[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1536-E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN HONOR AND RECOGNITION OF COUNCILMAN EDWARD RYBKA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 2005

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of 
my good friend Edward Rybka, upon his retirement following 20 years of 
dedicated service as the City Councilman representing the people of 
Cleveland's Ward 12.
  Councilman Rybka was first elected to City Council in 1985. Equipped 
with a law degree and sincere concern for his richly diverse Slavic 
Village neighborhood, Councilman Rybka set out to energize the process 
of restoration and preservation in the place he has always called home. 
His focus on community activism began nearly thirty years ago, through 
his involvement with the Slavic Village Development Corporation. He was 
a founding member who volunteered in every capacity, including 
Chairperson of the Association, a position he held for several years in 
the early 1980s.
  As the elected City Councilman, his spirited and unified effort to 
improve the neighborhood created vital bonds with residents, community 
leaders, and business advocates that still exist today. These bonds of 
hope and restoration created connections not only among the people of 
Slavic Village today, but also with the neighborhood's historic roots 
going back to its original settlement as part of the former Newburgh 
Township in 1814. His work helped to protect the historic fabric of the 
neighborhood; enabled new businesses to flourish; brought hundreds of 
new jobs into the neighborhood;

[[Page E1537]]

created safe and quality housing for families and the elderly; led the 
effort for a multi-million expansion of the Boys and Girls Club; and 
assisted in preserving green space in Mill Creek Falls and Washington 
Park.
  Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition 
of Councilman Edward Rybka. His vision, integrity, and steadfast 
devotion to the people of Ward 12 defined his tenure and continues to 
frame this neighborhood. Councilman Rybka's unending faith in the 
notion that together, we can make a positive difference, will always 
exist as a source of possibility and light along Broadway Avenue and 
far beyond.

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