A mid-week weekend

By Susan Gartner

The Rand McNally/USA Today Best of the Road Rally 2011 put Yellow Springs on the map, literally, when the town threw in its felted hat to compete for the category of "Most Fun Town."

On June 23, 2011, five two-person teams set out from New York in brand new Saabs to visit 30 Best Small Towns of America and determine Most Patriotic, Best for Food, Most Beautiful, Friendliest and Most Fun.

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, villagers came together and with the coordination efforts of the YS Chamber of Commerce, put on a weekend fling in the middle of the week to welcome contest judges Juliana and Joan Broste. The mother-daughter team from Littleton, Colo., landed in town Monday night complete with RV van and staff, camera crew, handlers and Rand McNally hosts. From Tuesday morning to Wednesday afternoon, the dynamic duo was treated to an eye-popping array of all that YS has to offer. Scheduled and unscheduled events included lunch at The Winds and dinner at Peach's Grill, visits to WYSO, Young's Dairy, MTFR Fire Station, Glen Helen Raptor Center, Miami Valley Pottery and Springs Gallery, a Public Art Tour, the opportunity to yarnbomb, a ride on the Corner Cone cart, an interview with Dave Chappelle, listening to local bands Wheels and The UnderCovered and dancing with Egyptian Breeze Belly Dancers at the Art Park on Tuesday night.

Not only were Juliana and Joan a pleasure to be with but their entire entourage was personable, accommodating, and jumped into the fun. Best of the Road hosts Amanda Pflugrad and Gary Hurt, along with their driver, Bob, spent time with Jafagirls Corrine Bayraktaroglu and Nancy Mellon at a table of Flower Power participants at Brother Bear's Coffeehouse to help yarnbomb the town.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of sidewalk artists got together to decorate the sidewalks of Dayton and Corry Streets in preparation for the Surprise Tuesday Fling at Art Park Tuesday evening.

Thanks to all, in front and behind-the-scenes, who contributed their time and talents to show off our town and give "Most Fun Town" contenders Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Santa Claus, Ind.; Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Park City, Utah; and Vacaville, Calif. a run for their money.

The winning towns will be announced July 21 at the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Annual Convention in New Orleans. Top towns will be highlighted on www.bestoftheroad.com and in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on USA TODAY’s Travel site.

The three-week cross-country adventure can be followed on www.bestoftheroad.com. To follow Juliana and Joan, go to their blog at http://ontheroad.randmcnally.com/category/best-of-the-road/traveling-jules-and-joan or visit their Facebook Page TravelingJules and TravelingJoan. To see all the fabulous photos, be sure and check out the YS Chamber Facebook page: Yellow Springs, OH. I guarantee you'll be exhausted just looking at all the things Jules and Joan did while they were here.

Here's a link to the video that the Rand McNally RV crew put together, enjoy!
http://ontheroad.randmcnally.com/category/best-of-the-road/a-look-at-the-rv-team-videos/

Bettina Solas Live at Corner Cone

Bettina Solas will play autoharp and mountain dulcimer at Corner Cone on Friday, July 1, 7-9 p.m. She performs a wide variety of music, mostly Celtic, folk and traditional but also selections from Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Coldplay and others. Check out her website at www.bettinasolas.com. Corner Cone is located at the corner of Walnut and Dayton Streets in Yellow Springs. Come out for a relaxing evening of great food, ice cream and music.

Mills Lawn principal to perform

Punk, funk and garage music at Westcott House

Perfectly Frank Evening with The Show and The Now Device

Friday, July 1, 8-11 p.m.

The Westcott House, 1340 East High Street, Springfield, OH 937-327-9291

The Show & The Now Device: Live Music & Multimedia Performance

The evening will feature a special multi-art collaborative event with The Show and Rod Hatfield of Seattle based The Now Device. The Show, a Springfield-Yellow Springs based trio, features Ryan Henry on guitar, Yellow Springs Mills Lawn principal Matt Housh on drums and vocals and Jessica Kinzer on keyboards and lead vocals. The Show performs original, high energy music that spans genres from garage and surf, to punk and funk! For more information on The Show, go to www.myspace.com/theshowwillgrow or www.facebook.com/theshowwillgrow.

The Now Device is a visual media company that showcases live video mixing and projection. Its portfolio includes work with Radiohead, Xbox, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and collaborations with Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House, Cincinnati Pops, FilmDayton and Seattle Theatre Group. For more information on The Now Device, go to http://thenowdevice.com/. This music and multimedia performance will transform The Westcott House into a unique, multi-art environment.

$5 for general public, free to Westcott House Foundation Members and Students
Cash bar and snacks available

Perfectly Frank Evenings is the new series at the Westcott House. A vibrant social event featuring live music, poetry readings, film screenings and more! Reservations recommended.

First Fridays of the Month @ the Westcott House are sponsored by Freund, Freeze & Arnold.

The Westcott House Foundation was established in September 2000 to manage the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's only Prairie Style home in Ohio and to develop The Westcott House as a museum and educational center. The house, fully restored and hailed by many as a forgotten architectural treasure, opened to the public on October 15, 2005. The Westcott House is one of about 260 Wright houses remaining in the world with eleven located in Ohio. One of the Foundation's primary goals is to establish The Westcott House as a "must-see" destination for the benefit of community and state, architectural enthusiasts, and the general public. For more info, visit

http://www.westcotthouse.org/programs-events/PerfectlyFrank.html

Creative Alias Contest underway

Let the games begin!

The YS News name tags came out in today's issue of the paper. The time is now to start creating your alias and your funny answer to the follow-up "Ask me about..." Or not. Play along with the Blog and be funny and creative and you can win twenty bucks. Or go along with the News and use your real name and be ready to give a serious answer. Agents of the Blog will be out with their cameras or you can take your own photos. See sidebar for rules.

At the Cone

This Friday at Clifton Opera House

Hal Harris Orchestra

On Friday, July 1st the Hal Harris Orchestra will take to the stage in Clifton. Hal and his team are Opera House regulars, and they are back! The talented group will groove to old favorites all the way from the 40's to the Beatles. It's all happy music, come out and enjoy! The show starts at 7:30pm, and box office opens at 6:30pm. Door donation $7.00 The Clifton Opera House is located at 5 So. Clay Street, Clifton. Check out the website www.villageofclifton.com for more information.

Army Band to perform at Youngs

Ohio National Guard’s 122 Army Band performance at Young’s Jersey Dairy on Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 7 PM

Young’s Jersey Dairy is hosting a free performance of The Ohio Army National Guard’s 122nd Army Band, Ohio’s premier military music ensemble, at Young’s Jersey Dairy on Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 7 PM.

For over 50 years, the Ohio National Guard’s 122nd Army Band has been a staple of the musical tradition of the United States military in Ohio. Members from every corner of the state are charged with carrying out the mission of increasing troop morale and creating a link between the public and the Ohio Army National Guard.

As one of the largest National Guard bands in the nation, the 122nd is able to utilize its resources to play dozens of concerts each year.

The free patriotic concert is scheduled at the large Red Picnic Shelters behind (east) The Dairy Store at Young’s Jersey Dairy. There is plenty of free parking available. Chairs will be available on a first come, first serve basis, or bring your own lawn chair.

Young’s Jersey Dairy is located one mile north of Yellow Springs on Route 68.

Support your local Public Radio station

WYSO's Fiscal Year-end is Friday!

Your Financial Support is Crucial to Our Success.

Did you know that each week WYSO has 60,000 listeners, but only slightly more than 3600 are members!

So, please support WYSO now.

You can make your tax deductible contribution online right now by clicking on the sign.

Native Plant Sale

The Native Plant Sale, a part of the Midwest Native Plant Conference, will be held on July 9, 2011, at the Bergamo Center in Beavercreek, Ohio. Six regional native plant vendors and others will be open to the public from 9-4 at 4400 Shakertown Rd.

Is there such a thing as too much fun?

Blogger interviewed by Rand McNally/USA Today Best of the Road road crew

Cattle Call

Auditions for “The Merry Wives of Windsor” by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare in South Park's Shakespeare-in-the-Park

Auditions for
The Merry Wives of Windsor
(Performance Dates: September 16, 17 and 18)
A comedy by William Shakespeare
directed by Susan Robert

Auditions: Sunday, July 10th & Monday, July 11th

7 to 9 PM
Hope Lutheran Church
500 Hickory St
(Off Wayne Avenue)
Dayton, Ohio

Please bring a list of all possible conflicts keeping evening rehearsal times of 7- 9 to 10, M-TH in mind.
Experience not necessary, but please be prepared to list past theatre experience--onstage as well as backstage. Resume welcome.
You will be asked to read scenes from the script.
Monologues are not necessary, but you may provide an audition piece, preferably from a Shakespearean comedy, if you wish.
We are looking for the following characters:

Shallow- (35 and up) A judge and relative of Slender, urging him to marry Anne Page
*Sir Hugh Evans- (late 30s and up)A member of the clergy of Welsh descent
Slender- (20-30) Cousin to Shallow-- a somewhat interested suitor to Anne-- favored by her father
Simple-(flexible age) servant to Slender

Mistress Page- (30/40) One of the “Merry Wives.” Married to Page.
Page-(30/40) Husband to Mistress Page
Mistress Anne- (late teens) Their young daughter

Mistress Ford- (30/40) Other half of the “Merry Wives.” Married to Ford
Ford-(30/40) Married to Mistress Ford- jealous type. Later disguised as Brooke.
John and Robert- (flexible ages)- Ford’s servants

*Dr Caius-(30-up) A French doctor and suitor to Anne- favored by her mother
Mistress Quickly-(flexible age) servant to Dr Caius and everybody’s go-between
John Rugby- (flexible age)Dr. Caius’ servant

Fenton- (late teens, early 20s) young suitor to Anne Page- favored by her

*these roles have dialects that are written into the text of the script

At the Garter Inn
Sir John Falstaff- (40-up) Lodging at the Garter Inn. The hearty, fat knight of questionable repute who gets what he deserves.
Pistol, Nym and Bardolph- (flexible ages)- followers of Falstaff
Host- (flexible)- Runs the Garter Inn
Robin- (8-12)- servant boy to Falstaff
Some roles (TBD) may be played as male or female

ALL ages are based on LOOK and not necessarily the actual amount of time you have occupied a position on this earth. Make-up and costumes are many times the great equalizer on stage.

Bench to Nowhere: Who are you..?

A Fun City Toon

Fun Town Media Attention

The judges of the Rand McNally/USA Today "Most Fun Town" contest arrived in town this morning amid a great deal of hoopla.

Mayor Dave issued another of his wordy proclamations

The crowd posed for a group photo/video op

Channel-7's Gabrielle Enright covered the action

WDTN: Town tries to be "Most Fun" in the country

Coming to a sign post near you

By Susan Gartner

Jafagirls ("Just Another Flippin' Artist") Corrine Bayraktaroglu and Nancy Mellon organized a Flower Power 2011 Sew-In yesterday at Brother Bear's to prepare for the arrival of Best of the Road Contest Judging Team Traveling Joan and Traveling Jules. We're doing it again this morning at Brother Bear's, after the 10 a.m. Welcome at the Train Station.

Photo by Susan Gartner

Fun City

All day

Every day

Especially today

Free Readings and Keynotes

2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop

As part of the Antioch Writers' Workshop annual tradition, readings by 2011 AWW keynote speakers, faculty, and selected participants will be free and open to the public at 7:00pm July 9 through 15 at Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

The free, open to the public readings begin at 7:00pm on Saturday, July 9 with New York Times bestselling author and keynote speaker, Nancy Pickard. Pickard is the author of 18 novels and dozens of short stories, and the winner of multiple Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards, plus the Barry, Shamus and American Mystery awards. The address will be followed by a book signing with Pickard.

On Sunday, July 10, AWW faculty Lucrecia Guerrero, Jim Daniels and Matthew Goodman, will each read and sign books. Lucrecia Guerrero is the author of the novel Tree of Sighs. Her short stories have been anthologized in The Best of the West, 2009 and Fantasmas and have been published in numerous literary journals. Jim Daniels has published thirteen collections of poetry, including From Milltown to Malltown. His fourth book of short stories,Trigger Man will be published in Fall 2011. Matthew Goodman is the author of the acclaimed narrative history The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York. The book was named a 2008 Best Book of the Year by The Economist.

On Monday, July 11, Kristina Purnhagen McBride will give a "first book talk" followed by a reading with Katrina Kittle. McBride is an AWW alumna and the author of the Young Adult novel, The Tension of Opposites. Kittle Katrina Kittle is the author of Traveling Light, Two Truths and a Lie and The Kindness of Strangers. Her fourth novel, The Blessings of the Animals, was released in 2010.

Rakesh Satyal, Nancy Pickard, and Joyce Dyer will read on Tuesday, July 12. Rakesh Satyal, author of Blue Boy, has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. As an associate editor at Random House, Satyal worked for such authors as Bill Bryson, Chuck Palahniuk, Bill O'Reilly, and Gore Vidal, and edited a number of books on the Doubleday Broadway list. Joyce Dyer is the author of four books including, most recently, Goosetown: Reconstructing an Akron Neighborhood (2010).

On Wednesday, July 13, participants of the Antioch Writers' Workshop will share their work with the public. This reading will take place at the Emporium in Yellow Springs.

A reading will take place on Thursday, July 14, with AWW faculty Becky Morean, Jamey Dunham and Martha Moody, followed by book signing. Rebecca Morean is the author of In the Dead of Winter along with numerous stories and articles. Jamey Dunham's award-winning prose poems have been published widely and appear in several anthologies including The Best American Poetry 2005 (Scribner, 2005). Dunham's poetry collection The Bible of Lost Pets (Salt Modern Poets, 2009) was the inaugural winner of the Crashaw Prize. Martha Moody was a private practice internist for 15 years and is the author of three novels.

The 2011 Workshop will culminate on Friday, July 15, with a reading by participants of the AWW Afternoon Seminar who have been selected by the AWW faculty.

Registration for the Antioch Writers Workshop A La Carte option has been extended until July 2. For registration information, a detailed schedule and complete bios of the speakers, visit
antiochwritersworkshop.com.

Special Open House

All those who have driven by the elegant Greek-revival Carr/Hamilton House at 1133 Xenia Avenue and wondered at what is is like inside are invited to satisfy their curiosity Sunday, July 10, between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m.

Through the generosity of family members and current owners Ken and Betheen Struewing and Mike and Fran DeWine, the Yellow Springs Historical Society has been given permission to hold an open house at the newly-restored home originally built in the 1850s as a fundraiser before it is listed for sale. Historical Society board members will be on hand. $5 suggested donation to benefit the ongoing work of the Historical Society.

Click on image to enlarge.

Destination YS

A Special Tuesday Fling in the Springs

Enjoy A Weekend in the Springs Midweek
Shopping, Dining, Exploring
Nearly 100 shops, galleries & restaurants within 2 miles;
over 65 right in our wonderful, walk-able downtown.
Glen Helen with miles of lovely trails & the Yellow Spring.
The Little Miami Scenic Trail for safe & scenic bike rides.

Welcome Traveling Jules & Traveling Joan
Fun Awaits in Yellow Springs...
Joan and Jules Broste will be arriving in Yellow Springs on Tuesday, June 28 for their two day, fun-filed adventure as part of the Rand McNally/USA TODAY Best of the Road Contest in search of the MOST FUN TOWN!

We have some great activities planned for the team along with time for them to explore alone. If you see them around town, please say hi and welcome them to Yellow Springs.

Please join us for some fun events Tuesday, June 28

10:00 am Welcome Ceremony at Yellow Springs Station

Entertainment at The Art Park at Dayton and Corry
5:00 pm Busking and General Fun
7:00 pm Wheels
8:00 pm Egyptian Breeze Belly Dancers
8:30 pm The UnderCovered
9:30 pm Soul Fire Tribe

Rocky & Pee Wee: Let the games begin

Team of Most Fun Town judges to arrive tomorrow

Let the fun begin

Let the judging begin

The mother-daughter team of Juliana and Joan Broste, aka TravelingJules and TravelingJoan will be arriving in Yellow Springs Tuesday morning to a welcome by Village officials at 10 am. The next 2 days will be spent visiting the fun spots in and around Yellow Springs including Glen Helen, Young’s Dairy and the beautiful downtown shopping district. Tuesday evening will be hopping with live music from local bands, the Egyptian Breeze Belly Dancers, Soul Fire Tribe fire dancers and much more. To learn more about their schedule and follow their visit in Yellow Springs, visit DestinationYellowSprings.com and the Yellow Springs Facebook page.

Creative Alias Contest Rules Codified

Modified, clarified and simplified...

The official rules for the Blog's Creative Alias Contest are now linked to the name tag exemplar in the sidebar.

Glen Helen Atrium Gallery Exhibition

My Ramblings in the Glen: Paintings by Leonard Williams
July 2 – 31, 2011

Glen Helen Atrium Gallery is showing “My Ramblings in the Glen” Paintings by Leonard Williams, from July 2 - 31, 2011. Best known for his vibrant watercolor scenes, Williams concentrates on the realistic depiction of nature and landscape vignettes. The public is invited to meet the artist at the opening reception on Sunday, July 10 from 2 - 4 pm.

A native of Dayton, Williams spent 25 years as a firefighter for the City of Dayton. An award-winning artist, Williams has been drawing since childhood and has studied with many nationally known artists. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections across the country.

The Gallery is located in the Glen Helen Building at 405 Corry Street in Yellow Springs. Show hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free. Artwork will be available for purchase with proceeds supporting the Glen Helen Nature Preserve.

For more information call the Glen Helen Ecology Institute at 937.769.1902 or visit www.glenhelen.org.

The Glen Helen Atrium Gallery showcases the work of emerging local and regional visual artists in twelve exhibits each year. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of 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.

Bench Press

Before

After

Jafagirl Nancy Mellon and I are in the process of revitalizing the daisy benches in the Art Park (corner of Corry and Dayton Streets). Pictured with me is partner and bench assistant, Tom Osborne, who is happy to have a car back in the carport again.

-sg

Photos by Susan Gartner and Steven Deal

Saturday at Clifton Opera House

The Clifton Opera House will be smiling on Saturday, July 2nd when the Berachah Valley Bluegrassers come to town. Clifton LOVES bluegrass!

Berachah Valley was founded in the spring of 2005 when a few friends came together searching for a place to play traditional bluegrass, gospel, and traditional renditions of current favorites. Audiences quickly see the result is a uniquely smooth combination of musicianship and female vocal harmonies influenced by the recordings of The Isaac's, The Forbes Family, Emmylou Harris, The Whites, Seldom Scene, Longview, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, The Bluegrass Cardinals, and others.

The name for the band is found in its theme Bible verse, II Chronicles 20:26. The players will testify that the clearly evident camaraderie seen on stage is the natural fruit of the great blessing of good friendships and shared faith.

Berachah Valley has had the good fortune to travel to Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio to perform at many bluegrass festivals, bluegrass and gospel venues, radio programs, TV programs, and community events.

This is Berachah Valley:
Willis Baker plays dobro and provides extensive experience in the local bluegrass scene. Cathy Baker plays rhythm guitar, sings lead and harmony. Michelle Edester continues to blossom with her command of the mandolin. Merrell Boggs is banjo player -extraordinaire!!! He also provides the group with much original material. Mike Elliott generates much enthusiasm with his explosive lead guitar breaks. On the bass is Larry Collins, who plays with much pathos with every movement and motion. Leisa Hinkle's instrument is her voice! She can be a song's best friend. She provides lead vocals and group harmonies along with Cathy, Michelle, and Larry. Check out their website www.berachahvalley.com.

The box office opens at 6:30, show starts at 7:30pm. Come out and enjoy a great night of bluegrass. The Clifton Opera House is located at 5 So. Clay Street, Clifton on the corner of SR 343. Call 937.342.2175 for information. All donations are used to maintain this historic building.

Watch or walk!

Be there or be square!

The parade will line up at 2:30 P.M. on the curved drive behind Friends Care Center, 150 E. Herman St. on Monday, July 4. Beginning at 3:30 P.M. the parade will move west on Herman St., north on Xenia Ave. through downtown, west on Corry St., and north on Dayton St. to the Bryan Center. Parade participants are asked to contact either Dave Triplett (767-2012) or Todd Van Lehn (767-1064 or 239-8462). Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy our nation's birthday celebration!

Rain date is Saturday, July 7, same time and place.

Updated information on the Borchers race coverage

Click here for live video coverage of all of today's USA Track & Filed events. The streaming should start about 3 p.m. our time. The men's 800m final, featuring local track star Sam Borchers, is scheduled to go off at 5:27 p.m. EDT. The meet will also be covered on NBC (Channel 2) starting at 5 p.m.

Related post: Borchers advances to USATF finals

The animals are coming back

The blind pigs are losing weight and hopefully will soon regain their vision

For years while Stutzman's Nursery operated on village-owned land just north of town on US-68, Gary Stutzman took in rescue animals of all kinds, from farm animals to house pets to exotic reptiles and birds. Many of them were free to roam the property, others were fenced in along the north end and at the rear of the 20 acre lot.

In the last few years, before Stutzman's lost it's lease with the village, Stuzman had an arrangement with Nick Ormes to care for the the animals. Ormes was on the property every day. When the village evicted the nursery, it was left to Ormes to remove all but two pigs from the lot. The pigs were allowed to stay because they were blind and difficult to move. For the two years the lot was vacant, Ormes was allowed onto the land by the village to care for the pigs. The rest of the animals were scattered around the area from Beavercreek to Troy on farmland where kind folks allowed Ormes to keep them. Everyday, he would make the rounds feeding them and being sure they were properly cared for.

When the village took RFPs for the lease of the land, Ormes was right there, eager to reopen the animal rescue, which he was now operating as a nonprofit with the name of the Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary. The organization's assets are with the Greene County Community Foundation as Ormes works toward IRS 501 (c)(3) determination. In a stroke of genius, Ormes partnered with Mitch George of Village Greenery who wanted to start up a nursery called Yellow Springs Botanicals. The village granted a lease in February and Ranch Menagerie subleases the rear of the property. In short, the place is starting to look a lot like it did, with one exception: for insurance reasons, animals will not be allowed to roam free.

The Blog and Blog Dog Suki paid Ormes a visit last week. Suki loves it up there. Ormes has two dogs that follow him around all day and Suki falls right in with them. When a couple of young goats got loose, she immediately started herding them. We made the rounds as we usually do, with Ormes pointing out what animals have been moved where and how they are doing. Yours truly even volunteered some labor a few weeks ago, when Ormes needed to move a flock of bantam chickens to a place where they would be safe from raccoons. We spent an afternoon moving fence and building a new area close to a dog enclosure.

Ducks are more fun than a barrel of monkeys

As the animals are being brought back onto the property, the Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary needs all the volunteers it can get. Currently, there are pigs, turkeys, ducks, chickens, cats and dogs, additionally there are sheep and goats being boarded in the field at the back of the lot. It is anticipated that most of the animals housed there will be farm animals. In addition to volunteer labor they will need feed and hardware, such as fencing.

Nick's wish list:

• Dry dog and cat food
• Clumping cat litter
• Unscented bleach
• Cracked or shelled corn
• Gift cards for Tractor Supply
• Fencing and posts
• Chicken wire
• Hardware cloth
• Hog and livestock panels
• Campers and construction trailers
• Cash

Donations of hard goods may be made directly to the Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary. You can make small cash donations at U.S. Bank. Just let the teller know you want to deposit to The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary's account. Or you can give to The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary Fund at the Greene County Community Foundation (GCCF). In order to receive a tax deduction, it is suggested that your gifts go through GCCF account.

Volunteer labor is needed for deconstruction of some of the sheds on the property, building new enclosures and sheds, help with electrical and plumbing work and a variety of other tasks that can be matched to your skills. Ormes can be reached at 937.231.1046 or PO Box 123, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. For more information go to theranchmenagerie.org.

Even pigs love a good belly rub and Ormes obliges

Those seeking help with rescue animals are reminded: Do not leave any animals at the front gate or on the property. When animals are left like that they can be hit by cars or attacked by predators. Ormes will only be taking farm animals, including livestock, poultry and working dogs. If you have an animal that needs rescue, telephone ahead. If you have an animal that does not fit one of the above categories, Ormes may be able to redirect you.

The sanctuary is not yet open to casual visitors. It will be awhile before it will be able to handle people who want to come to see the animals. Ormes is still in the process of getting the old herd back onto the farm.

Related Posts:

Post Stutzman's Nick Ormes is still caring for the animals

Checking on the animals at Stutzman's

Animal rescue update

Touring the former Stutzman's lot

Best of the Road: Most Fun Town

Still in the running

The votes have been counted and Yellow Springs has been selected as one of six towns competing in the category of Most Fun in the first ever Best of the Road contest sponsored by USA TODAY and Rand McNally.

Thirty U.S. towns have been selected by popular vote and editors' input from more than 600 nominated communities. The categories include most beautiful, most patriotic, friendliest, most fun and best for food.

Yellow Springs competition for Most Fun is Vacaville, California; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Santa Claus, Indiana; Glenwood Springs, Colorado and Sioux City, Iowa. Based upon voter comment, Yellow Springs is a strong competitor. "No chain stores and (many) independent restaurants. Always something going on; on a sunny day you find street musicians or artists,” “Friendly, fun and festive... a small town with a big heart!” and “I'd vote for Yellow Springs in every category if I could. I make the hour drive there at least every other week in the summer.”

On June 23, five teams of travelers will hit the road from New York City, getting into Los Angeles on July 15. Along the way, each team will visit six towns in an assigned category as well as points of interest en route. Team assignments and schedules have not been given to the communities yet but Yellow Springs is expecting their team to stop sometime from June 26-29.

The Best of the Road teams will be capturing their three-week adventure via videos, photos and updates at bestoftheroad.com. At the end, each team will choose the No. 1 town in each of their respective categories (to be announced July 22). The towns will be highlighted on the Rand McNally website and in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on USA TODAY's Travel site.

For more information, contact the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce at 937.767.2686. For information about Yellow Springs, visit www.DestinationYellowSprings.com.

Update: Jules & Joan alert!

"TravelingJules and TravelingJoan" will be leaving SC on Monday morning meaning they'll get here late on Monday. They'll be here all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning. There will be a lot going on downtown all day Tuesday; it will be like a week-end day- live music, chalk art, perhaps a flash mob, juggling and just general fun. On Tuesday night there will be some live music and perhaps a flashmob or dance group. I think Soul Fire will also be performing. A lot of the evening activities will be at the "Art Park" at 100 Corry St. Come on downtown if you can to join in the fun.

There will be a welcome to town Tuesday morning at 10 at the Train Station that everyone is invited to.

Creative Alias Contest Update: Rules change

Out of fairness, the rules committee has decided to make this contest a bit easier. So you don't have to hang out in front of Tom's or the Emporium all day waiting for a Blog photog to come along and take a picture of you and your name tag, you can take your own photos and send them in as email attachments: one of you wearing your name tag and one of the name tag itself.

Reminder: If you are not interested in participating, but want to use the YS News name tag as originally intended, you certainly may do that.

Click on the sample name tag in the sidebar for more info.

Mr. Omar's Summer Chess Camp

SESSION I | Monday, June 27th – Friday, July 1st
SESSION II Monday, August 15th – Friday, August 19th

You are invited to enroll your child in Mister Omar's Chess Academy summer chess camp. The camp will be held for the second year at teh Emporium in Yellow Springs! Classes will be taught by Grand Instructor, Omar Durrani! The camp is intended for students entering grade K-8. Beginners as well as intermediateand advanced players are all welcome!

Click here for more information.

**Please note: if you would like a chance to meet Mr. Omar before camp and see one of his private lessons in progress, please feel free to visit the Emporium Saturday, June 25 between 2-5pm.

A Happy Unbirthday

In mid-June, Mek Logan posted a notice on Facebook explaining that since his wife, Darla, has a birthday the day after Christmas, she has never had a real birthday party, "not even as a kid, because everyone's always worn out from holiday stress!"

Mek's idea was to throw a surprise party for Darla to celebrate her HALF birthday. He took a big risk posting the invite on Facebook but fortunately, all the planning in secrecy paid off. Darla didn't suspect a thing and went about her business planning and anticipating a "plain old Welcome To Summer Party" which included swimming and badminton in their backyard.

After Mek grilled the burgers and hot dogs for the assembled guests, he announced what the party was really about. What a treat it was to see the kid-like joy in Darla's face and to be able to give her something that was so commonplace to others in our childhood (especially those of us who have non-holiday birthdays!) but was absent in hers.

Thanks to Mek for coming up with such a sweet and thoughtful gift and to all the participants for keeping the party a secret!

Happy Half-Birthday, Darla. You helped us all feel like a kid again.

Photos by Susan Gartner

Borchers advances to USATF finals

Race to be televised Sunday

According to the race results from Eugene, Oregon, local runner and Penn State Senior Sam Borchers has advanced to the finals of the 800 meter run at the USA Track and Field Championships at the University of Oregon's famed Hayward Field. He qualified by finishing fourth in his semifinal heat in a time of 1:49.41. The event will be held on Sunday and will be televised nationally at 5 p.m. on NBC (Channel 2 in Dayton). Look for Borchers to be starting in lane one.

Borchers may not be the fastest runner in the race - his personal best is 1:47.51 - but he is always a threat to steal a win. As a Freshman in the 2008 outdoor season, he came from behind to beat the field by a meter at the Pepsi Team Challenge on this same track (Watch video). That same year, in a very strategic race, he won the 1500 meters at the Big Ten Outdoor Championship (Watch video).

For all-day live coverage of all of Sunday's events, go to http://www.usatf.org/events/2011/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/video.asp. The men's 800m is scheduled to go off at 5:27 p.m. EDT.

Scene Around Town

One of the Friday night events in town: Cave of Forgotten Dreams at the Little Art.

Photo by Susan Gartner

So, what’s yer real name?

The Blog’s Creative Alias Contest

Lest anyone think the Blog is trying to hijack the YS News name tag idea or in some way trying to subvert it, let me explain the process. What we are doing is feeding off the creative energy of our residents to augment the original idea, much like knitting sweaters for trees or hanging paintings in public restrooms. I suppose you could even call it public art.

Here’s how it’s supposed to work… I’m standing in front of Tom’s market with a name tag that reads, “Hello, my name is John Kasich. Ask me about fracking.” Along comes someone from town I have never met.

“Hi, John, I’m Jane Doe. Tell me something about fracking,” she says.

“Hi, Jane. Fracking is a process for extracting natural gas from the shale below our homes and farms by pumping noxious chemicals into it under high pressure to break it up and release the gas. The process is perfectly safe and necessary, so we can have cheap energy and make a few people very rich. There’s no way of telling what will happen to our drinking water years down the line, but it will probably be okay.”

“Ha, ha. So what’s your real name?”

“I’m Virgil Hervey.”

“Oh, you’re the guy with the blog. I’m Jane Doe. Glad to meet you.”

Judges will be looking for the most creative name tags. The winner gets twenty bucks.

Read more: Creative Alias Contest

Destination YS

Arts & Culture

YS Arts Council Gallery; 309 Xenia, Sat. 10a-2p

Sam & Eddie's Open Books; Kings Yard

Springs Gallery; Kings Yard

Yellow Springs Pottery; Kings Yard

Bonadies Glass Studio; Kings Yard

"would you, could you" In A Frame Miniature Show

Village Artisans Gallery & The Art Park at 100 Corry

Miami Valley Pottery Kiln Opening Sale; 145 Hyde Rd.,

June 24-26, 10a-5p

Glen Helen Atrium Gallery, "Close to Home", 10a-4p

Rhythm of Structure; Antioch College, Herndon Gallery;
Tuesday-Sunday, 1-4p

Anna Gee Blackwell Concert; Antioch College,
Coretta Scott King Center; Sat, 2p

Huichol Art Exhibit, Glen House Inn, 1221 Glen Rd.
Arte en Estambre Workshop, Sat., June 25, 1-3p
Open House Sunday, June 26, 2-4p

Nature & Recreation

Glen Helen Wild Edible and Useful Plants Hike, Trailside Museum, Sat. 4-6p

Entertainment

Peach's Grill
9 am - 2:30 am
Music at 10 pm; $5
Fri. - The Pinstripes
ska reggae rocksteady
Sat. - Tracy Walker
acoustic folk rock

Little Art Theatre
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
No Matter What
Sun. - 1 pm with filmmaker

YS Experience 2011

Click on image to enlarge.

Creative Alias Contest

$20 prize!

Playing off the Yellow Springs News name tag promotion that starts in next week's paper, A Yellow Springs Blog will be holding a contest to see who can come up with the most creative alias and follow-up question. The rules are pretty simple: in order to be eligible, contestants must use the newspaper's official name tag as distributed by the YS News; contestants may not use their real name; only one name tag may be worn at a time, but different name tags may be worn on different days; contest is not open to staff of the Blog or Gunch Press, their relatives or pets, however, employees of the News are eligible. The contest will run during the one-week period specified in the YS News for the wearing of the name tags, starting with the June 30 issue.

Agents of the Blog will be combing the streets with their cameras, taking photos of contestants and their name tags. A panel comprised of the usual Blog suspects will do the judging. The winner will be announced on the Blog on or about Bastille Day (July 14) and will receive a prize of $20. Check the Blog regularly for rules changes or other random silliness.

My dog barked for joy when she heard about the name tags. Let's have some fun and sell some newspapers. And remember, judges of the Fun City contest may be in town, so put your best name tag forward.

Click on image to enlarge.

Anna Gee Blackwell Musical Concert

Saturday, June 25
2-4 p.m.

Local concert pianist and soprano Anna Gee Blackwell will perform on Saturday, June 25, 2 p.m., at the Coretta Scott King Center at Antioch College. Blackwell will be accompanied by two of her students, Hayden Chance Jackson and Miles Ellsworth Senior. Blackwell served for many years as minister of music at Central Chapel AME Church and is currently the pianist at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield.
Location: The Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom, 795 Livermore Street (corner of Livermore Street and East Center College Street) in Yellow Springs.

Smith back on board at Antioch

Antioch College announced in a press release yesterday that Louise Smith has been hired for an administrative position. Read the release: Former Theater Prof. Louise Smith Returns to Antioch College as Director of Community Life

Rocky & Pee Wee:Why are we not surprised..?

WYSO 10% Campaign

Tell us how WYSO has changed your life and we might put you on the air.
Did you know only 6% of WYSO listeners are members?
With your help, we can make it 10%.

Maybe you've heard some of the 10% Campaign spots on the air.
This is your chance to tell us how becoming a member of WYSO has changed you life.

Here's an example:

"My name is Rob Baker, and I've been listening to WYSO since the end of the Pleistocene epoch when the glaciers retreated. One morning I stumbled out of my cave and discovered a crystal radio in the rocky moraine. Holding it against my ear, I heard Peter Sagal squawking the news quiz on "Wait-Wait, Don't Tell Me." I've been walking upright ever since."

Click here to send us your 10% Campaign spot.

Make sure you can read it aloud in 17 seconds or less. You can time yourself with a stopwatch or a clock that has a seconds hand. And don't forget to include your name!

If you knock our socks off we'll ask you to come down to the WYSO studios to record your spot and we'll put you on the air.

With your help, we can get to 10%.

Bench to Nowhere: Readin', writin' and 'rithmetic

A Fun City Toon

Click on image to enlarge.

DeWine speaks on the fracking investigation

Ohio Attorney General and Cedarville resident Mike DeWine released the results of his office's investigation of a suspicious document that turned up in a Yellow Springs driveway, news outlets were reporting this week. While investigators found no evidence that the letter belonged to a specific company or that it was used in an attempt to mislead homeowners into signing an oil-and-gas lease, they did not rule out the possibility. DeWine offered advice to Ohio residents who are considering signing drilling leases.

iStockAnalyst: DeWine offers drilling advice

Related post: Is it authentic?

Scene Around Town

This dog barks
at silly things...

This is not a town
for a working dog,
one that barks at loafers
and malingerers
and does not approve of
mornings spent in coffee houses
or lazy afternoons on park benches,
watching the traffic of life
rumble by.

Reader submitted photo

New YSKP Blog

YS Kids Playhouse is doing something interesting to generate some buzz for their production "The Cotton Club": they've started a blog which will be maintained by the cast: http://thecottonclub-yskp.blogspot.com/. This blog will be short-lived as the production runs July 7-10 and 13-17.

Glen House Art Reception and Workshop

Click on image to enlarge.