EDITORIAL

Remarkable community spirit

Over the next two weeks, the News will publish its annual review of the year’s news in Yellow Springs. What stands out when reviewing a year’s worth of newspapers is the richness and fullness of life here.

Some stories will naturally grab your attention, such as the destruction of Glen Helen’s Red Barn; efforts to increase business growth in town; the controversies surrounding WYSO, the local public radio station; Tim Lopez, the Yellow Springs High School senior who disappeared last January; the affordable housing controversy and the referendum on the Glass Farm plan; Antioch’s new president and chancellor; the environmental investigations at Vernay Laboratories’s Dayton Street facility and YSI Incorporated’s Brannum Lane campus; Vernay’s decision to close its local plants.

It is, however, the many simple or everyday-type of stories and events that can really make an impact on a town, and a reader: the artists-in-residence at Mills Lawn; the Lions Club’s annual 4th of July fireworks display; parades; Halloween bonfires; the King Day walk; the new signs and maps on the Antioch campus; AACW’s Blues Fest; the distribution of flour and sugar to local widows; Street Fair; the vast number of school activities and the efforts of our young athletes; lasagna dinners; the Baptist Church’s Calendar Tea; Gabby Day; a new flag pole at the Train Station.

Sifting through the year’s events gives you a sense of this place, its people and our community. It is remarkable to consider the number of individuals and groups that quietly help make a difference everyday in Yellow Springs. Every month people organize art events and concerts, community potlucks, lectures and presentations, and sporting events such as the tee-ball program and youth soccer programs.

While attention-grabbing, tumultuous or controversial stories often garner big headlines, it is these other stories that really show what kind of town Yellow Springs is. Indeed, it is the people, more than anything else, that make Yellow Springs a fascinating and caring community.

—Robert Mihalek


Note: This week’s editorial is adapted from one that was originally published a year ago.