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Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland

Created on: 08/05/09 03:29 PM Views: 4423 Replies: 7
Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Wednesday, August 5, 2009 10:29 AM

  Jeff Brady was in town this weekend for the class reunion, and he stopped by the Airway Heights City Hall.  He noticed that the city is taking suggestions to name a new park in the Sunset Crossing neighborhood of AH, and he took the time to fill out a form suggesting that the park be named for Mr. Cleveland. 

  I think that is a wonderful idea & would be a long overdue tribute to a great teacher.  We can make it happen, but we need to mobilize quickly... the deadline for suggestions is tomorrow, Thursday, August 6th.

  I spoke this morning with J.C. Kennedy, the Parks & Community Services Director, and he told me that they have received very few suggestions thus far.

  If you would like to help out with this, please email Mr. Kennedy at  jkennedy@cawh.org.  On the subject line :  Park Naming Suggestion Form.

  Your email must include your suggested park name,  Terry C. Cleveland Park

  Park Site:  Sunset Crossing

Reason for suggestion:  Please include a short essay

You must also include your name, address, and phone number

 

  Unfortunately, I've not had the time to uncover much biographical info on Mr. Cleveland, but here is what I do have:

  He served in the military from 1940 until 1962, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.  I believe that he was in the Air Force & retired at Fairchild AFB, but I'm not sure about that.

  He taught at Sunset School for 21 years, from 1965 until he retired in 1986.

  I know that Mr. Cleveland passed away, I'm not sure when, and I'm told that his wife still lives in the area.

  If you have siblings or friends that knew Mr. Cleveland or had him for a teacher, please forward this info to them if they'd like to help.   Thanks in advance for your help.  Jim

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Friday, August 7, 2009 09:13 AM

  I just spoke with J.C. Kennedy this morning, and he informed me that the Park Board will be drafting a resolution to present to the City Council recommending that our new park in Airway Heights be named in honor of Terry C. Cleveland!

  The City Council will have to vote on the resolution, but it seems to be a formality.

  Thanks to everyone that sent an email to Mr. Kennedy, we blew up his inbox.  He said that he had so many emails that he wanted to track me down &"kick me in the shins".

  I'm going to try to track down Mrs. Cleveland so that we provide accurate & complete biographical info to include in the resolution.  I will keep all of you posted as to when the resolution will be presented to the City Council.  J.C. also said that a dedication ceremony most likely would not take place until next spring, as signs & a plaque will need to made.

  Thanks again for your help in making this happen.  I think that a lasting tribute to honor Mr. Cleveland is long over due.

 
Edited 08/07/09 10:49 AM
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Monday, August 10, 2009 04:37 PM

 

 

  I spoke with Mrs. Cleveland yesterday, and this morning I spoke with Charles Cleveland, Mr. Cleveland's son.  Rene Cleveland is 88 years old, and she was very proud to hear about the resolution that the Park Board will be presenting to the City Council. 

  Charles Cleveland is an attorney in Spokane.  He said that he wished there was some way for every one of Mr. Cleveland's students to know how much he loved them.  His students meant everything to him, they were part of his family.

  I was very concerned that we might not find Mrs. Cleveland.  My thanks to JoAnn for her diligence.

 

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Friday, October 9, 2009 07:27 PM

  I can't believe that two months have passed since I've updated all of you on our park naming project. 

  First and foremost, I thank you all for the tremendous response.  It worked.

  The new city park at Sunset Crossing in Airway Heights will be known in perpituity as Cleveland Park, in honor of  Mr. Terry C. Cleveland.

   A resolution will be presented for approval to the Airway Heights City Council on October 19th.  The city council will vote on the matter, but at this point it is a formality.  Our mayor, Matt Pederson, was in Mr. Cleveland's class in 1985.  Four out of seven councilmen were also his students, and they all hold him in the highest regard and will support the resolution.

  I encourage and invite all of you to attend the meeting to show your support.  Mr. Cleveland's wife, Renee, and his son Charles will be there.

  I have really enjoyed being involved in the process.  I had always considered Mr. Cleveland to be the best teacher that I ever had, and I was somehow surprised at how many of his students felt the same way.  He was a pretty remarkable guy.

  He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1962 after 22 years of service, and began teaching at Sunset School in 1965.  He could have retired comfortably, and would never  have had to deal with knuckleheads like us.

  Again, Thanks to all of you.  I hope to see you on the 19th.  Jim

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Friday, October 9, 2009 07:29 PM

  I can't believe that two months have passed since I've updated all of you on our park naming project. 

  First and foremost, I thank you all for the tremendous response.  It worked.

  The new city park at Sunset Crossing in Airway Heights will be known in perpituity as Cleveland Park, in honor of  Mr. Terry C. Cleveland.

   A resolution will be presented for approval to the Airway Heights City Council on October 19th.  The city council will vote on the matter, but at this point it is a formality.  Our mayor, Matt Pederson, was in Mr. Cleveland's class in 1985.  Four out of seven councilmen were also his students, and they all hold him in the highest regard and will support the resolution.

  I encourage and invite all of you to attend the meeting to show your support.  Mr. Cleveland's wife, Renee, and his son Charles will be there.

  I have really enjoyed being involved in the process.  I had always considered Mr. Cleveland to be the best teacher that I ever had, and I was somehow surprised at how many of his students felt the same way.  He was a pretty remarkable guy.

  He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1962 after 22 years of service, and began teaching at Sunset School in 1965.  He could have retired comfortably, and would never  have had to deal with knuckleheads like us.

  Again, Thanks to all of you.  I hope to see you on the 19th.  Jim

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010 06:15 PM

  The dedication ceremony for Cleveland Park has been scheduled for

 Noon on Saturday, May 1st.   The park signs and playground equipment are in place, and the city plans on unveiling a monument to Mr. Cleveland on the 1st.  

  There will be a community barbecue in Cleveland Park to commemorate the event, and the Cleveland family will be in attendance.

  Thanks again to Jeff Brady for the inspiration,  and to all the Sunset School alumni that stepped up to pay tribute to a truly great teacher.

  See you at Cleveland Park!

Jim

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010 06:55 PM

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reminder.  My mom, dad, Glenn & Leilani, and myself will be there for sure. 

See you May 1st and hopefully a lot of other Sunset Alumni.

 

 

 

 

Lora

 
RE: Sunset School/ Mr. Cleveland
Posted Tuesday, May 4, 2010 07:42 PM

  It was a beautiful day at Cleveland Park.  Thanks again to everyone that helped to make it happen.