MONDAY
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Piqua Daily Call Commitment To Community
Inside:
Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s time for all good boys and girls to send their Christmas wishes to Santa at the North Pole. Again this year, the Piqua Daily call will collect letters for the North Pole. Kids are invited to visit our website at www.dailycall.com click on the Letters to Santa link and follow the directions. Deadline is Dec. 6.
Inside:
Accurso runs final race today. Page 12
Page 4
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Volume 130, Number 234
Sports:
The hitchhiker’s guide to hitchhiking
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Piqua BOE met with a full slate Thursday Sheryl Roadcap
For the Daily Call pdceditorial@civitasmedia.com
PIQUA — The Board of Education held a meeting Thursday night, which dealt with an array of issues surrounding Piqua city schools. The philosophy and discourse of the evening forum expressed what it means to be a Piqua Indian straight from students’ mouths — with an understanding of hard work and determination — to setting high stan-
dards esthetically throughout the schools’ property. The meeting began with a “celebration” of fall student athlete seniors who were introduced by athletic director Chip Hare. The students gave a short presentation on their perspective of what it is to be Piqua Indian athlete: “humble, hardworking, prepared, and dedicated” and how those attributes parlay into real life. As one of the cross-country captains said, “for a runner, it’s not easy, but you work hard
and are patient” and “stand up for each other and are dedicated,” reiterated the football team captain. Board member, Mimi Crawford summed up the teenagers’ words saying that “the Piqua kid embodies integrity, are hard-working, academic minded and caring.” She continued, “he or she care about their program and community.” Board reports were brief, with mostly information on the Upper Valley Career Center, followed by the Treasure’s report
which contained a short explanation on costs and why purchases are going up. Treasure Jeremie Hittle revealed the fluctuation in cost for that of a typical student compared with that of a child with special needs Within the superintendent’s report were several updates on the on-goings in and out of the schools. He explained that parents have several means of communication in regard to their child’s progress –from first quarter parent-teacher
conferences, to teachers having phones at their desks, to electronic gradebooks, which can be accessed online. Other things contained within the report were “collaborative leadership” – meaning new teacher evaluation systems that look carefully at classroom instruction; and the OFCC project –an update with an assortment of information, and pictures, on the vast schools’ construction project, which See SLATE | 2
Sending smiles to soliders Locals send more than 600 Christmas cards to troops overseas Melanie Yingst
Staff Writer myingst@civitasmedia.com
Mike Ullery | Daily Call
Rebecca Torsell, from the Ohio History Service Corps, discusses her research into the history of many of the properties in the Shawnee area of Piqua at her desk in the History Department of the Piqua Public Library, last week.
Shawnee neighborhood catches eye of Ohio Historical Society Belinda M. Paschal Staff Writer bpaschal@civitasmedia.com
PIQUA — Going from restoring a mining camp in the San Juan mountains where she lived in a tent at an altitude of 11,000 feet with no electricity or running water to working for the historic preservation division of the Piqua Public Library has been a big change for Rebecca Torsell, but her new work is proving challenging in its own way. Torsell, a community surveyor, has taken on a project to survey the Shawnee area to collect information to add to the Ohio Historical Society’s database. The information will be made available for residents, researchers and historians. “(Library director and local historian) Jim Oda chose the locations for the survey based on his
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extensive knowledge of the area’s history,” Torsell said. “I became involved in the Shawnee project when I signed up to volunteer with AmeriCorps in the Ohio History Division.” Torsell, who holds a master’s degree in historic preservation, said AmeriCorps recommended evaluating the Shawnee area because it hadn’t been done before. “It’s a really unique area because it was being settled around the late 1700s, kind of off on its own and really could have
developed into something bigger potentially on its own,” she said. “The area is very interesting in how it developed.” Once known as Huntersville, Shawnee was an area for both residence and trade. Though many original buildings were destroyed in the Great Flood of 1913, several home and businesses built in the early 19th century still remain. “The hope in doing this is that by making the community aware that the survey is going on, they’re going to think a little bit more about the houses they’re living in,” Torsell said. “Alerting the community to this will get people to evaluate the significance of the area. Historic preservation is really up to the community.” To that end, area
MIAMI COUNTY — Last week, the Mr. Graham’s Museum 4-H Club pledged their hands for greater service taking part in a community card signing party aptly called “Operation Holiday Smile Letter Brigade.” The 4-H club was part of nearly 50 people creating and signing Christmas cards for soldiers through the American Red Cross event called “Holiday Mail for Heroes.” In less than two hours, the group gathered at Marion’s Piazza in Troy to help write 605 Christmas cards to service members stationed overseas and veteran’s hospitals. Kyle Strugill, 13, of Fletcher, had written two cards so far for the military members overseas. “I’m thanking them for protecting us,” Sturgill said. “This lets them know that we are thinking of them since they aren’t home for Christmas.” Kyle’s brother Jason, 15, also helped his 4-H club send the nearly 11 pounds of cards to the Red Cross to distribute to servicemen and women during the holidays. “I’ve filled out a lot of cards and wished them a Merry Christmas,” Jason said. “I thanked them for their service and help keeping us free.” See SOLIDERS | 2
Melanie Yingst | Civitas Media
Kyle Sturgill, 13, of Fletcher, sends good wishes in a Christmas card to send to veterans or soldiers overseas through the Red Cross Holiday for Heroes program. Sturgill, along, with the Mr. Graham’s Museum 4-H Club and other locals, helped send more than 600 Christmas cards at a Christmas card signing party at Marion’s Piazza last week.
Winner declared in Bradford BOE Staff report
TROY — Proving that in an election every single vote counts, a winner was finally declared Friday by the Miami County Board of Elections in the race for the third seat on the Bradford Board of Education. The elections board certified the results from the Nov. 5 general election, and in doing so it was declared that Stanley Roberts Jr. beat out his competitor, Carolyn Smith, by only one vote. See SHAWNEE | 2 Roberts secured 202
votes and Smith received 201, said Drew Higgins, board of elections director. After compiling ballot results from Miami, Shelby and Darke counties, aside from provisional ballots cast in Darke County, the race was a tie. Higgins said three provisional ballots opened and tabulated from Darke County on Thursday was the deciding factor in the race. Due to how close the race was there will likely be a mandatory recount
in accordance with state law. State election law mandates that if the difference in votes in any given race is less than one half of 1 percent then a recount must be performed. Higgins said the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office in Columbus was notified of the close race and will likely order a recount to take place sometime next week. This year’s general election had a voter turnout of 20.7 percent.
Index
Whooping cough cases reported in Miami Valley
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TROY —In the last two weeks 11 cases of children testing positive for pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, have been reported by Dayton Children’s Hospital. The illness is highly contagious and one of the most commonly occurring vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States. Miami County Health Commissioner Christopher Cook
said the illness is easily preventable with a vaccine. Those most at risk, he said, are children and the elderly. “It starts out as a common cold and the first symptoms usually appear after a week,” Cook said in an interview earlier this year. “Then it will progress and you will get a really bad cough. … Whooping cough comes from the sound a person makes when people get into really bad coughing fits. They must inhale deeply, and that creates the ‘whoop-
ing’ sound.” To prevent pertussis the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following, especially since the approaching holiday season could help whooping cough spread: • Wash hands thoroughly. • Keep children away from anyone who is coughing and sneezing. • Vaccinate your children, teens and yourself. Combination vaccines are used to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, and pertus-
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sis. The DTap vaccination is given to children younger than 7 years of age and Tdap is given to older children and adults. • Children get a dose of DTap at each of the following ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 15-18 months and at 4 to 6 years. • The preferred age for preteen Tdap vaccination is 11 to 12 years old. Adolescents not previously vaccinated should receive a See COUGH | 2