Spirit of Bainbridge - A Newspaper Serving Auburn and Bainbridge Townships, Ohio

Kenston Destination Imagination Teams Advance to Global Finals;

Fundraising Event May 20 at Blazin' Bills

Two teams from Kenston High School that participated in the state Destination Imagination competition on April 21^st are now advancing to global finals in Knoxville, Tennessee. Destination Imagination is a worldwide held creative problem solving competition that can incorporate technical, engineering, theatrical, improvisational and critical thinking skills.

The winning teams from Kenston attended the regional competition in Barberton and advanced to the state competition in Mt. Vernon, OH. Also advancing to states was a Kenston Middle School team, “There’s a First Time for Everything”, coached by Jennifer Holzheimer and including members Russell Woodworth, Katherine Blazek, Kendall Duncan and Samantha Eisner. At States, the high school teams The Duct Tape Pirates coached by Beth Hietanen and including members Aaron Hietanen, Robert Pavlick, Chris Perry, and Anna Shoemaker took second place in the technical challenge entitled Assembly Required, and coming in at first place in the improvisational challenge entitled News To Me was the team Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo, coached by Julia Kolibab and including members Brigitte Kolibab, Mads O’ Brien, Katherine Hoffman, Maggie Woodworth, Kim Blake and Tia Mroz. Both teams will be attending global finals in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 23-26 and will be competing against teams from all over the world.

To take advantage of this achievement, the teams need significant financial support. There is a benefit dinner at Blazin’ Bills on May 20. Tickets are $40 a plate. For dinner information, or for purchasing dinner tickets, please contact Beth Hietanen at 440-543-2789.

For donations, checks can be made out to “KCE” (Kenston Community Education) and sent to:

KCE – Destination Imagination

17545 Snyder Road

Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023

GCRTA Luncheon June 5; Reservations by May 25

The Geauga County Retired Teachers Association will meet on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 for a luncheon and meeting at Mary Yoder’s Restaurant, 14748 N. State Street, Middlefield. Please use the banquet entrance. Gathering time at 11:15 AM, followed by the business meeting at 11:30, and lunch at 12 noon. The menu will consist of chicken, potatoes, green beans, garden salad, pie, and beverage.

The program will be by Kathleen Fuller, Amish author, who will speak on the Amish and also do a book signing.

Cost is $18 (which includes a $1 donation to the Grant-in-Aid Fund). Make your reservations with Terry Rossiter, 9076 Wyandot Rd., Chesterland, OH 44026 (440) 729-9251. Please make your check out to GCRTA and send your reservation by May 25.

Bring a newly retired teacher, school personnel, or someone who may need a ride.

Our association welcomes any person who was employed by a school district anywhere in the United States. For further information about membership, please contact Jean Paine at 440-286-4992.

Remember to bring paper products or canned goods for the Geauga County Hunger Task Force. There is currently a need for canned green beans.

If you need a ride from Geauga Transit, call 440-285-2222 or 440-564-7131 ext. 5160 a week ahead of time to make your reservation.

Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio

No registration is required for these walks. But if you are lost, will be late, or want to see if the walk will be cancelled or postponed, call Tracey Knierim 330-388-9279 after 5p.m.

May 23 – Morgan Preserve, This is a new park not open to the public yet. Chris Craycroft from Portage Park District will show us their Wetland Restoration Project and then lead us through the woods to see what this new park has to offer.

May 30 – Kent & Triangle Bogs, Last year the Tamarack Blossoms and Pitcher Plant Flowers were Amazing! So amazing, we have to do it again! Chris Craycroft will be leading us again to explain this unique habitat. We will meet & walk at the Kent Bog and then continue on to Triangle Bog.

MedWorks Offers Free Cancer Screening for Uninsured and Underinsured June 2-3

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3 MedWorks, its partners The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the Cleveland Clinic-Taussig Cancer Center, and volunteers will provide two days of free cancer screenings at a MedWorks clinic held at The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, 12201 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106.

This first of its kind, large-scale cancer screening event unites the city's leading health care providers in providing urgently needed preventative care for the underserved. According to the American Cancer Society report Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2012, "studies have shown that those who lack health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of cancer, when survival rates are much lower and treatment is more extensive and costly." The MedWorks Cancer Screening Clinic will offer vital screening tests that are proven to improve survival and decrease mortality by detecting cancer at an early stage when treatment is more effective.

The screening clinic on Saturday, June 2 will focus on women's health and men's health cancer screenings. Screenings will include pelvic exams, pap tests, clinical breast exams, mammograms, psa tests and rectal exams.

The clinic on Sunday, June 3 will focus on providing sigmoidoscopies (examinations of the lower part of the colon using a flexible tube -- to check for colon cancer), dermatology screenings, oral screenings and other cancer-related tests.

MedWorks volunteers will also provide educational information about cancer and MedWorks partner organizations will participate in a resource fair to help connect clinic participants to ongoing medical care providers.

Services will be provided free-of-charge. Patients will be identified through local social service agencies providing safety net services. Patients that are identified as in need of these screenings will be pulled from local safety net programs. In addition, medical volunteers and MedWorks media partner WKYC TV-3 will hold a phone bank to schedule appointments for patients deemed appropriate for each screening tool. Some walk-ins will be accepted.

University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic have committed to providing follow up care for clinic patients who need more comprehensive screenings and/or treatment. For example, both medical institutions will provide colonoscopies, as well as diagnostic mammograms for patients who were identified through clinic screenings.

MedWorks' media partner for the Cancer Screening Clinic is WKYC TV-3. MedWorks' other partners include the American Cancer Society, the Gathering Place, UH Seidman Cancer Center, the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, NEON, Neighborhood Family Practice and The City of Cleveland.

This event is made possible by the generous support of our many in-kind corporate sponsors, as well as financial support from The Mt. Sinai Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation and The Kaiser Permanente Foundation.

MedWorks is a non-profit that provides free healthcare clinics to Ohio's un- and under-insured. Through its successful collaborations with hospitals, corporate sponsors and medical and non-medical volunteers, MedWorks provides care for its patients and serves as an access point for these individuals to the medical community.

Geauga County Habitat for Humanity is looking for Women who would like to help build a Habitat home for local family in need. A Habitat Women build is about empowering and educating women. It is a program that offers non-traditional volunteer opportunities for women like swinging hammers and building walls rather than answering phones, data entry and filing.

Time and time again we hear from women that they would love to help build a Habitat home but just didn’t know how to get started or involved. “Well this is their chance” says Christine Bucknell, Development Director of Geauga County Habitat for Humanity. No experience is necessary”. “We will have women mentors and the Habitat Construction Manager will be on hand to train the women on specific tasks and how to operate the power tools safely.

Interested women should plan to participate at 14704 Northview Dr., Middlefield (located in Northview Estates off Tare Creek Parkway) on June 2, 9 and 16.

The Women Build is nationally sponsored by Lowe’s and locally sponsored by Hexpol Compounding, Burton Rubber and Amanda Gustafson of Mary Kay Beauty products. Over 1,900 Habitat homes have been Women Builds.

“It is our hope to get 50 women that want to participate in this Women Build” says Bucknell. With 26 enthusiastic women already registered there is still room for a few more women to come out and swing some hammers this summer.

Participating women will help raise funds, raise walls and raise spirits for a hardworking local family. The home will be built in beautiful Middlefield, Ohio. The goal is to have women attempt to raise $500 each; much like a walk-a-thon or bike-a-thon. The funds raised will be used to offset the cost of the building materials and tools that will be used by the women during the build.

There are 24,000 people living at low to moderate income levels in Geauga County and 4,000 that live at or below poverty. That’s over 25% of Geauga County’s population. Habitat families must provide sweat equity hours in building their home and be able to pay back a no interest mortgage which is typically 25-30 years.

A Habitat Women Build is an incredible opportunity to have fun and learn something new while making a tangible difference in the lives of a local family. For more information or to register for Geauga County Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build please contact Ms. Bucknell at 440.564.5848 or geaugahabitatdd@windstream.net. For more information go to www.habitatgeauga.org