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Mason's Luke Tsai plays in the OHSAA division I doubles tennis tournament Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Hilliard, Ohio. (Jay LaPrete/For the Enquirer)

Jeff Wallner reports:

Mason seniors Miguel Cepeda and Luke Tsai are great individual tennis players. But that did not assure them of being successful as doubles partners. Last year the Comets’ duo mostly rode their individual talents to a Division I state runner-up finish. But after a full year of training together and building a relationship off the court, Cepeda and Tsai say they’re better positioned this year to capture a Division I state championship.

Mason's Miguel Cepeda celebrates scoring a point in the OHSAA division I doubles tennis tournament Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Hilliard, Ohio. (Jay LaPrete/For the Enquirer)

“We play at the same club together, we carpool together, practice together,” Cepeda said. “Last year was our first year playing doubles together. We’re more experienced, stronger. Instead of just wanting to get to state, our goal this year is to win it.”

In the semifinals of Saturday’s D-I sectional tournament, Cepeda and Tsai were challenged by Sycamore’s Yuri Karev and Nakul Narendran but emerged with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

“Our games complement each other,” Tsai said. “Miguel puts away shots. I can put him in good position. That’s our best attack.”

In the sectional final, Cepeda and Tsai faced their Mason teammates John Mostowy and Colin Heim, who defeated Sycamore’s Dylan Stern and Nikhil Gandhi in the semis. Cepeda and Tsai emerged with a 6-3, 6-0 victory.

The individual star at Saturday’s sectional tournament was Lakota East senior Zach Mueck, a Xavier commit who’s hoping to overcome tendonitis in his right elbow and close out his career with a state singles title. Mueck said the elbow occasionally tightens up during competition, but that it’s nothing he can’t overcome.

On Saturday Mueck overcame some unforced errors in the first set to edge Mason’s Alexander Lebedev 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals. “I kept double-faulting,” said Mueck, who repeatedly voiced his frustration to himself during the match. “Just a lack of effort and concentration on my part.”

In the sectional final, Mueck, a two-time state runner-up who posted his 100th career victory at the Coaches Classic Tournament on April 21, rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Mason’s Jeremy Schneider.

In the D-II sectional singles final at Mason, Bishop Fenwick’s David Leesman won the title by defeating Waynesville’s David Jeffries 3-0 after Jeffries retired during the first set.

New Richmond’s doubles team of Zach Manning and Matt Rydzewski defeated Felicity-Franklin’s Trevor Shouse and Jacob Fry in the semifinals before dropping a 6-1, 6-0 decision to Waynesville’s Stephen Jeffries and Mitch Chamberlain in the finals.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: colin heim, comets, division i, high school, john mostowy, luke tsai, mason, mason high school, miguel cepeda, sports, state championship, tennis

Kimball Perry reports:

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: cathleen schmid, crime, henkel co, mason, national stark, rob dziech, theft, west chester

Mason’s Prasco Park will host the 2012 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I Baseball World Series Championships, which will begin Wednesday and last through next Saturday, May 16-19.

The tournament is in double-elimination format, and in some cases will involve games playing simultaneously on the two fields on Prasco’s campus – Prasco Park and Legacy Field. The NCCAA Division I championship game will take place on Saturday, May 19 at Prasco Park at 11 a.m., with a second championship game in the double elimination format to be played at 2 p.m. if necessary

Admission is free and open to the community. In addition to the games, there will also be family-friendly activities including a wiffle ball field, video game trailer, obstacle course, face painting, photo booth, inflatables and more.

Prasco Park and Legacy Field are located on the campus of Prasco Laboratories, 6125 Commerce Court in Mason. For more information about the event, visit PrascoPark.com, facebook.com/PrascoPark and @PrascoAGs on twitter.

Posted in: Events, Sports |

Tags: Tags: baseball, mason, national christian college athletic association, nccaa world series, prasco park, toccoa falls eagles

Thousands of reptiles will be on display this weekend at the Cin City Reptile Show.

The monthly show will be held from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday, May 13 in the Belvedere Ballroom at the Kings Island Resort & Conference Center, 5691 Kings Island Drive, Mason.

In honor of Mother’s Day, the first 100 moms will get a special gift.  There will also be a $250 Show Bucks drawing to be spent with any vendor the day of the show.

The show features thousands of reptile species and supplies for sale. Admission is $5; free for children ages 10 and younger. Door prizes and raffles will be offered.

For more information, call 513-910-0900 or go to www.cincityreptileshow.com.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: animals, cin city reptile show, convention, herps, kings island resort & conference center, mason, pets, reptiles

The fourth annual Run, Walk and Roll for Common Ground will take place from 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday in Mason.

The 5K Run and 1 mile walk starts at Corwin Nixon Park and continues through Pine Hill Lakes Park.  Post-event festivities include a DJ, face-painting, games and other activities. Prizes will be awarded for the best decorated bike, wheelchair, stroller or scooter and to the best dressed dog.

Proceeds from the event will go to help construct “Common Ground,” an all-inclusive playground for children of all abilities to be built on a 23-acre parcel on U.S. 42, just south of Snider Road.

The City of Mason received a $300,000 grant from the State of Ohio to begin Phase I of the project, which includes building the access road and laying the necessary utilities for entry to the playground.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Foundation is now working with a landscape firm to further develop the playground design centered on a butterfly theme, said Jennifer Casey, a foundation board member.

The park will include a sensory garden, special equipment to promote social interaction, a walking trail and educational features all within a fully-enclosed fence.

“The park promises to be the most unique, educational and interactive in northern Cincinnati,” said Casey. “The playground will not only be handicap accessible but will meet the needs of children and adults with all physical and sensory challenges, including those mobility, sight and hearing impairments, as well as those with social and sensory challenges like autism.”

Those registering on Saturday should arrive by 8:30 a.m. Registration fees are $25 for the 5K; $20 for the walk and $15 for students. For more information, go to www.masonparksfoundation.org.

Posted in: Community, Events, Health & Fitness |

Tags: Tags: 5k, charity, common ground, corwin nixon park, mason, pine hill lakes park, playground, run roll and walk, special needs, walk

Kings Island’s Vortex celebrates 25 years of topsy-turvy thrills this season.

Designed specifically for Kings Island, the Vortex began churning tummies in April 1987.  Its debut placed the Mason amusement park in the national spotlight, drawing crews from Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America and a Chinese television station.

The $4 million coaster constructed with 750 tons of steel rockets through six inversions, more than any other ride in the world when it opened, at speeds of 55 mph.  At the time, it was the most expensive ride since the park opened in 1972.

In its 25 years, the Vortex has given more than 36 million rides, the sixth-most in park history, according to park officials. Its record year was 1987, when more than 2 million riders thrilled to its 3,800 twisted feet of steel.

• King of Thrills: KI’s 40-year reign
• Timeline: A trip through thrill ride history

Consider this: The Vortex flips riders head-over-heels six times per ride; multiplying that by total rides, it comes to more than 216,000,000 upside down flips — easily enough to make you lose your lunch.

In a recent poll, Enquirer readers voted the Vortex to be their third favorite Kings Island thrill ride.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: 25, anniversary, birthday, cedar fair, coaster, inversions, kings island, mason, roller coaster, vortex

Mason High School’s athletic office announced its athletes of the week. This week’s honorees are softball and baseball standouts Margo Hutchison and Josh Galloway.

Margo is the senior catcher on the Mason softball team. She is currently batting .360 with 38 RBIs which is second in the GMC. Margo is also leading the league with a school record breaking nine homeruns.

Josh is a senior on the Mason baseball team. He leads the GMC and the Comets in several offensive categories this season. Josh is second in the GMC in homeruns with 5 and 3rd in the conference in RBI’s with 27. Josh is currently hitting .333 on the season.

Posted in: Sports, Spring sports |

Tags: Tags: baseball, comets, josh galloway, margo hutchison, mason, mason high school, softball

The Sons of the American Legion Squadron 194 will hold an all-you-can-eat Bluegrass breakfast Saturday at the Mason American Legion, 401 Reading Road.

The buffet-style breakfast boasts all the traditional favorites, including bacon, eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits, goetta, hash browns and sausage.

Proceeds from the event help find programs supported by the squadron, including Child Welfare, the Children’s Miracle Network, Buckeye Boys State and to support veterans and their families.

Cost is $8. For more information, call Jerry Behymer at 513-519-7595 or email behymerg@aol.com

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: american legion, breakfast, buckeye boys state, charity, child welfare, children's miracle network, mason, sone of the american legion, squadron 194, veterans

Dan Horn reports:

A Mason will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for molesting boys at his mother’s in-home day care and sharing photos of the abuse over the Internet.

A federal judge sentenced Andrew Keith, 29, to 80 years in prison Wednesday for producing and sharing child pornography.

Prosecutors say Keith used his mother’s West Chester day care as a “personal hunting ground for victims” and routinely photographed the boys while he abused them. Keith pleaded guilty last year to 15 counts related to child pornography.

He faced a minimum 30-year prison sentence and had asked U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott to consider such a sentence. An evaluation of Keith found he had been abused as a child and his attorneys said that could qualify him for a lesser sentence.

But federal prosecutors said Keith did great harm to his victims and poses a continued threat to others if he ever is released.

They also said his use of the Internet to share images of the abuse will inflict damage on his victims for years to come.

“Keith continued to exploit children by trading hundreds of sexual abuse images,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart. “The photographs are forever in the stream of commerce. They can never be removed from the worldwide web.”

Keith admitted last year that he abused and photographed at least three young boys from 2002 to 2003, traded those images with others and collected 600 photos of child pornography on his computer.

Prosecutors say he obtained many of those images by bartering with other pedophiles over the Internet, swapping his images of abused children for theirs.

Keith also could have been charged in state court, but police and prosecutors are increasingly choosing to use federal child pornography charges when possible. That’s because federal sentencing rules are tough and pornography cases often are easier to prove than abuse cases that require the testimony of young victims.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: adrew f. keith, andrew faires keith, andrew keith, child abuse, children, crime, day care, daycare, mason, molestation, pornography, teresa bailey, west chester

Cliff Radel reports:

He plans to tell her how beautiful she looks. She wants to thank him for the walk.

Jerry Walker will have that conversation Saturday with his daughter, Jennifer, as he walks her down the aisle.

Two years ago, the Mason man never thought he would walk again. He didn’t even think he would be alive, much less be traveling to Findlay, Ohio, for the wedding of his 27-year-old daughter, “the baby of the family.”

A sudden and still unexplained numbness in his feet, known as idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, had made him a walker in name only. Now, after finding the right physician – Dr. Humam Akbik – and the proper medical gizmo (a neuro-stimulator implanted in his back), Walker, 63, is back on his feet and ready for the father-of-the-bride dance.

“I want to do this at the end of the dance,” Walker said, standing quickly from his living room chair, spreading his legs and shooting his right arm skyward a la John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.” But, he has been told he will be “thrown off the dance floor.”

He doesn’t need that smooth move. Just dancing to the tune of Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” with her dad is all Jennifer needs. As she said, “I couldn’t ask for a better ‘happily ever after.’”

For a while, Walker’s story had little chance of a happy ending.

(more…)

Posted in: Community, News |

Tags: Tags: disability, dr. humam akbik, jennifer walker, jerry walker, mason, mercy health fairfield pain medicine, neuro-stimulator, wedding