Home Care In Gates Mills, OH

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Citing objections from residents who live along and near Gates Mills Boulevard, City Council voted against seeking a federal grant that would have helped the city pay for amenities such as restrooms, pavilions and a playground along a planned walking trail in the the boulevard’s median.

Council voted 5-2 against seeking the grant, which would have required a $621,000 city match, during its meeting Monday (Nov. 9).

In letters to council and speaking in person, several residents spoke against the idea of adding the amenities.

Those amenities included three 10-car parking lots, lighting, benches, a nature playground, restrooms, a pavilion and two shade structures along the 3,900-foot-long grassy and tree-filled strip of Gates Mills Boulevard.

While liking the idea of an all-purpose trail on the median, some residents felt the amenities would lead to increased trash, provide a meeting place for unscrupulous activities and reduce property values.

Council has already approved of the trail and is awaiting word as to whether the city will receive a $491,00 grant for installation. The city would match the grant for the walking trail on the boulevard median by spending about $320,000.

The Gates Mills Boulevard trail is part of a larger plan to connect all parts of the city with biking and walking trails. Council heard of the plans for Gates Mills Boulevard during a committee meeting Oct. 26, while residents were sent a mailing detailing the plans by Recreation Director Sean Ward, dated Oct. 29.

Gates Mills Boulevard resident Patricia Alvarez and her husband, James Kilcoyne, moved to the boulevard 42 years ago. In her letter to council and Ward objecting to the plans, Alvarez wrote that the couple bought the home because of the “beautiful” median strip that provided a nice view from their house.

She then added, “Now, you are proposing to devalue my property, increase traffic to an already high-traffic area, overflow parking spaces onto the streets, entice vandalism, loitering, parties, use of public restrooms for anyone, (and create) safety issues day and night to my property and my person.

"A children’s park in between two high-traffic roads, flashing lights, noise, etc. etc.” She called the plan a “ridiculous and dangerous proposal.”

Sherry and Victor Baskin wrote: “As residents of Gates Mills Boulevard for over 20 years, we are horrified by the proposal of putting parking lots and public restrooms in the middle of our yard. We are here by choice because of the beauty and peace, space and privacy. Are you telling me you’re trying to put Coney Island in our front yard? Are you kidding me?”

City leaders have long spoken about the lack of recreational space in Mayfield Heights.

Speaking at the meeting, Ward said: “Mayfield Heights does not have nature. This is our one grasp at nature. We can cut down some of those trees (on the median) that are falling apart and put up a lot of new trees and put a place for people to come and just get out of the car and go for a walk and see some nature in Mayfield Heights.

"We’re looking at a blank canvas that we can make beautiful. That’s all we’re saying.”

Ward said that in last summer’s city recreation survey, adding trails was the second-most requested item among residents, behind adding a new pool.

Christian Lynn, associate principal for city engineering firm AECOM, told those at the meeting that, because Gates Mills Boulevard is well traveled, the tendency is less for those who may do bad things to loiter. He said that restrooms are needed if families with children will be using the trail.

Only council members Michael Ballistrea and Donna Finney voted for the city to seek the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Program Grant for $1.3 million to complete what would have been a $1.9 million amenity project.

Finney said many young people beginning their adult lives are moving from Mayfield Heights and are starting out in communities to the east. She said adding things like the trail, with amenities, would help keep young families in the city.

Ballistrea questioned Lynn as to whether the city could seek the grant while modifying its plans to meet with with residents' wishes. The grant application deadline is Nov. 16.

Lynn said it would be possible to modify the plan and to receive a proportionate amount of grant money to go with those modified plans, but added that making such changes and requests might decrease the city’s chances for receiving future grant money.

Before voting against the resolution to seek the grant, Councilman Robert DeJohn said: "The question is, do we want a park on Gates Mills Boulevard or do we listen to the residents? I’m not voting in favor of it because residents don’t want a park there, and if I lived there, I wouldn’t want a park there.”

Councilwoman Gayle Teresi said she heard from several residents along Gates Mills Boulevard and nearby streets, such as Kingswood Drive and Longridge and Marshfield roads, who were against adding the amenities.

Teresi said the city should have presented plans to residents as part of a meeting before the matter came up for a council vote.

“We should have done it earlier, put if before (residents)," she said. "I feel very comfortable with my vote.”

Teresi further questioned, if Mayfield Heights went ahead with its plans for the boulevard, whether Gates Mills and Pepper Pike leaders would desire to extend the trail into their communities.

Mayor Anthony DiCicco said the city’s plan was, after applying for the grant, to get public input before moving ahead with any plans for amenities.

"I think we could have come to some kind of compromise that (residents) would have really liked the beautification we would have done there -- leaving out the restrooms and pavilions.

“It was a lot more than a trail,” he said. “It was an opportunity to add the park space which we don’t have. But I understand where (residents) are coming from.”

DiCicco said there is a possibility that the city could again try to get a grant for amenities.

“Once the trail is there, I think that’s where the opportunity really comes up to say, ‘OK, you’re using the trail now, what would you like to see that’s not there?'”

To get a look at what had been proposed, visit the Mayfield Heights city website.

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Cleveland was once a garment industry leader, trailing only New York as a preeminent center for clothing production. The Great Depression helped scuttle the local marketplace, beginning a decline that culminated with the closure of the nation’s last flax mill in the 1960s.

Jess Boeke and her sister Sarah, co-founders of the Rust Belt Fibershed, have spent the last five years trying to revive the Northeast Ohio flax-to-fiber supply chain. This work began with identifying a regional fibershed able to provide resources and infrastructure for creation of a local clothing industry. Through the Rust Belt Fibershed, the sisters want to develop a system that generates lasting economic prosperity while better connecting consumers to the origins of their clothing.

Their volunteer organization received nonprofit designation in 2022, boosting its research into fiber systems and providing training to a growing network of producers, artisans and designers. Ongoing advocacy includes the Rust Belt Linen Project, which supports the planting of flax test plots throughout the region.

Fibershed leaders are researching processing requirements on how to harvest the flax plant before it’s dried, separated and prepared for weaving. The transformed plant is then spun into yarn and woven into linen fabric, a method tens of thousands of years old.

“The reason we chose the linen project in the structure that it is, is because we knew that setting up a linen industry takes years and years, and we needed the proof in the pudding,” said Boeke. “If we can create linen garments by hand even at an artisanal scale, we can show investors what linen looks like that’s grown locally.”

Ideally, a sustainable textile industry would take root in Cleveland, eventually spreading into a 250-mile radius encompassing most of the Rust Belt, Boeke said. Flax grows exceptionally well along the Great Lakes, thanks to weather patterns that allow certain crops to flourish.

The Peninsula resident believes Northeast Ohio can be a textile hub for the Rust Belt, much like parts of the Midwest produce food for a particular population. Finding locally made clothing is difficult outside of the artisan space; building a brand new textile culture is the only logical path, said Boeke.

“The majority of people don’t even think about the labels (on their clothing),” Boeke said. “To get them thinking about that may not bring a linen industry into the region, but it can work to create a sustainable industry worldwide. Consumer purchasing habits can shift a little bit, and then we can accomplish the fibershed’s other goals.”

No more ‘fast fashion’

Beth Sheeler is proud to be one of the growers involved with the fibershed effort. Sheeler tends a 200-square-foot flax plot on her 15-acre property in Gates Mills, a labor of love that coincides each August with a flax picking party for project supporters.

Sheeler takes a community-centric approach to the yearly harvest, applying her knowledge of positive psychology – the study of well-being and human flourishing – to fuel an “experiment” that will ideally grow into something much bigger, she said.

Flax grows best in cool, damp environments, with harvesting taking place when stems begin to yellow and seeds turn brown. After harvest, farmers dry flax stalks in open air before seeds are removed. Next comes retting, a process where flax is exposed to moisture – flax bundles soaked in water generally “ret” anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, which loosens usable fiber from the crop’s woody tissue.

Retted stalks are dried for weeks or even months before flax fibers can be separated and spun. The resulting linen yarn is woven into sheets, capping a laborious practice that Sheeler ties to ecological stewardship as much as local economic growth.

“We’ve gone to all this fast fashion – things made quickly and easily without any regard toward the impact that it’s making,” said Sheeler. “The growing of flax is the easiest part – the process of making it something you can even call a garment is not efficient, but it’s beautiful, it’s educational, and it fills that connection with nature I think is so important.”

Creating a new culture

Sara Guren cultivates flax for the fibershed project on eight acres of her Waite Hill farm in Lake County. Like Sheeler, Guren hopes to develop an ethical clothing industry in Northeast Ohio, one that respects natural resources while countering the country’s pervasive throw-away culture.

“You can buy a garment that’s been created by an artisan, because if you do it on a large enough scale, it could be created commercially, and it could be created locally,” said Guren. “It can be a deep connection for people with the place where they grew up. If you understand the thing you’re wearing comes from the place you live, you’ll hold onto it longer.”

Guren, who also makes artisanal garments from Angora rabbit wool, utilized equipment at Hale Farm & Village to spin the approximately five bundles of flax she grew this summer. Reshaping the regional textile industry does not mean pumping out cheap garments on an assembly line, she said.

“For me, reviving the industry means bringing attention to the possibilities,” Guren said. “It’s a great opportunity to grow flax on a large and small scale in Northeast Ohio. Being part of this larger project and helping gather data (from test plots) is really exciting.”

Today, flax in the U.S. is primarily grown in North Dakota and Montana for seed rather than fiber. Most flax for the highest-quality linen is cultivated in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Fibershed creator Boeke knows that restoring even a small percentage of this work will take years and is currently in talks with larger local farms to include flax in their crop rotations.

Although communicating return on investment is difficult without actual investors, simply sharing the concept with interested parties has its benefits, Boeke said.

“We’re telling a story about creating a culture of care,” said Boeke. “When people recognize that connection through stories about our clothing, then we can all move forward with this work in an exciting way.”

Miss Cindy D'Alessandro is famous at her school for her tough love "Cut the Cord" speech. She encourages independence. She talks with Maureen Kyle on how to do it.

GATES MILLS, Ohio — The school year is starting and that means a lot of stress and anxiety for both the students and parents. You may be wondering...

"How will my child handle issues at school?”

“Will they need my help?”

“Will they be OK?"

But parents at Saint Francis of Assisi School in Gates Mills get a little extra help from junior high language arts teacher, Cindy D'Alessandro, with her famous, annual speech she calls “Cutting the Cord."

“I bring out the scissors and I give parents scissors, ask them if they have one. If they don’t, take it home put it on your dresser. I want them to tell their children cut the cord,” says D’Alessandro, “Cut the cord between them and their parents. So as 8th graders, as junior high students, they can stand up on their own two feet. They could advocate for themselves.”

You can listen to the entire conversation on the Mom Squad Pod, wherever you download your podcasts. You can also catch the episode on the WKYC YouTube page (below):

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Miss D, as students call her, explains to parents the process of students gaining independence.

“They need to speak up for themselves. If they get a bad grade on something and they don’t understand it, they need to ask the questions instead of the parent," she says. "If they could do it in 8th grade, then by the time they get in high school the following year, they'll be so much better for it.”

Miss D gives the parents some tough love, but she also reminds them to give themselves, their kids and everyone a little grace.

“I tell them that it's OK to fail and I'm going to fail in things and you child is going to fail and the best lesson you can give them is let pick themselves up -- let them learn on their own -- let them pick themselves up.”

MORE MOM SQUAD:

The 2019 Ohio DII State Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Friday, Feb. 22 at the C. T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.

A total of four Ohio state records were broken at this meet:

Gates Mills Hawken won the girls’ team title for the fifth-straight year, doing so in dominant fashion ahead of Shaker Hts Hathaway Brown (167.5) and Toledo St. Ursula Academy (155.5).

The boys of Hunting Valley University School swept all three relays en route to repeating as team champions with 331 points ahead of Gates Mills Hawken (212) and Lexington (133).

Click HERE for full results.

Top 5 Team Scores:

Gates Mills Hawken’s began their quest for the team title as the team of Jessica Eden (26.02), Sydney Bare (28.70), Abby Hay (24.05) and Audrey Dietz (23.58) opened the meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in 1:42.35, four seconds ahead of the field.

Shortly after helping her medley relay team to victory, Hay was back in the water to win the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.90. Pepper Pike Orange’s Janie Boyle dove to first on the 1-meter diving board, finishing with a final score of 483.70.

Dupre lit the pool on fire in the 200 free, winning by five seconds in a final time of 1:45.91 as the only swimmer to break the 1:50-mark. Her time blasted the old state record of 1:46.96 set by Alexandra Wooden in 2015. She then went on to win the 100 free in 48.96, only a half-second of of Margo Geer’s 2010 state mark of 48.45.

Columbus School for Girls’ Nyah Funderburke splashed-and-dashed her way to a win in the 50 free, stopping the clock in a quick 23.46. Toledo St. Ursula Academy’s Audrey Cesar and Shaker Hts Hathaway Brown’s Mairin O’Brien tied for second in 23.76.

Jordan Aurnou-Rhees of Columbus School for Girls flew to the top of the podium in the 100 fly, getting her hands to the wall the fastest in 55.23 for the win ahead of Hays (55.34). Cincinnati Seven Hills’ Emma Shuppert powered home to a win in the 100 back with a final time of 53.93, coming within inches of Hannah Stevens’ state record of 53.87 set back in 2014.

Toledo St. Ursula Academy’s Molly Dynda (24.24), Corinne Staneart (24.36), Catherine Kight (24.22) and Cesar (23.15) won the 4×50 free relay in 1:35.97, only two-hundreths ahead of runner-up Shaker Hts Hathaway Brown (1:35.99).

After setting a new state mark in the 100 breast during prelims, Robb lowered her mark yet again during finals. She touched the wall in 1:01.38, going even faster than the 1:02.21 she swam the other day to etch her name in the record books.

Gates Mills Hawken freshman Tori Culotta earned the first state title of her career by winning the 500 free in 4:51.02 as the first of only five swimmers to break the five-minute barrier. Her teammates Ella Gilson (53.17), Maggie Mallett (53.97), Hay (51.22) and Eden (51.28) secured the team title by winning the 4×100 free relay in 3:29.64.

Top 5 Team Scores:

The boys’ meet began as Hunting Valley University School’s Nicolas Tekieli (23.29), Cal Ritzmann (26.52), Frank Applebaum (22.27) and Will Zhang (21.24) won the opening 4×50 medley relay with a combined time of 1:33.32. Owen Hanna (21.31), Jeffrey Chi (21.68), Zhang (21.13) and Ethan Banks (22.04) also won the 4×50 free relay in 1:26.16.

Hanna later went on to win the 100 back in 48.40 as the first of only three swimmers in the field under the 50-second barrier, coming within inches of Matthew Marquaudt’s 48.29 he set three years ago for the state record.

Conley cruised to first in the 200 free, winning the event in 1:37.07 as the only swimmer in the field under the 1:40 mark. With only a few minutes in between events, Conley stepped back up on the blocks to post a winning time of 1:48.52 in the 200 IM. That time eclipsed his own state record of 1:48.94 he set last season.

Canton Central Catholic’s Joey Mullen sprinted his way to the top spot in the 50 free, racing to the wall in a swift 21.23. Not too far behind him was Bowling Green’s Jack Burroughs in second with a time of 21.31.

The 100 fly title went to Alliance’s Will Rose, who posted a full-second victory of the runner-up with a time of 48.04. He showed his sprint talent by adding the 100 free gold medal to his hardware collection, sprinting to the wall in 45.29.

Kettering Archbishop Alter’s Kevin Leibold dominated the 500 free, winning by five seconds in 4:25.94 to come within one second of Brock Turner’s 2014 state record of 4:24.31. Cincinnati Wyoming’s Ilya Gerasimchuk dove to first on the 1-meter board, finishing with a score of 452.90 for the win.

After setting a new state mark in the 100 breast during prelims, Layne lowered his mark yet again during finals. He touched the wall in 54.48, going even faster than the 55.32 he swam the other day to etch his name in the record books.

Hunting Valley University School’s Hanna (46.11), Chi (48.11), Applebaum (46.93) and Banks (46.82) concluded the meet and secured the team title by winning the 4×100 free relay in 3:07.97.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cuyahoga County jury Tuesday ordered the Cleveland Clinic to pay $7.6 million to a Gates Mills woman who was paralyzed after a back surgery.

The jury handed up the decision to Common Pleas Judge Emily Hagan following a two-week trial involving medical malpractice claims. In a statement, the Clinic said it respected the jury’s decision, “but we do not agree with the outcome and are evaluating our options.”

In documents, attorneys for Laurie Hance said she went to the Clinic for back issues. Dr. Iain Kalfas performed surgery on her Oct. 3, 2018, when she was 68. Her attorneys said in court records that the surgery caused paralysis from the waist down.

Hance suffered from a condition known as syringomyelia, which involves the presence of a fluid-filled cavity within her spinal cord. Kalfas recommended surgery to relieve the issue.

Hance’s attorneys, Charles Kampinski and Kristin Roberts, said in filings that Hance was extremely active, despite the back pain she had experienced. She bicycled, hiked, kayaked, swam and rode horses. After she scheduled her first surgery with Kalfas, she even went mountain climbing at Acadia National Park in Maine, according to the court records.

They said the surgeon told Hance that the surgery would “make her 95% better.” If the surgery did not work, her condition would be unchanged, the filings show.

“The catastrophic effects of the surgery manifested immediately and dramatically as Laurie awakened from anesthesia,” the documents said. “The patient who had been wheeled into the operating room was a woman who had been fully capable of engaging in strenuous pursuits, despite her back discomfort; the woman who awoke from surgery was in excruciating, unrelenting pain and had effectively lost the use of her legs.”

Kampinski and Roberts claimed in filings that Kalfas and his surgical team made a series of errors, including allowing a foreign object to remain in her back after the surgery and failing to perform an MRI after the surgery to determine what was causing the compression on the spine. A second surgery came in February 2019, which the attorneys said left Hance in even greater pain.

“She walked in and never walked again,” Kampinski said. “Hopefully, this won’t ever happen to anyone else.”

In documents, attorneys for the Clinic stressed the surgery was not without risks. They said that Kalfas and other physicians met the standard of care in treating Hance and that “nothing [the doctors] did or failed to do proximately caused” the injury to Hance.

The Clinic’s statement said the jury rejected Hance’s claims for punitive damages, adding that “Dr. Kalfas is a well-respected and distinguished surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic.”

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