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Garfield Heights and Maple Heights

Garfield Heights girls basketball team loses on road

by Mike Holzheimer

Thursday January 08, 2009, 6:34 AM

PARMA HEIGHTS-The weather was cold outside, and so was the shooting inside the gymnasium at Valley Forge High School Wednesday evening.

In a Northeast Ohio Conference varsity girls basketball matchup between the home team Patriots and Garfield Heights, the initial percentages pertaining to shots made from the floor were about as frigid as what could be read on the outdoor thermometer.

After all was said and done, Valley Forge had a few more answers than the visiting Lady Bulldogs and earned the victory, 40-27.

Garfield Heights was unable to make a shot from the floor during the entire first quarter, and after Brittany Penman's three layups to begin the third period, the Bulldogs went cold again unable to convert at the offensive end.

Penman led Garfield Heights with 10 points, while Amber Smith added six to the total.

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Maple Heights: New measure would notify neighbors of impending zoning variances

by Sun News

Wednesday January 07, 2009, 4:22 PM

MAPLE HTS. - City Council is considering whether to send a notice to people when a neighboring property owner seeks a building or zoning variance or any other ruling from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Council members expressed favor with the idea.

The measure might be up for a vote at a council meeting set for 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the senior center.

A measure recently proposed has language that would require the city to publish a legal advertisement whenever a person seeks a ruling from the Planning and Zoning Commission or send a notice to neighbors.

Councilwoman Toni Jones wants notices sent to neighbors to be required, not just optional.

Council also is considering changing the structure of its meetings by allowing members of the public to speak before council votes on legislative measures.

As of now, the public portion follows votes on measures.

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Garfield Heights: Living wills workshop will be held at Villa St. Joseph

by Sun News

Tuesday January 06, 2009, 7:24 PM

A workshop on living wills will be offered 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 13 at Assisi Hall in Villa St. Joseph at the campus of Marymount Hospital, Garfield Heights.

The legal and pastoral care staff of the hospital will lead the workshop, which includes the topic of "special directives."

A light lunch is included. Reservations are required by calling (216) 587-8138.

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Garfield Heights: Nature center to host Chinese New Year event

by Sun News

Sunday January 04, 2009, 9:28 AM

A Chinese New Year Celebration will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Garfield Park Nature Center.

There will be crafts, food, music and a puppet show to celebrate the Year of the Ox.

The Garfield Park Nature Center is located off Mill Creek Lane off the Broadway Avenue entrance of the Garfield Park Reservation.

For information, call (216) 341-3152.

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Garfield Heights: Survey ranks Clare Hall among best nursing homes in Ohio

by Sun News

Saturday January 03, 2009, 9:22 AM

The Ohio Department of Aging has released the results of its 2008 Nursing Home Resident Satisfaction Survey.

The survey asked questions about administration, choices, direct care and nursing, laundry, meals and dining, social services, therapy and general satisfaction to determine overall satisfaction with the facility.

Results of the survey are used to help families make important decision about the best place for their loved one. More then 24,500 family members participated in the survey which critiqued 630 facilities in Ohio. Of those facilities, 33 of them scored above state average.

Clare Hall in Garfield Heights scored a 99.2 out of a 100 possible points in family satisfaction. Clare Hall is ranked second out of the top 25 nursing homes in Ohio and was one of 16 to receive 100 percent score on both of the survey's key questions: "Overall, do you like this facility?" and "Would you recommend this facility to a family member or friend?"

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Garfield Heights: Bryant trial delayed again

by Ken Baka

Friday January 02, 2009, 4:21 PM

For the fourth time, the double-murder trial of William Bryant, accused of killing elderly women in Maple Heights and Garfield Heights, is delayed.

The present delay is caused by questions over the same issue that triggered some prior delays: Is Bryant mentally retarded?

If so, Bryant would escape facing a death penalty if convicted of killing Maria Slivka, 80, of Garfield Heights, and her friend Mary Hopko, 81, of Maple Heights.

The lead attorney for the state Prosecutor's Office said defense attorneys cause the delays.

"This is a pattern of delay that has been a strategy of the defense team in order to avoid taking this case to trial" and "save his life," Assistant Prosecutor Steve Dever of the County Prosecutor's Office said.

Co-defense attorney Ralph T. DeFranco replied, "We're not trying to delay anything. The only reason for the delay is the testing and retesting."

DeFranco refers to tests that would prove Bryant shouldn't face the death penalty because he is mentally retarded.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002 said the death penalty would be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment for a mentally retarded person.

Bryant's trial was to have started in four days. But Judge Timothy McMonagle of Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas put off the trial following a hearing Dec. 9. McMonagle earlier canceled trials set for April 7; Jan. 23, 2008; and Oct. 1, 2007.

Bryant has been in county jail since his arrest Jan. 3, 2007.

He pleaded not guilty to killing Slivka and Hopko. Slivka was killed about Jan. 1, 2007. Hopko was killed about Dec. 5, 2007. Each was found dead at their homes, where Bryant, of Garfield Heights, had worked as a handyman. Police say they found a crowbar with blood from both women.

The state opposed the most recent delay. Dever argued the defense was "taking advantage of the court's good nature."

The court's most recent continuance allows Bryant's attorneys to let clinical psychologist Dr. John M. Fabian, Cleveland, have more time to prepare the case.

The judge set a hearing on the mental illness question for Feb. 23. No trial date was set.

The state is ready to go to trial, Dever said.

"He's competent to stand trial and he's not mentally retarded," Dever said.

To support that argument, the state is using psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Bergman, of Dayton. Her report is in the hands of defense attorneys. Bergman helped the state prepare the case that convicted the man who went berserk at Case Western Reserve University in May 2003, killing one person. The jury did not impose the death penalty.

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Garfield Heights: Nature center hosts 'Freedom Readers' book club event

by Sun News

Thursday January 01, 2009, 9:01 AM

Freedom Readers Book Club will be reading "A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr." from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Jan. 18.

The program is free and open to anyone age 10 and older. The Freedom Readers Book Club takes place at Garfield Nature Center which is located off Mill Creek Lane off the Broadway Avenue entrance of Garfield Park Reservation.

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Garfield Heights: City will begin charging foreclosure filing fees soon

by Sun News

Wednesday December 31, 2008, 2:56 PM

The city will begin charging $75 to people who file foreclosure actions on buildings soon.

City Council approved the fee Dec. 15. The fee is expected to take effect in 30 days.

The fee is similar to one that has been in effect in Maple Heights for about one year.

Garfield Heights also requires that copies of the foreclosure complaint be filed with the city. If the building being foreclosed upon is vacant, the person filing the complaint must disclose the name, address and contact information for the person responsible for taking care of the vacant property.

If the filing is late, the city will charge $225.

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