29 YEARS OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY OldOld BrooklynBrooklyn NewsNews A Publication of the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio www.oldbrooklyn.com August 2007, Volume 29 Number 6 Fourth of July in Old Brooklyn forever marred by triple homicide by Lynette Filips team with the Old Brooklyn league. And so it was that one of Nicole’s operating such a business entailed. Jake was only eight years old when his friends, Valerie Skora of Mayview Ave., When she was in junior high school, Councilmen and residents alike spend a mother, Debbie, was killed by a huge chunk became Jake’s friend, then his girlfriend, and Katie did behind-the scenes work at lot of time talking about “quality of life” of sandstone that someone dropped onto I- ultimately his fiancée. Katie Rosby was Rosby’s. She planted, watered, trimmed and issues in our neighborhoods these days. In 77 as their car passed under the Fleet Ave. another of the girls’ school friends, and groomed the plants. She packed deliveries the light of last month’s tragedy at 4375 that’s why she and her boyfriend were at and loaded trucks. When she got to high Skylane Dr., all those disputes between their get-together on July 4th, too. school age, Katie moved on to the retail end neighbors over barking/unleashed dogs, Jake’s father, Rod, has many memories of the business. Then and during her college loud music, abandoned cars and tall grass of his son, including not only how he years, she assisted customers who were buy- pale. When the lives of three young people enjoyed life, but also shared it with every- ing plants, trees and shrubs. were snatched from them, the quality of life one. Jake’s extravagance toward his friends Katie was compensated for her work in issue that mattered was life itself. was such that when the Cleveland Cavaliers the greenhouse, but she was required to use The Plain Dealer has thoroughly cov- were recently in the playoffs, he rented a her earnings responsibly. She paid for half ered the details of the shooting at 12:10 am limo and bought enough tickets to treat a her high school tuition at Trinity and two- on July 5 which left our children without the bunch of them to one of the games. thirds of her college tuition at Miami futures they deserved — of how they, with The dozens of entries about Jake in the University in Oxford. (Katie majored in family and other friends, were celebrating guest book on Cleveland.com came from business administration at Miami.) the holiday in a manner which has become people in every stage of his life, and they Katie “came back home” after she grad- commonplace across the city – with noisy speak of the same attributes – his smile, his uated from college, then moved to fire crackers. Their revelry was brought to a humor, his laugh, his enthusiasm, his sincer- Lakewood about a year ago. At the time of quick halt by the blasts of a next door neigh- ity, his easy-going nature, his concern for her death, she was employed at CCP bor’s gun. When the smoke cleared, Jake other people. Industries in Highland Hts., doing inside Feichtner, Katie Rosby and Bruce Anderson We can see that Jake’s untimely death is saleswork. were dead, and Donny Walsh and Katie Jake Feichtner a loss not only to his family and his friends, It was a last minute change-in-schedule Nicholas were injured. but also to society in general. that brought Katie to the scene of her death. So what did we lose that day when the bridge. In third grade, after he was diag- Her boyfriend, Bruce Anderson, got off two kids who grew up in our community nosed with dyslexia and another learning Katie Rosby (1980-2007) work early, so they decided to hook up with (and the boyfriend of one of them) were disability, Jake transferred from St. Leo Because she had two older sisters who some of Katie’s long-time friends and catch killed? Judging from the throngs of people School to Lawrence School on Wallings Rd. were active in both school (St. Leo the some of the holiday spirit before the day was at their funerals and wakes and the anguish in Broadview Hts. Great) and the community (e.g., Girl totally over. in their parents’, family’s and friends’ faces, Jake attended a similar school, Grand Scouts), lots of people knew who Katie Judging from the number of young peo- we lost three genuinely good individuals River Academy in Austinburg, for his first Rosby was from the time she was a little girl. ple at her wake, her funeral and in the guest whose lives can never be replaced. year of high school, but because the cost was Although Amy, Beth and Katie grew up on book linked to her obituary on prohibitive for his dad, who also had two E. Schaaf Rd. in Brooklyn Hts., the Rosby Cleveland.com, Katie kept up with many other children to support, Jake went to more friends than Nicole Feichtner and Trinity High School in Garfield Hts. for his Valerie Skora. They wrote of her kindness, sophomore and junior years. He graduated intelligence, aptitude, humor, and, perhaps from Cleveland Central Catholic High most importantly, her caring disposition. As School, where he was often chosen as the the song says, “In the end, only kindness student representative at Diocesan functions. matters,” and that was a lesson Katie had Like many neighborhood kids, espe- learned well in her all-too-short life. cially those associated with St. Leo’s, Jake Mike Rosby, Katie’s dad, described worked at Rosby Greenhouse when he was Katie as a “non-aggressive person”. And so in school. After high school he attended the family wants “justice but not Cuyahoga Community College for a while. vengeance.” They don’t believe in capital He considered becoming a priest, but he did- punishment, and they are relying on their n’t have a clear sense of career direction faith to get them through their tragic loss. until he worked at the Cleveland Clinic and The same seems to be true of the Feichtner the InterContinental Hotel and Conference family. Peace, love and forgiveness were the Center. themes which echoed through both Katie’s Jake starting parking cars at the Clinic, and Jake’s funeral Masses at St. Leo the and then moved over to the InterContinental. Katie Rosby Great Church. First he was a bellman, then a doorman and See triple homicide page 4 Jake Feichtner ultimately a concierge there. He was study- girls never attended the Cuyahoga Hts. ing Hospitality Management at the schools as many other Brooklyn Hts. kids Jake Feichtner (1982-2007) University of Akron at the time of his death. did. Their parents, too, chose to send them From his pre-school years at St. Leo’s Jake was the middle child in his family. to St. Leo’s for elementary school and to his graduation from Cleveland Central He had an older sister named Nicole and a Trinity for high school. Catholic High School, Jake Feichtner was a younger brother named John. They all kept Katie tended to be a quiet child. She quintessential Old Brooklyn kid. He was a up with friends from their school years, and was hard-working and smart – an all-around Cub Scout and a Boy Scout, he played CYO being close in age, one’s friends became the good student. She wasn’t involved in a lot sports (cross-country, soccer and wrestling) others’ friends. of extracurricular activities, but she did play at St. Leo’s, he was on a summer softball CYO volleyball when she was at St. Leo’s. Mike and Wendy Rosby divorced when Katie was still in grade school, but the three girls stayed in their house on the green- house/berry farm property. You could say that they “grew up in the greenhouse”, work- ing with their dad, their uncle, a staff which Bruce Anderson became like extended family, and many of their grade-school friends at all the jobs that What’What’ss InsideInside Community Spotlight; From the Desk of the Executive Director . 2 Community Toolbox . 7 Katie Nichols, left, and Donny Belarusian Churches . 8 Walsh, right, were among the News & Events; . 3 almost 200 people at the July Real Estate; Raw Diets . 4 Family Fun . 9 5th candlelight vigil at the site Town Crier; Theatre Notes . .5 Church Notes; Senior Notes . 10 of the Skylane Dr. shootings. Re$tore Cleveland . 6 Classifed & Service Directory . 11 Photos by George Shuba PAGE 2 OLD BROOKLYN NEWS AUGUST 2007 From the desk of the executive director I am writing this article on one of the by Robyn Sandys only rainy days of this mostly sunny and dry by Donnald Heckelmoser from a new mountain bike and tickets to an summer. All of us at the office hope that you [email protected] Indians Game, Cedar Point and the Cleveland are enjoying the summer’s warmth (and har- entitled Community-Wealth. Org. They have Metro parks Zoo will be given away. vest, if you have a garden). I encourage you The Memphis Eatery So, if you are driving through the neigh- a good deal of information on the topic of to stop by the Ben Franklin Community Charles Biri and Tina Frisch are the heart borhood and want a change of pace followed community wealth and CDCs in general. The Garden on Spring Rd. if you have not been and soul behind Memphis Ave.’s newest fami- by good food, a friendly atmosphere and link for their home page is: http://www.com- there this summer.