Sunday, January 31, 2010

Safe Crossing




Do you ever watch the people crossing Xenia Avenue? It’s like a miniature ballet; dodging cars and trucks, waving to friends, jumping over puddles and avoiding the icy spots while trying to find the shortest route to their next stop without spilling a hot coffee or dropping a bag of groceries. I think it would make a good vignette for one of our film artists.

It’s fairly easy to tell the locals from the visitors. Locals cross the street like they own it (maybe we do) – daring the traffic not to stop, sauntering, never in a hurry and ready with a practiced scowl for drivers who look the least bit agitated by having to stop for a pedestrian. Visitors on the other hand are overly cautious; they carefully survey the traffic flow, looking both ways several times, judge the speed and finally, in a rush, dart across the street.

The most entertaining crossings are in front of the Little Art Theatre. It’s clearly marked, “State Law - stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk”. Once again, the locals have this down to perfection. Never check for traffic, just confidently step off the curb assuming that whatever is coming will stop. And the enjoyment people seem to get from bringing a big semi truck to a complete standstill. I see people, obviously in a hurry, get to the crosswalk and then slow down just to savor the moment of being in charge for few seconds.

I’ve lived in town for a few years but I’m still a novice at the crosswalk. I just don’t have the nerve to walk out in front of a truck knowing that I’m right no matter what happens. I’ve practiced sauntering across Short Street hoping to build my confidence before facing the trucks on Xenia Ave. It’s not working. I’m getting worse instead of better and now, with the recent recall, I’m afraid to cross in front of Toyotas. I’ll never be considered a true “local” if I don’t get over this fear of challenging the traffic flow.

Perhaps to make it a little easier on us chickens (sorry Pee Wee), let’s start the pedestrian crosswalk in front of the drug store and end it front of Bonadies. Give pedestrians the right away from one end of town to the other instead of just in front of the Little Art. Is that too much – how about a crossing in front of the Emporium? Wonder what it would take to make that happen?

A. Reader

Antioch Writers' Workshop announces new programs, 2010 faculty

The Antioch Writers' Workshop is pleased to announce its 2010 faculty for both the traditional Full Week Experience, and new "A La Carte" options.

Visit www.antiochwritersworkshop.com for more information about this year's options and schedule. The AWW Website faculty page provides bios and photos of this year's faculty.

We're already processing registrations, so please make your plans to join us July 10-16. Feel free to email info@antiochwritersworkshop.com with any questions. All registrations are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

In the good news category... a big Thank You to both the Yellow Springs Community Foundation and the Frank Pace, Jr. Foundation for grants underwriting our new programming.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Council meeting Monday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.

The regular meeting of Village Council will be held this Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers on the 2nd Floor of the Bryan Center .

Here is the link to packet of materials for the meeting, including the agenda: http://www.yso.com/uploads/packet2-1.pdf

Live from the Emporium

9:30 - Sitting here talking to Byron Arnett. Byron is a lifelong resident of the township etc. Lived away for awhile Oakland, Chicago, Berkely.... Is now on the Township Planning Bd. We have never met before, but he is a regular follower of the Blog, he tells me.

He is a '63 Bryan HS grade - last class to graduate from the old building. His family attended the Presby church, but he worshiped at the church of the golf-ball, he says.

Talking about pre-Tom's market (pre Luttrell's, pre Weaver's), when Weiss's was the market in the same place, but occupying three old wood frame buildings. They had a fire in 1954 that burned down most of that side of the block. He remembers standing there in the night, watching the fire in his pajamas. He talks of other fires - most notably the ones on the Antioch campus, which I heard about recently at the re-dedication of South Hall.

9:40 - We're here talking YSHS basketball legends. We talk baseball... Gene Woodling was a relative. Tommy Heinrich's wife was from YS, he said. We both like the Yanks. Lament on how pro teams have moved at will.

Byron is talking about how different YS was in the early 60's and even earlier as a pioneer in race relations and anti war sentiment. We talk about Buckley Rude recruiting African Americans for the Presby Church. Every day at noon in the early fifties there was a guy who used to march up and down in front of the Post Office with a "Ban the Bomb" sign, he tells me.

9:50 -Susan Bothwell arrives. It was her family that owned Weiss's. We talk about her mother Mary Dykstra and her aunt Mabel Weiss - longtime members of the Presby Church.

When I was working for the News, my first story involved the renovation of the Dykstra house on Limestone, which is now owned by the Heermans. Susan Bothwell grew up in that house. I think it's the cutest house in town, I tell her. We talk about the graffiti that was uncovered when workmen peeled off the wallpaper in the kitchen. The building was originally a schoolhouse, she says.

I tell her about an interview I did with Mabel Weiss. [Link to interview] Mabel was a wealth of historical anecdotes. Susan leaves.

Byron and I are talking about the difference between NY & Chicago. He leaves, promising to stay in touch and submit some reminisces for the Blog.

In comes Walter Rhodes, chief cartoonist for the Blog. He has five new cartoons. I peruse them - We settle up and he leaves. Walter is not feeling too well. He didn't sleep last night due to late night activities in his house involving his son, who has moved back home. Enough said...

10:10 - The Emporium is crowded and loud. I am here alone, now. A good chance to clean up the above.

Note: Regular contributor Susan Gartner was too shy to subject herself to an interview this morning. Rhodes a/k/a Reed is too ill to stick around. Regular collaborators Roger and Macy Reynolds have promised to stop by after their shift at Winter Farmers Market, but they too are no-shows.

Roger is trying to figure out a way for the Blog to do a live Blogcast from the Methodist Church basement for Winter Farmers Market sometime in the next few weeks.

Cathy Phillips is working - says she doesn't want to be quoted. So I won't tell you what she told me...

I'm done here. I say hello to Rick and Mary Donohoe on the way out.

The Backyard Flock: The truth about green eggs

While Dr. Seuss was extolling the virtues of green eggs in his 1960’s children’s classic Green Eggs and Ham, millions of readers were sure that, like the Grinch and the Cat in the Hat, they were just the product of his rich imagination. So, when people jokingly ask me if we get green eggs from our chickens, they are surprised when the answer turns out to be yes. Then, of course they want to know if they taste better than regular eggs.

Over the past six years we have gotten eggs in a variety of different colors. White chickens tend to lay white eggs. That’s why whenever you see pictures from a commercial egg laying operation, the chickens are always white. They are Leghorns and they are reliable producers of large white eggs. Most other chickens lay in a range of brownish colors from a light tan to a deep red-brown. Barred Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds lay what considered to be classic brown eggs. Those of the Rhodies are usually a little darker in color than the Barred Rocks.

It’s the Araucanas that lay green eggs and blue and tan and you-name-it. Araucanas are like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get. But mostly they lay eggs of a bluish-green color, like those depicted in the photo above. As with their eggs, no two Araucanas look the same. Some of them have plumage that makes them resemble hawks or eagles. Glen Helen Director Nick Boutis, who also happens to keep chickens in his yard here in Yellow Springs, Ohio, tells of how someone once called the Raptor Center at the Glen to report that they had rescued an injured hawk. When the folks from the Raptor Center examined the bird, it turned out to be an Araucana.

Currently, we have three in our flock. One of them has dark coloring topped off with a black head; another has orange feathers around her neck; and the third has light coloring. They are big, healthy, aggressive birds, generally not as easy to handle as the others. But if you play with them a lot early on, they can make good pets.

Back to the question about green eggs tasting better or different than regular eggs: I have not noticed any difference. Dr. Seuss notwithstanding, once you crack them open, white, brown, blue or green, inside they all look and taste the same.

A couple notes:

(1) Earlier this week, a neighbor warned me that he spotted a coyote crossing the US 68 just north of where I live and keep my flock.

(2) I heard that someone in town recently lost their entire flock to a predator. I have yet to check this out. But, of course, I am concerned about the rise in the number of coyote sightings around here. The farmer just across US 68 from where I live told he me lost a calf to coyotes last spring.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Rocky & Pee Wee: Conserving water

Click on image to enlarge.

Live blogcast from the Emporium Saturday morning

The Blog will be broadcasting live from the hubbub of the Saturday morning crowd at the Emporium tomorrow morning.

I will set up some time between 9:00 and 9:30 and start the Blog rolling promptly at 9:30. I have not asked anyone to be a guest yet. So, if you are interested in being interviewed and possibly doing a short video, email the Blog ASAP.

Hip things to do in Cool Town this weekend

Friday

6:30 p.m. - Full Moon Hike in the Glen (From SR 343 parking lot)

7:00 p.m. - Wine Tasting at the Emporium with live music by Wildwater

7:00 p.m. - Open mic at Brother Bear's

10:00 p.m. - Live music at Peach's by Carlos Jones


Saturday

9:00 a.m. - Winter Farmers Market at the United Methodist Church

6:00 p.m. - Grandmother Drum Healing Circle at Rockford Chapel (Antioch Campus)

7:00 p.m. - Ajar Jamb at Brother Bear's

7:00 p.m. - Community Dance Party at the Bryan Center with DJ Dr. Falafel

10:00 p.m. - Live music at Peach's by Nate McDonough

YSKP: Classes - Connect - Summer



YSKP alum, Matthew Zaremsky, talks about theater & physics




Cast member talks about being a DaBig.


Still Time to Register for YSKP Winter Classes!

There is still time to register for winter classes but you must hurry as the deadlines for many are fast approaching. For more information visit our classes section online or email admin@yskp.org.

Summer 2010 Programs

The Conference of
the Birds
Advanced Acting Immersion
and rehearsal start: June 14th
Performance Dates:
Thursdays - Sundays
July 8 - July 18

Based on the play by Peter Brook. Directed by John Fleming. Original music by Neal Kirkwood. Puppets and masks by D. Tristan Cupp and Pierre Nagley. For actors 13-18.

This new jazz musical based on the 12th Century Sufi fable by Farid ud-Din Attar. Features both hand-held and large puppets, Sufi dances and movement inspired by G.I. Gurdjieff.

Haroun and the
Sea of Stories
Introductory Acting Immersion
and rehearsal start: July 5th
Performance Dates:
Wednesday -Saturday
July 28-August 7th
No matinees!

Adapted by Louise Smith from the novel by
Salman Rushdie.
For actors 9-12 years.
Directed by Lenard Petit.

This is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is adventure, allegory and fantasy in a beautiful mix of word-fun, puns and rhyme.

Also Musician's Immersion, Technical Theater, Tween Youth Workshops programs for summer.
www.yskp.org


Auditions, Saturday, May 8th, 2010


Connect with YSKP!

Facebook: become a fan of YSKP! Ask others to become a fan. Connect with your YSKP friends and get the latest info.

Twitter: Follow us on Twitter to get the most up to date Tweets!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Newsomes are basketball news




Father Brad coaches Bulldog basketball; son Ryan is the team's leading scorer.

Dayton Daily News: Father, son hit milestones for surging Yellow Springs

Obama from the Underdog perspective




The Dayton Daily News was in town over the weekend last week getting some pre-State of the Union spin last week. Read what Harvey Paige, Flo Lorenz, Leon Holster and others had to say about the Prez.

Dayton Daily News: Yellow Springs diners: Obama still a ‘lot better than what we had’

Winter Farmers Market Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET
SATURDAY 9AM - NOON
METHODIST CHURCH
202 S. WINTER ST.

Farmers Market in warmer times



This is the 6th in a series of 30 second videos shot by Joanne Caputo for the exploreyellowsprings.com Website that will be posted here over the next few weeks. (Music by Cooper Fleishman.)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Virginia Hamilton collection gets press




Virginia Hamilton: Speeches, Essays, & Conversations, edited by Arnold Adoff

Columbus Dispatch: Author's strong opinions gathered in collection

The changing face of political advertising with a local twist




You’ve no doubt heard that the Supreme Court decided to remove all limits on corporate political spending. We’re already swamped with political action group (PAC) ads and now we’re going to get hours of TV and radio time with the corporate spin. The court decision was followed by lots of speculation on how campaigning might change at the national level. Can’t you just see something like “Nike, Just Do It for Obama” or “Crest keeps McCain smiling” and maybe Budweiser will have a “Don’t Drink and Vote” campaign – it’s going to be 24/7 of this when we get to the midterm elections.

The thing I don’t understand is how a big company with 5,000 employees and 50,000 shareholders decides which candidate to support. Is it the Board of Directors, or the CEO or do the shareholders get to vote? Maybe the employees get to decide – just kidding on that one. I can’t imagine the employees of a major corporation being asked to participate in that decision.

Closer to home, will the Supreme Court decision tickle down to our hotly contested races for Village Council and the School Board - might we be swayed by corporate advertising campaigns?

I wonder if political ads in the Village will follow a candidate because of their past record and views on current issues or, what I’m hoping for, because the headlines and campaign slogans make great reading and even better bumper stickers.

Just think of the possibilities for our local businesses ... “Toxic Beauty likes…” or “No Common Scents backs...” or “2 Clowns laugh at...” or “Jail House Suites hosts...” or “Burly Man linked with….” No matter how you fill in the blanks, it could be an interesting election year.

A. Reader

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Winter Solace


Most of us have a tonic for beating the winter blahs. For me, it’s to sit down on a cold, snowy day in January with the stack of seed catalogs. I mentally design the garden as I begin my order. There are no formulas for deciding how many seeds will fit into a growing space – the given is that I will order more than I can grow. But that doesn’t matter when I envision my warm garden sprouting dinners under a summer sun.

I get out a pencil and begin circling. Do I want to have fun with yellow beets, purple cauliflower, and white eggplants? Or should I plant old favorites? Do I need organic seeds? Heirloom seeds? And how many tomato varieties can I possibly use? I make decisions as I keep circling.

And which company do I order from? I love the growing information in the Territorial Seed Company catalog, the unusual offerings from Totally Tomatoes, the neat illustrations in John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, the convenient mixes from The Cook’s Garden, the flowers in Select Seeds that I can maybe fit around the vegetables, the conscientiousness of Seed Savers Exchange, and the organic varieties from Seeds of Change.

I do a quick price calculation – oh my! Time to pare down - maybe I only need one packet of beets for a 3-foot row. And 10 tomato varieties aren’t practical with room for just 16 plants. The winnowing process takes several days as I grab bits of time to ponder the list. Finally my checks are written, orders mailed, and the garden planned.

Seed companies expect to run out of some seed varieties this year since last summer’s weather limited their stock and seven million new gardens were planted last year. So get busy and try the seed catalog tonic – open the first catalog and let summer surround you. When that first seed order arrives in the mail, you’ll experience a taste of summer no matter how bad the weather.

Macy Reynolds, Greene County Master Gardener

YS Schools - 2 hour delay

Yellow Springs Schools have posted at 2-hour delay in opening. (1/26 - 7:15 a.m. - WHIO-TV)

Monday, January 25, 2010

Haiti Fundraiser



Rember to bring white socks if you are going to participate in the tie-dying.

Bench to Nowhere: Weighing in on the bloodless coup

A Cool Town Toon

School Board Public Forum - Feb. 2

All parents who have questions or concerns about the upcoming hiring of the new principal of Yellow Springs High School are invited to voice their issues at a public forum on Tuesday, Feb. 2 in the YSHS cafeteria. Parents are encouraged to be part of the process.




There was no time specified in the notice that was sent around to parents. A call to the Board of Ed offices, asking what time the meeting was going to take place, got the response: 6:00 p.m. I will recheck that next week.

V is for...


V DAY DAYTON 2010 JOINS GLOBAL EFFORT
TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS



V-Day Dayton is sponsored locally by Therapy Cafe

V-Day DAYTON 2010
Presents a Benefit Production of
Eve Ensler’s


THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
"Spellbinding, funny, and almost unbearably moving . . . it is both a work of art and an incisive piece of cultural history, a poem and a polemic, a performance and a balm and a benediction." —Variety


WITH
Sarah Caplan, Jennifer Lockwood, Annie Branning, Marva Williams, Ginger Hubbs, Phyllis Turner, Chris Fern, Corrine Bayraktaroglu, Erica Woods, Rani Deighe Crowe


Saturday and Sunday February 13 and 14 2010
At 2:00 PM
At the Therapy Café
452 East 3rd Street
Dayton, OH 45402
(937) 461-4000
Tickets $10 cash

Presale tickets available through: Rani Crowe 937-241-5938
Proceeds benefit alternatives to domestic violence

V Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Further information about V-Day can be found at www.vday.org.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Rocky & Pee Wee: Of coops and coups

Click on image to enlarge.

Related post: Rocky & Pee Wee: Thus Sprach Zarathustra

WYSO Silent Auction

WYSO's Silent Auction is only
Two weeks away!


If you are interested in donating an item for the Silent Auction, please contact Jacki at 937-769-1388 or jmayer@wyso.org

Friday, January 29th will be the last day that we can accept auction items...so don't delay!

This year's event will be even better than before!

In addition to the Silent Auction, we will end the evening with a Live Auction that will begin at 8:15. We have some great items including a ride in a restored military warbird aircraft, blown glass vessels and more.

Saturday, February, 6th at 6 PM
Antioch University McGregor
900 Dayton Street
Yellow Springs, OH

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Bench to Nowhere: Ontological musings

A Cool Town Toon


The dog trots freely in the street
and sees reality
and the things he sees
are bigger than himself
and the things he sees
are his reality

From "Dog" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The Backyard Flock: Therapy or penance..?

Sometimes I wonder why I raise chickens. Sure, it’s fun. And there is a theory that having pets is therapeutic. But on frigid winter mornings when I have to go out to Chickenland and feed them and bring them hot water, when I have to go out there every single night and take a head count and lock them up, when I have to shovel out their filthy coops and refill them with fresh straw, I think there may be some deep-seated psychological reason for torturing myself so. I can’t be doing it just for the eggs. If you add up all my expenses, these have to be the most expensive eggs in the world.

Back in the early to mid sixties, I served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard between my sophomore and junior years at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. When I returned to school as a married student, I had to find a decent off-campus apartment. Once I did, I wasn’t about to give it up for the summer. So I stayed in Maine and worked for the summer between my junior and senior years.

Without any local connections, finding a summer job in the Waterville area was quite difficult. Finally, I got hired at the Ralston Purina chicken processing plant across the Kennebec River in the city of Winslow. Prior to that, my only reasons for ever going to Winslow were a half-decent pizza place and the Winslow Drive-In Theater, which just happened to be right next door to the chicken processing plant.

My job at the chicken plant was to unload crates of live chickens from the trucks that would bring them in from farms all over the area. It was hot, dirty work at just barely over minimum wage and I rarely worked less than ten hours-a-day, sending thousands of young chickens off to their deaths. Instead of pitying the poor birds, I came to despise them with my every waking breath. I used to say that chickens could hit a target through the bars of the crates at a range of ten feet. When I returned home at night covered in chicken shit, I would remove my shoes and clothes in the basement and shower immediately. There finally came a time when I stopped eating chicken, even though I could purchase it at the plant at a decent discount. I loathed them that much. After about a year, however, I got over my aversion to chicken and, to this day, it remains one of my favorite foods, especially the feet.

Fast forward forty-something years and here I am in Ohio raising chickens as pets. Or, should I call it catering to their every need. If you have followed this column, I am sure it is clear to you how I have come to love and admire these strange birds. Losing just one to a hawk or a raccoon is a tragedy.

Karma…

A couple of notes:

(1) A woman came up to me during a break at community band rehearsal a couple weeks ago and asked me where I get my chicken feed. I thought she said “chicken feet.” So I said, something stupid like, “Why do you ask, are some of my chickens missing feet?” Then I went on to tell her that usually we get them in Columbus or Cincinnati, chicken feet being one of my favorite dim sum items. But we usually eat them in a restaurant, as opposed to preparing them ourselves. I was thoroughly embarrassed when I finally realized that she meant chicken feed. I get it at Tractor Supply in Beavercreek. She wanted to know, because she had heard that it makes effective and inexpensive kitty litter.

(2) Every now-and-then a chicken would get loose at the chicken plant and it would be my job to catch it. Those I couldn’t catch would flee into the drive-in theater next door. Whenever we went to the movies, it felt like I couldn’t escape my work. I would have one eye on the screen and the other out the driver’s side window.

Scenes from around here: Just another day

Photo by Roger Reynolds

Friday, January 22, 2010

The Awkward Hug Video

Yesterday was National Hug Day. In honor of the event, Vanessa Query has presented us with this video:



National Hug Day is January 21, 2010. While we applaud the efforts of the holiday organizers to encourage this positive action between two people, we feel the need to warn you about the perils of certain hugs: awkward hugs. Stay with us as we explore different types of awkward hugs. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but merely an introduction to some of the most common and most problematic.

Vanessa

Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Dinner

The Chamber's Annual Meeting and Dinner was well attended again this year.

Outgoing President Dan Young kicked off the festivities.

Local blogger with Chamber Director Karen Wintrow

More photos here.

Winter Farmers Market Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET
SATURDAY 9AM - NOON
METHODIST CHURCH
202 S. WINTER ST.

We are going to have at least 8 vendors this week! And the first week in February we'll have grass fed Icelandic sheep (lamb meat) along with wool and roving.

This week's line up...
Flying Mouse Farms
Manzara (breads)
Earth in arts
Kathy (candles)
Anderson (pork)
Fab Ferments
Moonshadow Farms (sprouts, duck eggs, wheat free/egg free/vegan baked
goods, possibly greens, possibly frozen chicken, and possibly beeswax)
Blue Jacket Dairy (cheese)!

Winter Farmers Market Committee

YS Shops



This is the 5th in a series of 30 second videos shot by Joanne Caputo for the exploreyellowsprings.com Website that will be posted here over the next few weeks. (Music by Cooper Fleishman.)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Failing Math




I’ve always liked working with numbers. There’s something comforting about their consistency. Working with formulas, statistics, logarithms and elaborately developed function tables – it just doesn’t get much better than that for a good time.

Some numbers are more fun than others. Take the number 60 for example. I remember driving 60 mph the first time – no problem. Even my 60th birthday came and went without fear. 60 is a passing grade – I needed that a few times. 60% cacao is the beginning of good chocolate. Don’t forget 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 Democrats in the Senate – very reliable and comforting.

On the other hand, numbers like 59 or 41 can be scary. They’re both odd, they don’t have common digits or divisors and they don’t do anything – name one thing that goes with either 59 or 41. Did you ever see a 41 mph speed limit or 59 to a package of anything?

Perhaps I’m being too hard on 59 and 41 – they must have some purpose. Maybe the next few months will change my mind but for now I’m pretty skeptical that 59 and 41 will do anything good for us.

A. Reader

YS Schools - 2 hour delay

Channel 7 is reporting a 2 hour opening delay for the Yellow Springs Schools. (1/21 - 7: 25 a.m.)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Applying for school related grants: YSEE now part of YSCF

The Yellow Springs Community Foundation (YSCF) and the Yellow Springs Endowment for Education (YSEE) are pleased to announce their collaboration to pool volunteer resources by forming an Advised Field of Interest Endowment within the Foundation. This agreement, effective July 1, 2009, represents a solution to the growing national trend of a shrinking volunteer pool. By dissolving its corporation, YSEE eliminated escalating administrative costs and the need for a volunteer board of trustees, but ensured that its mission to support the excellence and diversity of Yellow Springs Schools will continue. That was the purpose of the YSEE endowment, established at the foundation in 1996 by parents and teachers. Now, instead of a separate nonprofit organization, a five- to seven-member advisory committee will review grant applications to support curricular and extracurricular activities in the Yellow Springs Schools and present its recommendations to the foundation trustees for approval. Two recent grants have funded a Lego League team and D.E.A.L. (Drop Everything and Logic), a program to involve students, administrators, and teachers in solving weekly logic problems.

The Community Foundation’s mission is to enhance community life in Yellow Springs and Miami Township by providing means for charitable giving and grant making that fund a broad range of activities. Among its goals are serving as a catalyst and resource for philanthropy, stewardship of endowments to address the community’s evolving needs, and providing flexible and cost-effective ways for donors to improve our community. “This collaboration is an excellent example of how we can achieve several goals at once,” said YSCF Board President Bruce Bradtmiller. “We encourage other nonprofits who may be struggling with similar issues to contact the foundation about ways in which we might help them.”

All members of the school community—students, teachers, parents, administrators, and interested citizens—are encouraged to apply for school-related grants that may be eligible for funding from YSCF funds, including the YSEE Field of Interest Fund. Applications and grant guidelines are available at http://www.yscf.org/app4grnt.html.

Rocky & Pee Wee: OMG U R 2 COOL


Kids/family classes at John Bryan Community Pottery

Create your own family totem pole keepsake in a workshop led by Alice Robrish on Fridays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on January 22, 29 and February 5.

Functional Critters Large and Small with Eve Sturm for grades K thru 3 begins Wednesday, February 3, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

For more information, email Lisa Wolters at wolters@lisawolters.com

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Where R U?




A few day ago when we were having lunch at the Emporium, I noticed a 30 something woman in the next booth busily text messaging. Not too much later a friend, with a phone in hand, joined her and after 4 or 5 minutes of “How nice you look,” and “We should do this more often,” both women went back to texting. For the rest of their lunch time the conversation was totally focused on who they were texting and what they should tell their common acquaintances about how much fun it was to have lunch together.

The lunch observation got me thinking about the variety of places I’ve seen people, not just kids, totally engrossed in sending and receiving text messages. Besides the car, the list would include movies, plays, restrooms, church, hiking, shopping, biking, a variety of restaurants and I’m sure a few others that I’ve forgotten.

Just to see what’s so exciting about texting, I decided to give it a test run. The first trick was to get the other half to even turn on the cell phone and here’s how it went from there….

“Having coffee at the Emporium.”

Response, “So...”

“I just thought you should know.”

Response, “Why?”

“Because I look really cool sitting here with my phone.”

Response, “Get the milk and come home.”

I still don’t get it. What drives the need for constant contact with someone else in some other place? A friend suggests that we’re losing our ability to appreciate the “here and now” – our current surroundings, the people we’re with or the meal, or movie or the event that’s right in front of us. While I think that’s a fairly dire assessment, it does seem to be where our electronic gadgets, Wi-Fi, Twitter and Facbook are taking us.

I’m not sure that’s where I want to go. It may be out-of-date thinking but I’m going make sure I enjoy things as they come and not as they might be. It’s fine to look ahead with anticipation but perhaps we do need to spend a little more time engaging the “here and now”.

The next time we have coffee at the Emporium or see each other at the Farmer’s Market, I promise to put away all my gadgets and focus on our time together – that’s assuming you’re not busy texting.

A. Reader


Editor's note: I was in the Super Walmart in Bellbrook yesterday, killing time while Amy was getting her hair permed by a friend. I spotted a computer monitor on sale for a very good price. When my son was visiting from Seattle this Christmas, he mentioned that his monitor was on the verge of quitting on him. I suddenly felt the urge to let him know about the sale. It was too early on the west coast for me to call him, and it would be awhile before I got to my computer to email him. So, I shot him a text message. I have had cellphones with this capability for years, but I cannot ever remember initiating a text. Only once before, did I ever even open a text message that I had received. Am I doomed?

New Award in Virginia Hamilton's name




Yellow Springs author Virginia Hamilton is being honored by the American Library Association with a new award in her name. The Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement will go to outstanding black authors and illustrators “for lasting and significant contributions to youth or young adult literature,” the Dayton Daily News reported in an article, yesterday.

Dayton Daily News: Miami Valley author Virginia Hamilton has award in her name

Monday, January 18, 2010

Shelley Colbert Benefit Concert rocked the Emporium

Photo by Susan Gartner

There was much good will wishing energy that flowed for the Shelley Colbert Benefit at the Emporium on Saturday, January 16th. This community linked together to make this a successful event that was really beneficial for Shelley with emotional as well as financial support. After a long series of aggressive treatments she is looking forward to a breather, spring and a new puppy. Shelley expresses her sincere gratitude to everyone for all of their kindness as she continues to heal from breast cancer. Thanks to ALL for rocking the house.

Peg Koebernick, event coordinator

Glen Helen Association Art Exhibition: For the Love of Nature – Works by Paul Reif

Cascades by Paul Reif

The Glen Helen Association is hosting an art exhibition titled For the Love of Nature – Works by Paul Reif from February 1 to February 27, 2010. This one-person show features regional landscape paintings in acrylic and pastels. Show hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays in the Glen Helen Building located at 405 Corry Street in Yellow Springs. Admission is free. The public is invited to attend a reception to meet the artist on Sunday, February 7 from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Paul Reif is a self-taught painter who has resided in Champaign County for 42 years. His favorite subjects are landscapes and florals, which he likes to render using the brilliant colors available in acrylic and pastels. The beauty and character of area fields, woodlands, streams and wildflowers provide Reif constant inspiration. Reif’s work has been exhibited in shows at the Springfield Museum of Art and is also represented in fine art galleries in Urbana and Yellow Springs.

The show is part of Glen Helen Association’s Atrium Gallery program – an ongoing series of monthly contemporary art exhibitions, which highlights the talents of emerging local and regional visual artists. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of any art goes to the Glen Helen Association, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support preservation and programs at Glen Helen and its 1,000-acre nature preserve.

For more information call the Glen Helen Ecology Institute at (937) 769-1902 or visit www.glenhelen.org.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The real baby-boomers

I was surprised to learn a few years ago what qualifies as a baby-boomer. I knew that I, having been born one year before the end of World War II, did not technically qualify. However, it has continued to puzzle me how an entire generation of twenty years, starting with 1945, can be considered in the same catch phrase. Obviously, demographics have nothing to do with it, although would-be statisticians constantly like to lump them together for such diverse considerations as health insurance and consumer trends. In reality, I have a lot more in common with those who were born right after the war, than they do with the forty-somethings at the tail end of their so-called “generation.” When we talk about the aging baby-boomers, we can’t possibly be talking about them.

So, who are the real baby-boomers? In my book, it’s those born in the last year or two of the war through those born in the following decade. The real baby boomers were born from 1943-1953. We grew up watching “Howdy Doody” and “Ozzie and Harriet,” not “Captain Kangaroo” and “Sesame Street.” We experienced the dawn of rock and roll, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Liberation and the sexual liberation that followed – together. We shouldn’t be considered as a whole generation, but as a group born during a certain decade that shared those experiences. It would mean a whole lot more demographically.

How is it that this is on my mind at this time? I turned 65 this year and sought the help of our experts in Social Security and Medicare at the Yellow Springs Senior Center. Caroline Mullin, the social worker who was advising me, noted how different it was dealing with those who had turned 65 in 2009 than it had been in the past. That’s because you are encountering the first of the baby-boomers, I told her. She agreed.

How are we different? We are more demanding, more conscious of our rights. We are younger in our outlook and, as a whole, healthier. We look different. We are hipper. And, just so you don’t think that I am implying that we are better, probably a bit sloppier both in our appearance and in our way of handling things. At least my father always felt that way about us.

And, speaking of Dad… I was still an infant when he returned from his service, an event of which I have no recollection. My two sisters were born in the following four years. Our experiences growing up were essentially the same. How can they be baby-boomers and not me? It defies logic in the same way that someone who is turning 45 this year is considered as the progeny of service men returning home from a war that ended some 65 years ago. And it’s just not fair. I’m tired of telling people I was born just before the baby-boom. The real baby-boomers have already started turning 65 and I am one of them.

MLK Day Parade and events

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Walk for Peace will kick off tomorrow (Mon. 1/18) at 10:30 a.m. at the Mills Lawn School. The parade will be followed by a program at 11 a.m. at the Central Chapel A.M.E. Church. At 7 p.m. WYSO will be airing a special on MLK, including a recording of his speech at the 1965 Antioch College commencement.

Related post: MLK Special to air Monday

Village Council meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, Village Council will meet this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

The packet of materials for the meeting, including the agenda, is available here.

They were rocking at the Bryan Center last night

Photos by Susan Gartner

BearFoot Boogie (a Yellow Springs Community Dance Party) hosted by Brother Bear's Coffeehouse took place Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Bryan Center, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Music was provided by Spanish Tony Sanchez , Full Circle, and DJ Dr. Falafel.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

This just in from WYSO: MLK special to air Monday

Jalyn Jones Roe holds a photo of herself at the 1965 King commencement speech at Antioch College

WYSO will air a special program Monday night at 7 pm featuring an address by Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior at the 1965 Antioch College commencement. We'll hear the speech in its entirety, comments from college archivist Scott Sanders and the memories of Yellow Springs resident Jalyn Jones Roe, who attended as a 10 year-old child. Her life, she says, was forever changed.
More info: www.wyso.org

The Backyard Flock: The heartbreak of losing a chicken


Long before I started this column, I wrote in my blog about losing my favorite chicken. I’m sure this is hard for a lot of people to understand, but that particular Barred Plymouth Rock and I had a history. Her name was Rocky and she was one of the smartest chickens I have ever seen. Rocky was one of only two pullets to come out of the first six chicks we ever bought. We got them at the Caesar’s Creek Flea market and had no idea what we were doing. The other pullet to come out of that run was a Rhode Island Red we called Pee Wee.

Pee Wee is still with us. But, sadly, we lost Rocky in the cold of last winter in a manner very similar to the way we lost the Blue Cochin we called Sloopy, last week. The older chickens don’t seem to handle the cold as well as the younger ones. And it seems that once they have started to succumb, even bringing them into the warmth of your home can’t save them.

Rocky was the smartest and fastest maturing of that first bunch of pullets and cockerels we had some six years ago. Even in the first couple weeks, she was always the first out of the cage when I opened the door. She was the first to fly. When I had them fenced in with a low fence, she would fly in and out at will, while the others stood and clucked at her in amazement.

When she got older, she was clearly at the top of the pecking order. Nobody messed with her, although we rarely saw her attack another chicken. She ruled the roost with the fear of the unknown. None of the other chickens dared test her. She was a big ole gal and a looker, too. I always maintained that if I entered her in a contest at the county fair, she would win hands down.

Chickens seem to have a way of knowing which animals are threats and which aren’t. Groundhogs and squirrels come and go at will and none of the flock takes notice. But, if a neighbor’s cat or a raccoon wanders into the yard, all the heads go up and the warning cries start immediately. We can usually hear the ruckus in the house.

Groundhogs can be tough. One look at their teeth and you know this is not an animal to be messed with. But they are essentially docile herbivores, unless protecting their own turf against another of the same species. I have heard stories about them fighting viciously among themselves. But, I have often seen them dining alongside the chickens. They love chicken feed and will go to great lengths to get to it. I have never been able to keep up with all the groundhog holes under the fence around the chicken run.
The chickens usually ignore them. However, one day Rocky took exception to a groundhog eating at her trough and went after him. After being violently pecked in the head in the surprise attack, the groundhog headed for one of his holes under the fence. I would witness this same scene several more times.

Rocky might have been fearless, but she loved to be handled. She was always gentle with the family. I would pick her up and carry her around like a puppy. I would bring her out front when were gardening and let her eat the bugs and worms we uncovered. Sometimes I would take her over to visit the neighbors who liked chickens. She never objected.

The only time she disappeared on me was one time when a cat that I wasn’t aware of was lurking in the bushes while we were gardening. Rocky very calmly hid and kept quiet until she thought the cat was gone. Then she started cooing softly to me to let me know where she was. She was glad when I found her and picked her up. I always had the feeling that all the chickens felt safer when I responded to trouble in chicken land, such as when a hawk would be hanging around and I would come out there and chase it away.

Rocky wasn’t beyond mischief either. When the chickens were free to roam the backyard, I always had trouble keeping her and Pee Wee off the back deck. Of course, Rocky was the ringleader. The deck, which is attached to the second floor of our house, is accessed from the backyard by a flight of about ten steps. Many were the times I would catch them in the act of climbing the stairs.

The chickens always watch the house. The moment one of us comes out onto the deck through the back door, they get all excited about the prospect of getting a treat, usually leftovers from our latest meal. One day we were in the house when there was a knock on the back door. This seemed strange as the backyard is fenced off and no one ever came to the back before. I went to answer it, but when I looked through the glass, I couldn’t see anyone there. I opened the door and there were Rocky and Pee Wee. They looked at me, then at each other and ran for the steps. They knew they weren’t supposed to be there.

I didn’t have the same kind of history with Sloopy. She was old when we got her and she didn’t care to be handled. She was always the last one out of the coop when I opened up in the morning, the last one to come to get fed. In the afternoons, she would wander off by herself to a shady place under the bushes. She didn’t have any friends. She remained outside the pecking order. She managed to keep her beautiful blue-gray feathers from getting ruffled. The closest I got to knowing her was when I brought her into the house last week to keep her warm. She seemed to appreciate it. And I was happy to be able to do something nice for her, before she left this world.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Leadership openings in the YS Schools

The Yellow Springs School District is conducting searches for the following administrative positions: Superintendent, Treasurer, Elementary School Principal, and Middle School/High School Principal. We are looking for exceptional administrators that will be part of the leadership team that enables the district to mature from a nationally recognized School of Excellence into an exemplary 21st century model of public education.

Link to job postings:
www.yellow-springs.k12.oh.us/employment.htm

Yellow Springs jet noise covered in Dutch newspaper

This from a reader:

The attached article (in the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf) is a result in part of Harvey Paige's concerted efforts to get the Dutch to pay attention to their import of noise pollution to our area. (Harvey can tell you more.)

Its translation is as follows (click on image to enlarge):

The headline states: "Ohio homeowners are going crazy from the noise of F-16's exercises which is sparing the Leeuwarden public."

Amsterdam, Thursday: Homeowners from the city of Yellow Springs Ohio are driven insane from the unbearable noise caused by the Dutch F-16's Fighter Jets.

From the Dutch bases in Volkel and Leeuwarden comes fighter jets performing their exercises above the state of Ohio for the past six months. The Dutch Royal Air Force is paying $135 million Euros to use the air base facilities in Springfield Ohio in order to spare their country the overhead noise. The Defense is using the American bases to train the Dutch pilots and new fighter jets to be used in Afghanistan. The authorities are not involved in the exact nature of the training.

The surrounding homeowners have had it with the noise. Spokes person Harvey Paige representing the neighborhoods states that the homeowners are losing tremendous value of their homes. "When the new Joint Strike Fighter Jets come, they will be even noisier than the F-16's."

The American homeowners are perplexed why they have to live with and be exposed daily to the overhead noise, instead of those living in Leeuwarden and Volkel.

A complaint was presented to the Netherlands Ambassador in Washington DC. who declared that the complaint has come to the wrong address. " It should be presented to the local authorities," ReneeJones-Bos ambassador stated.

The American authorities are very sparing with the proper information. It appears the homeowners have no say in any Defense contracts affecting their land, all this information is clouded in secrecy, and has no transparency.

Spokesman Col. Frank van Wieren of the Royal Dutch Air Force stated that they are operating under American rules and regulations and are conscious of the environment just like in the Netherlands.

Goodbye Ken...

Ken Simon accompanying the Onsite Movement Explorations Collective in August, 2008. Photo by Susan Gartner.

Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting

Antioch Symposium on Issues Surrounding Native American Identity and Representation

On Saturday, January 23, 2010, Antioch College’s Morgan Fellows will host the second in a series of monthly symposia focusing on issues in higher education and society. The topic of this event will be “Native American Identity and Representation,” and will take place in the Herndon Gallery at Antioch College, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs, Ohio, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm with a reception to follow.

“The identities of Native Americans are inherently linked to landscape, relatives, and language,” says Beverly Rodgers, Ph.D., one of four Arthur Morgan Fellows at Antioch College. Even when relatives have gone on, the land degraded, and language fallen into disuse, these elements continue to form the context of identity for most Native Peoples. In representing these identities, indigenous writers, artists, and cultural workers face the dual necessities of educating a broader public to see past deeply rooted stereotypes of Native Peoples and creating awareness of the variety of Native experiences and realities. This has also meant a heightened interest in mixed blood, hybrid, and multiple identities, and in the increasingly common urbanized Native realities.

Panelists:

William S. Penn, a member of the Nez Perce Nation, is one of the most acclaimed contemporary Native American writers. The prizewinning author and editor of numerous books, among them two novels of mixed-blood life, The Absence of Angels and Killing Time with Strangers, Penn's second novel won the 2001 American Book Award for Literary Merit. He has also produced the influential collections All My Sins Are Relatives; As We Are Now: Mixblood Essays on Race and Identity; Feathering Custer; and the anthology The Telling of the World: Native American Stories and Art. William Penn teaches creative writing, the oral tradition, and literature of the Americas in the English Department and the American Indian Studies Program at Michigan State University.

Daryl Baldwin, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, directs The Myaamia Project at Miami University of Ohio. The Project is a joint research venture between the Miami Tribe and Miami University, charged with the study and support of the history, culture and language of the Miami Nation, whose ancestral lands spanned present-day Illinois, Indiana, southwest Michigan, and Ohio. Baldwin's forefathers were active in the affairs of the Miami people for several centuries, and he continues this tribal work via the wide variety of language and cultural revitalization programming he manages through the Myaamia Project. Daryl Baldwin holds a Master's Degree in North American Linguistics from the University of Montana.

Beverly E. Rodgers, Miami by ancestry and culture, is currently one of four Arthur Morgan Fellows at Antioch College. She has also served Antioch College as an Associate Professor of Anthropology, as an Assistant Professor of Co-operative Education, and as the Director of the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom. Rodgers holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Cultural Anthropology and specializes in the study of the indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region. Her research is tribally-driven and focuses on issues relevant to the Miami Nation, including cultural identity and the protection and reclamation of Miami heritage. Dr. Rodgers is a Research Associate of the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University and the Director of the Myaamia Foundation.

About the Arthur E. Morgan Fellows …..

Named in honor of Arthur E. Morgan, Antioch College President from 1920-1936, the Fellows are facilitating and coordinating a yearlong outreach program to alumni and friends of the College nationwide as the College develops both its program and curriculum. They will also present symposia on a wide variety of topics on the historic campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The current Morgan Fellows include Anne Bohlen M.A.; Jean Gregorek, Ph.D.; Beverly Rodgers, Ph.D.; Scott Warren, Ph.D.; and Director of Work Susan Eklund-Leen, Ph.D.

Winter Farmers Market Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

WINTER FARMERS MARKET
SATURDAY 9AM - NOON (JAN 16th)
METHODIST CHURCH
202 S. WINTER ST.

We had 3 vendors last Saturday and this week we expect to have 5 or 6. Please come see us. Your show of support last week encouraged more vendor interest and hopefully, in a few weeks we'll have a full house. Thanks.

WFM Committee

Antioch building reopened

Old photos of the Antioch College campus were on display at last night's rededication of South Hall.

The new Antioch College reopened one of its four original buildings in a re-dedication celebration last night. South Hall, which has been a dormitory, classroom building and in recent years housed the Herndon Gallery, will be used for office space as the college gets off the ground in its most recent reincarnation. Interim President Matthew Derr kicked off the festivities saying there would be no ribbon cutting ceremony for the re-dedication of the building which has been redone from top to bottom, including a new heating system. Also Speaking were Pro Tempore Board President Lee Morgan; long-time Antioch College Archivist Scott Sanders, who gave an architectural history of all the buildings on the campus; and John Feinberg an Antioch alumnus and architect who oversaw the work on South Hall. The Herndon Gallery space was filled to capacity with alumni, former faculty and villagers for the event.



Interim President Matthew Derr kicked off the festivities at the reopening of South Hall


Lee Morgan reminisced about his days in South Hall when it was a dormitory.


Scott Sanders gave a historical/architectural tour and slide show.


John Feinberg talked about the challenges of preserving the old buildings.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Glen Helen Trail Improvement Open Forum on January 19, 2010

This coming Tuesday, January 19th, the Glen Helen Ecology Institute will host an open forum to discuss intended improvements to one of the Glen’s most popular recreational trails. Anyone interested in the details of this project is encouraged to attend.

Though many may not know it by name, most everyone who visits Glen Helen will remember walking the Inman Trail. Inman-trekkers find themselves meandering along the banks of Birch Creek up to the Cascades waterfall. From here, the trail crests the top of the Oak Triangle and past the Hopewell burial mound before arriving at the Yellow Spring itself. The trail’s final leg levels out onto the Yellow Springs Creek floodplain, directly past Pompey’s Pillar, and up the long stone staircase to the Trailside Museum. In all but a mile, the Inman Trail exposes visitors to some of the most spectacular sights in the Glen.

Decades of heavy foot traffic have prompted Ecology Institute staff to seek grant funding to carry out restoration and trail maintenance work along this beautiful path. As an integral part of this process, the Institute would like to invite all interested parties to a short presentation outlining the project’s goals. Following that, community members will have the opportunity to provide their own input on the project.

The forum will be in the Glen Helen Building at 405 Corry St in Yellow Springs on Tuesday, January 19th at 7 pm. All members of the public are encouraged to attend and voice their opinions on the proposed improvements.

You may take this survey (Click to enlarge) by printing it out and mailing it in to the address at the bottom. The deadline to turn it in is Jan. 21.

For more information:
Liz Schneiders
Glen Helen Project Manager
937-769-1902 x103

Local actress in Beavercreek production

Local actress Marcia Nowik has a major role in the Beavercreek Community Theatre production of Neil Simon's "God's Favorite."

Dayton Daily News: Trials of Job presented through comedic prism

Silent Auction - Feb. 6

WYSO's Silent Auction,
Wine and Chocolate Tasting


Saturday, February 6th at 6 PM

Antioch University McGregor
900 Dayton Street
Yellow Springs, OH 45387

This annual event continues to grow. We're continuing to partner with the Winds Café and Current Cuisine for the food and wine. But, we wanted to add something new, and tried to find something to complement the food and wine. So we've added a chocolate tasting by collaborating with Winans Fine Chocolates and Coffees.

Tickets are $30 in advance (by 5 PM Friday, February 5th) or $35 at the door.

Please click on the link below to to purchase your advance tickets!!!!
Purchase Your Advance Tickets Now!
If you are interested in donating an item for the Silent Auction, please contact Jacki Mayer at 937-769-1388 or jmayer@wyso.org

We've made a few changes from the last few years. There's are new set-up, we've added a Chocolate Tasting and there's a Live Auction to end the evening.

Thanks so much and we hope to see you on February 6th.

Sincerely,

Jacki Mayer
WYSO Public Radio
jmayer@wyso.org
937 769-1388

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Karen Patterson's Nigerian students at UD need funding

Local musician Karen Patterson, who has been teaching in Nigeria, managed to place two of her music students at the University of Dayton. But now, with the downturn in the economy, funding to keep them there is drying up, the school's online newspaper is reporting.

UD's Flyer News: Nigerian students make music on campus, need funds to continue term

Bench to Nowhere: Let's get naked!

A Cool Town Toon

A rare midweek cartoon to get your mind of that last one...