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THE EARLY BIRD NEWSPAPER
WEEKEND EDITION - SEPTEMBER 16, 2018
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!
Greenville Police & Fire seek witnesses in rash of garage fires RYAN BERRY
MANAGING EDITOR editor@earlybirdpaper.com
GREENVILLE – Eight detached garage fires since July 10 has the Greenville Fire and Police Departments on high alert. The most recent fire took place early Wednesday morning
at the corner of East Third and Locusts Streets. Firefighters were called to the scene at about 2:45 a.m., which fits the trend for the other seven fires. According to Assistant Chief Shannon Fritz the fires are suspicious, but definitively calling them arson is more difficult.
Demolition began on Speedway’s property at the corner of Martin and Ohio Streets on Monday and was finished on Tuesday. (Gaylen Blosser photo)
City’s pressure causes Speedway to demolish buildings RYAN BERRY
MANAGING EDITOR editor@earlybirdpaper.com
GREENVILLE – Less than two weeks after meeting with officials of Speedway and letting them know it would be difficult to rebuild their convenience store at the corner of Wagner and East Main unless they were good community partners and took care of their other properties in Greenville, Speedway agreed and the abandoned properties are down this week. “It’s wonderful they’re down,” said the mayor. At the Sept. 4 meeting of Greenville City Council, Mayor Steve Willman announced the city had met with the convenience store representatives to discuss the plan for rebuilding on Wagner Avenue and the city used a portion of the meeting to plead with Speedway to demolish the abandoned property on Martin Street. The city had previously received an agreement from the company to demolish the building on South Broadway, but Speedway felt there was more value with the building in place on Martin Street. A few days after the council meeting, Mayor Willman said he received notice from Speedway that they would demolish both buildings. Mayor Willman, Safety Service Director Curt Garrison and former mayor Mike Bowers have been trying for many years to get Speedway’s attention and to do something with the properties that have sat vacant for at least 15 years. Every office they talked to said it didn’t fall under their responsibility
and they weren’t sure who would be responsible. Through the Greenville Fire Department’s efforts to inspect the properties, the city was finally able to find the correct department, which helped expedite the process. Willman explained the city had already set in motion a plan to declare the property was a nuisance and were ready to take on the corporation in court if need be. According to Willman, it appears squatters had set up a home in the back of the building on South Broadway. When they toured the facility with Speedway a few weeks ago, they heard rustling and saw one person run out of the back. When they went in they realized someone had been living there. The city continues to be apprehensive about the state of the properties once the demolition is complete. “More discussion is needed,” said Willman. He is concerned with the asphalt at both properties and believes the community would be better served if Speedway took up the asphalt and concrete and turned them into grass lots. He would also like to see the company donate the properties to the city or Darke County Parks as the bike trail passes by both locations. Willman is also concerned with the trees and brush at the South Broadway location and hopes it can be cleared out. He believes clearing it out will make it better for the Darke County Parks’ Tecumseh Point and Prairie Ridge Meadow and cut down on illicit acts that are known to take place in the area.
The majority of the fires have received the designation “undetermined, but suspicious in nature,” he said. In order to determine the fires are arson, the fire department needs to prove several guidelines in the NFPA (Nation Fire Protection Association) 2017 edition standards. In the case of arson, the fire department must prove standards in the NFPA 921, which includes determining their origin and source of ignition. Without definitely proving aspects of the NFPA 921, the department cannot call these fires arson. Thus far, only one of the fires has been determined to be arson. The fires have mainly occurred in dilapidated detached garages that are easily accessible to the public due to broken windows or doors. The garages, for the most part, are not equipped with electricity and don’t contain motor vehicles or other motorized equipment. Some,
including the fire Wednesday morning, were filled with trash, which makes determining the ignition source more difficult. Asst. Chief Fritz said they could put four guys digging through the trash for eight to 10 hours and not come up with the evidence they need to make an arson determination. There is hope, the fire and police departments are working hand-in-hand to put an end to the fires. Fritz said the police department is canvassing the neighborhoods where the fires have taken place and are trying to find possible witnesses that can place an individual or individuals at the scene. Although the fires typically occur in the early morning hours, they are hoping someone may have seen a car in the alley or a person leaving the scene. Chief Steve Strick issued a press release asking residents to report “any suspicious activity (especially during evening hours) to
All that remains from a garage fire on Wednesday morning at the corner of East Third and Locust Streets is a pile of trash.
the Greenville Police Department (937) 548-1103.” He also asked anyone with information regarding the fires to contact Crime Stoppers at (937) 547-1661. “A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest,” he stated. Darke County Crime Stoppers announced Thursday they are offering a reward of $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of these crimes. Asst. Chief Fritz said
residents with detached garages can try to protect their property by boarding up windows and doors that are broken or are easily accessible to someone who could quickly pass by and throw an ignition source through a window or door. He also suggested residents take pictures and log where everything is in their garages. If possible, he said residents should install lights with motion detectors or leave lights on to illuminate the area.
Overall letter grades return to Ohio’s School Report Cards SUSAN HARTLEY
STAFF WRITER shartley@earlybirdpaper.com
DARKE COUNTY – The 2018 Ohio School Report Cards were released Sept. 13. Districts received an overall letter grade – an indicator not included on the yearly progress report since 2013 – when the state began an overhaul of the way it evaluates its public schools. The overall A through F letter grades are calculated by using district results in six components, including Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Improving AtRisk K-3 Readers, Graduation Rate and Prepared for Success. The Early Bird reached out to all public school superintendents in Darke County for comments on their district’s report card. The overall grade for each of the county’s districts is listed below, along with comments from superintendents who opted to respond to our request: Ansonia: B overall. “I am happy with the performance index score of 98.9 and indicators met with 17 of 24 indicators,” said Superintendent Jim Atchley. “The number of indicators met was a significant improvement from last year. Both performance index score and indicators met was an improvement from last year. Sixty-one percent of students scored advanced or accelerated for perfor-
mance index score.” Arcanum: B overall. Superintendent John Stephans said “It is pleasing to see that the district received an overall grade of a B on the state report card, but we have also learned to take the information provided by the report card for what it is - ODE’s accountability measure that shares a partial story of how our students are performing based on certain criteria. Stephans gives credit to students and staff, including the district’s intervention specialists, for “their daily efforts to learn and grow,” resulting in improved scores on the state report card. Bradford: C overall. Superintendent did not respond by press time. Franklin Monroe: C overall. “In looking at the components, which factor into this overall grade, I believe the final grade of C is reflective of both areas of strength to be celebrated as well as areas to focus on for improvement,” said Superintendent Jeremy Pequignot. “We are pleased with our score on gap closing and the success our students achieved on the various state tests as shown by our score on the performance index. “Moving forward we need to focus on improving the total number of indicators met by continuing to refine our instructional approaches to ensure all students are receiving the individualized attention needed
to help them be successful academically.” Greenville: D overall: “Although Greenville has an overall D for the district grade, with ever-changing report card targets and measures, we want to continue to emphasize the fact that our graduation rate for both 4- and 5-year graduates continued to be over 90 percent,” explained Superintendent Doug Fries. “This is a measure that has remained consistent over the last six years and is an important factor as students exit the district for college and career readiness.” Greenville had 13 students who received a perfect score on their math state test this past year, Fries reported. “We’ve also greatly improved the number of students meeting or exceeding the requirements to meet the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.” The gap closing measure for subgroups is the district’s most improved component. “The district moved from 30.8 percent last year to 69.9 percent this year. Therefore, our grade improved in this category from failing to a D and was actually .1 percent from getting a C. These subgroups include two areas that we have been focusing on which are disability and economically disadvantaged subgroups,” Fries said. Mississinawa Valley: C overall. Superintendent Doug Dunham also was pleased with his district’s
scores in the Gap Closing component – receiving a B, “which indicates we are closer to meeting the performance expectations for our most vulnerable population of students in English, language arts, math, and graduation.” Tri-Village: B overall. “Yes, we are pleased with our current district’s overall grade of a B,” said Superintendent Josh Sagester.. “Like every year, we celebrate our successes and seek strategies to improve areas of concern from the data received from our state report card. The history of the Tri-Village Local School District state report card has illustrated that our students, staff, parents and community have been able to meet and exceed expectations once the Ohio Department of Education bestows clear targets and testing measures remain consistent over a period of time.” Sagester also commented on his district’s muchimproved score on the gap closing component. “Last year the district received an F for this measure - both building and district-wide. This year our elementary building earned an A, JH/ HS building earned a B and our district earned a B.” Versailles: B overall. Superintendent did not respond by press time. Report card grades for all district buildings and other progress data may be found at reportcard.education.ohio.gov.