LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Berea, Brook Park, Middleburg Heights, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township

Olmsted Falls school officials plan to be more proactive in showing cost-savings measures they already incorporated before residents head to the polls Feb. 3 to vote on a 9.9-mill operating levy.

"We don't blow our own horn," said James Weisbarth, board president. "We take things for granted."

Other members agreed with him.

"I would put it right out there for all to see," said Frank Pedicini.

The members then unanimously approved putting a 9.9-mill continuous operating levy before voters Feb. 3.

In its season opener, the Olmsted Falls girls basketbal team suffered a 41-39 loss at Sandusky Perkins on Tuesday.

Despite running out to a 15-8 first quarter and 21-18 halftime lead, the Bulldogs were outscored 15-11 in the critical fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were led by Alexis Henton, who scored nine of her team-high 16 points on three-pointers. Ashley Hodge added seven and Cassie Clancy recorded six.

Olmsted Falls hopes to get in the win column this Saturday when it travels to Holy Name.

The city will officially kick off the holiday season Dec. 4 with the annual Light Up Berea Parade.

The parade steps off at 6 p.m. behind City Hall. The route from there is north on Seminary Street, west on Liberty, south on Front Street and then east on Bridge Street.

Santa arrives at the end of the parade in a horse-drawn carriage. He will meet with boys and girls at the Book and Bean on the Triangle after the parade.

Cookies will be provided by the Berea Rotary Club.

Holiday spirit will be handsomely rewarded to some lucky parade participants. Awards will be presented for best decorated float, best decorated vehicle, best marching unit and best costume.

A Clydesdale horse will be participating in the parade as well.

Kelly Mendeluk, administrator for the housing, building and planning division, encourages everyone to come to the parade to start the season off right.

"It's always fun for the kids, and churches always come up with such good floats. They're fantastic ideas," she said.

Christine Crish said she'll never forget her first college course when during the lecture her teacher reached into a bucket and produced a human brain.

"He proceeded to talk about how this brain was once a person," she said. "And that this brain housed millions of memories, and how it felt happiness, sadness, fear and love. And that this brain belonged to a man who ultimately suffered from Alzheimer's disease."

This moment changed Crish's life forever, inspiring her to pursue the study of the brain. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in adolescent medicine at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

The community has been transformed into a winter wonderland, the perfect backdrop for the annual Holiday Parade.

This year, parade night promises a fun-filled evening full of family activities to spark the holiday spirit.

The parade steps off at 4:30 p.m. Sunday from the Brookgate Shopping Center. From there it travels south on Smith Road, then west on Sylvia Drive to the City Hall parking lot.

The weather outside may be frightful, but luckily all activities after the parade can be enjoyed in the warmth of the rec. Children can visit with Santa, have their picture taken with St. Nick, and receive a special gift and a candy cane.

A young team will encounter its bumps and bruises, especially early in the basketball season. That's exactly what Berea's girls basketball team experienced Friday night during its 60-42 home loss to Gilmour in its season opener.

Berea led 18-15 after the first quarter and trailed by just two at the half but was outscored 12-3 in the third quarter. Berea's lone returning varsity player, guard Brenna Jazwa, led the Braves with 13 points. Gilmour's Brittany Layton came off the bench to lead the Lancers with 20 points.

A hearing on the United Methodist Church's expansion project has been postponed from Dec. 4 to Dec. 11.

The Planning Commission is expected to decide the fate of the project, and some neighborhood residents pray those plans are denied.

The church appeared before the commission in October, but a decision was delayed so church members, residents and architects could reach a peaceful compromise. Two representatives from the neighborhood met with the church twice, but peace has not come.

"To accommodate the church, should I be giving up rights that I have always had as a taxpayer of Berea?" said Seminary Street resident Dominic Franklin. "I'm opposed to this impacting me financially, emotionally or in any way, shape, form or fashion. I, and other residents, shouldn't have to bear any burden on our lives as it relates to this remodeling taking place."