YSN_122923_E

YE L LOW SPR INGS NEWS Y E A R I N R E V I E W DECEMBE R 29 , 2023 PAGE 5 GET FOUND . Advertise with the News! advert@ysnews.com • 937- 767-7373 Top stories CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE Businesses, orgs CONT INUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE subdivision in Yellow Springs — has been underway since June of this year. That month, Miamisburg-based develop- ment company DDC Management, LLC, broke ground and began the work of clear- ing the 23-acre site to install the necessary sewer, gas and electric utilities to serve 90 future homes. The subdivision, named “Spring Mead- ows,” will be composed of 94 lots — 90 of which will be suitable for single-family homes on an average of 0.25 acres per lot. The remaining four lots, totaling nearly four acres, will be preserved as open green space. As of presstime, 90 lots are presently “under contract for purchase” with home- building company Fischer Homes. As previously reported in the News, sales are expected to take place over the next three to four years. According to Fischer Homes’ website, home prices for Spring Meadows start at $329,900 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, and range upward to $432,900 for a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom home. Village Manager Salmerón resigns, Burns interim After four years as Yellow Springs village manager, Josue Salmerón resigned in late July. Salmerón left his post and the village to become the city manager of Greenbelt, Maryland — a move he said would allow him to be closer to extended family mem- bers in the Washington, D.C., area. Salmeron’s tenure as Greenbelt’s newest city manager officially began Sept. 18. In an exit inter view with the News, Salmerón said he was proud of his accom- plishments during his time as manager of Yellow Springs. Chief among them were the continual improvements he and his administrative team made to the village’s municipal infrastructure. At a Sept. 5 Village Council meeting, Yellow Springs Public Works Director Johnnie Burns was officially sworn in as interim village manager. In his new role, Burns has continued to serve as the public works director — a position the Xenia resident has held since 2018 — as well as taken on the additional responsibilities as manager. Over the course of several subsequent meetings, Village Council members — while generally pleased with Burns’ interim managerial work and effective communica- tion with staff and Council — have stated that an official search for a permanent village manager will begin in 2024, once the group has reassembled with its new membership. Agraria closes, reopens In February, Yellow Springs nonprofit and educational farm Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice announced a hiatus of its operations, and that all employees — about 30 — were put on furlough. Formerly known as Community Solu- tions, Agraria has operated a 138-acre farm on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, just two miles west of downtown, since 2017. Since its establishment, the farm has held work- shops, community events, conferences, markets and a variety of agricultural and land-based activities. According to statements from Agraria’s board of trustees in February and April, the decisions were made based on the organization’s financial precarity; the board took control of Agraria’s financing upon discovering that payroll and payroll taxes could not be paid in February. Executive Director Susan Jennings and Board Treasurer Rich Sidwell resigned in April, and the board paid employee earn- ings and payroll taxes that were in arrears, which totaled about $200,000; the funds used to pay those debts were secured through donations. In August, Interim Executive Of fi- cer Rebecca Potter announced renewed operations at Agraria. What followed were several late-summer and fall education events facilitated through the efforts of vol- unteers, many of whom had tended to the land at Agraria during its closure. Looking ahead, Agraria aims to hire a new executive director and a few staff members as fund- ing becomes available and will soon begin a strategic visioning process, according to Potter. News changes printer In February, the AIMMedia Midwest pro- duction plant in Miamisburg — where the Yellow Springs News had been printed for nearly 20 years — alerted News staffers that it was set to cease operations within days. In an effort to continue its weekly pub- lication routine, the News scrambled to find a replacement printer that could print black-and-white news on the paper’s tradi- tional wide broadsheet. Within a week of AIM’s announcement, the News secured a new printer: Eagle Print in Delphos, Ohio. Eagle Print worked with the News’ pro- duction team to preserve the large-format newspaper size — though astute readers may have noticed that the width of the paper grew by half an inch in the transition. A more prominent change, however, was the new print schedule; the News’s publication day changed from Thursday to Friday, where it will likely remain for the foreseeable future. —Reilly Dixon shop that sells handmade artisan items. The shop opened in May in the space for- merly occupied by Subway, which closed in September of 2022. • Lexi L. Kip and Lexi F. Kip opened Studio Uncommon, a tattoo parlor dedicated to single-needle, fine-line tattoos, in Millworks. • Nicole Swani opened Singapore Sea - horse Coin Jewelry on Corry Street. The business specializes in jewelry made by hand from coins from around the world. • Local mother-daughter team Amy and Modjeska Chavez opened CommuniTEA Love on Dayton Street . The business sells handmade tea blends online and hosts events that aim to educate about herbs and create community connections. • Therapist and nurse practitioner Mischa Dansby opened Monarch Well- ness Solutions on Corry Street, offering traditional therapy services and wellness coaching, in addition to ketamine-assisted therapy — a legal psychedelic therapy. Fall Local resident Colette Palamar opened Myriad, a handmade art and clothing shop, on Dayton Street. T RANS I T IONS , EXPANS IONS Winter • The nonprofit Emerge Trade and Recovery facility began construction in the former Greene County Career Center. Once completed, the 290,000-square-foot facility will offer live-in recovery services, provide job training and provide a place for those recently emancipated from the foster system. • YS Home, Inc. moved from its long - time location at the YS United Methodist Church into a new space at Millworks. Spring • Springfield resident Katherine Eck - strand replaced Kristina Heaton as execu - tive director of the Little Ar t Theatre, bringing with her years of experience working with nonprofits. In September, Eckstrand moved to a position as devel- opment and community impact director at the theater, and Caleab Wyant became theater manager. Wyant arrived at the the- ater’s helm after six years in dif ferent and sometimes concurrent roles: projectionist, concessionaire, special events coordina- tor, operations manager and marketing and events coordinator. • The YS Food Pantry moved from its previous 20-year location in the basement of the YS United Methodist Church to Cen- tral Chapel AME Church. Summer Miguel’s Poke Island, which opened in 2022, announced that the Dayton Street restaurant would close and was up for sale. Jessica Alt, who grew up in the village, pur- chased and began operating the renamed Jessica’s Poke Island, with menu items remaining the same as before. Fall YS Brewery opened a second taproom in the Clintonville neighborhood of Colum- bus. The taproom opened in a space for- merly occupied by The Crest restaurant. Winter Following a month-long voting process, member-owners of YS Federal Credit Union voted to merge the longtime village institution with Bridge Credit Union. MI L E S TONE S • Several organizations and businesses celebrated anniversaries of note this year: 10 YEARS — Yellow Springs Brewery; 25 YEARS — Dino’s Cappuccinos, YS Home, Inc.; 30 YEARS — YS Dharma Center; 40 YEARS — Current Cuisine; 160 YEARS — First Baptist Church. • Three local nonprofits received $100,000 grants this years: The YS Devel- opment Corporation, awarded by the U.S. Depar tment of Energy, to complete a feasibility study on community solar; The Little Art Theatre, awarded by independent media server and streaming company Plex; and Tecumseh Land Trust, awarded by the American Farmland Trust, to help farmers and landowners in the area in transferring their land to a new generation of producers. • Home, Inc. received a $1.5 million grant from the Ohio Housing Financing Agency — a grant that fully funded the first phase of the local affordable housing nonprofit’s upcoming 22-unit senior rental and 10-unit mixed-demographic townhome development, The Cascades, which is slated to be built on 1.8 acres along Mar- shall and Herman streets. The first phase is expected to break ground in 2024. • The Senior Center made a move toward a new facility near the year’s end, purchasing a half-acre parcel of land at Livermore and East North College streets from Antioch College for $300,000. The Senior Center announced its intention to build and open a new facility on the land. —Lauren “Chuck” Shows PHOTO BY RE I L LY DIXON It’s been a decade of “crafting truth to power” at Yellow Springs Brewery, as the slogan goes. On Saturday, April 15, the brewery hosted a day-long 10th anniversary party at its Walnut Street location in the Millworks industrial park. PHOTO BY RE I L LY DIXON After four years as village manager, Josué Salmerón resigned to become the city manager of Greenbelt, Maryland. Succeeding Salmerón as interim manager is Public Works Director Johnnie Burns. yscf@yscf.org | yscf.org 937-767-2655 P.O. Box 55, Yellow Springs, OH 45387 This is a reprint of the YSCF Foundation Friday newsletter that was emailed Friday, Dec. 22. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, email yscf@yscf.org . 2024 MILLER FELLOWSHIP AWARDS ARE OUT! DID YOU KNOW? Y SCF Student & Encore Miller Fellow- ships, named after local brothers No- lan J. and Richard D. Miller, present unique opportunities for students and folks of retirement age to work in paid positions with local nonprofit organizations. Miller Fellows help foster multigenerational en- gagement in projects serving the Village of Yellow Springs. In 2024, YSCF will fund 25 Student Mill- er and Encore positions including: • The Antioch School: Assistant Teacher • Antioch College: 5 Learning Hubs Miller Fellows • Agraria: Farm Manager Assistant • Glen Helen: Land Steward, Raptor Cent- er, & Public Program • Little Art Theatre: Marketing & Develop- ment Assistant • Mad River Theater Works: Administrative & Production Assistant • NCCJ (VIP): Youth Initiatives Fellow • The Riding Centre: Stall Cleaner • Tecumseh Land Trust: Development Encore • YS Farmers Mkt: SNAP/EBT Coordinator • The 365 Project : YS Civil War Veterans Project & Reparations Fund Fellows • Village of Yellow Springs: Gaunt Park Pool Manager • WYSO: Music Department Encore Fellow • YS Development Co.: Encore Fellow • YS Home, Inc.: Client First Specialist & Rental/Office Management Associate • YS Senior Center: Administrative Miller & Encore Fellows Miller Fellowships demonstrate the im- portance of community service and en- gagement. We honor both the Miller broth- ers’ legacy and the work of all of the Miller and Encore Fellows that have helped bring this legacy to fruition in our community! Email CHLOE@YSCF if you are interest- ed in finding a Miller or Encore Fellowship position and we’ll pass along information of who’s hiring. Together we can do more. Join us! Brothers Nolan & Dick Miller created the Miller Endowment at YSCF YS F E D E RA L CR E D I T UN I ON 217 X E N I A AV E . 9 3 7 - 7 6 7 - 7 3 7 7 | YS CU . ORG Fall Certificate of Deposit Special 6 month term 6.5% APY * $500–$200,000 newly deposited funds Please come in or give us a call for more information! *Annual Percentage Yield (APY) subject to change at any time. Speak with a YSCU associate for details. Rates subject to change at any time. Please call YSCU for rate confirmation. All YSCU share accounts are insured up to $250,000 per account by the NCUA. 6.5%APY * 237 XENIA AVE. | 937-767-8291 | SOUPS, WRAPS & SANDWICHES Happy NewYear 3 CHRISTMAS EVE PICK-UP: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1–6 p.m. 3 THANK YOU once again to all of our customers! We hope to see you in the New Year! Starting January: M–F, 11–7, Sa: 9–7 CLOSED SUNDAYS ’TIL SPRING WINTER HOURS : We are OPEN NewYear’s Eve , 11a.–6p. We are CLOSED New Year’s Day . JuliaEttas runk C L O T H I N B O U T I Q U E EST. 1997 Designer clothing brands from around the world. Find your perfect outfit for any occasion! HOUR S : Wed. by appointment only Thurs. & Fri., 12–5, Sat. & Sun., 12–4 J U L I A E T TA S . C OM • 9 3 7 - 7 6 7 - 2 8 2 3