LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Gates Mills, Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Richmond Heights and South Euclid

The Hillcrest Relay for Life will host a kick-off celebration from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the atrium of Hillcrest Hospital, 6780 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Heights.

The event will celebrate the 2009 Relay For Life with food, activities and a mini-relay. Information booths and registration tables will be on-site. The Hillcrest relay will be June 13-14 at Charles F. Brush High School in Lyndhurst.

Contact Event Chair Sharon Bennett at ksbennett@roadrunner.com.

The South Euclid Housing Department and the South Euclid Good Neighbor Committee will host a free home maintenance seminar at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the city's community center, 1370 Victory Drive.

Attendees will learn simple techniques to protect and maintain their homes and avoid surprises at inspection time. The goal of the seminar is to provide participants with the necessary tools to protect their most important asset and provide do-it-yourself educational training for simple repairs.

Participants will also learn how to hire a reputable contractor and information will be provided on a variety of county programs that assist homeowners in maintaining their property with low-interest loans for all income levels.

Call the city's housing department at (216) 381-0400.

While the Playground of Possibilities at Bexley Park is now complete, donations are still being sought for the ground cover to ensure that the playground is accessible to all children.

Donations are also being sought to find the costs of properly maintaining the playground for years to come.

The ground cover will be poured plastic and is made of tennis shoes and other kinds of recycled rubber. This ground cover will allow for easy access of walkers, braces and wheelchairs.

There are several ways to donate for the playground, which will open in the spring.

Personalized fence pickets are $30, with the donor's name memorialized as part of the playground. Order forms for fence pickets are available at city hall, 1349 S. Green Road; at the city's community center, 1370 Victory Drive; and on the city's Web site, cityofsoutheuclid.com.

Monetary donations are being accepted, with donation forms being found at the above locations. Individuals can also make a secure donation on-line by visiting the Playground of Possibilities page on the city Web site. All donations are tax deductible.

Call Community Center Director Meg Martines at (216) 291-0771.

South Euclid City Council recently passed legislation that will have the city supporting the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan's designation of 2009 as the "Year of the River."

It was 40 years ago this June that the Cuyahoga River famously caught on fire.

Ward 4 Councilwoman Jane Goodman, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga River RAP, said that event in 1969 gained national attention and sparked the environmental movement of today.

Goodman said the hope of the RAP is that all local communities will pass a similar resolution that supports stewardship of area streams, rivers and watersheds.

She said in 2009, volunteers and professionals will make efforts to clean the waterways, take care to remove dams and undertake other activities. Locally, the Euclid Creek will be a beneficiary of the work as the Friends of the Euclid Creek organization is one of several working on the projects.

Rick Porrello is the city's new police chief, but being Lyndhurst's top cop isn't his only accomplishment.

Porrello, 46, who was sworn in by Mayor Joseph Cicero at Monday's (Jan. 5) City Council meeting, is also an author and jazz musician. He replaces Anthony Adinolfi, who retired after 33 years on the Lyndhurst Police Department, including nine years as chief.

Porrello, who grew up in Cleveland Heights, got his first big break at age 18 when he replaced his brother, Ray Porrello Jr., as the drummer for legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.

Porrello played with Davis for almost three years, traveling throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and South America. Porrello also played with the Count Basie Orchestra and on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

For more information on Porrello, pick up a Jan. 8 copy of the Sun Messenger.

Brad Brewer

Name: Brad Brewer

Age: 30

Residence: Willowick

Occupation: Proprietor, Outback Steakhouse at The Greens of Lyndhurst

Family: Son Tryston, 3

Education: Graduate of Ontario High School (near Mansfield), attended University of Toledo for two years

How did you get into the restaurant business? "I came back home from (the University of) Toledo, and I needed a job. I had a buddy who was a buser at Outback in Mansfield, and he said, 'Why don't you work at Outback?' So I started there in 1997 and really enjoyed it."

What was your first job there? "I started out as prep cook and dishwasher, then moved up to front-line cook, then line cook. I worked my way through every station on the line. After I took over as kitchen manager, there was an opportunity here (in Lyndhurst) to be kitchen manager. I transferred here in 2004."

How did you become proprietor at the Outback in Lyndhurst? "My boss was leaving to go into real estate. I stuck my neck out and told him, 'I would like to take the store over.' I had been kitchen manager for two years and then front-of-house manager for about a year. My boss stepped down in November 2007, and I took over about a month later. When I got my name above the door, that was a really cool feeling."

Notre Dame College will host an open house from 3-6 p.m. Friday to celebrate the opening of its new North Residence Hall.

Visitors should enter through Harks Hall, at the eastern end of the administration building at 4545 College Road, South Euclid. College staff will guide visitors through several apartment-style units in the new dormitory.

The day will mark the first new residence hall at the campus since 1969. The first residents will move into North Hall on Saturday in preparation for the spring semester.

Call (216) 373-5252.