Early Bird Newspaper 031719

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Kiwanis names Blosser Citizen of the Year

Versailles FFA has successful evaluations

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THE EARLY

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BIRD NEWSPAPER

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!

Weekend Edition

Online at earlybirdpaper.com

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Quick action nets monies for young cancer patient LINDA MOODY

CORRESPONDENT

ANSONIA – A hair-cutting event – Brave the Shave – last Sunday was successful and showed where the Ansonia community, especially the school, came together once again to make it special. All of this was for Brayden Barnes, who has been diagnosed with Rhabdoyma Sarcoma. “Brayden wanted to hold onto his hair as long as he could,” said his mother,

Jeannette (Unrast) Shuff. “So we knew that he wanted to have a few of his friends come over and shave their heads and his friends were in support of that. Brayden came to me mid-Saturday afternoon and said, ‘Mom I think it’s time.’ So I called Cassie Bunger and asked her if she would be able to cut his hair with some of his buddies in our garage and we talked about later possibly doing a shave-a-thon or something but that we didn’t have enough time to put something together. I then reached out to Sarah Edwards to see if this would be

Ansonia celebrating American Legion’s 100th anniversary LINDA MOODY

CORRESPONDENT

ANSONIA – The Eck Ary/Douglas Dickey American Legion Post 353 in Ansonia will be celebrating 100 years of the largest veterans service organization, American Legion, with an open house this Sunday (March 17) from 3-5 p.m. on Mackinaw Street. Organizers said there will be free tacos and taco salad as well as reduced prices on drinks available. They are inviting all members and area veterans to the event. The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. According to historical accounts, focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. “Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country,” the report noted. “Today, membership stands at over 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.” Over the years, the account went on - the Legion has influenced considerable social change in America, won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important programs for children and youth. Members of the Ameri-

can Expeditionary Force convene in Paris for the first American Legion caucus March 15-17, 1919. At the St. Louis caucus, “The American Legion” was adopted as the organization’s official name. The Legion’s draft preamble and constitution were approved. On June 9, the National Executive Committee adopted the Legion emblem, and on Sept. 16, Congress chartered The American Legion. Nov. 10-12, the first Legion convention convened in Minneapolis, where the Constitution and preamble were adopted. Delegates voted 361-323 to locate the Legion’s national headquarters in Indianapolis, instead of Washington. A resolution was passed in support of Boy Scouts of America. Today, the Legion is the chartering agency for more than 1,700 Scouting units made up of approximately 64,000 youths. On Aug. 9, 1921, the Legion’s efforts resulted in the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of the Veterans Administration. Today, the Legion continues to lobby for adequate funding to cover medical, disability, education and other benefits for veterans. The first “Flag Code” was drafted during a Legion conference in Washington on June 15, 1923. Congress adopted the code in 1942. Today, the Legion is at the forefront of efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the U.S. flag from physical desecration. The Sons of The American Legion was officially recognized during the 1932 National Convention in Portland, Ore., in September 1932.

something her son, Parker, would be into because they are good friends. She was on board and offered to help cut hair. Then, she reached out to Dustin Hecht to ask about the baseball team and then it took off like wildfire. We really had no idea what the turnout was going to be.” They shaved over 80 heads of hair and raised $2,054.” This was done in less than a 24-hour notice to the community through Facebook Instagram and Caring Bridge. Those cutting hair included Jessica Miller, Cassie Bunger, Jennifer Scott, Amy Gessler and Sarah Edwards. “He could not believe the support for him,” Jeannette said. “Brayden did get his hair cut that night. He was the first alongside his dad, Douglas Barnes, his stepdad Scott Shuff, his oldest brother Jayden Barnes

and his grandpa, Douglas Barnes.” According to her, the diagnosis was made after Brayden suffered a back injury at school and they found out that he had a fracture in his l4 and that he had lesions all along his spine. He has finished two rounds of chemo and is currently in the middle of his third round at Dayton Children’s. She went on, “Brayden has been extremely positive through this. His whole motto has been ‘God’s got this.’” An eighth-grader, the 15-year-old plays baseball and runs in track and cross country. This event, she said, didn’t start out as a fundraiser until Dustin Hecht offered to start an auction to have his head shaved, and then TJ Philpot, the junior high baseball coach, decided to get in on the auction after which Ryan Huwer,

Dustin Hecht is shown with 15-year-old Brayden Barnes at the Brave the Shave event in the Ansonia gym this past Sunday. Numerous community members gathered to honor and support the eighthgrader. (Courtesy photo)

the math teacher, joined, followed by Jason Wright, his cross country coach and science teacher, and then Principal Jim Robson. They all decided to auction off shaving their heads and, whoever won the bid, got to shave their heads. “Tyler Studebaker, Brayden’s track coach,

missed out on the head shaving but has decided to put out a gofundme and if $2,000 is raised, he will shave his head whatever style that Brayden chooses for one week before totally shaving his head,” Jeannette said. Read more about Brayden at earlybirdpaper.com.

Hatic to share MAT knowledge at Addiction – Everyone’s Enemy SUSAN HARTLEY

STAFF WRITER shartley@aimmediamidwest.com

GREENVILLE – With a focus on providing factual information concerning drug abuse, the Darke County Republican Women’s Club is hosting a community round table at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Lighthouse Christian Center. The event, Addiction – Everyone’s Enemy - will feature a number of professionals, including Dr. Anna Hatic, clinical director of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services at Greenville’s Family Health. According to Hatic, Family Health currently has 50 individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment for their drug addiction. The facility began offering Vivitrol in 2015, added Suboxone in 2017, and in October 2018, opened its XChange program – a twice a month clinic offering clean needles to addicts, as well as nursing services, HIV and Hepatitis C screenings. Families of addicts – or anyone wishing to carry a dose – also may receive Narcan and be trained on how to use it if the need arises. “We get phone calls every week from people suffering from the disease of addiction who want information” about medication-assisted treatment, Hatic said. “I think it’s im-

portant for the community to be part of the solution for the disease of addiction in the area.” Today’s drugs of choice, Hatic said, include fentanyl and carfentanil, as well as an increase in methamphetamine use. “Today’s heroin is fentanyl,” Hatic said, noting how more than 90 percent of those who inject drugs are positive for Hepatitis C, which is transmitted from one person to another through blood – or dirty needles. “During 2017,” Hatic said, “overdose deaths here were as high as a major city.” Supporting the upcoming roundtable, Hatic believes will “increase the awareness about the disease of addiction and the options available for medication-assisted treatment.” According to information provided by the state of Ohio for the April 2018 Addiction Treatment Week the significant treatment gap for addicts in the United States is an important part of the epidemic. Nearly 20.5 million Americans suffer from substance use disorder (SUD), yet only 1 in 10 people with SUD received treatment in 2015, nearly 2.3 million Americans suffered from opioid use disorder, yet there was only enough treatment capacity to treat 1.4 million people, leaving a treatment gap of nearly 1

Darke County Republican Women’s Club member Wavelene Denniston, Dr. Anna Hatic and Betty Hill, Republican Women’s Club President. The club wil host Addiction – Everyone’s Enemy in April, with Hatic as a guest panelist. (Ryan Berry photo)

million people. Hatic said she is ready to participate with the Addiction – Everyone’s Enemy round table and answer questions concerning drug treatments available and working for addicts in Darke County. A Greenville native, Hatic graduated with a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Dayton and then completed medical school at Ohio University. She also completed an internship at Grandview Hospital, followed by a residency in internal medicine at Kettering Medical Center. She returned to Greenville to practice medicine in 2012 and is board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine. Dr. Hatic has been instrumental in bringing medication– assisted treatments for substance abuse to Darke Coumty. Other round table par-

ticipants scheduled to participate include Congressman Warren Davidson, RevoceryOhio Chair Alisha Nelson, Montgomery County Coroner Kent Harshbarger, Darke County Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan P. Hein, Darke County Juvenile Judge Jason Aslinger, Darke County Prosecutor Kelly Ormsby, Darke County Chief Deputy and member of the sheriff’s drug task force Mark Whittaker, and recovering addict Clinton Randall. “Addiction is a problem than can or has affected every family. So we are presenting this program to provide facts to the members of our community with the hopes that the facts will get to our youth,” said Betty Hill, president of the Darke County Republican Women’s Club. “Everyone is welcome.” The event is free and open to the public.


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