It’s no a surprise that Yellow Springs has an abundance of large trees. This summer the Yellow Springs Tree Committee seeks the largest in their update to a 1972 report, “The big trees of Yellow Springs.” See a 1972 map of the largest trees in Yellow Springs here.

At his family’s farm last week across from Dollar General, 16-year-old Austin Pence was using the cool of the dusk to wash and blow dry two of his favorite animals. Mabel, a year-old heifer, and Bart, a 17-month-old steer, hung by the white barn calm and collected as their black coats began to take on a fluffiness.

At its meeting Monday, July 19, Village Council approved the first reading of an ordinance committing to a “Smart Power Plant” program of American Municipal Power. The program allows the Village’s residential and commercial power consumers to take advantage of consulting services on how to reduce energy consumption.

Before rural farming and land trust crusader Shirley Miller Sherrod was thrust into the national spotlight when she was forced to resign last week from her position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), she studied at Antioch University Midwest. The Obama Administration, admitting it was wrong, quickly offered to rehire her.

Helping villagers stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter is the aim of a new business in town, Southtown Heating and Cooling. From its new office in Yellow Springs, the 22-year-old Greater Dayton company will install and service heating and cooling equipment as well as do plumbing, electrical work and building maintenance for residential and commercial customers.

For an hour every Saturday, a small group of Yellow Springs residents takes to a street corner near downtown with a message of peace. Waving flags and holding signs with such sayings as “War is terrorism” and “Schools not bombs,” the peace activists get honks and hollers from passing motorists, along with the satisfaction that they are standing up for what’s right.

Antioch College became the recipient of a $1.5 million bequest last week from alumnus Bernard West, who attended the college from 1932–33. The gift is part of a total $17 million in funds the college has raised since it gained its independence from Antioch University last September, college communications director Gariot Louima said last week.

Gariot Louima never intended to live in Ohio. In fact, he’d never been to Ohio before coming to interview for the position of director of communications at the newly-revived Antioch College. When he told his sister, who like him had grown up in the Haitian community in Miami, Florida, about the interview, she asked him if there were any black people in the state.

Visitors and residents alike can walk right-off-the-street into an oasis of health and rejuvenation at Eden World Center for Wellness and Discovery at 253 Xenia Avenue.

Last weekend, the Yellow Springs Sea Dogs swam in the Miami Valley Swim Association Championships at Wilmington College to mark the end of their season. It was one more opportunity for the swimmers to shine in competition against hundreds of others.