The Yellow Springs News • An Independent source of community news in Yellow Springs, Ohio since 1880

MTFR Community Paramedic Steffinie Brewer visited a local resident on the launch day of the department’s new community paramedicine program, which aims to provide preventative care, education and social services to Miami Township residents. (Photo courtesy of Miami Township Fire-Rescue)

Meet your new community paramedic

Steffinie Brewer began work late last year as MTFR’s first community paramedic, a position Fire Chief James Cannell pitched to Township Trustees as a prevention-focused complement to the department’s ongoing emergency response work.

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Web Features

Statewide, rural-intercity bus comes to Yellow Springs

Starting next week, Yellow Springs will be one of the newest stops on a statewide bus line — one that connects the village to many of Ohio’s biggest cities and smallest towns.
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Ohio Underground Film Fest to debut in Yellow Springs

A new film festival will make its first appearance in the village next month — accompanied not by a red carpet, but by $5 admission and films made far outside the mainstream. The Ohio Underground Film Fest will debut Saturday, March 28, noon–9 p.m., in Glen Helen’s Vernet Center.
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News from the Past: February 2026

Contributing writer Don Hollister dove into the YS News archives to uncover past articles and more in his most recent installment of his News from the Past column.
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Arts (archives)

Avant-garde musicians MacKay, Neutrals to play at Herdon
On Saturday, Feb. 28, two acts — Chicago-based guitarist, songwriter and composer Bill MacKay and area experimental percussion duo Neutrals — will take the stage in Herndon Gallery at Antioch College for an avant-garde double bill that promises approaches to sound and structure that, at turns, overlap and diverge.
Poetry, hip hop at Herndon
A poetry event on Thursday, Feb. 20, and a hip-hop performance on Friday, Feb. 21, originally slated for the Foundry Theater, will now be held at the Herndon Gallery after a boiler malfunction and subsequent water damage closed the Foundry, as well as the Wellness Center and the Art and Science Building.
Friends Music Camp to return
Long before it became a summer destination for young musicians from across the country, Friends Music Camp was established as a music program grounded in community life, shaped by Quaker values and designed to support young people both musically and socially.

Village Schools (archives)

School district talks start time, bus changes
At a Jan. 28 work session, the school board continued a discussion of a proposal that was brought forward by district administrators last month: A possible change of start and end times at both campuses, and consolidation of school bussing into one, K–12 route.
School board considers new times for school day
Having settled this first-of-the-year business, Superintendent Terri Holden later opened discussion about another proposed timing change: a later start for Mills Lawn students and an earlier one for YS Middle and High School students beginning next school year.
2025 In Review | Education
2025 in Review: Education

Economy (archives)

Tom’s Market strikes co-op agreement
A press release from the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, Monday, Feb. 23, said that the foundation struck an agreement with Tom’s Market owner Jeff Gray with the goal of “transitioning the business into a form of community ownership in approximately two years.”
2025 In Review | Business
2025 in Review: Business
Tom’s Market co-op model comes into view
On Wednesday night, Jan. 14, around 250 villagers packed First Presbyterian Church’s Westminster Hall to mull over the future of Tom’s Market. It was a town hall hosted by the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, and the first public opportunity for local residents to weigh in on the possibility of the downtown grocery becoming a cooperatively operated market, or a co-op.

Village Life (archives)

Statewide lanternfly quarantine issued
The Ohio Department of Agriculture has issued a statewide quarantine for the invasive spotted lanternfly, expanding a previous quarantine that targeted 18 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Local America 250 series to launch
“The Penman of the Revolution: Meet the Man Who Wrote America” — the inaugural program in a planned six-part local America 250 Speaker Series — will be presented Friday, Feb. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Senior Center Great Room.
Friends Care Community looks to the future
"How can Friends Care survive and thrive into the future, and what role will the community play in that effort?"

Government (archives)

Tweedle D’s joins referendum effort
Downtown store Tweedle D’s is currently collecting signatures for a statewide referendum effort that aims to overturn some parts of Ohio’s recently passed marijuana and hemp law, which moved through the Legislature last year as Senate Bill 56.
Yellow Springs Police get new cruiser, cameras
At the group’s most recent meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 17, Village Council members approved a resolution to authorize Village Manager Johnnie Burns to purchase a new police cruiser — a 2026 Police Interceptor Utility Hybrid — for $67,576.
Farm fire on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road spurs large response
On Wednesday morning, Feb. 18, at around 8 a.m., firefighters and engines from five area departments rushed to a farm on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, about a mile west of village limits, to douse a fire that erupted near a home that was being demolished.

Obituaries (archives)

Francis Andrew ‘Dutch’ Dannaker
Francis Andrew "Dutch" Dannaker passed away on Feb. 22, 2026, at the age of 101.
Roy Franklin Cromer II
Roy Franklin Cromer II, 71, of Tucson, Arizona, died on Feb. 4, 2026, following a sudden illness.
Iddi Ali Bakari
Our father, Iddi Ali Bakari, passed away peacefully at home on Pemba Island, in the same village where he was born, with his mother and several siblings and loved ones present.
Donna Louise Lipsitt
Donna Louise Lipsitt, age 90, formerly of Yellow Springs, Ohio, passed away peacefully at Friendship Village of Dublin (Ohio) on January 29, 2026.
Thomas Siebold
Thomas Siebold, age 74, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on Jan. 25, 2026.

Higher Education (archives)

Varlotta takes the helm at Antioch University
When Lori Varlotta took office as the 23rd president of Antioch University on Aug. 11, she jumped right into getting acquainted with Yellow Springs.
New term, new students at Antioch College
For the 2025–2026 academic year, Antioch enrolled 115 degree-seeking students, down from 121 last fall. Of those 115 students, 42 are new to Antioch, 70 are continuing students and three are returning, or re-admitted.
Antioch College steps in as Job Corps future uncertain
Earlier this summer, Antioch College flew 11 young people from the Job Corps program to Yellow Springs, enrolled them in a summer academic program, and gave them dorm rooms, a meal plan, on-campus jobs and a path to pursue four-year degrees.

Sports (archives)

Eighth-grade boys basketball team makes local history
The final buzzer sounded on a 42–28 championship win, and for a moment the gym felt still. Then the noise came: teammates rushing the floor, fans on their feet and a community celebrating something bigger than a trophy.
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | Jan. 16, 2025
The Bulldogs girls varsity team faced off against conference rivals Calvary Christian on Thursday, Jan. 8, ultimately falling to the Spartans 52–15. Individual stats for the match were not reported.
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | Jan. 9, 2025
The varsity boys bowling team returned to the lanes Monday, Jan. 5, with a decisive 2,203–843 win over Jefferson High across two regular games and a Baker game.