,” though I could not have expressed it then, gave my mind a place to go when reality became too much to process. Every creative impulse in my brain was born anew that day; my love for music, film, writing, all things born in the imagination.
In 1982, my brother Mark and I took our mother Rachel to the Showcase Secor to see Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.” We did not know it then, but it was the last time the three of us would ever enjoy such an evening. My mother’s deteriorating health — and our crumbling relationship — would prevent any subsequent nights out. But that night, for a few hours, we had fun. As I have learned with the rapidly turning calendar pages, simple “fun” with friends and family is not to be taken for granted or looked down upon.
I could not count the number of movies I saw at Showcase Secor, or name all the friends with whom I shared those wide-awake dreams. Gary Moritz and I saw “Raiders of the Lost Ark” there. Tony Tyson and I saw “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Aliens” there. A fair amount of first dates took place there; maybe even a few second and third dates. It was in the parking lot of Showcase Secor, walking in a cool drizzle to see the 1997 “Star Wars Special Edition,” that I impulsively stopped Shannon Scott, brought her face to mine and first kissed her smiling and tantalizing lips; she is now my wife, and I strive to keep that first-kiss magic alive as we near our 10th wedding anniversary.
And so it was, stuck in traffic on Secor Road, waiting to get to the I-475 entrance ramp, that I saw the steel beams and busted bricks and … several of the original neon letters that used to line the roof, resting against the building. The letters once spelled “S-H-O-W-C-A-S-E C-I-N-E-M-A-S 1-2-3,” but when I saw them, all that was left was “A-E C-S 3.”
With a swell of certainty, but in retrospect not much clarity, I knew how I wanted to preserve my memories of Showcase Secor.
Billy Paxton
Paxton Demolition is the company responsible for tearing down the theater. The firm was founded in 2000 and is the family’s third-generation entry in the demolition field. Vice President Billy Paxton has more than 30 years of experience as a heavy equipment operator. His late grandfather OJ started the tradition more than 80 years ago and his father, Bill Paxton, owner of B&P Wrecking, has worked on demolition jobs in Toledo for 50 years. Owner Jamie Paxton and daughters Kodie and Sumerr round out the family business.
My friend Robert Russ scouted the demolition site and facilitated a meeting with Billy. Standing in the demolition site trailer, looking at the weather-and-work-toughened man, I hesitated to explain why I was hoping to own one of the neon letters. Billy looked like a man who unquestionably understood heavy equipment, but might not have patience for daydreams about first kisses.
Billy may be responsible for knocking things down, but I discovered he has great empathy for the memories his work sites still have for people. He told me that many people had stopped by to obtain theater seats, letters, even pieces of carpeting and screen. Some were movie buffs, some collectors, some just people like me, with an emotional connection. With hard hat and proper lighting gear, I was allowed to walk with one of Billy’s workers through the site. The lobby, full of rubble and piles of seats, looks like a scene in a zombie apocalypse film. It meant a great deal to me to sit one of the still-attached seats one last time, pretending I could smell popcorn and hear the pre-movie chatter. It was a brief moment, but I will always carry it with me.
I made a deal with Billy and eventually backed up our Dodge Caravan to the demolition site. It wasn’t until I was standing next to the letter E — the only neon letter left — that realized how little I had thought through the impulse. The E was solid, dense steel, covered in flaking blue paint, with a vast maze of neon tubes running through its guts. It weighed at least 150 pounds and measured more than 5 feet from end to end and more than 3 feet tall. I had to remove the kids’ car seats and drop the stow-n-go seats into the van floor, then enlist two site workers to help me load it into the van.
It sits in a Toledo garage, waiting for attention.
It is garish and nostalgic and larger than life, which reminds me of the movies. It inspires an overwhelming sense that I am going to need a lot of help moving forward, which reminds me of life.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Art Hours at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion offer Toledoans an escape from the winter blues.
“It’s a great indoor activity,” said Jeff Mack, manager of the museum’s glass studio.
Each Art Hour session offers individuals the chance to make their own glass artwork. There are different Art Hour sessions for flame work, flat glass and glass blowing.
The sessions are all designed for individuals who’ve never made glass, Mack said. A facilitator will guide individuals through the entire process, he said.
“They’ll lead a safety talk where you can touch tools. Then they’ll discuss the glass and what it’s made out of so they have an understanding of the material,” he said. “They get you right into the process. Walk through one and then the facilitator helps each person out through the process.”
Depending on the project, Art Hour sessions can range in size from six to eight people.

The Art Hours projects are often themed with the time of year. Projects vary from flowers, which are often made by glass apprentices just starting out, to pumpkins at Halloween and icicles in the winter, Mack said.
During the next few weeks individuals will have the chance to make glass hearts during Art Hours.
“The glass hearts make great gifts for your sweetheart. You can say, ‘Look I made this for you’” Mack said. “It’s not as refined, but you can say it’s something that you made.”
Art Hours give those who may be interested in glass blowing the opportunity to try it.
“People who have seen glass blowing are curious to see what it feels like. [Art Hours] are a great way to know if it’s something interesting in pursuing,” Mack said. “Glass tends to get expensive, so those who are looking into it as a hobby, this is a good way for them to dip a toe in the water.”
Individuals who are interested in Art Hour sessions with their family or group of friends can contact the visitors’ service desk and reserve a session during the week, Mack said.
“It’s a great thing you can do with your friends,” he said. “You all can watch each other work, compare your art and tease each other.”
The Glass Pavilion also hosts wine tasting sessions and free glass blowing demonstrations on the weekend.
“You can have a glass of wine at the wine tasting, make a piece of art, have some food and watch a local glass artist working in the hot shop. It’s something neat to do on a Friday night or Saturday and Sunday afternoon,” he said.
All Art Hour classes are hosted in the glass studio inside TMA’s Glass Pavilion. Art Hours are $15 for museum members and $25 for nonmembers. Individuals can sign up for each weekend’s Art Hour starting the Tuesday before by calling (419) 254-5771 Ext.7448. For a full list of events and Art Hours, visit www.toledomuseum.org/calendar.

Many of today’s up-and-coming basketball players display a swagger and arrogance with their talent and athletic prowess. Players can be seen pounding their chests, flexing, roaring after big dunks and frequently jawing at the opposition.
Ohio State University junior guard and Toledo native William Buford bucks that trend. On Jan. 15, the No. 2 Buckeyes were at home in a nail-biter, striving to stay unbeaten against fearless Penn State. With under three minutes to play and Ohio State trailing 61-60, a defensive lapse by the Nittany Lions left Buford wide open at the top of the three-point line. The 6-foot, 5-inch African Studies major from Toledo Libbey High School calmly caught the pass, fluidly knocked down the trey to give the lead back to his team and quietly jogged backwards to the other end of the floor as 18,809 fans in Value City Arena went nuts. No chest-pounding. No flexing. No self-absorbed celebrating. Just a trigger of a shot and a cold, focused stare.
Buford’s talent and demeanor are big reasons why OSU held on for that 69-66 win against Penn State and are the No. 1 team in the country at 19-0.
“My family and my parents keep me grounded,” Buford said in a phone interview with Toledo Free Press. “I owe them all the respect for that. They’ve always been on me [saying], ‘Don’t ever get too bigheaded,’ same as my coaches and my teammates. They all kept me humble.”
While the soft-spoken Buford is doesn’t say much, his multifaceted game on the basketball court has spoken volumes since his high school days with the Cowboys. Buford was a four-year starter at Libbey, where he earned three consecutive Toledo City League Player of the Year honors and was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball, the Division II Co-Player of the Year as a senior in 2008, and McDonald’s, Parade and Jordan Brand All-American honors. One of the highest-ranked players in the 2008 class for his smooth shooting stroke and upside, Buford committed to Ohio State in October of his junior year, deciding to join the ranks of Toledo greats Kelvin Ransey, Dennis Hopson and Jim Jackson, who all elected to play for the Buckeyes.

William Buford (AP)

“I knew it was a great basketball program,” Buford said. “It was close to home. I figured it was best for me and my family, and I loved the organization. I’ve been watching Ohio State since I was a little kid. It was just an honor for them to even want to recruit me, so that’s why I came.”
Buford wasted no time in showing everyone why he was one of the top-ranked players in his high school class, tying for a game-high 13 points on 50 percent shooting from the field in his first game at Ohio State. He went on to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2009 after averaging 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists for the 22-11 Buckeyes. In his sophomore season, Buford’s averages increased to 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, which earned him third-team All-Big Ten honors as Ohio State finished with a 29-8 record and made it to the Sweet 16, where it fell 76-73 to Tennessee.
“The four starters that were there had a sour taste in their mouth after that last game,” Buford said of the Sweet 16 loss. “You’ve just got to value every possession. That’s the main thing. Value every possession and play hard as long as you’re out there.”
Buford and his teammates took that loss to heart and have been playing with a chip on their collective shoulder this season, evident from the start as the Buckeyes took down then-No. 10-ranked Florida 93-75 on the road in their second game of the 2010-11 campaign. He is one of four Ohio State starters averaging double figures in scoring, the others being sensational freshman forward Jared Sullinger (17.4 ppg), senior guard/forward David Lighty (13 ppg) and senior guard Jon Diebler (11.5 ppg).
“You just can’t stop or guard one person on this team,” Buford said. “It’s going to be hard to stop one person, but teams are going to give us their best shot every game. We know that, so we’ve just got to come out and play hard.”
Buford has done just that this year, as the Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game to go with his 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. He has also bulked up from 182 to 205 pounds since his freshman season, allowing him to become a more well-rounded player this year as he is shooting a career-best 45.8 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range.
“It was a good transition,” Buford said. “I’ve been picking up weight. Our strength and conditioning coach has been working with us real hard. In high school, everybody was like the same strength and you can bump people off, but when I got stronger I was able to take contact more.”
Another big reason for Buford’s personal success and the team’s success is Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, whom Buford credits for being able to get the best out of his players and compete at a high level.
“He’s just such a great guy,” Buford said. “I love his style of play. It’s just everything about him. He gets the best out of you every day in practice.”
Buford’s play has not gone unnoticed by his Toledo basketball brethren in the aforementioned Ransey, Hopson and Jackson, whom he says have told him to stay hungry, focused, not lose sight of what he’s doing and continue to get better each day. Buford recently met Ransey, a Macomber graduate who began this season as the Buckeyes’ fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,934 career points, for the first time at a captain’s dinner.
“It was nice,” Buford said. “I used to hear about [Ransey] a lot back in my hometown. When I met him, it was real exciting. He’s one of the greatest players and top scorers to ever come out of Ohio State.”
Those former Toledo and Ohio State stars are just the few of many in the basketball world who have been keeping an eye on No. 44. An old adage is to watch out for the quiet ones. That’s fitting, because the message of Buford’s game says just that: Watch out.

Regular readers will recall that we have repeatedly expressed our long-term bullishness on the U.S. economy, particularly the industrial/manufacturing sectors. Our arguments were laid out most recently in “The Next Motor City,” published in December 2010.
In that piece and elsewhere, we have detailed growing demand among emerging Asian nations (e.g. Indian and China) for many of the goods for which more developed countries have relied on them for production.
These countries, once valued for their cheap labor, have started to become developed nations, thanks in large part to outsourcing from the west. Now many of their people are beginning to want the luxuries they have producing for people in wealthier countries, which already take many of these goods for granted.
In “The Next Motor City” and elsewhere, we argued that the wave of outsourcing that has been so characteristic of developed industrial nations during recent decades is finally drawing to a close. The availability of available cheap labor has declined significantly, and has been the source of poor publicity for more than one Fortune 500 company.
Moreover, many firms are beginning to realize that production in countries like India, China and Mexico have costs aside from shipping. Quality control has become a serious issue, as has theft of intellectual property.
Just as importantly, with real unemployment in the United States at more than 15 percent, the cost of labor in this country has declined. Finally, companies are taking notice.
The Wall Street Journal recently published a telling article titled “U.S. Factories Buck Decline.” It seems that 2010 was the first year in more than a decade (since 1997) that American manufacturing added more jobs than it lost, netting 136,000 new jobs.
Some might dismiss this tidbit as a flash in the pan, but every indication is that it is the start of a trend that might just last. According to the Journal article, Ford plans to hire roughly 7,000 new employees during the next two years. Following suit, Caterpillar is currently building a $120 million plant in Texas.
It seems that the market is finally learning what we argued last month in “The Heresy of Higher Education,” which was largely echoed in video from Glenn Reynolds on PJTV titled College Isn’t for Everyone. Yahoo! Finance recently reiterated some of this thinking in a new article and video short, “Brain Drain: Most College Students Learn Next to Nothing, New Study Says.”
The truth is that the concept of a “post-industrial” economy, which had never been seen before the U.S., doesn’t exist. In order to maintain its status as an economic superpower, the United States (or any other developed nation for that matter) needs a strong industrial sector. Sure, there’s money to be made in technology, finance and other sectors, but those are built on the foundation of strong manufacturing.

Dock David Treece is a discretionary money manager with Treece Investment Advisory Corp. (www.TreeceInvestments.com) and a stockbroker licensed with FINRA. He works for Treece Financial Services Corp and also serves as editor of the financial news site GreenFaucet.com. The above information is the express opinion of Dock David Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.