PAGE 12 Sunday, January 15, 2017-The Early Bird, www.bluebagmedia.com
Naturally Fit with Darke County Parks GREENVILLE – Darke County Parks is hosting a series of ďŹ tness programs called Naturally Fit occurring the third Monday of every month. Everyone wants to lead healthier lives and spend more time outdoors. However, workout machines aren’t always environmentally friendly, gyms aren’t very exciting, and the cold winter weather makes it even less appealing. Besides, sometimes life just gets in the way. Use these programs as an “excuseâ€? to schedule time outside and get moving. Each of these programs focuses more on ďŹ tness than nature, with everyone moving at their
own pace, whether that’s one loop or ten. The January program will take place Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. at Tecumseh Point in Greenville. This short loop near scenic Greenville Creek will make those last 1,000 steps of the day easy to ďŹ nish. The park is located on the south west side of the Greenville Creek Bridge on north Broadway in Greenville. Meet there, and don’t forget to bring a water bottle. The brisk winter air will do your lungs (and the rest of your body) some good. For questions or weather updates, call the Nature Center at 548-0165.
CT students earn ďŹ fth place in real-world challenge BY SUSAN HARTLEY STAFF WRITER shartley@earlybirdpaper.com GREENVILLE – Three senior computer technology students in Nathan Sharp’s class at Greenville Career Tech Center have earned ďŹ fth place in the Deloitte Virtual Team Challenge. The challenge – a free, real-time, 3D, multi-user online business simulation centered on a real-life problem – this time an oil spill - offers teams of up to four students a chance to use a variety of skills to problem solve. Students in 23 countries participated in the fall 2016 challenge, Sharp said. The three Greenville
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teammates who came just points away from being in the Top 3 are Ryver Lewis, James Graves and CeeJay Miltenberger. “I learned good ways to conduct business and how to collaborate with my peers,â€? Miltenberger said of his experience playing the game, which takes about three weeks to complete. The challenge, hosted by Deloitte Management Consulting takes place twice during the school year. The program offers students an opportunity to learn real-life work skills. Each team player is assigned a “roleâ€? with speciďŹ c job duties to perform in order to help solve the problem at hand. Each role is central to the team’s success and can either contribute or detract from the team score. The four roles include: Fast Tracker: Responsible for Support Services including decisions about hiring emergency services and logistics vendors to make sure the cleanup runs smoothly. Smooth Operator: Responsible for Media and Volunteer Management including decisions about hiring a public relations ďŹ rm and a spokesperson for the cleanup so that support-donations from the public adequately fund the cleanup.
Senior students in Greenville’s Computer Technology class recently completed an on-line real-time challenge, sponsored by Deloitte Management Consulting. One team of three students earned ďŹ fth place. (Susan Hartley photo)
Grime Stopper: Responsible for the physical aspects of the environmental cleanup including hiring oil spill containment, recovery and disposal vendors. If the cleanup is environmentally effective, New City will be saved and the team will receive the most support-donations from the public. Green Machine: Responsible for crisis administration including hiring vendors to write the disaster assessment document and handle legal and compliance issues. The top three placing teams actually earn money, Sharp said, for themselves, as well as their school. Also, a donation is made to their local United
Way. “It’s pretty awesome that they placedâ€? ďŹ fth, said Sharp. “They were shocked when they learned they were just short of the Top 3 and said ‘we should have done this, should have done that.’â€? All nine seniors in Sharp’s class participated by working in teams of three. The other two teams included Trevor Brumbaugh, Jarret Watson and Dylan Hosbrook, who placed 26th and Braxton Sandlin, Tyler Carter and Liam Williams-Henninger, who placed 127th. There were 306 teams from around the United States participating in the SPILL challenge.
Fish Choice Pantry gives tax ďŹ ling help GREENVILLE – The Fish Choice Pantry is one of 43 organizations across Ohio that will receive funding to support the expansion of their free tax ďŹ ling services through The Ohio BeneďŹ t Bank™. The Ohio BeneďŹ t Bank (OBB™) is a program of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks that provides free help with federal, state and school district tax ďŹ ling to nearly 30,000 Ohio households each year. Fish Choice Pantry will be providing free tax completion services to the Darke County community by appointment, by providing weekday, evening and Saturday appointments. The OBB is made up of a network of more than 1,000 community and faith-based organizations that connect Ohioans with more than 20 work support programs and tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and child tax credits, through one streamlined online service called The BeneďŹ t BankÂŽ. Ohioans can visit sites like [name of organization] to ďŹ le their taxes for free with a trained counselor, or they can ďŹ le on their own at www.ohiobeneďŹ ts.org. Most households using the married ďŹ ling jointly sta-
tus with incomes less than $95,000 and most households using other ďŹ ling statuses with incomes less than $65,000 are eligible to ďŹ le their federal, state and school district taxes for free with the OBB. In 2016, The Fish Choice Pantry served 342 residents of Darke and surrounding Counties. “This year, we hope to serve even more residents and help them keep the full tax refunds they’ve earned,â€?
said Fish Director Kristy Cutarelli. Residents interested in making an appointment to have their taxes ďŹ led through the OBB can call 937-547-9730. Appointments are available weekdays, evenings, or at one of their Saturday tax clinics. Community members interested in volunteering as OBB counselors are welcome to call Kristy or Laura at 937-547-9730 for more information.
Project FeederWatch ongoing at DCP GREENVILLE – Calling all birders. Join Darke County Park District, and participate in Project FeederWatch, every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. This is a unique citizen science program organized by Cornell University which studies winter bird populations. Observations from here in Darke County may be used in scientiďŹ c journals and shared with ornithologists and bird lovers nationwide. No matter your birding level, beginner or expert, they need your help. Bird watchers will gather inside the Nature Center
at Shawnee Prairie Preserve (4267 St. Rt. 502 West) and count the birds that visit the bird-feeding station. Drop in anytime on Tuesday or Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. to help with the project. There will be warm drinks available for those enjoying nature from the comfort of an armchair on a cold winter’s day. For more information on Project FeederWatch or if you have questions about any of the many other programs offered by the Darke County Park District, call the Nature Center at (937) 548-0165.