🌱 Lakewood Man Wins Space Flight Awareness Award + At-Risk Children

Hello, everybody! It's me, Sean Peek, your host of the Lakewood Daily. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening in town.

First, today's weather:

A morning thunderstorm; humid. High: 78 Low: 65.

Here are the top three stories today in Lakewood:

1. A Lakewood resident is headed to Florida to watch the un-crewed Artemis I test launch. Ben Van Lear, a 20-year NASA veteran currently working as the Orion Production Operations European Service Module Lead at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, was recently named a Space Flight Awareness Award winner. He will be flying down to Cape Kennedy, Florida to watch the flight launch in person, scheduled for Monday at the Kennedy Space Center. “I received a Space Flight Awareness Award for my many years of working on the Artemis I spacecraft,” said Van Lear. (cleveland.com)
2. About five miles away in Brook Park, the city's fire chief will retire after a long career. Fire Chief Thomas Maund, who has served the public for his entire career, will retire on Sep. 6. On Aug. 23, Maund was honored by City Council with a resolution at its meeting, as several firefighters watched from the audience. (cleveland.com)
3. A Lakewood mother is begging for change as her son, along with other children, lives in the county office building with nowhere to go. The mother, Cheryl, says her son is one of many at-risk children who are currently living downtown inside the Jane Edna Hunter building. The story was first uncovered in 2020 when children were staying in the building overnight as the last resort when the county said it couldn’t find homes for them during the pandemic. However, social workers said many children are still in and out of the building two years later. There are concerns not only for the kids’ safety but the public’s as well. (Cleveland 19 News)

Today in Lakewood:

• Learn Thru Play, At Cove Community Center (9:30 AM)

From my notebook:

• Cleveland Clinic warns that whether you’re in a public pool or in open waters, experts always come back to the same critical piece of advice: stay vigilant. Drowning prevention often comes down to knowing where children are at all times. (Cleveland Clinic via Instagram)
• Congrats to Cleveland drummer, John Adams, who will be honored as a member of the Guardians Distinguished Hall of Fame. LHS' own sculptor, David Deming, '62, and member of the LHS Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame will be creating the drum sculpture in John's honor, which will reside on his bleacher seat! (Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation via Facebook)
• Last week, Lakewood City Schools hosted a delegation of Romanian educators seeking input on supporting students through trauma as educators anticipate welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their classrooms this school year. (Lakewood City Schools via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• 2022 Solon Pop-Up In The Park! (August 27)
• ALDI’s National Hiring Week (August 28)
• Wiz Khalifa and Logic at Blossom Music Center (August 30)
• Add your event

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

— 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.