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THE EARLY BIRD NEWSPAPER
S U N D A Y, A P R I L 9 , 2 0 1 7
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!
Garrett stepping down, but not leaving RYAN BERRY
MANAGING EDITOR editor@earlybirdpaper.com
Evans Vestal Ward/NBC | 2016 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Local young talents to appear on “Little Big Shots” Sunday night CLINTON RANDALL
STAFF WRITER crandall@earlybirdpaper.com
GREENVILLE - Since first airing in March 2016, “Little Big Shots” has grown to be one of NBC’s most popular primetime, familyfriendly shows. Airing on Sunday evenings, executive producers Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Harvey (host) celebrate extraordinary and talented kids from all over the world. This Sunday, April 9 two kids with Greenville roots will share the stage with Harvey. Grennan BartlettNealeigh, age 11, will display his knife throwing talent, while his 9-year-old sister Charlotte BartlettNealeigh will perform her amazing contortion act. Both kids are no strangers to the national spotlight, having previously performed on NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent” in 2014 and on Germany’s “SuperKids” in 2015. Stage performing is definitely in the sibling’s blood. Just like their parents Thomas Nealeigh and Alice Bartlett, Grennan and Charlotte have been on stage since they were toddlers. “Grennan took his first steps on the stage of our theatre, The Empire Amusement Hall, that we used to have in Hollywood,” said Thomas Nealeigh. “The day Charlotte came home from the hospital, we bundled her up and took her to a show with us.” Grennan, who performs under the stage name “the Green Monster”, started performing at age 4 and was soon featured on Nickelodeon’s “Figure It Out” doing the Bed of Nails act at just 6-years-old. Charlotte, aka “La Pequeña Arañita” (the Little Spider), started performing as soon as she was able to walk, according to her dad. Today, the family is part of the nationally-known sideshow attraction “FreakShow Deluxe” - travelling the country performing at all kinds of venues. They are truly living out their dreams...and together at
that! “Grennan and Charlotte are constantly surprising people with how really talented they are,” explained Thomas. “I think most people’s expectation is that they are just kids whose act is dependent on their cuteness, but they are really skilled in what they do!” “Grennan has gotten to work with some of the best knife throwers in the world and Charlotte has learned her acts from some amazing performers,” he added. “They have grown up in this life - a third generation of performers - and what they are learning now will benefit them the rest of their lives, no matter what career path they decide to follow.” He says that the kids were noticed by a casting director for the “Little Big Shots” (LBS) series while she was part of the “America’s Got Talent” casting. “She was impressed with their performance and professionalism,” he noted. Charlotte attends Charity Adams Earley Academy for Girls in Dayton, while Grennan was recently accepted to the Stivers Performing Arts Academy in Dayton. Much of Nealeigh’s family still resides in the Greenville area. Grennan and Charlotte’s grandparents Tim and Kathleen get to spend a lot of time with their talented grandchildren, who also take dance classes at the Barbara Rethlake Dance Studio in downtown Greenville. Catch the kids’ LBS performance this Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. “In our global search for extraordinary kids, Grennan and Charlotte were standouts. Nobody else does what they do at such a young age. We had to have them,” LBS executive producer Alison Holloway. “There’s a funny twist in their Little Big Shots performance which involves Steve (Harvey), but you’ll have to tune-in to see what it is!” Learn more about the show and catch past episodes at www.nbc.com/ little-big-shots.
GREENVILLE – The true sign you’ve made your mark or have excelled in your position is when people are disappointed you are leaving. There was no shortage of a disappointment when Main Street Greenville Executive Director Amber Garrett announced last week she would be stepping down at the end of May. The face and personality that has become synonymous with a vibrant downtown Greenville isn’t going far. In fact, she is only moving a few blocks to start the next chapter in her life. She will be taking her optimism, charm and exuberance to HER Realtors and will be working hand-in-hand with Sue Bowman. Garrett will soon be hitting the books and working towards getting her Realtors license. Her new office and the business she and her husband own, The Coffee Pot, are separated by a flight of stairs. Garrett, who celebrates her fourth anniversary with Main Street Greenville on Saturday, said her biggest goal when she started with the nonprofit organization was to change the perception of downtown Greenville and the Greenville community as a whole. “As a creative person who has been very fortunate to
travel quite a bit growing up and even with my husband and family, I’ve been exposed to a lot of cool ideas in communities and I thought to myself, ‘Why aren’t we doing that here,’” she said. While some of the events that take place in downtown Greenville were started by her predecessors, Garrett has been able to add her touch. Each of these events, such as First Fridays, Hometown Holiday Horse Parade and Beggars Night, continue to grow and continue to bring positive attention and visitors to the downtown area. She pointed out it goes back to the original goal of changing the perception and instilling community pride. “Way too often we see something cool happening elsewhere, but for some reason we don’t think it can happen in Greenville,” she said. “But it can.” Garrett is quick to point out the success being witnessed in the community is not the result of one person’s ideas or one person’s hard work. It has been a collaborative effort with the downtown business, volunteers, and donors. “The downtown businesses make my job pretty easy,” she said. While changing the perception of downtown Greenville was first on her list for accomplishments, Garrett is also pleased with several other projects she was able
Amber Garrett has been downtown Greenville’s biggest cheerleader over the past four years. (Ryan Berry Photo)
to get done, including the installation of bike racks along South Broadway, Win the Window contest and The Faces of Downtown special supplement to The Early Bird that featured each of the downtown business and their owners. The Win the Window contest went a long way in reminding area residents they can find great value and unique items in their hometown. “There’s this perception that people that own their own businesses are usually extremely wealthy,” she chuckled. “I can speak as one. It’s more about the passion that drives the people than the money.” Garrett added, “Knowing that, of course we want people to shop locally.” The Win the Window contest encouraged shopping locally throughout the holiday season and the receipts were a true indication of how important the downtown district
is to the Darke County Community. Garrett was able to accomplish a lot in four years, but when asked if there was anything on her list she didn’t get done she quickly replied. “Murals. There are so many things on my list, but the biggest one is murals. It’s on the list this year. I really hope the new director can continue that.” While she won’t be the director of the organization, Garrett said that does not mean she won’t be supporting Main Street Greenville. “As a citizen and someone who financially supports the organization as a business owner it means the world to me. I love downtown. It is the biggest reason why my husband and I want to live here. It’s because of this. This district. If this didn’t exist it would be a generic place. It wouldn’t have the same feeling of home for me.”
Gubernatorial candidate speaks to county Democrats SUSAN HARTLEY
STAFF WRITER shartley@earlybirdpaper.com
GREENVILLE – Education, jobs and Ohio’s drug woes topped the list of subjects touched on by Senator Joe Schiavoni, Ohio House Minority Leader and 2018 gubernatorial candidate during Thursday’s Darke County Democratic Spring Gala at the Greenville American Legion. Schiavoni, who serves Ohio District 33 encompassing Columbiana and Mahoning counties in eastern Ohio, announced in February he would be running for governor in 2018 on the Democratic ticket. A graduate of Ohio University, Schiavoni received his juris doctorate degree from Capital University Law School in Columbus. He immediately became a “champion for workers,” representing individuals in a number of worker compensation cases. Promising to “work incredibly hard to bring people’s voices to the statehouse,” Schiavoni
told the 100-plus Darke County Democrats he believes elected officials should be out talking to “workers, educators, doctors” so they can come up with “real data-driven legislation” instead of relying on information and ideas monied “contributors will tell them.” As a candidate for governor, he also promised he would be taking time to “cross the state talking to people on what’s important to them.” Schiavoni spoke about two subjects Darke County Democrat Committee Chair Jim Surber said were his “top two picks” affecting the county – schools and drugs. Noting it took voters seven tries to pass the bond issue to build Greenville’s new K-8 facility, Schiavoni shared how he would like to see changes in school funding and policy. “Education policy should not be dictated by politicians in Columbus,” he said to claps of praise by those in attendance. Schiavoni, a proponent for public education, also would work for changes
in school funding. “The state doesn’t properly fund schools,” he said, pointing out dilemmas facing both Ohio’s charter school and online school policies, explaining he would like to see “more transparency for charter and online schools.” As for the state’s growing opiod epidemic, Schiavoni said he voted for the recent house bill allowing doctors to prescribe a seven-day pain killer prescription per doctor visit, but called the bill “a piece to the puzzle but in no way solves the problem.” Schiavoni said he was in favor of allocating more money toward drug education, policing and local control of charging drug dealers – for both misdemeanor and felony violators. The 2018 candidate also conducted a brief question and answer session following his remarks, sharing his thoughts on Ohio’s clean water issues, the results of fracking in eastern Ohio and working toward budgeting funds for counties to be able to provide additional resources for
Ohio Senator and 2018 Democratic candidate for governor Joe Schiavoni speaks during Thursday, April 6 Darke County Democratic Spring Gala. (Susan Hartley photo)
their senior citizen population, including senior centers and transportation. “Because I don’t represent this community in the Senate doesn’t mean I won’t advocate for you,” Schiavoni said. More about Schiavoni may be found at ohiosenate.gov/joe.schiavoni or on Facebook.