Dear People--What a crazy busy month! I was in Seattle last weekend and plumb forgot to write. (Someone call Joe the Plumber for my brain!--I think my pipes are clogged).
No office hours today--my parents are in town! And we have canceled our second October meeting due to the hiring search process. We've already met with Mark Cundiff and Randy Bukas; Monday evening will be Nancy Benroth. The forum goes from 7:30-8:30 pm. Please attend!
Monday October 20 - Nancy Benroth -- "Benroth has served for 11 years as the assistant village administrator of Bluffton, a town of 3,800 in northwest Ohio. In Bluffton she oversaw projects for the local parks system and served on the steering committee and outreach education team for the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership. Prior to that, Benroth spent eight years as the budgetary and payroll clerk for the village of Ottawa, Ohio. She has a bachelors in public administration from the University of Findlay and an associate degree in applied business."
Don't forget to vote! I didn't realize there are so many judges on the ballot. I recommend using the League of Women Voters site to help you sort out all the issues and candidates, particularly if you vote early: http://www.lwvdayton.org/election_news-08.htm
Peace,
Lori
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Of Flour and Sugar for Local Widows, and Forums for Village Managers
Dear People--Well, it's been a busy week for me at school, and the month of October is going to be a bit on the insane side--a whole bunch of meetings, plus midterm grading. Any calming, supportive thoughts, prayers, or karma you can send my way will be appreciated. Two big meetings: first, our normal October meeting on Monday at 7 pm &, second, on Tuesday, the first (of three) village manager candidate forum, in rooms A&B, 7:30 pm.Wheeling Gaunt, ex-slave, philanthropist
Monday's meeting: LEGISLATION: One ordinance--regarding transferring money from the general fund to the police pension fund as an emergency ordinance. My assumption is that this is a fairly normal procedure, but it is $55,000, which is a fairly large amount of money, so I would like a better understanding of what's going on, precisely. And ...
A Slew o' Resolutions:
- First, we're sending four official appreciations in response to work done during/after the "Wind Event" (I love that title...was it black tie?) to 1) all village employees and staff, 2) the Miami TWP Fire & Rescue; 3) AMP-Ohio, and 4) the Mutual Aid Communities who helped make the village response to the remnant hurricane so successful. (I'd like to add a shout out to Kurt and the Emporium staff, although I admit I am a little biased...)
- An authorization for the Interim Village Manager to sign an agreement with ODOT to complete work on the access road for the CBE (Center for Business and Education--where Antioch McGregor is).
- And, everyone's favorite resolution, the annual Wheeling Gaunt Flour and Sugar expenditure, for all local widows. (The link takes you to the Yellow Springs News' history column that covers the period from 1883-1898; if you scroll all the way to the last segment on the page, you can read all about the life of ex-slave, business man, and philanthropist, Wheeling Gaunt, and the stipulations of his will.)
- And, another friendly one, the Begger's night expenditure resolution.
After we hear any citizens' concerns that may be raised, we'll
- have a brief report on the village manager search (officially announcing the finalists) and
- make an appointment to the Cable Advisory Panel and
- have the manager's report on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Clarifier Project, Pool Repair & Painting.
- and close with brief agenda planning; our next meeting will be devoted to the third village manager forum on the 20th.
Tuesday October 7 - Mark Cundiff — From YS News: "Cundiff has worked for seven years as the planning director for Troy, Ohio, a city of 22,000 people. From 1998 to 2001 he was the city manager of Greenville, Ill., population 6,400, where he administered a $7.7 million budget and oversaw 40 full-time employees. From 1994 to 1998 Cundiff was the assistant city manager of Sidney, Ohio, where he also served as the community development director from 1991 to 1994 and the city planner for three years prior to that. He has a masters in applied behavioral science with a concentration in community development and planning from Wright State University and a bachelors in political science with a concentration in public administration."
Monday October 13 - Randy Bukas-- "Bukas has served for over three years as the village manager of Germantown, Ohio, a village of 5,000. From 1996 to 2005 Bukas worked as the village administrator for Whitehouse, Ohio, and also served for three years prior as the city administrator, clerk and treasurer for the town of Lodi, Wis. He has a masters in public administration from Roosevelt University."
Monday October 20 - Nancy Benroth -- "Benroth has served for 11 years as the assistant village administrator of Bluffton, a town of 3,800 in northwest Ohio. In Bluffton she oversaw projects for the local parks system and served on the steering committee and outreach education team for the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership. Prior to that, Benroth spent eight years as the budgetary and payroll clerk for the village of Ottawa, Ohio. She has a bachelors in public administration from the University of Findlay and an associate degree in applied business."
Peace,
Lori
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Voting Begins! Ballot Initiatives & Community Day
Dear People--I'm sure you're all aware that the deadline to register is this Monday! Be sure you are registered to vote!Obviously the national election is important, but there are also some ballot initiatives that are vital to the interests of all Ohioans which aren't getting as much attention, as far as I can see. I advocate voting YES on Issue 5 (control Payday Lenders); NO on Issue 6 (No new Casino); and YES on ISSUE 2 (Keep the CLEAN OHIO FUND).
1) YES on ISSUE 5 (NO on ISSUE 6): The PAYDAY LENDING industry is pouring a lot of money into trying to rescind the law passed by the Ohio legislature this year that keeps these lenders from earning up to a shocking 391% interest--limiting them to a still VERY high 28% (even my credit card doesn't charge that much if I fail to pay off my balance).
I am very aware of these lenders, many of which are located in the poorest parts of Springfield--just drive north up Highway 72 and you see them lining the road. Shockingly, a huge percentage of these lenders around the country are located near military bases like Wright-Patt. I was speaking to an Antioch alum who works for the Army in their real estate division, and she was just bemoaning the way that these industries prey upon poorly paid soldiers and their families.
I believe you can talk even to your conservative Ohio friends and relatives about this issue--urge them to vote YES on 5. Here's an article from the Columbus Dispatch about this issue, and issue 6 (which would bring a casino to the state), and why a wide range of pastors are publicly advocating that voters of conscience check "Yes" on 5 and "No" on ISSUE 6:
http://www.dispatchpolitics.
2) YES on ISSUE 2: From Environment Ohio: "Without your help, the Clean Ohio Fund, our state's most important water and land preservation program will expire. Since Ohioans voted to create the program in 2000, waterways from Lake Erie to the Big Darby are cleaner, more than 26,000 acres of wildlife habitat have been preserved, and over 170 abandoned industrial sites have been cleaned up. So far, the Clean Ohio Fund made more than 700 clean water, urban revitalization and land preservation projects possible." MORE INFO: http://www.environmentohio.
You can even vote early! Click the link below to find out where you can vote YES on Issue 5; NO on Issue 6; YES on Issue 2 before November 4th:
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/
3) Finally, I was asked to announce that there's a Community Day event this Sunday with a Free Lunch! "This Sunday, October 5th at 1:00pm in the John Bryan Community Center Gymnasium, the Nonstop community will be having a birthday party for Antioch College! Members of the Pro-tem Board, the Antioch College Alumni Board, Nonstop faculty, staff, and students will join together for a (free) Community Lunch to remember and celebrate Antioch's history as we move into an amazing future. We will also be hearing a report-back from Matthew Derr and Nancy Crow about the Invent-a-College weekend. Please RSVP to chelseamartens [AT] gmail [DOT]
com
All Best,
Lori
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