Laube Provides Creative Options

“When we work with a family they know that someone is listening, they feel empowered, and they see that they can do it,” said Stephanie Laube to the Cambridge Lions Club at their Thursday evening meeting. Laube is the Multi-system Youth Coordinator for Creative Options. She was accompanied by Chad Hibbs, director of the Guernsey County Family and Children First Council.

“Sometimes families go through difficult times and need help to get through the tough times,” said Laube. “Every family is different and has its own needs and strengths. Sometimes they work with different agencies and get conflicting advice because the agencies may not see the whole picture.”

“We try to set goals in a team based approach where we get all of the agencies, schools, and any other support groups at the same table so we can all work together. We try to identify what support the family has including other family members or the family’s church.”

“We are persistent in spite of setbacks,” Laube said. “We are outcome based, seeing what is working and what is not. If something is not working the goals may change. We want to do everything we can so that the family can stay together.”

“We recently had a bowling event at King Pin Lanes where we got parents and children together,” Laube said. “We had some parents there who had never really interacted with their children. When they saw how other parents were having a good time with their children, they started to interact with their own children.”

“We work with all the local agencies that work with children and families,” Hibbs said. “We work with the Department of Job and Family Services, Children’s Services, local law enforcement, the juvenile court, the Help Me Grow program for ages 0-3, MRDD, the teen pregnancy prevention group, the three local mental health counseling agencies, and the area schools.”

“The goal of the Family and Children First Council is to coordinate services, reduce duplication of services, fill in the gaps in service and see how best to use the funds available,” Hibbs said. Both Hibbs and Laube emphasized that they were there to help people to help themselves by identifying what services were available and how to increase family communication. For more information about Creative Options contact Laube at 740.432.9271.

Deputy District Governor Tom Cahoon conducted the ceremony to induct new member Chuck Henry. “In 1917 Melvin Jones and several Chicago business men formed the first Lions Club to put their talents to work improving their community,” Cahoon said. “In 1925 Helen Keller challenged the Lions Clubs to become ‘knights of sight’ to help those who are blind. We contributed over fifteen thousand dollars last year to people in need in our area for eye care and for eyeglasses.” Chuck was sponsered by Lion Terry Losego, pictured above.

Cambridge Airport Update

“The airport is an asset to this area that is needed if we are to grow economically,” said Terry Losego to the Cambridge Lions Club. “We have over five hundred corporate operations (take offs or landings) every year.” Losego is the Cambridge Municipal Airport manager. “We recently had a meeting with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration),” Losego said. “We met with the county commissioners, mayor Tom Orr, and Norm Blanchard of the Community Improvement Corporation to go over the airport’s ten year capital improvement plan.” “We have projects worth over one point five million dollars from three grants to lengthen the runway,” Losego said. “I did two years of research with pilots asking them what was needed to improve the airport. I had them fill out survey forms. The length of the runway was a big concern.” “Extending the runway allows pilots to take off with a full load of fuel. With a shorter runway they may have to take off with less fuel and then have to refuel at another airport. It is also a safety issue since they need a longer runway when it is wet or when it’s icy.” “We are using the grants to fill in the area between the end of the runway and route 209. This week we are pouring footers for two hundred fifty feet of concrete to span the ditch to improve the safety area at the end of the runway.” “We will also be removing trees on the opposite side of route 209 because they have grown into the flight path,” Losego said. “We are in the process of designing the specifications to fill cracks in the runway to determine what type and how much of a patch is needed. This will be a forty seven thousand dollar project.” “For 2009 we will be receiving a thirty seven thousand dollar grant from the FAA to replace strobe lights at the end of the runways. The ones we have are obsolete. The new lights are needed for instrument landings.” “Our weather system is obsolete and needs to be replaced,” Losego said. “I managed to get a used system from Athens and have been using parts from it to maintain ours. We can’t get new parts anymore.” “The FAA recommends that we have taxi ways so that we won’t have any runway incursions. They don’t want us to have an airplane or a maintenance truck on the runway when another plane is getting ready to land.” There are twenty single engine airplanes and one jet based at the Cambridge airport. There is an average of one hundred sixteen aircraft operations per week. Sixty seven percent of these are local general aviation and twenty five percent are transient. Seven percent are for air taxi service and one percent is military.

Deputy District Governer Inducts New Members

Deputy District Governer Tom Cahoon led the induction ceremony to welcome new member Bob Reicher and returning member Randolph White, both members were sponsored by Lion Tom Cahoon. Pictured are, left to right, Randolph White, Bob Reicher, and Deputy District Governer Tom Cahoon.

Cambridge Inducts New Members

King Lion Terry Losego presented appreciation awards to Lloyd McGilton Jr. and Dean Starr of Lloyd's Towing; Heath Watson of Southeastern Equipment; and Bill Nicolozakes of Nicolozakes Trucking, for their contributions in making the recent truck and tractor pull a success. This annual event helped raise funds for the local diabetes support group. Pictured left to right; Heath Watson, Dean Starr, Lloyd McGilton Jr., Bill Nicolozakes, and King Lion Terry Losego

Guernsey County Coroner Describes Carreer

“It is a privilege for me to elucidate the role of county coroner,” said Guernsey County coroner Dr. Janet Brockwell to the Cambridge Lions Club. “The position is one that is quasi-judicial, administrative, and investigative.” (Pictured at left, Dr. Brockwell and Lion Benjamin Cahoon).

“The coroner is responsible for classifying the cause of death according to circumstances outlined in the Ohio Revised Code,” Brockwell said. “The coroner issues a ruling on the cause of death when the person is unaccompanied, when the death is unexpected for an otherwise healthy person, or when the death is the result of violence from an accident, homicide, or suicide.”

“The public is required to notify the coroner of any death,” Brockwell said. “When I am out of town Dr. Steven Stansberry is my backup.”

“We are lucky enough to have an excellent relationship with the newspaper, the sheriff’s office, the Cambridge and Byesville police departments, and the ambulance services,” Brockwell said. “That’s not true in all of the counties in Ohio.”

“One of the misconceptions people have about coroners is that we pronounce people dead. That is usually determined by a trained observer at the scene. The coroner is only called after there has already been a death.”

“In the case of a traffic fatality, I will draw blood at the scene of the accident to get evidence for the highway patrol,” Brockwell said. The blood sample can help determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident.

“Sometimes determining the cause of death requires an autopsy,” said Brockwell. “If a child dies under the age of two we are required by law to perform an autopsy. Autopsies have to be performed by a certified forensic person. That’s why we send our autopsies to Licking County.”

If relatives disagree with a coroner’s ruling on the cause of death they can request a private autopsy. The coroner can help arrange such autopsies through the Ohio State University. For more information about the responsibilities of the coroner and what deaths must be reported, visit the web site for the Ohio State Coroners Association at www.osca.net.

Dr. Dayton Advocates For Children

“We take them to a safe place,” said Dr. Michelle Dayton referring to the child friendly room where children may be taken for an interview if it is believed that they may have suffered physical or sexual abuse or have been neglected. Dayton is an emergency room physician at Southeast Ohio Regional Medical Center and is President of the Board of the Children’s Advocacy Center located on Highland Avenue in Cambridge. In speaking to the Cambridge Lions Club, Dayton reported that before the creation of the advocacy center two years ago, children often had to retell their experiences twelve times before being required to tell it again in court. “They had to relive the trauma of repeating their experience,” Dayton said. “We have a special room at SEORMC where we can gather the forensic evidence in cases of alleged sexual assaults,” Dayton said. “We prefer having them there because the equipment to treat them is right there if there has also been a physical assault. We have people who have been trained and certified to gather the evidence using established procedures that will stand up in court.” “When children are referred to the advocacy center by children’s services, law enforcement, or the hospital, they are interviewed by people who have been trained to work with children,” Dayton said. “We tape the interview with a closed circuit camera. This tape can then be reviewed by others so that the child does not have to repeat it so often.” Evidence gathered at the hospital and at the advocacy center can be used in court. “The tape can be reviewed by the prosecutor’s office,” Dayton said. “With this evidence those guilty of abuse or neglect often plead out instead of going to court.” "Healing can begin when children tell their stories,” Dayton said. “We also offer educational materials for the family so they will know how to handle this disaster.” The center serves not only Guernsey County but other surrounding counties. “All those who work at the center donate their time, but we do have expenses for the equipment and the materials,” said Dayton. To raise funds for the center, the first annual O.S.U. Extravaganza will be held on October 18 at the Cambridge Eagles on E. Wheeling Ave. The event will include children’s games, a live and a silent auction, raffles and drawings for prizes including O.S.U. items. Contact Melissa Keylor at 740.439.5555 ext. 263 for tickets or more information. The Buckeyes play Michigan State on Oct. 18.