Greenville High School’s Hunt D-I State Champ
Meade influences lives of young people
SPORTS • 6A
LOCAL • 1B
THE EARLY
BIRD NEWSPAPER
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER PAPER O OF THE GREAT DARKE COUNTY FAIR!
Weekend edition
Online at darkecountymedia.com
Sunday, June 9, 2019 • $1
Kids Swim Safely with the Avengers RYAN
BERRY EDITOR
DarkeCountyMedia.com
GREENVILLE SUSAN – HARTLEY Approximately 400 Darke County MANAGING youth will EDITOR be betDarkeCountyMedia.com ter prepared to be around the water this summer GAYLEN thanks to the Darke County BLOSSER EDITOR YMCA’sSPORTS Swim Safely with DarkeCountyMedia.com the Marvel Avengers. Sponsors for the event are The LINDA Daily Advocate, The Early MOODY REPORTER Bird, Wayne HealthCare DarkeCountyMedia.com Foundation and the Versailles Policy. CLINTON According to YMCA of RANDALL Darke County CEO Sam CORRESPONDENT DarkeCountyMedia.com Casalano the Versailles branch had about 150 youth between BETHANYthe J. ages ROYER-DELONG of three and sixth grade STAFF WRITER come through doors to DarkeCountyMedia.com learn water safety while the
Greenville branch hosted approximately 250 kids. Catering to each age group, instructors taught pool safety, backyard pool safety, boating safety, beach safety, basic swimming skills and basic rescue skills. The Greenville branch ran into a few issues with their pool during the first couple days of the event and had to adjust how the lessons were taught. Instead of using the pool, Mitchell Bosse, aquatics director, and his crew of lifeguards and volunteers, Lyssa Middlestetter, Asia Sykes, Kyrie Unger and Lydia Knepshield, taught the lessons on blue mats that represented the water. Speaking to a class of
were asked to go out into the lobby to find her, which they did immediately. In the next demonstration, Sykes took off her red coat and hid in the lobby. The kids had a much harder time finding her. Bosse RYAN and Middlestetter stressed BERRY the way lifeguards dress is EDITOR DarkeCountyMedia.com important so they can be found and help when they SUSAN are needed. HARTLEY Ryan Berry | DarkeCountyMedia.com Another demonstration MANAGING EDITOR Children in the Swim Safely program at the YMCA of Darke County got taught kids how to jump in DarkeCountyMedia.com a lesson in boat safety. a pool. In the shallow end, they were told to jump feet and center during the pre3-5-year-olds on Thursday,GAYLEN first and to watch for othsentation as Middlestetter Bosse shared important BLOSSER SPORTS EDITOR ers around them and in the and Sykes demonstrated information with the pre- DarkeCountyMedia.com what lifeguards do and how pool before jumping. Each schoolers that will help to find them at the pool. In child climbed on a pedestal them be better prepared LINDA and jumped feet first onto one demonstration, Sykes when visiting a pool or MOODY the mat. was dressed in the typical heading out on the lake inREPORTER DarkeCountyMedia.com In the lesson-packed red clothing a lifeguard can a boat. 45-minute class, the kids be found in and the kids Lifeguards were front CLINTON
also learned how to wear a life preserver vest and the importance of making sure it is tight enough so it won’t slip off. In the final lesson of the day, attendees learned how to get in a boat safely. A canoe was brought into the room and each child practiced entering at the bow and holding onto the sides as they moved about the boat. The Swim Safely event has become an annual program at the YMCA of Darke County and is offered free each June. Contact Editor Ryan Berry at rberry@ aimmediamidwest.com or (937) 5690066. Read more news, features and sports at DarkeCountyMedia.com.
RANDALL
Residents oppose sidewalk project
Weather takes a toll on area farmers
could be jeopardized down the road. Former councilman Tracy Tryon DarkeCountyMedia.com also expressed his concern with the sidewalk improvement project and by Linda Moody SUSAN - Approximately the cost to the city. He shared the GREENVILLE DarkeCountyMedia.com HARTLEY city is trying to catch up on paving 50 residents attended the special MANAGING EDITOR projects and using city funds could meeting of Greenville City Council DarkeCountyMedia.com at St. Clair Memorial Hall in regards have a negative impact on that effort. to a resolution of necessity required He suggested the city put the issue GAYLEN on the ballot and let the people of to furtherBLOSSER the proposed sidewalk SPORTS EDITOR Greenville decide if they want the project. Most of those who spoke DarkeCountyMedia.com sidewalk project to continue. Several expressed concern for the cost of the projectLINDA to residents. Other spoke in the audience applauded his statement. with concern toward removing and MOODY Councilman Hensley said, “To get replacing REPORTER trees. DarkeCountyMedia.com this, we are going to lose something “How am I going to pay for this? How are they going to do this?” said else. We have to decide if this is realCLINTON Chris Boyd. He was not alone in his ly important. We represent the peoRANDALL ple. We are not here for ourselves. In concern. CORRESPONDENT Several others spoke and DarkeCountyMedia.com my mind, if the public doesn’t want asked council how the elderly on a this, maybe we shouldn’t do it.” fixed income or those living below BETHANY J. going to pay As stated at the beginning of the the poverty level were meeting, the meeting adjourned for theseROYER-DELONG improvements even if the STAFF WRITER DarkeCountyMedia.com assessment runs for 10 years. Coun- without council taking action. They cil President Pro Tem John Hensley, will now be tasked with taking the the only councilman to speak during comments from the public and either the meeting, suggested if his repairs formulating a plan to move forward and answering the current unancost $4,000 he would be required swered questions. Some of the questo pay $400 additional each year on by Ryan Berry tions that remain include the scope his taxes and thatEditor doesn’t take into DarkeCountyMedia.com consideration interest or service fees of the project and if council wants to continue with current size of phase council may impose. one, what is the length of the assessOne property owner received an estimate of $7,700 in repairs needed. ment and would an interest rate or service fee be charged. Council also Dave Tanner not only questioned has the option of scrapping the entire the cost to property owners phase one, but alsobywondered how the city project. Linda Moody The ordinance pertaining to the would beDarkeCountyMedia.com able to afford this project sidewalk improvement project was even if 40 to 50 percent of the property owners completed the project on originally approved by Greenville City Council in 2001, but the city has their own. Tanner asked if the city yet to act upon that ordinance. was able to carry that burden over the course of several years and how it would affect the city. City Auditor Contact Editor Ryan Berry at rberry@ aimmediamidwest.com or call (937) 569Roxanne Willman agreed it could 0066. Read more news, features and sports at burden the city and some projects DarkeCountyMedia.com.
GREENVILLE — Darke County is the largest corn and soybean producer in the state of Ohio, but it bywon’t Ryan Berry be this year as wet weather Editor continues to DarkeCountyMedia.com take a toll on area farmers. So if county fields appear empty, it’s not your imagination. Speaking to Sam Custer, OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resource for Darke County, by Linda his Moody response was clear onDarkeCountyMedia.com Monday morning. “It’s not good.” While some Ohio farmers are making headway south of Interstate 70 and east of Columbus with 70 percent of crops planted, Darke County has far to go. Custer surveyed thirty county farmers last Friday with corn falling just short of ten percent planted with only four percent for soybeans. “We should be 100 percent planted by now,” continued Custer, a near impossible endeavor as in May alone the county received over nine inches of rain. The average should be in the four-inch range. According to Custer, it’s been a soaker for months, since October there has been above average precipitation. Working alongside Dr. Aaron B. Wilson, Senior Research Associate – Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and OSU Extension (BPCRC) – Custer says they’ve never seen anything like this before, even a wet year in 1981 is no comparison. “From here to the Michigan line little to nothing is planted,”
RYAN’S WORLD
by Ryan Berry Editor DarkeCountyMedia.com
RYAN LINDA’S BERRY EDITOR MOOD SWINGS
RYAN’S WORLD LINDA’S MOOD SWINGS
CORRESPONDENT DarkeCountyMedia.com
BETHANY J.
ROYER-DELONG STAFF WRITER DarkeCountyMedia.com
RYAN’S WORLD LINDA’S MOOD SWINGS
Bethany J. Royer-DeLong | Darke County Media
Wet weather has taken a toll on area farmers, delaying corn and soybean planting. However, county farmers took advantage of the dry weather on Tuesday, including this farmer on State Route 49, north of Greenville.
said Custer noting the Findlay area received four inches of rain over the weekend. However, clear skies on Monday left him optimistic farmers would attempt to get into the fields to beat the corn planting deadline (June 5) for crop insurance. Every day after that deadline means a reduction in insurance coverage. The soybean planting deadline is June 20. Another urgency to get into the fields is the tremendous number of livestock in the county. Most of the hay crop, Custer stating as much as 80 percent, was lost over the winter due to extreme weather. According to Custer, an extension educator in Wayne County reported hay was going for $800 a ton at auction in Wooster. Hay typically sells at $150 a ton. Agricultural is the number one source of funds for the county. The revenue generated by agricultural significant in comparison to all other indus-
tries. A challenging year like this one can produce a trickledown effect economically for everyone. Farmers who typically spend their money in the county for new farm equipment to cars, furniture, and other expenditures may not be able to do so this year. On a positive note, farmers are a resilient community. “They will figure out of a way to make things work and get through to better times,” said Custer while encouraging farmers, families, and other people in the community to keep an eye on one another, to not be afraid to reach out and ask for help. “If need be.” “We’re in a very critical period,” continued Custer, emphasizing farmers should be in direct contact with their crop insurance agents. “This week is the week when all decisions will [need to] be made.” Reach reporter Bethany J. Royer-DeLong at 937-548-3330 or email broyer-delong@ aimmediamidwest.com. Read more news, features, and sports at DarkeCountyMedia. com.