LO Tabloid Mixing Facts With Opinions

[Mark Crnolatas]

Not to step on the toes of Gary Rice, but I think it is at this time appropriate for a full chorus of Kumbaya.

(Plays introduction on the piano)

Mark Allan Crnolatas

[Bryan Schwegler]

I'm hoping this is all just a further symptom of the temporary divide caused by this very schismatic election cycle. People just seem so much more combative and on edge. Feelings are raw, emotions are high.

I'm hoping that a week from Wednesday, Lakewood will begin pulling itself back together again.

[Jeff Endress]

Bryan

I'm hoping this is all just a further symptom of the temporary divide caused by this very schismatic election cycle. People just seem so much more combative and on edge. Feelings are raw, emotions are high.

I'm hoping that a week from Wednesday, Lakewood will begin pulling itself back together again.

Amen Brother.
Jeff [joining in on his valve trombone with Mark]

[Gary Rice]

Gary Rice joins in with his inimitable vocal strength, and that ubiquitous banjo:

This is Lakewood's time,

Stand with us.

Now is Lakewood's time,

Stand with us.

Tom and Ed would say,

Stand with us.

Even Ryan would say,

Stand with us.

(at least, I'd like to BELIEVE they all would :-)

I think Jimmy makes a good point. If'n we' all don't stand for ourselves, exactly who ELSE will?

Did we REALLY drive all our property values and community desirability down, by tellin' everybody and their brother that the wolves were at the door?

There's a whole bunch of suburbs around here that people can choose to live in. Did we mess up our particular "Lakewood brand" a bit too much with all this feudin' and fightin'?

Halloween's coming, then the election, then Thanksgivin'. Let's give thanks for all we have RIGHT here, right NOW.

Otherwise, well, we're just another dinky lil' burb.

[Ryan Patrick Demro]

Wrong Sharon, over 72% of Lakewood heard and agreed with change. I am shocked that you have chosen incompetence and corruption instead.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Wrong Sharon, over 72% of Lakewood heard and agreed with change. I am shocked that you have chosen incompetence and corruption instead.

36,000?


.

[sharon kinsella]

Ryan -

Are you Ed's campaign manager now?

[Gary Rice]

Sigh,

Well, Kumbayah was nice while it lasted.

Are we once again going back to old Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" as the template model for Lakewood?

Aux barricades, Citoyen?

[Kenneth Warren]

Gary:

There are doors in all our neighborhoods.

Some are secured by alarm systems.

Some have been kicked-in.

Some are still unlocked.

At some doors something feels dangerous to a person’s sense of security and status. Sometimes the danger is increasingly realized in effects of crime and disorder that disturbs people.

How a community articulates these feelings and determines the facts sensibly is a painful learning experience.

How politicians connect and make political capital from such rapping on doors is also a painful learning experience.

Try as we do, we have yet to discover proper methods of community organization that will yield from conservative and liberal perspectives of citizens and politicians sensible strategies to improve safety and mitigate the sense of danger.

Hence the spin zones, the arguments over stats, the issues of what a politician can or should say about issues when and where, that have been so hotly contested this election season and that too often alienate us from one another.

To see communication devolve to feuding and fighting in a community debate over danger and safety is to miss the mark. And we have missed it, to be sure, in our desire to push our points and in our aggravation with one another over political choices.

Yet there must be debate over conditions in the city. If we can maintain increasing levels of civil participation that remains informed and respectful of differences in experience, opinion, politics and psychological temperaments, we have a chance to cultivate sensible strategies to improve safety and mitigate the sense of danger.

It’s difficult path to stand together in relationships of difference over so many things, but that is the work we face in Lakewood. Working through differences and relationships toward trust and respect will make us strong whether wolves or “trick or treatersâ€Â￾ are blowing down our doors.

Kenneth Warren

[Stephen Eisel]

Gary Rice joins in with his inimitable vocal strength, and that ubiquitous banjo:

A Banjo a blazin at the LO parking lot

[Suzanne Metelko]

No one has ever fact checked for me.

LIE

Jim has "warned" me that I can't write something he doesn't consider "building the brand"

LIE

but I don't know of any legitimate editorial board or policy associated with the items printed by the LO.

LIE, and how would you know, you have NEVER been to ANY meeting. Even the one where we handed out our 10 page guide to content dos and don'ts. Dealing with politics, and businesses, and little else. It was put together by Bill Davis 6 months before the first paper. Did not see you at any of those meetings either.


.

LIE - that's a pretty serious charge Jim.

If I've been fact checked, I don't know it. If its the same way you fact check Stan, well I'd call that limited at best. But the FACT remains that I don't know that, I've never been told that, I have nothing to indicate that.

I have the email that has the warning about "building the brand". Check yours from June of this year. Its there.

Ah those elusive meetings. I have a library of emails to you begging for the date and time of those "meetings". I bet there are posts on the forum, asking you for the time and place. Funny that those people whom you want at those meetings always seem to know when and where and the rest of us are told to "just stop by". You're right I've never seen the ten page LO Bible but would have been glad to have it, except I was never given the info on the "meetings" or offered a copy.

I have always acknowledged publicly and privately the contribution you made when you started the LO. I was happy to give whatever time, and talent I could to make this experiment work. Based on your post above, listing your many accomplishments and gifts to Lakewood, I would comment that you no longer need my help or my compliments. You have a clear perspective on your own greatness and a cadre of LO Forum pit bulls who just wait to attack in your defense.

You can call me alot of things but LIAR is not on the list. When you name call you look petty and immature - when you put it in writing and publish it, you gamble with your quality of life.

I'd love to think that we could discuss a topic from start to finish where personal attacks aren't permitted. I don't mean we need a rule - I'd just like to see if we could establish a level of dialogue or debate where the participants acknowledge that personal attacks are unproductive and inappropriate.

I thought that was going to be this Forum.

[Justine Cooper]

Any posts that I wrote on the other thread were posts from an emotional and deeply concerned parent, not as a writer for the LO, so any connection from one to the other should not be there. If I offended any with my posts, please don't target the whole LO in a negative way (although I do realize the ones who have anger against the LO had it long before this thread). Not only has JOB put everything physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially into this project, but his wife has worked full time as a "volunteer" keeping the office together, his employee and friend Brian works hours and extra hours keeping the paper together to be published behind the scenes, and the advisory board has put in God knows what time and energy to provide this free paper. Because it is free, and this deck is free, it is optional for all to read and to post. That is not to mention all of the writers, including Jeff Endress, who is a writer and part of the advisory board and plainly disagrees with my posts, therefore showing this should not be an LO attack.

The positives of the LO are too countless to name and there are so many people so deeply appreciative of it that don't go to this thread that it is pointless to even go there. I still think it is the best thing to happen to Lakewood since I moved here.

As a parent I stand behind my beliefs that this should have been handled differently. The day before, my son went to school, to play practice, and then to work in the evening so I knew nothing about the incident until he was at school the next day. I am allowed to react emotionally to that, and am entitled to worrying about what really could have happened, and what could still happen in the future. The Cleveland shooting was the closest to home so far, right after the possible shooting at my husband's school, so I did react strongly to this. Once again, I apologize for offending anyone in my emotional state and still believe there is more to this than what we have heard.

Ryan, although you are not running for mayor anymore, I am bothered that the only posts you have written in light of this incident and a child dying, have been to attack the paper, because the publisher supports another candidate. I would hope that you would take all that passion and make some positive statements for the community and for change, even still. You went to school at LHS and taught there, you could have an influence. Everything happens for a reason, even this incident. Even your experience for running for mayor. While you did not win, you gained many friends and supporters along with life experience that is priceless that you can no doubt take to another level in politics. Not only that, I think you running for mayor upped the bar for the other candidates and that ultimately could produce a better Lakewood, which is the real goal of everyone, regardless of conflict. We all want a better Lakewood. I hope you continue to promote change and positives in Lakewood and leave the anger behind, because Lakewood still needs you doing that.

[Jim O'Bryan]

So glad you and Ryan are over it.

I will admit, I prefer pro-Lakewood stories, but have never stopped a submitted story or told anyone what to do or write. From Bret Calentine, that I now never read until the paper is printed, to Justine Coop's Secret Shopper, To Chef Geoff to whoever. I also have to admit I do not check Jeff's recipes, or Justine's shopping ability. Both can kick my ass at their specialties. As for Stan, the second Ryan questioned his slant, he was offered an equal amount of space, as were ALL council people. We still have the photo of Ryan at the ballgame he submitted once. Again working hard to even the field and kill any slant.

Suzanne, there has not been any group meetings since spring. For some reason you do not under stand the process. The board met almost weekly when we started. These were open to anyone interested. You attended none. At that point we started two series of meetings, AB meetings, closed. and social meetings open to all. As the board has been so busy lately on various project, we have not had any meeting since the early spring. Did not see you there.

As for the liar. Every story submitted to the Member center goes through at least two editors, and five pairs of eyes. As in our rules, the booklet you never saw, most that can have facts to check we try to check. Yesterday was checked twice before I posted. I have often checked with both sides of a delicate article to get op-ed information. Politicians, are let free to roam, and hang themselves. You know.

Suzanne, go back and read your post. Who attacked who, and for what. You claim I have a blind eye on safety issues, and I list what I am doing, with OTHERS. It has nothing to do with my own greatness, that borders on insane. It has to do with not bitching and whining and grabbing the shovel and doing some work.

As some have pointed to me, that when you threaten me and my quality of life, I am sure has legal ramifications. If there was anyone that should understand I would have thought it was you.

.

[Gary Rice]

Now, where were we?

Kumbayah, anyone?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Now, where were we?

Kumbayah, anyone?

Gary


Was ready before it started.

Let me call Herb and ask.

Suzanne, how about you?


peace