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With the first toll of spring, the village will be transformed into an organized arts and culture hop as the Yellow Springs Arts Council jump-starts another year of seasonal programming.

On Monday, March 16, Village Council unanimously approved the first reading of the 2009 Village budget. The budget includes a substantial allocation to the greenbelt fund, along with money to upgrade Village facilities for energy conservation and to fund a Village-wide visioning/planning process.

While the turbulent economic climate has affected all regions of the country, some municipalities are faring better than others. So far, Yellow Springs seems to be one of the relatively fortunate towns, as most of the largest employers in Yellow Springs report overall stability, even as they face the coming year with caution.

The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club, the Seadogs, will meet on Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m., at the Yellow Springs Community Library meeting room to discuss the upcoming season. On the agenda will be nominating and voting for board members, and filling subcommittees to run the various functions of the season.

Senior Bulldog Jacob GunderKline race walked to third and fourth place in the nation at the Nike Indoor Nationals and the National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field championships in Boston and New York last weekend.

Wilma Lea (Boyd) Willis, of Yellow Springs, died Tuesday, March 17. She was 75. She was born Aug. 1, 1933, a daughter of Elza and Hazel (Euton) Boyd in Rarden, Ohio. Wilma was a member of the Pleasant Grove Missionary Church in Yellow Springs.