merge wright celebrates first column of 19th year
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7/28/2019 Merge Wright Celebrates First Column of 19th Year
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4 Thursday, April 4, 2013 Springboro Sun
1836 West Park Square, Xenia, OH 45385 - 937-294-7000
www.SpringboroSun.com. .
ong
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My f irst weekly column here in
Springboro was on Thursday, April 5,
1995. That was back when you had to
provide your column on a floppy discwith a pr in te d copy and drop it off at
the newspaper a week before the pub-
lish date.
The editor, Terry Baver, read my first
column andsaid, This is good, are you
sure you want to do this every week?
I said, Yeah, why not. (over 900
columns wri tten and published since
that day)
He then wanted a name for the col-
umn. I told him that Id call him back in
a few hours. Driving over to Kettering
and back, I noti ced the s ign on I-675
that said, Merge Right. I thought that
sign needs a big W in front of the
Right, and thats where the name came
from. Since this is week one of year 19,
I de cid ed to go b ack and se lec t a f ewi tems from my first columns back in
the mid-90s.If youre under 30 none of
these will make any sense.
The two least kissable people in
Ameri ca , according to a survey last
week , are Roseanne for the guys and
Kramer from Seinfeld for the ladies. A
quick survey here in southwest Ohio
found the two least kissable were
Marg e Sc hott for the guy s and Mike
Brown, Bengals owner, for the ladies. I
know youd love to knowwho won here
in Springboro, but I cant tell ya. I
dontwant to hurt anyone on the school
board s feelings.
Was talking to the gumshoe (Dayton
detective friend) the other day. He told
me that he and the missus had justa pplie d f or a Tr ad ers Wor ld Flea
Market Vi sa card. (They didnt have
debit /credi t cards back then.) I ques-
tioned their decision stating, How are
you going to feel when your out on the
town, say a t the Paragon Restaurant
having a classy dinner, the check
arrives and you look at the missus and
say, Hey honey, toss her that Flea
Market Visa card? That girls gonna
kn ow for su re that yo ur tip wont be
enough for a $1.75 Happy Meal the
next day. If I were you Id stick with the
Odd Lots Visa card that youve always
used.
Poor, unfortunate me. I have to pro-vide sound and emceethe Miss Greater
Cincinnat i (Miss Ohio Pageant) this
Saturday. Seventeen lovely ladies will
perform in talent , evening gown and
swimsuit competitions. Only one will
be selec ted to go on to Mansf ield for
t he Miss Ohio Pageant th is summer.
Tickets are$7 and available at the door.
Hope tosee you there. Il lbe the guy in
the black t ie tuxedo with the big smile
on his face.
The city of Daytons talking about
blowing up the old Rikes buildin g to
make way for a new per forming ar ts
center and an apartment /office com-
plex. Well, Springboro big shots not
want ing to be out done are looking at
t earing down something old to bui ld what theyre gonna call The
Performing Judicial Complex. A huge
indoor amphi theater with seating for
s eve ral thous and will be the main
anchor. Its here that celebrity judges,
like Ju dge J udy, Ito, Mills, Lane,
Marsha Clark, Kato, Johnny Cochrane
and many others will have the opportu-
nity to throw the book at, lock up,
release or boogie down with everydaylocal law breakers.
Mezzanine seating wil l go for $30,
Side bar, $75, Plaintiff a rea , $50 ,
Defense Table, $65 and bleachers, $10.
Sky boxes will le ase fo r $1 25K per
year. Side bar specials will include free
Mai Tais on Tuesdays. P izzas, dogs,
burgers will be hawked by vendors
working the galley. Cowbells, buzzers
a nd ho rns will b e permitte d, bu t a ll
f loor demonst ra ti ons aft er verdi ct s
have been read wil l be l imited to three
minutes.
The Contempt of Court Bar andGrill
just outside the judges chambe rs will
fea ture daily fare f rom 8 a.m to mid-
night along with top name entertain-
ment on weekends. All violators wil lhave the option of selecting the day and
judge they wish to appear before. Local
c ops ar e expec ting a rush on tr aff ic
violations, jay walking and other petty
misdemeanors as c it izens c lamor to
appear before their favorite celebri ty
judge . Photo ops, video recordings,
handcuffs, mug shots on coffee cups, T-
shi rt s and more wil l be offered a t the
Lo ck Up Country Store right off th e
front lobby.
Lucy, hold on to our Shampton Inn
and Pub Visa card the one with the pic-
ture of Big Dick on i t. (BigDick was
the bar tende r, a h uge guy th at wa s a
gentle man with an awesome personal-
i ty). Its sure to become a col lectors
i tem. Il l be home for my bubble bathand massage in about ten minutes.
(Shampton Inn & Pub was a restaurant
and bar a t Heatherwoode back in the
90s.
Merge Wright celebates
first column of 19th yearMERGE WRIGHT
By Don Wr
ight
Times
Columnist
Continued from Page 1
asked to present at the
foremost conference in
staff development, Malone
said. It speaks quite well of
our educational program.
SHS is among more than
1,200 HSTW sites in 30
states and the District of
Columbia to use the HSTW
Key Practices to raise stu-
dent achievement and pre-
pare students for pos tsec-
ondary studies and careers.
Springboro High School
continues to improve in
response to the HSTW
research, training and guid-
ance as well as its survey of
teachers and more than
1,500 SHS students every
two years, Malone said.
Conference
Continued from Page 1
an awesome cause and a great
way to give back, so I com-
mitted Eves Ink to partici-
pate.
Ink4Autism was started by
Jack Skorochod two years ago
with some local shops in
Canada, Loesche said. His
son was diagnosed with
Autism at five year of age. I
chose to support my son,
Lincoln, and promote autism
awareness by getting a puzzle
piece symbol tattoo,
Skorochod said. I discovered
many other parents of ASD
chose to do the same. Thus,
Ink4Autism was born.
Ink4Autism does not man-
date what percentage is donat-
ed, each shop decides on their
own, according to Loesche.
I worked my way through
college as a home health aide,
and many of my clients were
children or youth diagnosed
with autism, Loesche said.
Now I have a connection
through my friends son. If
you research it, you see that
there has been a significant
increase in children diagnosed
with autism over the last 20
years. Treatment and time
become expensive for parents
and families. Autism Speaks
is an established organization
that assists these families.
Autism-themed tattoos
can be anything from the tra-
ditional ribbon with a puzzle
piece design to a custom
design that is personal to the
client, Loesche said. We are
happy to create a custom
design for anyone interested
or you can bring your own
design to us.
For more information, call
937-748-9444 or visit
www.EvesInk.com.
Autism
Continued from Page 1
closure of objectives to the
community was meant to
assure all parties parents,staff and the taxpayers that
the board is acting to open
and conduct negotiations in a
responsible manner. The
Board does not believe this
has harmed the negotiation
process in any way.
The board will defend the
district against these charges
in full cooperation with any
SERB investigation.
Moreover, the board will con-
tinue to request early negotia-
tions to work toward a labor
agreement that is financially
sustainable for the District;
and to provide a compensa-
tion structure that is fair and
accountable.
Successful negotiationswith the SEA and
Springboros classified
employees and passing a $9.2
million renewal levy are two
factors in 2013 that are most
critical to the financial stabil-
ity of Springboro Schools.
Failing on either count will
have a significant impact on
future of the district.
The districts attorney,
William M. Deters II, asked
SERB to immediately dis-
miss the charges.
The news release in ques-
tion does not address or sup-
port any specific proposal or
discuss any specific bargain-
ing terms, Deters said. The
union can cite to no evidencethat supports the fact that the
boards listing of its objec-
tives in negotiations can rea-
sonably be defined as negoti-
ations or bargaining.
Furthermore, the union will
not be able to present substan-
tial evidence of material harm
to the union in the perform-
ance of union activities and/or
negotiations.
The release cannot be
defined as engaging in direct
dealing or refusing to negoti-
ate with the union, Deters
said. It states that it has
asked the union to open nego-
tiations early because the
financial issues related to
negotiations will impact theupcoming levy renewal.
Further (it) sets forth reason-
able objectives of the board in
the upcoming negotiations
The board has a duty to
inform its community about
the districts fiscal situation.
The boards only intention in
providing the press release
was transparency with the
community as it related to fis-
cal concerns. There was no
intention to interfere with,
restrain or coerce employees
in the exercise of their collec-
tive bargaining rights.
Proposals
SPRINGBORO Since first opening Balloons Galore in 1988,owner Mark Specht has been in the business of helping other
people celebrate. Thousands of customers have come to him to
help decorate for special occasions including weddings, birth-
days, corporate events, and more. Throughout the years, he also
had his own mini-milestones which included three moves to new
locations as his business continued to grow. And on March 18,
Specht celebrated a very special event of his own 25 years in
business.
Over the years, we have helped our customers celebrate thou-
sands and thousands of special occasions with life long memo-
ries, and it is that aspect of my job that I love the most, Spechtsaid. He has seen the family-owned business through highs and
lows in the economy and attributes his staying power to provid-
ing great customer service and quality products. In order to
reflect the expanded offerings of his growing business, he also
changed the name to Balloon Galore and Gifts in 2011.
Outside of his impact in the Dayton area, Spechts work has
also been recognized in the professional balloon world. His
designs have been featured in industry publications, including
Balloon Images and Party and Paper Retailer. In order to contin-
ue offering high quality designs and gifts to his customers, hes
even attended balloon education events including several
International Balloon Arts Conventions and gift basket conven-
tions.
He is a member of the Qualatex Balloon NetworkSM
(QBN), a professional organization dedicated to the pursuit of
excellence in balloon decor and bouquets. He also earned his
Certified Balloon Artist (CBA) designation in 1994 by pass-
ing a series of practical exams based on the QBN educationalcurriculum. Both the QBN and CBA programs were developed
by Pioneer Balloon Company, manufacturer of Qualatex
brand balloons.
Balloons Galore and Gifts has been in business since 1988,
offering unique balloon bouquets, gift baskets, corporate and
wedding decor, and more. The retail store is located at 786 N.
Main St. in Springboro and can be reached at 937-514-7455 or
online at balloonsgalore.net.
Submitted photo
Balloons Galorecelebrates 25 years
MIDDLETOWN Jazz and classical pianist Chick Corea will
give a solo concert at Miami Middletowns Dave Finkelman
Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 21.
Corea is a Downbeat Hall of Famer, 20-time Grammy winner
and undisputed keyboard virtuoso. At the 2013 Grammy Awards,
Corea was honored with Best Instrumental Composition forMozart Goes Dancing and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for Hot
House.
All seats for this performance are $35. Tickets are available
online at www.tickets.muohio.edu or by calling (513) 529-3200.
A service fee applies to online orders. The Artist Series will host
David Wilcox and Susan Werner on April 13 at Miami
Hamiltons Parrish Auditorium.
Miami University Middletown is located at 4200 N.
University Blvd.
Corea to perform April 21
DAYTON More than 107 area teensput pen to paper while over 130 cap-
tured images with camera and cell
phone as part of the Dayton Metro
Librarys annual Short Story and Teen
Photo Contest.
It is refreshing to know that Dayton
has so many talented teens, GretchenYonata, Teen Librarian, said. All of the
entries were examples of writing and
art that exemplifies originality of
observation perfectly.
The Teen Fiction Writing Contest
was open to all area teens, grades 7
through 12. Winners were chosen in
two grade categories: 7 8 and 9 12.
Faculty at Sinclair Community
Colleges English Depar tment and staff
at the University of Daytons English
Department served as judges and con-
test winners and honorable mentions
had their stories published by The
Dayton Metro Library.
In addition, the top three winners in
each age category received cash prizes
courtesy of the Friends of the Library.The Teen Photo contest was also
open to area teens in grades 7 through
12. Categories include: Black & White,
Color, Phone Photography, and Digital
Manipulation. Winners received $100
for First Place, $75 for Second Place
and $50 for Third place in each of the
categories, plus a Peoples Choice
award in each category received a $25
dollar gift certificate to Dodd Camera
also courtesy of the Friends of the
Library. The Peoples Choice award was
decided by area teens across the county.
The top photos will be displayed in
the Main Librarys Auditorium in April
in honor of National Library Week.
Were pleased to be able to offerthese contests for our teens, Yonata
said. Having the opportunity to finally
publish their works and recognize t heir
talents brings us as much joy to our
library as it does to the teens.
Congratulations to all the winners
and finalists!SHORT STORY
Contest Winners, Grades 9-12
First Place: Arthur, Efflorescent by
Ally Watson of Springboro
Second Place: Confidence In Me by
Hali Cobb of Dayton
Third Place: Shadowing Me by
Olivia Phillips of Springboro
Honorable Mention: One Final Beat
by Becca Swi ft of Springboro
Contest Winners, Grades 7-8First Place: Saving Skylar by Alexis
Jackson of Huber Heights
Second Place: Graces Second
Chance by Tionna Clyburn of
Englewood
Third Place: Silence, Child,
Momma Cried by Cierra Carter of
Huber Heights
Honorable Mention: Stranded on
Kudaki by Isaac Bement of DaytonTeen Photo
Black & White
First Place: Aaryn Truman of Dayton
Second Place: Kerri Loyd of
Kettering
Third Place: Lynsey Jarvis of Huber
HeightsPeoples Choice Award: Ciara
Tanksley of Moraine
Color
First Place: Hannah Gray of Dayton
Second Place: Echota Henderson of
Lewisburg
Third Place: Aaron A. Simoni of New
Lebanon
Peoples Choice Award: Brittany
Howard of Dayton
Phone Photography
First Place: Lauren Diffendal of
Miamisburg
Second Place: Katie Kuhns of
Dayton
Third Place: Hind El hajj Moussa of
Riverside
Peoples Choice Award: LaurenDiffendal of Miamisburg
Digital Manipulation
First Place: Martin Fehringer of
Kettering
Second Place: Hannah Duckro of
Dayton
Third Place: Lina Nahhas of Dayton
Peoples Choice Award: Lina Nahhas
of Dayton
Teens win in story, photo contest