Letters to the Sun Press: Shine up Oakwood property so we can realize what a ...

My family moved to South Euclid in 1975, and I remember the teenagers wanting to be caddies at Oakwood Country Club, which was well before the invention of the motorized golf cart. I remember hearing how nice Oakwood’s golf course was back then and also it’s mansion too, which is said to be very classy, still today.

Back then, there were plenty of golf courses in the area, with Lyndhurst and Locust Grove, Parkview, Briardale Greens, and Highland Park being the public courses, while Landerhaven, Acacia, Mayfield, and Oakwood were the country clubs, and even T.R.W., whose world headquarters were in Lyndhurst, designed it’s own corporate golf course (now Fowler’s Mill in Chesterland) for it’s employees and customers to use.

Only Highland Park and Briardale still exist as public golf courses, while only Acacia and Mayfield still exist as private country clubs, and until recently, so did Oakwood. Fowler’s Mill is still in business as are a couple of new courses, Airport Greens and Stonewater, which are both very busy.

The idea of big box retail coming into our area is kind of scary, because of how it’s performed in surrounding cities such as Beachwood, Euclid, Mayfield Heights, Richmond Heights, North Randall, Maple Heights, Bedford, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, and even in Mentor, where there seems to be empty storefronts coming and going. I assume that someone in the two cities has done their homework on it, so we know what we’re getting into with it.

I guess I don’t understand with all the lobbying that’s going on with the Oakwood property, why it can be used as a golf course for the two cities to share profits from for at least a couple years, which would include rounds of golf, golf tournaments, and also the use of it’s mansion for weddings, reunions, high school proms, or city and social events. It would be nice for the area high schools and colleges to have a host course for their golf programs, teams, tournaments, and other golf related events. Maybe we could host a mayor’s tournament of area celebrities as a fundraiser for the South Euclid Playground of Possibilities, and maybe an annual South Euclid versus Cleveland Heights Golf Tournament.

A lot of people in the area might just like to see what the Oakwood grounds look like or what it’s mansion looks like inside, so maybe an open house could be held sometime this summer of fall. It would sure be nice to have a pristine public golf course in all of our backyards to use whenever we want. Having open land in the middle of one city, let alone two cities, is a rarity these days, especially the condition Oakwood is in, being a country club for many years.

Inside Politics: Campaign finance figures from 2010 crunched ...

Last year’s winners of three congressional races in Cumberland County spent an average of almost $1.3 million.

U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Democrat from Lumberton, spent the most among the three winners at $1.88 million, according to figures crunched by OpenSecrets.org.

The website – sponsored by the nonpartisan research group Center for Responsive Politics – analyzes campaign finances reported to the Federal Election Commission.

McIntyre fended off Republican challenger Ilario Pantano of Wilmington, who was new to politics but still managed to raise and spend $1.2 million. He plans to challenge McIntyre next year.

The 7th District race garnered an unusually heavy amount of attention and money from both parties and interest groups last year.

Pantano benefited heavily from outside donors, according to OpenSecrets. About 41 percent of his contributions were outside North Carolina, compared with 9 percent for McIntyre.

According to OpenSecrets, the average incumbent in U.S. House races last year raised $1.5 million. Challengers raised $265,338 on average.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Democrat from Lillington, spent the most of any candidate affecting Cumberland County last year at $1,904,688, according to OpenSecrets.

Etheridge, who had almost three-quarters of a million dollars left from his 2008 re-election, raised about $1.4 million last year.

Renee Ellmers, a Republican from Dunn, defeated the seven-term congressman in November. She spent $886,608.

In the 8th District, U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell of Biscoe spent $1.1 million defeating Republican challenger Harold Johnson of Charlotte.

Johnson, a retired sports broadcaster, raised and spent just over $1 million. He self-financed about 60 percent of his campaign.

State Sen. Wesley Meredith, a Republican from Fayetteville, has been appointed Senate chairman to the Joint Business Caucus, which supports business and industry growth in North Carolina.

The Fayetteville Republican Women’s Club will meet Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Belmont Village at 1104 Hay St. Reservations are required for the $15 lunch and should be made no later than today. There is a $2 fee for seating only. This month’s scheduled speaker is Dave Taylor, a conservative talk-show host on WFNC-640 AM radio. For reservations, call Catina Hockenberry.

Cumberland County Republican Women’s Club will meet June 14 at Highland Country Club at 6:30 p.m. The scheduled speaker will be City Councilman Jim Arp of District 9. The buffet dinner is $22; seat only is $3. To make reservations, call Staci Chiomento at 483-7341 or Sue Dennis at 425-4353.

The bulletin of the United States Golf Association, Green Section

The Grand Rapids furniture record

Cincinnati Magazine

Public acts passed by the General Assembly

The Modern cemetery