The Blade published the article below last Sunday. My rebuttal in the form of a Letter to the Editor was deemed too long to publish. They asked me to shorten it up, but I think it would lose its punch and passion, so I choose to post it here. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read it. If we share it on Facebook, The Blade does not have the opportunity to censor. We just had a wonderful art and music festival on the East Side this past weekend. Numerous people just poured their heart and soul into creating a wonderful, interactive, positive experience in East Toledo. We truly have an awesome pool of talent in this area and it was beautiful to see it showcased. You can imagine my disappointment this morning....instead of opening my morning paper and seeing a well-written article about something POSITIVE happening on the East Side, I see yet another NEGATIVE article about the blight and problems in East Toledo. There are wonderful people and organizations that are working diligently to make the East Side a better place. Please understand that we are not blind to our problems. However, it does not help when, in the midst of trying to improve our lot, the media continues to pound home the negative perception of our neighborhoods. Granted some of that is very real, but some is truly imagined. One Voice for East Toledo, in conjunction with The Lucas County Land Bank and many other organizations, recently completely a full survey of every lot (all 10,000+ parcels) in East Toledo. The purpose of that survey, to be conducted throughout Lucas County, is to provide a baseline from which we can move forward. As Mr. Mann states in the article, we are truly a tipping point neighborhood. What we do from this point forward will determine the future success or failure of East Toledo. This survey is the first step in evaluating where we stand, what we can do to retain our beautiful homes, what needs to be done to rehabilitate good housing stock, and what we have to do to demolish those homes that are beyond salvation. All this is a effort to improve housing values, safety and pride in our neighborhoods. While volunteering, I was amazed that my own perceptions of the neighborhoods were challenged. Many of the homeowners, and quite a few renters, took great pride in their homes, yards and neighborhoods. Much of this survey work was conducted on Saturday mornings and we saw droves of people out in force...cutting grass, tending to lovely landscapes, scraping and painting, etc. Many of these neighbors were wary of us in the neighborhoods, protectively and boldly approaching to question our presence. After we explained our mission, many were grateful that someone was trying to make the East Side a better place. However there was also a heavy dose of skepticism shared on whether anything would truly come of this project. Conversations often included what their likes and dislikes were. Many positive themes included: caring neighbors you could count on; affordability; and tradition. Common negative themes included: city services were shoddy at best and completely lacking at worst; absentee landlords and their lack of pride and accountability; and lack of knowledge on WHO to call to get anything done. Is East Toledo deteriorating...absolutely...in some sections just like many other areas of town or the country for that matter. However, we need partnerships in the neighborhoods, in the schools, in the churchs, in the businesses, in the nonprofits, AND IN THE MEDIA to help us move forward. Please choose to make a positive impact as opposed to a negative one. We will all be better for it. toledoblade/local/2014/09/15/Economic-woes-hit-East-Toledo-hard.html?fb_action_ids=10202503173851849&fb_action_types=ogments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%255B863229990356293%255D&action_type_map=%255B%2522ogments%2522%255D&action_ref_map=%255B%255D Economic woes hit East Toledo hard Drive across the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge and you immediately notice the decline and decay of East Toledo — a massive vacant lot where the Sports Arena used to stand, and a Main Street lined with... toledoblade LikeLike · · Share 19 people like this. Beth Beley Cutcher You go girl. GREAT job Andrea. 7 hrs · Like · 3 Andrea Clark Martin Thanks Beth! 7 hrs · Like Andrea Clark Martin I think when we share, it only shares the link to the article. I think you have to share the status or copy and paste my response...boo 6 hrs · Like · 1 Kelly McMannis Odneal Sorry your article was not published in the Blade. Thank you for sharing on FB. 6 hrs · Like · 1 Beth Beley Cutcher I am not sure if we can share stuff posted in the group to those who are not in the group Andrea Clark Martin due to this being a closed group. 6 hrs · Like · 1 Amy Tingley I tried to share it several times and it only shares the Blades article so I have unshared it and just liked it. We need your letter to get out there. Love it! The Blade, not so much! 6 hrs · Like · 2 Beth Beley Cutcher Post to the East Toledo Historical Society page, I will reshare it and folks can pass this on. 6 hrs · Like · 3 Jodi Memaw Gross I would copy and paste the letter on a separate post. 6 hrs · Like · 1 Beth Beley Cutcher Many folks just know how to hit share Jodi ..lol..just saying. 6 hrs · Like · 1 Andrea Clark Martin Thx Beth...you rock! 6 hrs · Like · 1 Beth Beley Cutcher Team work ladies 6 hrs · Like · 1 Beth Beley Cutcher Shared. I had to copy and paste your comments too Andrea. It just wanted to share the link..grr 6 hrs · Like · 1 John Nickoloff Bravo!!! Well Done, Andrea! 3 hrs · Like · 1 Ronald Mauter What an intense and truthful letter Andrea, East Toledo Thanks You!!! 2 hrs · Like · 3 Mike Dandar Well said Andrea! 2 hrs · Like · 2 Bill Pavuk Thanks for your message, and filling people in about the work of the organization youre a part of. I thought the article, while heartbreaking, was not so much a judgment of the people on the East Side as a lamentation about the state of things now. ...See More 2 hrs · Like · 1 Marilee Beller Medlen Thank you for sharing that with us. It is powerful. Too bad the Blade would not publish it. 1 hr · Like · 1 Toni Moore I was also dishartened by the negative attitude of the Blade reporter. I 1 hr · Like · 1 Toni Moore While I do not live in East Toledo and I am aware of all the good things that are happening. You may need to invite a few of the reporters to takie a ride/walk with you so that they can report on the positive. xo 1 hr · Like · 1 Beth Beley Cutcher Unfortunately we have tried to get the media to our events and well get knocked out of the time slot due to the all the bad news most of the time 1 hr · Like · 1 Ronald Carol Roberts great job andrea 38 mins · Edited · Like · 1 Celeste Gettings Excellent job Andrea! 7 mins · Like · 1 Brenda Bright Hagman Write a comment...
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:16:27 +0000
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