http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Stories, facts and every day whimsy from the North Valley’s schools, cities, villages and people gathered by reporter and columnist Doug Page en-us dpage@coxohio.com 2008-07-16T13:34:00-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/07/16/weeds_to_greens.html The once immaculate infield of the Trotwood baseball diamond has been growing only weeds the past few years. Granted they were waist-high weeds. Waist-high now are tomato plants. Cucumbers crawl where base-runners once slid. Corn in proper ranks cover the... The once immaculate infield of the Trotwood baseball diamond has been growing only weeds the past few years. Granted they were waist-high weeds. Waist-high now are tomato plants. Cucumbers crawl where base-runners once slid. Corn in proper ranks cover the area where outfielders once roamed. The old ball yard no longer produces hits or runs, rather produce. Transformed into a community garden, it is continuing the sense of community, a gathering place just like the old ball yard. On a recent morning, the plot-holders chatted in soft voices as they weeded, watered and admired each others’ plants. Squash and peppers vie with tomatoes and corn for attention. Flowers draw the eye, while greens and cabbage flourish under the radar. Mr. Groundhog, whose burrow on the banks of Wolf Creek adjoins the gardens, has seen the most benefit from the new lushness of the old ball yard. Evidence of his snacking abounds. Most gardeners, however, seem willing to share their bounty — at least for now. The gardens work at so many levels. Getting your hands dirty is one of the basic joys of childhood. In adulthood — in moderation — why should it be different? Taste a grocery store tomato. Now pick one off the vine and eat it. Need I say more? The eyesore that was once the old ball yard is now a profusion of greens. There is every shade from lime to forest green. The chaos of abandonment is tamed into ordered rows. It looks as if someone again cares. Those many someones form their own community. It’s a community that grows and chats and laughs and takes care of things. Just as the community of spectators of old hollered and cheered and applauded and cared for the youngsters that called the ball yard their summer home. Olde Town Trotwood has a new heart. The old one never truly broke; it was just forgotten for a space. Now it is renewed. It will never have the economic impact of a new Salem Mall. It will not add to the tax base in the same manner as a subdivision of $300,000 homes. It doesn’t create jobs in the manner of soon-to-open parts warehouse for General Motors. But each 25-foot by 25-foot garden plot is a strand of life woven together into a neighborhood, a community. I’m one of those people who believes a house without a front porch and a front sidewalk can never be a home. Now I’m thinking a neighborhood without a garden is one in name only. 5292103@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ 2008-07-16T13:34:00-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/07/15/what_am_i_missing_part_deux.html OK, my ignorance is both broad and deep. But I still don’t get it. GM is closing it’s Moraine truck assembly plant. The plant means a minimum of $5 million a year in income tax revenue to the city of... OK, my ignorance is both broad and deep. But I still don’t get it. GM is closing it’s Moraine truck assembly plant. The plant means a minimum of $5 million a year in income tax revenue to the city of Moraine. The city’s total annual revenue is around $20 million to $25 million. So, one-quarter to one-fifth of your annual revenue is vanishing. And what is the City Council debating? Who should hire and fire the police chief and the fire chief. The only explanation I can come with is the old saw that eventually people get the government they deserve. 5262203@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-07-15T13:33:29-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/07/14/what_am_i_missing_here.html I’m serious. Somebody explain this to me. The legislature passed a law to foster competition in the cable business. Competition has always meant lower prices. The ads promoting the new law claimed it would be good for the consumer. I... I’m serious. Somebody explain this to me. The legislature passed a law to foster competition in the cable business. Competition has always meant lower prices. The ads promoting the new law claimed it would be good for the consumer. I took that to mean lower cable rates. Boy was I wrong. According to this morning’s front-page story, I shouldn’t hold my breath. All that technology is just too expensive to see the cable rates drop. I’m terribly sorry, but what the heck is the point then? In fact, it more and more sounds like a corporate welfare bill. Somebody explain it to me, please. 5235303@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-07-14T13:36:42-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/07/09/fourbucksagallon_chic.html Like a 2-by-4 across the forehead, it has gotten our attention. “It” would be $4 a gallon gas. It doesn’t appear to be going away. It does appear that in a world of limited transportation options, Americans are finding a... Like a 2-by-4 across the forehead, it has gotten our attention. “It” would be $4 a gallon gas. It doesn’t appear to be going away. It does appear that in a world of limited transportation options, Americans are finding a way. Have you noticed an increase in the number of motor scooters? Some look as if they have been stored in the garage under a pile of rusty garden tools for at least two decades. What once was cool then fell out of favor (Let’s see, which would the chicks dig the most? A Harley or a Vespa scooter?) now is the height of four-bucks-a-gallon chic. We are creating our own alternatives while we wait for our economic and political leaders to catch up. They may still be riding in limos, but we’re shopping for tiny, fuel-efficient used cars. Bikes are big. Bike paths are bigger. We’re finding an alternative to get to work. Which do we need more: another lane on the interstate or more bike paths. Along with being a big motivator for change, four-bucks-a-gallon sends your thinking down paths less traveled. The last time we went down this path, it was gas at a buck-and-a-half, if you could find it. That was the ’70s when there were even fewer alternatives. Hybrids, fuel-efficient cars, flex fuel, none of these were around then or — if they were — readily available. We’ve learned from the ’70s. Detroit had to go small to compete. By the ’80s, you could buy a small Ford that would get nearly 40 miles per gallon. I suspect by next year, Ford will rediscover how to make that car again — and advertise it as “the all new” whatever. Four-bucks-a-gallon might also mean our back yards and vacant lots grow something other than grass and weeds. It soon may be cheaper to plow up the back yard and plant vegetables; cheaper than going to the grocery store and buy the same produce grown six states away. That’s including your labor. On the quiet, we’re finding ways to make ends meet in the world of four-bucks-a-gallon. It is, as Americans, what we do. We find ways. We drive less. We husband our resources. We care. We find ways to have fun while doing it. A Harley may be a the ultimate guys’ ride, but a Vespa is a whole lot of fun in its own strange way. And we might as well enjoy ourselves. It’s going to take a while to rid ourselves of the four-bucks-a-gallon tyranny. “It takes a long time,” says Frederick Steiner, Dayton native and dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture, “for infrastructure to change so people have more choices.” Unless we regress into the new Dark Ages, there will be more and better choices. Because the time is coming when we will long for the good ol’ four-bucks-a-gallon days. The price of gas is not going to fall until we no longer need it to get from Point A to Point B. In the meantime, I’m wondering where a fellow can get his hands on a nice used Vespa? 5136603@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-07-09T13:48:35-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/07/03/beating_vegas.html Hang on to your OSU cap, Bucky. Ohio, particularly the Miami Valley, may be a national leader in something positive. There’s a shocker. After being near the top of the list for foreclosures, bankruptcies, manufacturing job loses, obesity and sweat... Hang on to your OSU cap, Bucky. Ohio, particularly the Miami Valley, may be a national leader in something positive. There’s a shocker. After being near the top of the list for foreclosures, bankruptcies, manufacturing job loses, obesity and sweat index, it appears we’ve got something people want. Water. Las Vegas, for instance, was growing like a young pig in a corn crib. Home prices were going only one way, up. Folks were taking their gambling out of the casinos and into the housing market. Census figures put the median price of a home at $137,300 in 2000. Six years later, it’s $309,800. Now the bottom has fallen out of the housing market, especially in Lost Wages. Good thing, too. Earlier this year, researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego calculated there was a 10 percent chance that Lake Mead would run dry in six years and a 50 percent probability it will be gone by 2021. Lake Mead, a Colorado River impoundment, provides 90 percent of Vegas’ water. Its water level is dropping about as fast as Vegas home prices. Home prices will go back up. The lake’s water level, not so sure. And once those home prices start going back up, developers will start throwing up more. And the lemmings will buy them. Then the water runs out. We here in flat-growth, flyover country don’t have that problem. In the Miami Valley, we are sitting on 1.5 trillion — 1,500,000,000,000 — gallons of water. That’s about the same amount in Lake Mead. Our water is in the Miami Valley Buried Aquifer. It’s been there since the glaciers receded. And, if we have any kind of smarts, it will be there for generations to come. Places such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and any other dry-land oasis all have water authorities. They dole out the water. Agriculture gets so much. Industry gets so much. And houses and swimming pools get so much. The Colorado River once flowed all the way to the Gulf of California. Now it peters out as California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and others suck it dry. Here in the Valley, we really don’t have anything like a water czar. We do have the Miami Conservancy District, our only real regional agency. The district keeps a weather eye on the health of the aquifer. The district also keeps watch on its levees and dams. Ask our friends in Iowa and Missouri how important that is. At some point in the near future, some really smart folks are gonna figure out that living where water is getting scarcer and scarcer — no matter how gentle the winter climate — isn’t the best long-term investment. They are gonna start looking for a place with water. But not so much that every rain fills the basement. Industry is already figuring that out. So come on over to the Miami Valley where we have water to drink and levees that don’t break. And as an added incentive, we may even put in a couple casinos for you Las Vegas refugees. Worried about the winter weather? We never said it was the Garden of Eden. Just a whole lot better than where you live. 5029703@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ 2008-07-03T11:22:14-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/06/26/fighting_the_squirrels_and_los.html It towers over much of the Ohio landscape. Its wood is prized by cabinet and fine furniture craftsmen. Squirrels and man compete for its distinctive nut meat. So why are some so upset with the black walnut tree? To many... It towers over much of the Ohio landscape. Its wood is prized by cabinet and fine furniture craftsmen. Squirrels and man compete for its distinctive nut meat. So why are some so upset with the black walnut tree? To many urban dwellers, the black walnut is just a messy tree. Our first house in Ohio backed up to a beautiful — or so we thought — black walnut tree across the alley. While it never shaded our yard, it softened the glare of the near-setting sun. The little girl across the alley loved grabbing a lower limb and hoisting herself ever upward. It was the typical urban black walnut: great climbing tree, lousy lumber tree. To be of use for lumber, loggers look for the black walnut grown among the ash and oaks. Those tend to have the branchless trunks that rise 80 to 100 feet skyward before starting their canopy. Backyard black walnuts like to stretch out horizontally, rather than vertically. Perhaps they wish to be better shade and climbing trees; to be something cherished and valued to balance out their messiness. When the little girl and her mother moved, another family moved in. They convinced the landlord the tree needed to go. And they offered to take it down. But this was a big black walnut. It probably was planted when the house was built some eight decades prior. It took them most of the summer to remove the tree. They had to rent a lift bucket to get to the upper reaches of the 60-foot tree. But they finally cut it down. The wood went to the landfill. They wanted the tree down because the walnut fruit kept falling into their small above-ground pool. It probably would have been quicker and cheaper just to move the pool to the other side of the backyard. Cutting down the walnut left a huge hole in the western skyline. The summer sunsets were more intense — more glare and less green-golden. By the next summer, we had moved. There were no black walnuts to shade us from the sunset. But there was a line of ash to the east and one long-trunked black walnut. And its limbs draped gracefully over the garage roof and driveway. Which meant summer was punctuated with the thonk of falling nut meeting shingle. Which was fine until the falling golf ball-sized nut met the top of my head. The pain was followed by triumphant squirrel chatter. I maintain the squirrels purposefully dislodged the walnut. My wife claims it’s the trauma talking. Or she did. I opened the back door one day to find my wife shooing away the backyard squirrels from the cat food. As I congratulated her on her backhand follow through with the broom, two thonks were heard. Not the normal falling-nut-on-shingle thonk. No, this was a falling-nut-on-metal thonk. The metal being the hood of the wife’s almost new car. The twin dimples seemed to please the squirrels in the black walnut tree. They spent the next 5 minutes in high squirrel hilarity. “Do you remember when I told you you couldn’t have a pellet gun?” she asked. “Well, I may be changing my mind.” While our black walnut remains safe from the predation of man, the same cannot be said of the squirrels. 4882303@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-06-26T12:25:11-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/06/25/trotwood_tasing_whats_next.html The jury’s not guilty verdicts last week is not likely to end the saga of the tasing of Valreca Redden. A civil suit over the November 2007 confrontation between Ms. Redden and then Trotwood police officer Michael Wilmer is a... The jury’s not guilty verdicts last week is not likely to end the saga of the tasing of Valreca Redden. A civil suit over the November 2007 confrontation between Ms. Redden and then Trotwood police officer Michael Wilmer is a good bet. The jury’s verdict on misdemeanor counts of obstruction of official business and resisting arrest would seem to indicate that Redden’s lawyer Brian Penick convinced the jury Wilmer was in the wrong. Wilmer was fired for violations of Police Department policy separate from the Redden confrontation. During that confrontation, Wilmer restrained Redden when she tried to leave with her 1-year-old son, took her to the ground and tased her in the neck. An internal police investigation faulted Wilmer for striking the 7-month pregnant woman in the neck with his Taser. During the two-day trial last week, the city argued Redden came to the police department to “dispose” of her 1-year-old and refused to answer any questions from Wilmer. Wilmer said he believed the child would be harmed if he left with his mother. Penick argued Redden came to the department seeking help. And for that she was tased. Redden did not testify in her criminal trial. For its part, Trotwood has done the best it could with a bad situation. Officials inside and out of the department have been forthcoming with information. Officers have been disciplined. Procedures tightened. Nothing, to my knowledge, swept under the rug. Expect something to happen shortly. 4855503@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Trotwood 2008-06-25T14:29:21-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/06/25/fun_with_numbers.html The yellow limousines are off the roads for the summer, which is a good time to look ahead to the fall. Doesn’t take a genius, or a benighted columnist, to know that all our transportation costs are higher than a... The yellow limousines are off the roads for the summer, which is a good time to look ahead to the fall. Doesn’t take a genius, or a benighted columnist, to know that all our transportation costs are higher than a cat’s back. Likewise, we all are trying to make do with what we’ve got. We don’t go out to eat as often. Fish sticks have replaced salmon. We buyer cheaper beer and play less golf. We ride the bus or bike. Doctor and dentist appointments are less frequent. We do without. That’s because fuel prices are sucking away the money we use for our day-to-day expenses, not to mention our savings — if we are among the lucky minority to have any. School districts are in the same boat. Those fuel costs are sucking the life out of their general fund, the money they use for those day-to-day expenses. We — this isn’t a shocker — expect our school districts to do without too. Here’s a little exercise that may challenge the basis of that expectation. One way for school districts to do without is to bus at the state minimum. That would mean no busing for high school students and busing only those elementary students who live two miles or farther from their school. Suppose you have a high school student. Suppose you live 4 miles from school. Suppose your vehicle gets 25 mpg, and gas is $4 a gallon. Now suppose you drive the supposed kid in the supposed car to the supposed school each of the 178 school days. That’s going to cost you $227.84 in gas. That’s the equivalent of 7.4 mills of new property tax for the owner of a $100,000 home. It might be cheaper to pass a new tax levy. But that only applies to those who have high school students. It’s their kids, let ’em pay for them, some might say. Let’s make some more assumptions. Assume you are interested in making this country less dependant on oil. And assume a 70-passenger school bus gets 6 mpg. Also assume the school bus is half full, 35 students. That would mean the yellow limousine gets 210 miles per gallon per student. Try that in your hybrid. That’s a lot of gas not getting used. Here’s another. Assume it costs $4.47 (the average 2006 cost of Northmont, Trotwood and Brookville districts) to run a 70-passenger school bus one mile. Also assume that school bus is half full again, 35 students. That would mean is costs 12.8 cents a mile per student. The IRS figures the cost of operating a car at 50 cents a mile. Are we seeing a pattern here? Cutting student transportation may save money in the short run. Its long-run economic costs makes it a bigger loser for all of us. It makes about as much sense as not funding public education. 4846703@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Issues 2008-06-25T10:14:22-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/06/24/whatever_happens_with_the_pric.html Whatever happens with the price of diesel, Bob McClintock wants Northmont parents to know one thing: “We’ll get kids to school safely every day,” the school district’s business manager said. His sentiments are echoed by other school leaders in northwest... Whatever happens with the price of diesel, Bob McClintock wants Northmont parents to know one thing: “We’ll get kids to school safely every day,” the school district’s business manager said. His sentiments are echoed by other school leaders in northwest Montgomery County. All are looking for ways to cut costs, but there is only so much the districts can do. The state promises to increase its transportation aid by 1 percent for the coming school year. Falling behind “The state share is going up,” McClintock said, “but not as fast as costs. We’re falling behind.” For Northmont, the cost per mile has gone from $3.69 in the 2004-05 school year to $4.67 for 2006-07, an increase of 26 percent. At the same time, state reimbursement per mile has dropped 15 percent from $2.24 to $1.90. Trotwood’s cost per mile is up 33 percent over the three school years, while state reimbursement is down 23 percent. The exception Brookville breaks the trend. The district’s costs have dropped 2 percent, while state reimbursement rose 4 percent. That’s because the district cut busing starting in the 2005-06 school year to the state minimum: no high school busing and K-8 busing only for those living two or more miles from school. The district needed to cut $1 million from its operating costs after a levy failure. Transportation took most of the cuts. “We went from using 32,000 gallons of diesel to 16,000 gallons last year,” Superintendent Tim Hopkins said. “Fuel consumption for this year will be interesting to see. I don’t think fuel costs will be very different. And that’s a very good thing.” Deadly diesel The price of diesel is a budget killer. Joe Poe, transportation supervisor for the Trotwood-Madison district, remembers when $30,000 would cover his fuel bill for the year. Now, $30,000 won’t last two months. John Blessing, Northmont’s operations director, had budgeted $208,000 for diesel this school year. He had to find an additional $22,000, spending $230,000. “I may need a bake sale to finish out the year,” a laughing Blessing said. According to the federal Energy Information Administration, diesel ranged from $2.40 to $2.60 a gallon during the 2005-06 school year; from $2.50 to $2.90 the next; and from $3 to $4.90 this past school year. “And people tell us to live within our budgets,” Hopkins said. With the state covering a lower and lower percentage of transportation costs, the percentage paid by local taxpayers either has to increase or service curtailed. In part, that is what Brookville did. By reducing busing, eliminating one bus mechanic and cutting the supervisor’s hours, Hopkins said the district did not have to make any direct classroom cuts. Smart routing Gone are the days of separate buses for different teams. Northmont’s McClintock said athletic departments are getting smarter, scheduling varsity and junior varsity against the same school the same day. “We just bunch up our athletic trips,” Blessing said. “One team just has to wait on the other.” In addition, Northmont suspended “free” field trips several years ago. Now each building is responsible for finding the money to pay for a field trip, either through a PTO or fundraising. According to McClintock, the going rate this year was $2.15 a mile — based on $3.95 a gallon diesel — and $16.75 an hour for a driver. “We’re obviously going to have to raise that price next year,” he said. Brookville’s Hopkins wondered whether the days of the single-bus route were coming back. Most districts use two buses for a route: one for the high school/middle school, the other for elementary students. “Perhaps it’s time to think about using one bus to pickup all the kids on the route. It might start to make economic sense,” he said. New-bus blues The state also has cut back on its assistance in purchasing buses. The vehicles start at $70,000. “Now, we’re lucky to get one-third of a bus,” said Trotwood-Madison’s Poe. In the 2005-06 school year, the district received $27,412.92 in bus-replacement aid. This school year, the district got $19,405.76, a 41 percent decrease. The district does not have a schedule for buying buses. It bought seven buses in 1999 when it had the money, Poe said. It bought one this year 4820903@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Issues 2008-06-24T11:17:26-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/06/23/kindness_of_strangers.html The life of a hard-bitten street reporter is not all it’s cracked up to be. Hollywood got it in its head that there was something glamorous about sticking your nose into other people’s business. The same can’t be said, for... The life of a hard-bitten street reporter is not all it’s cracked up to be. Hollywood got it in its head that there was something glamorous about sticking your nose into other people’s business. The same can’t be said, for instance, of a plumber. Glamour can’t begin to describe rolling out of bed at 3 on a cold January morning to repair a broken 16-inch water main. Likewise, glamour can’t begin to describe searching for one final piece of information demanded by a heartless editor. The primary source is on vacation. Nobody told you, which explains why he hasn’t returned your numerous phone and e-mail messages. Which became more and more desperate as deadline approached. The No. 2 source is tied up in meetings all day. No. 3 is heading out the door on a mission of mercy concerning his wife, a broken water pipe and a plumber. “Call Joe,” he said. “If anybody can help, it’s Joe.” It is then the words of Blanche DuBois come to mind. “Whoever you are, I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers,” she said to a doctor who was to take her to the sanitarium at the end of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Joe, whoever you are, please answer the phone. Instead, a secretary explains that Joe is out and about doing his job. If I leave a message, will he get back to me? “Well, of course, he will. I’ll make sure he will.” For 30 years man and boy, I’ve been sticking my nose into other people’s business, talking with politicians, political appointees, elected officials, civil servants, tenured professors, social workers, condemned men and baseball players. After three decades, there is one thing I can always take to the bank. When a secretary tells you something shall happen, it will. Joe called. Not only did he have what I needed, he made copies of supporting documents. Hey, you’re busy, I’ll just come by and go through the documents. “It’s what I get paid to do,” Joe said. Civil servants — bureaucrats — are a favored target of talk radio screamers. I wonder what world Rush Limbaugh and the boys live in. Walk into a Miami Valley courthouse. Ask a question. You’ll get an answer and in most cases some knowledgeable advice. You may not like the answer. That’s not the civil servant’s fault. Look up your elected official. There is always exceptions. There exist those who feel the best way to handle the public is ignore it. Such attitude is not confined to the courthouse or city hall. Getting service from the so-called retail service industry can be challenging. But guys like Joe, and about every secretary I’ve ever dealt with, out number the drones. It’s a good thing, too. When the wife and I were in Siberia many years ago, the only government officials we ever saw were safely ensconced behind steel grills. Their answers were always the same no matter the question: Nyet! Yet the kindness of strangers got us back home. Home where those strangers include public servants. A good thing for hard-bitten street reporters. 4800403@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-06-23T14:33:21-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/05/29/measuring_worth_and_a_gallon_o.html The world now revolves around a gallon of gas. At least for most of us. I still see the occasional gi-normous SUV — the ones you need a step ladder to enter and look as of they should be tricked... The world now revolves around a gallon of gas. At least for most of us. I still see the occasional gi-normous SUV — the ones you need a step ladder to enter and look as of they should be tricked out with a gun turret. I always examine the wheel wells of parked gi-normous SUVs and pick-em-up trucks. Here in the wilds of Ohio — surprise, surprise — all but a handful appear to have only run-of-paved-road dirt. Few had mud. Fewer still had dings, pings and off-road scars on their undercarriages. Gi-normous SUV’s are for show. For some, their worth is tied to the size of their vehicle. 4203103@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-05-29T09:38:53-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/05/22/know_your_role_show_up_shut_up.html Weddings are not a guy thing. In many cases, we are pressed into serving. “Pressed” is an interesting verb. The British Navy had a unique way of recruiting sailors back in the days of tall sailing ships. A group of... Weddings are not a guy thing. In many cases, we are pressed into serving. “Pressed” is an interesting verb. The British Navy had a unique way of recruiting sailors back in the days of tall sailing ships. A group of seasoned sailors — called tars — would go ashore to make the rounds of the local watering holes and houses of ill repute. The tars would make their pitch to join Her Majesty’s Royal Navy and see the world. In most cases, the pitch was accompanied by a well-placed fist to the jaw or tap on the noggin with a belaying pin, the naval equivalent to a billy club. Thus, one was pressed into Her Majesty’s service. Not unlike a man at a wedding, except of course, the groom. 4063403@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-05-22T11:41:44-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/05/21/remembering_things_best_forgot.html Being a warrior is not easy. Steve Leapley always wanted to be one. He volunteer for the Army. When he was sent to Germany, he asked his commander for a transfer to a war zone. Six months later, he got... Being a warrior is not easy. Steve Leapley always wanted to be one. He volunteer for the Army. When he was sent to Germany, he asked his commander for a transfer to a war zone. Six months later, he got his wish. In Thursday’s, May 22, Northwest Neighbors section, Leapley tells his story of what led to his induction into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame of Valor. His Silver Star, his two Bronze Stars, his Purple Heart. There is a lot more to his story, as the case with most stories. 4039003@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Random musings 2008-05-21T13:48:29-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/05/20/where_in_the_world_is_the_ctc.html The location of the Miami Valley Career Technology Center is no secret. It’s on Hoke Road, south of Ohio 49. That section of Hoke Road is in Clayton. The CTC — despite its mailing address and its Web site —... The location of the Miami Valley Career Technology Center is no secret. It’s on Hoke Road, south of Ohio 49. That section of Hoke Road is in Clayton. The CTC — despite its mailing address and its Web site — is not. It’s in Englewood. Has been for more than two decades since Englewood annex the land from the township. That’s before Clayton existed. The school’s Web site locates the school in Clayton. The Montgomery County auditor’s office lists the school’s address as Clayton, but clearly notes on a map of the property that it’s in Englewood. But the final word on the subject comes from CTC Treasurer Debbie Gossett. Employees working at the Hoke Road site pay their municipal income tax to Englewood. “The road’s in Clayton, but the buildings are in Englewood,” she said. 4012003@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ 2008-05-20T15:43:20-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/entries/2008/05/16/grievance_upheld.html ENGLEWOOD — Here is a synopsis of the facts, arguments and decision in former police officer Keith Sigler’s grievance against the city. What happened • In early February 2006, Susan Sigler wrote and sent an anonymous handbill to 30 people... ENGLEWOOD — Here is a synopsis of the facts, arguments and decision in former police officer Keith Sigler’s grievance against the city. What happened • In early February 2006, Susan Sigler wrote and sent an anonymous handbill to 30 people . The handbill made several complaints about the police department, urging citizens “to ask your city council why we are tolerating this injustice.” • During the same period, she also sent two anonymous letters to the Clark County sheriff alleging that a patrol officer now married to the police chief failed to disclose that she was pregnant at the time of her 2004 divorce in Clark County from her then husband. • In March 2006, the city manager fired patrol officer Keith Sigler for his alleged knowledge of the anonymous documents and failing to tell his superiors about his wife’s authorship of the documents. • The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association filed a grievance on behalf of Keith Sigler claiming the firing was without just cause. That grievance was denied by the city, and both sides agreed to take the matter to arbitration. • Arbitrator Frank Keenan heard two days of testimony and after nearly two years, delivered a decision denying the grievance. What the city alleges The city claimed Keith Sigler was involved in the writing and distributing of the documents, initially lied about his role, and failed to tell his superiors that his wife was involved and that “discredited and embarrassed a co-worker.” The spreading of false and misleading information about the operation of the department was part of vicious smear campaign against the police chief, his wife, the police department, city manager and the city, the city said. As such, the anonymous documents were not protected under the First Amendment. The union’s position The union claimed Keith Sigler had no role, much less knowledge, of his wife’s intentions until after the documents were distributed. Nor did he lie to investigators. Instead, the union said he was unjustly fired for his wife’s exercise of her First Amendment rights, and investigators failed to give him the required listing of his rights during their questioning of him. The arbitrator ruled Before ruling on the free speech issue, Keenan started with other issues, ruling the evidence presented him did not prove Keith Sigler knew about or had any role in the writing or distributing of the documents. The city could not assume, he said, that because the couple was married, they shared all of their thoughts. Precedents Keenan used two U.S. Supreme Court rulings to determine the free speech issue. The first found a school teacher should not be fired for complaining that the school board was spending too much on athletics. Even though some of the information was incorrect, the teacher, as a citizen, was publicly addressing a matter of public concern in a local newspaper. Also, the court said, neither the teacher’s work in the classroom nor his relationship to his direct supervisor were affected by his actions as a citizen. The second found an assistant district attorney resisting a transfer could be fired for insubordination for circulating a questionnaire asking colleagues for their opinions on office policies, morale and effectiveness of supervisors. Rather than a matter of public concern, it was more about a disgruntled employee looking to stir the pot. The handbill Keenan looked at the veracity of the allegations contained in Susan Sigler’s handbill. He found that except for the first paragraph — outlining anti-fraternization policies of industry and the military, and the fact the City Council passed a similar ordinance following the chief’s marriage to the patrol officer — the remainder was false or misleading. Keenan said both the handbill and the letters to the sheriff were filled with “reckless” allegations. Fourteen of the city’s 17 officers had another word for the allegations. The officers called the allegations “crap” in a letter to the mayor. Unable to respond Unlike the teacher’s public statements to a newspaper in the first high court decision, Susan Sigler mailed out 30 copies of the handbill and could not recall everyone on her distribution list. The city could not reasonably respond to the reckless charges because it had no idea who had received the handbill. Nor could the city reasonably write a letter to the editor because that would spread the reckless charges to more people,” Keenan said. Husband’s role Finally, when Keith Sigler failed to tell his superiors that his wife had written and distributed the documents — “thereby assist the city and the department in a response” — he was endorsing his wife’s reckless allegations, Keenan said. Arbitrator unloads The letters to the Clark County sheriff were “nothing less than a smear campaign. … It can only be inferred that such a mean spirited action was truly egregious … and was done to advance the common agenda of first (Susan Sigler) and later (Keith Sigler) of hopefully ridding (Keith Sigler’s) workplace of the (chief’s wife) or the chief.” “The reckless nature of Ms. Sigler and (Keith Sigler’s) comments undermine their constitutional protection,” he concluded. 3921903@http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/northvalleynotebook/ Englewood 2008-05-16T12:48:43-05:00 dpage@coxohio.com