SWACO awarded a $35,000 grant to Leveling the Playing Field Ohio to purchase a new van to aid with collecting donations.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A parent with a child who plays sports knows just how expensive it can be to cover the cost of entry fees and equipment. One organization is trying to break down that barrier by giving sporting equipment a second lease on life.
Leveling the Playing Field is a national organization founded in 2013 to redistribute sporting equipment ranging from baseball bats to track cleats.
Leveling the Playing Field entered Ohio in 2023 and has been able to distribute nearly a half million dollars of equipment to 125 different schools and programs in and around Columbus. It’s all done with a goal to give all kids the chance to play a sport they want to.
“I have coaches coming up and saying, ‘I have kids playing in crocs or playing barefoot,’” said Eric Rutkowski, the program director for Leveling the Playing Field Ohio. “It’s really awesome to see a PE teacher show up for soccer balls and leave with basketballs, footballs, a set of lacrosse stick, some golf clubs and really be set up to have an awesome school year.”
The Solid Waste Agency of Central Ohio (SWACO) has a mission to keep as much out of the landfill as possible. SWACO recently gave LPF Ohio a grant worth $35,000. It was enough to buy the organization a van to drive around to collect the donations.
“They’re helping us with our mission by diverting that material from our landfill. Seventy-six percent of what comes into our landfill doesn’t really need to be there,” said Joe Lombardi, SWACO Executive Director.
LPF Ohio’s warehouse off of Morse Road sees a steady stream of coaches and program directors trying to give their kids a great experience.
LaWon Sellers is the head coach for the Weinland Park Wildcats, a youth athletics initiative in the Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus. On Monday, Sellers walked away with some of the equipment his athletes need in order to play.
“The cost of doing youth sports is very expensive now. To have an outlet like this for coaches and other orgs can come to and find those resources those parents need is very helpful,” Sellers said.
Public schools have also utilized the equipment offered by LPF Ohio. Kevin Rawlins is a physical education teacher for Columbus City Schools’ Marion-Franklin High School. He’s gone three times in order to stock up his equipment room with footballs, cones, frisbees, soccer balls and more.
“They have helped provide gaps in equipment where the budget is stretched really thin,” said Rawlins. “I told my wife that it was like waking up on Christmas morning. You just walk into a warehouse and being able to pick up the things you need without having to worry about the price tag over it.”
LPF Ohio has several large donation bins scattered around the Columbus area where people can drop off old sporting equipment that still has some use left. Those locations include several Dick’s Sporting Goods, OhioHealth Chiller and Columbus Recreation and Parks facilities.
Every week, that was always the routine. Ever since I was a little girl, Monday was the day to spend with Mamu and Papa.
Not Grandma and Grandpa.
Not just Mamu, or just Papa. Mamu and Papa.
Nothing about Mamu and Papa has changed since I was little. The large house. The tall driveway. The big pool in the backyard next to the looming hill sprouting kaki and nashi pears, or the cupboard stacked with Fugetsu-do mochi. Every Monday, same routine. As the world around us changed, time continued to tick. Time continues to tick, and tick, and tick. But not with Mamu and Papa.
Time. Another one of the many things that never changed about Mamu and Papa. Time and time again, Monday rolls around and we all gather to enjoy Mamu’s home cooked tonkatsu and sunomono. My mom asks Papa how his back is feeling, as Mamu wears her same bright blue apron in the kitchen to listen to her opera and make more tsukemono appetizers.
“So Dad, how’s your back feeling?” My mom says, reaching over to grab a slice of tonkatsu.
“It’s good, it’s good,” Papa says, pouring tonkatsu sauce over his plate. “Went to the doc the other day to check it out. Everything’s normal.”
“That’s great!”
My brother and I quietly slice our food, listening to the chatter amongst everyone else — the same, routine conversations and catch-up small talk. Mamu has changed the radio station to basketball, and turned it on the TV. The Los Angeles Lakers are playing.
Mamu and Papa have loved basketball ever since their youth. Raising my dad and uncle, they helped manage his basketball team to watch them grow up and play. Papa was the coach, and Mamu always prepared the refreshments for the game. Following in their footsteps, my parents now help around with me and my brother’s basketball team. My dad is the coach, and my mom helps bring the snacks. Basketball is a big part of our lives.
Of course, basketball was our sport. Since the moment my brother and I could run, we were playing basketball every Sunday for the JA League (Japanese American League).
As time continued to tick, we were starting to play more games. Sunday was always game day, and Game Day was always at Terasaki Budokan.
I was never a star-player for basketball, and my brother was always better than me. I only went to play the games for the sake of my teammates and our “after-the-game” walk to Marukai Market, or a quick brunch at Cafe Dulce.
Mamu and Papa were always at my games. I’d be sitting on the player bench the entirety of the game, and they never left. Time, and time again. Mamu and Papa always watched my games.
One day, after one of my games, my parents had left me with Mamu and Papa to spend the day with them. I picked up my oversized basketball bag that made me look like a floating head from the back, and walked over to where Mamu and Papa sat on the bleachers.
Mamu, sitting with her book, and Papa, with his bulky fall-proof iPad, got up from the bleachers and made their way over to me.
“Mamu and Papa! Hey!” I exclaimed, speeding up the pace.
“Hey there kiddo, nice game today,” says Mamu, nodding her head with that same sweet smile she always wears.
“Ready to go?” asks Papa.
“Yeah, let’s head out. Where are we going next?” I say, beaming with excitement.
We walk out the door, and head down the sidewalk back to the parking lot. I grab Mamu and Papa’s hand as we walk slowly together, one step at a time.
We arrive in front of Weller Court, and pass by the Kizuna Friendship Knot on our way to find something quick to eat. After a few loops around the plazas, we decided we wanted red bean manju—Papa’s favorite.
Mamu suggests that we make our way over to a quieter, more peaceful spot to enjoy our manjus. Papa and I nod our heads in agreement, while in reality, the only thing in our heads is that sweet, red, delectable dessert.
Since the beginning of our walk, I haven’t let go of Mamu and Papa’s hands. The only time was to allow Mamu to pick up the bags with the red bean manju.
“Hey, let’s take a break here. I’m getting a little tired, kiddo, the walk has been pretty long.” Papa sighs, slowly coming to a stop.
“Okay, we’ll rest here,” I say, nodding my head as Papa lets go of my hand to pull up a chair and sit under the shady Aoyama Tree.
Mamu, who was a few steps ahead, turned around after noticing our footsteps weren’t trailing anymore.
“Gosh, you guys, you could’ve given me a warning before I started walking too far,” Mamu complains, swinging her arm up out of frustration. She slumps back over to the table, Papa grinning a sly smile.
“Okay now what’s that face for — stop laughing at me!”
“Am I not allowed to smile at my wife?”
“Smile at me again, and you’ll betcha’ no red bean manju!” Mamu says, as she swipes the plastic “Thank You!” bag behind her chair. Papa leans back and chuckles.
I watch the two of them, happy to be here. Happy to be with them. For a moment, time comes to a brief, yet long halt. I sit at this old, still, bench next to two people who have been my life since the start. I’m used to this reminiscent feeling by now. I enjoy my time with them. We all bite into our manjus.
Papa begins to tell stories after we all eat, and I’ve been folding origami with Mamu. We have many conversations about time in the war, and afterwards we visit the Aratani Movie Theater to watch a movie. We watch a movie, and I notice the wall of people’s names I’ve never seen before. In gold, I read Mamu and Papa’s names outloud. Mamu and Papa then talk about how they met at this theater for their first date after college, and they both made the donation to get their names placed on the wall. They got their names on there because even to this day, their names signify that they are still together in the same moment of time, as if they never actually left.
When we finish eating, we make our way past the hall of greenery and toward the Go For Broke Monuments with the list of people’s names. I walk around and Papa shares stories of his time in the war, memories, and moments.
We talk about his childhood, how he remembers driving away from his house and watching the looters raid his home as he drove farther and farther. He talks about his sister being born in the horse stall there because of the conditions, and how hard it was for him to leave behind his home and other friends. Mamu doesn’t remember because she was too young, but her recollection was of packing her things, and she loved her red fancy coat dress. She even wore that little red fancy coat dress in one of the pictures at the internment camps. Her same, bright sweet smile, and short black hair.
I check my phone and realize it’s getting close to the time we were supposed to return home. We absorb one last look at the monument, and walk back to the car.
On the car ride home, we all sing songs together and laugh about our adventures around Little Tokyo. Time is all mine. Nothing can interrupt this endless moment.
When we return to Mamu and Papa’s house, my parents are there to pick me up. In the car, I watch the trees and buildings zoom by and my eyes fall heavy and close.
Tomorrow is Monday.
The school bell rings and I walk to the car to catch a ride home. Once home, I pack my homework and head to the car. Today is Monday.
Mamu meets me at the bottom of the steps and we tend to her garden at the front. We all gathered around to enjoy Mamu’s home cooked tonkatsu and sunomono. Mom asks how Papa’s back is feeling, and Mamu is in the kitchen. Same routine. While we eat, Papa brings up the topic of college and we discuss what I plan to do for my future — which is weird, since I never would’ve considered him to be interested in that sort.
When dinner ends, I help bring the dishes to the sink and put things away.
Papa comes up to me after dinner, which isn’t part of our routine. I normally don’t talk to him apart from dinner on Mondays. He looks up at me.
“I won’t be here much longer, but I’ll try my best to stick around to watch you graduate from college.” Catching me off guard, I process what he says.
For the first time in my life, as I stared at Papa, time started to move differently. Instead of Mamu and Papa, it was my surroundings and the outside world that seemed to stay still and freeze for a moment, and I stared as my time with Mamu and Papa flashed before my eyes. For the first time in my life, I could see the way they aged.
I noticed the missing grey hairs that used to fill the top of his head, and the glasses that changed as his eyesight got worse.
I noticed the creases under his eyes and the corners of his sweet smile that couldn’t reach as high up on his face as it used to.
I noticed Mamu’s hair had gotten shorter, and lighter. I noticed how much slower they walk, how their hearing has worsened.
I noticed how my mom’s normal question about Papa’s back wasn’t such a normal question anymore.
I finally realized I’m not their little girl anymore.
PHOTO BY J.K. YAMAMOTO / RAFU SHIMPO From left: Youth category judges Yoko Hata, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Carmela Tomek.
I’m not their little girl who could barely reach the top of the table with my mini pink chopsticks. I’m not their little girl with her high-pitched voice singing in the car ride with them anymore. I’m not their little girl that fits right into their laps anymore and they can tuck me in and read me bedtime stories.
And as I stared at Papa, I thought to myself. For the first time in my life, I had realized — that I was running out of my time with you.
Josephine Takiguchi is an incoming junior at Granada Hills Charter High School. Growing up in Los Angeles, she joined the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, where she played basketball and volunteered at cultural events. Josephine was a member of the LAUSD Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, where she contributed as the students’ voice on improving student experience. This year, she participated in the 21st Rising Stars Youth Leadership Program. Josephine also founded a nonprofit for food allergy awareness to advocate for those with food allergies like her. As with most teens, she enjoys spending time with her friends and going out. She also comes from a big family and enjoys spending time with and babysitting her baby cousins.
BUCHANAN, Mich. ― Friday night was yet another example of how Niles Brandywine has become a high school known for its basketball despite an enrollment of 351 students.
In a boys/girls varsity doubleheader against the rival Buchanan Bucks December 19, the Bobcats swept the night to reach a combined 10-0 so far on the young MHSAA season.
THE INDIANA CONTEXT: Attorney General Todd Rokita was one of two state attorneys general attending the announcement in the nation’s capital. “We must protect our kids and put an end to these irreversible and harmful experimental procedures that often lead to lifelong regret,” he said. “We are blessed to have an administration in the White House fully committed to the same kind of commonsense values that prevail among everyday Hoosiers in Indiana.”
WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) – President Donald Trump’s administration took major steps Thursday in a campaign to block minors’ access to gender-affirming care nationwide.
Under two proposed new rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospitals would be barred from providing gender transition treatment for children as a condition of participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs, and Medicaid funding would be prohibited from being used to fund such care for minors.
As most hospitals receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, the rules would essentially have the effect of a nationwide ban if they are finalized.
The announcement came a day after the U.S. House passed a bill that would impose federal criminal penalties for gender-affirming care for minors and hours before it advanced a separate measure that would prohibit Medicaid funding for gender transition treatment for minors.
The proposed regulations, which will next undergo a period of public comments, are certain to draw legal challenges.
The efforts build on Trump’s executive order in January that restricted access to gender-affirming care for kids.
More than half of states already have laws or policies aimed at limiting youth access to gender-affirming care, according to the nonpartisan health research organization KFF.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced the proposals alongside several other health officials at a press conference at HHS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The room featured a handful of GOP members of Congress. At least two Republican state attorneys general — Ken Paxton of Texas and Todd Rokita of Indiana — were also in attendance.
At the press conference, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the FDA is also sending “warning letters” to 12 breast binder manufacturers and sellers for “illegal marketing of breast binders for children for the purposes of treating gender dysphoria.”
Breast binders are used to flatten tissue in the chest.
Kennedy said his agency’s Office for Civil Rights is moving to “reverse the Biden administration’s attempt to include gender dysphoria within the definition of disability.”
House passes anti-transgender bills
The proposed rules are part of the Trump administration’s broader anti-trans agenda.
Trump has signed executive orders that make it the “policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” aimed to bar openly transgender service members from the U.S. military, and sought to prohibit trans athletes from competing on women’s sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
Meanwhile, efforts at the congressional level to restrict youth access to gender-affirming care face a dismal path in the Senate, where any legislation would likely need the backing of at least 60 senators to advance past the filibuster.
The House passed a measure Wednesday night, 216-211, that would subject medical professionals to up to 10 years in prison for providing gender-affirming care for minors.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who sponsored the legislation, called its passage a “win for children all over America,” in a social media post Wednesday.
It’s likely the last legislative achievement for the Georgia Republican, who is resigning from Congress in early January.
Four Republicans voted against the measure: Reps. Gabe Evans of Colorado, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Kennedy of Utah and Mike Lawler of New York.
Three Democrats voted with the GOP to back the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina.
The House also passed a measure Thursday, 215-201, from Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Greene that aims to prohibit “Medicaid funding for gender transition procedures for minors.”
Cuellar, Gonzalez and Davis also backed the GOP-led bill, along with fellow Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state.
‘Cruel and unconstitutional attacks’
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, blasted the administration’s proposals, saying they “would put Donald Trump and RFK Jr. in those doctor’s offices, ripping health care decisions from the hands of families and putting it in the grips of the anti-LGBTQ+ fringe.”
Robinson also emphasized that the rules are “proposals, not binding law,” and called on community members, health care providers, administrators and allies to “be vocal in pushing back by sharing the ways these proposals would be devastating to their families and the healthcare community at large.”
The American Civil Liberties Union also condemned the administration’s proposals and vowed to challenge the efforts in court.
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project, dubbed the proposals “cruel and unconstitutional attacks on the rights of transgender youth and their families.”
Strangio said the proposals would “force doctors to choose between their ethical obligations to their patients and the threat of losing federal funding” and “uproot families who have already fled state-level bans, leaving them with nowhere to turn for the care they need to survive and thrive.”
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East Lansing — There Tom Izzo sat Wednesday night, with a white accordion in his hands, his players wearing Christmas hats and singing carols. It’s a tradition at his last radio show before the holiday, complete with a freshman song, a meet-and-greet with fans and, of course, a few stray chords from Mr. March turned Mr. Music. Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Up on the Housetop, even Silent Night.
With sadness in our hearts but with the sure hope of life eternal, we announce the passing of Daniel J. McGaffick of Lakewood, NY (formerly of Industry, PA) on Dec. 15, 2025.
Daniel (Dan) was born in July of 1978 to Keith and Marian Shakley McGaffick of Industry, where he was raised with an older sister and younger brother, enjoying neighborhood and church friends and family. He graduated from Western Beaver High School, where he was active in sports and music, and continued his education at Houghton College, earning a degree in Outdoor Recreation and Camp Administration. Dan then settled in Western New York.
Dan was encouraging and caring – he enjoyed people and always shared a positive outlook. His Christian faith set the tone for the way he lived his life. He consistently joined Sunday services on-line at both his church in NY, where his son also helps lead worship, and at his hometown church in Ohioville, PA. Dan also drew inspiration from the worship services of former youth group friends and college classmates who are now pastors and worship leaders.
Since youth, Dan loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking, biking, rock climbing, camping, rafting, and skiing among other things. He ran the Pittsburgh Marathon; hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail; rappelled from the cliffs at Annapolis Rocks; skied New York’s best powder; and climbed up Colorado’s Buffalo Mountain at sunrise, just to be greeted by a grizzly old mountain goat at the top. A favorite childhood memory was an epic snowball fight on Andrew’s Glacier in the Rocky Mountains in the middle of July. Dan was affectionately known by his nickname Spidez, based on his penchant for scaling difficult climbing routes. He enjoyed exploring the nearby Allegheny National Forest trails and often was accompanied by his son Reese, with whom he shared many treasured times. Daniel also cherished outdoor adventures with his brother Steve and conversations with his sister Carrie and other family members over holidays and special events.
Dan and Reese also shared a love of movies, art, and cars, and Dan was creatively talented with drawing and sketching. (When Reese was still young, Dan taught him how to recognize and draw the front end (emblems) of cars, fostering a gift that grew into innovative and complex designs as Reese grew older). Dan enjoyed watching Reese’s sports competitions, academic endeavors, and musical talents and could not have been more proud a father.
Dan had a bent toward the theatrical, as well, and when in college, had fun with his friends putting together elaborate skits for talent show nights that became well-known across campus. He enjoyed his college friendships immensely and was blessed by their close connections over the years.
Dan’s early work experience included church youth pastoring, selling cars, serving as activities director at a nursing home, and working as camp staff. For the last 20 years, he worked at Chautauqua Machine Specialties as a machinist and quality manager. There, he was trained in the trade by owners Denny and Cindy, who took Dan under their wing and treated him as a son. We as a family are so grateful for the love and support the Furlows have shown Daniel over the years.
Dan was preceded in death by his mother, Marian Shakely McGaffick of Industry, PA, in 2019; maternal grandparents, Bruce and Martha Shakely of Brighton Township, PA; and paternal grandparents, Willard and Nita Jane McGaffick of Industry, PA. Dan is survived by his son, Reese, and Reese’s mother, Casey McGaffick of Ashville, NY, as well as father, Keith McGaffick of Industry, PA; sister, Carrie McGaffick of Ashburn, VA; brother, Stephen McGaffick, of Edwards, CO; and many cherished aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
One could not be more blessed than we were to have Daniel as a son, father, and brother. He was deeply beloved. In Dan’s memory, we encourage friends to visit a National, State, or local park or plan a great outdoor adventure.
The funeral will be held at 6 pm Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Panama Methodist Church, where friends will be received from 3-6 pm Tuesday. The funeral will be livestreamed at panamamethodist.org.
A second funeral service will be held at 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Four Mile Church, Beaver, PA where friends will be received from noon to 2 pm Saturday. This service will be livestreamed at Fourmile.org.
Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Industry, PA.
In recognition of Dan’s love for Christian youth ministry, memorial contributions can be made in Dan’s memory to: Bemus Point Global Methodist Church (youth group); Panama Global Methodist Church; Four Mile Church; or The Center (Midland, PA).
You may leave words of condolence at lindfuneralhome.com.
Lively bands, the Grinch, Star Wars characters, and many youth organizations marched in downtown Chino last Saturday morning for the annual Chino Youth Christmas Parade.
This year’s theme was “Lights, Camera, Action, a Hollywood Christmas.”
Spectators lined Riverside Drive and Central Avenue for the nearly two-hour parade, which concluded with carnival rides and a holiday fair at the Chino Civic Center.
Courtney Garcia, a longtime Chino American Little League volunteer and this year’s Chino Youth Sports Legends Volunteer Award recipient, served as grand marshal.
