Eric Slough could talk for hours about the power of a single wish.
Slough, the executive director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, Northwest Ohio Regional Office, said he feels honored to be a part of granting wishes for children with life-threatening conditions — but sometimes the wishes grow beyond even what his organization plans.
One of Slough’s favorite stories is about an area teenager who was able to visit Ohio Stadium last fall to see his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes play. The wish had been postponed because of health issues and, as his condition deteriorated, had become a rush wish, organized during the course of a few days to make sure he made it to a game.
“After the wish, someone said, ‘Did you see what the OSU marching band did?’” Slough said. “We said, ‘What are you talking about? We didn’t schedule anything with the band.’”
Slough was directed to YouTube, where he watched a video of the band in full dress uniform, spelling the teen’s name on the field at Ohio Stadium.
“My jaw was hanging open,” Slough said. “I would like to claim that we did that. We didn’t. If you know anything about OSU football and the band, it’s a big deal. They’re celebrity status. It was somehow coordinated in the five-day span to be able to spell out this kid’s name. Talk about sharing the power of a wish. You’ve got 250 college kids who never met him, but understood what it meant to this family. It just shows how a wish can touch people.”

Clockwise from upper left: Make-A-Wish executive director Eric Slough, SAnta Claus, WTOL anchor Chrys Peterson, CD cover artists Alyson and Jillie and Make-A-Wish development officer Ellie McManus, photographed Nov. 13.

Although the teen died not long after, his family remains grateful for the gesture. The video of the marching band was played at his funeral, Slough said.
“I have story upon story upon story like that that could fill pages,” Slough said. “I’m very fortunate. I get the opportunity about five times a day to get the hair on the back of my neck to stand up as I see the wishes and the families and how they are affected. Putting a smile on a kid’s face is what drives me and gets me out of bed every day.”
‘Holiday Wishes’
Being able to grant more wishes is the reason Slough is excited about “Holiday Wishes,” a benefit CD project organized by Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller and sponsored by General Motors Co. and Panera Bread.
All proceeds from the CD, which features local and national artists with Toledo connections, will benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation, Northwest Ohio Region, to help grant wishes for local children. Contributors to the 25-track CD include Jamie Farr, Mannheim Steamroller, Pat Dailey, Kerry Patrick Clark, Crystal Bowersox, ReediusMaximus, Alyson Stoner and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
“If we sell every CD we printed, we’re going to grant at least three to four wishes out of this project, which is huge,” Slough said.
CDs will be sold for $9.99 at area Panera Bread locations starting Nov. 25. Digital downloads will be available at CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes.
The official CD release party and concert is set for Dec. 1 at The Blarney Bullpen, 601 Monroe St. Tickets are $5 for adults, children 12 and younger are free.
Everything from the recording to the mixing to the artwork was done locally, Slough said.
“From concept to completion, it’s just been a fun project,” Slough said. “Our thank-you note list is about as thick as Santa’s list.”
Slough said the dedication to the project has been incredible.
“This is a Toledo-born-and-bred project to help Northwest Ohio,” Slough said. “You’ll hear a lot of familiar voices, people you see every day, who stepped up to help us. The quality of music is spectacular. It shows the talent we have here in Northwest Ohio. It’s cool to see how charity can bring so many people together for a really cool cause.”
Granting wishes
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes for children ages 2 ½ to 18 who have a medically life-threatening condition that is progressive, degenerative or malignant.
“The biggest misconception is that all our kids are terminal,” Slough said. “All our kids are very sick and we do lose kids on an annual basis, but some do go on, their health improves and they do great things. I was at an event once and this 20-something college kid pulls his collar down and showed me the scar where his chemo port had been and said, ‘I had a wish when I was 7 years old and I can’t tell you what it means to me.’”
Many children are referred to Make-A-Wish by doctors or social workers while others come through family inquiries. Doctors decide whether a child’s condition qualifies for a wish and whether the child is healthy enough to experience their wish.
“The only limitations are the child’s health and imagination,” Slough said. “We’ll try to make it happen.”
When a wish is granted, the whole family is involved, Slough said.
“If you’re going to the hospital three or four days a week, you’re usually taking your kids along with you so it often affects the lives of brothers and sisters just as much as the child that is ill,” Slough said. “We know how much stress it puts on the immediate family, so everyone is involved.”
The Northwest Ohio Region covers 21 counties. Recent wishes granted include trips to Disney World, a trip to London to walk in the footsteps of The Beatles, meeting celebrities like Peyton Manning and Paula Deen, building a playhouse, getting a puppy and going on a shopping spree.
“From the time we pick you up to the time we drop you off, you don’t want for anything,” Slough said. “We take care of all travel arrangements, food, expenses, luggage. It’s your time to focus on your child, a chance to regroup as a family, to set aside doctors, prods, pokes, strangers coming into your room in the middle of the night. We give the gift of time. Just time to be a kid, time to be a family again.”
Slough said Make-A-Wish fits a niche as an organization that helps today’s kids today.
“There’s a lot of research organizations, but maybe that research isn’t going to touch that kid that’s in the hospital today. It helps tomorrow’s kids, but we step in and are able to put a smile on a kid’s face today,” Slough said. “At the end of the day, are we curing cancer? No, but we’ve done studies asking health care professionals and families, ‘What does a wish mean to kids and families?’ and a lot of times it’s ranked right up there with medicine. Just having that wish on the horizon really helps get them to that next step, helps them fight a little bit harder. One more poke in the arm today, but you know what? That wish is out there. It’s almost like medicine.”
The Northwest Ohio chapter grants about 80 wishes a year, Slough said.
“For us, there’s never an off-season. Our primary functions are to grant wishes and do the fundraising attached to those wishes,” Slough said. “Eighty wishes a year is a lot. We can take more referrals, but it comes down to funding.”
The average cost of a wish is $6,000, Slough said. Wishes are paid for by donations and donations in kind, including gifted airline miles.
“Airline miles are golden for us,” Slough said. “That’s a humungous expense for us.”
For more information, visit www.makeawishohio.org.

The Rockets finished up the UTPA Tip-Off Tournament in Edinburg, Texas on Nov. 22 with a 90-47 win over Victory (TN) University.
With the win, Toledo ran its record to 3-1 on the year, its best start since 2005. Victory falls to 6-2 on the season.
Sophomore guard Rian Pearson led the Rockets with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Through the first four games, Pearson leads the team in scoring (18) and rebounds (8.25).
The Rockets had five players in double figures including sophomore Reese Holliday (16), junior Dominique Buckley (14), freshman Julius Brown (14) and sophomore DeLino Dear (11). The team shot made nearly 63 percent from the field (32 of 62) including 21-of-27 free throws.
“Having a lot of guys score for us is going to be the story of our season,” UT Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “We are a team that’s very versatile and having a number of guys in double figures is going to happen a lot for us.”
Toledo played without sophomore forward Matt Smith, who was held out of the game after a collision with a teammate during warm-ups. Smith is averaging 12 points and four rebounds on the season
The Rockets jumped out to a 14-3 lead and cruised to a 48-21 lead by halftime on their way to a 43-point victory.
UT held Victory to just 22 percent shooting (15 of 59), its second consecutive performance holding its opponent under 31 percent.
The Rockets return to Savage Arena for its home opener against UIC (1-2) at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26. The matchup will include the return of former team member Hayden Humes, who transferred to UIC before the season. After receiving permission from the NCAA to play in the 2011-12 season, Humes has played in three games, averaging 2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.

Ari Fisher

The UT women’s cross country team finished in 21st place at the 2011 NCAA Championships hosted by Indiana State on Nov. 21.

The Rockets finished with a combined time of 1:46.13 led by senior Emma Kertesz with a 20:48 finish to take 49^th place. Junior Kaylin Belair finished three seconds ahead of senior Ari Fisher with a time of 21 minutes flat. Sophomore Megan Vogelsong finished in 21:22, and junior Kristal Studer rounded out the team score with a finish of 22 minutes flat. Freshman Priscilla Timmons and sophomore Jessica Phillips also competed for UT, finishing in 22:37 and 23:14, respectively.

Villanova’s Sheila Reid finished in 19:41.2 for her second straight individual title. Villanova finished in third and Georgetown took first place.

Earlier this week, the U. S. Forest Service suspended the sale of rights to use hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” for natural gas development in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. The suspension applies to more than 3,000 acres of forestland, and was issued on the basis that environmental concerns over the process need further study.
The lands in question are part of the Marcellus Formation, which encompasses a roughly triangular area extending, in very general terms, from the western tip of Virginia north into Lake Erie off Cleveland, east to Albany, New York, then southwest along the Appalachians. The formation contains the largest known deposit of natural gas in the United States, and the recoverable gas is estimated to be at least a twenty-year supply for the nation. The economic benefits of recovering this gas include creation of up to 200,000 jobs, lease payments to landowners, increased tax revenues and land values, and lower energy prices for domestic versus imported gas.
According to www.fracfocus.org <http://www.fracfocus.org/> , fracking is a four-stage process in which liquids and fine solids are pumped into an oil or gas well to increase or prolong its productivity by creating or restoring small fractures in the surrounding rock formation. The liquids consist of 98 to 99.5% water and fine sands, with along with small amounts of diluted muriatic or hydrochloric acid, disinfectant, biocide, scale inhibitor, citric acid, friction and corrosion inhibitors, and gelling and cross-linking agents used in varying combinations with all appropriate safeguards. The website cited above describes all this in detail.
Opponents to the process primarily fear contamination of groundwater, as well as seismic aftereffects from the disturbance of the formations. At least one anti-fracking website, www.nofracking.com <http://www.nofracking.com/> , includes in its definition of the process every form of raping and pillaging “formerly undisturbed natural environments” imaginable, along with the prerequisite rant against the evils of corporate profits. Given its errors, such as missing the fact that fracking sites usually have long been disturbed by roads, structures, pipelines and wells, I submit that this site’s claims are themselves quite disturbed.
Fracking has been suspended elsewhere in some instances, but only by specific companies or in specific locations due to accidents. The Forest Service action is apparently the first suspension over a such a broad area, and this writer sees two primary motives behind it.
First, consider the Obama administration’s hostility to fossil fuels. After the Gulf spill, the Obamacracy bragged of keeping its boot on the throat of BP, and defied the courts by imposing a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. It has sought punitive taxes on oil companies, and imposed draconian restrictions on coal-fired power plants. This month, the President delayed construction of a new oil pipeline from Canada into the U. S., despite its numerous economic benefits, which Canada now seeks to reap by marketing the oil to China. Attempting to shut down fracking fits the template perfectly.
Second, the targeting of Ohio, rather than Pennsylvania, West Virginia or New York, is no surprise at all. The announcement came on the one-week anniversary of Ohio voters rejecting by a nearly two-thirds majority the provisions in Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that stripped Americans of the right to choose whether or not to purchase health care or coverage.
President Obama has three proven priorities: Exaltation of his ego; doing the bidding of his backers; and, punishment of those who spurn him. This may be tinfoil hardhat thinking, but is His Vainglory exacting revenge on Ohio for voting against Obamacare by halting an energy program that stands to bring considerable economic benefit to the state?
While this is admittedly conjecture, he would not be out of character in the least to burn away a few thousand Ohio jobs with his laser-like focus. Perhaps, after he’s decided that Ohioans have been punished enough for their insolence, he will hand out another half-trillion or so taxpayer dollars to the first Ohio-based “green energy” venture to seek his pardon on our behalf by stuffing money into his campaign chest.
“Green energy,” indeed! The Obama energy policy continues to destroy American jobs, inflate our energy prices, make us more dependent on oil imported from hostile producers, and multiply corruption in the halls of power.
It’s well worth remembering next fall that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) marked Ohio’s rejection of Obamacare’s attack on liberty by sending her constituents a “Dear Neighbor” e-mail in which she once again sang Obamacare’s praises. But that’s a story for another day.
Thomas Berry, for the Children of Liberty, http://www.meetup.com/The-children-of-liberty/<http://www.meetup.com/The-children-of-liberty/> .

UT head coach Tod Kowalczyk

With its last road victory coming in March 2008 at Central Michigan, Toledo won its first road game of the season in the UTPA Tip-Off Tournament in Edinburg, Texas against tournament host Texas Pan American 64-54 on Nov. 20. The loss halts the nation’s longest losing streak at 47 games.

The Rockets had a 1-62 record on the road since 2007 and lost all 16 games last year in UT Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk’s first season.

Toledo (2-1) was outrebounded 46 to 32 but capitalized on 18 Broncs turnovers to pick up the victory over Texas Pan American (1-4).

Junior point guard Dominique Buckley had a team-high 11 points (2 of 5) while Wisconsin-Green Bay transfers Rian Pearson and Matt Smith each had 10. Freshman point guard Julius Brown chipped in with nine points, despite making just 1-of-9 shots, and a game-high seven assists.

The Rockets finish up the tournament against Victory (TN) University (6-1) on Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.

Julius Brown

The UT men’s basketball team earned its first win of the season over USC-Upstate on Nov. 19 and did it without head coach Tod Kowalczyk.
The second-year head coach, suffering from a stomach flu, remained at the hotel as his team earned a 75-70 win at the UTPA Tip-Off Tournament in Edinburg, Texas.
“We’re very excited,” said associate head coach Angres Thorpe, who served as the acting head coach in Kowalczyk‘s absence. “We did exactly what we need to do to win basketball games. We came out and defended in the second half and played with a lot of energy.”
Toledo (1-1) trailed by nine points with just under 10 minutes remaining before a 15-4 run capped off by a three from freshman guard Ryan Majerle gave the Rockets a 65-63 lead. Junior guard Dominique Buckley’s triple with 53 seconds put UT up four as they cruised to a 75-70 win.
The Rockets had four players score in double-figures led by freshman point guard Julius Brown, who scored 17 points (5 of 11) and dished out seven assists.
Sophomore forward Rian Pearson had 16 points (7 of 13) and a game-high 12 rebounds while junior Dominique Buckley and sophomore Matt Smith had 14 and 11 points, respectively, as UT rebounded from a three-point, tournament-opening loss to Texas State the previous day.
“We were too pumped out last night and tonight I sensed we were a lot calmer,” Buckley said. “I think that helped us limit our turnovers and play under control more.”
The Rockets will look to snap the nation’s longest losing streak in road games at 48 games when they take on tournament-host Texas-Pan American on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. The Rockets are 1-63 in road games since 2008.

Adonis Thomas

Senior running back Adonis Thomas gave the Rockets an early lead and Toledo cruised in a 44-17 victory over Central Michigan on Nov. 18.

With the win, the Rockets (7-4, 6-1 Mid-American Conference) need a win against Ball State (6-5, 4-3 MAC) on Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. along with a loss from Northern Illinois (8-3, 6-1) to earn a spot in the Mid-American Conference Championship game.

Thomas rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries and scored both of his touchdowns in the first quarter. He also caught five passes for 40 yards against the Chippewas (3-9, 2-6).

With UT junior quarterback Austin Dantin missing the game due to a concussion suffered last week against Western Michigan, sophomore Terrance Owens completed 24-of-33 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He added a score on the ground along with 63 yards.

Junior receiver Eric Page led all receivers, grabbing 11 catches for 97 yards. Sophomores Bernard Reedy and James Green caught 51- and 39-yard touchdowns, respectively.

The Rockets defense, which gave up 126 points and 1,167 yards in the past two games, allowed 17 points on 345 yards against CMU.

Rian Pearson

Despite having five players score in double figures, Toledo fell 94-91 to Texas State in its first game of the Texas-Pan American Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 18. The Rockets have now lost 48-straight games away from Savage Arena dating back to the 2008-09 season.

UT (0-1) was led by sophomore guard Rian Pearson, who had a team-high 25 points against the Bobcats (3-0). Freshman guard Julius “Juice” Brown finished with 17 points. Sophomore forward Matt Smith had 15 points, while freshman guard Ryan Majerle and sophomore guard Reese Holliday chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Holliday also led the Rockets with 11 rebounds and now has six career double-doubles.

Toledo went 26-of-27 from the free-throw line (96.3 percent) for the second-highest free throw percentage in school history. UT will face USC-Upstate tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in its second game of the tournament.

With the cold of winter quickly approaching, Columbia Gas of Ohio’s Home Performance Solutions program is looking to help prevent Toledoans from wasting energy.
One year ago, Toledo Free Press profiled Tim Yenrick, the executive director of the American Red Cross Greater Toledo Chapter, as he invited Columbia Gas into his home to perform the program’s energy audit. After making all of the recommended changes, Yenrick said he has saved $296.02 during the first 10 months of this year compared to last year.
“I have an older house with some drafty areas,” Yenrick said. “I found out I had more drafty areas than I thought I had. I’m glad we did it. They come in and they thoroughly test the house. After I had all the stuff done, they came back and retested it to see if it actually made a difference and it did quite a bit.”

Tim Yenrick

During the first 10 months of 2010, Yenrick’s household consumed 1,042 Ccf (hundred cubic feet) of natural gas, totaling $1,224.34. In the first 10 months of 2011 with the changes made, Yenrick’s home has used 731 Ccf, equating to a bill of $928.32.
“The Home Performance Solutions program is designed to help people where they are losing energy in their home,” Columbia Gas of Ohio Communications and Community Relations Manager Chris Kozak said. “The first step to lowering someone’s bill is finding out where they are losing that energy. It is a basement-to-ceiling inspection. They take that information and present the customer with the idea of what needs to be done, the approximate cost and the approximate savings.”
The $50 energy audit determined that Yenrick needed insulation in four areas of the attic, one exterior wall and one minimal pipe insulation job in the basement. It also determined that his gas furnace was efficient and did not need to be replaced.
Yenrick said he made every recommended change, which was estimated at $2,786.73. Columbia Gas, however, also provides rebates of up to 70 percent if its customers make more than one of the improvements. In some areas, rebates are as high as 90 percent.
“It’s always nice in this day and age with the economy for a nonprofit director to [save money],” Yenrick said.
Yenrick also discovered an unexpected bonus to the inspection when the workers found a leak on a gas pipe entering his basement. His gas was turned off and workers were brought out to fix it.
“This is not only an efficiency inspection but a safety inspection as well,” Kozak said. “It was good we caught it when we did. At the end of the day, his house was safer as well as more energy efficient.”
The energy audit process takes between three and four hours. For more information on the Home Performance Solutions program, visit www.ColumbiaGasOfOhio.com/HPS.

Every November I can’t help but to take a few moments to stop and think about Milton Friedman. The “Economist for Liberty” died this month in 2006 at the age of 94. He was one of the few recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences who, in my opinion, actually deserved it.
In reading some of his essays, I realized that many of them could have been written in the last few years or months. In 1962 he wrote his seminal work, “Capitalism and Freedom,” a work still valid and worth reading today. To quote: “The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than any inherent instability of the private economy.”

This was not a mere political slogan or an off-the-cuff remark, this was a conclusion reached after countless years of painstakingly assembling data on monetary policy, banking and the economy.
Friedman believed that there is no way to improve the lot of ordinary people that is better than the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system. To raise the level of wealth in this county we need to be free, not have a paternal government that redistributes the wealth.
Redistribution of wealth is what a dictator does. The role of government needs to be more of an umpire, not a provider. The umpire enforces the rules, mediates conflicts and maintains a free field of play; the umpire does not determine the outcomes or advantage one team over another.
Friedman observed, “Men’s freedoms can conflict, and when they do, one man’s freedom must be limited to preserve another’s.” As a chief justice of the United States once put it, “My freedom to move my fist must be limited by the proximity of your chin.”
If we as a society put equality before freedom, we will get neither. However, if we put freedom before equality, we will get a high degree of both. One of the most important facts about the free market is that no exchange takes place unless both of the parties benefit.
Government is the problem, not the solution. If I am a private company owner and I fail, I close the business — unless I can get a government subsidy or am determined too big to fail. If a government program fails, it is expanded. Even if the initial reason for the program no longer exists, it will find another reason to continue existing.
The government is simply spending too much! Other prize-winning economists, who shall remained unnamed, believe that the government is spending too little and that borrowing will stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment.
The government is not only spending too much, it is spending on the wrong things.
One of my favorite sayings is, “There is no limit to the good do-gooders will do with other people’s money.” This is especially true if the do-gooder’s spend someone else’s money on someone else. They are not concerned about how much money it is and they are not concerned about what they get for it.
That’s government.
In 1975, Friedman said in an interview, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”
As the budget super-committee pretends to be serious and claims it can fix our problems, remember that it will succeed at its agenda but will not succeed at what is best for the country. Its agenda is to keep you more and more dependent on the government and to keep buying your votes so it can keep its power.
We need to vote with our creativity, our productivity, our self-reliance and our money. I will not invest in the things that government invests in because there is no way to make money if government is involved.
This is not to say you cannot get money from being involved with the government — just ask the executive of Solyndra — but no way to make money.
The wealth pie is not limited in size, it is ever expanding in a free market and ever shrinking in a statist market.
The only way to save this country for future generations is to get back to self-reliance and start creating things that people want and need, not what Uncle Sam thinks we need or believes is good for us.
Next time we will talk about our debt and the path we are on and what the final destination will be if we don’t change and change quickly.

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants. He can be heard every day at 4:06 p.m. on ‘After the Bell’ with ‘Brian Wilson and the Afternoon Drive’ and every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. on ‘Eye on Your Money,’ both on 1370 WSPD. He can be reached at (419) 842-0334 or via email at garyrathbun@privatewealthconsultants.com.