HOLIDAY HOURS An The News will be INDEPENDENT closed Friday, July 3, JOURNAL of NEWS for the Fourth of and OPINION July holiday. YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS SI NCE 1880 YELLOW SPRINGS, OHIO T HURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015 VO LUME 136, NUMBER 27 PRICE: $1.50 Township budgets ambulance By Lauren Heaton ROPE RESCUE IN GORGE Miami Township Trustees will vote on The Miami Township Fire-Rescue the approval of the Township’s annual tax squad pulled a Centerville youth from budget at their meeting Monday, July 6, at the Clifton Gorge after she fell 30–60 7 p.m. at the �re station/Township of�ces. feet into the “narrows” on Tuesday The 2016 budget includes funds for the evening, June 23. The 16-year-old purchase of a new ambulance and a com- girl, who had gone there to “cliff mand vehicle for the Miami Township Fire- dive,” was taken to the hospital and Rescue squad. walked away the same night with only The Township’s $1,511,192 2016 budget cuts and bruises, according to Miami includes a healthy carryover of $500,000. Township Fire Chief Colin Altman in The excess cash was generated in part by an interview last week. an accumulation of the �nal year’s collec- “She was very lucky,” he said. tion of estate taxes, which were discontin- According to Altman, at 7:23 p.m. ued by the State of Ohio in 2013, according the squad received a report that to Trustee Chris Mucher in an interview someone had toppled into the creek. last week. The trustees formerly allocated All 16 firefighter/EMT personnel at the estate tax revenue for the greenspace fund, station for a training event responded but dissolved the fund upon learning of with six trucks and rope rescue the pending tax legislation. That year, the equipment, which the group had just Township received an unexpected windfall recently trained with. of nearly $500,000 in �nal estate tax collec- The team, assisted by officers tions and saved it for future needs. with the Greene County Sheriff and In 2016 some of that cash is being allo- the Ohio Department of Natural cated for various potential needs. For exam- Resources, located the victim below ple, $179,231 will go to the road department the trail. Three of her friends, who had PHOTO BY SUZANNE SZEMPRUCH to cover the $30,000 in anticipated repairs climbed down to help her, were also Air park to township roads in 2016 with excess for stuck at the bottom. The three friends, future years. And for the potential purchase ages 17, 22 and 24, were able to Last weekend, Austin White, above, visited Yellow Springs with friends from Greeneville and Piqua to try out the new and of property for a new �re station, the trust- climb up a rope to safety, while the improved skate park. The park recently received about $35,000 worth of improvements, including six new concrete obstacles ees allocated $151,000 in the capital outlay squad brought the injured party up constructed by Grindline, a leading skatepark construction company. The project was funded by the Village Parks and Recreation fund. According to Mucher, the trustees in a basket with a high angle rope budget, and oversight was provided by a subcommittee of the Public Arts Commission, consisting of Matt Housh, AJ Warren hope that both the sale of the current �re rescue. and Council member Brian Housh. station property and a public bond would The victim was taken to Greene offset the cost of the new construction Memorial Hospital at 10:30 and was project enough to eventually reimburse the released later that night. Township for the real estate investment. The group went to the Gorge after Nearly half of the 2016 budgeted expenses seeing a digital post about good Resilience group ramps up efforts are for the Fire-Rescue department, which swimming and cliff diving in the derives its revenue from a �re levy as well gorge. However, neither activity is By Megan Bachman ful, then someday 100 percent of Yellow Network. “They seem ludicrous, but why as approximately $120,000 a year in emer- safe, and cliff diving is considered Springs’ energy will come from local renew- not shoot for them?” gency service fees. Out of the $537,000 illegal, Altman said. The state plans to Global climate change will affect Yellow able sources; 100 percent of houses here Added Duard Headley, who authored the pursue trespassing charges against the Springs in unknown, but potentially disas- will be energy ef�cient, greenhouse-gas- quarterly report, “putting out those goals CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 group. trous, ways. The cost of living may rise due free transportation will predominate; all will force us to look at things differently.” to higher prices for imported goods. Food food, goods and services will be local and “It’s not that we can just put up some supplies could be interrupted. Less money carry a low-carbon footprint; zero waste will solar panels or change the kind of cars we might �ow into the community. And mass be sent to land�lls, and the town will have a drive — those things are important in the migration and civil unrest could disrupt resilient, vibrant economy and job base. near term — but the changes we are talking life here, according to the Yellow Springs While the goals are ambitious, organizers about are fundamental changes in the way Quarterly Report on Climate Change say that Yellow Springs is already well on its our community is structured and the way recently submitted to Council. way to carbon neutrality. It just needs high that we live,” he said. Enter the Yellow Springs Resilience aspirations, and a strategy to achieve them. The Yellow Springs Resilience Network is Network, a local group that hopes to insu- “We want to keep it moving, keep it a group of villagers, organized by commit- late the village from the worst impacts of measurable and keep people motivated,” tees, working to make Yellow Springs more climate change. If the group is success- said Kat Walker of goals of the Resilience resilient, which Headley explained as “the ability to adjust to unpredicted changes.” Shifting from a focus on climate action to resilience was an early step for the group, formed last year after about 50 villagers and Antioch College students returned from a climate protest in New York City in September. Small groups in the network are now working on food, transportation, waste, economic and building issues, according to Walker. For example, the food committee is looking for ways to expand community garden space and develop the food hub concept; the transportation group is explor- ing shared electric vehicles for the town; the zero waste committee is engaging in a bulk foods survey and local waste audit; the buildings committee wants to pinpoint the town’s largest residential energy users for retro�ts, and the economy group is helping seed a time bank. Those interested in joining the network can email [email protected] or visit the group on Facebook. PHOTO BY DIANE CHIDDISTER Several members of the group visited Oberlin in January to learn how that town Rainbows in the rain of 8,300 was on track to cut its carbon emis- Undeterred by rain and cloudy skies, hundreds of villagers took part in last sions to 50 percent of 2007 levels by 2015. SUBMITTED PHOTO BY ERIC JOHNSON While impressed by the commitment of Saturday’s Yellow Springs Pride events, including a downtown sidewalk parade. In January local members of the Yellow Springs Resilience Network toured a green the city, which spearheaded the project, Shown above before the parade are villagers Carmen Milano and Bronwyn building on the campus of Oberlin College which features solar panels, geothermal villagers also returned feeling impressed Reece, who were married last year in Indiana before the historic Supreme Court heating and cooling and a “living machine” waste recycling system. From left are Dave ruling last Friday made gay marriage legal in Ohio. Westneat, Kat Walker, Duard Headley, Al Schlueter and Rick Walkey. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Stylish hair, stylish clothing By Diane Chiddister her own preference for styles that are relaxed and com- fortable but �attering. Having lived in Arizona for sev- Danyel Mershon loves to travel and she loves inter- eral years where she worked for the designer Michael esting clothing, so it’s not surprising that wherever she Kors, she prefers California-style clothes, with their goes, she tries to �nd one-of-a-kind specialty shops. bright colors and informality, and she orders from a Los “No matter what country I’m in, I want to go into a Angeles supplier. cute little boutique and get something unique,” she said “The style is a little different from the Midwest, where recently. clothes are more conservative, more covered up,” she Opening her own boutique has always been Mer- said. shon’s dream. Recently, she reached her dream in For instance, Wild�ower currently features brightly downtown Yellow Springs with the Street Fair opening covered kimonos, which are trending now, according to of Wild�ower Boutique and Salon, which she owns with Mershon. Kimonos can be worn formally or layered on her good friend Emily Anglemyer, a hair stylist. The top of a black t-shirt and jeans to dress up casual clothes, store is located at 232 Xenia Ave., the former location of are �attering to almost all body types and, priced at $34, Iona Boutique. are affordable. Shoppers will also �nd bell bottoms in While one young woman specializes in clothing trends a soft rayon/spandex mix with a bright blue and black and the other in hair styles, the two share a vision of how design.