Early Bird eNewspaper 092417

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THE EARLY BIRD NEWSPAPER

WEEKEND EDITION - SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!

Levy addressed during Early Bird Facebook Live Town Hall BY RYAN BERRY MANAGING EDITOR editor@earlybirdpaper.com

GREENVILLE – The primary mission of a newspaper is to inform. Of course fulďŹ lling that mission can take many directions and covers a wide-array of topics – sports, entertainment, communities, breaking news, etc. Newspapers today must also adapt to technology, which is why The Early Bird established Bluebag Media that allows your weekly county-wide newspaper be your ďŹ rst choice for daily news and sports. Combined with a strong social media presence, including being the most “Likedâ€? Darke County site on Facebook, local residents are more informed than ever before. The Early Bird and Bluebag is once again ďŹ nding creative ways to inform its readers. On Sept. 27, 7-8 p.m., we will be offer-

ing a special Early Bird Facebook Live Town Hall Meeting. Join us on our Facebook page to get factual information on the Emergency Communications .45 mill levy on the ballot this fall; commonly referred to as the MARCS levy. This levy will help fund the emergency communications equipment, such as MARCS radios, repeaters and pagers, for law enforcement, ďŹ re and rescue throughout the county. There has been a lot of hearsay regarding this issue and how the funds will be used. The Early Bird/ Bluebag Media wants to make sure voters have accurate information before voting. “Implementing a Facebook Live Town Hall event was a great idea by our Managing Editor, Ryan Berry. It is the ďŹ rst foray into providing Darke County citizens with an

opportunity to ask relevant questions on major topics of interest such as the MARCS Radio Levy,� said Keith Foutz, publisher of The Early Bird/Bluebag Media. “As your locally owned and operated newspaper continues to diver-

Board hires new treasurer SUSAN HARTLEY

STAFF WRITER shartley@earlybirdpaper.com

GREENVILLE – Jenna Jurosic was hired Thursday as the new treasurer for Greenville City Schools. Jurosic, a Wapakoneta native, replaces Carla Surber who left the district in August for a position with Bradford Exempted Village Schools. “I’m really looking forward to coming to this community,â€? Jurosic said following Thursday’s board meeting. Jurosic, who has worked for the past three years in the treasurer’s ofďŹ ce with Dayton City Schools also said she was looking forward to the opportunities Greenville offers as a “home and family-basedâ€? community. Jurosic holds two master’s degrees – a MBA and a MSA from Indiana Wesleyan University. She received her undergraduate

degree from Case Western University. Jurosic and her husband Larry, a teacher with Sidney City Schools are parents of four-month-old Eleanor. They will be relocating to Greenville in the near future, she said. Meeting and getting acquainted with the Greenville school staff will be another perk Jurosic is looking forward to. She currently processes payroll for 2,200 staff with Dayton Public Schools and is hoping Greenville teachers, administrators and other school personnel will become more than just an “email� relationship. The board approved a two-year contract for Jurosic, beginning Oct. 1 through July 31, 2019. In other business Thursday, Superintendent Doug Fries gave a brief report on the demolition work being done at the former junior high. As soon as workers

Darke County avor a favorite during tourism conference STAFF WRITER shartley@earlybirdpaper.com

Jenna Jurosic

are ďŹ nished at that site they will be moving on to Woodland Primary, he said, where workers are currently ďŹ nishing up asbestos removal. Fries said the goal is “to beat winterâ€? with the last two demolition projects. Also it was announced that ďŹ nal surfacing of the new high school track will take place beginning Oct. 6.

CLINTON RANDALL

STAFF WRITER crandall@earlybirdpaper.com

Only the smoke stack remains standing on Thursday as the old Greenville Jr. High School building is taken down to a huge pile of rubble. (Clinton Randall photo)

of when the site can be cleared from the old jr high building rubble, but

the city to air the program live on GPAT and the city’s You Tube Channel on Sept. 27, 7-8 p.m. There will be two ways to have your questions answered. First, watch on Facebook and submit your questions in the comment section during the presentation. Second, the City of Greenville has set up a phone line that has voicemail set up to take questions now and during the Town Hall Meeting. Call (937) 316-1079 and leave your question. All questions will be screened and only questions pertaining to the Emergency Communications Levy will be presented. If you miss the live program, The Early Bird/ Bluebag Media will continue to have the program on its Facebook Page and the city will also have it available on its You Tube channel.

SUSAN HARTLEY

Demolition nears completion as old GJHS comes down GREENVILLE – The old Greenville Jr. High School is no more. As of Thursday only the smoke stack remained visible by onlookers and people driving by the site. According to Greenville Superintendent Doug Fries, the material of the old school will be sorted and removed before the demo crew makes its way to Woodland Primary School building to wrap up the project. Fries was not able to conďŹ rm a time frame

sify and expand our commitment to our readers and advertisers we hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to have any questions answered regarding this speciďŹ c topic. We’re excited to be able to bring you this opportu-

nity.� A panel of persons directly involved with shaping the levy and tasked with implementing the changeover to the MARCS system has been assembled to answer your questions. The panel will be headed by Chief Deputy Mark Whittaker of the Darke County Sheriff’s Dept. and Melissa Hawes, 9-1-1 coordinator for Darke County. Arcanum Fire Chief Kurt Troutwine will have a perspective on how the levy will affect departments in the county. Greenville’s safety/service director, Curt Garrison, as well as other representatives from the city will be able to share the city’s point of view. The Darke County Commission will also have a commissioner present. In addition to viewing the Town Hall Meeting on Facebook, The Early Bird will combine forces with

says the demolition crew has a goal of being totally done by December.

DARKE COUNTY – The â€˜ďŹ‚avor’ of Darke County was in the spotlight this past week. The Darke County Convention and Visitors Bureau not only hosted the Ohio Association of Convention & Visitor Bureau’s two-day conference on Wednesday and Thursday, the county also won a STAR (State Tourism Achievement Recognition) award for a marketing campaign entitled “Darke County Flavor.â€? Representatives from nearly 40 Ohio counties attended the conference, which included a tour and cooking demonstration at the KitchenAid Experience in downtown Greenville. Visitors also had the opportunity to get a taste of The Bistro, Romer’s and The Winery at Versailles. “There are no better people than travel people to go back and talk about where they’ve been,â€? said Matt Staugler, director of Darke County Visitors Bureau. During the conference, Staugler said he learned about 90 percent of those who attended the conference had never visited Darke County until this week. This was the ďŹ rst time Darke County was chosen to host the OACVB conference, Staugler said. Marketing efforts by Staugler are starting to pay off. “Darke County and western Ohio are starting to play a larger part in Ohio tourism,â€? he said. “We’re going to keep the

Matt Staugler, director of the Darke County Convention & Visitors Bureau accepts a STAR award from Shasta Mast, president of the Ohio Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau during an awards luncheon at Romers Catering on Thursday. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

momentum going.� Diana Thompson, executive director of the Miami County Visitors Bureau, also took home a STAR award for the county’s marketing campaign of Home, Grown Great Vignettes. Thompson said Darke County’s neighboring visitor bureau’s campaign was working to “get everyone knowing about what we’re doing in Miami County. Last weekend, she said, the Miami County Visitors Bureau worked in collarbortion with the city of Troy and Troy Main Street to host the Tour de Donut, which has its start in Darke County. “We’re excited to say they are coming back to Miami County next year,� Thompson said. Attending conferences such as this week’s event also offers the opportunity for gathering ideas on how to promote tourism in your area, Thompson said. “It’s great to hear colleagues

who do exactly what I do for a living.â€? Besides taking time to get a avor of Darke County, conference attendees held strategic planning meetings and heard from Bill Geist, who calls himself the Chief Instigator at DMOproz (aka Zeitgeist Consulting), a ďŹ rm specializing in strategic planning, governance, marketing and legislative issues for convention and visitor bureaus. Shasta Mast, president of OACVB, spoke briey to the conference attendees during Thursday’s awards luncheon, thanking them for the “stridesâ€? they have made in tourism. Several county convention and visitor bureaus were presented STAR awards with Alex Mikos of WGTR 97.5 radio as presenter. Awards are geared to print and social media marketing plans that promote tourism in Ohio’s counties.


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