THE EARLY BIRD NEWSPAPER
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SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2014
Come for the circus stay for fireworks GREENVILLE - There is no better way to celebrate the Independence Day weekend than spending time with family and friends. The Darke County Agricultural Society accepted the challenge from Greenville Mayor Mike Bowers to bring a fireworks display back to the community to help in this celebration. On July 6, at
dusk, an Independence Day Fireworks Celebration will return to the fairgrounds. Rozzi Fireworks (http://www.rozziproducts.com) from Loveland is a leader in fireworks and will shoot the display. Rozzi is known for the huge display on Labor Day weekend in Cincinnati and providing fireworks for Kings Island and the
Cincinnati Reds. That same day, in the infield of the race track, the Carson & Barnes Big Top Circus (http://www.carsonbarnescircus.com) will have two performances, 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Please enter at Gate #1 or Gate #2 for the Circus and to view the fireworks display. Any business, organi-
zation or individual wishing to donate to the display may do so by sending a check to Fair Office, 800 Sweitzer St., Greenville Ohio 45331; in person at the Fair Office during normal office hours of 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday; or by phone, 548-5044, using a debit/credit card during
normal office hours. The Darke County Agricultural Society is a 501
C 3 Organization so your donations are tax deductible.
Students find countless benefits through equine therapy
Dan Light retires as Arcanum Police Chief after over 12 years. (Clinton Randall Photo)
Light retires as Chief, plans to continue law enforcement career BY CLINTON RANDALL STAFF WRITER ARCANUM – Though Dan Light is retiring as the Arcanum Police Chief, he has no plans of leaving the life as a law enforcement officer behind. Light, who has served as Chief since Nov. 7, 2001, will officially leave the office at the end of the day Sunday, June 22. At which time present New Madison Police Chief Andrew Ashbaugh will take over as Arcanum’s Acting Chief for at least the next three months. “Though I am retiring as Chief, I still have a passion for the field and plan to continue working in law enforcement,” Light said. “Once it gets in your blood it is hard to
let go.” Light told The Early Bird his plans after leaving the Arcanum Police Department are to join the Darke County Sheriff’s Patrol where he first began his career in March 1985. He later became a full time deputy with the Darke County Sheriff’s Office where he was given different duties over the years, including a spot on the D.A.R.E. program where he educated local students about the dangers of drugs. “Dan was a great guy to work with in the D.A.R.E. program,” said Det. Sgt. Mike Burns of the Darke County Sheriff’s Office. “He always did what was right and gave such a positive spin on how the kids saw po-
lice officers.” “Danno (as Burns called Light) was committed to making a difference with the kids,” Burns added. “That was some of the richest times in both our careers.” Light grew up in Darke County, graduating from Greenville in 1980. He and his wife Jen recently moved to Troy after living in Arcanum for the last eight years. He is a father of four children, the youngest graduating from Arcanum High School this year. “I’ve got a few good years left. I would like to get back to dealing with the people and be less of a supervisor, that is
Light continued on page 3
BY RYAN BERRY MANAGING EDITOR PIQUA – When one thinks of a therapy animal the first thought is of a cat or dog. Many skilled nursing and assisted living facilities have companion animals on-site because of the positive affect they have on residents. One might be surprised to learn there are larger animals that have been used for therapy since the 17th century. Early documentation shows warriors injured on the battlefield often used horses as a form of therapy. A few centuries later that method began taking hold in the U.S. Today, there are over 700 equine assisted therapy locations in the United States. The closest therapeutic riding facility is only a half-hour drive from Greenville. Through the support of Ann and Keith Schaurer, Eagles’ Wings Stable, Inc., 5730 N. Washington Road, Piqua, began reaching out to children and adults and helping them gain or regain a variety of skills. The facility opened in 2006. Since that time, they have helped many regain strength or build muscle tone, learn socialization skills, develop balance and coordination, follow directions or stay on task, build confidence and self esteem, plus many more benefits. According to Kelly Monnin, director, the fa-
Thomas Blumenstock thinks he is having fun riding Jett, but he is also building his core strength and learning socialization skills. (Ryan Berry photo)
cility opened with three horses, one instructor, nine volunteers and three students. Today, they have 17 students, eight horses and three part-time instructors. Some students come for a session or two and some may come for several years. Thomas Blumenstock, 9, has been coming to Eagles’ Wings since he was three years old. His mother, Julie, noted that Thomas is Globally Delayed. He has had problems building his core strength and has socialization issues. “His handicap has limited his activities,” she said. Monnin was quick to point out a lot of their students cannot play some of the sports their brothers or sisters are playing, but they can participate in horseback riding. Thomas doesn’t realize he is getting therapy. According to his mother,
he gets excited when they turn on the road to get to the stable – even if it isn’t his therapy day. When asked if he liked coming to see the horses Thomas answered with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” His mom said he just enjoys coming and riding. However, every time he mounts the horse, stands up in the saddle, or sits up straight he is building his core strength. As he is learning how to make the horse go or when he follows the directions of the trainer he is developing the socialization skills he needs. For Julie, the therapy Thomas receives isn’t the only therapy session of the day. While she and the other parents are sitting on the bench outside the ring they are talking and helping each other with the issues they face.
Equine Therapy continued on page 3
Over 92% of county’s third graders met state’s standa BY RYAN BERRY MANAGING EDITOR GREENVILLE – Darke County’s third graders joined students from around the state to take the Ohio Achievement Assessment, but there was a little more pressure to do well on this year’s reading test. Students that scored under a 392 risked the chance of repeating third grade under Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Darke County’s students performed well on the assessment with over 92% meeting or exceeding the minimum standard required by the state. Nearly 700 students from Green-
ville City Schools and all Darke County Schools, including Bradford, took the test. Jim Atchley, superintendent for Ansonia and Mississinawa Valley (MV), was pleased with the numbers from both of his schools. Over 98% of Ansonia’s third graders were able to meet the standards and 42 of 48 students at MV passed the assessment. The numbers are a little skewed because the results are for all third grade students. According to the superintendent, the state does not require special education students to achieve the targeted score, but are included in the re-
sults. None of the county schools had more than 10 students fall short of the requirement and most had six or fewer with the majority of those students falling in the special education category. Ansonia, Franklin Monroe and Bradford each had one student. Greenville City Schools had 198 third graders take the achievement test with 174 reaching the standard (87.9%). Tri-Village had the most county students (10) fail to reach the assessment’s standard score. Superintendent Josh Sagester noted nine of those 10 have met the state’s criteria for promotion. One student has
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Police Beat .................pg. 2
Church/Social ............pg. 4
On Your Mind .............pg. 5
Classifieds .......... pg. 17-21
Ryan’s World ..............pg. 5
Obituaries ...................pg. 6
an opportunity through summer school and by retaking the assessment. Sagester is pleased with the results. “It is one of the highest priorities we had over the last year,” he said. The goal to have success is not only a goal for the third grade teachers, but is a shared goal for teachers and staff from kindergarten through third grade. “If you struggle in reading you’re going to struggle in all aspects of the curriculum.” He continued, “We try to hit it as hard as possible.” Tri-Village’s efforts have paid off. After preliminary testing last fall the school had 18 students in danger of not
meeting the state’s standard. “The students have worked extremely hard,” said Sagester. While the state’s requirement for promotion is 392 the school is required to have students score 400 or better for the district to meet its indicator on the State Report Card. Tri-Village had 80% of its students score 400 or better. Atchley is concerned with the state’s requirement of retaining students if the standard is not met. He said, “Most studies show there is no benefit to retaining students.” According to the Ohio Department of Education, if a student is ready he/she can take
fourth grade classes in all other subjects. The school would be required to provide a high-performing reading teacher with 90 minutes of reading instruction each school day. If the student’s reading improves the school can move him/her to the fourth grade. Problems could arise for districts with a large number of students retained (i.e. finding classroom space and teachers). Overall, 88% of the state’s 119,393 public school students met or exceeded the standard. That number dipped for community school students with only 71.4% of the 8,234 students reaching the target.
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