May 12
- Published: May 11, 2022
Features
- COVID Update | May 19, 2022
The number of new cases in the state, tallied for April 29–May 5, was 11,013 compared to 8,731 April 22–28.
- Meet the new owners of the Mills Park Hotel
Mills Park employee Ryan Aubin and his husband, Alex Price, purchased the business and 1.6-acre property on April 27 for nearly $4.5 million from the Yellow Springs-based Hammond family. Jim Hammond, his wife, Libby, and daughter, Katie, have owned and operated the hotel since the family opened its doors in 2016.
- Abortion Rights | Locals decry leaked SCOTUS draft
About 30 people gathered at the corner of Limestone Street and Xenia Avenue on Saturday, May 7; the reason — abortion rights.
- YSHS students inducted into Honor Society
On Monday, May 2, 12 YS High School students were inducted as new members of the Yellow Springs chapter of the National Honor Society.
- COVID Update | May 12, 2022
The number of new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Ohio and Greene County last week, according to the latest data released by the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday, May 5.
- Extended Coverage | More Chappelle shows at Wirrig Pavilion OK’d
Another summer of outdoor shows presented by Dave Chappelle at the Wirrig family pavilion got the green light Thursday evening, April 28, when the Miami Township Board of Zoning Appeals, or BZA, voted to approve a temporary conditional use request by property owner Steve Wirrig.
- ‘Returned’ join World House Choir
Twelve “returned,” or formerly incarcerated, artists, including rap performers and visual artists from several area prisons, will join the World House Choir to present “Solidarity Dividend: Art in Action,” Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 15, at 3 p.m., in the Foundry Theater on the campus of Antioch College.
- Emergent Verse | The quiet work of the heart
“With ‘Concert for my Mother,’ Larry Hussman transitions from writing primarily nature poetry into the realm of confessional verse. The result is a deeply affecting and well-crafted narrative poem.”
- A community vision by Yellow Springs Development Corporation
The group’s recently elected president, Corrie Van Ausdal, suggested that the nonprofit widen, rather than narrow, its lens, with the goal of creating a shared community vision.
- New leaders for Perry League T-ball
T-ball lovers of all ages — but particularly those ages 2–9 — have reason to celebrate: A new slate of volunteers have stepped up to the plate to lead Perry League, the village’s beloved, 52-year-old T-ball program.
- COVID Update | May 5, 2022
The number of new COVID-19 cases rose again in Ohio and Greene County, according to the latest weekly data released by the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday, April 28. The number of new cases in the state, tallied for April 22–28, was 8,731, compared to 6,890 for April 15–21.
- YS Schools Facilities Committee begins
At its first meeting on Thursday, April 7, the YS Schools Facilities Committee, recently formed by the school board, focused on clarifying its purpose and dividing tasks between its members to work toward that purpose.
- 2022 Ohio Primary results
Of the 118,083 registered voters in Greene County, only 29,706 county residents cast their votes — just 25% of eligible voters. A total of 22,014 Republicans voted, 6,957 Democrats and 735 non-partisans.
- HB 126 could impact school tax revenue
A bill passed earlier this month by both the Ohio House and Senate is on track to impact the ways school districts are able to collect tax revenues — including in Yellow Springs.
- ‘Shrek: The Musical’ to debut
This week, the young thespians of YS High School and McKinney Middle School were in the last galvanic days before that transformation as they prepared to perform “Shrek: The Musical.” The production will be staged Friday–Sunday, May 6–8, in the Paul Robeson Cultural and Performing Arts Center at Central State University.
- Samples show COVID in Yellow Springs wastewater
Recent local wastewater samples show an increase in COVID-19 viral shedding in the village over the past couple of weeks
- 2022 Primary | Two villagers vie for precinct captain
Precinct captains promote voter registration, work to encourage early voting and support election-day processes. They provide important information to their precincts about candidates running for office and hot-button issues that may affect voters’ lives.
- The Veganry joins local food scene
The Veganry, the newest addition to Yellow Springs’ smorgasbord of restaurants, will hold its grand opening on Saturday, April 30. The limited menu will appeal to vegans and nonvegans alike.
- All I Care to Eat | Ham, cheese and memory
“I had the best sandwich of my life in the summer of 1993. I was 9 years old, and my dad had just installed a cheap, above-ground swimming pool in our backyard. We lived in Jonesville, Ky., a rural community of about 150 people at the time.”
- COVID Update | April 28, 2022
Ohio’s number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations also rose, from 317 for the week of April 8–14 to 428 for April 15–21.
- Planning Commission reviews ‘Spring Meadows’
Miamisburg-based development company DDC Management LLC presented a preliminary plat application for a 92-lot subdivision to the Yellow Springs Planning Commission during the commission’s most recent meeting Tuesday, April 12, conducted online via Zoom.
- YS school board considers levies timing
Yellow Springs school district Treasurer Jay McGrath told school board members during their last regular meeting that now is the time to start thinking about what they want to do about the current permanent improvement levy that expires at the end of 2023.
- Dave Chappelle seeks more outdoor shows
A request to allow another ticketed series of summertime outdoor shows to be hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle at the Wirrig family’s pavilion, just north of the village, will go before the Miami Township Board of Zoning Appeals, or BZA, on Thursday evening, April 28.
- My Name Is Iden | Crutches
“So what’s the answer? How do you remove a stigma that is as deeply rooted as the one against mental illness? My advice is the same advice I always give. Start with yourself.”
- Ohio voters face split primary
Absentee and early voting for Ohio’s May 3 primary election opened on schedule Tuesday, April 5, but not all contested races are on the ballot, as the state’s redistricting efforts continue to face legal challenges.
- News from the Past: March & April 2022
74 years ago, in 1947, a radio was stolen. “‘Please bring our radio back,’ pleaded the third grade pupils of Dayton Street School Wednesday. A thief had taken away their prized new radio during the night.”
- New pastor at Methodist Church
Latoya Warren, a native of Dayton, was appointed to head the 185-year-old church last month after the departure of Rick Jones, who had served as pastor since 2015. Jones is now pastoring Oakwood United Methodist Church.
- COVID Update | April 21, 2022
The number of new COVID-19 cases rose last week in Ohio, but dropped in Greene County, according to the latest weekly data released by the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday, April 14. The number of new cases in the state, tallied for April 8–16, was 4,808, compared to 3,828 for April 1–7.
- Big gains at Posterior Chain gym
Owner and operator of the aptly named Posterior Chain, LLC, Truitt recently moved his personal training operation into a new space: a multi-room suite in a former Bushworks building on Cliff Street.
- Yellow Springs celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility
The message relayed through the village’s first Transgender Day of Visibility Celebration, or TDOV, held at the Coretta Scott King Center on Antioch’s campus on March 31 was clear: There is love and support for transgender people here in Yellow Springs.
- A violin unlike any other
Amanda Ewing is working to produce a violin for Anne Harris — the first such instrument produced by a Black woman luthier for a Black woman fiddle player in recorded history.
- Mary’s Way construction stalled
Mary’s Way, named after the late Mary Donahoe, covers land that was donated by Derick Donahoe, land on Agraria’s property and land purchased from Yellow Springs School District by the Village of Yellow Springs.
- COVID Update | April 14, 2022
The CDC now recommends that those who are immunocompromised and/or 50 years of age or older get an additional booster shot four months after their first booster.
- Yellow Springs News wins again at Hooper Awards
For the 12th year in a row, the Yellow Springs News won the top prize at an annual state competition for weekly newspapers.
- Six months of living in the Glen Cottages
Six months in, the residents of Glen Cottages are beginning to feel at home. Inspired by the Bowen housing needs assessment, the project’s goal was to “fill the gaps” in the village’s housing needs. The total project cost approximately $2.29 million.
- Emergent Verse | Sonorous Sibilants
“Poets love form — even free-versers like me, who let go of strictly prescribed numbers of syllables in each line (meter), number of lines (like sonnets, villanelles) and rhyme schemes.”
- Yellow Springs restaurants persevere
As the pandemic winds into its third year, Yellow Springs businesses are still adapting. Closures, illness and difficulty obtaining needed items continue to be cited as elements that have had lasting effects on local businesses — but so have perseverance, optimism and gratitude.
- COVID Update | April 7, 2022
COVID-19 case numbers continued a mostly downward trend last week, with new cases decreasing slightly across Ohio, while the number of new hospitalizations and deaths increased.
- Dave Chappelle documentary comes home
“Dave Chappelle Live in Real Life,” which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the rural outdoor comedy shows presented by the locally based comedian against the catastrophic backdrop of summer 2020, opened at the Little Art Theatre on Thursday, March 24.
- Sankofa Talk | Thoughts on a ‘better way’
“A partnership involves listening to another’s point of view. Ask the students if they have experienced that. I might add that a partnership does not involve accusing anyone you claim to be wanting to partner with to be the purveyor of misinformation, especially when there is no evidence of that.”
- Preschoolers celebrate World Down Syndrome Day
Mike Anderson and Katie Warber helped students in the school’s morning and afternoon classes celebrate at story time by reading Amy E. Sturkey’s “‘D’ is for Down Syndrome,” which uses each letter of the alphabet to introduce young readers to aspects of life growing up with Down syndrome.
- A brief history of Omar Circle
One of the nation’s few housing subdivisions built by an African American developer is nestled in a location that spans 21.2-acres and includes houses situated across the street from Yellow Springs High School, and just down the road from Gaunt Park.
- Extended Coverage | Paige Burge sworn in as YSPD chief
Nearly eight months after the resignation of Brian Carlson, Interim Chief Paige Burge has been named the chief of the Yellow Springs Police Department. She is the first woman and member of the LGBTQ+ community to take the helm of the YSPD.
- School facilities committee moves forward
Recently elected board members Judith Hempfling and Dorothée Bouquet, who were on different sides of the previous facilities plan that was defeated by voters this past fall, presented a joint proposal for moving forward on the issue last month.
- ‘A Powerful Thang’ returns to Yellow Springs
On Saturday, April 2, “A Powerful Thang,” which was shot in large part in the village, will screen at the Little Art Theatre, where it debuted upon its release more than 30 years ago. Filmmaker Davis will make her return to the village for the screening.
- COVID Update | March 31, 2022
COVID-19 numbers continued to hearten health officials last week, with new case numbers rising slightly in Ohio while decreasing in Greene County, and the number of new hospitalizations and deaths going down across the state and locally.
- Planning Commission approves new village farm
A proposal for a small farm and adjacent farm goods store within the village was given the green light, with several caveats, by the Yellow Springs Planning Commission.
- Extended Coverage | New Yellow Springs subdivision proposed
Miamisburg-based development company DDC Management, Inc., is seeking to build a 89-lot subdivision in northwestern Yellow Springs.
- Speech & Debate competes at state
Several members of the Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle School Speech & Debate team competed in the state-level tournament earlier this month.
- My Name Is Iden | Finding my voice
“I now see passing for what it is: a fear-induced response to internalized transphobia. I wanted to pass because I was afraid to be seen as transgender.”
- Tackling trauma, teaching resiliency
This article is a follow up to the Feb. 25 News story, “Learning the nature of trauma,” in which Whitacre told the News that trauma is often misunderstood.
- Antioch School turns 100
Those emotions ring true for the Antioch School community as well, as the school looks back on the 100 years since its founding in the fall of 1921 and looks to the future in a world where its supporters believe the school’s version of child-centered education is needed more than ever.
- Jim Malarkey contextualizes conflict in Ukraine
The News followed up with Malarkey to get his views on the latest developments, and to discuss key factors that Malarkey believes contributed to the war.
- Downtown fossil shop closes
A downtown store that traded in prehistoric wares will soon join the ranks of history itself: This week, villager Eric Clark closed the fossil shop, Rock Around the Clark, after selling its stock to Fairborn resident Frances Coynes.
- Pharmacy policy raises questions
Recent changes at the downtown pharmacy are raising questions about the business on the northeast corner of Xenia Avenue and Glen Street.
- Antioch College gets grant to demolish old student union
Antioch College is slated to receive just over $100,000 from the State of Ohio to help fund the demolition of its original student union building.
- COVID Update | March 24, 2022
The state’s number of new cases tallied from Thursday, March 10, through Thursday March 17, were 3,605, with the total number of active cases reported by the ODH on the 17th at 4,923.
- Yellow Springs buys sludge press
The Village of Yellow Springs is now the proud owner of a nine-ton, seven-foot-tall sludge press. Its purpose? Simply put, to squeeze out any remaining water from the biosolids that run through our municipal water and wastewater treatment plant.
- Emergent Verse | ‘High Lonesome’
Retired Antioch professor, poet and translator Harold Wright used to contribute articles to the News, concluding with a tanka, a strict Japanese poetic form.
- Emergent Verse | An Introduction
As I walked in Glen Helen pondering the first installment of this reincarnated poetry column, the phrase “emergent verse” came to me and I realized I’d found its title.
- Ohio Legislature eyes divisive education bills
Two bills that target the teaching of “divisive” issues in Ohio’s schools continue to be discussed in committee after being introduced last year.
- COVID Update | March 17, 2022
According to data disseminated by the Ohio Department of Health, COVID-19 numbers across the state continued to decline over the past full week, with Greene County numbers also reflecting a downward trend.
- Channel 5 public access — Building community through TV
Public access television channel Community Access Yellow Springs — Spectrum Channel 5 — content is curated for its local cable audience, but it’s also, as was the intention for public access when it was originally conceived, meant to be utilized as a tool for creation by anyone in the community.
- Down to Earth | The allure of local nature
“What is it about nature and its allure? Why do some of us feel pulled to rush into the lush wildness that lies apart from the busyness of our societal spaces?”
- Anthrotech under new ownership
The business, which focuses on research and consulting around anthropometry — the study of the dimensions of the human body — changed hands in January of 2021.
- The Briar Patch | Venerating our Black girls
“Black women in this community are not a monolith — there are plenty of us who had different experiences within the social framework of this community.”
- My Name Is Iden | Relax baby, it’s just art
“That is what art is at its core. It is the reception and processing of data by the artist. What we see and hear, what we smell and taste, what we feel is all just raw empirical data.”
- Police Chief candidates introduced
Several months after naming an interim chief to fill the position left by Brian Carlson, Village Manager Josué Salmerón has announced three finalists for Chief of the Yellow Springs Police Department: Paige Burge, Selvain McQueen and Keith Salyers.
- COVID Update | March 10, 2022
According to data disseminated by the Ohio Department of Health, COVID-19 numbers across the state continued to decline over the past full week, with Greene County numbers also reflecting a downward trend.
- School board hears Greenspace plan
A local group seeking to preserve about five undeveloped acres on the western side of the Mills Lawn Elementary School property presented a land conservation proposal earlier this month to the Yellow Springs school board.
- New owners at the Springs Motel
The Springs Motel, Yellow Springs’ own little funky roadside respite has some new owners. Moving in from just three miles down Route 68 is the Knickerbocker family, proprietors of local business Knickerbocker Pools & Spas.
- Masks optional at Yellow Springs public schools
In a letter dated March 6 and sent to district families and staff on Monday, March 7, Superintendent Terri Holden announced that mask wearing in the schools would become optional effective Wednesday, March 9.
- School board approves facilities committee
The board’s new plan involves forming a committee that will explore the costs and ramifications of a phased, permanent-improvement plan to repair and upgrade the district’s buildings, compared with the costs and considerations associated with new or partial construction.
- 91.3 WYSO receives $25,000 grant
The grant money will be used to purchase new broadcasting equipment and have it installed, pay for the “highly specialized” acoustic treatments for the studio spaces and purchase new furniture for the WYSO team.
- Antioch exhibition honors Black experience
In “Black History: A Work in Progress,” a new exhibition on view through March 28, gallery visitors are invited to serve as witnesses and in turn celebrate the contributions and “constant influence” of Black lives in the United States as well as this specific area of the country.
- Feminist Health Fund seeks donations
For more than 40 years, the village-based nonprofit Feminist Health Fund has helped women around Greene County pay for a variety of health-related costs, funding everything from prescriptions to operations.
- COVID Update | March 3, 2022
As of last week, 10 of Ohio’s 88 counties dropped below the threshold for “high” COVID-19 incidence, measured at 100 or more new cases per 100,000 residents over two weeks.
- Meet the Glen Helen land manager
It’s a lot to look after: The Glen contains over 1,100 acres of land and a 15-mile network of footpaths. It’s home to deep-seated Indigenous histories, untold numbers of flora and fauna, geologies and ecologies, waterways and wildlife.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation eyes membership, approach
Some existential questions were on the table during the most recent meeting of the YSDC conducted via Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
- COVID Update | Feb. 24, 2022
COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations continue to decline across Ohio from the mid-January peak fueled by the Omicron variant.
- Learning the nature of trauma
Over the past several months, the News has covered several topics that have been at turns controversial, disturbing, painful and divisive for many members of the community.
- Board of Education renews facilities discussion
How best to address deteriorating conditions and outdated capacities identified in Yellow Springs’ public school buildings is a question that remains unresolved for district leaders.
- Fighting cold, one blanket at a time
Since October 2021, Villager Diana Castellan has made or mended and donated nearly 300 blankets with the support of a Blanket Fund, established last year at the YS United Methodist Church.
- Clothes opening
On Saturday, Feb. 12, Garmint Boutique held its soft opening as Yellow Springs’ only vintage clothing store.
- Community, biodiversity through seeds
Seed steward Florentina Rodriguez debuted the Yellow Springs Community Seed Library last weekend, aiming to make that power available to everyone.
- School board dives into ‘Sunshine’ rules
The rules that Ohio’s school boards must follow in conducting a district’s business can be tricky to navigate, David Lampe, a partner with the Bricker & Eckler law firm, told Yellow Springs school board members during a recent board work session.
- Review | Nostalgic politics and pitfalls in ‘Licorice Pizza’
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s recent blockbuster film “Licorice Pizza” wants to remind us of all the thrills, seductions and dramas of adolescence.
- COVID Update | Feb. 17, 2022
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s consideration — and anticipated approval — this month of a COVID-19 vaccine for young children, aged 6 months through 4 years old, has been put on hold, the FDA announced Friday, Feb. 11.
- Author Gaia Cornwall visits Mills Lawn
On Monday, Jan. 31, students in Heidi Hoover and Debra Mabra’s second grade classes at Mills Lawn Elementary School got a special virtual visit from author Gaia Cornwall.
- The Briar Patch | Horses and synchronicity of spirit
“These boundaries — fluid, but rigid at the same time — are hard to navigate in Yellow Springs, particularly as a Black woman.”
- Local restaurants persist amid COVID-19
As the pandemic winds into its third year, downtown Yellow Springs businesses continue to adapt. The News recently spoke with the owners of five restaurants about the ongoing effects and obstacles of the pandemic, and will check in with other village businesses in future issues.
- My Name Is Iden | Smell This
“The particular time that has set my neurons churning is, of course, that interminable period between Thanksgiving and the climax of the holidays, Present Time.”
- Editorial | When local news is history
“Though they were clean and well-lit, I recognized all of these printing elements as siblings of the dusty machines and implements that live in the dim back space of the YS News office.”
- News from the Past: January & February 2022
50 years ago, in 1972, an Antioch student strike loomed. “The Antioch College campus has been in a turmoil since Friday and appeared to remain uneasy as the News approached press-time today.”
- Music Review | Dayton’s Houseghost at Melody Inn
A Dayton-based “spooky punk” outfit, Houseghost recalls the genre’s classic sounds with edgy `90s pop sensibilities
- Redistricting Update | Groups renew legal challenges
In a 5–2 vote that followed party lines, the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission will to go back to the drawing board to produce new district maps for the state’s General Assembly.
- Changes expected at Yellow Springs Development Corporation’s annual meeting
As a relatively new nonprofit organization, the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, will hold its first annual meeting Tuesday, Feb. 8.
- Co-creating shared spaces for people of color
Last fall, YS Home, Inc. Executive Director Emily Seibel took part in a fireside chat keynote discussion for the annual conference of Ohio Community Development Corporation Association, speaking with Jamar Doyle, of Greater Collinwood Development Corporation, and Evelyn Burnett, of ThirdSpace Action Lab.
- Nearly $1M in improvements slated for Glen Helen
The old Antioch College power plant will soon be demolished and the land rehabbed into wetlands, thanks in part to a $988,119 grant from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund.
- YSHS One Acts to return
As part of her senior project, YSHS senior Rosemary Burmester is directing this year’s One Acts, which will be performed Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the Clifton Opera House.
- COVID Update | Feb. 10, 2022
After reaching what health officials called “staggeringly high” numbers of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in January, Ohio continues to experience a decrease in cases overall.
- COVID Update | Feb. 3, 2022
As COVID-19 case numbers remain at staggeringly high levels, Ohio’s top health official shared a “cautiously optimistic” message last week.
- Son takes the helm at Tom’s Market
After 57 years of working in Yellow Springs’ downtown grocery, proprietor Tom Gray is retiring, and taking over the store is his youngest son, Jeff Gray.
- Yellow Springs schools report rise in enrollment
The number of students attending Yellow Springs Schools is up from last year, according to the district’s annual enrollment report, compiled in late fall.
- Village broadband pilot program slated to begin
Years ago, a small group of villagers started conversations about offering Wi-Fi as a public utility; in the coming months, Yellow Springs will take steps to make that vision a reality as the Village pilots a broadband program at 250 locations throughout town.
- Oberer Land Developers in Yellow Springs | History, opposition, options
This is not the first time Oberer has met with opposition in the village: In the 1980s, Oberer received a grant from the federal government to build an affordable housing complex, to be called Bryan Commons, on Dayton Street.
- Extended Coverage | Dr. Gronbeck’s license suspended; criminal inquiry on
An ongoing investigation of Gronbeck, led by the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, is related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
- Smith topples YSHS basketball record
In a varsity girls basketball game at home on Thursday, Jan. 20, senior standout Angie Smith surpassed the long-held scoring record of 1,770 career points set by Evin Wimberly in 2005.
- State redistricting plans unconstitutional
Ohio Democrats and state chapters of the NAACP, ACLU and League of Women Voters, among other groups and voting rights advocates, are hailing a pair of rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court last week that found the state’s recent redistricting efforts to be unconstitutional.
- Villagers speak out at town hall
At a virtual town hall meeting held Wednesday, Jan. 12, scores of villagers aired concerns and asked questions about a proposed development on the south end of town and the efforts to rezone that land.
- Antioch Wellness Center now open to the public
After nearly two years of being closed, the Antioch Wellness Center has reopened its doors to the public. Their daily hours of operation are Monday–Friday, 6 a.m.–8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- COVID Update | Jan. 27, 2022
While COVID-19 case numbers continue to be historically high, there is some indication that Ohio is rounding a bend in the pandemic’s Omicron-variant-fueled surge.
- Karen McKee honored at Martin Luther King Day event
Over a blanket of snow, more than 100 villagers marched through downtown Yellow Springs in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march on Monday, Jan. 17.
- Two Planning Commission members resign over public comments
Sarah Sinclair-Amend, who served as a voting member, resigned Jan. 13; and Matthew Kirk, who served as an alternate, resigned Jan. 6.
- New school board makeup expected to bring changes
After more than a decade, when changes in school board makeup occurred mostly one new member at a time, amid the constancy of veteran office holders serving multiple terms and carrying over familiar approaches, newcomers are in the super-majority as 2022 begins.
- Artist Profile | Iden Crockett’s self-discovery via collage
“Who am I, where am I, and where do I want to be?” These questions, along with detailed storytelling and self-discovery, are expressed like a thread through each drawing, collage and poem of local artist Iden Crockett.
- New school board members take seats
The Yellow Springs school board’s annual organizational meeting, conducted in the Mills Lawn gym on Thursday, Jan. 13, began with the swearing in of its three newest members: Dorothée Bouquet, Judith Hempfling and Amy Magnus.
- ‘Loud As the Rolling Sea’ | An interview with activist, educator Jewel Graham
In collaboration with 91.3-FM WYSO’s Eichelberger Center for Community Voices, the News is publishing excerpted transcripts from WYSO’s series “Loud As the Rolling Sea.”
- Miami Township | New year begins with new trustee
Marilan Moir became Miami Township’s first female trustee — at least in recent memory — when she took the oath of office at the start of the three-member board’s meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
- COVID Update | Jan. 20, 2022
The number of COVID-related Ohio deaths during the week of Jan. 9–15 reached a new weekly high at 850, compared to 625 the week before.
- Review | ‘Nightmare Alley’ and the long con
Benecio del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” revives the carnivalesque narrative to remind audiences that deception has its consequences.
- Village receives $1.2M for new water pipes
Residents living in older areas of town will soon see improved water volume when the village’s aging water pipes are replaced.
- COVID Update | Jan. 13, 2022
YS schools reported 13 positive cases, with seven among middle/high school students, four Mills Lawn students and two district staff.
- The birth of a doula movement
There are those among us who have a direct, intimate, perhaps even sublime understanding of the process of bringing forth life, assisting mothers as they give birth. This is the role of a doula.
- COVID-19 numbers surge
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases seems to be exploding exponentially, with the Ohio Department of Health, or ODH, reporting historically high figures for the pandemic across the state over the past week.
- 2021 in Review | Legal & Law Enforcement
In 2021, Zyrian Atha-Arnett, accused in the stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark was sentenced; Chief Brian Carlson resigned; the jail levy was voted down; more.
- 2021 in Review | Village Schools
The Yellow Springs public school district began 2021 with students set to continue learning remotely, through online instruction, in response to the ongoing pandemic.
- 2021 in Review | Village Life
Villagers kicked off the new year differently as they moved into 2021; with the annual ball drop canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
- 2021 in Review | Sports and Recreation
At the start of 2021, girls basketball standout Angie Smith, then a junior, had scored 1,260 points in her high school career, going on to net about 125 more points before the end of that season.
- Year in Review | Miami Towship
After a number of years in which Trustee Chris Mucher served as president/chair of the three-person board, Trustee Don Hollister became chairperson during the group’s first meeting of the new year.
- 2021 in Review | Yellow Springs Development Corporation
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation completed its second year in 2021, debuting a website — ysdc.org — and by year’s end, adding a time for community comments during its monthly public meeting.
- 2021 in Review | Village Businesses
In 2021, dozens of businesses in Yellow Springs opened their doors, expanded, shifted or celebrated significant anniversaries.
- 2021 in Review | Planning Commission
In 2021, the Village of Yellow Springs Planning Commission approved a site plan for Cresco Labs, the development of Dave Chappelle’s proposed comedy club, the construction of a new eatery/market, among other projects.
- 2021 in Review | Top Stories
Oberer development plan sparks concerns; the COVID-19 pandemic continues; WYSO plans to move into the Union School House; the school facilities levy fails; Kingwood Solar discussions continue.
- What inspired you in 2021?
The annual tradition of polling YS News readers for meditations on a query has always tread a certain patch of earth. At the end of every year, we’re looking for a snapshot of your life — what made it better, worse, stranger, stronger.
- Board members, treasurer end tenures
Grateful goodbyes and an official welcome were expressed Monday night, Dec. 20, during the Yellow Springs school board’s monthly business meeting, held in person in the Mills Lawn Elementary School gym and livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel.
- New bread from age-old process
Local baker James Luckett and farmer Jon Branstrator recently discussed a experimental bread they’ve cooked up together — a sourdough that incorporates nixtamalized blue corn.
- ‘Navigating the Pandemic: Stories of Hope and Resilience’
The collaborative book features contributions from over 30 writers, including local Cathy Roma, who explore the wide range of feelings engendered by the pandemic.
- Down to Earth — Tecumseh Land Trust and affordable housing
“Affordable housing, farmland preservation and native habitat conservation — are they mutually exclusive?”
- Village elders reflect on the Black experience, Pt. III
This is the final article in a three-part series featuring African American elders who live in Yellow Springs.
- My Name Is Iden — No Time Like Present Time
“The particular time that has set my neurons churning is, of course, that interminable period between Thanksgiving and the climax of the holidays, Present Time.”
- My Name Is Iden — What’s in a name?
“This will be a place for stories, thoughts, memories and feelings. I hope that there will be something in all of that mess that is universal and meaningful.”
- Yellow Springs Baking Company set to open
Fresh out of the oven, a new business is coming to Yellow Springs. Opening soon is the Yellow Springs Baking Company, located in the heart of the Millworks business center.
- Miami Township Trustees honor Mark Crockett
In honoring Mark Crockett during the trustees’ most recent meeting, Monday, Dec. 6, Mucher presented Crockett with a pen to “commemorate all the years and all the signatures on all the checks and all the resolutions” during his time in office.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation ends the year by looking ahead
At its last monthly meeting of the year, conducted online Tuesday, Dec. 7, the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, spent time discussing possible projects and areas of focus for 2022.
- COVID-19 Update — December 23, 2021
Deaths in Ohio since the start of the pandemic surpassed 28,000 on Friday, Dec. 16. Deaths in the U.S. have exceeded 800,000, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of the Ohio Department of Health.
- COVID-19 Update — December 16, 2021
The Ohio Department of Health, or ODH, reported Saturday, Dec. 11, that the first two cases of the Omicron variant had been confirmed in Ohio.
- Downtown Yellow Springs businesses shift and grow
As the seasons change, so do some of the village’s favorite businesses: this fall found many local stores shaking up their way of doing things, with some moving, others expanding and still others altering their business models.
- Sankofa Talk — Back to Jim Crow
“The public statements of Ohio legislators who have introduced anti-CRT bills clearly reflect they do not understand, nor do they care to understand, what CRT really is.”
- Book Review | ‘One More Day’ a joyful celebration of life
This is a novel for everyone wanting to understand aging in this era of increasing life span as well as increasing health challenges.
- ‘Loud As the Rolling Sea’ — Alyce Earl-Jenkins on the civil rights generation
In collaboration with 91.3-FM WYSO’s Eichelberger Center for Community Voices, the News is publishing excerpted transcripts from WYSO’s series “Loud As the Rolling Sea.”
- District report card suggests losses for YS Schools
Yellow Springs’ most recent score was 83.5 points out of a possible 120 (69.6%), representing a drop of five percentage points.
- Lawson Place purchase eases tenant worries
On Nov. 29, Council approved a down payment for the building of $160,000 and authorized the financing of the purchase for up to an additional $800,000. The closing date will likely be after the new year.
- Tecumseh Land Trust sees leadership change
What might have been a major transition for many organizations was less earth-shaking for Tecumseh Land Trust, or TLT, when the nonprofit’s longtime executive director retired this fall.
- COVID-19 Update — November 18, 2021
After more than a month charting a gradual decline in new COVID-19 case numbers, Ohio saw a slight rise last week, according to the most recent data from the Ohio Department of Health, or ODH.
- Miami Township Trustees ponder ARP funding
A continuing question this fall for Miami Township Trustees has concerned how best to spend about $130,000 in allocated funds through the federal American Recovery Plan, or ARP, related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Kuder, Wexler’s genre-defying books
Yellow Springs authors Rebecca Kuder and Robert Wexler, who are partners, released new books this fall: Kuder’s debut novel, “The Eight Mile Suspended Carnival,” from What Books Press; and Wexler’s short story collection, “Undiscovered Territories,” from PS Publishing.
- COVID-19 Update — December 9, 2021
Greene County’s total of new cases reported for the week of Sunday, Nov. 28, through Saturday, Dec. 4, rose significantly, however, from the week before, with a total of 531 new cases, compared to the previous week’s total of 308.
- YSHS, McKinney students to perform ‘The Stinky Cheese Man’
“The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” will be performed by students from McKinney Middle School and YS High School on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10–12, at Clifton Opera House.
- Ten years of Winter Solstice Poetry Readings
Now in its 10th year, the Winter Solstice Poetry Reading’s theme is “Sacred Ground,” which, according to organizer and local poet Ed Davis, is an homage to the event’s longtime and rightful home: Glen Helen.
- Election 2021: Precinct Breakdown
The following is a breakdown of how voters cast their votes in each precinct of Yellow Springs and Miami Township. The Greene County Board of Elections released precinct details on Nov. 17, and votes were certified by the State of Ohio on Nov. 22.
- News from the Past: December 2021
35 years ago: 1986 — Developer George Oberer planned apartment complex. “Yellow Springs village government is no longer contesting a Dayton developer’s right to build an apartment complex here — but it’s likely the apartments will never be built.”
- Village elders reflect on the Black experience, Pt. II
Villagers Paul Graham and Phillip Lawson spoke about their experiences growing up and living in integrated communities in Dayton and Yellow Springs.
- Mark Crockett bids township farewell after 20 years
Crockett first ran for trustee in 2001, and since then has worked to maintain the township by making decisions that would help the township evolve as technology advanced and the makeup of township departments changed.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation refines focus
Coming up on its second anniversary, with most of its existence undertaken amid the pandemic, the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, is continuing to refine its purpose and procedures.
- Village hardware store changes hands
This year, Yellow Springs Hardware will change hands for only the fourth time in its 94-year history.
- School district hires new treasurer, appoints new board member
In a special meeting Tuesday morning, Nov. 22, the Yellow Springs school board approved the hiring of a new district treasurer and the appointment of a new board member.
- Village elders reflect on the Black experience, Pt. I
Longtime villagers Frances Smith and Geneva Brisbane reflected on their experiences with racism and segregation during the “Elders Speak” virtual event held last month. The event was sponsored by The 365 Project.
- Extended Coverage | Planning Commission sends Oberer plans to Village Council
At its Tuesday, Nov. 9, regular meeting, held via Zoom, Village Planning Commission approved a conditional use application submitted by Oberer Land Developers to rezone 52.6 acres in southern Yellow Springs to accommodate a 140-unit residential neighborhood.
- Neighbors split on 1,500-acre Kingwood Solar field project
An estimated 300 people crowded into the Expo Center at the Greene County Fairgrounds on Monday evening, Nov. 15, for a public hearing on the proposed 1,500-acre Kingwood Solar field project.
- Budget deficit forecasted for Village Schools
After finishing the last two fiscal years with revenues higher than expenditures, Yellow Springs school leaders anticipate a return to deficit spending this fiscal year (FY), which ends June 30, 2022, according to the district’s latest five-year financial forecast.
- Village to buy Lawson Place apartments
In their regular Nov. 15 meeting, held virtually via Zoom, Village Council approved two measures allowing Village Manager Josué Salmerón to purchase an apartment building located at 10 Lawson Place.
- Five Clifton Village Council seats unfilled
Nov. 2 election results that left the Village of Clifton with five of six Village Council seats unfilled for terms beginning Jan. 1 is being attributed to the small number of residents combined with state certification rules for office-seekers.
- Artist Profile | ‘Mapping the void’ with steel and wood
Somewhere among the heaps of rusty scrap metal and mounds of sawdust in his small garage, local artist and fourth-generation welder Seth Ratliff has honed a craft that’s allowed him to find order in all the chaos.
- Clifton Crafthouse Co-op set to open in 2022
When completed, the combined taproom, community event space, commercial kitchen and affordable artist residences will work in tandem to support one another.
- Antioch and YSDC part ways over Wellness Center
Jane Fernandes, President of Antioch College, announced that the college will no longer be working with the Yellow Springs Development Corporation to reopen the Wellness Center.
- Looking ahead after school levy loss
At a 61%-39% spread, Yellow Springs district voters last week rejected a combined 6.5-mill, 37-year property tax and a 0.5% income tax increase with no end date to build a $35.6 million K–12 school at the location of the current middle/high school on East Enon Road.
- Little Thunders — Honoring ancestral brilliance
“The beauty of this time of year reminds me why it is so vital to honor my ancestors by keeping the traditions that have been passed down through the generations, and by keeping alive the skills they passed along.”
- Mills Lawn students open Veteran’s and Peace Park
On Thursday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day, Mill Lawn Elementary School students created a temporary Veterans and Peace Park on the Mills Lawn tennis courts, which is now open for visitors after school hours and on the weekend through Friday, Nov. 19.
- Review | The tweedy pastiche of “The French Dispatch”
“It is, after all, both in form and reference, a love letter to The New Yorker and some of its past luminaries.”
- COVID-19 Update — November 11, 2021
As anticipated, the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, last week recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 pediatric vaccine for children ages 5–11.
- COVID closes YS Community Children’s Center again
The Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center announced Monday, Nov. 8, that it was closing its doors temporarily for the second time in three months due to COVID-19.
- Chiddister debut novel looks at aging and forgiveness
Writer and former Yellow Springs News editor Diane Chiddister’s novel on aging and death, “One More Day,” was released earlier this month through Boyle & Dalton Publishing. The novel is available at Epic Books and Dark Star Books and Comics in Yellow Springs.
- Agraria’s Pathways to Regeneration conference to ‘honor water’
This weekend’s event, which opens Friday morning, Nov. 5, features talks, performances and panel discussions by a lineup of presenters whose research, professional work, activism and art have connections to water.
- COVID-19 Update — November 4, 2021
The Ohio Department of Health, or ODH, reported Monday, Nov. 1, that the Centers for Disease Control was expected this week to recommend the Pfizer COVID-19 pediatric vaccine for children 5–11 years old.
- COVID-19 Update — October 28, 2021
Ohio reached a milestone in cumulative COVID-19 case numbers last week, topping the 1.5 million mark on Tuesday, Oct. 19, with 1,503,102 positive tests reported since the state’s first cases were logged in early March 2020.
- Local arts collective Toadstool Shadow releases album
When was the last time you listened to an album about rabbits, fairies, robotic elves and invisible mountains? If you are so inclined, the answer to that question can be “today.”
- 2021 Election results
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, Yellow Springs voters weighed in on a variety of races and issues including Village Council, school board, Miami Township trustees, jail and school facilities levies, among other items.
- Villagers give feedback on citizen review board
In their regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 18, Council members dedicated time to hear public feedback on their Oct. 4 meeting with Larry James, the attorney Council hired to review the proposal for a citizen review board, or CRB.
- Buck runs amok in downtown Yellow Springs
On Friday, Oct. 29, at about 7:45 p.m., a deer went on a brief, yet dramatic rampage in downtown Yellow Springs.
- A Yellow Springs Almanack — Oct. 29–Nov. 4
The Travelling Toad and Frog Moon entered its final quarter on October 28 and wanes throughout the week ahead, becoming the new Deer Rutting Moon.
- 2021 Election — Five candidates compete for Yellow Springs Board of Education
Five nonincumbent candidates are vying for three seats on the Yellow Springs Board of Education on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
- Mills Lawn students bid farewell to Chief Carlson
Carlson, who has been with the Yellow Springs Police Department for 12 years — five of those as chief — is leaving the force in November.
- Candidates sound off at two forums
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 19 and 20, candidates for Miami Township trustee, school board, mayor and Village Council addressed community members in the Mills Lawn gym.
- COVID-19 Update — October 21, 2021
A decline over the past several weeks in COVID-19 numbers for Ohio, Greene County and the 45387 ZIP code suggest that an anticipated mid-October peak may have been reached earlier than expected.
- Down to Earth — Meet the Sustainability Champions
“I created the Sustainability Champions program to encourage and support community members, providing them with guidance via connections with community leaders, local stakeholders and area experts.”
- Wellness Center reopens to Antioch students
After being closed for over 18 months, the Antioch College Wellness Center has now reopened its doors to Antioch students.
- YSDC puts Mills Lawn discussion on hold
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation has deferred its plans “to help shape the future” of the Mills Lawn Elementary School property until after the November election, when voters decide the fate of a proposed levy to build a K–12 facility at the current location of the middle/high school campus.
- Opinion | Dave Chappelle’s views on gender are problematic and hurtful
“I am a transgender woman living here in Yellow Springs and I would like to address the recent comments that my fellow resident, Dave Chappelle, has made regarding transgender people.”
- Compassionate justice group reports findings
Greene County Coalition for Compassionate Justice, or GCCCJ, held a public online meeting Tuesday, Oct. 5 to relay the findings of its Greene County Pretrial System Assessment Report. The report was issued to provide greater context around Issue 1, a proposed levy to build a new jail.
- Planning Commission weighs downtown parking options
On Tuesday, Oct. 12, Planning Commission created a list of recommendations for Village Council to consider regarding downtown parking by a unanimous vote of 5–0.
- COVID-19 Update — October 14, 2021
The total number of positive cases in Ohio since the pandemic began rose to 1,467,331 on Sunday, Oct. 10, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
- Little Thunders — Everyday is Indigenous Peoples Day
“Today, Indigenous people are reclaiming our history, knowledge and teachings and owning our narratives so that we may uplift our communities and pass on our legacies to the next generation of leaders.”
- Wheeling Gaunt sculpture unveiled in downtown Yellow Springs
Standing over six-feet tall and glinting with a deep bronze exterior, a lifesize statue of 19th-century Yellow Springs resident, philanthropist and formerly enslaved man Wheeling Gaunt, was unveiled on Saturday, Oct. 2, to joyous celebration and fanfare.
- New bookmobile revs into action
Back in August, booklovers from around the county gathered at the Fairborn Community Library to help dedicate the Greene County Public Library system’s latest asset: its brand new bookmobile.
- 2021 Election: Hollister and Pallotta contend for Miami Township Trustee seats
Four Miami Township residents are looking for votes to fill two Township seats in the upcoming November election. Here, the News featured profiles of two of the four candidates, Don Hollister and Dino Pallotta.
- 2021 Election: Swinger and Moir contend for Miami Township Trustee seats
Four Miami Township residents are looking for votes to fill two Township seats in the upcoming November election. Here, the News featured profiles of two of the three nonincumbent candidates, Denise Swinger and Marilan Moir.
- Family finds refuge in village from Hurricane Ida
Newly returned to town after an extended stay in Louisiana, Yellow Springs resident Khara Scott-Bey wants to challenge the community to extend its hospitality to Patrick Bowman Sr. and his family, who left New Orleans after Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, Aug. 29.
- COVID-19 Update — October 7, 2021
The Ohio Department of Health, or ODH, on Saturday, Sept. 25, updated its guidance for COVID-19 vaccination booster shots.
- Zoning OKs four new Chappelle shows
In a 3–2 vote Thursday, Sept. 23, the Miami Township Board of Zoning Appeals granted a temporary use variance allowing locally based comedian Dave Chappelle to present four new ticketed shows at the Wirrig family’s pavilion just north of Yellow Springs.
- Yellow Springs Dog Park to open soon
Canines, rejoice! The Yellow Springs Dog Park announced this week that it will be “open for play” beginning Saturday, Oct. 9.
- Continued coverage— New president takes the helm at Antioch College
On the job since mid-August, Jane Fernandes is the college’s second female president since its founding in 1850 and its third president since reopening in 2011 after a three-year closure.
- Local artist plants early reading seeds with ‘One Tomato’ illustrations
With a large pair of orange garden gloves gently tending a tomato seedling, the book “One Tomato” begins. The colorful counting board book, released this summer by Rubber Ducky Press, was illustrated by villager and 2016 YSHS graduate Anna Mullin, and is aimed at ages 2 to 4.
- 2021 Local Election: Curliss, Housh, Stokes vie for Council
The News spotlighted the three incumbents, Council President Brian Housh and Council members Kevin Stokes and Laura Curliss.
- Mary Gail Simpson to join Greene County Women’s Hall of Fame
Mary Gail Simpson, who is 83, will be honored at the annual Recognition Day Luncheon at Walnut Grove Country Club in Riverside on Saturday, Sept. 25, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
- Yellow Springs High School premieres monologues with ‘edge’
“Talking With…” will be staged in the Agraria barn on Friday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25 and 26, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Dave Chappelle seeks four more Wirrig shows
A request concerning locally based comedian Dave Chappelle was among several zoning-related matters discussed during the most recent meeting of the Miami Township Trustees on Wednesday, Sept. 8.
- ‘Loud As the Rolling Sea’— Yvonne Seon on Black studies, history
In collaboration with 91.3-FM WYSO’s Eichelberger Center for Community Voices, the News is publishing excerpted transcripts from WYSO’s series “Loud As the Rolling Sea.”
- Process, ethics clarified in joint Council and Planning Commission meeting
In recent months, a number of conditional use applications for construction projects around the village have either been approved by the Village’s Planning Commission, or are in the pipeline for approval
- 2021 Local Election: Osterholm and Brown vie for Council
Seven villagers are looking for votes to fill three contested Council seats in the upcoming November election. Here the News spotlights the other two nonincumbents: Scott Osterholm, who ran for Council in 1993, and first-time candidate Carmen Brown, known locally as Carmen Lee.
- 2021 Local Election: Burke and Walker vie for Council
Seven villagers are looking for votes to fill three contested Council seats in the upcoming November election. This week, the News will spotlight two first-time candidates, Linsday Burke and Issa Walker, who answered questions from the News in emailed responses.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation outlines Mills Lawn plan
Development of a plan for the Mills Lawn Elementary School building and property at the center of town has been set in motion.
- COVID-19 update: Cases and hospitalizations continue to escalate
The wave of cases and hospitalizations continue to escalate at an alarming rate; the Ohio Hospital Association reported that COVID-19 currently accounts for one out of seven hospitalizations in the state.
- Yellow Springs Planning Commission approves Chappelle comedy club
Construction will soon be underway for local comedian Dave Chappelle’s planned comedy club and restaurant at 225 Corry St.
- Staff changes at the Yellow Springs News
Cheryl Durgans has been named editor, Tim Walker will soon fill the role of advertising sales manager and Lynda Love Highlander has become the office and circulation manager.
- Little Art Theatre’s new managing director settles in
As the Little Art celebrates nearly 92 years of operation, Kristina Heaton, its newly hired managing director, is making it her personal mission to continue building a legacy that reflects the values of the theater and of the Yellow Springs community.
- Black Farming Conference set
The Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice — in partnership with Antioch College, Central State University and The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center — will present the Second Annual Black Farming Conference on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10 and 11.
- Master of ‘Cue’s triumphant return
Welcome to the barbecue pit, where the fire is hot and gives everything a smoky savor. This is where villager Erica Roby has found her calling; and there, she is called “Master of ’Cue.”
- News from the Past — July & August 2021
25 years ago: 1996 — Two local men injured in Atlanta bomb blast. Yellow Springs High School graduates Lynn Smith, 34, and Eric Johnson, 30, were seriously injured in the early morning explosion of a bomb that shook Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Ga.
- Down to Earth — Help to craft sustainability plan
“Given this history and the wealth of expertise in our community, we’re long overdue for a comprehensive Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, or CASP.”
- West Nile Virus detected in Bellbrook mosquitoes
Greene County Public Health received notice from the Ohio Department of Health, or ODH, that West Nile Virus was detected in a mosquito sample sent to ODH.
- Chamber Music in Yellow Springs returns for 2021-2022 season
Chamber Music in Yellow Springs, or CMYS, will be returning to in-person concerts this season, with some innovations — including providing livestreaming.
- COVID cases prompt temporary closure at YS Community Children’s Center
Emotions are frayed among families and staff affiliated with the Yellow Springs Children’s Center, which has closed its doors until Sept. 7 in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 among students and teachers.
- Two election petitions rejected in YS school board race
Two Yellow Springs School Board incumbents, Vice President Aïda Mehermic and first-term member Steve McQueen will not be eligible to run for office in the 2021 election cycle because their petitions were not certified by the Greene County Board of Elections, or BOE.
- Continued coverage— Yellow Springs police chief resigns
On Wednesday, Aug. 18, the Village of Yellow Springs announced in a press release that Yellow Springs Police Chief Brian Carlson had resigned.
- Climate Action and Sustainability Plan underway in Yellow Springs
Piper Fernwey worked at colleges and companies across the midwest developing farm-to-table programs and climate change responses. At Denison University, she helped the cafeteria source 40% of its food locally. Now, the Clifton resident is tasked with drafting a Climate Action and Sustainability Plan for the Village of Yellow Springs.
- Yellow Springs Instruments— Model 23A’s revolutionary legacy
Alan Brunsman, who worked for the vast majority of his career at YSI, sat down with the News recently to tell the long and complicated story of the groundbreaking Model 23A.
- New beginnings for YS schools
The first day of classes for Yellow Springs Schools was Monday, Aug. 23. And while the start of a new academic year is typically cause for heightened emotion — whether excitement or dread — this new start contains more feeling than typical years past.
- Greene County jail tax is back on ballot
After voters rejected a proposed sales tax increase to build a new jail in 2020, Greene County Commissioners are asking them to approve a sales tax for a slightly smaller jail this fall.
- Open house for Glen Cottages
In the face of unprecedented COVID-19 construction challenges and obstacles, Glen Cottages, an affordable housing development located at 1133 Xenia Ave., will soon be ready for move-in.
- A fond farewell to Coach Jimmy
Summer after summer after summer, villagers have seen him out on the T-ball diamond at Gaunt Park every Friday night: baseball hat perched on his head, hair tied back in a ponytail, a big grin spreading across his face, surrounded by laughing, shouting kids.
- Poverty the focus of local simulation
On Wednesday, June 30, 28 villagers pondered these and other dilemmas facing fictional characters in the Virtual Cost of Poverty Experience, a 90-minute poverty simulation that is designed to help people better understand the effects of poverty.
- Candidates file for fall races
More candidates may be vying for public office this fall than in recent years. Last week, 20 people seeking local office filed petitions with the Greene County Board of Elections ahead of the Aug. 4 deadline.
- COVID-19 Update — August 5, 2021
COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the state and county due to the highly contagious Delta variant. Ohio’s COVID-19 per capita case incidence rate rose to 77.4 cases per 100,000 for the two weeks ending July 29, up from 48.5 for the two weeks prior.
- Tin Can Economy — A space in the school for the swifts
Walk over to the Union School House on a clear late summer evening and you’ll see them. Swooping and darting through the dusk, conducting aerial dramas against the backdrop of a setting sun: chimney swifts. Hundreds of them.
- Continued coverage— Plea deal in stabbing death
A Yellow Springs native accused in the stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal with the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office.
- Yellow Springs schools to require masks
The beginning of the new school year this month will look a lot like the end of last year for Yellow Springs district students, at least in terms of COVID-19 precautions.
- Taekwondo expert to teach self-defense class
Master Christina Bayley, owner of Total Taekwondo Fitness, is hosting a self-defense class in Yellow Springs on Aug. 21 for ages 13 and up. Students will learn defense tactics and the best time to use them.
- Village PO clerk documents living with ‘long COVID’
Most Americans are familiar with the most common symptoms of the illness caused by the coronavirus: fever, shortness of breath, sore throat, persistent cough, and loss of taste and/or smell. But what about when the symptoms of COVID linger, unfurling beyond two to six weeks into long months? What happens when those symptoms shift and evolve?
- Introducing: The Ohio Coffee Co.
Coming soon to the village is Ohio Coffee Co., a coffee shop, espresso bar and bakery that caters to the whole family including members with four paws.
- MVECA to move, expand — New owners for 888 Dayton Street
Yellow Springs-based information technology provider, Miami Valley Educational Computer Association, or MVECA, has purchased 888 Dayton Street.
- Perry League’s ‘Busy, busy, busy’ field
“And that’s our rain-soaked, muddy July 16 Perry League, Yellow Springs’ T-ball program for all kids 2–9 years of age, regardless of their race, color, creed, sexual orientation, ethnicity, spiritual inclination or practice, ability or disability.”
- Continued coverage — YSDC to run Wellness Center
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation is finalizing an agreement with the college to reopen the fitness center, which has been shuttered since March 14, 2020.
- The Dharma of the Springs
To find the Middle Path and follow the Dharma of Siddharta Gautama, one need not venture far here in the Springs.
- 365 Project — Exploring Black ancestry at Glen Forest Cemetery
On Saturday, July 24, people slowly trickled into Glen Forest cemetery, lingering near the cannon commemorating the service of veterans during the Civil War, including Black soldiers who are buried in the cemetery.
- Antioch College names new president
The Antioch College Board of Trustees announced this week that it has selected Dr. Jane Fernandes as the college’s new president.
- Chamber of Commerce faces backlash over director’s posts
Just 13 days after being hired, Elizabeth Ford is no longer the executive director of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce.
- Miami Township Trustees — Public input for pandemic-related funding?
At both of its July meetings, Miami Township Trustees Chris Mucher and Don Hollister discussed the possible use of nearly $130,000 in federal funds coming to the township through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, or ARP.
- Development group plans LLC
Without public discussion or explanation of its intended focus, the Yellow Springs Development Corp., or YSDC, recently approved “the formation of an LLC for development purposes,” earmarking $3,000 for the effort.
- Watering hole
Village street crew members repaired a broken leaking water line under Dayton Street near Kenneth Hamilton Way on Monday, July 26.
- Mud-soaked fun at Perry League
“And that’s our rain-soaked, muddy July 16 Perry League, Yellow Springs’ T-ball program for all kids 2–9 years of age, regardless of their race, color, creed, sexual orientation, ethnicity, spiritual inclination or practice, ability or disability.”
- Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse now casting ‘The Time Machine’
Celebrating its 27th year, the Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse will explore a world decimated by climate change in its performance of “The Time Machine,” by H.G. Wells. The show is currently being cast and will premiere this fall.
- YS Development Corporation explores new loan program
At its most recent meeting, on Tuesday, July 13, conducted online, the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, took action toward addressing a perceived deficiency in the local financing of for-profit economic development projects.
- Plea deal reached in Clark stabbing death
A Yellow Springs native accused in the stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal with the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office.
- Brewers season champs in Minors
Yellow Springs Youth Baseball regular season wrapped up this week for the Minors division with the Nipper’s Corner Brewers finishing as the regular season champion.
- New era, location for WYSO
This article looks more deeply at WYSO’s plans for the Union School House that were announced in last week’s News.
- COVID-19 Update
After a three-month decline, COVID-19 cases in Ohio and Greene County increased over the week. It follows a national trend of growing caseloads, which is associated with the much more contagious strain of COVID-19 known as the Delta variant.
- Love and energy at Perry League
“You might have a nice little laugh and maybe a bit of fun, a few moments of joy, should you join us at Gaunt Park. These kids and their families are terrific people full of love and energy, goodness and grace — so why don’t you treat yourself? Come on out. We’d love to have you.”
- Down to Earth — Recycling confusion
The throwaway plastic that holds our takeout food and wraps our dry cleaning is widely seen as one of the world’s biggest environmental hazards. It pollutes as it is produced, through the extraction of fossil fuels, and no sooner than it is used, it pollutes again.
- YS school board — Facilities levy set for ballot
After months of incremental steps leading toward the goal of putting a nearly $35.6 million facilities levy on the November ballot, the Yellow Springs school board has taken the final move necessary to place the measure before district voters this fall.
- Lumber yard to be market, eatery
Once renovated, the Lumber Co. Market & Eatery, at 108 Cliff Street, would transform what is currently a storage facility along the bike path into an open public space where villagers and visitors can shop, dine and work.
- Guilty plea in YS stabbing death
A Yellow Springs native accused in the stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal with the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office.
- Appreciative Living — What are you thinking?
Metacognitive thinking, according to one definition, is an awareness of one’s own thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them.
- Plea change scheduled in Clark murder case
The former classmate and friend accused of murder in the 2019 stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark is scheduled for a plea change hearing on Wednesday, July 21.
- ‘Loud As the Rolling Sea’ series launched— WYSO airs Black YS elders’ stories
Named after a lyric in the civil rights standard, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” local public radio station WYSO’s new series, “Loud As the Rolling Sea,” brings to the airwaves stories of African American life in mid-20th century Yellow Springs.
- Mullin takes helm at the Yellow Springs Senior Center
Local resident Caroline Mullin recently was named the executive director of the Yellow Springs Senior Center, or YSSC, and she brings with her a vision for the center as a place for resources and meaningful engagement for people of all ages.
- Board of Zoning Appeals says no to Agraria barn rental
School group visits are OK. Renting out a historic barn for weddings and other social or community events is not. Setting up a farm store or stand is fine. Renting a conference room to other groups is questionable.
- Perry League — Bright-eyed and back at the tee
Tie-dyed T-shirts and joyfully shrieking kids can only mean one thing: Perry League T-ball, with Coach Jimmy, is back again after a year’s absence.
- Union School House site for WYSO
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, July 13, Planning Commission approved a major renovation and addition at the historic Union School House for the new site of the local radio station WYSO.
- YS school board— Facilities levy moves forward
As anticipated, the Yellow Springs school board on Friday morning, June 25, took the first step in putting a levy measure on the November ballot to pay for the proposed construction of a K–12 school, projected to cost nearly $35.6 million, at the current site of the middle/high school campus on East Enon Road.
- Miami Township Trustees— In-person meetings return
Fifteen months after the pandemic lockdown began, and with it a transition to conducting Miami Township business through online video conference calls, the Township Trustees returned to in-person meetings Monday, June 21.
- Little Thunders — Advice, medicine for Antioch graduates
“And so I offer you — graduates of Antioch — advice grounded in my Anishinaabe teachings of a way forward in all four directions. East is the direction of beginnings, and the teachings from the east remind us that all life is spirit — the wind, earth, fire, and water, all those things that are alive with energy and movement.”
- MacQueen off YSDC
The June meeting of the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, began with the surprise announcement that Marianne MacQueen, one of Village Council’s two representatives on the semi-governmental group, was “stepping down effective immediately.”
- YS Senior Center founder to be memorialized — Plaque to honor Rev. Dr. Matthews
The Rev. Matthews’ contributions and legacy were honored in a virtual program Thursday, June 24, by the Senior Center. Matthews’ family, center members, villagers and community organization representatives gathered to honor his contributions both to the center and to the village.
- Reparations fund to address past injustice
Though the national conversation around reparations began again in earnest last year as Americans took to the streets in protest over the police killings of Black Americans, that conversation continues to stall over a series of sticking points: What should reparations look like? To whom should they be granted? And who should pay them?
- The Briar Patch — The architecture of community
“Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that dwellings have meaning beyond an individual’s portfolio investment and can be designed in such a way as to protect people, transform and shift functions beyond a shelf life of 50 or 60 years.”
- Appreciative Living — How are you feeling?
We all have just experienced one of the most devastating and seemingly never-ending global pandemics that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. So, I ask again: How are you feeling?
- Down to Earth launches
“Down to Earth,” a new monthly column, will concentrate on environmental issues related to the village, embedded in the understanding of climate change, the need for community resilience and sustainability, and the restoration of native habitat.
- A new face for Village Mediation
For over 30 years, the Village of Yellow Springs has prided itself on its Village Mediation Program, whose goal is helping residents of the village and Miami Township transform conflict into understanding. This year, the program will continue serving the community under new leadership.
- Site design unveiled— Gaunt sculpture park eyed
After three years, the Wheeling Gaunt sculpture is nearing completion. Anticipating a September unveiling, Village Council heard about plans for the sculpture’s placement in a downtown park at its June 21 regular meeting.
- News from the Past — June 2021
100 years ago: 1921 — Boat stolen. “NOTICE: The parties who have taken the boat off Bryan Park Lake are known, unless it is returned at once prosecution will follow.” Read more News from the Past, as compiled by contributing writer, Don Hollister.
- ‘This Time This Place’— Chappelle documentary debuts
As New York City audiences went back inside theaters last weekend, the first show on the docket was the premiere of a new documentary set in Yellow Springs.
- Corner Cone finds new owner
Villager Matt Kirk has purchased the Corner Cone Dairy Bar and Grill, with plans to reopen the longtime ice cream stand next month.
- Local elections— Two Miami Township Trustee seats in play
Two out of three Miami Township Trustee seats — those currently held by Mark Crockett and Don Hollister — are in play in the upcoming elections this November.
- YS school facilities— BOE weighs levy ask
Having last month approved a $35.5 million master plan to construct a K–12 school at the middle/high school campus on East Enon Road, the Yellow Springs school board is nearing a decision about a levy measure to support the project.
- Sankofa Talk — Save us from UpSouth Ohio
“Jim Crow, 80 years of convict leasing, systemic discrimination, wanton police brutality, and relentless voter suppression since 1865, have literally destroyed the lives and aspirations of millions of Black people.”
- YS Pride celebrates 10 years
The 10th annual YS Pride celebration is slated to be held on Saturday, June 26, at Antioch Midwest. In celebration of the anniversary of YS Pride, this year’s celebration will feature a variety of events and experiences.
- 10-Minute Play Festival is back
Performances are slated for Friday and Saturday, June 25 and 26, at 7 p.m. on the south lawn of Yellow Springs High School. The event is free and open to the public, but $10 donations to the company are encouraged.
- Longtime Mills Lawn teachers retire
This is the second of two articles featuring teachers who have retired from the local school district this academic year.
- Beya Skincare Studio opens
Nestled comfortably in cozy suite No. 3 at 100 Corry Street, the newly opened business owned by Belinda Stephens will cater to the skin care needs of Yellow Springs residents.
- Little Thunders— Prepare yourself
“Two-hundred-and-fifteen children’s bodies were recently found in a mass grave at an Indian boarding school site. When I heard the news, I fell to my knees, sobbing. Beautiful Indigenous children who were discarded, hidden and never to be heard from again. Until now.”
- Juneteenth celebrations in the village
In January of this year, Village Council passed a resolution that recognized Juneteenth as an official holiday in Yellow Springs; in March, the day was adopted as a paid holiday for Village employees. This weekend, the community at large will observe Juneteenth with two celebrations on Saturday, June 19.
- At Agraria— ‘Nourishing Life’ conference set
Agraria will present a free, virtual conference, “Nourishing Life,” Friday and Saturday, June 18 and 19. The conference aims to inspire and inform those attending to imagine regenerative solutions to climate crises, chronic disease and major threats to the worldwide food supply.
- Giving Circle inspires philanthropists
The idea is quite simple; anyone can join the group with a small sum of money. The group started out with a $10 donation fee per person per month to be a part of the group.
- Latest Kieth’s Alley mural complete— Unpacking the ‘Tarot of America’
Located on the rear of the building that houses Current Cuisine/Dark Star Comics/Pangaea, which has been a “free wall” since 1988, the “Tarot of America” features a panoply of social justice themes.
- Email sparks legal concern
The ground rules for who can support levy campaigns, and when and how they do it, arose this week when a community member questioned the legality of an email forwarded by the Yellow Springs Schools district office.
- Teachers Morgan, Nickell to retire
As the 2020–21 school year — a unique one by any standard — came to a close, so did the years of service provided by five educators in the local school system.
- Little Thunders— Opening up
“I ask myself — has there ever been ‘normal?’ In my own perspective, there have always been waves of coming in and going out. A reverence for the care of the community and the care for our planet, our land and our waters, is an Indigenous way of being.”
- Glen Helen seeks power plant demolition
The News takes a closer look at the Glen Helen Association’s plans to demolish a now-shuttered power plant site and restore the area, the plant’s history and the current state of the former plant.
- News from the Past — May 2021
25 years ago: 1996 — Glass Farm plans. “Village Council agreed recently to commit a portion of the Village-owned Glass Farm to a development of affordable homes.” Read more News from the Past, as compiled by contributing writer, Don Hollister.
- Discounts for locals at Emporium
After raising its prices on some goods to keep up with rising costs, the Emporium implemented the program to offset the price for locals.
- YS school board— Deficit delayed by one year
Revenue over the past 10 months is about $500,000 ahead of budgeted projections, while expenses are about $500,000 under budget.
- Review— Queer poems as Midwest field guide
Sometimes pastoral, sometimes confessional, “evening primroses” roots out what it means to move through a changing landscape as a changing self.
- Planning Commission— Cresco to expand, add jobs
Local medical marijuana producer Cresco Labs is planning a $40 million expansion at its Yellow Springs facility over the next five years, with plans to add 140 jobs over that time.
- COVID-19 update— Greene goes down to ‘orange’
In recent weeks, cases of COVID-19 in the county, and the state, have plummeted, and are now on par with levels seen during the summer of 2020. It’s been over two weeks since a new COVID-19 case was recorded in the 45387 area code.
- News from the Past — Memorial Day, 1958
With two school bands, the American Legion and Legion Auxiliary, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and Brownies made its traditional parade to Glen Forest Cemetery to hold Memorial Day services.
- School board OK’s new K–12 plan
The projected cost is about $35.5 million, though the district expects an eventual state reimbursement of 26%, more than $9.2 million.
- COVID-19 update— State health orders end June 2
In Ohio, COVID-19 cases are falling. Vaccination eligibility is expanding. Masks are coming off. As a result, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week that most of the remaining health orders initially put in place last year will be lifted June 2.
- ‘Please Stand By’— Play captures pandemic year
“Please Stand By,” an approximately 60-minute work in one act, captures a year in the life of local students. But not just any year. The pandemic year, when previously normal life was put on hold, is the focus.
- Planning Commission— Home approved for classes
A conditional use application submitted by Theodora Stephan to build a 4,000-square-foot single-family dwelling with a large commercial kitchen for culinary classes and special dinner events was approved by the Village Planning Commission at its May 11 meeting.
- YSHS 2021 graduation speakers— Finding direction amid atypical year
Natalie Galarza and Kayla Ross were the two seniors chosen to speak for their class at Thursday evening’s Yellow Springs High School commencement ceremony.
- Facilities survey— Many reluctant to hike taxes
The results of a new survey that polled Yellow Springs school district voters about their views concerning local school facilities — and the anticipated $30 million to $35 million cost to undertake major renovations or build new — suggest a dilemma for district leaders.
- The Briar Patch— Zoning battles, a Mother’s Day story
It is in the spirit of these Black mothers I say Happy Mother’s Day. Keep fighting the good fight for social justice and change.
- South end development— County approves annex
During their regular meeting on April 29, the Greene County Board of Commissioners unanimously granted an annexation petition from Oberer Land Developers to add their 34 acres of land in Miami Township to the southern edge of Yellow Springs.
- Planning Commission— ‘Safari Place’ approved
A new local business is looking to host car shows and charity events, sell cars and campers and run area kayak tours.
- ‘Celebration and solidarity’— Panel to discuss AAPI heritage
At home in Yellow Springs, as elsewhere in the country, community members of AAPI heritage are making plans to use this month as a bolster to speak out against racism — but also to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of culture that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders living in Yellow Springs bring to their village.
- Return of the Magi(cicada)
By now, many of us are aware that southwestern Ohio will experience a mass emergence of periodical cicadas (Magicicada species) this Spring. Here are a couple of scientific tidbits and fun facts that may be just enough to impress your friends and maybe win a round of trivia or two.
- New MLS principal named
Megan Winston, a vice principal at Xenia High School, is expected to be approved at this week’s regular Yellow Springs school board meeting as the next principal at Mills Lawn Elementary School.
- Community Supported Art— ‘Shares’ connect artists, patrons
Developed last year and launching for its inaugural season this summer, the Yellow Springs-based community supported art program will provide art lovers with a new way to support independent makers and artists.
- Miami Township— Old firehouse utility fees in dispute
There is a question about who is responsible for the utility fees after the YSDC announced the pending sale to Chappelle in December until the final closing in March. The YSDC thinks the Township is still responsible; the Township disagrees.
- Little Thunders— Decolonization isn’t a metaphor
“The people who created the original lies about the Indigenous, the colonists, aren’t alive any longer, but the system they left in place favors a few, and not for the benefit of the many — certainly not for the benefit of future generations.”
- From internment camps to Antioch
Antioch College was one of several hundred colleges and universities that offered to educate American citizens with Japanese heritage.
- Utility-scale solar firm applies for state permit
A Texas company looking to build a 1,500-acre, 175-megawatt solar power project in Greene County has applied for a permit.
- Sankofa Talk — The New Jim Crow Playbook, again
“I am writing this just a few hours after the jury in the Derek Chauvin murder trial went into deliberations. There very well may be a verdict by the time this is published. It has been a blood-curdling experience listening to the defense attorney grasping for straws in his attempt to win the day for his client.”
- Mills Lawn School principal finalists named
The school district announced earlier this week that a 12-member interview committee had selected Cheryl Lowe, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, and Megan Winston, an assistant principal at Xenia High School, as the top candidates.
- News from the Past
In last week’s “News from the Past” column, contributing writer Don Hollister did another dive into the YS News archives and compiled some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Marches and Aprils.
- Yellow Springs schools— Plan addresses learning losses
Concerned about the educational setbacks experienced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Department of Education has required all districts in the state to submit a document detailing how they plan to assess and then address potential learning losses or delays.
- ‘Pet project’— Donation assures dog park’s future
Area residents — both two- and four-legged — will soon have something to wag their tails about: the long-anticipated Yellow Springs Dog Park is set to open at Gaunt Park this September.
- COVID-19 update— Virus developments mixed
Thirteen months into the coronavirus pandemic, a weary public is wondering what’s next. Is another wave of COVID-19 coming? Can the vaccination campaign keep it at bay? Where is the illness now spreading? When will herd immunity be reached?
- Getting a handle on conflict
This month, the Village Mediation Program — which has helped individuals and organizations navigate conflict for nearly 34 years — offers villagers the opportunity to learn more about the resources it offers.
- Glen Helen’s first six months
Recalling the events of the past year in which the COVID-19 global pandemic almost forced the closure of the nature preserve deeply loved by the community, Executive Director Nick Boutis laid out the picture from a year ago.
- Person to take ‘different path’
Michelle Person, who is finishing her first year as principal at Mills Lawn Elementary School, formally announced her resignation, effective June 30, during the most recent school board meeting Thursday, April 8.
- Earth Day 2021— Ecologically conscious villagers share efforts
In honor of Earth Day, April 22, Village Council vice president and Council liaison to the Environmental Commission Marianne MacQueen interviewed several villagers to learn more about what they are doing to care for the Earth and what their motivations are.
- Suspect faces new charges
New charges have been filed against the former classmate and friend accused of murder in the 2019 stabbing death of Leonid “Lonya” Clark. But the additional charges, which involve possible child pornography, appear to be separate from the homicide case.
- COVID-19 update— New orders clarify, simplify
The health department rescinded all the state orders put in place since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, and replaced them with a single five-page document.
- Forums invite facilities input
The Yellow Springs school facilities master planning process is continuing to move forward, and district Superintendent Terri Holden expects to take a proposal to the school board in a specially called meeting later this month.
- More businesses, institutions talk reopening
After more than a year of temporarily shuttered buildings, virtual-only programming and uncertain futures due to the pandemic, villagers may see a few more “open” signs downtown over the coming weeks — although some doors will remain closed for the time being.
- Tin Can Economy— All tomorrow’s liminal spaces
If the spaces we inhabit tend to reflect our inner selves, and vice versa, then we ought to confront the ways in which we expect our surroundings to adapt to the conditions of a future rife with challenges even greater than COVID-19.
- Young’s Jersey Dairy continues expansion
Changes are again coming to the growing food and entertainment destination, in part due to the pandemic. A new Dairy Store is under construction and a long-time restaurant is being turned into an event space.
- New directions for ‘Excursions’
Evan Miller, a lifetime neighbor to the Yellow Springs area from Enon, took over as full-time host of the three-hour weekday program “Excursions” at the beginning of February.
- The Briar Patch— Care for the caregivers
Caregiving is an extended lesson in patience that lives well beyond the moment — and in many ways is the ultimate life lesson in companionship combined with perseverance.
- COVID-19 Update
As of Tuesday, March 30, 28.4% of the population of the state had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including 71% of those 70 and older.
- Looking ahead to local races
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, local voters will decide who will serve as Council members and mayor starting four-year terms on Jan. 1, 2022. Out of the five current Council members, three seats held by Laura Curliss, Kevin Stokes and Council President Brian Housh are in play.
- Thought for Food— Beer cheese soup
This recipe yields a prima donna of a soup, one which requires a lot of attention and encouragement.
- Schools facilities improvements— How much could it cost?
At a community outreach forum on Wednesday, March 17, local district leaders and the district’s architect consultant, SHP of Cincinnati, shared various tax options for funding school facilities improvements.
- News from the Past: Gov. DeWine’s first vaccine
This isn’t Gov. DeWine’s first brush with vaccinations. While digging through the archives, Yellow Springs News production team recently uncovered a photo of DeWine receiving his polio vaccine in 1955.
- Yellow Springs Brewery’s second taproom set to open
Barrel aged beers, mixed fermentation sours and brand favorites will be among the beverages featured at Yellow Springs Brewery’s second local taproom, the Barrel Room, set to open in a former bowling alley on the south side of town.
- News from the Future
“Council will unveil plans to raze Beatty-Hughes Park after a lost addendum is found to the last will and testament of William Mills, indicating his intention that the land be turned into a parking lot.”
- Traffic safety pattern snares parents, drivers
What started out as another attempt at reworking traffic flow to accommodate student drop-off at Mills Lawn School turned into a dystopian, one-dimensional nightmare of automotive agony and no escape.
- Remote possibilities— Plague lifestyle may be money saver
The Yellow Springs Snooze is taking the lemons the current pandemic has given it, and is about to make some fine hay. Drawing inspiration from its ongoing lessons in remote production of its weekly product, the Snooze is rolling out the next logical step in decentralization: remote printing.
- Activists shed light on plight— ‘Save the Lamps’ heats up
The divisive campaign to “Save the Antioch Lamps’’ has recently gained momentum. The controversy over the college’s appliances has torn the social fabric of the village asunder.
- Welcome to newest visitors
For members of Magicicada septendecim, Yellow Springs is the perfect destination for their four- to six-week freelove fest that comes once every 17 years.
- One size fits all— Building slated for Short St.
At a recent meeting of Planning Commission, Amalgam Development presented the first rendering of its new energy-coherent, hybrid-concept, collective-purpose complex, which the company aims to open by April 1 of 2022.
- ‘What’s Done in the Dark’ — Play eyes racism, police violence
“What’s Done in the Dark” will be performed Friday and Saturday, April 2 and 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in the Paul Robeson Cultural and Performing Arts Center at Central State University. The performance will be streamed live at the same time at facebook.com/CentralState87 and youtube.com/CentralState87. Admission to the in-person performance is by donation; the play may be streamed for free.
- Little Thunders— This moment is profound
Today we know the future includes us, for we are the Indigenous people. We are meant to know our languages, our plants, our medicines and our traditions. We are meant to be in relationship with this land.
- Antioch adapts, holds on
For a fledgling institution 10 years into its new incarnation, the COVID-19 pandemic brought additional challenges and scrutiny.
- Chamber interim director— Scott settles into new role
Alexandra Scott is is going into her fifth month as its interim director of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce. Recently, the News checked in with Scott to see how it was going.
- ‘Open Air Village’— Where kids, nature take the lead
Open Air Village focuses on child-led education and, as suggested by its name, is committed to keeping its young students engaged with nature by spending large swaths of the school day outside.
- Rotary comes to Yellow Springs
At a time when traditional civic organizations are experiencing steep declines in membership, a local man has organized a Yellow Springs-based affiliate to one of the most traditional civic clubs in the country — The Rotary.
- Little Thunders— Native made or Native inspired?
Colonization has devastating effects on Native people. It is the concept of taking something that does not belong to you, establishing control over it, and trying to profit from it. This is the goal of these so-called Native images, and we cannot sugar coat this reality.
- Yellow Springs schools— BOE approves 100% in-person instruction
More than a year after all K–12 schools in Ohio temporarily closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and months after most neighboring districts returned to in-person instruction, Yellow Springs public school students will go back into the classroom full time beginning Monday, April 5.
- COVID-19 update— Vaccine eligibility for all to open March 29
On Monday, March 29, all Ohioans 16 and older will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. DeWine made the major announcement on Tuesday after dropping the age limit to 50 the week prior. Before that, the governor moved more slowly to expand access to the vaccine, which has been limited in supply.
- COVID-19 pandemic, one year in— Gov. DeWine: ‘victory is in sight’
Last week, DeWine even laid out a benchmark to lifting the mask mandate, limits on mass gatherings and other health orders put in place last year: Once new cases fall below 50 per 100,000 residents over a two-week period, all health orders will be rescinded entirely.
- COVID-19 update— Vaccine eligibility expands
Starting on Thursday, March 4, vaccines were to be available for those 60 and older, those with certain medical conditions and those working in law enforcement, childcare and funeral services.
- Sontag to retire from Xenia Shoe & Leather Repair after 38 years
Over the last few months, Tim Sontag has been doing his best to settle into a well-earned retirement. After 38 years of running Xenia Shoe & Leather Repair — a shop he founded — the longtime village resident has officially called it a career.
- Facilities options narrow
Presented with questions about their level of support for four proposed scenarios to address identified structural needs in the district’s schools, a majority of the participants at a community forum last week responded that they “strongly support” construction of a new K–12 facility at the current site of the middle/high school on East Enon Road.
- Mills Lawn greenspace— Group seeks preservation
Preserving greenspace on the Mills Lawn Elementary School property and developing a desirable facilities plan for the local schools are not mutually exclusive goals, say a group of residents calling for a portion of the Mills Lawn grounds to be set aside as a permanent community park.
- Yellow Springs schools— April 5 eyed for larger in-person return to classes
During a special work session of the Yellow Springs school board, conducted online Saturday morning, March 6, the district superintendent said she is working on a plan to increase students’ in-person classroom time to near pre-pandemic levels.
- ‘Fight hate with love’
Last weekend, local artist Pierre Nagley pasted a drawing of Emmitt Till on top of a Kieth’s Alley mural he painted last year of George Floyd that had been vandalized with white paint earlier in the week.
- For the 11th straight year— News wins top prize again
The Yellow Springs News has once again been recognized by its peers for excellence in journalism, advertising and design. The News was awarded the top prize — Newspaper of the Year — in the 2021 Ohio News Media Association weekly newspaper contest.
- The Briar Patch— Life cycles of community
Yellow Springers will soon be asked to support efforts to either build a new school or improve the structures that are already in place through a new school levy. Up until three years ago, a school levy passing in Yellow Springs had been a no-brainer for several generations.
- Scam calls target vaccine information
Greene County Public Health, or GCPH, recently announced that it has been alerted to the possibility of scam phone calls, texts and emails from people posing as public health officials.
- Health foods for YS — Rosie’s Natural Foods now open
On Monday, March 1, Richlen opened Rosie’s Natural Foods at 142 Dayton St., having purchased Starflower Natural Foods from Marnie Neumann in early February.
- YS Development Corporation— Goals, behavior discussed
Members of the quasi-governmental economic development group spent the majority of their last regular meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 2, discussing the organization’s purposes and goals as well as expectations for the content of group discussions.
- School facilities— Forum takes public pulse
Questions about costs, the future of the Mills Lawn school property and recommendations by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission dominated public comments last week during the first of three planned community forums to discuss the future of Yellow Springs’ public school buildings.
- Villager, realtor buys Millworks
At 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, Allison Moody’s company closed on its purchase of the Millworks business center. By Tuesday morning, its muddy parking lot had a fresh coat of gravel.
- Downtown George Floyd mural vandalized
The George Floyd mural in downtown Yellow Springs was discovered to be vandalized on Monday, March 1, around 11 a.m. White paint was apparently flung onto the mural, obscuring Floyd’s face as it appeared on the wall in Kieth’s Alley.
- COVID-19 vaccinations— Governor urges ‘persistence’
Speaking at a press briefing from his Cedarville Township home on Tuesday, Feb. 16, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he understands that some Ohioans are impatient with the pace of vaccination.
- Annual Gaunt event honors foundation, author
The third annual Wheeling Gaunt Community Service Award presentation event, sponsored by the Wheeling Gaunt Sculpture Project Committee and the YS Arts Council, was held virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
- Wrecking Racism— Staying informed, only to mourn
“One may question the movement in the forward direction, one may try to understand the experience of another, but how will there be a mending of relationships when the disconnect seems so severe?”
- Coming down with COVID— Villagers share virus battles
One year into the global coronavirus pandemic, 245 residents of the 45387 area code, which includes Yellow Springs and the surrounding rural area, have contracted the virus. That equates to one out of every 22 people living here.
- Schools facilities planning— District hones in on 4 options
The effort to develop a master plan for addressing identified building needs in Yellow Springs schools is moving along quickly, with four project scenarios emerging as the district’s leading options.
- Mental health considered in students’ return
Local data shows that an increased number of young people are struggling, and mental health care providers report that the severity of struggle is more pronounced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Briar Patch— A dilemma with good reason
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already catastrophic healthcare crisis in Black communities across the United States. The conversation around vaccinations must extend beyond forced mandates or anti-vaxxer tropes.
- YS Speech & Debate— Students find their voice
Whether sharing their own thoughts, presenting the words of another or arguing both sides of an issue, members of the Yellow Springs Speech & Debate team say they are finding power in their personal voices.
- New small business incubator— Coactive YS offer room to grow
The newly opened Coactive Yellow Springs, a collaborative working space, is the first small business incubator of its kind in the village.
- A win for quarry opponents
In December 2020, Citizens Against Mining celebrated another win — a private lawsuit settled in favor of five neighbors of the mine who successfully argued that Enon Sand and Gravel’s mining could damage their property values and private wells.
- Wrecking Racism— Youth voices needed now
The purpose of the column will be to provide an avenue for youth of the village to express their ideas, observations, experiences and thoughts about racism, race relations and related topics both locally and nationally.
- Miami Township Trustees Update — January 2021
The Miami Township Trustees meet the first and third Monday of each month beginning at 5 p.m. Meetings in January took place Monday, Jan. 4, and Wednesday, Jan. 20.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation— ‘Lessons learned’ in firehouse sale
“Lessons learned” is how YSDC President Abel framed the conversation, particularly in terms of the group’s biggest project, the sale of the former firehouse on Corry Street.
- Tracy Phillips takes reins at library
Yellow Springs native Tracy Phillps began her position as head librarian at the local branch of the Greene County Public Library in October of 2020.
- Bognar, Reichert film— The 9to5 movement
“9to5” premiered nationally on PBS’ Independent Lens program on Feb. 1. It will air on Dayton’s ThinkTV16 on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 10 p.m., and on ThinkTV14 on Friday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 p.m. Viewers can also stream “9to5: The Story of a Movement” through pbs.org for free this month.
- MLK Day 2021 peacemaker award — Moyenda, a warrior peacemaker
At the virtual MLK Day event held on Monday, Jan. 18, via Zoom, Bomani Moyenda, a longtime local activist, was finally given the Peacemaker Award by the Yellow Springs Martin Luther King Day Planning Committee.
- Little Thunders— The way of the Wolf
The ancient lesson for today — and for our village — is the lesson of the way of the wolf. This ancient teaching of humility imparts strength to us all. It is told that the wolf is indeed strong alone, but it finds its greatest strength and power, and its natural preference, as a part of a pack, a community, a group and a society.
- News from the Past
In last week’s “News from the Past” column, contributing writer Don Hollister did another dive into the YS News archives and compiled some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Januaries and Februaries.
- One reporter’s view— Security dominates 2021 inauguration
As more than 20,000 National Guardsmen flocked into the nation’s capital in preparation for Inauguration Day, the city was locked down in an unprecedented way, the troops part of the largest security presence at any inauguration in American history.
- Millworks update— EnviroFlight to leave after 2022
A sustainable feed company founded in Yellow Springs will likely depart the village for good two years from now. When that happens, Yellow Springs will lose 20 jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in utility payments and payroll taxes.
- Yellow Springs school facilities— School board names architect firm
On Thursday, Jan. 14, board members unanimously approved a contract with SHP Leading Design, designating the Cincinnati-based firm as the “pre-bond architect” that will work with the district in developing a new master plan for Yellow Springs school facilities.
- Coming soon to a street near you— YSKP’s traveling puppet show
The Traveling Tabletop Theater, or TTT, is a mobile puppet theater complete with a stage, a sound system and even seating for a few dozen spectators, which will be touring the streets of Yellow Springs later this year.
- Basketball standout aims for 2,000
Angie Smith, now a junior at Yellow Springs High School, is on her way to achieving an impressive feat: scoring 2,000 points by the end of her senior year.
- Millworks back on the market
The local industrial park was listed last year after plans by its owners, Jessica Yamamoto and Antonio Molina, failed to come to fruition. The then-couple bought the four-acre property in late 2018 and the following year had it successfully rezoned to accommodate renovation and new construction.
- Teacher vaccinations tied to reopening by March 1
Yellow Springs students, whose instruction has been 100% online since the start of the 2020–21 school year, will return to the classroom — at least part time — no later than March 1.
- Little Thunders— Surviving our lessons
“In a thousand years from now, our stories will not be about creating the United States; they will be about surviving them.”
- School sports amid pandemic
Although the Yellow Springs school district has yet to resume in-person classes, the athletic programs at YS High School and McKinney Middle School decided to field teams and conduct games as close as possible to regular season play.
- Efforts seek bail reform
As of Tuesday afternoon last week, 225 people awaiting trial were being held at one of two Greene County jail facilities — the downtown jail and the Adult Detention Center. Many of those individuals remained behind bars over the holidays, lacking the bail money that allows release until a scheduled court date.
- COVID-19 update— Older residents next for vaccination
On Friday, Jan. 8, Friends Care Community celebrated the arrival of pharmacy staff from CVS, there to administer the first round of COVID-19 vaccines.
- ‘Where do we go from here’— Martin Luther King Jr. Day program set
Yellow Springs will celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 18, with the traditional, in-person MLK Day March, but the MLK Day program following the march will be offered in an online format; those planning to attend the online program must register in advance.
- ‘small ohio town’— See filmmaker work-in-progress
Filmmaker Steve Bognar wasn’t initially intending to document the life of a small town when he set out — but for over 12 years, that’s just what he’s done as he’s continued to film the cycles of Yellow Springs life.
- Rumpke now accepting some #5 plastics
Beginning this month, villagers can divert a few more items away from their trash cans: Along with the previously accepted plastic items like bottles and jugs, Yellow Springs residents can now fill their recycling bins with fruit and yogurt cups and butter, sour cream, cottage cheese and whipped topping tubs.
- 2020 Year in Review: Miami Township
In March, a five-year levy was renewed for Miami Township Fire-Rescue; the department took occupancy of a new firehouse in September.
- 2020 Year in Review: Feature Stories
2020 was anything but ordinary. This year’s feature stories mostly covered all of the unique ways villagers coped with — and still managed to thrive despite — the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2020 Year in Review: Business
2020 ushered in countless difficulties for the many small businesses that populate Yellow Springs. Restaurants endured challenges of meeting public health standards amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and shops had to cope with a decline in sales.
- 2020 Year in Review: Higher Education
2020 was a challenging year for most academic institutions, not least of all Yellow Springs’ own Antioch College and Antioch University Midwest.
- 2020 Year in Review: Yellow Springs Development Corporation
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, is a quasi-governmental, nonprofit corporation that has been designated by the Village of Yellow Springs and Miami Township as their official Community Improvement Corporation, or CIC.
- 2020 Year in Review: Village Schools
Calendar year 2020 began and ended with Yellow Springs school district leaders discussing identified structural needs in the local school buildings and how to address them, but the majority of the year was occupied by the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2020 Year in Review: Top Stories
2020 was an eventful and newsworthy year — especially in Yellow Springs. Villagers weathered the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed the transfer of ownership of Glen Helen, endured a stressful and unique election season and so much more.
- Village of Yellow Springs shares $40K in federal CARES funds
New HVAC filtration systems, masks, gloves, stand-alone air purifiers, plexiglass partitions and hand sanitizer stations were among the products purchased by local organizations through the grant.
- Amid pandemic, Friends Care Community’s ho-ho-holidays
The holidays are festive, if lower-key, at Friends Care Community this year. Visitation has been restricted at the facility since March.
- The Briar Patch— Mortgaging humanity: Property values and the life of Wheeling Gaunt
There is clear distinction between Gaunt’s humanitarian-based business structure, and the economic system of slavery upon which our mortgage system is based. Bundling enslaved people — captives — into securities had benefits for the slave owner.
- Wheeling Gaunt’s legacy lives on
Wheeling Gaunt’s generosity perseveres in a 126-year-old tradition of the delivery of flour to local widows and widowers at the holidays — a stipulation in Gaunt’s will when he bequeathed the land that is now Gaunt Park to the Village.
- 2020 in six words or one picture
This year, as in years past, the YS News asked its readers to write a little something in response to a question about the year that’s ending.
- News from the Past
In last week’s “News from the Past” column, contributing writer Don Hollister did another dive into the YS News archives and compiled some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Decembers.
- Sankofa Talk — An ‘All Lives Matter moment’
In the most recent installment of Bomani Moyenda’s column, “Sankofa Talk,” Moyenda recounts a tense interaction with an “All Lives Matter” proponent at a forum at Wilmington College.
- YS Schools— Board OKs hybrid transition plan
Yellow Springs school district leaders are making plans for students to return to in-person classes, but exactly when that will be is uncertain.
- Village Council— Deficit budget moves ahead
The Village of Yellow Springs plans to spend about a million dollars more than it takes in next year. As a result, general fund reserves are set to drop to their lowest level in recent years.
- Spirits of Christmas Past
In the spirit of the holidays, the Yellow Springs News did a deep dive into the News archives and unearthed a bevy of fun holiday photos from past decades.
- 30 years of letters to Santa
For nearly all of the last three decades, former villager Peggy Barker has compiled these letters as Santa’s assistant. She said she took up the job in 1989 when she found herself with some extra time on her hands.
- The Legendary Lights at Clifton Mill get second place in national contest
For the third year in a row, the Legendary Lights at the Historic Clifton Mill were among the most impressive in the country, according to the results of a national competition. Clifton Mill won second place in the best public holiday lights category in USA Today’s annual “10Best” competition.
- Caring for COVID’s sickest patients
Yellow Springs resident Chasilee Crawford is an ICU, or intensive care unit, nurse at Springfield Regional Medical Center. She volunteered to work in the hospital’s designated COVID-19 specific ICU when it was formed last March, and has been caring for patients who are severely ill with the disease ever since.
- Health Commissioner Melissa Howell— A closer look at area surge
Ohio saw a massive bump in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, Dec. 8. That day, 25,721 new cases were reported, bringing the statewide case total well over the half-million mark since the pandemic’s start.
- Chappelle to buy former fire station in Yellow Springs for comedy club
Nationally known comedian and local resident Dave Chappelle is purchasing the former Miami Township fire station with plans to open a comedy club in Yellow Springs.
- Solar ‘canopy’ eyed for parking lot
Initial plans call for a solar canopy at the John Bryan Community Center. The covered pavilion would feature a solar roof with at least a 200-kilowatt capacity, with vehicle parking and event space underneath.
- Outside investigation complete— Officer violated no policies
At issue was whether YSPD Officer Dave Meister violated Village policy and state law by allegedly telling a citizen that a fellow officer, Paige Burge, referred to some attendees of the weekly Black Lives Matter rallies as an “angry mob.”
- COVID-19 update— Antioch College reports outbreak
After reporting just one COVID-19 infection during the fall quarter, Antioch College now has seven active cases on campus. Six students and one staff member tested positive for the virus over several days late last week, according to college spokesperson Christine Reedy.
- Virus impact grows in Yellow Springs
Three local businesses are closing for the winter during what their owners expect to be a grim few months of the pandemic. Whether other seasonal closures will follow in Yellow Springs remains to be seen.
- Digital ‘Dracula’— High School takes stage to film
YSHS performing arts teacher Sparrow-Knapp decided to stick her neck out this year — so to speak — and take a chance with a filmed version of “Dracula,” a show she said she’s long wanted to stage.
- Utility-scale solar project moves ahead
A utility-scale solar project southeast of Yellow Springs is moving forward, and so is a grassroots effort to stop it.
- Schools project deficit by 2024
With the expectation that the district will be going to voters for more funds in the form of a facilities bond levy in late 2021, Treasurer Emrick presented the annual five-year financial forecast during the school board’s most recent meeting.
- Yellow Springs Schools facilities upgrades— $30 million cost expected
Yellow Springs School District leaders anticipate a $30 million price tag, at minimum, to upgrade the district’s buildings, whether those improvements take the form of new construction or major renovations.
- Miguel’s moves into future brewpub
On Black Friday, Nov. 27, Espinosa and a team of his employees cut the ribbon to the location of Espinosa’s new culinary digs: 101 Corry St., the future home as well of Trail Town Brewing.
- Winter Solstice Poetry Reading— ‘Magics and songs’ offer healing gifts
The season’s first snowfall came ahead of Tecumseh Land Trust’s annual Winter Solstice Poetry Reading, to be held this year on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., via Zoom.
- ‘Chop wood, carry water’— Trainer offers tips for healthy winter
As the winter months approach, many Americans are thinking about how they’ll stay healthy and combat the “winter blues” once it turns cold — especially as the pandemic continues unabated.
- Thought for Food— A pork pie for the anxious
In last week’s “Thought for Food” column, Lauren “Chuck” Shows offers up a hearty remedy for these anxious, trying times: a Cheshire pork pie recipe.
- Pandemic election concludes
Absentee was the most popular way to vote in this election, as 34,700 ballots were cast absentee, more than one third of the total, 89,627. Another 33,676 voted in person on election day, 19,951 voted early in person and 1,791 voted with a provisional ballot.
- COVID-19 cases mount in YS
While the village has lagged surrounding communities in its rate and spread of COVID-19, local organizations and businesses are beginning to see — and in some instances publicly announce — more positive cases here.
- Village to buy land for bike path
The Village of Yellow Springs is moving forward with plans to purchase three acres of land at Yellow Springs High School for a bike trail to Agraria, Community Solutions’ farm west of the village.
- ‘Caesar’s Redemption’— Local history, authentically imagined
Local playwright Kane Stratton is debuting an eight-minute film vignette drawn from a longer script that explores the life of a Black man named Caesar, a “maroon” among the Shawnee people of southwestern Ohio in the 1770s and beyond.
- Yellow Springs School board— Facilities back at forefront
Administrators’ recent focus on pandemic-related school closures, and the accompanying transition to online instruction, drastically slowed the facilities conversation, but didn’t sideline it completely.
- News from the Past
In last week’s “News from the Past” column, contributing writer Don Hollister did another dive into the YS News archives and compiled some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Novembers.
- H&H Studios is here for hair and body
Holihan and Quigley held the grand opening for their new hair salon and massage parlor, H&H Studios — so named for “Heidi” and “Holihan” — on Oct. 24.
- Local COVID-19 response— Village steps up enforcement
As the third wave of the coronavirus rages through the state and county, the Village of Yellow Springs is cracking down on behaviors that could further spread COVID-19 in town.
- Planning Commission— New ‘do not plant’ list being considered
Proposed changes to the Village’s weeds ordinance are taking aim at dozens of “noxious weeds” and invasive plant species currently wreaking havoc in Ohio.
- Protest held outside Gov. DeWine home
On Friday, Nov. 20, nearly 200 demonstrators gathered outside Gov. Mike DeWine’s home in Cedarville Township to protest his and the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19-related mandates, including the statewide mask order and the 10 p.m. curfew.
- COVID-19 contact tracing— More cases, more contacts
The local health department’s contact tracing team now includes nine people, including employees from the Ohio Department of Health, part of the state’s scaled-up contact tracing workforce.
- Little Thunders— Unsettling Truthsgiving
This November 26, as you sit down to your meal, I have a message for the young people because they will understand better than anyone else: There is no need to shy away from the truth.
- The Briar Patch— On kindness
And what would Cleola think of this iteration of kindness we are experiencing now? This market driven world of contemporary culture that has attempted to commoditize kindness into a kindness tourist destination trap.
- Countering racism in Yellow Springs schools
In the News’ ongoing “Facing Race” series, we turn this week to the local school district for a look at how the schools are reckoning with race and implementing new efforts, alongside continuing initiatives, to counter racism’s presence and effects.
- Village Impact Project— Mentoring aims to change lives
Founded by high school intervention specialist Donna Haller, and initially launched in January 2019 under the auspices of the area Big Brother Big Sister organization, the local group struck out on its own and formed a governing board of trustees that summer.
- Bookplate Ink— The village’s history in bookplates
Printed bookplates — also referred to as “ex libris,” after the Latin for “from the library of,” which often precedes the name of a book’s owner on a bookplate — are nearly as old as Gütenberg’s printing press itself.
- Village Council— Budget to ‘burn through’ reserves
There’s money to spend, but not for long. That was the message from Village of Yellow Springs officials, who plan to dip into reserves to cover $1 million in deficit spending next year.
- Gov. DeWine imposes curfew
At a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 17, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the state was imposing a curfew to help curb the “dramatic” spread of COVID-19 in the state.
- More local Chappelle shows OK’d
The series of ticketed shows, which began in early June and ran for four months — as allowed by a temporary use permit for the agriculturally zoned property — may now continue through Aug. 5, 2021.
- Election ran smoothly in Yellow Springs
Emotions ran high, and a pandemic raged on, but a historic election unfolded without incident in Yellow Springs on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
- The Village Mouse— The sinking of the friend ship, pt. II
Chipping away at Q-falsehoods with calm rhetoric proved tedious. I kept thinking: this stuff is batty. Too many people have to hide too many crimes, not to mention Donald Trump is connected to some of the alleged members of the cabal.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Reopening amid uncertainty
This is the first part of a two-part article. The second part will feature responses of families to the school district’s reopening plans, including a deeper look at the recent parent/guardian survey, as well as the thoughts of local teachers.
- Little Thunders— Speaking Indian
Whenever I hear an Elder speak our traditional Ojibwe language, known as anishinaabemowin, my eyes fill with tears. I become overwhelmed with emotion. I’m told that tears are the ancestors coming to visit and wash my vision to help me heal from historical trauma.
- Antioch College— Manley to leave in December
Antioch College President Tom Manley is leaving the presidency earlier than planned due to health issues. Manley will become “president emeritus” as of Dec. 1, he announced in an email to the college community on Friday, Oct. 30.
- Planning Commission— Costly repairs ahead for YS?
Burns described a series of specific stormwater issues related to aging infrastructure — which in some parts of town date back to the late 1800s, he said — certain kinds of lot designs, more intense storms than previously and other factors.
- Mural to honor Virginia Hamilton
Local artist Pierre Nagley recently started painting a new mural honoring the life and works of famed local author Virginia Hamilton. The mural, located on the wall of the Yellow Springs News building, is being spearheaded by Help Us Make a Nation, or H.U.M.A.N., a recently revived local human rights organization founded here in the ’70s.
- Community Solutions to host restorative conference
This year’s conference, the organization’s 66th, is titled “Pathways to Regeneration: Restoration, Resiliency and Reciprocity,” with a particular focus on food growing and preservation. It will be conducted online this weekend, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 6–8.
- COVID-19 update— ‘There is no place to hide’ in Ohio
October brought a whirlwind of bad news about COVID-19 spread in Ohio. New cases soared statewide, hospitalizations increased and more counties than ever flipped to “red” on the state’s COVID-19 heat map.
- Indigenous water protector’s panel— A path to ‘re-indigenizing’ Antioch
“We are on stolen land and we need to recognize that,” Jennifer Knickerbocker said to solemn applause at the start of a panel discussion last week during Antioch College’s Earth Week.
- A path to progress on race?
This is fourth in a series on the impacts of racism in Yellow Springs and local anti-racist efforts and approaches.
- News from the Past
Contributing writer Don Hollister compiles some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Septembers and Octobers in last week’s “News from the Past” column.
- Village of YS— Free Wi-Fi downtown coming
The Village of Yellow Springs is providing free Wi-Fi access downtown for a year in a pilot project that could eventually lead to community-owned broadband internet available throughout town.
- 2020 Election preliminary results— Trump takes Ohio, Village levy passes
According to unofficial results, Trump won Ohio, and its 18 electoral votes, by a margin of 53% to 45%.
- The Briar Patch— Did we ask permission?
Community development — in all its forms — is an imperative question for the governance of our village.
- Yellow Springs Halloween amid COVID-19
In late September, the Village of Yellow Springs announced that the usual community Halloween activities — bonfires and trick or treating — would be canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- Election Day 2020: how to vote
Voters have just two days left to cast their ballots for the 2020 presidential general election. There are three ways to vote in this election. Read more in our Voter’s Guide for the 2020 General Election:
- Ballard seeks Ohio Senate seat
The News rounds out its candidate spotlights this week with a brief profile of Democratic state senatorial candidate Charles Ballard.
- Wintrow’s Chamber, village legacy— Making Yellow Springs a ‘destination’
After 13 years at the helm of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce, Karen Wintrow will step down Friday, Oct. 23, ahead of a move to Greenwood Lake, N.Y., with her husband, Ted Donnell.
- Uncertain fate for Antioch Review
The current and future status of the Review, which has a national and international reputation for literary excellence, is unclear to the magazine’s longtime editor — furloughed since April — and longtime production staff.
- Council OKs land use plan
At its Monday, Oct. 19, virtual meeting, Village Council unanimously approved a new comprehensive plan, which will guide the Village’s development and land use decisions through 2030.
- Who’s the News?, pt. IV: the printer
In the fourth installment of the “Who’s the News?” series, we go even further behind the scenes to introduce to you the men and the machines who bring the News to life. Meet the printer.
- New tiles at Women’s Park
Though the flowers in the Women’s Park on Corry Street have begun to wither as fall deepens, something new has just bloomed there: in early October, a collection of 124 new tiles bearing the names of local women emerged.
- Tims vies for House seat; Lachman runs for judge
The News continues its election coverage this week with profiles of two more area candidates. Both candidates are Democrats with support among Yellow Springs’ heavily Democratic voters.
- Village seeks levy renewal
The 8.4-mill, five-year levy, first adopted in 2006, generates about $835,000 annually, according to the Greene County Auditor’s Office. As a fixed-rate levy, its passage will not increase voters’ tax bill, despite the recent increase in local property values.
- COVID-19 update— For first time, Greene is ‘red’
Last Thursday, Oct. 15, Ohio elevated Greene County to “red” on the Ohio Health Advisory System for the first time since the system was put in place in early July. The state flagged four different indicators of increased COVID-19 spread here, out of a seven-indicator risk profile.
- Village Comprehensive Land Use Plan— Parking, Glass Farm changes
A design for expanding parking around Mills Lawn was removed from the Village’s draft comprehensive land use plan during Village Council’s Oct. 5 virtual meeting.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Online instruction set to continue
Instruction for the 700-some students enrolled in Yellow Springs Schools will remain online for at least another quarter.
- COVID-19 update— Cases rise in Greene County
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the county. The virus was slow to take hold here, but the county saw a spike in June, a larger spike in July, some moderating in August and a surge beginning in late August that hasn’t let up.
- Senior Center to reopen Monday
That door will open again on Monday, Oct. 19, as the Senior Center welcomes seniors back with a “Coffee and Donuts with Friends” event.
- Voting begins for Nov. 3 election
Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 3 — is less than a month away, and election season in Ohio is in full swing.
- Antioch University Midwest absorbed, building for sale
Antioch University Midwest, or AUM, has been largely eliminated as a separate campus in the Antioch University system, and the Yellow Springs building is once again for sale, after being taken on and off the market several times in recent years.
- Gary waves goodbye— Wavelength Salon & Spa closes after 27 years
The inability to maintain this closeness over the past six months of the ongoing pandemic helped Glaser make the decision to close Wavelength after 27 years. The business closed in September.
- Little Thunders— As the thunder rolls, reflections and questions
Over time, if you keep reading, you will get to know me and my perspective, but today I’ll tell you a little bit about my history.
- Fire station sale still pending
The community might not know who bought the old Miami Township fire station on Corry Street for another two months.
- The Village Mouse— The sinking of the friend ship
In our online lives, the falling out of a friendship tends to go from snoozing, to unfriending, to blocking, the ultimate e-banishment.
- Dave Chappelle seeks OK for more local shows
Comedian and Yellow Springs resident Dave Chappelle is apparently hoping that the series of shows he hosted this summer at a rural property just north of the village can go on longer than the time originally set in a temporary zoning variance approved for the site.
- Who’s the News, pt. III: the columnists
When we ask our readers what their favorite page of the paper is, we are not surprised to hear that it’s our letters page — page 4. The Community Forum is the one part of the paper reserved for opinions, and we in this community have a lot of them.
- Comprehensive Land Use Plan— Road map to future growth
Public feedback has emphasized the need for a broader economic base, more diversity of housing types and prices and municipal broadband, among other priorities.
- Remote learning challenges families
This is the second of two stories asking how remote learning is going in the Yellow Springs Schools.
- Latest Greene County appraisal— Yellow Springs property values up 19%
Property values in Yellow Springs jumped by 19% on average in the latest property appraisal by the Greene County auditor.
- Antioch College— Back to campus under COVID-19
Since announcing in June a return to residential learning for the fall term, Antioch has been finalizing its reopening plans, which now have been rolled out with few hitches.
- ‘The Timeline Show’— Exhibition tells story of Yellow Springs theater
History tells a different story about Yellow Springs — one about a town that’s had a long, sometimes fraught, but always loving relationship with the theater. That story is being shared with the community by the YS Arts Council, the Arts and Culture Commission and the YS Historical Society in “The Timeline Show,” which opens at the Bryan Center on Jan. 18.
- Village Council— Apartments, businesses must recycle
Local apartment complex and commercial property owners must offer recycling services to their tenants, Village Council decided at its Sept. 21 regular meeting, held virtually.
- Need rises, food relief follows
Food insecurity in the U.S. is reaching record heights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic recession. And even in the relatively well-off community of Yellow Springs, some residents have difficulty putting food on the table.
- Wintrow to leave Chamber
The Board of Directors of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce announced last week that Executive Director Karen Wintrow will leave her position at the Chamber. Her last day in the position will be Friday, Oct. 23.
- Land annexation moves ahead
Council began the process of annexing 34 acres of land on the south end of the Village at its virtual meeting on Monday, Sept. 21.
- A look inside Yellow Springs schools
School has been in session for about a month, with instruction taking place online since the opening of the 2020–21 academic year on Aug. 27.
- ‘See Spot run’— Plans for local dog park take shape
A new plan is afoot, or a-paw, to locate a park for Yellow Springs’ furry residents on 1.3 acres of unused land west of the water towers at Gaunt Park, abutting Talus Drive and a farm field.
- Sale pending on old fire station
In a special online meeting Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, approved the sale of the soon-to-be vacant fire station on Corry Street to a buyer who was not publicly named. The vote was 7–1, with two abstentions.
- Teaching reading, ‘wonder’ at Mills Lawn Elementary
Candice Teague, the new fourth-grade teacher at Mills Lawn Elementary School, says she planned on becoming a classroom teacher for as long as she can remember.
- They’ve got game— Yellow Springs family helps create board games
Collins and Van Ausdal were hired to generate content for “Bye, Felicia!” and “Who’s the G.O.A.T.?” — games created by Nashville-based game company Big G Creative.
- ‘Psychedelic expressionist’ mural unveiled downtown
The latest addition to Yellow Springs’ downtown public art scene is a breathtaking mural by villager Anna Burke, which was recently completed behind Rose & Sal’s Vintage Shop on Dayton Street.
- Little Art Theatre to close again until 2021
After reopening for eight weeks, the Little Art Theatre has closed again due to low attendance, with a goal to reopen sometime in 2021.
- Village eyes more recycling options
Garbage and recycling collection rates are set to rise, and maybe more than usual. That’s because the Village is considering supplemental recycling options for the community.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Track, field repairs proceed
The Yellow Springs school district is moving ahead with repairs to the track and field facilities at the middle/high school campus.
- COVID-19 surge in Greene County— Nursing homes, colleges drive increase
Cases of COVID-19 in Greene County are “surging,” according to the Greene County Health Department last week. Nursing homes and college campuses are driving the recent increase, county health officials believe.
- Virtual exhibit showcases emerging artists
With the aim of supporting new voices, the Yellow Springs Arts Council will host a virtual art show highlighting the work of four up-and-coming area artists.
- On the history, future of Black farming
According to the USDA’s latest census report, released in 2017, Greene County has no Black-owned farms, out of a total 617. Neither does Clark County, with 742 total farms; while Montgomery County charts nine Black-owned farming ventures, of 782 farms overall.
- Yellow Springs man gets prison time after plea deal
Yellow Springs resident Michael M. Gentile will serve up to a year in prison after reaching a plea deal with the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office in July related to rape, drug and vandalism charges filed in 2017.
- Glen Helen reopens with new owner
The tape came down and the trail signs went up this week at Glen Helen. After being closed since March, the Glen reopened to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
- South end development— Council considers land annex
At its Sept. 8 regular meeting, Village Council considered an annexation agreement to add close to 34 acres of land on the Village’s southern border for a residential development with potentially more than 200 housing units.
- Our part-time staff and contributors — Who’s the News, Pt. II
As things have calmed down (somewhat), we’re pleased to restart the series with profiles of our part-time employees and regular contributors.
- News from the Past
Contributing writer Don Hollister compiles some of the more compelling headlines that occurred in past Julys and Augusts in last week’s “News from the Past” column.
- Council decriminalizes marijuana in Yellow Springs
In a 4–0 vote, Council passed the first reading of an ordinance reducing the offense level and penalties for those caught possessing or cultivating less than 200 grams of marijuana, which is about seven ounces.
- Local restaurants are rebounding, for now
Six months into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, business at local restaurants is surprisingly good.
- New science teacher hired
McKinney Middle School’s new science teacher, Cameron Dickens, has brought an atypical educational background to an atypical school year when classes since began online Thursday, Aug. 27.
- Mail-in voting surge expected
At least 30 people rallied outside the Yellow Springs post office last Saturday, Aug. 22, as part of a nationwide protest of postal changes that could affect mail-in voting this fall. Such voting is surging in popularity amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- Connie Collett to retire— A chapter comes to a close
After more than 30 years as head librarian at the Yellow Springs branch of the Greene County Public Library, Connie Collett is retiring from the position.
- Council recommits to anti-racism
At their Aug. 17 virtual meeting, Village Council members agreed to move forward to meet the demands of local anti-racist rally organizers and take other steps to address racism locally after tensions escalated between the two groups in recent weeks.
- What the village kneads— ‘Bootleg’ bagels fly from local kitchen
Local chef Ben Bullock recently opened a new micro-bakery out of his home in the village. Bootleg Bagels offers made-to-order bagels that are chewy on the outside and soft on the inside with a variety of toppings.
- Yellow Springs Development Corporation
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, a local quasi-governmental organization, held a brief virtual meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
- Parents explore alternative school options
The continuing pandemic has prompted area schools to restructure their methods and approaches, often drastically, with some adopting an online instructional plan, at least to start the year.
- Planning Commission— Chappelle properties to be renovated
According to plans presented at the Aug. 11 planning commission meeting, the renovation of 241 Xenia Ave. will lead to a new hair and nail salon at street level, as well as a remodeled apartment on the upper floor with an extensive roof deck.
- COVID-19 update— Cases moderating, for now
After a spike in June, and a larger spike in July, COVID-19 cases are moderating in Greene County. Yet with the county at level 2 on Ohio’s public health advisory system, cases are still increasing here at a higher rate than two months ago.
- Township Board of Zoning Appeals— Chappelle shows granted variance
The Miami Township Board of Zoning Appeals gave the green light Thursday night, Aug. 6, to comedian Dave Chappelle and his team to continue presenting shows at a rural property north of the village.
- New mystery novel set in the village
Geisel’s new novel “Fair Game,” available at local bookstore Dark Star Books, follows private investigator Flint’s quest to solve a mysterious, and fictional, years-old missing persons case.
- Demonstrators, Village at odds
Discussions between a group of anti-racist demonstrators and Village officials broke down this week after a letter from two Council members was met with a swift rebuke from organizers.
- Noncitizen voting under fire
Yellow Springs’ recent charter change allowing noncitizens to vote on local matters came under fire last week from the state’s chief election official.
- Independent review clears YSPD chief
Yellow Springs Police Chief Brian Carlson was cleared of wrongdoing by an outside investigator in June after a formal complaint was lodged against him by a village resident in May.
- Tom Manley to leave Antioch College in June of 2021
President Tom Manley’s fifth year at Antioch College will be his last. Antioch announced this week that Manley plans to leave his position at the end of his five-year contract next June. A search for his replacement will begin this fall.
- YS Schools restart— District assesses risks
This story looks at some of the risks of both in-person and online instruction that local educators are weighing in planning for the new academic year.
- ‘A Small Thing to Want’— Cawood explores desire, regret
‘A Small Thing to Want,’ a collection of short stories by author and YS native Shuly Xóchitl Cawood, was published in May.
- The future of Yellow Springs, now
A few proposals: Light industrial facilities on the western edge of town. Offices and a new residential neighborhood along Xenia Avenue at the southern end. A “designated outdoor refreshment area” downtown where alcoholic beverages can be consumed on the sidewalks. And a dog park.
- Antioch School plans for in-person restart
As the new academic year approaches, the Antioch School — the local independent day-school for pre-K and elementary school-aged children — is planning to open its doors, and its many windows, for in-person classes this fall.
- Movies return to Little Art big screen
The 90-year-old local independent theater, the Little Art, reopened two weekends ago after being closed for more than four months.
- State mask order: how to enforce?
Exactly two weeks to the day after the Village of Yellow Springs mandated face masks in downtown Yellow Springs to slow the spread of COVID-19, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced masks would be required in public across the whole state.
- Yellow Springs Schools— New academic year to begin online
In a specially called meeting Saturday morning, July 25, the Yellow Springs school board unanimously approved a plan to restart the 2020–21 academic year online, with instruction to be presented by district teachers.
- Zoning rules challenge shows
Award-winning comedian and actor Dave Chappelle’s weekend comedy shows are not within the parameters of the zoning code, forcing the property owner to seek a temporary usage variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
- Leading while Black in Yellow Springs
In this week’s article, the third in the News’ current series, “Facing Race,” we take a closer look at the interplay of race and representation in the village, based on interviews with six Black villagers in elected and other leadership roles locally.
- Dodgers Youth Minor League champions
In the Yellow Springs Youth Baseball Minor League, on Wednesday, July 22, the Trail Tavern Dodgers completed their playoff run with an 8–6 victory over the top seed, the Posterior Chain Reds.
- Village Council— Anti-racist steps demanded
Organizers of recent weekly anti-racism rallies downtown aired criticism at Council’s July 20 virtual meeting of Village efforts to address racism.
- Remembering Phyllis Jackson
Yellow Springs resident Phyllis Jackson, 95, died on July 11 after a long and rich life of service to the community she loved. A memorial service was held for Jackson on Saturday, July 18, at Central Chapel AME Church, where she’d been a member since 1943.
- YS Development Corporation— Township fire station up for sale
The soon-to-be-vacated Miami Township fire station at 225 Corry St. is for sale by the Yellow Springs Development Corporation. Originally built in 1956, and updated in the ’60s and ’70s, the commercial building is listed for $400,000.
- New studio set to open— Get inked at YS INK Arts Collective
YS INK Arts Collective, co-owned by longtime Yellow Springs residents Pierre Nagley and Lindsay Burke, is opening its doors on Dayton Street as a new hub for local artistry.
- Teachers urge online option
As Yellow Springs school district leaders consider what educational approach to take when the 2020–21 academic year begins Aug. 27, the local teachers union says the risks of returning to the classroom amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic are too great, and is calling for “100% virtual” learning when school resumes.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Town hall addresses restart
Yellow Springs Schools Superintendent Terri Holden fielded questions from local parents regarding the district’s school start options at a town hall meeting on Monday, July 20. The district could make a decision about school restart as early as Sunday, July 26.
- Home, Inc. and St. Mary — Senior housing funding denied
A planned 54-unit senior apartment building in Yellow Springs was turned down for funding for the second consecutive year.
- Masks required by law downtown
Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance mandating facial coverings downtown and on Village-owned properties when physical distancing of six feet is not possible.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Reopening plan in flux
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread in our community and region, and the 2020–21 school year scheduled to begin in a mere six weeks, uncertainty and worry seem to be the overwhelming feelings among many families considering educational choices for their children.
- New processor license for Cresco Labs
Cresco Labs learned in June that it had been awarded a provisional processor license under Ohio’s medical marijuana program.
- Institutions adapt to COVID-19
The News spoke with leaders at a variety of local institutions who are adapting to a new normal in the fifth month of the coronavirus pandemic, including the Yellow Springs Senior Center, Friends Care Community, Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center, Antioch College Wellness Center and the John Bryan Center/Youth Center.
- Black women amplified
“Empowering Black Women” was the theme of the most recent anti-racism rally, held Saturday, July 11.
- Greene County Jail— Avoiding a COVID outbreak
In late May, an inmate transferred to state prison from Greene County Jail was tested by the state for COVID-19 and found positive. The individual hadn’t displayed any symptoms, and had a normal temperature upon leaving the county jail, according to jail administrator Major Kirk Keller this week. Keller asked the state to re-test the inmate, but the state declined.
- Fossils fuel new local shop
Rock Around the Clark is located at 108 Dayton St., Suite L, upstairs. Hours are Wednesday–Friday, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, noon –7 p.m.; and Sunday, noon–4 p.m. Masks are required inside the store. For more information, visit rockaroundtheclark.com.
- Youth take lead in challenging racism
For many local teens and young adults in their early 20s, the accumulating deaths feel personal. Young people of color see themselves and their families being treated differently, and they feel under threat within the national culture; while their young white allies see disparities in privilege and safety that negatively affect the lives of their Black peers.
- COVID–19 update— After Ohio restart, virus is spreading again
The trend holds true for Greene County, which saw its per capita case rate more than double over the last month, even as the county remains relatively better off than the rest of the state and country. As of July 6, there were 99 active COVID-19 cases in Greene County, up from 58 on June 18.
- Antioch cuts $2.5M; jobs lost
Amid ongoing financial challenges worsened by COVID-19, Antioch College seems — perhaps against the odds — determined to survive.
- Parade canceled after alleged KKK protest threat
All the organizers interviewed this week also said the decision was influenced by the voicemail from a man purporting to be affiliated with the KKK, a notorious hate group with a long history of violence against Black people.
- Racism in village often covert
Facing Race: This is first in a series on the impacts of racism in Yellow Springs and local anti-racist efforts and activities.
- New police reforms aired
Body cameras worn by every Ohio police officer. Psychological evaluations of those who hope to become an officer. More training in implicit bias and de-escalation. Requiring officers to report on another officer’s misconduct. Those are a few proposed law enforcement reforms Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced at a press briefing last week in response to national outrage after high-profile killings of Black people by police in recent weeks.
- Prosecutor: evidence supports self defense in Grinnell Road double fatal shooting
The Greene County Grand Jury’s recent conclusion concerning the double fatal shooting Feb 12 outside a home on Grinnell Road — which the county sheriff described at the time as a “shootout” — confirmed the initial impression of law enforcement at the scene that gray winter morning: self-defense.
- Council declares racism ‘public health crisis’
At its June 15 regular meeting, Village Council declared racism a public health crisis and committed to taking “meaningful action” to respond to the “death, trauma and injury caused by institutional racism.”
- Antioch’s altered, but heartfelt, commencement
Due to COVID-19, the sixth commencement of the relaunched college took place as an online ceremony rather than the customary in-person one, with live and recorded speeches streamed at 1 p.m. Recorded performances from the World House Choir were also part of the virtual festivities. Those who wish to watch the event can do so at antiochcollge.edu/commencement.
- No charges in Grinnell shooting
No charges will be filed in the double fatal shooting that occurred Feb. 12 outside a home on Grinnell Road, just south of Yellow Springs, the Greene County prosecutor has announced.
- Schools prepare to reopen Aug. 27
The current message from Ohio’s governor is that schools will reopen in the fall, but local districts will have a great deal of control over how that happens and what the return looks like, Yellow Springs Schools Superintendent Terri Holden told the local school board last week.
- Creating wildlife habitat, villagewide
In late summer, native sunflowers in Ellen Hoover’s garden draw goldfinches. The bright yellow birds feast on seeds, then burst out like sunflower petals flung to the sky. Down the street, monarch butterflies browse Catherine Zimmerman’s coneflowers, goldenrod and asters.
- COVID-19 update— ‘Worrisome’ trend? More new cases
New cases of COVID-19 are rising in Greene County, Gov. Mike DeWine said at his June 18 press briefing. He highlighted Greene County as one of five southwest Ohio counties that have seen case increases in June.
- Police reform at the YSPD— What’s done, what’s next?
Amid national calls for policing reform following the most recent wave of killings of Black people by police officers, villagers are once again raising their voices for change in the Yellow Springs Police Department.
- Glen Helen capital campaign— GHA seeks to raise $3.5M
Glen Helen isn’t open — yet. But the Glen’s new future owner is moving rapidly to raise funds, restore staff and work to reopen the 1,000-acre local nature preserve, which has been closed to the public since late March due to COVID-19.
- Village planning commission — New distillery at Millworks
At its June 9 virtual meeting, the YS Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a conditional use permit for a new distillery to be located at Millworks. The distillery, Tuck-N-Reds Spirits & Wine, will be located in currently vacant space next to Yellow Springs Brewery; it will also use the site of the former S&G Distillery as its office space.
- A closer look at COVID’s first wave
In light of reopening, the News reviews how the pandemic has played out so far in the village and county, and looks at plans to reduce the spread of the virus as the shutdown comes to an end.
- YS Development Corporation— Educational commons explored
Conversations have begun between several of Yellow Springs’ educational institutions that could lead to novel partnerships and possibly significant changes in the local learning landscape.
- School district extends meal program
School may have concluded for the summer, but the Yellow Springs student lunch and breakfast program is continuing for an additional month, through the end of June.
- DMS ink sold to Cincinnati-based marketing firm
DMS ink, a direct mail and printing services company located at 888 Dayton St., sold last month for an undisclosed amount to Graphic Village, a print marketing firm. The deal was finalized on May 19. The new owner plans to maintain the local facility, which employs about 40 people. No current employees reside in Yellow Springs.
- Yellow Springs Schools— District faces funding cuts, uncertainty
A $300 million cut in funding to Ohio schools this fiscal year, announced by Gov. Mike DeWine in May, will mean the loss of more than $140,000 in anticipated revenue for Yellow Springs Schools over May and June, according to state and district administrators.
- Antioch to sell Glen Helen to local nonprofit
Antioch College and the Glen Helen Association announced on Wednesday that they have finalized an “agreement in principle” to transfer Glen Helen Nature Preserve from the college to the GHA. The purchase price is $2.5 million, payable over 10 years.
- No deal yet on Glen Helen
The fate of Glen Helen remains uncertain this week, with no deal yet between Antioch College and the Glen Helen Association, or GHA, a nonprofit group separate from the college.
- Crash victim known for kindness, heart
By all accounts, Martin Harold Benedict Borchers was in a pretty good place in his life Wednesday morning, May 27, before the car he was driving went off the right side of a narrow country road and hit a utility pole head on.
- Village merchants launch ‘Uplift YS’ fund
Fearing the future of their shops, and the entire downtown, a group of merchants has banded together to launch the campaign in partnership with the Yellow Springs Community Foundation.
- Speakers focus on hope, resilience
There’s no denying that the class of 2020 has had a difficult, and in many ways disappointing, finish to the academic year. But the two new graduates chosen to speak for their class at Wednesday evening’s commencement ceremony are focusing on resilience, compassion and hope as they move into the next chapter of their lives.
- COVID-19 update— Nursing homes vulnerable
Nursing homes across Ohio have adopted similar measures, and all have been operating under visitor restrictions since ordered to do so by the state health department on March 13.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Mills Lawn principal selected
During a special online meeting of the Yellow Springs school board Wednesday, May 20, the board unanimously approved a two-year contract for Michelle Person, who will be coming to the district from Cleveland schools effective Aug. 1.
- New efforts to avoid evictions
To keep villagers’ housing stable during the current public health and economic crisis, Village Council is considering several steps to protect local renters.
- Election results now final
The Greene County Board of Elections certified election results on May 19 from the extended March 17 primary election. With all valid votes now counted, the certified results are in line with the earlier uncertified results, announced April 28.
- Varied views on mask rules
Whether visitors and villagers are following those directives — and should be made to — has become a matter of local contention in recent weeks.
- Antioch School‘s online learning curve
Communities of all sizes and natures have had to redefine what it means to be together in the long weeks since the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to remain physically distant. The Antioch School community is no different in this regard, and has worked together — from a distance — to maintain the closeness at its core.
- Permanent closure for Glen?
Sharen Neuhardt of the Antioch College Board of Trustees said this week that the college has no plans to reopen the 1,000-acre nature preserve it has owned since 1929.
- A tribute to YSHS 2020 senior athletes: softball and baseball
With the support of the Yellow Springs High School coaches, the News is highlighting all the spring sports senior athletes and their career accomplishments. This week, we complete our athlete profiles with the softball and baseball teams.
- Shutdown sparks surprises
As the most strict shutdown phase has begun loosening for many Ohioans, the News asked a half dozen villagers this question: is there anything you’re learning during this period that is meaningful, or surprising?
- Yellow Springs native tapped by Chicago Bears
Ahmad Wagner’s athletic drive and discipline has landed him a spot on the roster of one of the most elite national professional football teams — the Chicago Bears.
- Digital D&D— Players move fantasy game online
The coronavirus pandemic has, for the time being, put a moratorium on in-person games. Not to be discouraged, Oskar, Jaden and Wills — and many others, both locally and worldwide — have moved their games online, adapting to the virtual environment and using the internet’s tools to their advantage.
- What’s the future of downtown?
Even with the tentative openings, business-as-usual seems far off. Closed since at least mid-March, many local merchants remain worried about the health of their businesses.
- Ohio reopens restaurants, bars
Last Thursday, Ohio restaurants and bars got the go-ahead from Gov. Mike DeWine to resume outdoor dining on Friday, May 15. Indoor dining is permitted to restart the following week, on Thursday, May 21.
- Class of the pandemic— Coping with altered endings
Seniors are graduating into a world stripped bare by a pandemic. They would have been celebrating the culmination of 12 to 13 years of consistent effort and determination. But rather than valiantly marching on to the next grand step in the journey of life, this year’s seniors simply drift, slowly floating over the line that marks the end of high school.
- A tribute to YSHS 2020 senior athletes: track and field
In mid-March, after three weeks of initial conditioning and three more weeks of practice, the Yellow Springs High School track and field team was ready for a successful spring season. Ohio schools, however, were closed before the team could participate in its first meet.
- Retail reopening nears
Starting on May 12, retail shops in the State of Ohio can reopen if they take certain safety precautions. But in Yellow Springs, not all stores are ready to fling open their doors to customers.
- Lights! Costumes! Conference call!— Playwright debuts play virtually
Yellow Springs-based playwright and actor Robb Willoughby will debut his play “Look into My Eyes” by way of virtual broadcast Saturday, May 16, through Wednesday, May 20.
- Resilient despite losses— Local restaurants hold on, adapt
When Ohio closed dine-in restaurants and bars on March 15, the impact on local restaurants was immediate and severe.
- Prisons hit hard by COVID-19
The high number of COVID-19 cases being reported in the state’s prisons is of grave concern for Yellow Springs residents who volunteer in area facilities or have family members who are incarcerated.
- Ohio’s new ‘stay safe’ order
Ohio’s stay-at-home order expired on May 1. That morning, Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new order, called Stay Safe Ohio, to replace the previous directive that Ohioans shelter in place in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.
- YSDC accepts loan funds, eyes township property
The new local economic development group accepted $35,000 from the Village to seed a revolving loan fund. It discussed an ongoing effort to look at siting a K-12 school facility on the Antioch College campus. And, in a closed session, it considered a counter-offer to purchase a Township property, the soon-to-be-vacated fire station on Corry Street, to resell for economic development.
- Village Council— Village projects revenue loss
The Village of Yellow Springs is planning for a possible loss of $320,000 in tax revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis and its related economic impacts.
- Yellow Springs Schools— No early end to academic year
Yellow Springs Schools Superintendent Terri Holden announced Friday, April 24, that despite the district’s hopes to end the school year two weeks early, after students reach the minimum instructional hours required by the state, distance learning will continue through the district’s originally scheduled final day, May 29.
- Phased restart of Ohio’s economy
Gov. Mike DeWine announced a phased restart of the Ohio economy at his Monday, April 27, briefing, the first specifics offered after an earlier announcement that Ohio would begin to reopen May 1.
- A tribute to YSHS 2020 senior athletes: tennis
This tennis season, featuring a team with depth and natural talent in abundance, would have been “one for the storybooks,” according to Coach Stacey Knemeyer this week.
- Village Council — Village projects revenue loss
The Village of Yellow Springs is planning for a possible loss of $320,000 in tax revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis and its related economic impacts.
- Pandemic stressors affect mental health
The current medical crisis of COVID-19, while physical in nature, affects our mental health, whether we contract the virus or not.
- Glen Helen faces uncertainty
Amid financial losses and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, can Antioch College continue to support Glen Helen?
- Village Council declares state of emergency
At its April 20 virtual meeting, Village Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring a state of emergency in Yellow Springs due to the coronavirus crisis.
- Students adapt to remote learning
Interacting with teachers and classmates mostly through websites and online programs, distance learning provides an alternative to in-person classes.
- Primary Election 2020 — Unofficial results in; jail tax fails
Unofficial elections results are in for Ohio’s unprecedented mail-in primary.
- Villager dies of COVID-19
Village resident Matthew Huntington has died from COVID-19. Huntington, 50, died Saturday, April 18, at Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek, where he battled the disease for more than two weeks.
- Sankofa Talk — Fighting ’til the last day
Bomani Moyenda speaks about organizing with the activist group Greene County Citizens Against Giant Jail Tax ahead of the 2020 primary.
- COVID-19 news— When, and how, will Ohio open?
The full plan will be released over the coming weeks, state officials said.
- Amid pandemic, art is a gift
The News recently spoke with several local artists about how they were adapting and responding to life amid the pandemic.
- Unemployment woes in village
Villagers reported varying levels of difficulty with the unemployment application process, with the process working more smoothly for some than others.
- 50 years on: Earth Day in Yellow Springs
The News has invited some of our own prominent local environmentalists to reflect on the 50-year anniversary of Earth Day.
- Village Council meetings go virtual
Three people were personally present in Council chambers on Monday, April 6, for Yellow Springs Village Council’s first full meeting since in-person gatherings were limited during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Delays, confusion in primary
As the deadline for voting in Ohio’s 2020 primary election nears, Greene County voters are reporting worrisome waits in receiving their requested absentee ballots as well as confusion around sometimes contradictory instructions.
- Furloughs, pay cuts at Antioch
Antioch College has enacted sweeping furloughs, hour reductions and pay cuts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Help for local tenants, landlords
Stepping in to assist is a new local volunteer committee organized around housing issues. Their goal? That no one loses their home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Local farmers eye uncertainty
Life and growth are happening on local farms against the backdrop of massive shutdown and uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Mills Lawn elementary school principal to leave district
Matt Housh, principal of Mills Lawn elementary school for the past decade, announced in a letter to school families Tuesday, April 7, that he has accepted a position with Huber Heights City Schools and will be leaving the Yellow Springs district at the end of the academic year.
- The world of COVID-19 — Seniors learn to adapt
How are older Yellow Springers faring in this new isolation? To find out, the News spoke to about a dozen villagers, most in their 80s or older.
- Keeping the faith amid crisis
Local faith groups have not held face-to-face services for several weeks now, adopting alternative ways to worship and come together.
- YS food relief effort: An update
A brief updated provided by Melissa Heston, outreach manager for the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, who is focusing on local food relief efforts during the coronavirus crisis.
- Making masks— Villagers stitch to save lives
Locally, sewing-machine-wielding villagers have beaten the CDC to the proverbial punch, having already mobilized a large effort to provide face masks for those in the community and surrounding areas who work daily in the village’s public eye.
- Ohio moves to mail-in voting
Ohio primary voters have just over three weeks left to vote — by mail — in the extended primary election.
- Fear, hope, anxiety, gratitude— Villagers talk sheltering in place
As Ohio made its way through the second week of the governor’s mandate that all Ohioans “stay at home,” the News reached out to several villagers to find out how they’re navigating their lives under the order.
- Meeting need, block by block
In the latest effort to identify — and meet — local needs during the coronavirus crisis, local leaders are empowering 31 neighborhood block contacts throughout the village.
- Schools closed through May 1
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday, March 30, that he has ordered the continued closure of all kindergarten through 12th-grade schools until at least May 1.
- New message for visitors: stay home
Earlier this week, the Village of Yellow Springs erected three electronic signs with public messaging at the gateways to town in an attempt to inform, and also deter visitors during the statewide “stay-at-home” order. After a throng of tourists visited the prior week, some flaunting social distancing rules, the Village, Glen Helen and the Chamber are discouraging visitors.
- Ohio hospitals prepare for surge
Hospitals have been working for months to prepare for the spread of COVID-19 to Ohio, but efforts have intensified over the past couple of weeks.
- Stay active, connected in quarantine
How can individuals stay active, physically, mentally and socially, and stay connected when it’s so important to remain physically distant from others?
- Children’s Center closes
The Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center administration has decided to close the local day care center temporarily, rather than continue operation as a designated “pandemic child care” facility.
- YS Schools— Learning continues despite closure
This week would have been spring break for Yellow Springs schools, if they — and all other kindergarten through 12th grade institutions in the state — had not closed a week earlier, as ordered by Gov. Mike DeWine in response to the worldwide novel coronavirus outbreak.
- Businesses adapt, ‘tough it out’
As part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s March 22 order that Ohioans must stay home, all businesses deemed nonessential were instructed to shut their doors.
- Feeding the village amid crisis
In the wake of business closures across the state to stem the spread of COVID-19, many in the village and township have lost their incomes. And, as in many other communities, hunger here is rising.
- Schools adjust to closure
DeWine announced a three-week shutdown Thursday afternoon, March 12, with the closure to begin at the end of the school day Monday, March 16, and students set to return to class Monday, April 6.
- Local leaders detail responses
Village leaders struck a tone of concern and hopefulness in the face of the coronavirus outbreak as they updated the community on their responses to the crisis at a “virtual town hall” on Monday, March 16.
- Ohio voting delayed
In a series of rapid developments that took place hours before the Ohio presidential primary, in-person voting in the state was off, then on, then off again.
- Daily briefings from governor
It’s already become a ritual: each day at 2 p.m., give or take, Gov. Mike DeWine holds a live-streamed press briefing at the statehouse in Columbus, updating Ohioans on the status of the spread of COVID-19 and the state’s response.
- Coronavirus fears reach village
Villagers are stocking up and staying home as the impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak starts to be felt here, even without a confirmed local case of the disease.
- Power of the Pen advances to regionals— Mighty writers make their mark
The McKinney Middle School Power of the Pen writers won several awards at the district tournament in January.
- Yellow Springs Children’s Center earns five stars
The five-star label is the highest possible rating assigned by Step Up to Quality, a statewide quality rating and improvement system administered jointly by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
- Council weighs jail response
At its March 3 regular meeting, Village Council hashed out a letter to the Greene County Commissioners on their proposal to build a new county jail.
- Prosecutor candidates offer competing visions
The prosecutor oversees a budget of around $2 million and a staff of 14 attorneys to represent the State of Ohio in all felony cases and juvenile crimes in the county and cases involving county agencies.
- MTFR seeks operating levy renewal
Among the ballot issues local voters will decide Tuesday, March 17, is a 3.8-mill renewal levy for Miami Township Fire-Rescue operations.
- Catering to the village since 1983— Current Cuisine wins award
Current Cuisine’s owners, Karyn Stillwell-Current and Steve Current, are being honored for supporting — and feeding — their community.
- Biodigester loses zoning appeal
An energy company’s attempts to keep its biodigester operating four miles west of Yellow Springs were shot down by a Bath Township zoning board last week.
- Encyclopedia highlights Black lives
A “labor of love” — as well as a labor of memory, representation and community — hit a significant milestone in February with the completion and release of the first physical edition of “Blacks in Yellow Springs: A Community Encyclopedia.”
- Local food conference to return
Successful farm-to-school programs. Stories from local farmers coping with climate change. Strategies for turning conventional farms organic. Those topics and more will be explored at “Growing Green 2020: Investing in Conservation and Local Food,” a joint conference of the Tecumseh Land Trust and Community Solutions.
- YS school board— Facilities task force concludes work
Members of the district’s Facilities Task Force presented the group’s final report and concluded a year’s work exploring the needs of the district’s school buildings.
- Greene County Commissioners— Who’s in the primary
Commissioners administer the county’s annual budget, which in 2020 is $55.5 million, appropriated to some 30 county offices and departments such as county and municipal courts, parks and trails and job and family services.
- Peaceful assembly
Mills Lawn School students sang, marched, spoke and celebrated during an assembly on the Civil Rights Movement on Thursday, Feb. 27, the culminating event of Black History Month at the local school.
- Reprise— Battle, Lopez return for concert
Mark Battle and George Lopez will perform Friday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m. in Antioch College’s Herndon Gallery. Donations to benefit YSYOA will be taken at the door. For more information, visit http://www.ysyoa.org.
- 30 years of Feast for Friends
On March 14, Evelyn and Tom LaMers will be doing the same thing they’ve been doing the second Saturday of March for the past 27 years — hosting a dinner as part of the Feast for Friends, the Friends Care Community annual progressive dinner.
- ‘Awesome’ local youth center
Open Mondays through Fridays from 3 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., the local drop-in youth center is free and open to all kids ages 10 to 18.
- Planning Commission— Glen Cottages passes
Glen Cottages, Home, Inc.’s planned pocket neighborhood at 1133 Xenia Ave., got the go-ahead from Planning Commission at its Feb. 11 meeting.
- Village Council— RECs could generate $183K
In a policy shift, the Village of Yellow Springs will be selling its existing Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, which are tied to its purchase of energy from renewable sources. Yellow Springs had previously retained its RECs, a form of currency in green energy markets.
- YS schools— School district, former teacher settle suits
The Yellow Springs school district and a former district teacher have reached a settlement for the second time in five years.
- Free speech and the library
A local group organizing against Issue 12 — the sales tax levy to fund the construction of a new jail for Greene County — was turned away from Yellow Springs Community Library’s meeting room last week.
- Villagers give views on jail
Village Council, at its Feb. 18 regular meeting, considered perspectives on Issue 12, a 0.25% sales tax increase to fund the construction of a new and larger jail for Greene County.
- Schools mourn beloved bus driver
Yellow Springs students, parents, teachers, staff — everyone knew beloved district bus driver Darryl Dewer simply as “Mr. Darryl.”
- Grinnell Road ‘shootout’— Investigation continues in double fatal shooting
Greene County authorities say that the investigation into the double fatal shooting outside a home on Grinnell Road, just south of Yellow Springs, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, could take weeks to complete.
- School vouchers hit home
While some Ohio families benefit, a growing number of the state’s school districts, including Yellow Springs, have found themselves landing in an undesirable position.
- Village Council— Clapping, sign ban lifted
Citizens who attend Village Council meetings can once again express themselves through clapping, snapping and signs, Council decided at its Feb. 3 regular meeting.
- ‘Newspaper of the Year’— News wins state awards
The Yellow Springs News was honored by its peers last week as the “Newspaper of the Year” among comparable papers in Ohio.
- YSDC holds its first meeting
The Yellow Springs Development Corporation, or YSDC, held its first meeting since incorporating on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
- A quick guide to the March primary
The presidential primary is March 17, 2020. Several local issues and a range of federal, state and county offices are on the ballot.
- Tony Bent Memorial
A memorial for Tony Bent will be held at the Vernet Ecological Center on Saturday, Feb. 15, beginning at 2 p.m.
- Elder Stories: Painter Jack Merrill
Merrill is known by some in the village as a quiet and tenacious artist who painted exuberantly, if privately, through nearly five decades of living and working in Yellow Springs.
- ‘Food is medicine’— Clem & Thyme expands
The founder of Clem & Thyme Nutrition and Wellness wants it all. Leslie Edmunds, a self-described dreamer, is expanding her practice, with plans to grow even more in the future.
- Review— Speaking Suns breaks the silence
Art ought to speak some semblance of truth to power. And with the release of their newest record, “Terrestrial Year,” Yellow Springs-based band Speaking Suns does exactly that.
- Village Council— Fee waivers for Home, Inc.
In a split decision at its Feb. 3 regular meeting, Village Council granted Home, Inc. tap fee waivers for the group’s planned senior apartment building.
- School board’s 2020 roles stay same
The Yellow Springs school board’s first meeting of the new year opened with the swearing in of Sylvia Ellison and TJ Turner.
- Returning villager leads Presbyterians
The Reverend Daria Schaffnit’s journey to fulfill her calling has led her back to Yellow Springs, where she hopes her work with the First Presbyterian Church will have a positive impact on the community.
- From the Archives: The winter the tower exploded
On Sunday, Jan. 31, 1977, the water tower at Gaunt Park — there was only one then — had blown a seam and released a million gallons of water into the park.
- Village Council— Energy credit sale considered
For every one-megawatt hour of green energy the Village of Yellow Springs purchases, it receives one Renewable Energy Certificate, or REC. And with a portfolio that is 83% renewables, on the open market, the Village’s RECs could yield about $100,000 per year.
- 10-Minute Play Festival honors villager
The festival will be Friday–Saturday, Feb. 7–8, at 8 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church. Tickets will be available at the door and cost $12 or $10 with a non-perishable food item.
- Learning cheer, loud and proud
Members of the Yellow Springs High School cheerleading team and their coaches spent Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26, in Mills Lawn gym, leading a mini-camp for kindergarten through sixth graders in the basics of cheering.
- In rural areas, a ‘quiet jail boom’
In debates over jail expansion, the big picture is often the hidden aspect of the conversation. New research from Vera Institute of Justice sheds light on a “quiet jail boom” happening in more rural areas of the U.S.
- New Antioch School YG teacher— Drawing on music, outdoors
With the first half of the academic year under her belt, Elaina Vimmerstedt, the Antioch School’s new Younger Group teacher delights in the daily life of the 98-year-old independent elementary school off Corry Street.
- Village Council— Could sewer woes limit growth?
Strong storms rolled into Yellow Springs on April 3, 2018, dumping close to three inches of rain on the village in short order. What happened next was the source of an Ohio EPA rebuke and is now a subject of concern for Village Council as it considers spurring new development in town.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Board expects facilities levy in 2021
District leaders are considering how best to move forward to address the identified problems in the local school buildings
- Rooster dispute could spur ban
Planning Commission began considering a villagewide rooster ban at its Jan. 14 meeting.
- Council debates housing goals
In her first Village Council meeting on Jan. 6, new Council Member Laura Curliss questioned the Village’s stated goals related to housing.
- Schools practice mindfulness
Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle School students this year have the opportunity to participate in an after-school meditative practice on Mondays and a yoga group on Wednesdays, both part of a new mindfulness program that also serves as an alternative to detention for some students.
- Free clinic fills care gaps
Held Tuesday evenings from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Central Chapel AME Church, the local clinic has been operating for a year.
- Open house set— Planning the future of Yellow Springs
Villagers can help shape the future of town by contributing to the comprehensive land use plan now being developed by the Village of Yellow Springs.
- Mary’s Way— A new trail to Agraria
A new trail will connect Yellow Springs and Agraria, Community Solutions’ center for regenerative land use located west of the village.
- A fundraiser to protect area waters
An “unnamed tributary” to Mud Run Creek recently got a name. Yellow Springs, meet “Coyote Run.”
- Citizen review complete, police officers disciplined
A citizen group investigating a Yellow Springs Police Department disciplinary matter has completed its work, according to the Village last month.
- Pharmacy addresses retail issues
The shelves at Benzer Pharmacy, formerly Town Drug, are being restocked, and medication is reportedly coming in daily, after dwindling merchandise and delays in drug orders.
- Antioch College Works— Increasing student aid, jobs
For students with the highest need, Antioch College will soon be tuition-free.
- YS Schools— District seeks field repairs
The Yellow Springs school board is moving forward with repairs and upgrades at the high school’s outdoor athletic field and track.
- ‘Chef Neff’ gives back by teaching
Sue Neff, 81, is preparing to return to Harbour Island in the Bahamas this month to teach culinary arts at the Harbour Island Trade School.
- Council closes in on 2020 budget
Next year the Village of Yellow Springs is projected to bring in $13.9 million and spend $15.4 million, according to a draft budget Council considered at its Nov. 4 meeting.
- Origins of the traffic trial
The barricades and signs along Short, South Walnut and Limestone streets were taken down earlier this week as a three-week temporary transportation project downtown came to an end. The Village of Yellow Springs is now gathering opinions and observations of the traffic trial in hopes of deciding on a permanent solution for the area. An online survey closes after Nov. 23.
- YS grad launches new business— Caring for lawns and nature
Yellow Springs Lawn Care offers a range of services, including gutter cleaning, leaf mulching, leaf removal, aeration, fertilizing and more.
- Charter change narrowly fails
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Yellow Springs voters narrowly rejected a measure to make several amendments to the Village Charter, according to unofficial final results from the Greene County Board of Elections.
- A new vision for Antioch Hall
If all goes as planned, Antioch Hall will have heat by the end of the year. The return of warmth to the iconic structure at Antioch’s heart, commonly known as Main Building, is the result of a unique collaboration between the college and village.
- Film explores ‘moral injury’ vets face
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Clark, Greene and Madison Counties, or NAMI CGM, will be screening “Almost Sunrise,” a film that explores the effects of mental illness and moral injury on veterans, on Saturday, Nov. 9. The free screening will take place from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at the Little Art Theatre.
- Clubs get students abuzz at Antioch
Antioch has a centuries-long history of student-run endeavors, and with the first quarter of 2019 underway, more and more Independent Groups have begun popping up.
- Mark Twain Prize— Stars fete Chappelle at gala
Called the “voice of his generation” by fellow comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, longtime Yellow Springs resident Dave Chappelle was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday night, Oct. 27, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
- Kreeger, MacQueen in; third seat unresolved
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, local voters returned Lisa Kreeger and Marianne MacQueen to Village Council, according to unofficial final results from the Greene County Board of Elections.
- Tax hike for new jail?
Should a 0.25% increase in county sales tax be put on the ballot to fund the construction of a new jail for Greene County? County residents will have a chance to weigh in on the issue at two upcoming public hearings. The hearings are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7, at 1:30 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m. Both hearings will take place in the Greene County Commissioners’ meeting chambers at 35 Greene St. in Xenia.
- Pharmacy concerns— Delays in drug orders cited
Two recent key resignations at the downtown pharmacy have brought to light concerns about the drug store’s ability to fill the prescriptions of its customers.
- Elli Sparks speaks at Glen Helen— Lobbying for climate solutions
Sparks will be speaking in Yellow Springs on Thursday, Oct. 31, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Vernet Ecology Center at Glen Helen. The event is free and the subject of her discussion is how the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, or CCL, works to lobby elected officials to act on behalf of the environment, and to mitigate the effects of climate change.
- Yellow Springs Schools— Expenses outpace revenues
Yellow Springs Schools will be able to continue to balance its budget through fiscal year 2023, but the following year’s solvency is uncertain, Interim Treasurer Tammy Emrick has concluded in compiling the district’s latest five-year forecast.
- Salmeron to be appointed as new manager
Village Council is expected to appoint Josue Salmeron as the new Village Manager of Yellow Springs at its meeting tonight, Monday, May 6.
- Help spread the word— Find food, utility assistance
Alongside the signs of holiday prosperity in the village, Yellow Springs has its share of people in need. Fortunately, there are numerous programs in the area that are ready to help and are looking to assist as many people as possible.
- Ellis among Women of Influence
Ellis is currently being recognized for her efforts to shine a light on local stories, along with her long and successful career in radio. Recently she was named one of six 2019 Dayton YWCA Women of Influence, and she will receive the award at the annual Women of Influence luncheon on March 21, 2019, at the Dayton Convention Center.
- Villager charges smart meters unsafe
In this two-part series, the News will examine the issues surrounding radio frequency radiation from both smart meters and new, fifth-generation wireless technology.
- Council green lights senior apartments
Plans to build a 54-unit affordable senior apartment complex in the village will move forward after Council approved the project at its Dec. 17 meeting.
- YS School Board— District forming a facilities committee
At the last school board meeting of 2018, district Superintendent Mario Basora looked ahead to the new year, when the district “will click the reset button” in addressing local school facility needs.
- Merry and bright— Celebrate traditions of light
As each year comes to a close, the village — and the world outside — celebrates a variety of holidays, traditions and rituals, creating a diversity of celebration throughout Yellow Springs during the darkest time of the year. Despite the darkness, through the celebration of Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas and Kwanzaa, villagers take time in December to remember and consider the light — each in their own ways.
- Planning Commission— Home, Inc. apartments not approved
The large size and tall height of a proposed affordable senior apartment building were the sticking points for Planning Commission this week as it reviewed a zoning application for the project.
- New discussions to start — Finding ways to face race, together
An adapted model calls for diverse groups of eight to 12 people and a facilitator, who meet in two-hour sessions over six weeks, with a different topic each week, from implicit bias to inequity. National and local statistics will be explored and take-home exercises offer more opportunities to learn. At the model’s heart, however, is sharing stories.
- Village Council— A stronger sanctuary stance
Council strengthened its public statement as a “Welcoming Community” with the passing of a new resolution at its regular meeting on Dec. 3.
Village Council