🍼 Baby Formula Hero + Teacher Puts Boy In A Closet + Tree Crime

Babies need to eat, and Dr. Jessica Madden is not sitting idly by wringing her hands. She rolled up her sleeves and is doing something to help. Over in Shaker Heights, one mom absolutely would not let a teacher get away with putting her boy in a closet. No sir! Would you believe a 200-year-old tree could turn two people into convicted criminals? We've got those stories and more.

Weather: ☀️ Winds subsiding and very warm. High: 82, Low: 73 — temps could reach 90 this weekend, too

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1) Local Doctor Creates Cleveland-Area Baby Formula Exchange To Help Moms In Need

Dr. Jessica Madden is running an infant formula exchange in the Cleveland area to help mothers in need. She's a pediatrician and lactation consultant with Primrose Newborn Care. Out shopping recently, she noticed the bare shelves in the baby aisle.

• "Um, this is a huge problem," Madden said, and then she began networking with friends.
• As of Thursday, more than 300 cans of formula have been collected and distributed.
• If you have baby formula to donate, click here to fill out Madden's form.
• If you need formula, fill out this form.

3News WKYC

• Baby Formula Q&A: Can parents safely make homemade formula? Is it OK to water down formula? Julie Washington tells parents what they need to know to safely navigate the formula shortage (cleveland.com)

2) A parent recorded video in her child’s Shaker Heights school after she heard a teacher put her son into a closet to punish him. Christin Imani Mays walked into her son's second-grade classroom at Mercer Elementary School in Shaker Heights and asked the kids whether the teacher made her son stand in the closet. The kids replied in a chorus: "yes, yes."

• “Sir, you put my son in a closet? Don't lie to me."
• The teacher tried to defend himself. "He was making noise and he wouldn't stop."

See the video on Fox 8 News

3) A brother and sister in Strongsville who didn't like a 200-year-old black walnut tree near their property now have criminal records for cutting down the big tree. The tree was on the Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation, but Todd Jones, 57, and Laurel Hoffman, 54, told a tree cutter the tree was on their land.

• After getting the black walnut tree chopped down, they sold the wood for $2,000. Metroparks estimated the value of the tree and the damage to the nearby area at more than $128,000.
• Jones and Hoffman were sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution. The jail time was suspended.

Cleveland.com

4) A 74-year-old woman who owned a Strongsville adoption agency will spend three months in prison for lying to U.S. and Polish authorities about the adoption of a 5-year-old girl from Poland, whose caregiver later violently raped her.

• After spending time behind bars, Margaret Cole, who owned European Adoption Consultants, will spend a year on house arrest and pay a $7,500 fine.
• Cole apologized to the judge: “I’m really sorry for what happened, but I worked for 24 years to help 8,000 families. The children were the joy of my life.”

Cleveland.com

5) Missing mom in Parma: Police are looking for a 52-year-old woman missing since Monday, May 16. Lynne Komar is 5 foot, 9 inches and 130 pounds. She has blonde shoulder length hair, hazel eyes and a heart tattoo on her left wrist. Komar spoke with her adult son by phone on Monday. She hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Fox 8 News

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5 Headlines You Need To See Today

• Cleveland Public Power for years would disconnect service for people who hadn't paid their bill and would not tell them they had the right under the law to appeal. Out of 80,000 customers, only one person had ever appealed. Now, the power company is establishing a legally-required appeals process. (cleveland.com)
• Jarvis Landry turned down opportunity to return to Cleveland Browns (3News WKYC)
• Cuyahoga County requesting ideas for COVID-19 memorial (cleveland.com)
• Medical Mutual taps Cleveland Clinic exec to become new CEO (cleveland.com)
• Guardians’ José Ramírez headed for X-rays on right leg; Terry Francona to miss Friday’s game vs. Detroit (cleveland.com)

3 Things To Do

• Catch "American Moor" at Karamu House. A Black actor auditions for Othello and is challenged by the director, who's white. Shows are Friday, Saturday and Sunday and next weekend, May 27-29. Learn more at karamuhouse.org
• A bubble dance party and other bubble-themed games, performances and fun will take place at Tower City on Saturday, May 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more at towercitycenter.com (You had me at bubble dance party)
• Tori Amos plays a show Sunday, May 22, 7 p.m., at KeyBank State Theater. Since the release of her first, career defining solo album, Little Earthquakes and her number 1 album Under The Pink, Tori Amos has been one of the music industry's most enduring and ingenious artists. Buy tickets here

Adopt From Cleveland Area Shelters: These local animals are searching for their forever homes. Meet Edna, Wickett, Abuela, Brando and more.

CrimeTime

• Suspect sentenced for incident with Jewish couple during Palestinian rally at Crocker Park (Cleveland 19 News)
• Body recovered from Lake Erie near Vermilion (News 5 Cleveland WEWS)
• Cleveland man arrested and charged with felonious assault after allegedly attacking a man in Central Ohio with a hatchet (WTAP)

Cleveland Gets Social

• Here's an Instagram video of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson sinking a putt in the Bahamas on a trip with his teammates. Let's hope he's this accurate when throwing passes in the winter with the wind whipping in from Lake Erie.
• The Browns Instagram posted a throwback photo for #TDThursdays of Brian Sipe’s game-winner in overtime vs. the Chargers in 1983.
• Cleveland Zoo recently welcomed three mini-Nubian goats to the Zoo’s Australian Adventure! They are easy to identify from the Nigerian dwarf goats due to their long floppy ears! Check out the photos on Facebook
• The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is hosting a virtual interview at 7 p.m. Friday on YouTube with Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas. The Rock Hall's director of education will sit down with Phillips to discuss her life and career, as well as her original artwork. Learn more via Facebook

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Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone (but you can still read yesterday's news): 🐴 Runaway Horse Buggy + Mason's Creamery + Crisis Dogs + Sokolowski's

We'll see you Monday!