Mill Creek MetroParks invites guests to celebrate the holiday seasons at Fellows Riverside Gardens.

Volunteers set up 60 trees along with lights and decorations through the Davis Center. 

This year’s theme, Frozen in Time, is a celebration of the garden’s 60th anniversary. 

One woman said the event is enjoyable for the whole family.

“It’s fun to bring all the little cousins, so that they can see, you know, all the themes every year and it’s a good tradition,” said Mya Agee.

There’s also scavenger hunts and live music.

The activities are free to the public and will continue Tuesday through Sunday every week in December from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

There is also Winter Nights on Saturdays, which includes extended hours until 7 p.m. and an outdoor light display.

For more information, call 330-740-7116.

View the full article at wkbn.com

Hubbard native Brian Tolnar has made a number of stops during his golf career.

Since 1996, Tolnar has been assistant golf pro Alliance Country Club and Tippecanoe Country Club, either head professional or PGA Director of Golf at Steubenville Country Club, Avalon Lakes, Triple Creek Golf Club and the Golf Club at Blue Heron Hills in Macedon, N.Y.

But after spending a little more than 10 years as a golf professional in Rochester, N.Y., the opportunity to return home and become PGA Director of Golf at Mill Creek was just too good to pass up.

Tolnar told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly meeting at Avion Banquet Center that after 22 years in the business, he’s having more fun now than he has ever had.

“I said it during the interview process over four years ago and I still believe it today, that there was only one job in the Mahoning Valley that I would come home for and that was Mill Creek,” he said. “The reason I said that then was because the sky is the limit here and it has a ton of upside and potential.

“I need to thank Aaron Young, MetroParks executive director for giving me the opportunity and the tools necessary to be successful. I couldn’t be happier to be here and be aligned with such a great core of people. It’s truly and honor and I’m excited to be a part of the team.”

Tolnar said there are two things, self-reliance and commitment, which stand out as to why he chose golf as a sport and career.

“With self-reliance, you can only depend on yourself and the time you put in if you expect to be successful. In other sports, your teammates can pick you up but it’s all on you in golf,” he said. “You need to have a strong will and the commitment to achieve success. On the golf course, it’s about practice, dedication and putting in the time and effort as a player.

“When running a million-dollar operation, it’s about the commitment of your management team and fellow co-workers, doing things that other facilities and staffs are unwilling to do like providing service, opportunities and hosting events.”

Tolnar came to Mill Creek with two goals in mind.

“First and foremost, I wanted to know how we could make a major impact in the local community,” he said. “Then, I wanted to know how best we could showcase the MetroParks through the game of golf. With those two objectives at the forefront of my list, I felt as though we could make the people of the Mahoning Valley proud of what they have, as well as the importance the MetroParks plays in their lives in providing recreational opportunities.”

He added that the upside to Mill Creek Golf Course was second to none.

“I felt that Mill Creek, with a Donald Ross design, was a sleeping giant with tremendous upside,” Tolnar said. “Player development needed a boost, but a solid marketing campaign and facility promotion to build presence has helped. We have such a great history and that just added to the potential for hosting future events.”

In addition to hosting The Vindicator’s Greatest Golfer of the Valley as well as its junior tournament, the course has also hosted the highly successful AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournament, among others.

“The AJGA has played host to the junior careers of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis and Stacie Lewis, to name a few,” Tolnar added. “We worked on gaining national exposure by hosting and AJGA junior tournament through connections in Rochester and last year’s event had a $414,000 impact locally. Since hosting the event in 2016, the area has realized a $1.218 million impact while raising an additional $32,000 for local charities, the AJGA Ace Grant & MCMP Foundation.”

Tolnar has helped launch a five-year capital improvement campaign to reinvest in their facility and credits local PGA professionals Dave Coller, Dave Boos and Michael Spiech for their help and support along the way.

He also called his team, which consists of head professionals Stacie Butler and Andy Santor, and course superintendent Lance Bailey the best professional golf team in the Mahoning Valley.

Tolnar is the 2018 PGA Certification for Player Development and Northern Ohio PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year honoree, adding his group will launch their Growth of the Game Initiative with its Let’s Play Golf Youngstown, a three-tier initiative to include instruction for beginners, intermediate and advanced players.

Next week, sports talk host Mark “Munch” Bishop of iHeart Media Sports will serve as guest speaker.

View the full article at vindy.com

Christmas is a month away, but perhaps Holly Edwards has already received the gift that will be the most meaningful and personal.

“These are the initials of my late father,” the Canfield woman said, referring to “SRW,” which stands for Sam R. Wagner, who died after having received hospice care.

Edwards had the three letters stamped on a personalized leather bracelet she bought, which was complemented with butterflies, as a way to honor her father’s legacy, thanks to having attended the annual Olde Fashioned Christmas at the Mill gathering Saturday afternoon in Mill Creek MetroParks’ Lanterman’s Mill.

The six-hour family-friendly holiday-themed event continues from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the mill.

The traditional, old-fashioned holiday celebration features 15 local and regional vendors, crafters and artisans such as tinsmiths, woodcarvers and leather makers. Also included is musical entertainment, along with a magician and comedian, noted Carol Vigorito, the park’s recreation and education director.

“The focus is on being old-fashioned, and we decorate to the hilt. It’s our last weekend open [until spring] and people come out to enjoy the holiday atmosphere and give something back,” she said.

Also, attendees are encouraged to donate hats, mittens, scarves, gloves and other winter wear to a Giving Tree. The items will go to the Mahoning County Educational Service Center to be distributed to some of that agency’s clients, Vigorito explained.

Accompanying Holly were her husband, David Edwards, as well as daughters Samantha, 6; Sophia, 10; and Madison, 13. Samantha also had a bracelet made bearing her nickname, Sammie.

Christmas will be spent with both sides of the family, David added.

Making the bracelets is Kathy Bowman of Austintown, a self-taught crafter who first wets the small leather straps, then uses a poly mallet to stamp the letters in place. She also adds touches that are personal to each buyer, she said.

“I started doing it in 1989 by making wallets, purses, all kinds of stuff … but I always did bracelets,” recalled Bowman, whose daughter, Shawne Wilfong, assisted.

A sample of merchandise for sale in Lanterman’s Mill includes T-shirts emblazoned with Youngstown landmarks, prints of the mill, a variety of scented soaps, candles and room sprays, coffee mugs, tart burners and arrowheads. Also on hand for those with a touch of nostalgia is the popular book “Idora Park: The Last Ride of Summer” by Rick Shale and Charles J. Jacques Jr.

Those who desire to spice up their kitchens a bit likely found much to their liking, courtesy of Gregg and Deb Kristophel of Harmony, Pa.

The couple runs a 33-year-old business called Riverwood Trading Co. that specializes in selling treenware, which is essentially any wooden utensil used mainly in the kitchen, Gregg explained.

He uses electric sanders, band saws and other hand tools to design and make carvings on cuts of mainly cherry wood, which are converted to items he has for sale that include salt, mixing, strainer and saucepot spoons, four-piece utensil sets, spatulas, dippers and coffee scoops. The items also are specially designed for those who are left- or right-handed.

“I work in my shop six or seven days a week,” said Gregg, who also was a self-taught and self-employed carpenter.

In addition, they take part in about 35 craft and other related shows each year, Deb added.

Many people have used phrases such as “a diamond in the rough” to describe what they see as the aesthetic beauty of Mill Creek Park, so it’s probably not a stretch to surmise that some found C. Scott Lanz’s photographs quite pleasing.

Lanz, of Boardman, an attorney and an avid nature photographer who runs a 13-year-old business called LanzScape Photography Ltd., has for sale numerous prints and photos on canvas, many of which are taken in Mill Creek Park during all four seasons.

He also is selling 2019 calendars that feature some of his photography around the park.

View the full article at vindy.com

The Mill Creek MetroParks board recognized two of the park’s police officers at the board’s Monday meeting.

Officer Peter Katsaras and Sgt. Robert Vukovich were honored for finding a 3-year-old boy who went missing during the park’s annual Pumpkin Walk Oct. 14 at Fellows Riverside Gardens.

Although about 10,000 people attended the 21/2-hour event, Katsaras and Vukovich were able to reunite the child with his parents.

The officers’ families were present at the meeting.

“Part of the uniqueness of it is they both have children about the same age as the child that was missing, so I think it hit home for them both,” said police Chief Jim Willock.

“Congratulations and thank you again,” park commissioner Germaine Bennett said.

The board also received an update on the park’s $3 million Ford Nature Center Redevelopment campaign.

After being awarded a $1 million challenge grant from the Sand Hill Foundation, the campaign has about $1 million left to raise.

“We’re very optimistic. We’ve identified probably about half of that already, so we just have to close,” said development director Chris Litton.

View the full article at vindy.com