Eastern Flash breaks for Summer

EAST LIVERPOOL -- Eastern Flash always pauses during the summer months, and this summer will end with a new term, stories and videos. Thank you for visiting the site and check out the blog Aug. 31.

Art students tour Thompson house

KSU-EL art professor, Elizabeth Babb (right), poses with a student with a mannequin at the East Liverpool Historical Society's Thompson House. Babb took her Art Survey class on a tour of the historic home earlier this month. (Photo by Kara Lockhart Milan)

National Health Care: Insanity

By Melody Gustafson

WASHINGTON – It is insane to force a country of more than 290 million people to pay for a national health care bureaucracy to provide care for less than 50 million people who lack health coverage.

An approximation of the numbers shows that a mere 16 percent of the population of the United States comprises the group for which an entire system overhaul has been proposed. While it is unfortunate that so many of us has to pay cash for health care, revamping an entire system at a higher cost to taxpayers, while requiring a sacrifice of the citizen access to quality health care, is ludicrous.

The biggest problem with the national health care proposal, besides the inflated taxes, is the inevitable loss of quality of care, and this will happen in a couple ways.

First of all, bureaucracies are headed by non-elected administrators who don’t answer to the public at the polls. These non-elected heads launch policies regularly that may be questionable to the public. When life and health are on the line, is it wise to eliminate accountability and competition in the midst of a few people whose main role in the process is to reconcile the financial existence of the country’s health care? Cost-cutting policies will effectually marginalize the standards of quality care of more people than will benefit from the overhaul.

Dick Morris, political consultant and author, issued an article May 18 that outlined some of the loss-of-quality concerns by comparing the U.S. private system with what the Canadians have done with their country.

Morris writes: “As in Canada, the best way to cut medical costs is to refrain from using the best drugs to treat cancer and other illnesses, thereby economizing at the expense of patients’ lives...death rates from cancer are 16 percent higher in Canada.” It doesn’t make sense to limit the resources of those who already have adequate health care now so a diminutive minority of Americans can benefit from a costly handout.

Morris also addresses the issue of the shortfall of medical personnel. Congress is considering saving on Medicare fees by regulating the amount doctors can charge for services. Without an incentive to enter the profession and compete with others, the amount of good doctors and nurses will decrease. One can only imagine how many times Congress would, with their backs against the wall, have to “reduce costs” at the expense of what the professionals earn. The result will be a country with an increasing population and less and less doctors to care for them.

According to Morris, “Canadian experience indicates that when government – or its satellite private insurance providers – ration health care, they cut preventative care first. In Canada, colonoscopies are so rationed that the colon cancer rate is 25 percent higher than in the United States.”

Morris does try to look at the bright side, and reason that the “other radical changes Obama is bringing about in our country can always be reversed. That which is nationalized can be privatized.” This columnist disagrees. Our country has a history of helping the disadvantaged, but as future lawmakers face the proposition of repeal in four or eight years, the propagandist mantra of the national health-care advocates will be accusation of inhumane deprivation of care for the 16 percent instead of simple “privatization.”

To read Morris's article for yourself click here: http://www.creators.com/opinion/dick-morris/the-death-of-american-health-care.html

Relay for Life dodge ball tournament

Action shots from Saturday's "Relay for Life" dodge ball tournament at East Liverpool High School. The event was organized by KSU-EL students David Estell and Shane Reed (upper left). Photos by Kara Lockhart-Milan.

Salem Community Theater Announces Auditions

SALEM -- Salem Community Theater (SCT) is holding auditions for the summer musical production "Into the Woods."

Open auditions will be held May 31 and June 2 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the theater located at 490 East State Street. The show will run weekends from Aug. 7 - 23.

Individuals wishing to audition should prepare a one-minute vocal selection, preferably a Stephen Sondheim song, and provide sheet music in their key. They should also be prepared to read fromt the script.

"Into the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, is a smart and exciting musical retelling of Brothers Grimm fairy tales: "Jack and the Beanstalk"; "Rapunzel"; "Cinderella"; and more. Find out what happens after "happily ever after" in this enchanting show for all ages.

SCT is pleased to have Michael Dempsey, a Boardman native, as Guest Director for the show. Dempsey is a former network television comedy writer whose local credits include writing and directing "Mrs. Claus Has a Gun!", "Hail to the Chef" and "The Romeo and Juliet War" at Oakland Center for the Arts.

To recieve detailed character descriptions and casting requirements, send an email to demzer@gmail.com or call the theater at 330-332-9688.

Fate of Smith Auto Parts still "in the air"

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL -- As spring 2009 term ends, passers-by may be wondering what will become of the dilapidated, historic building on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Streets that houses Smith Auto Parts.

After voting unanimously for demolition in June 2008, the Board of Housing Appeals granted the owner of the property at 329 Broadway, Willis Smith, Jr., time to negotiate with KSU before demoltition occurs.

It is not clear whether the city will demolish the 112-year-old building and assess the cost to Smith, or if the owner will maintain the responsiblity to carry out the order.

KSU-EL is interested in buying the property for a reasonable price that does not exceed its value or misuse state appropriated funds, according to Henry Trenkelbach, business manager.

Early this year, negotiations between Smith and KSU broke down. Afterwards, on Feb. 20, 2009, law director Charles Payne filed a motion in Columbiana Common Pleas Court on behalf of the City of East Liverpool to enforce the demolition order passed by the board.

"We filed action in Common Pleas Court under Hon. David Tobin to enforce a city administrative order to demolish," Payne said. He elaborated that a response was due from Smith's attorney, George Gbur by Apr. 23. No response has been filed in Common Pleas Court.

George Gbur said, "I'm working with the university's counsel, Atty. Jim Watson. Hopefully we can get this behind us."

Meanwhile, negotiations have resumed between KSU-EL and Smith since Payne filed the February action. Trenkelbach said, "We are in negotiation with him with a revised purchase agreement. The matter is in the hands of our attorney and Smith's attorney."

Renovations Set for KSU-Salem

SALEM -- Renovations are scheduled to begin soon on both the main building and the city center according to business manager Henry Trenkelbach.

Because of recent ohio legislation Trenkelbach refers to as "House Bill 251", an unfunded mandate to reduce energy costs at the university, administrators have decided to employ A & I Studio to replace the "storefronts", or the entire glass window and door units that comprise the front and side exits to the building. "They aren't energy efficient, and they loose a lot of air daily," said Trenkelbach.

In October, Strollo Architects of Austintown will begin backhoe work on the Health and Sciences Wing in what is now a gymnasium.

Because the integrity of the concrete steps that lead down from the student parking lot has been compromised from the road salt and winter weather, continuing to patch isn't feasible. Both sets of steps need completly replaced, and the business office is still considering quotes submitted by companies.

The City Center has recieved a new fire alarm system because it needed the update. Santon Electric was hired to complete the project and install new security and exit lights.

Reward Offered, Bulldog Replaced

EAST PALESTINE -- A new bulldog has replaced the desecrated one that stood in the center of town insulting every decent citizen since the night the vandals decapitated it.

According to Diana Elzer, the East Palestine Chamber of Commerce has set up an account to stockpile money to offer a reward for information that will lead to the prosecution of the perpetrator. At this time the reward is at $500.

The chamber has asked local busineses that are too small to afford their own statue to help "foot the cost of the bill" to install a bulldog for the alcove between Karen Jane's Bakery and the Chinese restaurant.

Officer Sherril Milliken said, "There is an ongoing investigation, and we are following up on a few leads." Contact the EPPD at 330-426-3531 with helpful information.

Craig Paulenich Reads Drift for the Hunt

Below is an article describing the man behind the verse and some of his accomplishments. (Film and photos by Mike Canaday)

Goatman: KSU Resident

By Mike Canaday
SALEM -- Dr. Craig Paulenich is a associate professor of English at various KSU campuses and a poet who has published two works, Beneath A Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry edited by Ken Johnson, and Drift for the Hunt, and a third, Blood Will Tell, that has just been accepted for publication after a period of review.

Blood Will Tell is a novel about Eastern European immigrants’ labor experiences in Pennsylavania at the turn of the last century. Already accepted for publication, the book will be on sale soon.

Drift of the Hunt, published by Nobodaddies Press in 2006 featuring Doug Rice as editor, is a story about a hideous, Frankenstein-like persona, Goatman. Goatman is an ugly but complex figure that has shaman, Shinto, Appalachian, Western Pennsylvanian, Eastern European folk tale qualities. Relating the past to the present, this culmination of character took Paulenich over 20 years of personal experiences to mold. Goatman, with a combination that is mysteriously in line with Paulenich’s own interests,
Japanese and Eastern European folklore and Pennsylvania living reflects the inner poet through differing angles. The Goatman tale Drift of the Hunt is a novel displaying Paulenich's own belief that "there is a fine line between horror and humor." Goatman has a little of everybody and everyday life in his story, even if it’s horrifying to fathom.

The first, printed by Shambala Press in Boston in 1991, is Beneath A Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry. It is a collection of poems and stories from 45 centenary Buddhist-American poets. Works by Allen Ginsberg, John Cage, Jane Hirschfield, Olega Broumas and one of Paulenich’s influences, Gerry Snyder appear in the anthology. It is a look at American Buddhism related to poetry today. Instructors use the text as a college teaching aid in the U.S. and in Japan.

Paulenich did his doctorate thesis on shamanism and Anglo-Saxon poetry. He has a great interest in Japanese culture, particularly shamanism and is also a visiting professor of English at Shimane University in Matsue, Japan and lived in the country for more than a year. His favorite influences are Gerry Snyder, Charles Simic and Ann Sexton.

Students find him entertaining and informative and percieve a sense of caring and sincerity. His animated swagger and Western Pennsylvanian dialect accent his demeanor. Part of his appeal comes from his “common joe” personality that is packed with complex knowledge and creative ideas that make the subject matter easy to relate to. A local success story and a great poet in his own right, is part of the fabric that creates the thin veil of American poetry today with its broad diversity.

Paulenich has been studying Czech golem folklore recently and has built up an admiration for Prague. He likes local Czech writers such as Nezval, T. Siefert and Jiri Orten. In light of that, he has chosen recently for personal reading books about this Jewish golem who is a supernatural mud man with Goatman like qualities. Like Goatman, Prague is "both dark and beautiful" Paulenich decided while visiting Prague with his wife Karla recently.

The Northeast Ohio Masters of Fine Art of Creative Writing program, (NEOMFA) is the first consortium fine arts degree offered, ever. Teachers from four schools, KSU, Cleveland University, Akron University, and Youngstown State University, including Paulenich, form the basis of instruction. Maggie Anderson, referred to as "a terrific poet" by Paulenich, is the NEOMFA director.

The degree requires 48 credit hours, and usually takes students three years but the education can span over as long as six years. This degree can be viable by itself or in conjunction with others such as another master’s or a doctorate.

"We encourage students to do both"Paulenich said. "Dean Nolte is doing everything he can do for us," Paulenich said of the KSU cooperation with NEOMFA. He believes highly in the NEOMFA degree. "The worse the state of the economy, the more the KSU and NEOFMA enrollment rises."

For those interested in more details, they should visit NEOMFA's web site, talk to Paulenich, or contact any of the other three campus NEOMFA representatives whose contact information is listed on the web site. http://www.ysu.edu/neomfa/. or call about credit costs at 330 672 1775.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Paulenich will teach a 3000-level Poetry Writing course at KSU-EL and a special topics course, Buddhism and Contemporary American Poetry at KSU-Salem in the Fall 2009 term. If interested, contact him directly at cpauleni@kent.edu.

Paulenich reading an excerpt of Drift of the Hunt in Sacramento in 2006 is shown at http://www.viddler.com/explore/dief/videos/1/ Another, more personal reading from his office in Salem is attached to this feature.
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Craig Paulenich was born in 1953 and raised in Western Pennsylvania. He has been employed as a night watchman, foundry worker, tax assessor, high school English teacher in Boardman, Ohio, as a road crew, worker and he even surfaced tennis courts. He received his MFA in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982, and a PhD in English from Bowling Green State University in 1989. Paulenich has taught in the University of Pittsburgh, Bowling Green State University, Clemson University, and is presently an associate professor at KSU and the standing Kent State coordinator for North East Ohio Master of Fine Art (NEOMFA). He teaches creative writing courses at KSU-Salem as well as NEOMFA ones. His poetry has been published in the 5 AM, Tar River Poetry, The Hiram Review, South Carolina Review, Kansas Quarterly, Georgia Review, Cottonwood, and Artful Dodger just to name a few.

Paulenich reads at Cleveland State U

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland State University Poetry Center in cooperation with the Department of English presents a reading and book signing at Fenn Towere Theater Apr. 22 at 7:30 p.m.

KSU and Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts program (NEOMFA) associate professor of English Craig Paulenich, author of The Drift of the Hunt and co-author of Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism and Contemporary American Poetry will read from his own selections.

Mary Biddinger, assistant professor of the University of Akron and NEOMFA and author of Prairie Fever, and Sarah Gridley, author of Weather Eye Open and Redundancy Redundancy, will also read from their own publications.

The event is free and open to the public.

Awards Banquet tickets available, SGO election results to be announced

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Spronsored by the Student Government Organization (SGO) and the office of enrollment management, the Student Awards Banquet is at Dutch Village Inn in Columbiana on Apr. 24 at 6 p.m.

According to Historian Brad Heckathorn, teachers will give awards to outstanding students, as will club leaders who recognize exemplary members in their ranks.

Heckathorn also said that the results of the SGO election will be announced by President Lucian Clewell. "Lucian made the executive decision to withhold all results until the banquet to allow time for an SGO official to to double-check the ballot count.'

He said,"We are not using this banquet as a fundraising event; we are simply hosting it so that outstanding students can enjoy the opportunity for recognition." He expects it to last two to three hours.

They will be serving baked chicken breasts with oven-roasted red-skin potatoes, ham and green beans, corn, and cherry cobbler and Texas sheet cake.

Tickets for the event are on sale at the Salem Campus Bookstore and cost $15 each or $25 per pair.

Cleaning up the wharf

These were among the many Kent State East Liverpool students who worked to clean up and fix up Broadway Wharf on Saturday. Names withheld by request. (Photo by Kim Schneider)

KSU and historical society launch joint Digital Archiving Project

By Melody Gustafson
EAST LIVERPOOL – The Kent State E.L. campus is partnering with the East Liverpool Historical Society and Carnegie Library to preserve historic books and photographs in digital format.

Professor Matt Stewart and historical society member Jim Allison were doing research in the history room of the Carnegie Public Library in April 0f 2008 when they discovered some old, irreplaceable, out-of-copyright books in such poor condition that they were literally falling apart.

“We were concerned that the library is just going to toss this stuff,” Stewart said. He and Allison decided to scan the material and make digital copies so that it will not be lost.

Stewart approached KSU-EL Dean Jeff Nolte and business manager Henry Trenklebach about getting students involved, setting up an office and using a large format scanner, necessary because some of the books are very large. Although KSU did not have one at the time, the business office procured one last month, allowing Stewart and Allison to start digitizing material in the Eastern Flash office.

The first book selected for preservation is City of Hills and Kilns by William Gates. It is the last full-length history of East Liverpool, and has been out of print for many years. From time to time used copies appear for sale through Amazon.com at prices up to $500. Because the historical society owns the copyright to the book, Stewart approached members about the project. Knowing that Stewart only wanted to preserve the material, permission was granted, and the digitization is nearly complete.

The second selection is Artwork: East Liverpool and Vicinity, published in 1895. It contains some high-quality photographs of the city with some text of local history. It is almost done, too.

Stewart said he’d like to do the entire collection of photographs in the society’s archive next. “This is a vital service for research,” he said. Eventually, after working with the KSU library system, the images can be incorporated into the Ohiolink server so that anyone can access them easily, and in one place.

Stewart has conceived of the digital archiving as a community project. He mentioned Joan Witt, one of the city's most knowledgable historians and long-time member of the historical society, as a vital source of information. He would like her input on the society’s stockpile of photographs as a means of preserving what she knows.

“We hope to get plenty of students and community members involved in this,” he said.
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The photograph is from Artwork of East Liverpool and Vicinity (1895) showing what is now the Thompson House museum. Because of highway construction, this view of the Thompson House (from what used to be Third Street) is no longer available.

SGO candidates compete for votes at debate

By Melody Gustafson
SALEM -- Candidates for various Student Government Organization (SGO) posts competed in a debate Tuesday led by director of enrollment and student services Kristin Toothman.

All candidates had the opportunity to deliver opening and closing remarks, and as both candidates stood before the audience, Toothman asked a question that they, in turn, answered at the podium.

Toothman began with the treasury candidates, Sarah Henry and Jo Broffman. Henry opened by saying that she knows she can handle the job, and a that she'll bring her fundraising strengths to the office. "A full schedule keeps me going, and I'll be working for you, the students," she said.

Jo Broffman was unable to attend the debate, but contacted Eastern Flash
with her comments. She said: "If elected to Treasurer , I will follow the budget plans of the Student Government and use my years of fundraising skills to enhance our income. Courage is your ability to try new things and you will never fail because you tried."

Ashley Gilbert, running unopposed for Secretary, was too stressed out and unable to speak to the audience because of personal problems.

Next Toothman called the prospective vice-presidents, Heather Grunden and Suzy Merryman to the podium, and asked them what their greatest challenges would be as vice-president, and what plans have they made for when they occupy the post.

Grunden said that as an experienced SGO secretary she knows what each officer's duties are and would be able to act as president in his or her absence. "I have leadership qualities that will help the whole oganization run more smoothly, and I would follow the constitution and get tips from the former president if I need to take charge. Also I like to help people and I do talk to everybody."

Merryman, present communications officer, felt that recruitment is one of SGO's biggest problems, partially due to misconceptions of what the club is and does. "It's not a politics club," she said. "If anything, I would be recruiting and boosting student involvement. But I know that when the president is gone, its my job, and I can do it," she said.

Finally presidential hopefuls Brad Heckathorn, justice studies major and current, elected historian, and Evie Spence, who majors in early childhood education, minors in human services, and is presently the the elected secretary, approached the mike.

In his opening remarks, Heckathorn promised, "If you have an issue, bring it to us, and we'll try to make it happen." He described the importance of working together to achieve results, and the value of his tenacious leadership. "I don't take no for answer; I'll follow through to the end."

Spence described her strength during a rocky period in SGO history and addressed several organization weaknesses in her opening remarks. She said, "Last year, SGO was a roller coaster. I had to step up and be acting president when the elected one left, yet we still managed to have successful food and coat drives." She said that she'd like to boost student involvement next year and get the community involved in KSU events.

Toothman asked the contenders if they will argue for students interests even if it is inconvenient to do so, and Heckathorn replied that he "will fight a losing battle, if it is for something that the students feel is necessary."

Spence promised to stand up for student interests, even if she doesn't personally agree with the majority decisions, because if it weren't for the student body there would be no SGO.

Toothman urged the competitors' classmates to come vote and introduced Lucian Clewell, standing president, to say a few words to his constituents:
"Thank you for coming everyone. Your participation is very important to this process. Good luck to all the candidates, and may the best humans win. It's been a great ride."


(Photos from top: Enrollment management director Kristin Toothman at podium; Sarah Henry; Jo Broffman; Heather Grunden speaking; Suzy Merryman; Brad Heckathorn; Evie Spence; President Lucian Clewell addresses the audience. Photos by Mike Canaday)