One of the better perks of being a local news reporter is the occasional opportunity to meet someone famous. When Strongsville Patch Editor Debbie Palmer asked if I’d cover teen television star Jennette McCurdy’s tour stop at Southpark Center on Tuesday, I first wondered whether my sons would be interested in attending with me. McCurdy, 18, who plays Sam Puckett on the Nickelodeon hit series “iCarly,” has just begun a nationwide shopping mall tour to promote her new single, “Generation Love,” and raise money for her chosen charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. …

Such a simple name as Bag Day doesn’t do justice to the enormity of bargains to be found. Going home with more than $100 worth of children’s clothing for $20 warrants a richer name, like Gold Bag Day. Considering what one would pay for these items at original prices, perhaps the event should be renamed Platinum Bag Day. Bag Day at the Strongsville children’s resale shop Neverending Child comes only twice a year, so don’t miss it. The next opportunity to experience the thrill of a great deal starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Though the sale runs through 5 p.m., those who don’t get there by …

I try not to obsess about the modern environmental threats to human health, but each trip to my children’s dentist makes me grimace. The warning stickers on the X-ray machines jump out at me like flashing red lights at a railroad crossing. I’m barely seated in a chair across from an X-ray machine before a cheery dental assistant breaks my stare with an announcement that it is time for my sons to have “photos” taken. Let’s call them what they are. X-rays are not photographs. They’re radiographs, as in radiation. Perhaps my nursing education made me antagonistic towards routine X-rays. I …

I’ll credit the Strongsville Board of Education for removing any doubt in my mind whether my decision to return to nursing work in February was warranted. For many months I’d wrestled with the prospect of trying to get a job in nursing, a new career I’d put on hold for two years following the pregnancy and birth of my third child. I truly enjoy being a stay-at-home mother. I try not to take for granted the special opportunities working mothers forego. I knew I’d return to work at some point. It’s a bit sooner than I anticipated, but the willful challenge of living on one income is becoming …

All parents bribe their children from time to time, right? We are constantly trying to think of new and creative ways to encourage behavior we want from our children and reward them when they follow through. There are endless possibilities. Perhaps cute stickers or an ice cream cone would suffice. New toys, video games, a trip to a movie theater or an Abercrombie sweater might satisfy young thirst for praise and payment. I’ve offered my sons all sorts or treats and trips as motivation to continue good school performance and polite behavior. To my complete surprise, I discovered a treat that …