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

June 2008: After 35 years working at Yellow Springs High School as a math teacher, coach and athletic director, Chris Rainey hung up his cleats and calculator and retired. “I want to get out while I’m still at the top of my game,” he told the News. “This is just the right time. It’s time I learned how to flip a pizza.” Rainey died in 2021, stepping onto the Field of Dreams. (YS News archive photo)

News from the Past: June 2025

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.

Click here to read more >>

Web Features

Black bear spotted in Yellow Springs

After several reported sightings in the region and county, a young black bear made its way to Yellow Springs on Saturday, June 28.
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My Name Is Iden | Live the riot

“On June 28, 1969, the police raided The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. It wasn’t the first time they had done this, but that night, the patrons stood up determined to make it the last.”
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Sister Trillium celebrates one year

After a year in their brick-and-mortar space, Sister Trillium is preparing to celebrate with a First Anniversary Art Show and Silent Auction, set for Friday, June 27, 6–9 p.m., at the YS Brewery’s Barrel Room.
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Arts (archives)

‘Feel It All’ with Yellow Springs-based GravityWorks Circus
The local aerial arts school will present “Feel It All,” its second ensemble performance, Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., at the Foundry Theater on the Antioch College campus.
Documentary highlights Wheeling Gaunt sculpture
“The Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project,” a 21-minute film documenting the creation of the village’s tribute to local 19th-century philanthropist and formerly enslaved man Wheeling Gaunt, will be screened Saturday, June 21, at 2 p.m. at the Little Art Theatre, followed by a Q&A moderated by Kevin McGruder. Admission is free.
A podcast for the art-curious
Last week, folks tuned into WCSU-FM Jazzy 88.9 during Thursday’s evening drive-time would have heard a voice familiar to many in the village floating through the airwaves and from their speakers.

Village Schools (archives)

School board honors district retirees
“We are losing such an incredible cohort of staff and educators this year,” school board President Rebecca Potter said. “Having an impact on others at such a formative age, an impact that they’ll never forget — the teachers and staff members who are retiring have done just that.”
School leaders urge against budget cap
The budget bill — passed by the Ohio House in April — will, if passed by the Senate as written, affect Ohio’s public school districts by eschewing the Fair School Funding Act, which aims to address the state’s overwhelming reliance on local property taxes to fund public schools.
Huber hired as new Mills Lawn principal
YS Schools announced yesterday that it has hired Becca Huber as the next principal for Mills Lawn Elementary School, beginning Aug. 1.

Economy (archives)

Millworks update— More space for more campers at Nook Overland
Owned by Yellow Springs newcomers and longtime “van-lifers,” Mike and Dani Mortell, Nook Overland’s operations have outgrown their 4,750-square-foot building in the Millworks Industrial Park, the couple told the News last week.
Water and ink — Lucky Bunny helps Village open pool
Repairing a public pool pump is no cheap endeavor. So, to help offset the costs and to move the pool’s opening along, the artists at Lucky Bunny Tattoo Club chipped in $1,000.
Pick a banjo, any banjo
Yellow Springs newcomer Geoff Hohwald owns and operates The Banjo Warehouse — the headquarters for his online sales business and where he conducts one-on-one picking and plucking instruction.

Village Life (archives)

2025 Perry League Season | Season opens with joy, minus game
This year’s opening night, Friday, June 6, presented a new first for many of us: the first time we started the season without a game of T-ball.
2025 Perry League Season | Rain? What rain?
The all-volunteer Perry League program is noncompetitive, free and open to children aged 2–9, regardless of their race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, spiritual inclination or practice, ability or disability. We meet every Friday, June through July, at Gaunt Park, 6–7:30 p.m.
Flood ravages Glen Helen
An estimated three inches of rain fell in a single hour that night, according to Glen Helen Executive Director Nick Boutis, causing the Yellow Springs Creek to rise suddenly and surge over public trails and walkways.

Government (archives)

Township Trustees appoint new fire chief
The Miami Township Trustees voted unanimously during their regular meeting Monday, June 16, to appoint James R. Cannell Jr. as fire chief to head up Miami Township Fire-Rescue.
Village Council talks apartments, property tax levy
At the group's most recent meeting, Monday, June 16, Village Council members gave first readings to four ordinances regarding proposed apartments on or near Antioch College's campus, a forthcoming property tax levy, the upcoming Pride celebration in the village and more.
Local leaders sound alarm on HB 335, budget bill
The Village of Yellow Springs and YS Schools this week joined a host of other local governance bodies across the state in sounding the alarm about the effects of the recently introduced House Bill 335 and the soon-to-be-passed state budget, and asking residents to make their voices heard to state legislators before June 24 in response.

Obituaries (archives)

Mary Barbara Berthiaume
Mary Barbara Berthiaume, née Kraus, was born in Baltimore on Sept. 4, 1935, the first child of second-generation German immigrants.
Teresa Anne Staigers
Teresa Anne Staigers, of Fountain Hills, Arizona, passed away June 7, 2025, from a stroke, at the age of 63.
Betty Lou Burton
With love and gratitude, we honor the beautiful life of Betty Lou (Givens) Burton, who passed away at 89 on Feb. 3, 2025.
June Thiessen Allison
June Thiessen was born June 2, 1938, in Hepburn, Saskatchewan, to parents Peter and Eva.
William ‘Bill’ Rue Evans
On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, William “Bill” Rue Evans passed away at the age of 95.

Higher Education (archives)

Antioch College Reunion returns with community events
The annual Antioch College Reunion returns Thursday–Sunday, July 24–27. This year’s theme, “Antioch and the Arts,” includes a number of events open to the wider community.
15 to graduate from Antioch College
On Saturday, June 21, 15 students will graduate from Antioch College — an auspicious number of degrees to be conferred, as the college is also celebrating 15 years since the hiring of Mark Roosevelt as president in 2010, leading to the school’s reopening in 2011.
Antioch College’s financial distress designation removed
Good news came down for Antioch College last week: The Higher Learning Commission has removed the financial distress designation it assigned to the college in November 2024.

Sports (archives)

Bulldog Sports Round-Up | May 23, 2025
For the first time since 2019, the Yellow Springs High School girls team won the Metro Buckeye Conference Track Championship.
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | May 16, 2025
"The depth of the girls team was strongly evident with second-place finishes by Liliana Herzog (100 hurdles), Tiger Collins (high jump) and the 1600-meter relay team of Elise Bongorno, Herzog, Hapgood and Violet Matteson."
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | May 9, 2025
"The Yellow Springs High School boys and girls track teams avoided the rain last Friday night at the Mechanicsburg Invitational. The girls squad finished in third place among the eight team field while the boys earned a fifth-place finish."