New Playground is a Prayer Answered for Students

Students at St. Albert the Great are thrilled to have a brand new playground. Recess will be much more fun now with the new playground equipment that was dedicated on March 20. “For some of us this is a dream that seems to have come true relatively quickly. For some of us this is a dream that seems to have taken a few years to come true. For some others this is a dream that seems to have taken many years to come true. And yet for others this is a dream you thought would never be realized,” said Principal Ed Vittardi during the dedication. The creation of a playground has been in the work ....

Pairing Those Magical Mushrooms with the Perfect Wine

Mushrooms are everywhere. They are grown in every part of the world. Commercially, they are grown indoors, making them available all year round. They can be eaten raw or cooked, sauteed, baked, microwaved, grilled, or fried. They have a mild taste that intensifies when they are cooked. There are hundreds, upon hundreds of varieties. The most common varieties that you can find in local area groceries include button, shiitake, oyster, enoki, and portabella/crimini (same mushroom picked at different times).

The importance of mushrooms can be seen as much as 4500 years ago in the hierog ....

EASTER EGG HUNT THIS SUNDAY 2-3 P.M. – Easter Bunny hopping over to Royal View for this year’s egg hunt

Due to the recent tear down of the wooden playground at Memorial Park, the Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt this year has been moved to Royal View Elementary School, 13220 Ridge Road. It will be held on Sunday, March 29, from 2-3 p.m. “Residents of Royalton Woods Retirement Community on State Road have been busy filling some 3,000 eggs that will be hidden on the school grounds. The residents enjoy passing the time filling the eggs, and feel good knowing that they are helping create an afternoon of fun for area youngsters,” said Linda Arduini, a coordinator of the egg hunt and director of Royalt ....

FORMER PRINCESS NORTH ROYALTON HEADED TO STATE PAGEANT

March 26 2015: Have you ever set a tough goal and achieved it? Erin Simonek, a junior at North Royalton High School, did just that. On February 28, Erin was crowned Miss Greater Cleveland’s Outstanding Teen in the Miss America Scholarship Organization. She had placed 1st and 2nd runner up in this organization in the past, and set her goal to earn the teen title before aging out of the program next year. The Miss Ohio Pageants started including the teen division of competition in 2005.

The competition consisted of a private interview, fitness routine, talent, evening gown, and onst ....

MIXED-USE PROJECT PLANNED FOR BENNETT’S CORNERS

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK Contributing Writer March 26 2015

A new mixed-use development will be the draw to the Bennett’s Corners area. Bennett’s Corners is the area where North Royalton meets Strongsville, Brunswick, Hinckley. The multi-city intersection has had development in the past years, but never on the North Royalton portion of the area.

The development is proposed for the northeast corner of Bennett’s Corners, located at West 130th Street and Boston Road. The 13-acre, mixed-use development proposes restaurants and two national chains. The plan shows six buildings that ....

CITY TO OFFER NEW ALERT OPTIONS

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK Contributing Writer

The North Royalton Police Department is offering another layer of protection to its residents in the form of an alert system. They have partnered with Nixle to provide residents a Community Notification System. The system will alert residents in real time on local emergencies and advisories that are specific to North Royalton. The service does not cost the city, nor the residents to utilize the new system, although message and data rate may apply to residents, dependent upon your cell phone plan.

Residents have several simple ways to regis ....

School District Asks Community to Complete Survey to Guide Refinement of North Royalton City Schools’ Strategic Plan

The North Royalton City Schools is in the process of re-examining its Strategic Plan. The district’s vision of identifying individual student needs and providing support of those needs, as well as the mission of “inspiring and empowering learners” will remain the same. The goal areas of student achievement, communication, community engagement, facilities, finances and collaboration also will remain intact. The district leadership team will be working to refine the action steps and develop timelines to take the district into the next three years.

A survey has been released to t ....

Heart Healthy Indulgences

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK Contributing Writer

Usually, when one thinks of Valentine’s Day, thoughts of chocolate and champagne and roses - great indulgences, come to mind. But think of the other symbol, the heart, which is used as its grand symbol. Of course, the thought of a human heart compared to a valentine heart is somewhat of a stretch, it is still the organ which relates to this holiday. With so many on medical diets or special diets at this time of year, the following are a sampling of some heart-healthy indulgences (substitute fat free, salt free and/or use egg substitutes to your ....

CERT Plans a Year of Training and Exercises

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK Contributing Writer

About 30 leaders and city officials attended the annual North Royalton Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) meeting on Saturday January 24, at the North Royalton High School media center. The annual meeting was scheduled to plan for the upcoming year’s CERT training, exercises and community activities, according to North Royalton CERT Commander, Nick Phillips.

This year, the general meetings are scheduled for February 18, March 25, May 20, September 17, October 14 and November 18. Radio Training is scheduled for April 18 and a CERT E ....

North Royalton City Schools Begins Discussion on Moving Early Childhood Center Students to Three Elementary Schools Beginning Next School Year

The North Royalton City Schools’ administration and Board of Education are in discussions to close the Early Childhood Center and move Pre-K and Kindergarten to Albion Elementary, Royal View Elementary, and Valley Vista Elementary for the start of the 2015-16 school year. Superintendent Greg Gurka presented the idea to board members at the work session on February 5.

The discussion was initiated after review of the Early Childhood Center facilities and greater than usual retirements in the district. In addition, after examining elementary level enrollment for the 2015-2016 school ....