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Roses&Thorns

Roses of sympathy for the Cleveland Indians. Losing three straight postseason closing games each of the past two seasons — the finale at home each time — isn’t a fluke. It’s a habit. Kind of knocks the gleam off a 102-win season and historic 22-game winning streak, doesn’t it? Gee, do you think they peaked a tad early? But don’t fret. Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in about sixteen weeks. Ample time for the Indians to perfect gag reflex so their throats will be cleared from all that choking. Victory dances on the mound at Progressive Field should be exclusive to the home team and not the Cubs and now Yankees. What a sad and abrupt ending. The Tribe has now lost six straight potential clinching games and 17 of 20 such games since 1999. Next year marks the 70th anniversary of an Indians’ World Series championship. Seems like it’s been longer than that, hasn’t it? Just saying….

Thorns for an apparent invasion of hundreds of crows noisily chattering non-stop around certain parts of Salem. Folks in those neighborhoods don’t need alarm clocks. During the early morning, the areas off North Lincoln Avenue near Second and Third streets sound like a casting call for a redux of Hitchcock’s “Birds.” Has anyone spotted Tippi Hedren in town?

Thorns to the most despicable of thieves. A friend of ours who is a Korean War veteran regularly visits his wife’s grave at Grandview Cemetery. He recently discovered a fern was stolen from his longtime sweetheart’s headstone. He was told that it happens more often than you would think. Do these kind of people have consciences? Who and what do they see when they stare into a mirror? Not to mention those desecrating graves.

Roses for Columbiana High School senior Jared Wilson. He was in Columbus this weekend defending his Div. III state golf championship — and won again. Jared earned a state finals berth four straight years. There’s just something so special about left-handed golfers.

Roses for Trisha Suits. She is the courageous 30-year-old Lisbon resident who we highlighted several times during her battle with a complex form of leukemia. Due to premature birth she was left virtually blind. Still she leads as close to a normal of a life that she can. She is a mother. She ran cross country in high school at Lisbon and later was a coach. Then dreaded cancer struck. She is finally home after living in Cleveland for three months — first at the Cleveland Clinic where she underwent a stem cell transplant on July 7 and afterwards at a recovery center near the clinic. There were some minor scares and bumps in the road but we are told everything went really good. Her spirit and outlook on life is an inspiration for any of us fortunate to know her.

Roses for honest and thoughtful people. A St. Paul School student wrote that she recently left her backpack at the car wash on the east end. When she and her mother went to see if it was still there two hours later, it was gone. Her mother was completely convinced her daughter would never see the backpack again. After checking around the plaza, mother and daughter went home. Mom called the police and was informed that, yes, there was an officer who might have the backpack. Mother and daughter went to the police station to check it out and sure enough there it was. When mom asked how it was found, the policeman said someone had called it in. “So, to the good person who returned my backpack, thank you,” wrote the truly grateful student. “When my mom and I found out it was gone, along with everything in it, we lost hope of finding it again. My mother was prepared to pay for the books and things in my backpack. Thanks to your good intentions, I got my backpack back and the day was saved. We truly appreciate your taking the time to call and inform the police. We also would like to thank the police officer for retrieving the backpack.” The student too for the initiative to write us. Isn’t it nice to read about “feel good” stories now and again?

Roses for Western Reserve, Canfield and Poland high schools. Those three schools — as reported by cleveland.com — are our area’s only representatives in the top 100 schools in Ohio. As related by the cleveland.com story, this rating is based on pure tests results as part of the controversial 2017 state school report cards. A high school near Dayton is No. 1 for the state’s Performance Index. The Performance Index reported by the Ohio Department of Education is a measure of how highly students score on a series of tests. There are 611 school districts in Ohio. Poland stands 35th, Canfield 36th and Western Reserve 45th.

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