Heights High alumni share memories ahead of 100th anniversary weekend

Heights High 100 Years 100 years ago, back when gas cost 23 cents and the president was Calvin Coolidge, Cleveland Heights High School at Cedar and Lee Roads was constructed. Thousands of alumni and guests from around the country and beyond will be returning to the Heights to celebrate this milestone, and participate in a three-day festival this weekend hosted by the Heights School Foundation. Part of the goal of the festival is to help raise money for the district, which announced last month that it is needs to make at least $5 million in budget cuts over the next two years due to expected revenue losses. We'll spend time on Wednesday's "Sound of Ideas" talking about the role the school has played in the lives of so many over the last century, preview the weekend of festivities, and look towards the future of the district, which has churned out a host of prominent alumni like NFL brothers Travis & Jason Kelce and the Mitchells Ice Cream brothers, Pete & Mike Mitchell. Guests: - Laura Loebl, Executive Director, Heights Schools Foundation, Class of 1987 - Jayla Scruggs, Class of 2026 - Kathy Blackman, Owner, Grog Shop/B Side Lounge, Class of 1986 - Liz Kirby, Superintendent, Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District Juneteenth Celebrations Juneteenth is coming up this Friday, marking five years since then-President Joe Biden made the day a federal holiday. The holiday signifies the day in 1865 where slaves in Texas were informed of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Many communities in Northeast Ohio are commemorating the holiday Friday. We'll highlight some of those events for the rest of the show and learn more about the origins of Juneteenth. Guests: - Talise Campbell, Artistic Director of Djapo Cultural Arts Institute - Greg Palumbo, Executive Director, Cuyahoga County's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument - Tameka Ellington, Ph.D., Curator for Black History, McKinley Presidential Museum and Library