DAN ROESE EXPECTS TO BE OUT OF HOSPITAL IN A FEW DAYS!!!

 

           DAN ROESE IN ICU, BUT NOT FOR LONG!!!

Dan Roese hospital stay nearing end

 

Good news about BJ clerk Dan Roese:

 

From Dan himself:

 

“Still in hospital, but feeling much better. Have a couple more days, maybe.”

 

Dan is spending several days in ICU.

 

His father Is former photographer Don Roese. Don and I met at a New Zealand airport once when he was leaving a visit to former BJ reporter Cathy Strong and I just arrived for a visit to Cathy.

ART "MADE IT" AFTER HEART ABLATION SURGERY

 

Art Krummel has surgery; up to 3 months to recover

 

Scary situation but hopeful post about former BJ art department chief Art Krummel from his wife, former BJ reporter Charlene Nevada:

“Art is out of the heart ablation surgery. Healing can take up to 3 months. But he made it."

Art and Charlene lived in Tallmadge, as I do, but in 2010 bought a 2^nd home in Garden City, South Carolina and in 2014 and later use it as a retreat from Ohio winters.

Garden City is 13 miles from Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where retired BJ printer lived till he passed away and BJ business department retiree Harold McElroy did before Harold also passed away.

Let’s hold and breath and pray for Art’s steady recovery.

For who didn’t know, as I didn’t till I looked it up, heart ablation tries to fix atrial fabulation (Afib).

Sometimes medications can help. Blood thinners lower the risk of blood clots of strokes.

When those aren’t good enough, then Afib becomes an option. And also involves a Pacemaker, which I’ve had for years and it works quite well.

BOB CARPENTER HOME AFTER 6 DAYS IN HOSPITAL FOLLOWING HIS OPEN HEART SURGERY!!!!

 

BOB CARPENTER AND WIFE KAYE WITH FRIENDS ON A CRUISE

BOB CARPENTER, WIFE KAYE, JOHN OLESKY, PAULA TUCKER IN FLORIDA REUNION

                         BOB CARPENTER AND WIFE KAYE

             BOB CARPENTER, "V" SIGN AND FAMILY PET

UPDATE: 

Bob is HOME after 6 days in Fawcett Memory Hospital!

Bob reports:

"I am so humbled by the hundreds of prayer wishes, other comments and posts on Facebook. Still have some rest and recovery at home. FMH staff were awesome. THANK YOU all."

Open heart surgery for Bob Carpenter

Former WKNT radio news director Bob Carpenter will undergo open heart surgery Friday, Sept. 20, to deal with 98% blockage.

Carp posted:

“Dear Friends. I am scheduled for open heart surgery tomorrow morning at Fawcett Memorial Hospital. I've been under cardiology heart care the last 35 years.

“My recent treadmill test showed a problem. I had a heart cath at FMH and have a 98% blockage.

"Carp"

Let’s wish Carp and his wife Kaye of Punta Gorda, Florida, who were married 52 years ago in Ravenna, after Carp’s graduation from Kent State, a happy outcome. I enjoyed my encounters with them in my travels.

Carp and Kaye do a LOT of cruises.

Their son John lives in Los Angeles.

In 2020 Bob had kidney stone shock wave therapy that put him in the hospital for 4 days with internal bleeding!!!

Many of his newscasts and posters about the 1970 Ohio National Guard killings of 4 Kent State students and wounding of 9 others are in the Kent State archives about the unhappy event connected to Vietnam War protests. The “Four Dead in Ohio” outrage helped end America’s participation in the war, which solved nothing and left North Vietnam in charge of all of Vietnam. All those dead Americans for nothing.

Carp’s intelligence work for the Air Force translated a message about a bomb planted at the American embassy in Nicosia. The building was clear, the bomb went off, but no one was harmed in 1964.

Carp got a commendation in person from a general.

He is former executive director of the Punta Gorda Business Alliance and an award-winning public information officer with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

Carp relocated from Kent to Maui in the mid-70s to do radio and public relations before moving to Florida. 

In 2022 Hurricane Ian downed 11 of the trees on their Punta Gorda property with didn’t ding Carp or Kaye.

For years Bob and wife Kaye personally delivered  Christmas gifts to hundreds of challenged children in Beijing, China; Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Quito, Ecuador.

TIM SMITH HOME AFTER HOSPITAL & REHAB OVER EATING PROBLEM

 

Tim Smith home after eating problem

Former Beacon Journal managing editor and Kent State professor Tim Smith spent several weeks in hospital and rehab because a “corkscrew” esophagus blocked his food.

Tim joined Kent State in 1986 after 19 years at the BJ. His other media stops were the Columbus Dispatch, the Painesville Telegraph and United Press International.

Tim has a bachelor’s degree and master’s in journalism from Ohio State and a law degree from the University of Akron. In 1991, became a law clerk for now-retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Craig Wright. In June 1991, he was named acting director of the School, a post he held until June 1994, when he returned to the faculty and resumed his service as adviser to the Daily Kent Stater.

I’ll let former BJ reporter Charlene Nevada, who reported Tim’s situation, tell the story in more detail:

 

Good news. Tim Smith - former Beacon Journal honcho, Kent State journalism professor and lawyer — is back home after several weeks in hospitals and rehab. 

Long story short, Tim started having problems eating several months ago. Actually, he says he pretty much stopped eating at all. He lost a lot of weight, which caused his blood pressure to drop, and he nearly had a stroke. That’s what put him in the hospital originally. 

Walking became difficult because he was so weak, so then he needed rehab. Doctors finally figured out Tim has what they described as a “corkscrew” esophagus, which kind of blocks food.

Surgery to repair it is set for late July at the Cleveland Clinic (in Cleveland). In the meantime, Tim is back at his lake home and on his feet with the help of a walker.

His address is 4770 Sundown Trail in Ravenna, 44266. His cell phone is 330-283-4676 and he said he would welcome calls.

CHAR'S SCARY MOMENTS AT CLEVELAND CLINIC

 

Scary time for Char

Retired BJ reporter Charlene Nevada got a huge scare a day after her surgery in Cleveland Clinic. Her oxygen level went into freefall and a dozen people “with back packs were called in for quick testing,” Char reported Saturday. “But I’m OK.”

 

She adds that she hopes to go home Sunday. So do we.

SID SPRAGUE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. (970) 420-5034

 

Retired printer Sid Sprague, who lives in Loveland, Colorado, is dealing with prostate cancer again and “would love to hear from” his former  BJ co-workers.

Phone him at (970) 420-5034 and make him happy. Colorado is a LONG way from Ohio and even Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where Sid was living when is wife passed away.

Sid goes in for his PhSA (prostate-specific antigen) test March 15 and has an appointment with his oncologist March 25.

I reported his cataract surgery for his eyes in 2020.

Sid’s significant other for 17 years, Nancy, is “doing well,” Sid said.

Nancy, who is from Canton, was neighbor and friend to Sid’s late wife, Sandra. After Sandy passed away, Sid and Nancy moved in 2005 from Pawleys Island to Loveland.

Sid moved from Cuyahoga Falls to Pawleys in the late 1990s. BJ Accounting Department retiree Harold McElroy and wife Linda joined them in 1999. Retired printer Dick Latshaw and Dick’s wife Pat, joined them in 2000. They all lived on the same street, which is only three blocks long. It was BJ south.

Latshaw and McElroy have passed away.

Sid’s granddaughter married July 3, 2021 in Connecticut.

His daughter, Suzanne Sprague Rutherford, lives in Costa Mesa, which is 37 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and is working toward being a veterinarian (docs for animals).

Sid’s other sons are Jeffrey Sprague, whose two sons live in the Columbus area, and Steve, who passed away in Middleburg, Virginia at the age of 38 in 2010.

Sid’s brother, Ken Sprague, passed away in 2010 in Cuyahoga Falls, where I often had meals with Sid on Front Street.

Sid has taken cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean (both Eastern and Western) and the “Mexican Riviera” on the Yucatan Peninsula with Cozumel as a jumping off point for the cruise ships before you take a tender to the mainland and the “Mexican Riviera.”

Sid once explained why he left warm and sunny South Carolina for Colorado where he’s up to his butt in snow for month after month:

 

“We had to evacuate (from Pawleys Island) every time there was a hurricane and that was a disaster. So I told myself, one more time and I’m out of here. The next hurricane came, a big tree fell on my house. As soon as I fixed the house, I sold it and we moved to Colorado.”

 

Sid was among the 45 retired BJ printers who benefitted from the successful healthcare lawsuit that the late Dave White filed against the BJ that restored retirement day medical coverage.

 

I piggybacked on Dave’s lawsuit by filing on behalf of retired BJ Guild newsroom members.

 

It saved me $80,000 because I got $4 90-day prescriptions not matter what that total cost of the pills were.

 

Canadian billionaire got out from under the lawsuit requirements 8 years later by making the BJ a shell corporation, stacked the debt ot it, filed bankruptcy to stop the $4 lawsuit benefits for Guild and retired printers.

 

As if he needed another million by taking thousands of dollars from BJ retirees.

 

Since the late BJ State Desk assistant editor Harry Liggett created this blog there have been 1.2 million pageviews. It’s my way of upholding Harry’s tradition of keeping BJ folks informed about each other.

 

The number of hits shows BJ folks are tuning in. If you want to see if there are articles on this blog about your former co-workers just go to the top left of this page where you see a white “b” on a red background, type in their name and hit your “Enter” key. EVERY article ever published with that name in it will show up!

PHIL CANUTO KNOWS FIRST-HAND WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT

 

WEWS-Channel 5 and DaLaun Dillard ran a story about former BJ medical writer, Phil Canuto, a kidney transplant recipient (from his cousin) who spoke to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) advisory panel in Washington and urged them to recommend a third booster.

Phil is among 2.7% of Americans who are immune compromised. He did everything to stay safe in the pandemic, including getting vaccinated.

“In my case they tested antibodies and I tested negative after both shots,” Phil said.

“I’m really lucky to be alive, I really savor the life that I have. But I wish that I could live a fuller life and I don’t know when that is going to happen."

Phil also has has four back surgeries.

His stops in life have included Jacksvonville, Illinois, where he grew up; Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, Illinois; and the BJ.

Phil and wife Debra live in Akron.

Allison Reynolds, a scientist, credits Phil and Debra for her love of theater and the arts. She was raised in Akron, spent time in Philadelphia and currently works in Colorado.

Allison describes Phil as one of three men who guided and helped her through her life.

CATARACT SURGERY FOR JANE SNOW

Jane Snow, the best food writer in BJ history (there were a LOT of good ones, too), will have cataract surgery on her eyes, beginning Thursday, June 3. Two weeks later they’ll do the other eye. 

I had both of mine done about a decade ago. Several months apart. Piece of cake.

The average cost of LASIK eye surgery is about $2,000 per eye.

Patients pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for corrective lenses after each cataract surgery with an intraocular lens, and the Part B deductible applies. 

In my case the replacement lens improved my eyesight to 20/30 because, I was told, 20/20 vision in one eye puts the other eye out of kilter and creates vision problems (the way that 2 speakers provide stereo rather than mono but have to be synchronized properly).

Jane says if she goes for laser surgery and lenses that correct everything to end the need for glasses the cost is about $8,000.

Jane Snyder Neyrinck, who retired from Summit Physicians coding and auditing and lives in Uniontown, said that’s pretty much in the ballpark.

 She added: “What is covered by Medicare is the basic lens. We are sadly lacking in meaningful vision and dental care coverage.”

Anyone with more encouraging, reliable information to forward to Jane on her Facebook page?

The lenses aren’t much help if you have astigmatism. 

And you usually have to choose, as I did, between seeing better to drive or seeing better to read a book. 

I choose driving without running into cars I can’t see. 

If I take off my glasses the type in this article looks larger and clearer than it does when I look through my glasses. It’s a tradeoff I’m happy to live with.

My eyesight has remained remarkably stable over the years (I had a checkup last week).

Good luck, Jane! Here’s looking at you with my storebought lenses! Hope it doesn't screw up your marvelous cooking and recipes. 

DAVE SCOTT RECOVERS FROM COVID

 

Great news from Dave Scott, BJ regional issues reporter and deputy Business editor before the April 2014 BJ buyouts exodus:

 

“My health has improved greatly. I’m over COVID and no longer infectious. Only a slight cough lingers.

“My foot continues to improve and I might return to HBO (hyperbaric oxygen) chamber treatment. My ear is not perfect but much better. I see an ENT Monday.

“No word on whether I’m excused from Jury Duty. Jane and Phillip are both doing well and we hope to have dinner together tonight. Thanks for the interest and good wishes.”

Jane Gaab Scott and Phillip also got COVID.

Dave and Jane, married 42 years, live in Copley and have 3 sons – John and Franklin and ???.

Jane managed the Fairlawn-Bath Library and was on the Copley Zoning Board for 11 years. Jane’s father, Robert Gaab, was a councilman in Independence during the 1960s.

She has a master's in Library Science from Kent State. She has been president of the Copley-Fairlawn Kiwanis and the Copley Historical Society.

Dave is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and publishes a blog. He shared his passion for baseball history and traveled to stadia around the country with the late BJ court reporter Dick McBane.

Dave once wrote:

“Many of you know that Dick and I shared an extreme love of baseball. It included vacations to visit minor-league teams for a couple of weeks in several summers.

In most cases, we’d spend a single day in each little town, scan the skyline of a town like Elmira, N. Y., for the stadium light towers before finding our next tiny, homey motel.

“The days were spent traveling or walking around town, often seeking out landmarks telling their part in local history. Dick often could provide lengthy details of how those places played roles in the Revolutionary War.

“The trips were a joy.”

Dave and I shared an experience, too. We spilled drinks on retired BJ super columnist Bob Dyer at a 2018 BJ reunion at the Silver Run Vineyard and Winery in Doylestown. Bob didn’t whine about the double dip of wine on his shirt. Laughed, in fact.

Failed surgery caused the foot problem. Doctors were trying to relieve pressure on the bone near his little toe which made it painful to walk.

The procedure, after the wound opened up,  exposed muscle, bone and tendons. It was infected.

 

The hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment led to blood coming out of his right ear.

 

Dave and Jane’s son, Franklin and his wife Natasha Kunin Scott, who live in Oakland, California, made them grandparents for the first time in 2017.

 

The late Webb Shaw was married to Katie Gaab-Shaw, Jane’s sister.

 

Jane and Dave met on a blind date arranged by Webb and Kate Shaw and Rick and Diane Reiff. Dave met Rick was a reporter for the Norwalk Reflector when Dave was covering Huron and Erie counties for the Elyria Chronicle Telegram.

 

Northwestern University graduate Webb passed away in 2018.

 

Webb’s father, the late Ohio native and Fremont (Ohio) Ross High football star Bob Shaw, was an all-American end on Ohio State’s 1942 national championship team coached by the legendary Paul Brown, who eventually guided the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL.

 

Later Bob Shaw was a tight end with the 1949 Los Angeles Rams and was receivers coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1958 when they beat the New York Giants to win the NFL championship in what has been called "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

 

Rick had the foresight to push for 401(k) in Guild negotiations in 1989. That helped me live a comfortable retirement since my 1996 departure from Ol’ Blue Walls.

 

Dave and Doug Livingston won the 2014 National Association of Black Journalists Award for their series on poor black children hit by cars.

update on sid sprague

 

CATCHING UP WITH

Retired BJ printer Sid Sprague

 

Retired printer Sid Sprague, who lives in Loveland, Colorado, will have cataract surgery next month.

 

Sid will be 85 in March. And he keeps getting cancer-free test results after his prostate surgery a few years ago.

 

Sid says second wife Nancy “is doing well,” too. Nancy, who is from Canton, was neighbor and friend to Sid’s late wife, Sandra. After Sandy passed away, Sid and Nancy married and moved in 2005 from Pawleys Island, South Carolina to Loveland.

 

They’ve been back to the Carolinas 3 times since.

 

Nancy’s sister moved from the Carolinas to Virginia.

 

Sid’s granddaughter will be married in Connecticut in July. Sid hopes to make it for the wedding, depending on the pandemic and other things.

 

Sid had joined the late Dick Latshaw and Harold McElroy, also BJ retirees, in Pawleys Island.

 

Sid’s daughter, Suzanne Sprague Rutherford, lives in Costa Mesa, which is 37 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Sid’s son, Jeffrey Sprague, lives in Greenwich Township, on the southwest tip of Connecticut. Another son, Steve, passed away in Middleburg, Virginia at the age of 38 in 2010.

 

Sid’s phone number is (970) 613-1914. Call him and have a remote BJ reunion.

Bob Carpenter health report

 

Bob Carpenter health report

Kent State graduate and former WKNT news director Bob Carpenter still is dealing with kidney stone problems.

Here’s his latest report:

“In late August I was bleeding from a 3/4” long kidney stone...they blasted with shock wave therapy called Lithotripsy. Next day I was in hospital for severe bleeding. I passed out twice at home due to loss of blood and got a transfusion. All is well now on that problem.

“At the same time I was having severe problems with eating and my stomach. I had an Endoscopy last week. They took two biopsies which I’ll know about this coming week. Monday I’ll be at the hospital getting an Upper GI Esophogram/Hiatal Hernia test. This could be the problem and is treatable. I can only eat very small amounts and drinking lots of Ensure Plus.

“I’ve lost about 30 pounds (now at 159) and am off a few of my heart meds for now. I’ve been so weak for two months. I haven’t had the energy to go on Facebook or go to Kiwanis, but hope too soon. Will let you all know.

“(Wife) Kaye has been so great in looking after me, Same for family and friends. Dang, we need a cruise real bad. We had 4 cancelled in 2020 and rebooked them in 2021. Thank you! Carp”