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Vol. 15, Issue 21 Springboro’s community news leaderThursday, February 23, 2012

IndexClassified .............................8A-14ALocal ...........................................2AOpinion .......................................4ARecord ........................................5ASports .........................................7A

DeathsThe Rev. Percil J. StrattonMary BarkerBarbara J. SilerCecelia M. CherryRex E. Cox

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By DOUG SKINNEREditor

dskinner@tcnewsnet.comSPRINGBORO — The owners of 42

properties will soon be levied specialassessments for the purpose of repair-ing sidewalks and driveway aprons. itwas announced at last week’s citycouncil meeting. Council gave thefirst reading to an ordinance levyingthe assessments.“The purpose of the proposed leg-

islation is to levy final assessmentsfor the 2011 sidewalk program, direc-tor of finance Robyn Brown stated ina memorandum to council. “The totalcost of the assessments is not toexceed $23,152.79. The propertyowners will have 30 days after thefirst publication of this ordinance topay their assessment before it certi-fied to the Warren County auditor tobe placed on their tax duplicate andcollected in five annual installmentswith 5 percent interest.”In other business:• An ordinance approving the

record plan for The Springs, “SectionTwo Revision One,” was approved.“The referenced subdivision is locat-ed in the Springs development at thewest end of Springs Boulevard andalong Shady Pines Avenue and thenorthern portion of Waterside Drive,”according to city engineer ElmerDudas. “The existing lots are beingadjusted to match the approved gener-al plan as well as platting the futureclubhouse lot along with the recentlyvacated right of way for SpringsBoulevard. The record plan contains11.292 acres of which there are 34buildable lots, including the club-house.”• A resolution granting land at the

western terminus of SpringsBoulevard to the FischerDevelopment Company wasapproved. “The western terminus of

the Springs Boulevard right of way isbeing vacated,” Dudas said. “Uponcompletion of the right of way vaca-tion, the land will be granted toFischer Development Company andthen re-platted as the entrance for thefuture clubhouse facility for thedevelopment. The land being granted

contains 0.135 acres.”• Council approved a resolution

approving a revision to the approvedgeneral plan for the Fairways plannedunit development — residential(PUD-R). The revision allows a newhome design, the “Waterbury” byCristo Homes.

“The Fairways PUD-R is locatedon the north side of … HeatherwoodeGolf Course and includes lots on thesouthern end of Eyler Drive on BaileyLane and adjoining streets. The sub-division includes 51 buildable lots. Todate, 22 homes have been completedor are under construction.”

SSiiddeewwaallkk aasssseessssmmeennttss ppllaannnneedd

“Jake Ballard Day” was declared Thursday, Feb. 16 in Springboro by city council. In the above photo,Mayor John Agenbroad, right, reads the proclamation as Ballard looks on.

Springboro Sun photo by Doug SkinnerAda Basterrica, Moritz Vammerand Jeremy Prost are studying at Springboro

High School this year.

By DOUG SKINNEREditor

dskinner@tcnewsnet.comSPRINGBORO — Despite the differences

in the cultures the exchange students whoare attending Springboro High School areenjoying their time in the United States.Ada Bosterrica of Spain, Moritz Vammer

of Germany and Jeremy Prost of Belgiumare attending SHS this year.A major reason the exchange students

decided to come to the United States was adesire to learn English.“I thought it would be a good experience

because I wanted to learn English,” Adasaid.“I don’t know what to do in College,”

Jeremy said. “I had one year to decide andlearn English.”Moritz had friends who had come to the

United States, and they highly recommend-ed being an exchange student to him. “Theytold me it’s awesome,” he said.All three exchange students said they are

really enjoying their time in Springboro.SHS has many differences from schools

in other countries, according to theexchange students. “We have the sameclass(room) every period in Spain, Ada said.“Teachers move (from room to room). There

are more choices here.”Moritz said schools in Germany have dif-

ferent schedules each day. “Here, we havethe same schedule every day,” he said.There are “a lot of holidays here,” Ada

said. In Spain, people do not eat dinner untilabout 10 p.m. “Everything’s different,” shesaid.Many things, such as food, costs less in

the United States than it does in Germany,according to Moritz.In Belgium, students are not as involved

in school as they are here, Jeremy said. “Athome (Belgium) we eat later, stay up laterand go out later.” Kids often stay out until 2-3 a.m. in Belgium, he said.While schools in Germany and Belgium

have sports teams, like they do here, schoolsin Spain do not, the exchange students said.The students all said they will remember

the friends they made in Springboro. Whilethey miss their home countries, they havemixed emotions about returning. “I’m notlooking forward to going home,” Ada said.“I miss my friends, but I really like it here.”“I would like to stay longer, but I miss my

family and friends, Moritz said.“I will be happy to go home in June

(when the school year ends), (but I’m gladI’m not going home sooner),” Jeremy said.

Exchange students areenjoying time at SHS

Insidetoday’s issue

MIDDLETOWN — WarrenCounty Career Center AdultEducation is offering a freepreparation course for thosewishing to enter the health-care field but need to brushup on math, reading andwriting skills, and learnabout employability, studyand testing skills. WCCC’sGreentree Health ScienceAcademy offers programs foradults in medical assistant,medical billing and coding,pharmacy tech, phlebotomytech, multi-skilled medicaltechnician and EKG tech.The Healthcare Prep pro-

gram will be held at theGreentree Health ScienceAcademy, which is locatedon the Atrium MedicalCenter campus inMiddletown. The next classstarts March 13 and meetsfor a total of 33 hours onTuesdays and Thursdaysfrom 9-11:30 a.m. Anotherclass begins May 1.For details and a program

application, contact theWarren County WorkforceOne Adult Education Officeat 513-695-2987, 513-261-2987, 937-425-2987, or 513-925-2987.

OXFORD — KrisPericleous, a psychologymajor from Springboro, is therecipient of a Spring 2012Undergraduate ResearchAward from MiamiUniversity.The award provides sup-

port for student research andcreative projects. Pericleouswill work with RobinThomas, professor of psy-chology on the project Cross-Cultural Comparison ofObject Affordance Between

Western and ChineseStudents.The Undergraduate

Research Award (URA) pro-gram is sponsored by Miami'soffice for the advancement ofresearch and scholarship. Itprovides support for studentresearch and creative proj-ects, and provides experiencein developing grant applica-tions. Typical awards rangefrom $150 to $500, but indi-vidual or group projects ofexceptional merit may be

SPRINGBORO — TheSpringboro Junior HighSchool Choir will performDear Edwina Junior at 7:30p.m. March 2-3 at theSpringboro High Schoola u d i t o r i u m .The show is under the

direction of music teacherChris Wylie, who marks hereighth year working with theshow choir. This year, KoreyHarlow is the choreographer.The leading lady, Edwina

Spoonapple, has been doublecast with Beth Metcalf andCaroline Eddington. Thosewho attend will meet all thekids from Paw Paw Mich.,

including Scott (leading manJack Blair), Becky the cheer-leader (Isabel Houser), Kellithe ballerina (Emily Lill andDorothy Tsolometes), Anniethe girl scout (MaddieOffenberger), the Queen ofBoola Boola (CarolineKarnosh) and Johnny(Andrew Perkins). Tickets purchased by

Wednesday, Feb. 29 are $5for adults, $4 for senior citi-zens, $3 for students. Alltickets at the door are $5.Email cwylie@spring-boro.org or call 937-748-3953 ext 2506 for moreinformation.

Dear Edwina Juniorto be presented

Pericleous receivesaward from Miami U.

Career center to offerhealth care prep course

SPRINGBORO — Free taxpreparation by AARP TaxaideVolunteers is available from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays throughApril 13 at the SpringboroLibrary Branch, 125 Park Lane.Appointments are required. Call937-748-3200 to make a reser-vation.

Free taxpreparations

available

SPRINGBORO — TheSpringboro CommunitySchool District will holdkindergarten registrationMarch 12-16. Registration information

and forms for incomingkindergartners are available inmid-February on the school’swebsite: www.springboro.org. Registration packets also

will be available for pick-up atClearcreek Elementary in mid-February for those who areunable to visit the website.

Parents can bring the com-pleted forms and documents toKindergarten registration atClearcreek Elementary.Registration will be open from1:30-6 p.m. Monday throughThursday, March 12-15, andfrom 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Friday, March 16.For more information, con-

tact Clearcreek Elementary at(937) 748-3958.

Kindergartenregistration set

There’s one four letterword I cannot stand:diet.

It absolutely pains me.Yet someone within my

family decided to go on adiet where not only is hetemporarily refraining fromeating meat, but dairy aswell.This causes quite the

cramp in my cooking style.This time, the adventure incooking was simply findinga recipe that would work.After a lot of web search-ing, I ended up going with avegetarian chili made withbeer (because we all knowmy weak spot for cookingwith beer).The recipe from

MyRecipes.com is quitesimple and has a bit of aMexican flair. It featuredchipotle chiles in adobosauce, bell peppers, chilipowder and a good varietyof beans.The word “adobo” means

“marinade” in Spanish,which should have been agood hint to me of the levelof spiciness I was about toenter. Instead, it wasn’t untilthe chili was ready that mytaste buds were in for a funsurprise.I went to the Culinary

Company in Kettering forthe beer and asked for agood light-bodied beer, likethe recipe required.I enjoy going to the

Culinary Company becauseyou can simply buy a bottleor two. I got an Italian lager,Birra Moretti, and aMexican lager, Pacif icoClara.The Mexican one actually

tasted better in my opinion,so I left that one for drink-ing and the Italian one forthe cooking.It seemed a little funny to

put the Italian beer in theMexican chili, but I wentfor it.The only real prep I had

to do was cut up the onionsand the green and red bellpeppers.Halfway through, It said

to scrap the pan of loosenedbrowned bits, but I didn’thave any. I probably missedsomething.I gave a heaping table-

spoon of the chipotle chilesand that may have been mymistake. I caution againstthis if you have more deli-cate taste buds. The beansincluded red beans, chick-peas, and cannellini beans.Then it simmers for 40

minutes before adding somesalt at the end. I didn’tremember to add salt until Istarted writing this column,which means I totally for-got. I didn’t think it neededit though, thanks to the saltytortilla chips we added in.We were also supposed toserve with cheese, but werefrained due to the dieter.I have to say that though

my taste buds were burning,it was rather tasty. Thedieter in the group washappy and the chipotle fla-vor was so overwhelming,you don’t even notice thelack of meat. So that’s a winin my recipe book.To find the recipe, go

online to www.ko-times.com. Contact Jenniferat jennifer@relishandsa-vor.com or visit her blog atwww.relishandsavor.com.

Vegetarian ChiliIngredients2 teaspoons canola oil2 cups chopped onion

(about 1)1 ½ cups chopped green

bell pepper (about 1)1 ½ cups chopped red bell

pepper (about 1)1 tablespoon chili powder2 garlic cloves, minced2 cups organic vegetable

broth1 cup beer1 tablespoon chopped

chipotle chile, canned inadobo sauce1 (15 ½ ounce) can small

red beans, rinsed anddrained1 (15 ½ ounce) can chick-

peas (garbanzo beans) rinsedand drained1 (15 ½ ounce) can can-

nellini beans, rinsed anddrained1 (14 ½ ounce) can fire-

roased diced tomatoes,undrained½ teaspoon kosher salt½ cup pre-shredded

Mexican blend cheesePreparationHeat oil in a large Dutch

oven over medium-high heat.Add onion and bell pep-

pers to pan; saute 10 min-utes or until vegetables aretender.Add chili powder and gar-

lic to pan; cook 1 minute,stirring constantly.

Add broth and beer,scraping pan to loosenbrowned bits.Add chipotle, beans, and

tomatoes to pan; simmer 40minutes or until thick.

Stir in salt.Sprinkle each serving

with cheese.

2 Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012

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LEBANON — Two representatives from Executive Jet Management, based at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, spoke tothe students in the Warren County Career Center Aerospace Academy recently about careers in aviation. Executive JetManagement (EJM) is a NetJets company, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. EJM currently manages more than180 aircraft and employs more than 450 pilots, 250 mechanics and 30 dispatchers. The advice they gave the juniors andseniors was straightforward: education and certification is very important. But, even more important are a good workethic and personal integrity.“We hire for attitude and behavior and train for the skills,” Ty B. Dubay, Senior Vice President, Operations Planning,

said. “An employee who is conscientious and has good ethics is what we are looking for.” Mr. Dubay said he has a back-ground in engineering, but enjoys the variety of his current position in operations management.“My A and P (Airframe and Powerplant) certification and associates degree were my entrance to EJM,” Jim Lewis,

Senior Vice President, EJM Aircraft Sales, said. “But, I had to work really hard to get where I am today, and I did itbecause besides liking the money I was earning on overtime, I loved what I was doing.”To illustrate the importance of personal and workplace integrity, they talked to the students about being representa-

tives of their company, which means that ultimately they represent Berkshire Hathaway CEOWarren Buffett. “Anythingwe say or do could end up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal the next day,” Dubay said. “So, we always makesure we are doing and saying the right thing. We would never want to let Mr. Buffett down.”The students asked a lot of questions and listened intently. Afterward, they all had good things to say about the com-

pany. Jacob Bowser, Waynesville, a senior in the program, said the presentation was “very informative; it is good toknow there are reliable businesses still left.” Jenny Burke, a Franklin senior thanked the speakers for coming, saying,“This was a professional way of showing us a little bit about your company.” “I really enjoyed the EJM presentation,”Travis Beavers, a Waynesville junior said. “It was informative.” Storm Sperry, a Franklin junior said, “I liked the show-ing of opportunities.” Perhaps a future job applicant, Abby Bray, a Lebanon junior said, “I think EJM offers a lot ofgreat opportunities that should be taken advantage of.”Instructor David Miller said, “EJM is a progressive and professional aviation entity that offers a very unique prod-

uct to its customers. They have consistently exhibited both growth and quality service in a market that is highly com-petitive. Their success stems from disciplined elements of integrity, safety, customer satisfaction and professionalemployees that, through teamwork, contribute to EJM being a great place to work and advance personal careers.”In the above photo, left to right, Jim Lewis, Senior Vice President, EJM Aircraft Sales, and Ty B. Dubay, Senior Vice

President, Operations Planning, talk to some of the students.

Aviation is topic of Aerospace Academy class

Let me give you just a fewstatistics and personal facts:• Obesity used to be some-

thing that happened only to “oldpeople.” In elementary school,and even in high school, I couldcount on one hand the kids inmy classroom who were over-weight, and I can still give youtheir names.• Obesity in children aged 2 –

5 and adolescents 12-19 hasmore than doubled in the lastthree decades; in children agedsix through 11 obesity hastripled.• Along with being over-

weight, these children are proneto type two diabetes, high bloodpressure, high cholesterol, andeven sleep apnea (interruptionof breathing while one is sleep-ing). All these make them evenmore susceptible to chronic con-ditions, and less quality of life.They are becoming “old” longbefore their time!Let’s bring this closer to

home! In 2008 prevalence ofchildhood obesity in Ohio was28.7 percent. This means thatover one-fourth of our childrenwere 20 percent or more overtheir “normal” weight. Many ofthem were much over their nor-mal weight.OK…Enough of these num-

bers! What can you do?You areyour child’s most-followedexample of what to do and whatis acceptable. They would neveradmit it, but it’s true.Don’t just talk the talk, but

walk the walk I mean this liter-ally. Your child is much morelikely to be and stay active ifthey see their parents and theirgrandparents stay active.Telling your kid what to dodoesn’t mean squat if they seeyou doing just the opposite.Limit their time sitting or stand-ing in a smaller and smallerbox, or at least balance it withequal amounts of movement:i.e. 1 hour working or playingon the computer, 1 hour walk-ing, running, or playing activegames. Balance 1 hour playinggames or texting on some ver-sion of a small screen with awalk/bike/run to their friend’shome, (or at least a drive tomeet that friend). There theycan have more real interaction.Somehow all these personaldevices have taken away mostof the actual personal contact.Plan activity with the rest of

your family that involvesmove-ment (and challenges). One ofmy personal trainers does thison a regular basis with his fam-ily, and is sometimes very sur-prised at the outcome. Thereare indoor locations for familyfun where hoisting his extrapounds of muscle using ropesor rock “handles” is muchtougher than his son/daugh-ter/wife doing the same withtheir smaller frames. He’s theone who’s really challenged!“Test” yourself, and let the restof your family excel! Everyoneneeds that rush of success.Plan your mealtimes around

what the body has just used oris planning to use, not what youcan get by with, handedthrough the closest drive-through. This is called “appro-priate” nutrition: fuel for whatthe body is expected to accom-plish.Themost important pieceof this is the word “plan!”Involve your kids in thinkingthrough meal structure, timing,and what they need to accom-plish. You cannot move well or

think without the energy foods:your brain and your body use thesame fuel. If that energy needsto be sustained through a prac-tice or game, quick energy foodsneed to be combined withlonger lasting whole grains, leanprotein sources, and even goodfats.Clean out the junk.All of us

have “cravings” for foods thatare NOT appropriate for ourgoals. When my kids weresmall, eachwas allowed to picka new food when we went gro-cery shopping…somethingthey had never tried before.When we got to checkout,there was no crying for candy,gum, etc. They already hadtheir treat in the basket, ormoreoften in their hand. This wastheir treat when the cravingstarted. Involve the kids withyour planning, and teach them(and sometimes yourself!)what really works.The goal of “Let’s Move”

(website at www.letsmove.gov)is to eliminate childhood obesi-

ty.We need your help!Your kids,our future, need your help. Letthis chorus from a song byRodney Atkins called“Watching You” stick in yourhead:“…Cause I’ve been watching

you dad, ain’t that coolI’m your buckaroo, I wanna

be like youAnd eat all my food and grow

as tall as you areThen I’ll be as strong as you

and supermanWe’ll be just alike, hey won’t

we dadWhen I can do everything

you doCause I’ve been watching

you.”

Linda Cook is a GoldCertified Advanced Health &Fitness Specialist, One of 11finalists in the LifeFitness/ACE2011 “Personal Trainers toWatch” contest, and owner ofYour Personal Best fitness train-ing studio. She has worked withhundreds of clients over the last20 years, teaching them to staypain-free through movement,recover or prepare for surgery,or just connect their mind totheir body again!More informa-tion about Your Personal Bestcan be found atwww.ypbinc.com CcontactLinda at 937-748-9208, oremail ypb@woh.rr.comwith anyquestions or comments.

Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012 3

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SPRINGBORO—TheSpringboroChamber paid a visit recently toBlanton Landscaping, where ownersTom andTimBlanton are cele-brating their 40th year of business in theMiamiValley, and their 20thyear of operation at 905 S.Main St.Blanton Landscaping has been family owned and operated since

1972, when father Gerald Blanton formed the company. Sons TomandTim assumed ownership in 1992, following Gerald’s retirement.“Forty years in business is quite an accomplishment, especially

surviving through our recent downturn in this area,” chamber direc-tor Carol Hughes said. “They are a staple in Springboro.”Blanton’s offers an array of services to meet their client’s current

and future needs. Blanton Landscaping is steadfast on providing the

best quality work and customer service, at very fair and competitiveprices. “Our main goal is to make the customer happy, without cus-tomer satisfaction our business wouldn’t have made it this far,” saidTom. “We are constantly trying to improve and evolve our scope ofwork to tailor to the needs of our customers.”Blanton Landscaping is open year round. Currently, they are

accepting all project requests from the surrounding areas, big andsmall. “If you name it, we can do it,” saidTim.To contact, findmore information on services provided or to view

recent project photo galleries go to www.BlantonLandscaping.comor find their business page on Facebook.

Submitted photoJoseph Blanton (bid manager/crew foreman), Tom Blanton, Tim Blanton and David Rose (crew foreman).

Blanton’s Landscaping celebrates 40 years

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Dennis Dalton, local historian, presented a program for theSpringboro Area Historical Society recently. He used humorousand entertaining tales to emphasize and stress story telling’simportance and value in passing down and preserving history.The Society’s next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March15 at South Dayton Church of Christ, 300 S. Main St. The pro-gram will be presented by Dayton Diggers (a group dedicated tohistorical research and recovery.) Visitors are always welcome toattend.

Historical Societey meetsSubmitted photo

OPINIONCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of

speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution

4 Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012

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County improvementand reform: Bysupercommitteeor leadership?

COMMENTARYBy William H. Wild

TimesColumnist

The first Montgomery CountyMCOFuture forum in Sinclair’sPonitz Center last Thursday showed a

lot of citizen interest in our local govern-ments. That’s good. Yet now we get the “buts”and “howevers.”

I sat in the middle of the audience of about300 and tried to see and hear everything fromthe standpoint of folks who are responsiblecitizens though not necessarily all thatinvolved or informed about local affairs andpolitics. After all, families, jobs, schools,meals and getting some rest consume ourdays. This assumes we’re the lucky ones withjobs and families and food.

So what was it like? The two-hour sessionstarted 15 minutes late with some often indis-tinct words of welcome from CommissionerDebbie Lieberman who gave way to JimLeftwich, formerly Dayton Developmentchief, as moderator. (Surely they tested thesound and acoustics, didn’t they?) Perhaps inaddition to math and science our schoolsshould be teaching rhetoric and public speak-ing. There was a lot of “Who’s that?” and“What was that?” in whispers around me.

Invitations to speak from the audienceshowed a fair amount of pride in the commu-nity, a studied effort to avoid negativity andplain griping (though there was some), callsfor nurturing our youth, criticism of much ofthe popular culture around us, some nostalgiaabout Dayton’s tool-making past, and a mum-bled semi-campaign speech by someone run-ning in a 39th District who called for betterveterans care.

A slide presentation about surveys con-ducted by Wright State’s Urban Affairs class-es showed the public mood in the county ishopeful and open to shared services by gov-ernmental units as long as efficiency andeconomy are the goals. There should be nochange just for the sake of change and notmuch support for reducing the multiplicity ofgovernmental units or relaxing local control.(Hmm. Yet if there is change, reduce govern-mental units over there, but not here, not us.Yes?)

Commissioner Dan Foley offered a briefreview of ideas on the table that address thealmost universal plea for jobs and improve-ment in the economy. You can understand thepublic hunger for general economic improve-ment, but it is discouraging (to me) that thereis so much trust in government’s role in jobcreation and not that much understanding ofgovernment’s role in job killing.

Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell puts his trustin “the people.” The audience is where solu-tions to many local problems will appear, hesaid. At least he spoke clearly and forcefully.

Commissioner Foley, Mayor Leitzell, StateSen. Peggy Lehner and someone the audiencearound me understood as “Joyce Cameron”(Who’s that? Wha’d she say?) were tasked as apanel to outline problems and possibly offerpathways to solutions. (Joyce Cameron, therecord says, is mayor of Trotwood.)

It is good that our elected and administra-tive officials want to listen, so there will be aseries of similar sessions ending inNovember. Perhaps someone will step forwardin true leadership fashion, willing to acceptthe slings and arrows that inevitably followproposals for genuine change. But one has towonder here amid Dayton’s entrepreneurialtradition if John Patterson or CharlesKettering would have convened such a gather-ing to find out what they should do.

* * *William Wild retired from writing and edit-

ing with Cox Publishing in 1990. He now pro-vides a weekly column for Ohio CommunityMedia.

COMMENTARYBy RobScott

TimesColumnist

Didyou know thatyou can petitionthe CountyAu-

ditor to lower the assessed valueof your homewhich in turn can

reduce your property taxes?Most taxpayers are unaware

of their rights to actually chal-lenge the valuation by the

CountyAuditor of either theirresidential or commercial prop-

erty.This was the topic onTues-day’s special meeting at theSouthMontgomery County

Liberty Group, a subchapter ofthe DaytonTea Party.At the

meeting, EmpowerU taught par-ticipants the steps in the process

for property valuation chal-lenges.

By challenging the valuation,property owners can actually re-

duce their taxes and in somecases receive a refund of taxesthat have been already paid. In

order for property owners tochallenge their valuation of resi-dential or commercial property,

theymust file a formal com-plaint between Jan. 2 through

March 31with the CountyAu-ditor.

The complaint goes beforethe Board of Revision.The

Board of Revision (BOR) is aquasi-judicial body comprised

of a representative from theAu-ditor’s Office, theTreasurer’s

Office and the Board of Com-missioners.The Board is re-

sponsible for hearing and adju-dicating complaints regardingthe assessed valuation of real

property within the county.Theobjective of the Board is to en-

sure that all real property is fair-ly valued and that all taxpayersare guaranteed equal treatment.

All complaints filed with theBOR are investigated and for-

mal hearingsmay be held to so-licit testimony. It is the responsi-bility of the complainant to jus-tify their complaint.The Boardhas the authority to increase or

decrease property valuation.The BOR has the authority

to: (1) Lower the assessed valu-ation if sufficient evidence ispresented that the property isovervalued; (2) Raise the as-

sessed valuation if upon reviewsufficient evidence exists thatthe property is valued at less

than fair market value; (3)Makeno change in the fair market val-ue if upon review sufficient evi-

dence exists that the originalproperty value is correct.

After the hearing, the BORwill make a determination

based on all presented evidenceand youwill be notified of the

decision by certifiedmail. If thecomplainant or counter com-

plainant does not agree with theBOR decision, theymay file a

complaint with the State ofOhio, Board ofTaxAppeals

(BTA) or the County CommonPleas Court.Rob Scott is a Ket-tering resident and a practicingattorney at Oldham&Deiter-

ing, LLC. Scott is the founder ofthe DaytonTea Party. He can becontacted at rob@oldhamdeit-

ering.com.

Want to loweryour propertytaxes?

Springboro: Super Bowl city

The Super Bowl in 2011was won by the GreenBay Packers and on that

team was A. J. Hawk fromCenterville. This year the NewYork Giants won and our ownJake Ballard was on the team. Ithink it’s amazing that we live inthis little patch of America andhave two young men with SuperBowl rings in back to back years.I asked Mayor Agenbroad, CoachWilhite and Superintendent Lollito let me know when Jake wouldbe coming home because wewanted to have him on our next(March/April) TV show. Nosightings, texts, emails or callswere coming in. I didn’t want toget too far away because newsgets old quick nowadays. LastThursday around noon I receiveda call from the mayor that Jakewould be in town later in the day.Arrangements were underway toget him to come to the city coun-cil meeting and present him witha proclamation declaringFebruary 16, as Jake Ballard Dayin Springboro. The Mayor want-ed me to get our videographer,Joe MacKenzie, to arrive earlyfor doing the “Meet YourNeighbor” segment. Timing iseverything isn’t it. When I metJake and shook his hand I said,“Jake, it was just 7 years ago thatwe had you on the show. At thetime you were playing awesomefootball for the Panthers. Littledid we know that we’d be cele-brating your first Super Bowlchampionship today.Congratulations young man.”Jake is going to be a great inspi-ration to all the youngsters notonly in our community buteverywhere. He’s a solid, caring,hard working professional NFL

player that will help many. I putthe photo here on Face BookThursday evening and receivednumerous comments (LOL’s)wanting to know why the mayorand I were sitting while Jake wasstanding. He’s 6’7” and we’re noteven close. Another, Tom, askedwhy we ruined a perfectly goodpicture of Jake by adding twogeezers. The show with Jake andmany others will air one weekfrom tonight, Thursday, March 1,on Time Warner channel 6 at6:30 p.m. Other air dates in thecoming week are 3/3 at 11:20a.m., 3/4 at 2:30 p.m., 3/5 at 3:00p.m., 3/6 at 8:00 a.m. and 3/10 at1:00 p.m. Set your DVR or checklistings at www.mvcc.net forother dates or streaming on theinternet. The show airs 30 timesduring its two month run. A lotof people have been asking if theSpringboro Sun is going to havea “Swim Suit Issue” this year.Sun and Swimsuit kinda gotogether don’t they. I’m in talksright now with several of theundercover bosses at the Sun tosee if that’s possible. TheSpringboro Black Bear hasalready indicated that she’d liketo be the cover girl. We couldhave something here.

The “Springboro Optimist

Club Pancake Breakfast withStrings Attached” tickets areavailable right now at “ThatMusic Place” in the SpringboroPoint shopping center or from anymember of the strings or orchestraor any Optimist. I had a neighborcome over yesterday and buy 3tickets. Lucy and I will be servingalong with 18 others from theStrings and Optimists. Saturday,March 10, 2012, two seating’s7:30 and 8:30 with no seating’safter 9:30 a.m.

I met Karen Moss the owner ofLee Laa Yoga here at 72 N. MainSt., in Springboro lastWednesday.A great lady that moved here fromMassachusetts 13 years ago andstarted her business 4 years ago. Iinterviewed her for the next edi-tion of “Springboro 45066” whichwill air in May and June. Karenloves Springboro with a passion.She told me she’d never considermoving back to Massachusetts. Isaid, “Why?” She said, “ThePeople here in Springboro are thegreatest people I’ve ever beenwith in my life.” I agreed. There isone bad guy that lives in a vandown by the river but lately he’sbeen hanging out by the creek inSt. Henry. His name is….Bobsomething or other.mergewright@yahoo.com

MERGE WRIGHTBByy DDoonn WWrriigghhtt

TimesColumnist

Don Wright, Jake Ballard and Mayor John Agenbroad

As Kathy and I sat down to watch the recentGrammy Awards we weren’t sure if we weretuned in to a music ceremony or a canonization.

The individual being elevate to sainthood was one WhitneyHouston. Before you sit down at your keyboard to start typ-ing a letter of disgust to the Editor or an email to me, I’msorry she died. She was a great singer and performer andshe was too young to leave us. Having said all of that, therewas one person to blame; Whitney Houston.

Whether the ultimate determination blamed drugs for herdeath, there is no question much of her adult life was pep-pered with abuse, rehab and relapse.

The same thing could be said for fellow music legendMichael Jackson and baseball superstar Darryl Strawberry,of course who is still among the living. These individualswere all adults who made CHOICES. I don’t care if youwant to call it an addictive personality, a life under the mag-nifying glass or being surrounded by enablers; they madeCHOICES. They were decisions that were made despiteknowing all the ramifications.

Some say they were constantly “on stage” in life and hadto turn to drugs. Again, the on stage life was a choice. Theyall had more than enough money to retire from the businessand get away from the environment that brought on then op-portunities for abuse.

None of these individuals lacked intelligence. They weretalented, articulate and were blessed with a brain and free-will. The fact that they had money allowed them opportuni-ties to wander down that dark corridor, and enablers by thedozens who would help them into that abyss.

Pete Rose, arguably one of the greatest baseball players,and hitters, in history can’t even show his face in a ballparkanymore because of allegedly betting on baseball games. Iftrue, that’s wrong, but I’d suggest a far less deadly distractionthan ingesting poison into your body. Ticker tape parades for

Michael and Whitney and banishment for Pete. So what’swrong with this picture?

TV coverage of Whitney’s arrival back home to beburied, musical tributes to her and talking heads findingevery possible excuse for her turning to drugs; a parade ofsad spectacles. If the amount of attention, money, compli-ments, tributes and understanding had been devoted toHELPING Whitney and Michael as were lavished on themand us post-mortem, perhaps they’d still be with us. It’s a loteasier to praise and mourn for a corpse than it is to face aliving human being and tell them to get straight. With allwho knew Whitney Houston, and knew what she was do-ing, they could have forced her into treatment, made her staythere and ensured it took. As the late actor Carroll O’Connorsaid in his public service announcement following his son’stragic suicide, “Do whatever you can to get between yourkids and drugs”.

Oh and when I posted these comments on Facebook, itwas pointed out by one bigot that the examples I gave wereall black individuals, thus making my observations racist. Toavoid those accusations now, Elvis fits that very same mold.

Mike Scinto is a 35 year veteran talk show host serving locally,statewide and nationally behind the microphone. For the past dozenyears he has authored this award-winning column. “Friend” Mikeat www.facebook.com/mikescintoshow or visit mikescinto-columns.blogspot.com

Saint Whitney?COMMENTARY

By Mike Scinto

TImesColumnist

Feb. 99:27 a.m. —West Eleanor

Drive, stroke.9:43 a.m. — Aspen

Woods, seizures/convul-sions.

1:06 p.m. —West CentralAvenue, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

4:19 p.m. — South MainStreet, fire alarm.

6:04 p.m. —HiawathaTrail, fracture/sprain.

Feb. 88:09 a.m. — Remick

Boulevard, electrical fire.8:29 a.m. — North Main

Street and Tamarack Trail,vehicle fire.

10:28 a.m. — BunnellHill Road, unknown medicalcondition.

11:01 a.m. — North MainStreet, fire alarm.

11:39 a.m. — EastCentral Avenue, falls.

1:15 p.m. —West CentralAvenue, falls.

2:57 p.m. — East CentralAvenue, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

10:11 p.m. — AvalonCircle, stroke.

Feb. 712:38 a.m. — Magnolia

Drive, structure fire.10:53 a.m. — North State

Route 48, breathing prob-lems.

12:46 p.m. — WestCentral Avenue, breathingproblems.

12:51 p.m. — SycamoreCreek Drive, heart prob-lems.

2:06 p.m. — Glass Court,seizures/convulsions.

7:14 p.m. — North MainStreet, structure fire.

10 p.m. — North GlenOak Drive, fire alarm.

10:14 p.m. — HestonDrive, hemorrhage/lacera-tion.

Feb. 68:29 a.m. — Eleanor

Drive, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

1:29 p.m. — WestEleanor Drive, unknownmedical condition.

4:19 p.m. — WestEleanor Drive, heart prob-lems.

8:24 p.m. — West StateRoute 122 and North StateRoute 741, diabetic prob-

lems.10:45 p.m. — Myrtle

Lane, unknown medicalcondition.

Feb. 510:08 a.m. — Abbey

Drive, falls.2:06 p.m. — Avalon

Circle, breathing problems.2:16 p.m. — Bunnell Hill,

vehicle crash with injury.11:38 p.m. — Eleanor

Drive, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

Feb. 47:08 a.m. — East Central

Avenue, stroke.8:23 a.m. — Stillwater

Court, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

10:58 a.m. — AvalonCircle, falls.

11:04 a.m. — North MainStreet, falls.

12:12 p.m. — AvalonCircle, smoke odor in struc-ture.

2:08 p.m. — North State

Route 48, stroke.4:18 p.m. — North State

Route 123, unknown med-ical condition.

5:18 p.m. — Bunnell HillRoad, breathing problems.

7:21 p.m. — GrandviewDrive, breathing problems.

9:23 p.m. — HathawayRoad, unconscious/unre-sponsive person.

10:25 p.m. — WestMarket Street, breathingproblems.

Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012 5

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Saturday, March 24, 2012, 6 pmSinclair Community College David H. Ponitz Center

444 W. Third Street Dayton, OhioMark your calendar for an evening filled with fun, food, glamour and more!

For more information about this and upcoming events please call 937-853-3108or log on to www.heart.org/dayton

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RECORDOBITUARIES

The Rev. Percil J. Stratton Mary Barker Barbara J. Siler

Cecelia M. Cherry

Rex E. Cox

The Rev. Percil (Percy) James Stratton, 90, died Saturday, February18, 2012. He was born December 31, 1921 in Moores N.Y. to the lateGrace and James Edward Stratton. He was preceded in death by hisbrother, Sherwood (Muriel) Stratton; and twin sisters, Bonnie (David)Ball andBetty (WilliamDeRuiter, Norm,Harry)Yarnall. He is survivedby his wife of 63 years, Esther Gertrude Stratton (Bonesteel); children,Becky (John) Alge of Springboro, Donna (John) Stover of Northwoodand James (Carolyn) Stratton of Mt. View, Calif.; grandchildren, Chris(Jen) Alge of Maineville, Stephanie (Jon) Franks of Springboro, BrianAlge of Lakewood, Julie (Zack) Rieseck of Berea, Jeff (Sarah) Stover ofShakerHeights,Margaret Stratton andAnneMarie Stratton ofMt.View,Calif.; great-grandchildren, Harper Franks and Jack Alge; and sister,Alberta (James)Knowlton ofCalifornia.He graduated early fromaone-room schoolhouse to go toHoughton (N.Y.) College and then toAsburyTheological Seminary (Wilmore, Ky.) to become a minister. He servedas a United Methodist minister for 46.5 years, serving 10 parishes;Madrid/ChaseMills, N.Y., 1947; Edenburgh,Va., 1947-49; Senecaville,Ohio, 1949-51; Rootstown, Ohio, 1951-58; Bethel 1958-1976; Enon,1958-76; Forest Park of Lima, 1976-84; Sulphur Grove of HuberHeights, 1984-92 and SpringfieldMasonicHome. 1992-94.He loved totravel inandoutside theUnitedStates, playinggolf, tennisandpingpong,watch Capital, Duke andKentucky basketball games, watching birds onhis bird feeder, and working in his flower garden. He was also an EagleScout.Aprivate servicewill beheld for familymembersonly.Burialwillbe in Enon Cemetery.

CLEARCREEK FIRE RUNS

Mary “Elaine” Barker, 84 of Miamisburg,died Wednesday,February 15, 2012 at Sycamore Hospital, Miamisburg. Shewas born November 10, 1927 in Lewisburg, Ohio to the lateRussell Sylvester and Nellie Marie (Whitesell) Strader. Inaddition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her hus-band of 61 years, Ronald Barker in 2005; and a sister, JuliaFoote. She is survived by her son, Terry L. (Dolores) Barkerof Miamisburg; grandchildren, Delori Pickett of Miamisburgand Jeromy Barker of Nebraska; great-grandchildren,Christopher, Scott, Brittany and Austin; her brother, Russell(Arlene) Strader Jr. of Union; another sister, Betty Coontz ofJackson, Mich.; several nieces and nephews and her yorkie,Mack. She attended Trotwood High School, was employed asa hostess at Patterson Restaurant of Dayton and also workedat International Envelope. She was a devout member ofSpringboro First Baptist Church and former member of boththe American Legion and Moose of Miamisburg. Serviceswere Monday, February 20, 2012 at Springboro First BaptistChurch, 80 Greenwood Lame., Springboro, Pastor Rick Carrofficiating. Burial was imHillgrove Cemetery, Miamisburgfollowing services. In lieu of flowers, memorial contribu-tions may be made to Springboro First Baptist Church at P.O.Box 906, Springboro, Ohio 45066. Personal condolencesmay be forwarded to the family by visiting Elaine’s memori-al at www.gebhartschmidtparramore.com.

Barbara Jane,Siler, 75, of Kettering, died Saturday, February11, 2012. She was born in Union City, Ohio April 20, 1936,daughter of William B. and Hazel E. (Arnett) Studebaker. Shegraduated from Wilbur Wright High School and attendedWilmington College before choosing to devote her life to family,friends, and community service. She enjoyed reading, writingpoetry, painting and gardening, and was a long-time member ofthe Center for Spiritual Living Greater Dayton. She was preced-ed in death by her father, William, in 1972 and mother, Hazel, in2009. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Dale Siler;children, Gary (Lora) of Beavercreek and Greg of Kettering;grandchildren, Adam of Richardson, Texas and Bonnie ofFairborn; step-grandchildren, Jon Ryan of Brighton, Colo. andRobert (Lacey) Ryan ofYuba City, Calif.; brother, Ron (Shirley)Studebaker of Dayton; and numerous nieces and nephews.Services were Sunday, February 19, 2012 at Tobias FuneralHome, Far Hills Chapel, the Rev. CC Coltrain officiating.Interment was in Dayton Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorialcontributions may be made to SICSA at www.sicsa.org.

SPRINGBORO — Free taxpreparation by AARP TaxaideVolunteers is available from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays throughApril 13 at the SpringboroLibrary Branch, 125 ParkLane. Appointments arerequired. Call 937-748-3200 tomake a reservation.

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290-7155

Cecelia M. Cherry, 71, of Franklin, died at home Sunday evening,February 19, 2012. Shewas born in Indianapolis, daughter of Francisand Elaine (Hazelwood) Jenkins. She was owner of AllStates PestControl. Shewas preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Don;a son, Ronald; and brothers, Jim Jenkins and Robert. She is survivedby her children, Don andKimCherry; grandchildren,Taylor Stewart,Jason and Justin Cherry; great-grandchildren, Monica, Grace andDaniel Cherry; brothers, Thomas and Michael Kirkwood; and sister,Carol McCarrol. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, February 23,2012 at the Anderson Funeral Home 1357 E. Second. St. Franklin.Burial will be in Woodhill Cemetery. Memorials may be made toHospice of Dayton.

Rex Elden Cox, 47, of Franklin, died Saturday, February 18,2012 at his residence. He was born in Hinton, W.Va., son ofThomas and Drema (Ward) Cox. He was an electrician andworked for Miller Adams Electric in Beavercreek. He alsoattended the Dixie Highway Christian Center. He is survived byhis daughters, Amanda Rigsby and Skylar Cox; parents; brotherand sister-in-law, Eric and Pam Cox; and nephew, Justin.Services and burial will Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, 2012 inHinton, W.Va.

6 Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012

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Now that you’ve begun a training program for your dog,how long will it take? Dog/owner training is a lifetime com-mitment. It will never stop. You and your dog will always betraining one another. And whether you know it or not, yourdog will!

However, “formal” trainingwill have a start and end date.Whether it’s basic obedience,a puppy training class, social-ization sessions or behavioradjustment training – thesewill all have f ixed timelengths, usually between oneand eight weeks.

Spontaneous trainingshould make up to 50 percentof your daily training. In other words, watch your dogthroughout the day and reinforce (reward) any unasked forbehavior you would like Fido to repeat in the future. Forinstance, when you catch your dog lying down, resting in herbed, chewing appropriate toys, etc., reinforce that behaviorby throwing him/her a treat.

What I’m going to address now is life with Fido while thetwo of you are engaged in the more formal training process.

Set Your Dog Up for Success: As your dog’s friend andtrainer, it’s YOUR job to make the training a success – not thedog’s! Once Fido has been trained, the expectation of her/himobeying your commands can be high, but while you are in thetraining process, you must be the one to create the success.As an example, you can help your dog be successful andhappy by:

• Always being consistent in your treatment of Fido.• During training sessions, NEVER punish Fido or correct

his current behavior using negative reinforcement (such asyelling at him/her or jerking him/her on a leash). This canundermine your efforts and cause your training to fail.Always make training fun – use a happy voice to encourageyour dog.

• Minimizing distractions during training.• Don’t spare the motivators. If you’re using treats, use lots

of treats, but don’t forget to reduce his/her normal foodintake by about 10-15 percent on training days. If you’reusing toys to motivate, make sure to use Fido’s favorites.

Daily Practice: Once you embark on a formal trainingprogram, it becomes very important to practice every daywith your dog, even if you can only manage a few minutes ata time. Fido can and will progress with just a little practice,but will regress or potentially forget the training without anypractice at all.

Be Consistent: It’s all about repetition. It is through repe-tition that Fido learns it is in his/her best interest to complywith your requests. Your training of the dog should be suchthat he/she realizes that consequences are better when he/shechooses to comply (this is the basic premise of operant con-ditioning — that one can operate on and CHANGE one’senvironment through the choices one makes).

Creating this realization in Fido is accomplished over timeand is a gradual process. The success of this depends on theconsistency of the trainer. As the trainer, you must be 100percent consistent in your responses to your dog’s choices.Your dog must be able to depend on the consequences ofhis/her actions being reliable and consistent in order to makethe necessary associations between his behavior and yourresponse.

Always be consistent with your training methods. If youchoose to use the word “stay” for when you want your dog toremain in place, don’t confuse him/her by using “sit, stay!”Always use ONE vocal cue for ONE behavior and ALWAYSuse that cue. Consistently use the format, “Fido (to gethis/her attention), sit (or whatever the vocal cue is, such assit, stay, come, etc.) Call the dog’s name and issue the cue. Ifthe dog doesn’t respond, wait for three to five seconds, thendo it again, but be sure to leave that small gap in time.

There is a tendency to repeat a vocal cue over and over ifFido doesn’t comply immediately, so it’s very possible – evenlikely - to train a dog to the wrong vocal cue. For example, Ihear owners all the time telling their dog to “Fido, sit….sit,boy….sit, sit Fido, sit”. This simply confuses the animal.

Remember the one-second rule.Catch your dog in the act or forget about it. Dogs don’t

remember what they’ve done a couple of seconds afterthey’ve done it. Therefore, your reward – or correction -needs to come as quickly as possible after your dog exhibitsthe behavior.

The 80 percent Rule: Don’t ask for a behavior unlessyou’re 80 percent sure your dog will do it. If you just keeprepeating a word, such as “come” and the dog ignores youand doesn’t do it, the word loses its power. Always go back tothe step where your dog was successful in complying withyour request.

Real lifewith Fido

THINK PAWSITIVEBy Gary Cook

TimesColumnist

One of the many partners for the medical programs with the Warren County Career Center, all a part of theGreentree Health Science Academy, is the Otterbein Lebanon Retirement Community, which provides intern-ship, externship and employment opportunities for students.

Adult education programs at Greentree include Medical Assisting, Medical Billing and Coding, PharmacyTech, Phlebotomy Tech, Multi-skilled Medical Technician, EKG Tech, and State-Tested Nursing Assistant, orSTNA. High school students at Greentree explore and experience their many career options during the two-year program. They also have the opportunity to train for and test for the State-Tested Nursing Assistant certifi-cation.

Recently, students who finished the STNA course and are continuing into nursing education met with HazeFlowers, director of human resources, and Sharon Strunk, RN, director of nursing at Otterbein, to talk aboutemployment. Otterbein wants to be first in line to hire the WCCC students, Mr. Flowers told them. They wereasked about their impressions of the facility and all said they had positive experiences with their externships atOtterbein.

“The staff did a good job of explaining why and how they do things,” student Jen Knauf said. “The staff hereis very caring and efficient.”

In the above photo, students who recently finished the WCCC STNA course talk with Otterbein staff aboutemployment opportunities.

Submitted photo

WCCC students visit Otterbein

Submitted photo

The Rotary Club of Springboro hosted Springboro assistantmanager Chris Pozzuto recently. Pozzuto talked about recentdevelopments at several locations in Springboro, including anupdate on the Austin Landing development, both north andsouth of the interstate exit, developments on the 73/75 inter-section, which is still under construction, South Tech develop-ments, traffic lights that will be added at the Dayton Children’sturn and the turn for the Springboro Junior High School, andmore. Rotarians had lots of questions, and enjoyed catching upon these developments. Pictured are club president GinnyRigo of Key Bank and Pozzuto. The Rotary Club ofSpringboro meets each Friday at the Coffman YMCA at 7:30a.m. for breakfast. For more information, call Carol Hughes at937-251-3333 or email her at carolhughes6@gmail.com

Pozzuto visitsRotary Club meeting

SPRINGBORO — More arevue than a musical, “ACloser Walk with PatsyCline” is the current produc-tion at the LaComediaDinner Theatre.

Although sketchy in itsstoryline of Cline, the two-act show offers nearly twodozen songs. For levity, afew comedy routines by TinaShatto as Minnie Pearl andChris Beiser as GrandpaJones take center stage.

For the greater part, how-ever, it’s all about the songs.

Included among the manytunes sung by the countrymusic legend are “Walkin’After Midnight,” “I Fall toPieces,” “Sweet Dreams”and “Crazy.”

A spunky Leslie JoBennett portrays Patsy Clinewith a nice touch. With aremarkably similar voice tothe legendary countrysinger, Bennett belts out anupbeat “Bill Bailey” andalso croons the slow balladslike “Always” and “Just a

Closer Walk with Thee.”In the show’s first scene at

the local radio station, an

undaunted 14-year-old PatsyCline f irmly requests airtime to perform some coun-try songs. High school sen-ior Kelsey Leigh Hood playsthe young newcomer, whoimpresses the folks at theradio station. She startedtouring right away, but hercareer as a young adult hadmore ups than downs.

Told through periodic nar-ration by the radio DJ, thebasic threads of her lifeunfold.

Born dirt poor inWinchester, Va., she startedtouring at small venues likebowling alleys. Her first hit“Walkin’ After Midnight”landed her a television spoton the “Arthur GodfreyShow” in 1957. She sang atthe Grand Ole Opry and LasVegas nightclubs.Eventually, she sang atCarnegie Hall in New York.

Her personal life, howev-er, was messy. She marriedyoung, divorced, marriedagain and had two kids. On

the upswing, it all camecrashing down with anothermarital breakup. All inci-dents in Cline’s life arelearned through narrationrather than dramatic scenes.

LaComedia’s steady pro-duction is anchored by thebackup singing quartet,nicely played by DarrenBrown, Stephen Mark Crisp,Dustin Farris and TinaShatto. The group’s standoutnumber is “I’ll Fly Away,”which garnered the mostapplause of the evening.

Two quibbles with theproduction include thepedestrian scenic design(too flat) and the next-to-lastscene at the radio stationabout Cline’s tragic planecrash (too abrupt, too casu-al).

“A Closer Walk withPatsy Cline” continuesthrough Feb. 26 at theLaComedia Dinner Theatrein Springboro. Call 1-800-677-9505 for ticket informa-tion.

‘Patsy Cline’ is back on stage at Lacomedia

Leslie Jo Bennett

The Springboro High School hockey team opened district tour-nament play against the St. Francis de Sales Stallions on Friday,February 17. On paper the two teams appeared to be evenlymatched and as the game unfolded they shared some similar ten-dencies.Springboro came out a little tight but were able to take advantage

of a power play opportunitymidway through the first period.AustinReynolds started the play and found Ryan Cash on the side of thenet. Cash zipped a pass through the crease to Travis Studzinski onthe back doorstep who one times it into the net for the early Borolead. The Stallions would take advantage of a lazy cross ice pass,intercept it and score off of a 2 on 1 late in the first period.Springboro was not playing their style of hockey.They were gettingbeat to the puck and their usually crisp passing game was missing.The period would end in a 1-1 deadlock.After the ice cut the Panthers would seem to have a little more

zip in their step. The increased energy helped create more scoringopportunities. The Panthers dominated the second period. TravisStudzinski found Austin Reynolds in the slot for a 2-1 lead. RyanCash buried a power play goal with Austin Reynolds and AndrewStraus earning helpers on the play.Two de Sales penalties resulted in a 5 on 3 power play advantage

for Springboro. Austin Reynolds made them pay with an unassist-ed goal on a wrist shot that went in top left corner. As the periodwas winding down De sales managed to pull within 4-2 but thePanthers still were controlling the play.The third period spelled disaster for Boro.The Stallions were the

harder working team and caught the Panthers with several odd manrushes. The Stallions scored an improbable goal from a difficultangle and with time running out slid the tying goal under Schuetz’pads. The score was 4-4 and momentum was with de Sales as theteams headed to overtime.The Panthers played inspired hockey in the overtime period.

They had several good scoring chances early on in the frame. Theyweren’t ready for their season to be over just yet. Ryan Cash foughtthrough a trip and threw the puck in front of the net. Reynolds wasright there to lift it over the Stallions goaltender and into the net tosecure the win. Springboro survived to advance to the secondround.Springboro’s round two opponent in the district tournament was

the St. Charles Cardinals. The Cardinals came into the game sport-ing a 16-12-1 record playing in the top division of the CapitalHockey Conference and a number eight seed. Springboro has hadquite a season of their own with their 24-7 record and the number10 seed.The Panthers haven’t been afforded much respect in the district

despite having good success against some of the better teams. Theywere playing with a little chip on their shoulder and felt they had apoint to prove. As is usually the case, St. Charles was the biggerdeeper team.

In tournament play, Coach Tony Morris has elected to shortenSpringboro’s already short bench to 2 lines of forwards and threedefensemen. Hockey is a sport designed to be played in quick, hard45 to 90 second shifts and then take a 2 to 3 minute rest. Some ofthe Panther players were being asked to play 35 to 40minutes of the45 total game minutes and still compete with the Cardinals fresherplayers. A tall order to be sure.Springboro entered the contest having won 17 out of their last 18

games. They have become accustomed to jumping out to earlyleads and making opponents play catch up. Tonight would be dif-ferent.The Cardinals came out fast and strong with a crisp passing

game that stymied the Panthers. They caught Springboro with sev-eral odd man rushes early in the first period that they cashed theopportunities into goals. In the blink of an eye it was 3-0 Cardinals.A much needed time out was called by Coach Morris. The

Panthers were on their heels and somewhat shellshocked. Theywere not doing the little things that had gotten them to this point.They collectively took a deep breath and tried to stem the tide.Theywere able to generate some shots on goal but the Cardinals scoringchances were of a better quality and it showed on the scoreboard.After some early jitters Boro’s senior goaltender, Stefan Schuetz,

began to settle into the flow of the game. The Panthers headed tothe locker room for the first intermission down 3-0 and licking theirwounds.Many teams may have folded under the seemingly insurmount-

able challenge. This Springboro team is unlike many teams. Theybanded together and played with a renewed toughness. They dom-inated the second period but couldn’t get a break. Their numerousshot attempts were turned away or were just wide or high.Finally, with time running out in the second period, they were

handed a golden opportunity. Two St. Charles penalties gave thePanthers a 5 on 3 power play. The Springboro power play has beenparticularly lethal in recent weeks. If Boro was going to crawl backinto the game it had to be now.With time slipping away, winger Ryan Cash put the Panthers on

the board with a rebound goal off of an Austin Reynolds shot. Thegoal made the score 3-1 Cardinals with under two minutes left inthe second period. With Springboro applying heavy pressure theunthinkable happened. A St. Charles rush and resulting wrist shotbeat Schuetz to push the score back to 4-1 as time expired in theframe.The Panther players looked exhausted as they headed off theice for the break.As the team returned for what could be the final period of the

season they were greeted by their loyal fans imploring them to digdeep and find some offense. Coach Morris talk at intermissionmust have been a good one, because the Panthers came out with anaggressive forecheck and were applying heavy pressure on theCardinals defense and goaltender, AlexWard.Boro’s forward line of JoeAffourtit, Connor Herman and Kasey

Berry were all over the Cardinals and helped to create two powerplay chances that resulted in Springboro scores. St. Charles showeda lack of discipline that aided the Panther cause, as they took sev-eral penalties that sent Springboro on the power play. Not a goodidea. Power play quarterback, Travis Studzinski got the party start-ed with a blast that zipped by a screenedWard to make it a game at4-2.Ryan Cash pulled Springboro to within one goal with a beauti-

ful one timer from the back door step. Cash’ goal was set up byAustin Reynolds with a second assist to Andrew Straus.You couldfeel the momentum shifting. The look on the players faces told thestory. The Panthers believed. Their fans were loud and supportive.With time running out in the game, the Panthers forecheck was

more than St. Charles could handle, and they were blasting away atthe goal. Then it happened.Austin Reynolds took a pass fromRyanCash and danced through 3 Cardinal defenders before firing homegoal number 4 to bring Springboro all the way back to tie the game.Nate Tragesser had the second assist on the score.As time expired in regulation, St. Charles was assessed a rough-

ing penalty drawn by a hard working Connor Herman behind thenet. Springboro would start the overtime period on the power play.The Panther skaters had to be running on pure adrenaline at thispoint and set up in their power play positions.The Cardinals managed to clear the puck the length of the ice.

Quarterback Travis Studzinski retrieved the biscuit and as we haveseen all season knifed his way through the Cardinal penalty killers.He forwarded the puck to captain Andrew Straus behind the net.His attempt to throw it in front was deflected to Studzinski whotipped it in front. The Panthers scoring machine, Austin Reynoldspounced on it and delivered sweet victory with a top shelf backhandfor the 5-4 win.This Boro team had pulled out the most amazing comeback in

the history of Springboro hockey. The writhing mass of blue andwhite clad hockey players on the ice told the whole story. No wordswere necessary.The win puts the Panthers into the Elite Eight of theDistrict tournament for the first time in school history. Their oppo-nent will be number one seed Dublin Jerome next Saturday at theIce Haus at 1:30 p.m.

Springboro Sun, Thursday, February 23, 2012 7

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Members of the Springboro hockey team celebrate a late game-tying goal en route to a 5-4 come-from-behindvictory over St. Charles. Submitted photo

Late rally helps Springboro skaters advance

Springboro swim and dive sweeps GWOCThe Springboro High School

Swimming and Diving Teams recent-ly took part in the Greater WesternOhio Conference Division,Conference Championships, andJunior Varsity meets. Both the girlsand boys teams won the SouthDivision meet.The Lady Panthers recaptured the

GWOC South Championship titlesince relinquishing it to MiamisburgHigh School two years ago. The boysteam won its sixth consecutiveGWOC South Division Title, despitewinning only one event. Head coachTucker Flaherty was also votedCoach of the Year for the sixthstraight year. This year, he wasawarded the title of Girls’ Coach ofthe Year.SHS divers made the first splash

in the South Division. SeniorDelaine Oda and freshmen JuliaHazel and Haley Oda got off to agood start for the Lady Panthers.Hazel won a gold medal for her firstplace finish in 1m diving. TeammateDelaine Oda took her place on thepodium as well, capturing a bronzemedal for her third place finish, fol-lowed closely by her sister, Haley, infourth place.As the swimming portion of the

competition got underway, it wassenior and girls’ captain BrieKincaid who took the top spot on thepodium. Kincaid won both the 50yard freestyle and breaststroke

events.Also gracing the podium were

juniors Rebecca Nelson (2nd in the100 yard free) and Ashley Whiteley(2nd in the butterfly; 3rd in the back-stroke), and freshman TaylorHopkins (3rd in the 500 yard free).Nelson and Hopkins each scored

additional points for the girls’ team;Nelson placing 5th in the backstrokeand Hopkins finishing 4th in the 200yard free.Teammates also adding points for

girls’ team included: seniors EricaBuchy (11th in the IndividualMedley and breaststroke) and CaitlinSchneider (7th in the 500 yard freeand breaststroke); juniors MeredithStanfield (8th in the backstroke, 9thin the butterfly), Colette Telatko(13th in the 200 yard free), andChloe Wade (15th in the 100 yardfree); sophomores Taylor Baecker(6th in the 100 yard free, 8th in the200 yard free), Molly Chrisman (9thin the 50 yard free), Kayla Creter(13th in the 500 yard free), andHaley Deckman (12th in the 50 yardfree, 14th in the backstroke); andfreshmen Allison Clough (4th in the500 yard free, 5th in the 200 yardfree), Brianna Neslen (7th in the IM,11th in the butterfly), and JennaTracy (15th in the breaststroke, 16thin the 100 yard free). Swimmers onall three relays earned medals aswell.Both the medley and 200 yard free

relays took top honors, while the 400yard free relay paced third. Kincaid,Nelson, Whiteley, and Hopkinsteamed to swim the medley relay,while Clough joined Kincaid,Nelson, and Whiteley on the 200yard free relay. Swimming on the400 yard free relay were Schneider,Baecker, Clough, and Hopkins.Triumphing once again as the

Boys’ GWOC South Champions,several SHS swimmers mounted thepodium for their individual achieve-ments. Senior Austin Valentineearned two silver medals for his fin-ishes in the 50 and 100 yard freestyleevents.Juniors Grant Schneider and Grant

Sellers captured medals as well;Schneider taking two bronze medalsfor his swims in the 200 yard freeand breaststroke events, and Sellersattaining a silver medal for his sec-ond place finish in the backstrokeand a bronze medal for his swim inthe IM.Sophomore Robert Kahmann col-

lected a bronze medal for his swim inthe 50 yard free. Freshmen AlexMatthews and Dillon Regan alsoreceived medals; Matthews netting asilver and bronze medal for hisswims in the 200 and 500 yardfreestyle events, respectively, whileRegan took the bronze in the butter-fly. Regan added additional points,placing 6th in the IM.Also garnering points for the

Panthers were: senior captains AdamHonious (6th in the 50 and 100 yardfreestyle events) and Austin Hopkins(4th in the backstroke and butterfly),senior Liam Stuart (10th in the 500yard free and backstroke); sopho-more Kyle Smith (5th in the IM andbreaststroke); and freshmen JustinChapman (5th in the butterfly,7th inthe IM), Max Harendza (4th in the200 and 500 yard freestyle events),Justin McKinnon (8th in the 50 yardfree, 9th in the 100 yard free), AlexMoster (7th in the 500 yard free,12th in the breaststroke), and BradyWright (8th in the backstroke, 9th inthe 200 yard free). Swimmers fromall three relays took a spot on thepodium as well.Boasting gold medals was the 200

yard free relay team of Valentine,Kahmann, Smith, and Harendza.Gathering bronze medals wereswimmers from the medley and 400yard free relays. Swimming on themedley was: Valentine, Sellers,Smith, and Chapman. Schneider,Kahmann, Harendza, and Matthewsteamed to swim the 400 yard freerelay.The following day, advancers to

the GWOC ConferenceChampionships met for competition.The SHS Girls’ Team placed thirdwhile the Boys’Team finished sixth.Scoring previously in competition

were the Lady Panther divers. Hazelplaced 5th, followed by Delaine Oda

in 12th and Haley Oda in 16th. Fivemembers of the girls’ team qualifiedto swim individual events. Scoringfor the girls’ team were: Kincaid (6thin the 50 yard free, 7th in the breast-stroke), Nelson (6th in the back-stroke, 9th in the 100 yard free),Whiteley (3rd in the butterfly, 5th inthe backstroke), Clough (4th in the500 yard free, 14th in the 200 yardfree), and Hopkins (8th in the 500yard free, 11th in the 200 yard free).Swimmers on the medley, 400 yardfree, and 200 yard free relays fromthe previous day, finished third,fourth, and fifth, respectively.Eight members of the SHS Boys’

Team returned to compete in individ-ual events in the ConferenceChampionships. Scoring for thePanthers were: Hopkins (15th in thebackstroke), Valentine (5th in the 50and 8th in the 100 yard freestyleevents), Schneider (11th in the 200yard free, 12th in the breaststroke),Sellers (7th in the backstroke, 14th inthe IM), Kahmann (9th in the 50yard free), Smith (13th in the breast-stroke), Harendza (12th in the 200and 500 yard freestyle events), andMatthews (8th in the 500 yard free,10th in the 200 yard free).Members from the relay teams

who swam the previous day returnedfor competition as well. The 200 and400 yard freestyle relays, along withthe medley relay, placed 5th, 7th, and8th, respectively.