Heights Arts Founding Director to Retire
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FREE Volume 6 Number 2 TAKE ONFebruaryE 1, 2013 HEIGHTS OBSERVER READ LOCAL. SHOP LOCAL. Published by Serving Cleveland Heights and University Heights • Latest news updates at www.heightsobserver.org INSIDE Heights Arts founding director to retire 8 Council member Jason Stein Kim Sergio Inglis debuts new column Peggy Spaeth, founding director of Heights Arts, has announced plans to retire. “It’s a good time for transition— both for Heights Arts and for me per- sonally,” said Spaeth. “I feel a sense of 15 mission accomplished.” Heights High “Heights Arts made the case that video production creative residents can enliven commu- students make nity life,” Spaeth observed, “and today movies our community knows exactly how indispensable visual artists, musicians, writers and others are to our daily lives. ICHAEL WEIL As [art critic] Michael Kimmelman M said, “Art is never necessary. It is merely Peggy Spaeth will step down as the head of Heighs Arts when a new director is selected. 17 indispensable.’” Heights skiers Spaeth said that she plans to stay on bound for until a new director is selected by the that Peggy is stepping down from the fulfilling goals to bring this community Russia and board—“hopefully by spring!” helm, but she has a few other things she together through the arts. Thirteen Winter Children’s Sharon Grossman, an artist and wants to achieve in this lifetime,” said years of fine art, the written word, pub- Games founding member of Heights Arts, Grossman. “We’ve been in this together, lic art, poet laureates, signs, benches, commented on her time working with from the beginning. Thirteen years of openings, murals, street concerts and Spaeth. “It’s hard for me to believe building Heights Arts—of setting and continued on page 8 LFC considers Free parking at Remembering UH Councilman Thomas Cozzens CH meters Feb. six school building 22, 23 and 24 Heights Observer Editor scenarios University Heights Councilman Thom- Deanna Bremer Fisher as Cozzens died on Jan. 17, after a brief battle with cancer. Susan Infeld, Univer- At its Jan. 29 meeting, the Lay Facilities sity Heights mayor, shared the news in Committee (LFC) discussed several an e-mail on Jan. 18. school building scenarios and formu- “He was intelligent, thoughtful lated a plan to survey the public. S and well-respected by everyone at City N Plan C, the scenario approved Hall,” said Infeld. “We will miss him.” by the CH-UH Board of Education The wake for Cozzens was held on (BOE) last July, would have closed three Jan. 20 at the DeJohn-Flynn-Mylott Fu- elementary schools; moved fourth and neral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial fifth graders to the middle schools; and, celebrating his life was held on Jan. 21 at THOMAS COZE COURTESY UH Councilman Thomas Cozzens through a combination of renovation St. Dominic Catholic Church in Shaker and new construction, created learn- Heights. Cozzens at a February council meeting. ing communities—flexible learning In her e-mail, Infeld noted that His family will be invited to attend. spaces—in all grades. the 71-year-old Cozzens was a longtime She announced the news at the Jan. 22 The BOE decided against placing a resident of University Heights. “In council meeting, and council observed Deliver to addressee or current Deliver resident bond issue on the November 2012 ballot November 2011, Tom was elected to the a moment of silence. due to insufficient public support, and City Council and was sworn in as a coun- Cozzens was a resident of Belvoir created the Lay Facilities Committee to cilman on Jan. 3, 2012,” said Infeld, who Boulevard. He is survived by his wife, recommend a new plan. added that, as councilman, Cozzens was Mary Ann, three sons, one daughter, and Eric Silverman, co-chair of the chairman of the City Council Finance six grandchildren, according to Infeld. buildings subcommittee, presented Committtee. Cozzens also served the The University Heights City Char- six possible scenarios for the LFC to community as a 13-year member of the ter requires city council to appoint a consider. He began by laying out three Board of Zoning appeals. replacement for Cozzens within 30 days. recommendations that applied to each: FutureHeights FutureHeights #103 Lee Road 2163 Heights, OH 44118 Cleveland Infeld said that the city will have If they do not fill the vacancy within keep the current grade configuration, a special remembrance of Councilman continued on page 8 don’t go “all-in” for the learning commu- Annual Reaching Heights Spelling Bee will honor Reggie Evans nities concept, and reduce the number of middle schools from three to no more than two. Krista Hawthorne CH-UH schools, the Fundraising Champion—a title held Patrick Mullen, LFC chair, added Evans has served S for more than 10 years by Upper Case, a that a fourth recommendation could N A Where can you find a federal judge, as PTA officer, V team of professors from Case Western be added. “There will be an elementary a Cleveland Orchestra violinist, the levy co-chair, and Reserve University. Upper Case typically school in University Heights,” he said. owner of Big Fun, and a trio of young Reaching Heights raises more than $1,000 above the $500 The subcommittee recommended parents known as the Comeback Kids? Board member COURTESY REGGIE E COURTESY minimum. maintaining the district’s current grade Only at the Reaching Heights Adult and president. He Reggie Evans There’s a surprising amount of ten- configuration—kindergarten through Community Spelling Bee. The 22nd an- and his wife, Terri, are parents of two sion at the Bee. “It doesn’t seem difficult fifth grade in elementary buildings, sixth nual edition of this campy yet competi- Heights High graduates. when you see a word, but to hear a word through eighth grade in middle schools, tive community event takes place April This annual event is a community and then spell it can be quite chal- and ninth though twelfth grade in a high 17 at 7 p.m. at Cleveland Heights High collaboration to support public educa- lenging,” commented Nancy Dietrich, school. School. Admission is free. tion. Each three-member team pays a former Cleveland Heights City Council Silverman said the subcommittee Reggie Evans will be honored with $500 entrance fee and is encouraged to member who has spelled in all 21 bees. considered testimony by district ad- this year’s Friend of Public Education solicit additional support from friends, The Bee raises about $15,000 each ministrators at previous LFC meetings, Award. A longtime advocate of the neighbors and co-workers to become continued on page 9 continued on page 5 Heights Observer February 1, 2013 1 www.heightsobserver.org OPINION Letters Policy The Heights Observer welcomes letters to the editor. They must be Heights Observer newsies deliver submitted electronically, along with the writer’s name, phone number and e-mail address, to: OPENING Observer and read it. The Observer is avail- tures, heavy snow, wind and freezing www.heightsobserver.org/members or THe ObServer able in more than 200 locations in every rain make it more difficult for us to e-mail: [email protected] neighborhood in Cleveland Heights and get the print newspaper out to all of University Heights, and in several sur- the places you expect it to be. Many of rounding communities. our volunteers are retired, and winter HEIGHTS OBSERVER Deanna Bremer Fisher Hannah Baldwin, our part-time weather poses many challenges. The Heights Observer is a citizen-based news source administrative assistant, coordinates If you enjoy reading the Observer, published monthly by FutureHeights, a nonprofit, These days, most newspapers are cut- delivery. She has organized the locations perhaps you might consider joining our 501(c)3 organization dedicated to civic engage- ment and quality of life. ting pages or going online entirely, but into 20 separate routes—the smallest newsies. You can help out just once, or 2163 Lee Rd., #103, so far the Heights Observer is bucking of which has two stops and the largest commit to coming every month. Most of Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216-320-1423 the trend. Our pages are growing, not of which has about 20. Once a month, the routes take about an hour and a half Copyright 2012 FutureHeights, All rights reserved. shrinking, and we are committed to several wonderful volunteers pull up to complete. The papers come in bundles Reproduction is forbidden without written permission. our monthly print edition. You can in front of the FutureHeights office— of 50 or 100, depending on the page PUBLISHER visit our website, www.heightsobserver. Deanna Bremer Fisher we’re located above the Cedar Lee count, and we provide a list detailing [email protected] org, to see more up-to-date news and Theatre—between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., how many to leave, and where to place Editor-IN-CHIEF sign up to receive our weekly e-news- to pick up their bundles of papers and them, at each location. If you would like Kim Sergio Inglis letter, but many people still prefer to deliver them to their designated loca- to volunteer to deliver the Observer, call [email protected] read the news in hard copy form. tions. We call them “newsies,” and they Hannah at 216-320-1423 or e-mail her at ADVERTISING Bob Rosenbaum From day one, we’ve been commit- are a vital part of the Observer team. [email protected]. 216-401-9342 ted to the print issue because we serve Some complete the routes by them- We can never thank our newsies [email protected] all members of the community, even selves.