VACATION? Donate your copy of the News. 767-7373. HOLIDAY HOURS An The News will be INDEPENDENT closed Thurs. and Fri., JOURNAL of NEWS Nov. 24–25 for the and OPINION Thanksgiving holiday. YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS SI NCE 1880 YELLOW SPRINGS, OHIO T HURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011 VO LUME 132, NUMBER 47 PRICE: $1.50 Solid waste rate Managing the hike approved Village water By Diane Chiddister By Lauren Heaton At their Nov. 21 meeting, Village Council The blackened, crumbly bolts that hold members unanimously approved the �nal together the 16-inch distribution main in reading for a rate hike for Village solid the pump room of the Village water treat- waste disposal. The fee increase re�ects ment plant tell the whole story. The Village the new contract the Village approved water plant is old and challenged, and while recently with longtime solid waste handler it functions to treat a safe municipal water Rumpke, and passes on to consumers the supply, the plant produces water that is increased Rumpke charges and fees. After prone to precipitate blackish particulates, determining that the Village solid waste which is not consistent with current aes- fund was in good shape �nancially, Council thetic EPA standards. members chose to not add on additional While some villagers have grown accus- cost above the Rumpke fee changes. tomed to the occasional flow of brown At the beginning of the meeting, Village water that plagues the local system, others Mayor David Foubert swore in the three �nd the inconsistent quality of their water winners of the Nov. 8 election for Council an aggravating nuisance. The hardness of seats, including incumbents Lori Askeland Village water is also a concern for some, and Rick Walkey and newcomer Gerry whose plumbing and appliances have Simms. In other housekeeping business, been compromised by calcium and lime Council members unanimously re-elected deposits. Judith Hemp�ing as president and Lori The plant has not been signi�cantly reno- Askeland as vice-president. vated since it was built in 1964, and the esti- The new solid waste fees reflect an mated cost of upgrading the plant is actu- increase of about $2 monthly for residential ally less than the cost of maintaining the solid waste customers. Those at Tier 1 status quo, according to a feasibility study (not more than 35 gallons) will pay $10.40 PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT SANDERS, ANTIOCHIANA completed by Village consultant engineer per month, compared to the previous fee Hundreds of local and area students, residents and law enforcement officials jammed downtown Yellow Springs on Xenia John Eastman last month. And since inter- of $8.42; Tier 2(not more than 65 gallons) Avenue during a chaotic March 1964 demonstration against Lewis Gegner for refusing to cut the hair of black people at his bar- est rates are low, the Village is currently customers will pay $11.40 per unit monthly, bershop. Fifty years ago this month, African-American resident Paul Graham began a legal case against Gegner that reached considering upgrading the plant or shutting compared to $9.44 previously; and Tier 3 the Ohio Supreme Court. it down and purchasing water from another (not more than 120 gallons) customers will municipality, which could cost about the pay $12.40 monthly, compared to $10.46 same or only slightly more than the Village previously. currently pays. The new fee for commercial services A civil rights milestone, 50 years on The options for water are many, and the is $55 per container monthly for a 4-cubic opinions from villagers on which one to yard container. By Megan Bachman tion as an open and welcoming commu- “It became apparent that Yellow choose vary depending on their individual A fuel surcharge is also added monthly nity, it was really a microcosm of the seg- Springs wasn’t the type of community we experiences with the Village water system. that is adjusted according to the Depart- Fifty years ago this month, African- regated U.S. at the time, said Graham, thought it was,” Graham said. Issues with the water ment of Energy’s Energy Information American villager Paul Graham walked now 82. In the 1940s, the Little Theatre, Over the next 20 years, a local citizens Administration highway diesel price index into Lewis Gegner’s barbershop on Xenia now the Little Art Theatre, forced black group, the Yellow Springs Committee The Village water treatment plant on reading for the Midwest. Avenue, sat down in his barber chair and patrons to sit behind a rope in the back for Fair Practices (YSCFP), success- Jacoby Road has maintained a good track Rumpke service continues to include asked for a haircut. of the theater; the Glen Café and Ye Olde fully pressured most local businesses to record with the Ohio EPA and has always weekly recycling. Recently the company “I can’t cut your hair,” the white bar- Trail Tavern refused to serve African accept black patrons through boycotts, produced �ne tasting, safe drinking water provided villagers with new 65-gallon recy- bershop owner replied, according to Americans; and none of the village’s picketing, civil disobedience, court for the Village. Complaints have mainly cling wastewheelers to hold comingled Graham’s account. “I don’t know how. three barbershops would cut a black included the level of hardness and the recyclables, rather than the red bins used periodic brown water. Hard water causes That’s all there is to it.” person’s hair. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 previously. However, according to the That day Graham �led a complaint calcium and lime deposits, which can Village utilities department, some villag- against Gegner’s discriminatory prac- coat pipes and appliances and cause dif- ers have chosen to keep the red bins and tices with the Ohio Civil Rights Com- �culty with water pressure. Village water is requested that the new larger waste hold- mission in a case that reached the Ohio “exceedingly” hard, according to Eastman, ers be removed. Supreme Court. at 30 grains per gallon, compared to less The Rumpke contract includes the provi- The historic moment was part of a than 1 gpg for softened water. The treatment sion that the company may occasionally 20-year effort to desegregate Yellow plant does not soften the Village water. collect additional containers from house- Springs, which escalated to the dramatic Brown water is a result of the way both holds, if requested. These containers are 1964 confrontation between police and the water treatment plant and the distribu- to be identi�ed with a sticker that can be protesters picketing Gegner’s shop tion system throughout the Village func- purchased from the Village for an addi- — an event that landed 100 people in tion. According to Eastman, the water from tional fee. That fee, $1.25 per container, is jail and thrust Yellow Springs into the the Village well �eld contains manganese an increase over the previous fee of $1 per national spotlight during the height of and iron, neither of which is harmful to container. Large items, such as hot water the civil rights movement. drink (in the concentrations found here) heaters or sofas, need to be identi�ed with Soon after the confrontation, Gegner but both of which when precipitated out �ve stickers at $1.25 per sticker. sold his shop and moved out of town, and of suspension discolor the water and pres- The Village will continue to provide the the Supreme Court refused to hear Gra- ent an aesthetic nuisance. The water plant annual clean-up for Yellow Springs resi- ham’s case. Gegner had never consented removes the iron but not the manganese, dents, when they may put at curbside most to cut a black man’s hair when pressured. which is dissolved in the water when it items that they want disposed. The Village Today, the villagers and Antioch Col- leaves the plant and precipitates out a manager will determine the date and the lege students who participated in the blackish sediment to varying degrees rules for the annual clean-up. Gegner actions look back on the incident thereafter, depending on its level of expo- The new fees go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. with a mixture of pride and disappoint- sure to oxygen in the water. Other items of Council Nov. 21 business, ment, and draw lessons from a struggle Some of the brown water can be explained. For those on the north half of the village, including Council’s goals for 2012, will be which both defined and divided the PHOTO BY MEGAN BACHMAN covered in next week’s News. community. the water �ows from the water plant to Council will hold a special 2012 budget Fifty years to the month after it was filed, Paul Graham re-visted the original Ohio the Gaunt Park towers, where most of the meeting on Monday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m. in Segregation in a tolerant town Civil Rights Commission complaint he filed after being refused a haircut at Lewis manganese has time to settle out before Council chambers. Though Yellow Springs had the reputa- Gegner’s barbershop in Yellow Springs. Contact: [email protected] CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Occupy sparks local dialogue By Megan Bachman loans, commercial loans and more. How do these local �nancial institutions differ in size, services and mis- Money, like religion, politics, and sex, is a sensitive sion? topic of public conversation. But as Occupy Wall Street US Bank, with $330 billion in assets across 27 states, protesters lambast commercial banks for the subprime holds $42.5 million in loans and deposits locally in an mortgage crisis and bank customers express outrage of�ce of seven employees.