Sponsored by the Odyssey Youth Legion/Lottridge Legacy Foundation. 6:30 PM, Old Roots Store. For information, call 667-0726 or 662-2206.
Take The Hummingbird Challenge
Photo by Hope Tilley, 3 July 2007 at the home of Audra Ackley in Lottridge, Ohio.
Lottridge, Ohio--7 July 2007. I have always known that hummingbirds are bold and fierce, but I never
considered that they might be dangerous until I heard this story about hummingbirds that was told to me recently by Audra Ackley, 92, Lottridge, Ohio.
The story goes like this:
"Right here on this porch, when my husband was a young man, a hummingbird flew head on
into the left cheek of an elderly man sitting next to him. The full length of the hummingbird's beak
penetrated this man's cheek, and the bird was stuck. The man had to pull the hummingbird out of his
cheek. The mishap left the man with an infection, and even
when the wound healed, his face never looked right again."
Having heard this story as Audra tells it, I will always think twice when I hear that
too-big-for-a-bee buzzing sound created by the miniscule ruby-throat's powerful wings.
Inspired to find out what else I did not know about hummingbirds, I studied hummingbirds.net
and National Geographic to find out more.
Take a look at these informative sites, then try the quiz below.
1) At rest, a hummingbird’s heart beats at the rate of about
a) 5 beats per minute .
b) 50 beats per minute.
c) 500 beats per minute.
d) 5000 beats per hour.
2) Which of the following is not a food source for hummingbirds?
a) the nectar of flowering plants.
b) honey.
c) spiders and soft-bodied insects.
d) a solution of four parts water and one part table sugar.
3) The 330 species of hummingbird are found
a) only in North America.
b) only in the new world (North, Central and South America).
c) only in North America, Central America and the Gallapagos Islands.
d) all over the world.
4) The reason we don’t see Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, the most common species of hummingbird in Ohio, during the winter is because they
a) migrate southward to Mexico and Central America to winter over.
b) hibernate like some mammals.
c) like many insects, live only one season, long enough to reproduce, after which time they die as the winter months approach.
d) none of the above.
5) Praying mantises can capture and consume hummingbirds.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
6) Hummingbirds can fly at speeds up to 500 miles per hour.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
7) Hummingbirds can consume 50-200% of their body weight in food during the course of a day.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
8) Hummingbirds are often seen fighting with each other because they are fiercely territorial.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
9) Hummingbirds can be found northward as far as Maine and Canada.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
10)Hummingbirds are a unique family of birds because they are invertebrates (don’t have a backbone).
I seek the Office of Athens County Sheriff because I sincerely wish to place my experience in making ALL of Athens County a safer, more enjoyable place to live, work and play. --Pat Kelly
Dear Friends,
June 1, 2007, I announced my intention to become the next Athens County Sheriff. I would like to take the opportunity to explain to you why I seek this office and why I need your support, confidence and vote in the March 2008 Democratic primary.
I was born and raised in Athens County, in the city of Nelsonville. I graduated from Nelsonville York High School, attended and graduated from Hocking College in 1996 with an Associates Degree in Police Sciences. I am presently completing course work for my B.B.S. degree in Behavioral Studies at Ohio University.
I seek the Office of Athens County Sheriff because I sincerely wish to place my experience in making ALL of Athens County a safer, more enjoyable place to live, work and play. This will be accomplished by listening to those being served, creating a vision from that input, and then working with other professionals to deliver what is expected by you - the public. The community's safety priorities and needs were always my first and highest priority. I have a proven record of quality service to all citizens.
As Sheriff, you can depend upon me to bring the same devotion and commitment to ALL of Athens County.
I am running for Sheriff because Athens County deserves a proven, professional public safety leader. I bring to the Sheriff?s Office the right values, the right experience and the right priorities to make all of Athens County a safer more enjoyable place to live. As your Democrat candidate for Sheriff, I will be guided as Sheriff by the common sense, community values that are important to us in Athens County.
I believe in building safe and healthy communities, now and into the future. Athens counties economic growth relies on a safe environment for their citizens. I believe in guarding carefully our taxpayer's hard earned dollars and applying our laws equally to protect everyone equally. As a proven law enforcement officer, public servant, leader and educator, I will bring to the Office of Sheriff, a lifetime of experience in making us safer and in using resources smartly while doing it.
Your vote is needed to help me secure victory in becoming elected Athens County Sheriff in 2008. Please visit our web page at www.kellyforsheriff.us. It is under construction and will be completed soon.
On behalf of myself, Debbie, My family and campaign staff,
Lets look toward the future.... Vote Pat Kelly, Sheriff March 08.
School Board Takes Little Action at June 25 Meeting Amid Apparent Confusion about the Role of State Commission
Stewart—June 25, 2007. The Federal Hocking Local School Board met Monday evening before an audience estimated at about 75, but took no action on the publicly controversial issue of consolidating the two elementary schools, Coolville Elementary School and Amesville Elementary School, as a means of dealing with the District’s fiscal emergency status. There appeared to be a consensus among Board members that it was too late in the summer to act to consolidate the elementary schools before the beginning of the 2007-08 school year in August.
Board President Dan Dailey cautioned that the State Commission could preempt the School Board on this issue, and throughout the evening, Board members, school administration and community members speculated about the Commissions’ powers to determine the District’s future.
During the Superintendent’s Public Advisory Meeting that preceded the regularly scheduled school board meeting, Board member John Young commented on the role of the State Commission as follows:
"One problem—one thing we don’t know as a board—I haven’t talked to anybody yet who can tell me how this commission works with us. Right now, we’ve got a chairperson of the commission making statements and I’ve talked to other commission members, and they don’t know anything about it. So you’ve got the chairperson saying, ‘I want—you—we the commission wants you to do this,' and I think she’s speaking out of turn…I think it needs to be addressed—by whoever—but she has no more right to speak for her commission than I would have to speak for this Board…she had said this in front of Jim and other people…she wants this and the commission wants this and the commission wants that…"
--John Young, Board Member, Federal Hocking Local School District
Mr. Patsey added to Mr. Young’s statements the following:
"To go along with that, John, the one thing—see—like John was saying—I think if we get it down to $250,000—that’s pretty good, I thought…but, but, but then the next year we work on the rest of it…but my understanding has been—what people have told me—and they’re right—the Ohio Revised Code does not communicate any timeline…there is nothing written about one year or two years or three years—that’s not in the law…there’s no timeline in the law…I’m also told this is Jackie Osborne’s first time doing this, so I think it is a learning process for her…" [n.b. Jackie Osborne is the Chairperson of the State Commission.]
--James Patsey, Superintendent, Federal Hocking Local School District
During the Public Speaks portion of the regularly scheduled school board meeting, local attorney Beth Ferrier also commented on the State Commission's activities.
Press the play button to view Ms. Ferrier's presentation.
Board members voted to adopt Mr. Patsey’s Pay to Play policy, but voted not to adopt his recommendation to eliminate the activities bus
The school board voted to adopt Superintendent’s Patsey’s Pay-to-Play policy, which will require that students pay a yearly $50 fee to participate in extracurricular activities like volleyball and band. Mr. Patsey estimates that the fee will bring the District an additional $9000 in revenue. The Board also passed Mr. Patsey’s recommendations to
1) take only one bus to football games
2) limit the Band to two (2) trips for competitions
3) Not fill six (6) coaching positions (2-track, 1-football, 1-softball, 1-baseball, 1-boys basketball)
and 4) Not fill the summer assistant band director.
Mr. Patsey’s recommendation to eliminate the activities bus, however, failed to pass.
District resident Hope Tilley spoke in opposition to both Mr. Patsey’s Pay-to-Play recommendation and his recommendation to eliminate the activities bus. She presented the Board a donation of $250 toward keeping the activities bus and keeping participation in extracurricular activities free.
Also failing to pass were Mr. Patsey’s recommendations to employ a number of inviduals on supplemental contracts for the 2007-2008 school year, including Patti McKibben as Amesville Elementary Yearbook Advisor, Raymond Fossett as Coolville Elementary Safety Coordinator, Kim Reeves as Federal Hocking Middle School Safety Coordinator, Sandy O’Brien as Federal Hocking Middle School Yearbook Advisor, Kim Reeves for After School Detention Monitor, and Jim Mobbs as Head Golf Coach. These supplemental contracts would have cost the District approximately $6600.
In the discussion that preceded this vote, Board member Roger Ketchum asserted that many of the functions represented by these supplemental contracts could be assumed by volunteers.
The Board also voted not to continue Federal Hocking’s membership in the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools, saving the District another $300.
Finally, the Board passed Mr. Patsey’s recommendation to eliminate the position of Middle School/High School Spanish for the 2007-2008 school year.
Mr. Patsey presented five “options” for reducing deficit
Superintendent Patsey presented to the Board and the public five “options” for reducing deficit. The option he appeared to most strongly endorse involved eliminating the positions of two principals (Shirley Sayre, Coolville Elementary and Sonja White, Federal Hocking Middle School) and the District Technology Coordinator (Leslie Lawrence) to reduce the cost of administrative overhead. According to this option, Ms. Sayre would be moved to a language arts teaching position in the middle school; Ms. White to a mathematics teaching position in the middle school; and Ms. Lawrence to a science teaching position in the middle school. Ms. Chadwell would assume Principalship of both Coolville and Amesville Elementary Schools, dividing her time between the two buildings. Mr. Wryst (or Dr. Wood) would assume the Principalship of both the High School and the Middle School. This scenario was presented to the Board as an option, not a recommendation, and the Board took no action on the options, with the exception of voting to eliminate the middle school/high school Spanish position. Click to view Mr. Patsey’s handout outlining the five options.
For more coverage of the June 25, 2007 Federal Hocking School Board meeting, including additional videos, go to Federal Hocking page.
Friends of Anna Mae Washburn from the Lottridge Community Center Association
Audra Ackley, Lottridge, Ohio
Gene Welsh, Coolville, Ohio
Anna Mae Washburn, 78
Anna Mae Washburn, 78, of Coolville, Ohio passed away Monday, June 4, 2007 at her residence.
She was born December 2, 1928 in Roan County, WV, daughter of the late Oscar and Vesta Ball Bise.
Anna Mae was a retired Insurance Agent for Washburn Insurance, a member of the Vanderhoof Jolly Workers Club, the VFW Ladies Auxilary, the Lottridge Community Center and the Lottridge Senior Citizens. She was also a past member of Troy Grange, Pomona Grange and the Lottridge and Carthage Troy PTO.
Anna Mae was an avid bowler and enjoyed spending time playing bingo. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
VFW Post #9053 Ladies Auxiliary Service, conducted at 7 p.m., June 7, 2007
She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Franklin Washburn; 3 sons and daughters-in-law, David R. and Judith Washburn of Coolvile, Jim F. and Kathy Washburn of Amesville and Leslie K. and Pam Washburn of Coolville; and a daughter, Marsha D. Washburn of the Plains.
She is also survived by 7 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; a sister, Louva Cunningham of Lancaster; a brother, George Bise of Cambridge; and several nieces and nephews.
Anna Mae was a really good friend of mine. I've known her ever since Shep was a pup. She was nice to work with, was willing to help with anything, and had good ideas. She was an all-around good person.
From Hope Tilley, Guysville, Ohio
Anna Mae Washburn was a good friend and neighbor to us for fifteen years. In addition to that, one Spring day in 2002, she saved my life. We will remember Anna Mae as strong, honest, sharp-witted, and kind. David and I will miss her.
From June 5, 2007--First Meeting of The Financial Planning and Supervision Commission for the Federal Hocking Local District
More Coverage of the State Commission Meeting Coming Soon
Source For Above Copy of Resolution 001-07: Dr. Jacalyn Osborne, Chairperson, Financial Planning and Supervision Commission (State of Ohio)/Federal Hocking Local School District
The Future of Coolville Elementary School, Part 1: Keep The Lights on at Coolville Elementary
by Hope Tilley, based on an Interview with Sunshine Russell, Coolville, Ohio
“For the kids and for the community”—Sunshine Russell, Coolville, Ohio.
For the Kids
Sunshine and her husband Steve Russell, a 1976 graduate of Federal Hocking High School, had the option of enrolling their two young children at Marietta City Schools. When the time approached for her then kindergarten-age daughter to start school, Sunshine had family in Marietta and she was working there.
“Steve, who graduated from Federal Hocking, had only good things to say about the Federal Hocking Local School District,” says Sunshine.
“We both wanted our daughter to enjoy the benefits of a small, friendly, community-based school.
So we chose to organize our life so that our daughter could enroll at Coolville Elementary.”
Four years later, Sunshine and Steve are very pleased with their decision. They want Coolville Elementary School to stay open so that their daughter, who will be a fourth grader this fall, can complete her elementary school experience in Coolville and their younger son can too.
“The teachers and staff are tremendous,” says Sunshine. An excellent teaching staff in a small school building located on Main Street in the tiny village of Coolville creates, according to Sunshine, “the ideal atmosphere” for parents and community members to work closely and cooperatively with school personnel to support children’s academic, personal and social needs.
Sunshine is an active participant in the Coolville Elementary School PTO,
which supports the needs of the school and promotes good communication among teachers, staff, parents and community members.
Sunshine’s daughter is in the TAG (Talented and Gifted) Program at Coolville Elementary School.
Both Sunshine and Steve are extremely pleased with her academic progress.
“She is working quite a bit ahead of her grade level in most subjects” says Sunshine.
Sunshine notes that the Federal Hocking Local School District Report card issued by the Ohio Department of Education shows that Coolville Elementary students have made dramatic gains
in reading proficiency during recent years, and that this progress has contributed to the District’s “Continuous Improvement” status.
Sunshine was sorry to see staff reductions apparently necessitated by the District’s fiscal difficulties, especially in the areas of art and music at Coolville Elementary School.
She says that her daughter benefits tremendously from the expert instruction of Pat Carbone, the art teacher, and Therese Lackey, the music teacher.
“When I was an elementary school student at Marietta City Schools, we did ordinary things like draw and color during our art time.”
At Coolville Elementary, because of expert instruction and small class sizes, Pat Carbone is able to expose students at an early age to the works of masters like Monet and Rembrandt, likely inculcating in them a lifelong appreciation of art, according to Sunshine. Sunshine also believes, based on what she has witnessed first hand as a parent, that Ms. Carbone inspires and support students to create real works of art.
In addition to the excellent staff and the community atmosphere, Sunshine would like to see Coolville Elementary School continue to serve students in the Federal Hocking Local School District so that young students would not have to commute longer distances to attend school.
Sunshine and Steve Russell live in the Village of Coolville, making their own children’s “commute” only a matter of minutes. Sunshine has measured the distance between her house and the high school/middle school Federal Hocking complex in Stewart, Ohio, and determined that distance to be about ten miles.
“Eastern Elementary school is only seven miles from our house and Warren’s Elementary School in Little Hocking is only eight miles.” Sunshine thinks that many families would consider open-enrollment options to these neighboring school districts if the decision were made to consolidate the Federal Hocking elementary schools at the high school/middle school complex in Stewart.
Would Sunshine and Steve consider open-enrolling their children in a neighboring school district, too? “We would consider all of the options,” explains Sunshine, especially if the consolidation occurred quickly, without what Sunshine and Steve considered to be adequate planning to ensure for the provision of a safe and academically strong learning environment for their children. “Our children are everything to us—their future is the most important thing.” Sunshine says that both she and her husband are concerned about the potential effects of mixing young children and older students on buses and grounds and in school facilities. She is also concerned that there is not enough space in the high school/middle school complex in Stewart to house students grades K-12 in a way that would create the best possible educational and social environment for all students.
For the Community
For Sunshine, the welfare of her own and her friends’ and neighbors’ children is the main reason she would like to keep Coolville Elementary School open and operational. But she also offers strong arguments for keeping the school open on the grounds that doing so is in her community’s best interest.
“I think that closing Coolville Elementary School would be detrimental to the Village of Coolville,” Sunshine asserts. She says that she thinks local businesses would suffer, and she has confirmed her opinion by consulting with several business owners in the community.
Her husband, whose family has lived in the Coolville community for many years, owns and operates a construction business based in Coolville.
“Since families often base their decisions about where to live on good school options,
we think losing our community school would have an adverse impact on the number of people who stay in the Coolville area
and the number of people who choose to move here.
And fewer residents mean fewer customers for existing and prospective businesses.” She believes that fewer residents could also spell a decline in property values. That means that in the long term, the school could be collecting less money per mil, according to Sunshine. She says that the District should consider carefully potential losses of school revenue in the form of tax monies and out-migration of students to other school districts as it weighs the pros and cons of closing Coolville Elementary.
Sunshine notes that the prospect of closing her community’s elementary school comes at a time when the Village of Coolville has been working especially hard and has reason to hope for an economic upturn in the area.
“We have been working hard to beautify the village,” says Sunshine.
“We have restored the position of Village Police Chief.”
Other improvements slated to benefit existing community members and attract newcomers, small businesses, and developers include a new sewer system for the Village, a new and improved community park at the end of Cemetery Street, the Corridor D project, renewed interests in planning for a successful Founder’s Day, and even a local newspaper called Route7Report that is edited by Coolville Public librarian Roxanne Rupe.
It has been the belief of local business owners and community members for a number of years now that Coolville has the potential to distinguish itself, nestled as it is just off the beaten track that links the urban areas of Marietta, Belpre-Parkersburg, Athens and Pomeroy-Ravenswood,
as a quaint village with interesting shopping opportunities, a rich history, strong community values and pride.
Local business owner Nives Knisely of Village Charm has promoted business and community development on Main Street for years. Carrousell Antiques, a new antique store owned by Connie Moodispaugh, has recently moved to Coolville, partly as a result of Ms. Knisely’s encouragement and leadership in improving the look and feel of Main Street with new lighting, hanging flower pots, neatly placed park benches and stylish waste receptacles.
The Village Candle and Mercantile and RR Reuse opened shop on Main Street several years ago, and there is a rumor that Coolville could have a new restaurant specializing in Mexican food and baked goods.
According to Sunshine, closing Coolville Elementary School could cloud the vision of Coolville residents who have invested heavily and with a lot of heart in their community’s viability.
Federal Hocking Local School District is now in a state of fiscal emergency that has prompted the State of Ohio to seat a special Commission to control expenditures and make recommendations to the District about how to best preserve its future while complying with State solvency requirements. Asked why Troy township residents have historically voted no to levies that might have staved off the most recent fiscal crisis that Federal Hocking Local School District faces, Sunshine Russell says that she thinks many people do not realize that the District has not passed a levy for 31 years. She says that she herself did not realize this fact until it was pointed out to her. “That’s a long time. Imagine trying to live off the same wages you made in 1976, while paying today’s bills—that’s what Federal Hocking Local School District is trying to do. People need to realize this fact.” Sunshine also thinks that some people residing in the District have misconceptions about how the District is spending its money. She does think that the District could do better to communicate with its residents, and that the Board of Education, school personnel and community members could work more effectively as a team to solve the District’s fiscal problems.
Most importantly, according to Sunshine Russell, the District must not rush in making decisions at this time. She warns that rushing and making decisions hastily to create a quick fix for a problem that has been developing over a long period of time could lead to mistakes and negative consequences for the District’s children and its communities. “We did not get into this situation overnight, and we can’t fix it overnight.”
