Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Heights family with a transgender child faces an uncertain future in Ohio
The Burkle family’s home in Cleveland Heights is warmly lit, filled with the sounds of laughter and joy — a contrast to the grey winter weather outside. The family’s two children laugh as they play video games and leaf through magazines with their parents, Alicia and Aaron.
However, that joy is mixed with a sense of dread about the future and what that future means for the Burkles’ younger child, 11-year-old Astrid, who is transgender.
The Ohio Senate is expected to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68 this week, which would ban transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming medical treatments or playing on girls’ sports teams.
Astrid said she knew she was a girl very early in her life.
“That was right around when I could talk. I started voicing my feelings about who I was to my parents about preschool or pre-K,” she said.
With her family’s support, she decided to socially transition when she was 8.
“When I did transition, I realized I needed this to live as a full person of who I am,” Astrid said.
She added: “It makes me feel happy. I can’t explain how happy I am to just be who I am.”
Community support
Astrid and her family said their interactions with her classmates, school officials, neighbors and the community have been mostly positive.
Ryan Loew
/
Ideastream Public Media
Alicia, Astrid’s mom, said school officials in Cleveland Heights actively worked with the family to support her daughter.
“We put together a plan on what bathrooms Astrid would use, how could we communicate this transition and change to her classmates so that anybody who knew Astrid before, we could communicate that with them,” Alicia said. The family also established the name and pronouns Astrid now uses.
Aaron Burkle, Astrid’s father, said the school system acts quickly whenever there are any problems.
“When there was any kind of negative talk or bullying language, the school administration, the teachers and staff really handled it swiftly and appropriately,” he said.
Most of their neighbors have been accepting, too.
“Most of them are just like, ‘Oh, OK, cool’ or they might say, ‘What does that mean?’ or ‘How did you know?’ We’re always willing to share our story, explain the process. Astrid is willing to tell them her story, just so they can understand better our journey,” Alicia said.
An uncertain future in Ohio
Astrid said the support of her neighbors and school makes her feel accepted in her community.
“I just feel so happy that people are accepting where I am and who I am,” she said.
Astrid knows not everyone feels the same — that they think she’s too young to express a gender other than the one she was assigned at birth. But she rejects what she views as their prying into a personal matter.
“Why is it anybody else’s business? They should be worrying about other things. I’m just a kid going to the doctors. You don’t need to worry about it,” she said.
Astrid has not received any medical treatments related to her gender. Yet she and her family resent the idea that she will likely be unable to receive such treatments in Ohio should she seek them in the future.
Her sibling, Abs, who is 15, said legislation banning medical treatment is a tremendous concern, not only for Astrid, but the entire LGBTQ+ community.
She added lawmakers need to understand “the fear that they’re striking into the hearts of young, queer people everywhere,” and that the long-term impact of such legislation is frightening.
“I, myself, am queer,” Abs said. “And it’s more than just they’re attacking young, transgender folk because then they’re going to move to transgender adults, and then they’re going to move to gay marriage, and they’re going to continue to attack our community as a whole.”
Alicia said if HB 68 becomes law, as is expected to happen, her family will be left with a terrible choice.
“We love our community,” she said. “We love our school, we love our church. We love our family and friends that we have here, so we don’t want to leave here. But that’s not something we’ve taken off the table because there’s more legislation coming down the pipeline [that] could make it ultimately unsafe for Astrid to continue to live in the state.”
That’s the dilemma facing transgender children and their parents throughout the state, Alicia said. But in the meantime, Astrid said she’s going to continue to live the fulfilling life she and her family have created in the city and state they call home.
“Just because I’m transgender doesn’t mean I’m not a normal person,” she said. “There’s lots of normal people who are transgender, and I’m just one of them.”
Cleveland, OH
Bodies of 2 young girls found in suitcases in Cleveland’s South Collinwood neighborhood
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd on Tuesday confirmed the bodies of two young girls were found in suitcases on the city’s East Side Monday evening.
Cleveland police were called just after 6 p.m. to a field in the area of East 163rd and Midland Avenue for a suspected dead body.
According to police sources, a man was walking his dog in the area, for the first time in awhile due to the snow, and the dog hit on the scent.
The man immediately called 911.
“The officers responded out and located a deceased individual that was in a shallow grave inside of a suitcase,” said Chief Todd.
When officers and homicide detectives got to the scene, Todd said they found the second body nearby.
According to the chief, both suitcases were partially buried in shallow graves. She said the victims had been there quite some time.
“It is traumatic for everyone. It is traumatic for those who live in the area to know that this was right there at their door step,” said Todd.
Authorities said one victim is believed to be 8-and-a-half to 13 years old and the other is believed to be 10-and-a-half to 14 years old.
There is no indication at this time on their identities, according to police.
“locally we have no reports of missing children to match these identifications. We are checking statewide as well. We have assistance from our state federal and local partners,” said Todd.
Detectives are checking with state and federal partners as well.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner has taken custody of the bodies and will conduct further examination to determine the cause of death.
This crime scene is located near Ginn Academy in the city’s South Collinwood neighborhood.
Police said the investigation remains in its very early stages and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety.
If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464.
Tips can remain anonymous.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Thousands of FirstEnergy customers are without power in Cuyahoga County this Tuesday.
The total number reached 31,785 reported outages in Cuyahoga County at noon.
That number decreased to 16,486 as of 1:10 p.m.
There were just 2,751 still without power less than an hour later at 2 p.m.
FirstEnergy estimates power to be restored to most impacted customers between 2-4 p.m. Tuesday.
FirstEnergy spokesperson Brooke Conlan said this is due to small fires on poles.
According to Conlan, the misty rain combined with salt on the road can cause contamination on utility poles, which causes electricity to travel across the the pole and cause the fire.
Conlan added their crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power.
Due to the outages, the Parma Justice Center is closed, and all court proceedings are suspended for the remainder of Tuesday.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
David Henry
OBITUARY
David G. Henry, 70, of Vermilion, passed away Sunday, March 1, 2026, at his home following a lengthy illness.He was born December 14, 1955, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and had made Vermilion his home for the past 42 years, moving from Irwin, Pennsylvania.Dave began his career with Westinghouse in Pennsylvania before relocating to Ohio in 1983. He was employed at Elyria Foundry for 20 years and later worked as a machinist for 14 years at Betcher Industries, where he retired. He was known throughout his career for his strong work ethic and skilled craftsmanship.In his free time, Dave enjoyed woodworking, taking pride in the projects he created with his hands. Above all, he cherished the time he spent with his family, especially his children and grandchildren.He is survived by his daughter, Alicia Parsons of Vermilion; his sons, David (Fiona) Henry of Bloomington, Indiana and Jonathan (Joanna) Henry of Vermilion and Anthony (Ashley) Cico of Amherst; and 13 beloved grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his wife, Darlene (nee Eckenrode) Henry in 2017; his parents, Charles and Gloria (nee Krider) Henry; his brother, Howard Henry; and his son-in-law, Cliff Parsons.The family will receive friends on Friday, March 20, 2026 from 3:00 p.m. until the time of the memorial service at 5:00 p.m. at the Riddle Funeral Home, 5345 South Street, Vermilion, Ohio.Memorial contributions may be made to Friendship Animal Protective League of Lorain County, Inc. 8303 Murray Ridge Road, Elyria, OH 44035 or Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 95000 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195Online condolences may be made at www.riddlefuneralhome.com
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