Listen to the
Green Wave Football Games Live
Download the Bluebag Media app or Click the BluebagSports Radio link at bluebagmedia.com
THE EARLY BIRD NEWSPAPER
WEEKEND EDITION - SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!
Shuttle victim facing lots of therapy LINDA MOODY
CORRESPONDENT
VERSAILLES – Phyllis (Pitsenbarger) Oliver of Versailles, the woman injured in the first shuttle accident the first day of the Great Darke County Fair, is now at home in Versailles. After the accident, she was taken to Wayne HealthCare and then transferred to Miami Valley Hospital, where she spent three days, before being transferred to Versailles Health Center. She was dismissed from the health care center Sept. 6. Oliver said she broke her left leg and had incisions on both feet. “I’m doing better,” she said.
She gets around at home in a wheelchair, and will begin receiving therapy at home. She and husband Jerome had gone to the fair on the first Friday to watch their granddaughter from Ansonia compete in the cheerleading competition. Oliver said when they got ready to go home and be transported to their car, she had put a cooler on the shuttle and also had her husband’s oxygen tank to get on there, and, before she knew it, the vehicle took off. “I was holding onto the wheelchair and she was in front of it,” Jerome said. “The wagon knocked her down and she fell right in the wheelchair.” “I landed partially on the wheelchair,” she
recalled. “Thank God I landed on the chair instead of the blacktop.” This occurred around 1 p.m., after they decided to get something to eat following the cheerleading competition. “Two days later, we were married 62 years,” he said. The Olivers had lived on a farm in the Ansonia area before moving to Versailles. She was a bus driver for Ansonia Local School District for 26 years before retiring in 1997. Phyllis is grateful to those people who have brought food to their house since she is unable to do much of anything. However, she is still crocheting her hats for a mission project, and has made some since her return home.
The couple has three children (Doug, Kevin and Melinda Butts), nine grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren with two more on the way. Will she be able to walk again? “Oh yeah, but it probably depends on how therapy goes,” she said. “They say by the first of the year I should be in good shape.” The next day at the fair, two more accidents involving the shuttles occurred and there was no more shuttle service the rest of fair week. Phyllis Oliver convalesces quietly in her Versailles home and is facing therapy on her legs that were injured in a Darke County Fair accident the first day of the fair. (Linda Moody photo)
Tri-Village 4th graders help Houston schools RYAN BERRY
MANAGING EDITOR editor@earlybirdpaper.com
Dean Neff and Tom Lucas make trip to Houston to help with hurricane Harvey relief efforts. (Submitted photo)
Local men help with hurricane relief efforts CLINTON RANDALL
STAFF WRITER crandall@earlybirdpaper.com
GREENVILLE – With Texas suffering the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Harvey, two Darke County men found a way to lend a helping hand. Tom Lucas and Dean Neff made the over 1,100 mile trip to Houston last week in order to deliver a semisized load of much needed items for those affected by the storm. Lucas got the call from a former co-worker, asking if he could find a trailer to transport bottled water, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items organized by Tipp-Monroe Community Services in Tipp City. Lucas made a call to local business Dick Lavy Trucking, Inc. and in no time a semi was made available to make the trip. According to Lucas, it took about three days to load the semi trailer before
he and Neff hit the road on Thursday afternoon. Once they made the drop-off in Houston, the pair headed back and made it home Sunday morning. “Pay it forward! I enjoy helping others anytime I get the chance, and hope someone would be willing to help me if I ever needed it,” Lucas told The Early Bird. The load transported by Lucas and Neff was the last of three donated from the community center. They are currently accepting items and have plans to make deliveries now to those people affected by the hurricane Irma. Lucas says if he gets the call, he is more than willing to make the trip down to Florida. For more information of items needed for the hurricane relief effort, visit the Tipp-Monroe Community Services website at www. tmcomservices.org or call 937-667-8631.
NEW MADISON – Can jeans, sunglasses, pajamas, costumes, crazy hair, hats, and ice cream sundaes help people recover from a hurricane? Tri-Village fourth grade students will answer that question with an emphatic YES! The students set out to raise a thousand dollars to purchase school supplies for students at two Houston area schools, but by Friday students had nearly doubled their goal. Teacher Lindsay Bergman brought the idea to the administration and then took it to her students with overwhelming support. The students were excited at the prospect of helping others by having fun and ice cream sundaes at lunch. While the students paid a dollar to participate in the daily activities of wearing sunglasses, pajamas, hats, costumes and crazy hair, the faculty paid $10 each for the privilege of wearing jeans the entire week. Fourth grade students also used a
donation sheet to ask family members and neighbors to donate money. Although students at TriVillage enjoyed the special week, Bergman was well aware that some students in Texas no longer have homes, let alone school supplies, clothes, or other essentials. Elementary Principal Shane Mead pointed out some of these schools lost much of their curriculum, and while Tri-Village can’t replace that, he’s excited by how the students and staff were able to come together and exceed their goal. Bergman picked Carroll Elementary, which is located approximately 10 miles north of downtown Houston. The K-4 school serves 1,080 students and was used by surrounding neighborhoods as a refuge from rising water. A statement from a school representative said, “Many of our students lost just about everything and they didn’t have a lot to begin with, which is even more heartbreaking.” The representative went on to add, “The biggest thing that the kids will need are
Several of Lindsay Bergman’s fourth graders are standing in front of the ice cream sundae bar and displaying some of the money raised during the fundraiser.
undergarments, uniforms, solid colored collared shirts, backpacks, toiletries, nonperishable food, etc.” Tri-Village students have also adopted Westside High School in Houston. Again, most of these students didn’t have much to begin with, but lost a lot. The school has 92-percent of its students on free and reduced lunches. Bergman’s fourth-graders are not only finding there is fun in FUNdraising, they are also getting an education. Although the school’s
science teacher came in to explain what a hurricane is and the affect it can have on a community, the lesson did not end there. The students are also responsible for counting the money at the end of the day and will also be setting a budget and deciding which items to purchase for the two schools. They have also made graphs to display daily totals. The items will be purchased through Amazon and shipped directly to the schools affected.
Tribute to legendary performers is Oct. 7 GREENVILLE – When music legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis engaged in an impromptu jam session at Sam Phillips’ legendary Sun Studios in Memphis on December 4, 1956, the music producer wisely recorded the proceedings. Darke County Center for the Arts will present a tribute to that memorable meeting, “One Night in Memphis,” at Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall in Greenville on Oct. 7. According to DCCA Artistic Director Keith Rawlins, the show features a cast with the uncanny sound,
look and feel of the original performers. “The audience feels as though they are witnessing rock and roll royalty perform their hits in this exhilarating high energy concert featuring timeless tunes that almost everyone loves,” Rawlins stated. The show starts at 8 p.m. DCCA Executive Director Andrea Jordan says this special event will appeal not only to those who witnessed these legendary performers in real time, but also anyone who appreciates their legacy which continues to inspire innovative artists. “Although the roots of this music go back a century or
more, the lasting revolutionary effect of these pioneers resonates yet today,” Ms. Jordan explained. “And, just as important, this show promises to be a really good time for all concerned,” she concluded. “One Night in Memphis” is sponsored by Rodney Oda and Second National Bank. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. DCCA also receives operating support from the Harry D. and Esther Stephens Memorial as
well as funding from the Ketrow Foundation and Lydia E. Schaurer Memorial Trust Fund. DCCA membership contributions also help support this show. Tickets for “One Night in Memphis” cost $30, and can be reserved by contacting DCCA at (937) 547-0908 or dcca@centerforarts.net, or purchased at DCCA’s office located within Greenville Public Library or online at www. CenterForArts.net. If any remain by show time, tickets will also be available at the door.