Engineering Tech Prep Class, Greenville High School Career Technical Education Balsa Wood Bridge Competition

In commemoration of National Engineer’s Week (Feb. 21-27), the Engineering Tech Prep Class at Greenville High School held an annual competition involving the construction of balsa wood bridge structures. The thirteenth annual competition partnering with local engineers, Mote & Associates, was held on Friday, March 5 and Monday, March 8, 2021.  In the past, bridges, boom cranes, and earthquake resistant multi-story towers have been constructed of balsa wood as well as wood cranes built on floating Styrofoam platforms in a pool of water.  This year, due to gathering limitations invoked during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the event had to be modified.  In lieu of a gathering of all students together with guests, two smaller events were held separately without outside guests. Traditionally with past events, guests attended from Mote & Associates, the City of Greenville, and Darke County Economic Development.   Snow events also delayed the event this year.  Consequently, it was not held until after Engineer’s Week. 

Engineering Tech Prep Teachers Chris Sykes and Adam Eberwein determined the guidelines for this year’s competition.  The junior and senior students were instructed to build single span truss bridges of balsa wood.  Corey Bremigan and Dave Mathews of Mote & Associates were able to mentor the students as they prepared their designs the week prior to the competition.

Team members were tasked with building an efficient bridge that will support weight hanging from it (a bucket of sand).  Sand was added to the bucket as each bridge was connected to a table until it collapsed.  The structure holding the most weight with the highest efficiency won the competition.  Efficiency was calculated by dividing the weight held in the bucket by the structure’s weight.

The winning teams were:

• 1st Place - Aaron Suter and Jordan Warner.  Bridge held 51 lbs. and had a 102,133% efficiency.
• 2nd Place - Jacob Barr and Ashton Shaffer.  Bridge held 42.5 lbs. and had a 50,255% efficiency.
• 3rd Place - Seth Shaffer and Nathan Miniard.  Bridge held 46 lbs. and had a 49,680% efficiency.

Mother's Day Chicken Dinner

 

Ansonia UMC Offers Blessing Box

The Outreach Team at Ansonia United Methodist Church, with the guidance and help of Radiant Lighthouse Church, has created a Blessing Box for local families in need.  Built by church member Russ Midlam with donations from the church; Ansonia Lumber; and North Star Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.  With cooperation from Ansonia First Church of God and the Ansonia Community Center, the box has been placed on the east side of the Ansonia Community Center on the corner of Pearl and Weller streets in Ansonia.  Volunteers from the church worked to install the box.

The blessing box offers non-perishable foods as well as books for any local family to have.  The blessing box will be refilled as necessary by Ansonia UMC, as well as by donations from local organizations and groups, and Ansonia residents.  The food and books are free for anyone and are offered to assist families who may be facing a time of need.

The blessing box was dedicated on Saturday, April 3 by members of the Outreach Team, a representative from the Ansonia Community Center, and a representative from Radiant Lighthouse Church.  The box is ready to benefit others.

PHOTO: Pictured at the dedication of the Blessing Box are (l to r) Russ Midlam, Mike Gessler, Amy Gessler, Laura Turner, and Beth Campbell.

Darke county swim team summer sign-up information

The Darke county stingrays swim team will be holding sign-ups in the Arcanum High school library on Saturday April 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. There will be signs posted as you enter the school. Darke county swim team is hosted by the Greenville city swimming pool. we will hold all practices and home meets at this location. Darke county swim team is a community-based recreational team open to all Darke County children with an emphasis on having fun, learning and refining swim techniques, individual accomplishment, and team spirit. The season runs from the beginning of June to the middle of July. Indoor practice season at the Darke County YMCA will be every Thursday in may (may 6, may 13, may 20, and may 27) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. outdoor practices will begin in June and are held Monday through Friday starting from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Our swim meets are held on weeknights or Saturday mornings and include events for kickboard-assisted swimmers to high school state qualifiers.

Payment is due at registration. there is a registration fee of $40./swimmer or $90/Family and the cost of a Greenville city pool pass is $100/person or $150/family. our board members will be present at sign-ups to answer any questions. in lieu of in-person registration, You may register online at our website: teamunify.com/recdcs. you can also check out our website for additional information including our calendar of events. Please email the drake county swim team for further questions: DARKECOUNTYSWIMTEAM@OUTLOOK.COM

2021 Poultry Days Honorary Parade Marshals: Mike and Sandy McClurg

As proud members of the Versailles community, Mike and Sandy McClurg are honored to be named Parade Marshals for the 2021 Versailles Poultry Days Grand Parade.

The couple has deep and long-standing roots in Versailles. Both Mike and Sandy grew up in the Versailles area and graduated from Versailles High School. After moving away briefly for training and work, the two returned home and were married in St. Denis Catholic Church. They made Versailles their permanent home and have remained committed to the ‘People-Pride-Progress’ of the Village of Versailles.

After graduation, Mike attended Miami University, Oxford. Mike held multiple jobs in and around Versailles while working his way through college. Mike temporarily placed his education on hold after volunteering for service in the United States Army. He was assigned and served as a Military Policeman in Germany during the Vietnam War. After his service, he returned home to continue his education, obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Wright State University. He then entered law school and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Ohio Northern University. Mike worked full time as a lawyer in Versailles with Hanes, Schipfer, Hurley, McClurg, Cooper, and Graber law firm and as the Attorney for the Village of Versailles for 25 years. During his tenure he provided legal assistance to many local non-profit organizations, including Kinder Korner Pre-School, Versailles Swimming Pool, Friends of the Library, and Versailles Rescue Squad. Mike was then elected and served as Darke County Probate/Juvenile Judge for 8 years. He continues to work part-time as a Magistrate in the court. Mike is a member of the Darke County Bar Association (Past President) and Ohio State Bar Association.

Mike served as Chairman of Versailles Poultry Days in 1987 and participated on the Board for 10 years. He was a co-founder of Heritage Park and served as Park Board President. Mike actively supported Versailles Schools and youth as Chairman and Treasurer for School Bond Issues, Versailles Athletic Boosters President, and Trustee of Little League and Girls Softball. He coached soccer, YMCA basketball, and Little League baseball/softball. He served as a board member of Versailles Savings and Loan for 16 years and as President of Rotary Club. He was instrumental in establishing and incorporating The Hope Foundation (now the Darke County Foundation). Mike is a member of the American Legion, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of Columbus, and Versailles Area Pride and Progress Association. He was also a member of the Versailles Development Association.

After graduating from Versailles, Sandy moved to Dayton and worked as a dental assistant in Oakwood. After moving home, Sandy also embraced the Versailles community while raising their children. She was on the Founding Committee and a board member of Kinder Korner Pre-School. Sandy served as board member of the Versailles Scholarship Committee and Worch Memorial Library for over 10 years. She was a Girl Scout Leader and served as part of the Founding Committee of Darke County Relay for Life, Steering Committee of Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure, Catholic Social Services Northern Fundraising Committee, and Parents Advisory Committee for Versailles Schools. She was a Coterie Club member and chaired the Coterie Club Ice Cream Parlor at Poultry Days.

The two are parishioners of St. Denis Catholic Church where Mike was a Lay Communicant for 20 years, Lay Reader and served on the Church Council. Mike and Sandy now find greatest joy in spending time with and supporting their children and grandchildren through all of their academic and athletic endeavors. They are the proud parents of three children: Angie (Alan) Hoelscher of Fort Loramie, Michael (Heather) McClurg of Minster, and Liz (Dr. Ryan) McNeilan of Versailles. They have been blessed with nine grandchildren: McKenzie, Ryan, Katie, Maddi, Cole, Crew, Cameryn, Kenley, and Nolan. Mike and Sandy encourage everyone to support the Versailles community by attending Versailles Poultry Days June 11-13.

The full festival schedule and event information can be located at VersaillesPoultryDays.com. Bulk Chicken sales remain open along with registration for the Grand Parade, 5K, Vendors and Miss Chick pageants. Established in 1952 and serving up summer fun for 70 years.

Poultry Days Vendor Space

The good spaces are starting to go fast. The Zac Richard Scholarship Fund is accepting vendor reservations at VersaillesPoultryDays.com. With 35,000 chicken halves ordered we are expecting a big year at the festival. Options include 10 x 10 ft. spaces in the Vendor Tent or space for your own tent. All vendor Tent spaces are on asphalt, while 15 x 15 ft. spaces for your own tent or display are available on either asphalt or grass. Booths inside the tent start at $100 with discounts on additional space and discounts if you register before May 1st.

If you are interested in being a part of this celebration, please access Vendor information at VersaillesPoultryDays.com and return the signed application and your payment. Registration will remain open until noon on Friday, June 11th or until all spaces are full. All proceeds benefit the Zac Richard Memorial Scholarship Fund which manages the area and can be contacted at zrichardscholarshipfund@gmail.com.

Any requests for vendors preparing food at the festival or activities or displays are reviewed by the Poultry Days board and should be sent to PoultryDaysChairman@gmail.com. Presale chicken sales have opened at VersaillesPoultryDays.com. Contact VPDChickenline@gmail.com for all chicken related questions. Established in 1952 and serving up summer fun for 70yrs. For more details follow us on Facebook or go to VersaillesPoultryDays.com.

State of the Heart Care is now EverHeart Hospice

The past year has been a difficult one. It has been difficult for our staff, difficult for our patients and their families, and difficult for our communities. We want to take a moment to recognize the hard-working women and men who work here for their continued dedication and sacrifice in caring for our patients and their families under extraordinarily challenging conditions. We would also like to thank the communities we serve for your continued support and solidarity in confronting these uncertain times with courage and conviction.

Keeping our employees, patients, communities, and partners safe has always been — and will continue to be — our top priority and concern for the foreseeable future.

And speaking of our future, we’re happy to say that we have something to celebrate today. Prior to the COVID outbreak, we started doing extensive internal and external brand research to identify our strengths and weaknesses as an organization. We conducted focus groups with employees, interviewed our strategic partners and friends in the community, and sent out hundreds of surveys to people throughout West Central Ohio and East Central Indiana to get their thoughts and feedback about our organization.

Through this intensive process, we learned that our identity often created confusion for people who work with us and for the community at large.

Based on these findings, our staff and leadership made the bold decision that a new identity was needed, one that would better match the stellar reputation we’ve worked so hard to earn in caring for our patients. We wanted a name that our employees would be proud of and use with confidence, and an identity that would resonate with our partners and customers by reflecting our purpose and mission. Most importantly, we wanted a name and identity that wouldn’t create any questions about who we are or what we do.

We are excited to announce that our new name is now EverHeart Hospice.

EverHeart Hospice conveys what State of the Heart Care was trying to say all along, but more clearly, concisely, and directly: we will always care for our patients, and honor the privilege of caring for them in their time of need. EverHeart simply means “forever caring,” a pledge of unending compassion for, and loyalty to, those who have entrusted us with their care.

For our organization, EverHeart Hospice represents both a continuation and a departure: we will always be State of the Heart Care and carry a piece of that identity with us, but we are also growing and improving to better serve our communities moving forward.

This has been a challenging but important process, and we are thrilled with where it has taken us. Ultimately it is the work we do that will continue to define us, and that simple fact has made this

process much more reassuring. But we are happy to be moving forward with a fresh look.