At its Monday, April 6, meeting, the Miami Township Board of Trustees covered a wide swath of business that began with officially welcoming on-board a new Township official.

Cyndi Pauwels was formally sworn in as Miami Township fiscal officer at the start of the meeting, following her appointment last month to fill the remainder of former Fiscal Officer Jeanna GunderKline’s term. Pauwels had previously served as fiscal officer assistant and has been working alongside GunderKline during the transition period. Pauwels’ term began April 1.

Following the swearing-in, Fire Chief James Cannell reported that MTFR has received two grants from the YS Community Foundation.

One grant, a $6,000 award, will support the department’s community paramedicine program, which launched earlier this year and provides ongoing care and check-ins for residents outside of emergency calls.

Cannell said the program, led by Steffinie Brewer, is averaging about five visits per week, with more participants expected in the coming weeks.

“[Brewer is] constantly on the phone and talking with people, getting referrals on a regular basis,” Cannell said, adding that he believes the program “is going to be very successful.”

Another grant will fund a firefighter cadet position through the Antioch College co-op program, covering wages for Antioch student Nicolas Rivera, who began work with the department this month. The cadet position was previously approved by trustees at their March 16 meeting.

Rivera, who is from Delaware, Ohio, is expected to work about 32 hours per week with the department.

“He came in very positive and eager, and we’ve been keeping him busy and getting him some gear and teaching him the firehouse way,” Cannell said.

Antioch College and Miami Township Fire-Rescue have a long-running shared history: From at least the mid 1920s to the mid 1990s, the college maintained a student-run fire department, colloquially known as Maples, which worked in coordination with the then largely volunteer MTFR, sharing calls and resources between the two institutions. Notably, former MTFR Fire Chiefs Colin Altman and Dennis Powell were both Maples fire chiefs before serving full-time at MTFR.   

That shared history is apparent in a new logo for MTFR, debuted by Cannell at the meeting; the logo, Cannell said, was developed by a MTFR staff committee to help distinguish the department from “the [four] other Miami Townships in Ohio.”

“It’s got a lot of history in it; that was one thing we requested,” Cannell said. “It shows our beautiful wilderness, our waterways; it still has the Antioch towers in the background.”

Zoning amendments move forward

During the meeting, Trustees opened a public hearing on the first phase of proposed amendments to the Township’s Zoning Resolution, reviewing seven of a planned 15 updates.

As the News has reported in the past, the amendments have been in development since last year with support from the Greene County Regional Planning and Coordinating Commission and funded through a state grant. Zoning Administrator Bryan Lucas has said the revisions are intended to simplify language, eliminate inconsistencies and align the code with current state law and land-use practices.

The first batch of changes addressed projections into yard setbacks, parking and storage of recreational vehicles, swimming pool regulations, cemetery standards, private airstrips and updated rules for parking, loading and signage.

Additional hearings for the remaining amendments will be held during upcoming regular meetings, after which Trustees will vote on the amendments’ approval.

To read all 15 proposed amendments in full, go to miamitownship.net/zoning-resolution.

Insurance policy change approved

At meeting’s end, trustees approved a resolution to discontinue reimbursement of health insurance premiums for elected officials who opt out of the Township’s group health plan. The resolution was brought forward by Trustee Chair Marilan Moir, who cited concerns that the existing practice was not properly authorized and may not comply with state and federal requirements.

“This resolution is not codifying anything,” Moir said. “It is stating that we’re not in compliance with the state laws.”

According to the resolution and discussion, the Township had been reimbursing premiums for some officials without a formal policy in place and without clearly defined limits, eligible benefits or administrative procedures. Moir said that any reimbursement program must be formally adopted and applied consistently between elected officials and staff.

“To have an opt-out reimbursement program, it has to be a policy that’s offered to all — everyone in the organization,” she said.

Trustee Chris Mucher raised concerns about the personal financial impact of passing the resolution, noting that he had accrued about $6,700 in unreimbursed health insurance costs for his family so far since last year as part of the opt-out practice. He added that the reimbursement practice had been in place “for the last 20 to 25 years.”

Moir noted that the resolution includes language directing the Township to consult with insurance benefit compliance professionals and tax and payroll experts to “pursue the possibility of a healthcare premium reimbursement policy that is consistent with state and federal laws.”

Following discussion, trustees agreed to request that Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes review the situation and identify any legal options for reimbursing Mucher for premiums already paid in 2025 and 2026.

The next regular meeting of the Miami Township Trustees will be Monday, April 20, at 5 p.m., in the MTFR meeting room.

The following information is from DarkSky International, submitted by the YS Habitat Team.

Over the past 100 years, humans have transformed the night, erasing the natural darkness with which we evolved. While artificial light at night is crucial to our modern world, it comes at a cost. Artificial light has contributed to light pollution which is increasing at a global average rate of 10% a year.

Light pollution includes components of:

• Glare — excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort;

• Sky glow — brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas;

• Light trespass — light falling where it is not intended or needed; and

• Clutter — bright, confusing, and excessive groupings of light sources.

Growing scientific research indicates that artificial light at night has detrimental effects on human health and well-being. Circadian disruption occurs when our internal clock is out of sync with the day-night cycle. Circadian disruption has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, mood disorders, reproductive problems and cancers.

Plants and animals also depend on natural light cycles to govern life-sustaining behaviors such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep and protection from predators. Scientific evidence suggests that artificial light at night has deadly effects on many creatures, contributing to the decline of biodiversity worldwide. Artificial lights can cause migrating birds to wander off course toward dangerous nighttime landscapes and cities. Millions of birds die colliding with needlessly illuminated buildings and towers every year.

We are just starting to understand the effects of artificial light on wildlife. Each year, new research adds more wildlife to the list of affected animals, including monarch butterflies, moths and other insects, bats, owls and even aquatic species.

DarkSky estimates that 30% of all outdoor lighting in the U.S. is also wasted, mostly due to unshielded or excessively bright lights. This adds up to $3.3 billion dollars annually. Installing quality outdoor lighting could cut energy use by 60% to 70%.

In the U.S. alone, unnecessary lighting produces 21 million tons of carbon dioxide each year — 875 million trees would need to be planted annually to offset this waste.

Studies like one out of the city of Chicago are revealing that brighter light does not always equate to increased safety. Poorly designed, misdirected and ineffectively shielded light can actually cause glare and shadows, while overly bright lights can potentially reveal more potential targets for crime. Outdoor lighting should be fully shielded and directed downward where it is needed. Fully shielded fixtures can provide the same level of illumination on the ground as unshielded ones, but with less energy and cost.

Unnecessary indoor lighting — particularly in empty office buildings at night — should be turned off, preventing leakage of that light into the night sky. Warm-light LED and compact fluorescent bulbs can help reduce energy use and protect the environment.

Dimmers, motion sensors and timers can help to reduce average illumination levels and save even more energy.

During spring and fall bird migration periods, close curtains or reduce light on second-story floors in residential homes at night, and do not shine spotlights upward toward the sky.

For more information, visit local chapter DarkSky Ohio’s booth at the YS Earth Day & Community Habitat Celebration on Sunday, April 26, 1–4 p.m. on the lawn of the John Bryan Community Center.

Antioch College’s Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom will host a banquet and fundraiser later this month in Springfield, aiming to both honor Coretta Scott King’s legacy and strengthen support for the center’s work.

The Coretta Scott King Legacy Fundraising Banquet will be held Sunday, April 26, at the Springfield Museum of Art, with doors opening at 5 p.m. and the program beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The program will be hosted by Dr. Queen Meccasia Zabriskie, director of the Coretta Scott King Center, and honorary co-host John Gudgel, president of The 365 Project board of directors.

Speaking with the News last week, Zabriskie said the CSKC has traditionally held celebrations in honor of King’s April 27th birthday, and this year’s banquet is designed to both continue that tradition and reflect the center’s current priorities and create space for community engagement.

“We’re not focusing on a particular aspect of her legacy, except for giving the college permission to create a center named after her that focuses on social justice education and diversity education,” she said. “So it’s celebrating that history, but also talking about the contemporary work and the future work of the center.”

The evening’s program will include dinner, a 20th anniversary presentation and a panel discussion titled “Forging a Way Forward: Facing Contemporary Human Rights and Civil Rights Challenges.” Panelists include Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission; Denise Williams, president of the Springfield NAACP; Valerie Lemmie, senior advisor for state and local government at the Kettering Foundation; and Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center.

Zabriskie said the panel is intended to center current issues affecting the region — particularly in Springfield, which has been at the center of both regional and national attention after the attempted removal of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in that community by the Trump administration.

“When we talk about Springfield, we have to think about the current administration and the attacks on Springfield and on the Haitian community, in particular — that’s one of the issues that’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” she said. “It’ll give us a chance to talk about contemporary issues, but really, to talk with people who are engaged in the work of addressing and facing these contemporary human rights and civil rights challenges in this moment.”

The choice of the Springfield Museum of Art for the banquet, Zabriskie said, is both an acknowledgement of the ongoing social justice work in the city and a reflection of the museum being “mission-aligned” with the Coretta Scott King Center. And hosting the event in Springfield also offers a direct connection to King’s history, she added.

“Coretta Scott King’s first public solo [vocal musical] performance was in Springfield at the Second Baptist Church,” Zabriskie said. “So it gives us an opportunity to highlight that aspect of her legacy.”

Banquet attendees will also have access to museum exhibitions during the event, including “Black Lives as Subject Matter III” and a display of Haitian metal artwork. The banquet will conclude with a jazz performance by Cuban American pianist and composer Fabian Almazan, whose work explores themes of musical innovation and environmental justice.

Zabriskie said the event is part of a broader effort to strengthen connections between the center and communities across the region. To that end, in the weeks leading up to the banquet, the center hosted a series of smaller conversations during Women’s History Month in Columbus, Dayton, Springfield and the village. Those gatherings, Zabriskie said, were intended to invite community input and begin building a wider network of support that could inform the center’s next phase of work.

“We really wanted to have a conversation with people in the audience about what kinds of things and what kind of work they would love to see come out of the center,” she said.

Participants, Zabriskie said, expressed interest in expanded voter education efforts, while also raising the possibility of a more formal “friends of the center” network to support programming and outreach. Others pointed to opportunities to build on existing education initiatives; in particular, she noted positive feedback to the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day event, which launched locally in 2024 and is held in November in collaboration with YS Schools. The event honors Bridges who, at age 6, was the first Black student to desegregate the previously all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960.

Zabriskie said the upcoming banquet and fundraiser is also expected to include discussion of the development of a Coretta Scott King Humanitarian Award, which she said would recognize those who are “engaged in work that forwards the legacy and vision that Coretta Scott King worked so hard to create.”

Ultimately, Zabriskie said, the banquet is about building new connections and reinforcing existing ones in a time when antiracism and social justice work are being challenged at the highest levels of governance.

“The only way to navigate this is to support each other, to build this network of support,” she said.

And the best network, she said, is a “net that works,” an idea she credited to the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.

“Already I can see in the conversations we’ve been able to have, and the possibilities for the work moving forward, the power of that kind of connection,” she said, nodding to the words of Coretta Scott King herself: “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.”

“The people who came before worked so hard to get us to this point, and we’re still working,” Zabriskie said. “So all is not lost.”

More information on the Coretta Scott King Center Legacy Fundraising Banquet is available at http://www.antiochcollege.edu

YS Porchfest will return this fall, with organizers announcing that applications are now open for musicians, porch hosts and sponsors as planning begins for the villagewide music event.

The annual festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, once again transforming porches, patios, backyards and other neighborhood spaces into stages for a day of free, live performances across the village. Applications are available online at http://www.ysporchfest.com for those interested in participating.

Now entering its second year back after a one-year hiatus, Porchfest organizers told the News last week that the focus for 2026 is on refining the elements of the beloved event that already work as it continues to take shape.

“We’re still establishing this program,” Porchfest coordinator David Seitz said. “But there is a sense that people like it the way it is — the formula is right.”

Porchfest, a national movement whose local arm was co-founded by Brittany Baum and Rachel Price in 2018, was previously run entirely by a small group of volunteers. The local Porchfest went on hiatus in 2024 after that group could no longer sustain the event, and went looking for a nonprofit agency to shepherd it into the future. Porchfest returned last year under the umbrella of the YS Arts Council.

Via email this week, YSAC President Valerie Blackwell-Truitt said the organization viewed taking on the festival as an extension of its broader work supporting the arts in the village, incorporating Porchfest into its ongoing community arts programming.

“We were honored to be asked to consider being the new home of YS PorchFest,” she said. “Given the success of YSAC’s YS Porchfest 2025, we are happy to continue this meaningful, joyous event.”

Though Porchfest remains largely powered by volunteers, a grant from the YS Community Foundation enabled the YS Arts Council to hire Seitz as coordinator, which YSAC Treasurer Sean Devine said helped clinch the event’s revival.

“The paid position is essential,” he said. “We wouldn’t have had Porchfest last year without all the work David did.”

Devine added that the organization viewed last year’s Porchfest as a success and made a deliberate decision to keep it running.

“Part of the motivation is [the YSAC wants] to stay relevant in the community, and one way to do that is by having a present, recurring event that recenters the community,” he said. “Porchfest is still a community-based event — it’s not a commercial endeavor — and the town can use more of those.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Seitz and the volunteer crew, almost all of whom are returning from last year’s event to work this year; they said last year’s event reaffirmed Porchfest’s place in the community.

“Anytime I bring up Porchfest anywhere, people will say it’s their favorite day of the year in Yellow Springs,” Seitz said.

“It was one of my favorite days last year, too,” added returning volunteer Margi Gay, who also served as a porch host for multiple bands. “I had so much fun.”

Attendance across the village varied by location last year, but Seitz said some venues drew more than 100 attendees, and post-event surveys reported that no host porch had crowds smaller than 10. The event’s format encourages attendees to move from porch to porch, which Seitz said can muddle the numbers a bit, but overall creates a fluid sense of participation.

“People come and then they go,” he said. “They come in and out; everywhere I went, people were smiling.”

YS Chamber of Commerce Director Phillip O’Rourke called Porchfest “one of the most connective events” in the village, and said that while downtown businesses saw increased foot traffic, Porchfest’s come-and-go nature means those visiting from out-of-town often get the chance to see more of Yellow Springs than Xenia Avenue and Dayton Street.

“You get a sense of our love for music, the culture, and you get a tour of all of the community,” he said. “It really shows the value of what our community has to offer when it comes to us just being a destination in and of itself.”

Though Porchfest draws some visitors from outside Yellow Springs, Gay emphasized that the event’s focus remains on fostering local participation and connection.

“We don’t really promote it heavily outside of town,” she said.

Looking ahead to this year’s event, Seitz said the Porchfest crew is aiming for a more diverse group of musicians — “We want more performers of color on the map,” he said — along with a wider range of performance spaces. Organizers are encouraging hosts to accommodate multiple acts where possible, giving more musicians a chance to play and helping spread performances more evenly across the village.

Seitz said those without traditional porches are still encouraged to participate; last year, performances took place on front steps, in yards and in garages.

“If you’re thinking about hosting, but you’re not sure, you can email us,” he said.

For more information on the upcoming Porchfest, or to apply to participate as a musician, host or sponsor, go to ysporchfest.com. For more information on the YS Arts Council, go to http://www.ysartscouncil.org

 

Eleven Bulldogs were inducted into the Yellow Springs Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 4.

The new hall-of-famers include Kenneth “Buster” Hamilton, Carl Cordell Jr., Ron Benton, Steven L. Harshaw, Sandra Lang, Lynn Hardman, Tracy Hoagland-Clark, Larry Peterson, Dustin Rudegeair, Raphael Allen and Jared Scarfpin.

These Bulldogs join the ranks of the 44 other athletes who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its creation in 2018 through a combined effort by the YSHS Athletic Department and YSHS Athletic Boosters.

• Kenneth “Buster” Hamilton, class of 1945, was a star basketball player at John Bryan High School. During the 1945 season, he led Bryan High School to its first-ever district championship, along with winning the county championship.

• Carl Cordell Jr., class of 1960, excelled as an athlete in basketball and baseball at Bryan High School in Yellow Springs. As a 10th and 11th grader, Carl was First Team All-Conference and District in both sports. As a senior, he was selected All-Ohio in basketball and led the Bulldogs to the regionals. As a baseball standout at Bryan High School, Carl was scouted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.

• Ron Benton, class of 1966, was a star basketball player for the Bulldogs from 1964 to 1966. He was an instrumental and outstanding part of the team that beat Anna HS for the Class A District title in 1966 — at that time, there were only two divisions for basketball. This was only the second district basketball title in school history and the first crown since 1945.

• Steven L. Harshaw, class of 1971, was a multisport athlete at Yellow Springs High School, playing basketball and baseball for four years and lettering in both sports. Most importantly, he was a trailblazer; during freshman year, he was the first Black athlete in YSHS history to play on the golf team. In his senior year on the basketball court, he was in the Elite 300 Point Club with 306 points in 15 games, averaging 20.4 points a game; and 407 points in 21 games, averaging 19.4 points a game. He shot 68% from the field and 91.7% from the free throw line while averaging 8.4 assists, 3.9 steals and 4.3 rebounds per game.

• Sandra Lang, class of 1977, played high school softball for four years, playing first base and outfield. She also played college softball and in various adult leagues after college. During the 1976–1977 basketball season, she averaged 8 points, 3 assists, and 13 rebounds per game. In March of 1977, she signed a national letter of intent for a full basketball scholarship to Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. She became the first out-of-state player and first black player for the women’s program.

• Lynn Hardman, class of 1979, graduated from Yellow Springs High School a four-year athlete in soccer, basketball and softball, class officer, Honor Society member and class salutatorian. In her senior year, under the loving and lengthy leadership of coach Duke Conrad, Lynn earned two notable honors. YSHS girls soccer team won the the-day invitational Worthington Soccer Invitational, arguably the equivalent of a state tournament, and made third team All-State in basketball, averaging “double-doubles” in rebounding and scoring.

• Tracy Hoagland-Clark, class of 1987, was a multisport athlete in high school, excelling most notably in basketball. During her senior year, Tracy helped lead her team to a district runner-up finish and earned numerous honors, including: Kenton Trace Conference (KTC) First Team (two years), KTC Runner-Up Player of the Year (1987), Southwest District 9 All-Star (Senior Year), Dayton Area All-Star Selection Class A, All-Ohio Honorable Mention Greene County, First Team Greene County leading scorer (17 points per game) and leading rebounder.

• As a football player, Larry Peterson, class of 1993, played a variety of positions because of his size, speed and strength, and he was named All District and All State. In basketball, he was a two-year starter and played on the Bulldog squad that reached the Regional Championship in 1992, where he was also selected to the All-Ohio team. In track, he was a key figure in leading the Bulldogs to state championships in 1992 and 1993. As a trackster, he won four first-place gold medals and one runner-up medal, highlighted by a state championship his senior year in the long jump, along with setting the still-standing school record in the long jump.

• Dustin Rudegeair, class of 2004, starred in basketball and baseball during his time at Yellow Springs. A four-year letter winner in baseball and a three-year letter winner in basketball, he would letter twice in football and once in golf as well. Rudegeair also excelled in the classroom, being named a Scholar-Athlete in every season of competition throughout his career. On the court, Rudegeair was a three-year starter, helping the basketball team win Metro Buckeye Conference championships in 2003 and 2004. He would once again be named as MBC Player of the Year (the first in conference history to receive the award twice) and second team All-Ohio, amongst other individual accolades. Statistically, he averaged 19.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per basketball game and became the seventh in Yellow Springs history to reach the 1,000 point milestone.

• Raphael Allen, class of 2009. Among the many sports he competed in, track and field and football became the arenas where his athleticism and determination stood out most. His accomplishments at Yellow Springs opened the door to compete at the collegiate level, where he attended Wittenberg University and continued his success in both sports. During his high school football career, he won four championships and lost a total of six games.

• Jared Scarfpin, class of 2015, played varsity soccer all four years, varsity basketball for three years, and varsity baseball for two years. A captain of the soccer team for three years, he earned multiple conference, district, state and regional awards throughout his career. While representing YSHS in soccer, he earned first team all-Metro Buckeye Conference honors all four years, and Metro Buckeye Conference Player of the Year as a junior and a senior.

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