Top uplifting stories you might have missed last week

Credit: Grahm S. Jones

Credit: Grahm S. Jones

Here are your top six uplifting stories from across the Miami Valley this past week.


Washington Twp. fire crews rescue 6 ducklings

Washington Twp. firefighters rescued six ducklings Monday morning from a storm drain and reunited them with their duck mother.

Crews had to go below ground to get to the ducklings, so they turned the rescue mission into a training session as well.

“RescueEngine 45 made a successful rescue today, six times over,” the department said in an opening statement on its social media post.

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.


Cedarville speller one of 30 to reach televised national semifinals

Maybe it was a good omen Tuesday when Sophia Lopez had to know the definition of the word “junket” in the fifth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

A person on a junket is taking a trip, and the Cedarville Middle School student got one step closer to the spelling bee finals in Orlando, Fla., by nailing all three quarterfinal rounds Tuesday.

There were 209 spellers who started the national competition Saturday, and Sophia is one of only 30 to qualify for the June 27 national semifinals, which will be televised on ESPN2, starting at 7 p.m. That round, like the previous ones, will be online, and the top 10-12 spellers there will advance to the in-person finals July 8.

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.


Butler County native qualifies for Tokyo Olympics

Credit: Charlie Neibergall

Credit: Charlie Neibergall

Edgewood High graduate Zach Apple is headed to the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Apple, 24, finished second in the 100-meter freestyle Thursday night to punch his ticket during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Caeleb Dressel won the event in 47.39 seconds, followed by Apple in 47.92. Apple’s finish also clinched a spot on the 400 free relay team in Tokyo. He was a member of the U.S. gold-medal 400 free relay team at the 2019 World Championships. Apple won three other medals at the 2019 World Championships.

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.


Study names Dayton top 20 city for ‘hottest jobs for college grads’

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

The Dayton region is among the most desirable landing spots for new college graduates looking to jumpstart their careers, according to a recent study.

The RENTCafe study released this month put Dayton’s metro area at No. 19 nationwide for “hottest jobs for college grads,” citing lucrative job options in fields such as health care, engineering and sales. Career opportunities in developing industries, including computer science and urban and regional planning, were also cited as part of the region’s appeal.

“We have a lot of high paying jobs available in the Dayton area,” Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing and Communications Holly Allen said. “I think there’s a pretty good professional trajectory, where if you start your career here in Dayton, the chances are pretty good that you could move your way up and become a leader in this community pretty quickly.”

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.


Rare blue-eyed cicada found on Butler County farm

Credit: Dale Richter/Contributed

Credit: Dale Richter/Contributed

A retired Springboro police officer made a rare find Tuesday on his Butler County farm: a blue-eyed cicada.

Dale Richter said he found the rare Brood X blue-eyed cicada after two days of searching his 151-acre soybean farm off Trenton Oxford Road in Wayne Twp., where he said the cicadas seem to prefer his sugar maple trees on the property.

Experts say fewer than one in a million of the periodic cicadas will have blue eyes instead of the normal bright red eyes.

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.


WORTH THE DRIVE: Baby, oh baby! See two adorable additions at Columbus Zoo

Credit: Grahm S. Jones

Credit: Grahm S. Jones

It doesn’t get much cuter than this. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has two new adorable babies.

An Asian elephant and a California sea lion were born this week.

“There are so many reasons why these births are cause for celebration,” said Jerry Borin, interim Columbus Zoo president and CEO, in a release.

“These babies are adorable, but they also represent the science, expertise, and collaboration across internal teams and other facilities as we collectively work to help protect these incredible species.”

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.

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