Envy Apartment

Guests no longer can stay at the Stahlstown Hotel, and students can't attend the town's one-room schoolhouses. Those landmark buildings have disappeared from the Cook Township community 's landscape, but they still have a place in a scaled-down version of the village to be unveiled at 7 p.m. Friday at the township community center . The diorama has been in development for more than two decades, but work kicked into high gear the past five years. Harry Lenhart, 78, who lives just over the border in Mt. Pleasant Township , has been a constant force in the project since conceiving it with his late brother-in-law, Ivan Campbell, part owner of Laurel Valley Aluminum and a community center board member . "It's been a commitment," Lenhart said of developing the 8-foot-square model of Stahlstown. "Every time you added something to it, it looked a little bit better." A carpenter, cabinetmaker and model-railroad enthusiast, Lenhart applied his interests...

Screenings Free blood pressure screenings , 9:30-11 a.m. Wednesdays at Countryside Senior Living , front lobby. No appointment necessary. Programs/Self-Help Groups Al- Anon Information Center , call 712-255-6724. Al-Anon and Alateen , meetings locally. For times, dates and locations of area meetings, call 712-255-6724. Alcoholics Anonymous , beginners information, call 712-252-1333. Arc of Woodbury County , serving the mentally challenged, 5:15 p.m. meeting, second Monday of the month at Mid-Step Services, 4303 Stone Ave. For families and interested persons. Child Care Resource and Referral , provides resources, education and advocacy for children, parents, and child care providers . Assists in child care needs. For more information, call 712-277-1180. Co-Dependence Anonymous , 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at First Lutheran Church , Fireside Room. Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA) , 10 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. Compassionate Friends , 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of each ...

Mark Painter (Photo: (c)Pamela Ebel) Mark Painter served as a judge for 30 years. He is the author of six books and a member of the Enquirer’s Board of Contributors. In 1965, I lived in a basement apartment in Corryville. It was a vibrant neighborhood – a doctor’s office, two delis, an actual mom-and- pop dry cleaner , and perhaps the best bar and restaurant ever – the original Lakewood Tavern at Jefferson and Lakewood. What’s there now? The entire tax-paying environment was destroyed to build the Environment Protection Agency . Not that it couldn’t have been built on empty land nearby – UC and the Feds just wanted it as close to the university as possible. It’s sterile and ugly to boot. The small businesses were gone. The homeowners gone. Tax- paying property replaced by non-taxpaying property. Population lost. When you destroy a neighborhood, you tear the fabric of the community. Connections lost. Roots lost. And so it goes. Buy Photo Several dozen houses in Avondale -- abandoned ...

BRUCE GEISELMAN/SUN NEWS North Ridgeville Mayor David Gillock , seated center, cuts the ribbon at the opening of the Ridgecrest apartment complex on Bagley Road. Seated at left is Councilman Bob Olesen , and at right is Chris Teater, a member of the North Ridgeville Chamber of Commerce board. Standing behind them are Dayle Noll, chamber of commerce CEO; Marge Hovan, Redwood Management Co.; City Council members Bernadine Butkowski , Nancy Buescher and Roseanne Johnson; Carol Novak, chamber of commerce board; and Maggie Runyon and Tracy Bowser, of Redwood Management Co. NORTH RIDGEVILLE - Mayor David Gillock , four members of City Council and several representatives from the Chamber of Commerce turned out for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting July 27 at the new Ridgecrest apartments. Gillock said the apartments, located on Bagley Road between the Ohio Turnpike and the Olmsted Township border , are a welcome addition to the community, attracting professionals and teachers as residents. Th...

The Latest on efforts to remove Confederate monuments and the nationwide fallout from a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times local): 9:45 p.m. A white nationalist wanted for crimes police say were committed on the campus of the University of Virginia a day before a deadly rally says he will turn himself in to authorities. University of Virginia police say Christopher Cantwell of Keene, New Hampshire, is wanted on three felony charges: two counts of the illegal use of tear gas or other gases and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive or fire. Contacted by The Associated Press, Cantwell acknowledged he had pepper-sprayed a counter demonstrator during a protest but insisted he was defending himself, saying he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth." Cantwell also said Tuesday evening that he had been trying for days to find out about whether he had outstanding warrants. Now th...

The Latest on efforts to remove Confederate monuments and the nationwide fallout from a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times local): A white nationalist wanted for crimes police say were committed on the campus of the University of Virginia a day before a deadly rally says he will turn himself in to authorities. University of Virginia police say Christopher Cantwell of Keene, New Hampshire, is wanted on three felony charges: two counts of the illegal use of tear gas or other gases and one count of malicious bodily injury with a "caustic substance," explosive or fire. Contacted by The Associated Press, Cantwell acknowledged he had pepper-sprayed a counter demonstrator during a protest but insisted he was defending himself, saying he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth." Cantwell also said Tuesday evening that he had been trying for days to find out about whether he had outstanding warrants. Now that the pol...

Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery . Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a city housing department , for a union, for a law clinic, and on a campaign that stopped a PVC factory from being built in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” For the last decade, he has served as executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (better known as t.e.j.a.s.). Part of his work is leading tours past the heaping piles of scrap metal along Houston’s Buffalo Ba...