🌱 Cleveland Water Is Safe + Missing 17 Year-Old + Mail Dumped On Road

Hello all. It's me, Sean Peek, your host of the Patch newsletter. Let's get this day started off right, with a quick review of the most important things going on these days in town.

But first, today's weather:

Breezy with a strong t-storm. High: 49 Low: 29.

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Here are the top three stories today in Cleveland:

1. After a train derailed in East Palestine, a village in northeastern Ohio, Cleveland residents are concerned about the safety of their water. Cleveland Water released a statement telling residents that their drinking water is safe and it comes from Lake Erie, which is "separate from the Ohio River and its watershed." The department said, "There’s no indication that Lake Erie or its watershed have been impacted by the train derailment in East Palestine. The testing that we regularly perform would catch any changes to our source water should they arise." (The Hill)
2. Cleveland police have asked for the public's help in locating 17-year-old Damaso Rivera Jr., who has been missing since Feb. 9. Rivera is about six feet tall with black hair and brown eyes. View the link to see a picture of Rivera. Contact Cleveland police at 216-623-5318 with any information about his whereabouts. (Cleveland 19 News)
3. Jason Fleming of Cleveland helped a local community by delivering mail and checks that he found on the road for free. Fleming said on Saturday night, Feb. 11, he found mail and checks dumped on East 152nd Street and Darwin in the Collinwood neighborhood. He said, "If I take this back to the post office, they are going to have a long time before they get their checks." The next morning, on Sunday, he delivered the checks himself and then brought the regular mail to the nearest post office on East 152 Street. Fleming was told that the mail was not part of their route, and Fleming thinks it was a mailman who dumped the mail and checks. (Cleveland 19 News)

Today in Cleveland:

• Madeline Finn W/ Liz Bullock & Henry Conlon At Music Box Supper Club (5:30 PM)
• Sammy DeLeón Y Su Orquesta & DJ Fabrizio At Forest City Brewery (6:00 PM)
• I'm Back Now At Allen Theatre (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• The City of Cleveland agreed to pay $1.1 million to former Lt. Paul Baeppler, pay $1.4 million to Baeppler’s attorneys at Bashein and Bashein, and promote Baeppler from lieutenant to captain to settle a lawsuit. In return, Baeppler agreed to drop the lawsuit that he filed against the city, former Fourth District Commander Brandon Kutz, and former Lt. Jason DeFranco in 2018 for allegedly lodging a series of false complaints to get Baeppler fired. After the agreement, Baeppler retired from the department on Feb. 3. (Subscription: Cleveland.com)
• Cleveland police are asking the community for help finding 13-year-old Ja’Lynn Berkley, who has been missing since Feb. 10. He is described as five feet three inches tall, 125 pounds, with black and blonde hair, and brown eyes. He was last seen in the area of West 28th Street and Detroit Avenue. Police warn the community to not approach him, because he may be armed with a handgun. Police ask the community to call the police if you see or know the whereabouts of Berkley. (Cleveland 19 News)
• The Cleveland Museum of Art will host a free “collaborative performance” from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. The performance will feature Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother), Lonnie Holley, Lee Bains, and Mourning [A] BLKstar. (Cleveland.com)

Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday! I'll see you soon.

— Sean Peek

About me: Sean Peek is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in English Literature from Weber State University. Over the years, he has worked as a copywriter, editor, SEO specialist, and marketing director for various digital media companies. He currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.