Bethel journal 070115

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B ETHEL JOURNAL

Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015

75¢ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS

Goshen Township dog was man’s best friend Cindy Schroeder cschroeder@communitypress.com

GOSHEN TOWNSHIP — A criti-

cally injured boxer that’s being hailed as a hero by everyone from CNN to Japanese TV has captured the hearts of animal lovers everywhere, as she recovers from injuries sustained in a fatal house fire. “They say a dog is man’s best friend, and that was certainly true here,” said Steve Pegram, chief of Goshen Fire & EMS. On Feb. 5, Goshen Township firefighters found Carmen lying across the face of her owner, Ben Ledford, trying to shield the 33-year-old from the flames that had surrounded the two in a basement apartment. “Unfortunately, the owner

HOW TO HELP Donate to Carmen’s care at crowdrise.com/carmenLedford-HospitalDonations/ For updates on Carmen at the Care Center Facebook page go to facebook.com/CAREcentervets

passed away at the hospital,” Pegram said. Carmen, who was struggling to breathe, was wrapped in a blanket and taken to a nearby veterinary clinic. She was transferred to Care Center Vets, a 24-hour veterinary emergency trauma and critical care hospital in Blue Ash. Since firefighters rescued the dog, Pegram said he’s had numerous interview requests, including one from Japan.

“We’re getting tons and tons of emails and Facebook posts,” Stephanie Serraino, said spokeswoman for the veterinary clinic that’s treating Carmen. “People from Kansas, people from the United Kingdom, people from Berlin have sent messages. “The outpouring showing Carmen love and support has been incredible.” Now relatives of the man who the heroic canine tried to save want to help Carmen as she slowly regains her strength. Through the crowdsourcing website, CrowdRise, they’re raising money to pay Carmen’s veterinary bills. In one week, the dog’s supporters have raised $27,060. See DOG, Page 2A

THANKS TO CINCINNATI CARE CENTER

Dr. Marlo Anderson DVM, Jennifer Lunkenheimer, a registered veterinary technician, and Ginger Jones, a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner, help Carmen stand on Feb. 11 with the help of a peanut therapy ball.

Patchwork of summer programs helps to feed hungry children FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS AND TEENS

Cindy Schroeder cschroeder@communitypress.com

When school’s out for the summer, Clermont County has few feeding options for hungry children. Unlike Hamilton County, which has dozens of sites where children 18 and younger can eat free breakfasts and lunches in the summertime, only two Clermont County school systems — New Richmond Exempted Village School District and Felicity-Franklin Local Schools — take part in the national Summer Food Service Program offered at U.S. Department of Agriculture approved sites. New Richmond Elementary at 1141 Bethel-New Richmond Road serves breakfast from 8 a.m.-8:30 a.m. and lunch from 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., while Felicity-Franklin Local School at 105 Market St. in Felicity serves breakfast from 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. and lunch from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. New Richmond’s program operates through Aug. 14, while FelicityFranklin’s program runs until July 2. Those two Clermont County districts’ Monday school through Friday meal programs serving breakfast and lunch are supplemented by nonprofit food pantries and local churches’ periodic distribution programs that offer several days or weeks of groceries for struggling families. Newtown-based Inter Parish Ministry, which draws 80 percent of its clients from Clermont County, also has a food truck that makes periodic stops in communities with a high concentration of low income families, and several churches offer occasional hot meals.

QUENCH YOUR THIRST 5A Herbs make Rita’s Spa Water sparkle.

To find a location near you, call 1-866-HUNGRY or go to fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks The USDA’s free Summer Food Service Program is open to all children 18 and younger. There are no income restrictions on children who eat the meals and no enrollment is necessary.

CINDY SCHROEDER/THE COMMUNITY PRESS

Bonnie Caudill, head cook at New Richmond Schools’ Monroe Elementary, serves juice to a participant in New Richmond Elementary School’s USDA Summer Food Service Program.

“When it comes to summer meal programs, Clermont County is pretty barren compared to Hamilton County,” said Chuck Swanson, manager of pantry operations for Inter Parish Ministry.

Reasons for lack of meal programs vary

School officials cite everything from geography to the extensive state-required paper-

XTRA! XTRA! Get “Xtra” perks at www.Cincinnati.com/ xtras/

work for what essentially is a break-even program as reasons for the lack of summer meal programs for Clermont County children from financiallystruggling families. In the Milford Exempted Village School District, 29.86 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. Meg Krsacok, spokeswoman for Milford Schools, echoed comments from several Cler-

mont County school systems when she said: “ With many of our schools not being walkable, it’s been a challenge to offer a summer feeding program in one centralized location accessible to most of our students.” For many school districts, one of the biggest stumbling blocks to qualifying for the summer meal program is having enough students at a particular school participating in the

See page A2 for additional information

See FOOD, Page 2A

For the Postmaster

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free and reduced-price lunch program, those familiar with the program say. In the New Richmond school district of 2,471 students, only New Richmond Elementary, where 57.72 percent of pupils receive free and reduced price lunches, is eligible to be a host site for the USDA summer food program. “It’s the individual building, not the district, that has to have 50 percent or more of its students receiving free or reduced price lunches,” said Brenda Young, food service director at the New Richmond Exempted Village School District. “In New Richmond, we have five school buildings, but we only have one school that actually qualifies, so that’s where we have to host the program.” Young and Michelle Utter, cafeteria supervisor of the Felicity-Franklin Local School District, where about 60 percent of students receive free or reduced price lunches, say it’s not always easy to find cafeteria workers who are willing to give up part of their summer vacation. “Even when you’re paying them, not everybody wants to give up a month or so when

The Bethel Journal 394 Wards Corner Road, Suite 170 Loveland, Ohio 45140

Published weekly every Thursday Periodicals postage paid at Bethel, OH 45106 ISSN 1066-7458 • USPS 053-040 Postmaster: Send address change to The Bethel Journal, 394 Wards Corner Road, Suite 170, Loveland, Ohio 45140 Annual subscription: Weekly Journal In-County $18.00; All other in-state and out-of-state $20.00

Vol. 116 No. 12 © 2015 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


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